by Lexy Timms
Chrissy pulled the box out of her pocket and opened it.
“Do you recognize this?”
Suspicion glimmered in her father’s eyes, but he said nothing.
“This could have been your mother’s engagement ring. Only she got another from your father. You people have been lying to us all along. The Roccos and Serafini were one organization at one time. Only this,” he pointed to the ring, “broke it up.”
“We never talked about it,” Vince said. “And when my mother died, my father barely talked about her at all.” His voice was thick, and his hand strayed to one of his eyes, wiping something away.
“And now my uncle gave that ring to Chrissy. He’s old and has no children. My father will continue to run the business, but Dad and Vits both recognize I won’t follow them into it. So, he has no heir. There is no reason for the Serafini and Roccos to be apart anymore. So, he engineered pushing Chrissy and me together. Maybe he thought a Rocco man couldn’t resist a Serafini woman. I guess he was right.”
“I can’t speak for my father,” Vince murmured.
“Dad, Saks won’t enter the business, but he doesn’t want to see yours crumble. You’ve been very stubborn in keeping Mario from helping you. Now, who’s going to run the business for you while you recover, huh?”
“I thought I would—”
“Would, what? Keep your goombahs in line? Shouldn't you let a young man do that? At least on your orders.”
“At least,” Saks interjected diplomatically, “until you’re on your feet.”
Vince Serafini sighed. “Mario is too much of a hothead.”
“Which is why,” Saks said, “you should go home and keep an eye on him.”
“I admit I hate this place. I miss my wife’s cooking.”
“Oh, Vince,” Rose whispered. Complimenting an Italian woman’s cooking was the way to her heart.
“But,” the man sighed, “the doctor said I need a couple more days.”
“How about if I arrange a medic to stay with you for a few days at your house?”
“What medic?”
“The one who works for my Uncle Vits.”
“Oh, him. I’ve heard of him. Yeah, he’s okay.”
“We’ll get an ambulance to bring you home, and settled in your bed. Anything else you need, we’ll have brought in.”
Vince nodded his head and seemed lost in his thoughts for a long while. So long in fact, Saks began to fear he’d flip sides and tell him to fuck off.
“You can get what you need to make things easy for my Rose,” Vince finally said, “but I don’t need an ambulance. How would that look, eh, brought home in a wagon? The neighbors would stare.”
“Vince,” his wife protested.
“Mom,” Chrissy started, “I’m sure you’d much rather be home working on Gloria’s wedding dress. We’ll get a wheelchair and not let Dad walk too much until he’s stronger.”
“The doctor said I should walk more,” Vince protested. But the women were fully engaged in the wedding dress conversation.
“But,” Rose sputtered, “what about your wedding dress?”
“We’ll flip a coin on who gets married first. Then you can work on that one.”
Gloria glowered, and stuck her tongue out at Chrissy.
Chrissy quietly laughed. “Then, we’re settled.”
Vince’s jaw fell open. “Who said Gloria could get married? Rose, why are you working on Gloria’s wedding dress?”
“Dresses, Vince, I’ve been working on both of them for months now.”
“Mom!” Chrissy exclaimed. “What made you think I’d get married?”
“The way you look at Anthony, then and now. You wouldn’t do anything else with him.”
Chrissy huffed adorably, and Saks couldn’t help but grin. “I’ll call the nurse and get the ball rolling.”
It took several hours before the on-call doctor wrote the orders for Vince’s release. Chrissy and Gloria took off for the house to get things ready for the Serafini meeting that night, while Mario showed up to drive the elder Serafini home.
As they began the trek out of the hospital, Vince fidgeted in his wheelchair. “I have a charge account at the Randall’s Pharmacy. The doctor called in the prescriptions, and Rose called in the other things we need so that everything will be ready. Thank you, for doing this.”
“No problem, Mr. S.”
“But answer me. Why are you helping us?”
“I’m not helping you. I just want Chrissy happy. And it makes her unhappy when she’s on the outs with her family. And the discord between the Serafini and Roccos upsets her. I don’t want her to worry that our respective families will start shooting at each other.”
“Hey, that could still happen.”
“There might be some competition between my mother’s lasagna and Mrs. Serafini’s. The rest of it I leave in yours and Uncle Vits’ hands.”
“How did you know that the Roccos and the Serafini were once one organization?”
“It didn’t occur to me until today. But the way my uncle and your father talked to each other that day in the diner was the clue. Like old friends—old, wary friends. Afterwards, I learned that that was an argument over your mother. And today I thought about how to get the Roccos and Serafini together. That’s when it hit me. You guys always did things in tandem. We were rivals, but no one ever got really hurt. It occurred to me the Roccos and Serafini acted more like family members in an argument than wise guys protecting their turf.”
“You’re right, son. It never occurred to me. When I heard of the shit that went down with families in other states, I would always shake my head.”
“There are two things that always draw family together. Weddings and funerals. And I’m not in the mood for the latter.”
“Well, I’m not opposed. But my father, you’ll have to convince him. And he’s not around.”
“I know. Finding him? That’s the next thing on the list.”
“List?”
“Things to do to keep Chrissy happy.”
