At Peace (75 page)

“I gotta get organized, Cal.”

“You gotta ask a soldier to put a bullet in a
gun,” Cal replied.

“
We’re talkin’ war,” Sal pointed out, “war
requires organization.”

“That’s not what we’re talkin’ and you know
it. The big man is out, you move in, you get back what you lost
seven years ago and then some.”

“Takeover like that, like I said, needs
organization.”

“You’re up for that challenge.”

“This is big what you’re askin’ me.”

“It was bigger what I gave to you.”

Sal was quiet again then he sighed loudly
again. “The Bianchis. Always a pain in my ass.”

“
The pain was in my shoulder, Sal. You had
a situation, Frankie called me and I stood up for you. I put myself
in its path and took that bullet
for
you
.
You’re breathin’. I’m askin’ you to make sure I keep doin’ it and
Vi lives the rest of her life doin’ it easy.”

Cal listened to silence and this lasted
awhile.

Finally Sal stated, “All right,
figlio.
I do this, we’re
square.”

“You got it.”

“
Fin,
” Sal pressed.

“
Fin,
” Cal repeated.

“You come to Chicago, you sit at my table,
we’re nothin’ but family.”

“Yeah Sal, me and Vinnie, we learned that
lesson a long time ago.”

Another sigh. “Vinnie Junior was a good
man.”

“He’s on Hart too.”

“I remember,” Sal said softly.

“And I’ll never forget.”

“You Bianchis. Your loyalty is rabid.”

Cal shook his head and reminded him, “Bianchi
blood is in your veins.”

“Luckily Giglia blood is dominant. Bianchis
think with their hearts. Giglias think with their balls.”

Cal smiled. “Giglias think with their dicks
and, you see Vi, you’ll think I got Giglia blood.”

Cal listened as Sal laughed then he listened
to that laughter die.

“Vinnie said she’s a good woman,” Sal said
quietly.

Cal didn’t respond. Sal was family and now Vi
was family. Their paths would cross. Sal would find out for himself
one day.

“You held this marker a long time,” Sal
noted. “You’re pullin’ it for her, she must be.”

“Make my woman safe, Sal,” Cal ordered
softly.

“
Fatto, figlio.
Done,” Sal replied just as
softly. “But when it’s done, I want her at my table. Gina will make
cannelloni. You like Gina’s cannelloni.”

“I figure Vi, the girls and me will be in
Chicago a lot, Sal. We’ll be at your table.”

“It’ll be good to see you, Cal,” Sal said and
he meant it, the crazy fuck.

Cal didn’t reply. He liked Sal just as much
as he didn’t. But Gina’s cannelloni would be worth dinner at his
table.

“I’ll make contact when it’s done,” Sal went
on.

“I’ll expect one of your boys to call, tell
me what to do and hang up and I’ll expect it soon,” Cal said and
Sal laughed.

“You can’t be too careful,” Sal remarked.

“No, you can’t,” Cal replied with zero
humor.

“
Right,” Sal whispered, “so you be
careful.”

“You too,” Cal replied.

“
You’re a good man,
figlio.
”

Cal didn’t know what to do with that, coming
from Sal so he just said, “Thanks, Sal, later.”

“
Ciao.
”

Cal heard the disconnect, put the receiver in
its cradle and shook his head at the phone. Then he left his
office, locked it and walked to his truck so he could get home.

* * * * *

I sat in bed wearing one of Joe’s tees and
rubbing moisturizer in my face as Joe walked out of the bathroom
wearing nothing but his jeans.

All the family was gone which was a relief.
Not that I didn’t like them being there, and the girls loved it,
just that I was glad to have this first meeting done and be back to
just us.

Joe had been busy that day, having a
conversation with Uncle Vinnie, taking off for a couple of hours
then having a conversation with Dad. The good part was, after his
conversation with Dad, Dad seemed to settle down. The bad part was,
Joe seemed tense all day, after the conversation with Vinnie, after
getting home and even after Dad seemed to settle in.

