“That’s none of your business,” she said trying to drown out the hurt that came with the memory of Vincent’s kisses.
“Oh, I think it is.” Lorenzo and Vince were one and the same when they were angry, and she saw it in Lorenzo’s eyes now. He was hot. “Because if that fucker was pulling a fast one on my brother, messing with his girl even before he left, I’ll go out there right now and kick his ass.”
“No!” She gasped, knowing that from everything Vincent had told her about Lorenzo, she knew he’d have no qualms about making a scene even here. “It’s only been a few weeks.”
“You told Sofie he was your boyfriend at Uncle Sal’s party. It’s been longer than a few weeks, and even then she’d said it’d been months.”
His eyes were as piercing as Vincent’s, especially right now that he looked so determined to get to the truth. She knew he’d been listening that day; she just had no idea he’d been listening this closely. That alone told her one thing—Vincent knew. As adamant as Lorenzo was being now, she knew there was no way he hadn’t told his brother. Her heart ached, remembering her promise to Vincent that she’d belong to him and only him forever. He was now under the impression that she’d broken that promise when her irrational heart still secretly didn’t ever want to.
“It’d been months since I started talking to him again, and Sal and Grace had met him long ago because he and I went to high school together. But I’ve only been seeing him for a few weeks.” She lifted an eyebrow as she turned to walk away but stopped and added. “And it’s not even that serious.”
Angry that she’d given into her heart and added that last part in hopes that he’d make sure he told Vincent that, she started to walk away.
“Serious enough that you’d have him meet the whole family?”
Rose slowed but didn’t respond to that. She didn’t even turn around.
“He still loves you, Rose.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she struggled to keep her composure but couldn’t even speak; she was so overwhelmed with emotion. She panicked when she opened her eyes and saw Grace walking toward her.
“There you are. It’s time for the cake,” Grace said as she got closer.
Blinking her eyes a few times hoping that they’d swallow up the tears that had begun to well in them, she smiled. “That ridiculous three-layer, double-A-shaped cake?”
“Three-layer, chocolate cake,” Grace reminded her with an even bigger smile, “your favorite.”
Alex’s twin girls ran after little Chava just behind Grace, laughing loudly—a reminder that there was more to it than simply giving into her more-than-willing-to-forgive heart. How could she be sure Vincent wouldn’t go back to dealing again? He’d risked it all more than once already. Rose had given a lot of thought to what Grace had said the day she last spoke to him. He was dangerous—not just to her but to her family.
Rose walked back to the kitchen with Grace, never addressing Lorenzo’s comment. He didn’t stick around to watch the rest of her and Ben’s performance, and she couldn’t have been more relieved. She appreciated Ben’s efforts and his going along with this. He was a good friend, but this was the last time she was doing this. She hated that now not only would Vincent know she’d broken a promise she couldn’t even imagine breaking but he’d be under the impression she’d done so with Ben.
After walking Ben out and giving him nothing more than a kiss on the cheek, Rose was surprised to see her mother waiting just inside the door. She had a mischievous smile on her face. “I didn’t know he was studying to be a doctor. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rose rolled her eyes. Of course this would be the only thing that interested her mother. It wasn’t enough that already one daughter was practically supporting her. Two daughters who married well were better than one. She just may get her dream of retiring early and never having to work another day in her life if she had the both of them paying her bills.
“I didn’t think you’d care,” Rose said flatly continuing to walk through the front room.
“Rose,” her mother said in a tone so unlike her, Rose had to turn and look back at her. “I know I haven’t been the greatest mother to you or Grace, but I do care. I’ve never been able to express myself like most mothers, and you may never forgive me for that, but I want you to know that I do care. I’ve always cared.”
Rose stared at her wanting to ask her so many things like, first and foremost, why the hell hadn’t she ever said it before, but this wasn’t the time or place. Already people were headed toward them on their way out.
Before Rose could say a thing, her mother turned to Alison and her boyfriend Ezekiel. “It was very nice to see you again Mrs. Zendejas,” Alison said.
As Rose said her goodbyes to her friend and her boyfriend, her mother disappeared back into the party. By the time Rose got back, her mother was gone. Grace said she’d gone to bed. It was for the best. Rose wasn’t up for that conversation just yet. She had enough going on in her head. She’d take the fact that her mother claimed to care about her as a win and leave it at that before pushing and getting the real truth: a truth she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Vince
Running as fast as his tired legs would move, Vince could see the helicopter up ahead. Just a couple of hundred feet more to go. “You can do this, damn it,” he muttered to himself.
Every step he took felt heavier and more painful than the last. His lungs fought for the little air that trickled in, and he coughed most of it back up; the air was so thick with smoke and dust.
“Hurry up!” One of the soldiers in the helicopter yelled out. “We gotta get out of here!”
Vince lifted his hand in an effort to show that he’d heard the guy and he was trying his damnedest to hurry. He’d never been so terrified but at the same time so determined in his life.
