“You know it’s much harder because they’re so alike in many ways.”
Marissa gave me a strange look before turning her body in my direction. She hadn’t expected my analysis. Most likely she had been comparing them from a sexual manner and not in the direction I was headed.
“You have to remember that I’ve known Caleb for what seems like forever. He’s been like an older brother to me for years, and even though he went away right after graduation, he kept in touch, made certain his brother was being good to me.”
It was a little white lie; Caleb would call, usually a quick one to his father, and then I’d hear through the grapevine he’d asked about me, checking up. The truth was, the second he’d joined the Marines, he’d put Louisiana in his rearview mirror. It was always my suspicion that he knew what his brother was up to, and wanted nothing to do with those activities. It also hadn’t surprised me he’d had spent the majority of his leave here in New York, not in Louisiana with his dad. Tom knew more than he let on regarding his son’s wrongdoings. Caleb also knew, which I’d bet was the reason he’d sought me out and not his father.
“Dominick kept close tabs on me, even though I kept refusing him. So, you see, they really aren’t so different.”
Caleb had been scheduled to spend the last three days of his leave in Louisiana, but he called the airlines and changed his flight, giving him those three days in New York with Marissa instead. Before he left, he wanted to have lunch with me. Dominick suggested having him over to the condo, but Caleb requested time with just me. Though Dominick grumbled at first, once I reminded him that he had killed Caleb’s twin, he conceded. After much debate, Dominick agreed to have lunch with his father instead. I’d arranged to close the shop for lunch; Gabby didn’t argue since she had a final dress fitting to attend. Lunch was made and everything was set up for Caleb’s arrival. He had been staying at the same hotel Marissa was still at. She’d been trying to save money to get her own apartment, but so far had not been able to.
When I mentioned Marissa working for me, and how she was still living in a hotel, to Dominick, he’d suggested the brilliant idea of me moving in with him to let her live in my apartment over the shop. “Baby, I hate having you so far away at night,” he grumbled when we had to say goodnight at his house. “It makes so much more sense because she needs a place to stay and I need you to stay here.” He’d been really quite cute when pleading his case. I’d kissed his pouty lip, which had led to our umpteenth attempt at being intimate to be blocked by either his work or an unexpected guest. That particular matter was about to be rectified with a weekend getaway, which had been planned and confirmed. Dominick wouldn’t tell me where he was taking me, but he had said clothing was optional.
The bell above the door announced Caleb’s arrival. His sunglasses were perched atop his nose and his phone glued to his ear. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was talking to. Not waiting for him to finish his call, I motioned for him to follow me upstairs. I kept looking behind me as we passed the secured door leading to the back courtyard and loading dock. Antonio had installed an automatic locking door with a motion sensor when Sophia owned the store, and every time I walked by it I silently thanked him for giving me such assurance. Nearing the top of the stairs and my apartment, Caleb ended the call and met up with me.
He bent down and gently kissed my cheek. “Hey, beautiful.” His husky voice made me smile. “I’m glad you could make it,” I said in return, noting his face looked fresh and well-rested. “Are you kidding? Marissa practically shoved me out the door earlier so I could get a nice shave from one of the guys at her school,” he boasted while reaching up and running a hand along his clean-shaven chin. “It’s the last one I’ll have for a while.”
Marissa and I had discussed Caleb’s upcoming return to the desert; he had about six months left until he would be assigned somewhere else. She didn’t want to think about him going back, deciding to focus on him being here for now. Gabby had also taken her out for coffee and talked to her about what to expect while he was away. It was my impression, from both of them, that their relationship wasn’t one that would end when he got on the plane.
“You leave on Saturday, right?” He nodded in affirmation. Knowing Marissa would be worthless at work come Monday, I’d given her the choice to stay home. She’d declined, saying she would rather keep as busy as possible.
“I need to ask you a favor?” His eyes were serious, dark with worry. ”Sure. What can I help with?” I motioned for him to sit on the sofa, and as he came forward, the afternoon sun illuminated the shine of his dark hair and tan skin. “Make sure Marissa takes care of herself.”
