Tipping Point

by Ali Parker

  “Oh?”

  “Did you know he suspects the Bertinellis are the ones who took his daughter?”

  I leaned forward to rest against Marco’s desk. Of course not. Fredrick would have known I would hesitate if I knew there were such big players on the board. “No. He didn’t mention that.”

  “Didn’t think so,” Marcus said. I could hear the annoyed smile in his voice.

  “Fuck. Well, nothing we can do about it now. Just tread lightly. The last thing we need is another war between syndicates.”

  “I hear you.”

  “And Zak and Selma? How are they handling things?”

  “Good. I’ve been in touch with Zak daily. They have everything under control.”

  “All right. Finally, someone has some good fucking news for me.”

  There was a long pause on the other end, and I wondered if Marcus was considering asking if everything was all right back here. Apparently, he thought better of it because he chuckled into the line.

  “That’s just the way it goes sometimes in this life, D. I’ll keep you posted on this shit. I gotta move fast, or Carrington’s going to have a full-blown fucking meltdown. I mean, I’d pay to see that shit, but not on your dime.”

  I felt my own grin stretch my cheeks as I shook my head. Hiring Marcus was one of the best decisions I’d made in a while. “Just do what you need to do, man. The time it takes is the time it takes. Period. Just get that girl back home.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  We both hung up the phone, and I sat staring at a framed picture of the Castaletta family on Marco’s desk.

  Why did he even have a picture of them? Clearly, he didn’t give a fuck about any of them; he didn’t see them as family but merely as collateral damage. They were pawns to be used in his game of succession.

  “Why did you do it, Marco?” I wondered aloud as I picked up the photo and peered down at it.

  I had been standing to the side when the photo of the family was taken last fall. They were lined up on the grand staircase in the foyer of the mansion, with Joe standing at the top and Freddy at the bottom—oldest to youngest. They were all dressed in black, and Izzy stood out to me like a bright flower surrounded by thorns and monsters.

  Her dress was skin tight, as per usual. Red lipstick and dark eyeliner accented her features, giving her the look of a sophisticated, no-nonsense badass, which she was. Her hair was down but slicked back, and long silver chains hung from her ears. Her hands rested on the railing, and she looked genuinely happy. My body ached just looking at her.

  Izzy loved her family and always had. They were her everything. She would give anything to protect them. She already had given herself, her life, her dreams, and her ambitions. Everything she was sang to her dedication to her parents and brothers.

  Half-brothers.

  Fuck.

  Joe looked as serious as ever. His scowl was directed straight at the camera and held a stark contrast to the warm smile on Vivian’s face. Her head rested against his shoulder, and she practically glowed beside him.

  She didn’t deserve what she got.

  Marco stood above Izzy and beside his mother. His hand rested on Izzy’s shoulder, and it looked like he had been laughing. His position was a little awkward and crooked, which I was sure Vivian had agonized over for weeks. She was a seeker of perfection at her very core, and the inconsistency of the photo would have bothered her.

  Freddy looked nervous as he always did. And he looked like he didn’t belong.

  “Because you didn’t, did you?” I focused on the doped-up kid.

  I pressed my thumb to his young face and then Marco’s. “Bastards. Not even blood.” I moved my thumb to Vivian’s face and held it there for a while. “Dead. Killed by your own damn family. The people who were supposed to protect you against the harsh world outside these fucking doors.”

  My thumb strayed to linger around Joe’s dark features. The Castaletta Don. The most powerful man in Chicago.

  “Monster,” I growled. “You have something to do with all this, don’t you? How could you not? You’re fucking Joe Castaletta.” That bad feeling swirled in my gut as the words left my lips. Something was amiss, and whatever it was lurked in the confines of this fucking mansion. I knew it in my bones. I could smell it in the air. Joe was like a father to me, but he had too many secrets. “What aren’t you telling us, Joe? Do you have anything to do with this shit?”

