Baby On His Hollywood Doorstep (Brides 0f The Roaring Twenties Book 1)

by Lauri Robinson

  “That’s different. I couldn’t tell you. If your brother had been here when I arrived, I would already be gone.”

  “To where?”

  “I don’t know. Anywhere.” She slapped her thighs with both hands. “I should never have stayed here. Should have—”

  “Should have what?” The tires of the car squealed as he steered into the corner. Faster than he should have because he was angry. This was just like Joe. Showing up out of the blue, just like everything else. It was always on his time. What he needed and when with no thought to anyone else.

  She grabbed the dashboard, holding on as the car fishtailed while making the corner. “It doesn’t matter. But you should have told me about Joe.”

  He stomped on the gas and kept his eyes on the road. The empty road. The street lights shone, but only on empty spaces. “There’s nothing you can do about Joe. Nothing either of us can do.”

  “You’re sure it’s him? That he has Grace?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” He pushed a heavy sigh out of his lungs. Her family may have been murdered by the mob, that happened to innocent bystanders, and his heart ached for her loss, but the mob had nothing to do with this. “Joe said he was going to get things together and come home. To California.”

  She didn’t say anything more. But he could hear her breathing. Or feel it maybe. Damn it. The best night of his life was just like all the other performances he’d experienced. Outshone by his brother. He hated feeling this way, but couldn’t help it. He’d wanted this one. Wanted it to be his. In fact, he wanted it all. Everything he’d had the past few weeks, including her and Grace.

  Like everything else, for as long as he could remember, Joe had stepped in and ruined it for him.

  The studio was only a block away, and just as he expected, the lights were on. Big ones. The enclosed lot’s floodlights. No one would have accidently left those on.

  That was Joe’s favorite place. The outdoor lot. He’d slept out there. More than once. In a prop bed or on the ground, Joe didn’t care. Said it reminded him of the old days, traveling from town to town, and that he loved waking up there, looking at all he’d accomplished since then.

  Jack pulled into the lot and cut the car engine. They both threw open their doors and jumped out. Julia’s diner was dark, and just as he’d expected, the studio door was unlocked.

  He held the door handle, but didn’t push it open. Letting go, he turned, faced her. They’d shared so much lately, so many wonderful things, he wanted the air clean between them when she met Joe.

  He took ahold of her hand, and was relieved that she didn’t pull it way. “I have no idea what Joe’s plans are, what his thoughts are, but you, and Grace, are my first concern. I’ll always be here for you, and her, in whatever capacity you want that to be. We can look into your family, find out what happened.”

  Her fingers folded around his, held on tighter as she shook her head. “I know what happened. The restaurant we were at was raided. Tommy guns blasted bullets in every direction.”

  The honesty, and pain, in her eyes had him pulling her close. Hugging her tightly. Her trauma was real, he fully believed what she said, and could understand her fear and her pain. It angered him that she’d endured so much. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that a random raid in Chicago didn’t have anything to do with this situation. “I’m sorry, honey, so very sorry.”

  She leaned back, looked up at him. “They must have followed me here.”

  She was convinced of that, despite all he’d already said. “No, Helen, they didn’t. Joe is here. Here to collect Grace. This is how he works. Knowing that, I spoke with Walter Russell to see if there is anything legal I can do in order for you to keep Grace. I know how much you love her. How well you’ve cared for her.” The truth tore at him. “But there’s not. Joe is Grace’s father, and there is nothing that can be done. He’s the only one who can legally put her in someone else’s custody.”

  She looked away and blinked several times before turning back to him. “I know that, Jack.” She swallowed and pinched her lips together as a single tear trickled down her cheek. “I never even dared hope that I could stay with Grace forever. What I told you is true. The Outfit is looking for me, and won’t stop until they find me. Grace would never be safe. You will never be safe as long as I’m around.”

  She buried her face in his chest. “I thought I could escape, but I can’t. It’s who I am.”

