“Can we trust him?” I ask Franklin.
Franklin gives Conway an appraising look. “Yes. He almost has as much motivation as you to see Greg out of the picture.”
Conway nods. “He planted false evidence on my work computer. It’s in the permanent logs if anyone thinks to look for it, and all they need is a word from him to check. It would ruin me in an instant. I’d probably spend the rest of my life behind bars. I’ve been dealing with it, but I’m ready to be done. I want my life back. I have grandchildren that I would like to watch grow up. So if I can help nail this fucker, I will.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Fair enough. Is there any way we can talk about this with Damian?”
Franklin shakes his head. “Not quite yet. They are going to want to question him before he can talk to anyone, but we made sure he has the best lawyer money can buy. We need to do this on our own and make sure things are already in motion before the trial. If we can make our move before the public hears about this, it will be even better. Our chances of getting the legal system to look the other way will dwindle if we’re on every news station. Public officials are particularly cautious about taking bribes and giving into intimidation when they know they are being watched.”
“So where do we start?”
“WIth the good news,” says Franklin. “I was digging around and came across this,” he reaches in his briefcase and pulls out a manilla envelope, handing it to me.
I frown in confusion, pulling a piece of paper from inside. “My paternity test? I already saw…” My eyes widen as they scan the page. “This says Greg...isn’t the father. But when he—”
“It was a forgery. He didn’t have Damian’s DNA to test, but the baby isn’t Greg’s. As long as there are no other possible fathers, that means…”
His words slam into me. I feel breathless, beside myself. I burst with sudden, immediate need to tell Damian. The baby is Damian’s. My eyes well with happy tears, spilling onto the page. I sniff, smiling and reading the line over and over. Greg Cartwright: No match. “Does Damian know?”
“I thought you should tell him,” says Franklin.
It’s four days before Franklin is able to find a way for me to see Damian. Even then, he had to forge documents to make it look like I was a family member. My heart beats a little faster when I see Callie Citrione on the fake ID. If we are able to get Damian out of these charges and take care of Greg somehow, my real ID will say that soon. I’ll be his wife. When I talk about him I’ll say my husband. It feels so strange, but in a great, butterfly-filled way. At the same time, the lingering fear that everything could be pulled out from under us in an instant keeps me grounded. We’re very far from safe, and even I could end up getting implicated in the crime at any time, which scares me less than the thought of Damian being put in jail.
I know he has done terrible things and most people would say he deserves jail, but I’ve come to know him, and I think there’s a kind and good man inside him. He’s just a person who has had to grow hard and strong to survive in the world he was born into. I know he can find a way to reshape himself to live a life that won’t put the baby and I in danger.
I had to call Aubriella and tell her everything that had happened. She came back from vacation yesterday with Vince, and I didn’t want her to hear it from someone else. She was surprised, to say the least. I guess she didn’t expect her housesitter to get involved with the mafia and a national crime while she and Vince were off vacationing. But from the sounds of it, she had her own share of surprises when she first met Vince, so she took the news better than I expected.
I haven’t had time to visit her again because Franklin and Conway have had me running from place to place helping them gather evidence. It feels good, to be honest. I know it’s probably killing Damian to be sitting on his hands, but knowing I’m doing everything in my power to help my man is a good feeling. I was also satisfied to see the way Franklin and Conway have gradually begun to defer to my judgment more and more often. Apparently I have a good nose for this kind of thing, and I’ve been able to point them in the right direction more than a few times.
I find Damian propped up in a bed and wired up to countless machines by tubes and wires. He’s sitting in silence, eyes dark and distant. When I step in the room, he snaps his head toward me, features softening. “Callie…”
I rush forward, hugging him as carefully as I can.
“Bullet wound,” he grunts.
I gasp, pulling back. “I’m sorry!”
He smirks, reaching out to pull me back in for another hug. “I didn’t say stop. I was just hoping for a sympathy fuck.”
“You have such a one track mind.”
“With a body like yours, can you blame me?”
I stand, putting my hand on my hip. “You really should be more focused on getting out of this without ending up in jail.” The truth about the baby burns in my chest, threatening to burst out at any moment, but I want to wait for the right time.
His face falls a little. “Callie, they are accusing me of over ten murders. I don’t know if I can slip all of that.”
“We’ll see about that,” I say stubbornly.
He grins. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“Actually, yes. I know a lot of things you don’t,” I pause long enough for him to glare at me playfully. “I don’t want to bog you down with the details. You just need to focus on recovering.”
“Fuck that,” he says. “I’ll be fine. I need to know what’s going on, Callie.”
I shake my head. “Just know that we’re making a lot of progress and we’re going to get you out of this soon.”
He grabs my arm, pulling me closer. I’m surprised by how strong he is, even when he’s recovering from a bullet wound. “Tell me.”
The heat in his gaze threatens to break through my resolve. “The baby is yours,” I say.
He doesn’t react immediately. After a few moments, his brows pinch together. “What?”
“Greg forged the paternity papers. It was always yours.”
