by Anna Lewis
“Well ma’am, Mr. Aberdeen, all I can tell you is that for now, the most we can do is call over to Chicago PD and make them aware of this Giovanni. You’ve done the right thing in the past by calling in the domestic violence incidents while you were still with him. As long as you continue to report any further developments it will make a stronger case against him so we can throw the book at him. But as for the mafia involvement that’s going to be harder to prove and I’d suggest you stay out of it Mr. Aberdeen. The best course of action is to be careful, stay vigilant, and call anything in. Here’s my card…” Officer Donovan gave both Maddy and I his card, he’d given Jackson one as well. After a few more assurances that they’ll do what they can for us, I led Maddy out of the police station.
“It sucks when you have a criminal reaching across several different jurisdictions…it makes him harder to squash,” I said, frustration was like a rock in my gut.
“Yeah…he’s crafty like that,” she sighed. We got into the car for Michael to drive us back to the penthouse.
“So what are we doing for Gio’s birthday? It’s next Friday right?” I asked.
“Yeah, I asked him what he wanted to do, but he’s…I don’t know, he’s depressed and it’s scaring me. I mean he’s only just turning six, he shouldn’t be dealing with all of this,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Maybe we can take him to talk to someone,” I offered.
“I don’t know…” she hesitated. Hell I didn’t like the fact that taking Gio to see a therapist was a conversation we were having, but what was going on was a lot for a kid to witness. My dad was my absolute hero when I was that young, I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it would be like to have a reality where he’s a villain.
When we got back to the penthouse Aunt Aida was actually playing the Wii with Gio. They were playing Mario Kart of all games. I had to hold in my laugh. Aida wasn’t a frumpy old woman by any means, she was attractive for her age, her laugh lines made her loveable, but she had a sharp mind and wit and often held herself in a well-read fashion. So to see her being a kid was pretty surprising.
“Oh, you’re back…” she spared us a short glance and Gio barely looked at us.
“Hi Mommy, hi Josh,” he said and got back to the game. I spotted Jackson step into the living room and he gestured for Maddy and I to follow him.
“What’s up?” Maddy asked him. I wondered what he could possibly have for us since he got to the house only seconds before we did.
“Perry received a…call.”
***
“A call? What kind of call?” Maddy asked, we were only in the kitchen so had to keep our voices low.
“We believe either Giovanni himself or the third man he sent to ambush you called the house. Of course Perry intercepted the call and recorded everything,” Jackson gestured for us to follow him back to the library. “Play the recording,” he told Perry who hit a button on his computer.
“It’s a shame I missed them, but I guess I can leave a message…” the recording played a deep and distorted voice, the kind you hear in thriller movies. The kind fucking serial killers used. “Tell Maddy that we’re coming to pick her and Gio up. He shouldn’t spend a birthday without his father. You can do whatever makes you sleep well at night, have a couple of my guys arrested. But the end result is inevitable.” With that the recording ended.
“They hung up directly after that,” Perry said.
“How’d they get this number?” I asked, looking to Jackson who sighed.
“Anyone can hire a private investigator and unfortunately phone numbers are practically public record.” I cursed under my breath and slid an arm around Maddy’s waist. She was rigid and glancing at her face I saw her expression was carefully blank.
“We can send this over to the police, though I doubt they’ll tell us anything different from what they did tonight,” Jackson said.
“Jackson…I don’t know if I should even ask this of you, but do you think you can send a couple guys to Chicago to try and dig something up on Giovanni, anything that can help speed things along and land him in jail for life?” I put it all out there, knowing my request was a hefty one even for a security firm as large and versatile as Jackson’s.
“Actually I was going to suggest we do something like that, Mo and another P.I. of ours that’s interested in the case wouldn’t mind heading to Chicago at all,” he said, surprising me.
“Alright then, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” I said and he gave a small shrug.
“I think that by now plenty of us are invested in keeping your family safe and taking care of the Giovanni problem, you can count on us,” he said.
“Thanks Jackson, that means a lot,” I said sincerely.
“How much will it cost to send the P.I.’s over there?” Maddy asked.
“That’s on us, there won’t be any change in fee,” Jackson said, glancing briefly from Maddy to me. After a few more reassurances that his guys are on it, Maddy and I left him and Perry to it.
“I can’t believe he just…called here while Gio was in the house,” Maddy said, “without us,” she added. “And don’t tell me not to worry, everything will be okay, because…this is just getting tougher and tougher to navigate.” She threw her hands up in frustration and walked away. I watched her head to the bar in the dining room. Then she walked to the living room balcony with a glass of something brown.
“Ha! I beat you Aunt Aida!” Gio shouted while Aida chuckled.
“I guess I’m not as good at this game as I thought,” she said. I walked over to the couch, deciding to give Maddy the space she needed.
“You just have to keep practicing,” he said kindly and Aida pulled him close to give him a smacking kiss on the cheek.
“Hey Gio, what do you think about going for a haircut with me tomorrow? After school?” I asked him and he thought about it, clearly reticent about the package deal of going to school.
“Okay…” he ended up giving in with a sigh.
“So what are we doing for dinner around here?” she asked me as she got up. Her eyes were on the balcony though, watching Maddy stare out at the city.
