Page 6 (1/2)

Sighing, Vincent flipped the page in the notebook and paused, holding it up The color drained fro, this one just as in depth as the other--except, instead of aof hishis heart in a vice grip and constricting his chest

"The same way she drew Maura," Vincent said quietly "From memory She’s already told me she hallucinated in the warehouse, and Carlo has a face no one would forget--clearly, considering you remember him and you rarely notice anyone except for yourself It’s not a far stretch to say she saw hi that explanation "What if you’re wrong?"

"I’m not," Vincent said

"But what if you are?" Carain "What if he was in on it all?"

"He wouldn’t be His loyalty to Sal is unwavering He’d do anything for the Boss, would never betray him, and Sal feels the same way about him It’s just not plausible You can ask Corrado if you don’t believe me"

"And you can ask Haven," Carness to even consider the idea annoying hirated on his nerves now more than ever "I’ll leave you alone now so you can call back whoever it was you were really talking to I have ure out"

He stood to leave when his father cleared his throat "Ascoltare il tuo cuore, Carht thingwhatever that may be Like I said, you are your mother’s child"

Ascoltare il tuo cuore Listen to your heart

If it weren’t so distressing, Carht have seen the irony of what his mother had always said A person couldn’t escape fate, because as meant to be would always be No matter how hard Carmine tried to avoid the Mafia, he came back to it in the end

And Haven had been destined for freedomhis mother made sure of that

Carmine stepped out of his father’s office and pulled his cell phone froh his contacts until he ca as it rang and rang, and let out a deep breath when her voiceet this"

5

Merry Christmas!"

Haven jumped at the unexpected voice and spun around from the kitchenCelia stood just inside the doorway, sht and aith enthusiash the sun had barely started to rise outside

"Uh, Merry Christ over to the pantry, Celia rooted around, pulling out what she would need to -sleeved dress and a pair ofdown her back and her makeup freshly applied It was the complete opposite of how she had appeared when Haven last saw her in Chicago a loas back, coht

Longing struck Haven’s chest It made her think of her mother Oh, how she missed her, especially on days like this, days when she needed someone to talk to, someone who truly knew her and would knohat to say

"Isn’t it awfully early for you to be awake?" Celia asked

"I guess so" Haven turned back to theThe darkness gradually faded with every second that passed,Carmine’s car more visible in the front yard "I couldn’t sleep I had a lot on ht"

"Like?"

"Like everything"

Celia laughed "Well, that certainly clears it up"

Haven ood ot back really late last night He was gone all day, told s holy "Corrado used that one Of course, he knew enough to stop by a store and buy so in some flowers to butter me up I kind of miss those days, believe it or not He doesn’t bother anyhed again "With excuses, kiddoalthough, flowers again would be nice It’s been ages"

Haven toyed with the he over Celia’s words "Doesn’t it bother you to be lied to, though?"

"At first it did I would get so angry with hi it meant he didn’t trust me I told him I wanted us to have the kind of relationship where we told each other everything"

"What changed?"

"He told ain" She closed her eyes at theto shake her head "I think it’s easier for the that stuff home It helps to know they have a sanctuary, that one place they can go and not have to be Mafiosi for a while I’ll never be able to forget the things he said that day, the look on his face as he talked, as , and while I selfishly prefer it to hi killed, I learned that day that I don’t want to hear about it, either"

Haven wasn’t sure what to say "I can’t even think about Car that way That’s not him That’s not the boy I know He doesn’tkill"

"You’re right," she said "It wasn’t Vincent, either, believe it or not Maura was afraid the man she loved would disappear, but they won’t if they have a reason not to Carmine will always be the sas he’ll wish he could forget, and he’ll have a lot of guilt over things he can’t control, but don’t we all? Your love will still save him at the end of the day"