Love or Justice

by Rachel Mannino

  “Really?” Dante looked down at Laurie. She nodded. Dante started laughing.

  “Did you burst out of the closet and attack him?” he asked.

  Laurie nodded sheepishly. Dante threw his head back and laughed, deep down from his stomach. He leaned against the wall. He laughed for several long minutes. It felt so good; he couldn’t remember how long it had been since he laughed that hard. Certainly not since he left Laurie’s side.

  Laurie laughed with him now too.

  “What is so funny?” Emma came inside the barn.

  “Well,” Dante tried to get himself under control. “When I first took Laurie into custody, we were attacked, and she leapt out from the closet at the gunman. With a lamp. She used a lamp that time.”

  Dante and Laurie started laughing again. Dante gripped Laurie harder as they shook together. Laurie tried to bury her face into Dante’s shoulder as if to hide herself from Emma’s gaze.

  Emma tried hard to stay angry, but the sight of them together and happy—genuinely happy—made the struggle hard. She fought a smile. When she was able to keep a straight face, she ordered them all inside, out of the cold.

  Dante slid his arm around Laurie’s waist and they walked together toward the house.

  Once inside, the boys sat down next to their father and mother at the kitchen table. They begged for the details of their trip. Dante and Laurie sat down opposite them.

  Emma began cleaning the kitchen, ordering Albert to make them all a late breakfast.

  Laurie clung to Dante, wrapping her arm around him and laying her head on his chest.

  Dante heeded the pleas of the two young boys. He told them about their trip to Hawaii. He started with the hike to the abandoned safe house, and pouring through the old CIA files on Kaimi. He told them about Albert going under cover as the gardener, and the meeting plans they overheard between Kaimi and his informant inside the Marshals Service. He glossed over the meeting back at the safe house, to only say that the informant died, but Albert and Dante captured Kaimi, tied him up, and left him for the police.

  “Cool.” James bounced in his seat. “Did you have to shoot the bad guys?”

  “Yeah, we did.” Bob rustled his hair. “We had to make sure they couldn’t hurt anyone else.”

  “But who was Kaimi’s informant?” Laurie looked up at Dante.

  Dante hesitated, taking a deep breath.

  “Cheyn. It was Cheyn.” Sadness twisted its way down his spine. Laurie gasped.

  “No! It couldn’t have been.” Laurie covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening.

  “It was. He admitted it to me.” Dante shook his head.

  His heart grew heavy. He ran his hand through his hair, as his eyes dropped to the table. Laurie hugged him.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she whispered in his ear. He held her for a minute, kissing her cheek. Then he tucked her back under his chin. He could smell the floral scent of her shampoo, and it made him feel at home. It couldn’t quite fill the ache in his heart, but almost. Almost.

  “We’ll have to post watches tonight.” Albert tried to balance the plates in his hand as he walked over. “Just in case.”

  “We can do that.” Bob put one arm around his wife. He stretched the other arm around both of his boys.

  Albert set down a plate full of pancakes, and another full of eggs.

  “I’ll make a copy of Cheyn’s confession tonight. Mail it to Rick.” Dante slid his eyes up to his father’s.

  “Go a couple of towns over the state line before you do that.” Albert gave him a pointed expression.

  “I know, Dad, I know.” Dante waved him off, smiling.

  Albert walked back to the stove to get a plate of bacon and a pitcher of orange juice.

  “Don’t spill any of it.” Emma waved a spoon at him.

  “Yes, dear.” Albert sighed.

  He set both items down on the table with the greatest of care.

  “Now, get them some plates, Albert. They can’t eat without any plates!” Emma commanded from the sink.

  “Right away, Emma.” Albert bowed his head.

  Albert pulled out all of the plates, set them down on the table, then went back for silverware before his wife could say anything more. Having satisfied Emma, she allowed him to sit down. Everyone began heaping food onto his or her plates.

  As they started passing around the eggs, Laurie’s stomach turned over. Her hand flew to her stomach.

  “Laurie, do you want any eggs?” Dante pushed them toward her.

  Laurie swallowed hard.

