I open my mouth to speak when a sleek, no-nonsense-looking woman with jet-black hair and emerald-green eyes walks through the door. She drops her heavy bag into George’s lap, causing him to inhale harshly, and she streamlines directly to Drew and envelops her into a massive hug. I look to George, who is still holding this woman’s purse. He shrugs at me, and we both look to Drew, who is hugging the woman back with the same fierceness.
“Guys, this is Gretchen.” Now it all makes sense. “Gretchen, this is Dominic and his driver, George.” She points between us.
Gretchen breaks from their hug and walks over to me and hugs me too. “I’m so sorry, Dominic.” Her sincerity makes me like her immediately. Pulling away, she pats my shoulder and goes to take her purse off George with an embarrassed apology. I don’t think he minds by the look on his face.
Drew looks to her friend with a puzzled face. “Gretchen, how did you get back here? It’s family only.”
Without pause, Gretchen looks up. “I lied and said I was Shelby. That whore seems preoccupied with counting her gold, so I figured I come and steal her man.”
Drew bursts out laughing, covering her mouth.
“Well, goddamn, Gretchen, it’s really nice to meet you,” I say, flabbergasted.
We stay for an hour before being told we have to leave soon, with the exception of Gretchen, who asks for some warm towels so that she can clean Luca’s bruised and bloodied face. I’ve been talking to him off and on while everyone else has their own conversation, making sure to tell him that I’ll kill him if he dies.
Gretchen hasn’t left Luca’s side, making sure to wash every bit of blood off his mangled body.
“Keep it PG, Gretchen. He’s still married,” Drew calls out to her friend from where she is sitting in the room.
“Yes, Mom,” she answers like some teenager, making me chuckle from my post at the foot of his bed.
A nurse comes back into the room with more cloths and a basin for Gretchen. “Excuse me, but you have two more relatives at the desk asking to come back. There’s only four max for this wing, so two of you need to switch.”
Gretchen looks to me for an answer even though the question is being delivered to her, as his wife. I nod my head for her to continue and look to George, tipping my head.
George stands up and hands the woman a hundred-dollar bill. “I count as two,” he says, making his way out the door and guiding her out with him. Gretchen doesn’t bat an eyelash and continues in her mission to clean my brother.
I look over at Drew. “She finally shows up. Nice wife. Amazing,” I say, shaking my head.
“It’s terrible. Luca deserves better. Maybe we can hook her up with my ex?” She smiles, and I remember how he pissed his pants. “They’re suited for one another.”
The door opens, and I stand immediately.
“I came as soon I could. Nephew.” My uncle walks to me, embracing me and kissing my cheeks. “We have the animals that did this to Luca,” he whispers into my ear. Turning his attention to my wife, he smiles. “Drew.” He stands to my side, opening his arms. Drew, who is now walking to him, gives him a hug, and he kisses her cheek. “Why don’t you and your friend get some coffee and come back in just a few minutes. I need to speak privately to my nephew. Take this, get a treat.” He hands her a fifty-dollar bill and pats her hand.
She smiles and nods to Gretchen, giving me a kiss on my cheek as I lean down toward her, not taking my eyes off Giovanni.
“Whoa. Catch me up. First, when did you meet my wife? Second, who the fuck is the guy in the corner?” Looking at the man in the corner, I size him up. “Third…”
“I’m happy to explain, but let the girls stretch their legs.” His voice is striving for calm.
I nod my agreement but look to Drew. “Check in with George first.” She gives me a wink and holds the door open for Gretchen.
“Hey, Giovanni, don’t let anyone touch him until I’m back. You get me.” Gretchen points to him and blows the old man a kiss as she leaves.
What the fuck is going on?
“That one is a spitfire, and if I was only thirty years younger. I always like the calculating ones. She lied to get back here, did you know that? Spectacular.” My uncle’s intrigue with Gretchen irritates me, and my voice is stern.
“Speak, Zio.”
