Sausalito Nights (Montgomery Beauty Book 1)

by Stephanie Salvatore

  “I needed to see you, Lorelai. I don’t think this… this breakup is right. I love you. I’m in love with you, and we… we should be dealing with this together.”

  She bit her lower lip. “Chris…I-I can’t be with you.”

  The broken shards of my heart shattered into tinier pieces hearing her speak those words as I pressed my lips together. “That can’t be true. I know you’re hurting, I know this is hard, but I want to be there to help put the broken pieces back together. Let me help you.”

  She looked away from me. “You should go home. I’ve caused enough damage in your life, Chris. You deserve someone that will bring you joy and happiness and a lot less drama. I mean, look at me. I’m a damsel in distress ninety-nine percent of the time. I’ve caused you grief and heartbreak…” She trailed off as her voice cracked with emotion and dug her teeth into her lower lip. “I’m sorry, Christopher… but I can’t.”

  “Give me one good reason. Has your love for me faded? Everything we had? Was it a lie?”

  She was fighting back tears with every last ounce of strength she had; maybe I was getting somewhere. “My love for you was never a lie, Christopher! My father tried to kill you. Can’t you see how bad I am for you?”

  I shook my head. “No, I can’t. Cause I would stand by your side until I took my last breath if it meant you were mine.”

  “It’s late. You should get home before your parents wake up and realize you’re gone.”

  “Lor…” I took her hands in mine squeezing them gently. “Never mind my parents. I need you in my life. I love you so much, and it hurts that I can’t be here to take care of you.”

  “I need to take of myself now, okay? I’m sorry for pulling you into my messy life, but you’re free now.”

  I sighed. “I can’t accept that. Look, maybe we need time and space to ourselves. I’ll come back in a few days, we can talk then.”

  I wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  She finally looked at me and nodded. “Maybe, you’re right. Let’s take a few days.”

  Relieved that I got through to her, I inhaled a deep breath. I brought her hands up to my lips and kissed them gently, keeping my eyes on hers the entire time.

  “Go home and get some sleep,” she whispered.

  Letting go of her hands. “You too.” Stepping back, I watched as she shut the door.

  Heading home, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep and decided I would write her a letter, maybe reaching out instead of bombarding her would allow her to come around.

  Dear Lorelai,

  I’m not sure where to start, but I can’t seem to get you off of my mind. I’ve sat here trying to distract myself in every way I know how and still our memories, and your well-being through these hard times, run through me at a million miles a second.

  I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, but I can’t let time slip away without getting some things off of my chest. You are the love of my life; and as I sit here thinking about it, we spent months planning our futures. The traveling we wanted to do, buying a house, and creating mini Lorelai and Christopher monsters. I feel the loss of our child and it tears me to pieces that all the plans we had were ripped out from under us. The miscarriage was neither one of our faults. You are not a cursed Castillo. You are the future Mrs. Montgomery. I need to know that you’re okay, and the only way I can do that is to be there for you. I need you. I need us. My heart yearns to hold you in my arms, run my fingers through those dark locks of hair, and kiss your tears away. I want to be there for us to grieve through this together. Please write back, or utilize your radio to contact me. I’ll be here when you’re ready.

  Yours Forever,

  Chris Montgomery

  PS. I’m not giving up without a fight. You are the woman I want to walk through with in life.

  Folding the letter in thirds, I placed it inside of an envelope and set it aside. I would drop it off in a few days when I go back to check on her.

  ***

  Three days later

  I woke up early on a Friday morning, grabbing clean clothes from the closet. I dressed myself, slid my kicks on and collected my backpack and the envelope. Downstairs, I grabbed an apple for breakfast and left for the Golden Gate Yacht Club before school started for the day. I arrived down the boardwalk on my way to the parking lot; and for a Friday morning, the place was a little more crowded than usual. Men in black suits and sunglasses blended into the atmosphere. I saw the first at the cafe in line waiting on a coffee. His partner sat at a nearby table. The second pair sat apart on the benches a few feet apart appearing to look alone, and the last pair stood outside the clubhouse.

