She was blowing off a string of obscenities and telling him she would be glad when Caprizio finally put a bullet in him.
“Are you done?” came his unemotional question.
She blew up again, but this time she finished by saying he had a deal. “Enjoy your victory now because it won’t last long.” She hung up.
Micah put the phone on the nightstand and stretched out on his bed. He had told David to get some sleep in the guest room. They would pull out and head for Pensacola at midnight. It wasn’t quite six p.m., but he needed all the rest he could get. The trip would only be about four hours, but he wasn’t going to take the chance of a flat tire or some other unforeseen problem making him late for the most important meeting of Leese, Nadia, and Kimmy’s lives.
By eleven-forty-five the men were packing their gear. They cut the padlock off the back of the box trailer and replaced it with their own. Micah put his coil gun and cartridges in the cab of the truck, and David put his in his car. Micah didn’t want David to bring his real guns, but he understood his reasons. He hadn’t made the same promise, and if it came down to the women’s safety, David said he needed his advantage—guns in the hands of a Gavarreen were one hell of an advantage.
The streets of sleepy Pensacola were practically desolate when the bright pink box truck and the BMW rolled through town heading south for the beach house that Micah rented over a year ago when he came here to kill a young woman. He checked with the property management company and found out it was vacant once more. He thought about Leese’s belief that God does everything for a reason, so it seemed appropriate to him that this is where it would end.
He placed two additional calls in the wee morning hours while he was driving, one was to Ryan to tell him to expect them around four a.m. and the other was to Bev and Matt. He had a story to tell them that sounded a bit unbelievable, but it wouldn’t be the first time they’d been involved in this families unusual problems. Once he calmed them down after explaining that Leese was alive, he asked if Matt would go to the Holiday Inn up on I-10 and check-in, just as he’d done the day of the shooting at the school. He asked for Bev and Matt junior to remain at home, this was too dangerous to bring them any closer, but he needed someone to be there for Giovanni to turn the women over to. Once Matt had Leese, Nadia, and Kimmy in his possession, he was to call Micah and tell him they were safe.
It was his hope that once Caprizio saw the drugs and the two bosses, he would help him set up catching Sharon in her web of lies. What happened to her at that point would be out of his hands.
Ryan was waiting when Micah and David pulled in. He motioned them inside and told them to be very quiet because his charges were sleeping. “Those old bastards are the biggest pair of pansy pain-in-the-asses I’ve ever met,” he whispered. “The only peace and quiet I get is when they finally fall asleep.”
“Where are they?” David whispered back as they walked into the living room.
“Master bedroom,” he answered, pointing to the door that wasn’t far away.
“Together?” Micah asked with disbelief.
Ryan grinned, “Yeah, after you left I found that it was a whole hell of a lot easier if I handcuffed them together. They get into a lot less trouble, and they are starting to learn to cooperate with each other.”
“Cooperate with each other?” David repeated, his eyes getting larger by the minute. What had Ryan done?
“Shhh!” Ryan reminded him. “Yeah, they have to help each other; like eating, drinking, going to the bathroom—”
“You don’t make them do that together, Ryan.” Micah stated, praying the whole time he’d misunderstood what he said.
“Hell yeah they do—I’m not wiping their asses.”
“Ah shit,” Micah stated in absolute exasperation; neither boss would forgive them for this. Micah was pretty sure they’d have both preferred a bullet to this humiliation.
“And this,” David said, giving Micah a hard stare, “was your brilliant idea, to have Ryan watch them?”
“Hey,” Ryan said sounding a little bit insulted, “I did good; neither one of them got away,” he pointed out. “And instead of threatening to kill me every two or three minutes, they only say it four or five times a day now.”
The door to the bedroom cracked open as Vitale Moretti peeked out.
“Ah, now see what you’ve done?” Ryan stated at normal volume. “You woke them up! Come on out guys, I’ll put on the coffee.”
They could hear the two men arguing behind the door, but they refused to open it. Botachelli’s face appeared in the sliver of an opening and told Micah to make Ryan give them back their pants.
“You didn’t take their pants away, Ryan—please, tell me you didn’t.”
Ryan got a big grin on his face and then winked at Micah, “I caught them a few days ago trying to slip out the glass doors through the pool, so I took their pants away and told them we were on a gay beach, and if they wanted to go outside, handcuffed and naked, to go for it. They finally stopped trying.”
David shook his head, “Where are their pants?”
“All right, you can give ‘em back their pants and boxers.”
“Boxers too?!”
“They’re folded up on the washer,” he said pointing to the double doors in the kitchen where the washer and dryer were hidden. “But I’m not babysitting these guys anymore if you’re giving them back their clothes.” Ryan proceeded into the kitchen with no fan-fare as he started making coffee and setting out cups.
Within five minutes the bosses were dressed, although Micah made the difficult decision to leave them handcuffed when the first thing out of their mouths was to get their hands on Ryan and kill him—but he did at least separate them.
Ryan had handcuffed them face-to-face, left wrist to the other’s right and vice-a-versa, so they literally had to assist the other with everything. One man could not have what he wanted without giving into the other. If one wanted a sip of coffee or a bite of food, the other had to allow it by leaning in and lifting his arm toward the other man’s face.
