Italian Knights (16 page)

“But Sal—” She began to tremble.

“Go in and lock the door,” he ordered. “And don’t open it until I come back. Do you understand?” Annie nodded, her eyes widened in fear.

“Go!”

Clutching his suit jacket in her arms, Annie turned and bolted into the house, slamming it shut soundly behind her. Heaving a deep breath, she went to the window. Sal was gone. All she could see were the faint drops of rain that splattered against the pane. Hugging his jacket close, Annie sank down on a chair to wait.

Chapter Nine

Annie paced the floors, waiting and worrying as the hours ticked by. What on earth had happened? Where was Sal? A hand of panic settled around her heart, making her throat tighten and burn. She had a feeling something was terribly wrong.

Oh, Lord. Annie blindly went from room to room, trying not to worry.

Sal, where are you?

Terror washed over her and she pressed her fingers to her tired eyes, wanting to stop her tortured thoughts. If something happened to him—Lord, she couldn’t go through this—not again. She’d already been through it once, and once was more than enough for any woman.

Despite Tony’s death, until tonight Annie had never given much thought to the danger Sal faced every day. It wasn’t something she thought about; it was a fact of life in his job—a job he loved. He dealt with danger, life and death every day. He knew it was there, but he never talked about it, never expressed any concern.

Once she’d asked him about it—asked him if he’d ever been scared, or if he was more careful now because of what had happened to Tony. She remembered Sal had smiled sadly, saying a careful cop was the one who usually got himself in trouble. When you started thinking too much, you started second-guessing yourself and being careful instead of relying on instinct and training, and that’s when you got yourself into trouble. That was the time to be scared.

Heaving a short, tension-filled sigh, Annie went into the kitchen, then promptly forgot what she’d gone in there for. Standing in the middle of the room, she sighed, then went back into the living room to wait.

“
Be careful
,” she whispered, pressing her nose to the damp glass. “No, don’t be careful,” she corrected, scanning the darkened street.
“Be smart.”

She’d just found love—again. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell him, and now she might lose it—again.

The rain finally stopped, and the darkness slid into dawn, leaving a dull, damp ache in her heart and a weariness in her breast.

Why didn’t he call?
Maybe he couldn’t call.

Why didn’t he come back?
Maybe he couldn’t come back.

“Stop this, Annie,” she scolded herself aloud, knowing she was more worried than she thought if she’d started talking to herself.

She finally went into her bedroom, dragged a blue quilted comforter off the bed, pulled the rocker up to the window and curled up in it. She buried her nose in the quilt, loving the warm softness of it. Sal had given it to her for her birthday, and she loved the intricate wedding-ring pattern.

During that
first long, cold winter, when she was so alone and so lonely, she would take the quilt and wrap herself up in it like a child. For some reason, the quilt always brought a sense of comfort, something she sorely needed right now.

Time slipped by, and weariness overtook her. Her head drooped and her lashes lowered. She rocked more slowly, finally allowing her eyes to close.

The bell rang. And rang. Startled, Annie jumped up, nearly tripping over her feet and the comforter. Bundling it up around her, she hurried to the front door and froze.

There was a blue-and-white squad car parked in front of her house. Her heart slowed. Oh, God. For a moment she froze in fear, remembering another night when a squad car had pulled up to the door.

Her lashes slid closed and she said a quick, silent prayer, holding on to a sliver of hope. She unlocked the door and flung it open just as the officer was getting back into the car.

He turned, and she recognized Rich Vesto. The breath slipped out of her in a rush. Rich was a neighbor. He lived right around the corner from the deli and he and his wife Maria were frequent customers. Annie stood staring at him, unable to open her mouth, her heart pounding in fear.

“Hi, Annie,” Rich called, smiling as he slammed the car door and turned back up the walk toward her. “Sal asked me to stop by—”

“Sal?” She sagged against the door, letting her breath come. He was alive. “Is…is he all right?” She opened the door wider, ushering Rich in.

