"She said she doesn't have one. Probably passed away. Life really isn't fair, is it? You know the woman in the next room? Her husband adores her. He's at her bedside every single day, holding the baby. You can tell he's absolutely smitten."
"Oh, I know. That room's been a revolving door of visitors. And they're all gorgeous men, too. How come I never get that kind of luck?"
They didn't know.
The devoted husband they were gushing about was mine. The gorgeous men filing through that room were Rossetti soldiers and capos paying tribute to their Don's household, kissing Catarina's hand like she was the Donna, bringing gifts wrapped in silk for a child that wasn't even Tomasso's blood. And three doors down, the actual wife of the Don of the Rossetti Family had bled out a daughter alone on the floor and no one had come.
I walked to Catarina's door. The hallway smelled of flowers. Lilies and roses, dozens of arrangements from well-wishers, crowding the corridor outside her room like an altar. I stopped in the doorway.
Sure enough, Tomasso was lying beside her, asleep.
He looked peaceful. His jaw was slack, the tension gone from his shoulders, one arm draped across the mattress. The blood-oath scar on his right palm was visible, the one from his fratellanza with Fausto, and even in sleep his fingers were curled loosely around Catarina's wrist as if she were something precious he was afraid to lose.
Catarina had her phone out, leaning against his chest, snapping photo after photo. Her expression was the careful blankness of a woman composing a frame. She tilted her chin. Adjusted the angle. Made sure the light caught the curve of the baby's cheek.
Tomasso rolled over and pulled her into his arms, his voice low and groggy. "I thought you said you were tired. Go back to sleep."
"I'm not tired."
She looked up at him, then undid the buttons of her top and climbed on top of him.
"I want you. Give it to me."
His Adam's apple bobbed as his eyes traced her body.
"You just had a baby. Rest. Don't start something."
"I don't care. I want you."
She leaned down and kissed him.
He pushed at her a few times, halfheartedly. Within seconds, they were tangled together.
The sight made my stomach turn.