by Krista Lakes
I reach for my coffee and find that it's still warm, which makes me smile. I take a pain pill and the antibiotic. I have to remember to check my birth control prescription, but that is low on my list of priorities. Life is good right now.. When John Norwood is dead, I can have mornings like this everyday. Without the bruises. I feel the world opening up with possibilities for me and Dante without Norwood haunting my past.
My phone, the one I only use for emergencies, starts to ring on the counter. Dante answers, then frowns and holds the phone out to me. “It's for you.”
I set down my coffee and take the phone with a bad feeling coming over me.
“I hear Mr. Russo is having a bad day.”
Mr. Norwood's voice makes my knees give out and I drop into a chair. My heart is pounding and I'm glad the only thing in my stomach is a couple of sips of coffee because I'm fairly sure I'm going to be sick.
“You want his problems to stop? Reign in your dog and I'll let him survive this.” I can hear the derision in Mr. Norwood's voice drip across every word like spilled blood. “You're mine, but I know how unhappy you'll be if anything bad happened to your young pet. Stop him from making a very stupid decision or the Feds will find his hit-man's receipts. He has some secrets I'm sure he'd rather not be shared.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because it's fun. Oh, and if you say a word of any of this to your little Dante-y, I'll have him killed. You know I can make it look like an accident.”
My mouth is dry as the line goes dead. All my happy, good feelings are gone. I'm empty and suddenly cold.
I wasn't free. I would never be free. I am doomed.
I drop more than set the phone down, but I twist my face into something that doesn't look like terror before I turn back to face Dante.
“Who was it?” he asks, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“My hair stylist just confirming an appointment.” Lying to him is surprisingly easy. I stand up and go to him. I need to protect him from this. Mr. Norwood wasn't bluffing. “Dante, I've been thinking. I don't want you to take care of Norwood. Stop whatever it is that you have planned. I've changed my mind.”
Dante frowns, confusion twisting his perfect brows. “You sure?” He looks me up and down, taking stock of all the bruises and stitches in the daylight. “I still want to kill him for what he did to you.”
I smile, ignoring the twist of pain it causes and place myself into his open arms. “I don't want him dead.” Yes, yes I do, but I don't want you hurt more. “It's just not the right timing.”
The words fall like drops of poison from my lips, but he tightens his arms around me.
“If that's what you want,” he murmurs, kissing my hair again. “I'll do anything you want to make you happy.”
I snuggle into him, trying not to feel like the biggest liar in the world. “I know.”
He checks his watch before sighing and releasing me. He peers at the stitches above my eye and frowns. “Are we still on for dinner tonight? My family will understand if we don’t make it.” His fingers trace the edge of the bruise and it's all I can do not to shy away from him. “We can call out for pizza if you prefer.”
“With the pizza you eat?” I think of the disgusting pizza he made me try not that long ago. “No way. Besides, the fancy risotto always makes me feel better.”
“Okay.” His face softens, but his eyes still hold concern. “I need to go to work now. Are you going to be all right here alone?”
“You can't stay?” The question comes out more like the plea of a small child and I feel embarrassed when he frowns.
“These lawsuits... they could be bad. I need to find out exactly what is happening.” The muscles of his jaw tighten slightly. “I can stay if you need me to, but--”
“No, no... I'll be fine,” I assure him. I can't be the reason for any more trouble on his part. “Promise. You go get things fixed and we'll have a nice dinner later.”
“I love you, Vesper.” His eyes tell me it's true.
“I love you, Bond.”
Chapter 23
As soon as Dante is out the door, I sit down at the piano bench. Even Dante's touches couldn't comfort me like the piano does. I touch the ivory keys, and then begin to play. I don't even know what I'm playing or how long I play for, I just let the music flow through me.
Every time I think of Dante, the melody is beautiful. Every time I think of Norwood, I lose focus, and the music becomes terrible. Just like my life. Still, the piano is soothing. It is the one thing in my life I can always depend on.
