Ties That Bind (17 page)

“What a fucked up way to look at it. She's not a piece of meat to be-”

“I didn't mean it like that, Mitch.” Jimmie shook his head and poured them both another drink. “I just was thinking if you're this fucked up over the ordeal, think what she must be going through. Daddy's pride and joy turned into a whore-”

“Stop calling her that,” Mitch asked, his voice pleading, “please.”

Jimmie nodded in apology. He was quiet, watching Mitch as he downed drink after drink until he finally forewent the glass and began on the bottle. “She's family to you, isn't she?”

It took Mitch a moment to let Jimmie's question filter through the drunken haze. She had been...years ago. But what was she now?  More than a stranger, not exactly a friend- she existed somewhere between the netherworld of old sepia photographs in his closet and the $1,500 ties that evidenced the world to which he currently belonged. He gave a slow, thoughtful nod before starting to drink again.

“I’ve been blind about my sister in the past. I know that. But my vision is finally clearing.” Jimmie glanced to Mitch. “You protected her. From me, from herself, from the families. With a single fucking dance you claimed her and assured her safety from everyone. It took until now for me to understand that but you did. And I’m indebted.”

Jimmie leaned forward, grabbing the bottle to take a drink for himself. He hesitated before handing it back, his eyes locking with Mitch's. “Tell me to go back and we will.”

“You have-”

“An unimportant meeting. I can make 2 million in a phone call,” he shrugged. “Just say the word.”

Mitch nodded, unsure of what the right thing to do was but knowing he couldn't leave things with Toni as unsettled as they were. “They are headed to Sacramento.”

⬧⬧⬧

“Antoinette, you look stunning as always,” Mitch kissed her cheek, feeling the blush rise on them.

“Decided to stop preying on the wildlife long enough to come dance with me, did you?”

“Who said I came to dance with you?” he countered laughing but was already tugging her towards the center dance floor. “You don't seem surprised to see me.”

“My father is very persuasive.”

Mitch smiled. That explained her hostility- she thought he was here to join Terenari's ranks.

“You do have some interesting house guests, I must say.”

“Crotchety old men and their twenty something wives with their outrageously expensive and recently remodeled bodies,” she spat. “Thrilling company, I assure you.”

“Oh, come now, surely you've been paying more attention than that,” he scolded. “Take Guiseppe over there,” Mitch nodded his head toward a man in the corner. “He's trying to get in bed with your old man's latest fling.”

“I wish someone would,” she chuckled then sent a gaze to a couple behind her. “And what about them?”

“That would be Senator Davenport, head of the joint committee on genome research. He's hoping for campaign contributions, of course. The blond 22 year old is his daughter. Whom he's happy to offer up to anyone in the room willing to cough up a certain amount of cash. Not that she would mind. She finds Italian men, powerful Italian men, as some sort of temporary plaything.”

“Know that from experience do you?” she asked lightly but Mitch could feel her tense in his arms.

“Certainly not.” He eyed her for a moment, the plastered smile on her face not matching the furrow on her brow. He knew mentioning the ordeal in his hotel room would cause her to run away but he had to get answers. He pulled her closer into his arms. “Do you need to talk to me?”

“I need nothing.”

Mitch didn't miss the exact pronunciation of her words and his lips dropped to her ear, his breath warm against her cheek. “Do you want to talk to me privately?”

“I don't see that as something my father would allow,” she pushed away from him slightly and offered him a tiny bow. “Thank you for the dance, Mr. Kerlin.”

She was issuing him a challenge- he knew it just as if he'd issued it himself. He touched her arm before she could depart, offering her the smallest wink. “You underestimate me, girl.”

He gave her a few moments to regain her position beside Nicolai, his eyes surveying the growing line of guests waiting to bestow their gratitude on Terenari. Near the front of the growing group, Sonny Markesi's tall head was moving above the rest, ignoring the masses. Mitch followed suit, moving easily between the drunken crowd and directly to Nicolai.

