“He flew in himself. He’ll be waiting for you at the small airport in Peoria.”
“Fine.”
Two days later, the black sedan pulled into the airport where Mickey, Vic, and my old-and-new-again life waited for me. I strolled the length of the hanger toward the Goldstream perched at the end of it. Its engine had already eased into a quiet rumble. I climbed up the steps as the numbness spread up my legs to the rest of me. For all of Mickey’s mind games, he was never one to make people wait for the punchline—the payoff. It was a good feeling to finally be here and get on with it, find out exactly what he wanted from me.
Two steps into the main cabin, the punchline fell to my feet in a heap, with a swollen eye and busted lip. Levi glanced up at me with his one good eye. I barked out a laugh and rubbed the stubble on my cheek. “You know, usually people try to go for the lesser of two evils. You were better off dealing with me.”
Levi grunted a chuckle, holding his ribs. “I had no choice in the matter. You know that.”
“That seems to be the recurring theme when it comes to…” I met Mickey’s gaze, who beamed at me. “Dad.”
“This is me keeping my promise.” He pointed at Levi. “She’s free.”
I turned to Vic, raising my eyebrows with the usual question. Is she all right? He slow-blinked once to assure me. With a nod, I stepped over Levi and strapped myself into a seat near the bar. The flight attendant, a young woman with long, curly hair and deep brown eyes, poured me a glass of whiskey. I shook my head as she set the drink down next to a bottle of water in front of me. She took her time, arranging the items on a napkin, her cleavage swaying with every move.
I drank the water and stared at nothing outside the window. The aircraft door closed and seconds later, Vic walked across my line of sight, headed for the black sedan waiting for him, back to Emilia. Where was she? Were they still hiding in Sedona? My vision blurred as he drove away, and the plane jerked forward. In my head, I replaced the roar of the engine with the drumming of percussion instruments like the ones that played the night Emilia and I had our first date. When I convinced myself Emilia and I could have something together.
The plane leveled off when we reached an altitude above the clouds. Across the aisle, Mickey unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to me. “As long as Levi is alive, she won’t have peace.”
That didn’t take long. “Is that why he’s here? Should I shoot him now or later?”
“That’s up to you.” He pointed a forefinger at me. “I can see you want to because then you’ll be done with this. Levi goes away, and her problems go away, your promise to her is done. You know this. You keep waiting for me to make you shoot him, hold your hand. I won’t do that for you. He’s here. I can bring you to the well, but I can’t make you drink.”
A guttural sound escaped me. I hated it when he made sense. I hated that he could read me so well. “What exactly do you think I’ll be doing for you?”
“I need you as my second.” He leaned back in his seat and for a moment, he looked like someone who actually needed me. “It’ll be good for business to have a respected lawyer in the family.”
“All those millions, and you can’t find decent legal counsel.”
He chuckled and relaxed his features, looking more like the man who raised me than the monster I knew he was. Slapping my shoulder with the back of his hand like we were old friends, he said, “Remember that time when Vic and I had to bail you out? We’re no fancy lawyers, but we got the job done.”
His words sparked a memory I’d long forgotten. When I thought a quick way to make a buck was to set up a gambling shack at the stadium. At the age of sixteen, gambling was illegal, but only if you started making a shit ton of money at it. My shoulders shook before I broke into a laugh. Mickey laughed along with me. “Those assholes just wanted their cut.”
“You were in their territory. You earned that beating.” He wiped a hand across his eye. “I was proud of you that day.”
“I got thrown in jail. No, wait. I got the crap beaten out of me, and then I got thrown in jail.”
“Yeah, but I knew then, you’d be all right. I knew that even though I wasn’t your biological father, you were my son. You were family. You are family.”
That day, I hadn’t needed fancy lawyers. Mickey and Vic got me out, their way, and introduced me to the family business. The one he had hoped we would run together one day. I supposed today was it. The drums echoing in my head quieted down and I regained focus. Work. I needed to work if I was going to make it through this.
“I’ve seen that look on your face before. You got a new gig planned?”
