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26

LARK

I sat in the backseat, Alessandro on one side of me and my mother on the other as we returned to the hospital.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen Gram?” I asked.

“It’s been far longer since she’s seen me. It was a risk, I know, but there were days when the photos Vincent arranged to have taken and given to me just weren’t enough. I had to see you, even from a distance.” She reached up and cupped my cheek. “I’ve always been so proud of you, sweetheart.”

I closed my eyes and leaned into her hand. The love I felt was no different than I’d experienced from Gram, but it was more. There’d never be too much love, whether it was from my mother, my grandmother, or Alessandro.

I hoped it would be the same for him. That he could renew his relationship with his mother and get to know his sister. The only impediment I could see preventing that from happening was Vincent.

All three women had been kept safe—alive—by him. Would they see him as a hero or as the villain he’d been in every other part of his life? Would their mother forgive Alessandro for destroying a man she saw as protective?

My stomach clenched at the thought. And what of Chiara, who sat in the front seat next to Blackjack, who was driving. Would the tables be turned on Alessandro by her too?

“What worries you?” my mother asked, lowering her hand to mine and squeezing it.

I shook my head. “Things for later.”

She nodded once and turned to look out the window, but her hand still covered mine. When Alessandro did the same to my left, I turned to face him.

With his free hand, he pointed to himself, then to me. “No matter what,” he whispered.

I knew exactly what he meant. Whatever the next few days brought, he and I would be okay. As long as we were together, we could face it, weather the storms, and find comfort in each other’s arms. No matter what.

So many uncertainties loomed even after the number of questions that had been answered. There’d still be more. The biggest one of all was what kind of danger our mothers still faced. Mine in particular.

Would she have to go back into hiding for fear of the Mazzeo family’s retaliation? Would she face criminal charges for Anthony Mazzeo’s murder?

“Admiral and Alice are returning to Canada Lake once they wrap things up at the scene,” Blackjack reported from the front seat. “They’re suggesting everyone return there when they’re able to.”

“Roger that,” said Alessandro.

The hospital where Gram waited, not knowing that within a few minutes, she’d be reunited with her daughter, loomed in front of us. There, we’d also learn about Amelia Castellano’s condition. It appeared the Kevlar vest she wore had prevented the bullet that struck her from doing grave harm, but that in itself raised another question.

“Why were you there?” I turned to my mother and asked. “How did you know?”

“When we left the compound yesterday, we stayed in a house in Gloversville, where we had in the past. One of Vincent’s men saw footage of you being taken and alerted us. Since we were closer than he was, we went.”

“But…”

“Like you said, Lark, things for later. We’ll answer all your questions about what the last twenty-six years have been like for us and anything else you want to know. Then we’ll address the future and what that will look like. But know this, I have every intention of being a part of your life. An active part of it.”

In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder how she could be so sure.

The reunion between my mother and grandmother was as tearful as I’d expected, for them and for me. Even Alessandro appeared to get choked up. Before he left to go downstairs to check on his mother, he squeezed my hand, kissed my cheek, and murmured he loved me into my ear.

“I love you too,” I responded, not lowering my voice even a little. As far as I was concerned, he and I were together now, and anyone who didn’t approve was welcome to keep their opinions to themselves. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing in Gram’s direction, though. When she smiled broadly, I teared up again.

“The doctor is on his way here now,” said a nurse who came in to check Gram’s vitals. “He says you’ll be able to go home today.”

“Home?” she asked, looking between my mother and me.

“I’m, um, not sure what that means,” I admitted.

“Mom, there are some things that still need to be worked out. My understanding is we’ve been invited to the compound in Canada Lake, where you’ve been staying. Would you be willing to return there temporarily?”

“Of course,” my grandmother responded.

I put my hands on my hips. “Hey, how come you aren’t so agreeable with me?” I teased.

“I will be,” she said, winking. “Now that your mother has returned and it’s no longer my job to protect you.”

“Oh yeah? Wiping your hands of me, is that it?”

She smiled. “Trusting that Alessandro will do a far better job than I can. Instead, I plan to enjoy my retirement, spending all the time I can with you and Summer.”

I gasped. “Retirement?”

“Come now, you didn’t expect me to work forever, did you?” Gram teased.

“Yes,” my mom and I said at the same time.

“I noticed, Summer, it looks like you’ve put on some weight since I last saw you.”

“I guess twenty-six years will do that,” she said, chuckling.

