by Gina LaManna
Carlos nodded. “Go on. It’s okay.”
“The Fish is responsible for the influx of guns into the Cities. He’s the reason I was distracted at the warehouse and made the poor decision not to tell you about the fake assignments. When I heard he was back, when I heard he was behind it...” Anthony shook his head. What he didn’t need to say was that the news had shaken him up. Between Anthony’s nerves being rattled and The Fish’s impressive display at Carlos’s today, the signs were there that this was a dangerous man.
“I’m not even working for the Russian Mafiya,” Oleg said. “I’m working for whoever pays me money. Ever since Horatio and grandmother cut me off—”
“You used the last money to buy fake identification and weed,” Horatio said.
Meg raised her eyebrows as if she didn’t quite think that was a terrible use of the money. Luckily nobody except Anthony and I saw her face.
“I’ve tried to get you to go straight. Get a job at the bank. Do something legal for once,” Horatio said. “It’s not that difficult.”
The entire Luzzi clan shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
“Or at least do something for the right reasons,” Horatio corrected quickly. “Look at this family. I don’t know how they do it. They managed to be the biggest crime ring in the Cities, yet they’re some of the most genuine, thoughtful people I know. Color me confused.”
“Don’t ever use that expression again,” Meg said. “I’m the expression police and that went out of style twenty-two years ago, to be exact.”
“Sorry,” Horatio said, doing a double take at Meg. “And thanks.”
“No problem,” she said with a smug smile.
Clay, however, looked livid. There was some part of me that still believed I couldn’t have been entirely wrong about the Meg and Clay rumor...
“I don’t know what to do with him,” Horatio said eventually, dropping his hands to his sides. “Carlos, er, Sir, I’m sorry – I’ve tried.”
Carlos looked thoughtfully, first at Horatio, then at Oleg.
“The Fish said he’d be back again,” I blurted. “I forgot to tell you guys. When we were driving away, he asked me to deliver a message.”
“What was the message?” Meg asked.
I gave her a funny look. “The message was that he’ll be back.”
“Oh. Well you could’ve just said that instead of making us guess all day,” she said.
I didn’t bother to let her know that I had said it already. She plowed right ahead to her next point.
“He didn’t give any specifics about when he’d be back?” Meg asked. I noticed she’d also had a shower, fresh clothes, and a pillow to sit on. Dr. Gambino had been at the party, and I was willing to bet he’d taken a peek at her butt. Maybe not willingly, but he’d do anything Nora asked.
“No,” I said. “No specifics.”
“What else did he say?” Carlos asked.
I blushed. There was no way I was telling them what he said about Anthony and me. “He said I better have improved manners, next time.”
Meg burst out in a fit of laughter. “Did you play the air trumpet with a certain middle finger?”
I paused and then grinned. “I held a single note for a very long time.”
“Good,” Meg said. “He deserved more than a flip of the bird.”
“Why didn’t you say more of this on the car ride?” I asked Oleg.
“I would have said something if you took the sock out of my mouth,” he said.
“Got a point,” Meg added. “I pride myself on my sock stuffing abilities. He couldn’t have spoken if he’d tried.”
“I did try,” Oleg said.
“Enough,” Carlos said. “The Fish will be back, but not today. Now – I have no more desire to speak of this. We will not ruin the last event because of him.”
“What are you going to do with Oleg?” Horatio asked. “I may not like the guy, but he’s still my brother.”
“We’re not going to do anything, yet,” Carlos said. “We’ll keep him here overnight. We have a – how do you say – escape-proof extra bedroom he shall find quite comfortable. We’ll give him a pair of guards to make sure nobody enters the space. Or leaves.”
“And in the future?” Horatio said. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”
Carlos stood up. “That depends.”
“On what?” Oleg asked, his eyes fluttering with nerves as Carlos approached.
Carlos crossed his arms in front of Oleg, his stature making him seem as tall as a giant, though the numbers didn’t hold up on paper. “On how useful you can be. I like Anastasia, which makes you lucky. Because I don’t much like you. However, if you can provide a certain amount of trustworthy assistance, maybe I’ll let you keep your head. For your grandmother.”
