Dominick cleared his throat. “Then I take it back. I’m glad I had him killed. Only a stupid son of a bitch would ever treat an angel like you that way.” There was honesty in his words, the truth from his heart wrapped tight around each syllable. “I can’t imagine you with blonde hair. I’ve always loved how your dark hair sets off your green eyes, making it impossible for me to look away from you. Will you go back to the blonde? You know what? It doesn’t matter, as long as you are happy.”
The last time I’d stood in this tiny space, I’d made the choice to run to where I imagined no one would find me, running from a life I had no desire to live. Now, I had a choice. I could take the envelope, jump in the taxi, and disappear. Or I could take the hand of a man who, in a twisted way, freed me from the life I had been running from.
I walked around the stone sarcophagus; Dominick followed me with his eyes. I stood before him, the decision to stay or go remaining with me. I wanted to savor this moment but knew if what I suspected were true, then I’d have a lifetime of choices. Reaching over with my left hand, I grasped the envelope tightly in my fingers and felt the weight of all that money heavy in my hand. My eyes locked on Dominick’s, and though his face revealed nothing, I could see he was holding his breath.
His arms remained at his sides while I reached up with my right hand and pulled open the lapel of his jacket. Locating the inside pocket, I let the envelope lower into the slot. The top of my ring finger brushed against the edge of his gun, and the cold, hard steel moved slightly with the force I used to secure the envelope. Dominick never blinked while I closed his jacket flaps.
In a move I didn’t realize I had in me, I pulled myself up and placed my lips to his. Soft brushes at first, until his arms wrapped around me and pulled my body to his. His hands gripped me so tight, yet not quite enough to get me as close as I wanted to be, needed to be. With one hand in my hair and the other lifting me up onto the stone lid, his tongue brushed over my bottom lip, and I welcomed it. God help me, I welcomed this man and everything he stood for. I don’t know how he did it, but Dominic Santos had broken through my walls, leaving me wanting more, so much more.
“Take me home, Dominick. Back to New York.”
Holding her in that moment, I savored the feel of her lips on mine, craving the soft touch and hidden fire. I was burning from the inside out, becoming a new man from the ashes left over. Anna had chosen me, and accepted the crass, arrogant man I’d become.
“Are you sure about this? About me?” I had to know if this was all real or a response to the emotions exchanged between us, gratitude for a twisted rescue of sorts.
“Yes.” She started to laugh. “I came here thinking you wanted to kill me.”
I pulled back, unable to believe what she was saying. “Why, would you?” Realization dawned. How Anna had been so removed on the jet, stowing away inside the bathroom. I’d assumed it was due to Monica, jealousy rearing its ugly head. Now that I had the opportunity to look back, it all became so clear. Dad had been right. I needed to hear Anna out, let her have her turn to speak.
“Killing you has never crossed my mind. Loving you and being close to you, yes, but never hurting you.” Craving her kisses overwhelmed me. Not willing to waste an opportunity, I closed the distance between our lips.
“Dominick,” Dad’s voice interrupted the bubble we had created where misunderstandings were confessed and a giant leap had been made toward our future together. “I’m sorry, but we are on a schedule.”
With a final kiss to her lips, and one to her forehead, I grasped her hand in mine and lead her out of the tomb. Seemed appropriate our encounter happened there, a place designed to bury the dead, mourn the loss, and then move on.
“Schedule?”
I helped her over the dead underbrush, taking my position of protecting her quite serious. “Yeah, Antonio wants to be back in New York before we’re missed, so no one knows we came down here.”
Anna hesitated and pulled back against my hand. “Why?”
In the past I would’ve told any woman who questioned me to shut the fuck up. Anna wasn’t just any woman, though. “We like to keep family business… quiet.” I squeezed her hand with mine, sending a reassuring smile her way. At least I hoped it was. Anna had been through enough in her lifetime, she deserved so much better.
“Ari, if I may,” Dad started extending his hand in the direction we needed to go.
“Anna,” we corrected simultaneously.