Ryan felt he was fostering cooperation; Micah felt he’d been busy writing his own death sentence. How was he going to protect Ryan when this ended? Both men had the reasons and the resources to have him shot. But no matter what happened beyond this point he knew, whether David believed it or not, he had made the right choice. No one else would have had the balls to do what Ryan did, the bosses would have been released, and Micah’s plan would have been ruined.
Both bosses were chewing Micah and David up one side and down the other when Micah decided to quiet both of them, “Caprizio is flying in at ten. He’ll decide what I deserve for not killing you two.”
“He’ll shoot you,” Moretti stated emphatically.
“No,” David spoke up, his temper flaring, “but I guarantee he’ll shoot your bitch daughter!”
“My daughter had nothing to do with this,” Moretti continued.
“You’re absolutely right,” Micah told him. “If this had gone according to her plan, you’d be dead right now. And so would you,” he added looking at his Boss.
“I didn’t believe you when you brought me here and I still don’t believe you!” Moretti snapped. “I think this has simply been your plan for getting back at her for shooting your wife last year!”
“I tell you what,” Micah said, rising from the table and looming over the angry, older man, “if you still think I’m a liar when today is done, I’ll give you a gun and you can shoot me yourself!” He banged down his coffee cup and walked outside.
Vitale rose from the table and returned to the master bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
Botachelli held David in a solid stare. “I believe Sharon is the root of what happened, but I don’t know if I can forgive him for this,” he said, lifting his handcuffed hands and cutting an angry glance at Ryan.
“Boss,” David said with all anger removed from his voice, “if he had asked you to step down from the Family and go into hi
ding, even though it was only for a week or two, would you have done it?”
“You know I couldn’t. I’m expected to be in power and be unchallenged. The only one above me is the Capo dei Capi. To follow the orders of a soldier, and I don’t care how valuable of a soldier he is, would make me look like a subordinate. I can’t do that and stay in power.”
“And that is why he didn’t have a choice. I know you’re angry, and you have every right to kill him, me, and Ryan, but this was the only plan of action he could take—you didn’t have a choice and that doesn’t drop your authority or power.”
Botachelli didn’t respond, but it was evident by the expression on his face that he was considering David’s words carefully.
CHAPTER thirty-four
Micah and David were both in place at the small airport well ahead of Caprizio’s arrival. Micah didn’t know how many men Caprizio would bring with him, but he was certain there would be several—men with guns with live rounds, not tasers. He didn’t trust Caprizio completely. It was possible that he had plans to shoot him on sight and be done with this whole jumbled affair. Micah wasn’t concerned about the number of guards, but rather the number of soldiers he would bring. He knew Giovanni would be among them, and he was a very dangerous and experienced soldier. They would greet them with their weapons lowered, but they would have them and they would see what Caprizio’s reaction would be.
“There they are,” David said, giving Micah a tap to look toward the west.
Micah had been staring toward the north east and didn’t see the small jet until David pointed it out.
“You think that’s him?”
“Bet you my bottom dollar it is.”
The plane touched down and then taxied to the end of the runway and turned around.
Micah was surprised that the plane bore an Italian business name, La Parte Del Leone Securities and Investments, but instantly he knew David was correct, “The Lion’s Share,” Micah translated, “You’re right, that’s got to be them.”
David grabbed the door handle in one hand and his coil gun in the other when Micah stopped him. “Something’s not right. We’re leaving the guns in the car.”
“The hell if I am,” David growled.
“You’ve got your Glocks on—let’s leave these.”
“But you said you didn’t trust him.”
“Why would he bring that plane, David?”
“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe it’s a big friggin’ warning; like saying ‘Don’t jack with me!’”
“No—that’s his business name. I guarantee he has other planes unmarked, but I get the feeling that plane is a message.”
“Okay, bro, then what’s the message?”
“He trusts us.”
“Hmm,” David scoffed, “maybe he figures we aren’t going to live long enough to tell anyone. You know he’s got to have a shit-load of guards and soldiers with him.”
“Leave the guns. Come on,” Micah got out and started walking toward the plane and David reluctantly followed.
The stairs were lowered by what appeared to be either the pilot or a flight assistant. The first man to emerge looked directly at the approaching men and didn’t look away. His face was set hard, and his jaw clinched tight. A strange chill ran down Micah’s spine. He felt he’d seen this man before, but yet he didn’t know him. He had to be Caprizio. Micah watched him look away briefly, and then the angry expression melted away as the man reached inside the doorway and offered his hand to someone; Nadia appeared, and he began to guide her down the steps.
Micah felt David preparing to take off at a run for the plane, but he stopped him. “Hang in there brother, hang in there,” he whispered as the couple descended. And then Kimmy appeared, but she immediately saw David.
“Daddy!” she yelled out, bolting down the stairs.
There was no holding David back at that point—a freaking semi-tractor couldn’t have held him back! He was moving at top speed toward the little girl who had charged past her mother and had her arms wide open.
