Bellissimo Fortuna (Beautiful Fortune) (17 page)

“Not so fast, Callie. Those pictures? That’s only the tip of the iceberg. Come see.” I turn my head in time to see him flip on a monitor. There, staring back at me, are Bronson, Bianca, and Gianna. Their kitchen. The other monitors show the entire house. “Don’t doubt me darling. I can end them all right here and what will you have gained? Now listen to me, and I suggest you follow directions.”

“He won’t listen to me. You killed his father.”

“Don’t doubt the power of love. You will tell him to back off, but to make it work you tell him you can’t get over the fact he is taking down your father.”

“He won’t believe me. He knows I hate you.”

“I don’t need him to believe you. I need him preoccupied while he is chasing after you. See, you will disappear and while he’s searching, it gives me time to get my men inside and ruin his entire case.”

“You’re sick. And if I don’t?”

“I’ll kill you in front of him, let him live in that pain. Maybe kill his sister, his mom, everyone around him; then I will probably kill him, too.” He’s fucking diabolical. I have one card to play, hopefully one an evil bastard like him can’t overlook. It may not save my relationship but I hope it saves Bronson.

“Father, I have something to tell you.” I tell my tale, and seeing the look on his face is priceless. It’s not worth it though knowing the pain I still have to inflict on Bronson, the fallout that is going to have on the entire family. I have no choice though, whatever saves them, I will do.

The sins of a father really do shadow the devotion of a daughter. Love knows no bounds, and I hope one day, Bronson will see that. I prepare to break my own heart and slip off my engagement ring to make the call. The entire time my father is staring at me, a triumphant smile on his face. I swear in that moment, I will dance on his grave the day I bury him. I will rejoice in him being in hell.

Part II

Callie

Chapter 18

I can see Bronson walking down the driveway towards me, his expression grim but his eyes full of love. I know he is upset because I came here, the home of the enemy, but he is more worried than mad.

“Come here, baby” he calls from a few feet away. He’s scanning the grounds, checking for our safety.

I walk the few feet but still keep my distance. “You shouldn’t be here. I told you I’d send you the ring. You need to leave.” I try to even the tone of my voice, not giving away the heart-crushing pain I feel and fear of him so near my father.

“I also know you are full of shit. What did he do? What is he threatening you with?”

“Nothing. I told you that.” I take the ring off my finger, not having the heart to keep it off from removing it earlier. It hurts just as bad the second time around. As I hold it out to him, he refuses to take it. Searching my face, his eyes bore into mine, begging for an answer to this puzzle. I steel myself; I have to get him out of here and to safety. “You need to go. I can’t be a part of this vendetta anymore. It’s too much, and no matter what, he is my father.”

“He killed my father, Callie. Am I supposed to just let that go? He is a criminal, a greedy bastard who hasn’t cared about you at all.”

“I know that! Bronson, you need to go.”

“If I drop this case, turn in my resignation, will you come back to me?”

“I would never ask you to do that.” Is he trying to kill me? The love we have is bigger than us; it knows no bounds. I don’t know how I thought I could make him understand when I can’t figure out another solution myself.

“You aren’t asking me, damn it. I’ll do it, whatever it takes, but I’m not losing you.” He reaches out to grab my arm, and I hear the click of guns.

Turning to the door, I see my father and his goons. “No, you promised.” I realize my slip up as soon as it’s left my mouth.

“Promised you what, Callie? What aren’t you telling me?”

Looking at the man who owns every ounce of my heart and soul, “Nothing. You need to go, Bronson. I can’t do this anymore.” He again reaches for my arm, and my father’s voice stops him.

“Son, you’re on private property. Leave and there won’t be any trouble.”

“I’ll leave when my fiancé comes with me,” Bronson’s voice is hard, and I know he’s close to losing control.

“Go, we’ll talk later.” I plead. I need him out of here. Before he realizes what’s going on, I will be long gone, and he will be safe.

“You heard her, get off my property,” my father nods to his army as they start making their way towards us.

