“Yeah, I believe his exact words were ‘You’re nothing but a coward, keeping secrets from that beautiful piece of ass.’ No offense to anyone, just quoting the man himself.”
"Keep your damn mouth shut, Alpo! I would’ve been fine if you hadn’t started that damn bar fight! You ruined everything!" Daniel yelled. "All of you ruined my life! Everything I worked for is destroyed because of you!"
“Always that stupid bar fight,” Alpo shook his head. “Why can’t people let that go? I was drunk!”
“Not the time or place, Alpo.” Uncle Leo said sternly, keeping his gaze on Daniel.
"You're the only one who ruined your life, Daniel." Paul said, ignoring his best friend’s comment. He was remarkably calm, even though I could tell he was nervous. Daniel was acting unpredictable, which meant danger for everyone.
"Shut the hell up, Paul. Your little whore is the one to blame." Daniel's eyes flickered to me, pure hatred glowing in them. "She should've stayed away that night. It should've been you that came for Ava. You were supposed to die!"
Daniel held the gun tightly, aiming for Paul's heart. As he moved his finger to pull the trigger, a loud bang went off. The gun dropped from Daniel's hand as his lifeless body crumpled in a heap. Time seemed to slow down as I noticed Paul collapse, Leo barely managing to catch him. I watched in horror as they both staggered back. Clara screamed and that snapped me out of the trance. I ran over, Leo carefully laying him on the ground.
"Skylar, call 9-1-1!" Leo hollered. I barely heard the patio door slide open as she ran for the phone in the living room.
"Is he going to be okay?" I whispered, not taking my eyes off of Paul.
"I don't know," Leo said honestly. "He got hit right above the heart, though I'm not sure by how far. He's losing blood and he's unconscious but still breathing."
A few minutes later, the paramedics arrived and were wheeling Paul out to the ambulance. Leo had called a few of his contacts, which included Police Chief Moranello and the coroner. Leo quietly explained what happened and Moranello nodded to the coroner. Within minutes, they had cleaned up the crime scene and left with Daniel's body in a bag. Sky offered to watch Ava while I went to the hospital with Clara and Alpo. Nick stayed behind and Leo mentioned coming once he took care of a few things.
Once we arrived at the hospital, the doctor was waiting for us. He told us that Paul most likely was going to have to have surgery to get the bullet out. It had missed his heart by two inches, which was extremely lucky. He was in critical condition, but the chances of him fully recovering looked very good. The doctor excused himself, and we were left to wait. Clara sank into a chair while I paced back and forth, wringing my hands together. Alpo went down the hall to get coffee.
I feverishly prayed to God that Paul would be okay, that he would get through surgery and come home to us. It seemed like forever when a nurse came over to let us know Paul was going into surgery. As soon as she left, Leo appeared. He sat down next to Clara and put his arm around his sister, pulling her close as the shock wore off and she began to cry. It was so quiet in the waiting room, you could hear a pin drop.
About an hour and a half later, the doctor walked into the waiting room. He approached us with a small smile on his face.
"It was a successful surgery. Paul is now in Recovery. You can go see him if you like."
"Jade, you go first," Clara said. "We'll join you in a few minutes."
I nodded and followed the doctor to the room. He motioned for me to go in and I hesitantly walked through the door. Paul was sitting up in his bed, his left shoulder and chest bandaged together. He smiled weakly when he saw me.
"Hey baby."
"Hey yourself," I smiled back, relief flooding my senses. "How are you feeling?"
"I've had better days. Doc said I can go home in the morning. And I have to keep the stitches in for two weeks."
"I'm glad you're okay. I was scared we were going to lose you."
"You can't get rid of me that easily," he joked. I rolled my eyes.
"That's not a good sign if she's rolling her eyes," Alpo laughed from the doorway. Clara and Leo were right behind him.
"Clara, your son has a bad sense of humor," I said, causing Paul to pretend to pout and everyone laughed.