Was he trying to end things?
“I know about her and your Dominick,” Caleb admitted. “She told me everything the first night we met.” He shook his head as he continued, looking down at his fingers resting along the back of the sofa pillows. “She assumed I would hightail it out of there.” He shook his head again, but a tight smile began to form on his face.
“Clearly you didn’t, though. That must mean something,” I prodded, wanting to know where his head was in all of this. He shifted his body and gave me a look, which said, ‘cut the bullshit’. “Come on, Anna. I know what type of lowlife my brother was.”
Hearing him admit what I’d suspected all along felt weird. I had grown so used to hearing from everyone in town what a wonderful person he was, and about all the good he had done, but to have someone who shared my inner reality made me feel strange, and uncomfortable.
“He treated you with such disrespect. Different girls all the time, all the drugs and stolen goods. Hell, he even got that sorry excuse for an engagement ring off an old girlfriend.” Maybe it was better he didn’t know the truth about the ring. Corey had lied to him about most things, no reason to bring Caleb into Family business. My own thoughts made me choke; I’d included myself in Dominick’s Family. Twisting my pendant, I decided that was a revelation I would keep to myself for now.
“So, you’re not surprised I knew? I mean, he wore hundred dollar shirts but didn’t have a job for Christ’s sake.” He tossed up his hands to emphasize his point. “I know you live in the real world. The rest of the town can sing his praises all they want, including my father for that matter, but I knew what Corey was about. I couldn’t just sit back and let that happen, but he refused to change, which left me no choice. The Marines gave me what I needed at the time.” The latter was said in an almost hushed voice, with his eyes downcast.
“And now?” Raising his head and taking a deep breath, he replied, “Now, I’ve found a reason to keep going. A reason to try harder to be a better man.”
We continued to sit and talk for a while longer. Gabby called and let me know the shop was slow enough; she and Marissa would handle things. Just before dinnertime Dominick called and demanded he get his girl back. He arrived a few minutes later and insisted on taking everyone out for dinner. Caleb and Marissa were attached at the lips and hips the entire time. When the evening ended, Caleb asked to speak with Dominick privately; I feared he was going to confront him about the death of his twin.
I watched the exchange from the backseat of the black SUV Dominick had picked us up in. Caleb pointed a finger at him, then Dominick would do the same to him. In the end, they shook hands and smiled as they patted each other’s backs.
Once we were alone, Dominick begged me to sleep over at his condo, but I reminded him there were three weddings to do for the upcoming weekend. He walked me up the side stairs to my apartment, but it took him three attempts to leave.
Dominick refused to tell me what he and Caleb had discussed, and I chose to let it go… for now. From outside my apartment door I watched Dominick walk back to his SUV, then honk the horn to tell me goodbye. Still ramped up from all the conversations, which had gone on around the dinner table, I decided to open a bottle of wine and relax.
I had barely collapsed on the couch, and was rethinking my decision to not stay with Dominick, wh
en there was a knock on my door. Dominick was coming back to try and persuade me, once again, to come home with him. This time I was ready to go. I jumped off the couch and hurried to the door. “Okay, okay. You wi–” My words were cut off as I lost my breath at the sight of the person standing on the other side of the door.
“Hello, baby, miss me?”
My wine glass shattered on the wooden floor.
“ANTONIO, SOMETHING JUST ISN’T sitting well with me.”
My father wasn’t happy in the least about all the holes in our security. We had become complacent and lazy, a mistake that would not be repeating itself. “Oh, yeah? What exactly?”
I had gone over surveillance tapes of everything that had happened. Antonio had agreed to cooperate with the authorities, and gave them most of what we had. He wasn’t stupid enough to show them the locations of our warehouses, though. Regardless of how many times I looked at those tapes, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
“I just don’t feel…” I rolled my hands in a circular motion, over and over, lost for the words I needed. My father turned toward me whispering, “Always go with that gut feeling you have right now. It will never lie to you, and it will never fail you.”