  I found myself smiling down at Izzy’s image in the picture again after forcing myself away from my nefarious thoughts. Joe wouldn’t do anything to hurt the family. I was just spinning myself in circles. Why fuck up your own legacy?

  I lifted the picture to my lips and kissed the cool glass above Isabella’s face. “I don’t know what kind of shitstorm you’re in, baby. But come home to me. I think we have a much bigger problem on our hands than your half-brother.” I sighed and leaned back in the chair to stare up at the ceiling of Marco’s office. “I think we’re being set up by someone. How else does this make sense?”

  22

  Drake

  The women were still chatting happily in the kitchen when Jake tapped my shoulder and nodded for me to join him out on their deck. I nodded and stood up from the sofa, leaving Marc on his own. He waved us off, not concerned about being left out. He knew how things were with Jake and me. We went way back. Jake had been my best friend—and still was—when I moved to Maine to escape all the shit in Chicago with my family and the Castalettas.

  Mostly, I was trying to escape Joe. Now, I was running back to him.

  Like I have a fucking choice.

  Jake pulled open the patio door and motioned for me to go out first. I did, and the cool breeze coming off the harbor was refreshing. I pressed my beer to my lips and took a sip as Jake pushed the door closed behind us.

  He came to stand beside me and leaned his elbows on the railing, cupping his own beer in his hands. He glanced at me over his shoulder as I hung back, admiring the view of the lights reflecting off the water in the harbor.

  “So, what’s up, dude? Something’s off. I can tell.”

  I chuckled. Jake had an uncanny ability for being able to see right through me. At times, it annoyed the hell out of me, and at other times, I appreciated it. Like now. “Yeah. We, uh…” I hesitated, suddenly unsure of how to tell my friend I was moving away.

  “Just spit it out, man. I think I already know where this is going.”

  “Sicily and I are moving to Chicago.”

  Jake nodded knowingly. “I figured. When your stay got delayed and you said you needed a few more weeks there to sort shit out, I put two and two together.” Jake took a swig of beer and smacked his lips. “It’s what you want?”

  I shrugged and stepped up to lean against the railing beside him. “It’s family. You know how it is. When they ask you for your help, you either say no or you say yes. This was one of those situations where I had to say yes.” It was hard playing everything close to the vest all the time. I couldn’t let too much out of the bag for Jake’s own safety, but I also had to give him enough information so he wouldn’t ask too many prying questions.

  “Yeah. Family is important. I get it.”

  “Yeah.”

  “How’s Sicily taking it? That wife of yours has her roots planted pretty firmly here thanks to the bakery and the girls in there.”

  I laughed again and shook my head. “You’re not kidding. She loves it here. She worked hard to make this place home. And I feel like shit ripping her away from it. From you guys. I hate what it’s doing to her.”

  “You leaving her behind would do worse things,” Jake said.

  I nodded. I knew what he was saying to me, but it still felt like just words.

  “Besides,” Jake said, straightening up. “It’s just Chicago. We can come visit. Who doesn’t like a good road trip every now and then?”

  I thought of what Sicily had said to me in the car; how she didn’t want her friends getting mixed up with this life o
f ours. She wanted to keep them away from it all. Jake would never understand. None of them would. So I lied. “Yeah. For sure, man. We’d love to have you anytime. Or maybe we meet halfway? Give Sicily a chance to get away from her crazy in-laws.”

  Jake threw his head back and laughed. “You know, I fucking knew your family would be bat shit.”

  I grinned and rubbed the back of my neck. “You have no idea.”

  “Well, you came from them, so I feel like I have a bit of an idea.”

  I shoved him playfully in the shoulder, and some of his beer sloshed out of his can. “Hey, watch it! This is the good stuff, man.”

  I held my hands up innocently. “All right, all right. Just fucking around.”

  We fell quiet again, and Jake polished off his beer. “So what are your plans for the gym, then? You worked hard to build that beast from the ground up.”

