Maggie Lee (Book 10): The Hitwoman's Act of Contrition (17 page)

A mood that evaporated when Delveccio’s muscle-bound bodyguard Vinnie refused to let me in her room saying, “No one goes in.”

I glared at him. “Move.”

He crossed his charms over his chest, making his oversized biceps bulge and pecs flex.

“Your boss isn’t going to be too happy if I make a scene.”

Vinnie grinned smugly. “Whatchya gonna do? Beat me up?”

“Oh hell no,” I retorted. “I won’t layer a finger on you. I’ll just open my mouth.”

He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

So I screamed. “Aaaaaahhhhh!”

A scream so loud that every person on the floor had to hear me.

“Shut up!” Vinnie roared.

I opened my mouth to scream again.

Vinnie lunged for me.

I quickly sidestepped him, which sent the top-heavy malook stumbling across the hall. While he went that way, I leapt into the room.

Every pair of eyes in the room looked at me.

Every single pair.

Even the dark brown ones in the pale face of the little boy in the bed next to Katie’s.

“You’re awake!” I gasped.

The little boy didn’t answer me, but his grandfather did.

“It’s a miracle,” Delveccio said just as Vinnie burst into the room behind me, murderous rage distorting his already ugly face.

“A miracle!” Katie parroted from her bed, unaware the steroid-fueled monster was about to get me.

“Out,” Delveccio ordered sharply, stopping Vinnie in his tracks.

“But—” Vinnie protested.

Delveccio gave his underling a hard stare that made the other man turn tail and beat a hasty retreat.

I made my way over to Katie’s bed and kissed her forehead. “How was your day, baby girl?”

“Exhausting,” she complained melodramatically, putting the back of her hand to her forehead, no doubt imitating Aunt Loretta’s theatrics.

“Lots of excitement here today.” Delveccio squeezed Dominic’s hand.

“The good kind,” Katie added.

I nodded. “The very best kind. Welcome back, Dominic.”

He waved a finger to wave weakly.

“It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.” Delveccio got to his feet, as he reminded me of the time I’d saved his grandson’s life.

I was surprised when he hugged me tightly, practically smothering me with his strong cologne. While I struggled to breathe, he whispered in my ear, “Just heard from my inside man. Nice work on the Krout job.”

I nodded, thinking it safest not to say anything.

“Ah, there you are,” Delveccio said.

I guessed someone had walked in behind me, but since I was still crushed to the friendly mobster’s chest, I couldn’t see who it was.

“Maggie,” Delveccio boomed as he released me, “I’d like you to meet my nephew, Angelo Delveccio.”

I pasted on a smile as I prepared to meet someone else in the organized crime family. “Nice to meet—” I trailed off when I saw the man’s face.

Suddenly, I knew why he’d seemed familiar when we met. He looked a lot like his cousin, Delveccio’s daughter.

Angelo Delveccio was none other than the man who’d changed my tire, Angel.

What was it Armani had said about being surrounded by angels?

Angel smiled at me. “Nice to see you again.”

I nodded dumbly, my tongue (and brain) failing to come up with a reply.

“You two know each other?” Delveccio asked, just a glint of suspicion in his tone.

“We’ve met,” I choked out.

“After I visited Angie, I changed a tire for Ms….?” Angel looked at me expectantly.

“Lee,” I supplied grudgingly. It wasn’t like I could keep my identity secret. Everyone who worked on the floor knew who I was.

“I’m Katie.” She waved at the newcomer.

He waved back.

“My niece,” I supplied when Angel raised an eyebrow at me.

“And a wicked Go Fish player,” Delveccio added indulgently, smiling fondly at the little girl.

Angel looked to his uncle and then to me. “So how do you know each other?”

Worried that he was suspicious about my relationship with the mob boss, my breath caught in my throat.

“Dominic and Katie have been roommates for a while,” Delveccio lied smoothly.

“But I’m going home soon,” Katie interjected. “Right, Aunt Maggie?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak with Angel’s watchful gaze studying me.

“Angel here”—Delveccio slapped the back of his nephew—“just got out of the Navy.”