Paul then told them what the doctor said and Clara looked relieved, wiping away fresh tears. Leo handed her his handkerchief from his jacket, which she accepted sheepishly. A nurse passing by told us that visiting hours were almost over for the night. Clara and Leo bid Paul good night and left the room while Alpo waited by the door for me. I kissed Paul and ruffled his hair a little bit.
"I'll pick you up in the morning," I said as he made a face at me.
"Okay baby. I love you, Jade."
"I love you too, Paul. Get some sleep."
We met Clara in the hallway and slowly, we left the hospital. Leo was already waiting in the car out front when we stepped outside. Once we got home, I went upstairs and headed for Paul's room. I threw on one of his shirts and climbed into bed. As I fell asleep, I dreamed of dark chocolate eyes and a crying baby girl swaddled in pink.
CHAPTER 12: FULL OF SURPRISES
I was waiting at the front desk and talking to the receptionist when a nurse wheeled Paul toward me, their friendly chatter causing us to turn in their direction. Paul smiled lovingly when he saw me and the nurse stopped the wheelchair in front of the desk, locking the wheels so it couldn’t move.
"There you go, Paul. Front desk service," she said brightly, helping him out of the wheelchair.
"Thanks, Sara. You’ve been a great help," he said before turning to the nurse behind the desk, resting his arm against the counter. "Alright, Lily. What do I have to do to break out of this joint?"
Lily rolled her eyes at his weak flirting and smiled, sliding a clipboard and a pen in front of him.
"All you have to do is sign the release form and let your gorgeous fiancée take you home," she winked at me. Paul grinned at her remark.
"Sounds good to me." He scribbled his name and waved to the nurses as we walked out to the car, arm in arm. We made a short stop to the pharmacy to pick up his prescribed medication, then headed home. Sky and Ava were waiting for us in the kitchen when we got back.
"Hi Daddy!" Ava looked up from her princess coloring book and beamed when she saw us.
"Hey, baby girl. What are you coloring?"
"Cinderella and Prince Charming. Aunt Sky's helping me make them look like you and Mommy."
I glanced at the page they were working on and sure enough, I could see the resemblance. Paul noticed it too, tilting his head to the side as he studied the picture.
"Good job baby. It's beautiful."
"When you're done, I'm sure Grandma wouldn't mind hanging it on the fridge," I told Ava as Clara came into the kitchen. She looked at Ava's coloring page and beamed.
"You did a wonderful job, Ava! Mommy's right, I'd love to have it on the fridge."
Ava looked pleased and continued working on her picture, her tiny eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Clara grabbed the milk jug from the fridge and poured five glasses. She set one down in front of each of us, then grabbed a plate of chocolate chip cookies off the counter. We sat there happily munching on cookies, talking, and laughing about everything.
"I know a lot has gone on during the last couple of weeks, but have you two discussed your wedding?" Clara asked.
"Not really," I admitted sheepishly, stealing a glance at Paul who shrugged nonchalantly.
"You don't have a date set?" She looked at us and we shook our heads. She rolled her eyes, smiling, and pretended to scold. "You better have that figured out soon so you can plan the wedding."
"Yeah, we know," Paul said, taking a bite of his cookie.
"It's just hard to pick the best time," I added.
"I have an idea, Mommy," Ava said, crayon clutched in her little hand.
"What's that, baby?"
"Christmas!" Her eyes shone brightly at her suggestion. I looked to
Paul, who shrugged his shoulders.
"A Christmas wedding?"
"Yeah! With the pretty lights and the tree!" I couldn't help but smile at her happiness.
"What if we do it the day before? That way you can spend Christmas opening presents from Santa." I suggested. Ava seemed to think that over before nodding.
"Okay. Aunt Sky, I'm done with my picture." Sky helped her rip it out of the book and hung it up on the fridge. I turned to Paul.
"Is that okay, having a Christmas Eve wedding?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Wonderful," Clara clasped her hands together. "Jade, we can go look at dresses later if you want. Do you know who you're going to have in the wedding?"
"Well.... I already know who my maid of honor is going to be," I winked at her as Sky glanced up, a smile forming on her face. "That's only if she wants it."
