by Pj Fiala
Dianna flicked her gaze between Gunnar and Emma. Emma looked up at Gunnar and saw him swallowing and working to keep his emotions in check. She slid her hand into his and squeezed. He briefly looked down at her and back to Dianna.
“Go on.”
Rubbing her hands together, Dianna continued. “Joci found out about Tori and Keith and broke up with him. He was mad at himself for hurting her and still had this last run to finish. In his mind it would be the last and he’d try to make it up to Joci and you. But that delivery went bad. Carmine and his younger brother, Roger, were there at the drop off. When Keith walked into the warehouse to make the delivery, he walked in on Carmine and Roger beating and strangling a man to death. He was so scared, and he didn’t know what to do. He believed Carmine set him up to make him an accomplice so he wouldn’t leave them. We don’t know that for sure, of course, but he was afraid to leave the organization. They killed that man with their bare hands.”
She stood and paced a few steps toward the kitchen then back. “A couple of years later, Carmine was implicated in the murder and so was Roger. They got off without a trial because they had people paid to say they weren’t together that weekend because Carmine was in Vegas. But later that same year, a man named Mike Finco gave Keith two photographs of Carmine and Roger standing next to each other at a boxing match. Finco told Keith to keep those pictures and only use them if they ever threatened to pin it all on him or implicate him in any way. He tucked them away for safekeeping—I thought in our fire safe. But…” Dianna began crying. She looked over at her children and began to sob. Kelly jumped up and hugged her mom and made shushing noises and patted her back.
“Kevin tried following in his father’s footsteps last year but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He blabbed to some of his friends about what he was doing and about all the money he was making. Carmine threatened to kill Kevin for having a big damn mouth.”
She looked over at Kevin and her brows formed a severe v in her forehead.
“Kevin threatened to use the pictures against Carmine if he got hurt. Trouble is, now Carmine is threatening us to get the pictures. He says if we give them to him, he’ll leave us alone and never bother us again.”
Emma sat stone still, watching Dianna and trying to process it all.
“The mob? As in Mafia?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, they still exist. Carmine’s father is the Don. He’s been in jail since nineteen eighty-nine, but he still runs the family. No one threatens to take his place.”
“How in the hell do you know all this? You could be lying again.” Gunnar’s tone was harsh and clipped.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dianna’s lips quivered, and softly she said, “I’m Carmine’s niece.”
Silence. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Gunnar could hear his heartbeat and thought everyone else could hear it, too. He swallowed a few times to moisten his throat and slowly looked down at Emma, who had stood and slid her arm around his waist. She laid her head on his shoulder. When he laid his head on top of hers he heard her whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“So Keith met you after all of this or before?”
Dianna looked into Gunnar’s eyes. “I knew him before. He met me while he was still with your mom. We weren’t together then. But after he left town, he came to Chicago where the family is. At first I thought he married me so Carmine wouldn’t kill him. But we made it work.” Her sad smile ripped Gunnar’s heart just a bit. He’d seen that look on his mom’s face so many times. Keith sure was a bastard. “Sad thing is, Carmine wouldn’t care if he was married into the family or not. We’ve lost plenty of family members to…strange occurrences.”
Taking a deep breath, Gunnar whispered to Emma, “Let’s get going.”
She softly said, “Okay.” She reached down to pick up the envelope she had carried into the house and stopped. “I can’t. I have to have these signed.”
Gunnar looked into her eyes and softly smiled. Turning to Dianna he said. “Are those documents real? And by real, I mean do you really need to have them signed?”
Dianna dropped her head and ran her hands over her face. When she brought her head back up, she shook it side to side.
“Why did you try to involve her in this, and how did you get Treklin to go along with you?”
Kelly, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. “Emma’s former boyfriend, Greg Graff, is one of Carmine’s attorneys in Chicago.” Kelly looked at Emma and frowned.
Emma shook her head. “That can’t be. How did I not know?”
“I’m sorry, Emma. Greg was here yesterday asking us about the photos. Carmine sent him to see if we were going to turn them over; they’ve been putting pressure on us. Gunnar had left and we weren’t sure if he would come back with them.” Looking over at Kevin, she said, “Greg met with Attorney Treklin yesterday at lunch and got her agreement to help us get the pictures. That’s why Kevin was there. We wanted you to see him there, to protect Greg’s involvement. We were going to ask you to call Gunnar once you got here.” The last was said with sadness in her voice. Her lips again turned down into a frown and she shrugged.
Gunnar wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight. “You said yourself that he was good at hiding things.”
Emma nodded but said nothing. Gunnar squeezed her tighter and began moving them forward. “Let’s go.”
“She stays until you come back with the pictures.”
Gunnar and Emma both whipped their heads up to see Kevin pointing a gun at them. He still looked like he was in a bit of pain, but he was definitely recovering.
“No. I’m not leaving here without her.”
“Doesn’t look like you have much of a choice now, does it?”
