enough to run this place. When she put herself forward for it, her brothers been taken by surprise; it was obvious that they wanted to say no, but Mama had backed her. They all knew Mama was the boss, so Tito had said OK, why not? All the time expecting Bianca to make a bollocks of it.
And here it was, Vito checking up on her, proof that they thought her inadequate; a mere female and not even one of them. She was adopted, not proper Danieri blood.
She waited patiently for him to say the words: Everything OK, Sis? Need a hand?
Expecting – almost hoping – that she would say, Yes, someone’s giving me trouble, can you help me please, Vittore?
She would rather choke than say any such thing. She was tough, through and through. She carried a.22 calibre gun in her handbag, she looked you straight in the eye and dared you to look back. She was Tito Danieri’s little sister. She was Camorra.
‘Vittore!’ she greeted him warmly as she sat behind her desk, elbow-deep in paperwork. Fucking paperwork. ‘What can I do for you?’
It’s more what I can do for you, Sis. I’m here to help you out of whatever trouble it is you can’t handle.
And all the while he’d be mocking her in his head, thinking, Knew it. She can’t cut it, not like us boys.
Well, she was going to show them.
‘Sis…’ he hesitated. Vittore’s face was somehow… changed. No confident sneer today, and his mouth looked tight, strained.
Bianca felt alarm spiral up through her core. Felt that soul-draining weakness that comes with the certainty that something nasty is coming, something bad.
‘What is it?’ she said, rising to her feet.
‘No. No. Sit down, Bianca. This is bad news. I’m sorry.’
Bianca sank back into her seat. ‘Is it Mama?’ she asked, dry-mouthed.
He was shaking his head.
‘It’s Tito,’ he said. ‘It happened last night, when he was at the new place in Docklands.’ Vittore swallowed hard, and Bianca was horrified to see that his eyes shone with tears. ‘He’s dead, Bianca. Tito’s gone.’
‘Are you sure about this?’ Daisy asked her mother on the day of Tito’s funeral.
‘No, I’m not,’ said Ruby. ‘But I’m going.’
‘Then I’ll come with you,’ said Daisy, her face looming up in the mirror at Ruby’s shoulder.
Ruby glanced at her watch. Ten to eleven. She felt a shiver of apprehension run right through her. The sort of shiver that told your senses Just don’t, OK? But she sent her daughter’s reflection a smile. ‘I’d rather you didn’t. Stay here with the babies.’
