35. Deanna #2
The door smashes off its hinges. Prime roars as he storms inside like a hurricane, gun leveled.
I cry out, throwing myself sideways, and Carbone fires, shooting the ceiling a second before Prime’s boot catches him in the temple.
Prime kicks again, and again, then wrestles the weapon from Carbone’s limp fingers, deftly emptying the chamber and removing the magazine.
He rolls Carbone face-down on the floor, puts a knee to his back, and looks around at the scene.
My father’s sitting up, dazed and clearly confused. Mom’s bleeding from a cut on her cheek. My head’s pounding. There’s blood all over, a broken lamp, a smashed chunk out of the coffee table, several bullet holes.
“Everyone good?” Prime asks.
“Who… are you?!” Mom looks at me, bewildered.
I hurry to Prime’s side and throw my arms around him. “Oh god, how did you know? How did you know to come back? Prime, god, how did you know?!”
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” He wraps one arm around me, the other still holding the gun pressed to Carbone’s head. He kisses me lightly. “The nurse called. I got here as fast as I could.”
“The nurse?”
“You think I didn’t have eyes in here?” He grins and kisses the corner of my mouth. “You should introduce me to your parents.”
“Oh, shit.” I get to my feet. “Mom, this is my husband, Prime Spadaro.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Esposito.”
“Uh, charmed?” Mom shakes her head, expression glazed. “Should we call the police now?”
“I would greatly appreciate it if you did not, actually.” Prime jams his knee harder into Carbone who groans in response. “I’ll take care of this.”
“But… he broke in…” She trails off and sighs, waving a hand. “Okay, it’s fine, whatever you say.”
“Dad.” I kneel down beside him. I touch his arm. Dad doesn’t seem to understand and I get closer, trying to move into his field of vision. “Dad, are you there? Do you know who I am?”
“I think… my daughter’s home from school. But I don’t know where she is?” He shakes his head, getting frustrated.
“I love you, Dad. Your daughter loves you so much. You saved her life. Do you know that?”
“My shoulder hurts. Did I fall? Are you the new nurse? Where’s the nurse? I’m hungry.”
“I know, Dad, I know.” I hug him, even though it makes him more agitated. “I love you so much.”
He wiggles and I let him go. His frown is steep—but for one brief second, he stares at me, and I swear there’s a part of him that understands.
“I hate to be a dick, but would you lovely folks mind if I borrowed your basement?” Prime stands and hauls Carbone up with him. “Just for a few minutes.”
“Door’s that way,” Mom says, gesturing toward the kitchen.
“Thanks a bunch.” Prime drags Carbone down the steps. The basement is always damp and dim with a concrete floor and old brick walls. I follow him, but Prime waves me off as he dumps Carbone on the ground.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll clean up when I’m done, I promise.”
“Prime—“
“Go upstairs. Talk to your mother. Explain to her what happened if you can. You don’t want to see this.”
“But I don’t?—“
“Deanna.” The look he gives me leaves no room for argument. “Go upstairs right now.”
I back away. I’ve caught glimpses of this side of Prime and it both excites and terrifies me.
As I leave, I hear the sound of gagging and choking, and Prime’s voice, low and menacing with an edge of joy. “I’m going to make this slow, Marco. It’s going to hurt.”
I shut the basement door behind me.
Mom’s sitting at the kitchen table. I start making tea, mostly for something to do, while Yolanda takes care of Dad and gets him back upstairs.
“Is blood hard to clean out of carpets?” Mom asks vaguely when I place a mug in front of her.
“I honestly have no idea.” I sit down and sigh, slumping on my elbows. “I should’ve told you about him sooner.”
“It’s okay. He seems nice.”
“That’s not the word I’d use for him.”
“Honey.” Mom reaches out. She grabs my wrist, her eyes fixed on mine. “If you love him, enjoy every second. Good and bad. I promise, one day you might miss even the annoying parts of him.” Tears fall down her cheeks. I can’t remember ever seeing her cry over dad before.
“Mom…”
“I know he isn’t getting better.” She chokes out the words.
“I’ve always known. I loved him, Deanna.
He was everything, my entire world. What am I without your father?
I don’t know anything… I can’t do anything…
he was always there to take care of me, and now I’m supposed to take care of him, and I don’t know how.
I’m failing him, and I love him, and I don’t know what to do. ”
“Oh god, Mom.” I move around and pull her against me. “I’m so, so sorry. You’re doing the best you can.”
I hold her tight as my mother cries in my arms, finally mourning the loss of her husband.
Prime comes upstairs ten minutes later. He washes his hands, compliments my mother on a lovely home, and says he’ll be back to take out the trash in a little while. “In the meantime, do you mind if I borrow your daughter?”
“She’s your wife now, isn’t she?” Mom smiles, wiping her face and sipping her tea. “You know, if my husband were still himself, he’d give you a stern talk about treating Deanna right.”
“Mom,” I say, swatting at her.
“It’s okay. I wish I could tell your husband that he has nothing to worry about. That I’d die for your daughter.”
Mom nods gravely. “Most people say that and don’t really mean it. But I have a feeling you do.”
“Okay, this has been great, but we’ll do an official meeting some other time. Prime, come on.” I tug him away from the kitchen, up the stairs, and into my old bedroom.
He doesn’t fit. The space, I mean, and he’s clearly trying not to laugh at the decorations, some left over from high school.
“Not a fucking word,” I say, looking meaningfully at my Damon Salvatore poster.
“I’ll just note that you’ve clearly always had a thing for dark haired bad boys, but really, baby. The Vampire Diaries?”
“I told you?—“
He pulls me tight against him, hugging me so hard I can’t speak, breathing in the smell of my hair. I breathe him in too and catch the sharp scent of blood and sweat. I lift my chin to kiss him as relief floods me and the adrenaline begins to burn away.
“Carbone’s not a problem anymore.” He rests his forehead against mine. “God, Deanna, I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
“Doesn’t this mean Fontana’s going to know?”
“He’ll suspect, but I’m guessing he’s got bigger problems. Really, baby, I never should’ve?—“
“Stop it. You’re going to start blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault. I should’ve gone right inside, and even if I did, Carbone could’ve just knocked on the door.”
“What if I had waited?”
“Then he would’ve waited too. Just stop it, okay? I’m safe. My parents will be fine.”
“They got a corpse in their basement. I’m not sure fine applies here.”
“Fine enough.” I kiss him again, holding him tight. “I love you. Thanks for coming back.”
“Always.”
“This means you can’t keep waiting, though.”
“No, no more bleeding them. Fontana should be weak enough.”
I nod, closing my eyes. I know what he means, and I know what he’s going to do. It kills me, but I can’t stop it. How could I take that away from him? The revenge he needs?
It won’t make him whole, but at least it’ll stop him wondering.
“Promise you’ll come home. That’s all I care about.”
“I swear, baby, no more one-way-tickets. I have a reason to look forward to tomorrow now.” He kisses me again. “I’ll come home.”
I breathe deep to steady myself before pulling away. He thumbs at my eyes and wipes the tears up. “Guess you have some cleaning to do.”
“Hell of a way to meet your parents.”
“Not ideal.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll win them over.” His smile is so charming it’s maddening. “Moms always love me.”