I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. How can I cry over this guy I barely know? I started laughing in between tears until the tears stopped. I couldn’t stop laughing.
What was happening to my life? I had complained about how I had nothing, how my life was going nowhere, about just about everything.
I always thought how nice it would be to have just a little excitement. Like that day the stranger on the motorcycle showed up. And what happens? He shows up, again, and gives me all the excitement I’d need for a lifetime and more.
Careful what you wish for, my mom used to always say.
I missed her so much. I still can’t believe she passed away so young. I was only in high school when her cancer hit. It spread so fast there was nothing they could do. I remember studying for exams one day, and then two weeks later starting work at the gas station. I feel so lucky and blessed to have known her for those seventeen years. She was my mom, but she was so much more than that. She was my best friend. Sure, we argued sometimes, but we always made up before bed. Usually we laughed at how silly the thing was that got us started arguing in the first place.
She raised me as a single parent, and here I am. History repeating itself. I had already accepted it, but then yesterday my wish was answered. I saw that glimmer of hope when Vince came back into my life. I had thought about him so much over the last year. I couldn’t believe it was him.
And now I’m right back where I started. Worrying. Waiting. Wishing. Come this time tomorrow it might just be back to me and Dante again. Just the two of us.
Can Vince really take down all those guys by himself?
CHAPTER 27
Vince
I parked the car across the street from the deli. He wasn’t there. He never wasn’t there. That could only mean one of two things.
He was grieving. He was celebrating.
Either way, he’d have lunch at his own restaurant.
It’s a weird feeling when you know a secret that no one else knows. Especially when that secret involves you being dead.
I arrived at his restaurant. I was greeted just like I always was when I walk into Anthony’s.
I just smiled and walked to the back booth.
“Seat taken?”
“Sit down, Vince.”
He was still giving orders. Always the boss.
“Pasta good today?”
“Vince. Come on? Why are you talking like that. You know it’s always good here. What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with you, Uncle T?”
He placed his silverware down and leaned back in his booth.
“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Vincent. Don’t forget what I did for you.”
“Why, Uncle T? Why?”
“I told you. Come on. You know this story.”
“Why don’t you remind me.”
“Watch your mouth, boy. Like I already told you…did you forget who you’re talking to?”
“Did you forget how things work? Family first, right? And you said I’m just like family.”
“Just like family, Vince. But you’re not family.”
“And that’s that. That’s all it takes for you?”
“Things are changing, Vince. You’re changing. What’s this nonsense about having a child? What do you want a child for? What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?”
“Some small town nobody. Is that what you want? You’ve got all the girls you could ever want right here.”
“Yeah, lots of girls. Not a single one of which interest me. I want an adult. A woman. This woman, and this woman only.”
“And you just now tell us.”
“I just found out.”
“Yeah, us too.”
“And you decide to handle it like this? This way?”
“It’s the only way. We can’t have a loose cannon in the family.”
“In the family? But I’m not family, Tony. Remember?”
“Close enough, Vince.”
“But it’s not, see. That’s the problem. That’s why it’s so easy for you. Yeah, my mom was a whore. So fucking what? She was my mother. You think I don’t know you were fucking her? You think I don’t know? You don’t give a shit though, because she’s was just another piece of ass to you. You get her pregnant and you decide to cover it up how you cover up everything. You don’t solve shit. You just paint over your problems. Money and power solve everything right? Never face the problem head on. You think I don’t know who my father is, you asshole?”
“Vince.”
“You think I don’t know? And now you’re going to tell me I’m not family? Yeah, I’m not your first family. Your real family. I know how many of your bastard kids are out there in this world. Kids like I was. I handle the books sometimes, remember? You think I couldn’t figure it out? Where those little monthly payments go to. How you use those women. How your selfish actions destroy more lives than your addiction to guns and violence ever will.”
“Vince, listen to me. You’re emotional. You—”
“No, you listen to me you prick. This world has had enough of your shit. I’ve had enough of your shit. See, you just threw money at me, but you never accepted me. Well, now I’ve got a kid of my own. And I had that choice too, but I’m not choosing like you. Everyone thinks you’re the man. The big shot. You aren’t shit! You’re a big fucking pussy.”
I had been watching Tony’s hand slowly slide under the table. I knew what was under there. I had crawled under there and helped screw it to the table when I was five years old.