  “No, I’m not hungry,” she whispered.

  “Are you okay? Are you feeling all right?” Dante leaned in closer, eyeing her.

  She looked at Emma with alarm. Dante looked between the two women.

  “I’m fine.” She swallowed. “It must just be nerves from last night and everything.”

  His eyes narrowed. He wasn’t buying it. Her face flushed.

  “You and I have been attacked before. You’ve never stopped eating. What’s wrong?” Dante glared with impatience.

  “Nothing. I just feel a bit queasy all of a sudden,” she stammered. She shrugged.

  “Laurie, honey. How about I get you some of the biscuits you had yesterday?” Emma’s voice became soft and raspy.

  Dante surveyed his mother. He couldn’t put his finger on what was going on here.

  “Yes, please.” Laurie nodded, gratefully.

  “Mom, she can’t just have biscuits for breakfast. What have you been feeding her? No wonder she looks thin.” Dante ran his hands across her back.

  “Well, maybe she hasn’t been eating because someone left her here all on her own to worry and wait.” Emma got up from the table.

  “No, no, it’s okay. Biscuits sound really good.” Laurie gave him a nervous smile.

  “No, you can’t just have biscuits. At least have some eggs, or a pancake. Just a pancake.” He heaped eggs and a pancake onto her plate.

  She put her hand to her mouth and turned away.

  Dante sat back. His father’s eyes narrowed in on her.

  “No, I’m not that hungry,” Laurie choked out.

  “If she isn’t hungry, then you can’t make her eat.” Emma slapped the table.

  Emma picked up the plate in front of Laurie and replaced it with two plain biscuits.

  Laurie shoulders relaxed.

  “Mom she can’t just eat two plain biscuits for breakfast. Have you not been feeding her?” Dante again asked his mother.

  “Son, you better let your mom handle this one.” Albert gave him a warning glare.

  “What?” Dante raised his hands in self-defense.

  “I said, let your mom handle it,” Albert said slowly.

  Dante looked around the table. He saw his mother shoot his father a grateful look, before she sat back down at the table. Then he saw Gabriella exchange a knowing look with Bob, who seemed to get whatever message she sent.

  Bob then grinned at Dante, who was baffled.

  “What?” Dante hunched his shoulders.

  “Nothing.” Bob grinned, taking a drink of orange juice. “Nothing at all.”

  Bob started chucking into his stack of pancakes.

  Laurie cringed.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Dante demanded, looking at Laurie for answers.

  Laurie looked at Emma, with a silent plea for something.

  “Laurie, why don’t you take Dante upstairs for a minute?” His mother’s voice became raspy again.

  She sighed, turning to Dante with a look of resignation.

  “Can we go upstairs?” She looked up at him.

  Dante’s brow furrowed. He was starving. He didn’t want to leave his breakfast, but Laurie looked anxious, and sickly. He wanted to know why. He also wanted to know why everyone else seemed to know why and he didn’t. He couldn’t quite figure it out. Therefore, he nodded, excusing himself from the table. He walked behind Laurie up the stairs to their bedroom.

&nbs
p; Laurie turned toward him. She started rubbing her hands. She massaged them, toying with her rings. She bit her lip. After watching her for several minutes, Dante took her hands in his.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He felt her pulse quicken beneath his thumb as he watched her eyes glass over. Her brow furrowed, and her lips grew thin, contorting her face into an expression of fear. It was painful for Dante to watch.

  “I’m pregnant,” Laurie whispered.

  Dante’s breath caught in his chest.

  “What?”

  “I’m pregnant.” Laurie shifted on her feet.

  Dante’s eyes widened in shock. The bottom dropped out of the floor beneath him. He seemed to be floating in the air. His pulse raced. She was pregnant. They were going to have a baby.

  “I’m sorry, Dante.” Emotion strained her voice. “I swear I was on birth control. I took it every day. I just don’t know what happened. Please don’t be angry! Please!”

  “Hey, hey, shhh.” He pulled her against him. “I’m not angry. I’m not. I’m shocked. It’s unexpected.”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured into his sweater.