"What kind of dumb question is that?" Skylar smacked my arm playfully. "Of course, I'll be your maid of honor. There’s no way we’re breaking our pinky promise from elementary school!"
I grinned at my best friend and gave her a hug. Clara turned to Paul.
"What about you?" She asked.
"I'll ask Alpo to be my best man."
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Alpo threw his fist in the air as he walked into the kitchen. Paul just shook his head.
"You're an idiot," Paul laughed.
"Well it's a good start," Clara said. "If you need any help, just let me know. I'll do what I can."
"Thanks, Clara. Why don't I go get a notebook and we can keep track of everything that way?" I suggested.
"That's a good idea. I'll work on dinner while we do it."
"I've got some things to take care of with Uncle Leo," Paul got up from the stool he had sat on. He kissed me and smiled. "If you need anything, I'll be in the study."
He and Alpo left and I ran upstairs to grab a notebook from my room. When I came back, Lola was sitting at the table, talking to Clara. It almost looked like she had been crying for a while; her face was slightly pink and her eyes a bit puffy in the corners.
"Lola, what's wrong?" I sat down next to her. My question must have hit a nerve because she started crying again.
"Lola thinks she's pregnant," Clara whispered. "She doesn't know how to tell Alpo if she is."
"That's wonderful! I mean, a baby is great. Not that you don't know how to tell him," I babbled. "You'll make a great mom, Lola. If you want, I'll take you to the doctor's tomorrow to confirm that you are, and you can get the information you’ll need."
"Thanks, Jade. That means a lot," Lola sniffled, offering me a weary smile.
"You're welcome. While we're together, I have a question."
"Uh, okay?" She looked from me to Clara, noticing her bemused smile. Lola raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Would you be a bridesmaid in my wedding?"
"Of course!" She squealed, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back. "This is exciting! When's the wedding?"
"Christmas Eve. I know it seems like it's a short period to work with, but I actually have a lot of the decorations already at my house. And I know some people who are just waiting for me to get married. Uncle Leo isn’t the only one who has some connections up his sleeve," I giggled.
"Well, let's go get the rest of your and Skylar's stuff from the houses, and officially move you in here," Clara said, turning off the oven.
"Really?" Sky asked, sounding incredulous. "You'll let me move in too?"
"Of course, dear. We have all these empty rooms collecting dust anyways, we should put them to good use! Besides, you're family too. And I love having a full house."
"Well then, I'll go get Paul and Alpo to help. Maybe Nick and Leo too," I got up and headed for the study. Knocking softly, I waited until a voice told me to come in. All four men looked up and smiled when I opened the door.
"Clara's putting dinner on hold. She wants to go get the rest of my stuff as well as Skylar's and wanted to know if you guys could help."
"Sure," Leo said, getting up from the desk. "I'll get a couple more men. We'll be ready in a minute."
Ten minutes later, we pulled up to my house. Leo had two trucks park in Skylar's driveway. I let the men helping me inside the front door and we quickly packed everything in boxes. Paul and Alpo grabbed the furniture from Ava's room as I began putting boxes into my car. I looked over to Sky's house and laughed as she stood in the front yard, directing the men where things were going to go. About an hour and a half later, both houses were packed up and we were ready to move.
Leo had called a realtor he knew and explained the short and sweet version of the situation. She agreed to put both houses on the market as soon as possible. It was pure chaos when we got back and the men started unloading the trucks, putting things in the correct rooms. Nick went with Sky up to her room to help put her bed back together. I put my spare furniture in an empty room Clara lent to us as storage; the furniture would go to Ava when she eventually outgrew her kid room. Paul helped me unpack Ava's stuff first, then we worked on sorting through my things.
"Do you want to keep your room? Or would you like to move into mine?" Paul asked as we unwrapped the picture frames from the bubble wrap.
"I wouldn't mind moving in here," I smiled at him as I handed him a frame with Ava’s first Christmas photo in it.
"Okay," he smiled back. "This weekend we can work on getting it set up for Ava, if you’d like. There's enough space in the closet for her dresser so it’s out of the way. And Mom has a ton of those storage cube shelves for her toys to be organized into totes.”
