Making Angel (Mariani Crime Family Book 1) (40 page)

The look Father gave me made me break out in a sweat. “Is that what you want?” he asked.

I bowed my head, unable to answer.

“You’d abandon the family? You’d leave us in the middle of this war? I lost Tech today, Angel. I need you.”

“Why should he have to give up his hopes and dreams to fulfill yours?” Nonna asked. “You are the parent. You sacrifice for him, not the other way around.” She stood inches from him. “You owe it to Annetta—to his dead mother—to give him his own life. A life he would choose.”

Father tensed. I’d never seen him hit a woman before, but for a second I feared for Nonna. She didn’t seem afraid, though. She reached out and cupped his face, pulling him closer to her. “Give me Angel. Let us go and make a life away from this valley of greed and death. Let the remainder of my days be full of laughter and life.”

Father’s shoulders drooped. “He is my son,” he whispered.

Nonna smiled. Tears filled her eyes. Her gaze shifted to me, and then back to my father. “Then let him live his own life, Dom.”

Her final blow rocked him. He took a step back and looked at me. “Angel, if this is what you want, you may go.”

Then my father stormed out of the room.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Angel

T
HE NEUROSURGEON SAID Markie’s surgery was a success, but when the anesthesia wore off she didn’t wake up. She didn’t wake up the next day either, or the day after that. Hooked to machines and with a fat white bandage wrapped around her head, she slept peacefully while I worried.

Father waged his war while I stayed by Markie’s bedside, holding her hand and thinking about the decision I had to make. The old man was willing to let me go, but could I really leave my family?

“What’s the alternative?” Nonna asked on day three when she stopped by the room to check on Markie. “Will you lock yourself in that basement and replace Tech? Will you become an enforcer? How long until he expects you to step into the position he’s been preparing for you? And what about her?” Nonna nodded to Markie. “Will she marry a killer?”

I stroked Markie’s arm, silently promising to become whatever she wanted me to be if she’d just wake up.

Nonna didn’t relent. She captured my face in her hands and asked, “What have you always wanted to do? To be? I know you have dreams and aspirations. You will be free to follow them now. Dream big, Angel.”

She was wrong, though. My dreams for a future had shattered more than eleven years ago, over my first cappuccino. I hadn’t allowed myself another one since. After she left, I considered her advice, and fantasized about my future. What would I be? With no idea, I used my tablet to search possible career paths.

I spent the next couple of days researching while I waited for Markie to wake up. Father checked in a few times, lines of stress and frustration tugging at his features. I felt guilty for abandoning him when he clearly needed me, but each time I looked at him I wondered what it must have been like when my mom found him cleaning up after that hit. What it would be like if Markie found out about some of the things I’d done. My father never said anything about our talk with Nonna. He never asked me for my decision or pushed me to stay. I knew he’d honor my decision when I made it.

By the fifth night, I’d almost convinced myself that Markie wasn’t coming back. I replayed our adventures in my mind, wishing I could do things differently. If I could have gone back in time, I would have jumped from the Stratosphere tower with her. I would have held out for one more dance in that Mexican restaurant and I would have held her on the beach until the sun came up. I would have spent more time with her at the orphanage. I would have fed and sheltered every bum in Las Vegas just to see her smile again. When she asked me to write my regrets in the sand, I would have gladly accepted her driftwood pencil. I was ready to let the ocean wash away my past so I could start a new life with her by my side.

But she didn’t wake up.

On day six, I felt Markie stir. I was half asleep at the time—knee-deep in self-pity, mourning the sound of her laughter—and convinced myself I was feeling things. I watched her sleep for a while, and then wrote it off as some sort of involuntary twitch or muscle spasm. Desperate for the contact, I squeezed her hand.

She squeezed mine back.

My heart leapt into my throat. “Markie?” I asked.

Ariana and Bones were sitting on the guest bed/couch. They both jumped up and rushed to the bed.

“What? What’s going on?” Ariana asked. “Is she awake?”

“I think she just squeezed my hand,” I explained.

Ariana grabbed Markie’s other hand. We stood on either side of the bed, waiting for her to do something. Anything. Nothing happened.

“Maybe it was a muscle spasm or something?” Bones suggested.

Hope made me feel high, and I wasn’t ready to come down yet. “No. She squeezed my hand, I promise. Markie? Can you hear me? Please wake up.”

It was the same plea I’d been making for the past week, but this time her eyes opened.

Ariana gasped. “You’re awake! Quick, someone get the doctor!”

Bones rushed off and Ariana and I stayed with Markie. I stared into her beautiful blue eyes, thankful to finally see them again.

She looked at us and then glanced around the room. “Are the twins okay?” Her voice sounded weak, but it was the most beautiful music I’d ever heard.

Ariana burst into tears and hugged her. Markie patted Ariana’s head, still looking at me.

“Yeah, they’re fine.” I choked up. Trying to get my emotions under control, I kissed her fingers one by one.

