A Bookie's Odds (23 page)

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“Are you some kind of idiot, or what?”

“It’s nice seeing you too, Pops,” Nicholas greeted, though he did not glance up from the bar he was wiping. “We ain’t open for business, but I’m sure Georgia wouldn’t mind if you had a drink.” He waved at the mostly empty shelf behind him. “Pick your poison.”

“You’re lucky I’m not picking you off the floor.”

“Sounds like you’re a bit displeased with me.” Nicholas glanced up. “You care to share why?”

“I stopped by your place earlier, and you weren’t there.”

“Yeah, kind of hard for me to be in two places at once.”

“I asked you to drop Georgia off last night. Tell me you didn’t stay.”

“Can’t tell you a lie.”

“Then tell me you slept in separate rooms.”

Nicholas made no sound.

His father slammed his fist on the bar. “You slept with her,” he shouted.

“And what’s wrong with Georgia?”

“She’s not like those bimbos you keep company with. Georgia’s a good girl. She shouldn’t be mixed up with a thug like you.”

Nicholas threw the washrag across the room. “You don’t think I know that?” He leaned against the wall and gripped his head.

“Then why?”

“Because I couldn’t walk away from her. Trust me, I’ve tried, but the more I argue the reasons why I shouldn’t be with her, the more I want her.”

His father stared at him a second, before he seemed to deflate. His shoulders drooped as he sank onto a stool, rested his elbows on the bar, and dropped his head in his hands.

“They have a way of doing that.”

“What?” Nicholas dropped his hands to his side.

His father lifted his head. “Your mother had the same effect on me.” He wiped his hand over his face.

Figuring the conversation would not be an easy one for the older man, Nicholas grabbed a bottle of scotch. He retrieved two glasses from under the bar and poured each of them a drink.

His father stared at his glass but made no attempt to take it.

“I first saw your mother at a cousin’s wedding. She was the maid of honor, and I can honestly say, to this day, I don’t know what the bride wore. From the moment your mother came down the aisle, I could not take my eyes off her. I spent the day staring at her and the next two weeks thinking about her. When the bride and groom returned from their honeymoon, I questioned my cousin’s wife until she offered to have a dinner party and invite us over.

“When I was finally introduced to your mother, I knew she was not the type of woman I could bed a few times and then walk away from. I had to have her forever.” His father looked up and shook a finger at him. “However, even though I realized that, I did not lay a hand on her until we were married.”

“Okay, so maybe last night was not the smartest thing I’ve ever done,” Nicholas said. “However, I’m not sorry I did it.”

“Then what are your intentions?”

Nicholas shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

“Then let me give you a piece of advice.” His father did not wait to see if his advice was wanted or not. “I didn’t do entirely right by your mother.”

“Whaddaya mean? Did you cheat on her?”

“No, I was never unfaithful to your mother. And if you ever suggest it again, I’ll deck you.”

Nicholas nodded.

“I knew your mother was not thrilled with my career choice, but, nonetheless, I stayed with it. It was the one thing I did that made her unhappy. If I had to do it over again, I’d quit the business and do something legitimate. You already know Georgia doesn’t approve of your lifestyle. Are you willing to give up your business to make her happy? If not, you need to back off.”

It was one of the things Nicholas had considered as he held Georgia during the night. He enjoyed the excitement of a good hustle, yet it was not the lifestyle she should be involved with. She needed a good man who was willing to go out and make an honest living.

He raised his glass. Before it reached his lips, a pop echoed from overhead.

Nicholas slammed the glass on the bar and dashed to the back. His father followed him upstairs. With no thought about what was on the other side, he flung open the door and ran into the apartment. He stopped short in the foyer. A chill rushed through him.

Georgia stood at the entrance to the hall. She ignored the blood dripping from her nose. Her arms were stretched out in front of her. Both hands clutched a gun. William cowered on the floor behind the sofa.

As much as Nicholas wanted to go after the other man, Georgia was his first priority. He moved to her side slowly so as not to spook her.

“Georgia, honey, put the gun down.”

She shook her head. “He was man enough to hit me; he should be man enough to face me.”

