by Marlene Hill
Chuck came back carrying two plastic chairs with arms, and Nonna directed him where to place them. He insisted Nonna and Giulia take the plastic molded ones, and he took the wooden straight-back already in the room. Nonno Tony opened his eyes and assessed the situation.
‘‘Chuck, whatever your intentions are with our Giulia, for today, you’re part of our family. That means what I have to say stays here. Understood?”
“Absolutely, sir, uh, Tony.”
“Good. First shut the door and if anyone tries to come in, even the doctor, you will deal with them. Va bene. Here’s what happened.”
“Not far from home, two cars blocked my way and four men leaped out.” Tony sighed and continued. One thug yanked him out of his car and punched him in the face, then tossed him on the pavement where he struck his knee. He had presence of mind to act as if it were broken and hoped they wouldn’t try to break the other. He heard them discuss the possibility. “For once I was glad to have this white hair, because they decided one broken knee was enough for the ‘old coot.’ So they merely kicked me in the chest.”
“Oh, Nonno Tony!” Giulia cried. She’d almost said “poor Nonno” but that would hurt him more than the beating. “What happened then?”
“They had a message from their capo. ‘Fake granddaughter. Fake gems. Don’t snivel for payment. Don’t work in Vicenza. Not in Verona. Not in Padova. Be glad you’re alive.’ I remember trying to say not fake granddaughter, but I must have passed out.”
“They left him in the street,” Nonna snarled in outrage, “his car engine running. Someone came by and called the police.” She went to him and kissed his hand. “Promise me, Tony, no more.” He squeezed her hand, nodded his head with a sigh and closed his eyes.
“Let’s take a break,” Chuck said. “I’ll go find some coffee. Or tea?” and he looked at Nonna and Giulia.
Tony roused. “Let the women go, Chuck, I want to talk to you.”
After the women left, Tony called Chuck to his bed. “I’m weak now, but don’t count me out yet, big man.”
Chuck laughed. “That thought never crossed my mind.”
“Good. First off, those gems weren’t fake but Botteri took the opportunity to grab them for free. My fault. I shouldn’t have brought Giulia into it, and I should have listened to her when she said she’d go in disguise. That gave him an excuse to renege… and attack. Those diamonds were legit. I’ve had them stashed from way back. Thought it’d be a good time to break into the jewelry business in Vicenza. Whatever I broke into was not il mio piano di battaglia, my battle plan.” He shifted in bed and heaved a sigh wincing as he did.
Chuck wisely dismissed Tony’s wince of pain, and asked, “What can I do?”
“I need someone to go to the house and assess the damage. Those hoodlums wouldn’t stop with me. Thank God, Maria Grazia was with her weaving group, or they might have hurt her, too. So far, I’ve kept her from going there until I could find someone to check the whole place out. My friends would do it and they’ll help me restore it, but the instant you walked in—che diavolo, well hell—I knew you were the man for the job.”
“Absolutely.” Chuck caught himself from saluting. “Tell me what you need and consider it done.”
“You’re a man of action,” Tony said as a statement not a question. “But be careful. You’ve been in combat, right?”
“Special Forces.” And before Tony could continue, “Relax, Tony, I’ll check for possible explosives.”
Tony took another painful breath and settled back. “I like the way your mind works. My keys are somewhere around here. Ask Maria Grazia. Unless they destroyed everything, you’ll find a good flashlight and tools in the shed. Look in every room, even the little attic room where Giulia always stays. Those thugs will have made an unholy mess looking for more gems. Fools! I never keep valuables on the premises. Hope they didn’t destroy Maria Grazia’s loom.”
“Do you have a truck in case I need to haul anything?” Chuck asked.
“Yes. Thank God my neighbors were unloading gravel the day before. It’s parked across the street. Those animals wouldn’t have known it was mine. Get those keys, too.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.
Giulia and Nonna came back with coffee and sandwiches. Tony was snoozing or feigning sleep to prevent Nonna from arguing about not going home yet. But when Chuck told them what he’d be doing, Nonna relinquished the keys without a word.