For a long time I sat in his office, brooding, searching, and trying to find the missing piece of this situation. I’d just taken a call from Miranda about bail money when Marco and Demetri came in from getting something to eat.
“Dude, check out this YouTube video I found last night.” Demetri was showing Marco some little girl who was talking about a ghost who was going to “kick my ass.” I had seen the same video; she was cute, I’d give her that.
I reached over to grab my coffee, and had the cup almost to my lips when the memory came floating to the forefront of my mind. “Hey, Demetri,” I called interrupting Charlie, the ghost, playing for the third time. He looked up, silencing the video with a swipe of his finger.
“Can you hack into someone’s phone if you don’t have the damn thing?” Demetri gave me a look like I’d kicked his damn puppy. “What the fuck, boss? You think I’m a fucking amateur? Whose fucking phone I get to tap?”
Glancing over at my dad, I silently asked him to let me lead this one. Anna and the rest of the women in our Family needed my protection. Anna needed to know she could count on me for more than just the physical things I could provide her. Well, could and should; however, every time I tried to show her, the fucking phone seemed to interrupt.
“When Anthony came back from Townsend Parish, he showed me a video clip with Corey running his fucking mouth about me. I need to see that clip.”Demetri nodded but didn’t reply as he crossed the room to another computer in the corner of the office.
“What are you thinking, Dominick?” Antonio spoke from his side of the desk. I didn’t get a chance to answer as Demetri pushed his chair back, spinning around. He sat back with his hands behind his neck. “I surprise even myself sometimes.” He chortled and blew a breath across his fingernails.
I nodded my head while he pressed one more key. The screen at the end of the room descended and the clip began to play. In clear view, a few men and couple of women were sitting around a room passing a joint, while beer bottles were being tipped back .
“Again,” I called when the clip ended. I had to extinguish the burning in my gut, screaming at me something was terribly wrong. As the clip played again, I felt my father move closer to me. His position now resembled my own.
“Is that the fucking douche?” he questioned the room.
“Yep, he’s fucking lucky he’s dead. What Anna told me about him would get him a fucking bullet to the head if he weren’t.”
My father placed a hand on my arm, taking my attention away from the clip. “He didn’t..?” I shook my head. “No, she told him some bullshit story about saving herself for marriage.” The smile on my father’s face was one of pride and amazement.
“The son of a bitch cheated on her, lied to her, and placed her in a great deal of danger, though. Like I said, it’s a good thing Anthony sent him to his fucking grave.” I turned back to the screen just in time to see something I had missed the first time.
Sitting in a far off corner, was the girl from Dorfman’s store. The girl we now knew was Miranda. “There!” I shouted. In a rush I stood up from my chair, crossed the room, and pointed to the redhead in the photo. Demetri pressed a few more keys and zoomed in on her face. Sure as shit, it was Miranda.
“Well, fuck me!” my father yelled. Grabbing his phone, he placed a call to one of our security companies. He left the room when he started speaking.
“Demetri, can you tell me if that clip is original to the phone, or did someone send it to him?”
He didn’t answer as he clicked away, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him. “Boss, I can’t say Anthony took this video. I can say it was recorded using the phone he used. Either he recorded this, or gave his phone to someone else who did.”
I already knew the answer. Anthony had lied to me about placing an informant into that circle of Corey’s territory. The “hooker” he’d used was his own wife, a wife he’d taken to Townsend Parish with him, to work alongside of him. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind what I had to do next. “Marco, do we have any judges on the payroll in Louisiana?”
Three nights later, we were still waiting on word from our contact in New Orleans. Antonio had given me the contact info of an old judge friend of his, and I had insisted on calling him myself. The judge, who wished to remain nameless, was more than willing to exchange a few favors with me.
Seemed he had a son-in-law in Dallas who had been beating up his daughter. His daughter had begged him to come get her, but the son-in-law kept moving them around and keeping her locked up, making her actual whereabouts hard to figure out.
