Never Say Never (Vitale Brothers Book 4)

Chapter 31

”Last night wasthe scene of a massacre here at the docks. I”m told there are bodies littered all over the ground, most of them mutilated beyond recognition. There was also a fire. Most of the evidence has been destroyed, just like a few nights ago where some members of a local gang called the Triads were identified by their teeth. Organized crime is alive and well in New York City, and all fingers are pointing at one family. They call themselves philanthropists, but the FBI calls them murderers. The Vitale family has been under scrutiny since the fire that destroyed St. Mary”s church months ago. Are these innocent men? Or are they dangerous criminals?”

I stared at the screen, my mouth slightly ajar as I watched the news anchor prattle on. In the background was the still smoking wreckage of the business buildings I had talked to Casey about. The camera panned, and I caught sight of him there as well. Obviously, the video had taken place early in the morning, before the sun was even up. Casey looked pissed, his face red as he spoke to camera about the criminals that he was going to bury under a federal prison.

My stomach tightened. He didn”t. He wouldn”t.

He would.

I kept trying to view Paolo like he was Paul, but he wasn”t. There were bits of Paul here and there, or maybe that was always Gianpaolo and he was showing me who he really was. Either way, I couldn”t keep pretending that he only had one side. He was a killer, a walking time bomb. I should have known when he left the other day that he was up to no good, but I”d been asleep and then immediately inundated in shit afterward. Putting out that fire had taken some time; calming the girls, reassuring Shelly, it was a lot. I hadn”t even realized he”d tricked me into not leaving until I tried to go out the door and guards asked me to return to the suite. Firmly.

Yeah, I didn”t love that.

Now, as I watched the damage that Gianpaolo, and no doubt his brothers, had brought to a rival gang, I stared in horror and anger. It was supposed to be my job to put these assholes away, but he”d taken that from me and slaughtered countless men as well. Gianpaolo was a Vitale through and through. This just proved it even more.

I was conflicted as I continued to watch. Yes, he was a bad guy, but part of me knew why he”d done it. He had told me that he wanted to protect me, and clearly, that was true. Yes, he”d gone about it in an insane way, but he really was looking out for me and my kids.

My phone buzzed and I glanced at it. Casey.

”Hello, Casey. I was just about to call you.”

”Can you talk?”

I glanced around. The girls were in the kitchen at the table, Shelly dishing out PBJ”s with a smile on her face. I couldn”t believe Paolo had tried to kill her. He had always been on edge with her, but I knew Shelly was good at her job. After all, Dawn had chosen her. She”d always admired how sweet she was. There were times when I might have considered dating Shelly after Dawn passed, but I knew without a doubt that I was a hundred percent gay.

”York?”

I shook myself out of it. ”Sorry. One second.”

The girls had heard enough, I wanted them to be protected in more ways than one. Lately, they had been around for all of me and Paolo”s shit. It wasn”t good for them. I was already thinking up ways to apologize. Most of them involved late night movies and makeovers, lots of cake, and more hugs than I could possibly give in one night. I had to make it up to them.

As I stepped out of the apartment, Mitchel stopped me. ”Where are you going, sir?”

”I”m taking a call. Is that all right with you?” I snapped.

”Yes, just please don”t go far. Nik will follow you, but keep his distance to allow you privacy.”

I stared at the man. How was I ever going to get used to being watched over like a child? I always moved on my own, protected myself, and kept my own shit together. Having a guard trail me day and night was odd. Oddly sweet and protective, but still odd.

”Fine.” I sighed. ”Stay back,” I warned the man.

”Yes, sir,” Nik said.

I walked down the hall and found myself in a stairwell. Nik hung back like he said he would. I lowered my voice.

”Okay, let”s talk,” I said, reminding myself that there was a Vitale soldier not that far away from me.

”Did you see the news?”

”How could I miss it?”

Casey swore under his breath. ”How did the Vitales know they were there? Do you know?”

