Exhaling: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection Book 3) (9 page)

I
t was
minute nine of Vince roaring into the phone his anger that Fallyn had left the house when there was a rival in the area gunning for D’Amatos. Fallyn handed the phone to Carrigan, who held the device away from his ear and continued to flip through the magazine he’d picked from the rack. He turned the page and saw a blonde woman modeling her fancy new hair dye. “Her hair’s this color,” Carrigan whispered. “My new girl. Sort of blonde, but with a little bit of light brown in there. Nice, right?” Fallyn nodded appreciatively as Vince continued to yell. “Your boyfriend’s got a temper.”

“He’s a love muffin. And he’s my husband, not my boyfriend.”

“Right.” Carrigan motioned to the double doors. “Shouldn’t Angelo be done by now? I mean, he was just finishing getting dressed, right? The doctor released him. The CT scan was clear.”

“Yeah. He stitched everything up and said Angelo needs to rest now. He’s out of the woods as far as brain damage goes, so that’s good. He’s just moving a little slower right now.” When the double doors opened and Angelo was wheeled out with his tail between his legs, Fallyn took the phone from her brother. “I’m bringing Angelo home, babe. Are Salvatore’s people still roaming about? Or should I take Angelo to Carrigan’s house?”

“Have you not been listening to me this entire time?” Vince bellowed.

“Not really. I go spontaneously deaf when people raise their voices. Weird.”

Fallyn could hear Vince seething on the other end. “I told you I cleared out the others who were driving around waiting to cause trouble so you could come home. Tell your idiot brother to bring you both here right now!”

“You’re such a cupcake. See you soon.” Fallyn hung up, smiling at the response that no doubt made her husband fume. She texted him a few “xoxo”s just to poke at his fury she found funny when it was directed at being overbearing toward her.

They helped Angelo into the car, ignoring his grumping that he was fine. His balance was still off, but his eyes were starting to react to the light again. Fallyn noticed his pupils contracting when they took in the early morning sun, and she breathed easier.

Carrigan drove them toward Vince’s house. Fallyn had her gun out of her purse and pointed down at her side, just in case.

When the car reached the west end, Angelo extended his hand to Fallyn. “Give me your gun.”

“Obviously not. You just had a concussion. The only thing you’ve been cleared for is rest after your two-hour mark is up, which is in about ten minutes.” Fallyn tapped her imaginary watch. “I’ve got this.”

When Carrigan pulled into the long circular driveway, he frowned at Vince, who was bloody and seething on the front porch in the early dawn. He saved his tirade for when the three entered his fortress of a house, exploding as soon as the door shut and bolted behind them. “Are you insane? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Where do you get off leaving the house when there’s a gang of grudge-holding, gun-toting idiots out there just waiting to pounce?”

Carrigan was about to spit back an equally acerbic retort, but Fallyn held up her hand. “Angelo needs to rest right now. The doctor said after he stayed awake for two hours, he was clear to sleep. Also, he needs to lie down and have no stimulation for the next day. That means no yelling, no guns, no TV, no nothing.” She held onto Angelo’s arm, noting that he still leaned on her to keep his wobbly balance. “Could you help me get him to the guest bed?”

Vince’s bloody fists were clenched at his sides, so Carrigan volunteered. “I can do it.” He wrapped Angelo’s arm around his shoulder and helped Fallyn get him up the steps while Vince did his best to calm down. The two sat Angelo on the bed, and then Carrigan held his hand up to Fallyn before she could speak. “I’m going downstairs to set your boyfriend straight. I don’t like him talking to you like that.”

“He’s my husband,” Fallyn corrected him again.

“All the more reason to mind his manners. You got Angelo?”

“Yeah. Be down in a minute. No fighting, you hear?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

When Carrigan left, Fallyn went to Vince’s room and retrieved a pair of baggier pajama pants she hoped would fit his larger cousin. She set them on the bed next to Angelo, who looked lost and a little confused as to how he’d gotten up the stairs. “What’s this?”

“These are Vince’s pajamas. Your pants don’t look very comfortable. I’ll turn around while you change, okay?” She turned her back to give Angelo the illusion of privacy. “I just don’t want you to fall or something and have no one here to help you.”

“I’m decent.” Angelo sat back down on the mattress gingerly, as if he suspected the bed might move from under him. “You took me to the hospital,” he remarked as Fallyn pulled the covers down for him. “You went out when Salvatore’s men were still prowling, and took me to the doctor.”

