Chapter 12
Harlow
Caterina was gone for most of the day, so instead of lingering in bed for the remainder of the night, I pulled myself out of bed and walked to the kitchen.
I tried to sleep, but without Caterina in bed, I kept having nightmares.
They weren’t nearly as graphic, but I didn’t want to sleep alone.
I was healing; my leg was better, my arm was still hurting, but I had more mobility.
I wanted to try painting before we went to New York.
Tonight, I wanted to do something special with my wife. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I liked the taste of wine and the way it made me feel. It wasn’t intense like liquor was.
ME:
Do you want to enjoy a bottle of wine tonight?
CATERINA:
I’ll do anything as long as it’s with you. How are you feeling?
ME:
Better. I miss you. Come home?
CATERINA:
I’ll be home in ten. Te amo, bellissima.
ME:
Te amo, cuore mio
I rummaged through the cabinets and the drawers, looking for a corkscrew, when I heard footsteps enter the kitchen.
Glancing up, I saw Luca and Lizzy stumbling into the kitchen, laughing and pulling at the other’s clothes.
I straightened my back before they gave me a sex show.
Lizzy gasped, leaping into Luca’s arms before laughing more.
“Is she okay?”
Luca scratched his head. “Uh, yeah. She’s…she’s high. It’s something we like to do sometimes. We get high and then we have sex, but she wanted food first.”
“Wait, if you’re high, how do you consent?”
“It’s something we discussed prior. It’s a part of our CNC scenes sometimes. It helps her cope and heal.”
Lizzy walked to the refrigerator, grabbing leftover pasta Luca made two nights ago and a canister of whipped cream. She looked at me and giggled. “The whipped cream is for his di—”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Luca grabbed Lizzy and put her over his shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m going to take her to bed before she does anything else. If you’re looking for the corkscrew, it’s on the side of the knives. It’s fancy. Don’t break it or Moira will have a fit.”
I saluted him as he raced out of the kitchen.
Drinking wasn’t my favorite hobby, but I enjoyed having a glass or two of wine with Caterina.
I also liked the feeling it gave me when I had the buzz.
When I was vulnerable with Caterina, I wasn’t scared and I knew she wouldn’t hurt me.
I didn’t want to be afraid of life anymore, even if there was a chance I could get taken again or hurt by another person.
Fear would take away the greatest part of my life, and I refused to let anyone take my happiness again.
When Caterina came home, I met her in the kitchen with her glass of wine ready. She grabbed the glass with one hand and my waist with the other. Caterina kissed me softly, and the weight of the world vanished.
“I missed you,” I whispered against her lips.
“Not nearly as much as I missed you. Dance with me?”
“There’s no music.” I laughed as she pulled my wineglass from my hand and placed it on the counter.
“We can always make our own music but, Alexa, play I Will Always Love You.’”
I wrapped my good arm around her neck as hers found my hips. Eventually, we moved slowly around the kitchen to the soft beat. We swayed together, our movements far from perfect. There was so much going on in our lives, but here, time stopped and we were in perfect harmony.
Life with Caterina Moretti was the fairytale I never thought I would experience.
Mallory texted me this morning asking if I could come to her home today to talk with me about something. Caterina was busy, so Malachi was joining me today. When we arrived at her house, her youngest daughter, Aaliyah, met us by the car with a sunflower that matched the ones on her dress.
“Hi, sweetie.” I reached down and picked her up, taking the flower and admiring it. “The flower is beautiful. Thank you.”
“Welcomes.” She giggled. “Mommy said you liked pretty flowers, so I picked the prettiest.”
“I’ll keep it forever.”
Mallory walked up to me and pulled me into a side hug as Aaliyah kissed her cheek. “How are you, Harlow? I feel like it’s been ages already—and why is your arm in a sling?”
“Well…” I looked at the girl in my arms and decided not to trauma dump with little ears present. “Why don’t we talk inside? Little ears.”
We went inside and got situated as Aaliyah ran off to play in another room.
“So what happened?” Mallory asked.
“Well, I got kidnapped.”
Mallory gasped, glancing at Malachi with a questioning look that looked wicked. “Hey, boss, maybe don’t start a sentence off like that,” Malachi whispered. “We don’t need to piss off Cat.”
“Back it up,” Mallory said. “You were kidnapped?”
I nodded. “With my friend, Lizzy. I need to introduce you two. It was by Vincenzo’s second, Xavier. He didn’t do anything serious.”
“He shot you,” Malachi added, which made Mallory’s eyes grow wide. “Twice.”
I glared daggers into him. “Are you this talkative with Caterina?” He shrugged. “Shut up and let me talk, or I’ll tell my wife and she can deal with you.” I wouldn’t do that, but it made him shut up real quick.
“You were shot?” Mallory asked with wide eyes.
“It wouldn’t be the first time I was injured like that. I’m okay, I promise. Now, what did you want to talk about?”
She hesitated before answering. I wasn’t used to people reacting this way when I talk about my history or how I wasn’t fazed like I was supposed to be.
“We have a foundation gala in four months, and I would like for you and Caterina to attend. We are donating money for the children’s hospital and trying to get extra for our foundation to build a bigger building so we can take on more foster kids and pay our volunteers. ”
“We would love to.”
