Endings & Beginnings (New Mafia Trilogy #3)

by E. J. Fechenda

  “Breakfast is almost ready,” he said, placing a steaming mug of coffee on the counter in front of me. He remembered I liked it with Splenda and cream. I took a sip and sighed.

  “You’re amazing.”

  He laughed at my response and set a platter of pancakes and bacon down. He grabbed his own mug and sat next to me.

  “Hungry?”

  “Yes, my stomach growling is what woke me up.” I devoured four pancakes plus four pieces of bacon. We chatted about work and Chelsea’s barbecue. Dom said he had to make some calls. Apparently Johnny was finally able to hack into the FBI’s server again and he was downloading evidence from Agent Phillips’ murder. Hopefully it would reveal a clue as to who was responsible.

  “You don’t have to work until six tonight, right?” he asked and I confirmed. “Victor invited us out to the range. I want to see you shoot and see if I can offer any pointers.”

  This made me raise my eyebrows at him and I set my mug down. “I didn’t think you were thrilled with the idea that I have a gun?”

  “I admit having the gun fall out of your bag at Crimson was a shock. So was finding out Victor had been giving you lessons. But, I’ve had time to think about it and you should know how to protect yourself. Victor says you’re a good shot. I want to see for myself.” He leaned over and kissed me. I tasted maple syrup on his lips.

  “You’re not afraid of your girlfriend packing heat?” I teased. He looked at me with such intensity then.

  “Say that again.”

  “What?”

  “That you’re my girlfriend.” He smiled and kissed me again, his lips forced mine apart, causing me to moan. With a growl he pulled me onto his lap. That’s when he realized I didn’t have anything on underneath his shirt. Breakfast was forgotten.

  Chapter 43

  Natalie

  Dominic was impressed with my gun handling skills and praised me the entire way back from the range. He said he felt better knowing I could defend myself. He cited the mall shooting and I shivered.

  “I hope that was a once in a lifetime experience.” It made me think of Grant’s heart stopping and watching, helpless, as blood leaked out of his multiple bullet wounds. Grabbing my phone from the cup holder, I called Grant.

  “Hey Nat! What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to check on you – how is everything?”

  “Good, well aside from the business stuff. Dom told me he filled you in.”

  “He did. You’re good though, Miranda and the baby too?”

  “Yeah. What brought this on? Are you okay?”

  Dom was looking at me funny too and I shook my head letting him know not to worry. “I’m fine, but was just thinking about the mall shooting.”

  “Ah, I understand. Well, we’re all good. The nursery is almost done. Roman has the sickest crib! Think you’ll be back for the baby shower? Mom has been heavily involved with the planning. It’s more intense than the wedding.”

  Homesickness hit me like a punch to the gut. I missed my brother and was missing out on so much. “I want to be there,” I said. It was a non-committal answer. Hell yeah I wanted to be there, but the current state of my finances made it impossible. “Guess where Dom and I just were?” We spent the next ten minutes chatting about the shooting range, what kind of hand gun I used and then Dom got on the phone to razz Grant, telling him I was a better shot. I was in a great mood after that.

  My phone rang as we were walking in the door. It was Chelsea. I didn’t have a chance to say hello before she started chewing me out. “You little slut! How come I have to hear from Derek, who heard it from Collin that you’re back with Dom? When were you planning on telling me this latest development?”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been busy and a little wrapped up.”

  “Uh huh, more like wrapped around an Italian stallion!” She said with a laugh. “I want details, Nat. You’re still coming over tomorrow, right?”

  “Yes and Dom is too. Do we need to bring anything?”

  “He’s coming? Oh, we definitely need to talk. Just bring something to drink.”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow!”

  Dom was laughing when I ended the call. The faint laugh lines around his eyes crinkled up. “What?” I asked, setting my phone down on the kitchen counter.

  “She actually called me an Italian stallion?”

  “OMG you heard that?” I felt my cheeks burn which made Dom laugh even more.

