Harry held the door to the restaurant open. Mama Gianna's Pasta House stood on the corner of one of the busiest streets in the Bronx. Inside the scents of tomato sauce and garlic permeated the air. Most of the tables were occupied, and they made their way toward the back of the dining room closer a wide door with the word pub arched across the top.

He peeked down a hallway to the left and saw two signs hanging from the ceiling indicating restrooms and a swinging door at the end. "Do you want to sit in the dining room or go over into the pub?"

"Let's go across and see if it's quieter in there." Gaia swept into the room ahead of him.

Two wolf whistles brought a blush to his wife's face as she made her way past three men sitting on high stools at the bar.

"Take the booth over there, love," Harry said as he pointed to a semi-circular bench high-backed bench behind a half moon table.

Gaia stepped up and slid around the the middle. Harry took the other side.

"I'm hungry again, so let's eat if we can." Gaia scanned the room as he leaned forward to pick the menu out of a metal holder.

"I like this. Handy. You don't need a hostess this way." Harry said.

"Just staff who pay attention to new diners coming in."

"And here's someone now," Harry said, "Do you know what you want?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs. I fell in love with them in Tuscany. And all the different ways they were prepared all over Italy when we were there."

"You've been to my Italia?" The man approaching the table wore a blue shirt over blue jeans. He had a white apron with wrap-around waist ties, forming a bow just under a generous belly.

"We visited there just before our wedding. We put our honeymoon ahead of our marriage," Harry said. "Amazing food, beautiful views from old towns on soaring cliffs and hills. We loved Tuscany the best, besides Rome."

"Melinda sent us here," Gaia said and extended the note her friend gave her.

"A friend of my granddaughter is a friend of mine. I am Placido Pucci. Give me a moment." He unfolded the paper and scanned the note. "Gaia, and Harold? Melinda knows us well. We were once new in America. Welcome to your new home. "Your family runs a tavern in Ireland, yes?"

"Mine does," Gaia answered. "Harry is a magician and works in transportation. He moves things for people."

"Magician? Like the Great Houdini?" Placido asked.

"I can escape almost anything, yes, but I can also make things appear and disappear, move in unexpected ways. I worked with my grandfather doing a show for a few years." Harry explained.

"But if you can help me bring supplies here, to find the best prosciutto and cheeses. The right flour, semolina for pasta, I would be grateful. Gaia, my dear, do you understand how a kitchen works? How to bring food to a crowd? I need someone to run the dining room when my Maria cannot."

"I can learn quickly. Uncle Aiden showed me, and I worked in the pub. All of my cousins do. Family always helps when needed." Gaia folded her menu and tucked it back into the holder. "I can start this afternoon, if you wish."

"Maria will be here in a few minutes. But first I feed you? Meatballs?"

"Yes, with spaghetti and bolognaise," Gaia requested.

"Wedding soup?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Excellent choices, I will send Salvatore with your food," he turned abruptly, and touched one of the men at the bar on the shoulder as he disappeared into the hallway.

Salvatore followed Placido obediently.

"I guess the old man really is the top man here," Harry said.

The other two men turned to look at them. All three were black-haired, dark eyed with strong faces so similar he thought they must be brothers. Or perhaps cousins.

"He must be, if he can get any of these three to come with him at a mere tap," Gaia agreed she stood, "I have to use the lady's room. I'll be right back."

The two men's eyes followed Gaia as she crossed the room and turned into the hallway.

"A runt like you and you dare to call her wife? She's a Goddess."

Harry smiled, "Aye, I call her wife, and consider myself the luckiest man on earth."

"If the Goddess is going to work for us, we need to warn you. Melinda is our little sister. Since she asked a favor, you are now family too."

"So, Salvatore is your brother too? I have a sister as well. I would kill to protect Erin and her family. Don't think I can't take care of my Gaia," Harry said. He kept his tone calm. The mixed messages from these men roused his ire.

"Antonio and I are twins. I'm Vincenzo. Salvatore is a cousin. Placido is our grandfather, our mother's brother is our father. It's complicated."

"And why do I need a warning?"

"Because the Mafia owns the Bronx. They are angry with us. We don't pay for then to leave us alone. They take what they want. They will want Gaia. Melinda stays aboard the ship, and we worry for her when she comes home." Vincenzo told him.

"The Mafia. They don't understand look don't touch, do they? The Boss, he uses our women against us. Others have lost their young daughters to them, only to find them working as call girls, addicted to morphine," Antonio added

"Then we need to find a way to stop them," Harry said. "How many have they injured with their threats?"

"You know their ways?"

"We heard in Sicily, when we stopped there for a day," Harry said. "I suspect Gaia will be a target. She carries our child. What is the Boss' name?"

"Enrico Russo. He is evil. Girls, drugs, extortion, protection, you name it he has one son or another running each branch. Luca is the worst of them. He chops fingers off for unpaid gambling debts," Vincenzo shuddered as he spoke. "Broken knee caps, once they chopped off a hand."

"Truly a monster, then," Harry said.

"Who is the monster?" Gaia asked as she came back into the bar.

"Enrico Russo. Mafia Boss. You told them?" Salvatore asked as he brought their food from the kitchen.

"They did," Harry said.

"Russo? From Sicily? Like we heard when we spent a day in Palermo?" Gaia asked.

"Yes, the same. He has a brother there." Antonia stood to peer out of the large window.

"I guess we will have to catch him then," Gaia said. "He can't go unpunished."

"Easier said than done. He has slipped away from every attempt to arrest him. Our policemen think they have a cop taking bribes," Salvatore explained. "But enough of them, enjoy your soup."

"How are we to help them, Harry? We have to put a stop to this Enrico." Gaia said as she put her spoon into the rich broth in her bowl.

"It will take thought and opportunity, love." Harry took his first taste of the fragrant wedding soup. "This is exactly as it was in Italy. Enjoy as Placido said. First and foremost, your safety is of huge concern."

All three of the cook's grandsons nodded. "He has a taste for red hair."