“She’d be so grateful,” Horatio said. “Really. We owe you everything.”
“Then be ready if I need a favor from you, as well,” Carlos said.
“Anything,” he said. “Horatio – that’s me – at your service.”
“Why Horatio?” I burst in. “I don’t understand. You’re as far from a Horatio as possible.”
“I’m Garik,” he said. “In Russia, they called me Garik. I reinvented myself here.”
“And you thought Horatio was the best option?” I asked.
Horatio crossed his arms. “I wanted to be different.”
“Mission accomplished,” Meg said. “But that’s okay. We like different here.”
I smiled. She had a point. The Luzzi Family thrived on different.
“Anthony, see that your men get this man to his chambers for the evening. The last surprise is about to start, and I need to find my wife.” Carlos exited the room with quick, crisp steps.
I turned to Anthony, who was quietly barking orders into what I’d assumed was a watch. False assumption.
When he finished, I looked up. “Are you sure I’ll enjoy this surprise?”
“Positive,” Anthony said, slinging his arm around my shoulder. “At least, I hope so.”
His half-assed vote of confidence on the subject didn’t do any favors for my nerves. Like I’d said, I was all surprised-out. But as I marched back down the Hallway of Infamy and past the Great Entrance, now completely dark except for the twinkle of the moonlight through the stained glass windows, I felt the smallest glimmer of excitement in my stomach. I really did love surprises. And it was my birthday party.
“Relax,” Anthony said. “We’re all here with you, now. Everything will be okay.”
And as I looked about at my ragtag group of impossibly loyal friends, I knew he was right.
Chapter 16
“WHAT IS IT?” I ASKED, my voice taking on a higher pitched squeal than normal. Despite my assurances that I was done with surprises for the day, now that I was surrounded by my closest confidants, I thought I could handle one or two more. Deep down, I loved the anticipation. I loved the wait. I loved the thrill.
“No peeking,” Anthony said, making sure the blue and red flag bandana remained tightly fastened across my eyes.
“I can’t see!” I laughed as hands reached for my shoulders and spun me in circles. “Stop, I’m going to throw up if you keep twirling me around.”
“I call your bluff,” Meg said, manhandling me until I finished a few more rotations.
Stumbling, I fell straight into thick, muscular arms that could only belong to one person. My breath caught in my throat as Anthony’s lips pressed against the top of my head. “Gotcha,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling my skull.
Part of me wanted to pretend I was so dizzy I couldn’t possibly walk straight without assistance. Having a gorgeous, strong man carry me to the next event would not be the worst thing that’d happened today.
“We’re here,” Clay said. “Shall we un-blindfold her?”
“Not yet,” Anthony said. “Couple last minute preparations.”
I heard the shuffling of several feet, the swish of cloth, and the distinct po
p of a champagne bottle.
“Oooh, bubbles,” I said. “I like this kind of surprise.”
“That’s just the start,” Meg said. “Chickadee, when you open your eyes, you’re gonna cry. I know it.”
“I’m not going to cry,” I said. “I haven’t cried all day.”
“I know you, girlfriend,” she said. “Your emotions were suppressed all day. Now they’re all gonna just pop right out of you. Probably out of your eyeballs in the form of tears.”
I clapped my hands. “Let’s just get on with it.”
“Plus, it doesn’t take much to make you cry,” Meg said. “And this surprise is the opposite of ‘not much’.”
“What is it?” A flutter rose in my chest, my fingers trembled, and my body positively shook with excitement. “Tell me!”
“Ready for the reveal?” Meg asked.
Clay muttered a series of names under his breath. “Everyone’s here.”
Firm fingers nimbly undid the knot tied against the back of my scalp.
Even as the person behind me whisked away the bandana, I left my eyes closed for another long moment and savored every last moment of the surprise. Because when I opened my eyes, I’d lose this feeling – the anticipation, the mystery, the weight of possibility. Almost always, the wait was more fun than the actual surprise.
