“I really don’t understand what is going on, Dustin,” Letty said becoming more nervous with each passing second.
“You’re about to find out,” Landon said calmly.
Dustin nudged Letty gently down the long ramp towards the beach. Taking off her heels, Letty walked across the sand barefoot, moving forward as Dustin led her along. On the beach, just feet from where the ocean waves were crashing upon the shore, a man stood facing the ocean. Dressed in a handsome fine Italian designer suit, the man was broad-shouldered and stood in a confident stance as he watched the waves of the sea roll in.
Letty’s pulse quickened.
“That son of a bitch!” Letty screamed. “Knox!”
Rushing her feet through the sand as she pushed forward, Letty didn’t know what had come over her. Racing forward with her fists clenched, Letty was ready to pummel Knox to death.
“You murderous piece of shit!” Letty screamed. “Ice in your veins! Blood on your hands! You heartless son of a bitch!”
Despite Letty’s outbursts, the man didn’t turn around. He just stared at the ocean waves with his hands buried deep in his pants pockets. Letty’s pace quickened.
“Did you hear me, you bastard?” Letty demanded to know. “Face me! Face me you coward!”
Just as the man was turning to face her, a familiar voice rang out behind her.
“Letty, what are you talking about? I’m back here,” Knox Capadonno said in a charming tone of voice.
Turning around, Letty was dumbstruck when she saw Knox standing there on the beach next to Dustin and Landon. He wore a warm smile. As Letty gawked at Knox, he winked at her. Snapping back around, Letty’s eyes returned to the man in the suit. Utterly confused, Letty stared at the man in the suit. Slowly, he turned around.
A gasp rattled from Letty’s mouth. “I do not believe it.”
With a charming smile on his face, Miles Capadonno stood before Letty, clean-shaven and wearing one of his brother’s work suits. Spreading his arms wide, Miles gave an open invitation to Letty to return to him. Letty rushed him before she even truly understood what was happening. Crashing into him, Letty buried her head on Miles’s shoulder. Her hands navigated his shoulders, arms and chest, as if double checking to make sure that he was real.
“I don’t understand! I don’t understand how this is possible. I saw him shoot you! I saw that son of a bitch shoot at you three times! I—” Letty went on and on until she was interrupted with a wave of Miles’s hand.
“There are three bullet holes in the back of that jackass’s precious Benz.”
“But you all set him up…” Letty said, clearly still wrapping her head around the situation.
“There was a set up all right,” Landon said. “But it wasn’t Miles we were setting up. We had to go up there so you could get your son and your father back.”
Letty’s breathing was irregular as she tried to fit together all the puzzle pieces.
“I told you I had a plan,” Miles said with a smirk.
His clean-shaven face was even more handsome than Letty had remembered it. As Miles reached for Letty’s hand, he admired her engagement ring that still graced her ring finger. Turning her hand over, Miles brushed his lips against Letty’s palm as goosebumps rose from her skin. Barely able to control herself, Letty laced her fingers around Miles and rushed her lips against his.
“Now, we can leave.”
“Come on,” Landon said. “Corina is waiting for you in the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Letty asked, her mind still reeling from the events.
“Poconos. My mom’s old place. You remember it?” Miles asked.
Letty nodded in recognition. “And what about G?”
“We wouldn’t go without G.”
“And my dad?”
“It would look better if he stayed put. He’s not in any danger anymore,” Knox admitted.
“Everyone thinks he’s dead, Letty. You can slip out of town undetected now,” Dustin said with a confident smile on his face. “I’m sorry for everything we put you through. We couldn’t take the chance that the plan would fall through. Landon didn’t even know the whole plan until a few days ago.”
Breaking away from Letty for a moment, Miles approached his brothers. Miles shook Dustin’s hand, giving him an appreciative smile.
“Thanks, man. For everything,” Miles said to Dustin as he brought him into a bear hug. Dustin slapped Miles hard on his back.
“Whatever you need, you know where to find me,” Dustin said with a smile.
