by Gina LaManna
I pushed open the door and was slightly surprised to find Anthony inside, alone. Usually Nora and her wine ruled the kitchen with a flushed face. Today, Anthony sat by himself at the table, staring at a full plate of pasta before him.
“Not hungry?” I asked.
Anthony looked up at me with a pained expression. “This is the third plate. I eat it all, then your grandmother comes in here and refills it before I can say a thing.”
“Yeah, well, welcome to the Family,” I said with a grimace. “Keep eating the pasta. Otherwise, the dessert comes out. The cookies will break your teeth.”
Anthony patted the place next to him. “Hungry?”
“Yeah, actually I am.” I surprised myself. I hadn’t eaten anything since before my capture, and now my stomach growled. Meg was right; I had some replenishing to do. I plopped in the seat next to Anthony and gave him a glance. “Talk.”
Anthony watched as I piled a huge scoop of pasta onto my plate. He pushed his unfinished food towards me, and I smiled gratefully, lining it up right behind my own heaping meatball mountain.
“Well, you know about what happened up until the, ah, mini bomb.” Anthony watched me eat, and I couldn’t tell if he was disgusted or impressed. Once again, I didn’t much care.
“Yah. Wha was dat?” I asked around a meatball.
“The earring,” Anthony said. “I noticed that when you get nervous you tug on your earlobe. I thought if I gave you them it’d be an easy way for you to have some backup security. There were sensors inside. It was foolproof, almost. See, by using one of your natural tells, you wouldn’t even realize you were setting the alarms off.”
“You didn’t trust me to set them off myself?”
“Not really,” said Anthony. “Normally, by the time you ask for help, it’s too late.”
“Lesson learned,” I said. “I’ll try to do better. And I won’t sneak around you anymore. Probably.”
“Please try,” Anthony said. “But that’s also not the only reason. Using a natural motion without your realizing it helps to not arouse suspicion. Anyone who knows you, knows your tell.”
“Am I that obvious?” I asked.
“Don’t play poker,” he said. “Plus, there was one additional bonus.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Every time you got nervous, you’d be reminded of me.” Anthony smiled. “And I liked that.”
I looked over at him, touched. “That’s sweet.”
Anthony gave the smallest hint of a smile, which disappeared as he continued talking with a serious expression. “I can detonate them remotely with a Wi-Fi connection, which is what I’d planned to do when you began tugging on your earlobes. However, neither Clay nor I estimated Kitty’s preparedness – or the existence of The Chamber.”
“She said there was no Wi-Fi down there,” I said. “So how did you detonate it?”
“I didn’t,” Anthony said. “I tried, but I don’t think it was me that detonated it.”
“What did, then?” I asked.
“There’s one last resort safety feature, if you will.”
“Safety feature?” I raised an eyebrow. “Or danger feature?”
Anthony ignored me. “With enough compressed force, the earring can be activated without a signal. I didn’t tell you the diamonds doubled as a weapon, because I hadn’t thought you’d need it. Not with us standing watch over you, plus all of Clay’s devices. But Clay underestimated her abilities with technology.”
I looked up. “Uh-oh, I bet he isn’t happy.”
“I’d maybe not go home tonight if I were you,” Anthony said. “I think he’ll be okay tomorrow. I talked him off the ledge.”
“Are you trying to get me to stay here with you?” I asked.
“Mmm,” Anthony murmured. “You don’t know where I live.”
I mumbled a nonsensical response, slurping a stray noodle. “Tell me about the earrings.”
“The diamonds in your ears encapsulated an incredibly small, extremely compact form of a flash bomb. The real weapon is the gas, though. It knocks anyone in a ten foot radius out on impact, and it lingers for around ten minutes, so if anyone else were to barge in to see what happened...”
“Kaplooey.” I mimed a tree falling over.
“Exactly. I had a device hooked up to the earrings, so I’d know when they detonated, if ever. That specific function operates without the use of Wi-Fi, so the command center was alerted when the bomb went off. I received a phone call from them, telling me that your earrings had detonated – which confused me, because I hadn’t told you the emergency release safety feature.”
