Chapter 18
LUCIA
Salvatore made call after call as he drove us to the hospital, first to his uncle, then to Marco who tailed us, then to Dominic. Dominic didn’t pick up his call. He also arranged for security to be added to the hospital, for which I was grateful.
I tried Isabella twice but never got hold of her. With traffic, by the time we got to the hospital, it was well over an hour later. Salvatore’s phone rang once more just as he parked the car. He checked the display, and I glimpsed the name. It was his father.
“I have to take this.”
I nodded, opening my door and setting my crutches outside. What a time to sprain my ankle!
“Marco,” Salvatore called out once Marco had parked his car. “Take Lucia upstairs, and stay with her until I get there.”
Marco nodded and took my arm, helping me out of the car.
“I got it,” I snapped, hating feeling helpless.
I glanced at Salvatore, who walked away with the phone to his ear.
Marco followed me into the hospital. At reception, I found out where they’d taken Luke.
I went as quickly as I could to the trauma unit and found Isabella holding Effie’s hand, her face one of frustration and worry, her eyes weary and red.
“Izzy.”
She turned, a look of relief quickly replaced by surprise at my state.
“It’s nothing, just a sprain. I fell while running.”
She got up, and we hugged.
“Aunt Lucia, are you hurt too?” Effie asked.
“I’ll be okay. It’s just a sprain, kiddo.” I gave her a hug then turned to Izzy, who was watching Marco talk to two other men I just noticed.
“Salvatore?” she asked, gesturing toward them.
I nodded. “He wanted security for Luke and for us.
She snorted. “He’s probably the one who put Luke in here!”
“Wait. No, he was with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so naive, Lucia. All he has to do is give the word!”
“Mama?”
Izzy wiped away a tear and looked down at her daughter.
“Let’s calm down.” I touched my sister’s shoulder, and she sighed.
“Sorry, honey. It’s fine,” she told Effie. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Uncle Luke is hurt,” she said to me.
“I know. Hey, I saw a vending machine just around the corner.” I dug into my purse and found my wallet, took out some dollar bills, and handed them to her. “Go get us some chocolate bars, okay?”
She looked at her mom, who nodded.
“Marco, will you keep an eye on her?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Wow, this was a different Marco than the inflexible man I’d met thus far.
“Here, some sodas too.” I handed Effie more money to keep her busy. She went with Marco. “Let’s sit down. Tell me what happened,” I said to Isabella once Effie was out of earshot.
“He was at the stupid bowling alley,” she started, taking a crumpled-up tissue out of her purse and wiping her dripping eyes. “He always goes there in the mornings, so the bastards knew where to find him. He’d just gone to get a cup of coffee, and two guys came in and opened fire.”
“Jesus.”
“The owner who was working the bar took a bullet in his arm. He’ll be okay.”
“Anyone else hurt?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Any idea who?”
She shook her head. “They wore ski masks.”
“I guess they would. Why do you think it was Salvatore’s men?” I asked.
She shook her head with a flat look in her eyes. “Who else but someone from the Benedetti family.” She turned her attention to digging for something in her purse.
“Dominic is part of that family,” I said, watching her.
She glanced up, her lips narrow, her face tight.
“He was at your house the other night.”
She stood. “This isn’t the time, Lucia.”
“What was he doing there?” I asked, following her, the crutches an irritating nuisance.
She kept her back to me, shaking her head, watching Effie push buttons on the vending machine.
“Izzy, what’s going on?”
She faced me finally. “A big fucking mess, that’s what.”
“Are you having an affair with Dominic Benedetti?”
Izzy threw her arms up into the air. “There you go again, another affair. First it was Luke, now it’s Dominic? Excuse me, sis, but I’m not going to justify that with an answer.”
“Ms. DeMarco?” a doctor called out, rounding the corner.
“Yes?” Isabella went to him, and I followed, hobbling behind her.
“Your cousin’s injuries are very serious. We’re operating now, but it will be several hours. I can’t speak to the outcome just yet.”
“He can’t die,” she started, her eyes watering, her voice desperate. “You can’t let him die.”
The doctor looked to be immune to her emotion. Probably so used to doling out bad news, it just didn’t faze him anymore.
“Mommy, I got you a Snickers bar,” Effie started, coming back toward us with the candy bars, Marco behind her carrying cans of soda, looking as much out of place following her as possible.
It would have been comical if we weren’t standing in a hospital waiting room with Luke in critical condition a few doors down.