Gram shook her head. “It hasn’t even been a month since I spotted you walk past the Perfect Fit. You probably thought your disguise would fool me, but a mother always knows her daughter.”

My mouth gaped, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from asking why Gram hadn’t told me. I already knew the answer. It had been to keep us all safe.

“How long have you been living on the compound at Great Sacandaga Lake?” I asked.

“Off and on since Vincent Sr. died. We never stayed in one place for too long of a stretch. Then we’d go somewhere else, oftentimes back to a place we’d lived before.”

I was fascinated by what life must have been like for them. “Where else have you lived?”

“All over the world.”

“What was your favorite?”

My mom smiled. “Here, of course, since it meant I’d get glimpses of you. Otherwise, the villa in Siena. It’s about an hour outside of Florence.”

“Florence? You’re kidding.”

“Lark has always wanted to see that part of the world,” Gram explained when my mother cocked her head.

“More than anywhere,” I added.

“Hey, I heard someone is about to be sprung from Gloversville General Hospital,” said Alessandro, walking into the room.

“Did you know?” I asked.

His eyes scrunched. “I overheard the doctor speaking to a nurse when I walked by.”

“No. About Florence? Did you know they lived there?”

“In Siena, actually,” my mom clarified.

Alessandro looked between her and me. “I had no idea, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“I’d love to show it to you one day. I’m sure Amelia would be anxious to as well. The villa has been in the Caputo family for generations. Err, her grandmother’s family,” she added when Alessandro and I both looked at her with puzzled expressions. “And, Mom, the only weight I’ve put on is from this thing.” She unzipped her jacket and pointed to the bulletproof vest she was wearing. “Which I cannot wait to take off. Better will be the day I never have to put it on again.”

“Wow,” I mumbled under my breath, realizing that my mother’s life was like nothing I could ever have imagined.

My eyes filled with tears when I thought about the sacrifices she’d made, the lengths she’d gone to, to keep me safe. Starting from before I was born.

Alessandro put his arm around my shoulders when the doctor came into the room. “Can I speak to you and your mom outside for a moment after you hear what he has to say?”

“Of course,” I said, listening as the man reviewed her discharge instructions, which were brief. Mainly, she was to avoid stress. And maybe, for the first time in her life, she’d be able to.

“I wanted to give you an update on one of the men who abducted you earlier. As you know, Dominic Mazzeo is dead. His grandson, Rocco, is in stable condition. Once he’s released, he’ll be charged and taken to the Fulton County Correctional Center to await indictment and a trial. From what Alice has said, he’s the only surviving member of the family, outside of his mother, who married into it. Anyway, Grit has made arrangements with someone from the bureau to allow a couple of us to question him.”

“Us? Does that mean you’ll be able to?” I asked.

“Rachel McKinney is jockeying for a spot at the table, but Grit told her she owes me one.”

“Do you think she’ll be able to get Amelia in to see Vincent?” my mom asked.

“I can’t say for certain, but outside of safety concerns, I would think something could be worked out.”

“I know it’s important to her.”

Alessandro nodded, but I saw him bristle. Apparently, my mother picked up on it too.

She stepped over to a waiting area with a door and peeked inside, then motioned to us to follow.

“Look, I want you to understand something. Without your brother’s help, I’d be dead. That’s not to say, though, that I’m naive about the kind of man he is. I can’t speak for your mother, Alessandro, but my guess is, she’d say the same thing. Helping me wasn’t a matter of heroics.” She folded her arms in front of her. “Quite the contrary, actually.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It was always about control with him. At least with me, but I saw signs of it with Amelia and Chiara too. It was only thanks to your mom that he finally backed off and seemed to understand I’d never felt the same way he did for me, and I never would. Anyone thinking we were blind to his crimes, even as they related to us, would be wrong.”

“Noted,” Alessandro said. “And I appreciate the forewarning.”

“We should get back,” I suggested.

“Right. Of course.” My mother opened the door and walked out ahead of us.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, and just so you know, my mother said something as well, although not as specific, given we had no privacy.”

“Is it odd, then, that they want to see him?”

Alessandro shook his head. “I think it’s about closure. At least in part. Vincent sees himself as the man who carried the world on his back while the world sees him as a control-freak, sociopathic madman.”

I raised a brow.

“Not unlike the man I believed was my father.”

“What you did was brave.”

He shook his head. “It was necessary.”