His reaction is priceless, but I’m immediately intrigued by the man in the corner. His reaction to my tone is out of place for someone hired as muscle. He’s protective of my uncle; I can tell he’d like to put that hand he keeps flexing around my throat. Good luck.
He holds up a hand to stop me from talking while he walks to Luca, leaning in to kiss his forehead. “My beautiful nephew. May God keep you safe or take me in your place.” It’s funny; the last two men in the world that God would probably hear have both asked him the same favor today. He looks up to me and reaches across my brother for my hand. I give it, meeting him at Luca’s side. “We can’t let this go unresolved, Dominic. You need to be straight with me. I need to know your enemies.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t have enemies.” At least nobody that would be stupid enough to do this.
“Tell me about the men who were stealing from you.” I jerk back as he turns to me slowly. “What have I told you? Never turn a blind eye. Never, Dominic—you can’t afford to live in the world everyone else does. These men thought it was you. They attacked you, Dominic. They tried to end your life.” Giovanni looks back to Luca with sorrow in his eyes. “Luca was just an unfortunate mistake in their play for what’s yours.”
All my fears are realized. “This is my fault. I was supposed to protect him.”
“No, Dominic, this isn’t your fault. There is such a long list of faults. We live in a world dripping in all the horrors of the human spirit, and because of that we can never really be clean. Baptized from the devil. It’s your fault as much as it’s mine and your father’s and the men before us. We live the best we can and protect the ones we love and take vengeance when necessary.”
“When does it end?” I drop my head into my hands, feeling the burden of my past crashing into my present.
“When we die, nephew. When we die,” he says as he puts his hand on my back.
“Uncle,” the man calls from the corner. “They’re waiting.”
“Uncle?” I look at the man, feeling like I need a punching bag for all my stress. “He’s not your uncle. You would stand here in front of me and my brother and call him uncle.” I know it’s irrational, but I’m a fucking mess. My control started slipping away in bits the moment my uncle showed up.
“Dominic,” Giovanni’s voice calls out to me sternly. “Now is not the time or the place, but Dante has every right to be here. Don’t question me. We have a package waiting for us at your Church.” What the hell is that supposed to mean, “every right”? I have a thousand questions, but he’s right. I have more pressing issues to deal with, so I walk past my new friend.
“This isn’t over.” I’m met with his welcoming smile.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he growls back until my uncle places a hand on his arm and leans in to say something privately. Dante nods and walks to Luca, saying something to him quietly. I instinctively reach to my back for my gun, but it’s not there. I’m not that guy anymore, but I will be to protect Luca and Drew.
My uncle smiles, amused at my reaction. “Nice to see you again, my priest. Dante, let’s go.” His words sear into me.
He raises up immediately and joins my uncle and me at the door. His eyes are different. They look sad, grieving. Fuck. I’m speechless. He has the same strange color as my father. No…no fucking way.
“Let’s go,” my uncle orders, and Dante and I fall in step behind him.
We stop by the waiting room, and I ask George to stay with the girls. I give Drew a kiss on the cheek, and she looks at me solemnly. “I understand, King. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s your call, not theirs.” I grab her face roughly and kiss her. This beautiful
woman is the Bonnie to my Clyde, accepting my darkness, accepting me. I saw it the first time I laid eyes on her—she has a brilliant, seductive fire drawing everyone near even though it’s dangerous to get too close. Love will never be a strong enough word to describe how I feel about her.
Pulling back, I look into her eyes. “Take care of Luca. Call me if there’s a change. Promise me.”
“I promise.” She smiles and buries her head into my chest.
Gretchen stares back between me and Drew like she’s working out some kind of puzzle. “Hey, take care of my girl.”
“Absolutely.” Her face shows an understanding of how serious my request is.
“Priest. We have to go,” Dante calls from the exit. Turning my steely gaze on him, I nod before kissing Drew once more and walk away without looking back.