I watched Joe pull off his jeans, toss them
on the floor, throw back the covers and slide into bed. I put my
moisturizer aside as he yanked the covers to his waist then I moved
to sit astride him. His big hands went to my hips, spanning them.
My hands went to his shoulders and I leaned down so our faces were
close.

“You okay?” I asked, searching his eyes.

“Yep,” he lied.

“You sure?”

“Yep,” he lied again.

“What was with the squad car that was outside
the whole time you were gone?” I asked.

“
Colt was at the Station, he needed to talk
to me, he wanted you covered,” Joe answered casually and I didn’t
know if this was a lie or not but what I did know was that Joe
wanted me to let it slide. The problem with that was I
couldn’t.

“Okay, breaking that down, he’s been gone
before, and you’ve been gone too, and no squad car was sitting
outside,” I pointed out.

“Colt was in the mood to be cautious.”

I bit my lip then let that go. “Okay then,
why did Colt need you at the Station?”

Joe’s fingers flexed at my hips and he spoke
gently. “Baby, your brother was murdered and then things got
intense for you and for me. After that happened to Sam he and I
needed a brief. We needed one awhile ago but Colt gave us some time
to get our shit sorted. Our shit is sorted, he called me for a
brief.”

This made sense but I still didn’t trust
it.

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” I
whispered.

His reply was a little scary and he did it on
another flex of his fingers at my hips which made it scarier. “I’d
do anything for you, buddy.”

My head tipped to the side. “Was that an
answer?”

His eyes never left mine. “Only one you’re
gonna get.”

We stared at each other several moments
before I whispered, “You want me to let it go.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to
relax?” he asked.

“A billion a day,” I answered.

He grinned then said, “Relax.”

I looked at the pillow by his head and
muttered, “Right.”

“Baby,” he called and I looked back into his
eyes. When our eyes caught, he lifted his head and touched his
mouth to mine. After he settled back down, he murmured, “Trust
me.”

“Okay,” I whispered instantly because he
needed me to and because I did.

His hands started to slide up my sides,
taking my tee with it when I asked, “What did you talk to Dad
about?”

His hands went from the outside of the tee to
the inside so I felt the heat of them against my skin. “Told him to
cool it with the girls. Told him he did the right thing, leavin’
your Mom. Told him she wasn’t with him, he was always welcome here.
Told him the best way he could work his way in was not to work so
fuckin’ hard. And finally told him his granddaughters already loved
him so he could relax.”

One of my hands slid to his neck. “Lucky you,
considering he actually seemed to listen when you told him to
relax.”

Joe grinned again. “Yeah. You could learn
from that.”

I laughed as I felt Joe’s hands divide, one
went up my back and pressed me down, one went into my panties and
curved around my ass.

I dropped my mouth to his and said softly,
“Joe.”

“Yeah, honey,” he said back.

“Aunt Theresa gave me something to give to
you,” I blurted.

Now wasn’t the right time, I knew that. I
should have done it after we had sex when he was mellow and hadn’t
had a day that made him tense. But that picture in my lingerie
drawer felt like a smoldering ember ready to burst into flames. Not
only it being there and me knowing it was there but the girls
knowing it was there and wondering when it would come out for air.
Who knew? One of them (probably Keira) might let our scene in the
living room that day slip.

He was keeping something from me, I knew it
and I was going to let him. For whatever reason, he’d made the
decision to make that play and I was going to let him have that
too. We were in a relationship. I had to trust him and I did. If I
needed to know, he’d tell me. Tim had been a badass macho man too
and he’d had times where he clammed up about shit at work or shit
he had to do, stuff that would make us worry. I knew when my man
was erecting a shield around me and I knew he had to do what he had
to do. If I fought that, it wouldn’t be pretty. No matter what it
was, I had to let Joe do what he had to do and trust that he could
protect me and my girls. And I did.

For my part, the conversation with Theresa,
the picture of Joe and Nicky, I couldn’t sit on that and I couldn’t
keep it from him.

For me, it had to be out in the open.

“Vi,” Joe called and I focused on him to see
he was very focused on me and this time his fingers flexed into the
flesh of my ass. “Jesus. What’d she give you?”

“Something to give to you.”

