Falling for a Santini

by Melissa Schroeder

  “And you love her now?”

  “More than anything else in the world. She is my world.”

  “I can accept that, but stop talking like that. Damn, man, you’re a Marine and an NCIS agent. I mean, man up.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t help it. I know, it’s insane, but I look at her and everything clicks. Everything can go wrong for me, but as long as I know she’s there, I know it will all work out. She’s the one I want to be with in the morning, at night, and until the day I draw my last breath.”

  Anthony groaned. “You’re not even a Santini by blood, and you got struck with the curse. This is pretty damned bad.”

  “So, are we cool?” JT asked.

  “We’re getting there.”

  “I guess that is the best I can expect now.”

  “Now, the best thing you could do is offer me a beer.”

  Something else loosened in his chest. “I think I can help you with that.”

  Anthony followed JT to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and handed it over to his friend. Anthony was looking at the papers on the table.

  “What’s up with that?”

  “They think there might be another person in charge of the operation. I am going over everything to see if I can figure it out.”

  They sat down at the table. “So, Smith is a gopher?”

  “Yeah. He is talking a deal with the prosecutor, so we think there is someone on top.”

  “Who was the commander?”

  “Hickson. We couldn’t believe he didn’t know about it all going on under his nose, but there wasn’t a connection. I mean, nothing. No records of money being transferred. No other contact between Smith and Hickson, other than what was to be expected. There was absolutely nothing to tie him to it. Which meant, he didn’t know what the hell was going on under his nose. How the jackass made O-4, I have no idea.”

  “You know how it is sometimes. Hell, I know people with stars on their shoulders who don’t know the first thing about commanding.”

  They both continued to look over the evidence. After another half hour, Anthony groaned.

  “There’s a pattern here that I can’t seem to connect.”

  JT took a long draw on his beer. “Yeah, I agree. I wasn’t satisfied, but the management was happy with it.”

  “Meaning, they wanted it to disappear as fast as possible.”

  He nodded. “You know how it is. They just want to put a lid on the scandal, but they want to put people away, so they at least look like they’re doing their jobs.”

  Before Anthony could respond, JT’s cell rang and he answered it when he noticed Elena’s number.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, babe. Have you heard from Anthony?”

  He glanced at the man in question. “He’s right here.”

  She said nothing for a second or two. “He didn’t hit you again, did he?”

  “No. We’re going over something for work.”

  “Hmm. Are you planning on spending all day with him?”

  There was no annoyance in her voice, but he knew something was bothering her.

  “No. Don’t you want to spend time with him?” he asked.

  Anthony rolled his eyes.

  “Not sure. He hit you, and I am still pissed about it. Plus, he used words like deflower and insinuated that I am not feminine. I really didn’t like that.”

  JT chuckled and looked at Anthony. “Deflower?”

  “Give me the phone,” Anthony said, motioning with his hand.

  “Anthony wants to talk to you.”

  She made a rude sound that was very much like the one her brother had made just moments earlier. “Anthony needs to learn when to butt the hell out. I just wanted to know what you were doing because Madison called and asked about getting together.”

  “Oh. Well, we’ll probably go over this for the next few hours.”

  “Great. I don’t know what is up with Mad, but she said she wanted some girl time.”

  “That sounds normal.”

  “Not for us. Really, when have you heard me use that term?”

  He chuckled. “That’s true.”

  “So, that’s the reason I want to see her. I hope everything is okay.”

  “Did you want to talk to Anthony?” he asked again.

  “Yeah, let me talk to the idiot.”

  He handed the phone to Anthony. He took it. “What do you want, runt?”

  It was the name he had always called her when she was little.

  “I have not threatened him again.”

  He listened for long moment.

  “You would think you had some family loyalty. Your boyfriend can fight his own fights.”

  The word hit him then. Boyfriend. First, that told him Anthony was getting used to the idea. Secondly, JT thought he was a little old for the term. And, the truth was, he wanted to be more than that. He wanted to be hers. Forever.

  Anthony shook his head as he smiled. “I promise not to hurt him. Now go do girl things.” More silence. “No, she seemed fine this morning. She took care of me since you kicked me out.”

  There was another long moment of silence as Anthony listened to Elena. There was a good chance he was getting yelled at again. “Okay. Do you want to talk to JT?” Then he said something in Spanish to her and handed the phone over to JT.

  “Hey, there,” he said.

  “Okay, if he gives you any crap, beat the hell out of him and call Mom. I can’t believe he’s being such an ass.”

  “You’re his little sister.”

  “I am not little.”

  “Wait, if I call your mom, then she’s gonna know about us.”

  Elena sighed. “First, she probably already figured it out after talking to you the other night. Plus, if she didn’t, one of the guys will tell her. They can’t keep their mouths shut.”

  That much was true. Gossiping about each other was a full-time pastime in the extended Santini family. It was one of the things he loved about them. They might be kind of obnoxious about butting into each other’s lives, but they did it out of love. “You’re going out with Madison?”

  “Yeah. I think we’re doing a late lunch or something. And girl things. Whatever the hell that is.”

