Forbidden Temptations (Tempted Series Book 2) (39 page)

“Yeah, you should probably try it sometime,” she added in a snarky tone and I laughed. “I know what you’re going to say so I’ll spare you the trouble and me the agony of hearing you say ‘It’s complicated.’

“Actually, I’m starting to think it doesn’t have to be complicated anymore,” I said as I stood in the doorway of the other bedroom, watching Anthony lay in bed with Luca tucked against his side. “I love him and I don’t want to live without him anymore.”

“Then don’t,” she said simply. “Life is short A, too short not to grab it by the balls and take it for all it’s worth.”

“Listen to you,” I said with a smile. I decided not to tell Nikki that I was the one responsible for Rico’ death. I would, but when the time was right, when I could look her in the eye and say the words.

“I’m glad you called. I’ve been worried about you guys,” she admitted. “How’s my nephew?”

I wanted to tell her how we took him to the falls yesterday and how much Luca loved every minute. I wasn’t sure, if he cared much about the waterfalls or if he was just so happy to be around Anthony. It was one of the best days of his life, which made it easily the best day of mine. In the end, I didn’t know whether it was safe to disclose where I was so I didn’t say anything about our little family excursion.

“He’s fine. He’s having a blast with Anthony. Every morning he teaches him how to box after they have breakfast. Luca doesn’t get it, he’s still too young, but Anthony thinks if he starts him young he’ll be the next Muhamed Ali.”

“Aww. I miss my little monkey. Will you give him a kiss for me and tell him his Aunt Nikki loves him?”

“Of course,” I promised. “Nikki? Be careful okay? Just lie low and listen to Mikey until this whole thing is over.”

“You do the same,” she said. “And when I see you I’m not settling for vague bullshit answers about you and Anthony. No, this time I want all the dirty details.”

“Goodbye Nicole,” I laughed.

“Yeah, yeah…Love you.”

“Love you too,” I whispered, holding the phone until the call ended. I stepped into the bedroom and walked towards the bed, taking a seat at the foot of the bed and stared at my boys. Anthony opened one eye, glancing at me before patting the other side of the bed.

“You feel better?”

“Yes,” I whispered, climbing over him and tucking myself into the crook of his arm. I reached across Anthony’s chest and brushed Luca’s hair from his forehead.

“We okay?” He asked.

I lifted my eyes from my son to Anthony and nodded. “We’re okay.”

He stared at me for a moment before tightening his hold on both me and my baby, hanging on as if he’d never let go.

A few days had passed since Adrianna last spoke to her sister. I had no reason to assume the worst but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I tried calling Victor a few times but nothing; it was like he sent us off the grid without any contact from anyone. It drove me nuts, not being in control, being left completely in the dark about the war that imploded but I learned to embrace it. This would be life without the mob.

I played Victors words over and over in my head, wanting so badly to trust him, but I learned a long time ago that Victor wasn’t a generous man. He wasn’t the type to sacrifice his own needs for the sake of others. He didn’t give two fucks about my needs or my wants. He proved that countless times but still there was something different this time. Aside from the strands of sincerity that reflected in his eyes there also had been a shred of desperation, a plea for mercy, begging for redemption.

It would be nice to live the life Vic painted for me, a life free of all the dirty deeds and angst, one that revolved around a family. These past few days I’ve gotten a taste of that life, a simple life, but one I wanted more of. I used to sit in my cell, dreaming of the day I’d walk away from those iron bars that bound me, thinking I’d finally be emancipated. But when the day came, all I did was trade one prison for another. I used to think I was made for a life of crime but I started to realize I had been put on this earth to take Adrianna away from the life she was born into. If Vic set me free, he’d be setting us both free and giving us the most selfless gift. They say a leopard doesn’t change his spots but what about the devil? Can he rise above the flames and do the right thing?

The ringing of my phone pulled me away from my thoughts and I lifted myself off the front porch steps and slid my phone from my back pocket. The only people who had the number of this line were the people I had called which were Mikey and Victor. The number on the caller ID came up as unavailable causing me to hesitate for a moment before accepting the call.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“It’s me.” Vic said his voice hoarse.

“I’ve been trying to call you. Vic how much longer do we have to stay here?”

“It’s over,” he said. “It’s all over.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t get into over the phone but everything is taken care of. There was a complication, Michael was shot.”

I swiped my hand over my face, closing my eyes and pushed back the guilt that started to surface. I tried to steer Mike clear of this shit, warned him he would get burnt but never thought he’d be caught in the crossfire. I figured I’d be able to intervene if the time ever came. He may have been Val’s son but Mike wasn’t cut for this life.

“They got to Nikki,” Victor began. “Took her in the middle of the night and roughed her up, used her as leverage over me, but before I could get to her Michael did. He saved her, taking the bullet that was meant for her. He’s in the O.R. now …” his voice trailing off before he managed to continue. “It would be good if you and Adrianna made your way down here. Nicole’s going to need support and I’m, well, I’m the last person she wants to lean on.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I pray to God he is,” he whispered. “It’s all over Anthony, thirty some odd years of bad decisions finally hit me where it hurts. It has to end and if I don’t end it now I’m not so sure I ever will.”

