by June Kramin
“Until I can get to the bottom of whatever is going on, I can’t say we know what we’re going to do with you,” Mandy explained. “I know you are safer here. Word is going to get out about you, and that will raise hell from all kinds of angles.”
Angie picked up a throw pillow and played with the fringe on it. “Will I be able to meet my brother?” She all but pleaded with her big brown eyes. Hunt melted. Even with Hannah at only four years old, he already couldn’t resist that look. Angie was a stranger, but still, his fatherly instincts kicked in.
Mandy took her hand. “I think he’d want to know about you. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
Angie stood. “I think I’m going to shower and go to bed.”
“Want me to walk you?” Hunt asked.
“The house is plenty big, but I’m all right. Thanks, though.”
After she walked away, Hunt turned to Amanda. “Can I get you something to eat?”
“I don’t think so. I’m really not hungry.”
“I’m ready to turn in.” He stood and took her hand, helping her to her feet. “Maybe you needed me in bed with you.”
“That’s probably it.” She rested her head against his chest. “I want to go home.”
“Me too, babe. This will be over soon.”
They cuddled together that night without making love. She was exhausted, and he had to admit that he was, too. Funny how time plays tricks on marriages. Not that long ago, a bullet wound couldn’t stop them from having sex. Now, however, he was content to just hold her.
Mandy could play mobster tough when she needed to, but she was still all woman with a heart of gold to him, no matter what. He loved playing the comforting husband role. Resting his hand on her belly, he gave the back of her head a comforting kiss. He longed for a life to be growing inside her as much as she did, but he had to play patient or it would only make her crazier.
Now wasn’t the time for baby-making. They had enough on their plate as it was. He never dreamed he’d see the likes of these people again. He drifted off thinking about removing anything remotely related to mobs from their DVD collection.
After breakfast, Mandy told Angie they would be going to see Angelo. Not much was said in the car. Angie was silent and fidgety throughout the ride. A few blocks before his apartment, she finally spoke up.
“What if he hates me?”
“How could he hate you? He doesn’t even know you.”
“He’s bound to blame me for his father’s affair.”
“That’s plain silly. You couldn’t help that.”
“I’ll be some kind of competition in his life.”
“Competition? For what? His father’s affection? His father is dead. Maybe he’ll welcome family. Seems to me you two are about all you have now.” Angie fiddled with the buttons on the door, rolling the window up and down. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“Sort of.”
“I’ll talk to him first. If there is any sign that he’ll be angry, I won’t let you in. Okay?”
Angie let out a breath that Mandy didn’t realize she was holding. “Yes. Please. That would be great.”
Once they arrived at Angelo’s apartment, Hunt walked with Angie to a sitting room while Mandy went in to see Angelo, carrying the breakfast Milo sent along. He was sitting up with an empty tray next to him on the nightstand. Not being able to help herself, she ran to his side and threw her free arm around him.
He held her tightly in return. Mandy was certain he was choking back tears, although she knew he’d never shed them. She gave him a minute to compose himself before she leaned back and slid the breakfast from Milo onto the tray.
Angelo smiled. “Eddie sent Milo to you?”
“Yes. He wanted you to have his eggs Benedict.” She looked at the empty tray. “I see you ate already. Want me to put this away?”
“Hell no. I’ll eat it. I’m still hungry.”
“That’s a good sign.” Brushing the hair out of his eyes, she said, “You need a haircut.”
Chapter Sixteen
Angelo chuckled and took her hand. He gave it a long kiss. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Angelo.” Her free hand went to his cheek, not believing he was really in front of her after all this time. “How are you doing?”
“Okay now, I suppose, thanks to you.”
“Do you know what happened? Or why?”
“I haven’t a clue as to the why. Axle and Kermit haven’t been so bad lately, truth be told. We were actually having a few drinks and talking when I had a burlap bag thrown over my head. I was knocked out, and when I came to, I was tied to that chair.”
“Why were you so drunk?”
“That’s all they fed me. Forced it on me was more like it. Every time I came to, they poured another fifth of some cheap ass bourbon in me.”
“Why?”
“To help with the pain of them beating me? Hell, I don’t know, Mandy. There are far worse ways to torture a guy than keeping him drunk.”
“I hear you’ve been doing a little self-torture yourself lately.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“So? What’s gotten into you?”
“What? How is this new?”
“Come on. You weren’t that bad when I was here. Except on the anniversary…”
“Of my mother’s death. Yeah, well, I guess my misery was worth more than once a year.”
“Stop it.”
He stared at her. “When I last saw you at the cabin, I didn’t think I’d ever be seeing you again. Why are you back?”
“Wouldn’t we both like to know.”
“What do you mean?”
“Eddie brought me back claiming he wanted me to find you.” She glanced behind her then leaned in closer. “Only I didn’t get the reaction I thought I would when I actually showed up with you.”
“Huh?”