I knew exactly. Paolo had access to my phone. The password was stupidly the girls” birthday. It was changed now, but I couldn”t believe that I had let him see that information. I only knew for sure because the message was there when I slid my notifications down and took a peek, but it was gone when I woke up. He”d used the information I was given to conduct an act of violence. Once more, I wondered how I could trust him if this was the kind of thing that happened when I let him in, even a little.

”No,” I lied. ”I have no clue. I thought my phone was secure, maybe it wasn”t.”

”Maybe not,” he grunted. ”Whatever, either way, it”s too late now. When are you coming back to work? I know you”ve been shaken up by this case and all the danger you”ve been in, but we could use you in the office, York. You”re smart, you”re capable. And you know how to suss out bad guys.” He paused. ”I could use the help.”

I swallowed hard as my heart stuck in my throat. Shit, he wanted me to actually help out. I felt that old pull, that desire to go back into the office, get in the field, throw some bastards behind bars. It was like an itch, burrowing beneath my skin that needed to be scratched. However, at the end of the day, I couldn”t do it. Not yet.

The war needed to be over before I could leave my daughter”s again. Besides, Paolo wasn”t going to let me go. As much as it drove me crazy, deep down I knew he was right. We”d been safe since we arrived in the apartment. I couldn”t put myself in danger when my children still needed me.

”I can”t,” I said.

Casey sighed. ”I knew it was a long shot with everything that”s been going on, but I had to try.”

”I don”t fault you for it,” I told him. ”Trust me, I want to be on the ground, making a difference, but I have to think about my girls.”

”Yes, I know. Okay, I”ll keep you in mind though, for the future.”

”Please do. Thanks.”

We hung up, and I sighed as I pushed the phone back into my pocket. It was driving me crazy not to text the team, but Paolo insisted that I not do that. So far, he”d been right. He kept us safe. The least I could do was listen to his wishes.

I turned and headed back up the flight of stairs. Nik still stood there, his hand fluttering to his gun when he caught sight of me. For a moment, I froze, and he let out a deep breath.

”I”m so sorry, sir,” he said, his eyes wide with panic. ”Please don”t tell Mr. Vitale I almost drew my gun on you. I didn”t mean that. I just wasn”t sure who was coming up the stairs.”

I held up a hand. ”It”s fine. Don”t worry about it. Let”s go back to the apartment.”

”Yes, sir!”

I joined him as we exited the stairwell and headed back down the hall. Someone ran past me, turned, and charged back the other way. For a moment, I thought it was Paolo. Until he spoke.

”You two suck at this game. Hurry up and hide, you little shits!”

I stopped. ”Giancarlo?”

He turned, panting as he looked me up and down. ”It”s the fed! How the hell did you know it was me?”

”Just a hunch.” I sighed. ”Please don”t call the girls little shits. Where”s Paolo?”

”Still talking to Benito. He asked me to come down and check on you guys and then the girls decided to play with me.”

”They”re out of the apartment?”

”Don”t worry, we”re keeping an eye on the little brats. Anyone fucks with them, Paolo says they get to meet Silvy.”

I shuddered. Right, something about his damn hammer. ”Where are they now?”

”Hiding. There”s not a ton of shit to get behind so I told them to get creative.”

Shaking my head, I groaned. ”Thank you for that. I better get them.”

”Aww, but we were having fun.”

”What the hell do you two think you”re doing!” a woman”s voice pierced the air.

Shelly?

I started to step around the corner, but instead, something told me to hang back. As I looked around it, I got a clear view of Shelly as she stormed down the hall. She grabbed one arm of each of my daughter’s before she started stalking back to the apartment, their little feet struggling to keep up.

”You two are just like your mother. Disobedient, too independent, and you refuse to use your brains. Do you want to be murdered? Apparently so. There”s a reason your mother met her end so damn quickly. Just as stubborn and hard-headed,” she muttered. ”When we get inside, you two are confined in your rooms until dinner. And you’ll be lucky if you get fed at all.”

