Harlequin Historical September 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Christine Merrill

  “No, Alan, I’m not staying long. And please don’t call me Mr. De Luca—that’s my father.” Lorenzo smiled.

  He’d grown up with servants, and he had befriended them all. Alan had been a part of his household since he could remember, and no matter how many times Lorenzo told him not to call him Mr. De Luca, he always did. Lorenzo’s father had always been miffed at how friendly Lorenzo was to the people who worked for them.

  “Come into the study, please.”

  Lorenzo’s mother walked into the dark room with walls of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. She turned on the golden lamps. The dark leather furniture, huge antique desk and the hundreds of books had been some of his favorite things growing up. Now the study looked out of place—or maybe it was him that was out of place.

  “I can’t stay long.” Lorenzo stood in the doorway not sure what to do.

  “Sit down, son.” His mother offered him a glass of whiskey from the crystal decanter.

  He shook his head and sat in one of the oversize chairs. The room smelled like his father: smoke, maple and sandalwood. Those smells used to strike so much fear in Lorenzo. It stunned him how much the scents smelled like home now.

  His mother sat in the chair next to him and took his hand in hers. “I’ve missed you so much. Our phone calls are the highlight of my day, but there is nothing like seeing your face.” She touched his cheek and smiled brightly. “I’ve missed those beautiful eyes of yours, my son.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve not been around, but you know how Father feels toward me. Coming here would’ve served no purpose.”

  “Your father loves you, Lorenzo.”

  Lorenzo didn’t respond. His mother stood and picked up her drink from the bar cart. She paced back and forth.

  “What is it, Mother?”

  Lorenzo hated to see his mother wound up. He’d come immediately when he’d heard the panic in her voice. He’d been in the middle of discussing hiring a new singer with Jeb, his second-in-charge, but he’d run out of the club after receiving the phone call from his mother. She’d refused to tell him what was going on over the phone.

  His mother looked over Lorenzo’s head toward the doorway. Lorenzo followed her gaze. His father stood there, brooding and breathing heavily like he’d just taken a run.

  “What’s going on?” Lorenzo stood and turned to his mother. “You said he wasn’t going to be here.”

  “He has something important to tell you, son. You need to hear it from him. Please, sit.”

  Lorenzo stared at his father for a long moment. He couldn’t interpret his father’s expression, but it wasn’t the anger he’d expected. He sat heavily in the chair and his mother sat next to him again, clenching her drink in her hands and avoiding his gaze.

  His father walked in and sat behind his desk. “I have some bad news to share, which might change your mind about being a part of the family.”

  Lorenzo started to protest, but his father held up his hand to silence Lorenzo.

  “Your cousin Vinny has been missing for the last week. His body was found this morning, along with that girl he’s always with.”

  “You mean his fiancée, the mother of his child?”

  “Yeah. We aren’t sure yet if this is mob related or related to the insurgence of the KKK in the city. Getting involved with Negro women is trouble. They’re only good for one thing.”

  Lorenzo’s mother cleared her throat. “Lorenzo, are you going to be okay? I know that you and Vinny were close.”

  Lorenzo couldn’t speak. There was so much wrong with what his father had just said that it took Lorenzo’s breath away.

  He wasn’t sure there was any point in arguing with his father about the importance of treating all women with respect. His father had many Black mistresses for the better part of Lorenzo’s childhood. One of his father’s favorites had a daughter, Mildred. She was one of Lorenzo’s closest friends... Dred was like family to him.

  Unable to stomach his father any longer, Lorenzo stood. “I’m not sure what you thought I could do, but I hope you’re able to find out who murdered Vinny and his fiancée. Who’s going to take care of his son?”

  “The boy will go to his colored grandmother. Vinny’s mother and father don’t want him.”

  Lorenzo couldn’t imagine how the four-year-old boy was handling losing both of his parents. He would go see the boy as often as possible, so he wouldn’t forget his father.

  “I find it really disgusting that in a family that claims to be built on the idea that family comes first, you would let Vinny Jr. be raised without the resources of the De Luca family. He is a De Luca.”

  “For someone who turned his back on the family name, I find it odd that you would want us to be involved with Vinny Jr.” His father’s voice rippled with anger.

  “Believe me, it isn’t my first choice for Vinny Jr., but he’s too young to fend for himself. He will be a target because he is a De Luca. He needs the protection of the family until he’s old enough to protect himself. Don’t compare me, a grown man, to a child. I don’t want or need the protection of the family.”

  “Whether you think you need the protection or not, you still have it, son.”

  Lorenzo inhaled sharply. He had become increasingly aware of all the ways in which he’d benefited either directly or indirectly from the De Luca name. “I know, and I have to figure out how to disconnect who I am from this family.”

  Lorenzo had been roiling over the fact that he had been a benefactor of his family’s power and influence for his entire life, and he had been so naive about it. Even when he’d decided to leave the family, he’d still had their protection and their influence.