“I know your father trusted Eddie with everything, but you know we’ve never clicked.”
“There’s an understatement.”
“He said he needed me to hit the streets and find you, but I knew where you’d be. When I found you, he said I still can’t go but won’t tell me what it is I’m supposed to do next.” Mandy reached in her pocket and pulled out two rings. She gave Angelo his.
“Why do you have this?”
“That ring had a finger attached to it. Any idea whose?”
“There was no one else with me. It could be anybody, Mandy. Whoever it is, I bet he’s not missing the finger anymore.”
“That was my thought.”
“Who does the other one belong to?”
“Ray.”
“Ray? Why do you have his ring?”
“He showed up at my place after Eddie.”
“At your house?”
Mandy nodded. “I took care of it. Don’t worry.” She placed the other ring back in her pocket.
Angelo put his ring back on then winced and held his side.
“Are you okay? Want me to get Doc?”
“I’m fine. I have a few fractured ribs is all.”
“You want some more pain meds?”
“Naw. I’ll take a drink, though.”
“Angelo Enrico Menusco! It’s not even ten o’clock.”
“Don’t you mother me, Amanda. I fucking hurt.”
She stood. “Then take some more pain medicine. You shouldn’t be mixing that with alcohol.”
“Did you come here to fight with me?”
“No, you spoiled little shit.” She turned her back on him and crossed her arms. After standing a minute, she turned back. “How can I love you so much, yet you infuriate the crap out of me?”
“It’s ’cause we never banged. We’d’ve gotten that tension out of our system if you had let me do you when I first asked.”
Mandy was about to have a horrible fit before she caught Angelo grinning. She sat back down and held his cheek again. “You sure you don’t want more pain meds?”
He shook his head
no. “I never did like fighting with you.”
“So let’s not. I need to find a lot of answers, Angelo.”
“I don’t know how I can help, and I really don’t feel up to doing shit right now.”
“I understand. We don’t have to do it now. I have someone here I want you to meet, though.”
“You setting me up?” His eyebrows waggled up and down.
She playfully smacked his arm. “No. Honestly? I’m not sure how you’ll take this.”
“Take what?”
“You have a sister, Angelo.”
He flopped backward against the headboard. “Angie from Queens. Yeah, I know.”
“You know about her?”
“Of course I know about her. What did you think? My dad was a lousy liar.”
“He told you?”
“Of course not, but I found out.”
“You never told him you knew?”
“He seemed to want to keep it a secret, so I let him. That’s not who you have, is it?”
“Angelo, this girl is your sister. Aren’t you the least bit curious about her?”
“Why would I be? She’s the product of my dad’s affair. We didn’t share bedtime stories and cuddle up together while Mommy and Daddy were fighting. She’s no more my sister than you.”
“She’s your father’s flesh and blood. She’s your blood relative, Angelo. She’s also all you have left.”
His arms were now crossed. “Why are you being such a hard-ass about this?”
“Because you’re all she has left. Her mother died, and she came in search of her father, and now he’s dead, too. She’s out there scared to death you’re going to hate her.”
“I don’t hate her; I just don’t care.”
“Well, start to care, dammit. She may be a little screwed up right now, but she wants to meet you. She needs to know she belongs somewhere.”
“This is hardly a family to jump in with.”
“We’ll work on that. Just meet her and be nice. Please. For me.”
Mandy helped Angelo clean up and put on a fresh shirt. She chose a casual button up that she could pull on without hurting him. He declined a shave.
“Like I’m letting you near my neck with a straight blade.”
She laughed and held his chin in her hand then gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Punk ass kid.”
He caught her hand as she dropped it and held on tight. “I never got to say thanks for what you did.”
“Hell, Angelo. I’m making a fuss about Angie, but I feel like we’re family, too. You have no idea how much it tore me up to think you were lying somewhere dead.”
“You’d never know it by the way you neglected to contact me over the years.”
“You know that was impossible for me no matter how much I wanted to.”
“Was it Hunt’s doing?”
“No. It was mine. I can’t have this old life be a part of my present one. This was a job for me. I was supposed to get something done and move on. I never expected it to turn into what it did. I’ll give you that Hunt wouldn’t be pleased if I kept in touch, but it was my doing. Besides the fact it would have broken every rule of witness relocation.” He let out a heavy sigh. “You can’t tell me your father would have been thrilled if you tried to keep me in your life.”
He answered like a scolded child and dropped his head. “No. He wouldn’t have been happy. Jesus, Mandy. I protected you, and he was shot. That was hardly a fair statement.”
Again she took his chin and picked his head up. “But I’m here now.”
“How long will you stay?”
“Just as long as I have to. I don’t know what Eddie wants with me, but I’ll do what I can as long as it benefits you. I want to get home to my daughter, Angelo.”
“I didn’t know you had a baby.” He grinned. “It’s hard to picture you with a baby.”
