Love and War 2 by Jackie Chanel

subsided when they pulled up to the family’s estate in East Hampton and she saw Diesel’s Range Rover parked in the turnaround. She’d wanted him to come to Greece with her and have a real vacation. Obviously, that didn’t happen and it had been almost a week since she’d seen him.
    “What’s going on?” Diesel asked Caprice when she approached the SUV. “This Mission Impossible, Secret Service shit doesn’t feel good, baby. She,” he nodded his head towards Maria who was getting out of the car, “she cried all the way up here. Caprice, talk to me.”
    “We’ll talk in the house.”
     
    Arguing was more like it once brother and sister got settled in to their rooms in the mansion. Maria had whipped up a decent meal with some food Gabriella had left in the freezer and pantry the last time she’d stayed at the estate. She, her husband, Caprice, and Diesel were now gathered in the family room.
    Nico explained the situation and of course, Maria freaked completely out. She knew what she’d married into. Her biggest fear was that Nico would get killed like so many others that she knew. Now her worst fear was coming true and there was nothing she could do about it except pray.
    To make matters worse, Nico and Caprice couldn’t come to any type of agreement over their next moves. Diesel didn’t say much. This was Bonatelli business. He’d do what he could to keep Caprice out of harm’s way, but he wasn’t about to interrupt a family argument. Maria didn’t share that same thought process.
    “You two are driving me insane!” she screamed at Nico and Caprice. “Why is this even an argument? We need to leave New York as soon as possible. All of us. You can figure out what to do from the safe house.”
    “Nico and I will take the Oregon house,” Maria said decisively. “Caprice, you go to the Colorado house.”
    “Do you and my brother share a brain?” Caprice asked. “What part of ‘ I’m not going to Oregon or cold as Colorado ’ are you not understanding?”
    “Don’t insult my wife,” Nico warned.
    “Oh my God!” Caprice shouted. “I swear to God, this may be the dumbest argument I’ve had since high school! I think we all can agree that Maria should get out of New York as soon as physically possible. We’re lucky they haven’t done anything to her as it is.”
    “I’m not leaving without my husband,” Maria stated. “And you keep saying you’re staying because of your business. I have a business too, Caprice. My restaurant is just as important to me as your casino is to you. If I can take some time off, so can you. What is Diesel doing if you can’t afford to take a day off?”
    “Seriously?” shouted Caprice. “Nico, get your wife. Are we done here? I mean, this is definitely a conversation that could have waited until after we’ve showered, maybe had a nap. I just spent eleven hours in an airplane. I’m going to bed. No one’s going to kill us tonight.”
    Caprice walked out of the living room and headed for the stairs. She heard Nico tell Diesel to go get her and she started running up the steps. When she reached the top, she leaned over the balcony and yelled, “I’m not coming back down there! I’m going to bed!”
    It was an immature move, but she wasn’t in the best of moods.
    Diesel walked into her bedroom just as she was rummaging through her bags for a shirt to sleep in.
    “Fuck,” Caprice hissed as she angrily zipped her bag closed.
    Diesel sat on the bed and took off his white t-shirt. He handed it to her and waited until she was under the sheets with the television remote in her hand before speaking.
    “Are you finished throwing your temper tantrum?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good. Now you and I can have a grown up conversation, right?”
    Caprice fought back the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t want to have a “grown up” conversation with him or anyone else. She’d been having grown up conversations about hit men, capos , and premeditated murder for the last