As he went out the door, Giulia handed him a packet wrapped in white paper. “Take a sandwich.”
He took it, smiled, holding her gaze for an extra moment.
* * *
Two hours later, Chuck came back. “It’s a mess, for sure, but I think it can be set right in a few days. I’d like to help, Tony. I don’t have to be back until Wednesday.”
Giulia added that she’d left a message about missing her Monday class. “I don’t teach on Tuesdays so we have some time.”
Tony roused. He and Chuck talked in more detail about what needed to be done. Chuck was able to board up a window and re-set the hinge on the front door left hanging askew.
“Giulia, you and your nonna can stay at home tonight,” Chuck said.
“Young man, I want you to stay in our home, too.” Nonno Tony said.
“Yes. We have plenty of room,” Nonna said. “You are most welcome.”
“Giulia?” Nonno Tony croaked. His voice sounded raw.
“I’m here, Nonno Tony. What can I get for you? Water?”
After a few sips, he said, “What did Botteri say? What did you say?”
She told the story again with as much detail as she could remember.
“Tell me again about the person who tried to sign you up to be Botteri’s kept woman.”
Nonna gasped and Chuck rose up, then sat back feeling betrayed. He thought she would have told him all that on the way here. She’d been more frightened than she’d let on. Obviously, he didn’t have her full trust—yet.
Giulia felt uneasy, but she told about Laura, the tea, the fact that a certain gentleman wanted her exclusively and the contract offered as Giulia had dashed from the hotel.
“Does he have your name?”
“No. I used Nonna Mirella’s name.” Giulia felt comfortable to talk about the name business. “At the time, I thought I was being clever, but now I can’t go back to him and explain I am your—”
“Never go back to that man, precious. Never!” Tony began coughing. It was obvious each movement was painful.
“Calma, Nonno Tony, calma. More water?”
After another sip, he leaned back. “Avoid him. He wouldn’t believe you, and you’d be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life.”
“What a mess I made.”
“You? I’m the one who pulled you in and to make things worse, didn’t take you seriously. I’m sorry, little one. In any case, his kind would have cheated me anyway. Those gems were real. On the phone, I told that thief I couldn’t remember how many were in my safe box but I’d send about fifteen or twenty for his appraisal and possible purchase. I trusted he was a legitimate business man. I’m the one who messed up.” He slumped back and was quiet.
“It’s all over, Tony,” Nonna said, but he had drifted off again.
Nonna turned to Chuck. As soon as we set up the kitchen, you’re invited for dinner.”
Chuck had recovered and stashed Giulia’s lack of trust in him away for now. “Allora,” Chuck said. “I was thinking of taking you ladies out tonight.”
Nonna smiled but began to protest.
“The only place I know is Trattoria alla Cerva. Ever since I knew I’d be coming here, I’ve been hankering for their pasta with bolognese sauce made from the local deer.” He stopped. “Or, is there another place you’d rather go?”
“I’ll go with you,” Nonno Tony said rousing himself to a sitting position with the help of the mechanical lifter. Nonna rushed to him and gently pushed him down, whispering, “Not this time, mio leone, my lion. Not this time.”
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He muttered that the bolognese was his favorite too, but in the end he acquiesced. The three left, promising to bring him pasta and sauce.
As they drove away, Nonna was sitting beside Chuck in the front seat. Giulia, who had crawled into the small area behind, began to reassure her grandmother about her loom.
“Nonna,” Chuck said turning to her, “your loom looks doable. It lists to one side, but the hard wood and sturdy hinges held. We can set it right.”
She nodded. It seemed to him that Nonna’s mettle was plenty strong to handle a damaged loom. He didn’t mention the extra time he’d taken in the small attic room that had been Giulia’s ever since she’d been little. It still held a young girl’s feel. Most of the available wall space was filled with posters of Venice. One depicted a charming putto. The chubby cherub held a book in his hands. A natural choice for a young girl who loved to read. Another poster puzzled him. It held a prominent place on the slanted roof at the foot of her bed. Must have been there a long time because the edges were curled and tattered. It showed a stone lion as big as a horse—a horse with a huge lion’s head and frowsy mane. More humorous than frightening.