  “Chelsea doesn’t exactly have a quiet voice.”

  “No she doesn’t. But Chelsea is right.” I stepped up on my tip toes and whispered in his ear. “You are my Italian stallion.”

  I started to move away, but Dom held me in place, his hands on my hips. “Damn fucking right I am,” he growled and slanted his mouth over mine. My heart was racing plus I was breathless and flushed when he ended the kiss and I had to hold onto the edge of the counter to stay upright.

  Dom moved passed me to head to the bathroom. While he was busy, I went through the stack of mail that had been accumulating all week. The bills, including yet another one for my student loans, were set aside in one pile while junk mail was sorted into another. An alumni newsletter from the University of the Arts got my attention so I plopped down on the futon to read. The center spread of the newsletter was devoted to the grant program to start a small creative business in Philadelphia. The university had extended the application deadline through the end of June. Was this a sign? When Dominic sat down next me I showed him the article.

  “Dom, is that gallery space you offered me still available?”

  “Yeah. Oh…are you considering this grant to open a gallery? You know I’ll help you out, you don’t need grant money.”

  “If I do this, I want to do it on my own and do it right. The fifty grand from the grant will cover overhead like rent and utilities. If I get artists to work on consignment, I won’t have to pay upfront for inventory. Danny’s boyfriend offered to do my books for free too.”

  “So you’ve been considering this?”

  “I was and almost approached you in June, but then…”

  “I pushed you away.”

  “Well, um, kind of.”

  “I’m such a fucking idiot,” Dom said and leaned back against the futon with an exaggerated sigh.

  “Seriously? I’m the idiot for letting you push me away. My first instinct is to run, to protect myself.” I curled up against his side, placing my head on his chest. “I can’t be happy without you in my life,” I admitted.

  Dom wrapped his arm around my waist and hugged me closer, kissing my forehead. “I’m miserable without you.”

  “So, we need to work some things out. I’ll start by applying for the grant to open a gallery. Are you sure about that space?” I twisted my head so I could see Dom’s expression.

  “Baby, I bought it for you.” He paused and was absentmindedly rubbing my back as he stared at the blank television screen. “What if you stayed her in L.A. and I move in?”

  “Wait, what?!” I sat up and slid away from his side, staring at him in disbelief. “You can’t give up your life, Dom.”

  “Isn’t that what you’ll be doing?” He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek.

  “No,” I shook my head for extra emphasis. “Think about how much I’m missing by being out here. I was beginning to patch things up with my mom and there’s Grant and the baby…aside from Chelsea, there isn’t anything here. I appreciate what you’re offering, babe, but think about your family’s reaction. I need you to keep my brother safe too.”

  He grinned and pulled me onto his lap, which was quickly becoming one of my favorite places to be. “Does this mean you’re moving back to Philly?”

  “Yeah,” I grinned in return, finding his reaction infectious. “I guess I am.”

  Holy shit! What the hell did I just commit to?

  Chapter 44

  DOMINIC

  While Natalie was gone at work that night, I stayed at her apartment to take care of some business. Johnny had d
ownloaded all of the evidence collected from the scene of Phillips’ murder. He used a secure file sharing service to send the information to a new Gmail address created just for this purpose. I grabbed a bottle of beer and sat down with Dante on speaker phone to go through the information.

  In the first pictures of the crime scene, the focus was on Phillips. He was in the driver’s seat, slumped over to the right and was wearing his standard navy blue suit. Bits of glass from the shattered driver’s side window had rained down and covered his inert body like diamonds. The next series of images focused on the interior of his government issued sedan; rusty brown stains had seeped into the dark gray upholstery. The actual entrance of the bullet was small, about the size of a dime, but when the bullet made its exit, it took half of Phillips’ skull with it. Blood and other matter had sprayed the passenger side window and then dripped down to collect along the edge. The way the flash illuminated the blood told me it was still wet and fresh when the pictures were taken.

