“Don’t much like you, but I appreciate you helping us out.”
My brother shook the big man’s hand, his features relaxed. “And thank you for keeping my sister safe.”
Kane nodded, the movement more like an afterthought when Kit tugged on his arm. “I’m tired, baby. Let’s get some sleep.” She nodded to Johnny then led Kane through the kitchen to the other side of the cabin.
Kiel waited until the bedroom door shut before he looked back at Johnny, arms crossed as he watched him. “Vinnie and his goons?”
Johnny waited, moving his top teeth over his bottom lip as though he needed time to answer in a way that wouldn’t incriminate him or leave us vulnerable. Finally, he shrugged, walking back to the glass door. “Vinnie and his men won’t be a problem for anyone anymore.”
“Meaning?” Kiel asked, frowning as though he hadn’t meant to ask the question.
“Meaning,” my brother said, still watching the woods outside that glass door. “Our father handled that business, and no one will ever be bothered by those assholes again.” He shot a look over his shoulder, frowning at Kiel. “Ever. Again.”
Kiel cursed, rubbing his neck. He hated the business my family did. He hated that he’d ended up right where he’d never wanted to be and when he cursed, mumbling something he kept to himself. I touched his wrist, getting him to look down at me.
“First family rule?” I started, relaxing when the tension tightening the muscles in Kiel’s face eased. “Don’t ever ask questions if you can’t handle the answers.”
“She’s right,” Johnny said, finally turning to face us. “And here’s an answer I bet you never thought you wanted.”
“Which is?” Kiel didn’t push my hand away when I tightened my grip around his wrist. Instead, he moved his fingers, locking them with mine.
“Cazzo, never thought I’d have to admit this, but since we’re here, and since there seems to be nothing in your way anymore…”
“Talk,” I said, glaring at my brother. He knitted his eyebrows together, making him look older, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past week. I could relate, but that didn’t mean I’d let him off the hook.
“Fine,” Johnny said, moving to the couch, motioning for Kiel and me to do the same. We did, taking the leather seat across the repaired coffee table. My brother watched us, gaze shifting before he leaned forward, watching his hands, those long fingers of his as he laced them together. “It was my fault.” I tilted my head, not understanding, and Johnny nodded, looking nervous when Kiel rested his elbows on his knees like he was ready to pounce.
“Vinnie. I suggested him to Papa for you.” My brother ignored the small grunting noise I released then focused on moving his gaze between Kiel and me. “It was stupid, and Papa was so worried you’d be on your own when he…” Johnny waved his hand, as though he couldn’t bring himself to mention the inevitable outcome for our father. “Anyway, he had ideas about seeing you cared for since he knew I’d be…occupied with the business. And I thought of asking you what you thought of the situation. But that’s when I walked in on you in Papa’s office, looking over the file the PI sent you.” He nodded at Kiel, and I slumped against the sofa.
“You had me investigated?” Kiel asked, mouth dropped open as he watched me. I hated that look. I hated the little hint of betrayal I spotted in his features.
“I wasn’t going to interrupt your life if you had other…ties here.” It was a simple explanation, and it seemed to make Kiel’s surprise dim. “Finish,” I told my brother, holding Kiel’s hand when he rested it on my thigh.
“I waited until you left and pulled up your history. All those articles from the Seattle Times that Kiel wrote. The same Kiel you’d promised had stalked you for six months. Didn’t take much effort to pay off the PI and find out what you had him looking up. I got the gist, figuring all the bullshit you told us about him—” he jerked his chin toward Kiel “—was total bullshit.” He shook his head, as though still amazed how many lies I’d told to get Kiel out of my life. Johnny rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking tired and frustrated, but that didn’t keep him from continuing. “My own sister, lying to me. Lying to our father. I got mad at first. Then, when I gave myself time to think about it, I figured you had your reasons for lying to the cops.”
“Stupid damn reasons,” Kiel said, wincing when I elbowed him in the side.
