There was just one last thing to take care of, and I turned to my husband said, “Wait here, okay?” Charlie’s expression turned serious as he nodded and squeezed my hand.

  I went out to the living room, where Ferguson was lounging on the couch, and told him, “Get some rest, my friend. We’ll talk in the morning and wrap up all the financial details for you, your team, and your son. And if you’re ever in California, you damn well better look me up.”

  “That’s definitely happening.” He pushed himself to his feet and added, “By the way, one of my men retrieved your rental car, and the cops towed away Jerry’s pickup truck. The sedan’s pretty banged up, so what do you want us to do with it?”

  I shrugged and said, “I’ll make a decision about it in the morning.”

  “Alright. We got your phone and weapon case out of it, by the way, they’re right over there.” He gestured at an end table.

  “Thanks, Fergie, for everything.”

  “Right back at you.” He wandered off to the spare bedroom.

  I went over to my metal weapons case and pulled out a big hunting knife. When I approached Jerry with it, he looked up at me with fear in his eyes. It wasn’t hard to imagine what he expected me to do with it, but what I did instead was slice through the thick coil of ropes that bound him to the chair. He watched me warily as he removed the gag.

  I sat on the coffee table facing him, and said as I turned that big blade over in my hands, “You’ve left me with a conundrum, Jerry. While I believe what you said earlier about your role in the fire, you still turned on our family. You went to work for the Messinas, and you gave them information that almost ended up killing all of us. Who knows what else you told them? And who’s to say you wouldn’t team up with another of our enemies if I let you live?”

  “I won’t, not that I expect you to believe me.”

  “You did it once, though.”

  Jerry held my gaze as he said, “I went to work for the Messinas because I hated you and wanted someone to help me take you down a peg. You questioned my judgement when all I was doing was trying to keep the family safe, and you turned everyone against me. Then you neutered me by cutting off my money and taking back control of our organization.

  “But Jesus, Dante, don’t you see? The whole thing blew up in my face! I expected the Messinas to go after you financially. Instead, Steven Messina tried to brutally murder the whole family! I was fucking horrified when I found out what he’d done! Don’t you think I learned my lesson?”

  “Did you?”

  “Damn right I did! I’ve spent the last year and a half riddled with guilt because of my role in all of that. And I’m so fucking done, Dante. There’s no way I’m going back to that life. I started over. I met a nice girl, and I got a regular job, the kind where you don’t have to watch your back every time you walk down the street. I know that’s more than I deserve after everything that happened, but that’s where I am now. I’m not going to beg for mercy, or any of that shit. You’re gonna do what you’re gonna do. But you should know I’m not a threat to you or the family. I’m just trying to start fresh and put my past behind me.”

  I mulled that over for a long minute as I ran a fingernail up the back of the blade. Finally, I said, “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to walk out that door and go back to the life you’re trying to build, and you’re never going to contact me or any member of our family, not for any reason. You’re no longer a Dombruso, Jerry, and you’re going to stay the fuck out of San Francisco. No, scratch that. You’re going to stay away from the whole goddamn state of California. Is that clear?”

  “Wait…you’re actually letting me go?”

  “I’m giving you one shot. If you try to get involved in organized crime in any way, or do anything at all that I think could be a threat to my family, I will hunt you down and I will fucking kill you. Understood?”

  Jerry leapt to his feet and said, “Jesus. Yeah. I’m gone, Dante, you’ll never see me again. I can’t believe you’re showing me mercy, you of all people!” He ran out of the apartment, and the door swung shut behind him.

  I got up and locked the door and returned the knife to the metal case. Then I went over to the windows and took a moment to study the view. The storm had passed, and the sun was just starting to come up. Down below, the Point was covered in a fresh, pristine blanket of snow. No one would ever know what had happened there during the night, no one but me, and Charlie, and the three members of our family who’d helped us. Still though, I’d be glad when we put a continent’s distance between us and Pittsburgh.

  When I returned to the bedroom and slipped under the covers, Charlie rolled over and curled up with his head on my chest. I took him in my arms, and after a pause, I said, “Aren’t you going to ask what happened with Jerry?”

  Without raising his lids, he murmured, “Nope. I already know you did the right thing.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Charlie snuggled closer and said, “Because it’s what you always do.”

  Chapter Eleven

  It felt so fucking good to be back in San Francisco. I loved everything about the city, especially the fact that it was home. When I said that out loud, my husband grinned at me, and Vinnie told me my ticket to Sentimental Street should have expired by that point.

  The driver who’d picked us up at the airport dropped my brother off first. Trevor and Josh were each holding a baby and waiting on the front porch. Vincent kissed his husband passionately and gave Josh a big hug before gathering the twins into his arms. Trevor waved at us before they went inside.

  Charlie had been listening to his voicemail, and as we pulled away from the curb, he pocketed his phone and said, “Would you mind if we swing by my dad’s house? It won’t take long, I just want to check on him.”

  “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah. He left a message while we were on the plane, and he sounds lonely.”

  I recited the address for the driver, then asked my husband, “Mind if I sit this visit out? I need to talk to Cameron.”

  “Not a problem.”