  “Be careful,” he said as he watched Anthony roll his eyes.

  “I will. You too.”

  Then she hung up.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to have to listen to that crap for the rest of our lives. Ugh.”

  “First, I have to convince her to marry me.”

  Suddenly, Anthony looked a little happier. “There is always a chance that she will say no.”

  “Thanks, for your vote of confidence.”

  Anthony shrugged. “Hey. I’m just telling you like it is. Besides, I figure if there’s anyone who can keep up with her, it’s you.”

  That was the closest thing he was going to get to an acceptance from Anthony. Happier now with the situation, he sat back down at the table and started to go over the evidence.

  And sometime soon, he was going to have to have a talk with Elena—after he talked to her father first.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Elena sighed with happiness as she cut into the cheese enchilada and shoved it into her mouth. Cumin, red pepper, and cilantro danced over her taste buds a moment before the ooey gooey cheese hit her. She hummed in delight. She scooped up another bite. She wasn’t delicate about it. When it came to food, Elena was never delicate.

  “Hungry?” Madison asked with a chuckle.

  “Yeah. For some reason I’m starving.” She took another bite of enchilada. Damn, it was almost as good as her mother’s, and that was saying a lot. Marcella Santini could cook anything Mexican or Italian.

  “Having huge amounts of monkey sex will do that to you,” Madison said with a chuckle.

  Elena shared a smile with her friend. “Yeah, there is that. And it’s been awhile since I’ve indulged.”

  “In sex or food?”

  Elena laughed. “B
oth.”

  When Madison didn’t say anything, Elena looked up at her. All of a sudden, her friend’s face went pale. She sipped at water as if it were a fine whiskey.

  “Is there something wrong?” Elena asked as she cut into her enchilada again.

  Madison swallowed and shook her head. “Just a little queasy.”

  Charlie was sitting by her, relaxed. If she was distressed, Charlie would have known it. He would be standing and pressed up against her legs.

  “Do you have a fever?” she asked, feeling like a schmuck.

  Thinking back on the day, she remembered Madison had been a bit lethargic. Neither of them were big shoppers, but Madison had petered out early. Elena realized her friend might be getting sick and she hadn’t even noticed. She had been so self-involved, thinking about getting back to JT as soon as possible. She should have being paying attention to her friend.

  Madison shook her head and closed her eyes. “No. Just like I said, a little queasy.”

  Elena studied her for a moment and then it all clicked. The lethargy, the queasiness, the pale skin added up to one thing. Even as it stunned her, joy filled her heart. Elena waited for Madison to open her eyes.

  “You’re pregnant,” she said smiling.

  Madison smiled and nodded.

  “I am going to be an aunt,” she said, letting out a hoot that drew a few stares, but Elena didn’t care. She jumped out of her seat and hugged Madison. “This is fantastic news.”

  Madison hugged her back. Elena dropped into her seat. “How did Dante take it?”

  “I thought he was going to pass out at first. Seriously, he was so pale. Afterwards, he started strutting around like he was some kind of stud.”

  Elena rolled her eyes. She had been around her four cousins during their wives’ pregnancies, and they all had been horrible. “Good lord. He is going to be insufferable.”

  “He already is. He did tell your folks that he should get a medal for being first, or at least get your father’s Harley.”

  Elena laughed. “He can try but Nando already called dibs on it. And you know how they treat the baby. When are you due?”

  “March.”

  Elena started calculating it in her head, then she laughed. “Good thing y’all planned that wedding when you did. Close enough not to cause too much speculation.”

  “There is that.”

  Elena held up her margarita glass. “To the next generation of Santinis.”

  Madison raised her water and clinked glasses with her.

  “Now,” Elena said after taking a large gulp of her margarita, “what are our chances at getting another female into this mix?”

  * * * *

  Around two that afternoon, there was a knock at JT’s apartment door that had both he and Anthony frowning. He was going to ignore it, but there was always a chance it was Elena. He looked through the peephole and found another Santini standing on his doorstep.

  He opened the door to a smiling Dante. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “I was abandoned by my woman so she could spend time with Elena.”

  JT stepped back. “We’re in the kitchen working.”

  Dante followed him back.

  “I see you two settled your differences,” he said, looking at Anthony.

  “I don’t want to beat the shit out of him that much anymore,” Anthony said.

  “According to Elena, JT beat you up.”

  “Suck it, little brother.” But he didn’t really look up from what he was reading. Both of them had been working on it for hours, and now Anthony was as frustrated as JT.

  Dante looked at the table then back up at JT. “What’s going on here and should I even be here?”

  “The case is closed, so I guess it’s okay,” Anthony said.

  “Cool.” He looked at their beers. “Got any more of that?”

  “Of course,” JT said. “Fridge.”

  He sat back down at the table and Dante joined them.

  They continued to work, but there was a hum of something coming off Dante. He seemed to be there for a reason, but it was as if he was avoiding the issue. Apparently, Anthony felt it too.

