The holy trinity series, p.19
The Holy Trinity Series, page 19
And because Frankie wasn’t a coward, she didn’t let me deflect. “I miss you, Robbie,” she mumbled. “I really wish you’d come visit.”
That dip in my stomach was back. We’d been dancing around the subject for weeks, giving each other time to heal and come to terms with what happened. Most of our conversations had consisted of making sure we were both healing and being okay. We hadn’t really touched on her new life and what that meant for our friendship.
“Frankie, I miss you. I do. Terribly,” I told her honestly. “But…be real. I cannot imagine your husband would welcome me into your home.”
“Of course, he would,” she insisted. “There’s no way Phoenix wouldn’t welcome you into our home.”
I huffed at her naivety where her husband was concerned. “Frankie, he would let me come over because he loves you and wants you to be happy. But letting me into his home and welcoming me into it are two different things.” Her silence was all the confirmation I needed. “You know I’m right.”
“Robbie, that’s not true,” she denied.
“Yes, it is,” I told her. “And I don’t blame him, Frankie. His wife was kidnapped and beaten because of me. There’s no way he’d forgive that. How could he?”
“He doesn’t blame you, Robbie,” she replied, her voice begging me to believe her. “At first, he…I’ll admit he was livid, but that was before he knew the full story. That was before I explained that my injuries were a result of me being stubborn and reckless. That was before I explained how and why you got your injuries.”
“Frankie, even if that was the case, do you have any idea how uncomfortable visiting you would be for me?” I asked, bringing up the fact that there was more than just one issue standing between us. “You’re surrounded by…” God, I couldn’t even say it. My mind was so consumed with those three demons coming after me, I couldn’t even bring myself to talk about them over the phone. My mind kept going to phones being tapped and the FBI listening in.
Or worse.
Them listening in.
“I…I think you need to concentrate on that degree,” I finished lamely. “We can always talk on the phone. When we…can find time.”
“Robbie, you’re one of my closest friends,” she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “I’m not just walking away from our friendship because…I suddenly got married.”
“Marriage isn’t the issue,” I pointed out. The problem wasn’t that she was married. It was who she was married to that was the problem.
“I know,” she quietly agreed.
“Look-”
“How about we make a deal?” Frankie jumped in.
“What kind of deal?”
“Come over for dinner-”
“Frankie-”
“Just listen, please?” I took a deep breath but kept silent. She took that as permission to go on. “Come over for dinner on Friday, and if you feel uncomfortable at all, or you feel Phoenix is being…rude, or impolite, or whatever, I’ll never ask you to come over again.”
“Jesus, Frankie,” I blurted out. “I’m going to feel uncomfortable before I even get my foot in the door.”
“I meant, if he makes you feel uncom-”
“He’s Phoenix Fiore, Frankie,” I yelped. “Hell, yeah, he’s going to make me feel uncomfortable.”
“You know what I mean, Robbie,” she scolded.
My anxiety was beating all the strength out of me. “I don’t have a car,” I reminded her, hanging onto that statement as an excuse. I had only had liability on my used car, so I was assed out for now.
“I can send a car for you or-”
The thought made my stomach turn. “No,” I objected. “I…I can rent a car.” If I did this, I didn’t want to be dependent on a ride back home. I wanted to be able to leave if things got…tense.
“I know I can’t…I know you feel how you feel, Robbie,” Frankie whispered over the phone. “But I promise you, Phoenix does not blame you. I don’t blame you. You are welcomed here.”
“Frankie-”
“I know I’m being selfish by asking this of you, but I miss you, Robbie,” she told me. “I miss you so much.”
My nose started to sting, and my eyes watered over. “I miss you, too,” I choked out, trying to contain my emotions. “It’s not the same here without you.” I couldn’t leave it at that, though. I needed to be completely honest with her. “Frankie?”
“Yeah?”
“The…the guilt is tearing me up,” I confessed. “I hear you say you don’t blame me, but that doesn’t lessen the guilt. When I think of the…snowball effect I created by blabbing my mouth to Randy-”
“Robbie, don’t do that to yourself.”
“I can’t help it,” I cried out. “You’re my best friend. The only person who’s always been there for me. You got hurt because of me!”
And it was the truth.
I didn’t have any siblings, and my parents and I weren’t close. My father and mother owned a small hardware store in Rocheport, Missouri and my father had taken exception to the fact that I wanted to move away from home. Our relationship had been reduced to random holiday phone calls because I couldn’t stand the condescension. My father often pointed out that I could have been a waitress in Rocheport.
“Robbie, did it ever occur to you that this entire situation is my fault?” she remarked, flooring me with her skewed logic.
“How do you figure that?” I asked incredulously.
“I’m the one who told you who I was,” she replied. “I’m the one who didn’t tell you not to say anything. I’m the one who ran off to help you without saying anything to my husband.”
“Frankie, that’s not fair,” I argued. “You should have been able to trust your friend.”