“Forgive me. Anna, if I may.” Antonio headed in the direction of the mausoleum, down the walk.
During the trip here he’d filled me in on a hunch he had concerning the ring Anna was given and Anthony’s involvement with Corey.
“I have something I think may interest you.”
I’d forgotten how humid it could get in the south, the air so thick one could almost feel it move around them. Feeling the sweat running down my back, I knew it wouldn’t be long before this jacket came off and my sleeves were rolled up.
Loose gravel cracked under my feet. I kept my strides slow because Anna’s gate was much smaller than mine. Looking to the entrance of the second mausoleum, several of my men were standing at the doors, including Demetri and Marco.
“Dominick?” Her voice was soft and remorseful.
I looked over my shoulder at her, admiring how beautiful she was as the rays of the sun caught her dark hair. I’d been telling the truth when I said she would look incredible no matter which color she chose. Silently I hoped she kept the dark hair as I’d fantasized about how those dark tresses would look across my pillow, across my chest, and wrapped around my wrist.
“When we get back to New York, I promise to give you your money back. ”This had been one of the hunches Antonio had about Anthony’s involvement. “No, Tesoro, you keep it. If what my father thinks is true, it was never my money to begin with.” Even if it were mine, she could have it all. Cover her bed and sleep in it if she wanted. From this moment on she would have the best of everything. “Come on, let’s go see if he is right.”
The building had linear columns, solid with concrete footings and a tray ceiling suspended over marble tiles. If Antonio were correct, Alex Gallo had spent a small fortune to have this mausoleum built. Having a business such as we do, how we are laid to rest often gets preplanned. I admired the luxury surrounding me, impressed by the design aspects; too bad Alex had no idea this place existed.
Double doors protected the vast foyer from the general public. Inside, a circular skylight allowed enough natural light in for mourners to pay their respects, if a single dead body had been placed there. Three of the four interior walls were lined with brass plaques devoid of any names.
“I have a theory about this place. Something Anthony said in passing a few months back got me thinking.” Antonio moved closer to Anna, his movements cautious like he were approaching my mother. “Anna, do you still have the ring I asked you to hold?”
Anna reached into the pocket of her jeans while holding her gaze with Antonio, and then slowly pulled the ring from its cotton hiding spot.
“Thank you.” He took the ring from her dainty fingers and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
As much as he claimed to be a happily married man, the fucker could be a big flirt. I wasn’t too proud to admit I tossed him the evil eye.
“You know, it was watching you that gave me the first clue to look further into all of this,” Dad spoke to Anna as he fingered her ring. “Dominick and I watched the tape of you inside the store when Anthony attacked you. I followed your line of sight when you saw his ring. The ring he’d accepted from Gallo, even though he was too much of a chicken shit to take the brand on his skin.”
My fists clenched at the mention of the attack, and by the silence of the room, our men were as affected.
“Some time ago I read this novel about a secret society. They held meetings in ordinary places, but you had to have a special key to get in. One of the founders of the organization was a locksmith. He found a way to create a ke
y which could look like any ordinary object, yet a member would be able to use it to unlock the door. I’d nearly forgotten the book until I needed Anthony to drive me to an appointment in New Jersey. After my meeting concluded, I found him reading the book. At the time I’d been encouraged he was reading and thought nothing of it. But after London read the numbers, and Anna confirmed the location, I went back to the book and pulled up the chapter where a similar situation occurred.”
Taking Anna’s ring, he headed for a plaque on the far wall while reaching into his own pocket and pulling out the ring I’d taken from Anthony. “After we learned Anthony and Gallo were in bed together, I had Demetri pull up financials for the pair. Gallo had withdrawn a substantial amount of money a year ago and wired the money to a bank here in New Orleans. Six months ago, the account balance dwindled to less than a hundred dollars. Cashier’s checks to a Riggs Construction Company, here in the city, were cashed regularly. Public records have no listing for any construction company by that name in this city, yet property records have Daunte Gallo as the owner of this piece of land. It was purchased from the city for a song, including the land and this mostly finished mausoleum. He paid less than five-thousand dollars then used the rest of Gallo’s money to fill it with all of this.”
