Epilogue
Caitlin slept long and deep. It was likely due in part the stress of the day before and partly from the pain meds I convinced her to take before she went to sleep.
So when Leo and Zaro showed up the next morning, she was oblivious to their presence.
“She okay?” Leo asked.
“She’s really confused and upset about her father.”
“Yeah, no wonder. She could have died several times over because he didn’t warn her that she was in danger,” Leo said.
“What happened with him after we left?” I asked Zaro.
He huffed and shook his head. “You won’t believe this shit. He asked where Mona was. Then I’m assuming he went to find her.”
“Christ.”
“Love makes people do some fucked up shit,” Zaro said, shaking his head.
Yeah.
Like choose your girlfriend over your own kid. A kid who, up until this point, thought you hung the moon.
It was no wonder Caitlin was so bitter.
I’d been shocked at how she spoke to him in the car. I guess some part of me thought she’d exaggerated when she’d told me about the confrontation with him in her apartment the day before that.
But now I was sure she had every word right.
She had a lot of feelings toward him. And I guess because she was so comfortable with him, it was easier for her to let loose on him than she would be able to do with anyone else.
As strange as it was to think, I wanted her to get to that level of comfort with me. I wanted her no-holds-barred. I wanted her secure enough in how I felt about her that she knew she could say what was on her mind without making her sick with anxiety over how I might react.
I knew Caitlin pretty well at this point.
Which meant I knew she would work things out with her father. Maybe they wouldn’t be as close as they once were. Maybe there would always be some sort of wedge between them. But they would reconnect. She would even be able to get along with Mona if her father continued to see her.
That was just who she was.
Kind.
Selfless.
“I’m assuming Ira has been… taken care of.”
“Taken care of. Disappeared. And the cabin has been emptied and cleaned. Did a sweep of the cabin to make sure there were no hidden cameras. We should be good.”
“What about Daniel? He is not a missing person. How’s he gonna handle that?”
“Well, he committed no crime. People are allowed to disappear. And reappear,” Leo said.
“He will essentially just have to walk into the police station where he went missing from and tell them he isn’t missing, he left voluntarily, and that he’s okay.
There are no consequences for this kind of thing. ”
“Good. So he can just go back to life. Well, maybe not work.”
“Yeah, how’s that gonna work?”
“Get this. Mona is Ira’s office manager. So the job will keep going for a few days. Until she would reasonably realize Ira is missing and then have to file a report.”
“Is she capable of it?”
“She managed to lie to the man she supposedly loved for weeks. She can lie.”
“Well, then it’s all settled then.”
“Daniel wants to pay us back from his stash.”
“For money we didn’t even know was gone?” I asked, shrugging.
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Leo said. “We wait out Ira’s life imploding. Then snatch that business up before it hits the market. Use Daniel as our face of the business. He would have the inside, knowing who to tap to work for us and who to avoid…”
“And we also have a way to wash our money.”
“Exactly.”
“I like it. You think Daniel will agree?”
“I don’t see how he would have much choice.”
“Works for me then.”
“And we can keep things going as we wait. It’s not like all our drivers worked for the same company.”
“Right. So, really, it’s all settled.”
“For now, yeah.”
“He getting some worker’s comp for taking a bullet?” I asked, nodding at Zaro.
“A promotion,” Zaro said.
That was big for a guy as young as he was. To get Made. It showed how much Leo valued him, even without the whole getting shot thing.
“Good for you.”
“Sounds like your girl is awake,” Leo said as the door to the bathroom closed. “We’ll get out of your way. Just fair warning, this shit isn’t an excuse to skip out on family dinner. We expect to see you. And Caitlin, if she’s game.”
I didn’t deny that she was my girl.
She was.
And my loner ass was somehow completely comfortable with that.
Caitlin - 1 week
“Did you order something?” I asked, looking up from my book when there was a knock on the apartment door.
“Nope. Stay,” he demanded when I tried to get up to answer it.
One thing I decided I really liked about these Costa men was their innate instincts to do the manly tasks: taking out the trash, answering the bell, opening doors, carrying bags.
It wasn’t just Gav. It was all his brothers.
All of whom who had come to check on me after learning about what happened.
Some even brought homemade meals. Which was a treat beyond all expectations.
I was not a great cook. Gav didn’t have any motivation.
Some homemade meals were almost nonexistent in our lives.
“Oh, Brio, hey.”
My interest was piqued.
I’d heard many stories about Brio.