  He was torn in two, needing to find Grace and Joe, yet wanting to push that aside so he could make her understand she was wrong. That what had happened in Chicago no longer affected her. He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out. Figure something out.” The Outfit couldn’t be after her. Not her. Someone who wouldn’t hurt a flea.

  He’d just have to prove that to her, and had the connections to do so. The Outfit members here would be able to confirm he was right. He’d contact them once they found Grace.

  Damn it, Joe. Once again, his timing was impeccable when it came to ruining everything.

  Jack pushed out another sigh, and dropped one arm. With the other one still around her, he pushed open the door.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Without switching on a light, Jack led her down the hallway, past his office. He knew the way. Had walked it a million times. This time, the wood beneath his feet felt like a plank, the door ahead a whitecapped rolling ocean. She believed what she’d told him, but he didn’t. The part about her not being able to stay with Grace forever. She’d taken care of her since she’d been born, and loved her as if Grace was her own child.

  That’s also what angered him the most right now. There was nothing he could do about it. Joe couldn’t stay in California. The sockdolager of his affair had calmed down, but letting him come back would never happen. The Wagner brothers would never stand for that.

  They reached the door to the lot. He gave Helen’s shoulder a tight squeeze before opening the door, and stepping through it.

  The lot had been cleaned up and put in order the day after filming had ended, and it took him a moment to see what was out of place.

  His chair. It was in the center of the lot. A man was sitting in it, but it wasn’t Joe. This guy was older with black-and-gray hair.

  Helen gasped and then shot past him. Storming toward the man.

  “Where is she, Uncle Vinnie? Where’s Grace?”

  Jack leaped forward. “Uncle Vinnie?” he asked, nearly jogging to keep up with her.

  “I told you it was the Outfit. And that they wouldn’t quit looking until they found me.”

  It wasn’t that he hadn’t believed her, he just hadn’t thought it possible. Or that he’d heard correctly. “He’s your uncle?”

  “Yes,” she hissed.

  “Grace is fine.” Julia, pushing the buggy, walked out from under the awning. She waved a hand toward two men following her. “These torpedoes stormed into your apartment before I could stop them, but I haven’t let Grace out of my sight. Haven’t let anyone touch her.”

  The men were big, burly and beefy. At this moment, Jack wished he was bigger, stronger or had a gun or knife, something he could use to protect his family. His thoughts shifted as a shiver rippled his spine when the two men emerged fully into the light. They were the same two that had visited him in his office, telling him to bring Helen to the party.

  “What the hell is going on here?” he asked.

  “They have nothing to do with this!” Helen shouted at the man in his chair. “None of them. Let them go. It’s only me you want.”

  Jack grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop moving toward the man while he shot glances at the torpedoes and then the top dog. “She’s not going anywhere.” He might not be the strongest man on earth, but would fight to the death to keep her from being hurt, from being taken.

  “Hello, Mr. McCarney,” the top dog said. “I really enjoyed your mov
ie at our new theater this evening. Got a real hit on your hands. Our hands.”

  Helen stiffened and then shook her head. “You own the new theater?”

  “Ask Jack,” the gangster said. “He knows.”

  It nearly gutted him, having her think he’d kept another secret from her. Jack nodded. “The Outfit—the Chicago Outfit—owns the State theater.”

  “When were you going to tell me that?”

  “I didn’t think it mattered.” Because why would it have? He hadn’t known about her connection with the Outfit, hadn’t known his connection to them could affect her. Now he could, and feared they could take her away from him. “You can have the film,” he told the gangster. He’d not only fight to the death, he’d give up all he had for her. For Grace. “I’ll sign over the copyrights. In exchange for Helen.”

  “No,” Helen said, pulling her arm out of his. “He won’t. I won’t let him.”

