Chapter 32 #3
“Cabrón, be glad I didn’t do far more than I did. I merely gave the Camorra an upper hand with some free gifts. If that happens to inconvenience your family, then so be it. I could’ve rained down holy hell on those involved. Consider my restraint a sprinkle gift for Maria and her baby.”
“How the hell is this a gift? What the hell is a sprinkle anyway?”
Tío Enrique chuckles. “Apparently, it’s a party people throw after the baby is born. The women in my family already sent baby shower gifts to Maria, so this is ours to Matteo.”
“I still don’t see how any of this is a gift, Enrique.”
“I didn’t blow anything of yours up, Salvatore. You should’ve intervened and ended all of this once you knew the Torettas and Carosis targeted a woman. You definitely shouldn’t have stood by the moment you found out Jorge was involved with Anneliese.”
There’s a long silence, and I wonder if Salvatore muted the call while he talks to members of his family despite how late it is. There’s a strong probability he’s meeting with his brother and nephews just like Tío Enrique is with us. Salvatore’s voice is brittle when we hear it again.
“I suppose you expect me to say thank you, don’t you, Enrique?”
“It certainly wouldn’t be amiss. I could’ve taken this far more personally than I did since you sat back and watched.
However, since you didn’t actively participate like the O’Rourkes and Kutsenkos, I figured I’d go a little easier on you.
But you know better than to believe my graciousness will last long. ”
“And I suppose you expect me to thank you for that as well.”
Tío Enrique merely chuckles again. It makes lesser men want to run.
“I suppose we live to fight another day, Enrique.”
“Adios, cabrón.”
“Ciao, faccia de cazzo.”
Testicle face. Caremonde—face of a penis—is the Spanish equivalent.
Both men have been leading their families for more than three decades.
They haven’t lived to be in their late fifties by acting purely out of spite and impetuousness.
Salvatore knows when to back down and give someone else the win if it means his family doesn’t lose in the long run.
I’d count yesterday and today as successes.
The O’Rourkes and Kutsenkos won’t be far behind, but Tío Enrique will field those calls too.
This isn’t over with them. Not even nearly.
They’ll retaliate against our retaliation.
It’ll be just another normal week in paradise.
I’m not even worried about that right now. That’s a problem for another day.
“Mis llaves, I’m ready to see Liesel.”
My keys. It’s weird Colombian slang, but it means close friends. We call a group of close friends our llavero or keychain.
Javier pushes back his chair as he speaks. “I’ll head over to Mamá’s with you. I want to see Madeline too.”
He and I will ride together to Queens while Pablo doesn’t have far to go from Tío Enrique’s to get to his parents’ since they’re in Jersey too.
I’m certain he’s as eager to see Florencia as I am to see Liesel and Javier is to see Madeline.
Joaquin and Alejandro will go home to their places, or they may crash here a while longer since they’re both exhausted and jetlagged all over again.
Tío Enrique is already walking out of his office, likely to find my tía.
My brother and I are wiped, so it’s a quiet ride in a town car together.
I punch in the passcode to the door and let us into Mamá’s house.
Javier goes directly to the alarm system and turns that off before resetting it.
We both go up to the bedrooms we’ve had since we were tweens and moved to the States.
It surprises me to find Liesel sitting up with the bedside lamp on.
She pushes back the covers and scrambles off the bed as I kick off my shoes and slip off my button down.
Then we’re clinging to each other chest to chest since she’s naked.
There was time for her to pack an overnight bag, so she has pajamas and a robe lying across the foot of the bed in case someone else woke her and she needed to get up.
The tsunami of relief that crashes over me nearly makes me stagger backwards.
It’s not just the force of Liesel’s hug.
I lift her off her feet and smatter her face with kisses before our lips meet.
We can’t get enough of each other. I realize her relief is just as strong as mine.
I carry her to the bed, and she straddles my lap as I sit.
We work together to unfasten my pants and push them out of the way enough for to free my cock.
Then she’s sliding down it, and we’re kissing again.
“I’m so glad you’re home, Daddy. I’ve been worried sick the whole time.”
“I have too, but I promised you I wouldn’t let anything get in the way of being with you.”
She cups my face. “You’ve been telling me that since the very beginning, and I’ve always believed you.”
Her gaze searches mine, and I wonder if something happened while I was gone. Sitting together like this—with her warming my cock—is the bond we need after the expected but hardly wanted separation. The physical connection makes our emotional bond stronger.
“Liesel?”
“I have my own good news.”
“Oh?” I can’t imagine what it’ll be, but we’ve been apart for the better part of two days and have barely spoken.
“I spoke to Papa and Onkel Clyde while you’ve been gone.
I even called Randy to see if this idea is viable.
I’m going to continue working for Schlossberg & Sons, but I’ll start that New York office we talked about.
It means I should be able to stay here with you without too much trouble.
I’ll have to travel some, at least in the beginning, but in the long run, we’ll be together most of the time. ”
“That’s excellent news, chiquita. I couldn’t ask for better than that and having you in my arms.”
The backs of her fingers brush over my stubble, up to my cheekbone, and along my temple.
“Maybe I can think of one other thing, Daddy, that might be even better to hear.”
I twirl a lock of her hair around my finger. “I can think of something too.”
We speak at the same time.
“Te amo.”
“Ich liebe dich.”
I love you.
It doesn’t matter which language we say it in. It’s sweet that we both defaulted to our native tongue the first time we’ve said it aloud.
We laugh that we spoke at the same time, saying the same thing but in different languages.
This time our kiss is imbued with all that love we feel.
There’s as much affection as there is lust. It’s a blending of our souls and a promise of the life we’ll build together.
It still hasn’t been that long despite all that’s happened since we met.
But I’ve never meant anything more in my life than the silent pledge that goes along with my declaration.
I think Liesel feels the same way. I think it’s been on the tip of our tongues since nearly the beginning, but there were obstacles to overcome first.
I’ve done a lot of shitty things over the years. A few I even regret. But nothing has made me feel redeemable more than those three German words. I feel like one of my roses in my greenhouse.
I’m in bloom.
If I ever said that aloud in front of anyone in my family—man or woman—I’d never live it down. But it’s true. Cartels and roses hardly go together most of the time, but I suppose they do tonight.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, chiquita.”