Homecoming: A Secret Baby Romance (12 page)

It was an old game between us, using supposedly innocent terms to banter back and forth sexually. It was fun most of the time, and I felt another smile coming on. It seemed that I needed the immature silliness. “If you even knew how to get that Ferrari out of the garage, I doubt you'd be able to do much more than first gear anyway. But seriously, what do you have for your non-work wear?”

Daniel thought, then brought his hand up to tick off his wardrobe. “I wear 5.11 for when I do my work at the range, Venum shorts for my martial arts practice, maybe some Under Armour sweats for colder days at the gym. You know, I work a lot—”

“Enough!” I laughed, glad he hadn't gone into his sock brands. “Just wear some jeans and a t-shirt, maybe a button-down.”

Daniel shrugged dismissively. “I can do that.”

“I'm sure you can,” I said, trying not to laugh again, “and I doubt Uncle Carlo will mind. He’s not the one who has to deal with any APEs.”

“Apes?” Daniel asked, clearly perplexed. He held his hands up and shook his head. “Never mind, you can fill me in while we drive. So where am I supposed to go shopping for these button-downs? It’s not really my style. I either go professional or as casual as it gets.”

“How about Nordies, for one?” I asked. “You do know what Nordstrom's is, right?”

“Of course,” Daniel replied with some defensive arrogance. I'd realized long ago that he was at his most sarcastic and verbally taunting when he felt threatened or insecure, although I didn't know what it was that caused him to act so around me more than other people. “It's where I like to get my dress shirts. They have some good labels there, ones the Don likes.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing that regardless of what I said, there was nothing that would shake Daniel's devotion to my uncle. Daniel felt he owed his life to him and strove to be the best, most useful member of the organization possible. Considering he was only twenty-five, non-Italian, and being tasked with protecting me, I'd say he was doing a good job. “Come on, let's go.”

“It's a little early, isn't it?” Daniel asked, checking his watch, which I noticed would have to go too. No college student—at least none on my campus—wore Bvlgari watches. “It's not even seven yet.”

“Give me some time to get checked out, and then we can grab some McDonald's, or are you on a special diet too?”

“I try to eat healthy, but no, not really,” Daniel casually said, as if men who looked like him ate fast food on a daily basis. “Let’s go to an IHOP, though, if you want to eat like that. I can go to town on their pancakes.”

Not even realizing it, I smiled and nodded. “No problem. Let's just get the doctor in here to get me checked out.”

It actually took us until nearly eight, by which time I was starving, and as we left the hospital, I was actually looking forward to the day. We got into Daniel's BMW, and I had to remind myself that a lot of his taste was because of his desire to project the right image for Carlo. I wondered what the
real
Daniel Neiman would want, but then as I sat there, I realized it was probably
this
car. Gunmetal gray, it purred the whole time he drove, his eyes on the road and his hands at the ideal ten and two. Finally, after about two or three miles, I had to laugh. “Relax, Dan. You're not driving for the Indy 500, nor are your Jason Bourne skills necessary right now.”

“Your uncle thought it was necessary, so I’d say my skills are more than needed right now,” he replied tersely before cracking a cocky grin. “Well, most of my skills. You can't handle all of them.”

“When you're done practicing with the girls and are ready for a woman, then I might give you a call,” I shot back, laughing. That one had been too easy. He was out of practice. “Seriously, Dan. Thanks. It's good to see you. It's been a long time. When was the last time? Christmas?”

“Something like that,” he said, relaxing a millimeter or so in his posture, but more so in his voice. I could start to hear the ghost of the guy I'd been friends with as a kid, the guy I actually liked. “Hey, there's IHOP up ahead, right next to the mall with the Nordstrom's. I have a feeling you’re going to try to dress me up like an idiot, though.”

“You're hardly an idiot. I could dress you like a Japanese boy band member, and you'd still look impressively heterosexual.”

“Aura, Ade,” he said, using the nickname we'd used among each other since we were kids, just as I was the only person who called him Dan—at least that I knew of. “Just can't help it.”

