Deadly Love

by Yvonne Bennett

  A loud thump woke her up and she quickly sat up. Slipping on her slippers she ventured to Emilio's room and saw it was empty. Bobbie wasn't a fool. She knew what happened when she believed the coast was clear last time. Stepping fully into the room, Bobbie went about checking the room. She found nothing. Sighing, she journeyed over to Emilio's crib and kissed his forehead then left the room.

  Returning back to the room, she collected her plate and travelled back downstairs to get more sandwiches. She grabbed two more and went to make her way back to her room when she heard what sounded like giggling coming from Emilio's room. Slowly, Bobbie tipped to his room and peeked in. She saw someone leaning over Emilio's crib and hastily pushed the door open.

  "Wh-," she started to interrogate but her words fell away at the sight of Gomez.

  "You're... you're supposed to be dead." Bobbie whispered.

  Gomez chuckled lowly as he scooped Emilio up and went to sit in the Rocky chair near the corner.

  "Am I, Bobbie? Or is that what your eyes led you to believe." he questioned as he stroked Emilio's curls.

  Bobbie focused on her son, her nerves going on high alert.

  "It was so easy faking the explosion and making Agostino and Andres believe I was dead. A body double, dynamite, and Viola!" Gomez chuckled as he kissed his fingers. "A masterpiece! But I wouldn't have had to go through the fucking trouble if Mario would have done his fucking job in the first place and offed your ass accordingly. But I'm actually glad he failed at killing you, because we wouldn't have this glorious moment now, together."

  Gomez smiled, showcasing his dazzling white teeth.

  "Whatever beef you have with me , Gomez, is between us. Please, just put Emilio down, "Bobbie begged.

  "Oh, but you see, Bobbie, Emilio has everything to do with this. If Ana would have cut her ties to Agostino instead of helping you escape, she AND my ninito would still be alive!"

  Her eyes went wide at the admission. What!?Ana...And Gomez?! When? What? And how? Bobbie couldn't even comprehend this.

  "Oh, don't look so shocked, Bobbie. Ana and I had been seeing each other for years before she got serious with Agostino. After she found out he was married to you, she still couldn't give him up. No matter what, she just had to have him and that included losing my son's life!" Gomez fumed.

  Emilio began crying, the harsh yelling startling him.

  "Gomez, please, just put Milio down. And Ana chose to help me of her own free will, she knew the risk she was taking when she did what she did. That's no one's fault but Ana's. You hurting Emilio does nothing to bring her or your son back." Bobbie tried to reason.

  Gomez sneered. "Who the fuck are you, Ricki Lake, bitch? Of course, hurting this half breed won't bring my ninito back but it will make you feel what I go through everyday without my boy. You and Agostino get to pass down your empire and legacy to your boy while my child is rotting six feet deep in Ana's womb!"

  Gomez stood abruptly and held Emilio upside down.

  "No!" Bobbie cried over his wails.

  Sprinting over to him, she began wrestling Emilio away from Gomez, doing her best not to hurt him. Gomez whipped out his pistol and smacked her across the face with it. Crashing to the floor, Bobbie cupped her stinging cheek.

  "Say goodbye." Gomez cocked his gun.

  "Emilio" a shriek erupted from Bobbie's mouth as she raced back over to him.

  Gomez aimed at her and a bang sounded. Bobbie squeezed her eyes shut tightly at the sound, her breath freezing in her chest. When she didn't feel any pain, she peeked her eyes open and saw Gomez standing before her with big, round, shocked eyes. Quickly yanking Emilio from his slack grip, Bobbie cuddled her baby to her chest as he screamed bloody murder. Bobbie looked away from Gomez, her eyes trailing to the door to see Agostino with his .42.

  He peered over at his disheveled wife and tearful son before placing his eyes back on Gomez, firing off more rounds. Once all the rounds were gone, he called to his wife. Bobbie looked at him with watery eyes, her pulse pounding in her ears.

  "Bobbie." Agostino repeated softly and Bobbie started to make her way over to him.

  POW!

  Gomez dropped his pistol as his strength gave out, his eyes going void. Bobbie paused as intense warmth struck her back, causing her to tumble to her knees. She clutched Emilio tightly as she went down.

  "Bobbie!" Agostino rushed toward her.

  Andres followed behind after alerting one of the maids to call 911, pulling the baby into his arms. Agostino gathered Bobbie against his thumping chest, his hand overflowing with blood.

  "Agostino, I," she tried to muster up, but he stopped her.

  "No, don't speak. Save your energy. The paramedics are coming, Hermosa. Just...hold on. Please, Bobbie." Agostino pleaded.

  "Agostino, I have to tell you...I love you." Bobbie breathed out as she went limp.

  Agostino went numb, his entire system shutting down. What did she just say? She...loved him?

