Dante may not send out many men to search for Orazio as a favor to me, so maybe my brother could stay undetected. But what could he work? He’d never done anything but been a Made Man. “Let me talk to Dad and Dante. You know that there have been exemptions in the past where Made Men were allowed to marry outsiders.”

“Low soldiers, not the heir to Chicago,” Orazio corrected. “And trust me, there won’t be an exemption for Lucy.”

He glanced toward the side then nodded and a gorgeous girl came into view with pitch black hair… and an exotic face. An Asian girl. No, Dad would never accept her, nor would the still very traditional Outfit. I’d heard enough off-handed comments at social gatherings to know the lingering racism in our circles.

I forced a smile. “Hi Lucy.”

She smiled shyly, then peered up at my brother, and the look that passed between them made me realize nothing could stop Orazio. Nor would I want to get between them.

“Nice to meet you, Valentina,” Lucy said in a soft voice.

Could love ever be a crime? Could wanting to be with your love no matter what be considered betrayal?

“I’ll put in a good word for you with Dante. If you run off to Europe, maybe England, you could be safe.”

Lucy bit her lip, giving my brother a pained look. “I wish we could have met in person.” With that, she disappeared from view.

Orazio’s expression became tight. “Valentina, I’m sorry that I blamed you for my problems with Dad. You did your duty to marry again and somehow that made me even madder for a while. I’m glad I got to see Anna and Leonas one more time.”

“What’s going on, Orazio? I don’t understand.”

“I’m in a safe place so you can tell Dante what I just told you. You don’t have to think you need to protect me. Bye.”

“Bye, Uncle Orazio!” Anna called.

I couldn’t say anything, only watched the screen go black, feeling completely confused. Leonas came running my way, grinning but his good mood didn’t reach me. I stood and caught him as he threw himself into my arms, glad for the distraction and the necessary time it gave me to sort my thoughts. I didn’t understand what Orazio meant with a safe place. Was he already out of the States? For some reason, I didn’t think he was. The small part of the car I’d seen had looked like Orazio’s BMW.

Anna jogged after me as I walked back into the house. Leonas dropped sand everywhere. “Mom, I’m hungry,” he chimed.

“First, we need to change your diaper.”

Leonas shook his head wildly but I carried him up to his room anyway.

“Who was that girl with Uncle Orazio?” Anna blurted as she followed hot on my heels.

I put Leonas down on the changing table despite his protests. My clothes and the table were covered in sand, and I cursed myself inwardly for being so lost in my thought that I didn’t clean him in the bathroom first.

“Mommy?” Anna asked, standing on her tiptoes and holding onto the edge of the table.

I smiled shakily. “That was his friend.”

“Like Luisa and Sofia are my friends?”

“Yes, like that,” I said.

After changing Leonas’ diaper, we headed downstairs into the kitchen. Zita was in the utility room ironing Dante’s shirts and it was Gabby’s day off, so I had the kitchen to myself. To distract myself and because Anna and Leonas loved them, I prepared French toast with a vanilla-mascarpone crème on top.

Anna helped me whisk the eggs while Leonas dipped his fingers into the sugar and licked them clean. They loved their learning tower and I loved that it gave them the chance to feel involved when I cooked. We settled at the table and both Leonas and Anna dug in eagerly. They looked utterly content, their faces dusted with sugar and cream. I tried to cling to the sense of peace I felt watching them but my worry over Orazio soon took over. On the one hand, I was happy for him, happy that he’d found someone he loved, but on the other hand, I worried for his future, for his life. What if this was a spur of the moment thing? How long had he even known Lucy? Was she really worth leaving everything behind for? He couldn’t just change his mind in a few months when things didn’t work out. He’d be considered a traitor and… God, would Dante really kill my brother? What about Papa?

I closed my eyes, terrified for my brother, for my family.

A hand on my shoulder shook me out of my reverie and my eyes shot open. Dante towered over me, his blond brows pulled together in obvious worry. “Are you all right?”

“Mom made us French toast!” Anna said brightly. Dante stroked her hair but his eyes remained on me.

Leonas raised his arms and after a moment Dante bent down and picked him up. For a second, I allowed myself to enjoy the heartwarming scene of Dante holding our son carefully in his arms. I hadn’t eaten a bit of my French toast, not feeling hungry. “Do you want some?” I motioned at my plate.

Dante shook his head. “Have you heard something from your brother?”

My eyes widened. I stood slowly. “Why?”

Dante became tense, worry settling on his face. “Because he didn’t show up to a meeting with your dad this morning. I thought you might know what’s going on and it seems I was right.”

“He just called. A few minutes ago.”

“And?” Dante asked carefully as he put Leonas down on the floor before he came over to me. He touched my shoulders, searching my eyes. “What did he want?”

I had a feeling Dante knew something was horribly wrong. What was Orazio doing? I glanced at our children, not sure if I wanted to have this conversation in front of them. I picked up my plate and went over to the sink. Dante followed me.

“We did a video-chat and he told me he had to leave… because he was going to marry a girl named Lucy,” I whispered.

“Goddamnit,” Dante growled, his face flashing with fury.

“Dante?” Cold fear spread in my body.

The way he looked at me made me worried about what he had to say. “It’s a Chinese girl?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t sure of the girl’s nationality but that Dante knew made me wonder how long he’d known about this. “You knew?”

Dante shook his head but his thoughts seemed miles away. “Before we married, your father mentioned his problems with Orazio to me. It was about that girl. Orazio refused to give her up for a long time until your father finally convinced him.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t Capo back then and even if I had been, I wouldn’t have gotten involved as you know.”

“So they’ve been together for years? That makes sense.”

“Does it?” Dante asked angrily. “Your brother is bound by his vow. By betraying the Outfit he risks the life of fellow Made Men.”

“He only wants to be with the woman he loves. How does it hurt his fellow Made Men if he goes into hiding to be with her?”

Dante’s fingers on my shoulders tightened. “Because you know I suspect that there’s a spy among my soldiers. Maybe it wasn’t Fabiano…”

I exhaled sharply. “You think it could be Orazio?”

Dante sighed and pressed our foreheads together. I wrapped my arms around his waist, trembling. “Tell me he wouldn’t do it.”