Chapter 16 #3
“I can only pray for the same,” I tell him sincerely. That’s one thing I definitely don’t have to lie about. “Thank you for calling. Please feel free to contact me if you want to check in on Maximo or have any other updates for us.”
“I will, Ms. Monroe. I hope that you and Mr. Luciani have good news moving forward and that he recovers. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything or have any other concerns.”
“I will, Detective. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Ms. Monroe,” I hear him say before I end the call and let out a long, slow breath. I realize I’m smiling for the first time in what feels like days, and that I’m filled with a quiet hope that things are going to be all right.
Over the next few hours, Trenton comes and goes from the room.
He only stays for a few minutes at a time, then begs off for various reasons.
Mostly reassuring me that he’s calling Leonard and Adeline to keep the family updated or pleading that he needs to go smoke.
The nurses and Maximo’s doctor come and go as well, checking on his vitals and the output of his drains.
They quietly work around me, respecting my privacy as I sit there holding his hand and praying.
“I almost feel dirty begging God for help,” I whisper to him late that afternoon after the last nurse has left us alone. “After everything I’ve done, I can’t imagine He wants to hear much from me, you know?” I bow my head over him and kiss his hand, the same gesture I’ve repeated dozens of times.
When Maximo suddenly shifts in the bed and groans my head snaps up to his face. His eyes crack open and roll sightlessly before they focus, and his gaze falls on me. “Who wouldn’t want to hear from you, firefly?” he asks me in a hoarse voice.
“Maximo?” I gasp as I stand up and try to snake my arms around his neck, suddenly desperate to hug him. “Oh God, Max. How are you feeling?”
“Alive. And better, seeing you here. Oof, watch my side, though,” he complains as I practically crawl into the bed with him. “Are you all right, though? The nurses wouldn’t tell me anything except that you had been to see me.”
“I’m fine, Maximo. Trenton is okay, too. Joey…Joey didn’t make it.”
“I remember.” He huffs out a sigh as I ease back into my seat and continue holding onto his hand. He gives it a squeeze and says, “His warning gave Trenton and I enough time to react. I’m going to take care of his people. He took care of mine,” he adds.
“Maximo, why did you jump out there in the shooting? What were you thinking? Look what happened! I almost…I almost lost you!”
“Hey, don’t cry, firefly. I’m sorry I worried you. I wasn’t thinking, I suppose. I just knew I had to protect you. I was furious, and I panicked. I didn’t even think about myself.”
“You better think of yourself in the future! And we’re getting a permit for me to carry a gun too; do you hear me?”
“Of course we will,” he says and chuckles weakly. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea though. I had one and look at the insane cowboy move I tried to pull. I blame all those westerns I watch. You see Clint Eastwood do it a few dozen times and you think you’re a hero.”
“You are my hero,” I whisper.
His eyes close and he lets out a deep sigh.
At first, I think he’s passed out again, but then he speaks.
“I was having the strangest dreams. It didn’t feel like I was asleep, but I wasn’t completely awake.
Does that make sense? I was just drifting along through one odd dream after another.
I heard your voice,” he says. “I think those dreams are what helped bring me back. Your voice was telling me we were going to be married and have a baby. It’s like you were telling me about a future we could have together if I could just wake up. ”
“We are going to have a baby, Max. Oh my God! You did hear me!” I exclaim.
“I’m pregnant. And I will marry you; that wasn’t a dream.
That was me, right here, making my vow to you.
I want to be your wife. I’m going to be the mother of your children.
You just have to get better and get back on your feet.
I’ll be here with you through everything. ”
His eyes open again and his other hand fumbles towards the bed controls.
He finds the button to lift his head, and the bed pushes him up into a sitting position.
“It was all true?” he asks me through a broad grin.
“We’re going to have a baby together? And all I had to do to get you to agree to marry me was get shot again? ”
“No, you idiot, you didn’t have to get shot!” I laugh at him. “I was already warming up to the idea.”
“We’ll make all the arrangements just as soon as we settle with the Volkovs, then.” His smile falters and his eyes narrow grimly. “I’m going to pay them back in blood for what they’ve done. Is Trenton with you? We have some things to discuss in that regard.”
“He’s outside, but you don’t have to worry. Irina Volkov and her son are dead.” I can’t hide the pride in my voice or the smile that blossoms on my face when he looks at me in wide-eyed surprise.
“That’s great news! But how? Did my men take some action, or did the police catch up to them?”
“No, baby.” I bring his hand to my lips and kiss it again.
“I happened to them. I took your phone and followed through on your plan. I had those bikers, the Savage Kings, give me more of those explosives they used on the Gargoyles’ clubhouse.
They built a bomb for me that I strapped to Jacob.
I forced Irina to meet me to trade the Bianchi boy for her son, and then I blew them both back to hell. ”
“Constance, I…that’s incredible, but what if you were you seen? I can’t lose you now to the police! I’ll call my lawyers, whatever you need to make sure…”
“Hush.” I reach over to place a finger to his lips and interrupt him and lower my voice.
