by Freya Barker
“Each of my kids want one, which means I have two left to get rid of. I can’t bring them to my new place in town.”
“Max and I have decided to take one,” Anna says, stepping into view. “That one is left.”
She indicates the smallest of the litter, a tricolor female who has rolled on her back at my knees so I can scratch her round, pink belly. I smile when one of her back legs starts twitching as I rub a certain spot, but my eyes are sharp on Yanis’s mom.
“Why do I get the feeling I’m getting railroaded?”
Anna does her best to look innocent, but Max laughs heartily.
“Because my wife is a terrible actress.”
“I am not!” she sputters indignantly, oblivious to the fact she all but admitted she planned this whole thing.
It’s a little after eight when I hear the front door open.
“Hey.”
I get up off the couch and walk up to Yanis, who is shedding his coat. As soon as his hands are free, I slip my arms around his waist and lift my face for a kiss.
“I like coming home like this,” he mumbles against my lips.
“Hmm. How was your meeting?”
“Good. Signed a one-year contract for their new facility, which should keep us busy. Construction starts early next year.”
“That’s great. Have you had dinner?” I ask, slipping out of his hold and moving toward the kitchen where I’ve shoved the pan of lasagna back in the oven to keep it warm.
“No. I wanted to get home to—What the fuck is this?”
Guess he found my little surprise sleeping on the couch where I left her.
I smile to myself but straighten my face before I turn around to where Yanis is scowling down at the puppy.
“That, is Lucy and she’s ours.”
His eyes narrow as they come up to meet mine.
“Ours?”
I nod. “Blame your mother.”
I have no qualms throwing Anna under the bus after she manipulated me.
He looks back down at the puppy, who is just starting to wake up and wags her tail happily when she sees a new friend. He ignores her advances but is instantly on alert when Lucy suddenly starts barking in the direction of the front door.
Yanis is already moving before the doorbell rings. I quickly move to pick up the pup, who is attempting to get down from the couch on her own, and am alarmed when I catch Yanis pulling his weapon before yanking the door open.
“The fuck are you doing here?”
Chapter Thirty-One
Yanis
I’d been eager to get home to Bree, fully intending to follow through on the promise I made her earlier.
Instead, I come home to her still dressed, a sleeping dog on my couch, and the fucking Don of the Albero family on my doorstep.
This does not make me happy.
It’s a similar scene to the one many years ago, the man himself casual, hands in his pockets, and two of his goons a few steps behind him but definitely more alert. Guiseppe is clearly older, but when he lifts his head to look at me, his eyes are as sharp as ever.
I curb the desire to put a plug in him when his glance drifts over my shoulder to Bree, who I can sense behind me. I have no doubt she has her gun drawn.
“I want you to know your woman has nothing more to fear from Angelo,” he starts, his voice raspier than I remember. “I’ve made sure of it.”
“Right,” I bite off, making it clear I don’t trust him.
My tone doesn’t seem to affect him.
“I’ve watched you, you know?” His head slowly bobs up and down as he speaks, but his eyes don’t waver. “I’m the one who recommended your company to Joe. I’ve been keeping my eye on you over the years, watched you build a reputation for yourself and thought maybe this was an opportunity to bring you into the fold. Turns out you were even better than I gave you credit for. I should’ve snapped you up the first time I knocked on your door. You’d have made an excellent lieutenant. But now?” He looks me up and down. “Now, I wonder if you’d have had the stomach for my line of work.”
He dissolves into a rattling cough and spits out a wad of phlegm on my front steps.
As disturbing as it is he’s clearly kept his eye on me, I don’t get the sense he’s here with violence in mind.
“What do you want, Albero?”
He shakes his head.
“Just to tell you it’s over.” He glances over my shoulder again. “No one’s gonna touch your woman or anyone working for you.” I can almost hear Bree’s teeth grind at that comment even as Albero’s eyes return to me. “Payback in kind for the peace of mind you gave me twenty years ago.”
With that he abruptly turns away and walks toward the black sedan at the end of my driveway, his henchmen right behind him.
I feel Bree’s body pressing to my back as she peers around the side.
“Did that just happen?”
I almost jump out of my skin when my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I pull it out as I see the vehicle’s taillights disappear down the road. Shutting the door, I check the screen where Aiken’s name pops up.
“Aiken, you’ll never guess who—”
“Sarrazin was found dead an hour ago,” he interrupts, stopping me in my tracks.
“What?” Bree wants to know.
I hit speakerphone and sit down on the couch.
“Say again?”
“A guard found Sarrazin shanked in the showers at Englewood.”
Englewood Correctional Institute is a federal prison in the Denver area, where Angelo Sarrazin was remanded earlier this week by the pretrial judge after denying him bail.
“How is that possible?” Bree asks, as she sits down on the couch beside me. “Wasn’t he just transported there?”
“Guess the Albero family has enemies inside,” Aiken offers.
“I don’t think so,” I contribute. “Seconds before you called Guiseppe Albero stood on my doorstep and the first thing out of his mouth was Bree was safe and Angelo would no longer pose a threat. I thought he meant he muzzled him.”
