“I’m in. That bastard killed my grandfather’s partner.”
“Yeah. I’ve heard something about that. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
“Bye.” The ball was rolling now. Tomorrow he needed to go see Vinny Pescoe and let him know who he was, but for now, he planned to take care of the woman upstairs. Bella was absolute toast. He opened the microwave and pulled out steaming bowls, muttering a curse when he burned his fingers on the scalding crockery. “Damn,” he swore again, diminishing the pain with several shakes of his hand. Glancing around, he grabbed one of the oversized cutting boards, used it as a makeshift tray for their dinner, and started up the stairs. He paused in the doorway, studying Bella as she sat on the bed with her back to him, wrapped in a towel with her wet hair cascading down her shoulders. A small box was tucked by her side, and she held something in her hands. “What have you got there?”
“A snow globe.”
“Huh.” He set the cutting board on the dresser and sat next to her, studying the two-story house surrounded by pine trees in the center of the glass.
“Dad gave this to me the night he told me he was leaving. He said I could think of him when I looked at it.” She turned it, stirring up the white flecks with her movements. “For a long time I thought he lived in there.” She smiled sadly as she continued to stare. “I would read to this thing, talk to it. More than once I begged him to come back out.”
He touched her arm, stroking his fingers along her soft skin, overtaken by a wave of sympathy for the little girl who’d wished for her father, for the woman who still suffered from the aftermath of a less than ideal childhood. “He adores you.”
Her gaze locked on his.
“You can see it all over his face—the pride, how much he loves you.”
She smiled. “That’s nice to hear.” She turned toward the box, taking out a picture. “This was my normal—what I’ve been looking for ever since it went away.”
He took the photo from her, studying the four-by-six shot: pretty preschool Bella Colby with a striking woman and her handsome mafia father sitting together on a picnic blanket in a small backyard. Summer was in full bloom in the photograph—ripe gardens thriving. Here he had no trouble recognizing Nicoli Caparelli. “You look a lot like your mom. She was beautiful.”
“In this picture, she was my mom—garden planter, cupcake baker, the woman who would walk me to the library for story time and take me to school. She taught me to read when I was four. She always told me I was going to have more than she did. Smart, pretty girls could have it all. Then she stopped telling me—stopped caring.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, Bella.”
Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I wanted her to believe in herself. I wanted her to be strong.”
“Some people aren’t.” He pulled her against him. “Maybe that’s why you are—because she couldn’t be.”
She held his gaze, her eyes soft, her guard completely down as she cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him. There was no heat, no attempt to deepen the gentle meeting of lips. “How do you know what to say? How do you know how to take away the worst of the pain?”
“I’m just telling you what I see—what I know to be true. You’re so strong, Bella.”
“I never wanted anyone to know, but I’m glad you do. I’m so glad I get to share this part of myself with you.” She kissed him again and rested her head in the crook of his neck as she grabbed another photo. “This was the last picture we took together. Christmas 1994.”
“Your dad was a pretty handsome guy.”
“I only have a couple of pictures of him. He didn’t like to be photographed. Kind of like you, but not for the same reasons.” She smiled.
He glanced from the grinning, sweet little girl decked out in a red velvet dress to the gorgeous woman she’d become, smiling even though he and Nicoli Caparelli were wary of picture taking for exactly the same reason. “Yeah.”
She took the photos back and put them in the box. “Sometimes I like to bring this stuff out and remember. Not very often, though.”
“Because it makes you sad.”
She nodded.
“Bella,” he whispered as he pressed his head to hers. “I wish I could make everything better.”
“In this case you can’t.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay.”
It wasn’t, but they could only focus on now. “How about some dinner? I heated up the soup.”
“I should probably get dressed.” She walked to her drawer and grabbed a black nighty and panty set. She let her towel fall, and pulled flossy black up her firm thigh, and settled the swatch on slim hips. The camisole was next—silky fabric slipping over taut breasts that begged to be tasted, then her sexy stomach.
He swallowed a ball of lust, wanting her, but he couldn’t be with her. Not until he had the answers. He cleared his throat and stood, pulling back the covers. “You wanna eat in bed?”
Her gaze flew to his. “You’re staying here?”
He didn’t have to—he could say no, but this was where he wanted to be. “If that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. I’ve missed having you in my bed.” She plopped down on the mattress and rested her head against the pillows, moaning. “This feels so good.”
Damn, she was killing him. Abandoning his plans for a late meal, he got in bed beside her. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat?”
“I’m too tired for food.” She pulled the covers over them and snuggled up against him.
“You should eat.” Although he wasn’t particularly hungry, either, with so much weighing on his mind.
“I’ll have something in the morning.”
“Or we can have a snack if we wake up later.”
“Mmm.” She looked at him with her big, sleepy eyes. “Thank you for today.”
He brushed her hair back from her forehead. “You’re welcome. Thanks for letting me sleep over.”
“I like having you here.” She settled her head in the crook of his arm as she hooked her leg around one of his.