KING’S BEEN GONE FOR HOURS, and we’re all sitting with Luca. George has paid half the staff to allow us to stay as long as we’d like. I’m sure they can sense that “no” wouldn’t be very appreciated or well received. I’m staring out the window, wondering about King, worried about King, worried about myself. I’ve slipped into this role, the role of his wife…the wife of a dangerous man. I’m frightened by how natural it feels. I think back to the night when I met King and he grabbed the man by his throat. I was never frightened; I was intrigued. I thought the man deserved it. Maybe I’ve always had a deeper understanding for out-of-the-box thinking.
Gretchen slides up next to me after having checked on Luca for the twentieth time.
“Hey, so what’s up with your obsession for Luca?” I don’t want to talk about me, so I decide to be proactive with the conversation.
“Shut up, I’m not obsessed. He’s just really nice. I mean, he seems nice, like just a nice man, ya know?” Holy shit, she’s being shy. She’s only shy when she likes someone.
“You just said ‘nice’ an extreme amount of times. Tell me, G…how would you know that he’s nice? Like nice, nice, nice,” I press, already knowing there’s more to her story. She sticks her tongue out at me, and I point my finger at her accusingly.
“Fine! Because, Ms. Know-It-All, I’ve actually gotten to know him a bit. You don’t know everything I do.” She waves me off dismissively, but I smell blood in the water.
“Fucking spill, Gretchen Marie Andrews.” My eyebrows raise for an answer.
“The middle name? Really? Okay, Drew Sophia Matthews.”
I start to laugh and push her shoulder. “Seriously, spill.”
“It’s nothing. I just went back to the restaurant the next day for drinks with another friend—a gentleman—and the guy turned out to be a jerk. Luca happened to be there and was very gracious. We had dinner and just talked about life and everything…even you guys.” She laughs. “I know, he’s married, and I would never, ever do that, but I can’t help what I felt. There was just this connection. I haven’t really spoken to him since. I mean, we text funny memes or stuff like that. He sent a really cute picture of Ella yesterday, but that’s all. We’re friends. I’m friend-zoned until Shelby falls off a bridge.”
“Holy shit.” Oh man, she’s a goner.
“Don’t judge me. I don’t really want her to fall off a bridge.”
“Gretchen, I’m married to a guy you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. I’m not judging you.” Her laugh makes me laugh too, and she leans in and hugs me.
“Wait! Did you say married?” She shoots back quickly to search my face, and I can’t help but bite my lip and raise my left hand.
“Oh. My. Effing. Lord. What! When? You ho! When were going to tell me? I’m never going to forgive you for not making me wear a horrible dress and have the privilege of buying strippers for the bachelorette!” Grabbing my hand, she takes in the shiny four-carat oval Tiffany diamond. “How did this go unnoticed? It’s a planet.”
“I mean.” I wave my arm around. “There was a lot going on.”
“Truth, sister. Tell me everything, but first I’m super curious about something. I wanted to ask earlier, but I got caught up in my non-love life. But why did the gorgeous hunk of muscle with little Gio call Dominic ‘Priest’?”
I shrug, not connecting the dots from our previous conversation, but George looks up and answers. “He picked it up when he was younger because the priest is the last person you see before you die, for confession and penance.” His phone buzzes and he looks to me with concerned eyes. I give him a reassuring nod, understanding he needs to leave the room to take the call.
As he exits, Gretchen turns her head to me, eyes bugging out of her head. “Do I want to that explained more clearly?”
“Absolutely not.”
“So, when you say dangerous, you didn’t mean like lethally hot, did you?” She crosses her arms.
“Nope.”
“Just tell me you’re happy, safe, and then I will go right back to ignorance is bliss.” I love her for being concerned, so I take her hands, uncrossing her arms, and look into her eyes seriously.
“I’m exactly where I belong. He’s my purpose and I’m his salvation. I couldn’t be happier with my choice.”
Her eyes get a little misty and then drift to Luca. “I want one too…” Her pout makes me smile as she wistfully stares.
I let go of her hands, garnering her attention again. “Wanna hear a fun story about Nick?” This is exactly the distraction we need.