Rose Serafini nodded. “You keep up that attitude, son, and you’ll be a member of the family before you know it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Chrissy and Gloria cleaned up the last of the dishes of food as the men of the Serafini operation left the house. There wasn’t any real business discussed, given they still needed to wait for another venue away from the prying eyes of whoever spied on them. Surprisingly, though, her father had announced that Saks was engaged to his daughter, and no one was to bother him. Beefy Mario and tall Saks standing behind Vince Serafini was an impressive sight. But it was Vittorio Rocco, showing up unannounced, who stole the show. He presented a box of very expensive cigars to Chrissy’s father, and made a show of handing them out to the men there. Vits addressed each one by name, giving each one a glance that communicated clearly that Vittorio Rocco was not a man to fuck with.
They got the message. Vince Serafini had a powerful new ally, one not entangled in different Serafini loyalties. One not afraid to make his displeasure known.
Chrissy was even prouder of Saks than she usually was. Where Uncle Vits and her grandfather danced around each other, making a mess of things, Saks in one move had everything working smoothly. The Roccos and the Serafini hadn’t rejoined yet, but with her grandfather’s blessing they soon would.
“Good lord,” Gloria said at the sink, rinsing the dishes for the dishwasher. “We still didn’t get all the food out of the freezer.”
Chrissy laughed. “Mama! She makes two of everything and freezes one.”
“In case of company,” they said together.
“Heaven forbid we should order food in,” Gloria joked.
“I thought we’d never thaw everything in time,” Chrissy muttered.
Rose glanced toward the fridge. “How many containers of sauce are left?”
Gloria snickered. “Enough to feed the masses in case of an apocalypse.”
Rose’s tongue clicked. “Are you
insulting the food in my freezer?”
“No, Mama,” Chrissy soothed. “It’s because you make so much of it. Really, with only you and Daddy, you don’t need to cook so much.”
“What else am I going to do? Except make wedding dresses.” Rose pulled a coin out of her pocket. “I’ll flip, and you call it.”
“You’re serious about the coin toss.”
“Young lady, never more serious in my life. Two wedding dresses is a serious undertaking. And you have the banns to announce at church, and the pre-Cana conference, and setting up the hall and the invitations and everything else. As much as I love both of you, we are going to have order for these weddings.”
Chrissy’s eyes swept her mother’s spotless kitchen with not a thing out of place. “Okay, Mama. Toss it, and we’ll see where the coin falls.”
“Heads!” Gloria squealed as soon as their mother flipped the coin into the air.
CHRISSY STOOD AT THE doorway of her father’s library, waiting for Saks to make eye contact with her. Her gut churned, because she knew what she would tell him next would send him into near fits. He looked up from an earnest conversation between her father, him, and Uncle Vits. The men who reported to her father and grandfather left an hour ago. Saks broke out in a smile that lit his face.
“I’ve got my cue, gentlemen, that it’s time to leave.”
Her father looked up. “Yes, yes. The young people need time together, eh?”
“Dad, you should get some rest, too. No sense in tiring yourself out. That medic should be watching that.”
Her father waved a dismissive hand. “I just told him to give me fifteen more minutes.”
“It’s up,” Chrissy said sternly.
“Well,” Vits said. The leather of the chair he sat in creaked when the man stood straight. “I know when to leave. I’ll be calling you, Vince. And if you need anything, you call right away.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rocco. I will.”
“And you,” he said to Saks, “don’t cause any more trouble.”
Saks gave a wry smile. “Sure, Uncle Vits. I know I’m such a troublemaker.”
As Vits passed Chrissy, he gave her a quick peck on the check. “Thank you, Chrissy. You made an old man very happy.”
She couldn’t help but smile back. “We’ll see you out.”
“No need. My driver is outside waiting for me.” Vits gave a side wave of his hand, and left before Chrissy’s father eyed her warily.
“I know that look,” he grumbled. “You are about to tell me something I won’t like.”
Chrissy nodded. “There’s a problem with my job. I need to go back to Europe.”
Her father gave her a dark look.
“Christina,” he said, “I told you that man is no good. You need to stay away from him.”
“My assistant, Jessica, isn’t answering her phone, and Mr. Pearson isn’t available. Dad, I sent her there. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t forgive myself.”
Her father frowned. “I don’t like the idea of you going.”
“You can’t stop me, Dad. I had Mario put my bags in my car. I’m taking the first flight out I can get.”
“So that’s where he disappeared to,” her father grumbled beneath his breath.
“Yes. And don’t get angry with him for it. I just didn’t want you upset over this, and me hauling my bags out would’ve made too much of a scene.”
“Stubborn,” he muttered.
“She’s not going alone, sir. I’m going with her,” Saks assured.
“Saks,” Chrissy quietly protested.
“If you think I’m going to let you go over there alone to face Pearson, you don’t know me as well as you think. Pearson is dangerous, and if something happened to Jessica then it can happen to you, too.”
Chrissy huffed, but only because she was stubborn. She hated not being able to handle a situation herself. But she wasn’t stupid, and had to admit that some things were beyond her skill set.
“I expect that you will keep her safe,” her father intoned.