Anna pulled her hand from mine and moved closer to where Antonio was standing, watching as he played with Anthony’s ring between his fingers, rhythmically alternating it from digit to digit. “I know who Riggs is.” My father’s fingers stopped and all eyes turned to her.
“He was the guy Corey’s sister was meeting the night I left. She wanted to make a deal with him, selling drugs.”
Crossing the distance between us I enveloped her back into my arms. Her body trembled slightly, and I assumed she was reliving the night in her mind. “Demetri,” I barked, not looking away from her to make sure he knew what I meant.
“On it, Boss.”
I wouldn’t ask if this Riggs punk had hurt her, feeling her fear was enough to earn him a death sentence.
Antonio walked around a marble bench, oddly the only one in the room, where all the plaques were blank except for one in the middle row which had a date with a black circle over the top. He used a knife to remove the black plug, then took Anthony’s ring and placed it against the hole, pressing slightly. “Anthony was a smart man, too smart for Gallo. He took money from him, hid it away in a town written in mystery, under a dead man’s name. He used the locals to do the hard work, killed the man who partnered up with him, and then sat back and let Gallo take the fall. What he didn’t expect, was for Dominick to wake up, or for Anna to be his alarm clock.” His smile teasing lightens the heaviness in the air.
With the ring pushed into what is now a hole, a series of popping sounds shake the room. Dust fell like a sprinkling of snow from the top edge of the far wall. Antonio leaned over; making sure the wall wasn’t coming down on us, and then reached around the edge to pull the wall toward us. With a few creaks and groans, the twelve foot high wall opened to a dark, cavern-like area. As Marco stepped inside, automatic lights began blinking on, the hum of fluorescent bulbs joining the symphony of sounds as shelves upon shelves were illuminated.
Where caskets were designed to rest, giving the inhabitants a peaceful slumber for all of eternity was a virtual gold mine of illegal paraphernalia. Various places around my house were well-hidden closets filled with guns, ammo, and a few carefully constructed explosives, but this put my shit to shame. Hundreds of Glock 18s, plus fully automatic M2 and M3 machine guns.
Marco pulled open one of the many stashed black duffels to reveal several burner phones still in their packages, bricks of cocaine and marijuana, and a few trash bags filled with what looked like Ecstasy.
Demetri and Antonio pulled out their cell phones and began cataloging everything they found while Anna reached over and removed the ring from the plaque.
Staring at the jewelry’s face, I could see the letter G in her hand, but before I could question what she was thinking, she vocalized her thoughts. “Corey had a scar on his shoulder like this. I noticed the ring and put the two together.”
I moved around to face her, needing to feel her again and reassure her everything would be fine. “Anthony wanted to be a Made Man, but he was too big of a pussy to take the mark like the rest of us.” I pulled the collar of my shirt away from my neck to show her mine.
Anna looked away, swallowing hard as if preparing herself to say something. “The money in my closet wasn’t from here. I found it in Corey’s house, so I’m pretty sure it’s the money you’re missing. You can have it back, it belongs to you.”
I gently grasped her face between my palms, locking my eyes with hers. “You keep the money you found. You can buy whatever you want with it or toss it in the Hudson for all I care.”
She tried to shake her head to argue. “Tesoro, consider it a gift for the lifetime of birthday’s and Christmases I’ve missed having with you.” Her eyes were full of indecision and I vowed to never give her reason to question anything about me ever again. This had been a long night for her, fatigue was settling in around her eyes. “Marco, I’m leaving you in charge of getting this shit back to the city.” There was no need to look behind me; I knew Marco well enough to know the guns were already stacked and ready to put into the back of the SUV.
“I need to get Anna home, Antonio. She’s faced enough demons in this city for a lifetime.” Anna didn’t protest when I escorted her back to the jet. A call ahead ensured the pilot had some decent food delivered for us. She relaxed and stared out the window, enjoying the luxury of the private plane. This is how the first flight should have been for her; excitement wrapped up in awe and topped with impressive.