He shut off the light and hugged her closer, breathing her in, loving the way her body felt pressed to his. It had been over a week since they’d lain together like this. Ideally, tomorrow he would be here just like this again. If there was any justice in the world, Nicoli Caparelli would help him put the pieces together once and for all and give him back the most important part of his life.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Reed rode the elevator to the fourth floor, waiting impatiently as the bright red numbers counted off his ascent. The door finally slid open and he got off, stopping at the nurses’ station.
“Good afternoon.” The nurse smiled.
He sent the woman his best grin. “Good afternoon. I’m here to see Vinny Pescoe in room four twenty.” He gestured to the two cups of coffee he held in his hands.
“I don’t think Mr. Pescoe is expecting visitors today.”
“Yeah.” He smiled again. “Bella, his daughter, promised to stay away today and do something for herself, but I told her I would come check on him.” He shrugged. “Technicalities.”
The nurse chuckled. “That’s very sweet of you. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” He walked to Vinny’s room and knocked.
“Yeah. Come in.”
He used his forearm to press down on the handle and pushed open the door, watching Vinny frown as their eyes met.
“Reed. What are you doing here?”
He was glad to see Vinny had a little color in his cheeks. He didn’t want his visit to cause some sort of setback. “I thought I would bring you some coffee.”
His frown deepened. “You drove an hour to bring me coffee? Did Bella put you up to this?”
He shook his head, setting one of the cups on the tray by Vinny’s bed. “Nah. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Sounds serious.” He turned off the TV. “You here to ask for her hand in marriage?�
�
He choked on his sip of hazelnut java. He was prepared for just about anything today, but Bella and marriage hadn’t been on his mind. “No. We haven’t been dating for that long. We’re not moving that fast.”
“She likes you. I like that you make her smile.”
He studied the sickly man taking a testing sip of his coffee, trying to see him as the ruthless bastard he knew Nicoli Caparelli to be instead of the adoring father. “She’s an amazing, beautiful woman.”
“You’re smart to see that.” Vinny tapped his finger to his temple. “Don’t ever forget it.”
He sat in the same chair he had last night. “I won’t.”
Vinny set down his cup. “So what’s this about, then?”
Time to cut to the chase. “Vinny, I’m a former undercover detective with NYPD’s Special Organized Crime Unit.”
He saw the quick flash of surprise and watched Vinny mask it expertly with a look at his paper cup and another drink. “So the bodyguard thing’s a bunch of BS?”
He shook his head. “I did deep cover for seven years, infiltrating and working my way up into the Caparelli crime family—got myself shot and decided I would give close protection a try.”
Vinny met his gaze again. “This is all interesting, but why are you telling me?”
“Because I know you’re Nicoli Caparelli, and I want your help.”
Vinny smiled. “I hate to burst your bubble, but you’ve got the wrong guy. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He set his cup on the floor next to him and pushed his chair closer to the bed. Vinny aka Nicoli was good—smooth. “Alfeo gets out in a little over two months.”
Vinny’s frown returned. “Who?”
He pushed himself closer again. Nice didn’t appear to be working. “Let’s cut the shit here, Vinny. I worked with Walter Hodds from the Marshals. I know Peter Salada and Terry Upshaw are hoping to find you before your big brother does.”
Vinny’s eyes changed, going flat—killer cold. Here was the ruthless Mafioso. “What do you want?”
“I want you to help me keep Alfeo behind bars. I want something that will extend his sentence and ideally send your nephew away too.”
“I’m gonna tell you like I told Salada and Upshaw when they came knocking on my door a couple weeks ago. Get the hell out of here.”
He shook his head. “I found you, Vinny. So did your daughter with the help of a PI. It took a little digging on both counts, but we found you nonetheless.”
His nostrils flared as he sat up. “You leave Bella out of this.”
He brought himself closer, until his knees touched the side of the bed. “What’s her role? What does she know about your life?”
“Not a goddamn thing, you bastard.” His hands shook now—maybe fear, probably rage. “I left her so douchebag assholes like you would never connect the two of us.”
He wanted so desperately to believe him, but he needed more. “Then what was she doing with Matty and Dino last Saturday afternoon?”
“What?” His breath wheezed out, his cheeks growing pinker.
“Last Saturday in Brooklyn.”
“You’re a fucking liar.” He pointed, punctuation his last word.
Reed took out his cell phone and pulled up the pictures, handing it over to Vinny, watching his face register the surprise—and there was no disguising the ripe fear in his eyes. “Did you send her to New York?”
Vinny grabbed Reed by the collar of his T-shirt, yanking them face-to-face. “Listen here, you little fucker, I don’t know what my daughter was doing with these two pricks, but I’m telling you she has no idea who I am, no idea I had any part in the life. This is some sick coincidence. They would kill her if they knew she had my blood coursing through her veins.” He gave a nasty jerk to Reed’s shirt. “They would let her die slowly.”
He freed himself from Vinny’s death grip, keeping eye contact the entire time. “So help me put them away.”
“Don’t you dare use Bella as a way to get me to cooperate. They have no idea I have a daughter. I vanished off the face of the earth in 1989. I haven’t been seen since.”