Rose’s voice still fresh in his mind reminded him of Will’s last words. Don’t give up. How could he have ever considered it? The only thing that stopped Will from going back and fighting for his Missy Anne was death. He loved her that much. The blinding jealousy of knowing Rose was with someone else had made Vince lose sight of just what Rose really meant to him. She was everything to him. She’d changed his life in such a way that he’d never be the same person he was before he met her. He’d even told her that: told her everything he did, he did for her now. Running for his life now was all for her. He needed to get out of here alive, needed to make it back to her and beg on his hands and knees because he knew now his life would never be complete without her. He had to at the very least fight to get her back. He’d stop at nothing now.
Stumbling as he reached the helicopter, he was pulled in by two different pairs of arms. Once inside he lay on his back gasping for air. He’d made it.
“We got one more, and then we’re out.” The guy at the door yelled back at the pilot. “Hurry your ass up, Private! You’re gonna get us all killed!”
As Vince lay there, he could hear the huffing and groaning getting closer as the last guy they were waiting on finally made into the helicopter with a grunt.
“He’s in. Let’s go!”
Not a second later, the helicopter shifted violently, and Vince reached for the closest thing that was nailed down—the legging of the co-pilot’s seat. Tightening his grip around it, he held on as it got harder and harder to grip with the sharp turns the helicopter made.
“Hold on and take cover, guys. If we can get past this, we’re home free!” The soldier at the door of the helicopter started shooting, and Vince covered his face with his forearm.
Another sharp turn had the soldier down on Vince’s legs.
“Fuck!”
Stumbling to get back up, Vince tried to help the guy. Then there were two shots out of nowhere. One hit the guy, throwing him back down onto Vince, and the next one must’ve hit the propeller’s engine because the whole thing started shaking.
“Mayday! Mayday! This is Warrant Officer Heely in blade tw
o, two, one, seven. We’ve been hit and we’re attempting to land!” the pilot yelled into his radio.
Vince sat up immediately as the pilot frantically yelled out their location and their approximate landing area. Who was he kidding? They wouldn’t be landing. That’s when he realized the guy lying on him was dead. They’d hit him directly in the neck. Sharp shooters—being one himself, he knew only a sharp shooter could make such a direct hit.
“We’re gonna crash!” someone else yelled.
This was really happening, and it was happening fast. One look out the open door of the helicopter and Vince could see his life flashing before him. This was it. Everything he’d lived through, all the good and bad he’d experienced in life came down to this one moment. The helicopter would crash and explode with all of them in it.
“We all need to jump, and we have to do this now!” The direct order from the pilot to everyone didn’t register immediately.
Vince was still staring out the open door, holding on to the one of the seats, barely able to breathe.
Jump!
The voice in his head was adamant. He’d have to do this: jump and take the only possibility of living left or die. He stood there on his knees frozen. Every second that passed was another heartbeat, another breath that shortened his life. The chaos of men yelling—screaming their last breaths, the helicopter spinning out of control, buzzed in his ear so loudly then, suddenly, it all went silent. He could hear or see nothing but the only thing that mattered now, Rose. He had to get back to Rose.
In an instant the noise was back, screeching from every direction. He turned to see one of the soldiers crouched in the corner doing the sign of the cross and praying as if it were the only thing left to do.
“No.” Struggling he stood up onto his feet and looked out the door as the helicopter continued to plummet fast. “No!”
He saw what waited on the ground: sand, carnage, and the rubble of a once active city. If he jumped, he risked being captured—becoming a POW—tortured. The word stuck to his tongue. This entire last year had been the worst kind of torture he could think of.
Knowing he only had seconds to decide, he turned to the others in the doomed helicopter. “You heard the orders! Jump!”
They all stared at him as frozen as he’d been just moments ago. “Let’s go! Jump or die!”
Nobody moved, and Vince took one last look out the door of the helicopter. It was now or never. “Rose!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rose
Days after the party Rose waited tables at the restaurant, her mind still on what Lorenzo had said. Even through all the anger and pain, she’d never once doubted Vincent’s love for her. She felt his love right down to the very core of her being.
As the time passed and especially now after hearing Lorenzo’s declaration at the party, Rose came to the realization that she could easily forgive Vincent for his weak moment. She was miserable without him, but there was one thing she couldn’t justify not even as much as she loved Vincent: that being with him might ultimately put her or her family in danger.
Vince had said so himself. They could break into his place for the drugs and hurt his family. What if she or Grace and the baby were around like Lorenzo had been the day Vince was jumped? Rose would never forgive herself if that ever happened.
She wanted to. God, did she ever want to just forgive him and believe that he really had changed this time. But that was just it. Rose had no idea if that had been one moment or just the one time he’d been caught. He may’ve been doing it all along. She didn’t know what to think anymore. If it hadn’t been for Lorenzo bringing him up at the party, she wouldn’t even be thinking about him now. She was so done with this torture—so ready to move on.