“When I first met Corey, he was a nice kid who helped me feel welcome in a new town. Everyone loved him. The entire town thought the world of him since he was always doing something for the community. He thought it would be a good idea for us to be a little more than friends, so he went and asked my dad, a cop, if he could date me.” She looked at her lap. “But I bet you knew that already.”
I did; Antonio had pulled her father’s service records up. He’d been a hell of a cop when he was alive.
“I knew something was up when he told my father he was taking me to dinner in another town, then took me to one of those warehouse stores, parked behind the building, and began removing big boxes from the truck. He told me, ‘You don’t see nothing,’ but I knew what he was doing. I stayed quiet for years, never saying anything to anyone. I overlooked the drugs he hid in the floor of his apartment, the girls who called him constantly, and the children around town who had certain features of his.” Shaking her head she turned back to the window, again lost to her thoughts.
“While I’m no saint,” I began then waited for her to look at me. “I’ve had more than my fair share of walking on the wild side. I took what I wanted from women and gave back what, I felt, they deserved.” Reaching my hand out, it was a silent invitation for her to take it. Unlike Corey, I would give her a choice. She could take my hand or she could tell me to fuck off, I’d respect her either way.
She didn’t hesitate and placed her tiny hand in my much larger one. A warm chill surged up my arm, winding its way around my soul.
“Something changed in me when I met you, Anna. Don’t take this wrong, but at first, I wanted to fuck you out of my system.” My last admission came out in a chuckle. Looking at her face, I saw her smile reach the corners of her eyes. It was a small step, but one I wouldn’t refuse. “But you didn’t want anything from me, except to be left alone.”
Our new steward, a gentleman from a commercial airline who’d been hired following Monica’s firing, sat a new bottle of wine between us. When I’d ordered dinner, Anna had commented how a Sauvignon Blanc would taste great with the food I was requesting. She even gave me the name and vineyard of her favorite label. I’d had our new employee stock the jet with two cases, and then sent a message to my supplier in New York to have some delive
red to the house. Call me confident, or cocky… I planned to win her over.
We landed just before sundown, the humidity decreasing to tolerable levels with our touchdown. Anna stretched in her seat, where she’d faded to sleep an hour into the flight. I’d sat there the entire time watching every breath she took, and cataloging every rise of her chest, flinch of her skin, and shift of her body.
“Did you have a good nap?” She continued to stretch, ignoring my question for a moment. “I almost hate taking naps, I always feel more tired than when I fell asleep.” She took a look around, found a napkin she’d used earlier, which she wadded up and placed in the trash as she walked to the exit.
Not one to expect the staff to clean up after or wait on her hand and foot, I liked that. Anna Covington was one in a million.
Taking her seat in the back of the car, she rubbed her palms along her thighs. Her body language told me she had something on her mind, something she needed to tell me.
“You okay?” Immediately she shook her head, looking away from me. “Hey.” I gently pulled her face back to mine. “Tell me. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s broken.” I let her sit there and get her courage built up. No matter how much I hated her fear of me, I knew this wasn’t something that would fade with the light of a new day. She would need to see I’d changed, see how much I wanted to be with her.
“It’s stupid really.” This time she was the one to chuckle. “After being in Louisiana and the way I thought…” she rolled her hand in my direction, “…anyway, I’m nervous about going back to my apartment.”
Considering all the fucked up evil shit I’d ever done, somewhere I must’ve done something right. “Well, I happen to know of a secure house, not far from here. It has all the modern conveniences, including yours truly, to keep you company.”
Her face told me everything her voice couldn’t—she was nervous, and justifiably so. “As long as you understand I’m not going there to sleep with you.” Tossing my own secret weapon at her, my charm wrapped around with my signature smile, I declared, “Oh, but you will be sleeping with me,” then added a wink to make it innocent. “We’ll keep our clothes on. This time.” It worked, I got an eye roll and a shove to the chest, but she relaxed and started treating me like a regular guy, not the one she’d feared would kill her a few hours ago.
Stolen Secrets Page 25