“You mean the old man had him killed? His own son?”
I look over at Bree, who has that little mutt in her arms, her eyes wide on me.
“Stepson. And yes, that would be my guess. Sarrazin likely knew too much for the old man’s comfort.”
It’s silent for a beat.
“He was at your door?”
“Yup.”
“I have a fucking surveillance team on his house.”
Bree snorts and when I glance at her again, she has her face buried in the pup’s fur but her shoulders are shaking. My mouth twitches.
“You may wanna let ‘em know he’s flown the coop.”
“Yeah. Guy’s got balls,” Aiken concludes. “And we’ve got nothing concrete to haul him in for, dammit.”
“Maybe not, but you’ve got a crooked AG you can go after,” I offer. “The man used his position to manipulate law enforcement officers into either looking away or downright breaking the law. I’m guessing you won’t be bored.”
The agent barks out a laugh.
“Little chance of that. I’d best make some calls. I’ll be in touch.”
He ends the call and I toss my phone on the coffee table. Then I twist in my seat, facing Bree.
“Now. Where were we?” I point at the creature on her lap. “I believe you were explaining to me what that thing is doing here.”
“Her name is Lucy,” Bree corrects me and proceeds to dump the animal on my lap.
Apparently scowling doesn’t work with animals, because she is totally oblivious and happily tries to climb my body to get to my face. I pick up her wriggling body and lift her to eye level.
“You’re gonna take a shit on my rug, aren’t you?”
The pup lets out a little yelp as she licks the air in front of my face.
“Your parents adopted one of her brothers,” Bree supplies.
She tells me about the farm, the old guy and his dogs, and
my parents’ decision to put in an offer on the spot after Bree gave the place her thumbs-up.
The whole thing has Ma’s fingerprints all over it. She plays up the hippy-dippy senior part, but it’s mostly smoke and mirrors for a cunning mind.
I sink back in the couch, dropping the pup to my chest, and am immediately rewarded with a bath and a beard trim.
“No,” I say firmly, tapping her on the nose. “No chewing my face.”
She sits back on my chest and tilts her head to one side and then the other as if she’s listening to me talk. Then she curls in a ball and promptly falls asleep.
I turn my head to glance at Bree and notice her face has gone soft as she looks at the dog.
“Isn’t she adorable?”
“She’s a shit-disturber, I can tell,” I counter.
“She is not. Look at her, she’s a little lamb.”
“She’s a cockblocker,” I insist. “We should’ve been christening the kitchen by now.”
Bree grins and moves closer, leaning in to kiss the damn dog on my chest first before shifting her attention to me.
“See? Already I’ve been downgraded to second rank,” I grumble.
This evening definitely did not go as planned, but with my feet on the table and two warm bodies snuggled up against me I can’t really complain.
Bree
“Lucy!”
Yanis’s booming voice blasts from the house.
I look over to where the pup had been chasing her first snowflakes just seconds ago. She’s nowhere to be seen now, but there are tracks in the thin layer of snow leading underneath the deck. Little terror. I wonder what she’s been into now.
I got home myself only ten minutes ago and let her outside for a pee. It started snowing as I was picking up a few groceries on my way home from the office. The plan was to have dinner ready by the time Yanis got home, but apparently, he’s back early.
He’s been in Vegas this past week, tasked with the security for a series of three back-to-back concerts by a famous—albeit aging—R&B star at one of the older casinos on the strip. PASS is starting to make a name in the entertainment business, which is an abrupt departure from the mining industry, where most of our previous contracts came from.
The Vegas deal is the third new contract this past month and the second entertainment one. I have to say I enjoy them more. They’re short term, high energy, and no two are alike. The only thing I made Yanis swear is never to ask me to put on a dress and impersonate a star again.
“That fucking dog,” he complains, walking out of the house with the remnants of one of his sneakers in his hand.
Oh dear. I may have forgotten to close the walk-in closet in our room. She likes to hide in there and use our footwear as chew toys.
“She missed you and she’s teething.”
It’s a weak defense, but aside from her penchant to decimate the occasional shoe, Lucy is an absolute sweetheart. Smart too, she already knows a handful of commands. And, she does adore him.
Yanis stops a hairbreadth away, his larger form towering over me.
“She’s a menace.”
“You needed new ones anyway.” He glares at me with narrowed eyes so I decide to change tactics. “You’re home early.”
I put a hand to his shoulder and lift up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his stubborn mouth.
“Snow’s supposed to get worse and I didn’t want to get stranded in Vegas,” he grumbles.
“That’s probably smart. I want to hear all about Vegas, though.” I pluck the mangled shoe from his hand before lacing my fingers with his and tugging him toward the door. “Let’s grab a beer and you can tell me all about it while I start on dinner.”
He doesn’t answer but he doesn’t resist and I indicate for him go in ahead of me, quickly tossing the shoe over the railing before I follow him inside and close the door behind us. I’m sure Lucy will come out of hiding soon. Hopefully, by then, I’ll have him distracted enough he won’t notice.