  “Listen, Lorenzo, I just want you to know your onions and think long and hard about how abandoning your family now will put us in danger. If it was the KKK who murdered Vinny, then we need to teach them a lesson. We need you. I’m getting old, and the idea that my own ragazzino has abandoned everything he is shames me. I die a little every time I look at your empty chair around the table. You must come back to take your place as the new Don. You’re abandoning your responsibilities like a coward. And I didn’t raise a coward.” His father’s voice thundered.

  “I haven’t abandoned my family or my responsibilities. I just finally decided that getting money and influence by killing and destroying others is not how I want to live my life. I would rather be my own man and work for my power and respect, than crawl over the backs of others to get it.” Lorenzo walked to the door. “Bye, Ma. I’ll give you a call later to find out more about Vinny.”

  Lorenzo’s heart broke at the thought that he’d never see his cousin again.

  “Son, I will always love you and hope that you will see the error in your judgment before it’s too late. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you.” His father sighed tiredly.

  Lorenzo laughed without humor and walked out of the house. He wasn’t naive enough to think what his father had just said wasn’t a thinly veiled threat.

  His palms were sweaty, despite the chill in the air. He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to avenge his cousin’s murder. His blood boiled with the venom of revenge: the kind that only blood on his hands could satiate.

  There was an emptiness in his gut. He should have done more to get Vinny to leave the family with him. They’d argued the last time they’d talked about Lorenzo’s decision. Vinny had called Lorenzo a coward. Lorenzo had told Vinny that the way their family stood behind the De Luca name was the definition of cowardice.

  They’d never talked again after that argument, and now they never would.

  Lorenzo blinked back warm tears in the night air as he opened the door to his car.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Evelyn

  Sunlight streamed through the sheer blinds covering the only window in the tiny room. The heat should have been stifling on an August morning
in the Midwest, but Evelyn Laroque shivered from some internal cold that grew out of her fear.

  She wiped away a warm tear from her cheek as she took another box off the shelf in her grandmother’s closet. She had to find the bills to see how much debt her grand had. She knew the medical bills continued to pile up as she recovered from her latest fall. Her grand had hidden them from Evelyn, but she had to know what she was dealing with if she were going to make a plan to help her grandmother keep her house.

  The slip of paper threatening to repossess her grandmother’s home served as a constant reminder that her family’s financial situation had taken a turn for the worse, and Evelyn was the only one who could do anything about it.

  Evelyn was desperate. She’d finally broken down and sold her parents’ car—the only thing she’d had left of them and their life before. Having a car had been a luxury anyway, and Evelyn would have to do without.

  Her brother, Carmichael, had used most of the money left by their parents to purchase land with a small house and a used car in Kansas City. Evelyn hadn’t fussed over Carmichael taking the majority of their parents’ money because she wanted her brother to be able to make a life. As a man, he would need to find a way of making a steady income to provide for his family. Evelyn, on the other hand, would be expected to marry someone who could take care of her.

  No matter how much Evelyn resented that fact, she wouldn’t keep Carmichael from having a family if that was what he wanted to do.

  Her mother and father had not been traditionalists. Her mother had been highly educated and had married for love. Her mother had used to say that Evelyn’s father had come into her life like a whirlwind, and even though she’d fought against falling in love with anyone, she’d had no choice where Evelyn’s father was concerned, so they’d got married.

  The comforting scent of lavender and oranges drifted through the air. Evelyn took a deep breath to fight back the tears. Her grand would be okay. She had to be.

  The dusty box held old pictures of her mother as a young girl. Evelyn reeled at how much she resembled her—from the high cheekbones to the rich brown skin and almond-shaped eyes. It was like looking at herself from another time. The pictures were grainy, but her mother’s smile shone through, just like she remembered it.

  Evelyn thumbed through the box, stopping when she came across an old newspaper clipping from the Tulsa Chronicle. The headline sent Evelyn hurtling back in time to that awful night. The picture of bodies piled on top of each other accompanying the article made bile churn in her stomach.

  May 31, 1921

  Hate-Filled Mob Sends 200 Blacks to Fiery Grave!

  The death toll continues to rise as bodies are recovered from the burned houses and buildings of Tulsa’s affluent Black town. Greenwood was home to hundreds of successful businesses, including hospitals, banks and grocery stores.

  It has been reported that a White mob descended on Greenwood in the early hours of the morning and by afternoon the entire town had been burned, many residents included.

  Some of the recovered bodies have been identified. Dr. Juliette Laroque and her husband, Mr. Ernest Laroque, were among those identified. Dr. Laroque had been a revered gynecologist in her field.

  Evelyn threw down the paper, unable to read any more about her mother and father. Her nightmares kept that night alive in her mind, and she didn’t need to read the details to remember how that mob had massacred her parents and stolen the future her family should have had.

  She had put the box back on the shelf and grabbed a different one when a knock on the door nearly made her drop everything. She was expecting the new owner of her parents’ car, but the sudden noise in the otherwise silent home startled her. She put the box down, wiped her cheeks and walked to the door.

  She sighed inwardly, even though she knew the person who was coming over to get the car. Opening the door, she plastered a smile on her face. “Ronald, let me get the keys for you.”