  I didn’t stick around to figure out what they were doing and I couldn’t have been sure that they were with the Castillos or the law was finally moving in to investigate Mr. Castillo’s yacht club. I needed to know more so I knew how to protect my family and Lorelai, but there were higher stakes of losing the only woman I loved and could love. I needed to get to her and convince her that living apart was not an option.

  Upon arriving and walking through the entrance of the Golden Gate, I made my way back to where I left Cakes and Pies a few days prior. The dock that she was anchored at was now empty.

  “Son of a bitch!” I mumbled under my breath and turned around coming face to face with Marie Castillo.

  “Where is she? Where’s Lorelai?” She asked, looking just as confused as I was.

  Get Ahold of Yourself, L. Castillo

  Lorelai

  After Christopher visited late in the night, I found myself standing against the door of the cabin sobbing. Tears fell freely down my cheeks. I sunk to the floor, laying my head against my legs. The wail of my sobs grew louder. What was I thinking pushing him away? Perhaps I wasn’t, and the thought that I hurt him made me feel like a horrible person if I had the capability of hurting a man that only loved and cared about me. I inhaled a deep breath as the thought went from a possibility of making this work versus standing my ground with this break up.

  Get a hold of yourself, Lorelai. You never deserved a man like Christopher.

  My heart fought reminding me that he became the only person I had to rely on for the escape from my family and their crooked ways of living. Perhaps I should’ve waited to make up my mind about the family business. I had my doubts that I, Lorelai Sienna Castillo, could stoop to a level of performing at organized crime. Then again, I did manage to make Chris fall in love and hurt him in the worst way possible.

  Standing up after I collected myself, I walked through the main living space of the cabin, the framed pictures of Christopher and I hung on the walls, and sat on the shelves. Reminders of our memories, making this yacht not only a house, but a home for us. The realization that I threw it all away because I couldn’t trust myself to rely on him to get us through these trying times made me angry.

  Walking to the shelving unit, I picked the picture frames off one at a time and threw them at the island stationed in the kitchen, glass shattering on the floor. Rampaging through the cabin, I destroyed every last memory I had with Christopher, tears fell freely down my cheeks as I sobbed and packed a bag. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew that I couldn’t be here when Christopher returned to make another attempt to change my mind. Leaving the bag on the bed, I marched out of the cabin with my purse on my shoulder, leaping to the dock and went down to the main boardwalk to the pay phone. Pulling out a number from my phone book, I inserted the quarter and waited as the other line rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Santino? It’s Lorelai. Are you busy?”

  He chuckled. “No, I’m not busy. What’s up beautiful? Are you okay?”

  “Not really. I need someone to talk to. Are you available?”

  “Um. Yeah. Where are you at now?”

  “The Golden Gate.”

  “Shit, really? I’m staying north of there a bit at Waldo Point. You should come up. I’ll go talk with security and let them know you’re on the way.”

/>   I inhaled a deep breath. “Yeah? Alright.” I agreed. “I’ll get ready and head up.”

  “Lorelai. Be careful, okay?” He sounded sincere.

  “I will. See you soon, Santino.” I hung up, and walked back to the yacht.

  Pulling the anchors up, and untying the ropes, I started the engine, put on my proper lights, and headed out without a second thought.

  ***

  Upon arrival to the security gate, the guard gave me a dock number and I made my way over. Making sure the cabin was locked and secure, I grabbed my purse and threw the anchors out once more, and found Santino standing on the dock. Inhaling a deep breath, I stepped off and walked to him throwing my arms around his neck. He pulled me into his arms tightly and kissed my cheek.

  Pulling back he looked at me. “Come on. We can go hang out at my place.”

  I nodded and took the hand he offered me, following him out.

