“You turn state’s evidence, Bennett. We take down this fucking cartel and the Bartolie’s. We stop them from pumping more drugs into the streets, and you go into protective custody.”
“Witness protection? I hide… for the rest of my life, wondering when the ball will drop?” It didn’t sound like a good deal to me.
“Yeah, Bennett. No one would know where you were, we’d make it look like you got arrested too, just like them.”
“They’ll know, especially when they see you. They’ll know.”
“No one really knows I’m working this case except for Biggs here, my boss, and a few contacts at the New York State office. I’ll never be linked to it. I’ll never testify. I’ll keep my cover.”
“Why should I trust you?” My tone wavered, my anger was fading.
“Because you know me, Bennett. I love you like a fucking brother. And all I want is for you to stay alive. They’re setting you up to fail. Frank is giving you too much. He knows you won’t be able to handle that much powder. He won’t let you leave, Bennett. He won’t.” Gage’s voice shook and I could tell he was holding back a flood of emotion and it made the constriction of my throat pulse with pain.
“Snitches die, Gage, so either way I’m dead.” I shut my eyes. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. It was better than hiding my whole life and living with everything I’ve done. I was drowning anyways.
“Do the right thing, Bennett. It can work. It will work.” He put his hand on my shoulder, and I met his hard stare.
I nodded and he exhaled. His nostrils flared as if he was taking the biggest breath of his life. Gage was trying to save me and my life. He had always believed in me, and I didn’t doubt in this second if he had the chance, if he was that kind of guy, he would’ve destroyed evidence to keep me breathing.
“Tell me what I need to do.”
“Biggs, bring us in.” Gage ordered the driver and he veered off the loop we’d been on and headed toward the city.
The pale green walls of the interrogation room were starting to get to me. Gage was told by some fuck off in a black suit he couldn’t come in. When I got there I called my attorney, and he finally showed up about an hour ago. He and that asshole in the suit left the room about thirty minutes ago, and I was left here to just stare at my reflection. I wasn’t sure I recognized myself. The man in the mirrored glass was way too old to be me, too tired, too worn the fuck out.
My fingers rapped against the table, and I narrowed my eyes when I heard laughter outside the door. Must be nice to hold people’s lives in your hands. The thought grated on my nerves further, and I stood in a brusque movement, almost knocking over my chair. I began to pace the room, but my footfalls didn’t last long. Gage entered and I stopped, my heart finally finding its normal rhythm.
“It’s all set, then. Your attorney has all the details, and you’re to contact him tonight once we’re settled in…” Gage sounded so sure, but to me, my world was ending. “Tomorrow night, they raid your warehouse. Today, you fly home with me. The past few days I’ve been working with the FBI, and we doctored all your travel arrangements to make it look like you’ve had this tripped planned. You get arrested in California after the raid takes place. You give your evidence to California State, and they place you in witness protection. Sanchez and Bartolie think you’re doing time in Cali, but instead, you’ll be long gone before anyone ever finds out the truth. If they ever do.”
“They will, Gage.”
“I know.” He sounded sad and it made it hard for me to look him in the eyes, but I did.
“So I hide, forever.”
“It’s better than a coffin.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Don’t fucking say shit like that.” He stalked toward me and grabbed my shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid, Bennett. You’re too good—”
“Of a guy? I have nothing, Gage. I get to spend the rest of my life as someone else while everyone else gets to keep on living. You get the girl and the glory, what do I get?”
He shook his head. “You get to breathe. Don’t be so fucking selfish. You get to start over, get a brand new, shiny life.”
“My sins don’t go away with a new location.” I shrugged out from under his hold and he grit his teeth. “My parent’s death is on my hands, Gage, and Selene… I actually fell in love with her, and I destroyed that, too.”
“Your parents’ death? That’s on Frank, and once he’s arrested, he’ll pay for what happened to them. I’ll make sure of it. Forgive yourself so you can live, Bennett. Quit being a fucking martyr and see what you can become.” He brought his dark stare to mine. “And the girl… yeah, I love her, and I’m pretty sure she loves me, too. But nothing is ever concrete, Bennett. I have no clue what the future holds. That girl… she loves you, too, and a part of her is missing in you. Fix it before you go. Make it right. She deserves it. She deserves an apology.” Gage took my shoulder in his grip again, and I let him. “And the fucking glory… there’s no glory in sending away the only friend I’ve ever really known. I’ll never see you again. You’re not the only one who loses, Bennett. Losing you again… there’s no glory in that… not for me.”
I felt like a dick. “It was a stupid thing to say.”
His laugh surprised me. “Your life just flipped upside down, Bennett. You’re allowed to say stupid shit. I just wanted you to know, though, where I stand.”
“Where’s that?”
“With you, always have.” He slapped my shoulder and gave me a side smile. The smile I’ve known my whole life. “Let’s go catch a plane.”
“What about my stuff, my luggage?’
“I packed it for you while you were being interrogated.”
“That was risky.” What if my place was being watched?
“I made sure it was clear.” Gage gave me that self-assured smile again as we walked to the desk where I had been processed.
