Madame Moll (Gun Moll Book 3)

by Bethany-Kris

  Mac opened his mouth to ask the man a question—several, maybe. Like who in the fuck was he, who had hired him for this, what was happening, and why. So many questions.

  Massimo’s request clung heavily in the back of Mac’s mind.

  Mac questioned nothing.

  “Thank you,” Mac said.

  “You may exit the vehicle,” the driver said.

  Damn near at the same time the driver said those words, Mac saw the back doors open to the three other vehicles that had been with theirs the entire drive. From one, Massimo stepped out. From another, the three Pivetti daughters. From the final car, Luca stepped out, still shackled and like everyone else, a mess of powdered color but with a smile on his face.

  Mac grabbed the car door to push it open, but hesitated when Melina didn’t follow him immediately. “Doll?”

  A hesitance stared back at him from his wife. Something else lingered in her eyes, too. Something he hadn’t expected—betrayal, maybe.

  Mac knew exactly why.

  Melina had allowed herself to grieve for Neeya. She had been affected by someone she let close to her heart. Only now, it seemed those feelings had been for nothing.

  “Ask her why,” Mac urged. “You’ll never know whatever it is you’re wondering about unless you ask her, Melina.”

  “She could have told me, Mac.”

  “Maybe she couldn’t. Maybe this was all a big what if. What if everything single thing went right and it worked? You don’t know any different.”

  “Unless I ask,” Melina whispered.

  Mac nodded. “Yeah, doll. But we’re here, right, so someone asked for that. Luca, her … someone asked for us; that means something.”

  They stepped out of the car just as the shackles keeping Luca contained were snapped off with massive bolt cutters. The man who had removed the chains tossed the tool back into his car, then disappeared out of sight without as much as a word after Luca thanked him.

  Luca passed a look to Mac, then to Massimo, and quickly to his daughters. His gaze lingered far longer on his wife still waiting by the running chopper. The noise was loud, but Mac still heard the quickly spoken words between the boss and his father-in-law.

  “Go ahead,” Massimo said, “you can thank me in a minute; I think she’s missed you a great deal. She’s never asked me for anything, after all, except for you, Luca. Then and now.”

  Luca gave a short nod. “Me, too.”

  Mac kept Melina close as Luca passed by his three daughters, though he gave each one a quick kiss. Neeya met her husband half way across the old, cracked tarmac. The way Luca hugged his wife, picked her up until her feet didn’t touch the ground, and held her there was enough to make Mac look away.

  Privacy, he thought.

  Every man needed it in moments like those.

  “I don’t think I need to ask anything,” Melina said quietly.

  “Why not, doll?”

  “Some things are just bigger than me, Mac. This is probably one of those things. I don’t think it needs to be made about me, you know?”

  Yeah, he did.

  “Who got the guards?” Mac asked when Massimo’s gaze drifted in their direction.

  The old man cracked a smile. “Someone sly enough to not be caught, I suppose.”

  “That tells me nothing.”

  “Like father, like son, Mac.”

  Mac stiffened. “Enric?”

  Massimo tipped a hand high as if to wave off any concerns Mac was thinking to say, but he still thought and felt them nonetheless. Enric had, for a long time, led Mac to believe he was in the same position as his Capo where Luca was concerned. Unable to see his father. Disallowed visits. Refused calls.

  How much of it had been lies?

  How many people all around them had been lying for this?

  Melina tugged on Mac’s suit jacket, drawing his attention to her again. He swore she could read his mind just by looking at him, and she repeated her earlier sentiment again in a new way. “It’s not about us, Mac. It’s about something bigger than us.”

  Luca was still hugging his wife.

  Neeya’s feet still hadn’t touched the ground.

  Mac remembered those words Luca had told him about his wife many months ago. There is only one thing in this world other than my surname and the legacy it holds that belongs only to me now. Neeya knows what that is—she has always known. I’ve never doubted that.

