Chapter Seventy One

Chapter Seventy One
Nicholas POV

Tanya now has a guard every minute of the day. I'd like to think she could be left alone when it's her time to sleep, but we aren't stupid. You don't get to where we are or have the enemies we do by being incompetent. We put an audio device in her room. I thought about a camera but my mother tsk'd at me and said we don't spy on women with cameras. Fair enough.

A few days had gone by and things seemed to be melding into a routine of sorts. Camilla was up to leaving her room now, so I decided I wanted to take her for a walk in the vineyards. It was a perfect day, the sun shining, mild cloud cover and a cool breeze on what was an otherwise warm July day.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I guided her down a row of grape vines, concealing us from the guard I had posted on the garden terrace.

"I've been better," she states. "It's nice to get outside, though, thank you, Nick," she smiles at me. We hadn't been alone much; the nurses had taken over helping her to bathe, and now she didn't need them much at all, except to help her get in and out of the shower in case she was dizzy. They had installed a shower chair, allowing her to bathe herself. She had been persistent that Tanya would not bathe her, so Bridgette helped her in the evenings.

We kept a close watch on Tanya, and, much to her dismay, she hadn't been making many phone calls. My father installed a cell phone signal blocker. Tanya expressed concerns that her phone wasn't working. We told her that she must have a bad signal. I had no idea where she was at the moment. I had escorted Camilla down to breakfast this morning and then offered to take her for a walk. I'd not seen Tanya at all.

Camilla's Nonna had made a brief appearance two days ago. She'd inspected the room that Camilla was staying in and gave me a knowing smile before she departed. She and Camilla had lunch together that day and then Carmen said she needed to go speak with her uncle. Her uncle was in his 90's and Carmen hadn't seen him in at least thirty years. The man was probably nearly to his grave at this point. I wasn't sure what the intense need was, but I suspected it had something to do with Enzo. We'd told her to enjoy her visit and come back when she wanted. She said she was planning to stay in her family home for a bit, but we knew how to reach her. She was plenty safe there; her family had owned the villa for a century, and it was extremely safe and hidden from those who didn't need to know where it was.

Camilla and I walked hand in hand through the rows of grapes. I told her about the winery, and the production process. She listened intently and asked questions throughout. It was one of the most normal conversations we'd had in a long time. We stopped in one of the arbors for a rest. Camilla started to slow her pace, not used to being up and about. It wouldn't take her long though, I suspected, to get back to her former health.

"This is lovely, Nicholas," Camilla said. "Thank you for bringing me out here."

"We can walk out here every day if you want," I told her.

"Aren't you missing out on doing your work? The club in New York and whatever other businesses you run?" she asked quietly. "Surely I'm taking up your time."

"That's why I have others to help me with things, Camilla. I can't do it all. Jimmy helps quite a bit, and Marco." Camilla turned so she was facing me on the bench; one leg tucked under her other.

"Jimmy, tell me about him. I don't know this Marco you mentioned though, do I?"

"Jimmy is my cousin, so it's a given that he’s part of the business. And no, you don't know Marco. He knows you, though. He helped get you out of New York," I explain. "He's basically my right-hand man. I've known him since we were kids. We used to play in these vineyards together," I tell her.

"Interesting." She searched my face, "So he's not related then?"

"No," I shake my head. "He's my closest friend. His mother worked for mine for decades. First, she was her personal assistant, helping raise us and attend to her needs during party planning and family gatherings. They became very close, and naturally, we did as well."

"Where is she now?" Camilla asks.

I look down, suddenly uncomfortable with the answer, even though I shouldn't be. It wasn't my fault after all.

"Nick?"

"She's dead," I say. I look up, and Camilla sees the hurt in my eyes. "Because of me."

Camilla furrows her brows, "What do you mean?"

"She was shot. She put herself between me and a man when I was fourteen." I sigh and take a deep breath. "I was at school. I decided that I needed to stay after that day because I wanted to talk to the soccer coach. Marco and I both played on the soccer team. Marco got into some trouble at school with his grades. Basically, he wasn't doing his homework because he was working after school to help his mom out. I wanted to tell the coach to give him a second chance and to promise that he'd get caught up. I had the means to make that happen," I told her.

"Okay, I'm confused. Why did he have to work if his mom was working for your mom? Did she not make enough to support them?" Camilla didn't understand how all of this worked because she hadn't been knowledgeable about the mafia before recent months.

"She made an excellent salary, yes. However, she didn't tell us that her husband owed a huge debt back in their hometown. Her life and Marco's were spared on the condition that she repay his debt. Most of her money went there every month. She never mentioned it; she was too proud. She had never even told us why she was a widow until the incident. Anyway, Marco was working to help out so that they could get away from the debt and move on with their lives."