“I’m looking right at you, Vinny. Salada and Upshaw were looking right at you, knocking on your front door. If I found you, it’s only a matter of time before someone else does too.”
“By then I’ll be in the ground, so it won’t make much of a difference anyway.”
“Bella won’t be. Bella has her whole life ahead of her. How long do you think it will take to connect her to you?”
“No one can connect her to me.”
“Too many people know your identity: a marshal, two detectives, two FBI agents. Stuff leaks. We both know it.” He pulled one of his old cards from his pocket, wrote his new number on it, and handed it over, grabbing his coffee as he stood. “You think about how you want this to go for Bella. What kind of life are you planning on leaving for her?”
“You stay away from her. You stay far fucking away,” he spat, pointing again. “Don’t think I’m not well enough to get out of this bed, hunt you down, and end you.”
He had no doubt Vinny meant it. The deadly look in his eyes was one more than a few men had most likely seen before they took their last breath, but he refused to be intimidated. “You’ll have to end me, because I’m not going anywhere. I cared about Bella before I knew she had anything to do with you. And having me close, knowing every move she makes, is probably a good thing, because they’ll come, Vinny. Don’t be stupid enough to believe otherwise. It’s not a matter of if. It’s when.” He walked out and down the hall, lifting his half cup of coffee to the nurse at the desk, giving her a small smile as he realized his hand wasn’t quite steady. Adrenaline was surging through his blood.
He pushed the button for the elevator and stepped in, shoving his hand in his pocket as he stared at the bright red numbers on his descent. Bella wasn’t a Caparelli. He let his head rest against the wall and his shoulders relax as he allowed himself to believe what he’d known in his gut. The look in Vinny’s eyes, his reactions left Reed positive that Bella knew absolutely nothing about the mafia. Nicoli Caparelli might have been a skilled liar and killer among other things, but Reed recognized when a man was telling the truth. He never should have doubted that Bella was too.
He glanced at his watch, eager to get home. Now that he was convinced of her innocence, he couldn’t get there fast enough.
The elevator stopped on the ground floor and he got out, waiting until he was back in his truck before he dialed Joey.
“So, how’d it go?”
“He called me a little fucker and he’s definitely stronger than he looks.”
“That well?”
He grinned. “Bella’s not involved, Joe.”
“What was his explanation for the pictures?”
“He didn’t have one, but when he saw her sitting next to Matty Caparelli, I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.”
“And you bought it?”
“One hundred percent.” His light mood lessened as the reality of the situation sank in. “He was afraid for her. He knows they’ll kill her if they ever find out who she is.”
“We’ll have to keep that from happening. I guess congratulations are in order, boss. Your girl’s not a mafia princess after all.”
He chuckled. “Thank God.”
“What’s the next step?”
“Going home. Seeing Bella. I left Vinny my card. We’ll see what he wants to do with it—”
“Hold on,” Joey interrupted as a small commotion erupted in the background and someone muttered something to Joey that Reed couldn’t understand. “Shit,” he said, giving Reed his attention again.
Reed’s shoulders grew tense. “What?”
“Word’s filtering down that another murder just happened over in Bensonhurst. Mob hit. They’re pretty sure it’s Caparelli-related.”
“Looks like my meeting with Vinny happened at just the right time—a little incentive to remembe
r that he could be next.”
“The guys dying are the ones he helped put away when he took down Alfeo.”
“That’s not lost on me.”
“I’m gonna get out of here and head down to the scene—see what I can figure out.”
“Call me when you know something.”
“You got it.”
“Bye.” Hanging up, he turned over the ignition. He didn’t want to think about mafia murders or Nicoli Caparelli for the rest of the day. He was stopping off at the farmers’ market for flowers. Then he was going home. He didn’t know where he stood with Nicoli Caparelli, but he was ready to pick up with Bella right where they left off at the airport.
~~~~
Reed stuck his key in Bella’s front door and muttered a curse when he realized she’d left it unlocked again. They were going to have to work on that, even if she did have Lucy with her all of the time. Dogs were excellent crime deterrents, but deadbolts and a barking Great Dane were even better. He shut himself inside and secured the lock, then walked through the living room, frowning when the house seemed too quiet. “Bella?” He moved toward the stairs and stopped when he caught a glimpse of her through the French doors. He started her way, trailing his gaze over her dark pink tank top and denim short shorts as she sat on the back porch. She’d pulled her hair back in a ponytail and left her feet bare, the perfect complements to her relaxed Saturday attire.
Smiling, he watched her scoop soil into a pot while she said something to Lucy. She was so pretty, so tidy, even among the mess she was making. And she was his. By some crazy twist of fate, beautiful Bella Colby had chosen to be with him. Thanking his lucky stars, he opened the door, catching the scent of her perfume melding with the earthy dirt.
She turned her head and smiled. “Hey, handsome.”
Damn, she made his heart race. “Hey.” He pulled a big bouquet of sunny daisies from behind his back.
Surprise brightened her face as she glanced from the flowers to him. “You brought daisies.”
“Just for you.”
Deceiving Bella: Book Eleven In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series Page 30