  Mac realized, Luca had been talking about Neeya.

  And maybe—just maybe—Mac could empathize with that. Because had it been his wife, had a second chance dangled in front of them when everything else seemed hopeless … fucking hell, Mac hoped Melina would take it for them because he would take it for her.

  No matter the cost.

  “I want to ask how this was done,” Melina said, shaking her head.

  Massimo laughed. “Don’t bother. I won’t give an answer.”

  “Why isn’t Enric here, too?” Mac asked. “We’re here to say goodbye, right? I got that much. Everyone else is here—his daughters, us, and you. We’re going to say goodbye, so why isn’t Enric here to do the same?”

  “The wheelchair made it a bit difficult, and Enric chose not to risk it. I pressed, the young man made his choice. Besides, he had a job to do, and he wanted to do that well. He’s a lot like his father in that way. Sometimes, at the detriment of one thing, you perfect another. He knew that meant he would make sacrifices elsewhere.”

  Well, then …

  “All right,” Mac said, his attention going back to the two people now approaching them.

  “Massimo,” Luca called out above the sound of the chopper blades, “I don’t know how to thank you for all of this.”

  The older man tipped his hand in that dismissive way again. “No need to bother, Luca. Anything for my Neeya. We agreed on that long ago, didn’t we?”

  “We did.”

  Mac and Melina stayed back while Luca and Neeya chatted with their daughters and Massimo. He figured the private conversation wouldn’t be appropriate for them to listen in on, anyway, and the chopper’s spinning blades helped to muffle the conversation.

  It wasn’t long before Luca’s gaze turned on Mac, and the man came closer.

  “Melina, could we chat?” Neeya asked.

  Mac wasn’t surprised that his wife stepped away from him without hesitating.

  “Boss,” Mac said when Luca stopped in front of him.

  “Not anymore,” Luca replied with a smile.

  A kind smile.

  Mac didn’t think he had ever seen that from Luca before.

  “Someone’s gotta be the boss,” Mac joked, “and for all purposes, it’s—”

  “Not going to be me,” Luca interjected. “Not after today.”

  “I didn’t realize I was important enough to get a meet with you before you head … where is it you’re going, anyway?”

  Luca lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know yet. Those weren’t a part of my requests. Probably somewhere warm. Somewhere with lots of sand. Neeya loves that kind of place. She’s been the Pivetti Queen for two decades—steadfast and always at my side. It’s time for her to relax, so I don’t give a shit where we go as long as she’s happy about it.”

  Mac cleared his throat. “And your girls?”

  Luca cracked another smile. “Just like their mother, but with enough of me to color them up. They’re smarter and stronger than anyone has ever given them credit for. They’ll be fine, and we’ll meet up again someday. Neeya won’t stay away forever. They have Enric to look out for them. Their grandfather to fall back on should they need him … and you, too.”

  “Of course, b—”

  “Not anymore,” Luca repeated firmly. “And unless you don’t care who you give that title to, I suggest you quickly figure out how to get the rest of the family to call you by that name, Mac.”

  He froze on the spot. “I—”

  “Some bosses are born, Mac, but far more are made. It’s a position you tend to
learn better once you’re in it.”

  “Funny, I seem to have a man who has gained far more allies in the family than me lately.”

  Luca tipped his head sideways a bit. “Anthony.”

  It wasn’t even a question.

  “Why did he go to the prison the day we thought Neeya was killed? Why did you let him in to see you, but not me?”

  “Snakes are predictable,” Luca said simply, “in the way they will slither to the closest warm thing if they believe it will benefit them to do so. See, that’s why we tend to step on the snakes before we see them. Men rarely realize that they’ve been struck by a snake until it’s too late.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, Luca.”

  “Anthony is a snake. He thought I was an opportunity. Given the situation, I allowed him to think we were on the same page. I couldn’t very well explain to him that my wife wasn’t actually dead if I wanted to continue on with my plans, could I?”

