I scrolled through my phone to Sam’s number and decided to send a text. I would send a text every day if I had to.
Sam, I know you won’t take my calls but we have been friends since childhood. I can’t believe you have cut me off like this. Why won’t you speak to me? Why have you taken leave? Please speak to me. I miss you. Brooke.
I got his reaction to that night. I got that he was confused and probably angry, but to dismiss our friendship was making me mad. He knew Robert, he knew all the guys, and he had worked for Vassago for a long time, so I was confused by his silence. I picked up my book to distract my thoughts from him.
The boys were swimming, racing each other from one end of the pool to the other. Their laughter was infectious, and I smiled along with them. I thought back to the conversation I’d overheard. I wouldn’t question Robert’s request to not leave the house, not until he thought it safe. Those boys needed us all, and if anything should happen to me, or them, I’d never forgive myself.
A car passed by the pool house—a car I didn’t recognise. I wasn’t concerned; no one could get in unless allowed, but I slid from the daybed and walked to the drive. Gary climbed out the drivers seat.
“Nice car,” I called out.
I had no idea of the make, but it was a smart, black, of course, with dark windows, four wheeled drive of some sorts. I walked over to investigate.
“Just picked it up,” he replied.
“What is it?”
“A Cadillac. Pretty neat, huh?” Gary had a broad smile. “Not as nice as the Range Rover, mind you,” he added.
Evelyn and Franco walked from the garage. I smiled as they made their way towards us. He was being so brave, although that word seemed silly when applied to an adult. He gave me a smile back and nodded his head to Gary before climbing in the back.
“We’ll be about an hour I guess. I think Franco is keen to get back to New York,” Ev said.
“Okay, I’m sure Gina can make arrangements.”
As the car drove away, I made my way back to the pool house. The boys were still racing each other, although the distance had shortened. I settled back down on the daybed. I thought about the past couple of days and it surprised me to not feel as scared as perhaps I should have. But then again, I’d been attacked, I’d shot someone, I’d done some terrible things and survived. I had hardened up to the lifestyle I found myself in, and I wouldn’t change one part of it.
****
The boys dressed after their swim and I made breakfast. My ‘famous’ bacon sandwiches were ordered. I sat at the breakfast bar while they ate and chatted about plans for that day. They were getting restless, wanting to visit friends, go to the home to play football with the other kids and generally just get out of the house. It wasn’t enough to just play outside. It had only been a few days since the attack but they were bored. I pacified them with a promise to see what I could do. A thought popped into my head and I sent a text to Gary. Hopefully he would have time to pick something up for me, a surprise for the boys.
While they headed back out to play, I placed a call to Taylor.
“Hey, honey, bored yet?” she said when she answered.
“Yes, so are the kids. I sent a text to Gary to ask him to pick up a trampoline. Hopefully that will entertain them for a while. I need to think about a tutor as well.”
“Is there any news? Mack’s not saying anything.”
“I don’t think there is yet. I know Travis was going to take another look at the CCTV. I imagine it would take a few days for the police to finish their investigation.”
“I spoke to Patricia earlier. She’s missing the Old Wives Club,” Taylor said with a laugh.
The Old Wives Club was what we called ourselves. We met once a week at the club for lunch. Naturally, that had been put on hold.
“I know. Hopefully it won’t be for too long. I sent a text to Sam today. He hasn’t replied yet.”
“Give him time. It must have been a huge shock for him. Have you tried calling Scott?”
“I’m going to do that later today. How’s Petra?”
Petra, Taylor’s daughter, had recently returned from a field trip to Africa. She was training to be a vet and wanted some experience in wild life. It had taken weeks of persuasion and lots of tears for Mack to agree. She had also just taken up with a member of the security team; that was something Mack was most unhappy about.
We chatted back and forth for a while until I saw the Cadillac arrive. Evelyn escorted a clearly distressed Franco from the car.
“I need to go. Evelyn and Franco have just come back. Speak tomorrow,” I said.
I made my way downstairs and out the front door. Franco’s shoulders were hunched. This broken man had clearly replaced the proud one from yesterday. Gerry and Harley stood on the lawn and watched, unsure of what to do, I guessed. I gave them a smile and mouthed that everything was okay as I passed.
Gary was unloading a large box from the boot. The sight of the box had the boys squealing with excitement.
“I’ll put this up,” Gary said as I passed. I smiled my thanks.
“Shall we get you inside,” I said as I approached Franco.
“Brooke, take my arm. My knees are not so good today,” he replied.
I linked my arm with his, Evelyn was to the other side and we walked into the garage and towards the stairs. We wouldn’t fit three abreast, so I took a step back and walked behind.
We settled Franco on the sofa in Evelyn’s apartment. He rested his head back and closed his eyes.
“She looked just like she does when she sleeps,” he whispered.
I was unsure how to respond verbally so I took his hand in mind. He was so cold, his skin so paper-thin with prominent blue veins across the back of his hand. His gnarled fingers closed around mine and he squeezed with a strength that took me a little by surprise. I looked at our joined hands.
