Ties That Bind (29 page)

“He jumped in front of me!  Christ, Toni, what the hell do you want from me?”

“Tell him he's not a fucking bodyguard!  Tell him you want him alive. Hell, Jimmie tell him you need him beside you instead of treating him like a damn hired hand. I don't care what it takes but if anything happens to him Gino’s going to be the least of your worries.”

“I don't need your threats. Don't you think I feel guilty enough as it is?” Jimmie spat. “I sat there holding him as the blood ran out of him. Look at me!” He jumped up to shake her, tugging at his still blood stained shirt. “His blood is on me,
mio fratello
!  And where were you?  Sitting pretty at the right hand of your bastard of a father while he called in the hit?”

Toni shrank back. “You think my father did this?”

“Know anyone else Mitch has pissed off lately?  If he couldn't have him he was going to make damn sure nobody did. And since you couldn't fuck him to your daddy's side Terenari took the only option he had left.”

She dropped to the chair as he continued to rage. It took him several minutes to quiet and even more to finally get his temper under control. When he did, he sank to kneel at her feet. “
Mi scusi. La calma è la virtù dei forti
. Unfortunately,” he whispered, “I am not strong.”

“
Quando la famiglia è in difficoltà, il cerchio si rafforza
.”

He took her hands in his, kissing them lightly and holding them to his lips. “I am not your father. I don't expect you to take my shit with blind acceptance and a meek nod of the head. Knock sense into me when required and never ever let me talk to you like that again. It's unacceptable. Understand?”

She nodded, squeezing his hand in affirmation. Her voice was like a kitten when she finally found words.  “Jimmie, do you think it was him?”

“I don't know,” he sighed. “It's just the only thing that makes sense.”

“Not since we were kids have I been so…”

“Angry?” he guessed but she shook her head. Jimmie waited but it was silent tears that gave away her emotions. “Scared. Come.” He opened his arms, folding her into his embrace on the floor, rocking her gently as her tears continued to fall.

“You knew the world couldn’t see this, hm?  That’s why the anger, the fire, the threats to everyone.”

“I can’t be his weakness. Or he mine. It would endanger us all.”

“He’s right,” Jimmie rested his lips on the top of her head. “You know far too much about this world we live in.”

“He's the only true thing I have left,” she whispered. “I can't lose him.”

Jimmie pulled her tighter, his own grief melding with hers. “Then we hold something in common.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

In the days that followed, the vigil only continued to grow. Men from across the globe took up residence more to gain respect with Gino Palmese than to offer sincere worries over Mitch’s well-being. It infuriated Toni and only Jimmie managed to prevent her from starting several wars. When the tension between her and Ashli had become too much for anyone to stomach, Jimmie had sequestered Ashli in a nearby hotel. Gino had convinced the hospital to give up one of their conference rooms on another floor and then, without ceremony, kicked everyone up there except for Teddy, Jimmie, Sonny and Toni.  Several surgeries later, the news finally came that he was awake. Gino visited him for less than ten minutes before leaving in a huff and, although Sonny spent longer, he wasn’t much happier when he stormed back out.

When Jimmie entered, with tentative steps, Mitch held his hand up. “Yes, they blame you. But, yes, they’ll get over it. I left them no other option.”

He nodded. “I’m-”

“If you say sorry I’ll shoot you myself. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that I end up like this. We’re good so let’s not be dramatic, okay?”

“Okay.”

Mitch smiled. “I hear you were curled up with Toni.”

“Unconscious and yet you still see everything?” he asked. “I assure you I'll ask before making a move on her.”

Mitch chuckled and grabbed his midsection from the pain that coursed through him. “That seems like a promise.”

“It's a given,” Jimmie shrugged. “I'm an ape where a woman like her is concerned.”

“A woman like her?”

“You know, one with a brain. They get me every time. And, God, that fiery temper of hers?  How can you stand to stay away?”

Mitch waved him off before another fit of laughter overtook him. “Make a move on her. See how far it gets you.”

“Mitch,” Jimmie sank down to sit in the chair beside the bed. “I ask your forgiveness. I said things to her...things I had no right-”

“She's heard worse.”

“You don't understand-”

“You blamed her?” he guessed. “Blamed Terenari for the shooting and then blamed her for not preventing it. Knowing you, you used some pretty colorful language.”

“I didn't mean-”

“She knows that. I know that.” Mitch shook his head. “You don't understand the life we lived, Jimmie. Nothing anyone could do will ever surprise her again.” He dropped his voice. “I took away her future. You could call her a whore a hundred times over and it would still pale in comparison.”

“She has a future, Mitch.”

“Terenari isn't a future for anyone. You know that as well as I.”

Jimmie tapped the envelope in his hand. “I brought the stills from the security camera and the ones we collected from the press corps that was present. Didn’t know if you wanted-”

“Let’s see them.” Mitch nodded, straightening up in the bed and taking the stack from him.

“I’ve spent hours looking over them but,” he shook his head, “I can’t find anything.”

Mitch went through them twice and was on a third attempt when Jimmie noticed him wincing. “You need rest, Mitch. It’s almost time for your meds anyway. This can wait. You need to see Toni before-”

“This is wrong,” Mitch interrupted him, holding out a photo.

“What do you mean?”  Jimmie took the photo, looking at it critically. It was a shot from the press corps, clear and crisp. He recognized the carpet from the hallway just prior to the shooting. Ashli was at the center of the photo, Mitch and Jimmie a pace behind her in a much softer focus. Two other men from the crowd filled out the picture. Jimmie frowned, unable to see anything out of place. “What is it?”