I could be imagining it, but I think I see tears at the corner of Damian’s eyes. He blinks and they’re gone as quickly as they came though. “You’re sure?”
I smile, bending to kiss him. “I’m sure.”
He pulls me in tightly, hugging me hard.
“Bullet wound,” I say, laughing.
“Fuck the bullet wound,” he says, sliding his hand up my shirt and under my bra. His calloused fingers graze my nipple and it hardens immediately at his touch.
“No,” I rasp. “Fuck me.”
He yanks the cords from his body until he’s completely detached from the machines, pulling me on the bed. I straddle him, feeling his already hard cock beneath the hospital sheets. I pull them down and lift the skirt I wear up to my hips. Damian grabs my panties and pulls, shredding them with a hunger that makes me quiver. I want him so badly that I barely even think about the fact that a nurse or doctor could walk in at any moment. They might even wonder why his “sister” is fucking him in the hospital bed, but I don’t care about that either.
He’s already naked except for the thin gown, and I free his length in one quick motion, sliding my slick pussy over him, grinding myself into him and letting the full length of his cock rub along my valley. He tries to sit up to reach for my tits and then winces, falling back to the bed. I reach behind him and use the controls on the bed to make the bed rise up so he can reach me without straining.
He gives me a curious look. “Have you done this before?”
I laugh. “No, but we may have to get one of these at your place.”
He uses his other hand to circle my already throbbing clit with his thumb. I reach down to grab his cock and guide it inside me. I’m already so wet that he slides in without any difficulty. The width of his length stretches my walls in a way I’ve come to love. I run my eyes down the hard lines of his abs and the sharp V of muscle leading to his cock, unable to get enough.
“I love you
,” I gasp as I feel myself nearing climax. The words slip free and are gone, like birds accidentally loosed into the night. The finality of it scares me and I wish I hadn’t said it out loud. What if he doesn’t say it back? He asked you to marry him, for Christ’s sake. Why wouldn’t he?
He cups me by the back of the neck and pulls me down to kiss me hard, thrusting his tongue in my mouth and swirling against me. “I love you, too,” he says, locking eyes with me.
I said and heard the words with Greg before when I thought I knew what they meant. I had no idea. Hearing them come from his perfect lips is like an explosion inside me. I almost don’t realize my pussy is clenching against him in orgasm. He loves me.
Damian bites his lip, pressing his head back into the pillow. His warm cum fills me. I love feeling him cum inside me so much that I know we’re going to end up with more than one baby if we make it out of this. The thought brings an unwelcome sadness as I slump down, carefully laying myself on him so that I don’t press on the bloody bandage over his chest. If we make it out.
A nurse walks in, looking down at a chart as she comes all the way in the room and beside the bed. She glances up, taking a few seconds to process what she sees. Damian and I lie completely still until Damian laughs.
The nurse blushes furiously and turns to walk from the room.
I think my face is probably as red as the blood on Damian’s bandage as I slide off of him, pulling my skirt down and throwing away the tattered panties he tore off me.
23
Damian
It’s a full week before I’m well enough to be let out of bed. Because of the nature of the charges against me, they are holding me in the Sullivan Correctional facility, where I’ve been now for ten days. Callie visits me every time they let her and updates me on their progress. I’m so fucking proud to see how she’s handling everything. The women I’ve known before would have been crumbling and crying all the time, waiting at home and hoping everything works out.
Callie is spending every day with Franklin and Conway gathering evidence and building a case against Greg and his father. It feels like progress, but it’s far from a sure thing. For all we know, bringing Greg’s whole family to the ground wouldn’t do shit to get me off the hook, but if we play our cards right, we might be able to convince Greg and his father the only way they get out of this without jail is by helping me.
Benny sits on the other side of the visitation window. I’m apparently dangerous enough that the only way I can safely talk to someone is through bulletproof glass with a phone.
“I delivered your message to the Sanatores,” says Benny.
“What’d they say?”
“They are interested, yeah.”
“They sure as fuck should be. There are literally millions to be scammed out of these Cartwright pricks. Did you pass along my suggestion?”
Benny smirks. “Yeah. You would just knock open the wall and yank it out. Figure the combo out later or force your way into the thing. They seemed to consider it.”
I feel a flood of relief. Good. If everything falls into place perfectly, we may just make it out of this after all. Maybe. It’s going to require a lot of luck and a hell of a lot of finesse, but damn if we don’t have a chance.
“Remind me why you want to tip the Sanatores off to this rich guy’s motherload again?”
“Because there’s no way I’m going to be able to go after them the way I wanted to before. If I make it out of this case without jail time, they are going to be watching me so close that I won’t even be able to steal a pack of gum. Taking the Sanatores down in a hail of gunfire is off the table, especially now that I have a baby on the way.”
“You still have me. Just tell me what to do.”
I shake my head. “It was one thing to ask you to risk your life beside me for revenge, it’s another to sit here and watch you go do it by yourself. No. It’s not going to scratch the itch as much as we wanted, but we’ve got to at least try to take them down another way, a way that won’t get you killed.”
