Sausalito Nights (Montgomery Beauty Book 1)

by Stephanie Salvatore

  Silence filled the room for a few minutes before a door opened and a soft tap of shoes crossed the floor. The elbow planted into my leg slipped and I nearly hit my head on the table as Armani Castillo Sr. came into view. “Is this true, Luciana?”

  Fuck. He heard the entire story.

  Luciana crossed her arms, the hard facial expressions falling. “Yes, Father.”

  He looked up to see Marie and I sitting in the chairs. “What the hell are they doing in here, Luciana? You know they aren’t supposed to be in here.”

  Marie stood up and walked down to face Luciana and Armani. “Lorelai is missing.”

  “She’s what?” Armani spat.

  “She’s missing, Uncle. Cakes and Pies is nowhere in the vicinity.”

  Silence resumed as each of us stared off in a different direction. I looked up so I could see them in my peripheral vision. The entire atmosphere in the vault became very cold and dark, and I questioned the impossible. Could the man that saw me as his very enemy overcome his stubborn mantra to rescue the daughter that chose me after he told her no? Could he get past the fact that I had protected her? Or would he point the blame on me?

  The Offer

  Lorelai

  The week spent with Santino proved to be just what I needed. He took me to Matteo, who had the papers for the emancipation finalized. I was a free woman, finally. High school was still there and I had to attend, but I had to do it and avoid Chris. Acting as if he didn’t exist broke me into a thousand pieces, but it’s what had to be done in order to keep on track with graduation. Upon returning to his private yacht, we took trips down memory lane with my brother. He told me stories of when my father put him in charge to train Armani for the syndicate, and that he was there for his ritual and welcoming dinner. I learned that when a Castillo joined the family business, they were also required to give a speech proving that they studied the handbook. Armani being the macho detailed man that he was, wrote and gave scenarios for how he would orchestrate and carry out assignments. In Santino’s words, Armani was built to be a Castillo. I halfway believed him, as I told him about the protective side he had over Luciana and myself from walking us to the bus stop and waiting for us to come off the bus when we came home. Or the spur of the moment adventures he took us on throughout Marin County and San Francisco. Armani was the reason I knew the Bay Area as much as I did. He was the reason I woke up on time for school and that I ate properly.

  While I never regretted the time I had falling in love with Chris, I missed my brother. The grieving period of his passing really hit me hard; and while I kept a strong face on in front of him, my heart broke when it finally hit me that making memories with Armani, Luciana and I were no longer possible.

  Friday morning, I walked out to the deck where Santino had breakfast and coffee waiting for us to sit down at eat. I felt nauseous, and pushed my food around my plate for a few minutes.

  “Santino?”

  “Yes, darling?” he replied with a smug smirk on his face.

  “Do you think vengeance will ever come to the person or persons that were responsible for Armani’s murder?”

  He straightened his face out and cleared his throat. “I do, actually. I’m sure that they will all be put in their place very soon,” he soothed, and put his hand across the table, placing it on top of mine. “What do you say we take today and go out on the water? It seems like you need it.”

  I smiled at him gently. “I would like that. Thank you, Santino.”

  ***

  Santino was right. A day out on the bay soaking up the vitamin D was exactly what I needed. He respected my space, and his past creepy tactics to pursue me seemed to have disappeared from his agenda. I made a mental note that I would have to go back to Cakes and Pies to clean it up and go back to being on my own.

  Looking over, I saw him sit up after falling asleep during our sunbathing session. “I have a surprise for you.”

  I smiled at him gently. “A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

  He stood up, offering his hand. “Come with me.”

  I took his hand and followed him into the luxurious interior of his yacht. He took me to the bedroom, and pulled out a bag hanging over a hanger and hung on the door frame. “I thought we could go out for dinner tonight, so I bought something a little extra special for the occasion.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him with a careful glance and lifted the bag up, unveiling a gorgeous silk evening gown. I had to admit, it was smitten-worthy as a bag of jewelry hung from the hanger. “Santino, this had to cost a fortune. I couldn’t possibly accept this.”

  He stepped back before he approached from behind, his hands cupped over my hips. “This is the kind of life I would give you all the time if you were mine, Lorelai.” He spoke above a whisper against my ear. “Let me take you out, just for tonight.”

  I bit my lower lip, and looked back at him. “Just for tonight,” I whispered back. “Don’t get any other ideas stuck in that head of yours.”

  He rose his hands in a surrender and smirked. “Scout’s honor.”

  I sighed quietly as he rubbed his hands over my hips some more. Being here with Santino brought certain reminders to my head. He would ultimately keep me connected to my family if I followed through on allowing him to pursue me. I just fought like hell to disconnect myself from my parents and the dark roads I could be led walking down that road. Part of me wanted to run as far away from Santino as possible, that I needed time and space away from everyone to deal with the losses that fell upon me. While part of me thought, what if he could make me happy? The thought made me cringe. Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath and decided I wouldn’t get ahead of myself.

  He slid his hands away from me, placing a sweet gentle kiss to my cheek. “Get dressed, and fix your hair and makeup. I’m going to get ready and make sure our reservations are secure.”

