Page 48 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
My head snaps back up. “Who is it?”
“It’s Martina.” The door opens an inch. “Can I come in?”
I drag my palm over my face. “Yes.”
She pads into the room, her hair messy, and her eyes bleary with sleep. Thank God, she threw a robe over her pajamas. The less skin I see, the better.
“I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” she says.
“The rain’s stopped.”
She glances out the window. Crosses her bare feet at the ankles. “I know. I just… I didn’t want to be alone.”
I draw my attention back to my glass. A few sips left. I’ll let her stay here until I’m done with this drink, and then I’ll send her back to bed.
“Have a seat.” I gesture at the chair across from me.
She takes it. “Why are you still up?”
“Had a few phone calls.”
“Anyone interesting?”
“I spoke with Sal and your brother.”
Excitement sparks in her eyes. “We haven’t talked in a few days. How is he?”
This is not the best time to tell her De Rossi nearly died a few days ago, so I glaze over it. “Busy. He has a lot of people left to convince.”
She nods, her delicate fingers curling around the armrest. “Why did you decide to take my brother’s side?”
I shrug. “Like many others, I’m not happy with our current don.”
“Why?”
“A long list of reasons. He’s mismanaged the clan. The Casalesi have always run themselves like a business. We’re more sophisticated than just about any other clan in thesistema, and we need a leader who’s got a head for it. Sal doesn’t.”
Her brows pinch together, as if she doesn’t quite believe my answer. “So it’s all just logic? It’s not personal?”
“Why would you think it’s personal?”
“A difference in philosophy hardly seems like reason enough to betray your don. It’s not like the clan is crumbling.”
She’s perceptive, and despite my earlier irritation, something about her inquisitive gaze makes me want to smile. “Your brother would probably argue it is, but you’re right. I don’t think the clan is crumbling. The Casalesi are formidable and have survived worse dons than Sal.”
“So itispersonal.” There’s a hint of triumph in her voice.
“Yes.” I lean back in my seat and force myself not to stare at her legs. “We have something in common, you and I. My mother died because of Sal. Just like yours did.”
Her lips part on an intake of breath. She was a baby when Sal murdered her father and took over as don. When Martina’s mom discovered her husband was dead, her grief quickly turned into destruction. The woman killed herself, setting herself on fire in front of Sal’s men. De Rossi saw it and had enough sense to grab his baby sister and run.
“He killed your mother?” Martina asks me.
If only it were that simple. But my mother’s past with Sal is anything but that. She was a strong woman, even after Sal destroyed her. She lived with her pain for a long time…until one day, it became too much. “Sal didn’t pull the trigger, but he’s responsible for her death.”
She opens her mouth as if to ask something, but then thinks better of it.
Good. I don’t want to talk about this shit.