“That would have been nice,” I muttered.
“We were already aware something had gone terribly wrong,” Anthony said. “So, when we got the call, Clay and I rushed into the spa and very quickly discovered The Chamber. That’s where we found everyone knocked out...you, Kitty and six guards.”
“The spread of the bomb was probably extensive – Kitty had already opened the door, so the gas could have gone through easily,” I mused. “The guards would have been knocked out on impact before they could even enter the room.”
Anthony nodded in agreement.
I looked up, not exactly seeing Anthony. “Hey, wait a minute. Diamonds don’t just smash.”
Anthony suddenly busied himself looking at his lap.
“Those weren’t real diamonds.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
Looking up helplessly, he gazed around the kitchen but there were no distractions for him to latch onto. “Well, wouldn’t you rather have had the weapon?”
“Yeah,” I said, relenting. “I guess I forgive you this time. But not in the future.”
“Who said there’s more diamonds coming?”
It was my turn to look sheepish. “I’m just saying.”
After an awkward silence, I stood up and dug in the fridge for some dessert that wouldn’t send me to the dentist in need of new enamel. Finding nothing, I pulled out a bottle of Grappa.
“Shot?” I asked.
“Please.”
Heating up a quick espresso, we sat next to each other, each of us slowly relaxing as we sipped the hot caffeine jolt mixed with Grappa. He had a few more questions for me, and I extracted a few more details from him about the whole mission. When we were each satisfied, I looked over.
“Thanks,” I said. “For everything. I appreciate your help. I should have come to you sooner.”
“Clay wants you to live with him again,” Anthony said, changing the subject. “I think you should. He misses you.”
“Yeah, I missed him too. For the one night I was gone.” I paused, thinking. “I still can’t believe he pre-ordered gadgets to fill my room. I suppose I’ll just have to sleep on the couch until I can get a new bed.”
“I have extra space,” Anthony said.
“In your bed?” I asked.
“It’s a nice bed.”
“You know what?” I turned to face him. “I don’t understand you. At Vivian’s wedding, you told me that you got permission to date me. Now, you just kiss me left and right.” I wagged a finger at him. “But at my party, when I brought up the situation about you asking me to be your girlfriend, you said no. What’s going on here?”
Anthony set down his glass. “At your party, you asked if I was debating asking you to be my girlfriend.”
“Right,” I said. “And you said no.”
“I’m not debating,” he said, leaning forward and taking my face in his hands. “I’ve already decided. Now, I’m just waiting for the right time.”
Speechless, I think my jaw dropped open. Anthony bent towards me and pressed his lips to mine, giving me a long, slow kiss that made my appetite for pasta completely disappear. When he pulled away, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
“I worried about you in the spa,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
Anthony looked as if he had more to say on the subject, but he refrained and shook his head.<
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“I appreciate you waiting upstairs with me while I was out,” I said. “Harold and Meg told me.”
“I wouldn’t let anyone else do the job,” Anthony said.
I tried to hide a smile and turned back to my pasta. Maybe it was too soon, but I was pretty sure that my feelings for Blake were already fading. Maybe I’d already been over the relationship, and had been trying to convince myself I wasn’t. Now, I found myself not particularly minding if he and Laura worked out.
“About the spa,” I said. “What’d you do with them anyways? The guards and Kitty?”
Anthony poured two big shots of Grappa into our espresso glasses. We mixed the alcohol with the bitter espresso remains and the sugar kernels at the bottom, downing them together.
“Eh,” Anthony said. “Consider your job done.”
“But what does that—” I started, but stopped when Carlos entered the room.
Looking quite dapper as usual in a suit and tie, I stood and kissed him on each cheek.
“Sit,” Carlos said. He poured himself a shot, and another for Anthony and me. “Salude.”
