Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
RHETT
I pour my feelings out and practically confess my love for her and she just leaves like it means nothing to her.
She left so she can pick up her groceries, but I know what she’s doing. She’s scared and running away from the feelings we still have. She’s trying to act jealous, so she doesn’t have to face how she really feels.
It’s too late for that, though. The love we used to have for one another is still here, burning brighter than ever, but she’s still pulling away.
Why? Why is she so hesitant to let me in again?
I lean my head forward on the steering wheel and close my eyes. I wish I could tell her everything and get her to understand. I wish I could go back two years ago and not let her walk away.
The back door to the truck opens, and Francesca places her groceries on the backseat before climbing into the passenger seat.
She’s quiet. Almost too quiet, like she only heard me tell her to stop asking questions, and not the part where I confessed to being celibate for the past two years .
I let out a deep sigh and glance her way. “For two years, I’ve been waiting for you to let me in, Chessie.”
She folds her hands on her lap, but doesn’t speak.
“Chess, why did you leave? Tell me the real reason. Not the one you’ve had to convince yourself was the truth.”
When she doesn’t speak, I drive back towards the apartment, but turn in the opposite direction at the last second towards the diner where we had our first date.
“Do you know about my family?” Her voice comes out as a whisper, as if this conversation is forbidden.
Maybe it is in a way.
I keep my eyes on the road. “What about them?”
“The mafia?” She whispers the word like it’s a secret.
Glancing toward her, I say, “Of course I do.”
Her eyes widen, and her mouth cracks open. “You do? You know about my family?”
I pull into a parking lot off the side of the road and park in the closest parking spot.
Turning to look at her, I say, “Everyone knows about your family. It’s kind of hard not to know at least something about Arturo Marino. Hell, it’s been plastered on the front page of every newspaper around. Personally, I think it’s tactless.”
She gasps and glares at me. “What’s tactless? The mafia or my family?”
“Neither. I was referring to the newspaper posting about your father’s past and the tragic death of his wife. Your mom. It’s tasteless and not relevant to him buying the hockey team.”
But it is.
All of it is relevant to the Marino business. I just don’t think Chessie knows the full extent of things yet, and I’m partially to blame.
Police lights shine through the back windows, illuminating the darkening sky around us.
Chessie glances out of the back window before turning her attention on me. “Are we doing anything illegal?”
“No. It’s not illegal to be parked in a parking lot.” I turn the two-way dash camera on and roll down my window as the police officer walks up to my door.
“Good evening.” He leans closer to the window and inhales.
I guess he’s trying to smell drugs or alcohol, but he won’t find any in my truck. Arturo, Coach, and the entire team would kick my ass if I got arrested for DUI or DWI.
I turn to look out my window. This isn’t an officer that I’ve had any interaction with before, and I’ve met almost all of them, given my line of work.
Is he new? Did he transfer in? Does he know about things?
“Is there a problem, Officer?”
He narrows his gaze on me. “Is there a reason you are parked here this late at night in the middle of the week?”
I glance around at several other cars parked in the same parking lot .
He’s targeting me, but why? What does he know about me?
“I didn’t want to drive distracted, so I pulled over.” It’s not illegal to park in a public parking lot, so what’s his deal?
He looks toward Francesca. “Where are you two headed at this late hour?”
She glances at me for a moment before saying, “We are heading home. We just picked up our grocery order from the store.”
She gestures to the back seat, and the officer looks at the bags of groceries.
“Well, I think it’s best if you two head on home and don’t make any more stops along the way.”
Before he can walk too far away, I stop him. “Excuse me, officer, can you tell me exactly what law we are breaking by enjoying a nice summer evening out and where it says that we have to head straight home from the grocery store?”
Francesca grabs my arm and whispers, “Rhett, what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us arrested?”
I shake my head and whisper back, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
The officer leans through the open window and clenches his jaw. “Do I need to remind you I’m an officer of the law? I can have you thrown in jail and your truck impounded faster than I can snap my fingers.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Yes, please do that, because then I can file harassment and unlawful arrest charges against you because this entire interaction is being recorded, and before you tell me that’s illegal, it’s not illegal to record in public. At least not in this state.”
His gaze immediately goes to my dash camera, where the red light shows that it’s recording, before he glares at me.
He lowers his voice and hisses out, “There’s a new graduating class of officers and we aren’t going to continue letting things slide because of who you work for. Pass that message on to your co-workers. We run this town, not you.”
“Well, how about you take that up with your superiors? They support the team , and I think you should, too.”
Without another word, he storms back to his car.
Francesca removes her hand from my arm. “Oh my God, Rhett. For a moment there, I thought you were going to get arrested.”
“I told you I knew what I was doing.” I look into the rearview mirror and watch the officer get in his car and call someone.
“Did you piss that officer off? He seems to have it out for you.” She turns in her seat to look out the back window.
“I’ve never met him before tonight.”
I don’t know what he thinks he knows about me and what I do, but Arturo needs to know about this. We don’t need any problems in the near future with huge shipments coming in.
“Well, he seems to know you and your truck, and he doesn’t seem to like the team.” She pauses for a moment before putting her hand back on my arm and chuckling. “It’s almost as if he caught you in bed with his wife or something.”
If I didn’t know she was joking, I’d be pissed. I haven’t been with anyone since her, and I’ve even told her twice. She’s all I want and need.