“What did you get for me?” I asked, lifting her up and turning her away while Izzy wiped her tears.
“A Twix. Same as me.”
“I love Twix. Good choice.”
“I thought you might.”
“I’ll check in with you as soon as I have some information, but it will be several hours before he’ll be out of surgery,” the doctor said.
I watched them. Izzy nodded her head. When I set Effie down, she went to her.
“Here, mommy.” She held out the candy.
Isabella took it then hugged the little girl. “I love you, honey.”
“It’s just a Snickers,” Effie said, confused, and tried to squirm out of the tight squeeze.
Salvatore walked in just then, and I felt an immediate sense of relief. His expression, however, showed how preoccupied he was. Isabella glared at him, but he watched her with concern.
“What are you doing here? Not enough that you had to attend my father’s funeral? You had to come see this too?”
“I’m here for Lucia.”
She snorted.
“How is he?” Salvatore asked me.
“Critical. They’ll be in surgery for a few hours.”
“Mommy, is Uncle Luke going to be okay? I got him his favorite candy bar too.”
“That was sweet of you,” Izzy said, then looked up at me. “It may be best if Effie goes home. There’s nothing for her to do here.”
“I’ll take her. You stay. Just call me as soon as you hear anything, okay?”
“I will.”
“I want to stay with you, mommy.”
Isabella hugged her daughter again. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, but there’s nothing for you to do here. Go home, and bake some of those cookies Uncle Luke likes. Then you can bring them with you when he wakes up, okay?”
“What kind of cookies?” I asked to distract Effie.
Effie studied her mom then gave her a tight squeeze, whispering something in her ear before turning away. A tear rolled down Isabella’s cheek.
“It’ll be okay,” I said, hugging her while holding Effie’s hand. “He’ll pull through. He’s almost as stubborn as you, after all.”
She gave me a smile, then turned to Salvatore. “Are you staying with them at the house?” Her tone changed utterly when she addressed him.
“I’ll take them there, and I’ve already got men stationed outside. I have to attend a meeting but will be back as soon as possible.”
“Of course, another meeting. You see what comes of those meetings,” she said, gesturing to the door the doctor had disappeared behind.
“Izzy,” I leaned in close so Effie wouldn’t hear. “Salvatore didn’t do this. I promise you that.”
“Take care of my daughter, and take care of yourself.” She hugged me. “I have a gun in my bedroom,” she added in a whisper. “Nightstand drawer.”
I pulled back. She had a gun? By her bed?
“Here are my keys.” She pulled her car keys off and handed me the ring. I took it, still not quite believing what she’d just told me.
“Let’s go, Lucia,” Salvatore said after giving Marco some orders.
“Call me if you hear anything. Come on, Effie.”
Effie and I followed Salvatore to the elevator and out to his car.
Once we settled Effie and my crutches in the backseat, we climbed in.
I spoke with Effie as we drove to her house, which was about half an hour from the hospital.
Although she tried to hide her unease, it was evident she was anxious and unsure.
Salvatore said only a few words, preoccupied.
Maybe grateful for Effie’s presence, since that meant I couldn’t question him.
Once we got to the house, I saw two cars parked along the curb with two men inside each one.
Salvatore pulled up in the driveway, and we all climbed out, me last, since I had to figure out how to use the damned crutches, and putting weight on my foot made me wince every time.
Effie held my crutches while I climbed out and watched me while Salvatore walked over to the men sitting in the cars by the curb and, I assumed, gave them instructions before returning to us.
“Ready?” he asked, closing the door behind me.
Effie nodded and walked ahead to the front door.
“What meeting are you going to?” I asked, not sure if I liked him going to any meeting after Luke had just been shot.
“Luke’s shooting is just one of the incidents. Two of our businesses have been attacked as well.”
“What businesses?” I knew they had several shops, and I didn’t want to know what those shops fronted for.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “What matters is that what I feared would happen in time, what Luke was working on, is here now.”
“Luke? But—”
“He’s in the hospital, I know.”
“Is it Dominic?”
His face changed, and he looked just beyond me. “I’m not sure, Lucia.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“That the time for war, it’s dawning.”
Salvatore’s phone rang, and he reached into his pocket to get it. “I’ll call you right back,” he said and disconnected the call. “Let’s get you inside and settled. I’d rather have you at home, but this will have to do for now.”
We headed for the door. Salvatore slid the key into the lock and opened it. Effie went directly into the kitchen, leaving us alone for the time being.
