Nodding, Emma shut off the game she was playing and put the tablet in her oversized purse. “I never knew a game about throwing imaginary animals into objects could be so much fun.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Dani commented dryly as she held the door open for Emma.
“I’ll be at Carmina’s for my 3:00 with Mr. Zitti. Text me or leave a voice mail if you need to, otherwise divert any issues to Morgan or Cal.”
“Right, keep up the status quo, got it, boss,” Olivia quipped.
* * *
Dani put her hand in the small of Emma’s back as they entered the restaurant. She’d never been here before, but the unassuming window front promised it to be a very local, very authentic Italian restaurant.
Stopping to allow their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, Dani smiled as a distinguished-looking man with jet-black hair and a pinstripe suit waved to them. Standing, he returned her smile, and extended his hand before kissing first Dani, and then Emma on both cheeks.
“Thank you so much for coming, Ms. Ryan.” He motioned for the women to sit before doing so himself and then snapped his fingers, the waiter immediately appearing with a basket of homemade garlic rolls and a bottle of wine.
“Mr. Zitti, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I hope you don’t mind but I brought my business partner along today. Emma Gray, I’d like you to meet Mr. Frankie Zitti.”
“Very nice to meet you, Ms. Gray.” The man’s dark green eyes twinkled.
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Emma returned as she took in the scenery. “This seems to be a very nice place.”
The man beamed. “My son opened it a couple of years ago. Four years of college, two in culinary school and now he’s a chef, makes his old man proud.” Another waiter had quietly appeared and left a plate of antipasta at the table. “Please, mangia, mangia. Eat, ladies. I didn’t ask you here to stare at the walls.”
Dani smiled and slowly tried an olive from the platter. “Then why did you ask me here, Mr. Zitti?”
“I told you, I want you to be in charge of my daughter’s coming-out party.”
At the explanation, Dani tensed. She felt Emma’s hand take hers, giving it a quick squeeze of support. Turning her attention back to the conversation, she prayed she wasn’t making a mistake. “And I’d believe that if your wife was here. If I remember correctly, all the planning for Carmella’s wedding was done with your sister and mother. Both told me numerous times that men had no place in planning events for their daughters,” Dani explained.
Taking a sip of wine, the man stared hard at Dani and then Emma before putting his glass down and sampling some of the antipasta. “You are just as smart as my sister said you were, Ms. Ryan.”
Stopping the conversation as bowls of soup were placed in front of them, Frankie waited until the waiter had moved away before beginning again. “You’re right, I do want you to plan Giuliana’s coming-out party, but my wife will be contacting you about it in a few months.”
“Then why are we here, Mr. Zitti?” Emma asked quietly between bites of soup.
They ate in silence for a while before he answered. “First, you weren’t supposed to be here, Ms. Gray, just Ms. Ryan. The fact that you are here complicates matters, but since this also concerns you, I will allow it.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Dani asked as their soup bowls were removed and their water glasses refilled.
Leaning forward on the table, he ran a beefy hand through his hair. “Ms. Ryan, how well did you know your father or his family?”
Dani paused before getting another squeeze from Emma’s hand. “My father and mother died when I was six. I was raised by my grandparents, but visited my father’s brother during the summer and on holidays. Somehow though, I think you already knew that.”
“And how did your grandparents feel about your father’s family?”
Dani shrugged. “They were civil to my uncle, for my sake, I guess.”
He nodded and sat back as the waiter brought various dishes and empty plates from the kitchen. Holding the plates, the waiter allowed Frankie to put a small portion of each dish on them before setting them in front of Emma and Dani.
Frankie smiled at the selection on his plate. “You are going to love my son’s eggplant parmigiana, just like his grandmother’s,” he commented, allowing them to sample the dishes before continuing.
“Mr. Zitti, why are you asking so much about Dani’s family?” Emma asked. “I thought you said this concerns me too. And by the way, your son is very talented. This meatball is probably the best meatball I’ve ever had.”
The older man beamed. “Wait until you taste his desserts, to die for, let me tell you.” He frowned, looking at Dani’s plate. “Come now, Ms. Ryan, you have to try the eggplant. It’s one of his signature dishes.”
Dani looked at Emma and noticing the risen eyebrow, suppressed the groan. Eying the odd dish, she experimentally stabbed at it with her fork. Working up the courage, she took a bite of the unfamiliar food and was pleasantly surprised. ”You’re right, this is good, but you didn’t answer Emma’s question.”
“In time,” he reassured her before smiling once again. He reached across the table and tapped her hand gently. “I would never lead you wrong, Ms. Ryan. In fact, let me tell you a story about my youth and one of my best friends.”
“What does that have to do with why you invited us here?” Dani asked, taking another bite of the eggplant.
“It has everything to do with why I invited you here, other than to taste this wonderful cooking, of course.” Taking another sip of his wine, he sat back before once more leaning forward and beginning.
“I grew up in the neighborhood here, Little Italy. When I was ten, a new family moved in next door to me. Now there was nothing unusual about that, except they weren’t Italian. That’s right, last name was Ryan and they were as Irish as they came.