The sickening sneer on Kevin’s face was enough to turn her stomach. Emma, her arm still around Gunnar’s waist, lowered her arm just a bit. Feeling the bulk of his gun tucked in his inside holster, she slowly reached into the waist of the back of his jeans. Slowly pulling the gun out of the holster, with an iron grip so she didn’t drop it, she managed to free it from its hiding place. Keeping her arm where it was, holding his gun behind him, she looked up at him. He briefly looked down at her as one corner of his mouth lifted just slightly.
Turning back to Kevin, Gunnar said, “I’d say we all have a choice, wouldn’t you?”
Gunnar glanced down at Emma, “Babe, just stay put, in that chair, and I’ll be back as quickly as I can. Do you hear me?” He turned his body so he was facing her, the gun now between them.
Chapter Thirty
Emma watched him speak to her, she heard the words he was saying, but what she felt was his hand cover hers and remove the gun she held. He nodded once at her and she sat down, and made a bit of a fuss about the documents and getting comfortable.
She heard the click of the safety and watched as Gunnar stepped in front of her. At the same time, he raised his pistol directly at Kevin and said, “We’ll be leaving now. I’ll call you in about an hour with a pickup place where you can get your fucking pictures. But know this, if I ever hear from any of you people ever again, I’ll be going to the police myself with this little tale.”
Kevin’s sickening grin creased his face. “Yeah, what are you going to tell them, pretty boy?”
Gunnar reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his phone. With the hand holding his phone, he motioned for Emma to stand and take it. Slowly standing and taking his phone from him, Emma stepped to his side. She looked up at him, he never took his eyes from Kevin, but he said, “Hit play.”
Emma pushed the button to bring the phone to life and she saw that he had been recording everything that had happened in this house. She tapped the end button to stop the recording, and then tapped play. As the phone loaded the voice recording, the faces of the three people staring at them paled. Dianna sobbed and Kelly began softly crying. Kevin narrowed his eyes and listened. As the story began unfolding again, Kevin swallowed numerous times. He glanced
over to his mother and saw her holding her face between her hands, tears in her eyes, her lips quivering, her throat convulsing. She looked over to her son and softly, between sobs, said, “Put the gun down and let them go.”
“No. Ma. We can’t. We need those pictures.”
“He’ll get them to us.” She looked straight at Gunnar. “You will, won’t you? If we promise to never talk to you again. You’ll get us the pictures?”
Gunnar nudged Emma with his elbow softly and tilted his head to the door. She slowly stepped toward the door as Kevin lowered his gun.
“Drop it on the floor. Slowly. Then toe it over to me.”
Kevin pursed his lips, slowly leaned forward and laid his gun on the hardwood floor. Using the toe of his tennis shoe, he nudged it forward, making it slide a ways on the floor.
Gunnar took the two steps forward and placed his foot on top of the gun. He kicked it back behind him, making the gun slide under Keith’s worn chair. Emma picked up the pace as she quickly walked to the door, facing the Simpsons. Gunnar followed her the same way. Once they reached the door, Emma opened it and stepped outside. Gunnar stopped and said, “Don’t follow us. Don’t try anything. If you do, you won’t get those pictures. Understood?”
Three bobbing heads watched him step through the door. He grabbed Emma’s hand and ran to his truck, walking around the opposite side and standing there for a few minutes, hidden from the house. He watched through the windows of his vehicle as he waited to make sure Kevin wasn’t following them. As soon as he felt it was safe, he opened the passenger door, lifted Emma quickly and plopped her on the seat.
“Put your head down. Don’t lift it until we are out of here.”
“But I have the work car.”
“I don’t give a fuck. Treklin can come and get the fucker herself for all I care.”
Closing the door, Gunnar ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in, turned the key and bolted out of there in one swift move. Once they were at the stop sign, he looked over at Emma, her head down, her hands shaking. He pulled around the corner, parked at the side and pulled her hand, causing her head to pop up.
“It’s okay now.” As soon as she righted herself, he reached across the console and wrapped his arms around her. Her arms came around him and she held his head in her hands and tucked her head between his shoulder and head.
“Oh my God. Whew. Oh my God. I’ve never been in a situation like that before.” He squeezed her tight, then pulled away.
“Are you okay?”
Emma quickly nodded but said nothing.
“Okay, we’re going to Rolling Thunder and getting this figured out. You’re with me the remainder of the day. After we have the pictures figured out, we’ll figure out what to do with your fucking job. Okay?”
Emma nodded again. She looked into his eyes, and saw the concern in them. Fear even. She felt stupid for thinking he would cheat on her; she knew him to be better than that. Never taking her eyes from his, she said, “I love you, Gunnar.”
He let out a breath, stared right back and said, “I love you, Emma. More than I ever dreamed I could ever love anyone.”
She kissed his lips, ran her tongue over his bottom lip, and kissed him again. She pulled back. “Let’s get out of here.”
Gunnar nodded his head, put his truck in gear and drove forward.
*****
Gunnar pulled into the Rolling Thunder parking lot, put the truck in gear and jumped out. He walked around the front of the truck, watching Emma. He opened her door and reached in and pulled her out of the truck with his arms under hers. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, her feet not touching the ground. The ride over had been quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. But now that they could hold each other, he held her tight, burying his nose in her hair and breathing her in. His mouth close to her ear, he whispered, “I was so fucking scared he would shoot you.”