Once Marco heard what needed doing, and why, he wanted to get his hands on the punk-ass bitch himself. Marco was a pretty easy guy—until you crossed him. He hated seeing women get hurt. I felt sorry for the son-in-law because Marco would make him suffer, he was in for a slow and painful death. The judge, of course, wanted proof when the man was indeed dead. Marco smiled and promised to save a little piece of him for the judge.
The smell of sweet flowers and spice surround me as I snuggled tighter against Anna. Our bodies were cocooned in each other on my leather couch as the rain-pelted overhead. Whoever’d said the truth would set you free, knew a thing or two. Being honest with her was one of the hardest things I had ever done, or will ever do. But now, as I pull her in closer to my chest, I wish I would have been truthful from the beginning. I should have listened to my dad when he told me he would never let someone he loved live with a lie. Taking in another nose full of her sweet scent, I vowed to be more like my father, and less like the monster I had become.
With my hands buried in Anna’s hair and covering her lips with mine, my tongue so far in her mouth I could feel her tonsils, I knew this was the perfect moment for us. I wanted her… so fucking bad, and now I could have her. Except my fucking phone ruined the moment.
Again.
I was so angry I couldn’t even open my mouth to address the person.
“Hello? Mr. Santos?” the voice on the other end quivered.
“Yes.” No doubt the amount of anger I felt could be heard in my tone.
“Thank you for the package,” the judge’s voiced cracked. “My daughter arrived back home about two hours ago.” He continued, his voice still shaky with overtones of emotion, “I have the information you need, as we agreed.”
While I continued to listen my anger increased. He was taking too long to get to the answers I needed. Beside me, Anna let out a huff; not that I could blame her. The judge was giving me information on what I somehow already knew. I hung up and apologized to Anna because I had to talk with my father to tell him what I’d learned.
With all the will I could muster I walked out Anna’s door, sent a text to my father requesting he meet me, and then sent the same to Demetri. Twenty min
utes later, I was sitting in the backseat of my father’s SUV, Demetri was in the driver’s seat. Antonio had assured me the security company had made certain all the sensors in Anna’s shop were active. No one would be able to come in or out without setting off an alarm. I was still worried about that back loading dock. Antonio had installed a self-locking door a year ago, and now a camera with motion was directed at it.
“Dominick, Stephen has been watching the store all day long, the only person who went in and out the back door was the regular delivery guy with boxes of supplies.” I knew what he said was true. I could pull up an app on my phone and see everything for myself.
We sat for two hours outside of Anna’s shop, watching and waiting after I told them what the judge had said. Finally, after several silent moments, Demetri spoke up from the front seat.
“What was in the package? Did Marco ever say?”
Antonio snickered while fishing out his phone from his leather jacket. The light from the screen illuminated the interior of the SUV. Passing the phone first to me, and then to an eager Demetri, the sight on the screen screamed “Marco”.
There, placed inside a metal box, was the head of the man who I assumed wronged the judge. His severed dick was shoved into his mouth. The appendage had been split in half, and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Marco had cut off the man’s cock while he could feel it. “Do you think he could benefit from some anger management classes?” Demetri’s voice was full of sarcasm as he laughed from the front seat.
For several nights we watched Anna’s shop as she slept in her bed above the store. I had tried, quite unsuccessfully, to get her to move in with me. I wanted her around all the time, but Anna was still gun shy about me. I got it; I just didn’t like not getting my way. When she informed me Caleb wanted to have lunch with her, I’d assumed I was included. I was wrong. Although, I did take all of us out to dinner that night. At the end of the evening, Caleb tried to play big brother and tell me what he would do to me if I fucked Anna over. Fucker was wasting his breath, but I let him have his say. Then, when he cleared his lungs, I got in his face about jacking up Marissa. Anna had given her a second chance, and I wouldn’t stand by and see some motherfucker screw it up.
Stolen Secrets Page 28