  "Bobbie…" he shook her gently with trembling hands. "Bobbie, please. You can't die. I… Love you, too, hermosa." Agostino chanted as he jerked her around.

  He pulled her into his strong arms and cried into her short hair. He should have been honest from the get go. He should have just told her he loved her, because now... he'd never be able to get the chance again.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The beeping of Bobbie's heart monitor kept Agostino alert as he paced her hospital room. He had Andres stay at the house with Emilio while he rode in the ambulance with Bobbie. He didn't want his hijo seeing his mother like this. He himself didn't want to see Bobbie like this. It... frightened him.

  Seeing his wife shot down right before his eyes made his blood freeze and pump in reverse. And when she told him she loved him as her eyes closed, he lost it. His main goal ever since locating her was to show her that he could be a proper husband and father. He wasn't cursed as he once thought himself because he knew what real love was now. To have Bobbie admit that she loved him despite all the pain and unhappiness he had caused her to confirm something he always knew about her. She had a heart of gold.

  Looking over at his unconscious wife, Agostino took in the numerous bandages covering her chest. Agostino had half a mind to go to the morgue and plant one last hit one in Gomez's corpse for what he did to Bobbie. And all of this over Ana, of all people? Agostino grunted and shook his head. He continued his pacing, which seemed to be the only thing keeping him together right now. Twitching from his peripheral caught his attention and turned toward the bed.

  Bobbie's right foot jumped under the white sheet covering her lower half, making Agostino pause. Her foot jerked again, and her eyes fluttered.

  "Mm." She groaned as she tried to lift her heavy eyelids.

  "Hermosa?" She heard Agostino call to her, which made her open her eyes fully.

  She spotted him at the end of her bed, looking her over with a look of relief.

  "Emilio." Bobbie peered around the room, looking for her toddler.

  "Shhh, beautiful, he's fine. He's back at the compound with Andres." Her husband told her gently as he came to the side of her bed.

  "Is...is Gomez," she tried to build herself up to ask, but fat tears clouded her vision.

  Agostino sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her in as best as he could, being careful of the many wires she was still connected to.

  "Gomez is dead, Bobbie. He'll never be able to hurt you and Emilio ever again." He whispered into her disheveled pixie as she held on to him for dear life.

  Bobbie cried into his chest at the news, joy overwhelming her.

  "Bobbie?" She pulled away from his chest and peered up at him.

  "I love you. I've always loved you, Hermosa." He confessed lowly.

  She stared down at their entwined hands, unable to think of anything to say. She remembered telling him that she loved him after being shoot, but to hear him confirm his love, left her shocked. Everyone constantly told her Agostino loved her yet. She just couldn't believe it.
So, to hear it from his own mouth made it all the more real.

  "I love you, too, Agostino." She repeated her stance from yesterday, and Agostino ran a finger down her cheek, pressing a small kiss to her cheek.

  "Even though I love you, Bobbie, I can't watch you almost die again…" he released her to pull a small envelope from his suit jacket.

  Bobbie accepted the envelope and opened, noticing passports and banking information. Although Agostino had turned the reins of the operation over to his cousin, he still k ew there was a big target of his back as arms and drug dealer that he could never escape. But his wife and son could. If he could give his family anything, it was freedom from this life. Freedom from jealous rivals. Death. Knowing that he was the cause of everything with Gomez led Agostino to the realization that he had to let her go if he wanted to keep her and Emilio safe.

  "I don't understand." Bobbie gazed up at him, tears of confusion marring her cheeks.

  "I'm... I'm letting you go, Bobbie. This type of life isn't for you nor Emilio. Seeing you get shot was like watching a thousand deaths all at once. I...can't do that again. I may be rough around the edges, but I'm not built to watch you die, hermosa. There's $900,000 in the bank account, so you and Emilio will be taken care of. I'll deposit money so he won't have to worry about going low on funds." He explained, and Bobbie stared at him blankly.

  "I'm going to go have Johnny call the mansion and see what Andres and Emilio are up to." She watched him get up and go to the door.

  Bobbie looked back down at the files in her hand, her gut twisting up. She began snatching the wires from her body, causing the machines to go off. Agostino world around an alarm, his eyes big with worry.

  "Bobbie, are you fucking insane!?" He rushed back over to her as she jumped from the bed.

  Bobbie grew woozy as the pain from her gun wound started to throb, and Agostino held her tightly.

  "You...you can't." Bobbie tried to reason, her chest pain intensifying.

  "Bobbie," Agostino sighed closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't look at her like this.

  "No! You...you better look at me. Milio and I aren't going anywhere, no matter how many plane tickets and bank account info you throw at me. You wanted me, yet once I give myself to you, you just throw me to the wayside. Absolutely not, Agostino. I'm here to stay, and there's nothing you can do about it. We took vows until death due us part' and I'm not dead yet. " Bobbie passionately spoke, and Agostino just stared at her.