  “Don’t be sorry. Don’t be sorry at all.” He pulled her back to look at her. “Laurie, I love you. I want you to be the mother of my children.”

  As soon as he said it, Dante knew it was true. He wanted forever with Laurie. He wanted to come home each night and kiss her. He wanted to hold her hand when their kid was born. He wanted vacations, family picnics, home movies and photo albums. He could see it all dancing around in the sparkling sapphire of her eyes. He grinned at her, hungry to start the rest of his amazing life with this woman.

  “You’re not angry?”

  “No. I’m happy. I’m ecstatic.”

  She laughed nervously.

  “I just thought with Kaimi, hiding, and trying to get your job back, I just thought you’d be angry that I got pregnant in the middle of it all.”

  “I can’t be angry at you. It’s as much my fault as it is yours.” He kissed her, pulling her closer. It was a hot and hungry kiss. He wanted to devour her.

  “I’m so relieved you’re okay with this.” Laurie gripped his sweater.

  “Well, I’m not okay with it. I’m overjoyed about it.” Dante let every ounce of his love for her shine in his eyes. “I’m going to have a baby with the woman I love. I’m going to be a father.”

  Laurie laughed as Dante lifted her off the ground in an embrace. With his arm snaked around her waist, his other arm wrapped around her back, he held her to him. Then he kissed her until they were both breathless.

  “I’m going to be a mother.” She smiled back at him as he set her down.

  Laurie sighed. Amazement shone in her eyes as she ran her fingers over her pregnant belly.

  Dante stared at Laurie with pure adoration, as he ran his fingers through her hair. The woman he loved was pregnant, and he was going to be a father. After a few heartfelt kisses, he moved his mouth to Laurie’s neck. Then he brought his lips back up to hers in a long, leisurely kiss. Dante sighed against her cheek.

  “I wish everyone wasn’t waiting for us downstairs. I’m hungry for more than breakfast now.” He caressed her breast.

  Laurie laughed, as Dante pulled away from her.

  “That won’t hurt the baby will it? Us being together?”

  “No.” She chuckled at him. “It won’t hurt the baby.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to—believe me, I’m dying to—but…”

  “It won’t hurt the baby. The doctor already told me that.”

  “Good.” Dante breathed a sigh of relief.

  Dante gave her a final squeeze around the shoulders. He took Laurie’s hand, leading her back down the stairs into the kitchen. Everyone looked up as they walked in. Dante’s face broke out into a wide grin.

  “I’m gonna be a dad,” he said triumphantly.

  Bob and Albert started clapping and whistling, as Emma and Gabriella beamed.

  “I told you he would be happy.” Emma shook her head at Laurie.

  “Yes, you did.” Laurie smiled sheepishly. “I guess I was just being silly.”

  “Hormones dear, you’ll be silly over just about anything from here on out—and it will only get worse.” Emma clasped her hands together.

  “If there is one piece of advice I can give you, it’s that you give her anything she wants from now on. Trust me on this.” Albert took a sip of coffee.

  “Too bad you don’t remember that with your own wife.” Emma picked up her fork.

  “You’re not pregnant.” Albert gestured to Laurie.

  “So being considerate to the woman who carried your child for nine months, and went through ten hours of labor to bring him into the world, doesn’t matter?” Emma stared at Albert.

  He heaved a great sigh.

  “Of course it does dear, of course it does.” Albert went back to his breakfast.

  Emma gave a curt nod before finishing her breakfast.

  “When’s the baby due?” Bob eyed her flat stomach.

  “July. The doctor said I’m probably at eight weeks.” Laurie blushed.

  “Well, I hope the judge will expedite Kaimi’s trial. Otherwise you might give birth on the witness stand.” Albert took a bite of pancakes.

  “She can just go back to Hawaii after the baby is born.” Emma picked up her plate.

  “She can’t wait until July.” Albert stared at his wife in disbelief. “The prosecution would fall apart by then. Kaimi would be right back out on the streets. She has to go back to Hawaii now.”

  Dante’s smile pulled into a hard line. In his moment of elation, he had forgotten about Kaimi, the trial, and his job. He had forgotten all of it.