  “You still could have seen me.”

  “You’re not thinking beyond that moment, Mac. Consider those you think are allied with him are currently in a state of panic. When all that smoke and dust clears, a boss will be gone, a dead wife will have risen, and Anthony will have no answers. A man who should know—yet he won’t. Someone will, now, but he won’t.”

  “He’s been working on your seat since you went into lockup.”

  “And you’re the only one who saw it happening,” Luca said with a grin, “so make sure your ass sits down in my seat long before his does. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, I got it.”

  “Sound a little more sure, Mac.”

  “It’s been a big day to take in.”

  “Tomorrow, it’ll be over,” Luca assured.

  Mac wasn’t so sure about that.

  For Luca, yes.

  For him?

  It felt like the world was waiting.

  What the fuck was he supposed to do?

  Wink and wave at it?

  A heavy, cloying grief had become a part of Melina’s life since the moment she’d learned of Neeya’s death.

  That grief was now lifted and replaced with a myriad of emotions she wasn’t ready to deal with yet, especially saying goodbye again.

  “You look exceptional … for a dead woman,” Melina said.

  Neeya Pivetti lifted a well-manicured eyebrow. “You’re angry with me.”

  Melina shook her head. “No. I was, but only for a minute. Some things don’t require an explanation.”

  “You finally understand the most important lesson of all. Life without love is meaningless.”

  Neeya’s gaze left Melina and fell on Luca. A subtle sheen of tears shined in the woman’s eyes.

  “Yes, it is,” Melina agreed.

  The older woman came closer and touched Melina’s face. “In the short time we have known each other, I have come to love and care for you as if you were a daughter of my own.”

  “That means more to me than you know.”

  Melina swallowed the lump in her throat, blinking away the tears forming in her own eyes.

  Neeya opened her mouth to speak but closed it and nodded at someone off in the distance.

  “Our time is short, but I must ask a favor of you, Melina. Something I dare not trust anyone else with.”

  “Name it,” Melina managed around the lump in her throat.

  “Look after my daughters while I’m gone.”

  A tear slipped down Neeya’s cheek as her mask of refined elegance finally slipped.

  A mother’s worry.

  A mother’s naked fear.

  Melina knew the feelings all too well. They’d become a part of her existence from the moment she’d become pregnant with her own child. She couldn’t imagine the depths of Neeya’s own emotions as she prepared to face a new life … without her daughters.

  “Of course. Whatever they need.”

  Neeya’s hand dropped away as she placed a soft kiss on Melina’s cheek. “Thank you.”

  “No thanks necessary. You’d do the same for me.”

  “Indeed I would.

  Melina sighed. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”

  Neeya shook her head. “Not goodbye. Just an I’ll see you later and now that I know I have you looking out for my girls I can rest a little easier.”

  The older woman held out her arms, and Melina went into them hugging the Pivetti Queen hard. She didn’t fight as tears flowed down her cheeks.

  “Be safe, Neeya, wherever your journey takes you.”

  The two women moved apart, each wiping away their tears that had fallen.

  “The same to you, my dear. Just remember that the strongest piece on the board is always the Queen. Your time is now.”

  Understanding dawned on Melina. “Are you saying what I think you are?”

  “You’re a smart woman. I never speak unless I have something worth saying.”

  Neeya patted Melina on the shoulder and gestured towards the helicopter. She understood immediately. The time for saying goodbyes was over. Each step seemed heavier than the last as the two women joined their husbands and the Pivetti daughters. Luca Pivetti’s eyes lit up as his wife came to his side. Wrapping his arm around her, the weary man placed a kiss atop her forehead before beckoning his girls to come closer.

  Melina felt like an outsider as she watched the family exchange hugs and kisses. Tears misted in her eyes. The love the Pivettis had for their family was in the air. It dripped from their pores like a fine sweat, glistening and evident. The separation they would all be forced to endure was unjust, but maybe somehow, some way they would all be together again someday.