He had Kimmy in his arms and off the ground in a flash. He was kissing her cheek and telling her how much he missed her, as she giggled and hugged his neck, saying she’d missed him, too.
Micah watched Nadia’s careful reserve as she released Caprizio’s hand and went to join the happy reunion. Suddenly, he knew something was amiss. Nadia was no captive, she knew Caprizio quite well. He swallowed hard as he looked at Caprizio’s face—now he knew why he looked familiar; his wife bore a striking resemblance to the man before him.
The Capo dei Capi was Leese’s father.
And then Giovanni appeared, helping Leese carefully down the stairs. His heart suddenly felt as if it cracked wide open; he felt that same urge to run as had overtaken David, but his was to turn and run away.
How could he tell her he was leaving her? How could he admit that he’d slept with that wicked little vixen? How could he stand still when she looked up and saw him? She immediately choked up, big tears gushing down her face, but the surprise of surprises was when she turned and buried her face against Giovanni’s chest. His cracked heart crumbled to a thousand pieces.
Giovanni was giving him a look of pure disgust and hatred as he comforted her. Did he know? Did Sharon tell him, and then he told Leese? He didn’t even realize that Caprizio was now standing two feet away from him.
“My daughter has done nothing else other than to beg me not to kill you,” he said reaching out quickly and gripping Micah by the throat. “Giovanni told me about the little video of you and Sharon.”
Micah didn’t even react. He didn’t even feel the incredible pressure Caprizio was applying to his throat as he tried to make sense of what he’d just said.
“If you ever treat my daughter the way you treated that little whore,” he stated with his volume rising, “I’ll blow your fucking head off!”
“Dad stop!” came Leese’s voice as she pulled his hand away.
“Lee!” Nadia snapped
Micah felt Leese’s arms slip around his waist as she moved her body like a shield between them and held on, tears continuing to pour out of her, the whole time she was whispering, “I love you, Micah, I love you.”
He pulled her arms free and tipped her chin up so he could see her face. “I can’t stay, Leese. You’re never going to be safe as long as we’re together.”
Her forehead was spotted red from crying so intensely; her brow furrowed, “Don’t say that. I know what happened between you and—and her, but you love me. I know you love me.”
The warm tears welled up on his bottom lashes making her beautiful face hard to see, “You’re right. I love you more than anything—that’s why I can’t stay. You and our son are never going to be safe as long as I’m in your world. When this is over, I love you enough to leave, Leese. You’ve always deserved so much more, and I never deserved you.”
Caprizio hadn’t moved when she slipped between them, but the expression on his face changed completely. “Annalisa,” he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her ear, “Let me talk to him.”
“No,” she growled back, “all you want is to see him leave. Can’t you get it through your head that he’s my husband and that I love him? If you hurt him, then you hurt me, too.”
“I’m sorry,” Caprizio apologized, “I didn’t mean to fly off the handle a minute ago. Trust me, Annalisa. I need to talk to him—please.”
She reluctantly released her hold on Micah as Caprizio took her arm and guided her to Giovanni. Once again, he was comforting her which, to Micah, felt like placing a jewel in a master thief’s hands for safekeeping.
“Come with me for a moment.”
David looked at him and shook his head no, he didn’t appear comfortable with Micah walking away, unarmed, with this man.
“I’ll be fine,” he reassured David and then they walked under the plane and to the other side.
When they were far enough to be out of hearing, Caprizio stopped him. “You really do love my daughter,
don’t you?”
“More than my life, sir.”
“And you are telling her you’re willing to walk away so she’ll be safe?”
“Yes, sir. The mob won’t interfere with her and my son if I’m gone.”
“You’re wrong, Gavarreen. I know you’re wrong because I made the same choice almost twenty years ago. Nadia was pregnant, and I thought that by leaving I’d keep the mob away from her and Leese. I thought I was being the strong one by walking away. You know who the strong one was?” he asked, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to admit. He pointed toward Nadia and said, “She was. She raised that baby without me, and she did a damn fine job, too.
“Oh sure, I was in the shadows, so proud of my ability to not be found. I wasn’t there for her all the nights she cried herself to sleep wondering where the hell I was. Nadia’s beautiful, just like Leese is beautiful. You walk away and I guarantee there will be other men who will try to sweep her off her feet; men the likes of Robert who will see an opportunity to take advantage of a trusting young woman with money and status. Look at me, Gavarreen,” he growled. “I’m admitting something that rarely ever comes out of my mouth; I made a mistake. You’re about to make the same one.
“But I’ll tell you one thing; you’d better be telling the truth about how much you love her. I understand about Sharon’s games. Giovanni admitted she must have had you by the fucking balls when he acted like he was going to rape my daughter, but—”
“Acted?!” Micah felt the shots of fire going through his veins as he relived that moment when he saw Giovanni nude over Leese’s half dressed body. “Sharon called him off her!”
“Don’t get bullheaded on me, boy,” Caprizio barked. “Pay attention to what I’m telling you. She may have been jacking with your mind, but Giovanni was working for me to keep Leese safe,” he stressed. “But what he told me he witnessed in the video of you and Sharon wasn’t an act. Hell, from the look on your face, I’m wondering if you knew she was filming you?”
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