by Ciara Cole
Antonio smiled but he could see the strain around his eyes and mouth. “I’m happy to help, Talia. It’s a bullshit arrest and the police know it, but they would love to convict anyone with the last name Tucci.” He kissed the top of her head and pushed her towards the table. “He didn’t do this.”
“I know,” she answered fiercely. “Where’s Tiana?”
A blush crept over Antonio’s face but he schooled his expression expertly. “She said she had some digging to do, so you’re stuck with me today kid.”
“I’m glad. Did you find anything out?” He nodded and slid two plates piled high with waffles, turkey bacon, cheesy eggs and fruit onto the table. She ate while she listened.
“They’ve arrested him for aggravated assault and battery, and second degree murder plus a bevy of small charges. Right now they’re just holding him and no charges have been filed.”
She smacked the table. “They’re hoping he has information on someone bigger, right?” At his amused look she explained, “I watch Law & Order.”
He chuckled. “Right. I think they’re hoping he has something to give, but that also means that have nothing on him.”
She nodded. “Do you have the date of his alleged crimes?” She swiped a hunk of waffle through the delicious warm syrup. “Did you watch the video of his arrest? One of the detectives yanked him out of the house just so they could arrest him.”
“Trade you,” he said, sliding her the information he’d gotten from the police and from Giovanni. Antonio watched the video with a frown. “This is good, but it’s not enough.”
“I know, but I think if we pile it on, we have a better chance of freeing Giovanni and making sure that the only job that cop can get is as mall security.”
Antonio gave her an indulgent smile. “I like you, Talia.”
“Thanks. Giovanni speaks well of you so I hope when this is all over, you’ll come by for dinner. Besides these guys will need a godfather.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe we ought to figure out another name for that.” They shared a laugh and finished breakfast in silence. Talia stood and cleaned the kitchen while she put her thoughts together. She knew Giovanni was with her the night he allegedly beat someone, but she knew her word wasn’t going to be enough. “Are you free today, Antonio? I have an idea and I’ll need a driver and a bodyguard.”
He puffed his chest out. “I’m your guy.”
Four hours later they were still in Talia’s neighborhood, trying to prove Giovanni’s alibi. “My goodness this area is fragrant.” She’d chosen this neighborhood because it was a hodge podge of culinary delights. You could get curry, chicken and waffles, sushi, kimchi or homemade soup until the wee hours of the morning. Every other awning was some type of eatery, which she usually loved. But even at seven months pregnant, the mixture of aromas turned her stomach. “Ginger ale,” she gasped out, trying hard to breath through her mouth.
“Over here,” Antonio kept his hand at her back, unwilling to let anything happen to his best friend’s woman. He opened the door for an all night corner market and she walked in with a friendly smile for the cashier.
“Talia, how many babies you got in there?”
She giggled at the elderly Japanese man and his bugged out expression. “Just two, Mr. Hiyashi.” She waited at the counter while the older man shuffled to the fridge and returned with her favorite juice.
“We just got a new shipment in. Peach mango mint and orange, banana and green tea. You will love.” He smiled at her.
“Thanks. I need just a couple now along with ginger ale for my nausea,” she looked for Antonio but he was already returning with the soda. “Mr. Hiyashi do you have a security camera in here?” She’d asked more than a dozen shops and restaurants and came up empty. The crime happened so long ago that most small shops had already wiped their footage. Well, those that had footage.
“I do. They love to hold up my store, so I have cameras to make sure they get caught.” He smiled at her. “Are you in trouble?”
“No, but the police are accusing my boyfriend of something he didn’t do and I know he would have parked around here somewhere.” Her shoulders fell. “I was hoping you had footage from the twelfth, a few months back.” She knew it was hopeless, that was months ago.
“I can help. I know him! Tall fella with dark hair and green eyes, looks like a celebrity? He comes once a week to stock up on your juice, that’s how I know him. I’ll call my son.” A few minutes later he smiled. “Ayako will be here soon. He saves footage to a server and keeps it, just in case.”