“You can’t shoot him.”

“I’m no one’s punching bag.”

“I know you’re not, darling.”

“No one’s going to hurt me like Celeste.”

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” Nicholas placed a hand over hers. “Most of all, I’m not going to let you hurt yourself.”

She glanced at him.

“I can’t let you get blood on your hands. Please, give me the gun.”

Georgia lowered her arms. Nicholas took the gun from her as his father stepped forward and grabbed William by his collar.

“I’ll take care of him,” his father announced.

Nicholas held out the gun. “Take this with you.”

His father took the weapon, then dragged the other man to the front door of the apartment, where he shoved William through the neighbors who had gathered to watch the drama.

“Where’d you get the gun?” Nicholas asked once the door closed.

“Joey gave it to me.”

Nicholas shook his head as he pulled her to him. Georgia was changing, and he could not allow that to happen. He hadn’t protected Celeste, or Gracie’s. He would be damned if he did not save Georgia from herself.

“You won’t need that as long as I’m around,” he whispered, hoping he had not been too late for her.

Chapter 19

“I’d like to know where you find your men, so I can avoid that place.”

Neither Celeste nor Georgia smiled at the nurse’s tasteless joke. After a few seconds of cold silence, the other woman realized the friends did not find humor in the bruises they sported. She quickly gathered the soiled bandages she had changed and exited the room.

“How are you feeling?” Georgia kissed her friend’s forehead.

“Forget me.” Celeste brushed the tender bruise under Georgia’s right eye with an index finger. “What the hell happened to you?”

“William and I had a disagreement.”

“William? Who’s that?”

Georgia remembered Celeste had never met the man her father had such high hopes for. She quickly got her friend caught up with her life.

“You told your father?”

Georgia flinched as she recalled her father’s reaction. She had stopped to go over the liquor order and give him an update on the furniture repairs. Since his injuries had not included a temporary loss of vision, he immediately noticed the bruise on her face.

Her father had been livid. He ranted for ten minutes, threatening to walk out in his pajamas to search for William. He finally calmed down when Mr. Santiano arrived and assured her father that once William’s hand healed, the man would think twice before raising it to another woman.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Celeste sympathized.

“You and me both.” With a sigh, Georgia dropped into the chair. “I should be grateful he showed his true colors before we got serious.”

“Were you thinking about marrying him?”

Georgia shook her head. The previous night she had made up her mind to tell William they could only be friends. He was nothing like Nicholas, and she could not settle for someone who had not made her feel as special as her friend did.

“At least you don’t have to learn that happily-ever-after is a bunch of bull. All these happy couples in the movies…humph. I wish they would stop filling women’s heads with dreams and show the reality of marriage.”

“What are you talking about?”

Celeste slumped back. “The moment Gianni said, ‘I do,’ he changed. All he cared about was his wants and needs. Screw whatever I wanted.”

Georgia cringed at her friend’s language. The light had been extinguished from her eyes. She looked like her soul had been sucked from her, leaving a jaded shell.

“Not all men are like…”

Celeste’s glare chilled Georgia. Her friend did not want to hear a line that not all men were jerks. And she did not want to be assured that there was someone decent out there for her.

Gianni had not only taken Celeste’s innocence but had conned the woman into a relationship by making her believe there was no one else out there who’d accept her. She no longer wore her rose-colored glasses, and for that change in her Georgia wished Nicholas could go another round with his brother-in-law.

“We walked out of the courthouse, and he couldn’t wait till we got to the hotel to start our wedding night.”

A dread filled Georgia.

“He had parked the car in an isolated area of the parking lot. When we returned to it, he ordered me to remove my underwear and climb into the back seat. When I insisted we wait, he grabbed me by the neck, waved the marriage certificate in my face, and told me that piece of paper gave him the right to be with me whenever and wherever he wanted.”

“He made you do it in the car, against your will?”

Celeste took a ragged breath. “Nonna said the first couple of times might not be pleasant, but she never told us how awful it would be. It felt like he was ripping into me.”

Georgia thought about Nicholas. It had felt weird with him inside her, filling her until she did not think she could stretch any more. And the tearing of her maidenhead did hurt, but even that pain had subsided.

