Warning [Part Three]

by A. D. Justice

  At that moment, I wasn’t looking for his sympathy. I didn’t want his assurances that everything would be okay, that we’d somehow work it all out. My guilt and shame were such a heavy burden, I couldn’t even lift my eyes to look into his. But I knew it paled in comparison to the burdens Damon carried on a daily basis.

  All I wanted was to take responsibility for what had happened and to show I’d face whatever the consequences of my actions were. If I could’ve gone back in time and changed everything, I would have. But there was a reason why they say hindsight is 20/20. There was a reason why the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There was a reason why saying I’m sorry doesn’t automatically make everything right again.

  “What can I do? Can I talk to your parents? Can I try to help them understand what happened, and why, so they’ll forgive you? Tell me what will help you, Damon, and I’ll do it.”

  “You really want to know what will help me, Jillian?”

  Summoning all the courage I had left inside me, I raised my chin from my chest and looked directly into his sad eyes. The sexy chocolate brown shade in them had lost some of its luster to weariness and bereavement, driving the dagger further into my chest. Regardless of the pain, I had to face it because my indecision and lack of foresight had cost us both dearly.

  “Yes, I do. Tell me, and I’ll make it happen for you.”

  “No matter what it is?”

  “No matter what it is.”

  He studied me for a minute, his eyes moving back and forth between mine before roaming over my face. The sincerity I saw in them would’ve moved me to tears had I not already been crying. “Marry me.”

  My bottom jaw dropped in surprise. That wasn’t at all what I expected him to say. “What?” My shocked reply came out as a whisper. “Damon, I’m serious. What will fix this rift in your family so you can be happy again?”

  “The only family rift I care about fixing is the one between us, Jillian. The only people I need in my life to be happy are you and our babies you’re carrying. This room is far from the romantic setting where I wanted to propose to you, to ask you to be my wife and spend the rest of your life with me. But considering just a few hours ago I thought your life would end right before my eyes, I’m just thankful you’re sitting here with me right now.

  “We’re adults, so let’s be frank with each other. I know you want me as much as I want you. But you should know something else about me by now. I don’t share what’s mine, and I’ve already decided you belong to me. Now, say you’ll marry me as soon as possible, because I’ve been as patient as I’m capable of being.”

  Something feral and dangerous flashed in his eyes, reminding me of the Damon Marchetti I first met. The man with the confident swagger, the commanding presence, and the exciting air of intrigue surrounding him. As much as Benny’s death hurt me, and no doubt hurt Damon, I realized then that Damon had lost many other friends in his lifetime. His grief over Benny was no less important, but maybe the frequency of his losses had dulled the sting of death over time.

  But, in his heart, I was different from everyone else in his life. He’d told me he couldn’t handle losing me. The man who sat beside me with a cool, collected exterior moments after losing his best friend would’ve crumbled had that stray bullet taken my life instead. I believed him when he said he only needed me to be happy.

  “Yes, I will marry you, Damon. Because you’re all I need to be happy, too.”

  His smile returned a little of the mischievous gleam to his eyes, but I didn’t miss the underlying threat they still held. An animal is more dangerous when it’s wounded. But Damon was more lethal when he was afraid. And the only thing he feared was that someone would hurt me.

  When he kissed me, my nerves all lit at once, as if I’d touched a live wire. Life with him would never be dull, that was for damn sure.

  “Thank you for not forcing me to take extreme measures to get that answer out of you. Let’s go back to my place, feed you, and try to get some sleep.” He linked our fingers together and stood, helping me up as he went.

  “Will we be safe there, Damon? Will your family come after us?”

  “Don’t worry, doll. I’ll keep you safe.”

  He meant for his dismissal of my fears to make me feel better by not giving them credence, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything would soon come to a head. Like a shaken soda bottle would explode in someone’s face when opened, the bombshell news of Benny’s death would ripple throughout the family and blow up in all of our faces.

  “Damon, Lorenzo killed Benny. Even though his gun accidentally went off, your uncle will not see it that way. And he won’t care. When he finds out we didn’t kill Lorenzo, he’ll be furious and could come after you.”

  “Maybe.” Damon shrugged, giving no sign he was concerned in the least. “Time will tell.”

  An hour later, the sun was high and glimmered against the high-rise buildings of Manhattan as we pulled into Damon’s security-controlled garage underneath his building. We took the express elevator to the penthouse apartment he owned, and he locked it when we exited. Then he made sure the stairwell was locked and called the concierge desk with strict instructions for no visitors, regardless of who it was.

  When his phone rang a few minutes later, my stomach dropped to my feet, knowing it was the beginning of the end. But his shoulders seemed to carry a little less weight when he hung up. “Now that that’s done, let’s get you something to eat.”

  “Now that what’s done? Who was that? What’s going on?”

  “Just a few of my guys who heard the whole story, beginning to end, and have pledged to remain loyal to me. Nothing to worry about, doll.”

  “No, there’s nothing to see here. No coming mafia family war. No World War Three scenario playing out in front of us. Just another normal day on the farm.”