We parked, and Daniel let me drag him inside the IHOP, where we both ate our fill. For his part, he was not so much tense as attentive, making sure we were seated in the area of the restaurant that gave him the best view of everyone both entering and exiting. When I tried to engage him in conversation, he was slightly distracted, his eyes constantly scanning the room and out the window while he forked his big stack of pancakes along with sausage and maple syrup, never looking down but amazingly never letting a single drop fall onto his suit. It was kind of like watching an android or something eat, and I was reminded again of the nickname one of the other Bertoli men had given him back when he was in high school. He was the Terminator.

Breakfast finished at about nine, and for the next three hours, until just before noon, I helped him with picking out and trying on different outfits, trying to find that right mix that said he was a college kid with enough cash to drive a late-model BMW, but not so stuck up that he looked like a douchebag. Of course, I got more than my fair share of eye candy too, and I was impressed when he came out in a printed t-shirt. “Jesus, Dan, you have any more veins in those biceps, and you're going to get kidnapped by the pre-meds to practice doing IVs on.”

“Welcome to the gun show,” he joked, giving me a small flex. “In more ways than one.”

I saw the small bulge under the shirt on his right side, near his hip on the belt line. “Don't tell me . . . even inside the store?”

“I have my concealed carry permit,” Daniel said with a chuckle. “After all, I'm a perfectly law-abiding citizen with no criminal record past two speeding tickets, one when I was a minor.”

“Exactly how big is it?” I didn't realize until after the words were out of my mouth how deeply I'd stepped in it with the comment, but he let me go without too much of a retort.

Instead, he smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn't you like to know?”

While I waited for Daniel to get changed after paying—there was no way I was letting him continue wearing that hitman suit. There were enough rumors about the Bertoli name around campus as it was—I got a message on my phone from Uncle. The crime scene investigators had finished at the apartment and released it to me to get my things out. “Hey, Dan? Carlo just messaged me. He said that we can go by the apartment and get my things. Do you mind?”

He finished changing and came out, looking impressive in his jeans and polo. “Not at all. He told me that after getting your things, I was to help you move into a safe house, someplace that’s in another name. I don't know where. I think he's having someone set it up right now.”

“Then before we leave the mall, let's stop and get you a new watch,” I said, noticing again the incongruity. “In fact, take that damn thing off and give it to me. I'll stash it in my bag.”

“What's wrong with the watch?” Daniel said as he began to undo the leather band. At least he wasn't wearing one of those styles that came with gold metal bands. “Not college enough?”

“Not by a long shot,” I said. “You're wearing a fifty-dollar pair of jeans, a thirty-dollar polo, hundred-dollar shoes, and a twelve-thousand-dollar watch. Which part of that strikes you as strange?”

“Fine, fine,” he said, handing me the watch. “But if you scratch it, it's going on your bill. Come on.”

Daniel turned to leave, and I just stared at him. “Excuse me?”

He turned back, lifting an eyebrow. “What?”

“The bags?” I asked, indicating the half-dozen bags we'd bought. “You know—put those muscles to work and all.”

“My muscles work by making sure you're safe and protected,” Daniel replied evenly. “Not by being your pack horse. Next time, don't buy so much crap, even if it’s for me. It may not be chivalric, but you're going to have to carry your own damn bags.”

It was a struggle, and I know that he could hear the muffled curses under my breath, but I knew he was right. We skipped the watch kiosk though, and I figured if Daniel really wanted to check the time, he could look at his phone like a lot of other people did. We went back to his BMW, filling most of the back seat with the bags, and I went around to the passenger seat, getting in. It was only then that Daniel relaxed enough to get in on his side, dropping into his low-slung bucket seat nearly silently. Closing the door, he looked at me.

“You're pissed off. I can tell. I’m sorry about that. I wish this were like when we were kids, but it isn't. I have a job to do, and even if you hate me every step of the way, I’m going to do it.”

“Just drive,” I said, rubbing at the lines in my palms left by the plastic handles of the bags. “Sure you have enough space for my stuff too?”

“I'll help you pack some suitcases,” he said. “We'll get the clothes you need for the next week, and Don Carlo can send over someone else to clean out the rest.”