“He’s fine, Annie. I was on my way home and he asked me to drop by and let you know he was all right. He also asked me to check the deli. Guess he picked up a couple of kids for breaking the windows again. I just went by, the board-up company’s already been there, so you don’t have to worry.”

Sal was fine. She gave silent thanks, suddenly not caring about broken windows or the deli, or anything else. “Where is he?”

Rich took his hat off. “At the station.” He scratched his bald head. “I guess those kids are the key to something he’s been working on. Said to tell you he’ll stop by as soon as he’s done.”

She smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek in a gesture of great relief. “Thanks, Rich. Stop by the deli for lunch tomorrow. I’ll have Rosina make you one of her special sandwiches, on the house.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Can’t pass up an offer like that.” He patted his stomach. “You know how I love Rosina’s sandwiches. Almost as much as my Maria’s cooking.”

“How
is
Maria?” Annie asked with a smile.

Rich beamed. “Fine, just fine. Twenty years and we’re still going strong.” He twisted his hat in his hands. “You know, Annie, everyone in the neighborhood—well—we’re all glad to see you and Sal—” He twisted his hat nervously. “You deserve some happiness after what happened with Tony. None of us approved of the things he did, we thought you deserved better.”

Annie frowned in confusion. “What did Tony do, Rich?”

Rich paled. “Well, I’d better say good night, Maria is waiting.” With a tip of his hat he was gone, leaving Annie standing in the doorway staring after him, his words ringing in her ears.

What did he mean,
none of us approved of the things Tony did
? What things? Confused, Annie shut the door and relocked it, gathering the comforter around her and going back to sit in the rocker. She thought about Rich’s statements for a long time, wondering just what he meant.

Tucking her feet under her, Annie sighed softly and closed her eyes. As her lashes drooped, she made a mental note to ask Sal about it. All she could think about now was that he was safe.

“Annie.” Someone was gently shaking her, and her eyes flew open.

“Sal!” she breathed, struggling to wake up and sit up at the same time. “My, God!” She reached up and touched his bruised face. “What happened to you?”

Sal tried to smile, but it came out a wince. “If you think I look bad, you should see Dancing David,” His lip was split and he had one hell of a shiner.

“David!” Annie said in alarm, wondering what the devil was going on. Now wasn’t the time to ask. Sal looked as if he was about to fall over. Annie scrambled out of her rocker. “Come on,” she said, taking his arm and guiding him across the room. She tried to ease some of his weight as he sank down heavily on the couch, holding his left side and groaning. “Are you hurt?” she inquired, kneeling next to him. Her eyes went over him and he smiled—or tried to. Of course he was hurt!

“I…mean…how badly are you hurt? What happened?” Her words came tumbling out in a rush, spilling out of her mouth in a flurry as she tried to take his shoes off. His clothes were still damp from the rain, and his hair was plastered across his bruised forehead. Lord, she couldn’t let him go home like this. She had to keep Sal here until she was certain he was all right.

“Annie.” He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek. “I’m fine,” he assured her, his eyes hinting at mischief despite his pain. “I just want to rest for a moment, then I’ll go home. I didn’t want you to worry. Did Rich stop by?”

She nodded, her voice filled with worry. “Let me clean your face.” She hurried into the kitchen to get a pan with clean water. Grabbing some cotton and some antiseptic from a cabinet, Annie hurried back into the living room to find Sal stretched out on the couch, his eyes closed.

She knelt down beside him, gently rinsing the rag and dabbing at his wounds. Her breath caught when he winced as she found a particularly sore spot under his eye.

“It’s not so bad,” he assured her. “Looks worse than it is.”

“I’ll bet,” she murmured, lifting his feet to a more comfortable position on the couch and then covering him with the comforter. “Rest, Sal,” she instructed, gently touching his face.

“We have to talk,” he murmured drowsily. She nodded. Her eyes went over him again. She wanted to soothe away each cut, each bruise. Her heart constricted in pain.