  He chuckled, that dark laugh that rumbled in his chest and shot an arrow straight into my libido. “Omelets with spinach and bacon, it is. You can jump in the shower while I cook if you want.”

  “I’m not turning that offer down.”

  Damon’s shower was amazing. The multiple heads spraying from different directions felt like fingers massaging away the tension while washing away the grime from the night. I lathered up with his body wash despite the masculine scent it left on my skin. At least I would fall asleep wrapped in all things that made me think of Damon.

  After we finished eating, I slid between the sheets while Damon showered. I pushed back the memories of the last time we were in that exact position, minus the knife missing from underneath my pillow. Within a few minutes, I felt the dip in the mattress when Damon eased into bed with me. I opened my eyes, taking in his shirtless torso, the peaks and valleys of his muscles, the way he moved with the agility of a finely tuned athlete.

  He settled into bed facing me, unable to hide the exhaustion in his eyes, or his love. Through everything, I still saw his love for me in them.

  “Is there anywhere you’ve always dreamed of getting married? I’ll take you there, and we’ll make it official immediately.”

  I loved these conversations with Damon when he wasn’t the Marchetti family capo. He was just Damon, the man. My man.

  “My dream place is a little too far for a quick trip, I’m afraid.”

  “Yeah? Where’s that?”

  “Hawaii.”

  He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “How about I take you to Maui for an extended honeymoon soon, but first we jet off to the Bahamas for a nice, warm, toes-in-the-sand beach wedding?”

  “That sounds like heaven, Damon.”

  Chapter Five

  Damon

  Late afternoon had set in when I woke up. If I was exhausted, Jillian must have been nearly dead on her feet. She was still in such a deep sleep, she didn’t move in the least when I got up. After I
dressed, I left her to rest while I went into the den to assess our situation. Before I joined Jillian for a long nap, I’d silenced my phone so we wouldn’t be disturbed. But the moment of truth had arrived—the time had come to check my phone for any messages or attempted contacts.

  “Now or never, Marchetti.” I unlocked my phone and stared at the lack of phone calls or text messages from my family. Seemed I had my answer.

  Since I hadn’t heard from my mother after the showdown at the garbage distribution center, the odds that she’d chosen my side were slim to none. On that note, the council members undoubtedly would’ve met and voted on my standing within the family. Because my sister had fraternized with the enemy, her fate was also in question. Having no word from her was slightly concerning, but then, she’d be lying low for a while, the same as I was. Radio silence wasn’t unusual given our extraordinary circumstances.

  The direct line from my building’s security desk rang, making my heart rate jack up and putting me on high alert. They knew better than to disturb me when I specifically told them not to, unless they had a damn good reason. The only time my order had been disobeyed in the past was because Vincenzo Marchetti showed up in the lobby unannounced.

  “Yes?” I snatched the cordless receiver from the base then immediately moved to my hidden closet that held my arsenal of weapons.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr. Marchetti, but Marco is here to see you, and he says it’s an emergency.” The guard’s apprehension was obvious.

  On one hand, he had to face disturbing me when I’d given strict instructions otherwise. On the other hand, he was standing in front of my brother Marco who was every bit as intimidating as he was big.

  “Put him on.” I walked through the first level of my apartment, checking every possible entryway someone could use while Marco distracted me on the phone.

  “You can stop checking the windows, brother. I’m here alone.”

  “Come on, Marco. You know better than that. Why would I take your word for it?”

  “Damon.” When he paused, I did too, knowing I wouldn’t like what he had to say next. “They have Carrie.”

  “Who has Carrie, exactly?”

  “A couple of Leo’s goons picked up both Carrie and Lorenzo about an hour ago on Uncle Leo’s orders. They were taken to Leo’s house outside of Fort Lee. Let me come up. We have plans to make.”

  “All right, Marco. But I’m warning you—if this is some kind of trick to nab me, it won’t end well for you.”

  “You’ve never trusted anyone, little brother. Where has that gotten you?”

  “That is precisely what has kept me alive. Put the security guard back on the phone.”

  When Marco handed the phone off, I gave my approval to allow him to come up and re-engaged my secure elevator. Then I hurried to wake Jillian, just in case my brother was sent as a mercenary on behalf of the council. I was relieved to find her exiting the bathroom, dressed and ready to face company. When I gave her the same gun from earlier that morning, shock registered on her face before concern took over.

  “What’s happened?”

  I quickly filled her in, adding one of my brothers was on his way up. “You have to be ready to shoot him at any moment, Jillian. He’s part of the family—he knows how it works. They’d send him here to get close to me. They’d use Carrie’s predicament as a cover story to make me put my guard down. But they obviously don’t know me well enough because it only makes me more suspicious.”

  “Just don’t shoot your brother before we find out for sure. If Leo does have Carrie, we have to save her.”

  That “we” would be a problem because there was no way in hell I’d let my pregnant fiancée go anywhere near Leo’s fenced fortress. I’d only convinced Jillian to marry me a few hours before, so I wasn’t about to risk losing her again. And that’s exactly what would happen if she stepped into Leo’s line of sight. After the confrontation I’d had with him, blood wouldn’t mean shit. In fact, if he was truly holding Carrie, his plan was to draw me in then kill us all.