“There’s also one more thing: if either of you would like to participate in a date night auction, we will be doing that as well.” I arched my brow, and she laughed. “One date, in public, and most of the time it’s just a fun game for partners to bid on their own partners.”
“You know Caterina would just give you the money.” I laughed, thinking of my wife’s face if I put myself up for auction and someone else wanted me. “I’ll talk with her though, but we will definitely come.”
“Perfect. I’ll send you the details and everything else when it gets closer. Now how do you feel about coming to the YMCA with me and meeting some of the foster kids we have?”
“I’d love to.”
When we arrived at the YMCA, I immediately found a little girl in the corner with her doll.
She was alone, and none of the other kids were playing with her.
The other children were running to Mallory, which didn’t surprise me.
Ever since we were in middle school, she loved children.
I always knew she would have a herd of her own, but also do something that involved working with them. Mallory always had a nurturing soul.
I picked up one of the girls with Mallory’s help and Malachi held her doll.
The little girl in the corner all alone was pushing Legos around on the carpet.
Something about her intrigued me. Maybe it was the halo of dark brown that matched my own or the sadness on her face that I could see from a mile away.
“Hey, Mal,” I called as we walked to the numbered rug in the front. “That little girl, what’s her name?”
“We don’t know. She’s maybe four. She’s one of our newest foster kids, but she hasn’t said a word.
” Mallory put the two kids on her hip down before stepping towards her desk.
I hand the little girl in my arms to Malachi, and they both stare at each other like they didn’t know what to do.
Malachi didn’t have children, but I figured he would at least know how to hold one.
“Do you know what happened to her?”
Mallory sighed and pulled out a yellow folder.
“No. She was found wandering alone at North Avenue Beach in rags and she was covered in blood. The only thing the police got from her was ‘Mama was killed by a bad man,’ and after that, she went silent. We’re trying to adapt her to everything, but she’s scared. ”
“Do you mind if I try?”
“Please.”
I grabbed a stuffed, pink bunny and walked towards her.
Malachi set the little girl I gave him down, but she jumped on his leg which made a few more children climb on him like a jungle gym.
I already knew he wouldn’t come back with me, but Caterina would force him to.
Actually smiling instead of having his strict demeanor looked good on him.
Maybe he needed to become a father and get that stick out of his ass.
“Hi, sweetie,” I greeted as she looked up at me with wide eyes. She was petrified. I knew that look anywhere. “My name is Harlow. May I sit with you?” She looked at me but nodded before tucking her head into her knees. “Do you want to play with BunBun?”
She looked up and her eyes went to my wrist. Instead of reaching for the bunny, she grabbed my hand.
She looked at my wrist, running her little fingertips over my scars.
I normally tried wearing sleeves or something different so no one could see them, but chasing children around was tedious work.
She brought her lips to my skin and left a soft kiss before looking up at me.
“Mama had scars, too.” Her voice was low.
“Mama was sad, but she loved me and kept me safe from the bad man.” This little girl was hitting close to home with my own mother.
I never thought I would meet anyone, especially not a little girl, who reminded me so much of myself. Was this fate’s cruel joke?
“Did the bad man hurt your mama?”
She nodded. “Yeah. He made her cry when he hit her. Mama got hurt badly one time and didn’t wake up. They took me to another bad man, but he had a friend for me.” I cringed. A friend. “She was nice, and so was her mommy.”
Oh, thank God. “Who was your friend?”
“Her name was Harmony.”
“And what’s your name, sweetie?”
“Mama said my name is Serenity, but the bad man called me Rini.”
“What do you want me to call you?”
“Serenity is okay.” She reached for the bunny, putting her defenses down slightly. “You look sad, too. Mama looked sad before the bad man hurt her.”
Children could really read faces. “Yeah, I was hurt by a bad man, too, but my wife saved me. You see the guy over there?” I pointed to Malachi who finally gave in and sat down with the children. “He is a friend of my wife who helps keep me safe.”
“Is he a bad man, too?”
I grabbed her small hand, and instead of pulling away, she held it tightly. “No. He is a good man. You see how he is with the kids?” She nodded. “He is one of the nicest men I met, but don’t tell him I told you that.”
I stayed on the floor playing and talking with Serenity until it was time for us to go.
Leaving her hurt my heart, but I had to get back to Caterina.
I was certain Malachi wanted to kill me after today, but being Caterina’s wife prevented that from happening.
The men who worked for Caterina wore a mask, but some of them had families they needed to protect.
It was nice seeing a new layer of the men who protected me.
“Thank you for coming, Harlow,” Mallory thanked as she pulled me into a tight hug.
“I loved being here. I am going to talk to Caterina and see if I can come more during the week.”
Mallory beamed. “I would love that, but I think it’s so you can see a certain little girl.” I smiled, glancing at Serenity who was in the corner playing with the bunny. “You have a gift. She opened up to you instantly and then told you her name? We haven’t been able to get her to talk.”
“Maybe she wanted someone who tried a different tactic.”
Mallory squeezed my hand giving me a soft smile. “Or maybe she felt connected to you.”
Malachi stepped towards us looking like he’d been through a hurricane. “Cat wants us home before five, Harlow.”
“I’ll see you next time, Mallory. Thank you for letting me come here.”