“We can see what we have to make,” I suggested and stepped into the kitchen with her.
“So what’s going on, fill me in,” she said as soon as we were out of Gio’s earshot.
“Well anything Giovanni sends our way we’re turning over to the police. They booked the two guys who broke into her apartment and harassed her outside her job. Then Giovanni or his thug called the house while we were gone with a message, more like a threat.”
“You know…when Maddy lost her parents she thought moving away from New York was the right thing to do, she wanted to find herself in Chicago and I encouraged her. Then she met that Giovanni and I had a bad feeling about him from the start. There was just something…off about that man. Now…now he’s terrorizing her and Gio,” she said sadly.
“We won’t have this dark cloud over our heads forever Aida, we’re going to stop Giovanni,” I told her confidently, believing in Jackson and his firm’s capabilities.
“And after that? Poor Gio asked me today if he would become a bad guy like his dad…” she said in a low voice, shocking me to silence. I had no words for that, but a lot of hot anger towards Giovanni that was certain. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair.
“I’ll try and talk to him tomorrow…” I said slowly.
“Maybe you and Maddy should think about getting him someone to talk to,” she suggested. If Aunt Aida was saying it, that meant I wasn’t off the mark. Gio would definitely need someone to speak his language and clear things up for him.
“Hey Gio, want to help us figure something out for dinner?” I called him over and Aida pretty much took the lead. I glanced at the balcony, Maddy was still out there.
***
Maddy
I took a deep breath and glanced down instead of out at the breathtaking lights of the city. When a serious wave of dizziness hit
me from staring eighty flights down I backed away from the balcony and sat down on one of the balcony chairs. I couldn’t believe this was my life. For one, the fact that my son and I were living in a penthouse with my billionaire boyfriend was enough to handle. But then add on the fact that my ex was actively trying to kidnap Gio and I and Josh hired an entire team to protect us and it was enough to make a person start drinking.
“Hey…” I didn’t hear Josh step out onto the balcony, so started a bit at the sound of his voice. “You’ve been out here a while, aren’t you cold?” he asked, coming to sit down with me.
“No, the…brown stuff is keeping me warm,” I glanced at him with a smirk and he chuckled, very deliberately taking my glass away. “Why don’t you have anything in their proper bottles?” I asked him curiously.
“So I was trying to be fancy with the bar, put everything in decanters and whatnot, sue me,” he said with humor in his voice. “How you holdin’ up?” he asked me curiously.
“I don’t know honestly…sometimes I feel like we’re going to be okay. There’s no way Giovanni could possibly get to us, and other times…” I shook my head and let out a heavy sigh. “He just scares me; I know how single minded he can be. If he believes he’s going to take us, then…”
“No, he won’t take you because I’m in the way,” he said, trying to be comforting. Josh was a great guy, anything and everything I could have dreamed of and more. But he didn’t know Giovanni. Not like I did, not like Gio did.
“Don’t underestimate him…” was all I said, whispering.
“Come in and help us make dinner. Aunt Aida found stuff to make homemade pizza…like from scratch. Gio’s having a blast with helping her make the dough,” he said, chuckling.
“I’ll come in in a second,” I said.
“Maddy…” Josh took my hands in his, forcing me to fully face him. “We need you to be strong, for Gio…” he pushed the hair out of my face and cupped my chin in his hand.
“I am…trying, but it’s hard when I’m constantly trying to push past all of those memories and…” my throat closed as tears threatened to fall. “I’m sorry I’m putting you through all of this,” I said softly.
“No, you aren’t putting me through anything. We went over this, it’s all on Giovanni for not knowing how to let you go,” Josh ran his fingers through my hair and he kissed me on the neck before pulling me up. “Come on, let’s make pizza.” I took a deep breath and stood with him to go to the kitchen. Gio’s eyes were on me as soon as I stepped in from the balcony.
“Mommy look!” he held up his doughy fingers and pointed to the ball of dough he was helping Aunt Aida knead.
“Looks like you’re a dough master,” I said, making him laugh.
“Like the little man on the Toaster Strudel box!”
I laughed at that, it was a whole discussion when I explained to him who the Pillsbury Dough Boy was. Gio was chattering non-stop all through dinner and while he was making it with Aunt Aida. He knew I was having a tough time and refused to even sit in his own chair, opting for my lap at the dinner table.
“Mommy if I go to school tomorrow will you be okay?” Gio asked me in all seriousness as I tucked him in for bed. Right after dinner Aunt Aida headed home and I made sure Gio got ready for bed.
“Of course I’ll be okay, I’m going to work tomorrow too, so we’re getting back to normal,” I said and brushed his hair from his face.
“I don’t want daddy to bother us anymore…” he pouted and I kissed him on the forehead.
“He won’t be bothering us for much longer. Don’t you worry,” I said with conviction for his sake. Though my chest felt oddly hollow, I didn’t truly believe my own words.
“I love you Mommy,” he said and wrapped his arms around my neck. I gave him a hug and another kiss before leaving his bedroom, turning on his night light on my way out. I was heading into the bathroom for a quick shower and instead found Josh running a bath in the claw foot tub.
