Desired Too (36 page)

Eddie strolled into his parent’s home, finding his mother in the kitchen.

He smiled and walked up to her. “Hello, mama.”

She offered her cheek as he bent down and kissed her lightly. “Eduardo, how are you?”

“I’m fine, mama.”

Eddie took a seat at the island and watched his mother as she rolled dough between her fingers. His mind wandered back to his childhood, when he used to do the very thing he’s doing now, watching her prepare to make homemade ravioli and tortellini, a few of his favorites.

He smiled. “Everything smells wonderful, mama.”

However, she did not. As she continued to roll the dough, creating pods for meat and cheese, she said to her oldest. “What is going on between you and your brother?”

Eddie’s smile dropped from his face. “Nothing, mama.”

She gazed at him sharply. “Don’t lie to me.”

Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes. “Mama, I’m not lying.”

Mrs. Leonetti placed the dough on the floured counter and moved to her son. Once she was at arm’s length, her hand shot out quickly, striking him across the face.

“You lie to me, to my face Eduardo, in my home? How dare you!”

Eddie, thoroughly chastised and pissed, frowned. “Mother, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Shut up. I know everything, and I want it to stop.”

Silence ensued the room, and she took a few deep breaths.

When she spoke, she kept her tongue sharp and full of the Italian temper she was known for. Everyone always surmised that Angel got his bad temper from his father. That wasn’t the case. He’d received all attitude and grit from his namesake.

“I don’t know why you would disrespect me in my own home,” she seethed.

“I didn’t strike you.”

“Watch your tongue when you speak to me, Eduardo.”

Eddie stood. “What difference does it make? You probably wouldn’t listen to a word I say.”

Mrs. Leonetti placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t you dare play that defenseless card with me. It’s not going to work. I don’t know what is going on with you and your brother, but it needs to stop, and you need to be the bigger person and stop it.”

Eddie shook his head, but his mother placed a hand up, stopping him and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and moved closer to him.

“You have been jealous of your brother since he was born.”

Eddie’s face bloomed bright red, but his mother ignored the bomb ready to explode in her kitchen. She moved closer to her son. “You think I haven’t paid attention to the two of you through the years? I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s not looking, and I could see the calculated mayhem you were plotting every time. I can see it in your eyes now, and it’s breaking my heart. Your brother has done nothing-”

Eddie, tired of hearing her voice and seeing her, erupted, forgetting the respect he was supposed to have for her as his mother and his Donna. “I’m so tired of you always taking up for your precious Angel. You think I don’t know that you prefer him to me? Everything I have ever done for this family has been looked upon as reproach, but my perfect brother brings war to this family and you protect him more.”

“Eddie, that’s absurd.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, it is. Let me tell you your problem. You believe that everyone should bow down to you because of your father. You think you shouldn’t have to work for anything; status or respect. You feel entitled, as if it’s everyone’s job around you to give you everything you want, and it doesn’t work like that.”

Eddie folded his arms in front of him. “Well, mother, since you’re so wise, tell me how it’s supposed to be when you’re the son of one of the most powerful men on the east coast, arguably the US.”

“That right there is your problem. Your ego has clouded you completely. You can’t see past it. Your father is a powerful man, but he never got that way by relying on his name. He made a name for himself without using or leaning on his father’s name. He didn’t take advantage of his father’s name to get respect. He earned it. That’s the difference between you and your brother. It’s why your brother is ready to lead this family and you are not. You still think this world owes you something for just breathing and that is farthest from the case.”

Eddie had stopped listening to her the moment she mentioned ego and his mother knew it. He was a lost cause, and she blamed her husband. She told him throughout the years that he was losing Eddie, but he ignored her and the signs. Now she feared it was too late. The loving and caring, yet troubled son of hers was lost. His greed, his hunger for power, replaced any hope of her ending this feud.

Eddie put both his hands up to stop his mother from wasting any more of her breath. There was no way he was jealous of Angel. He was weak, spoiled and fucking clueless. However, none of that mattered any longer. Angel was dead anyway.

“Mother, I hear what you’re saying, and I disagree. I know you have to make a name for yourself, and I have done that. This is a nonissue. I am fine. Angel is fine. We will be fine. Don’t worry about anything.”

He kissed her forehead, left the kitchen before he completely lost it and broke the traitorous woman’s neck.

Eddie went in search of his father.
It’s time to lay the final piece to this coup.

That’s what this is,
he thought to himself. He was taking over from the horrible dictatorship of a weak-minded man.