Fallyn sighed. “Look, Vince is going to lecture me enough for the both of you, and I really don’t want to hear it.” She pressed on his chest to slowly lay him down on the mattress.

The room had no decoration. It had calming blue walls, a queen-sized bed with no frills and a narrow wooden nightstand with a lamp. She could tell Angelo had spent his fair share of nights in that bed by the way he scooted to the middle and settled into his favorite spot. She tucked the covers up over his bare chest, making sure he didn’t get cold while he slept. She pulled the maroon curtains over the lowered blinds to block out the sun that was starting to filter through.

Angelo blinked up at her, dazed. “You stayed with me.”

Fallyn raised an eyebrow at him. “Of course I did. You’re my cousin. You’re my family.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, softening when he pulled her to sit down on the side of the bed. “Can I get you anything? Water?”

“You told them I was your brother.”

“They wouldn’t let me go in with you otherwise. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t want you to be alone in there.”

Angelo squinted at Fallyn as the last piece of the puzzle she was to him finally fell into place. “You care about us.”

She took his hand in her lap and rubbed his wrist all the way up to his forearm to relax him. “Of course I do.”

“You took me to the hospital,” he repeated, amazed.

“Of course I did. Now I want you to sleep. The doctor said to rest, which means stay off your phone, put your feet up and let me baby you.”

Angelo chuckled. “Whatever you say, sis.” He held onto her hand when she tried to stand to let him sleep. “Fallyn?”

“Yeah, Angelo?”

He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for not letting me die.”

She pressed a kiss to the center of his palm. “Goodnight, sweetie. Get some sleep.”

I
t took
a long time of letting Vince get all his anxiety out before he finally began to deflate. “I yelled at you,” he lamented, exhaustion finally forcing his adrenaline to ebb. “Oh, I shouted like a lunatic.”

“You did,” Carrigan answered for his sister, his arms crossed. “Is that how you treat my sister?”

“I got this, Officer,” Fallyn said, rolling her eyes at her brother. “Could you call Kill for me? Ask him to send one of the guys to watch the house? Vince won’t be able to sleep if there’s anyone left prowling out there.”

“I can do that.” Carrigan stretched a crick in his back. “Want to make me some coffee?”

“No, Carri. You’re going to sleep. You’ve been going most of the night, too. You’re no good to anyone exhausted. I’ll make you a bed on the couch.”

“Joey’s on the couch. He couldn’t make it up the stairs with his knee. Tony’s in the other guest room.” Vince ran his hand over his face. “I’ll take the first watch. Carri, you take the bed upstairs with Fal.”

Carrigan blanched. “Not a chance. I’m fine. I was sitting watching the house most of the night, not fighting, like you all were. I’ll watch the house until one of my brothers gets here, then I’ll take off. Thanks, though.” Carrigan saluted Vince and went to double check all the entrances while he put in a call to his oldest brother.

Vince could barely look at his wife through his shame. Fallyn knew she should be indignant that he yelled, but she couldn’t help but chuckle at his tail wagging between his legs. “Let’s get you cleaned up again. You’re bleeding through your shirt. You look like it’s been a rough night.”

The fact that Vince didn’t downplay the drama of the evening spoke volumes of just how bad it had really gotten. “I don’t like to get in the shower and come out to find you’re gone. Don’t do that to me.”

“Alright. Next time I’ll tell you.”

“Next time you’ll let me take Angelo in.”

Fallyn took her husband’s hand and led him up the stairs to their room. “No offense, but you were with Angelo. You saw how bad off he was. You could’ve taken everyone straight to the hospital, but you came here instead. Angelo could barely sit up on his own.” She pulled Vince’s shirt over his head and pressed a kiss to his chest. “You should’ve taken better care of Angelo.”

Vince took her scolding with grace, mulling over her correction with a nod. “You’re right. I was just so relieved we all survived. I wasn’t thinking about injuries.”

She removed his gun from his belt, undid his pants and let them fall to the ground. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She led him to the bathroom and turned on the hot water. She took her time soaping up her husband, kissing his many injuries until he was shaking with exhaustion and need. They made love to the sounds of the shower beating down around them, kissing with relief that the other had returned home safely.

Vince barely made it to the bed before he collapsed, naked and wet atop the covers. Fallyn coaxed him to lie next to her under the comforter, smiling as his body sought out her warm curves even in his barely conscious state. He found his favorite position to sleep in – spooning his wife with one hand on her breast and the other pressing to the baby growing inside her. He slept without moving or worrying for seven hours, content to hold his treasure.