He spoke to the clerk behind the counter and signed some paperwork, making me feel like I was a piece of property to be shuffled around. The clerk handed him two bags that I recognized as my own personal luggage and he turned to face me.
“Ready?”
No. “Yes.” The word rang true, my lie easier through masked confidence.
When we stepped out on the sidewalk, Gage hailed a cab. I watched as the familiar vehicle pulled to the curb. My life as I knew it was over, but, as I breathed in the cold Manhattan air, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. Gage and I had been kings once, and now we were headed to the end of our era. It dawned on me that this would be the last time I walked the streets of this city. The last time I’d be here… with him. Bennett Monterosso was about to vanish into thin air, and the weight of it, the adrenaline and fear of it, was the only thing that kept my legs moving. Without it, I would have faltered and fell to my knees right here in the street.
I would have, for the first time, been the one to beg.
Once we got to JFK, I finally let myself puke in the bathroom and again when we were airborne. I puked at thirty-five thousand feet in the world’s smallest goddamn toilet. I didn’t feel fucking safe until the wheels set down on the LAX runway. I had arranged for Bennett to stay with me until the arrest went down, making it appear more realistic.
Bennett stood in the middle of my loft, his eyes taking it all in. He paused on the large window and smiled. “This is really great. It almost feels like I never—”
“Left the city. It’s why I bought the place. My home away from home.” I placed my duffle and my laptop on the kitchen counter.
I heard him exhale noisily as he dropped his bags to the floor. He trailed his finger along the back of my couch as he walked in slow motion. Bennett may have been falling apart at the seams, but he hadn’t lost his cool air. His quiet confidence poured from him, even now, as he adjusted to the new environment. This was precisely why I wasn’t worried about him going into witness protection. He’d be fine. He was fucking Bennett Monterosso. He owned anything he did.
&n
bsp; “Does she know I’m here? That you’re DEA?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen.
I opened the fridge and grabbed two beers and handed one to him as I shut the door. “Yes. She knows everything.”
“I want to see her.”
His command made my spine stiffen. I knew this was the role he was used to. He was always the leader, but I wasn’t playing that game anymore. Gio meant more to me. “You will. She’s afraid to see you though. She said she needed time.” I pulled my keys from my pocket and used the bottle opener. The hiss of the carbonation made my mouth water. Bennett nodded his chin and I threw him the keys.
He popped the cap and took a long draw from the bottle before he spoke. “Will she come over tonight?” He seemed even more on edge now. “I just want to set things straight. You’re right, I never really apologized, and I’d like to before I fall off the edge of the fucking world.”
“Go take a shower, man, take that edge off. Take a breath. I’ll see what I can arrange, see what she wants.” I loved Bennett like a brother, but if Gio didn’t want to see him, I couldn’t change that.
“A shower sounds good, actually.”
“Third door to your left is the guest room. Use the bathroom in there.”
Bennett downed another huge gulp of beer. He almost finished the bottle, but instead placed it on the counter. He grabbed his bags and headed down the hallway. I pulled my phone from my pocket, and just as I was about to text her, Bennett’s voice stopped me.
“Thank you.” The two words lingered in the air. He was standing at the end of the hallway, his back to me, and his head down. The line of his shoulders soft and rounded forward. He was finally succumbing to everything.
“Bennett, I—”
“No. Take it. Accept it. Thank you. Thank you for being honorable when I wasn’t. Thank you for everything… for my life.” He stepped through the doorway of the guestroom, his large frame disappearing into the room.
I felt a jolt of panic. After tomorrow, I’d never see him again. After tomorrow, he’d be gone. I’d give anything to go back in time, stop him, change the path he had chosen, but I couldn’t. Giving him an out, a safe way to escape… his thanks weren’t needed, it was the least I could do.
I swiped my thumb along the smooth glass of my phone. The pattern faded and my home screen greeted me. Gio’s smile, her face, my wallpaper. I’d taken the picture back in New York on one of our nights together at Bennett’s. She hadn’t known I was taking the picture, but she had looked so good that night, so I’d snapped a shot while she was laughing at something Bennett had mentioned. The smile for him, not me, but I didn’t care, it was beautiful no matter who it was meant for.
Me: I’m back. I missed you.
I was about to put the phone back in my pocket but it vibrated.
Gio: I missed you, too.
I hadn’t told her what I was doing these past few days, but I suspected she had an inkling.
Me: He’s here.
I stared at my phone and a whole minute went by and then another before her name flashed up on my screen.
Gio: Is he okay?
Me: Come over… ask him yourself.
I didn’t want any loose ends for Bennett. He deserved the chance to set things right with her, and she deserved the chance to say goodbye to the man she’d had once fallen for.
My phone vibrated again, but this time she was calling.
“It will be fine.” I smiled as I heard her breathing on the other line. I imagined she was flustered and concerned about hurting me, but wanting to see him again too.
“I just want to say—”
“Goodbye. It’s okay. You love him, it happens, I can’t control how you feel, sweetheart. He wants to see you, too.”
“I loved him, at least I thought I did. But really, I just need closure...” She paused and exhaled deeply, the sound of it made my pulse thrum.