  The question remained—who in our family had chosen Leo’s side and who had chosen mine? Father against son. Mother against daughter. Brother against brother. We all knew what had been drilled into our heads for years. But when push came to shove, would my immediate family actually turn on me?

  When Marco knocked on the door, I motioned for Jillian to stay out of sight. Until I knew what his true intentions were, I’d assume he was my enemy. Marco and I had been close while growing up. Less than two years apart, we were the closest in age and in personality. Our take-no-shit attitudes came naturally and developed well before either of us realized what our family business really entailed. That personality trait had suited us well in our individual business ventures but not so well in personal relationships.

  My ambition only slightly exceeded his. That was why I was next in line to be the Boss over my older brother. I’d taken the streets by storm and by force faster and more ruthlessly than he had, earning a name for myself as I went. In all honesty, Marco and I were equally as bullheaded as we were cunning. He and I were an explosive combination when we were together. Whether that was good or bad in the current instance remained to be seen.

  I opened the door, keeping my right hand out of sight, holding my gun and my finger close to the trigger. With my poker face intact to hide my thoughts, I met Marco’s intense stare with my own. “Marco.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about Benny, Damon. That really fucking sucks.”

  “Yes, it really fucking does.”

  “You look like shit, by the way.”

  “What do you want, Marco?”

  “Put the gun away, little brother. You don’t need it. I told you why I’m here.” He walked past me, and I pushed the door closed before dropping my gun hand to my side. “Where’s Jillian? Is she waiting in the wings to shoot me?”

  “Only if you make her.”

  “You don’t trust your own brother?” He had the nerve to appear insulted.

  “My brother happens to be a capo in a large organized-crime syndicate. He’s been trained to put the family first, not his brother or his sister. So you’ll have to forgive me if I’m not fully convinced your objective in coming here is benevolent.”

  One side of his mouth quirked upward slightly at first before morphing into a full-on smile in an uncharacteristic display of amusement. “My objectives are never fully benevolent, Damon. Except when it comes to you and Carrie. You and I have always been close, and you know I’ve always been protective of our little sister. No one else fucks with her—no one. Leo crossed a line he never should’ve even thought about, regardless of who she’s dating.”

  “You knew, didn’t you? You already knew she was dating Lorenzo.”

  He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “I’d heard rumors. Whether it was true or not didn’t mean shit to me. She’s grown and it’s her life—she’s entitled to live it however she wants. I’d only get involved if someone tried to hurt her, which is why I’m here now.”

  He turned his back to me, walked into the den, and made himself comfortable on the couch. “Damon, bring Jillian in here and let’s come up with our plan. You can both keep your guns pointed at me the whole time if that makes you feel better. All I care about is getting Carrie out of Leo’s house in one piece.”

  Jillian stepped into the hallway and looked at me for a cue on how to proceed. With her hand in mine, I led her to the opposite side of the room, and we sat together facing Marco. She placed her gun in her lap then laid her hand over it. She wasn’t pointing it at him, but he got her point nonetheless. Marco grinned at her boldness and nodded slowly, admiration obvious in his expression.

  “It’s good to see you again, Jillian. I’m glad Damon convinced you to come back with him. He was hell to be around after he lost you.”

  “After m
y house was shot to pieces, I didn’t really have much choice but to come with him. But I’m here now, and I have no intentions of leaving again. Tell us about what’s happened to Carrie.”

  “Right to business. I like it. From what I’ve pieced together, Carrie and Lorenzo had just arrived at her house together when a couple of Leo’s goons busted the door down and grabbed them. A neighbor heard the ruckus and called the police. One of my guys was monitoring the police band and heard the dispatch to Carrie’s address. They gave the license plate and description of the car, and I tied it to Leo.

  “When I called him, he ignored my calls. So I drove straight to his house, and his enforcers were manning the gate. They refused to let me in, and not so subtly threatened to shoot me in the back of the head if I pushed my luck. By then, I was so fucking pissed off I couldn’t see straight. When I called Dad to get him involved, Mama answered his phone and said he couldn’t talk. She was crying, Damon.”

  “What? Mama answered his phone…and said Dad couldn’t talk?”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. To my knowledge, that had never happened before. The significance of that small act was huge in our family. Not that Dad was always available. But that he wasn’t taking calls when the family was coming apart at the seams.

  “It’s completely off, right? I tried to push Mama for information, but I couldn’t get much out of her. I have a very bad feeling this isn’t going to end well at all.” Marco scrubbed his hand over his face.

  “Vincenzo and Leo are brothers, but Leo kidnapped Vincenzo’s daughter? Won’t your dad defend his daughter against his brother?” Jillian’s eyes darted between Marco and me, waiting for one of us to assure her our father would come to his daughter’s rescue.

  “We don’t know, Jillian. We don’t know what Dad will do in this situation. This is all new territory for us.” I covered her hand with mine, knowing she was as worried about Carrie as I was.