My stomach twisted so hard I felt sick. I”d never heard Shelly speak to the kids that way. Yes, she tended to be firm, but it was needed sometimes. This was a different level. It was too damn far.

”Shelly,” I snapped as I raced around the corner.

”Mr. Washington!” She jumped about a foot as soon as she saw me. ”What are you doing here? I thought you were inside.”

”I”m sure you did,” I growled as I grabbed both my daughter”s and pulled them against me. ”Who the hell do you think you are, speaking to my children that way? And the way you”re talking about Dawn?—”

Her eyes immediately teared up. ”I”m so sorry,” she sobbed. ”Really, I didn”t mean to be rude, they”re just so difficult sometimes. They slipped out on me again and I was worried. I shouldn”t have said those things.” She toyed with her fingers. ”Please, forgive me.”

I stared at her. How could she sit there, trying to give me doe eyes after the filth that I”d heard come out of her mouth? For the first time in a long time, I wanted to smack the hell out of someone. She had the nerve to try to tug on my heartstrings, but they were dead.

”Don’t you think if your charges keep escaping then perhaps you are the problem?” I bit out. “Get the fuck out of my face,” I spat. ”Mitchel!”

The guard jogged over. ”Yes, sir.”

”Escort Ms. Balen from the building. Anything you”ve left behind will be sent to you. Leave.”

”Mr. Washington...”

“Want me to kill her?” Giancarlo asked.

“No, thank you,” I said. I turned back to Shelly. ”I suggest you go before I call Gianpaolo and he has to deal with you. Trust me, it won”t be as pretty or sweet.”

The look that crossed her face immediately erased all the tears. She glared at me.

”All I”ve tried to do is look out for you and these girls. To raise them the way that Dawn would have. I am like a mother to them.”

”You’re not our mommy!” Navy shouted.

Nyra shook her head right along with her. When I met Shelly”s gaze again, it was venomous. How often had she looked at my daughters that way? Paolo had been right, she was a snake in the grass. I owed him a huge apology. He might be a criminal, but he wasn”t stupid by any means.

I had made an awful mistake.

”Get her the hell out of here,” I growled.

”Yes, sir.”

Mtichel grabbed her arm roughly. She cried out, but I ignored it. Fuck her. Once she was taken onto the elevator and disappeared from my sight, I dropped to the ground. I wrapped both of them in my arms and hugged them so tightly, I was afraid I would hurt one or both.

”Why didn”t you two tell me?” I whispered. ”Am I really that stupid, I didn”t see it?”

Navy shook her head. ”We didn”t want her to go. Mommy liked her.”

”And you liked her,” Nyra added. ”She used to be nice.”

”Really nice,” Navy added.

”But once Mommy died, she got mean. Not a lot, just a little.”

My heart ached hearing them tell me this. I should have done better, should have bent over backwards to make sure that my daughters were okay. I”d assumed that things were still good. Like they said, Shelly was always nice. She”d taken them on adventures, done their hair, finished homework with them. Dawn had adored her, however, I”d slowly noticed maybe a year after she passed, that Shelly was a lot more tight-lipped. She”d made a few passes at me, but of course, I never accepted any of them. Was that why she started acting that way?

It didn”t matter. I should have been better.

No, I will be better. I need to cut back at work. I can”t save the world when mine is falling apart.

The elevator dinged and Gianpaolo raced off it. He crouched down and wrapped his arms around all three of us, still panting. I knew he”d probably seen us on the cameras that I knew he”d set up. At that moment, I didn”t care. I gazed at him desperately and he looked back at me.

”It”s okay,” he whispered.

Two simple words, and I had never felt so comforted. Paolo knew me entirely too well. One look from him, and I felt all the pressure I continuously tried to hide disappear.

I fell apart.