Doing a double take, she watched in disbelief as Lorenzo strolled into the restaurant with another busboy she recognized from the marina restaurant. They were both wearing the restaurant’s polo shirts. Rose finished jotting down the order from the table she was at, slipped the pen behind her ear, and rushed off toward the back. As soon as she saw Sal, she asked the burning question. “Why is Lorenzo here? You said he’d be working at the marina restaurant this summer, not here.”
“Relax, Rose,” Sal smirked. “We’re short this week. It’ll only be for a few days. Besides the only reason I asked for him specifically is because I need some work done around here. He’s really good at fixing stuff and putting things together.”
Rose hated how even this tiny tidbit about Lorenzo brought back memories of Vincent telling her about Lorenzo being the family handyman. He’d sounded so proud of how good his little brother was with his hands.
Shaking thoughts of Vincent away, she focused on the only thing that mattered right now. “Which days?” Rose was scheduled all week, but she’d rearrange her shifts or take off a few days if she had to. Then she remembered that’s why he was here to begin with. They were already short-staffed. She couldn’t take days off.
“Today and the next three.”
Of course.
“What shift?” She asked glancing back as she followed Sal into the back room.
Sal laughed now. “Same as today, what’s the big deal?”
As soon as Sal’s eyes met hers, his smile dissolved. He must have read her tell-all expression. Aside from Grace Sal knew better than anyone how hard Vince’s departure had been for her. She tried to soften the utter desperation he must’ve seen in her face about not wanting to be around Lorenzo. God, she was an idiot. Here she’d gone all out these last few months to prove that she was in fact over Vincent. She may’ve just blown her whole cover.
“I can see if they’ll send someone else the rest of week.”
“No, no that’s fine. You don’t have to do all that.” She recanted quickly. “It’s just that after seeing me with Ben things might be a little, you know, awkward between me and him.” Sal lifted his brows, nodding. Hopefully that meant she’d shifted his gears into thinking that was the only reason. “But if this is the time he’s gonna come in every day, then it should be fine. We’ll only be around each other a couple of hours.”
She smiled and rushed out, turning the corner just as quickly as she’d gotten there. With a poof she collided right into Lorenzo’s hard chest. “Whoa,” Lorenzo said holding her arm when she stumbled back, “you okay?”
Oh God, looking in his eyes was just like… “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said pulling her arm gently so he’d let go. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
He smiled, and again she had instant memories of Vincent flooding her mind. “Yeah I guess you weren’t.”
The other waiter walked past them into the back room, leaving them alone in the hallway. She smiled as the emotions started setting in, and she began to walk away. “I’ll slow down, I promise.”
She could do this. She could do this. It was only for a few hours for a couple of days. She’d get through it. She had to. Gulping back the reality that not only would she continue to have to be around Lorenzo here at the restaurant occasionally but at a lot of the family gatherings as well. Someday it wouldn’t be just Lorenzo, it would be Vincent.
She waited by the bar for the order of drinks she’d put in. It’s been a year now. She chided herself. Get over it.
“Get over what?”
She jumped at the sound of Lorenzo’s voice. Looking up at his playful eyes, she couldn’t believe she was still doing that. Geez how hard was it to keep your mouth shut when you’re thinking! Before she could come up with a suitable response, he answered his own question with a smirk, “Vince leaving?”
Feeling herself flush, she glanced away as the bartender let her know her tray was ready. So grateful to have a reason to not look at him at least that second, she took the tray from the bar, placing it on her forearm.
Rose didn’t even have to think of how to respond to that because he went on. “About that, Rose, when you get a chance I need to talk to you.”
“I’m done talking about that,” she said wa
lking away from the bar and Lorenzo. This was exactly what she’d been afraid of. She’d been trying so hard to finally just get past it, and now he wanted to talk about it? Reopen all the wounds that only recently began to heal? No thanks. “There’s nothing more to talk about, Lorenzo.”
“But there is,” he said.
She continued to walk, and he didn’t follow. “Not happening.”
She thought that was the end of it, until he called out her name just before she reached her table, and she turned to him, irritated now.
He finished up with his apron and picked up the empty plastic dish container he’d set on the floor. “It’s happening.” He winked, walking off looking way too smug about having a conversation she absolutely refused to have.
~*~
The temptation Rose was feeling now about reading the last letter she’d received from Vincent was the exact reason why she’d told herself to just shred it the moment she saw it. It’d come after she’d shred all the others, and she hadn’t received another one since. She was also very aware this was one that came after she’d confirmed she had a boyfriend to Sofia. Since apparently Lorenzo was listening so closely, she was sure he’d told Vincent.
After Rose showered that evening, she sat on her bed with the towel still wrapped tightly around her head, staring at the envelope. His letters had come like clockwork about every two weeks. It had been much longer than two weeks since she received this one, and she hadn’t received another since. This letter was also much lighter and thinner than most of his other letters. She knew he was either telling her off or simply saying goodbye once and for all. Did she really want to put herself through this? No, but she needed the closure.
Her heart sped as she shook the envelope to slide the letter inside over then began to rip away slowly at the other side. Taking a deep breath, she focused on not choking up. It had been long enough for Pete’s sake. She couldn’t mourn about this forever.