His father’s response would depict whether Eddie let him live or die. He would hate to make his mother a widow, but if it came to that, he didn’t have a problem with being the last of the Leonetti’s.

Eddie found his father in his study. As usual, he was sitting behind his large oak desk looking off into the French doors that led to his patio. Eddie looked around the room and thought the first things to go in that place were the family photos. The sturdy dark wood furnishing, desk, credenza, and bar could stay. It gave the room a look that said important decisions were made there.

There was a large photo of his father and mother sitting just above his father’s desk chair. They were a strong, attractive couple. He could see the power in his father’s eyes as he looked blankly forward. His mother was strong too. She seemed to have this way about her, saying she was a piece of work, and Eddie had to agree. His father wouldn’t have made it if his mother weren’t the woman she was.

That was what Eddie needed to find. He needed that strong woman by his side that was equal to his strength; someone that had his vision. As he thought about it, he knew Lucy wouldn’t be that woman.

He took a deep breath, as he entered fully into the room, as he realized that he would have to find someone just as strong as Raquel. Eddie had to admit; from everything he had learned about the woman, he was impressed. She was strong, capable and didn’t take shit from anyone. She also knew how to handle herself very well.

An idea started to surface as he took a seat in front of his father. Maybe he would make her an offer she couldn’t refuse once he got rid of Angel. After all, he was sure she was in desperate need of a real man in her life anyway.

Yeah, I’ll have to make that happen,
he thought to himself, but said to his father, “Pops, we need to talk about your son.”

The Don looked at his eldest son for a long moment. For a few hours now, he’d been thinking long and hard about what to do about his sons. They both had skills and talents that could take them far and, at the same time, could destroy them both. The problem he had as a leader and a father was making sure that they didn’t kill each other as they came into their own.

Angel was ready to lead. His father had no doubt. However, Angel needed to understand that leading with an iron fist would not always be the way. Angel was a hot head, so he needed to have that special person next to him to settle him. Their father thought that person would be his oldest son, but as he watched Eddie enter into his study, he knew Eddie wouldn’t be able to handle the role either.

Eddie never understood what it took to lead. He figured everyone should lay at his feet on command. He demanded respect, instead of earning it. Quite honest, he didn’t believe that Eddie knew how to earn respect from anyone. He made choices with his heart, not his head. He felt as if he was entitled.

Their father should have listened to his wife. She had been telling him to watch Eddie for years, and he just dismissed it.

Both his sons were strong-willed individuals that knew how to stand on their own two feet, so he didn’t feel as if he needed to keep an eye on Eddie. Eddie knew what his place would be in this family. But when Lincoln came, things changed. That man, the Don admitted, was the epitome of a soldier. Lincoln had impressed the Don from the moment he showed up on his doorstep. Angel became a better man because of Lincoln; the Don knew that. He thought however that Eddie would step up as well. Yet, he didn’t. Instead, Eddie retreated. He started to desperately prove himself, or try to, and it really wasn’t necessary.

Now that the Don really had time to analyze everything, he realized the grave mistake he’d made. He allowed Eddie’s condescension for his brother to grow profusely. He should have addressed it sooner. He should have told them both what he expected from them, but he didn’t. This was his fault and the sooner he fixed this the better things would be.

The Don exhaled his cigar and watched his son through the smoke. The first thing he had to do was get his son straight. Then, before he went to Angel, he would make right what he’d fucked up months ago. Angel needed his better half. He’d been broken for a very long time, and even though Lincoln was volatile, he was good for The Don’s son. Lincoln and Angel were good for each other. The Don knew that now, so he intended to fix everything.

The Don removed the cigar from his mouth and sat up straighter in his chair.

“Yes, we do, son,” the Don told Eddie. “We have this meeting with Basile in a few. Why don’t we head out together and talk?”

Eddie nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go.”

I watched Angel drive away before I moved to locate my family. I didn’t get far. I jumped clear out of my skin as my father appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh, shit, dad,” I grasped my chest. “You scared me. Where did you come from?”

He didn’t reply. He just looked over my head, out of the window in the door, before his questioning, no disapprovingly, eyes came back to me.

He looked me up and down, as if he was seeing right through me, before he asked, “Are you all right?”

Before I answered him, I noticed what he had in his hand. I frowned and moved toward him.

“Dad, what are you doing with that gun?”

He didn’t answer, but as I moved to take it from him, he backed away from me.

“So are you two together now? Is that it? You decided to disregard our warning and consort with that piece of shit?” my father asked.

“Dad, you are acting ridiculous.”

