Chapter 22
GIOVANNI
Twins. The ultrasound scan confirms that we’re having twins. Two tiny heartbeats pulsing inside Meggie’s belly. Two precious souls, created by our love, and incubating inside her.
I don’t tell her the thought of being a father scares the hell out of me.
All that responsibility resting on my shoulders to protect them, nurture them, instill in them a sense of decency, compassion, and kindness.
But above all to ensure that they are happy.
The only thing I don’t question is how much love I feel for them already.
Them!
Our babies, plural.
I wasn’t around much when Sofia and Leo were born.
My family had been torn apart, devastated by the death of our parents, my future happiness with Elisabetta pulled out from under me before I’d really had a chance to see how it would fit.
I disconnected myself from everyone and everything that reminded me of what I’d lost, and what little time I spent at the family home in Sicily was usually spent in my father’s study with a bottle of brandy.
I vaguely recall diapers and formula and noise.
But it’s strange how these things no longer resemble fraught inconveniences when they apply to your own offspring.
During the flight back to New York, I find myself scrolling on the Internet for strollers and cribs and other baby paraphernalia.
I don’t recall holding Bianca’s twins when they were babies, but I can smell that milky, new baby smell growing stronger with every image I open on my tablet.
Is it some kind of primal instinct for a father to automatically know how a baby smells?
Is it part of our genetic makeup that we recognize our offspring by scent so that we can protect them even if they are out of sight?
If so, I’m going all-out caveman, and God help anyone who dares to threaten my children.
It feels like years since I last saw my apartment, and now I step out of the elevator viewing it as a home for my growing family.
Tiny claws clitter-clatter across the living room floor as Amber’s surprise rushes to greet us.
“Bella!” She tosses Oona the unicorn aside and drops onto her knees so that Bella can climb onto her lap. Which the dog does, her tiny pink tongue lapping Amber’s face while she squeals with excitement.
Meggie rests her head on my shoulder and slides her hand into mine, watching her sister and the puppy fondly. “You didn’t tell me that you brought Bella home.”
“It was a surprise, remember?” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Enzo has been looking after her. We’ll have to keep an eye on him though; I think he wants to keep Bella for himself.”
Prompted by the mention of his name, Enzo appears from one of the guestrooms, hair still shower-wet and dripping onto his crisp white polo shirt, reminding me that I haven’t changed my clothes in days.
He comes over and pulls Meggie in for a hug. “Congratulations, Meggie. Glad to see you’re upholding the family tradition of producing two babies for the price of one.”
She grins at him. “You can blame your brother for that one. It’s totally out of my hands.”
Enzo claps me on the back. “Thanks for the added pressure, brother. Maybe I’ll stick to keeping dogs instead.”
He watches Amber who is now sprawled out on the floor while the puppy clambers all over her. Then he hears a chuckle from the other side of me and realizes that we’re not alone. His eyes widen when he realizes where he has seen Nikki before.
“This is my friend, Nikki,” Meggie introduces them. “Nik, this is Enzo, Gio’s brother.”
“You’re alive.” Diplomacy was never Enzo’s strong point.
He offers her a formal handshake before pulling her into a cautious embrace and kissing her cheeks the Sicilian way.
“I wasn’t sure… I mean, when I found you outside the cabin, I couldn’t find a pulse.
It’s good to meet you under happier circumstances. ”
Nikki smiles. “Good to meet you too.”
It will be a while before she regains her confidence, which is hardly surprising after what happened to her in Vermont, which is why I suggested that she stay with us here in New York for a while.
Until she is ready to face the cameras again.
Or not. Either way, Meggie and I will be here to support her.
“Ow.” Amber draws our attention back to her and Bella. “She bit me.” She raises a finger as evidence, the speck of blood almost invisible.
“Her teeth are like needles.” Enzo crouches on the floor and calls Bella to come to him, feigning disappointment when the dog turns three-sixty in Amber’s lap and settles down like a princess on the royal cushion.
“Don’t come to me when you want treats later, Bella.
You can’t toy with my affections like this and then expect me to spoil you. ”
“You know she doesn’t believe you.” Meggie giggles. “I bet you’ve got treats in your pocket right now, haven’t you?”