Minutes pass, maybe even hours. I'm interrupted by my phone ringing, but I don't even bother to answer it. As soon as it stops ringing, it starts again. I think of Dante, and the trouble his company is in. I sigh deeply, touching the piano one more time, like a lover. I'll return to you soon, I think.
I answer the phone. “Dante?”
“No, this is Dr. Robins from Urgent Care. We met last night.”
Met isn't exactly the word I'd use for this situation, but it sounded better than anything else I could come up with.
“Hello, Dr. Robins. Is there a problem? I know my health insurance is valid...”
“No, that's not why I'm calling. I need to discuss a lab result with you.” He sounds tired. Probably from staying up all night stitching me up. “I got pulled into an emergency and I didn't get the chance to tell you. The nurses let you leave without telling me.”
“What is it that you need to tell me?” I ask. I'm suddenly tired again.
“Ms. Savio, I'd like to inform you that you are pregnant.”
I don't move. I don't blink. I'm not sure I even heard the doctor correctly. “Excuse me, what?”
“You're pregnant. The test came back positive. You're still very early. Given what happened to you, I would highly recommend you make an appointment with an OB. You should have someone check you out.” He pauses. “And if you need any help getting out of a bad situation, please let someone know. I have people I can put you into contact with.”
“Right.” I nod, even though he can't see it. “Thank you, doctor.”
I hang up the phone and stare at it.
I'm pregnant. The only person it could possibly be is Dante's. Somewhere along the line we weren't careful enough.
My hands drift down to my belly. Thank heaven Norwood never hit me there. He wanted the bruises to show. He wanted to humiliate me, so he didn't hit my stomach. It was a blessing in disguise.
He didn't know it, but he'd spared my baby's life.
I sit on my bed in shock. I'm going to be a mother. It makes me think of my own mother. I wonder what she would think. She'd probably be mad that I wasn't married yet. She would probably be excited.
I look back at the piano. My mother. I'm going to be a mother. It still doesn't feel real yet. I see Nan's bible sitting on the bookshelf. I wonder if my child will carry this large, heavy book through their life like I did mine.
I am about to reach for the book, but the phone rings. I half expect it to be the doctor telling me that he got the files mixed up and that I wasn't really pregnant.
But, my period is late. My breasts hurt even before last night, and I had been so tired the last few days.
The phone buzzes in my hands and I quickly pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it's Sara. Are we still on for breakfast this morning?”
“Sara, I'm sorry, I forgot all about it.”
“Well, hurry your ass down here. I'm getting hungry waiting for you.”
“Sara, I-” I try to tell her that I'm not coming, but she has already hung up. I smile. That's part of why I like her so much. Like me, she doesn't take shit from anyone.
I consider not going down anyway, but I could use some fresh air. Ethan has given me a panic button to carry with me as well as pepper spray. I feel a little safer having them with me, even just going downstairs. I throw on some sweats and a little makeup to cover the bruises and make my way down to the diner.
As soon as Sara sees me, I can practically see her hackles go up.
“Did he do this to you?” she asks immediately. I shake my head. “You can tell me if he did. Nobody gets away with hurting my Cara like this.”
“It wasn't Dante,” I say. Already the few other patrons in the diner were looking our way. I dislike the fact that she drew so much attention to me, and I'm glad when I'm able to duck into a booth, away from their prying eyes.
“Well then, who was it?”
I sigh. I'm not sure I want to go into it all right now. I don't want to talk about Norwood. I don't want to talk about the pregnancy until I've told Dante.
“It's complicated,” I tell her. “Be kind to Ethan. He feels terrible about letting me walk into a bad situation.”
“That's why he was so moody.” She slouches back in her chair. “He wouldn't talk to me at all last night or this morning. What happened?”
“I decided to be macho and go into a meeting without backup,” I tell her. “It was a bad decision.”