I missed her and I wanted to see her, feel her breath on my neck, her lips on my ear as she spoke instead of a plastic goddamn phone.
“Gage?”
“What time can you be here?”
“My last class is over at nine thirty, so almost finished. I could be there by ten or eleven. I know that’s late but—”
“No, it’s not. I don’t think anyone around here is sleeping tonight.” I ran my free hand through my hair. I needed a shower too.
“Gage…” she paused again, the silence was static as I waited for her to speak, “…loving you, it was the easiest choice I never had to make.”
My eyes closed and my lips twitched at the corners as a smile spread across my face. “You mean the easiest choice you ever had to make.”
“No, I mean what I said. I never had to make a choice. Loving you, it’s natural, easy, just like breathing.”
My eyes popped open. “I hate that you’re not standing in front of me right now.”
“Now you know how I felt. You left a girl hanging when you just backed up and left the other night.” She giggled lightly and my grin grew, spreading wide across my face.
Her face was priceless that night.
“Just get over here.” The smile was evident in my command.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Drive safely.”
I hit the end button on my phone and locked eyes with her through the picture.
It was natural.
Just like breathing.
Loving her…
Breathe in.
Loving her…
Breathe out.
The sound of Gage’s voice sifted through the apartment as I rummaged through my bags. It was muffled, but I was certain he was talking to her, to Selene. I closed my eyes for a moment and let the quiet hum of his voice relax me. He sounded happy, and after everything, after all of it, I wanted that for him. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt from my bag and some boxer briefs. I stripped myself of my suit and under clothing. I normally would have laid them out for proper dry cleaning, but what was the point now. I bunched them up and threw them into the corner, a slight grin on my lips. The action almost felt rebellious.
I stared at the offending pile of fabric, naked, in the middle of the room. My life was so upside-fucking-down. I turned to walk into the bathroom, but I couldn’t leave them there, I couldn’t leave the mess. It’s how I viewed this chance to talk to Selene. I had to fix it, had to let her know it was okay to hate me, it was okay to let go and finally let her see how sorry I really was. I picked up the articles of clothing and laid them neatly on the dresser before I finally turned on the shower. I was about to step in when I heard my phone chirp.
I moved back into the bedroom and picked the phone up from the bed.
One missed call.
Frank Bartolie.
Fuck, what did he want?
My phone chirped again and vibrated in my hand alerting me of another incoming call. Frank… again. I didn’t want to answer it. He’d not contacted me in over three weeks, so why now, why tonight? I gulped down the sickness that was growing in my throat and hit the answer button.
“It’s about time.” The even sound of my voice pleased me. I was trying to sound normal and I thought I had succeeded.
“Where the fuck are you, Bennie? Charlie said you’re not at the warehouse. He said your place is dark. Where’d you run off to?” His tone was full of accusation and barely concealed anger.
“I’m in California, visiting Gage actually.” I tried to smile, tried to make everything sound perfect.
“Calibri? You should be at the damn warehouse. The Reserve order, it’s almost done, but the boys… Bennie, the boys say it’s a goddamn shit show. I got Sanchez breathing down my fucking neck with this shit.” He cleared his throat and I cringed. He only made the sound when he was about to reprimand you, scold you, make you feel like you could push one more button and then be dead… or as good as dead. “What are you playing at?”
“Nothing, Frank, I just told you, I’m in Cali—”
�
�That’s not what I fucking meant Monterosso… you’ve been handling this shipment like a fucking rookie. You think because this is your last go around, you can do sloppy work? This is my money, my fucking reputation. I feel like you’re trying to pull one over on me. You wouldn’t do that, though, we’re like family…” He cleared his throat again and my jaw pulsed. “So why do I feel like you’re running, Bennie?”
“I’m not running.” My tone wavered and I closed my eyes. Fuck, he rattled me.
“You sound unsure.”
“I had already planned this trip, Frank. You pushed the dates up and—”
“This… this shipment should be a priority.” His tone was intimidating and my mind raced for something to say.
“It is.” Again, I wasn’t able to infuse my normal strength. I was sweating and my palms were clammy.
“Then I expect you back here tomorrow afternoon. This shipment is a go, Bennie. Let’s get it done.”
The line went dead and I exhaled a large breath. Jesus Christ. I hadn’t realized my hands were shaking. If he ever found out, if he ever knew, I’d be dead. Gage, too. He’d kill anyone we were close to, just out of spite. Selene could get hurt, Selene could… I didn’t want to think it. I trusted that Gage knew what he was doing. I trusted him more than the assholes at the DEA and the FBI combined. If Gage said this would work, it would.
The shower water was scalding hot, turning my skin a deep red as I scrubbed away all the dirt of the day, the dirt of the past five years, and all the lies. I’d make sure I fixed the wrongs I could tonight, and then I could leave Bennett Monterosso behind — I could start fresh.
Gage was in the kitchen after I’d finished my shower. He was taking a swig from a full beer and music was playing quietly in the living room.
“Feel better?” he asked, his smile touching his eyes.
“I do.”
“I spoke to Gio. She’ll be here soon. Are you hungry? I could order—”
Beneath the Vine Page 21