He began to shake, finally letting the emotions out that he had held in for so long. The twenty-minute ride felt like an eternity, but all he could think was to get to Rolling Thunder and safety. He had gripped her hand like it was a lifeline during their drive, afraid to let her go. Each time he looked over at her, she was looking straight ahead, swallowing her emotions and trying to keep a brave face, but he knew the wits had been scared out of her and that killed him just a little. It was because of him she had been put in that position.
“Okay. Are you ready to go up?”
She pulled back, just a bit, keeping her arms around his neck and shoulders. She stared into the gorgeous blue depths she had fallen in love with and saw his love shining back like a beacon. A sweet smile graced her lips as she nodded and replied, “Yes. I’m ready.”
He kissed her again, then pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes for a moment. Hell was going to break loose as soon as he told his mom and dad what had just happened.
Gunnar set Emma on her feet, wrapped his hand around hers and led her to the door of the shop. When they entered, a few heads turned their way, a few waves, and then most went back to work. Ryder was the last stall they walked past, and as his head popped up from under a bike he was working on, Gunnar nodded to him and said, “You’ll want to join us, buddy, and can you get JT?”
Ryder glanced at Emma, and then back to Gunnar before setting his tools down, wiping his hands on a shop rag, and following them.
Climbing the black metal staircase to the upper offices, Emma’s heart began to hammer. Again. This time her brain was beginning to comprehend the reactions of Gunnar’s family. She knew Dog didn’t think much of Keith; he wasn’t going to like this at all. And Joci was going to be livid.
Gunnar stopped them in front of an open door. He looked down at her and mouthed, “Ready?”
Emma nodded. They walked into the office, finding Jeremiah sitting at his desk, working on his computer. He looked up when they walked in and his brows furrowed.
“You coming back to work one of these days?”
“Yeah. Dad, where’s Mom?”
Dog rested his gaze on Gunnar for long moments, slid his gaze to Emma and leaned back in his chair. Turning his head to a door on the opposite side of the room from where they stood, he yelled, “Joci? Baby, come on out here, please.”
Ryder entered the office followed by JT. Dog glanced at his sons, then back to Gunnar.
“Is this bad?”
“Yep. Pretty bad.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Joci entered the office from her office and frowned when she saw the stern looks on the boys’ faces. She looked at Emma and saw her jaw tick and noticed the hard edge to her lips. Joci swallowed, “My God, what happened?”
Ryder and JT sat in the chairs in front of Jeremiah. Joci leaned on the edge of the desk and Gunnar and Emma stayed rooted to the spot where they stood.
“First, I don’t want anyone freaking out until we finish our story. Can you promise?”
Jeremiah leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk and said, “You better just spill it right now, Gunnar.”
Taking a deep breath, Gunnar and Emma related their story, each taking turns where needed. There were gasps and many swear words thrown about as they all listened to the events of this morning.
Finishing up, Gunnar took a breath. “So, to begin with, where’s that box of pictures?”
“You’re not taking it to them.” Joci’s statement booked no argument.
“I want to look at it first. They believe the pictures are in there. I want another look, now that I have a better idea what I’m looking for.”
“We still don’t know exactly what we’re looking for.” Joci remarked.
Nodding, Gunnar said, “Right. But, let’s take a closer look. Just one last time.”
Joci walked back into her office and walked out a few minutes later with the smelly box. She wrinkled her nose at the offensive odor, her mouth turned into a frown. She brought the box to Jeremiah’s desk, waited just a moment for him to clear the center, and then
dumped the pictures out on the desktop. Everyone leaned forward to look at them. Joci dropped the box with a thud onto the floor and tapped it with her foot to scoot it away from them. Shuffling the pictures to and fro, the group had their heads together looking for the pictures that could very well save some lives.
Holding up a picture of two men Joci didn’t know, she said, “Jeremiah, pull up Carmine Bambino on the computer. Let’s see if one of these guys is him.”
“Here he is. That’s him, a few years younger.” Still scrolling on his computer, Dog stopped and enlarged another picture. “Here’s a picture of Carmine and Roger Bambino from nineteen ninety-one.”
Emma stepped forward and looked at the brothers. “That’s them…in the picture.” She looked back at Gunnar, who was still holding the picture from the box.
Gunnar said, “This is it. One of them. There must be another picture in there of these two together.”
Holding the picture out to Emma and pointing, he said, “They’re at a boxing match, look at the date on the poster behind Carmine’s ear.”
Emma squinted and slowly read out loud. “Lewis versus Holyfield the second, October twenty-second, nineteen ninety-nine.”
“Okay, hang on, when did Dianna say that man was killed?” Jeremiah began tapping the keys on his keyboard.
“She didn’t and she didn’t give me a name. How about any information on a trial?” Gunnar walked to stand beside his dad. Everyone in the room was fixated on the computer screen as images of Carmine and the Bambino family popped up. “It says here, Carmine was implicated in a nineteen ninety-nine murder in two thousand and one.”