“You’ll be safe here. I’m leaving four men outside. They won’t let anyone in.”
“Or out, I’m guessing.” He turned to me and took my face in his hands.
“Correct.”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“This is one I really, really need to trust you on, Lucia. I don’t have time to go looking for you, and I can’t keep you safe if you disappear.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good, because if you do, I’ll take my belt to your ass again, and this time, it’ll be a month before you can sit down.”
“I said I’m not,” I snapped, not wanting that memory.
He nodded then kissed my mouth, his hands still on either cheek.
After walking him out, I glanced once more at the cars parked out front.
One man sat inside each one. I wasn’t sure where the others had gone.
Probably around the house. I didn’t care as long as they didn’t come inside.
I closed the door and went to the kitchen to find Effie had taken out flour and a big bag of M&M’s, but even she wasn’t snacking on them.
“I can’t reach the other stuff,” she said, her tone somber. “M&M cookies are Uncle Luke’s favorites. Mommy has the recipe on her iPad.”
I smiled and squatted down to her level, rubbing her arms. “The doctors are going to do everything they can to make sure he’s okay, understand?”
She nodded, but her face remained serious. “He and mommy had a fight last night. I heard them.”
“Their fight doesn’t have anything to do with what happened. You know that, right?”
“I’m scared, Aunt Lucia. What if he’s not okay? What if he doesn’t wake up anymore?”
How could I answer that question, when I didn’t know myself the outcome?
I stood and looked around, finding an apron, my mom’s, in the drawer she kept it in, neatly folded as if she’d just had it on yesterday.
My dad hadn’t gotten rid of anything of hers.
In fact, I was sure the closet in his bedroom would still be full of her clothes unless Isabella had packed everything up. I hoped she hadn’t.
I slid the apron over my head and tied the strings at my back. “This used to be your grandmother’s apron,” I said to Effie.
“She’s in heaven,” Effie said as she opened the same drawer and took out a second, smaller apron. “This one is mine. I got it for my birthday.”
“Oh, that’s a pretty one. Shall I help you tie it?”
She nodded.
“Okay, let’s get started. Where does mommy keep her iPad?”
“Here.”
I followed her into the living room, where she opened a drawer in the coffee table and pulled out the tablet, punching in the code before handing it to me.
“It’s 0-0-0-0.” Effie shook her head. “I cracked that one in no time.”
I ruffled Effie’s hair and led her back to the kitchen, looked up the recipe saved in the Favorites tab, and we got to work.
It took much more time than I expected because Effie insisted on using only the colors of M&M’s that Luke liked best, and she patterned them into individual smiley faces.
We spent the rest of the day playing in her room or watching TV, and I reheated lasagna I found in the fridge for dinner.
At eight o’clock, I took her to her room and read her a story before putting her to bed, anxious that I hadn’t heard from Isabella yet.
When I’d tried her phone a few times, it had gone right to voice mail.
I dialed Salvatore, who answered on the third ring.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Everything okay?”
He sounded rushed. “Yes, it’s fine. I’m just wondering when your meeting will be finished.”
He sighed. “I’m not sure, but I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just lock the doors and go to bed if you’re tired. Have you heard from your sister?”
“No, and she won’t pick up the phone.” Someone called his name, a man I thought might be Roman.
“I have to get back, Lucia.”
“Okay. Call me when you’re done. I don’t care about the time.”
“Make sure the doors are locked.”
“I will.”
“Be safe.”
“You too.” We hung up. I walked around the house for the fifth time and made sure all the doors were locked.
The cars were still parked outside, and I spied one man in the backyard at the far end.
Still, I didn’t feel safe. I had no idea what was going on, and being here I felt exposed, like I was a sitting duck.
Shoving those thoughts aside, I made a pot of tea then closed the curtains on all the windows. From the bookshelf in the study, I found some old photo albums. Taking two of them, I settled on the couch to wait for my sister to call or come home.
That was when I heard the creaking of a door and footsteps coming from the back bedroom, the one my parents had converted on the main floor.
I turned my head. “Effie?” But it couldn’t be her. I’d waited until she’d fallen asleep upstairs.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I watched the dark hallway as the steps grew closer. Terrified and unable to drag my gaze away from the shadowy space, I fumbled for my cell phone on the coffee table.
I knew who it was. Who it had to be. But still, when Dominic stepped into the light in the living room, I gasped, shocked, suddenly shaking when my gaze fell on the pistol he held at his side.
“Toss the phone, Lucia.”