Realizing that was the mobster’s way of letting me know that Angel wasn’t part of the family business, I smiled weakly. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks,” Angel replied. “It’s good to be back.”

I was saved from making any more painful small talk by the arrival of a nurse who wanted to whisk Dominic off to a test.  There was a flurry activity as he was wheeled out of the room, his grandfather and Angel following closely behind.

Exhausted, I plunked myself down on the edge of Katie’s bed. Her big yawn told me that she was just as tired.

“Can we just watch TV and cuddle?” she asked plaintively.

“You bet.”

While she fumbled with the remote control for the television, I kicked off my shoes and stretched out beside her, delighting in how she burrowed her small body into mine.

The hyper voices of cartoon characters washed over us, but neither of us paid them much attention.

“I love you, Aunt Maggie,” she murmured.

I smiled, her hair tickling my nose. “I love you too, baby girl.”

“More than anything?”

“More than anything.”

Relaxing against me, she quickly drifted off to sleep. It didn’t take me long to follow suit.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but when I woke up, it was dark outside.  Disoriented for a moment, I looked around the room to get my bearings and found Angel watching me from the other side of the room where he sat beside Dominic’s bed.

Somehow I’d managed to sleep through them bringing the boy back into the room. Slowly, taking care not to disturb her, I disentangled myself from Katie and slipped out of the bed. I smiled down at her peaceful face before picking my shoes up and tiptoeing out of the room with a nod to Angel.

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, I put my shoes on, trying to ignore the way Vinnie stared at me. When I looked up, Angel stood in front of me.

“She’s the orphan?” he asked bluntly.

I blinked, trying to shake the last residue of sleep from my brain. “What?”

“The book you have,” he elaborated. “She’s the orphan you’re trying to help?”

I frowned at him. “That’s none of your business.” Then realizing Delveccio had probably already told him my life story, I admitted with a sigh, “Yes, she is.”

“My uncle says she’s lucky to have you.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The average person probably wouldn’t be thrilled to accept a compliment given by a crime boss, but knowing how important family was to Delveccio, it was nice to know he thought I was doing right by Katie. “Thanks,” I murmured.

“You two are close?”

I nodded. “I’m her guardian.”

“Not you and your niece, you and my uncle.” He watched me carefully, waiting for my answer.

“We’ve spent a good deal of time together here,” I replied carefully. “We’ve bonded over going through similar ordeals.”
And chocolate pudding
, I thought but didn’t say aloud.

I shifted uncomfortably, not liking the intensity of his stare. My stomach flip-flopped and I got the distinct impression that he knew I wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

“Well hello there, handsome,” a woman’s voice trilled.

I turned in Aunt Loretta’s direction, for once grateful for her interruption.

Loretta with her curve-clinging clothing, dramatic makeup, and sky-high stilettos provided a distraction.

“Who might you be?” she demanded of Angel.

He appeared tongue-tied at the sight of the senior sex bomb tottering toward him.

“Aunt Loretta, this is Angelo. He’s Mr. Delveccio’s nephew.”

Loretta’s mascara-laden eyes narrowed. “What a shame.”

“Ma’am?” Angel asked, regaining control of his vocal cords.

“Such a handsome face. Maggie could use a date, but not with a criminal.”

“Loretta!” I screeched, partially because I was embarrassed by her commenting on my dating life, but more because she was just plain rude.

A quick glance showed that Angel’s face had morphed into a hard mask.

“What is wrong with you?” I raged at her. “You insulted the man.”

Loretta lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “It’s not an insult if it’s the truth.”

Instead of responding to her, Angel flicked his glance in my direction. “I’ll see you around.”

With that, he marched away down the hallway.

I stared at my aunt. “That was not cool.”

Loretta frowned. “Haven’t you learned anything from Archie?”

I blinked at the mention of my father. “What?”

“You deserve better than someone who spends half his time breaking the law.”

Before I could come up with a suitable reply, like asking why she’d chosen to drag my career criminal dad into the conversation, she slipped past Vinnie into Katie’s room.

The bodyguard smirked and I decided it was safer for everyone involved if I just left.

But before I could get out of the hospital, Templeton stepped in front of me.