“Salude,” we cheered. I tapped my glass against the table and took the alcohol in one gulp. I was starting to feel a little loopy from the sudden liquor intake. Clearly the alcohol was hitting my bloodstream faster than the carbs.
As we all grimaced and let the Grappa settle, I glanced around the kitchen, feeling suddenly very lucky to be alive. To be home. To be part of my Family, albeit it a crazy one.
I broke out into a smile.
“Why so happy?” Carlos asked.
“Can’t I be happy?” I looked at Anthony as he made a small noise in his throat that sounded like amusement. “I’m alive!”
“Is true,” Carlos said, the tiniest accent creeping into his English. “On that note, brava. A job well done.”
He pulled a check out of his pocket.
I gaped at the amount as he handed it over. “But this is more than I thought...”
“I did not expect you to topple the entire pyramid,” he said. “I expected you to merely divulge a few names. You did more than I asked. Grazie mille, bella.”
I stood up, a little bit wobbly.
“Th-thank you,” I managed. “I-uh, I need to go deposit this. I need to pay Clay rent. I need to move home. I need to...” I trailed off.
“Can you drive me?” I looked at Anthony, realizing I didn’t have a car. And even if I did, I was seeing two of him, thanks to the Grappa. I didn’t want to add airbag deployment to my list of accomplishments for today.
“Yes.” Anthony stood and grasped one of my arms to keep me steady, guiding me out the swinging kitchen door.
Anthony waited when I tugged on his arm. I paused a half a step into the hallway, glancing back as Carlos helped himself to another round of espresso.
“Hey, Carlos,” I called. My grandfather’s eyes flicked up from the dinner table.
“Yes?” he asked, the tiny glass balanced between his fingers.
I put my hands on my hips. “One more thing.” Both Carlos and Anthony cast skeptical glances in my direction.
“The top dog was a woman.” I gave a serene smile at the two intimidating men, and I raised an eyebrow. “I absolutely don’t approve of Kitty’s style – but keep in mind – it’s not impossible for a girl to play in a man’s world.”
THE END
Lacey Luzzi: Sauced
LACEY LUZZI IS ALL sorts of starred, striped, and spangled as she returns in Sauced, reunited with Meg, Clay, and Anthony just in time for the Fourth of July!
Unfortunately, the rapidly approaching holiday means Lacey can no longer ignore the Luzzi Family Festivities – a picnic held every year on Independence Day. Filled to bursting with limoncello, ice cream cake, and illegal Mexican fireworks – the event promises to be an utter nightmare.
Even worse? Lacey’s inevitable birthday.
Just when things are looking as if they can’t possibly go any more downhill, Carlos delivers a birthday present Lacey is not expecting: a bomb.
Rumor has it that someone around town has been importing materials to build a massive incendiary device, promising the Twin Cities one heck of a fireworks show – and not in a good way. Carlos instructs Lacey to work side by side with Anthony – a man who suddenly seems filled with secrets – to save the day.
As the humidity rises outside, the heat is on Lacey to locate the bomb and disassemble it before her hometown receives a fireworks display it won’t forget.
If she can’t find the explosives, there’s a good chance Lacey might not make it to thirty.
Chapter 1
“WHEN DO YOU THINK HE’S gonna do it?” Meg asked. My sometimes overbearing best friend reached across the exam table and poked my arm. “Don’t play dumb – you know what I’m talking about. When’s he gonna ask you to date his sexy buns?”
“Is now the time to have this discussion?” I hissed.
I glanced around the small room tucked far, far away in a nearly abandoned wing of Carlos’s estate. Though a miniscule box, the room was a state of the art doctor’s office containing all sorts of medical necessities: a tray with an array of needles and vaccines, boxes of gloves, and racks of towels. Sitting on the examination table, I glanced first at Meg, then at the doctor, who was clearly listening to every word we spoke.
Meg shrugged, nodding at the doctor. “He doesn’t care.”
Dr. Gambino reached a hand down my hospital gown and squeezed my ladies. “Oh, I don’t mind,” he said. “I love girl talk.”
I grunted.