Moving on to Knox, Miles held his hand out for Knox to shake, but instead Knox pulled his brother into a huge bear hug. Kissing Miles on his head, Knox whispered, “Fucking love you, bro.”
“But wait, I don’t understand something…” Letty said with a bite. “Knox was one of the people that framed you, is he not?” Letty asked, clearly remembering the night of Miles’s arrest.
Miles chuckled. “Knox wrote to me in prison. He actually saved my life. I was a kid, then, Letty. They would have got me for sure.”
“You framed him to save him?”
“Yeah, otherwise the old man was just going to continue, attempt after attempt, to kill Miles,” explained Knox.
This certainly put things in a different light for Letty. Dropping her guard, Letty reached out to hug Knox. Holding on to him tightly, Letty whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
“You were supposed to doubt me,” Knox said as he winked at Letty. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
Miles cut away from Dustin and Knox as he approached Landon who was now sitting on the steps of the boardwalk with a pleasant smile on his face.
“You…” Miles said warmly as he pulled his youngest brother into a bear hug. “My right-hand man. You make sure you visit me, okay?”
Landon nodded his head as a smile creased his handsome face.
“When you get out there, you’re going to have to lay low,” Dustin said. “Everyone in Carrion and New York thinks you’re dead.”
Miles smiled at Letty as the prospect of laying low with her and G came to the forefront of his mind. Giving Letty a sly wink, Miles replied, “Yeah, I think I’m good with that. “
“Your father’s here,” Landon said to Letty as he moved out of the way so that Juan could get by.
Carrying G in his arms, Juan approached his daughter with a genial smile on his face. Passing G to Letty, Juan said, “Bella. Just be happy. That’s all I want. Just be happy.”
“I am, Dad. I’m so relieved,” Letty said as a smile finally broke upon her face.
“I can’t come with you. Your mother and I made that house together. But I will come to visit.”
Letty nodded in understanding. “I’ll let you know when we get there.”
“There’s prepaid phones in the trunk of the car. Use them. Don’t use the landline,” Knox said. “There’s always a paper trail.”
With G in her arms, Letty gave a look of amazement at Miles. Holding his hand out to her, Miles smiled. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here. Let’s get miles away.”
With a final smile at her father, Letty clenched on to Miles’s hand as they walked towards the boardwalk. Corina sat waiting in the parking lot adjacent from where Dustin had parked, but it was no wonder Letty didn’t recognize the car. Dustin had painted the car glossy fire engine red.
“Be safe,” Knox said as he held out a hand for his brother to shake.
Miles skipped it and instead acted like he was going to break Knox’s nose again. At the last minute he held back, laughed, and reached for Knox’s hand.
“Thank you for everything,” Miles said. “All of you.”
“Brothers stick together,” Landon said.
“Now if only our sisters weren’t so effing shady,” Dustin said with a perplexed look on his face.
“You better go,” Knox said. “Beach patrol will be around soon. You don’t want anyone to recognize you.”
Miles nodded, tur
ned and walked away. Strolling hand in hand with Letty, Miles unlocked the car doors and helped his fiancée and his future step-son inside the car. Giving a final look back, Miles gave Knox an appreciative nod. Knox held Miles’s gaze for a moment as a kind smile crossed Knox’s face. Opening the car door, Miles didn’t look back again as he prepared to embark on his future. Inserting his key into the ignition, Corina’s engine roared to life. Letty gave Miles a happy but nervous smile.
“Ready?” Miles asked.
“I’ve been ready for seventeen years. Hit it,” Letty said with a toothy smile.
Miles flicked on the radio as a familiar song blared from the speakers. Hitting the gas pedal, Corina sped out of sight as “Born To Run” pumped loudly from the speakers. Burning tire against the black asphalt, burning hearts finally together again, ready to forge a new future. Exiting Atlantic City, Miles revved the engine loudly as Corina stretched her legs on the open road.
Miles and Letty could breathe at last.