  “I was hoping you’d ask. You and Kari want it?”

  “What?” He moved back, lifting an eyebrow at me as his mouth fell open.

  “You heard me.”

  Jake blinked at me. “Uh. I’d have to talk to her first.”

  “You should. If she’s not into it, I’m going to offer it to Violet. She’ll stay if you guys take over, too. She loves it there. She’s the backbone of the place. It wouldn’t run without her.”

  A soft knocking on the glass door at our backs got our attention. We turned to see Marc pulling open the door. He poked his head out. “Dinner’s ready, lovebirds. You coming, or just got to the point where you’re asking who’s on bottom tonight?”

  “Fuck off.” Jake laughed, pushing Marc out of the way as he went in first.

  I stayed out on the deck for an extra minute alone to breathe in the fresh air and admire the harbor one last time. It was unlikely that I would ever get to come back. It had been a place of solace for so many years; an escape from the depravity of the life I used to know. The life I was going back to.

  I told myself it would be different this time. I would be in control of my fate, and I had a good woman by my side who was more than capable of telling me when I needed to reel it in. If I lost myself to that world again, Sicily would pull me back to her and remind me of who I wanted to be. I trusted her to keep me sane and keep me good.

  After one last look at the harbor, I went back inside.

  Everyone was gathered around Kari and Jake’s kitchen table. They were spooning lasagna and salad onto their plates while Kari topped up everyone’s wine glass. I sat down beside Sicily, who instantly put her hand on my knee and squeezed. I gave her a small smile and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Your turn,” I said quietly.

  She glanced down at her lap then looked back up at everyone as Kari settled into her seat across from us. “Um, before we eat,” Sicily started, “there’s something Drake and I have to tell you all.”

  “Oh my God,” Kari said, covering her mouth as her eyes widened with excitement. “You’re pregnant!”

  “No, no, no!” Sicily said hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her. “Sorry. No. I shouldn’t have started like that.”

  Kari’s shoulders slumped. “It’s okay. I might have gotten a little carried away. What did you want to tell us?”

  Sicily glanced up at me for encouragement. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and nodded for her to continue. She sucked in a deep breath and looked between Kari and Lisa. “Drake and I are moving to Chicago to be with his family and help with their business.”

  “What?” Kari asked, her smile dropping.

  “When?” Lisa questioned at the same time.

  Sicily bit her bottom lip. “It’s all been a bit sudden. The situation is… time sensitive. We’ll be heading back early tomorrow morning. This is going to be the last time we all see each other for a while.”

  Kari’s eyes instantly welled with tears, and she shook her head in an effort. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be so emotional. This is good, right? Yes, of course it is. You guys are starting your life together, and it makes perfect sense that you would go there. It’s a big city with lots of opportunities and—”

  “Kari,” Sicily said softly as she reached across the table to rest a hand on Kari’s. “Don’t. It’s all right. Maine is our first choice, but Drake’s family needs us in Chicago. If we can, we will come back here, but for the first little while, we will probably have our hands full. We can talk on the phone all the time. I promise.”

  “What about the bakery?” Jake glanced between me and Sicily. “What are you guys going to do with it?”

  “One of my new employees needed a new opportunity in life.” Sicily shrugged and glanced over at me. I smiled and nodded, encouraging her to go on. “So I gave her the bakery. She’s going to be great.”

  “Lacy?” I asked, knowing who it was already.

  “Yeah.” Sicily pulled her napkin from her lap and wiped her mouth as she turned back to our friends.

  Kari dabbed at her eyes as Lisa scooted closer to Marc. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head as she spoke. “You’d better call us all the time, you hooker head. This was supposed to be our fresh start together.”

  “And it was,” Sicily said earnestly. “Look around. We all found our next steps together. We found our future here. It’s just taking us all in different directions right now.”

  “My wife, the poet,” I said, pulling her into my side to kiss the side of her head.

  “Well, we can come visit, too,” Kari offered.

