Chapter Twenty
B lood dripped down her forehead. He grit his teeth, daring Kendrick to open his fucking mouth. “Do you have any wipes in this bitch?”
A hand stretched from the backseat, placing a pack of wet wipes on the seat. Jeter opened it and attempted to wipe some of the blood off of Tori’s face.
“Stop it. Just stop treating me like a fucking child, dammit. Why is he here and, obviously, already in place? And why the fuck didn’t I know about the plan? Was it always set up that Enzo and his woman wouldn’t come? Jesus fuck, I totaled her car and several others. There’s probably an APB out for me right now. We need to go to the police station. Someone tried to kill me. Again.” She broke down, her cries shredding his soul.
“Truth time.” She snorted, but he continued, “Yes, Kendrick was always going to be here. No, I didn’t maneuver Enzo and his ole’ lady out of the picture, but I’m fucking glad they weren’t in the car with us. I didn’t tell you about Kendrick watching my back because I didn’t think there would be a reason for him to show his face. Hell, I was being hopeful we’d get in, get your stuff, and get out with no issue. I don’t know how anyone knew where we were or what we were driving. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
“Where’s my purse?” she asked. Her gasp had him looking around.
Andre held it out to them. She spilled the contents out onto the seat between them. When nothing looked odd, she began looking through the interior, her fingers digging, and then she stopped and looked at him. Her eyes widened.
He watched her lift her hand out. Between her fingers, she found a small round disc. “A tag. I got a notification a few nights back, but the other bartender at Hoolihan’s said it belonged to him and was on his laptop bag. He showed it to me, and stupid me, didn’t think anything was amiss. Why the fuck would I? Stupid me dismissed the notification and continued working with the guy. He tagged me.”
Jeter rolled down the window and tossed the device out the window. He texted Keys, giving him the kid's name and information. The fucker’s name got added to Jeter’s list of people he planned to take out.
“Shit. Hold on,” Kendrick’s driver said.
Jeter secured his arms around Tori, reaching to buckle them into their seatbelts. The window next to him sounded like a boulder hit it. He did a double-take. “Damn, brother, bulletproof windows. I’m impressed.”
“Frankie, get us the fuck out of here. I don’t care if you have to drive over ten cars to do it.”
“On it, boss.”
“Keep your heads down. Nothing is foolproof,” Kendrick shouted. He rolled his window down, lifted his arm, and began firing from his weapon. The two men in the back must’ve followed suit as more shots rang out from behind him.
Tori put her hands over her ears. He stared at Andre, then at the shit around them.
Jeter turned to look out the back again. Frankie cursed and wrenched the SUV toward the shoulder on their right. Their vehicle jerked up and down as they went over a curb. However, the sound of bullets had stopped. He kept Jeter locked to him, between the hulk of Andre and his body, hoping they could protect her.
“If we get out of this alive, I’m never, ever, riding inside a vehicle again,” she gasped.
He hated being locked in a cage, too. “When I take you to California, we’ll only ride on my bike. You, me, and the open road with the wind—”
The entire vehicle lurched to the side. Jeter felt Tori fly from his arms as they went on two wheels before rocking back onto four. Andre grunted, the sound of pain leaving the man.
Jeter twisted his body, putting his back to the window as lights flashed on their side. A sickening crunch slammed into the passenger door. Tori’s body whipped out of his arms into Andre’s. Her scream filled the interior as the big engine roared, and Kendrick shouted for Frankie to get going.
Andre’s huge hands covered Tori’s head, protecting her from damage. The other held her securely in the seat against his huge-ass frame.
Frankie weaved like a racecar driver through streets like he had them mapped in his head. They turned, stopped, backed up, and then spun on a dime into a garage that he'd have missed if Jeter hadn’t been watching.
“We’re clear, boss.” Frankie put the SUV in park.
Kendrick palmed the other man’s neck. His other hand tapped his cheek. “You did damn good, kid. Go get cleaned up.”
“How many were following us?” Jeter asked, taking Tori from Andre.
“Three jacked-up trucks and two SUVs and one fast fucking car. What is it about you that makes you so damn special, Vittoria?” Kendrick asked.
“Back the fuck off, Kendrick,” Jeter warned his brother.
They stared each other down, both unwilling to give in.
“Stop it. Both of you. I have no motherfucking clue what the hell is going on. Honestly, I have had no contact with my stepfamily in four glorious years. I’ve told Jeter my poor woe is me story, and I have no problem reiterating it to you. I only ask you to let me get out of this squished can and clean up. You can have someone watch me as I do it and keep hold of all my things. I truly have nowhere to go.”
Her lip trembled, and he hated seeing her break. He’d rather smash his brother’s face in and get into an all-out brawl with him than watch her suffer.
“I’m sorry, sorellina. The two of you need to clean up, and then I’ll have my physician look at each of you. No way could I rest at night with the thought of you injured under my watch.”
Jeter rolled his eyes so hard he thought for sure he’d need to climb in the backseat to retrieve them. However, Kendrick exited the vehicle and barked orders out as he did.
“You will need to get out on this side, I’m sure,” Andre informed them.