  We boarded the luxurious yacht, and he brought me to the main living space. Going to the kitchen to grab us each a bottle of water, he brought it over as he led me to the couch. Sitting down, he wrapped an arm around me. “You look upset, Lorelai. What’s going on?”

  I pushed some hair behind my ear. “It’s everything. You know, opting out of the syndicate, not knowing what I’m going to do after high school, Armani’s death and not having any answers as to what happened. I have Marie, and that’s really it. Not knowing what I’m going to do after I graduate scares the living hell out of me.” I was lying. Of course I was, I couldn’t tell him what was going on. He wouldn’t understand and I needed this distraction.

  “You opted out of the syndicate? That’s too bad, but maybe I can ease your mind with answers about Armani.” He rubbed a finger down my arm; and even though I once feared this man and his grimy touch, somehow, I felt comforted by him.

  “Do you know what happened?” I asked as I looked up in his ocean blue eyes. One fact stood out about Santino, his eyes captivated a weakness in me. His defined jawline could cut through metal. Despite his good looks, he was always dedicated to my father’s business from the time he was recruited when I was still a preteen. He was around for a large part of my upbringing. I should be able to trust him without a problem, right?

  He inhaled a deep breath. “I do. Armani and I were over at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, taking care of a case your dad sent us on, when we discovered that another family along enemy lines moved in. Your brother was adamant about coming back to chase them out. A warning act from one syndicate to another could be anything from stealing a job, to taking out the second or third strings of the syndicate. Well, Armani decided he wanted to paint a real clear message, so he hacked their systems and wiped them clean. Every last piece of information in the Moretti database was lost, and one only completes this when they want an all-out war.”

  My lips fell open as I stared off. “Let me guess, he did it without my father’s permission?”

  He nodded. “You knew your brother well. I tried to tell him not to do it and leave it in the hands of your father, but he already had his mind made up.”

  I sighed, tears welling in my eyes. I tried to keep my breath even, thinking about my life around that time. I was so wrapped up into Christopher, and stubborn about keeping my nose where it did not belong when it came to the syndicate. I couldn’t have been bothered to check in with my parents, let alone my siblings. I always thought Armani and Luciana had a solid head on their shoulders. So where had I gone wrong? Perhaps it was the entire forbidden dynamic with Christopher. He had a way of allowing me to escape with him. He took me into his arms and danced the dance with me. He made me forget I ever belonged to a family involved in organized crime. He made me feel like I mattered while my family made sure I was kept busy with a job that freed up their time to continue torturing people. The level of anger I had with them, and anyone that helped them, rose. I knew it would be useless to manifest this anger, so I let it go with the tears that fell down my cheeks.

  Quickly wiping the tears away, I looked back to him. “I did, but I also know that my family wouldn’t let something like this go without a consequence for the Morettis.” I paused, and bit my lip. “So what do you have up your sleeve, Santino?”

  His hands cupped my cheeks, wiping the tears away. “Don’t worry your pretty mind, Lorelai. The plan I have will make the Morettis pay significantly,” he whispered. Inching his way in, he planted his lips against mine in a firm, lust-filled kiss.

  A Turn Of Events

  Christopher

  “I don’t know.” I said, stress filled my tone. “I wish I knew. Did she contact you, Marie?”

  She shook her head. “No. She told me she was here; but when I didn’t hear from her, I became concerned.

  I sighed. “We need to find her. We should go back and check the boat house rentals. Maybe she went back home.”

  Marie nodded, placing a hand at the back of my shoulder. “We’ll find her, but you need to stay calm.”

  I shook my head. “I wish it were that easy, Marie.”

  “Did something happen between you two?”

  I sighed. “It’s a long story, we shouldn’t talk about it here.”

  She nodded, eyeing me carefully before she guided me down the docks. We left the Golden Gate. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her how bad this was, though I had a feeling she felt the immense tension in the air.