  His parents had disowned him when Charlie first came out, but in the last few years, he and his dad had been making an effort to rebuild their relationship. I thought my father-in-law was a prick, and that my husband was a saint for forgiving him. But Charlie had a huge heart, and there was even room in it for the father who really didn’t deserve the second chance he’d been given. As for his dad and me, we were civil to each other despite my opinion of him, but I knew Charlie’s visits with his father were more relaxed when I stayed out of them.

  After a few minutes, we pulled up in front of the house he’d grown up in, and Charlie leaned over and kissed me. I said, “See you soon, angel,” then watched him as he went up to the door and knocked. He turned and smiled at me when his dad answered, and the two of them went inside.

  I studied the dingy little house for a long moment. Our first date had taken place there, and it had been an odd one. Charlie had just come out to his parents, and they’d kicked him out and changed the locks, so we broke in to get his stuff. He’d tried to be so brave, but ended up sobbing in my arms later that night, after we discovered all his possessions and every photo and memento from his childhood in trash bags out back.

  I’d been so torn that night. I wanted to take care of him forever and make sure no one ever hurt him again. But at the same time, I was sure I was the worst thing possible for him, and that bringing him into my world would cause him nothing but heartache.

  Ultimately though, it wasn’t even a choice. I had to be with Charlie. I couldn’t live without him. As it turned out, he couldn’t live without me, either. I’d never stop being grateful for that.

  And okay, yes. Vincent was right. I was still feeling sentimental.

  *****

  I dropped off the luggage at home and retrieved my car. Then I started to work my way down the list of dive bars I knew Cameron Doyle frequented. It only took two tries to find him.

  The truth about Steven Messina had been a lot for Cam to process. I’d called him that morning before we left for the airport and told him what had happened, with one exception. I left out Charlie’s role in it, and told Cameron I’d been the one to kill Messina.

  Judging by the shape my friend was in when I found him, processing it was still a work in progress. He was slumped in a booth in a corner of a cramped, poorly-lit bar in the outer Mission, dressed in his usual suit and trench coat, both of which looked slept in (nothing new there). Surprisingly, he was sipping coffee. It obviously hadn’t been his drink of choice for most of the day, because he slurred a little when he said, “I’m so sorry I told Messina where to find you.”

  “You had no way of knowing what would happen.”

  “I called the department and cancelled the APB. I couldn’t very well tell them you shot him, so I just said we’d thought we had a witness, but then we found out he was lying.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Could the body turn up and get you in trouble?”

  “Definitely not.”

  He took a long drink from his coffee mug, then said, “A bit daft, telling a cop you killed a man.”

  “It was in self-defense. If I hadn’t shot him, I’d be dead now.”

  “But you didn’t call it in to the Pittsburgh police department.”

  “The ballistics on the gun I used may have linked it to other homicides. Not committed by me, I might add. I’d borrowed the weapon.”

  “From whom?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, you know I can’t arrest you without a body.”

  “You wouldn’t have arrested me anyway.”

  Cameron said, “Probably not. Still daft to confess, though.”

  “I told you because we’re friends, Cam, and I wanted you to know the truth about Steven Messina because you were involved with him.”

  “The fact that he’s dead, along with the arsonist and all the witnesses to the crime, means that on the record, the case will officially remain unsolved. Bit of a black eye for my department.”

  “I know, but it can’t be helped. And that’s not really what I’m here to talk about. I wanted to make sure you’re okay, Cam.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m fine, aside from hating myself for being stupid enough to fall for Messina’s act.”

  “You really liked him, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. Again, stupid.”

  “You couldn’t have known what he was,” I said. “And I fell for the innocent act too, you know. It was very convincing.”

  “Well, no more. I’m done with random hookups. Hell, I’m done with people, period. It’s so much easier when you don’t let anyone in.” Cameron slid out of the booth and swayed a bit, and I got up too and caught his elbow. “I’m going to call a cab and sleep for a week. I already told the department I’m taking a few days off.”

  “I’ll drive you,” I said. “Just tell me you’re going to be okay, Cam.”

  He met my gaze with a look of resignation. “Of course I am. This wasn’t the first time my heart got broken. Won’t be the last, either. It was, however, the first time I took a sociopath to bed.”

  “That you know of.”

  He grinned a little and said, “Not really helping, mate.”

  “Yeah, didn’t think so. Come on, let’s get you home.”

  *****

  After driving Cameron across town, walking him to his apartment, and literally tucking him in when he nearly passed out on the way to his bedroom, I went to see Nana. Five teenagers were busy stringing lights on her house when I pulled to the curb. I walked up to Darwin, who was untangling an extension cord, and said, “So, you know I just took Nana’s Christmas lights down a couple weeks ago, right?”

  He said, “Hi Dante. I know you did, but she mentioned she missed them, so we got her some new ones.”

  Emmet appeared beside me and held up the jumble of lights in his hands as he said, “These are rainbow lights. See? It goes red, orange, yellow, and so on, over and over. Nana doesn’t know that, and we think it’ll be a nice surprise for her.”

  “You’re back,” I said. “I thought you didn’t feel safe here.”