He darted his gaze toward Levi and then nodded. “Guns.”
“And?”
“I need a lawyer who never loses a case.” There it was again. That look in his eyes, that fatherly pride that had the ability to suck me right in. The vortex.
“Well, as it so happens, my calendar is wide open.” I sat back in my seat as the flight attendant refreshed my drink. She bit her red-lipsticked bottom lip and swallowed. I took the shot of whiskey and set the glass down.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” She poured more amber liquid all the way to the rim. I shook my head. She reminded me of someone, but no, I was sure I didn’t know her.
“She’s Big Joey’s kid,” Mickey said as a way of introduction before he made his way to the captain’s cockpit. “She wants to be a flight attendant. So here she is.”
“Mia.” She offered me her hand, and I shook it. Still not placing her face. “And I’m not a kid.”
“No, you’re not.” I took another swig of whiskey. The numbness trickled down my throat and spread through my chest. I let out a breath.
Mia leaned on the seat in front of me, holding the bottle of whiskey as if she held the keys to some secret hideout. “Last time you saw me, I still had pigtails.” She flashed me a smile and pointed at her soft curls.
Another shot. This time the liquid eased down my throat with a gentle burn and unlocked a tiny memory of a little girl. “My friend Joe’s little sister. You put a toad in my coffee.”
She made a big display of it, placing the bottle on Mickey’s seat before she did a curtsy, long arms out, a wide grin on her face. “You deserved it. Gosh, you were insufferable, thinking you were all that, drinking coffee with the adults.”
“I couldn’t have been all that bad. Everywhere I went, there you were.” More memories rushed to the forefront. I had a family before I left Jersey, where I belonged. No matter how fast I ran, how far I went, I was always meant to come back here. Every step I took since the day I left the hospital with a gunshot wound in my shoulder led me to this moment, this plane. I’d come full circle. Did Vic know I’d end up here? Mickey certainly did.
“You’ve been gone a long time.” She sat on her haunches next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I know.” I swallowed the knot in my throat.
“Welcome home, Dom.”
27
Angel Face
Emilia
The windowsill pressed against my ribs and knocked the wind out of me. All I could think of was that Dom needed me, that I needed to see him. I’d waited long enough. I relaxed my legs and focused on breathing. This was ridiculous. Mom and Vic had reduced me to this.
Sneaking out of my own home was childish, but what choice did I have? A whole month had gone by since Dom left me without a goodbye or explanation. No matter what arguments I threw at Vic, he wouldn’t give in. Mom was worse. Freedom and my life, those were two things she wasn’t willing to let go at this point. Or ever. But Dom needed me. I knew it.
I pointed my foot until my toes touched the edge of the bathroom sink, and then I squeezed through the small window, back into the house. Going out the window head-first hadn’t worked. With a quick exhalation, I stood on my tippy toes and hooked my left leg over the windowsill. Twisting my hips, I pushed my torso forward. My right knee pressed against my forehead as I held my breath and wig
gled myself through the opening.
When my head cleared the top of the window, I brought my right foot in and let myself drop to the ground. My getaway bag broke my fall as I fell with a loud thud, cursing Mom and Vic for not trusting that I could take care of myself. I rubbed my hip where I’d overextended it. There were bruises on my shoulder, and my wrists were already turning dark red. I ignored the throbbing on my side, slung my bag across my body, and headed toward the trees behind our cabin.
The walk to the main road was about half a mile away but going the long way following the creek added another mile. I checked the time again. I had another thirty minutes before sunup and before Mom woke and came to my room to check on me. Hopefully, by then I’d be on my way back to Phoenix and Dom. Emphasis on hopefully because the person driving my getaway car was someone I’d never met before—a stranger.
My heart pumped fast, fueling my aching muscles as I picked my way through the trail. I stopped in my tracks when I spotted a red Corvette near the road. Squeezing the bag strap between my fingers, I approached the car. Several steps in, the driver door opened and a woman climbed out. Her gaze darted from the road behind us to the rising sun, and then back to me. She smiled at me, which made me assume she’d been waiting for me.