“Detective Tillman called me a while ago to tell me that Irina and Jacob were found dead. I’m sure he has suspicions, but I was careful.
Trenton, Jamie, and some of their crews helped me set everything up.
They’re getting rid of the vehicles we used even as we speak and covering the last of our tracks.
As far as the police are concerned, I’ve been here with you the entire day.
We even had one of Trenton’s girlfriends pose as me to help give me an alibi. ”
“One of Trenton’s… you mean that dark-haired girl Vannessa? She doesn’t look that much like you…”
I interrupt him again by digging in my purse and pulling out the blue surgical mask I’ve been wearing while coming and going in the hospital.
“Once we put on our hats and covered our faces, we could pass for twins,” I tell him as I attached it over my ears.
“See? I bet you couldn’t have picked out which of us was the real one. ”
“I would have known,” he says. “But it sounds like you planned well. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect woman to come into my life. Someone so brave, who would have my back through anything. Someone to be a perfect queen for my kingdom.”
We both turn towards the door as it opens slightly and Trenton eases back into the room, quietly shutting it behind him.
When he turns to look at us, his face brightens in surprise.
“You’re awake!” he beams as he strides over to the other side of the bed.
“You look awful, Maximo. How are you feeling? Has Constance had a chance to tell you what a busy little bee she’s been? ”
“She was just filling me in on some of the details.” Maximo grimaces as he shifts around in the bed trying to get comfortable. “Truth is, I feel fucking puny, but having her here is giving me a new lease on life. Constance says you have been busy while I’ve been in this bed.”
“Busy isn’t the half of it, boss. But we’ve held things down, thanks to her.
I didn’t know what we were going to do at first, but Constance stepped up.
I wasn’t sure if Jamie would listen to her.
Hell, I wasn’t sure I should listen to her, but she ran with your plan and pulled it together better than I ever could have.
She’s a keeper, take it from me. I’ve been looking for one for years, and this one is a keeper. ”
“Well, I’m glad to know that she’s got your approval,” Maximo snorts at him. “Especially since you’re going to be the best man at our wedding.”
“No, Maximo. Come on. Me? I’m just the hired help!”
“No, you’re not. You’re as much family to me now as Leonard. As much as Enzo was, or Joey. You’ve bled for me and you risked your life to keep her safe. I owe you, Trenton, and I don’t forget my friends. You’ve proven your loyalty and your courage.”
“I didn’t do any of this so you would owe me, boss.
Enzo brought me onto his crew when I was just a dockworker scraping to get by day to day.
He was good to me and gave me a life I couldn’t have imagined.
He told me all the time he learned how to treat his people from you.
I owed him, and I owe you for everything you do for me.
Even without all that, though, I would have taken care of Constance for you. ”
Trenton turns to me and adds, “I would have protected you, no matter what. But you didn’t need me to. Not really. You’re as much of a leader as he is.” He nods toward Maximo. “You’re so much like him that it almost felt natural when you picked up where he left off and finished his work.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, though. You, Jamie, and all the rest of the people that work under the name of the Luciani family,” I tell him.
“They all feel the same way I do.” Trenton shrugs.
“The Luciani’s take care of us. They give us opportunities we never would’ve had.
You can’t buy that kind of loyalty. You have to earn it.
You two both have that same quality. You earn the respect, the loyalty, hell, the love of the people that work for you. ”
“I appreciate you saying that,” Maximo tells Trenton. “It’s one thing my father always hammered into me. We don’t forget our friends, and we always take care of our family.” He takes Trenton’s hand while still holding mine in his other. “And together, we can get through anything.”
“Speaking of family…” Trenton shuffles his feet awkwardly. “I’m going to go call Leonard and tell him you’re awake. I’ll let him know it’s safe to bring Adeline over to the hospital. Your mother has been freaking out and is desperate to come see you.”
“Go, call them,” Maximo agrees. “Constance and I will be fine.”
“And tell them to be ready to start planning a wedding.” I smile at Maximo as Trenton starts to walk away. “I’d like to get a dress and get our pictures before I begin showing too much,” I add in a whisper that only Maximo can hear.
He holds up his arms and motions me forward for a hug. When I carefully wrap my arms around him and he holds me close, I feel a surge of relief.
And I know, for the first time since I buried my father, that things are going to be all right.
I’ve found a new family after losing the only one I’d ever known.
A new family and a new life. A life that’s more exciting, more fulfilling, than I could’ve ever imagined.
I came to Maximo seeking vengeance. He’d given me that, but even more, he’d given me hope for the future and dispelled the clouds of misery that had haunted me.
“I love you,” I whisper to him. “I’d do anything for you, Maximo Luciani.”
He caresses my hair and turns my face to him, pressing his lips to mine. “Be careful making promises like that to me, firefly. You never know what I might do to hold you to them.”