Joe closed his eyes and muttered, “Oh
fuck.”

I lifted a hand from his shoulder to rest it
against his cheek and guessed, “You know what it is, don’t
you?”

He opened his eyes and started, “Vi –”

I dropped my head to rest my forehead
against his. “I want him on the shelves,” I watched Joe close his
eyes again and pressed on, “with Sam,” Joe’s hand clenched my ass
as I finished on a whisper, “and Tim.”

Suddenly, he knifed up to sitting, taking me
with him, both arms wrapped tight around me and I knew it was in
order to set me aside so I held on.

“Joe –” I said to his profile, his head was
turned away.

“Not ready for that, Vi.”

“Joe –”

He turned to me and repeated, “Baby, I said
I’m not ready.”

If he wasn’t ready after seventeen years, it
was time for him to be ready.

“
He’s part of you, Joe, which means he’s
part of this family. Let me bring Nicky home.”

I watched his face get hard and his hands
moved to grasp my waist, definitely ready to set me aside but I
clenched my thighs on his hips and held on harder with my arms.

“You said you’d help me with Sam and you are.
And you said I could help you let what happened with Nicky go and
you have to start letting me do that.”

His face stayed hard and his voice was tight
when he said, “I’ve let it go.”

I risked moving my hands to his jaws and
whispered, “Joe, you won’t even look at his picture.” Joe glared at
me, his fingers gripping my waist hard and I risked more. “He was
beautiful, honey.”

He closed his eyes again, pain slicing
through his face and my fingers tensed at his jaws.

“Christ, Vi –” he started.

“And you’ve always been beautiful.”

His eyes opened and the pain was there
too.

“Baby –” I whispered when I saw it.

Joe cut me off. “I got rid of ‘em.”

“What?” I asked.

“The photos, his clothes, his crib.
Everything.”

I felt the sting of tears in my eyes when I
asked, “Why?”

“
Bread
box,” he answered and I blinked, feeling a tear slide down
my cheek.

“What?”

“
His casket. The size of a
breadbox.”

At his words, what they conjured and knowing
that memory was burned on his brain, the sob tore from my throat. I
couldn’t stop it and it was so strong it seared a path of fire.

“Joe –”

“She’d been straight since before she got
pregnant. The longest she’d gone. I thought we had it beat.”

“You don’t have to explain this to me.”

He went on like I didn’t speak. “The Bonnie
she was, I’d never leave her with him, not with Dad that fuckin’
sick. I’d never even have a kid with her. But I didn’t think she
was that Bonnie anymore.”

“Joe –”

“So I left her with him.”

“You didn’t have a choice, baby. You had to
keep your family fed.”

“I thought we had it beat,” he murmured.

“Stop it, honey. You weren’t responsible for
that.”

He pulled in breath, closed his eyes and kept
them closed a long time before he opened them. Then his fingers
wrapped around my wrist and he pulled my hand down to his chest so
I could feel the strength of his heartbeat.

“He’s here, buddy, that’s all I could take,
that’s all I need. I had to let go the rest. The rest is too much,”
he told me.

I was a mother and I was a widow. I knew
better than that.

“You need all you can get,” I whispered.

“Can’t take anymore,” he replied.

I pressed my hand into his chest. “That just
isn’t true.”

“Vi –”

“Bring him home.”

“Violet –”

“Let me bring him home.”

“Buddy –”

I pulled my hand from his and put it back
to his face. “He’s a part of you and I want you,
all
of you. I want my girls to have
all of you. Joe, honey, please let me bring him home.”

We stared at each other again for a long time
before Joe whispered a tortured, “Fuck… get it.”

I didn’t delay. I let him go, jumped from the
bed and went to the dresser. I pulled the picture frame from the
drawer and hustled back to our bed. Then I climbed into Joe’s lap,
snuggled close and kept my eyes glued to his face when I turned the
picture to him.

Joe’s eyes locked on the picture and the pain
came back, stronger, contorting his features as I felt his body
turn solid against mine.

When he didn’t say anything, I whispered,
“You looked at peace.” My tears could be heard in my words but
Joe’s eyes didn’t move from the picture.