I didn’t know what he was saying, what the underlying meaning was behind his words but Victor was breaking down. The concrete walls he built as a fortress around him crumbled and left him vulnerable.

“You’ll be free, all of you,” He vowed.

“Victor…” I managed, not knowing what to say to him.

“Make your way down here and give Adrianna my love even if she doesn’t accept it, let her know her daddy loves her,” he whispered, his voice catching before he ended the call.

* * * * *

Looking back on that morning I received that call from Victor, I wished I had realized that when he hung up the phone that would be the last time I spoke to him. I lived a good portion of my life despising the man but when I really sat down and thought about it he had been the only man in my life for a long time. I wouldn’t say he was a father figure to me, but he had once been my role model, a man I
chose
to look up to. He stormed into my life bringing a lot of pain and suffering into it, but he also gave me his daughter, making my relationship with him worthwhile.

You don’t realize all the things you want to tell a person until you can’t say the words anymore, until the chance to speak is ripped from you. I would have thanked him for creating such a perfect woman for me to love. I would’ve told him I had it from here and that I’d take care of her from now on. I would’ve said goodbye.

It took us two days from the day he called to get to Florida, to the hospital that Mike had been admitted to. He had made it through surgery. The doctors removed the bullet and repaired the damage, assuring us he would make a full recovery.

When we arrived, Grace had been in the waiting room, crying and looking lost until Adrianna placed her grandson into her arms. The woman Vic had shared his life with looked into the eyes of the little boy and his innocence gave her hope. She guided us to Mike’s room and when we stepped inside Adrianna ran to her sister. They held each other, tears streaming down both their faces as they mourned the tragedy they lived through, the pain they were free from, and the loss of their father.

Victor hadn’t died, but he lost the only life he had ever known. After word came from the doctor that Michael survived the surgery, Victor checked in on the man that saved his daughter. Like he had with me, he gave Michael his blessing to take care of Nikki.

Victor Pastore would always be known as the man who controlled the streets of New York. A man feared, respected and despised. He was a man who made headlines and filled the obituaries of a newspaper. He was the man who made the ultimate sacrifice for his daughters. See, only a man who has been inside knows the magnitude of what his actions mean. I’m that man. I spent three years in jail for a crime I didn’t commit, and now Victor would spend the rest of his life doing the same.

Vic confessed to the police that he killed Rico the night of the shooting, sparing both of his daughters. His confession snowballed into taking responsibility for a laundry list of crimes that weighed heavily on his conscience. The authorities brought him back to New York after charging him and he will stand trial but there is no escaping his fate. Throughout his years of corruption, he has paid top dollar for lawyers, always beating the system and eluding jail. This time Vic has refused the attorneys he keeps on retainer and is using the public defender. He surrendered, giving everything up, walking away from the power and set us all free.

Heartbroken. I’ve spent half of my life acquainted with the feeling of the chambers of my heart shattering. The shards stabbing at what’s left, and that’s how I felt when I learned what my father had done. It was different from the heartbreak I was used to though there was a different echo of sadness laced with the pain.

I was numb, other than the guilt that consumed me, swallowing me whole. I didn’t know how to explain what I felt, it was almost as if my father had died when they told me he’d been arrested. I saw the devastation in my mother’s eyes, the sadness in my sister’s and I felt responsible. The last conversation I had with my father haunted me, Rico’s face as my bullet pierced him flashed in my head, it was all too much. This was all my fault.

Nikki grabbed my hand, kissed Mikey on the cheek, and told him and Anthony that she was steeling me away for a few minutes.

Anthony stepped to me, tilting my chin with his finger so that my eyes met his. “You okay?”

I nodded, but he knew just as well as I did, that, I was anything but okay. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead.

“Let it go,” he whispered against my skin. “It’s not your fault.” He said so low that only I could hear his words.

I pulled back and stared at him, wondering if he believed I wasn’
t to blame for all this. Nikki tugged on my hand and I broke my stare with Anthony to follow her out of Mike
’s room. She led me to the hospital cafeteria, ordering us both coffees, and took a seat. It wasn’t until we were seated that she let tears fall freely down her face.

I stood up, walked around the table, kneeling in front of my sister, and took her into my arms.

“I thought I was going to lose him,” She sobbed against my shoulder. “Adrianna I was so scared that Mikey was going to die, that I said some pretty cruel things to dad.” She choked on her sobs before pulling back and wiping her face with her hands. “It’s all my fault. He confessed to Rico’s murder because of what I said to him and now there’s no turning back.”

“Look at me.” I said, holding her face in the palms of my hand. I took a deep breath as her eyes found mine and blurted my truth. “I killed Rico,” I whispered.

Her cries paused momentarily allowing her a chance to peer at me through confused eyes.

“It’s true,” I said calmly. It was amazing how the truth set you free. The words that weighed so heavily on my shoulders broke away from me. “I killed him, not daddy.” I reached for her hand, my eyes never leaving hers as I confessed my sins. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry but he was going to shoot Anthony,”
I dropped my head.
“I reacted the only way I knew how,”
I whispered. Looking into Nikki
’s eyes, I continued to speak. “I fought for what was mine and didn’t hesitate.”