Gravel crunched under her boots as she strode around the hood of the speed racer toward me. I met her halfway. “Hi. I’m Emilia.”
“Valentina.” She hugged me as if we were old friends. I supposed planning an escape together fast-tracked us from acquaintance to besties. “Sorry about the car. I know it sticks out like a sore thumb. I just grabbed the one closest to the garage door.” She combed a loose strand of hair away from her face. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah.” I jerked into a step toward the Corvette. “Thank you for doing this. I had no one else to call.” I shoved my bag in the back seat and climbed into the passenger side.
“Glad we could help.” Valentina bolted to the other side of the car and dropped in front of the steering wheel like she’d done this sort of thing many times. “This is a fun car.” Flashing me a wide grin, she keyed the ignition. The engine roared as she shifted to second gear and hit the accelerator.
With the Sedona scenery zooming past us, I sank deeper into my seat. After all this time, I was going to see Dom again. I hugged myself to stop the butterflies wreaking havoc in my stomach. Even if he hadn’t said goodbye or tried to contact me after he left me, I needed to believe he still wanted me.
Dammit. I should’ve told him how I felt about him when I had the chance. Deep in my gut, I knew he’d gone home to protect me because he had feelings for me. Did he understand how much I loved him? Did he understand that not having him in my life would be worse than a life on the run? I bent over and blew out air. I should’ve told him.
Valentina rubbed my back. “It’ll be okay. If anyone can get through Dom’s thick head, it’s you. I know it. You can save him.”
I turned to her. Jeez, she had a soothing smile. The gentle look in her dark eyes told me she meant what she’d said. “Did you see him?”
“Yeah, a few days before he left.” She shifted her attention back to the road. “He acted like everything was fine, but I could tell he was hurting.”
“This is all my fault.”
“Don’t say that. Cole filled me in on what you told him about Dom. Sounds like he left a lot of unresolved issues when he left home. This was bound to come back to him sooner or later.”
“I certainly didn’t help.”
If Derek and Valentina knew the whole truth about Dom, they’d understand why Dom was in danger. When I first called Derek Cole, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the entire story. I couldn’t tell him about Dom’s scars, what he’d done to his friend, why he’d left home to begin with. Dom’s past wasn’t for me to share. So, I stuck to the events that transpired since the night Dom met up with me at the Roadrunner a couple of months back.
“We’re here.” Valentina pulled into the Peoria airport and parked. She glanced at her phone and smiled. “Looks like you’re all set to go. Are you sure you’ll be okay going on your own?”
“Yeah, you guys have done enough.”
I grabbed my bag from the back seat and practically sprung out of her car. The sooner we were in the air, the better. The tiny voice in my head telling me this was a mistake kept getting louder. And I couldn’t afford any more doubts. When we reached the hanger, Valentina rushed ahead of me to hug a guy that could easily be Henry Cavill’s doppelganger.
“Emilia, this is Cole.” Valentina squeezed Cole’s biceps and giggled.
“Nice to meet you.” Cole shook my hand. “Sorry. My fiancée is a little too excited about this whole thing with Dom.”
“I’m just happy he found someone. We should be going with you.” She spun to face Cole, and he nodded.
“No. Please. I don’t want to impose any more than I already have.” If Dom didn’t want me anymore, I didn’t want his friends to witness it.
“We’ll do it your way.” He exchanged a meaningful look with Valentina and ushered me toward his private jet. “I arranged for a car to pick you up when you get there. If you need anything, just call, okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Valentina walked me all the way to the top of the aircraft stepladder and hugged me. “Say hi to Dom for us.”
“I will. Thanks again.” I stepped into the small plane and sat by the window. My pulse hit overdrive when the engine came to life. Before more doubts flooded my mind, we hit the airport runway, and then we were in the air.
A couple of hours into the four-and-half hour flight, a guy tried to get me to eat a bagel with cream cheese, but I couldn’t stomach anything. In the end, he settled for getting me the coffee and glass of whiskey I asked for. I drank the strong brew and let the smell of the amber liquid fill the air around me. As the only passenger on board the plane, the flight attendant insisted on making small talk. I nodded and smiled but didn’t ask him questions of my own. His words swirled in and out of focus in mind.