“There’s no one else I want except you. You’re it for me, and if that means I have to wait another couple of years for you, then I will. I’ll wait an entire lifetime if that means I get to spend the last days of my life with you.”
When she doesn’t respond, I back my truck out of the parking spot and head home. There’s nothing else for me to say. I’ve laid my feelings out for her. Our future is in her hands, and whatever she chooses, it will be her decision.
The trip home is silent. Even the radio is off, leaving us to only our thoughts.
Did she turn the radio off when the officer came to talk to us? I don’t even remember if the radio was playing on our trip to the grocery store.
I pull up to the apartment building and park in my assigned spot. Neither one of us makes a move to get out and head inside.
There’s so much I want to say and do, but I can’t. I’m frozen in my seat, waiting for her to break my heart again.
“That’s why I left two years ago.” She doesn’t look at me when she finally speaks. Her gaze is focused on her hands in her lap .
“What?”
What or who made her leave two years ago? Was it something I did?
“Growing up, being in the mafia was all I knew. I didn’t know what types of businesses my father was involved in, but I knew I was loved, protected, and cared for. Things changed when we moved down here and I met you.”
“Changed how? Did I do something to make you leave?”
She looks up at me and shakes her head. “I couldn’t be honest with you about my family’s past. We’ve done horrible things. Illegal things. Mine might not be as horrible as some of my family, but they were still illegal.”
“I don’t understand. Please fill in the gaps and help me understand.”
Did she leave because her dad was part of the mafia? Is she ashamed of her father’s past?
She continues, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“It killed me to have to keep secrets from you, but you didn’t deserve someone like that. Someone who, at the time, was ashamed of her past. Someone who was keeping secrets. Someone who didn’t want to sully your reputation or derail your career.”
“Chessie, I wouldn’t have stopped loving you just because of your past, and I didn’t care what people said about our relationship. I still don’t care what people say. The only person whose opinion matters to me is you. ”
“There’s still so much you don’t know. We haven’t been together for two years. We lived separate lives.”
I wrap my hand around hers and squeeze to get her to look at me. “So we can’t be together until we know everything from the past two years? Isn’t that like jumping into marriage without dating first? Dating is the time to get to know one another.”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s not what I was saying, but I’m not a good person, Rhett. You deserve someone better than me.”
“Francesca, you’re not a bad person just because you have a past. Everyone has a past.”
“Rhett, I-”
My phone chimes with a message, interrupting our conversation.
Glancing at the screen, I see a message from Arturo in the group chat.
Meeting at the docks in ten minutes. Come prepared for a long night.
Shit, that doesn’t sound good, but at least it will give me a chance to fill them in on the new police situation.
“I’m sorry Chess, I’ve got to go. There’s something I need to take care of tonight.”
She frowns, looking sad and deflated, before asking, “Something like what?”
“I promise to tell you everything as soon as this is handled. We can order takeout for dinner tomorrow and spend the night talking and catching up. ”
I want to tell her everything. I want her to know what’s going on. I’ll just have to clear it with Arturo first, or apologize later.
Reach over to her, I cup her chin and turn her face toward mine.
“Look, I know you want answers, and I promise to fill you in, but I can’t be late. Things will be back on track tomorrow. Okay?”
She stares at me for a moment before nodding. “Fine, but I want a bottle of wine with dinner tomorrow, too.”
I chuckle as I lean across the center console to get closer to her. “Your wish is my command, Chessie.”
My lips press against hers as I try to convey my hope for our future. Our lips move against one another slowly, exploring each other once again.
Her hand wraps around my neck. Her fingers dig into my scalp as she closes her eyes and moans.
I know I need to go. I need to head to the docks, but I don’t want to leave her. Not yet. Not like this. Not when we are finally getting back on track.
My tongue pushes past her lips, delving into her mouth so I can taste her. Kissing her is like being home. I don’t want to be anywhere else, but here.
She leans closer, arching her back. “Why don’t we go upstairs to finish what we started and then have the talk?”
I pull back, breaking the kiss. Our breathing is fast and labored. “Fuck, Chessie, you don’t know how much I want to, but I can’t. ”
She pulls me closer, resuming our kiss. It’s faster and frantic, knowing our time is coming to a close. Our lips press firmly against each other as our tongues thrash in a frenzy.
Needing air, we pull apart, gasping for breath. I inhale a lung full of fresh air before saying, “Chessie, I really have to go. I’m sorry.”
“What time will you be back tonight?” Her voice is breathless.
“I’m not sure, but I do know it’s going to be a long night. I can come over and make us breakfast tomorrow morning, if you want.”
“Mm-hmm. Sure.” She presses her lips together in a tight line as she reaches for her door handle.
“Chessie, please don’t be like this,” I beg. “My hands are tied. They’re literally tied. I have to go, and I can’t be late.”
She huffs out, “Fine, then go. Have a good night doing whatever you’re going to be doing.”
“It’s not like I’m going to a party. Believe me, I’d much rather be here with you.”
She turns away from me, but I can see the sadness on her face through the reflection in the window. “Then stay. Fuck whatever plans have just popped up.”
“I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” She whispers before getting out of my truck.
I watch, dumbfounded, as she grabs her groceries and heads inside the apartment building .
I know I fucked up, but I can’t just walk away from this job. No one walks away from Arturo Marino and the mafia.
I slam my hand down on the steering wheel. “Fuck.”