Page 46 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
“I just got off the phone with Sal.”
“And?”
I catch him up on what was discussed.
“Shit. I’m putting you on speaker, Ras is here with me.”
There’s a click of a button. The voice of De Rossi’s right-hand man blares through my phone. “So instead of facing us head-on, Sal’s going after an innocent girl.” He scoffs. “Fucking one-trick pony.”
“He didn’t say it outright, but it’s obvious he thinks Martina is the quickest way to end this.”
“Should we be concerned?” Ras asks.
“No. She’s safe here. But when they can’t find her, they’ll grow desperate. They’ll start taking big risks. It’s better for it not to come to that. What progress have you made?”
“My uncle Elio and Ras’s father are with us. There are nine other key players in the clan,” De Rossi says. “If we get them to turn, no one will dare oppose us. So far, we’ve made agreements with three—the traditionalists who worked closely with my father and who see Sal as a loose cannon. As I expected, they were outraged when I provided evidence of his attempted kidnapping of Martina when she was in New York. In their eyes, the fact that Sal didn’t address his problems directly with me, one of his capos, and went after Mari instead is a black mark on his character. They see it as a sign of weakness, and they won’t support a weak don. I wish the rest would see it the same way, but they are proving more difficult.”
“We’ll get them,” Ras says confidently. “But we need time to gather the necessary leverage, and we must be more careful. Yesterday, our car was attacked on the road to Casal. We got away, but it was a closer call than I would have liked. The driver was shot.”
“Someone tipped Sal off?”
“We think it was a drone.”
It’s a wonder the two of them have made it this long. “You need to travel with a signal jammer. De Rossi, your security should be taken as seriously as Martina’s.”
“You worried about me, Napoletano?”
“Not particularly, but if you die, I won’t be able to collect my favor. I’m not in the business of charity work.”
Ras chuckles. “And you wonder why you don’t have many friends.”
“I assure you that’s entirely intentional.”
“How is Mari doing?” De Rossi cuts in.
“Fine.”
Cazzo, I think I said that too quick.
“You sure? She was far from fine when she left a few days ago. Have you checked in on her at all?”
He’s worried I’ve been ignoring her. I wish I fucking could.
“Yes, I see her regularly. Her condition has improved.”
This would be the time to tell him about her nightmare, but I decide against it. He can’t help her, and revealing this detail may invite questions I’d rather De Rossi not think about. Like how was I close enough to hear her. Or what did I do to calm her down.
“What does she do all day? We haven’t had a chance to talk beyond that one call the day after she arrived.”
“She’s taken to the garden. And I’ve started teaching her self-defense, a skill you really should have equipped her with a long time ago.”
“When did I tell you that you could do that?” De Rossi asks, his voice taking on a hard note.
“She should be prepared in case anything happens.”
“You just told us she’s safe. If you do your job, nothing will happen.”
“Drop the ego, De Rossi. Just because I’m teaching her something you couldn’t, doesn’t mean it’s not good for her. She’s learning quickly. If you want to talk to her about it, you’re always welcome to call.”