“What’s this?” I asked and he gave me a boyish grin.
“I’m drawing you a bath,” he said simply and then turned off the water before coming over to me and pulling me close. He gave me a soft peck on the lips before he slowly pulled my shirt off over my head. My bra followed the shirt, hitting the ground and he wouldn’t even let me step out of my jeans on my own. Once I was naked I slowly slid into the perfectly warm and fragrant water.
“This bath is…perfect,” I said, feeling the bath salts effervesce at the bottom of the tub.
“Don’t laugh at me, but I usually draw baths for myself,” he chuckled. He sat down next to my head and rested his arms on the edge of the tub, staring at me attentively.
“So I think you and Aida are right…Gio’s going to have to talk to someone after all of this is over,” I sighed.
“We’ll find someone good, he’ll be alright,” Josh said, always ready with a reassurance.
“Are you going to join me…or just watch my boobs float in the water?” I teased, making him laugh.
“I kind of like the idea of observing the buoyancy of your boobs,” he chuckled, but stood up and undressed. I watched with interest as he took off his button up and slacks. I never would have pegged Josh to be the work casual kind of guy, especially as he always seemed to sport tank tops and shorts when he was a kid. Even in the winter he’d be wearing nothing but a tank top or t-shirt under his coats.
Why are you smiling?” he asked as he slowly lowered into the tub across from me. His legs settling on either side of mine.
“I’m just remembering how you used to hate wearing clothes. My dad would chase you away whenever you came over in the summer wearing nothing but swimming trunks. Neither of us even had pools.” I chuckled.
“Yeah I was a weird kid, why’d you like hanging out with me?” he asked and I cracked up.
“I got used to you, you’d always hang around me and I’d always see you sitting on my front stoop, then we became friends,” I chuckled.
“Yeah…I loved you at first sight,” he admitted and I scooted around to relax against his chest. After our bath, Joshua dried me and himself off before carrying me to the bed. His lips found the sensitive skin of my throat and he trailed kisses and nibbles down to my nipples. Sending electric sensations dancing through my veins. I captured my lip in between my teeth as I watched him make his way down to my inner thighs. He kissed each one before licking along the lips of my sex.
Already my hips moved restlessly, he held them down while he licked against my clit relentlessly. My back arched as I fisted my hands in the sheets. He slid two fingers into me and thrust them right against my g-spot. I cried out, my body trembling with my oncoming orgasm as he didn’t let up. I cried out again as the orgasm crashed over me, sending my mind elsewhere while pleasure coursed through me.
Before I even came to he was sliding into me. His lips on my neck as he moved his hips against mine with an urgency that had me unable to catch my breath. Josh came suddenly and his hard thrusts sent me over the edge into another dizzying orgasm.
“I’m not letting him near you,” Josh whispered when we’d both come down from climax. He pulled me tight against him and sealed his mouth over mine. Kissing me deeply, letting his tongue caress mine. Soon enough he was moving inside of me again. He swept me away in pleasure yet again…I don’t think we got much sleep that night.
***
Josh
Maddy left for work in a considerably better mood compared to the funk she was in the night before. Gio noticed she was feeling better as well, and was more willing to go to school. I was on the way up to my office at the Rorke Tower, I had a big meeting with my partners, we were going to create the much needed board. As I hurried back to my office I noticed a crisp white notecard sitting on my desk. I picked it up and read it over twice, my blood running hot with instant anger. In almost calligraphy-like script it read, ‘I have everything on you, yet you’ve got nothing on me,’ accompanied by a smiley face. I called Jackson up to the
office and he strode in two minutes later.
“Found this shit on my desk,” I said, handing him the card.
“Whoever it was that dropped this off is probably long gone, but I’ll get someone to check out the perimeter and help me sweep the office,” he said.
“How are your guys doing in Chicago?” I asked him before he could leave.
“They’re hard on the leads we do have, I hope to hear something promising from them come tonight or tomorrow morning,” he said. I took a deep breath and simply nodded. Jackson left and I tried to center myself before heading into the meetings that would take up most of the day. But that note pissed me off and there was no coming back from my slightly murderous mood.
I had Jackson get updates on Maddy and Gio who were fine. There was no suspicious activity around Gio’s school or Maddy’s job. That gave me only a little peace of mind, mostly I was distracted with the drive to pluck Giovanni out of whatever smug hole he was in. Three o’clock couldn’t have come fast enough. I had my driver take me to pick Gio up for our appointment at the barber. The little guy put a smile on my face when I saw him jogging out of the school building with a huge smile.
“Josh guess what! I got an A on my spelling test,” he practically shouted the news at me as he leapt right into my arms.
“What! That’s incredible man, high five,” I held up my hand and he gave me a high five.
“Can we show mommy before our haircut?” he asked me as I took him back to the car with me.
“How about we save it as a surprise for her when she gets home?”
“Okay, so what kinda haircut you gonna get?” he asked, chopping up his normally good grammar for a six-year-old. If Maddy were present she’d correct him right away.
“Something to keep the same style, what about you?” I asked and he thought about it for almost as long as it took for us to get to the barber on Fifth Avenue.