Time for my acting skills, “Daddy,” I warn. Making the mistake of looking at Bronson as I utter that word, the one word I’ve never called the man who sired me, kills me. He rocks back on his heels, sucking in a deep breath, and his face pales. I know that one word, a term of endearment, puts the dagger in his heart.

“Don’t do this, please.” His whisper comes out on a strangled breath, like he can’t get any more out, and this is the last one he can muster. I know it’s the last full one I will ever take. I can’t live, breathe, or even exist without him.

“It’s done.” I shove the ring in his chest and turn my back on him before he sees my tears. That will be his undoing and any doubt that I’m telling him the truth will be erased. I walk up to the driveway, leaning over and whispering in my father’s ear, “No violence or all bets are off.” I know he is rotting in hell for all eternity, but he’s still under the impression he has a chance, so he won’t harm a hair on my head. If he does, he loses. Bronson will go after him with all he has. He will crush my father and that isn’t a risk dear old dad is willing to take.

Ending things with him, disappearing to wherever Frank Locati has decided, staying under the radar and hidden is enough of a distraction to make Bronson lose focus. I hate aiding my father, and even though I’m losing Bronson, he will still draw a breath. He will get over it, learn to hate me and move on. He will give some woman beautiful babies . . . I have to stop this train of thought. I can only focus on one moment at a time. And the entire time praying my father pays dearly for his crimes. Secretly hoping eventually it will be Bronson that brings him down.

I stare at the window as Bronson is dragged off the property, openly sobbing, shouting my name, and before I break the door slams. “We leave in five minutes.”

“Where?”

“Blue Mountain, Mississippi. You will have a new identity, attend college, and make a life for yourself. Away from here. Don’t return or you know the price everyone you love will pay.” What I learned later that day, to ensure my cooperation and Bronson’s distraction, Luis was pronounced dead. He had woken, memory intact but was still dependent on the ventilator. My father had it shut off, all while I watched from a closed circuit monitor as he gasped, and clawed at his throat. His eyes wide in terror. He was all alone, and my father laughed as I cried watching another man suffer at his hands.

I wake up with sweat drenching my hair, making it stick to my forehead, and my shirt cling to my torso. Every night, even after a year of that horrible scene, it replays in my nightmare. It doesn’t get any easier, and I used to skip sleep to just keep the memory at bay. I can’t do that anymore, too many responsibilities now. I was lucky enough to get a position at the local Elementary school as an aide. Being a small town, there isn’t much opportunity for new teachers, but I don’t need to work. I hate taking the money from my father, but I have no choice. He has me in a awkward position and he knows it. He won’t chance coming here, and each time he made demands of me, I’ve refused.

Sending his cronies here didn’t scare me. They couldn’t lay a finger on me, but that isn’t why they were here. There was one thing I had that my father coveted and he would never get it. My body could be dead and cold and I would make sure from the grave he didn’t succeed. I made my own plan, just in case, one he had no clue about. If anything happened to me, a letter would be delivered to Dakota. I had to think outside of the box because he would expect me to reach out to the Agostos.

I’ve talked to Dakota once; it wasn’t pretty for me. At the end of the conversation, I think I got through to him.

“He’s worthless, Callie. He is about to ruin the career he was beginning to build and it’s all because of you.” I was very well aware of what I had done; I experienced it every day.

“Fine, Dakota. It’s established I’m the worst person in the world. You won’t get any arguments from me. Listen to me; don’t let him lose focus. Stay on top of him, remind him of what Frank Locati has taken away from him, fuel his anger, but don’t let him wallow in it.”

“You sound like you care?” His sarcastic tone doesn’t fall on deaf ears. He’s made his feelings for me well known in this five-minute conversation.

“Damn it, Dakota. I care. You know I do. Just keep him safe. I can’t tell you anything, and I don’t have a way to reach you anymore. This is a ploy of my father’s. He needed a distraction, and he got one with me. Fucking fight for him, with him. Don’t let him give up now.” I wish it was Bronson’s voice on the other end of the phone, but I know even after four months, I’m too weak. Too vulnerable. If I heard his voice, I’d crack.