  I felt the tingle of his lips linger away from my face and watched as he disappeared from my line of sight. I shook my head, and tried not tell myself that he was slithering his way in because I came to him. I was the one that had the power in my hands now. I tried to convince myself that he wasn’t taking advantage when I was in a vulnerable state of mind, that he was a close connection to our family and felt the loss of Armani no longer being a part our world, that he could help the grieving period I was going through. Armani was the reason I came here in the first place and Santino was able to give me the answers I was looking for.

  ***

  As early evening approached us, I finished with my hair and makeup and pulled the bag open to reveal a black and white evening mermaid gown. Black sequins stitched down the front with a pattern of white flowers and poofy ruffled side shoulders. My lips fell open. What would it say to Santino if I accepted these gifts from him? Pulling the dress off of the silky upholstered hanger, I unzipped it and stepped into it. Zipping the side of the dress, I looked in the mirror and realized the dress matched my hair. I looked flawless, while my self-conscious said something completely different. I sighed. Santino would think I finally caved in to his wants and needs. I let him chase me for so long; and what I really needed right now was someone that understood the pain I felt with the loss of Armani’s imminent murder, and Santino was there for my family through that. He backed off of me, he let me go and this was me quite possibly coming back to him.

  Stepping away from the mirror, I turned toward the bed, pulled out the black strapped heels, and sat down just as there was a knock at the door.

  “Lorelai? May I come in?” It was him.

  “You may.” I sat unbuckling the straps and looked up as the door opened. He stood in black slacks, a white button up and a sweater vest to match his ensemble. Closing the space between us, he moved down on one knee and took the shoe from my hands. He began to place them on my feet, one at a time. He stood up and placed me in front of the mirror, pushing my hair to one side as he snapped the necklace and bracelet on, placing a kiss against my bare shoulder as he looked at me through the mirr
or.

  “You look extravagant, Lorelai,” he whispered.

  My head fell to the side as he planted soft gentle kisses over my shoulder to my neck, sending shivers down my back. I shouldn’t have been enjoying this. I shouldn’t have been falling into this trap he was forming around me, and yet I couldn’t stop him from continuing.

  He pulled away before I could say anything, leaving his lips close to my ear. “Are you ready?” He offered me his hand.

  I turned to look him in the eyes and placed my hand into his, allowing him to lead me from the room as we left the cabin and moved to the cockpit, where he took us out on the water for a short ride to the Waldo Point Resort and Yacht Club. Once docked, he led me off the vessel and up to the hotel. We took the elevator to the top floor to the rooftop restaurant.

  “Two for De Luca,” he confirmed with the hostess, who led us outside to a private cozy spot with gas fire pits on each side of the table, warming the area.

  Santino pulled a chair out for me. “Ladies first, always.”

  I smiled and took a seat looking up at him. “Thank you.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Miss Castillo.” He sure was being smooth. Perhaps he wanted something more than just dinner.

  The waitress came, and Santino ordered a bottle of wine, sliding the waitress a fat tip after asking for two glasses. She slid the money out from under his fingers, eyeing him carefully. I watched the two talk with their eyes. A very unsettling lump grew rapidly in my stomach traveling to my throat. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like it all. Shoving the thoughts away, I focused on the soft peace-filled music being played by a live band as the sun began to set. I watched Santino fiddle with his palm pilot out of the corner of my eyes from time to time before standing up and moving to the glass wall, staring off.

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I allowed Christopher to enter my mind for the first time in over a week. I couldn’t imagine what he had gone through when I pushed him away. He was dealing with a dual loss, just as I was. He not only lost our child, he lost me. I pushed him away and ran, ran away from the only person that understood the pain I was feeling. If only I had taken the time to realize that I could rely on him and that maybe we could get through this together.

  Tears choked me, I tried to swallow them hard, over and over again. My breathing felt constricted as the emotions and tears began to win. Looking back at Santino, he was still lost in that damn palm pilot. Turning back around, I thought back on this week. Sure, we spent time together but he was still under the rule of my father. He was still working for an organization that I had been against for as long as I could remember. Some time passed by as I watched the birds fly over the water, the music in the background allowing me to push all of my thoughts about my troubles away. I became lost in the bright colors off the ocean from the sun and the sky, as they cast a bright light toward the coast.

  An arm wrapped around me from behind. I jumped slightly, feeling his breath trickle against my ear. “So, I’ve been thinking. Do you really feel that it’s necessary for you to finish your senior year? You still have what? Eight weeks?”

  I turned to look back at him. “Yeah, and I’ve come this far. I should definitely finish.” I spoke quietly, trying not to let the repulsion show through.

  “Eight weeks is a very long time. Let’s hypothetically say you go out for your GED. Do you know what we could do with the next eight weeks?”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what he was about to propose.

  “I could sweep you away from Sausalito, bring you to Las Vegas to a penthouse suite in your name and the world would be at your fingertips.” He husked against my ear. “You could do anything you wanted with your life, the opportunities are endless.”

