Page 79 of His Savage Vow
“You know Enzo’s friends and associates even better than Ido,” Maximo admits after a moment’s thought. “Which one would you recommend? From what I remember all three of them are steady.”
“Steady, sure,” Leonard agrees. “If you don’t mind Sam’s revolving door with rehab and Jamie constantly juggling women. Enzo would’ve picked Trenton. I’m sure of it.”
“That settles it then.” Maximo smiles and claps the old man on the shoulder. “Ask Trenton to come by the house for dinner tonight and we’ll talk it over. Thank you, Leonard,” he adds as he takes me by the arm and guides me to the front door.
“That’s it? I admire your ‘promote from within’ structure, but don’t you need a little more information to decide if you can trust this guy Trenton to be your new right-hand man?” I ask Maximo as he holds the door open for me.
“Oh, of course,” he agrees. “I’m going to go make some calls to talk to the men they work with. But if Leonard says Enzo would have recommended Trenton, that’s just about good enough for me.”
“Well, while you do that I’ll get changed after the service and then head out for my doctor’s appointment. Do you want me to bring you back anything to eat?”
“No, don’t worry about me. I’ll find my own dinner tonight. Call me if you need anything or have any issues, okay?” He gathers me up in a hug and kisses the top of my head. “God, I adore you. Come on, let’s go pay our respects and then I’ll drive you back to the house.”
He holds the door open for me, then once we step inside, we clasp hands tightly and approach Adeline. She’s hugging a woman I don’t recognize, but who I presume to be Luca’s mother, Dana, as Phillip is standing right next to them.
Phillip steps forward to take Maximo’s hand and says, “Thank you for coming, Maximo, and you too Constance. Iwish we were seeing each other again under better circumstances.”
As soon as she hears Maximo’s name, Dana peels herself away from Adeline and stalks over to us, her heels digging marks in the carpet from her furious approach. “Why are you even here?” Luca’s mother hisses inches from his face.
I can’t help but gape at her as Maximo steps slightly in front of me, almost butting heads with the woman. “I came to pay my respects to my two dear friends and cousins,” he replies calmly.
Adeline swoops in trying to insert herself between them, whispering, “Dana, this isn’t the time or the place to make a scene. We’re all here to grieve this tragedy…”
“This tragedy!” Dana’s voice cracks as tears begin to pour down her face. Her mascara is already smeared, and this fresh glut of tears falls in black trails down both of her cheeks. “This is your fault. My son is dead because of you, you piece of shit!” she screams, jabbing a finger into Maximo’s chest.
“Phillip,” Maximo calls over to his uncle. “Handle your wife,” he orders. His tone leaves no room for argument, and I see several dark-suited men who have been milling about the foyer step forward as if they intend to intervene.
Phillip sees them as well, and he lunges forward to wrap his arms around his wife and pull her back. “Dana, please, don’t do this here. Whatever you have to say we can handle in private…” His voice trails off as he drags her away, down a nearby hall into a bathroom.
“I’m sorry, Maximo, Constance,” Adeline says as she dabs at her own eyes with a Kleenex. “She’s been inconsolable and seeing Luca and Enzo lying in there…” She glances meaningfully into the next room, where I can see the two coffins surrounded by flowers. “Well…I think it broke something in her. Please don’t hold this against her,” she adds as she lays a hand on Maximo’s forearm.
Maximo doesn’t reply but instead reaches back to take my hand and says, “Let’s go pay our respects.”
“Are you okay?” I whisper to him as we walk into the viewing room.
“No, not really.” He sighs. “I understand her pain; I feel their loss too. She’ll never believe that, though. Dana hated my father, and she always thought I was just like him, willing to use and abuse anyone to get what I want. This certainly isn’t going to change her mind about me.”
As we approach the coffins, another woman I recognize turns towards us. Enzo’s sister, Cindy, stares at the two of us with open hostility etched into every grim line of her frown. “I heard Dana yelling,” she begins without any preamble or greeting. “She was wrong. This isn’t on you, Maximo. Things were fine until she showed up,” she spits, leveling a finger at me. “You did this, you evil bitch. You got my brother killed!”
Her voice rises to a shriek, and before Maximo or I can even respond, she picks up a flower filled vase and hurls it right at my head. I throw my arms up to shield my face. The vase explodes against my forearms, a blast of cold water and glass knocking me flat onto the carpet. The sting kicks in, and faint red lines bloom across my skin before the blood starts to bead.
Maximo looks to me and then to Cindy with a look of pure, murderous hatred. She lunges towards another flower arrangement, but before she can lift it, he seizes her by the upper arm. He raises his other hand above his head before bringing it down onto her cheek in a slap that echoes in the viewing room like a clap of thunder. Cindy is hurled off her feet into the front row of chairs, where she sprawls, stunned and sobbing.
“Get her out here!” Maximo roars at several of the men who are milling around the room. He turns back to me as his men rush over and gather her up by her arms. Maximo helps me tomy feet as Cindy is dragged screaming and cursing back down the aisle and out of the viewing room.
“Come on, we’re leaving,” Maximo says as he helps me to my feet. He takes my hands and turns my arms over examining the scratches I’ve suffered. “Let’s go wash these in the bathroom first and make sure you don’t have any glass caught anywhere. I’m so sorry, firefly. I had no idea…”
“None of this is your fault,” I tell him as he helps me down the hallway towards the bathroom. My heart aches at the agony on his face and at the accusations the women have flung.
“I don’t care if they blame me,” he says as he shoulders open the door to the men’s bathroom and pulls me inside. It’s empty, thankfully, and he guides me to the sink where he turns on the hot water. “But I should have known they might lash out, especially Cindy. I’m so sorry,” he repeats as he wets a towel and helps me wash the cuts on my arm. They seem superficial and are barely bleeding, so Maximo gives me another towel to wrap my arm. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” he says as he steps back over to open the door. “Nothing good is going to come from staying here. My presence is just going to antagonize my family.”
Before I can respond, Leonard pushes the door open and joins us. “Oh no, Constance,” he breathes, taking in my soaked dress and scratched arms. “Maximo, what happened? Your mother said Dana and Cindy both lost it…”
“They both threw fits, but Cindy went a bit further and threw a vase at me,” I reply.
“She attacked you?” Leonard gasps in horror, looking up to Maximo for confirmation. “Is she…you didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“I slapped her and had her removed. Go help her, Leonard, and make sure she’s taking her medicine. You know how she gets around anything glass when she doesn’t,” he adds.