When they awoke late in the afternoon, the two found their way downstairs after Fallyn woke Vince up “the fun way,” as he liked to call it. They followed the smell of garlic and tomatoes to the kitchen, where the others were congregated.

Fallyn pranced about the kitchen in her bare feet, humming to herself as she fished out her vitamins from the cupboard. She felt graceful in her black yoga capris and peach scoop neck tank top, casting a smile at Vince, who slumped on the stool at the counter in between Carrigan and Declan.

“How’d you sleep?” Declan asked politely.

Vince groaned in response, his shoulders slumped and eyes trying to stay open. “Slept like a dream, but could’ve used about ten more hours.”

Tony stirred the sauce in the pan, banging the wooden spoon on the side and turning off the burner. “Time for a carb-load, brother,” he said to Vince, who gave an obligatory nod.

Carrigan was reading the paper, speaking to his sister without looking up from his page. “For the record, you sound like you’re murdering Vince when you two go at it. I could’ve gone my whole life without hearing that version of Animal Planet. Might want to think about sound-proofing.”

Tony laughed as he served up the pasta. “Glad you said something. Not my first time sleeping with my pillow over my head while crashing here.”

Fallyn froze, her eyes wide at Vince’s snorted laugh. “You heard us? Gross! Well, don’t listen!”

“Don’t listen? How do you not listen to someone shouting through the house?”

Declan slid Vince’s glass of water out of his reach, just to be annoying. “And Vince, if you could stop shouting my sister’s name when you’re in the throes, I’d sleep a whole lot better.”

“Been trying to get that out of my head all day.” Carrigan turned the page. “Not many disturbances other than the mating animals upstairs. The place’s been quiet since Declan knocked off three bikers who were trying to break in.”

Declan scoffed. “They weren’t even really trying. I mean, they brought a crowbar. A brute’s weapon to a gentleman’s game. Easy fodder. Not sure how many are left, but you should be good for a while until they regroup.”

Vince shook his head. “Not enough of them left to regroup. Thanks, man. I really needed to sleep. Tell Kill thanks for the assist.”

Declan tipped his head toward Vince. “I take my payment in pasta. I gotta warn you, I could eat my weight in your family’s spaghetti.”

Fallyn steered clear of the garlic that made her stomach pull away in protest. She opted for bland oatmeal so as not to rock the boat, saving her portion of spaghetti for Angelo when he woke. She watched two of her brothers joke around with her husband and her new brother, and thought to herself that she’d never seen anything look more right.

F
allyn’s
belly was impossible to ignore in her third trimester. The time had done wonders to distract the brothers from their vendetta against the D’Amatos. The territory lines had been lowered, and they’d all had a hand in helping Vince set up the nursery. Monthly dual family vacations were reinstated at the O’Keefe cabin. It hadn’t been an easy road, but Fallyn had blazed the trail to unity regardless, pushing them when they wanted to be content in their distance and reminding them just by showing up with a baby in her belly that a child would be coming, and none of them wanted the next generation to know the drama that had shredded their lives.

Fallyn grinned as she decorated the cupcakes she was going to take to the cabin. Vince was due to pick her up from the prison she was heading to shortly, so she put the finishing touches on the last cupcake. The Italian flag looked nice next to the Irish flag, poles crossed in a show of unity. Joey had complained that Vince always got the best desserts because Fallyn made him delicious Italian food every night accompanied by her decadent desserts. Fallyn set to rectifying the situation, drawing each man’s name on the little cakes. It made her heart swell to see the names all grouped together, like players who were finally on the same team.

Fallyn drove with her seat pulled an inch back to accompany her baby bump. In her purse was an envelope she’d tucked away for months, not ready to read it, lest her universe upend itself beyond recognition. She didn’t know what shifted in her that morning, but she knew that after her date with Keenan, she was going to sit in the car by herself, open the letter and read the paternity results, for better or worse.

She tried not to waddle as she walked into the prison, but her belly was becoming problematic when stairs were involved. Fallyn sat down at the table after the usual check, waiting for her brother to come out. She expected the smattering of freckles on Keenan that their mother had dubbed “angel’s kisses”. She expected his wide gait and the orange jumpsuit. What she didn’t expect was for her brother to come into the room with a blacked eye and a fat lip. Fallyn wanted to run across the room and scoop him in a hug, but knew the no touching rule still applied even when the prisoner was her injured brother. Her fingers glued themselves to the tabletop, lest they leap up and hold her brother. “Hi, Keenan,” she eked out.

