Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Stefano spun around to face him. “Exactly. Should she be here? She’s surrounded by danger. Does she know it? Yes. Does she care? No. I told her she had to leave. She looked me right in the eye and told me she wasn’t leaving. She said, and I quote, ‘Stefano, I don’t ask you for much and you’re going to give this to me. I’m staying with you to see Geno and Amaranthe through this. All of you need me and I need to be here. So you’re giving this to me. The subject is closed.’ What the fuck do I do with that, Geno?”
Geno sighed. “I guess you give her what she’s asking.”
“She wasn’t asking. She made that clear. She got on a plane while I was drunk out of my fucking mind. I had her fully protected where I knew she was safe and none of these crazy bastards could get to her or the children. Did she stay put? No. She commandeered the Ferraro plane and came here. She’s never done anything like this in her life. No one dared say no to her, either. They just did whatever she told them.”
“I would have,” Geno conceded.
Stefano pushed his hand through his hair with another sigh. “My Francesca. Such a sweet little angel. Do you know what she told me, Geno?”
Stefano paced across the room, his movements as always fluid and graceful. He was a man who looked good in his suit.
“Francesca told me she wanted to be the one to give me the gift of a child. She doesn’t seem to understand that she’s the gift. She cried. I fucking hate when she cries. It tears me up inside.” He fell silent again and then turned to face Geno.
“I apologize for the way I handled this thing with Taviano. There were so many other ways I could have done it. I could see the moment Australia came up and the name of the Boutler family in Queensland was mentioned, it threatened to throw him into another post-traumatic episode.”
Geno tried to interrupt him. “Stefano . . .”
Stefano shook his head. “Let me. I need to talk to you about this. I should have. Not there in front of everyone, but I could have indicated to you that I had things to say privately. I felt so guilty when I first learned what happened to Taviano. I felt such rage at the parents. I’d never felt like that before. I have a temper, but I honestly felt if my mother were standing in front of me, I was capable of strangling her. She allowed a ten-year-old child to suffer without counselling, to be separated from all of us and to believe he was in some way responsible for what happened to him. I truly hated her, Geno.”
Geno could understand. Geno loved his cousins and he felt anger toward Eloisa and Phillip that they were so selfish that they wouldn’t care for their children.
“All I could see was my baby brother suffering all over again,” Stefano admitted. “I couldn’t protect him all those years ago, so like a fool, I made matters worse. None of the family knew anything, but with the way I acted, and with your reaction, they’re all questioning my behavior. Now with Francesca using our private jet when she’s never done such a thing, believe me, those questions are really multiplying.”
“Stefano, I would have done the same had it been one of my brothers. I observed Taviano, but I wasn’t comprehending what I was really seeing. It was Amaranthe who pointed it out. I was so angry when I thought you were shutting me out that I didn’t want to hear her.”
Stefano sighed. “Our women. We think they’re the emotional ones. They see us so clearly. Taviano went to Francesca and asked her what to do. She told me I could have handled the situation so much better. She even told me several ways I could have. At the same time, she was sympathetic and sweet as only Francesca can be.”
Geno understood exactly what Stefano was saying. Francesca could reprimand and yet still be compassionate. It never felt as if she were putting you down.
“Francesca is one in a million, Stefano. I believe Amaranthe is as well.” He paused for a moment, listening to the laughter coming from the kitchen. Their family. It was amazing how when they were altogether, he felt so much more relaxed.
Stefano nodded. “I want that for you. After all you’ve been through, I want her to love you the way Francesca loves me.”
“I believe she’s getting there. I see it when she looks at me. She’s never had a family and we intimidate her just a little bit. She wants us though. She definitely accepts Salvatore and Lucca.”
“That woman is lightning fast. I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Stefano admitted. “I’ve known there were elite riders. There had to be. Elie and I even discussed it, but to see her in action was shocking. I’ve had conversations with Jean-Claude that I know pertained to cases he was worried about. Later, I wondered if he sent an elite rider to investigate.”