“Thank you.” Donna’s shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she realized how much she’d tensed up when she’d realized Meghan was one of Claudette’s children too. It was good to know Meghan’s experience with Claudette hadn’t been much different than Donna’s.
Dr. Goldberg clapped her hands. “Ladies, if we could all sit and get started?”
They took their seats in the small grouping of chairs.
Dr. Goldberg smiled at them. “Welcome to the First Fangs Club. LaToya and Meghan, nice to have you back this week. Why don’t you introduce yourselves, and then Donna can do the same?”
LaToya started. “I’m LaToya Shay Jones. I was turned four months ago. I’m a stay-at-home mom to a six-month-old, and I do medical transcription.” Her smile turned sly. “And my boyfriend is a werewolf.”
“Show-off,” Neo said with a laugh.
“You know that’s right, baby.” LaToya winked at Neo.
Meghan followed. “I’m Meghan Murphy. I was turned two months ago. Being a vampire has made working as a model tricky. I’m studying photography in the hopes of finding a new way to support myself.” She twisted her hands together. “A lot of people think I’m just being a diva by refusing to work during the day.”
Donna felt for her. That had to be hard. “Couldn’t you say you’ve developed some kind of allergic reaction to the sun? Maybe get a doctor friend to back you up?” She looked around the group. “That has to be a thing, right?”
“Severe sun allergies are a thing,” Dr. Goldberg answered. She gestured with her pen. “That’s not a bad idea, Meghan. What do you think?”
Neo nodded. “It might make people sympathetic.”
Francine sat up a little straighter, which caused her feet to no longer touch the floor. “You could start a foundation and throw a benefit. You could be the face of severe sun allergies. You wouldn’t be considered a diva that way.”
Meghan blinked a few times like she was taking it all in. “Do you really think I could do that? I don’t know what doctor I’d talk to. I know my own wouldn’t do it. He’s not the flexible type.”
Dr. Goldberg scribbled something down. “Here, I have someone for you.” She handed the paper over.
Meghan accepted it but looked at Donna. “Thanks.”
Donna shrugged. “That’s what blood sisters do, right?”
She nodded. “I guess so.” She tucked the paper into her Valentino bag. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Neo laughed. “Like we won’t read about it on TMZ first.”
“Donna,” Dr. Goldberg said, “why don’t you introduce yourself for LaToya and Meghan’s sake?”
“Sure,” Donna said. “I’m Belladonna Barrone, but you can call me Donna. I was turned about two weeks ago. Due to some very interesting circumstances, I am also the new vampire governor of New Jersey.”
“Which we’re celebrating at my house tomorrow,” Francine added, eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Baby,” LaToya started, “are you really that mobster’s widow?”
Donna took a breath. “I am that Belladonna Barrone, yes.”
LaToya tsked. “You poor thing. I’m glad that all worked out for you and you were able to get rid of that man.”
“Thanks.” Donna’s gaze narrowed. “Most people assume I was involved in the family business. Why didn’t you?”
She got a funny look on her face. “Baby, those wolves don’t keep secrets from each other. And Isaiah talks in his sleep.”
“You mean…”
“Uh-huh. Your boy Rico is in the same pack with my man. Don’t worry, he’s not telling tales. But he’s said a few things, and everyone knows he’s FBI.” She shrugged. “How come you’re not hitting that?”
Donna swallowed to hide her shock at the question. “We have a strictly working relationship. Anything else would be awkward.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Too bad.” LaToya laughed.
With a sigh, Dr. Goldberg raised her hand. “Ladies, I feel like I have to say this at every meeting, but we should refrain from questions that are overly personal. Thankfully, as you all know but I will remind you anyway, what is discussed in group stays in group.”
Meghan crossed her long, slender legs. “Yes, agreed.”
“Why don’t we discuss our highs and lows for the week?” Dr. Goldberg looked at Francine. “Would you like to start?”
“No lows,” Francine said. “Lots of highs. I love planning parties.”
“Neo?” Dr. Goldberg asked.
“No lows either.” She grinned. “Got to help Donna with a little project. And met a fine new man.”
Donna laughed. “He likes you too. I’m pretty sure of it.”
Neo’s grin got bigger.
Dr. Goldberg looked at Donna. “How was your week?”
“Crazy. As you can imagine. Just getting settled in as governor, which has been mostly a high. Finally told my kids I’d been turned, and they took it well, so also a high. No real low, I guess.”
Neo snorted. “Really?” Then she put a hand to her head. “Sorry, never mind what I said. You probably don’t want to share that.”
Donna knew she was talking about Joe. “I suppose it would be okay. It’ll be news soon enough. And like Dr. Goldberg said, everything discussed here stays here.” She took a breath. “I found out last night that my dead husband isn’t so dead. He faked his death.”
The group, minus Neo, let out a collective gasp that was instantly followed by questions and condolences and expressions of outrage on her behalf.
Donna was glad she’d shared. These were definitely her people. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay. But it’s being dealt with. Trust me. I can’t say more than that. But I appreciate the concern.” She looked at the time. “Speaking of Joe, I really need to get going. I’m sorry to leave early, but I don’t have a choice.”