A smile spread over Talia’s face as hope swelled in her chest. “Mr. Hiyashi I could kiss you!” The old man blushed and waved off her praise.
“It’s nothing. My son is in college and fancies himself a tech guru. He saves the footage because he says I may need it one day. I guess he was right.”
Ayako strolled in twenty minutes later with a flop of black hair covering one eye and a flash drive pinched between his fingers. “This is footage for the two days before and after the day you needed. Good luck,” he said and walked out the door without another word.
Talia wrapped her arms around Mr. Hiyashi and squeezed, enjoying his wide eyed expression when the babies kicked during their hug. “I can’t thank you enough for this. When this is over, I’ll buy you guys dinner at Giovanni’s place. You’ll love it.”
“I never turn down a dinner invitation from a beautiful woman.”
She smiled and left, pulling Antonio behind her. “Come on slow poke, we’ve got work to do!”
“You know you’re a thousand months pregnant, don’t you?”
She rubbed her belly. “With all this stomach how could I forget?” The stress that had been eating at her for the past thirty odd hours had started to float away. Everything is going to work out, she told herself and this time, she meant it.
Chapter Nine
“I’m here to pick up Giovanni Tucci. I understand you’re holding him here?” Talia had a plan, crafted with the help of Tiana and Antonio, to settle everything once and for all. She’d gotten up early this morning and sent the video footage of Giovanni’s arrest to a dozen different news outlets. A small smile settled on her lips when the footage began to roll as she dressed in a pretty pink maternity dress with matching leather flats. Her hair and makeup were done naturally and flawlessly and she was ready for the day.
“Ma’am who are you?”
She took a deep breath. “I am the person here to pick up Giovanni Tucci. I was told he would be released. Today.” The truth was the pertinent information had been sent to several days ago to Giovanni’s attorney, and he’d walked it over to the district attorney first thing this morning. So she was a tad early, but that was part of her plan. “Has he been released yet?” She smiled when Detective Lawler waddled to the front desk.
“Oh, your boyfriend isn’t going anywhere, sweetheart.”
“My name is Talia, not sweetheart. Detective. And I really don’t want to have to ask again. You’re in enough trouble.”
His laughter died a quick death when his name was called by a man in an ugly brown suit. “Yes, I am Jonathan Lawler.”
“You’ve been served.” The man turned and walked quickly out of the precinct.
Talia held herself tall while he read the paper and kept her laughter to herself when he began to splutter and cough. “This is crazy!” He turned to the desk Sargent, “Tucci is suing me for twenty million. Unlawful arrest, can you believe it?”
“Oh the entire city believes it, because they’ve seen it with their own eyes. Sweetheart.”
He stomped off screaming and yelling. “I’ll make sure he ever gets out of jail!” He turned and slowly walked back to her and Talia knew, he would try intimidation next. “You don’t know anything about him, do you?”
“Oh I know plenty. I also know if you had any evidence of his so called crimes, he would already be in prison. But you committed the crime.” Before she could say anything else, the District Attorney stormed in
with several assistant DA’s and Mr. Matheson, Giovanni’s attorney. Another small smile touch her mouth.
Talia took a seat and waited on the bench next to a young prostitute. “I love those shoes, but damn how do you walk in those all night?”
The woman gave her a onceover and shrugged. “Men like long legs and I make more money. Wouldn’t wear them otherwise.”
“Yeah well even those amazing shoes couldn’t make my legs look longer.” She laughed at her ongoing efforts to appear taller than she was.
“You stuck it to that fat bastard real good, honey. Good for you.”
“Yeah he deserved it.” Se was about to say more but the hairs on the back of her neck rose and she knew. Giovanni. She turned and the woman helped her stand. “Giovanni!”
“Babe!” He ran to her, stopping when he got close enough to smell her sweet floral scent. Then he bent over and wrapped his arms around her waist, twirling her in a circle. “God it’s so good to see you. A week away from you was too damn long!” He kissed her neck, her cheeks and finally, her mouth.