I glared at the man who was Loretta’s fiancé.

“Are you psychic too?” he asked.

“What?”

“You told me not to go out the other night,” he reminded me. “Remember?”

I nodded.

“If I’d gone…” He trailed off and shook his head sadly.

“What?” I asked curiously, wondering what Delveccio’s tip had saved him from.

“Everything would have turned out differently. Badly.” Templeton impulsively hugged me. “Thank you.”

I awkwardly hugged him back, wondering what had happened at the poker game the mobster had suggested he miss.

“So different,” he muttered, hurrying away in the direction of Katie’s room.

When I got to my car in the hospital parking lot, I noticed there was a jar of olives on the roof. I instantly felt better. Some women got flowers and candy from their men. Patrick gave me olives. He’d been here and had wanted to let me know he was checking up on me.

I twisted the lid and was rewarded with a satisfying
pop
. A moment later, leaning against my car, I was chewing a salty, satisfying mouthful.  It wasn’t the same as being in his arms, but it did offer some comfort. I closed my eyes to soak in the simple pleasure.

“I noticed nothing was expired.”

Startled, I half-swallowed, half-choked on my olive. Tears sprung to my eyes as I sputtered, trying to catch my breath. “Wh-what?” I spluttered, accidentally splashing olive juice on my shoes.

“I noticed none of the food in your trunk is expired. I didn’t realize that’s because you eat it in parking lots.”

I frowned and coughed hard, trying to dislodge the bit of olive irritating my throat.

“Sorry,” Angel said, stepping close and patting my back to stop me from coughing. “If you’re choking, I know the Heimlich.”

I jumped away from him. I’d been given the Heimlich Maneuver once by Marlene’s boyfriend, Doc, and didn’t want a repeat performance. “I’m fine.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” I lied automatically.

He shook his head, letting me know he didn’t believe me.

I held out the jar to him as a distraction. “Olive.”

“No thanks.” He took a deep breath. “I just wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“Walking away like that.”

I capped the jar. “I should apologize to you. My aunt had no right to talk to you like that.”

He shrugged. “I should be used to it. Besides, most people just look at me sideways or gossip under their breath. At least she was direct.”

Even though his tone was light, I heard the pain threading through it. I felt a surge of empathy for the man. I knew all too well what it was like to spend your life being judged by who your family happened to be.

“She’s,” I began carefully, “biased.”

He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

I saw guarded curiosity in his gaze. “My dad is a petty criminal. My aunts don’t approve.”

He nodded slowly.

“Plus,” I added, throwing caution to the wind, “you know where my mom lives.”

He nodded again.

“So I get it,” I finished lamely. “The looks. The whispers. How after a while, even though you try to pretend it doesn’t, it gets to you.”

The ghost of a smile flickered at the corners of his mouth.  “It’s challenging.”

I chuckled. “That’s putting it mildly. Is that why you joined the Navy?”

He shrugged. “My version of running away from home.”

“I get that.” For a second, I fondly recalled the crappy apartment I’d lived in across own, my own bid for independence. “So what brings you back?”

“Same thing that chased me away. Family.”

I got the impression there was some hidden message in that statement, but I didn’t pursue it.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have walked away. I shouldn’t have pushed you on the orphan thing. I was out of line all the way around.”

“No big deal on either.” I offered him a reassuring smile.  I knew from experience that reintegrating into a strong-willed family wasn’t easy and was more than willing to cut him some slack. “I’ve got to get home.”

“I guess I’ll see you around.” He waved and began to walk away.

As I watched him go, I didn’t think his prediction was likely. After Katie was released, I didn’t expect to ever see him again.

When I got back to the B&B, Armani and Gladys were playing a heated game of Bridge against Susan and Leslie.  Considering Bridge is normally a pretty sedate card game and all four women had their voices raised, I thought it would be safest to sneak down to the basement.

“Maggie! Maggie!” DeeDee yipped excitedly the moment I opened the door.

“Shhh!” I ordered.

“Here Patrick is,” she panted, which I guessed was her version of whispering.

“Good girl.” I made sure to lock the door so Patrick and I wouldn’t be interrupted.