Chapter 152

I grin at my husband and then quickly cut Calvin’s left hand free, jumping away from him fast. Christian comes to my side then and deftly takes the knife, slipping it into his own pocket. “Five minutes,” he murmurs, dropping a kiss to my cheek. “And then Nico’s going to come back in here and tape him back up.”

“Nico is going to do that!?” Nico protests, appalled.

“He sure is,” Christian says, yawning and turning to leave the room. “Because I’m sleepy. And the boss. Iris,” he turns back as he slips out the door. “See you in five minutes.”

“Okay,” I say, grinning after him even as I reach for the tray and move it to the desk where Calvin can grab it. He quickly begins to eat and drink his fill, I think truly relishing it. Joy spreads through me as it always does when someone clearly enjoys what I prepared for them.

“Five. Minutes.” Nico says, glaring hard at me as he, too, turns for the door. “And don’t do anything stupid like tell him secrets.”

“Oh, I won’t,” I call after Nico, again waving my hand at him. I turn back to Calvin with a smile. “Not a lot of risk of that. They don’t tell me any secrets anyway.”

Calvin laughs and lifts the glass of whiskey, toasting me before taking a long sip. “This was too generous of you, donna. I thank you, though. This is…the nicest captivity of my life.”

“Thank you!” I say, quite perky, kind of having fun. “We’d appreciate it if you left us five stars on Yelp. Really helps with our reputation.”

Calvin laughs at that and we chat for a little bit, mostly picking out a show for him to watch. Nothing too violent, but also nothing too dull. We eventually land on a rather mindless drama with a lot of romantic tension and three seasons that he couldn’t complete if he tried.

“Will it bother you?” I ask, placing the tablet on the bed where he can see it but can’t reach. “To leave it on all night?”

“I don’t think I’d be getting much sleep anyway,” he says, giving me a fond smile. I stand, reaching for the duct tape as he takes the final sip of his whiskey, but when I turn back I’m surprised to see him studying me curiously.

“What?” I ask, interested.

“You remind me of my daughter,” he says quietly, nodding softly. “You’re a little older than her – she’s starting college in the fall. But…the same good heart. The same impulse for kindness.”

“A high compliment, coming from a dad,” I say quietly, smiling at him, and suddenly wishing that I’d had a father who’d been a bit more like that.

“High compliment indeed,” he murmurs. And then he sighs, glancing down at his arm. “Well, donna, go ahead and lock me up. Our five minutes is nearly finished.”

“You got it,” I say, and then I crouch down at his side and tape his arm again securely to the chair. When I stand I give him a fond smile. “Don’t worry,” I say softly. “We’ll get you back to your daughter really soon.”

“I very much hope so,” Calvin says, his eyes shining a little as I turn away and head out the door, finally at peace with my night.

The next morning, I heave a happy sigh when I walk out of the captive’s room with yet another empty tray. Frankie smirks at me as I carry it into the kitchen.

“Awww, did your pet hostage enjoy his cereal?” he asks, grinning and sipping from the cup of coffee that I made him.

“Yes, he did,” I say with a happy sigh, placing the tray by the sink and starting to take care of the dishes. “But, he needs a potty break, so if you could –“

“Nope, Nico’s job,” Frankie says, giving his head a vehement shake. “I just shoot people.”

I laugh, wrinkling my nose at him. “You’ve only shot one person since that day at Lupa, Frank,” I say with a sigh, turning on the tap and setting Calvin’s plates in there to soak. “You’re slacking.”

“Yeah, it’s been an easy quarter,” he murmurs.

I abandon the dishes for a second, letting them sit in hot soapy water and going to sit with Frankie at the table. I pick up my own cup of coffee on the way. I frown as I do, my mind elsewhere.

“What’s up, deep-thought Bambi?” Frankie asks, turning his head to study me. “You’re not usually so serious.”

“Just…thinking,” I muse, my eyes going a bit far-away. “Everyone was so…shocked that I was nice to Calvin.”

“Calvin?”

“The hostage,” I say, my voice far-off. “Even he was. Like it was…totally unheard of to be kind to someone like that.”

“Because it is, Bambs,” Frankie says, reaching out and putting a kind hand on my arm. “Nobody…does shit like that. It’s an unnecessary risk – plus it humanizes your captive, makes it very hard to…take necessary steps, if they come to pass.”

“What’s so bad about that?” I ask quietly, blinking and refocusing my eyes on my friend. “Shouldn’t it be hard to take someone’s life?”

Frankie twists his lips, probably deciding how to answer. “It probably should be,” he says seriously. “But…when it is necessary, the only way to survive this world is by pretending it’s not.”

I sigh, and nod, totally understanding that from his perspective. That if he truly understood the humanity of each person he took out for the Romano family – god, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

I hang my head a little. “I’m not sure I’m built for this world, Frank.”

Softly, he strokes his thumb over its spot on my forearm. “I’m not sure that’s always a bad thing, Bambina.”

I raise my eyes to him and give him a soft smile, which Frankie returns.

We’re still staring at each other a bit when Nico and Christian come into the room, but of course we break away. Frankie removes his hand from my arm and takes a casual cup of his coffee as I stand, pausing to give Christian a kiss on the cheek as he passes me and then moving into the kitchen ton continue the dishes. Their faces serious, Nico and Christian sit down with Frankie at the table and restart their discussion on the same logistics they’ve been working hard on since last night – details about where they should meet with Christian’s father, and how many men they’ll need. All the mafia details which I don’t need to be a part of.

So, my mind drifts along with the suds in the sink, moving to the thousand things I need to do today, to what my future looks like with Christian –

BAM!

I nearly jump out of my skin, spinning towards the door as the pounding comes again – the same banging sound over and over, frantic and heated.

“Christian!” A voice shouts, and my mouth drops open when I recognize it as Tony’s

Christian curses under his breath as he dashes for the door, reaching for the handle. Nico and Frankie are on their feet in a second, a gun somehow already in Frankie’s hand – seriously, where does he keep them? – and pointed at the door.

“Are you alone!?” Christian shouts at the door on which his brother continues to pound.

“Yes!” Tony replies. “Let me the fuck in, Chris!”

Christian curses again as he pulls the door open and jumps aside, letting Frankie have a clear view of the door.