“Oh, I’m being ridiculous? Weren’t you almost killed being around that man? What did we tell you, Raquel? What did we say?”

I placed my hands on my hips. “You and my brother are hypocrites to no end.”

I moved toward his office that was a little bit down the hall without worrying if he would follow. Once I was there, I turned around and found a downright indignant armed man standing before me.

“You will not leave this house,” she heard her father say behind her. “Do you understand me?”

“Dad you’re being absurd.”

“I almost lost you!” he boomed.

I couldn’t help but take a few paces back from him as the rage and fear consumed the entire room. I didn’t speak for a few minutes, trying to let him calm down. There was no way I was giving up Angel. There was no way I would stay away from him, and there was no way I would stay at my father’s house.

I didn’t want to lose any of the men in my life. As I took a deep breath, I tried to think of a way to make this better. My father and brother had to understand who I was and what I wanted.

My father took this opportunity to say what he needed to say. It was rare that I stayed quiet, so I did and let him talk.

“Raquel, I know you are blind to the fact that Leonetti is not right for you. He’s deadly and evil. He’d so much as kill us without second thought if he felt we were in his way. Is that what you want? Is that the kind of man you want in your life? Look at what happened today!” My father moved closer to me and placed his hand along my cheek. “We almost lost you today. You shouldn’t be placed in harm’s way like that. No man that claims that he loves you should purposefully put your life before theirs.”

My father placed his gun down on the desk a few feet from us and pulled me to the couch he had in his office. I let him lead me to the couch, thinking about all the times I used to come in his office while he worked and read or talked to him. His office always seemed to house his scent, and that scent always used to make me feel at peace. I looked around the room at the many pictures of me, my brother and my mother, who I had to admit could truly pass as my twin.

My father meant well. I knew that. I had to keep that in mind when I told him to butt out of my life. 

“Hey,” my father started once we were settled on the couch. “Have you had time to think about what we discussed in my office? About going back to San Francisco?”

I shook my head. “Dad-”

“No, listen. Hear me out, okay? I know things didn’t end well with Ira, but I also know that that man loves you. Who said love and relationships were easy? He may not show you the way that-”

“Whoa, dad. What are you doing?”

My dad looked at me, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

I moved back from him and looked at him a bit sideways. I couldn’t help it; things didn’t seem too kosher right at the moment.

“Why are you pushing Ira on me?” I asked.

To my father’s credit, he seemed to recover quickly. “I’m not trying to push anyone on you. I was just making an observation.”

I stood and laughed snidely. “You’re making an observation about something you know nothing about.”

“Raquel-”

“No, dad, I don’t know what you’ve been told or what you know, but let me educate you on first why I was forced to leave California. Then, I will tell you what happened today, and what’s been happening since I’ve been home. After that, then you can voice your opinions on how you think I should live my life.”

I told him everything. I gave him the short version, but I laid everything out for him. I told him about the PI business. I told him about Ira, what he got me into, how he screwed me. I told him what’s been happening the last few weeks and what Angel just told me. I never got a chance to tell him about what happened earlier because he rose from the couch in sort of a haze and walked out of the room.

I didn’t stop him. I just watched him, figuring he needed a minute to digest everything. I think he had some impression about Ira that I’d just flushed down the tubes for him. Ira had never met my father and brother. It wasn’t for lack of trying. However, the many times my father and brother came to visit me, Ira was out of town or working a case. I never thought anything of it. Yet, when I thought about it now, after everything that I had just learned, I figured maybe Ira was absent for a reason.

I started to sit down and wait for my father to come back, but I suddenly heard a loud commotion and glass breaking coming from deep in the house. I ran toward the sound and found my father on top of Ira, punching the shit out of him, and my brother trying to pull my dad off him.

When my brother saw me, he frowned. “What the fuck did you do?!” he yelled at me.

I couldn’t move. I was stunned. My father was always the diplomatic kind of guy. He was never violent, so seeing him full of rage, trying to beat the life out of Ira had me on pause.

I finally snapped out of my shock and went to try to get my father off Ira while thinking,
Angel would love this scene.

“Dad, stop! Please!”

My brother and I finally got my dad off Ira, but it wasn’t due to our strength. The moment our father conveniently backed away from Ira, I saw the gun in Ira’s hand pointed right in the face of my father.

“Well, it seems you’ve told your family all about me, huh, Roxy?” Ira spat, looking at my father and brother. He then spat blood and phlegm on our floor next to my brother’s foot.

When his eyes fell on me, the shock was evident.

My gun was pointing directly at his face.