Sitting sideways on the creature’s back was the goddess Minerva, helmet and all, including her symbolic owl perched on top. Odd. Why had that fascinated Giulia? And where in Venice was it? Then it came to him. The lion had to be in the Giardini, the Public Gardens, because green shrubs grew around the sculpture as well as gnarled oaks and large Spanish chestnuts. He’d ask later. He’d also ask more about the business of Botteri wanting Giulia to be his exclusive mistress. Jeez!
After dinner, they dropped by the hospital with food for Tony. But too groggy to eat, he sent it on home and bade them a drowsy good night.
Nonna and Giulia showed Chuck to his room. Giulia was ready to drop in her tracks and they all said goodnight. But Maria Grazia seemed energized and began to tackle her kitchen. Because his room lay close by, Chuck heard her humming as she worked. Maybe she felt relieved that Tony’s sporadic lifestyle was coming to an end.
Chuck grinned to himself. Tony might be in his late seventies, but as he had said to Chuck, he wasn’t down for the count yet. Right away, he’d liked the guy and right away wanted to know more about him. Even in his weakened state, Tony showed signs of being a forceful leader. Chuck wondered about an Italian Resistance connection.
Soon his thoughts turned to Giulia. Yes, he wanted sex with her, but with this woman, he wanted more. He wanted to see her let go of that iron coil wound around her. He wanted to know if she had any girlie bones in that sensual body? Did she squeal at a spider or water bug? Did she read in bed? Did she sleep on her stomach or back or on her side? Nude? He could almost feel her soft body beneath him. Oh yeah, he wanted her. And thinking of that wild-maned lion, he wanted to be her lion the way Tony was to Maria Grazia. Lots more work before that can happen, he thought.
* * *
Exhausted, Giulia stretched out on her attic bed and thought of Chuck’s full, sexy lips tucked into that half smile. She remembered the feel of his rock-hard thigh under her hand as they’d driven here. Oh God. She shuddered, imagining another part of him that might be equally as hard.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Oliver knew all about Pensione Luciana, having driven there while still smarting from the insult of Giulia’s knee in his groin. Ever since that afternoon, he often parked across the street behind her pensione hoping to figure a way inside. He needed to punish her for what she did—not to mention that self-righteous prig, Novak, finding out about it. Oliver got hard thinking about that day when he saw her breasts jiggle as she kneed him. He moved his seat back, reached to unzip his pants and grabbed his erection. He wished he had one of her bras. Yeah. Panties to match would even be better. Was Novak already into hers?
He cleaned up with a towel kept under the driver’s seat and relaxed. That’s when he noticed steps leading up to what might be a first-floor apartment. Through the early-evening shadows, he focused intently on the four doors at ground-floor level. Pensione Luciana must also have apartments for rent, he thought. Her landlords were bringing in a nice income. Did they declare the apartments? Never know when such info will come in handy.
He’d need a damned clever story to get inside one of those rear entrances. But then what? Her file didn’t show a room number. A couple of times he had followed Cavinato, but that proved a dead end because he couldn’t enter that front entrance with her. He would enter her place. Maybe even her. And with that thought, he felt his blood heat up again.
After he discovered those rear doors, locating her bedroom took up all his free time. Except for important meetings, he made it a habit to swing behind the pensione to watch for a chance to get inside. One evening, he sat at his usual place across the street out of the lamppost’s circle of light. He’d been ready to call it a night and reached to turn the key on his sleek Mercedes, when he saw her walk up those steps.
Gotcha!
* * *
It was late Sunday morning, and Tony had stationed his wheelchair in the sunshine between the back of the house and the shed to direct Chuck and friends gathered to help. When Giulia brought him a cup of coffee, he urged her to sit beside him. She’d been helping Nonna prepare lunch for everyone. Chuck came from the driveway carrying wood from the local lumberyard.
“Chuck take a break and come sit,” Tony called.