We got to my apartment, and Daniel actually came around to open my door for me, not so much as a gentleman, but to tell me he thought the area was safe. We went to the door, which still had some little bits of crime scene tape stuck to the door jamb, which disturbed me but I felt prepared for.

Inside, though, my nervousness started to get the best of me, and I shuddered as I stayed behind Daniel, who'd produced his pistol from somewhere near his right hip and was sweeping it from left to right. We reached the living room and stopped. Daniel lowered the gun. “All right, where's your bedroom?”

“To the right,” I said, pointing. The smell of blood still hung in the air, and I had to cover my nose and breathe only through my mouth to try and avoid getting sick. They may have finished with the investigation part, but the cleaners still hadn't been by—that was for sure. “Come on.”

I hadn't gone into my bedroom the day before, and the sight that greeted us both when Daniel opened the door made me scream. Written on the walls in reddish black, the coppery smell confirming for me that it was most likely Angela's blood, was a message. It was song lyrics, and an immediate nauseous feeling came over me.

I fell back into the hallway, turning to run in a new panic when Daniel grabbed my arms and pulled me to him, holding me against his chest. I buried my face in his new shirt and shuddered, trying not to sob or scream. I didn't want to have to take any more drugs, even though it felt like my mind was breaking. “Wha . . . why weren't you told?”

“The cops probably didn't mention it, the idiots,” Daniel said softly, his strong arms helping me feel safe and secure. “What was that message on the wall, anyway?”

“Genesis,” I replied. “It's Vincent's favorite group. He subjected us to all sorts of that shit during the semester I was in his class. It's from a song called
Mama
. I fucking hated it even before he got creepy on me. In fact, Phil Collins is on my personal list of asses that I want to kick, just because of that damn class.”

Daniel nodded then reached up, and with a hand that was both powerful and reassuring, stroked my hair. “Well, it's just some blood on the wall. I've dealt with that before, so tell you what. I'll go in there, get your suitcases, and pack the bags myself. As long as you don't mind me fooling around with your underwear.”

His little joke didn't have the desired effect, and I pulled him closer to me, needing to feel strength and security for the moment. “Promise me something.”

“What's that, Adriana?” he asked, his voice softer than I'd ever heard before. He sounded concerned, even tender.

“Promise me that you'll protect me from this psycho?”

He squeezed me tighter and hummed. “I promise, Adriana. I won't let him hurt you, no matter what. But, you're going to owe me for this. Big time.”

His promise let me relax enough to hear his joke, and I slapped him in the chest, pushing him away. “Yeah right, Dan. Like I said, that Ferrari of yours isn't even getting out of the garage with me. Let alone to top speed.”

He chuckled and nodded, holstering his pistol and stepping back. “We'll see, Adriana. We'll see. In the meantime, just remember that I'm going to know exactly what type of bras and panties you like.”

“And if you're a good boy, maybe, just maybe, I'll let you fold them when you do the laundry for me. Now get going.”

T
hat evening at nine
, after turning over Adriana's security to Julius Forze, I reported in to the Don. He raised an eyebrow when I walked into his house, setting aside his glass of Chianti. “Daniel, have you decided on casual Fridays or something?”

Realizing I hadn't changed clothes after leaving Adriana in her new apartment, I looked down, chagrined. “Sorry. Your niece felt that if I was to accompany her on campus, I had to blend in better with the average college student.”

He looked me up and down, then chuckled. “Daniel, I doubt that regardless of how much you dress down, you'll look like the average college student. Men such as you and I, we've seen and done things that almost none of those bleating sheep can even begin to comprehend, and it shows in our faces and in the way we carry ourselves. We know the reality of life and of death. But if Bella wishes that you dress that way, I can only say to enjoy it. Please, have a seat and a glass of wine.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said, taking a seat in the leather chair. We were in the study, a richly decorated old-fashioned library, with oak paneling, deep leather chairs, and even a pool table in the corner, although I'd only been invited to play a game there once, one I’d intentionally lost. I poured myself a glass and took a measured sip. The Don values men who can appreciate a fine wine, but he appreciates men who don't get sloppy more. I quickly figured out exactly the right amount to drink and savored it for a few seconds before swallowing. “Fine vintage. New bottle?”