  Walking into the Castillo Yacht Club, we were on our way to check the rentals when Luci stepped out in front of us, stopping us in our path. She wore a black and white plaid dress suit, with a red scarf wrapped around her neck. Her skin appeared more pale than normal with dark makeup around her eyes, and the red lipstick covering her lips.

  “I need to talk to both of you, now.” She was direct and stern as she turned us around. “Don’t ask questions, just walk.”

  Eyeing Marie out of the corner of my eye, she gave me a wide eyed glance. I knew that this was a turn of events that occurred in the last forty-eight hours; and Luciana confirmed this when she walked ahead of us, leading the way through the Black Diamond arches. Landing at the back of the docks, there were six large yachts anchored in a line up. The first time I was back here, I was blindfolded and couldn’t take in the detail. While we waited for Luciana to punch a code in, I noticed the dock connected to the back of turquoise buildings and breathed a silent shaky breath in through my nose. None of this felt right; but when the door opened, Marie wrapped her arm around mine and dragged me in with her and kept me close as we followed Luciana through one code secured door after the next. This place had some serious lockdown devices.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  “Something doesn’t feel right.” She matched my tone of voice.

  “That’s because it’s not…”

  Luciana turned around stopping us in our tracks. “Enough with the whispers.” She reached what looked like a control room, rows of leather office chairs in stadium seating with tables sitting in front sat in front of us with one large screen and many screens surrounding the main, covering the length of the forty foot wall. “Christopher, care to tell me where Lorelai is?”

  I sighed. “I-I’m not certain. We broke up about four days ago.” I said, looking down.

  “What happened?” She asked, her tone still stern.

  Fear struck me that if I didn’t tell her, she would hurt me or throw me to the wolves.

  I sighed. “Everything we say stays in this room, right?”

  “Sure.” She smirked. “Spill it, Montgomery.”

  “Lorelai was pregnant, she had a miscarriage; and I firmly believe after Armani’s death, and the incident with your father, that losing the baby was the last string that broke the camel’s back.”

  Luci inhaled a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. After a moment, she looked at me and then Marie. “Okay. I have some news, and it’s not good.”

  I clenched my teeth. “Okay. What is it about?”

  “My brother’s murder.” She walked acr
oss the bottom floor. “I suggest you have a seat.”

  Marie dragged me with her up the steps to the third row of chairs and we both sat in the dead center waiting for Luciana to continue.

  “It all started when my father went out of town and put Santino in charge. In my opinion, that was mistake number one. I tried to tell my mother that it was a mistake; but as usual, what my father says goes.” She paused. “Anyway, I went along with Armani and Santino to the Golden Gate Yacht Club because we had a few fees to collect; and while we were there, we ran into trouble. Emanuele Moretti, the son and immediate second string to the Moretti Syndicate and his band of brothers approached us, trying to tell us to remove ourselves from their territory. Armani made sure to let them know they weren’t crossing into our territories, that it was their family that moved into our territory and Santino backed him up. Well, Emanuele didn’t like what they had to say, shoved past Santino and let us know they weren’t going anywhere. Armani and Santino got fired up, and Santino instigated and insisted that Armani step up and put them in their place. He guided him through a blackout, meaning Armani single handedly hacked and wiped out their entire system. During the blackout, Santino sent Armani in, freed their hostages, dislodged the security bugs and the day before my father returned, Armani came up missing.”

  Marie grasped my hand in hers and when I looked over to her, tears streamed down her cheeks. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb, covering my lips with my pointer finger and the edge of my thumb, staring off. The realization that all of this happened in the vicinity that Lorelai and I were stashing away in hit hard. I felt Marie’s eyes on me, she felt the tension hit just as hard. Here I was trying to protect her, and her brother’s imminent death could have occurred mere feet from where we stayed, another secret I would have no choice but to keep from the love of my life. The bottom line was that it was for her protection. I would continue protecting her at all costs.