Authors: Alexa Land
“Do what?”
“Put a gun to your head to save me.”
“Please. You took a bullet for me.”
“Not to my skull!”
Andreo interrupted, saying, “We’d better pack and head for the airport, Tino’s prone to changing his mind. Meet me at my rental car as soon as you can.”
“Alright,” I said, “but tell me one thing. What’s the story between you and my brother?”
“It’s complicated,” he said. That I could believe. “Here, take this just in case.” He handed me his gun before turning and heading to the hotel, and I checked the clip before slipping it into the back of my waistband and pulling my shirt over it.
“Come on, we need to tell Gianni and Zan what’s happening,” I said. As we hurried to their bungalow, I added, “I can’t believe Jerry sent my own brother to kill you. Well, really, I can’t believe he sent
anyone
to kill you, but especially my own brother.”
“I think that was very intentional, from the sound of things,” Luca said, picking up my hand. “He told your brother to kill me in front of you. Jerry wants this to be personal, he wants to make you suffer. Including your brother was probably designed to extract the maximum amount of agony from you.”
“I grew up with Jerry. He’s the person who taught me how to throw a punch and fire a gun. I wasn’t as close to him as I am to Gianni and his brothers, not by a long shot, but he’s still family. How could he turn on me like this?” As we walked, I kept scanning the beach. The light was fading fast, and I kept expecting my brother to reappear, gun drawn. It was an incredibly uneasy feeling.
“I can’t begin to make sense of people. When I think about what my own father was capable of, it makes me want to throw up. And God, look at this idiotic feud between our families! By all accounts, Mauritzio Dombruso and Vido Natori were like brothers, but they ended up bitter rivals over something absolutely trivial. We’re still feeling the effects generations later!”
“I know. It’s so senseless.”
When we reached Gianni and Zan’s hut, we caught them up to speed and Gi exclaimed, “I can kind of believe Jerry would be capable of something like this, but not Connie! How can he be a hitman?”
“Apparently he decided to follow in our father’s footsteps,” I said.
“Holy shit! I thought your dad built bridges!”
“Not so much, as it turns out.”
“Where are you going now?” Zan asked me.
“No clue.”
Zan said, “Come to the boat with us. It’s the safest place I can think of.” We all agreed to that and hurried off to pack.
I placed the handgun on the bed when we returned to our bungalow, and Luca mused, “I wonder where my brother got the gun. He certainly didn’t fly here with it, and he didn’t bring any luggage to pack it in.”
“No idea.” He sank into a chair as he emptied a drawer into a duffle bag, and I said, “Let me do that. I can tell you’re hurting. Why don’t you lie down while I pack?”
“We don’t have that much stuff,” he said. “It’s mostly just things we’ve bought since we’ve been here. It won’t wear me out to help you.”
I took a t-shirt from his hands and kissed his forehead. “Exactly. It’s not that much stuff. That means I’m perfectly capable of packing it on my own.” He creased his forehead but let me finish the job.
We met my cousin and his boyfriend on the beach not five minutes later, and walked up to the hotel parking lot. All of us were scanning the darkness. The gun was back in my waistband, cold and heavy as it pressed against my lower back.
Andreo was waiting for us behind the wheel of his rented SUV with the motor running. We loaded our luggage into the back, and the moment we got in, he pulled out of the parking lot. “Bad news,” he said. “I checked the outbound flights this evening, and everything’s booked. I don’t like the idea of you staying here, Luca, not with Tino Dombruso somewhere on the island.”
“We’re actually going to go with Gianni and Zan on their boat. It seems like the safest alternative,” I told him. “Do you want to come with us?”
“No thanks. I’ll just lay low tonight and catch my flight out tomorrow,” Andreo said.
He drove us to the harbor where the Mariposa was docked. The forty-two foot wooden sailboat had been built in an era when craftsmanship meant something, and it was a thing of beauty. Zan and Gianni climbed aboard and began to quickly and confidently prepare her to sail, working in perfect unison. When Luca and I turned to Andreo, he said, “Keep my gun. Do you know how to use it, Nico?”
“Given my family? Oh yeah.”
“Good. I’m counting on you to take care of my brother,” he said.
“I won’t let you down.”
Luca hugged his brother. “You need to watch your back, Andreo, both here and when you get back to Rome. He’s gunning for you, too.”