  The redhead shrugged his skinny shoulders. “Maybe I overreacted. Darwin came to talk to me, and he said everyone missed me. Plus, it was kind of lonely at the hotel. It was real nice though, don’t get me wrong, and I appreciate you doing that for me. But I decided I belonged here, with people who care about me.”

  “I’m glad you’re back,” I said. “And the good news is, there are no more guns.” I parted the lapels of my black overcoat to show him I wasn’t packing.

  “For real?”

  I nodded. “The family’s not in danger anymore. I’m about to tell Nana the news. Is she inside?”

  Emmet said, “Yeah, but like, mentally prepare yourself. Nana and Ollie are doing an exercise class for a bunch of their senior friends. Apparently she likes to change it up to keep it interesting, and…well, you’ll see. They’re upstairs in that huge room with the mural on the walls.”

  The room he was referring to was actually a ballroom. A hundred years ago when the grand Queen Anne Victorian had been built, that was considered a necessary part of genteel living. As for the mural of a snowy birch forest, that had been painted four years ago for Charlie’s and my winter-themed New Year’s Eve wedding. It occurred to me as I climbed the stairs to the third floor that I really hadn’t done enough for Charlie on our recent wedding anniversary, and I needed to remedy that.

  Upbeat disco music was blasting from the ballroom, and when I pushed open the double doors, I stopped short and exclaimed, “What the actual fuck?”

  Nana, Ollie, and five of her little girlfriends were all in a row. Each of them was wearing a brightly colored leotard and leg warmers (even Ollie, God help me), and each was riding…something. The contraptions consisted of a long, narrow seat on a springy base, and the workout involved thrusting their hips in an exaggerated motion, which made the front six inches of the seat jut forward between their legs. I was never going to be able to unsee that.

  When my grandmother spotted me, she scrambled off the…what exactly? And then she yelled over the music, “Hi Dante! I’m glad you’re back! I want to hear all about your vacation!”

  I went over to the huge boombox and hit the off button, and Nana told her companions, “Let’s call it a day, that was a hell of a workout! Ollie, could you take the ladies downstairs and get them some refreshments?”

  He said, “You got it, hot stuff,” as he climbed off his exercise machine. The Richard Simmons-worthy red and white satin shorts he wore over his red leotard had apparently ridden up on him, and Ollie fixed his wedgie with another gesture that couldn’t be unseen.

  As the seniors bustled from the room, Nana picked up a pink towel that matched her leotard, tights, and legwarmers, and dabbed daintily at her brow. “Do I even want to know what those are?” I asked, gesturing at the exercise equipment.

  “That’s gonna be the next big thing in working out! My friend Mr. Mario found them when he was traveling abroad, and he’s going to do a business venture and import a bunch to the U.S. They simulate horseback riding, obviously.”

  “Obviously,” I muttered.

  “They sure get the job done, too! I gotta say, my ass is on fire! I’m gonna have buns of steel in no time if I keep using the Pelvic Pony.” I was way too sober for this conversation. As I patted my pockets, searching in vain for a flask, Nana said, “So, tell me about your trip to see your cousin Constantino! How are he and Andreo doing?”

  “They’re fine. I told them they need to visit more often.” I leaned against the windowsill and told her, “That wasn’t really why Charlie, Vincent and I traveled back east, though. We found Jerry. He told us who was responsible for the fire, and we took care of it. I wanted to tell you we’re safe now, Nana.”

  “Was it the Messinas?”

  “One of them. I don’t think the whole family was involved.”

  “Did Jerry have a hand in it?”

  “Indirectly. He didn’t know how the Messinas would use the information he gave them. But he betrayed us by going to work for them, and I told him he wasn’t welcome here anymore.”

  My grandmother considered that for a few moments, the towel forgotten in her slender hands. Finally, she said, “You did the right thing.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  We spoke for a few more minutes, until Charlie appeared in the doorway and said, “Hi, you two.”

  I smiled at him, and my grandmother exclaimed, “Hi there, sweetie! I’m about to go downstairs and mix up some cocktails, would you like one?”

  He said, “Absolutely. Thanks, Nana,” as he crossed the room to us.

  “We’ll be down in just a minute.” I drew my husband into my arms.

  As she headed for the door, Nana said, “I’ve got a fun new recipe to try. It’s called a flaming fountain! You both have to stay for dinner, too. Ollie made enough enchiladas to feed half the city!”

  We promised we would, and once she was gone, I rested my forehead against Charlie’s and told him, “I was just thinking we didn’t do enough to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I want to take you somewhere nice to make up for it.”

  “We’d just gotten home from Hawaii. Besides, we did celebrate, both at Nana’s combination anniversary and New Year’s party, and on our own later that night.” Charlie grinned at me.

  “You deserve more than that, though. Plus, I need some uninterrupted time with you. That’s not only because I adore you, but because we have some things to figure out.”

  “Like what?”

  “Over the last year and a half, I’d been too distracted to think about our future, or to make any plans. But now, it’s time to think about what we really want. For one thing, we should think about what to do with the restaurant. That was never our dream job, it was just…well, something to do until we came up with a better idea. Plus, we’d talked about starting a family once, a long time ago. I think we need to revisit that.”

 

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