  “Why don’t you spit it out, Ant?” Anthony asked, using the nickname he’d given Dante when he was just a boy.

  JT looked between the two of them, and he realized Dante had something to talk about. “I can leave if you need some privacy.”

  Dante shook his head. “You’re family, JT. Plus, I have feeling, you’ll officially be family before long.”

  He didn’t see a reason to deny it and nodded.

  “Freaking hell, just answer the question. We have work to do.”

  Anthony really didn’t have a lot of patience.

  “Madison’s pregnant.”

  There was a second of stunned silence, then in true Santini fashion, Anthony let out a whoop. “Hot damn!”

  He stood and pulled his brother out of the chair and gave him a hug. “Can’t believe it.” Anthony released his brother. “We should have something better than beer here.”

  “Naw, beer is better than any champagne we can afford,” Dante said with a laugh.

  JT shook his hand. “That’s true. We should have cigars or something though.”

  Dante shook his head. “I come back smelling like that, there is a good chance Madison would barf on me. I can’t take that again.”

  Anthony frowned and looked at his younger brother. “She seemed fine to me today.”

  “It hits her about lunch time, and it has more to do with smells than food. I have a feeling she won’t want to go out much the next few months. Just a passing scent of something turns her green.”

  “Hey, why didn’t you tell me this morning?”

  “You were preoccupied. Plus, we had just found out the night before and we wanted to tell Mom and Dad and the Bakers first. We figured the grandparents had a right to know first.”

  He nodded then looked a little sick. “They are going to start harping on me again.”

  Dante laughed. “Don’t worry, Anthony. It seems you’re younger siblings have marriage and babies covered.”

  JT thought back to the ideas he had about having babies with Elena. Just thinking about watching her waddle around the house made him smile.

  “Oh, lord, you’ve done it now, Dante. You have JT off in no man’s land thinking about babies. Damn.”

  Dante laughed. “So, what are you two talking about here?”

  “It’s the job I just finished. The person we thought headed everything is talking a deal. Which means that he has something to deal with. So, I’m going over everything. There has to be something I missed.”

  “I have been over all the files too,” Anthony said looking at him. “I can’t find anything either. If it is there, it was well buried, so stop whining about it.”

  Dante laughed. “Want me to look over everything?”

  Anthony looked at him then back to JT. “What do you think?”

  JT thought it over. It wasn’t exactly kosher and, like Anthony said, the investigation was over.

  “Fresh eyes might help. Plus, he might pick up on something as active duty that we missed.”

  Anthony looked at his brother. “Okay, but you didn’t see any of this. It’s still considered classified.”

  “See what?” Dante asked as he took the file and started reading.

  * * * *

  It was well passed dinner time by the time Elena and Madison made it back to her apartment. They’d spent their afternoon window shopping for maternity clothes and baby furniture. It had been much more fun than anything girl centered like mani-pedis. At least for Elena.

  She dialed JT’s number wanting to check in and see what he was up to. Plus, she was worried that Anthony might have lost his temper again. JT could hold his own as he had proven that morning, but…

  “Jethro’s house of ill repute,” Dante said.

  “Hey, daddy,” she said, laughing.

  “Hey there, yourself. I take
it Madison told you.”

  “Yeah. Well, she looked like she was going to barf, and I figured it out. Then we spent the afternoon shopping for things. I am going to spoil that kid like there is no tomorrow. And, yes, I am going to be the cool aunt, so expect me to buy things you disapprove of.”

  Dante chuckled. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t.”

  The sound of his happiness made her happy. It was like that for all the Santinis, but for Dante and Elena, it was a little different. She was pretty sure it was the same way for Carlos and Brando.

  “I’m so happy for you, bro.”

  “Thanks. Dad and Mom were thrilled.”

  “I bet they were. Aunt Joey’s been giving her grief about being the only grandma of the bunch.”

  He chuckled. “Of course she was. What’s up?”

  “I called to talk to JT.”

  “We’ve been working.”

  She sighed. She had too many brothers. “Just put him on the phone, idiot.”

  The phone was jostled, and JT came on the line. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”

  “We just got back. If you’re going to play NCIS with Anthony, we might watch some TV.” She looked at Madison, who nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we’re doing.”

  “Are you at Madison and Dante’s?”

  “No, we’re at the apartment.”

  “Okay. We shouldn’t be too long.”

  “No worries. We can entertain ourselves.”

  “Talk to you later,” he said.

  “Sure thing.”

  He hesitated then he said, “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  She hung up the phone and frowned. JT was acting like something was wrong, or he wanted to talk about something.

  “Something wrong?” Madison asked.

  Elena pushed her thoughts aside. “Naw. Let’s get you some tea and crackers and find something to watch.”

  “So,” Madison said, as Elena went into the kitchen to put the kettle on, “what are the guys up to?”

  “They’re working on something for NCIS. I guess they dragged Dante into it.”

  “And that look on your face when you got off the phone?”

  She could evade her friend, but she knew better than to hope for that. Looking at Madison she said, “Just a feeling when I got off the phone. Like JT wanted to tell me something.”