“I became friends with their youngest son, a boy named Liam, who just happened to be my age. He also had an older brother, Sean, and the two couldn’t be more different. Sean loved books and school while Liam loved to roam the streets looking for adventure. We were, more often than not, partners in crime.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Zitti?” Dani asked, now curious.
“Please, call me Frankie; after you hear this, we’ll practically be family anyway.” He smiled at Dani and continued. “Liam and I often got into scrapes, little things: egging a house, spraypainting a fence, putting a bra on the statue of Virgin Mary at our school.” He chuckled at the memory. “But we didn’t get into anything big until we were around fifteen.
“By this point your father and I were like brothers. Where one was, so was the other. One night, we ran into a low-level enforcer named Pasquale. He was eighteen, had grown up in the neighborhood, and was making pretty good change at his job. His boss was looking for new blood and we jumped at the chance.”
Frankie paused as Dani and Emma slowly sat back in their chairs. “Are you telling me that my father was a member of ‘the family’?” Dani asked quietly.
“From the time he was fifteen until he died, yes.”
Emma once again squeezed Dani’s hand. “Maybe that’s why your grandparents were so wary of Sean.”
“Maybe,” Dani acquiesced. “But according to them, Uncle Sean and my dad lived in different worlds.”
Frankie nodded. “They did. Sean graduated high school, went to college, and joined the Corps. After he left the Corps, he opened that bookstore you run now.”
“And my dad, what did he do?”
Frankie took her hand in his and patted it gently. “It’s better you not know the details. Let’s just say that he was good at his job, and he and I had job security in spades. By the time you were born, he was happier than he’d ever been. I was best man in his wedding, and,” he paused, pulling a picture from his jacket pocket, “my wife and I were asked to stand up for his daughter at her baptism.”
Taking the picture in shaking fingers, Dani looked i
nto the past. For the first time in her life, she saw herself as a small infant surrounded by a group of smiling people. A man with her eyes and a woman with her hair looking on as a much younger Frankie proudly held her in front of the church’s altar. Passing the photo to Emma, Dani tried to steady her hands under the table.
“You’re Dani’s godfather?” Emma asked, handing the picture back to her lover.
“Yes, I am, but besides my niece’s wedding last year, the last time I really saw my little Danielle was just after her parents were murdered.” He shook his head.
“My parents weren’t murdered; they died in a plane crash.”
“No, bambina. They were murdered.” Seeing the confused look on Dani’s face, he asked, “You really don’t remember? You were there.”
Dani shook her head. “My grandparents told me they’d died in a plane crash.”
Slamming his hand down on the table, he spit out a string of unpleasant Italian as Emma held Dani’s hand under the tablecloth. “I knew letting you go back to those people wasn’t the right idea.”
Dani’s brain was whirling, but Emma asked the question for her. “What do you mean she was there, Frankie?”
He took a deep breath. “There will be time to discuss that later. I promise, in time, we will talk about it. I am so sorry, my bambina, Antonia and I were supposed to become your guardians. It was in Liam’s will.” He gently rubbed Dani’s hand. “But your grandparents made such a mess of things, and we decided we couldn’t put you through a custody battle that we were unlikely to win. My wife and I had to let you go; it was one of the hardest things we ever did.”
“I don’t understand.” Dani’s voice was shaky as the new information assaulted her senses. “They never wanted me, surely you knew that.”
Frankie sighed. “If I could change the past, I would. We helped your uncle Sean get you for holidays. It was all we could manage. The ‘family’ didn’t want the publicity and the decision was taken from me.”
“But how did you know where I was now, and that Uncle Sean left me part of the bookstore?”
“You think I’d let my little Danielle out of my sight? I’ve kept up with you over the years, Danielle. I was in the audience at your first dance recital, and saw you at your riding competitions. Antonia and I were present at your high school and college graduations.”
“Then why didn’t you ever approach me?”
“It hurt too much. At first, we didn’t want to cause you any more heartache; you screamed so loudly when your grandparents took you from us that we could hear you through the car’s closed windows. After that, we weren’t sure if you’d even remember us.”
“So why are we here? Certainly not for this very painful trip down memory lane,” Emma demanded.
“That brings us back to your question. We’re here because of you, Emma.”
“What are you talking about, Zio Frankie?” Dani’s words slipped out without conscious thought, and then Dani was suddenly struck with a memory. “You’re the reason I never let my grandparents call me Elle like they wanted. You were the only person to call me Danielle all the time. When I was little, I demanded to be called Danielle. Only… only Uncle Sean ever called me Dani.” Dani paused, wiping a tear from her face. “I’m sorry, Emma, I just started to remember.”
Emma smiled gently at her girlfriend. “It’s okay, honey, I’m sure Frankie will still tell us how I play into this picture, but I can guess. Patrick Sampson, right?”
Frankie looked at her with appraising eyes. “So you know. You know what your father is up to?”
Emma shook her head. “Patrick Sampson hasn’t been my father since I was three years old, and he’s only been back a short time to harass me. I don’t know anything about him other than he’s a small fish in a big pond.”