“Baby, you do what you gotta do. We’ll all see you at Francine’s.”
Donna grinned. “That’s wonderful. I’m happy about that. It was lovely to meet you and Meghan.”
“You too,” Meghan said.
Donna stood. “See you all tomorrow, then!”
Neo gave her a nod. “Tell Temo I said hey.”
“Will do,” Donna answered with a smile. Young love was so cute. Then she remembered she had one more thing to do. “Dr. Goldberg, I think it goes without saying I won’t be able to make our Tuesday sessions anymore.”
She nodded. “Of course. If you ever need me, I’m just a phone call away.”
“I appreciate that.” With a little wave, she left. She texted Temo that she was on her way down.
A few minutes after she stepped out onto the sidewalk, he pulled up. She didn’t wait for him to get out and open the door, just hopped into the front seat next to him.
“Boss. You’re supposed to be in the back.”
“Yeah, I know, but this way we can talk better.”
He laughed. “You are not Claudette, that’s for sure.”
“No, I’m not. And by the way, Neo says hi.”
His grin went from ear to ear. “Back to the penthouse? Or straight to your house?”
“The penthouse.” She’d dressed up for group. “This outfit is far too nice for Joe.”
A little over an hour later, Temo dropped Donna off at her old house. He wanted to stay, but she told him just to go back to the penthouse and wait. Everything had to go off without a hitch this evening. With a promise to call him when she was ready to be picked up, she said goodbye.
When the car disappeared around the turn, she went up the drive and into the house through the front door, leaving the alarm off.
She stood in the foyer for a moment. The house seemed like a foreign place. After the sleek, modern sophistication and expansive views of the penthouse, this McMansion had become a dreary, Tuscan-inspired cave filled with memories better forgotten. Sure, there had been some good times here. Mostly those moments that involved pivotal points in her children’s lives, but that didn�
�t change how grateful she was for the recent supernatural twists and turns that had taken her away from here. Away from this life.
Funny that when it had first happened, becoming a vampire had seemed like the end of her freedom. Now it felt like the opening of a door onto an amazing world she’d never imagined existed. A world that offered her a chance to do some good. To balance out some of the terrible things the Villachis did.
She closed the door behind her. “Hello?”
Rico answered, “In the kitchen.”
She headed that way. The lights were off. She could see him well enough, but instinct made her start to turn them on. She hesitated, her hand on the switch. “Lights?”
“Sure,” he said. “Just act normal.”
She flipped the switch. He was leaning against the island, looking very good. He had a couple of days’ worth of stubble covering his jaw. She liked it. And for a moment, she wondered what he looked like in his wolf form. Would she ever see him that way? She couldn’t imagine why, but then, stranger things had happened. Enough fantasizing. She was here for a very different purpose. “How are you?”
“Good. Are you ready for this?”
“I guess so. I know you need me to get him talking, right? Get him to incriminate himself?”
Rico nodded. “We need something actionable. Like where a body’s buried, a bank account we don’t know about, something like that. But if you can get him to confess to a crime, that’s even better.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Talking to Joe had never gone that well historically. She turned away from Rico to put her hands on the counter. She took a big breath. Her nerves were kicking in.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m about to see Joe after thinking he’s been dead all this time. The same man I’ve lived in fear of for decades. The man I really and truly want nothing to do with. I don’t know if I’m okay or not.”
Chapter Twenty
“Understandable,” Rico said. “What are you feeling most? Afraid?”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Mad. Murderous. Stabby. I just really want to hurt him, basically.”
“Also understandable. You know you can’t…do what you’re capable of doing.” He wasn’t going to mention she was a vampire. Not with the FBI listening in. “This whole place is wired. Everything you do is being recorded and videoed.”
She nodded as she faced him again. “I know. But you can’t expect me to be the old Donna either. I’m not going to be the good little wife here. I’m not going to welcome him back with open arms and a plate of pasta. Those days are over.”
“We don’t expect that. I’m sure he doesn’t either.”
She snorted. “You’d be surprised what he might expect. After all, I played that role for nearly twenty-seven years. Why wouldn’t he expect me to fall back into it upon his return?”
“Well, we don’t think he intends to interact with you at all. Just break in, get what he wants, and get out. Your interaction is all our doing. In the hopes of incriminating him, obviously.”
“I get that. But I’m telling you, once he’s aware that I know he’s alive, he’s going to think he can tell me what to do again. And that’s not going to happen.”
Rico’s smirk said it all. “I’m here for that, trust me. You’ve put up with enough. Just…play the game as best you can so that we get what we need, all right? Then you’re done with him. I promise.”
She nodded. “I’ll play along. But only because I want him locked up more than you do.”
He laughed softly. “We’re banking on that.”
She pointed up. “Kowalski’s in Christina’s room?”
“He is. Cheng and Franklin are outside.”
“Okay, everyone’s in place. What now?”
“Sit and wait. We don’t expect him until he thinks you’re asleep. So just do whatever you’d normally do if you were home alone.”
“I guess I’ll…go upstairs and watch a movie or something.”
“Are you going to change into pajamas?”
