“What are you talking about sir? If I were you I’d caution you against interfering with police business otherwise, I’ll arrest you as well for obstruction of justice.”
“Fuck you, I’m not interfering with police business… I am police business. Arrest me. You’ve got the wrong man… Amato didn’t kill Saul. I did.”
19
The officers didn’t ask any more questions. In their eyes, they simply got their man. I watched as they took Tony handcuffed to the entrance. Selena nodded at me and I followed them, running after them as they took Tony to their waiting squad car. “Don’t worry, doc. I’ll be out in no time. I’ll be okay, this isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Tony...no! No! Officers there must be some mistake. I know this family they’re good people…they help people in need. He didn’t do this, I swear and neither did Amato.” One of the officers turned to me and said, “Listen lady, this man just confessed to murder… if that’s your definition of good people then I’d hate to see who you’d actually want to put in prison.”
“Mark my words, this man is innocent, and we’ll prove it.” As they placed Tony in the backseat of the cruiser he looked at me with a sad smile and said, “I’ll catch you around sometime doc, I had fun.”
As the car pulled off with its lights and sirens flashing I stood in the fire lane by the hospital suddenly feeling lost. I was dizzy and felt light-headed. I had trouble catching my breath and without a warning was nauseous. I took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm down but couldn’t shake the image of Tony being taken away for what could be forever. The only thing I knew to do was walk back to the hospital and see Selena. Surely she’d know who to call…or even if to call anyone. I never knew anyone to do anything unsavory unless you counted Richard’s gambling, but as far as I knew he never did anything illegal in his gambling habits. As I turned to go inside the hospital, I felt a warmth spread through my body, then I was suddenly cold. The last thing I remember seeing before everything went dark was the red colored markings of the fire lane before I fell against the pavement.
When I awoke, I saw Selena hovering over me with a concerned look in her eyes. She had a cold rag and applied it to my forehead. My head hurt from the impact to the pavement and I just knew I was bleeding before I even opened my eyes. My eyelids fluttered and I heard Selena’s voice softly say, “Ah yes… there’s our angel. Wake up. Nap time’s over Rach.” My head pounded and I didn’t want to open my eyes fully, but I knew I had to get adjusted to the light again. “Ugh. What happened? Selena is that you?”
“Yeah. I’m here. I just brought you back up to the ICU and put you on a gurney beside Amato. I’m going to go get Sandy and wheel her in too. We’re going to figure this out. You passed out in the parking lot after seeing Tony taken away. Don’t worry though, we’re going to all find a way to get him out of this mess. I’ll be right back.” Selena made a quick trip and wheeled Sandy into the room also. We all sat in silence for a few moments, just letting the fact settle that the room didn’t seem quite complete without Tony’s smart ass mouth being there as well. Before any of us had a chance to speak, Amato motioned for us all to come closer. In a ragged breath he said. “Thank you all for being part of my family this evening. You have endured much to help my people and I’m grateful to all of you. I am an old man now and I must get this off of my chest, just so that no one actually believes my foolish grandson. Ya see… Tony didn’t kill Saul. No one in my family killed Saul. I never did get to finish telling you my story, Rachel…so you’ll hear the ending now.” The old man took a few more ragged breaths then continued. “Saul and I had our differences, yes but we were always on good terms, until we got into a dispute over a piece of property we had the same mutual interest in buying. Saul had deeper pockets, but I already had the real estate people in my pocket. They were always willing to overlook his outbidding so that I could have an edge. Saul was too ambitious for his own good, poor bastard. That proved to be his undoing. I had taken a day… my wife and I’s anniversary to be more specific solely to be lost in my own thoughts and reminisce on my angel. I was at the graveyard with fresh roses, like always for our evening out. Some people call me a romantic, but I believe some things must endure. I had placed the peach colored roses at her graveside and my hand was stroking the cold tombstone when Saul comes up behind me and says, ‘Look who it is… I thought I’d find you here making love to that tombstone like she’s real. Your woman was never real…I could tell you some stories that would make you blush about her supposed monogamy.’” The old man paused once more than wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and finished. “Ya see… that’s all it took. All those years of animosity finally built up and I just couldn’t handle it. He had insulted the only woman that meant anything to me, and this I couldn’t forgive him. I didn’t even think. I just plunged the hatchet into his chest over and over again until he lay entirely too still. That hatchet was the one that I started my first business with, the one that was handed down to me by one of the greatest men I’d ever known and here it was ending the life of my former best friend.”
We all stopped for a moment and sat in silence, taken aback by Amato’s story. It was ironic and somehow one of the saddest stories I think I’d ever heard. I was the first to speak, gently placing my hand on Amato’s. “That…all that… it doesn’t matter now, Amato. What matters now is the family you still have left in this room right here. We’re not going anywhere, you can count on that. Now that you’ve told us that, we can’t really say we can testify against Tony. After all, there is such a thing as doctor-patient confidentiality, and I’d have to count that as being confidential, wouldn’t you agree?”