Talia let her tears fall as he kissed her and rubbed her belly. Their babies. “I missed you too, Giovanni. But you have to know I wanted to come, your lawyer said I shouldn’t since I was so instrumental in your release.” She giggled at her own horn tooting. Then she pulled him down and kissed him again. “Giovanni Tucci, I have something to say to you.”
He smiled. “What’s that?”
She leaned close until her lips brushed his ear. “I love you.”
He stilled and pulled back to look at her in those bottomless brown eyes, searching her face to see the truth in her words. Slowly a smile spread from cheek to cheek. “That good, Talia, because I am completely in love with you.” He kissed her mouth, at first soft and then more insistent. “I can’t wait to start our life together. Me and you and our twins.” He still loved saying that, our twins. He jumped when he felt the babies kick as Talia squeezed him into a hug.
“They’ve missed you, Daddy.”
He smiled again. “I love to hear you say that. Now come on, I need a shower.”
“Yeah you do. Pity I’m too big to join you.”
Giovanni lazily slung an arm around her shoulder as they walked out. “That’s alright, the plans I have for you require a bed. A very big bed.”
In front of the precinct, they both slid into the limo and held on to each other. “Giovanni let’s talk for a minute.”
“What about, Talia?”
“Us. I know that cop had it out for you, but it wouldn’t have taken me a week to get this all figured out if you’d been completely honest with me.” She held up a hand to stop his argument. “I know, I’m as guilty as you are. But that’s why we both have to do better going forward.”
“I won’t do another thing that would risk losing you in my life, Talia. Not ever.”
“Good,” she said and leaned in to kiss him softly.
Epilogue
“I’m so happy we get to enjoy one night out before the babies come. You look beautiful, honey.” Giovanni looked at Talia with such love in his eyes and he didn’t care, because he could see it shining back in hers.
“I love you for saying I look beautiful, but I feel like a giant beached whale.” She rubbed her belly. “I can’t believe I’m the first woman in the history of the world to carry twins to term.” She shook her head.
“There goes that overachiever thing again,” he laughed and grabbed her hands. “Babe trust me, seeing your body grow because it is protecting and growing our babies, is sexy as hell. In fact, I fully plan on doing my part tonight to help you go into labor.”
She laughed at his leering look. “You’re pleased as punch the doctor said sex could help induce labor.”
“You got that right!” Giovanni brought her hands to his mouth, kissing each slender brown finger. “I need a taste of brown sugar, babe and you’re it.”
Talia tossed her head back and laughed. “And I thought you were just a pretty face when I met you.”
“Pretty?”
“Okay, damn sexy!”
He chuckled. “Talia, you are a beautiful, hard working woman and I know how lucky I am to have you in my life.” He knelt beside her, kissing her belly and not giving two damns if the restaurant was staring at them. “I want to see what kind of woman you become in ten years, thirty years, and fifty years from now. I know I’ll be a better man because you’ve already made me better than I thought I could be.” He kissed her hand and pulled a two carat emerald cut diamond from his breast pocket. “I know it’s asking a lot, but Talia I would be delighted and honored if you would agree to marry me.”
She smiled as tears trickled down her glowing brown skin. “Great, so you’re asking me to do even more work?”
He nodded and laughed. “Yep.”
Talia nodded yes moments before her body seized. “No, no, no. Oh no!” She gripped her stomach as a collective groan sounded in the restaurant. “Oh jeez, of course I’m going to marry him. I love him and he’s crazy sexy. But I think the twins are about to make their debut.”
Green wide eyes stared at her in disbelief. “Today? Now?”
“Yes.”
“The babies are coming!” Giovanni stood and ran frantically in a circle trying to figure out what to do.
“Gio. My bag is in the limo and my water hasn’t broken yet so help me up and we can go.”