About his ruthlessness, his thirst for violence, and also his animal advocacy. Which seemed like shouldn’t coexist in one person and yet did.
I bookmarked my page and set the tome on the table, watching Gav’s back as he barred the door for a moment, talking in a voice too low for me to hear.
“Yep. That’ll do it,” he said, and I loved how I could tell from his voice that he was smiling. “Babe, Brio came with a get-well present.”
“I ain’t the homemade lasagne type. And I can’t pick out a book for shit. But I do know about one thing that never fails to put a smile on people’s faces.”
With that, he reached under his zip-up and produced a little orange tabby.
“Oh, my God!” I yelped, already reaching for him when Brio dropped him on my lap. “Hi! Hey, baby,” I cooed.
The kitten let out the sweetest little meow I’d ever heard in my life.
I glanced up at Gav with the most exaggerated pout I could manage.
“I already told him he could bring one,” Gav said. “Made him bring some essentials, too so we can get started.”
“He’s ours?” I asked, needing clarification before I set my heart on him.
“He’s ours.”
“Did you hear that?” I asked the kitten, snatching him up and bringing him to my face to feel his fur on my cheek. “You get to live with us. That has to be better than wherever you came from.”
“Dumped in a box in Central Park with no food or water,” Brio explained. “No mom, either.”
“Did those mean people dump you like trash? Well, don’t you worry. I’m going to spend every spare dollar I have on you.”
“Every one?” Gav asked. “What about all the books out there who also need homes?”
“Okay. Well, listen. I will spend half of all my spare dollars on you. And then Gav will spend half of his spare dollars on you, too. And he has more of them. So you’re going to have it made.”
“I’ll grab his stuff and set it up. He’s good with the litter box. And he loves toys. And treats,” Brio said.
“Then you will have all the toys and treats you want. Yes, you will.”
“That cat’s gonna be eighty pounds,” Gav said, shaking his head.
“Don’t listen to him. You are going to be perfect. Yes, you will. Oh, look at those cute little murder mittens!” I said when he spread his little toe beans. “He needs a name,” I told Gav as he dropped down with me after helping Brio then escorting him out.
“Yeah, he does.”
“Something bookish?”
“Seems appropriate.”
“Atticus?” I asked.
“Probably too long. Poe?”
“Works better for a black cat. Heathcliff? Heath for short?”
“An abusive asshole is probably not the best character to name our cat after.”
Our.
My heart did a squeeze at that.
“Gatsby?” he asked, teasing because he knew how much I hated that book.
We rolled over character names until our minds went blank. Bingley, Bennet, Dorian, Pip, Byron, Huck, Watson, Sherlock, Darcy.
“What about something bookish but not a character?” I suggested. “Quill, Folio, Verse, Story, Fable…”
“Plot Twist,” Gav said with a smirk.
“I know you’re joking, but I kind of like it. Aren’t cats supposed to have the most ridiculous cat names? Like Sergeant Fuzzyboots or Bartholomew Mulling Spice.”
“Where the fuck are you coming up with these names?” he asked, reaching over to pet the cat. “I like Plot Twist. Seems kind of fitting. You busting in here and handcuffing me to a chair was the biggest fucking plot twist in my life.”
And mine.
Gavino - 2 weeks
Despite what Leo said, I actually did get a little grace period when it came to family dinner.
Everyone seemed to understand how much Caitlin had just been through and that she might not want to meet the family while still rocking a black eye so dark that no amount of makeup could make it disappear.
So we got two weeks to ourselves.
We did nothing but eat, sleep, read, and play with PT. It was something we both needed. To be able to settle into the relationship without the worries about the mystery surrounding her father or the Family.
We just got to be a couple.
Without too much intrusion.
Sure, my brothers dropped by and met her, but they kept the visits short. And, honestly, Nico and Cesare were probably just jealous that they Leo and Zeno got to meet her a while back already.
“I know you said casual, but casual feels wrong when I know your brothers are basically always in suits,” Caitlin said as she walked down the hall, her heels clicking on the hardwood.
She’d gone full fall with this one.
It was a floor-length shirtdress that buttoned all the way down in a plaid pattern of maroon, navy, brown, and white. She belted it to draw in her waist and paired it with brown boots.
It was the first time she’d been out of comfy clothes since we’d come back from the cabin, and I was having a hard time holding myself back from undoing all those buttons and making us really fucking late for dinner.
“That’s perfect. You look great.”
“It’s not trying too hard?”
“No. You look amazing.”