But not this time.
My eyelashes flickered open and my body froze as if suddenly immersed in a pool of frigid water. It took all my focus to absorb the scene before me; a sea of familiar faces washed across the lawn of the estate, children laughed, and people with glow-in-the-dark necklaces and top hats adorned with stars and stripes mingled about. There was an alarming amount of neon light-up toys and patriotic paraphernalia.
I sat atop a small, hilly amphitheater tucked away behind Carlos’s mansion. It was a rarely used feature of the grounds, which was a shame. The place was beautiful. And even better – someone had spread a gigantic picnic blanket on the ground, the material so fuzzy and soft I wanted to curl up and take a cozy nap.
But the best part was the company.
Anthony sat close at my right, Meg to my left. Clay manned Meg’s other side, and Nora and Carlos were perched on rickety lawn chairs just in front of us. Horatio sat somewhat behind Clay and Meg, while the man in the turban rested a few feet away from Nora’s lawn chair.
“What do you think?” Nora asked, turning around. Her star-shaped sunglasses still masked her face, despite the fact that it was completely dark, save for a few stars in the sky and a handful of over-stimulating glow-in-the-dark necklaces. Her tinsel eyelashes were visible around the shades, her hair now also streaked with blue. “Isn’t this so exciting?”
Clapping her hands, she turned and faced forward.
“It should be starting anytime,” Clay said, glancing around. The party had migrated to the amphitheater without losing a person. Well, except for Oleg. Vivian and Joey cuddled near the bottom of the knoll, while other couples cozied next to one another under the stars and children stared upwards expectantly.
“Oh, I can’t wait,” Nora said, clapping her hands with vigor. “Lacey, have you met my friend?”
“Oh, no I haven’t,” I said, extending a hand towards the man in the turban. “Hi, I’m Lacey.”
“Gokul,” he said, with a slight bow.
I awkwardly retracted my hand and returned the bow, not quite sure how to react.
“He flew here all the way from India to thank me for the money I contributed to find his granddaughter. Apparently they found her – look, there she is playing with Marissa and Clarissa. All I wanted was a postcard with an elephant,” Nora said, patting the man’s hand. “I can’t believe he’d come all the way here to thank me in person. So sweet.”
I looked, and sure enough, a young girl with the same skin tone and hair color as Gokul threw a light-up Frisbee back and forth with the twins, shrieking with laughter.
“We found her,” Gokul said, bowing his head once more. “Thanks to your grandmother’s contributions. She believed in the cause, unlike many others.”
“Wow, fantastic,” I said. “She is so generous.”
When both Gokul and Nora turned forward, I looked to Clay and mouthed, “Did you do this?”
He shook his head, his lips silently forming the word no.
I gave one, gigantic shrug. “I’m impressed.”
Clay returned the shrug. “I’d say stranger things have happened, but I’m not sure that’s true.”
“You’d be surprised—” I started, but was interrupted by a huge bang from the sky.
“It’s a whirly twirly!” Nora screamed. “In red. Carlos, you didn’t – you handsome little trickster.”
My grandmother leaned over and planted a huge, sloppy kiss on her husband’s cheek.
“Anything for—” Carlos started, but was interrupted by a boom.
“And golden chandelier spiralies?” Nora was nearly hysterical with excitement, alternating between fanning her face and clapping her hands. “You sneaky, sexy little devil, you. Gokul, what do you think of the fireworks?”
“Is beautiful,” he responded politely.
“Beautiful?” Nora said, wiping tears from her eyes. “Carlos bought illegal fireworks for me. I love you so much, babe.”
“Can’t you get in trouble for this?” Meg asked. “By the cops, I mean. If the neighbors call them. I mean, I’d be happy to have a few words with my cop amigos if you’d like, make sure they don’t interrupt the party...”
“They won’t be interrupting the party,” Carlos said.