  I took another sip of beer and moved onto the other details. Cameras at the intersection picked up the shooter’s vehicle. It was an old Pontiac LeMans corroded with rust. The shooter wore a mask making him or her unidentifiable. Notes indicated the vehicle had been found torched, it’s smoldering chassis discovered inside an abandoned factory warehouse in West Philly, which was Demetrius’ territory.

  “Grill Demetrius, find out if that location has any significance for him,” I told Dante. “Bring Joey D. with you.”

  “Got it.”

  Scrolling to the next page, the details continued. “So the LeMans was reported stolen. That’s typical and another dead end.” Dante murmured in agreement and I was getting ready to move on when the address where the car was reported stolen from made me stop.

  “The block where the car was jacked from…does it sound familiar to you?” I asked.

  “Nah, it’s somewhere in North Philly.”

  I highlighted this information, making a mental note to research the address further. There was something familiar about it and my gut told me not to ignore it. Dante and I scrubbed through the rest of the files, but didn’t unearth anything. We hung up and I called Grant next.

  “Hey, Dom, how’s my sister?” he asked and I laughed.

  “No hi or how are you, just right to Natalie, huh?”

  “Well, yeah. I miss that little shit. How’s she doing and I know you won’t blow smoke up my ass.”

  “You’re right about that. She was struggling and too stubborn to ask for help.” Grant snorted in acknowledgement. A strong stubborn streak ran in the Ross genes. “She was days away from being evicted when I showed up.”

  “What?” he yelled. “Why didn’t she say anything?”

  “Chill, bro, I paid her rent and bought her some groceries. She’s good now and will be even better once she’s back in Philly.”

  “Thanks for taking care of her, man. Wait, did you say she’s moving back?”

  “We haven’t worked out all of the details yet, but we’re together again and she has great ideas for a gallery.” I filled him in on how his sister and I had worked things out and about the grant program through her university.

  “Holy shit, man, you’ve been busy. Congrats, though. I may have hated your punk ass when you first started dating, but you make my sister happy and that’s all I can ask for. Fuck it up and your ass is mine, though.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll kick my own ass if I fuck things up. I love Natalie.”

  “I know you do.”

  Miranda said something in the background and Grant told her the news. She squealed and I could hear her clapping. “About time you guys pulled your heads out of your asses!” she yelled and I started laughing.

  Before I ended the call, I remembered the North Philly address and asked Grant if he recognized it.

  “It does seem familiar. N. 18th St, huh? Hey Rand, have you heard of this address?” He rattled it off and I heard her respond, but couldn’t understand what she said. “No shit, are you sure?” Grant turned the conversation back to me. “Remember where we had that meeting in that old warehouse on Indiana Ave? You know, where Egan’s second was killed?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That car was jacked from one block over.”

  A chill ran down my spine, but that didn’t quell the anger beginning to simmer in my gut. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” I said.

  “Me either.”

  All the evidence was pointing to someone in our inner circle of business associates, but which one? “Dante is meeting with Demetrius to ask him about the location where the car was found. I need you to pay a visit to Egan. Watch him closely to see if he’s lying. Bring back up with you. I never trusted that son of a bitch.”

  “Do you think it’s him?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to stop whoever it is and fast.”

  We hung up and I sat there, my leg bouncing as I thought through everything. I was missing something, but it was evading me. I grabbed another beer and paced the length of the apartment, trying to keep up with my mind. I’d practically worn a path in the carpet by the time Natalie got home. She walked in the door and stopped, taking in my appearance.

  “Okay, what’s going on?” she asked, setting her bag and keys down on the counter.

  “It’s business. Do you really want to know?”

  “Not really, but maybe I can help – provide some perspective?” She grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom. “First I need to get out of these clothes. I smell like a bar.” She wrinkled up her face when she sniffed her hair. “Ugh. I need a shower.” Natalie stripped her shirt off over her head and I stood mesmerized at the sight of her sheer bra that barely covered her tits. Her shorts were next, dropping to the carpet with a whisper. I watched her naked form retreat into the bathroom.