“Speaking of girls – yours feel great,” he said, gesturing to my chest. The stethoscope swung around the doctor’s skinny neck, his hair gelled so thoroughly it was sturdy as a motorcycle helmet.
“If only you were straight,” I said.
“Oh, believe me,” Dr. Gambino groaned. “Nora says the same thing every time she comes in here. Honey, she has tried to set me up with you more times than I can count.”
Meg barked a laugh. “And as a doctor, he can probably count pretty dang high with all those years of school.”
The doctor shot a concerned glance at Meg, and I could see him wondering just how high she could count. I knew Meg well, and the only thing she cared enough to count was the number of drinks she consumed in any given evening. I also knew from years of experience that her counting started to get a bit fuzzy when she hit the number twelve, but I was too distracted to comment. I didn’t like going to the doctor. I wouldn’t have even been there if Nora didn’t require all members of the Family to get a yearly checkup. Or else no paychecks.
“I swear, Nora faked a case of polio a week ago just for an opportunity to pitch why I should take you to dinner.” The well-manicured doctor wrinkled his nose, mimicking my grandmother’s girly voice as he spoke. “But Dr. Gambino, dear, just listen to me. You’re Italian, you’re a doctor, and you’re a nice, clean man – so hygienic. Just give Lacey a try...as a favor to me.”
“Cheese Louise,” I said. “I didn’t know you’d turned her down so many times. Am I really that bad? It’s just dinner.”
“It’s not just you,” Dr. Gambino assured me. “It’s all ladies. Plus, I know you. You’d only be going with me because you wanted a free dinner.”
I didn’t argue.
“I bet I could turn you into liking girls,” Meg blurted out from the corner of the office.
“Why is she here, anyway?” my doctor asked. Dr. Gambino worked for the Family, at Nora’s insistence. How she’d convinced Carlos he was the best choice...
I shrugged. “Meg? She wasn’t invited.”
Meg hadn’t been invited into the private examination room, but that wasn’t enough to stop her from joining me. When the girl had stuff to talk about, she was gonna talk.
“Lacey’s private business is my private business,” Meg said.
“That’s not true,” I jutted in. “She’s just my ride home to the apartment. And my private business is private�
�”
Dr. Gambino cleared his throat. “What are your plans for the Fourth of July?”
I appreciated the change in subject, but my happiness faded quickly as Meg spoke.
“I’m planning Lacey’s birthday party,” Meg said. “Wanna come?”
“I’m not having a party,” I said.
“Ooh, I love parties,” Dr. Gambino said excitedly. “What’s the theme?”
Meg shrugged. “Haven’t thought that far ahead. But this party is gonna be a real big one; a doozy of a party. Save the date, Dr. Gambino.”
“Why the big party?” he asked.
I sighed. “Since Meg so kindly brought up my private business...it’s my birthday on July 3rd and Meg doesn’t believe in small parties.”
“I gathered that much about your birthday,” the doctor said, gesturing towards his chart, which clearly spelled my date of birth out at the top of the form. “Is this a special year?”
“Well, ever since I found the Luzzi Family, I’ve been dating someone—” I said.
“Blake,” Meg contributed.
I glared at her. “And Blake and I recently broke up. Normally, I spend my birthday and the holiday with him. We’d go on a weekend getaway, just the two of us.”
“Yeah, cause Lace hates parties,” Meg said. “She avoids them like the plague.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t throw me one,” I said. Turning to Dr. Gambino, who was preparing something very evil-looking over on a tray in the corner of the room, I continued. “This is the first year I’ve been single on my birthday, which means I have no plans. So, Meg wants to throw me a party with the Family.”
“What about the Independence Day barbecue?” Dr. Gambino asked. “Why don’t you combine your birthday with that? It’s quite an event.”
“I don’t want quite an event,” I griped. “That’s the point.”
“The barbecue is a gathering you do not want to miss,” Dr. Gambino said. “I went last year and the food, the fireworks, the drinks...it was just to die for.”