“But sometimes we all got them nosy neighbors with their noise violations—” Meg persisted. She never wanted to be far from the action. In fact, she sometimes created action to make things more exciting.
“They’re already here,” Carlos said, gesturing towards a row of men in all variations of Fire Department and Police uniforms, and even a few SWAT shirts. “They were all invited to bring their families. You’ll find that most of the force is here already, enjoying a glass of wine and a hot dog.”
“Oh,” Meg said, almost a disappointed look on her face. Turning behind her, she gestured at Clay’s friend. “Horatio, come sit down with us. Your pacing back there is making my stomach upset.”
“But—” Horatio began.
“You didn’t do nothin’ wrong,” Meg said. “And this is a forgiving family. You can’t help it if your brother’s a turd bucket, so stop feeling bad and come join the party.”
With an appreciative smile, Horatio found a seat on the blanket to the far side of Clay, just as the music began to play. I couldn’t see the speakers, but the pulse of it throbbed around us, surrounding our cozy little amphitheater. I leaned into Anthony, whose arm had slid subtly behind my back at some point.
Meg, her eyes twinkling, offered an extra blanket over our laps. Then, she turned and kissed Clay, smack on the cheek.
“You two are a thing,” I said, excitedly sitting up. “I knew it!”
“Nah,” Meg said. “Just messing with you.”
Beyond her frame, Clay’s cheeks glowed red under the light from the fireworks.
But I didn’t have time to meddle in their business anymore. Anthony tugged me towards him, his fingers wrapping loosely around my forearm. “Look,” he said, pointing.
I tilted my head back and was pleasantly surprised to find that it fit just perfectly on Anthony’s shoulder.
“At what?” I asked. The sky was temporarily dark for a moment, though the music continued to play around us.
“The finale,” he said. “I picked it out.”
Snuggling in, my heart warmed up at least fifty degrees. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and despite the urge to close my eyes and remember the feeling of this moment, I forced myself to keep them open.
I was glad I did. A moment later, a series of booms and bangs exploded so hard the ground shook, and I could feel the vibrations deep within my stomach. The music swelled and my breath disappeared from my lu
ngs as I watched the letters spelled across the night sky.
“Wow,” I breathed, once I could finally regain my voice. “That was amazing.”
Anthony’s fingers lightly traced my upper arm, the tickles sending shivers over my skin like ripples across a pond. “You liked it?”
I turned to face him, the words I wanted to say not yet forming on my lips. Reflected in his eyes was the last remaining golden glimmer of fireworks that’d spelled the grand finale of the evening:
Happy Birthday Lacey Luzzi!
The shining glow danced in his brown eyes and mingled until I couldn’t tell the sparkle in his eyes from the reflection of the fireworks. Instead of finding the thank you I’d been searching for, my lips reached to meet Anthony’s in a sweet, short kiss.
We were interrupted almost immediately by Meg’s vicious clapping and whoop of approval. Eyes swiveled in her direction, so Anthony and I used the moment to break away. Though Carlos knew Anthony and I were interested in one another, we weren’t a couple. Not yet, at least.
“Can we go somewhere private?” he asked. “I have one last surprise.”
“I don’t know,” I said, the longing evident in my voice. The party had been fantastic, but I was ready to have some peace and quiet. Yawns started to break out among the children, and one or two of the firemen from the front row began to filter from the grounds. “This is my party...there’s lots of people here to see me.”
“Do I have permission to kidnap you?” Anthony asked.
I looked up, scanning the crowd quickly. My eyes landed on Nora.
She mouthed one word. Go.
I smiled at my grandmother, and replied with a similarly silent thank you.
Meeting Anthony’s eyes, I gave a shy nod. “Please do.”
“YOU INSPIRED ME,” ANTHONY said, gesturing to the brand new Audi S8 in the driveway. “I convinced Carlos I needed a work vehicle.”
“Wow,” I said, almost reverently trailing my fingers around the outside of it. To me, it still just looked like a black car but Anthony was so proud, I wanted him to believe I loved it, too. “It’s beautiful. It suits you.”