“I will. Call me every day. If I don’t hear from you, I’m sending out the Navy to rescue you.”
Luca grinned a little and asked, “Which Navy?”
“All of them. Please be safe. That goes for you too, Nico.”
“You do the same,” I called as he turned and jogged down the dock.
I helped Luca onto the boat and took him below deck, where he sank onto a built-in sofa in the living area. After a moment, the boat began to pull out of the harbor, powered by its engine. “I’m surprised Andreo left my side,” Luca said as he stretched out on his back and put his head on my lap. “I would think the sudden appearance of your hitman brother would put him in full watchdog mode. He must really trust you to take care of me.”
“He should trust me. No way on earth am I letting anything happen to you,” I said as I brushed his hair from his face. He was a bit pale beneath his tan, strain showing around his eyes. “Do you need your pain meds? That was a lot of activity for someone who’s supposed to be resting. I can grab them and a bottle of water for you.”
“Not right now. I just want you to stay with me.” I placed my hand on his heart, careful to avoid his bandages, and he put his hand on top of mine as we headed out to sea.
It was easy to forget our troubles on a sailboat. The immediacy of the wind and the ocean, the simplicity of life on a small vessel, and the lack of distractions from the rest of the world distilled life down to a wonderful exercise in living in the moment.
We headed northwest, toward Moorea, and stocked up on fuel and supplies when we made port. From there, we continued north to the gorgeous island of Teti’aroa, and Zan and Gianni dropped anchor in a cove so remote that it felt like we were the first people to discover it (this of course wasn’t the case, but it was awfully nice to feel like we’d left civilization far behind). The water was crystal clear and vividly blue, and the white sand beach was backed with a thick jungle. It was the closest thing to paradise I could ever imagine.
We stayed there for several days. Gianni and Zan passed the time with long walks on the beach and swimming in the cove (frequently disappearing into the jungle for some private time), interspersed with periods of productivity. Every day, Zan would sit down for at least a couple hours with a portable keyboard and compose songs. While he did that, Gianni would sit close by, his legs tangled with his boyfriend’s, and write in a thick, leather-bound notebook. He admitted shyly that he was writing a book, and when I asked what kind, he told me it was a gay romance. “I mean, look at my life,” he said with a smile, glancing at his boyfriend. “What else would I possibly write?”
At the two-week mark following Luca’s surgery (two real weeks, not his version), he started venturing into the ocean with me while I swam laps. He was still sore, so he mostly floated on his back in the warm, tranquil water, but he seemed happy. We’d take short walks too, even though he became fatigued pretty easily.
We also borrowed an idea from my cousin and Zan and would carve out time to ourselves by going into the jungle each day. There really was no such thing as privacy on the boat. Luca wasn’t up for much hiking, but we just had to venture far enough to get out of earshot and to be screened from the cove by the thick undergrowth. In a little clearing we’d found on our second day there, we’d lay a blanket on the sand, strip naked and relax together in the warm sun, kissing and caressing each other.
I could tell Luca’s health turned a corner when his libido reappeared. I knelt between his legs one day after we’d been on the island a week, and sucked his cock while stroking his shaft. I took my time, edging him while he moaned softly. It was gratifying to see him so relaxed and blissful.
I knew his body well by then, and could tell when he really needed me to finish him off. I started sucking him harder and faster, pumping his cock with one hand while I jerked off with the other, and was soon rewarded with the sexy sounds he made when he orgasmed and the taste of his cum in my mouth. Once he was completely finished, I angled myself away from him and stifled a moan as I shot across the sand. When I looked back at him, he was propped up on his elbows watching me, and said, “You’re so fucking sexy that I can barely stand it.”
I was grinning as I curled against his side with his arm around me and put my head on his uninjured shoulder. After a while he said, “We need to go home, Nicky.”
“Whose home?”
“Yours. San Francisco. We can’t keep hiding here being professional beach bums, we need to deal with Jerry and get our lives back. I’m strong enough now and my wound has healed. That was my excuse for staying here this long and avoiding reality, but we can’t keep hiding forever.”
“Dante, Vincent and Andreo are trying to come up with a solution. We should give them more time.”
“But it’s our mess, and I don’t feel right about putting it on their shoulders.”
“Yeah,” I said, “but let’s not forget there’s a hitman after us. Also, there’s no telling how much of the family Jerry’s turned against us. How are you and I supposed to deal with any of that?”