“Stupid or not, I knew she had a reason, and I knew the way she went on, keeping herself off everyone’s radar, not seeing anyone, not doing anything but going to work at the museum. And that fund raiser…” Kiel glanced at me, moving his gaze to my face, then away from it in sudden, swift movements. Johnny caught the look, same as I had, and my brother shook his head, his smile lethal. “The fund raiser wasn’t her,” he offered, stretching an arm along the back of the sofa. “The money? Hell, man, that was me.”
“Johnny!” I glared at my brother, feeling my stomach twist. “Do you have any idea the shit you caused?”
He gestured again, looking impatient. “I replaced it,” he admitted. “Or don’t you remember the bid on the Matisse no one ever claimed? It got paid for, and you kept the piece with an anonymous, ‘With my kind regards’ note, remember? That was me. The Matisse more than covered the hundred grand I borrowed.”
My brother laughed as I kept my glare steady, lowering his shoulders as though he didn’t see why I was still so irritated.
“Why did you take the money?” Kiel asked, relaxing against the cushions with his arm around my shoulder.
Then Johnny slipped his gaze to me, lowering it just as quickly. “Sammy?” I asked, trying to hold off smiling. When my brother nodded, I laughed, not caring if I insulted him. “I knew you couldn’t have paid them off without anyone finding out.” The frown Johnny gave me was sharp, his eyes piercing, which only made me laugh harder. “Give it a rest. Kiel knows. I told him. I tell him everything.”
Johnny cursed under his breath, something low and accented, but he didn’t comment further on my confession. The curl of his top lip relaxed, and in the next second he seemed more interested in his confession than the fact that I’d told Kiel about young Samantha.
“Like I was saying…Vinnie. I’d figured out your lie and guessed about the why. It was clear you still wanted Kiel, and Papa wanted you married. If I got Vinnie mentioned and pushed him in front of Papa, I knew he couldn’t resist.”
“Johnny…” I said, too surprised to think of anything to say.
“You needed a push to bring your man back to you. That’s what I offered.” When Kiel pulled his hand away from mine and started rubbing his palms together, a nervous habit he had, my brother rushed to explain more. “It worked out, didn’t it? It got him here, and it got—”
“Our friend Dale shot,” Kiel said, his expression fierce.
“I didn’t know Vinnie was unstable.” Johnny held up his hands, a gesture of surrender that didn’t last. “Hand to God, I had no idea what a prick he was or that he’d do anything to get you in front of a priest.”
“All of this because I wasn’t honest?” I asked, cupping my face in my hands.
“All of this because our father loves you. He wants you looked after.”
“Still?” I asked, unable to keep the small flicker of hope from my tone. I’d never gone so long without speaking to my father. No matter who he was and what he did, he was still my father. “You mean he loved me. Past tense.”
“No, not past. Now. Today. Tomorrow.” He moved to the edge of the sofa, pressing his thumbs together, a nervous tic he probably didn’t realize he had. “When I told him you’d been shot at, that Kiel had protected you and Arturo and got you out of there and to somewhere safe? Ah, rella, he was beside himself. I told him everything that night—about you and Kiel and how he’d never been your stalker. About Vinnie and his side piece he liked to keep at the ready, and how the bastard only wanted to be with you because of our business. Papa was beside himself.”
When I blinked, failing to ke
ep the burn of tears from clouding my vision completely, Johnny came to me, kneeling to hold my face in his hands. “He wants you to come home.” He glanced at Kiel and nodded. “He wants both of you to come home. I’ve never seen him so miserable.” My brother kissed my forehead, holding me while I cried against his chest. “He’s so sorry, rella, and he wants his bimba back.”
“Give us some time,” Kiel said, resting his palm on my back as my brother stood. Johnny still held my face, tipping my chin with his knuckle before he nodded, an unspoken answer to Kiel.
“It’s been a rough few days,” Johnny said, stepping back. He’d gotten a little teary as he held me—I spotted the redness in the whites of his eyes and the dampness on his face. But like the macho guy he thought he was, Johnny wiped a hand over his face and cleared his throat, pretending there hadn’t been a small break in his in-control composure.