“What’s really going on, Callie? Why did you walk away so easily?”

“Easily? You think this is fucking easy? It’s agony, Dakota. Every day to get out of bed, I don’t want to. But, I have to. I don’t have a choice.”

“How did you work this out with your dad?”

“Frank,” I correct him. “I had a maneuver he wasn’t expecting and that’s all I can tell you.”

“So, you’re saying you did this for him?”

“For all of them, yes, but mostly him. Frank has reach, and he had pictures of him, and I know at any of those times he could have killed Bronson. Just do what you have to.”

“Are you safe?”

“For now. As long as I don’t lose my bargaining tool, I’m golden.”

“What?”

“If anything happens to me, you’ll be the only one to know. I need you to make sure to keep it safe. I have to go.”

Nine long months had passed since that one phone call. I haven’t heard anything from my past life since then, but I’ll survive, protecting my secret weapon with my life. I threw myself into my last year of school, doubling up on courses the first six months. I was no longer Callie Locati; to the locals I was Caroline Lertz, a transfer student with a sordid past. I got many stares and no new friends at the tiny Blue Mountain College.

I yearned for Bronson, experiencing so many new things daily, I wanted to share this part of my life with him like I had done every day for as long as I could remember. I missed Bianca’s smile and the way she always made me laugh. I didn’t have much laughter in my life now, but I had to be strong. Not just for me.

As I leave for work today, the first thing I notice is the car parked in my driveway. I know immediately it has been sent from
him
. Immediately, I shift into protective mode, one that has become very familiar to me the last three months. Each time it’s a different man from the many my father employs. Not once has it been anyone associated with the old family, each time I found myself wishing it were, and that they still had a sense of loyalty and would tell Bronson where I was. Then I get mad at myself knowing what danger that would put him in.

He’s a special agent. He should be able to find me on his own, but I also know the provisions my father took to ensure my anonymity here. I know one day I will face him again, I just hope it’s without the hatred he harbors for me now. I hate myself enough for both of us. The day I went to my father’s, the day I demolished our relationship, it was done out of fear, gut reaction. I should have gone to Bronson, showed him what the envelope held, and we could have made a decision together. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty and I let a lot of people down that day, but most of all, myself.

The car door opens, and I’m shocked to see it is the man himself. “Surprised to see me?” Fucking asshole. He knows I am, and he can read my unease; it pleases him because he gives me his intimidating smile.

Stepping backwards, distancing myself from him and the danger he represents, I ask, “What are you doing here?”

“Is that the greeting your father deserves?”

“Sorry, fresh out of ammunition, and you know I abhor violence,” I wish I could watch my tongue around him, he hates it, and right now I can’t afford to anger him.

Surprisingly, he chuckles. Tossing an envelope at my feet, he says, “Here. This may change some of the animosity you feel towards me. Until next time, daughter.” He doesn’t make a move to leave, we’re at a standoff in my driveway, and no way will I take my eyes off him long enough to pick up what is lying at my feet. He breaks the stance first and before climbing back into the car, he shoots his parting message. “Maybe next time some of the hostility will have died down once you see what I brought you.” His warning loud and clear . . .
he
would come back, not his men. Watching his car disappear, I bend and pick up his gift, hurriedly open the door, and throw it on the ledge. I’m late and still have to make a stop before school.

The same tasks await me, setting up desks, making sure the children don’t kill each other, grading papers, and if I wasn’t so lost, trying to keep my head above water I would have enjoyed it all. It was my dream after all, but the thing about dreams is, no matter how many you achieve they aren’t worth anything if the person you envisioned by your side is no longer there. I had many accomplishments in my life, but the one I was still the most proud of was the love I had created with Bronson. The family. The security, the eternity I had hoped and dreamed about. They were all intertwined in my heart and my mind. So only having one or two parts of them didn’t give me the same feeling of fulfillment.