“That hand has killed many men,” he quietly said.
I looked up at him; his brown eyes were filled with tears of such anguish. He rested his head back and closed his eyes again.
“I did a terrible thing once. I kept a secret that should never have been kept. This is my penance.”
Evelyn looked over at me and I shrugged my shoulders. We sat in silence for a while and watched Franco drift off into sleep. The day had certainly taken its toll on him. Evelyn and I stood and as quietly as possible left the apartment.
“What do you think he meant?” she asked as we made our way down the stairs.
“I have no idea. Maybe he doesn’t either. Perhaps it’s just grief. What happened today?”
“He saw her, obviously. It distressed him that she had no clothing on, just a sheet. The undertakers will transport her to New York and there will be a service, then she’ll be taken home.”
“When will that happen?”
“The coroner wants to determine cause of death. Franco won’t allow an autopsy, so I don’t know to be honest. Either way, Franco wants to return to New York. He seems in a rush too, and I don’t know why.”
“Maybe he would feel more comfortable among friends.”
“Possibly, but we’re family. I don’t know, Brooke. I worry for him. Should I go to New York with him?”
“Would he want that?”
“No, but I can offer.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of shouting.
“Mom! Mom! Look what we’ve got!”
The trampoline had been erected and before Gary could finish attaching the safety net, the boys were somersaulting and bouncing around. Evelyn and I sat on a wooden bench under the shade of a large tree and watched.
It had taken Robert a year or two to not worry that everything Gerry did would result in an injury. I had a more relaxed attitude. Having had a brother that liked to climb trees and Sam who liked to dress up, I had the best of both worlds. My thoughts turned to Sam. I took my phone from my pocket hoping to see a missed call or a text. There was neither.
I scrol
led through my contacts until I found Scott and dialled. Like Sam’s, his phone went to voicemail. I left a message asking him to call me back, telling him that if neither returned my call, I’d be making a trip to visit them.
“Still no word?” Evelyn said as I replaced the phone.
“No, and to be honest, Ev, I’m getting a bit pissed off. I understand he’s upset but to completely ignore me is not okay.”
“Isn’t Gary going to check on them?”
“He is, later today, but that’s not the point.”
“I know. Give him time. I’m sure it will all be fine in a day or two.”
I didn’t have the confidence she did. Sam was a stubborn bastard when he wanted to be. I remembered a time when we were children. We had never fallen out, we’d quarrelled, but one day we argued, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was about. He would wait for me at the garden gate to walk to school, sit next to me in class, all without saying a word. He kept that up for three days until one morning he spoke as if nothing had happened.
Chapter Six
It was late by the time Robert and Travis returned home. The boys were already in bed. Harley was in his apartment with Evelyn watching over him. Their day of swimming and bouncing on the trampoline had worn them out. I was relaxing on the sofa with a glass of wine when the Range Rover swung onto the drive. I watched through the window as Robert and Travis exited the car, stood for a moment and chatted before each going their separate ways.
I rose from the sofa as Robert made his way up the stairs.
“Hey, how was your day?” I said as he walked towards me.
“Okay, yours?” he replied as he pulled me into a hug.
“I bought a trampoline. It kept the boys busy for a few hours.”
“I saw. How was Franco?”
I filled him in on the day while I poured him a glass of wine. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it over the back of the sofa before he took a seat. I watched as he rolled his shoulders, releasing tension I guessed.
“Do you want dinner yet?” I asked.
“No, come and sit with me for a while.”
As I took the seat beside him, he reached for my hand.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked. He was clearly stressed about something.
“Paulo took the flight to Rome, and it’s fucking with my head not knowing why.”
“Can you ask Paul?”
“No. I have a bad feeling about this. I don’t want him to know that I know just yet.”
“Could he have gone to see Lucia?”
“I don’t think so, but I want to show you something.”
He stood and tugged on my hand as I followed him to his home office. After taking a seat, he fired up his computer and opened an email. There was a blown up image of the man I had seen in the alley. It was very distorted and he had his head bowed, the hood of his sweatshirt covering a portion of his face.
“Do you recognise him?” Robert asked.
I shook my head. “No, I know I said he seemed familiar but I don’t know.”
Robert opened another email. It had the same image but beside it, another. A photograph of a young man—a man I did know.
“Shit!”
“Compare the two. See that little scar, just on his cheek? There’s a similar scar on this one.”
Robert pointed to a small white line on the clear image and then to one just visible on the blurry one. I looked at the olive skin, the dark hair and straight into the eyes of Carlo, Lucia’s son.
“They’re the same height and same build. I think our bomber was Carlo,” Robert said.
“Why?” I asked as I leaned forwards slightly
“Revenge, perhaps. I don’t know just yet.”
“Revenge for his father?”
“As I said, I don’t know yet.”
“Franco said he was talking to someone in Rome. Is he talking to her?”