“Mitch!” Nicolai's arms reached out, just as Mitch had expected, and pulled him forward. “I didn't expect you to join us here this evening. I thought you were headed home.”

“You know me, Nicolai. I never do the expected.”

“Surely I’d have been made aware if Vinetti crossed the threshold of my new home. Are you out without parental supervision?”

“Jimmie is not with me,” Mitch acknowledged. “I just thought I would offer you my well wishes for the vineyard opening.”

“Please, let's go somewhere. We had no time yesterday. We should take time to catch up.”

Mitch broke the possessive grasp Nicholai had on his arm. “Perhaps tomorrow?  Sonny and I are scheduled to have breakfast. I presume you'd be willing to join us?”

Sonny barely managed to hide the look of genuine surprise before Nicolai turned his way. “Seven?  Or eight if that's better for you?”

“No, no,” Nicolai smiled brightly. “Seven would be wonderful. You have plans for this evening then?  With anyone I know?”

Mitch laughed off the question. “Actually, no plans. I've been trying to get your daughter alone for a while now but her dance card seems quite full.”

“Antoinette?” Nicolai glanced at Mitch for a moment then his eyes flew to Toni, who was standing a pace away. “My dear, certainly you aren't being disrespectful to Mr. Kerlin. I can't imagine you'd ignore such an important guest.”

Mitch wondered what she had told him about the previous night. Did she tell him she had succeeded or that she had failed?  Or had she said anything at all?  That he might ask for a report on her activities caused Mitch's stomach to churn. Perhaps she had merely blamed it on Jimmie and his untimely interruption. He smiled to himself, knowing that's exactly what she would have done.

“No, I did manage one dance with her,” Mitch interrupted before she could respond. “I was just hoping for something more-” he trailed off purposefully, causing both Nicolai and Sonny to glance at him in curiosity. “Just somewhere less conspicuous for a chat.”

“Ah, certainly. One can never tell what gossip can spread by a mere conversation,” he nodded as if they were all conspiring against Jimmie in his absence. Mitch wondered if he would find it nearly so amusing if he knew Jimmie had chauffeured him to the property himself.

“I'm sure she'd be happy to go anywhere with you, Mitch,” he pulled her forward, nearly shoving her into Mitch's chest. “Wouldn't you?”

“Of course,” Toni nodded, her hand sliding into the crook of Mitch's elbow. “Have you seen the new grapes that were planted? They were sent over direct from your hometown, I believe.”

“Indeed.” Nicolai beamed with satisfaction. “Feel free to take your time returning.”

Mitch nodded, sliding his hand around her waist and drawing her closer as he led her through the crowd and toward the front door. “And we didn't even have to slip out of our bedroom windows in the dead of night,” he chuckled.

“I think the man would screw you himself if he thought that would get you on his payroll.” she grumbled as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Possibly,” he shrugged as they stepped into the cool night air, “but I think he believes you would relish that activity much more than he.”

She scoffed and distanced herself from him. “I'd relish nothing of the sort.”

He smiled, stepping in line behind her and tucking his face into her neck. “Are you saying you don't find me appealing, Toni?”

“I find nothing appealing these days,” she returned. “Especially those things that have come from the depraved ramblings of my father's mind.”

“Hm,” he fell quiet as they walked, allowing her to lead them deeper into the darkened paths of the vineyard. When she sank onto a wooden bench between a break in the rows, Mitch hesitated in joining her.

“If you'd like to be alone I'm certainly not going to run to your father and tell him I left you unescorted. I can walk around instead if you prefer-”

“Don't be absurd, sit down.” She took hold of his hand and pulled him down beside her. She offered him a genuine smile, the one he remembered from years before. “I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to. I'm just a tad bitter these days.”

“Is that what I am to you?” he asked, watching her intently. “An affiliation that exists only in the mind of your father?  I suppose that would be fair. It's been so long.”