“Did the sex get better?”

Celeste shook her head. “The only thing that made it all worthwhile was when the doctor told me I was pregnant.” She placed her hand on her stomach. “I had gone to the doctor just before I visited your father.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I hadn’t told Gianni yet. I had planned to surprise him over dinner, but when Nicholas insisted we eat at the club, I decided to put it off for another day.”

“Did you ever get a chance to tell him?”

“When he got home that night, he was so mad I figured I’d tell him to make him happy.” Celeste turned her head and stared past Georgia. “He accused me of sleeping around and said the baby wasn’t his.”

Georgia swallowed back the bile in her throat. She would not fall apart in Celeste’s presence. Her friend needed her to be strong. She would save her breakdown for another time…when she was alone…or better yet, when she was with Nicholas, who would comfort her.

“I wish you would’ve told us.”

“I thought if I did everything he asked, things would get better.”

“I hope you don’t believe any of this is your fault.”

“Of course it is. I was stupid enough to believe in all that romance crap. That’s a fantasy…at least for someone who looks like me.”

By the time Georgia walked out of the room, it was as though someone had sucked all the energy from her.

“What’s wrong?” Nicholas stood as Georgia stepped into the lounge. He had waited in the other room to give the women a chance to talk privately.

Georgia heard the fear in his voice and intended to ease his worries. But when she opened her mouth, the emotions she had forced back during her visit rushed to the surface. She stepped out of the room and dashed down the hall to the bathroom. She slammed into the room and headed to the nearest stall. Without bothering to close the door, she dropped to her knees and emptied her stomach into the toilet.

Once there was nothing left to bring up, she felt a hand on her back. She glanced up as another hand reached out and depressed the lever, sending away the remains of her breakfast.

With his hands on her waist, Nicholas pulled her to her feet and led her to the sink. The door opened as he turned on the faucet.

“It’s occupied,” he barked in response to the older woman’s squeak. When she simply glared back at them, he released Georgia and marched to the door. “Find another bathroom,” he ordered.

The woman backed up until she was on the other side of the threshold. Nicholas closed the door and shoved the trashcan under the doorknob.

“Maybe we should go,” Georgia suggested.

He shook his head as he moved back to her side. He pointed to the water. “Drink.”

With a sigh, Georgia cupped her hands under the faucet and filled them with the lukewarm water. She slurped up the liquid and sloshed it around in her mouth before spitting it into the sink. She would have preferred a toothbrush and toothpaste but figured the water would suffice for the time being.

Nicholas wetted a paper towel, then wiped her face, taking care around the bruise. Once he’d finished, he turned off the faucet and leaned against the sink.

“What happened?”

Georgia had no desire to revisit the conversation she’d had with Celeste. The determined look in Nicholas’s eyes said he would get the information, even if he had to ask his sister.

Not wanting her friend to have to relive her nightmare for the second time in less than an hour, Georgia leaned against the wall.

“Gianni started beating on her the moment they walked out of the courthouse.”

Other than an occasional flinch, Nicholas showed no outward sign of his emotions as she revealed the beatings his sister had endured. She did not discuss the coupling between them, as she felt the other woman deserved a bit of privacy.

“How could I have been so blind?”

Georgia stepped in front of Nicholas and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You’d known Gianni for years. You didn’t want to think the worst of your friend.”

****

Nicholas shook his head. There had been the signs. Besides her warning, he’d seen the changes not only in Celeste but in Gianni. The other man’s behavior had been more abrupt, and he’d demonstrated the physical signs of a user.

“I’m not going to let you blame yourself for this,” Georgia mumbled in his chest.

“Why shouldn’t you?”

She lifted her head. Her eyes narrowed. “I just finished listening to Celeste blame herself for not being the ideal wife. Now you’re kicking yourself for not listening to me or seeing the signs. However, no one has said a thing against Gianni. He’s the one who lifted a hand to Celeste.” She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “If anything, Celeste needs to be commended for leaving before he killed her. As for you…” She intertwined her fingers through his, lifted his hand to her lips, and kissed his battered knuckles.