“I don’t know, but we have to figure it out.”
I sighed and traced his happy trail with my fingertips. “You’re right about going back, but I’m afraid something will happen to you.”
“I feel like I have to confront Jerry man to man and settle this once and for all. I can’t keep letting my brother and your cousins fight my battle, especially not now that I’m well enough to take care of this myself.”
I rolled onto my stomach, propped myself up with my elbows, and studied Luca’s face. After a while, I said, “Okay. I’ll borrow Gi’s satellite phone and make some travel arrangements this afternoon. Where do you suppose the nearest airport is, back in Papeete?”
“Probably.” Luca reached up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’ve been thinking about what happens afterwards, once the whole Jerry situation is resolved.”
“What did you come up with?”
“If he’s the only member of your family who poses a threat, I’ll be able to move to San Francisco after this.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I want to be wherever you are. If you’re staying in California for law school, then that’s where I’m going to be, too. Then there’s the question of living arrangements. I’ll obviously get an apartment, and here’s what I was thinking. We’ll pick it out together to make sure it’s a place we both like, but you only move in when you’re ready. It doesn’t matter if that takes a couple weeks or a few months, it’ll be there for you when the time is right. All of this has been moving at lightning speed, and I know you’re a cautious type of guy, so I’m not going to go in with the expectation that you’ll want to start living together immediately, just because I do.”
“I’m not going to want to wait, Luca. I love you. Just like you said, wherever you are is where I want to be,” I said softly before brushing my lips to his.
*****
San Francisco felt like a different planet after that little island in the South Pacific. It was cold and so foggy that it delayed our flight by nearly three hours. Dante and Vincent were waiting for us at the airport, their expressions grave. “This is a terrible idea,” Dante said as he gave me a hug. “You two are walking into a lion’s den.”
“I know. But you get why we couldn’t keep hiding, right?” I said.
“Yeah, but you’re taking a hell of a chance.”
Dante shook hands with Luca, who asked, “Has my brother arrived?”
Vincent shook his hand too and answered, “Andreo’s flight from Rome gets in this evening.”
Dante added, “He wanted me to be sure to tell you not to confront Jerry until he arrives. He said he has something that’s going to help you. Hopefully it’s not an AK-47.”
They led us to a big Land Rover that I suspected was armored. “How’s Nana?” I asked. “I’m looking forward to seeing her.”
“She’s under house arrest. We can stop by if you want. I have the place heavily guarded, so you should be fine there,” Dante said.
“Define ‘house arrest’.”
“She was all set to, as she put it, ‘bust a cap in Jerry’s ass,’ so I hired a team of bodyguards and instructed them not to let her leave the house,” Dante said. “I know that sounds extreme, but I think she might have literally shot him.”
“But he’s her grandson,” Luca said.
“And he’s our cousin, but that didn’t actually stop him from sending Nico’s brother the hitman to kill you in front of him,” Dante said. “Just because someone’s related to you doesn’t mean they’re family.” He had a point. “By the way, Nana still doesn’t know what Nico’s dad and brother do for a living, and we want to keep it that way. She’s upset enough as it is.”
A bunch of cars crowded the driveway at my grandmother’s house, as was often the case. There were also three huge men with dark suits standing around the front perimeter. “Don’t worry,” Vincent said when he saw me looking at them. “They’re with us.”
Jessie let me in since I didn’t have my keys, and grabbed me in a hug. “Holy shit, Nico, I was starting to wonder if I’d ever see you again,” he said. Just then, Nana’s huge, hairy mutt, who inexplicably was named Tom Selleck, ran into the foyer and tried to mount Jessie. My friend reached into his pocket and threw a handful of kibble across the room, which the dog went after enthusiastically. Jessie didn’t miss a beat as he asked me, “Are you okay? How’s Luca?”
I’d asked him to wait in the car with Vincent and Dante for a few minutes. I wasn’t quite sure how Nana had taken the news of who his father was, and if she was already in a bad mood, I didn’t want to set her off. I said, “He’s healing, and I’m fine. How have you been?”
“Worried. I hate to see Nana stressed. She’s definitely finding ways to keep herself entertained, as you’ll see, but she’s not the type of person to sit around the house. Like at all.”
“I can imagine. What about you? You must be getting bored sitting at home with her,” I said.