She cocked one eyebrow. “So I look like I’m living here?” She crossed her arms. She was in skinny black jeans, a white T-shirt, a deep-red leather jacket, and black ankle boots. She had Rixaline’s wooden heart tucked into her bra and her crucifix around her neck. The outfit made her feel tough and confident.
“Well…” Rico started.
“No. I don’t care what Joe thinks about why it’s late and I’m still in street clothes. Besides, I’m going straight back to the penthouse after this.”
“Okay. Just checking.”
She looked around the kitchen. “I am going to have a snack, though. That’s what I’d usually do while watching a movie. Or at least a glass of vino. Sadly, I took all the wine to the penthouse. There’s got to be something here. We didn’t clean everything out yet.”
“Good hunting. I’ll be in the pantry.” He started toward it.
She followed.
He gave her a funny look.
“What? The pantry is snack central.”
“Oh. Right.” He stepped aside as he gestured toward the door. “Have at it.”
“Thanks.” With a little rummaging and careful avoidance of the surveillance equipment, she found a bag of M&M trail mix, a tub of gummy cola bottles, which were one of Christina’s favorites, and some white cheddar popcorn. She took them all, plus a large bottle of Pellegrino from the fridge.
Rico’s brows went up, and he laughed. “Are you taking snacks to Kowalski too?”
“Nope.” She smiled and showed a little fang. “You know that crazy metabolism of mine.”
“Right. I do. Well, enjoy.”
“Thanks. Should I introduce myself to Kowalski?”
“No, I can do it. Come on. I’ll go up with you. Then I’ll turn off all the lights down here.”
They went upstairs together. Rico made the introductions, during which she kept her fangs in check, then Rico left, and she went to her bedroom. She clicked around the channels but ended up looking through the on-demand selections. She happily settled in to watch one of her favorite movies from high school, Better Off Dead. There was something oddly fitting about the title and the whole situation with Joe, but she didn’t think too long or too hard about it.
She was halfway through the gummy cola bottles and just at the start of her second movie, Say Anything…, when Kowalski stuck his head in. “Ma’am, we have a person walking up the driveway.”
She tensed. “Is it Joe?”
He put his hand to his ear, listening. “Appears to be.”
Anticipation pinged through her, little zaps of nervous energy lighting her up inside. “I should go downstairs. Be waiting for him when he tries the front door.”
Kowalski nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
She left the snacks and stood, brushing off a few stray popcorn husks. “Okay. I can do this.” She’d rehearsed seeing him again in her head, but there were so many possibilities for how it might go, she wasn’t sure what was actually going to come out of her mouth.
Kowalski gave her a thumbs-up, then returned to Christina’s room.
Donna headed for the front stairs. “Can you hear me, Rico? I’m coming down.”
“I can hear you,” came his muted reply from the pantry. It sounded like he was much farther away, but at least she could understand him. She wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this supernatural-enhanced communication to the FBI, but that was his hill to climb, not hers.
“Good.” She swallowed down the fear threatening to close her throat. What was she afraid of? She was stronger than Joe. Faster than Joe. And hopefully, she’d be smarter than him too.
She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, then took a few steps toward the foyer. She could see a shadowy figure through the sidelights of the front door. Metal scraped against metal. He was trying to pick the lock.
Was that really Joe out there? The man who’d made her life such misery? The man she’d feared would try to take her
kids from her? The man who was still causing her problems?
Anger welled up and over her anxiety. Enough that she moved forward with purpose. She reached the door just as the knob jiggled.
He was trying to get in.
With her incredible speed, she rushed forward, unlocked the door, and opened it, leaving nothing but air between her and her previously “dead” husband.
He was crouched down, lock-picking tools in hand. For a long moment, he didn’t seem to realize the door was no longer there or that she was standing in front of him.
Silly human.
She flicked on the foyer light to give him a small advantage.
He looked up. And smiled tentatively. It was definitely Joe. “Hey, baby.”
She ought to act surprised, but she couldn’t manage that level of pretend with this idiot. She scowled down at him. “I am not your baby. What are you doing here?”
He stood, shrugging like he couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t grateful for his miraculous return. Something about him was different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Ay, is that all you have to say to your husband? I’m back from the dead, baby. Hey, you look good. All that grieving took some pounds off you.”
Her right eyelid twitched, and for a moment, she could see colors. Mary and Joseph, he was a freakin’ piece of work.
Deep within her, a force gathered. It happened quickly, a storm surge. She was powerless to stop her body’s response. The way her fingers curled tight against her palm. The rising of her elbow. The cocking of her arm. The path of her fist as it flew through the air.
Her knuckles collided with his face.
It wasn’t the hard impact she’d expected. More like punching a gravel-filled marshmallow than a brick wall.
A full set of dentures went flying out of his mouth and clattered to the floor of the front porch. That’s what was different. His teeth! That must be how he’d fooled the dental forensics.
He tilted hard, going down to his hands and knees next to the false teeth.
A muffled snort sounded from the pantry.
Joe shook his head and blinked hard, then seemed to regain enough of his senses to scoop his dentures back into his mouth. “What the hell, Donna?”
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