Page 79 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
“It’s fine, Vale’s taking a nap. How are things?”
“I managed to convince Garzolo to let me be Gemma’s minder while I’m here.”
“How did you pull that off?”
“Put the other guy out of commission.”
He chuckles. “Well done. Has Garzolo brought you around his crew yet?”
“Yeah, I had dinner with them last night. He wasn’t too happy the night I arrived, but since then, he’s been Mr. Hospitality. Took me to his restaurant, La Trattoria.”
“And?”
“They were all clearly instructed to avoid answering any of my questions. I didn’t get anything from them besides big talk about how well their business is going.”
“Hmm. Maybe it was easy to convince him to let you be Gemma’s driver because he doesn’t want you sniffing around his business. He thinks he’ll keep you occupied that way.”
I frown. Damiano has a point. I should have thought of that. “Shit, you might be right.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. He was cagey enough in Ibiza. You’re going to have to find an outside perspective on the situation in New York. Have you met with Kal’s contact?”
“Meeting Orrin tomorrow morning.”
“Good. See what you can get from him. Don’t be shy about sweetening him up either.”
“I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“All right. Any leads on Gemma’s situation?”
“Nothing yet.”
“You should ask her about her dad. Napoletano said he overheard her talking about how Garzolo needs this marriage to happen, so she might know something.”
I scratch my chin. Yeah, the last time we touched on that topic, it ended in disaster.
I’m about to tell Damiano I think that’s a bad idea when I stop myself.
A rush of something unpleasant slides down my spine. Am I compromising my efforts here because I’m afraid of upsetting Gemma?
I owe my boss more than that.
“All right. I’ll see if I can get something out of her.”
We hang up, and I sip on my drink and come to the conclusion that I need to get a hold of myself. I’m here on Dem’s orders. I owe him a clear head. I need to focus on my actual priorities, which don’t include playing games with Gemma. If Garzolo catches a whiff of how I’ve already compromised his daughter, no amount of threats will make him allow me to stay. He’s desperate for his clan to link up with Messero, that much is obvious. He won’t put up with me if he sees me as a threat to that.
This deal with the Americans is important. It’s our first major move with Dem as the head of the Casalesi, and our people will be watching to see how it shakes out. I don’t want anyone to have any doubts that Dem is the right leader for us.
I remember the moment I realized he had it in him. That was almost a decade ago. No one, fucking no one, was talking to me after what had happened with Sara. I was a shell of a man. Broken, angry, destructive. Her betrayal ripped my heart out. I didn’t leave my apartment for weeks.
Damiano was the one who pulled me back from the abyss. He was the only one who really even tried. He saw that I wouldn’t—couldn’t—see a future for myself, so he sold me on his vision. I believed in him for years before I started to believe in myself.
I finish off the whiskey and put the glass down on the nightstand with a soft clank.
I have to do better than this and focus on my work instead of contemplating the indentation Gemma’s body would make in my mattress. There’s a reason why I’ve kept every single woman after Sara at arm’s length. I haven’t allowed myself to get distracted from what’s important in years, and I’m not about to start now.
* * *
I arrive at Poet’s Café, the coffee shop where I’m meeting Orrin Petraki, at eight fifteen. It’s closed despite the sign on the door saying it opens at eight.