  “You’ve changed, Helen,” the gangster said, looking directly at her. “I noticed that a few weeks ago, when I saw you dancing with Jack. Your father would be proud, he was always afraid you weren’t tough enough. I told him you were, right from the night you were born. So tiny none of us thought you’d live to see the light of day. But you did. Surprised us all.”

  “Tough enough for what?” she asked, her voice icy. “To watch them die?”

  “No,” the man said. “You should know that the North End Gang paid for that raid. Paid for killing your brother, your father, your mother—my sister.”

  The gangster’s tone filled Jack with ice, and he wrapped an arm around Helen.

  She stiffened and glared straight ahead, at the gangster. Her uncle.

  “Happy to know my family is full of bootleggers, thugs and murderers?” She let out a guttural sound. “Well, I’m not. I never wanted to be a part of it and I still don’t.”

  “I know that, and I blame my sister for that, for keeping you sheltered away.” The gangster climbed off the chair. “That’s why I let you live above Amery’s Grocery, because being locked away is all you’d ever known.”

  “You knew where I was the entire time?” Her voice was laced with scorn.

  “Of course I did. You’re my niece.”

  She shook her head. “And then you followed me. Followed me here.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t, but my men did. It’s my job to protect you. Protect every member of my family.”

  “Like you did my mother, my father, my brother?” She shook her head. “I don’t want your protection.”

  “Want it or not, you have it. You’ve always had it. You’re a member of the family.”

  Jack stepped forward, in front of Helen. “I’ll give you the studio, all the movies, everything. Just let her be.” Nothing. No movies, no studios, no money, was worth more than her. “Right now. I’ll turn it all over to you.”

  Helen tried to push him aside. “No, he won’t. You’ve found me. Leave Jack out of this.”

  The gangster shook his head again. “I can’t do that, Helen. He’s now as much a part of this as you are.”

  * * *

  Helen felt as if she was being ripped apart. She’d known this day would happen, that Uncle Vinnie would find her. Wouldn’t stop until he did. That’s how the family was. Relentless. There was no escaping them. But she couldn’t let them get their claws into Jack. Wouldn’t let them.

  “Yes, you can,” she argued. “I’ll go back to Chicago. Do whatever you want.”

  “Leave Jack and that little baby?”

  She kept her head up, her eyes forward. If she looked at Jack her resolve would disappear. “Yes.”

  Pain clutched her heart as Uncle Vinnie nodded, yet she forced herself not to react outwardly. Inside, the agony was like none other.

  Uncle Vinnie took a step closer. She forced her feet to remain still and her expression stoic. She wasn’t afraid of him. All that mattered was that he let Jack and Grace go. “I could make you come back, Helen, just like I could have made you move out of that apartment above the grocer. And now that I can see how strong you’ve become, I know just how much of an asset you would be to the family.”

  Jack pulled her against him. “Why are you doing this to her? I told you I’d give you everything I have, what more do you want?”

  She was spent, worn out, but wouldn’t let Uncle Vinnie ruin Jack’s life. She pushed at his chest, separated herself from him and stepped toward her uncle. “If I’m part of this—” Her lips burned as she spit out, “family, then I should have some say in what happens.”

  Uncle Vinnie lifted a brow. “I’m listening,” he said.

  “The Outfit leaves Jack out of this. Leaves him alone, and Grace.”

  “We can’t, Helen. Jack signed a contract with the theater before you ever left Chicago.” Uncle Vinnie looked at Jack. “A contract he won’t want to break. It would be the end of his studio.”

  She knew the truth of that even before she glanced toward Jack.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jack said. “I’ll break it.”

  This was worse than her worst nightmare. Tears once again burned her cheeks. “I can’t let you do that, Jack. I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “No, she can’t,” Uncle Vinnie said. “I won’t let her.”

  Something snapped inside her. Helen took a step forward. “I don’t take orders from you.”

  The hint of a smile that appeared on Uncle Vinnie’s face surprised her. It wasn’t menacing.