  Santino had a way of taking me away from my own reality. He knew how to get inside of my head and make opportunities seem impossible to pass up. In past encounters, I was able to brush him off with ease. I closed my eyes as he turned me around, cupped my cheeks gently yet protective as he planted a deep, passionate kiss to my lips.

  I poured so many emotions into that kiss as I tried to push the damn emotions that I was running away from to the side. We were both breathing heavy against each other’s lips as he broke the kiss and stared into my eyes with his brilliant blue eyes. Those eyes were becoming the very damn weakness of my entire existence.

  Sausalito could very well be present in the rear view mirror sooner than I ever thought.

  “Okay. Let’s do it.” I finally agreed, sealing my fate.

  Dark Operations

  Christopher

  Armani’s face turned stone cold, colder than the air in the chamber he had me tied in the night he wanted to take the breath from my lungs. I knew deep down inside that he could see I would never hurt his daughter and that was why he let me go. He had a large window of opportunities to kill me, or take me somewhere far away where no one would find me; and still, he kept me at the yacht club. He knew that doing anything to hurt me with a result of fatality would result in losing his daughter forever. Now here we were, almost on the same side, working for the same goal. To find Lorelai and bring her home to arms of safety, my arms of safety; and I swore when we did, I wouldn’t let go as easily as I had the first time. There would be no time for a grace period, I needed her as much as I needed the breath in my lungs.

  The screens ahead of us flashed on and broke my attention to Armani as he pressed certain buttons to pull up different angles on the surveillance cameras. Men in suits were arranged around the hotel in lines going down the docks throughout the resort. The public eye had not noticed a thing because they were spread out; but when Armani zoomed out, the lines formed were a shape I couldn’t place my finger on right on the spot.

  “Luciana. Get over here.”

  She walked to her father without another word.

  “What do you see here?” he asked as if he was testing her.

  “They’re icing out the enemy, Papa,” she responded without a hesitation.

  Papa? Lorelai always referred to him as her father. Perhaps this was the protocol of the syndicate.

  Armani looked up at her with pride. “Very good. What does icing out mean?”

  “They form lines around the premises in the shape of a snowflake.”

  He zoomed back out, looking around at other cameras to show the various lines of undercover armed Castillo soldiers standing in the shape of a snowflake surrounding the premises. The lines started at the docks, went down the boardwalk, and through the resort; and from what I could tell, Santino had enough soldiers to make not just one, but two snowflakes.

  “Can you identify that this vessel belongs to an enemy?”

  Luci studied the live stream for a moment, taking the mouse she circled the black rose. “Right here. It’s the Moretti Family, Papa.”

  “Excellent eye, Luciana.” He grabbed a walkie talkie radio, placing the device up to his mouth. “This is Papa. I am ordering anyone involved in the ice out notion to ignore Santino De Luca’s orders. Do not make me repeat myself,” he snapped.

  “Sir….I mean, Papa, I’m not sure I can do that.” A hesitant male voice came in through the radio.

  Armani pounded a fist to the table. “Who ordered you to this location?” Armani barked.

  Watching the operation in action really showed me how much control he had over his children and others that worked for him. He was running an army. I expected zero hesitation, and yet here this man was questioning Armani.

  “Santino De Luca.”

  Armani chuckled lowly into the speaker, clicking the mouse at the computer and keys on the keyboard. The camera streams disappeared and the screens darkened. “You will no longer be hearing from Santino.” He paused. “And the last time I checked? I had the final say in this operation.”

  “I understand, Papa.”

  “Great.” He sounded a little less annoyed now, perhaps he anchored Santino’s location, and had him exactly where he wanted him? I wasn’t sure, but
I’m sure I would find out soon enough. My stomach churned, and twisted into knots. My insides became a nervous mess as I worried how all of this would play out for Lorelai, if she would stand up for Santino like she did for me. I stopped the entire thought process. She wouldn’t choose him over me. She was afraid of him. I loved and cared for her. We had an undeniable chemistry and connection.

  “Now, you’re going to answer a question for me. What is De Luca’s location?”

  “He’s having dinner at The Shipyard, Papa.”

  Armani’s hand curled into a fist once more. “Perfect. You and your freeze out group stay put. I’m on my way.”

  I couldn’t be certain on what was going to happen next, but Armani stormed in and dug to the bottom of the mystery on where Lorelai was located and clearly formed a plan at lightning speeds.

  Armani messed with the channels on the radio. “Amelia, we have a situation.”

  “What is it, love?” she said a moment later.

  “I have to make a trip over to Waldo Point. I need you to send a team to the Golden Gate on a freeze out.”

  “I can do that right away.”

  “Thank you, my love. Tell them to wait for instructions.”

  “Will do.”

  He set the walkie down and looked to Luci. “Luciana, I need you to make sure Christopher and Marie stay safe, and we’ll need them to come with us if we have any chance to pull Lorelai back in. We have to move. Now.” He was on his feet and we followed behind him on Luci’s hand gesturing commands. We went back through a vortex of darkened hallways, and stepped into an office, going through a hidden bookshelf. We came out inside of the Black Diamond Club. We boarded the Black Knight speed boat and sat down. Marie and I exchanged glances as Armani took off on the water.