“Go to hell.” I raised my hand from under the table and fired a round right into Tony’s chest.
I dropped to a knee and spun. Two more shots to the soldiers who were moving in behind me. I knew they’d be there. They’re too predictable. This whole life is too predictable. I’m out.
CHAPTER 28
Kate
Vince was gone. I knew it was going to happen. His sexy smirk, his deep and passionate stares, and his rich and creamy voice. I had let him back into my life and now this is what I get. He was either dead or gone.
Jerk.
He’d proven to be a bad decision maker. And I’d proven to be one too. Have sex with a guy on a bike. Let him back into my life. And now this. I’m holed up in the middle of nowhere. He got what he wanted, another romp in the sheets, and now his mind was cleared. He realized he didn’t want this life.
What a fool I am. I started crying. I couldn’t believe I thought he was different.
There was a knock at the door. Probably the owners looking for their payment. They were going to see me and Dante looking like two lost souls and laugh at us. We got played the fool. Rented like a cheap whore.
“Coming.”
I opened the door. The hair stood up on the back of my head. It was Vince. All six foot five of him in the flesh. He had a look on his face that I’d never seen before. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. Like he’d went to war and won.
“Thought you might like something to eat,” he said. He lifted up a bag with two boxes full of pasta. I could smell the tomato sauce already. I smiled. “Guess I was right.”
“What happened?”
“I did what needed to be done.” He opened the bag and set the portions on the table. “And now we don’t have to worry anymore.”
I felt guilty for thinking he had run off. Even worse that he might have been killed. He’d already come back from the dead once. And now he’d pulled that trick again. He sat down and dished out the portions onto small plates. Not only was he a lover and a fighter, he was a provider.
There was no way I could be angry at him.
CHAPTER 29
Kate
As soon as we finished eating we were back on the road. Vince said if we drove south into Mexico we’d be on our way. He wouldn’t tell me exactly what ‘on our way’ meant, but it sure seemed better than here.
It was almost surreal. I felt like I was fin
ally getting my much needed holiday, but it was much different than that…it was a whole new life. Vince said he knew just where to go and I believed him.
When I told Vince I didn’t have a passport it didn’t even seem to phase him. “That’s why we have to go to Mexico, and not Canada. It will add an extra step, but it will make things much easier.”
Crossing the border was almost too easy. I couldn’t believe it. I had never even taken a proper vacation and here I was in a whole new country. I could get used to this action packed life with Vince I thought to myself. It’s an emotional roller coaster, but it’s a ride I’ll gladly stand in line to take time and time again.
I saw signs for an airport and even more for airport parking. We pulled into a hourly spot and Vince paid for an hour. He said something to the man in Spanish, and they shook hands, and then Vince handed him the key. The man seemed to be thanking Vince repeatedly.
We only had to wait a few minutes until a shuttle bus arrived and we were on our way to the airport.
When we arrived we were greeted by another man who took us around the side of the airport. My mind started racing with possibilities again, wondering how my new life could get any more crazy.
When we cleared the building we entered what appeared to be the VIP hanger. There was a small plane and some men playing cards at a table next to it. They all stood to greet us and pulled out a chair for Dante and I. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but they sure had a lot of respect for Vince.
CHAPTER 30
Vince
It was good to see Pablo again. It had been awhile. There was nothing he liked more than high stakes card games, and I always hooked him up when he was in town. I could usually find a few doctors and lawyers locally who made fat cash, but who couldn’t play cards for shit. Pablo took their money hand over fist, year after year.
And Pablo wasn’t one to stick his nose into business that wasn’t his. We had long been friends. We went boating and smoke cigars when he had come to visit. Now I needed a favor and Pablo didn’t hesitate to provide.
Pablo’s man motioned for Kate, Dante, and I to come to the back room. He took our pictures and got to work. Thirty minutes late we were Mexican citizens. Fresh passports and all. Pablo knew the right people to register us with the authorities. Most people don’t know it but most countries offer citizenship for the right amount of money. Citizenship, or a permanent residence permit at a minimum. Hell, even the U.S. does it. Half a million and the creation of ten jobs and you’ve got a EB-5 visa. It’s not even difficult.
And Mexico was even easier, especially if you’re connected. And Pablo was more than connected. One of the reason why he had a business trip to attend, and why we were going with him.