“I'm so sorry, Cara. If you need me to help...”
“It's okay. I'll be fine. Just know that I'll be seeing a lot more of your boyfriend. I'm not going anywhere without him for a while.”
“Hell, I'll go with you too. No one messes with my friends.”
I smile at her. She's making me feel better already. “I want pancakes.”
“Okay.” She shrugs. “I actually have news for you. Good news.”
I wave to a waitress. Suddenly, I'm starving for pancakes. With syrup. It's probably the pregnancy.
“Good news?” I ask her as I wait for the waitress. Sara grins.
“I'll tell you after we order.”
I quickly give my order for pancakes with extra syrup to the waitress. Sara orders just some scrambled eggs. The idea of eggs makes me queasy.
Once the waitress leaves I make a show of focusing on Sara. “Okay. What's the good news?”
“I did some digging,” Sara starts. “It's actually impressive how much a pretty face and bar tab will get you.”
I frown, not really understanding. Sara was gorgeous. That's why she modeled in New York after all, but I wasn't sure why that mattered to me.
“I went to Red's down on fourth street.”
“You went to Red's? That's Romano territory.” My concern suddenly goes up.
“Don't worry,” she says quickly. “I made sure I was safe. Ethan got me one of the Romano cousins who owes him a favor to watch out for me.”
“Sara, I don't want you risking yourself for me...” I shake my head.
“I know. But, I have to tell you what I learned.” She grins and I can't stay mad at her.
“What?”
“Victoria made a deal with Mrs. Romano that Dante would marry their daughter, Candy,” Sara explained.
“Why would she do that? Candy is two years older than Dante and I'm pretty sure she's gay.”
“It's what Mrs. Romano wants. She's not really interested in what her daughter wants,” Sara explains. “She's wants her daughter married and respectable.”
“What does Victoria get out of it?” I try to think of what the Russos would get from joining the two families. The Romanos were fairly small potatoes, but vicious. They weren't a family I would want to mess around with. They were a family we did as little business as possible with. Shady and dangerous were their best traits.
“This is the best part.” Sara grins like she knows what all the Christmas presents are going to be. “It took me a lot of flirting to get this. And a pretty hefty bar tab.”
“Consider me totally impressed.” I want to know now. I want to know what she found out. “Tell me.”
“Victoria Russo is being blackmailed by Mrs. Romano. Mrs. Romano caught her sleeping with George Romano Jr.”
It takes me a second to comprehend what I just heard. “She was caught sleeping with an eighteen year old kid?”
Several of the restaurant patrons turn and frown at me. I don't really care.
Sara looks smug as hell. “Yup. It's a total Mrs. Robinson affair. I think it's gross, but then I'm not a horny eighteen-year old boy willing to shack up with a woman my mother's age either.”
I can feel my mouth drop open. “Holy shit.”
“I know, right?” Sara grins. “Apparently, Mrs. Romano found pictures of them on their security system. If Dante doesn't marry her daughter, she gives those dirty pictures to Mr. Russo.”
“Holy shit,” I repeat.
“Oh, it gets even better.” She composes herself. “Ethan found this part out. Apparently, things haven't been so good at the Russo household. Divorce has been mentioned, and given the pre-nup, Victoria would get nothing if this comes out.”
I don't know what to say to that. My mouth just hangs open.
“Keep your mouth open like that and the waitress will just set your food right in it,” Sara teases me.
“That's why she's pushing so hard,” I murmur.
“Yeah. She's desperate. I would take anything she offers you with a grain of salt. She's looking out for herself and is willing to do just about anything to stay in her comfy life.” Sara leans back and puts her hands behind her head.
“You are amazing,” I tell her. “Absolutely amazing.”
“I know.” She grins. “When you're head of the family, you can hire me. Or something.”
“Done.”
We both giggle. I have no idea what I would hire her for. Once word gets out that she's dating Ethan, no one will let her sneak into bars and get information. They'll all be too busy being polite so Ethan doesn't beat them to a pulp.