“What happened?” she whispered as Sal shifted his weight, moaning softly.

“After I left last night, I chased a couple of guys—kids, really. The glass we heard breaking was the deli window. Don’t worry, now,” he said, touching a finger to her cheek. “I just stopped by there and the board-up company has already been there. There’s not much they can do about the spray paint—”

Her hands stilled on his face. “Spray paint!”

Sal slowly nodded. “They painted all over the brick before they broke all the windows. They’d just taken off when I rounded the corner. They made the mistake of cutting through Peanut Park.” He grinned. “I cut them off at the pass. I wanted to wring each one of their necks, Annie. But they were just kids, no more than fifteen or sixteen.” Sal groaned as she wiped at his cheek. “I knew damn well they weren’t working on their own. They were scared to death. I took them down to the station and they spilled their guts. Dancing David was behind all of it.”

“David!” Annie frowned. “Sal, I don’t understand. Why on earth would David want to vandalize the deli? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Annie, listen to me,” he said gently. “He’s been trying to scare you into selling the store.”

“What!” Annie laughed and shook her head. “What on earth would he want with a little deli? He hates this neighborhood and everyone in it. This doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s not the deli he wants, Annie; it’s the land it’s on. He knows neither you nor the neighbors want to sell. The last time he did something like this, a rash of burglaries and muggings occurred and people got scared. They decided to sell out before things got too bad and good ole Davey was right there with the cash. The people took the little pittance he offered because they were afraid if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to get anything for their property. Davey then resold the property to a developer at an enormous profit. Ryce found out David has already paid some of your neighbors money for an option on their property. The money is kind of like his insurance policy. If they ever decide to sell, he gets first crack.”

“But, Sal, he hasn’t paid
me
any money, and he knows I have no intention of selling.” She gently dabbed at his face, aching inside for the pain he had.

“I know, hon, but this isn’t the first time he’s tried to scare someone into selling. That’s why he’s been hanging around—”

“Sal,” she said slowly. “Are you saying David was…using me?” Her face flamed in horror as she realized what a fool she’d been.

“Honey, now don’t get upset,” Sal cautioned gently. “I suspected it right from the beginning. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Sal, wait a minute, are you saying you knew about this all along?” No wonder he thought she needed a chaperone! “How long have you suspected David was behind all of this?” she asked, suddenly confused. If Sal had known about this, or suspected David right from the beginning, why hadn’t he told her? Why on earth would he keep something like that from her?

“Right from that first night,” he admitted, and Annie’s heart slowly began to ache. If Sal had suspected David right from the beginning, then… She looked at him carefully, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread.

“Without proof there wasn’t much I could do. That’s why I wanted to keep an eye on him. That first night after the burglary, I had my suspicions, but I couldn’t very well charge him with anything since he had an ironclad alibi. You and I were with him all evening, and I sure didn’t want to have to try and explain
that
to a judge. I knew if my hunch was right, it was just a matter of time until he showed his true colors. Even my mother and aunt were suspicious of him.”

Oh, Lord, Annie thought. No wonder Florina and Rosina got so upset every time David showed up. Everyone knew about this but her. How could she have been so naive?

“Is that why you didn’t want me to date him anymore, because you suspected he was behind all the trouble I’ve been having?” Annie tried to brace herself for his answer.

“Part of it,” Sal admitted, and Annie felt her temper erupt. All this time she’d thought Sal was interested in
her
! He didn’t care about her or the deli; all Sal cared about was getting the goods on David!

What a fool she’d been. The walls of her heart ached with a pain that went straight to her soul. Why hadn’t she realized? Why had she let her imagination run away with her? She’d been a blind, romantic fool. She should have known Sal wasn’t the type of man to be interested in only one woman. How could she not have realized what he was doing? Sal was still trying to protect her, still watching over her. But she didn’t want his protection; what she wanted was his love.