  The middle-aged man stood at least a foot taller than Evelyn. He was handsome, but she had determined a long time ago that he was too eager and she didn’t trust that. As she turned to get the keys out of the dish on the table, Ronald grabbed her arm. She turned to face him, struggling to keep the irritation out of her expression. She didn’t trust him, but it wasn’t his fault she was having to sell the last piece of her history with her parents.

  He released her, seeming to notice her disapproval of being touched. “I heard your grandmother is back in the hospital. I wanted to see if you needed anything.” His voice rumbled from his chest, laced with nefarious undertones.

  The fact that he was almost twice her age didn’t really bother her. What did bother her was that he completely ignored the signals she sent him, which said that she wasn’t interested at this time in a serious relationship. The fact that he continued to pressure her made her dislike him.

  “I really appreciate your concern, but I’m about to leave. I don’t need anything except the money for the car, but you’re welcome to stop by the hospital and see my grand if you have time.”

  “I’d love to go with you to the hospital.” His smile sent a chill down Evelyn’s spine.

  She hadn’t asked him to go with her. And she knew he had no real concern for her grandmother. He was only continuing his pursuit of her because she hadn’t agreed to marry anyone yet.

  Evelyn thought it ridiculous that she had to agree to marry someone. She was only twenty-two. She was her own person and had her own dreams to pursue. Marriage was not one of those dreams.

  Her parents had done all the right things. They’d gone to college when no one had thought they should and gotten advanced degrees. They’d married and had two children, and then they’d been murdered.

  Evelyn wouldn’t allow the same world who’d killed her parents to dictate how she lived her life. Seeing Ronald solidified in her mind what she had to do.

  Leaving him at the door, she quickly retrieved the keys then dropped them in his hand. He’d pulled the money from the pocket of his white dress shirt.

  “Thank you for coming by on such short notice, but I have to go now.” Evelyn closed the door in his face. Her grandmother would be very upset with her treatment of Ronald, but she had to start putting her plan into action. There was no more time to waste.

  She would go to Kansas City. Get a job as a blues singer. Send money to her grandmother and pay for her to have the best in-home care money could buy. She’d also put her foot down with her grand about doing the physical therapy the doctor had prescribed.

  Evelyn had been saving as much as she could from her job at the pharmacy. Now, with the money from the car, she would be able to buy her bus ticket to Kansas City and pay her grand’s bills for the next month.

  She went to her room and dug out the box where she kept her valuables. She’d saved close to five hundred dollars, in spite of giving her grandmother money every week. Her grandmother kept saying she didn’t need the money, and Evelyn had started to believe her until she’d got the notice of foreclosure while her grandmother was in the hospital.

  Evelyn would pay her grandmother’s house bills through the month and then get what she needed to make the trip to Kansas City in another couple of weeks. She would pursue her dream and help her grand.

  With that resolution, a wave of guilt flowed over her, causing her to close her eyes for a long moment. She had to remember the only reason she was going to Kansas City was so she could take care of the woman who’d taken her and her brother in when they’d lost everything. Her grand was all the family she and Carmichael had left, and Evelyn would do anything to keep her safe—something she hadn’t been able to do for her parents.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Sunny afternoon, September 1926

  Lorenzo

  Lorenzo blatantly ignored the sputtering red-faced man across the desk from him. The impulse to strangle the man was strong, but Lor
enzo contained himself. He had to get information about his cousin’s death first. He’d told his father that he wouldn’t be a part of whatever revenge the family was planning, but he couldn’t sit by and do nothing. The KKK had just fallen into his lap, and he planned to take full advantage of their stupidity.

  Running his hand through his hair, Lorenzo said, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Sighing loudly, Lorenzo moved from behind the oak Renaissance-era antique desk, positioning himself at the door to his office. The man, apparently one of the head cats in the KKK, stood statue-still, beady eyes focused on Lorenzo.

  The man had no idea that Lorenzo planned to put his head on a spike in the middle of the city for all other KKK members to see. The only reason it hadn’t already happened was because Lorenzo needed information about who else was involved in his cousin’s murder.

  Three years ago Lorenzo’s nightclub, Blues Moon, had opened up at the beginning of one of the hottest summers in Kansas City. He hadn’t used his father’s money to start the club, like his father had wanted. That fact, however, hadn’t removed the stain of Lorenzo’s mob family from Lorenzo’s elegant club.

  Lorenzo had started off small. He’d worked for another club for four years as the money man, saving everything he could to start his own establishment. Lorenzo had fallen in love with the blues and the new sounds that were coming out. He knew exactly what kind of band and atmosphere he wanted to create, and he’d done it. He’d exceeded his own expectations, crediting his success to the fact that he was an inclusive club owner who served everyone equally.

  It was more than making money for him, though. It was about being one of the only places people could come and commune together with great music, food, and booze. He and his cousin Vinny had snuck into speakeasies when they were young and fallen in love with the music and the dancers. With Vinny gone, it was even more important to Lorenzo to make his club something spectacular.