We spend the next twenty minutes giggling about Nick and how badass my husband is. This entire day has felt like a month’s worth of days, but I definitely didn’t think it would end with me laughing with my best friend at my sadistic ex shaking in his boots.
George walks back in, taking his post at the seat next to the door and keeping his eyes trained on Luca. “The car will be here to take you home—you and Gretchen. Go get some rest, and I’ll stay with him.” I don’t like the demeanor; it makes me nervous.
“King is on his way?” My eyes search his face for any indication of the outcome, but he doesn’t look in my direction, so I press harder. “George, look at me. Is he okay? Tell me he’s all right.”
“He’s fine, Drew.”
I’m not reassured by his words or by my friend holding my hand. Something is off.
We gather our things, each saying goodbye to Luca, and head out of the room. George grabs my arm to stop me before I leave. “Take care of him. He’ll be strong for you, but I’ve known him a very long time, and he’s worked hard to leave his past. I fear today has drawn him back in.”
I throw my arms around his neck and give him a suffocating hug. “Thank you. You’re a good friend, George.”
I rejoin Gretchen and we head out of the hospital toward the exits. George’s words rattle around in my head, and I want to believe King can handle the demons without becoming one, but even I know better. Whatever he decided today, I’m either following him down to the pits of hell or trying to walk the balance between heaven and hell. Walking through the automatic doors, I see two black SUVs with heavily tinted windows waiting in line with each other. My husband stands at the first car, wearing a different shirt than he left in. Dante stands at the second car, also in new clothes. I can’t help but take in how incredibly alike the men seem. Both are strong, protective, and lethal. They could be brothers.
I walk to King’s offered arms, hugging him tightly. The smell of being freshly showered doesn’t go unnoticed, but I won’t ask, at least not yet. “I love you.”
“And I you, gorgeous.” He kisses the top of my head and rubs my back. “Dante will drive you to your car, Gretchen, or he can drive you and arrange for your car to be dropped to your place later today.”
Gretchen shifts back, looking over her shoulder. “If you guys wouldn’t mind, I’d like to stay with Luca for tonight. I’d just feel better being able to see him.”
There’s the shy again.
My smile is met with an eye roll from her, but King surprises me by saying, “Thank you. He said you were full of surprises; I would have to agree.”
; I look at him, wondering what he knows that I don’t.
Gretchen just smiles and shrugs. I hug her, and she kisses my cheek. “I’ll call if anything happens.”
“Love you, G,” I call out to her back as she walks back in.
“Love you back, D.”
I climb into the car and wait for King to slide into the driver’s seat, but I watch in the side mirror as he walks to Dante and the two shake hands. Dante puts his arm on King’s shoulder, and they exchange what looks to be very serious words. King reaches and pats Dante’s cheek, causing the jacked look-alike to laugh. Men are confusing; one minute they want to tear each other apart, and the next they’re best friends.
King slides into the car and starts the engine. “Let’s go home, gorgeous. The house has been cleaned up, and the glass is repaired.”
“Okay, but you have a half hour to tell me everything. I know I said I wouldn’t ask, but I want all of you. I will live my forever with you with my eyes wide open. No secrets ever, King.”
He sits in silence for ten excruciating minutes, and then his mouth opens, spewing out all the horrible details, telling me how he and Dante took turns beating the three men, cracking their bones and torturing them until passed out, only to wake them and do it again. His knuckles turn white from the grip on the steering wheel as he retells the story, highlighting the cuts and bruises on them. He explains that their plan was to kill him and then threaten Sarah with the same if she didn’t give them access to all the money, but they were spooked by George’s car.
“The craziest part is she doesn’t have access to any money. I can’t think about the horrors she would have endured. It makes me regret not killing them.” His last sentence catches me off guard, and I twist in my seat to look at him, confused.
“You didn’t… I thought…” My voice is shaky.
“There are worse things that can be done to people, Drew. No, I didn’t end their lives, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t ruin them. I relieved them of their confession, and then they turned themselves in to the police. No more blood, remember?”
Truth: A Sinful Series, Book One Page 20