CHAPTER 31
Kate
Dante quietly sat on my lap and stared out the window. Just a few months old and already a world traveler. A beautiful woman served us burritos for lunch and after I went to my own small cabin in the back. I still couldn’t believe what was happening. Vince had told me some things, and I believed him, but when he said he knew some people, he really meant he knew some people.
I fell asleep with Dante in my arms. All the excitement must have caused me to sleep deep, because I was out like a light. The next thing I knew I opened an eye to find Vince standing over Dante and I smiling.
“We’re about to land.”
When the plane landed a car came to pick us up. Vince and Pablo exchanged good-byes and we were taken away in another car.
“Where are we going, Vince?”
“Don’t you worry, angel. Today’s going to be perfect.”
I tried to read the road signs to figure out where we were, but I couldn’t. The car drove for about twenty minutes before stopping. I got out and Vince took my hand and kissed me on the cheek.
I could smell the salt in the air as we walked. Just a few minutes later I was standing in front of the most beautiful beach I had ever seen.
“You remembered,” I said. A tear falling down my cheek.
“Shall we go for a swim?”
“But Vince, what about Dante?”
“He can join us. Over there, in the shade of the rocks.”
“Vince, this is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Where are we?”
“Sardinia. Our new home.”
“You’ve got to be joking me?” I felt my whole body go numb at the thought. “How?”
“You ask, and I deliver. That’s how.”
“But what will we live on?”
Vince smirked that sexy smirk and looked down at me. He kissed Dante on the forehead and then me. “Each other’s love.”
“I’m serious Vince. What are we going to do?”
“You said you wanted was to swim in the sea all day. This is it.”
“And what about money?”
“Switzerland is just a short flight. I’ve got some accounts there. We’re set for life.”
I was so stunned I couldn’t speak. For every question, Vince had the perfect answer. I never could have guessed this was the same guy who found me a year ago. The same guy who so passionately took me on his motorcycle, and then left me, alone, for an entire year. And now I could feel the white sand between my toes and the crystal clear blue waters in front of me.
How did a girl get so lucky?
CHAPTER 32
Vince
It was the best fucking day of my life. I was in my country, eating my food, and I had my girl. What else does a man need? Only a first born son, and I had that too.
We swam and napped and had lunch right on the water. A nice lasagna and a glass of Italian wine. And we worked off the pasta in the sea. Being inside Kate in the sea felt amazing. Our area was so secluded we didn’t have to worry about a thing. And Dante wasn’t too far away, just sleeping in the shade. He would grow up in this peaceful environment, not my old environment. It would allow him to develop an appreciation for nature and to move more slowly through life. To enjoy the day to day and to appreciate the small conversations and interactions with everyone he crosses paths with.
This was the life, and nobody knew where I was. Pablo’s connection here in Sardinia was preparing our new passports. Now we’d have two, just in case. And new names.
I hadn’t told her yet, but the Italian tutor would come starting Monday. She’d stay as long as Kate needed her. Once Kate was fluent she’d really enjoy my country and all it had to offer. It would take some time, but it would be worth it.
Living like this we wouldn’t need material things. Just the sea, the sun, and the three of us. But I couldn’t resist…I wanted a custom Ducati, fresh from the factory in Bologna. When Dante got older it would be a gift to him.
I wanted something to remember our arrival with. And I wanted Kate, and I had her. And she had me.
CHAPTER 33
Vince
Die you motherfucker.
I sat up in bed like a shot of lightning. I was so covered in sweat it looked like I had just stepped out of the sea. I was screaming. I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees. I shook my head, trying to shake out the thoughts.
“Vince, are you okay?” I looked to my right and Kate was lying there, terrified. She was just what I needed to bring my mind back to the present.
“Is Dante okay? Did I wake him?”
“He’s still fast asleep.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I understand what you had to go through yesterday. I can’t imagine how you must have felt.”
“Are you okay?”
“It scared me a little. I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m totally okay now.”
I was totally wild and out of control and there she was being so calm, cool, and collected. She was the ray of sunshine needed to break through my storm. She reached up and brushed the sweat away from my brow. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get a cold washcloth.”
Leaving my old life behind was going to take some time. Luckily I had Kate here by
my side. I could see she was going to support me through this, no matter how long it took.
Bambino: A Secret Baby Mafia Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants #4) Page 5