“Hi, Fally.” Keenan looked lost, unsure of himself – which was a first for him. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well. How are you?” The mundane conversation tugged at her, ringing in her ears with falsity. There were so many things she wanted to say to Keenan, but she could tell he was barely holding it together.

His lower lip quivered, and her heart broke when the pained whisper escaped him. “I want to go home!” Prison had changed the arrogance he’d strutted into it with so long ago. He was hollow and tired, possessing so little of his formerly cocky self. “I miss you. I miss the guys. I miss my bed. I just want to go home.”

She didn’t tear her eyes away from her brother’s pain even when Vince joined them ten minutes later, sitting down beside her. “Honey, tell me what happened. Who hurt you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t take it, Fal! I can’t take two more years of this! I’m going crazy in here. It’s getting… People are tense, and it’s a rough situation right now. The inmates are taking sides. It’s the territory wars all over again, except I don’t have any of you!”

Fallyn glanced around and noticed for the first time that two of the other four inmates in the visitation room were sporting injuries similar to Keenan’s. “I’m here, sweetie. I’m here. Tell me how to help you.”

Keenan shook his head and then bowed it, defeated. “No one can help me anymore.”

Vince took in the raw emotion emanating from the man and leaned forward in his plastic chair to speak low to Keenan. “You’ve got two years left in here? Be straight with me, Keenan. Have you caused any problems in here? Started any fights?”

“No. It was a yard brawl that didn’t involve half the inmates, but nearly everyone ended up getting pulled in.”

Vince shook his head. “I mean the entire time you’ve been in here. You’ve served three years of your five, right? How many fights have you started?”

“None. I’m not stupid.”

Vince asked a few more poignant questions that Fallyn tried to understand the relevance of. Finally, Vince leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his stomach. “Give me a week. Keep your head down. Stay out of trouble. I mean, far away from trouble. I’ll see what I can do about improving your situation.”

Keenan’s one opened eye flicked toward Vince curiously. “Okay. I mean, what can you really do? I appreciate it and all, don’t get me wrong.”

“Just let me make some calls.” Vince nudged his wife’s chair. “Did you tell him about the treehouse the guys started building on the back of our property for the baby?”

Fallyn groaned. “The baby’s not even born yet, and they’re already planning for wilderness adventures. It’s really cute, actually. You should see everyone working together. O’Keefes and D’Amatos hammering and measuring. And it’s not technically a treehouse, you know. The thing is almost as big as a small house, and it’s not in a tree. It’s just
near
two trees, so they can still call it a treehouse.”

Keenan’s usually easy smile was nonexistent. “I want that. I don’t want you to have this whole life-changing thing without me. A treehouse? You’re killing me, Fal.”

Fallyn grimaced. “I’m sorry, sweetie. How about I tell them not to start construction on the one they want to build next at Daddy’s house? Would that help? You’ll be out in a couple years, and the baby won’t need two treehouses yet.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Keenan glumly participated in a moderate back and forth with his sister while Vince listened and made mental notes. The siblings mimed hugging with tears welling in their eyes when they parted.

Vince stopped by one of the guards and spoke low in his ear in tones Fallyn could tell contained a deadly threat. Then he shook the guard’s hand and left the visiting area with his arm around his wife. “I need to see the warden before we go to the cabin. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Okay. What about? Do you know the warden?”

Vince led Fallyn down several bare-bulbed concrete hallways to get to the office he was seeking. “I do. Well, my father did a long time ago.” He touched his nose. “Used to be a customer.”

Fallyn’s nose crinkled. “Seriously? Well, that’s just great.”

“Used to be. Not anymore. Not for years. I’m going to see what I can do about Keenan’s situation.”

“What can you really do? I mean, don’t get me wrong, you hung the moon, but don’t do anything that’ll get you put in there.” She jerked her thumb behind her in the direction of the cells.

He paused when they reached their destination to kiss her lightly. “That you ever doubt me blows my mind. Did you not see the treehouse? I mean, you said it wouldn’t work when you looked at the construction plans, but it’s coming along fine, isn’t it?”

“It is. Just be careful when you work your magic in there.”

Vince winked at her. “Oh,
dolcezza
. It’s not magic if it’s careful.”