  “Care to join me?” she called over her shoulder, leaving the door wide open. She didn’t have to ask me twice and she certainly gave me another perspective that took my mind off of everything except the way her body arched into mine and how perfectly we fit together.

  Chapter 45

  Natalie

  The next morning I woke up and immediately smiled. Dominic and I had quickly fallen into our routine. When we went to bed the night before, he had crawled into the left side and I took the right, but we eventually found our way to the middle, wrapped up in the sheets and each other. A contented sigh escaped my lips and I felt Dom stir behind me. His hand that was cupping my breast squeezed gently and he murmured something, but it only sounded like a rumble deep in his chest that vibrated against my back.

  “Hmmm?” I asked, rolling over to face him, extracting my legs from his in the process.

  “I said good morning, my love.” He kissed my forehead before nuzzling his head against my neck. Just as I snuggled closer, the alarm went off and I groaned.

  “We can skip the barbecue and stay in bed all day,” Dom suggested, nibbling on the skin at the juncture of my neck and collarbone.

  “And suffer Chelsea’s wrath? I don’t think so.” I sighed again, this one of discontent, and sat up swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

  ***

  A couple hours later we turned down Chelsea’s street. Her driveway was already full so we had to park further down. Dom expertly parallel parked the Mustang he’d rented and came around to get my door. He carried a case of Corona while I held a bouquet of wildflowers in my hand. The smell of grilled meat drifted toward us making my stomach growl.

  Chelsea and Derek lived in a cute little bungalow and it was little; just shy of 1,000 square feet. The porch was decorated with hanging plants and two big hurricane style candle holders acted like sentries on each side of the front door. I knocked on the screen door, but no one answered so I opened it and walked right in. Chelsea was in the kitchen cutting up vegetables for a veggie tray.

  “Oh my God, you’re here!” she screeched and dropped the knife in her hand, crossing the room to pull me into a bone crushing hug. Do
m rescued the bouquet before it too got crushed. Setting it down on top of the case of beer he had placed on the counter. After squeezing the breath out of me, she stepped back, her hands on my shoulders and looked me up and down, reminding me of Aunt Gloria’s inspections. “You’re glowing!” she squealed again and pulled me into another hug. It had only been a little over two weeks since we last saw each other, but she was acting like it’d been a year. She released me and I caught my breath as I watched in amazement when she subjected Dom to a hug. He grunted at the impact and looked at me over Chelsea’s head.

  “She’s a hugger,” I said with a shrug.

  “Dom, I’m only going to say this once,” Chelsea said after releasing him. “I don’t agree with what you do “professionally”,” she made air quotation marks with her fingers. “But Nat loves you and you’re what she wants. If you hurt her again, you have to deal with me.” She was only 5’ 3” and 110 pounds soaking wet, but her stance was all business and Dom took her seriously.

  “I understand and you’ll have to get in line behind Grant. He warned me too.”

  “Good,” she said with a nod of her head. Satisfied that she had done her duty as a best friend, Chelsea spotted the bouquet and made a fuss over how pretty the flowers were before getting a vase out from underneath the kitchen sink. “Dom, there’s a red cooler outside next to the grill for the beer.”

  He took the hint that Chelsea needed me alone for a few minutes and grabbed the case before heading out the sliding glass door that led to a small backyard.

  “Jason is already here,” she said. “And he knows Dom is with you, not that it’s a big secret.”

  “Okay, thanks for the heads up.”

  “He won’t be a problem. I mean, who would want to start shit with Dom?”

  Dom was a big guy and definitely had an edge to him. I guess once you’ve killed someone, that becomes branded on your soul. I wondered if I gave off that same vibe, but quickly dismissed the thought as I had killed out of self-defense, not for commerce.