Frankie snorted. “That describes Sampson for sure. In short, he’s a very bad guy and you need to stay away from him.” He looked hard at Dani. “And if I get any more reports of you chasing him down and taking him on by yourself, I’ll turn you over my knee so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Emma choked on her water as Dani’s water suddenly sprayed into her napkin. Laughing, Emma smiled at the man. “I told her she should have called the police when she saw him.”
“That’s right, no reason to put yourself in danger, no matter the reason. Capisce, Danielle?”
Dani paled a bit, but nodded her understanding. Recovering quickly, she asked, “So what has Sampson done that caused you to break over twenty years of silence with me?”
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna tell you. He’s trying to put a hit out on Emma, and there are rumors he is doing the same for you, Danielle.”
Emma’s water glass fell from her hand and Frankie snapped his fingers. A waiter immediately cleaned up the mess and once again backed away from the table. Taking Emma’s hands into hers, Dani looked across the table.
“How serious is this threat?”
“Serious enough for me to let you know that your condo here is safe, as is the bookstore. You won’t see them, but they’ve been there for a week now.”
He reached across the table and squeezed Emma’s hand. “Don’t worry, Emma, I won’t let this ciuccio hurt my Danielle’s family.” He smiled at the women as their dinner plates were cleared from the table. “Your zia Toni and I are happy for you, Danielle. It’s about time you found someone.” He waited as a dessert platter was placed on the table with three forks.
“By the way, you both are coming to our house for Sunday dinner, like you used to. I want you to meet your cousins and your zia Toni can’t wait to see you again.”
Dani took a large bite of the chocolate cake in front of her. “This is heaven,” she murmured.
“Danielle, did you hear me about Sunday?”
Dani merely nodded before looking up at him. “What?”
Emma laughed. “I’ll fill her in, Frankie. Thank you.”
“The car will pick you up at 11:30, dinner starts at 1:30,” he informed them as he picked up a cannoli and moaned in contentment as he ate it.
“What about Sampson?” Dani asked in between bites of her dessert.
“That depends, Danielle.” He turned his dark green eyes to Emma. “What would you like done with Patrick Sampson?”
Emma put her fork down and swallowed. “As much as I’d just like him to disappear, I think things would be better served if he was put back into jail for a very long time. I mean, he may be a horrible person, but he is my father.”
“Understood, bambina,” Frankie agreed.
Emma smiled. “Now all we have to do is make sure the police find him before anything happens.”
Frankie nodded gently at her and took both of her hands in his. “Nothing is going to happen to you, Emma. You have my word.”
With the desserts finished and the plates cleared, Dani found herself enveloped in a bone-crushing hug as they stood. “We’ll see you on Sunday, Danielle.” Frankie smiled at her and handed her the picture of her baptism. “Keep this, it’s yours.”
“Thanks, Zio Frankie,” Dani replied, hugging him once again. “I look forward to Sunday.”
“Thank you for everything, Frankie.” Emma extended her hand, only to be crushed in a hug as well.
“That’s Zio Frankie to you too, bambina.” He winked at her. “You’re family now.”
* * *
Later that evening, Dani quietly entered the condo, kicking off her shoes and practically tiptoeing to the kitchen. Peeking around the corner, she didn’t see Emma and breathed a sigh of relief as she removed a sixpack of diet soda and a bag of chips from the sack she carried.
“Have a nice walk?”
Jumping, Dani turned and saw Emma, her eyebrow raised, as she watched Dani unpack the bag. “Geesh, Emma, you scared me half to death.”
“Where have you been, Danielle?” Emma asked quietly, moving closer to Dani.
“Did you have a nice bath?” Dani countered, taking a step backwards.
“It was wonderful. Now, please tell me that you had those delivered and were just downstairs picking them up.”
Dani slowly shook her head. “No, I walked down to the all-night grocery and bought them.” She took another step back as Emma advanced. “You know what a health food nut Morgan is, there isn’t even any soda left in the house. I had to get these things.”
Emma shook her head. “Tell me, Danielle, why are you about to be facing the corner in your bedroom?”
“Because you tell me to,” Dani quipped, moving back again, being sure to keep the kitchen island between her and Emma.
Emma raised an eyebrow as she moved toward Dani once again. “And why am I going to tell you to stand in the corner?”
“Because I trust you,” Dani moved around the island, still out of Emma’s reach.
Smirking, Emma stopped and opened the drawer in front of her. Shifting a few items, she smiled and removed a particular one. “Nice answer and I’m glad you trust me, but I want to know the reason that you’ll be standing in the corner.”
Dani once again moved as Emma quickly came around the counter, a plastic spatula now in her hand. “Because I went to the grocery and didn’t tell you?”
“You’re getting warmer,” Emma commented as she waited to make her move. “Try one more time.”
Dani stopped again. “Because I’m grounded,” she said quietly before exiting the kitchen at a run.
Chasing her quarry, Emma managed to catch up with her outside the bedroom. Leading Dani inside, she gave her a few fast swats with the spatula. “Get your pajamas on and then get your nose in that corner.” She pointed with the spatula.
“Do I have to?” Dani whined.
Seeing Emma’s green eyes flash, Dani held up her hands and took a careful step back. “Okay, okay, I was just asking. I’m moving.”
The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) Page 7