“Anyway, I think we should start there,” he said.
I peeled my gaze away from the window. “What?”
“I knew you weren’t paying attention.”
“I’m so sorry. My mind is somewhere else.”
“I can see that. I’m your driver for as long as you need me. I’ve been to Jersey a few times, and I’ve got a phone.” He grabbed his phone from the side pocket of his jacket. “Where are we going?”
“What?” Great question. Where the hell was I going? I’d been so worried about what I wanted to say to Dom, I didn’t stop to think about where I could find him. New Jersey was a big place. “Can we go back to the part where you told me where we should start.”
At my words, the flight attendant took the seat next to mine. And I felt like the biggest jerk. “I’m so sorry. Um. What’s…?”
“Tyler. And don’t worry about it. I can see you have it bad.” Tyler pointed at my untouched whiskey. “Dom just got here so there won’t be much on him online. How about Mickey? We should go to his place of work. What’s his full name? What does he do?” He leaned forward ready to type this information into his phone search engine.
“Mickey.” That I knew for sure. “I don’t know what he does for a living. I don’t even know his last name.” Unless there was a mobster’s web page, finding Dom wouldn’t be easy. The pressure on my chest returned, and I dropped my head in my hands to catch my breath. When I woke up this morning, I’d hope I’d get to see Dom before the end of the day, touch him, kiss him.
“I can tell you there’ll be lots of Mickeys in Jersey.” He typed something on his phone.
“I know.” I took out my own phone and pulled up the search engine.
“There’s some stuff here.” Tyler beamed at me.
I logged onto the plane’s WiFi and tapped on the search button. Slowly, a list of links and images came up. None of them rang a bell until I came to an image I knew well, an image I could dr
aw from memory—Dom’s tattoo. The one in the shape of angel wings covering half of his front. I’d always assumed the wings were a tribute to the freedom he guarded so much. All along, the ink on his chest linked him to his family.
“Let’s go there first.” I gave Tyler my phone with the address of a warehouse that doubled as a CrossFit gym.
“Sounds like a plan.” He glanced at his watch. “Buckle up. We’ve already started our descent.”
I gripped the armrest as the reality of the situation washed over me. I hadn’t a clue whom Dom Moretti was or what he really wanted. My feelings for him made me see something that wasn’t there. I’d convinced myself that everything he did was to save me.
What if he was back here because Mickey showed him this was where he belonged? Was my assessment of him back in law school the right one? Back then, he didn’t try to hide what he was. Danger oozed out of his pores. Wasn’t that what all the women in school were after? Wasn’t his mobster connection the main reason that kept me away from him? Did I make a mistake letting Dom get to me? No, I couldn’t let my fears get the best of me. I trusted Dom. He loved me. I knew it.
As soon as we deplaned, Tyler found the car Cole had called in for us. I had a feeling Cole wanted me with someone he could trust. No doubt Mickey knew I’d come looking for Dom sooner or later. I’d waited this long because I wanted to give everyone time to cool off and settle into a routine. Routines made people blind to their surroundings.
The drive to one of the warehouses we found on the web was only a short ten minutes from the Morristown airport. Unfortunately, the people working there had never heard of a Dom Moretti. Or so they said. I climbed in the black sedan and took my phone out of my purse again. Staring at Dom’s tattoo brought me comfort.
“Should we try the next place?” Tyler asked buckling his seatbelt. “I mean, we’re already here.” When I didn’t answer, he tried again. “Let’s keep going down the list.”
Adrenaline surged through me. It filled me with want and dread at the same time as Tyler pulled into the parking lot of our next stop. For the most part, gyms tended to be crowded toward the end of the day. However, this place only had a few cars parked near the entrance. I climbed out and rubbed my throbbing hip. Other than the minor pains, the window incident from this morning felt like it’d happened days ago, not hours.
Ignite You Page 21