  “I was going to do that, force you to obey, to come back to Chicago with me, but I discovered something I hadn’t expected to.”

  He glanced down at the floor, and shook his head, before looking at her again. “No matter how much you hate me, I still love you. Still love the little girl who used to sit on my lap and dig peppermint candies out of my shirt pocket.”

  Helen’s insides jolted. She shook her head, not wanting to remember that, but she did. Her throat burned and her eyes stung as memories of how at one time in her life, she had loved him.

  “You remember that, don’t you?”

  She shook her head again, but couldn’t find her voice to deny it.

  “When I saw you on the dance floor with Jack, I saw that little girl again. With her eyes all lit up and her smile so big and bright.” He took a step closer. “I saw your mother, too. She was my only sister. We crossed the ocean together. As children. Landed in New York with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Our parents died on that voyage to America, and as soon as we stepped foot on solid ground, I swore that I’d protect her with my every being, and I failed.”

  She didn’t want to hear any of this. To know any of this. Tears burned her cheeks as a sob wracked her insides.

  “What I saw also made me realize that she wouldn’t have wanted, didn’t want, this life for you. She only ever wanted you to be happy. And so do I.”

  He looked around, pausing at every person before looking back at her. “The only people who know you are my niece and are alive are Karen and the people right here. You, Jack, Miss Shaw, Dicer-Dan and Bronco. And me. If that changes, I’ll know someone in this room talked.”

  Her insides shook, but she kept her eyes on him and her chin up.

  “The North End Gang believes you died, that you were injured in the raid and died later, as do most of the family. I’ve let them believe that, because they also believe if you hadn’t died, I would have found you, brought you home.” His round chest heaved as he took in air. “I should, but I won’t. There’s only one thing I can do now.”

  Jack’s arm was around her and Helen wanted to lean into his strength, but refused. She was done being afraid. Done being intimidated.

  Uncle Vinnie gave her a slight nod, as if recognizing her inner thoughts.

  “From this day forward, you will forget I’m your uncle. That we ever knew
each other. You will forget what happened in Chicago. Never speak a word of any of it, of your family, ever again.”

  Helen’s spine tingled as confusion worked its way through her. She opened her mouth, but Uncle Vinnie held up his hand.

  “And you, Jack, will also forget you ever met me. Never speak of it. You will go on working with the theater, showing your films, knowing your connection to Helen will provide no special benefits.” He shifted his stance slightly, glanced toward Julia. “Miss Shaw, I believe we already have an understanding.”

  “We do,” Julia replied.

  Turning back to her, Uncle Vinnie gestured toward his men. “Dan and Bronco will go to their graves with deeper secrets than this.” He stepped forward. “So will I.”

  Helen braced herself, not sure if what she thought was happening, was happening. It seemed so surreal. Unbelievable. He couldn’t be releasing her from having any connections to the Outfit. That never happened. Never.

  He grasped her shoulders and then kissed her cheek. “Godspeed, Helen.”

  She couldn’t move, could barely breathe or comprehend all that had happened, was happening, even as Uncle Vinnie gestured for his men to follow him out the door.

  Jack pulled her closer to him. She glanced up at him, but didn’t say a word. She was afraid to. Afraid she was dreaming. That this wasn’t real. If she spoke, moved, she’d wake up and be living in a nightmare all over again.

  It was Julia that broke the silence. “I’d appreciate a ride back to your place so I can get my purse and car.”

  Something awakened inside Helen and she hurried toward the buggy Julia pushed forward. Grace was asleep but Helen still picked her up, held her close. Jack wrapped his arms around her and they stood there for a moment. She didn’t know what to think, but was overly grateful Grace was fine. They were all fine. On the outside. Inside, she was confused, and suspicious.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “For what?” Julia asked. “This hasn’t been anything but a quiet Saturday night for me. How about you, Jack?”

  Helen felt the air he drew in before he released her.