  “No she doesn’t!” Emma waved her butter knife around. “If my first grandchild is—”

  “They don’t have any other witnesses, Emma!” Albert got up from the table.

  “I don’t care what witnesses they have and don’t have! Laurie does not have to go back to Hawaii.” Emma was ready to lunge at Albert.

  “Wait! Wait, wait!” Dante got up to stand between them. “Let’s just take a minute.”

  “Laurie does not have to testify!” Emma turned on her son.

  “Mom, Dad’s right. If they don’t have Laurie—” Dante began.

  “NO!” she yelled, taking a step in his direction. Dante took a couple of steps back, his hands raised in surrender.

  “Emma.” Laurie held up her hand. “They’re right. If I’m not there, they don’t have a case against Kaimi, and he goes free.”

  “Well then let him!” Emma tossed over her shoulder. Then she pointed her butter knife at Dante. “You can’t take her and my future grandchild back to Hawaii. You’re not even in the Marshals Service anymore. Who will protect her until the trial?”

  Dante faltered. He stared at his mother, her eyes wild and angry. Her words rang in his head. Who will protect Laurie before the trial?

  “Well? Who’s going to protect her and my grandchild?” Emma jabbed at the air with her knife.

  “I don’t know.” Dante’s hands dropped to his sides.

  “They won’t let you protect her?” Gabriella’s voice floated over from the table.

  “No.” Dante shook his head. “Even once Rick has seen the tape, I’ll be on probation at best. They probably won’t even tell me where they place her.”

  Dante’s eyes fell on Laurie. She stared at the kitchen table, as she pushed her half-eaten biscuit away. He saw her chin wobble, as she fought to keep the tears away. Pain grabbed at his heart, and it started draining away all of the joy that had been there a moment ago.

  “Dante, just tell them she’s carrying your child.” Gabriella gestured to Laurie. “They have to keep you together, don’t they? As a family?”

  “I don’t think telling Rick I fathered a child with a witness is going to help.” Dante ran his hands through his hair, massaging his scalp. A headache started to form at the base of
his skull.

  “Listen to me.” Albert put his hand on Dante’s shoulder. “You have to take her back to Hawaii. You fell in love with the girl. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Albert glanced at Emma.

  “Just tell Rick what happened. Explain everything. I’ll call Hilton and have a nice long talk with him when you take her back. They’ll let you stay with Laurie. I’m sure of it.” His father squeezed his shoulder.

  “Yeah.” Dante nodded. He wasn’t sure it was going to work, but he had to try.

  He glanced at Laurie, who stared at her half-eaten breakfast. He had to try. He had a family to protect now.

  Emma let out a disgusted sigh. She went over to the stove to tackle the first pot that stared back at her.

  Dante went back to his seat, putting his arm around Laurie.

  She laid her head on his shoulder.

  “It’ll be okay.” He dropped a kiss into her hair. “I’ll convince them to let me stay with you.”

  Laurie just nodded her head against him. Dante ran his hand over her hair.

  “Can you eat a little bit more of your breakfast?” He nuzzled Laurie.

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Mornings have been hard for her. She’ll eat more at lunch.” Gabriella smiled warmly.

  Dante nodded. He rubbed Laurie’s back for a while, until they all got up to go on with their day.

  ***

  Laurie

  After unpacking, cleaning, and teaching the boys their school lessons, the adults were ready for bed at sun down. They all collapsed in the living room, watching a movie just to pass the time without having to move.

  Bob and Albert offered to take the night watch so Laurie and Dante could spend some time together; their first night as would-be parents.

  Once they were alone in their room, Dante spent a long time worshipping Laurie’s body with his hands and his mouth and his body. That made Laurie deliriously happy. When their lovemaking was spent, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. As they lay on their sides, her back pressed against his chest, one of his hands wandered down to her expanding stomach.

  She laid her hand on top of his. Her stomach was still soft, but she could feel the hard muscle beneath as well. Her baby. They were going to have a baby together. She let the thought sink in for the first time. In all of the worrying over Dante, and the nervousness of what he would say, Laurie hadn’t let the pregnancy sink in.