“No.” Enzo raises an eyebrow, but when Meggie continues to stare him out, he slides a hand into his pocket and pulls out some tiny bone-shaped biscuits, just the right size for Bella’s tiny mouth. “Fine, you got me. I mean, look at the cute face. How can anyone say no to her, huh?”
“Who’d have thought that Enzo Sabatelli would be tamed by a dog?” I join in.
Seeing everyone smiling and happy gives me a sense of achievement that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. Meggie has changed me more than she will ever realize.
There’s still the matter of the shooting at the hospital to resolve, but Bruno is out there as we speak, hunting down the gunman and whoever gave the order for the attempt on Nikki’s life.
I haven’t mentioned this to anyone else other than Bruno, but I think the killer mistook Nikki for Meggie.
And I’m certain that I know who is behind it.
I’m sitting on my suspicions for now. Meggie, Amber, and Nikki are safe here with me.
“Who’s been tamed by a dog?”
The elevator door opens, and Demi comes in with a black sports bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes seek out my brother, who jumps to his feet when he sees her, reflexively brushing his hair out of his eyes with his fingers.
“Hey,” he says like a teenager who hasn’t yet mastered the art of good chat. “Are you staying?” He eyes up the bag over her shoulder.
“Meet the new head of security.” She gives a fake curtsey, dipping her knees and holding an invisible skirt. “At your service.”
“Okay.” Meggie claps her hands and takes over, leaving Demi and my brother exchanging the kind of glances he hasn’t practiced since he was twelve years old and had a crush on a dark-skinned beauty called Angelica.
“Amber, we’ll settle Bella down and get you in the tub.
It’s going to take me hours to get the knots out of your hair. ”
“I’ll watch the dog.” Nikki offers.
Amber, sensing that Nikki’s movement is restricted, picks Bella up and places her in Nikki’s arms, giving her instructions on what to feed her at what time.
She reiterates, more than once, that Bella’s bed is to be placed next to Amber’s because they’re besties, and besties always sleep in the same room.
She’s still talking as she shows Nikki around the apartment.
I leave them all to it. There’s someone I must speak to, now that I’m back in the city.
Ric’s mother lets me into her neat ground-floor apartment in Morningside Heights, on a street where the trees form a military arch across the center of the road.
The apartment is bright and airy despite the collections of porcelain animals, glass trinkets, and earthenware jugs and plates littering every available surface.
“Can I get you a drink, Giovanni? Beer? Coffee?”
“Coffee will be great.”
She gestures for me to sit on one of the comfortable armchairs in the living room, but I follow her out to the kitchen.
The hub of the family home. She has barely switched on the coffee machine and removed the cups from the wooden stand on the counter when a man joins us, taking over from her, and guiding her into a seat at the kitchen table.
Luca has the same eyes as his brother Ric, the same way of leaning slightly to the left when he is standing still, the same aquiline nose.
“Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Puccini.” I sit down at the table so that we are equals. I don’t want her to feel intimidated.
“Can you tell me what happened to my son, Giovanni?”
Luca places cups of steaming coffee in front of us and stands back, leaning against the counter so that he can follow the conversation with the vantage point of both sides.
“He died protecting my future wife and her little sister.” I inhale the aroma of strong coffee and replace the image in my head of Ric on the mortuary slab with a happier memory. “Your son was a good man, Mrs. Puccini. I miss him.”
The woman buries her face in her hands, her shoulders silently rocking with the force of her grief. Luca comes closer and places a hand on her back.
“Thank you,” he says. “For letting us know that he died with honor. That his death was not in vain. Are they well, your fiancée and her sister?”
I incline my head. “They are safe and well thanks to your brother.” I hesitate. This family has enough grief to deal with, but I need to ask for my own clarity. “Does the Fish mean anything to you?”
A loud sob escapes the woman’s lips. “That monster almost destroyed my Ricardo. He was never the same after he…” She doesn’t finish, reaching instead for a dish towel to cover her tear-streaked face.
It’s all I needed to hear. “I apologize for raising the subject.” I sip my coffee. It’s dark and strong, and I feel the caffeine flooding my veins.
“What do you know about him?” Luca furrows his brow. His has a serious countenance; the weight of this family’s grief will sit heavily on his shoulders now that his older brother is gone. His lips part, preempting the response to his next question. “Did he kill Ricardo?”
“He did. But the Fish has been returned to the ocean.”