  Sicily tensed in my grip, so I took over for her. “Jake and I talked about that already, too. We’d love to see you guys as much as we can. It would be nice to meet you halfway. That way, Sicily and I get a break from the crazy family. And I’m sure a change of scenery would be nice, too.”

  “Okay.” Kari nodded like the decision was already made. She never caught my deflection and neither had Jake, which I was grateful for.

  Sicily looked up at me and smiled appreciatively. She mouthed the word thank you, and I kissed the top of her head again. Then she addressed everyone at the table. “Now, I know you’re all going to be a mess after we leave, but can we eat? I’m starving. You can all blubber about us moving away when we leave. Let’s eat my famous lasagna before it gets cold.”

  “There’s no butter or flour in this fattening-ass dish, right?” I asked and laughed alongside my friends as Sicily slapped me in the chest and gave me what was sure to be my first warning of the night.

  When we left Jake and Kari’s place roughly four hours after my blubbering statement, all the girls did just that. They cried and hugged and cried some more as Jake, Marc, and I stood around waiting as patiently as we could manage. Once the farewells were bid, I wrapped an arm around my woman and led her back to the car. She sniffled all the way and dabbed at her eyes, and I let her grieve her loss until I had her back home and got her in bed. Then I made love to her to help her think of other things and to remind her that she was not leaving everything behind. Just some things. We still had what was most important.

  Each other.

  I packed the car up the following morning before dawn, and by the time the sun broke over the horizon, we were back on the interstate and on our way back to Chicago. I had hired a moving company to come in and take care of the rest of our stuff, and once things were a little calmer in Chicago, I would handle the sale of our home in Maine.

  Sicily opened the glove box and grabbed her sunglasses. She slid them on and leaned back in her seat, stifling a yawn.

  “Want to stop for coffee?” I offered.

  “No, I’m okay. Thank you, though.”

  “Want to try to get some more sleep?”

  She smiled as she looked over at me and shook her head. “I’m all right, Drake. I promise. Just tired from all the emotions. It will pass.” I took her hand in mine and squeezed. We sat quietly for a minute before she spoke again. “You still think you can make everything better for your family by going back?”

  “I have to try, baby. Besides you, D
and Izzy are the most important people in my life. You guys are all I have. I can’t keep hiding from who I am and letting them do all this alone. I owe them more than that. And with you by my side, I think I can do this right. It’s time to rise up and take control.”

  “Then I’ll rise with you,” she said sweetly as she lifted my hand to her mouth and kissed my knuckles. “Like the sticky buns in my bakery.”

  I laughed, and it felt good. Really fucking good. I was scared as hell to go back to the place I had been trying so long to forget. But somehow, Sicily made everything feel easier. “I like your buns.”

  Sicily giggled and leaned forward to turn on the radio. She cranked it up, and her sweet voice filled the car as she started singing along to an upbeat pop-rock song.

  With her by my side, everything was going to be different.

  It was going to be good. It had to be.

  23

  Demetri

  I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked from one wall of my living room to the other, back and forth, while the clock slowly counted the minutes above my fireplace.

  Drake was on his way back to Chicago with Sicily by his side. He had called me to give me an update that couldn’t have come at a better time. He assured me they would arrive soon and that he was all in. So was Sicily. They had talked things through and were both willing to commit to the family wholeheartedly. It was the kind of news my stressed, aching, pathetic heart needed.

  Shortly after getting a call from Drake that morning, a text message rolled in from Izzy. It wasn’t nearly as detailed as I wanted it to be, but it was confirmation that my girl was alive and well. The “well” part was subjective, but she was, at the very least, alive. I could see just how “well” she was when I finally laid eyes on her.

  Obviously, Marco was dead. Izzy wasn’t the sort of woman to pack up and come home unless the job was done. She never failed to finish things, no matter how hard they were—or how personal. She would be broken. That was for damn fucking sure, but I was more than ready to be the one to help her through it.