“So? How was Cooper Grey to work with?” I ask, setting a beer on the island in front of him.
“Not bad. At least smart enough to stick to the protocol. I’ve never seen so many middle-aged women trying to relive their youth.” He fakes a shiver. “More fake eyelashes and artificial cleavage than you might see at a drag queen convention. Fucking screaming like teenagers, tossing bras and panties at the stage. Grown women, if you can believe that.”
I make a sympathetic sound and don’t share that if there was one other man who could get me to strip out of my panties, it would be Cooper Grey. Talk about hotter with age.
Yeah, best not share that.
“How have things been here?” he asks and sips from his beer.
“Quiet.” I add the sliced peppers to the bowl of veggies for the stir-fry I have planned. “I spoke with Bill a few days ago. He’s moving into his new place in Durango this weekend. He starts on Monday.”
“We should take off for a couple of days after Christmas. Go see his new digs.”
I look up and smile at him.
“I wouldn’t mind that.” I pull the wok from the cupboard and set it on a burner, adding some EVOO and a splash of sesame oil for fragrance. “Your parents are settling in at the farm. Your mom wants us to come over for Sunday dinner.”
“You know that’s going to become a standard request now they live here, right?” he asks with a smirk on his face.
“I figured, but I don’t mind. I like family time.”
He shakes his head, but does it smiling. “I’ll remind you of that when they start driving you nuts as well.”
“Not gonna happen,” I assure him when I suddenly remember another phone call from earlier in the week. “Oh, you know who else called? David Aiken. He wanted to know if we’d heard anything else from Albero. Turns out we were the last people who reported seeing him. The man looks to have disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“What do you wanna bet he’s retired to a beach in Central or South America somewhere, living out the rest of his life?” Yanis suggests.
With no one left next in line, I guess it’s possible he’s hung up his hat.
“Could be.”
A scratch at the door draws my attention. Lucy is covered in a dusting of snow, showing her doggy smile, indicating she wants to come in. I slide the door open for her but at the last minute she dives for something that was out of view and proudly carries it inside, dropping it at Yanis’s feet.
His mangled sneaker.
I fully expect him to throw another fit but instead he starts laughing. A full-on belly laugh that fills me with a feeling of contentment I’ve never experienced before.
I’m happy. Truly and completely happy.
Epilogue
Bree
“Zappa! Drop it!”
I turn to see Max senior chasing after Lucy and her brother. The two are running off into the fields, side by side with one of baby Max’s diapers they must’ve stolen from the trash can precariously stretched between them.
Yuck.
Yanis chuckles at the dogs’ antics and his little nephew presses his ear against my new husband’s broad, rumbling chest. The dogs are not the only ones thick as thieves. Mini Max adores his uncle and vice versa.
There might have been a time when seeing those two together would have been painful, but aside from a mild tinge of melancholy, witnessing the unconditional love between them is a thing of beauty.
We got married this morning in a simple ceremony with family and friends. Friends who make up our extended family. Growing up with only my mother and no other relatives to speak of, I always dreamed of big family get-togethers like this.
It’s still a little chilly, being only the first weekend of April, but it’s a nice sunny day and it’s beautiful out here.
“You look like a happy bride.”
Hillary—who is hugely pregnant with her first, only a month away from her due date—sits down beside me on the bench.
I grin at her.<
br />
“I’m just happy.”
She throws an arm around my shoulders and tugs me close, leaning her head against mine.
“You can tell me to fuck off,” she starts. “But I have something I want to ask you. Actually, two somethings.”
I lift my head and turn to face her.
“What’s that?”
“Well…” She glances over at Radar who is watching her from a distance. He’s hanging out at the barrel grill with the other guys, all keeping an eye on the meat I’m sure. “Radar and I were talking and we want to ask you and Yanis to be godparents for the baby.”
I’ve suddenly lost the ability to speak as a giant lump gets stuck in my throat.
“Oh God, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Hillary starts rambling. “That’s why I didn’t say anything until I checked in with you. Forget I—”
“Yes,” I manage, unable to keep the tears at bay. “Yes, I…I mean we would be honored.”
I think by now just about everyone in our extended family is aware Yanis and I won’t be producing offspring, which makes this gesture even more meaningful.
“Yeah?” Hillary makes sure, a happy smile spreading on her face.
“I can’t wait. Word of warning though; I reserve the right to spoil my goddaughter rotten.”
They wanted to keep the little one’s gender a surprise so everyone at the office has been placing bets, not only on the sex of the baby but the date of birth. I called for a girl born May second.
Hillary laughs. “I expected nothing less.”
I look over at Radar, who isn’t hiding he has his full attention on my tête-a-tête with his wife, and nod. He smiles wide.
“As for my second request,” Hillary continues. “I was wondering if you’d consider being my birth coach.”
“Me?” I’m a little shocked and more than a little excited at the request. “I don’t know anything about childbirth.”