EPILOGUE
Two months later
December 14, 2015
Pocono Mountains
Lords Valley, Pennsylvania
SMOKE ROSE FROM THE chimney of a three story home set in the midst of Channing Forest. The smoke drifted away in the cool mountain air as twilight set over the land. The home was in desperate need of a paint job, but a warm glow shined out of the windows that were simply decorated for the holidays with strands of white lights and a single candle. A bright red mailbox sat adjacent to the house bearing the name Cormack.
The low hum of a TV set could be heard outside the house as a doe and her fawns passed under one of the living room windows. The deer peered observantly through the window as a family relaxed inside. Miles lounged with his feet up in an old blue recliner. He had kicked off his boots which lay haphazardly on the floor. Miles’s eyes appeared calm and reflective as he looked down at a stack of papers that sat on his lap. Miles very intently read his mother’s words as he soaked in the experiences of the woman he so admired.
Breaking his eyes from the manuscript, Miles stretched and let out a tremendous yawn. Letty looked up from her laptop with a smile. She had never seen Miles so at ease before. Her eyes grazed over Miles’s face. His eyes, which were so dark and cold that night in New York, were now soft and inviting, like pools of hot chocolate tempting her senses. Miles’s beard had begun to grow back and as he read, he scratched at the whiskers that ran along his jawline. Resting at his side, G sat in an almost identical recliner, fast asleep with Miles’s leather jacket draped over him like a blanket. Letty smiled as she looked at her men, a feeling of supreme gratitude flooded her body.
Clicking her fingers against the keys of her laptop, Letty sent an email to Knox. Her email address was cryptic. Registered to an Amanda Juarez, the email [email protected] didn’t even hint at Letty or Miles’s identity. Knox, of course, would know who the email was from, though, because he was the one who created the account in the first place.
Hey,
Just checking in. The weather’s amazing here. Hope you’re well. See you at Christmas. Peace.
-Amanda
Letty smirked a little as she hit send. Everything about her cryptic message was code. Knox couldn’t care less about the weather. Letty was alerting Knox that everything was okay. Closing the lid of her Dell, Letty reached down to pat the head of the dog that sat by her feet. A silky-coated chocolate lab looked up at her with a happy face. Sawyer was a stray that had wandered through the woods and happened upon the Cormack homestead. Miles liked to say that the dog chose them. Sawyer had climbed up on the porch shortly after they had arrived in Pennsylvania and decided to never leave. Miles and Letty were happy to welcome Sawyer into their lives, and G saw the dog as something of a companion.
“Good boy,” Letty said as she pat Sawyer’s head.
Rising from her chair, Letty crossed the living room, skating across the shag rug in her satin bedroom slippers. Flicking on the old tube TV, Letty turned to channel six as the game show Jeopardy came on.
“Seven o’clock already?” Miles asked as he broke his eyes from his mother’s manuscript.
“Sure is,” Letty said. “This day flew by. Is it an interesting read?” Letty asked, pointing to Andie’s memoirs.
“This?” Miles asked as he pointed to the stack of papers on his lap. “Very interesting. She knew a lot more than she let on to.”
Letty didn’t look surprised. “She was not a dumb woman.”
“No. Not by any stretch of the imagination. This right here…” Miles said as he tapped his finger three times on the manuscript. “Would blow the lid off of organized crime in Carrion.”
Letty’s eyebrows raised with interest. “Really? What do you intend to do with it?”
“Me? Nothing. But what’s to stop someone else from publishing my mother’s work posthumously…” Miles hinted. “Especially a certain someone who is always on the computer,” Miles said as a smile tugged at his lips.
Letty snickered. “I’m pretty sure that’s what Andie would have wanted. To make Carrion safe for her children and grandchildren.”
Miles nodded as he gathered the papers and set them aside. He decided he would pick up where he left off in the morning. Miles’s eyes fell upon the TV set as Letty took a seat on his lap. The TV program cut to a commercial and when Miles saw the man on the screen, he laughed loudly. The Cormack homestead was located deep in the Pocono Mountains in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. Being so close to New York City, they got many of the city’s commercials and news programs. Letty sighed loudly as she glared at Knox on the TV screen. Shaking her head just slightly, Letty complained, “This is only going to inflate his ego more.”