  “It’s time.” Massimo’s voice cut over the sound of the helicopters blades.

  Melina reached for her husband’s hand, sliding hers easily into his.

  “It’s going to be all right, doll.” His lips brushed against her ear.

  She turned to him and noted the emotion swimming in his own eyes. This was affecting him too. It would to anyone that had a heart.

  “I hope so,” she said.

  Massimo came forward and put his arms around his granddaughters. “Time to go, girls.”

  The three young women nodded, and Melina bit her lip as she watched them hug and kiss their parents one final time before they were ushered into a waiting car by their grandfather. The two couples watched in silence as the girls were driven away. When they faced each other again, Melina noted the fresh tears going down Neeya’s cheeks.

  “And now I too must take my leave,” Massimo said as he came to stand beside his son-in-law.

  Luca held out his hand. “Thank you again … for everything.”

  The two men shook.

  “Take care of her. If not you’ll answer to me,” Massimo warned.

  A tic moved in Luca’s jaw, but the man wisely nodded. Massimo Dinunzio was a man you didn’t want to cross, even if you were a once formidable crime boss. Even now Luca was still wise enough to know that.

  “Daddy,” Neeya said. A hint of a smile played on her face as she held out her arms to hug her father. The two embraced briefly before Massimo patted his daughter’s cheek and turned to Mac and Melina.

  “Best of luck to the both of you. A shit storm’s coming.”

  His piece said, Massimo got into the car that had brought him and was speedily driven away.

  “Make me proud, Melina,” Neeya said.

  “Always.”

  Neeya reached for Melina’s hand briefly before letting go and turning to her husband.

  “Ready?”

  “I’ve never been more ready,” Luca said.

  He nodded briefly towards Mac before he took Neeya’s hand and helped her into the helicopter. Taking a seat beside her, Luca closed the door and the blades began to twirl even faster. Mac pulled Melina back away from the force of the winds made by the blades as the helicopter rose into the air and sped off into the evening sky.

  “Let’s go home, doll.”

  Melina allowed M
ac to lead her to the remaining car and opened the door for her. She climbed inside. When her husband joined her, she took Mac’s face in her hands and kissed him. He returned her kiss with equal enthusiasm before he stopped.

  “Why did you stop?” Melina asked.

  “Because I’m not inclined to give our driver a free show.” Mac reached for her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to it.

  “Good point.” Melina was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “We have a lot to discuss.”

  “Yeah, we do, but for now let’s just enjoy the ride.”

  “Yes. Let’s.”

  The world they knew was on the verge of changing forever, but how that change would be brought about was best discussed elsewhere. For now, she would enjoy the comfort of her husband’s arms as they silently contemplated the new future ahead of them.

  Melina awoke reaching for her husband, but found the space beside her empty. After finally returning home yesterday evening, they’d spent a quiet few hours with their son before going to bed. They’d fallen asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms. Mac hadn’t said much yesterday, and she hadn’t pushed for anything. Sometimes a person just needed to be alone with their thoughts. But the time for silence was over.

  Getting out of bed, Melina pulled on her robe, brushed her teeth and left through the bedroom in search of her husband. It didn’t take her long to find him. She leaned against the doorway frame. Mac leaned over Marquise’s crib watching their son as he slept, but there was a tenseness in his body. Unease curled all around him.

  “Good morning, doll.”

  Mac stretched to his full height and faced her. Shirtless, with a pair of pajama pants that hung low on his hips, the sight of her husband never failed to leave her a little bit breathless. And a whole lot grateful. She crossed the short distance to where he stood and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  “Every morning with you is.”

  Mac raised a brow. “What did I do to deserve you stroking my ego so early this morning?”

  He kissed the tip of her nose and then twice on the lips. Melina smiled at him, momentarily lost in the hazel of his eyes.

  “Nothing particular. I just felt like stroking your ego since you got out of bed before I could stroke something else this morning.”