“Be there in a second,” he yelled.
“Giulia, bring yourself coffee. For Chuck too, va bene?”
When the three were settled, Tony launched into his fear for her safety in Vicenza. “Giulia, now’s the time to make your move to Venice. You should have gone directly there in the first place.” He held up his hand. “You think you need to work and save a tad more—always more. I understand. But you must leave. That brutale mascalzone, vicious villain, will keep looking for you if only to get back at me. It’s just a matter of time before Botteri or one of his henchmen spots you in Vicenza.”
“Maybe so.” Giulia said, thinking of the thug who’d followed her.
“Maybe? No maybe about it,” Tony said.
Chuck said, “Someone did try to follow her home after—”
Giulia jerked her head toward him and scowled.
“Lord!” Nonno thundered. “What’s that about?”
Giulia sagged back in her lawn chair and told how a man plodded behind her after she’d delivered the gems. “I managed to hop on a bus the moment it pulled away leaving him no chance to follow.”
“That was quick thinking, coccolona, but we can’t wait for the next time.”
“But I wore my wig.”
“Pollastrella!, chickie,” he said taking her hand. “It takes more than a fancy wig to disguise your forma divina.”
“Nonno,” Giulia said, blushing. She released her hand and lifted her cup.
“É vero, Chuck?”
“Si, si, Tony, it’s true,” Chuck said, hoping to catch her eyes.
“Allora. You must find that place of your dreams as soon as possible. I want you to disappear into Venice away from Botteri’s territory—at least I hope his territory hasn’t reached Venice.” He turned to Chuck. “You live in Venice, don’t you?”
“I do.” Chuck turned to her, “I’d like to help you find an apartment if… if you want.” He took her hand and this time, captured her eyes.
“I would like that,” she said.
Chuck nodded, taking that as a sign she’d forgiven him—maybe.
“Good,” Tony said. “I’ll pay the first month’s rent and whatever deposits are needed to get you in fast.”
Giulia started to protest, but Maria Grazia came out to see what their confab was about. When Tony explained, she nodded her head in agreement.
“Chuck, maybe you can help Giulia find a place?” Nonna asked.
“Already settled,” Tony said holding Maria Grazia’s hand.
“Perfetto. Now, Tony, come lie down before we spread lunch. You’ll wear yourself out
. You want to be in good form with your friends, eh?”
He submitted to her and said he’d come in a moment and Chuck could push his chair to the door. Giulia left with Nonna.
“I don’t need you to push this rig. I can manage, but I want to ask you something personal-like,” and he looked directly into Chuck’s eyes.
“Okay,” Chuck said.
“Have you slept with her?” Tony asked, still looking straight into Chuck’s eyes with his own so incredibly like Giulia’s.
“Not yet,” Chuck said, grinning.
Tony grinned, too, and held up a finger. “Don’t wait long. She’s got barriers. I hope you’re the man to break them down. Something happened but she won’t talk to me. If Maria Grazia knows, she’s not talking either.”
“I’m working on it, Tony.”
“Good.”
“Toneee,” Maria Grazia called from the kitchen window.
“Coming.” He grinned at Chuck, “The lioness is getting restless.”
* * *
They accomplished a lot during the rest of Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday noon when Giulia and Chuck left, the house looked much better and so did Tony. Giulia said she’d come back the following weekend, but both grandparents insisted she spend time looking at rentals in Venice.
On the way back, Giulia seemed more relaxed and thanked Chuck once again for all the help he’d been to her and her family. “I appreciate your offer to help me find an apartment, but I can’t let you give up your free time for me.”
“Giulia, don’t you know by now I want to spend my free time with you?”
She looked out the window at a fast-moving stream tumbling over small boulders and downed logs. “I did notice. Guess it’s me; I’m out of practice in the relationship thing. I… I’ve been closed down,” she said. “After a long—”
“You could practice on me,” he said reaching for her hand and holding it on his thigh again as they drove on through the forest of pine, fir and cedars.
“Giulia?”
“What?”
“Tell me more about the woman named Laura. How’d you meet her?”