Jessie grinned at me. “This house is enormous and there are a ton of ways to keep myself entertained. For one thing, I’ve been working on Sharona. I almost have her where she needs to be to race her.”
“Sharona?”
“Chance gave me his Honda Civic, that’s what I call her.”
“Oh right, I knew that. Guess I forgot.”
“Understandable. You’ve had a hell of a lot on your mind.” He was leading me up the wide staircase as we were talking, and said, “My friends have been coming over a lot, too. They’re in an alternative rock band and had been touring around the west coast, but they’re back in town now. They’ve been giving music lessons to Nana and her friends.”
“I remember you mentioning them. Two couples, one gay, one straight, right?”
“Yup. Total recipe for disaster as far as bands go if either couple breaks up. Anyway, they’re upstairs, too. Nana sort of converted the ballroom into a multimedia activity center for herself and her girlfriends after Dante told her she had to stay home. She’s so mad at him.”
“I can imagine.”
When we reached the top floor and he opened the door to the ballroom, I just had to pause and take it all in. Three of Nana’s tiny senior friends were massacring a rock and roll song that I almost recognized on the guitar, bass, and drums, while a couple guys in their twenties, who looked like they’d come through time from the Seattle grunge scene in the 1990s, were cheering them on. “That’s Dev and Holland,” Jessie called over the ruckus, indicating the grunge rockers. “I’m not sure where Val and Little John went.” He looked around the room and pointed to the right as he said, “Oh, there they are. Mr. Mario came by to do Nana’s hair and brought a friend of his who’s a makeup artist. They started doing makeovers.” The very flamboyant hair stylist and his equally colorful friend were demonstrating makeup tips to three more little old ladies and the second pair of rockers. Their reluctant models were two huge, uncomfortable looking men in dark suits and ear pieces, who sat under little plastic capes while the professionals made them up.
“Are the guys getting made up the bodyguards who are supposed to be keeping Nana from kicking Jerry’s ass?” I asked.
“Yeah. They’re nice guys. Dante always makes sure not to send assholes.”
“So where’s Nana?”
“I don’t know. She was just here,” Jessie said, looking all around us.
We walked farther into the huge room. It was a beautiful space with a wall of windows and a mural of a snowy birch forest on the walls. A makeshift aerobics/pole dancing studio was set up in one corner, and an art studio with a dozen half-finished canvases took up another quadrant. I noticed with a wince that all the canvases showed a nude, well-endowed male model. I was just glad I didn’t recognize him.
All of a sudden Jessie said, “Oh shit. Not again.”
I turned to look at what he was talking about, and noticed one of the windows was open a few inches. A rope made from bedsheets was tied to the old, disused metal radiator. When I rushed to the window and looked down into the backyard, I saw Nana trying to kick Dante while her boyfriend Ollie tried to turn the hose on him. Fortunately Vincent stepped in and disconnected the hose before Ollie got that far.
A couple minutes later, Dante came upstairs with Nana in a fireman’s carry. She was cussing like a sailor. Ollie trailed behind, looking contrite, and Vincent brought up the rear, attempting to suppress a grin.
As soon as Dante appeared in the room, the pair of bodyguards leapt to their feet. They still wore the little yellow plastic capes, and enough makeup to pass as drag queens. “Really?” Dante said.
The bigger of the two explained, “You told us to humor Mrs. Dombruso and her friends. That’s what we were doing.”
“And meanwhile, my grandmother re-enacts The Great Escape with a bedsheet rope.” He’d put Nana down, and she was glaring at him and fixing her hair. She was dressed in a camouflage jumpsuit and combat boots, and so was Ollie. It seemed like that should have tipped someone off about her plans. “Do you know how dangerous that was, Nana?”
“I had my man acting as my spotter,” she said. “Ollie wasn’t gonna let me fall. He cares about me, not like you. Keeping an old lady prisoner! You should be ashamed of yourself, Dante! These are sub-human conditions!” She marched over to the wet bar, grabbed an open bottle of high-end champagne and chugged it down.
“It’s just temporary,” he told her. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret. We’re working on a way to deal with Jerry and we hope to have a resolution soon.”
Nana put her hands on her skinny hips, still holding the champagne. “I’ll tell you how to deal with him! You march over to his house with thirty men, you tell him you’re taking the family back, and then you ride him out of town on a rail! What’s so complicated about that?”