“Papa will understand. You stay here.” He waved around the cabin. “It’s a good spot to be alone with the one…” Another motion, this one between Kiel and me, and Johnny’s voice trailed off.
He was strong. He was controlled, and there had been only one time I’d ever seen my brother lose himself—and that control—completely. The thought surprised me more than it should have, and despite the ache I felt when I thought of facing my father, despite the violence that had been at the center of our world the past few days, I wondered if Johnny would ever have that loss of control again. Kiel made me crazy. He turned me on. He made it so I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t be unless he was near me. Had Johnny felt that way before? Would he ever have that?
Without thinking, I took my brother’s hand, holding his fingers tightly as I watched his face. “Papa will be…gone soon.” His mouth tightened, but he didn’t try to argue with me. “And I have Kiel, and we’ll make a life together. But you, cucciolo, you’ll have the business. You’ll have only the business.”
It took a minute for Johnny to understand my meaning. In that time, he watched me, frown hardening as though he wasn’t sure how to react. Johnny shifted his gaze between Kiel and me, then he relaxed the tension from his face. “Cara, don’t worry about me. I have…means. I have company.”
“The girls you and your friends pass around don’t count.” I slipped my fingers between his, hoping he knew that I only wanted him to be happy. Like I was. Like I finally was after all this time. “Don’t you want to love someone?”
Johnny’s attention went straight to Kiel, who must have seen something in my brother’s expression that told him this wasn’t something he wanted to discuss. Kiel kissed my forehead then went into the kitchen, busying himself with a beer from the fridge.
“Cara, there isn’t space for any of that.” Johnny sat next to me, still holding my hand, but I got the feeling he did that to appease me.
I expected him to tell me this wasn’t my business. Maybe he wanted to lecture me about keeping both of us safe. I didn’t care about any of that just then. I wanted my question answered. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“Does it matter?” Johnny lowered his voice, but he didn’t seem worried about Kiel in the kitchen behind us. For a moment, it was just me and my big brother talking about big, complicated things I wasn’t sure we’d ever quite figure out.
“It matters to me, amore. I want you to have what I have.” He snorted out a laugh, and I pushed his shoulder. “What I have now. Not what I had to go through to get it, but what we have now.”
Johnny watched me, eyes squinting, gaze staring straight, unblinking on my face before he exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I might have had that once. But I was stupid and young, and…I messed it up.”
“Sammy?” I asked, taking the way my brother’s jaw clenched as answer enough. “She’s not a nun?” He shook his head but stayed silent. “You know where she is?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he admitted, rising from the sofa.
“Why not?”
Johnny grabbed his phone, pretending to be interested in whatever caught his attention. I didn’t care if he didn’t want to talk about Sammy. There was something in his eyes when her name came up. Something that made him look both younger and ancient all at the same time.
“Johnny, why doesn’t it…”
He grunted, the noise silencing me before he shoved his phone in his pocket. “Because, rella. She was never the same after…everything. She never will be again, and that’s my fault.”
Funny thing was, Johnny hadn’t been the same either. I wondered if he ever would be again.
18
Cara
As it turned out, three days was a long, long time to be around strangers. Kane and Kiel kept busy around the cabin, working on busted fencing, bossing Johnny’s men around to help fetch more wood or clear away fallen limbs around the property. They seemed to find things to do, but then, neither man was the type to sit around and be idle. If Kane was anything like his brother, I suspected the same was true for nakedness. There was nothing remotely idle about Kiel, especially during naked time.
The days with us—Kit, Gin, and me was a little bumpier. There hadn’t ever been much time for friends of my own growing up. It was a hazard of the family I’d been born into. I was the one of only two females among all our cousins, so there wasn’t much in the way of female companionship to be found for me. Especially since Antonia thought it would be okay to try to fuck Kiel in the airport. It was odd being relegated to the company of strangers, especially strange women. Kit was crazy about Kane. It was mutual, and I liked her a lot. I’d even started to like Gin before Dale’s fuck-up at the hospital. But they were both still strangers.