“That means she probably doesn't have anything on my mom, though.” I feel a little sad. I had seriously considered her offer of information for at least a couple of seconds. Even if I didn't take it, I still liked the idea that there was proof out there that my mother's death wasn't an accident.
“It's pretty well known that the Savio sister's death is something you all have a soft spot for. Your uncle's apparently spent a fortune trying to prove Norwood had something to do with it, but the guys so slippery nothing sticks. It's not for lack of trying. Norwood just has intimidation and longstanding relationships with the police department on his side.”
“Norwood has a lot of things on his side.” I carefully touch one of the many healing bruises.
Sara looks at me, her eyes concerned. “You going to be okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. At least I know what's going on with Victoria Russo now. Thank you for that.”
She shrugs like it's nothing, but I can see the small proud smile.
“Breakfast is my treat,” I tell her.
She grins. “See? I knew I'd get paid back for it.”
Just then the waitress brings my pancakes and Sara's eggs. Her eggs make my stomach roll a little, so I just focus on my pancakes. My mind goes a million miles a minute as I digest what I just learned.
I know I can use this. I just have to figure out how.
Chapter 24
I walk slowly up the stairs to my apartment after lunch. I had hoped that seeing Sara would make me feel more like myself, but it had only partially worked. Just because I knew what was motivating Victoria Russo didn't mean that she wasn't still dangerous.
She was a woman fighting for her lavish lifestyle and I was in the way. I needed to come up with a plan. I needed to call a doctor. I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do with Norwood in town. I like having my panic button, but that's a band aide. I need a solution.
At least she got me answers, I think as I open my apartment door. I shrug and turn to lock it behind me. There's a sticky note taped to the inside lock with just two words written on it.
Good Girl.
I know that handwriting. The loop on the G is forever burned into my memory from long ago. Panic wells up from the acid pit of my stomach and I bite down a scream.
John Norwood was in my home. My sanctuary. My greatest tormentor was in my most safe plac
e. He was here.
I go to the bedroom and strip the bed, putting the sheets in the washing machine with the hottest water I can set. I don't know what else he's touched in my house, but I have to get anything that might have even the smallest trace of him out of my life. I go to the closet and start ripping everything down and stuffing what I can in the washing machine with the sheets and throwing everything else in the tub to hand wash.
My hands shake as I search for the bleach under the kitchen sink and start scrubbing every non-porous surface I can find. I don't want even his fingerprints in my house.
Terror is making me sweat. All the progress I've made, all the strength I've accumulated the last ten years is gone. He stole it from me like he stole my youth. I can't get away from him, no matter how hard I try. There is no escape from him. He was in my house!
The phone rings. I don't want to answer it, but I know if it is Mr. Norwood he'll be even angrier with me if I don't. I don't dare miss his call for fear of what he'll do to me. Or Dante.
“Hello?” I'm far too proud that my voice doesn't shake.
“Cara,” a familiar female voice greets me. It's not him. It's Dante's mother. I can breathe again.
“Hello, Mrs. Russo.” The fact that I'm relieved to be talking to her is frightening.
“I was hoping you could join me for lunch tomorrow.” The tone of her voice makes it clear this isn't really a request. “I was thinking of bringing Mr. Norwood to join us. I thought he would like a reunion with you.”
Irritation overrides my good sense. I don't have time for her games. Not today. “You do that,” I say, growing defiant. She obviously doesn't know how dangerous he is.
“You think I'm bluffing, Cara?” Anger ripples through the phone. “I want you away from my son. You are meddling in a world you don't understand and the implications of your actions are far over your head. You have no inkling of what a mess you have caused.”
“Mrs, Russo, you are the one who has no idea what's going on.” I'm far more angry than I should be about this, but it's a welcome distraction from terror. “I'll be happy to explain it to you at lunch.”