Chapter Thirteen
L eon walked over to the garage and saw Donavan inside. He stepped in and asked him, “Are Rowen and Calli upstairs?”
Donavan nodded, then asked, “What’s going on?”
Leon looked at him and said, “We found out Gianno is getting out, the day after tomorrow. His men are meeting with Stephano today and I have a feeling they are coming tonight. I wanted to warn Rowen just in case this all goes down now.”
Donavan nodded. “Maybe I should come with you then. I’ll need to show them the safe room and get ready.”
Leon nodded. Then they both went upstairs.
Calli was in his room with his dog.
Rowen was in the kitchen, making supper. She took one look at Leon’s face and shut off the stove. She went to the table and sat down in a chair. “What’s going on?”
“Your grandfather’s release date has been moved up and his friends have already met with your father,” Leon told her. “I think they’re moving in tonight rather than three weeks from now.”
Rowen clenched her hands into fists. “That dirty rotten bastard.” She looked up at Leon and asked, “So what’s your plan then?”
“We have notified both Marco and the Council and we will protect ourselves. If they think we will just lay down and let them kill us, they are definitely going to find out they are wrong. We will defend this home and we will fight back.”
“Good.” Rowen growled.
“I think I finally got Marco to believe in the threat as well. If they hit both of us at the same time, we will be ready,” Leon assured her.
“What do you want me and Calli to do?” she had to ask.
Leon stepped over and patted her arm. “You have already done your part by bringing this to us. Now you have to let it play out, mia cara. Donavan will show you and Calli to the safe room. I want you to stay there until this is over.”
Tears rolled down Rowen’s cheeks as she said, “I still can’t believe they are doing this.
It's so wrong in every way. I know you have to take them down and I hope it hurts.” Rowen looked angry as she snarled.
“In the case of my father, it might even be a relief in some small way. This whole thing has screwed up his life. He’s so far under his own father’s thumb, he hasn’t had a day free of the shame and the wrongness of this since day one. ”
“Then why didn’t he bring this to our attention himself?” Leon demanded.
“Because he is a weak man,” Rowen told him.
“He always was. Before my mom left, she wore the pants in our family. When she walked out because she finally had enough, the worst thing she ever did was leave me and Calli behind. My dad folded the first day. It was ten years ago and I had to step up and take over the household.”
“Well now, I need you to step up and do the right thing for your brother,” Leon told her. “Just keep him close and safe.”
Rowen nodded. “I always will. I wish you luck tonight. Make them all pay.”
“Oh mia cara, have no worries on that score. My men don’t miss.” Leon nodded then turned to leave.
W hen the sun set on the Boston area, Donavan had Calli, Cheri and Rowen in the safe room.
Rowen had explained to Calli why they were doing this, moving to another area.
Calli didn’t show any emotion as they waited in the safe room.
Rowen acted edgy and nervous as she kept watching the clock.
Donavan tried to distract her. “Hey, you and your brother will be okay. We are underground and no one outside Leon’s own family knows about this room or the rooms he has under the main house. Leon will keep his family safe there.”
Rowen stared at him for a moment then asked, “Can I ask you to do something for me?”
Donavan nodded. “Sure, what do you need?”
She stepped close and grabbed his shirt with both hands. Then she planted her lips onto his.
Donavan stood very still as he held his arms out at his sides. Then he slowly wrapped them around her to kiss her back. The kiss went on for a long minute or two. They both felt the electricity of the kiss. He groaned and then pressed harder and they both got lost in the feeling they experienced.
Finally, with a gasp, she stepped back to stare at him. “I needed a kiss,” she explained in a shy way. “I’ve never had one before and I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss a man before this goes down.”
Donavan smiled at her as he reached out to pass his fingers over her lips. “For a girl who never had one, that was a helluva kiss, Rowen.”
She bit at her lip and went on, “I won’t hold you to anything if we survive but I wanted one before this goes down.”
Donavan grinned at her. “Well, I hope we get another chance at one. That was just too tempting.” He grabbed both of her hands and gazed into her eyes. “Look, we will be okay. Please try not to worry. This isn’t the first time this place has been under siege.”
She tilted her head at him. “Oh? Really?”
“Yeah, it has happened several times since I’ve been here. But I think this one will be at a smaller level. Not like some we’ve had here.”
Then they both felt the earth move and Donavan rushed to watch the outside cameras. He could see the battle beginning.
Rowen walked over and gasped when she saw a car ramming the front gates.
Donavan shook his head. “Don’t worry, they can’t get through.”