She playfully punched his arm. “Don’t change your opinion of me. I could still whoop your ass.”
He rubbed his arm and laughed. “I know you must miss her. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” A knock on the door interrupted them. Mandy called out, “Come in.”
Hunt poked his head in and gave the slightest of pleasant smiles at Angelo. “You look a lot better.”
“Thanks. I feel a lot better.”
“I really hate to interrupt, but you have a girl going crazy out here.”
Mandy turned to Angelo, silently asking for permission. Angelo pulled the blanket up a little bit. “Send her in.”
Chapter Seventeen
Angie walked hesitantly into the room. She stopped halfway to the bed, waiting for an invitation to go closer.
“How about we leave you two alone?” Mandy took Hunt’s hand and walked out without waiting for an answer.
“Pull up a chair,” Angelo said as he pointed to one at a small desk. She did as she was asked and sat there quietly.
“Mandy tell you who I was?”
“Yes, but I already knew about you.”
“You did?”
“For a few years now. I figured I needed to heed my father’s wishes and leave you alone.”
“Why would he want that?”
“Why do you think?”
“This whole thing was really dumb. I only found out, and now I’m robbed of ever getting a chance to know him.”
“I really don’t think he would have been quite the father figure you would have been looking for.”
“What do you know what I would or wouldn’t be looking for? Maybe I needed to know him. I don’t care what he did for a living.”
“Well, you’d be the only one that didn’t care. You really would have been better off just staying away.”
“You’ve obviously never heard about a woman and curiosity. I couldn’t let something like this go by. Do you even care that you have a sister?”
“Of course I care. Right now, though, it makes things more complicated.”
“Well, I met Darin, and things seemed like the perfect time.”
“Darin? You’re who he’s dating?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I officially know more than I want about my sister’s bedroom habits.” He chuckled, but Angie blushed. “I’m sorry. It was a joke. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“So he talks about me?”
“You kidding? He’s crazy about you.”
“Mandy thinks he’s in trouble now because of me.”
“He didn’t know. I honestly don’t think it will be that bad although I do see him being told to stop seeing you.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You know…I’d really hate to go all big brother on you already. For starters, you’re too young to think he’s the last guy you’ll love.”
“And B?”
“What the fuck are you thinking purposely trying to get yourself involved with the mob?”
She stood up fast, not hiding her frustration. “You’re a fine one to judge me. I suppose you never date.”
“The girls I’m with never know what I am. I keep it simple. I’d never ask anyone to jump into this mess.”
“So you’re going to live your life screwing one girl to the next and never settle down?”
“Probably. I was born into this. I didn’t have a choice. I know a lot of guys have wives, but I would never ask that of someone I loved. You’re making a poor decision if you ask me.”
“Well, I’m not asking you, and FYI, I was born into it, too.”
“No you weren’t. You were kept out of it. What you’re doing now is stupid.”
She dropped herself back into the chair. “I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
“I don’t want to fight either; it’s just the way it is. You showing up now is the worst possible timing. I can’t explain what is going on out there, but it’s bad. I was taken because of who I am. I shouldn’t be alive right now. If word gets out about you, there’s no telling what will happen.”
“But Mandy is here to help. This will get sorted out.”
He laughed hard. “Sorted out? Even if we get a clue as to what is going on now, there is always someone out there after you for something or another. People respected my dad and a certain chain of command. Some things were always understood and a way of life here. Someone broke the rules, and all hell has broken loose. I don’t know what will happen from here, but I do know I don’t want you a part of it.”
“That’s really not your call.”
“Really, it is. Despite my current state, what I say now goes around here.”
“So what now? You’re going to have your goon, Eddie, tie me back up?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I like the fact that you’re under Mandy’s wing for now. I’ll have to decide what to do with you soon, though.”
“Decide what to do with me? I’m not your possession to do anything with, Angelo!”
“Wrong!” He sat tall. “Like it or not, you’re my baby sister and all I have left for family. I’m not letting you get hauled off and killed.”
After a staring contest, Angie’s features softened. Angelo reached a hand out to her, and she accepted it. She rested her head in his lap. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“And I’m sorry about yours. I’m sorry you never got to meet him.” He gently stroked her hair.
“Will you tell me some good things about him?”
They spoke for over an hour, getting acquainted. Despite initially feeling awkward about the meeting, Angelo was more relaxed and laughed more than he had in months. There was a knock on the door, and he said, “Come in.”
“How are things going?” Mandy asked. “You two learning a little bit about each other?”
“We’re doing great,” Angie said.
“Glad to hear it, but Doc wants us to skedaddle. Angelo needs his rest.”
Angie stood and reached for his hand. “Can I come back sometime?”
Angelo accepted her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Sure. I’d say anytime, but for now you only come with Mandy. I don’t want you showing up here alone. At least until we get things figured out.”
“All right.”
“I need a minute with Mandy, okay?”
“Sure.” She walked out and closed the door.