“And how is stealing Greg’s safe going to help make that happen?”
“That depends on how we end up playing it, but trust me. If they take that safe, they’re fucked.”
After Benny leaves, they lead Vince in to visit. He’s wearing a suit with a blood red undershirt. His skin is tanner than usual from the vacation and he looks good. He looks happy. I’m glad to see it, even if he and I never found a way to get along.
“Hey little brother,” he says into the phone.
I smirk. “I’ve got an inch on you,” I say. “Watch who you call little.”
“You don’t have an inch on me where it counts,” he says.
I smirk back at him.
“How are you doing?” he asks, face growing serious. “Is there anything I can do?”
I shake my head. “I’m okay. I’ve got something in the works.” I swallow some of the anger and bitterness I’ve held toward him for all these years and put my fist to the glass. “Thanks for coming by.”
He pounds his fist against the glass. “Take care of yourself, Damian. If you need anything, just ask. Okay?”
I nod, hanging up the phone and waiting for the next visitor to come in. Franklin strolls in, still wearing that silly fedora and overcoat. He grabs the phone and I pick up again.
“We’ve got something big. I found a legal loophole that could be a difference maker.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask.
“Human trafficking,” says Franklin. “Greg’s father had a maid brought over from Sweeden and they ended up having an affair. Well, the maid brought charges of sexual abuse against him. Said the sex was never consensual and that she wasn’t paid for her work. She was about to bring it to trial when deportation paperwork started to be filed against her and her family.”
“I thought human trafficking was big shit, like crates of prostitutes being shipped around?”
“Not always. And this may end up being a wasted charge, but if it gets brought against him, it means he legally has to open his books to the feds. They’ll have freedom to dig through every last number and receipt. They’ll find enough to bury him if they do, and all that evidence is going to lead them straight to Greg. It will be a demolition of the Cartwright empire. All I need is your word to go live with it.”
“No. Not yet. We need to bring what we have to Greg and make him see that he’s royally fucked if we push it through. If we pull the trigger before he helps us, he’ll have no reason to do what we want.” Besides, I want to make sure the Sanatores go down with the Cartwrights.
Franklin purses his lips. “You got it.”
Conway comes in as Franklin leaves. I have grown to actually like the old fuck, despite the initial impression he gave me. He has a disdain for the system that I can absolutely get behind. My kind of guy, really.
“I need you to pull whatever strings you can to get monitoring equipment on Greg. I want to know who he calls, when he calls them, and what he says.”
Agent Conway shrugs. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good.”
Conway dips his head to me and leaves without another word. Straight to business and no bullshit. I like that about him.
The one visitor I’ve been waiting for finally comes into the visitation room. She’s wearing a tunic and leggings, the hint of her perfect curves just beneath the long shirt driving me wild. I vaguely wonder if I could vault over the top of the bulletproof glass and have my way with her before the guards got in here to separate us.
“I hate seeing you in here,” she says sadly, putting her small hand against the glass.
I press mine to it. “Well, don’t get used to it. I think this is going to work.”
“I hope so.”
“Hey,” I say, forcing her to meet my eyes. “I’m going to find a way to be there for you and the baby, even if I have to break out of this fucking place.”
She grins. “Don’t go breaking out yet, Rambo. Let’s see if the slightly less i
nsane plan works first.” She presses a hand to her stomach. “We will wait for you, no matter what happens.”
24
Callie
Aubriella sips a cup of coffee at the table across from me while Vince holds her protectively by his side. We’re in a little cafe a few miles from the prison. Seeing her with her man gives me aches of longing. A tear surprises me, rolling down my cheek and splattering to the table without warning. I wipe my eye, shaking my head.
“Sorry. I know I haven’t been with him long. I must look ridiculous.”
Aubriella gives me a sympathetic smile, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. “You don’t look ridiculous at all.” She looks at Vince, biting her lip. “Not that he needs an ego boost, but I was head over heels after about a week.”
“A week?” he asks. “I was head over heels after about four seconds.”
She gives him a sour look. “You mean around the time you were threatening me?”
“Hey,” he says, smirking. “If I didn’t like you, I would’ve skipped the threats and went straight to the actions.”
Aubriella’s cheeks flush pink. “I don’t seem to recall a very long period of time passing before the action. Does that mean you didn’t like me?”
Vince winks at me. “I’m sorry about her. She missed her calling. Should have been a lawyer, I think.”
I laugh. Seeing them still so happy together after kids and so many years warms my spirits. “Can I ask a question? An uncomfortable one, maybe?”
They exchange a look and Aubriella waits for Vince to nod. “Go ahead,” he says, voice serious.
“How do you make it work, with the, well, business?”
Aubriella answers. “It took time. We both had to make compromises, but in the end, I don’t think it was that different than any relationship. There’s always going to be areas of compromise, give and take, you know?”
Mine (Citrione Crime Family #2) Page 15