“Of course, I will. I wouldn’t let my fiancée come to harm.”
“Well,” Chrissy muttered, an icy edge to her voice, “now that you’re both sure that the little woman has a protector, let’s call it a night. You listen to the medic, Dad, and get some rest.”
“Yes, Chrissy,” he murmured tiredly.
“Thank you, sir,” Saks said, offering his hand.
“Thank you, son,” Vince replied. “Keep me informed on what’s happening.”
“I will.”
Chrissy wished a goodnight to her mother and sister before hauling it out of the house and into the rental car. She heaved out a sigh as she shoved the key into the ignition. “Really, Saks? You’re going to protect me?” She started the car.
“What? You’re not enamored of my knight-in-shining-armor act?”
“I’m more a Princess Leia type.”
“You like to do the rescuing.”
“Hey, in 1977 it was a game-changer.”
“You weren’t even born then.”
“Yeah, but my inner Leia was birthed when I saw that film.”
“Good. Then you fall for rogues.”
Chrissy couldn’t help but laugh. It was annoying sometimes how difficult it was to stay upset at him. She’d just put the car into gear, when she noticed he was busy on his phone.
“Who are you texting?”
“Luke. I’m telling him I’m taking time off.”
“You’re telling your boss you’re not showing up for work?”
“They don’t need me anyway, until I get my shoulder cleared for work.”
“And yet you’re willing to go with me to take on an international criminal?”
“Chrissy, I told you. From here on out you don’t need to do anything alone. I have your back.”
Chrissy settled back in her seat as she considered Saks’ words. Chrissy had her family, and they loved her, but she always felt at odds with them. And then, because she was the crime boss’ daughter, she didn’t quite fit in with the other girls at school. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt like she had anyone in her corner.
Now, she had the most amazing, sexy man in the world ready to cross the globe with her to hunt down an international criminal.
“Saks, I’m sorry I was huffy. In a way, I’ve always had to be strong. I was the oldest, and obviously not a man.”
“Obviously.” Saks snorted. “I like that about you.”
Chrissy’s eyes rolled. “What I’m trying to say is that I’ve always been a trailblazer. I can’t help it. And my nature has made things more difficult for me. Many men don’t like women who can take charge, or make decisions for themselves, even in this modern age.”
“Hey, I like you just fine.”
“I kinda guessed that.”
“No, I mean... I’m not the usual type of guy. I’m not following in the family footsteps, when that would have been the easiest thing in the world for me. And I belong to a motorcycle club, when my family hates bikers in general.”
“Except for your cousins who run the Red Bull.”
“Hey, you don’t see either of them dating the women who hang around bikers.”
“I guess you would know.”
“The Red Bull is for business only. The family is just that. My family doesn’t even like to marry outside the Italian community. They’re that old-fashioned.”
“Phew,” Chrissy breathed, sweeping her hand across her forehead. “I guess I’m lucky I'm Italian.”
“Don’t tell me your family is any different,” Saks said.
“You’re right. They aren’t. Look at the lengths they went through to get you and me together.”
“And I like that you’re strong, decisive, and can fend for yourself. I admire that in you. It just means that when it comes to making our family, I don’t have to worry about either one of our families having undue influence on us.”
Chrissy’s chest flooded with warmt
h at his words. How was it she got so lucky landing a man like him? She nearly laughed at herself upon realizing how stupid she’d been, to have dismissed him at the beginning as someone who wasn’t her type. He was exactly her type, because he loved her for who she was.
“Family?” she murmured, a glint of warmth in her eyes.
“Kids. Yeah. I want to see a bunch of little girls with brown-sugar eyes like their mom.”
“Now wait. A bunch?”
“Two? Three? Four?”
“Four?” Chrissy gulped.
“Three?” he said hopefully. “Hey, we’ve got to get up our part of the baseball team Luke is building.”
“What about a boy?”
“Well, I guess I can’t be picky. Of course, I can’t spoil a boy the way I can girls.”
“Oh, that’s your evil plan. Spoil the girls so that they think Daddy is the most wonderful man in the world. I see it now. A bunch of Serafini girls who wrapped their daddy around their little fingers.”
“Well, why not? Their mother already has.”
“Oh, Saks.” She held out her hand, grateful for the warmth of his touch as they walked off for the Hades’ Spawn Clubhouse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sleep hadn’t been very high on her list of priorities. Chrissy had immediately set to work on her laptop, hunting for the next available flight, and it wasn’t all that far out. It was early morning, and the cost made Saks whistle.
“Seriously? Three grand?”
“Yep. One way for two adults. Sorry, baby, economy class.”
“You have to let me help pay for this.”
“Nope. You’re coming to help me. Besides, I want you to save your money for the down payment on our house.”
Saks had half a mind to argue, but thought better of it. “Economy? Do they serve meals?”
“Yes,” she said. “Though the turkey meatloaf looks like a killer.”
“After tonight I’m not sure I need to eat for at least two days,” Saks joked as he rubbed at his stomach. “Tell me you can cook like your mother.”
“Saks! You’re in trouble now,” Chrissy growled, a wicked glint in her eye. “You just told me some other woman’s cooking was better than your mother’s.”