“What’s wrong? Are you guys okay?” Markie asked, her eyes wide.

I nodded. “We’re fine, and now so are you.” The truth of it was overwhelming. My legs felt weak, but I wasn’t about to leave her side. Even to sit down.

“What are you talking about?” Markie asked.

Ariana stood back up, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Y-you were in a coma, so I s-signed the release for the doctor to operate. They removed your t-tumor.”

“What?” Markie asked. She pulled her hand away from me and rubbed at the bandage on her head. “It’s gone? But how? There were waiting lists and—”

“Nonna did it.” I still wasn’t sure how she’d made it happen, but over the past week my sweet little Nonna had proven she was a powerful and influential force to be reckoned with.

Markie’s eyes flooded with tears. She blinked, and they slid down her cheeks. “Seriously? It’s gone? For good?”

Bones returned with Markie’s doctor in tow.

“It’s really gone,” the doctor confirmed, smiling. “You have been officially cancer-free for six days now. It’s about time you woke up so we could share the news with you. Now tell me, sleepyhead, how do you feel?”

Markie was released from the hospital two days later. We stopped by Ariana’s apartment long enough to pack their meager belongings, threw everything they couldn’t live without into the back of the Hummer, stopped by the retirement community to pick up Nonna, and headed to my place. I made us all dinner, and then we sat around the table and Nonna and I broke the news to everyone.

Bones eyed me. “You and Nonna? You’re leaving the city?” he asked. “But what about—” He glanced around the room. “What about your job?”

“I’ve been released from my contract.”

“How the hell did you manage that?” he asked.

Nonna gave him a wide smile.

Bones’s jaw dropped.

“What? Why would you want to leave the city?” Ariana asked.

We all gaped at her. Her gaze shifted from the scar on Bones’s cheek to my side. My stitches had been removed the day before.

“Right. Stupid question. Sorry.”

“Where will you go?” Markie asked.

I winced, stung by the casual way she’d excluded herself.

“And what the hell will you do?” Bones asked, anger creeping into his tone.

Nonna held up her hands. “Let Angel talk. I’m sure he’ll answer everyone’s questions.”

Bones snapped his mouth shut, but his eyes told me he was hurt and irritated.

I gripped the arms of my chair and plunged ahead. “I’m not sure. It’s not my decision to make alone.” My throat dried up. I sipped water and waited, hoping for the right words. They had to be perfect. I needed Bones and Markie, and if they refused to come with me… I wasn’t sure I could go.

Nonna stood. The sound of her chair scraping against the hardwood floor drew everyone’s attention. She smiled and walked over to me, putting her hands on my shoulders.

“What Angel is trying to say, is that we’d like to extend an invitation for the three of you to join us. We can make the decision of where to go together. Angel and I will cover the costs of the move. We don’t all have to live together, just close. Perhaps the same neighborhood.” She patted my back and bent to kiss the top of my head before returning to her seat.

“And the boss would release me from my contract, too?” Bones asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

His expression fell. “This is all I’ve ever known, Angel. I don’t know what else I’d do.”

“I will need someone to protect my interests,” I replied. “Someone I can trust to run security and make sure my family’s drama doesn’t follow us. I know this is a lot to take in and a huge decision to make. Please think about it. Let me know.”

He gave me a curt nod. Not a nod of acceptance, but a nod telling me he understood and would think about it. Good enough for now. I finished my glass of wine, hoping it would give me the courage to get through what I had to do next.

Posing the question to Markie would be more complicated. I needed to speak to her alone, so I stood and offered her my hand. I led her through the living room, out to the balcony I’d never stood on. There, several stories above the strip, I kissed her and took a giant leap of faith.

“Markie, listen, my family is involved in a lot of crap. I’ve had to do stuff for the family that I’m not proud of, stuff I never wanted to do. But I don’t want to be that guy. I want a life and maybe a family someday, and I don’t want to have to worry about my kids being kidnapped or my wife being shot. It’s… it’s too much. I need to get away from all of this.” I gestured out to the city.

She nodded, watching me.

I let out a breath, wishing I’d had another glass of wine, and grabbed her other hand. “Come with me?” I pleaded.

Her breath caught.

Already committed, I couldn’t stop. “You got a peek into what it’s like to be part of my family. It’s jacked up. I’ve seen some scary shit… stuff I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But sitting by your hospital bed, waiting for you to wake up, not knowing if you even would… I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”

She looked down.

I gave her hands a gentle squeeze, forcing her attention back to me. Tears filled her eyes. I didn’t know if they were tears of sadness or joy, but I kept going.

“I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I have never been as happy as I am when I’m with you. I want that. I want your smile, your laughter, your courage, the way you treat people… it’s so beautiful and I want it all. I want you. Please say you’ll come with me?”

Tears rolled down her face. She pulled away and wiped her cheeks.

When she looked back at me, the hope and love written all over her face made my knees weak. I leaned against the wall and recaptured her hands in mine.