“Oh, lord, stop being so dramatic. I expect that from Jimmie but not from you,” she answered testily but her eyes were sparkling with amusement. She leaned toward him, pausing long enough to get his undivided attention, then let her lips brush gently over his. It was so light, so nearly not there, that Mitch couldn't decipher if it was a friendly gesture or something more. “Welcome to Carricante Vineyards.”

“He’s named it that? Really?”

“Anything to get him closer to Gino.”

“Yeah, that’ll do it.” Mitch laughed. “Gino wouldn’t even send him a single grape for this endeavor, I’d bet.”

Toni smiled. “And you win. He tried but Gino shot him down. Sent him a crate of raisins in response to the request. I tried to warn him but…” She shrugged.

“But what?”

“My opinion isn’t the most influential around here these days.” She tucked her arm into his. “But enough of that. Tell me of you, a lifetime missed, and I’ll tell you of my deviant mafia princess ways.”

As if they had not lost a moment of time, once he had convinced her he had no intention of joining her father, he and Toni picked up right where their friendship had left off. She talked of Terenari's new inept recruits, Mitch shared stories of his drinking binges with Jimmie. They swapped stories of Markesi, Gino Palmese and the other men that tended to cross their paths on a regular basis. Toni admitted to a drunken night in Los Angeles that resulted in passing out backstage at a rock concert only to have Terenari's bodyguards bust in and carry her out. It would have been sheer humiliation, she said, if she'd been sober enough to realize what was going on.

In the darkest moments before dawn, when a bitter rain began to fall, she brought up his mother’s death. Mitch couldn’t bear to do it himself and she clutched his hand in support as he relived the darkest parts of his life. They sat in silence after, both lost in the memories that they had been living to forget. As dawn finally began to break across their shadowed forms, they began the slow walk back to the main grounds.

“Here, let me.” He stepped toward her as her trembling fingers tried to tighten the clasp on her dress, the shivering of her body causing him to rub her arms. “Have I given you pneumonia now?” he laughed and put his jacket over her shoulders. “It's not nearly as cold as the Atlantic winter. I remember when you and Paulie disappeared from-”

“You look like you've just come from a wrestling match,” she interrupted quickly, nodding toward his soaked and rumpled dress shirt that still hung untucked from his trousers. She tried to help him tuck it in but her hands were still shivering. She gave up and held tight to his shirt tail for a moment, her eyes drifting toward the horizon that was wavering between a hazy purple and a dusty peach. “He's is going to kick my ass. It's dawn.”

Mitch held her as she tried to start walking back, knowing this was the one conversation they'd both purposefully avoided all night. His hands were silky on her skin, his fingers wrapped only tight enough to keep her from moving away. His voice was quiet, solemn. “Will he?”

She hesitated, his protective nature now seeming to seep from his entire body without so much as uttering a word in her defense. It worried her- his quick conclusions that were nearly always right but would definitely always get him into murderous trouble. It was like when they were kids and he would tell her to run- she'd run as ordered and it never failed that he would come home nursing a dozen bloody scratches a few hours later. But she knew he was not that little boy anymore.

He was gossiped to be the deadliest shot in
la familia
, he was Vinetti's right hand, Gino's protégé...he was the one person who frightened her more than her father. He could destroy her or save her with a single swift glance and she wasn't prepared for either option. She straightened to face him more directly. “I can handle him.”

“You don't have to. You know that, right?” he asked, tucking a rain soaked strand of hair behind her. “Without question?”

“I didn't,” she whispered refusing to look at him, “but I suppose I do now.”

“Toni,” his voice dropped as he pulled her into his arms, his head dropping to place his cheek against hers. “If it ever gets to where you can't handle it, it only takes one call.” He pulled away to check her eyes, to make sure she was comprehending the out he was offering her. “Anywhere, anytime. One call.”

Mitch was unwilling to allow Toni to suffer for their evening out. He knew she would be plagued with questions no matter what but he knew his presence would prevent Terenari's anger...as long as he believed Toni had kept him happy.