“Right.” He pulled her to standing and guided her out of the restaurant, leaving a few large bills to cover the check. “We’re having a baby!” He screamed again as the restaurant clapped.
“This is definitely going to make the gossip pages tomorrow.” She bent over again as another contraction ripped through her. “Hey George we’re having a baby, go as fast as you can and Giovanni will pay for it.”
“Sure thing Ms. Mathers. Congratulations.”
Seconds later the limo weaved in and out of traffic like a professional driver, leaving a trail of honking horns and screamed profanities. But it was all worth it because ten minutes later, Talia was being wheeled into the hospital and straight to the maternity ward. “I guess these babies are coming.”
“Don’t worry Talia, first babies are almost always easy.”
“So you’re saying half of today will be okay and the other half will suck?”
The doctor laughed. “Something like that. How are you feeling?”
Talia smiled. “Amazing. Terrified. Incredible. I just got engaged,” she showed off the ring. “I know it’s a little late for that, but we aren’t old fashioned and I’m so happy to be marrying Giovanni.”
“Remember you said that later today, babe.” He leaned down and kissed her neck, making her shiver. “Okay Doc, I’m following your lead.”
~
“Giovanni you will never get inside this body, ever again!” Talia panted for the one millionth time in about thirty minutes. The contractions were coming fast and furious yet still there were no beautiful coffee and cream babies. “Seriously your children are as stubborn as you are!”
Giovanni just nodded and tried to hide his smile at her bursts of anger. He didn’t think she’d appreciate him telling her she was adorable when she was mad. “I’m sorry. Just imagine how cute they’ll be when they get here.”
“If they ever get heeeeerrrre!” She panted some more and screamed loudly. “Come on out kiddos, your Mommy and Daddy want to meet you.” She cooed and rubbed her belly.
“You’re doing great, babe.” He soothed her with soft words and patted her sweat slicked skin.
The doctor breezed in and took a peek under the sheet draped over her legs. “Okay, it looks like we’re ready to push. You ready, Talia?”
“Only if you promise they’re really coming!”
“I promise. Now, push when I tell you to.”
Talia practiced her breathing, the same as Giovanni beside her. She waited until the doctor said to push and then she pushed like it was her only goal in life.
“Again, Talia.�
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She pushed again and one more time after that until she felt sweet release and seconds later, a perfect little cry.
“Congratulations parents, it’s a little baby girl.”
She gasped, “Oh Giovanni, a girl! Oh my gooooooooooooodness!” She wailed and pushed even though the doctor hadn’t told her to yet. “Sorry I couldn’t stop it!”
“That’s alright, give me one more big push.”
Squeezing Giovanni’s hand she bore down and gave one final, giant push and collapsed onto the bed. “Is it done? What is it?” She didn’t hear anything for a long minute and her heart stopped. “Doc? Giovanni, what’s going on?” Then she heard it, a loud strong cry. “Oh sweet mercy!”
“Congratulations again guys, it’s a bouncing baby boy!”
Talia looked up at Giovanni peeking at the newest arrival with tears in his eyes. She squeezed his hand.
“Talia, they’re perfect.” He wiped his eyes and bent down to kiss her. “You’re perfect, babe. You did great.”
She looked up at him, this big strong man brought to tears by the arrival of their precious babies. She was so in love with him, her heart was full of it. For him, for their son and daughter. “I love you, Giovanni and I can’t wait to marry you.”
He wiped her tears and brushed a kiss against her lips. “Pick a date. I’d marry you tomorrow if I could.”
The doctor held a pink bundle in her hand while a nurse held a blue bundle, each handing one to Talia and one to Giovanni. “It’s time to meet your parents little ones.”
Giovanni sat on the bed with the girl in his arms while Talia held their little boy. “I love them already,” he whispered. “I love you too,” he told her, kissing his fiancé as they held their babies.
“Oh jeez, get a room!” Tiana and Antonio waited with eager expressions at the door. “Can we come in or are you about to get started on babies number three and four?”