“I don’t know.” Mitch cringed, unable to get his brain to focus. “The perspective is off. The angles or something. Something about the way we’re walking...”

“Okay.” Jimmie scooped up the photos and patted his arm. “I’m going to send in Toni and find a Doc for you, alright?”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

“Mitch?” Toni’s voice was hesitant. “Jimmie said you were in a lot of pain. I can come back-”

“Come here, girl.”

She was in his arms before he had the words out, her tears pooling onto his chest. “I was so scared, Mitch. I thought-”

“Shh,” he stroked her hair, his voice calming. “I’m right here. Beat up and sore but that’s nothing you haven’t seen before, right?”

“Don’t be cavalier.”

“Toni, I’m going to be fine.”

“Promise me?”

He tilted her eyes to his. “I promise.”

She nodded and straightened, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. When she had composed herself, Mitch motioned for her to sit beside him.

“Heard you spent some quality time with Ashli.”

“Quality is a debatable description.”

“Should I bother to ask?”

“I won’t answer so there’s really no point.”

“I heard you also fought with Jimmie.”

“In private,” she admitted. “It wasn't broadcast for anyone else to hear.”

“Still not a wise move on your part. You know better than that,” he chastised. “And while we're at it, you shouldn't be here. Does Nicolai know where you are?”

“He's here. Came with all the others. He's thrilled to have me at your bedside and furious Jimmie won't let him see you.”

Mitch locked his eyes with her, knowing her thoughts before she said them. “It wasn't your father.”

“But-”

“They're wrong. You're wrong,” he said gently. “Not that I'd put it past him to try but this wasn't his doing. Even he's not this desperate.”

“Yet.”

Mitch refused to lie and gave her a single nod of agreement.  “Yet.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Mitch demanded to be released long before the doctors advised it. He knew, the longer they stayed in one place, the more dangerous it was for all of them. Ashli had disappeared from the hotel and, rather than wait on her, Jimmie left a contingent behind to search while he escorted everyone else back to New York. Toni went to Sonny’s- near enough to be protected if needed while far enough to keep Nicolai from asking too many questions.

“Ashli brought you into this organization, I realize that. That was a long time ago. A lifetime to some. However, I know your loyalty runs deep. I would understand if you feel some obligation,” he paused, “some connection to her-”

Mitch glanced up in the mirror, Jimmie’s formal stance catching him off guard. He continued to struggle to replace the bandage on his wound. “What are you babbling about?”

“Ashli has been found,” he responded, stepping up and finishing the dressing for him. “With a fed.”

Mitch grabbed a shirt and tugged it on, following Jimmie into the main room of his suite. It was an accusation he’d heard a dozen times from Jimmie in the time he’d been with him but something nagged at him, telling him this was different. He would know, wouldn't he?  If she was copping a plea, surely his superiors would have told him. He tried to remember the last time he’d met with Mike but couldn’t put a date to it. “No.”

“No?” Jimmie hissed. “No? Don't you think I have already searched all other possibilities? Don't you think I've racked my brain with every half ass excuse of plausible rationalization of what she may have been doing?” His hands trembled, his voice echoing his misery.

He tossed a stack of photos at Mitch. They scattered across the table, onto the floor. Without moving, Mitch knew they were real. The badges were unmistakable, the government vehicle plate even reflecting in the camera flash to make it more obvious. He dropped to the chair, crumpling one of the photographs into his fist.

“An affair perhaps. She's been known to do it before. She was being arrested. Threatened. I've been through them all. Do you have something else?  Tell me. I'd love to hear it.”

Mitch tried to come up with anything that might temper Jimmie's worries but he had nothing. Ashli, who had brought him into the organization. His boss, who wanted Vinetti and felt Mitch couldn't get the job done. Ashli, who wanted out with such desperation it filled her every waking breath. It wasn't only possible...it would have been foreseeable. If only he'd been paying attention. She had turned and no one, not even him, had been the wiser. How long had she been feeding them information?  What of Mitch's deeds had she informed them about?  His stomach churned, blood draining from his face. He dropped his head into his hands.

“Mitch-” the anger was still there. Betrayal. Jimmie thought Mitch had betrayed him.

“Had I known,” he whispered, “I would have told you.”

Jimmie dropped into a chair, his eyes watching Mitch closely. It would be so easy to kill him. He had a gun in his waistband right now. Mitch knew it and yet made no move to leave. He sat immobile, seeming as thunderstruck as Jimmie felt. But Mitch was an exceptionally good liar. The best he'd ever come across.

“Vincenzo.”

Mitch lifted his eyes, locking them with Jimmie's. His voice was low, gravelly, filled with the distraught emotions welling within him. “I would have told you,” he repeated. And he meant every word.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Mitch had few options left at his disposal. By making her own deal with the feds that he wasn't privy to, she had tied his hands within the IOC. Had she not made a deal, he could have called in and had agents whisk her away before anyone had a chance to put a hit on her. Instead, she was going to have to rely on the feds to keep her safe while every mafioso from California to Sicily tried to hunt her down. Mitch knew their moves, their talentless security detail, and the safe-houses they would utilize as they moved her from location to location waiting for the arrest warrants to be issued. As an IOC agent, he could have saved her.

As a member of
la familia
, he could have protected her. He could have brought in Gino's men to keep her safe from Jimmie. He could have called Sonny or even Terenari if the situation was that desperate. Instead, she had spent the last few months making allegiances with them only to betray them. Sure, Gino and Sonny would still never deny Mitch's request for aid. But, her betrayal would keep him from seeking their help.