Knox Capadonno’s thousand-watt smile beamed back at them from the TV screen. The commercial showed Knox walking through the streets of New York talking with citizens and shaking hands. Standing against a wall covered in graffiti, Knox stood with his sleeves rolled up as he talked with a group of teenagers. As inspirational music blared from the TV, a man’s voice said, “The City of New York congratulates District Attorney Knox Capadonno on his re-election. Upholding justice, tough on crime and for the people.”
As the commercial ended and Knox smiled brightly from the TV screen, Miles griped, “Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
Miles quickly reached for the remote control and flicked off the TV. As his eyes met with Letty’s, they broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Shaking his head, Miles rose from his seat. Walking over to the far wall of the parlor, Miles opened a cabinet door and pulled out one of his mother’s old records. Letty approached Miles, delicately placing her hands on Miles’s back. Miles placed the record on the player and gently dropped the needle on top. As the seductive blues melody of “At Last” by Etta James began to play, Miles turned around, taking Letty’s hands in his own. Staring in her eyes, Miles smiled as he began to sway with Letty to the music.
“At last, Letty. At long last,” Miles said as he closed his eyes, nuzzling his cheek to hers.
Letty smiled warmly as Miles’s voice tickled her ear.
“No more drama. No more mayhem. No more secrets,” Miles whispered.
Letty’s eyes lit up with a flash. Looking up at Miles, Letty smiled mischievously.
“Well, I still have one little secret, Miles,” Letty said in a suggestive tone.
“Oh?” Miles asked in a sleepy voice. “And what might that be?”
Letty whispered something into Miles ear as his face lit up with surprise.
“Are you serious?” Miles asked.
Letty nodded as she gaged Miles’s reaction.
“Wait, you’re not kidding?” Miles asked as a serious look overtook his face.
Letty smiled warmly.
Miles’s face lit up. “You’re pregnant?”
Letty nodded, giving Miles the only verification that he needed.
“We’re going to have a baby?” Miles asked, looking overjoyed.
“Yes, Miles. You�
�re going to be a daddy.”
“Again…”
“What do you mean again?”
“I already have G. So I’m going to be a daddy again.”
Miles’s sentiment warmed Letty’s heart. In agreement, Letty replied, “Yes, Miles. You’re going to be a daddy again. I’m six weeks along.”
Miles’s eyes appeared glassy as he processed the news. Shaking his head, Miles replied, “I’m, uh… I’m speechless.” Miles sounded out of breath and out of sorts. Letty stared at him with a nervous look on her face.
“Are you happy, Miles?” Letty asked, giving him a wary look.
Miles seemed to realize that his face might not mirror the joy in his heart. Allowing the peace in his heart to show on his face, Miles smiled, tears pooling in his eyes. He replied, “Is that a real question? I couldn’t be happier. I’m a blessed man, Letty. Blessed.”
Miles left Letty’s side to pick up G from his recliner. Lifting the sleeping child from the recliner, Miles cradled him in his left arm. Letty grabbed onto Miles’s right arm.
“C’mon. Let’s go to bed,” Miles said with a self-assured look on his face.
Then, without a glance back, the family departed from the room with unparalleled happiness blooming in their hearts.
The End.
PLAYLIST
Music is a pivotal part of my creative process. You might not know this about me, but I am a musician as well as an author, and when I need to set a certain mood and get the creative juices flowing, I rely on music to help get me there. I listen to everything from modern folk and alternative rock to country and classical music. This is a long playlist for a long book! I hope you enjoy it!
Carrion by Fiona Apple
It was on a sleepless night in the summer of 2002 when I was up late listening to Windows Media Player with my whole library of songs on shuffle. I was pecking away at the keyboard, when Carrion by Fiona Apple began to play. The jazzy tones and the smooth and sultry sound of Fiona’s voice catapulted my imagination to a town named Carrion, New Jersey, where a girl named Letty wanted nothing more than to save her longtime love Miles from people who had control over him, or have the strength to let him go. No other song would have done for the Prologue. Hearing this song automatically teleports me to the Capadonno mansion.
Miles Away (Carrion #1) Page 29