"That would be perfect. I’m sure Ava will love having her room across from ours."
"Jade, Paul! Dinner's ready!" Clara hollered from downstairs.
We made our way to the kitchen/dining room where everyone was gathering. Alpo was helping Ava into her booster seat at the table while Sky made her a plate. My dad and Nick were discussing the latest sports news as Leo talked to Taylor about a shipment that was scheduled to come in the next few days. Soon, the room was filled with various conversations and laughter. I looked around and smiled as I observed the love and bonding that was happening around me.
My smile faltered a little when my eyes rested on Lola, who was absentmindedly picking at her food while everyone conversed. Judging by the look on her face, I knew Lola wasn't in the mood for laughing like the others. Her mind was otherwise preoccupied… and the object in question was currently shoved in her trash can in her room underneath crumpled paper, with two little lines on it. She was pregnant, and most likely scared out of her mind. I definitely was when I found out about my pregnancy, I thought to myself as I gave Lola a reassuring smile.
Lola flashed a small smile back at me, her gaze letting me know that she was grateful for me keeping silent; I could only imagine the questions running through her head. The biggest one, I was certain, was how was she going to tell Alpo about their newest family addition? He would find out eventually, especially when her stomach swelled like a balloon.
Lola sighed, just low enough for me to hear, and quietly got up from the table. No one else seemed to notice as she left; excusing myself, I quickly followed as she made her way back to her bedroom. As I reached the partially open door and lightly knocked on the frame, Lola flopped onto the bed and threw a pillow over her face.
“Come in, Jade.” She called out, her voice muffled by the fabric.
“How are you feeling?” I asked before I slapped my hand against my forehead. “Sorry, that’s a dumb question.”
“It’s okay.” Lola peeked at me from under the pillow. “I could actually use some advice…”
“Lay it on me.” I climbed onto the bed beside her, leaning against the headboard as she flipped over onto her stomach.
“I don’t know if anyone told you,” Lola began quietly, “but my mother, Cindy, is currently serving time at the prison, for a crime she didn’t commit… My father did.”
“No, I didn’t know. What happe
ned?”
“Dad was embezzling money from his clients and was also operating a counterfeit business,” she said grimly, nodding slowly at my widened eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure you heard about that in the news a few years ago. Anyways, Mom got busted with a duffel bag full of counterfeit money because she got into a fight with Dad and he framed her… at the time, he was a powerful man, probably just as powerful as Leo is.”
“Anyways, I don’t know if calling her right now would be a good idea…” Lola trailed off, glancing at the clock on her nightstand. “The last time I called, on my birthday, she flat out refused to talk to me, and her behavior made the security guards feel bad for me because the next day, they sent me flowers and a self-care gift basket the female guards put together themselves. Granted, Mom was having a bad day that day, just learning moments before that her husband of 21 years had left her for his secretary after getting her sent to prison.”
Lola sighed, lingering on the memory. She then explained that she had gone to her dad’s office and pleaded with him to help her mom out, and he slapped her straight across the face in front of a lobby full of clients, bellowing that he would have nothing to do with the two of them ever again. She closed her eyes just then, and I reached over to squeeze her hand.
“If I have learned anything the last three years,” I said, looking her in the eyes, “it’s that tomorrow is never a guarantee. I think you should call your mom and tell her the news. If she doesn’t answer, then it’s her loss. It’s not your fault, Lola.”
“Okay.” Lola said quietly, before reaching for her cellphone next to the bed. She slowly dialed the number for the prison and waited, pressing the speaker phone button as she laid the phone down on the bed between us; one of the security guards answered on the third ring.
"Torino Federal Prison, this is Captain Derek Sulley."
"Hey, Derek. It's Lola Morelia."
"Hey, Lola! It’s good to hear from you. Calling for your mom?"
"Yeah, I need to talk to her, if she’s available... It’s kind of important."
A Heart of Gang (The Centofanti Gang Book 1) Page 10