  Seconds ticked by until he said anything. "Eres el mejor negocio de drogas que salió mal." He smirked, leaning down to kiss her temple.

  EPILOGUE

  TEN YEARS LATER…

  "Catch, dad!" Emilio yelled as he threw his football at his father for the fourth time that afternoon, huge grin on his face.

  "Buen tiro, Emilio." Agostino caught the ball with one hand as he praised his son.

  "Okay, buddy, one more round, then we have to go inside. Tu madre is probably done with lunch by now." Agostino looked back at the back patio doors.

  Bobbie hadn't been outside all afternoon, not even to tend to the garden. And that's literally the first thing she did in the afternoon after watching her talk shows.

  "Can we go in now, dad? I want a cup of water." Emilio ran up to his dad and wrapped his arms around his waist.

  "Sure, bud." Agostino smiled down at him.

  The pair made their way up to the patio doors and pulled them open, causing childish squealing to float out the doorway. Agostino gazed at his wife playing with his year-old daughter, Luciana Shanice Carmine. She was every spit of Bobbie, just a shade lighter. She had everything from Bobbie's expressive brown eyes to her thick hair. Bobbie tickled their daughter yet again, and Lucy cackled loudly as if being tickled was the most amusing thing.

  "Madre!" Emilio ran up to Bobbie and hugged her from behind.

  "Hey, baby. Are you and Daddy ready for lunch?" She peeked around her shoulder and greeted him.

  "Nah, I just want a cup of water." Emilio released his mother and went to sit at the breakfast table and pulled out his phone.

  "Don't speak for me, Milio, I'm starving. And from the smell of things, it seems like you made...lasagna? Pasta?" Agostino guessed, and Bobbie grinned up at him.

  "Your favorite." Bobbie relayed as she stepped near him.

  "Baked ziti?" Bobbie nodded rapidly.

  "You know, Mrs. Carmine?" Agostino wrapped his arms around her.

  "Yes, Mr. Carmine?" His wife raised a brow.

  "I think you have it out for my waistline," Agostino whispered, causing Bobbie to break down laughing.

  "Is this coming from the man that wrecked my waistline twice with his two crotch fruit?" She countered sassily.

  "Um, Madre, we’re right here!" Emilio gasped from the table.

  "Hush, boy." His mother waved him off.

  Bobbie round the kitchen island as Agostino took a seat at the spacious breakfast table, reaching to undo the hooks of Lucy's highchair. He lifted her up from the chair and put her in his lap. Lucy squealed yet again as she clutched the front of her father's t-shirt. Agostino kissed her tiny head then turned his attention to Emilio, who was playing some type of shooting game on his phone. Averting his gaze, he focused on Bobbie was preoccupied with the steaming hot ziti she was pulling from the warm oven. He twinkled as his wife peeked over her shoulder at the small flat screen set on Turner Classic Movies. The weekends with his family were the best.

  He got to interact with his niños and spend time with his wife. 'Giving up' his power wasn't hard, per se, especially since all the money he had made as head of his cartel was still within his organization, just under Andres' watchful eye until Emilio turned 21 and then he could do whatever he wanted with the money. Go to school, move out, whatever. The same went for Lucy. Agostino still sometimes checked in to see what was going on with his organization and Andres, but other than that, he was solely a family man. He still had the cars, the mansion, and flashy suits, but now that was used to strictly impress his wife and convince his son he was still the 'cool' dad, despite his age.

  Agostino spent weekends with his family, did family fun nights, and took his wife out often for dates. He wanted his kids to have the life he never had. He wanted for his wife what his mother never had. A man that loved and protected her. It took time. Hell, he was still a work in progress, but as long as he had his wife and kids, he'd be fine. Bobbie sat a plate of hot ziti down in front Agostino before placing a plate in front of Emilio.

  "Ma!" He whined as he plopped his phone down.

  "Eat, Milio. Now!" Bobbie ordered, and Emilio sucked his teeth.

  "Come antes de que ella empiece a amenazarte, hijo," Agostino suggested with a chuckle, making Emilio roll his eyes as he reached for his fork.

  Bobbie took her spot at the table with her food and a bottle for Lucy. Handing the bottle to her daughter, Bobbie made sure she was situated before digging in. She eyed Agostino and Emilio as she ate, not believing they had come this far. She had spent a year running from him only to end up spending ten years in his arms. He was an amazing husband, with guidance, and an even better father. He didn't abuse her or talk down to her, Agostino only showed her the utmost respect, especially in front of their niños. She started out faking it until she made it, not knowing that falling into deep would lead her toward her forever

  THE END

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  bsp; Yvonne Bennett, Deadly Love