20
After spending the night together in the hospital, the following day we all went our separate ways. Amato of course remained in ICU. Selena and Sandy went back to their home to rest and try to figure out how to get enough bail money together to at least get Tony free on bond. I walked to my car that was still haphazardly parked in the parking lot and saw a notice under my windshield wiper. Fuck. A fucking parking ticket was all I needed to start the day out right. I picked up the paper and tossed it in the passenger seat before I started my car and made the short drive through town back to my house. My head still ached from the night before and I needed a hot shower and a nice meal. I knew that Tony was right, he would be okay and he certainly was suited for a short stay in jail. What problems he couldn’t solve by using his charm to remedy he would use his fists to settle those arguments. That actually a big part of what I loved about Tony. I loved his wit and attitude, but I also loved that he was man enough to back up anything he said. Fuck. What was I going to do without him?
Pulling into the driveway, I sat for a moment and rested my neck against the back of the seat with my eyes closed. I took a few deep breaths and knew that I wouldn’t be the same if Tony went to prison for life. Before I opened the door I glanced over and picked up the paper I tossed in the passenger seat. It looked like it wasn’t a parking ticket at all. What the fuck? There were a few words written on a typewritten sheet of paper that only read, “Consider this an early wedding present from the family. Remember you have friends in high places, doc.” I sat and scrutinized the letter. There was no indication of whom it was from. I did find it funny I was referred to as ‘doc,’ so it had to have been someone I knew from Tony’s family. Selena or Sandy never called me ‘doc,’ in fact no one from the hospital did. I folded the note and put it in my scrub pockets and stepped out of the car. I walked to the door only to find it open for me. Tony stood there with an apron on. “I thought you had a hard night so how about breakfast?” I giggled and leapt into his arms. I wasn’t certain how or why he’d gotten out, but at that point I was too elated to care. Tony was free and I was instantly a new woman. Seeing him waiting by the door with a broad grin on his face made me feel like I had not only a heart, but also a home again.
It didn’t take long for word to get out that Tony didn’t have an extended prison stay,
apparently the police had botched most of the DNA evidence in the case so there would be no fault in Saul’s death. There also would be time for Amato to recover without any worry or stress. With an improvement in his diet, he quickly was stepped down from the ICU and put on the floor with other non-cardiac patients. It turned out, he mysteriously felt much better a few days prior to his grandson’s wedding. Tony proved to be a man of his word and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, his wife was served her divorce papers and thanks to Amato’s deep pockets, she was given a hefty sum of money in exchange for the condition that she never have any dealings with Tony, nor return to his life ever again. I’ll never forget the day of my second wedding. I stood in front of the mirror where Selena adjusted my veil and ran her hands down my back, smoothing out some of the wrinkles in my solid white dress. “You are beautiful, Rach… this is a perfect day.”
“I can’t believe it, it’s like I’m living a fucking fairy tale. All little girls dream of this, don’t they?”
“Yes. They certainly do. I’m glad though this time you’re not marrying some douchebag who only wants your money.”
“Well…we won’t let Richard’s memory ruin this day, he ruined enough of my life, didn’t he?”
“Yes honey that he did. I’m proud of you, Rachel. You have really became a good woman through first the course of your career, and now the life choices you’ve made.”
“Well I wouldn’t be here today without the help of some great friends and now an extended mafia family.” We all chuckled and I exhaled nervously as the wedding march began playing in the background across the church’s loudspeakers. “Okay, here we go. Are you ready for this?”
“Yeah, it’s not as nerve wracking as open heart surgery, so piece of cake, right?” I took several steps and looked out into a church full of our friends and family all gathered to see Tony and I finally tie the knot. We had debated back and forth on whether or not it was necessary, but Tony wanted Amato to see his grandson get married in an actual ceremony before he got ill once again. I looked down at the end of the aisle though, and I saw the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen looking back at me with expectant eyes. He had shaved and wore his best tuxedo. His mouth dropped and his hands trembled before he flashed the most brilliant smile at me. He stood at the alter patiently waiting for me to make my slow walk to him. As I approached him and the priest, I finally understood the beauty of it all. I had found love in the most unexpected of places. We exchanged vows and as the priest gave up permission to seal our union with a kiss the entire crowd erupted in laughter and applause. I wasted no time in then flinging my bouquet out into the crowd for the bridesmaids to all scamper for, while Tony made our kiss epic. I then fingered his jacket and took off his lapel which was a peach colored rose and flung it into the waiting church crowd as well, as he took his hands in mine promising to love me until the end of time.
THE END
Afterword
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed creating it. There are more to come, so if you would like to know when and where to find them, please join my reader group by CLICKING HERE.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Mobster's Mistress (A Caparelli Family Romance Book 1) Page 12