Gin’s attitude had only gotten grouchier, her mood sullen, and there didn’t seem to be enough wine in the world to tamp down her anger. Despite Kane’s explanation about anesthesia and its side effects, or his belief that Dale harbored some bone-deep longing for Gin, the woman’s attitude didn’t change.
And it was starting to piss me off.
Kane and Kiel sat around the kitchen table playing cards while Kit joined me and a half-drunk Gin on the balcony, enjoying the blazing warmth of the firepit. This was the last attempt I’d make to get Gin out of her funk. Any more of it and I might have to go a little Carelli on her ass.
“Here,” Kit offered, rolling her eyes when Gin refused the chocolate cupcake she offered.
“Give me one,” I told her, taking the thing in two hands. The icing was thick, sweet, and creamy, and I made a low, groaning sound when I bit into it. “Jesus, Kit, these are good.” I glanced at Gin, offering the cupcake to her. “You’re missing out. So fucking good.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, leaning back against her chair with her sock feet on the firepit railing.
“Thirsty, though, right?” The question came out before I could stop myself.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She sat up straighter, holding the glass against her chest. When Kit whispered something to her, the redhead shook her head, quieting her friend. “No, I wanna know what that little question is supposed to mean.”
The cupcake crumbled a little when I set it on the armrest, and I licked my lips, debating the wisdom of telling this woman how things were or telling her what she wanted to hear. Neither option would have a good outcome, but maybe I could do something to shake her out of her mood.
“Cara,” Kit warned, her voice on the edge of worry, but I shook my head, inhaling as I curled my arms over my chest. From my seat, I spotted Kiel smiling, laughing at something his brother said, and I felt something deep inside me hum, warming my entire body.
Gin hadn’t relaxed or sat back again, and Kit still shifted her gaze between the two of us as if she was worried what I’d say or do if Gin’s drunken insults got out of hand. The redhead was beautiful, athletic, and I’d have to be a blind idiot not to notice how it was between her and Dale. They wanted each other, but something held them back.
Kiel laughed again, flipping the bird at his brother. He stared right at me, offering me a wink as
he downed the rest of his beer. I felt sorry for anyone who wasn’t me. That man loved me, and I’d given him nothing but hell. He loved me despite all the stress and trouble being with me brought him.
Gin had no idea how to play her cards. I was about to school her.
“Okay,” I started, resting my hands over my stomach as I shifted my attention to Gin. She wore an expression that was defensive and defiant, and I’d only spoken one word. She wasn’t ready for what I had to say, but I said it anyway. “You and Dale, this whole thing. It’s as bad as I think, right?”
“No,” she said, a little too quickly. “Don’t make assumptions.” Gin glared at Kit when the woman started laughing. “What?”
“Oh my God, it’s the worst thing ever, watching the two of you.” She stared at me, flippantly moving her hand. “Before…the hospital, on set, every day…they dote on each other, just stand around working elbow to elbow and grab coffee for each other. They’re each other’s shadows. It’s actually funny. But let anyone other than the pair of them flirt or engage or try to disrupt their little box and, my God, the fireworks.”
“So, they’re how you and Kane were?” I asked, remembering the low-down Kiel had given me on the trek up the mountain.
“Yes,” Kit said, smiling. “But to the nth degree.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Gin snapped, scrubbing her face. She didn’t react when Kit laughed, and I got what this was. Deflection. Gin was still so angry. Kit was using this little chat to interject some humor. Gin had been too intense, too pissed off since the Trudy incident.
“I’m not,” Kit supplied, stretching out her long legs to rest her feet next to Gin’s on the pit. “I honestly don’t know what the problem is.”
“Is Dale into her?” I asked, knowing he was but wanting to see Gin’s reaction to the question. She sighed, lowering her forehead to her knees.
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