I was finding it hard to say her name. Lucia had caused so much pain in my life and I thought I had gotten over it, but to see her son on that screen brought back unwanted feelings.
“No. She’s living a quiet life outside of Rome. I keep track of everyone, Brooke. Well, clearly not as well as I should have.”
We sat in silence for a moment looking at the images on the computer. He was just a young man. Could he have really brought a bomb into the hotel? He could have been killed himself.
“Are you sure this is him?” I asked.
“Not entirely, but the similarities are there. I’m waiting on information and that information isn’t coming as quick as I’d like. I don’t like to wait for anything.”
“Who is Franco talking to?”
Robert sighed. He ran his hand through his hair as he swivelled his chair so he faced me.
“That’s something I can’t tell you, not right now. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t know how to deal with what I know.”
I frowned. Robert not knowing how to deal with something was a worry. He usually always had a plan and if he didn’t, it troubled him.
“So what do we do?”
“We find out who Paulo was visiting and we wait for confirmation if Carlo is, or was, in the US.”
“What will you do if it’s him?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“I’ll put a fucking bullet through his skull,” he replied, his voice barely a whisper.
“He’s just a…”
“He’s someone who tried to harm my family, that’s what he is.”
“But you said the bomb was small, maybe just a warning.”
“Maybe it was, but two people died.”
We stared at each other, his eyes as dark as night. “I will kill anyone who attempts to harm my family.”
I closed my eyes as he cupped my cheek with his palm. I leaned into his gentle touch. How could this man be so loving, yet so brutal at the same time?
“Our son was in a room with just one door separating him from that prick. Do you think I’d let that go unpunished?” he said quietly.
“No, but Carlo is someone’s son too.”
“Everyone is someone’s son, Brooke. He has challenged me, he’s taken my family on. He better be man enough to follow that through.”
I looked back at the screen. “How old is he now?”
“Late teens, early twenties I imagine. Old enough to blow up my fucking hotel.”
Robert was reminding me what had been done. I understood that he was a man who would rise to any challenge, who would defend his family until no one was left standing, but it didn’t sit well with me. But then Carlo—if it was Carlo, of course—was old enough to know exactly what he had done. I shook my head, wanting to rid myself of his image. I hastily tucked it away in the very overflowing box upon box chained and padlocked in my mind.
“Let’s eat, I’m hungry,” I said as I rose.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
I made my way to the kitchen. Evelyn had been in full production mode over the past couple of days, the fridge was stocked with pasta dishes. I removed a plastic container and opened the lid. The smell of her famous tomato sauce and succulent meatballs wafted through the room. My mouth watered.
Placing a pan of hot water for the pasta on the stove, I scooped the meatballs into another to warm them through. As hard as I tried for them not to, my thoughts strayed to Carlo. But then I looked to my left and sitting atop the counter was a folder. I reached for it. It contained all the handwritten recipes Sofia had sent me over the past four years. Her scratchy handwriting, often diagonal across the page, was hard to read. I had translated some of her words. Some of the pages were stained with whatever ingredient I had been using that day as I followed her instructions. I ran my fingers over her handwriting. She deserved to be remembered, she deserved to be avenged—her death should not go unpunished.
“Fuck,” I said aloud before giggling.
I sounded like a character from The Godfather. I had been well and truly indoctrin
ated into Robert’s world.
I tested the spaghetti, squeezing a strand between my fingers to check it was cooked before calling for Robert. As I served our dinner into bowls, he strode across the room. He replenished our glasses with red wine and we sat at the breakfast bar to eat.
“We need to decide what we’re going to do with Gerry and Harley. I don’t want them to miss too much school and they’re getting restless,” I said.
“I’ve got another car coming for them. I don’t want anyone travelling the same route in the same cars. I guess if we up their security, they can go back to school.”
“And talking of security, what about you and Travis?”
“We’re okay. Mack is organising a new security team schedule.”
It was about as much information as I was going to get. Robert continued to eat, finishing way before me.
“I left a message for Sam and Scott today, told them I would visit if neither rang me back,” I said.
“And did they?”
“Nope. I want to go to the apartment tomorrow.”
“Brooke…” Before he could finish his sentence, I cut him off.
“It wasn’t a request, Robert. I understand, I totally get it, okay? You’re worried about my safety. I’m worried about my safety. But this is important to me. I’ve known that man all my life. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
I watched him raise his glass and take a sip of his wine.
“I know who I’m looking out for. I’ll go straight there and back again,” I said.
“Fine, but I go with you.”
I smiled. I didn’t care who accompanied me, I just wanted to see my best friend, to find a way to talk to him face to face and repair the damage.
“How about now?” I asked. If he was amenable, I might as well take advantage of that.
He sighed, he always sighed, but nodded his head. I sent a quick text to Evelyn asking her to sit with Gerry before rushing downstairs to grab my shoes.
Fallen Angel, Part 4 - A Mafia Romance: Fallen Angel Series Page 6