They follow Andre and two other men through the garage into a mudroom. Jeter looks at the shoes lying haphazardly on the ground. His brother had always insisted on everyone removing their shoes when they entered his home. Well, he could shit in one hand and wish in the other. Jeter guaranteed he'd end up with more shit than he would of wishes if he waited for him to run around in his bare feet.
The heavy thud of boots brought his head up to see Kendrick, with a smirk on his face, standing at the end of the hallway. “Come on in, asshole. You can leave your filthy shoes on.”
Jeter hugged Tori to his right side instead of his left. Unsure how much damage he’d taken in the accident, he wanted to have his best shooting arm free.
After they cleaned up, he and Tori entered the den, where Kendrick and his men sat around. An older man stood up as they entered.
“Hello. You must be Jeter. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Dr. Talbert. And you must be his friend. This one doesn’t have friends.” Dr. Talbert winked down at Tori.
TORI TOOK THE HAND Dr. Talbert held out to her. In the bathroom, Jeter made her strip so he could see for himself what her body looked like. He said he had intimate knowledge of every inch of her skin and would know if she had a bruise that wasn’t there earlier. Her body shivered, thinking about how sweet he’d been as he’d kissed each tiny scrape, cut, and blemish.
“Are you cold, dear?” the doctor asked.
“No. I'm fine.” She shook her head. Good lord, Tori, get your mind out of the gutter. Luckily for her, Jeter hadn’t insisted on making love to her, even when she’d nearly begged.
“Would you like to go into the study so I can examine you without an audience?” he asked.
She grabbed Jeter’s hand. “We will come together.”
“Of course.”
There was no missing the way Jeter and Kendrick acted together. It was actually kind of endearing. Watching the big, scary Mafia leader sit in his leather chair with one leg dangling over an arm as she slumped in the seat, she thought he looked more like an adolescent chilling with his friends. Even more shocking was seeing him and Jeter roll their eyes and flip one another off. Fucking cute.
She almost felt bad for making Jeter go with her as she got checked out.
Half an hour later, the three of them walked out of the study to find Kendrick standing by a bank of windows. His suit jacket hung over the back of a chair, so you’d think he looked easier to approach. He didn’t.
“What’s going on?”
“How are they, Doc?” he asked.
Dr. Talbert looked at Tori and Jeter. He cleared his throat and gave a jerky nod. “We’re good. Tori has a slight concussion and obvious cuts and abrasions. I’m a little banged up, but nothing major.”
Again, Kendrick nodded. “Thanks, Doc. Andre will see you out.”
Silence filled the air, suffocating while they waited for the doctor to leave.
She looked at the door and made her way to one of the comfortable chairs that was empty to take a seat. Jeter sighed audibly, shaking his head, and lifted her into his arms before sitting back down with her on his lap.
“I like you here much better,” he said.
Tori glanced up at him, enjoying the possessive gleam reflecting at her. “Would you like me to start from when Masseria adopted me after he married my mother? I was three at the time,” she said.
“That will work for a start,” he agreed. Jeter’s warm embrace gave her the courage to speak.
“Would you like to hear about the time after he decided the only thing I was good for was to marry me off at seventeen to another Family? By the way, the man he chose for me was at least twenty years my senior. My loving stepfather didn’t give a shit that I was a virgin. I think that was a bonus to him and Alberto Rizzo,” she spat. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t auctioned off my virginity, honestly.”
Her hands gripped Jeter’s, taking the strength he offered without shame.
“I’m sorry you went through that. A father should love and protect his children, especially his daughter,” Kendrick bit out.
She watched Jeter’s older brother, noticing the muscle in his jaw twitch as he spoke. He, like Jeter, was angry on her behalf. Her eyes trailed down to his hands, seeing how he flipped a coin over and over between the fingers of his left hand while the other he kept in his pocket. Besides the clenching of his jaw, one would think he was absolutely calm.
“From what my mother told me, my real father loved me and her with all his heart. If he hadn’t died, I’m sure I would’ve been a spoiled brat neither of you would’ve wanted to meet,” she said, trying to ease the tension in the room.
Kendrick’s eyes softened. “He sounds like he was an amazing man. I think everyone probably wishes they had known what they know now at twenty. Fuck, the shit I screwed up would need several books to write it all down in. With age comes clarity and wisdom that I wouldn’t have known what to do with back then. Now, I get to participate in life with substance and meaning instead of rushing through the tough shit to get to the fun stuff. Not that the other shit wasn’t fun, but...being happy within yourself makes things different. That’s where you get your true power, your true worth. Without past mistakes, we wouldn’t be the people we are today. The journey to get to where we are is amazing. Of course, the bumps, the bruises, and even the heartaches have shaped us into who we are. Each of our journeys begins and ends with ourselves. We can turn pain into meaning. Or we can wallow in pity and become a shell of ourselves. You, you’re a warrior who would make any father proud.”
As Kendrick spoke, he moved closer, placing his hand on Tori’s head. “Welcome to the family, sorellina.”
Her eyes watered hearing him call her little sister again, knowing it wasn’t a throwaway comment. “Grazi, Fratello. Your words...they mean the world to me.”
Jeter stood, taking her with him. The three embraced, and she felt like the brothers hadn’t truly hugged in a long time. For the first time in years, being part of a family didn’t scare the living daylights out of her.