“I should be able to trust my husband, too,” she retorted, “but I hadn’t at the time. I made the decision to run off and, not only did it result in my house arrest, I got a guard…dismissed, Robbie.”
“Frankie…”
“Yeah,” she said harshly. “The man…is without a job and I hadn’t even given it any thought when I manipulated him into letting me go.” I knew guilt because I was living with it a lot these days, so I could recognize it in Frankie’s voice. “I knew nothing about him. I didn’t know if he had a family or an elderly mother he supported. I knew nothing about him, Robbie. I’m just as much to blame for this mess as you seem to think you are. If not, more.”
“What a pair we are, huh?” I mumbled miserably.
“We’re the worst,” she agreed.
I knew we were going to have to find a way to forgive ourselves, and the first step was either letting out all the poison with a heart-to-heart or a good cryfest.
“I’ll see you Friday,” I promised.
The relief was evident when she breathed, “Thank you, Robbie.”
Chapter 5
Ciro~
One of the best things about my sister being home?
She liked to cook.
I think it was because those were some of the best memories she had of our mother. Vincent and Mattia Mancini had been great parents. Mom had been a homemaker while our dad worked. And because Mom had been a homemaker, Frankie spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her.
When they died in the car wreck, Frankie took on Mom’s role and I had taken on Dad’s. We had made it work, and I appreciated coming home to a clean house and home cooked food. I also knew Frankie appreciated never having to worry about money. Our parents had ensured our protection by having a life insurance policy and, while the money hadn’t been in the millions, it had been enough to pay off our childhood home. In the years that followed, I had moved into an apartment a few blocks over, and Phoenix had moved into our house with Frankie. When she had run off, I kept the house up, and it sat empty, but cared for. Security was the only reason it couldn’t be Frankie and Nix’s main dwelling, but it was still theirs.
Now, knowing that all of Frankie’s classes were online, I knew she’d be home every night to cook for Nix and herself. Even if Nix were busy elsewhere, Frankie would still make dinner and set him up with leftovers. That’s how I knew, as I scanned my palm, that homemade food would be meeting me in their kitchen. Did I consider it rude to invite myself to dinner? Not at all.
We were family.
I passed the foyer, not bothering to announce my arrival. As long as everyone’s clothes were on, that’s all I cared about.
It wasn’t until I cleared the east wall that I heard a female voice that wasn’t Frankie’s. A foreboding sensation ran down my spice as I recognized the voice.
Roberta fucking Regal.
I knew this wasn’t my house. I knew this was Nix’s domain and Frankie’s happiness was paramount to him. I knew Frankie still considered Robbie a close friend.
I knew all of that.
I knew it, but that knowledge did nothing to tamper down the rage that consumed me at just the sound of her voice.
“What’s all this?” I asked as I saw them all sitting cozily in the kitchen table. The second I spotted Luca, my dark mood really took a turn for the worst. “Since when do you let just anybody in this building?” I saw Robbie’s entire body tense and straightened, but I was too mad to care about my lack of manners.
This woman almost got my sister killed.
“Ciro, stop it!” Frankie snapped.
I stood, itching mad, as I stared at the table of four; Frankie and Nix on one side, Luca and Robbie sitting on the other. All heads were turned towards me except one.
“Stop what?” I snapped back. “It’s a legitimate question, Frankie. No one who isn’t a Benetti is allowed in this building. So, I’m just asking what the fuck is she doing here?”
Phoenix stood up. “Ciro, you’re out of line.”
“But am I a liar?” I tossed back, knowing he knew I was pointing out the truth.
Luca sighed, and stood up as well. “No, you are not,” he conceded. “However, we felt it was best if the girls had dinner here, rather than somewhere…in public.”
“Oh, we did, did we?”
This time, Frankie stood up, but she stood up with enough force to make her chair scraped back. “Knock it off, Ciro,” she hissed. “Robbie’s my friend. I missed her and wanted to see her.” She threw her arm out to gesture around the kitchen. “What you see here is a compromise. Phoenix doesn’t want me…going out just yet, and I wanted to see Robbie. Everyone felt it was safer to have dinner here. Robbie’s still healing, too.”
“Everyone did?” I bit out. “Who’s everyone, Frankie? Because, before tonight, I was never left out of the loop. Especially when it came to the traffic in this fucking building.”
“I got permission from Luca,” she yelled, tempers rising. “And…considering your…your reluctance towards my friend, I thought it best you weren’t included so you wouldn’t ruin dinner!”
That stung.
That stung and fueled an already out of control flame.
Fuck. This. Shit.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I yelled back. “She almost got you killed!”
“That’s enough, Ciro!” Phoenix thundered. “I know Frankie’s your sister, but you better watch how you talk to her.”
“He’s right,” Luca added. “You need to calm down, Ciro. Francesca hasn’t done anything wrong.”
I could feel my entire body rush hot. My blood was boiling. It wasn’t that they were coming to Frankie’s defense, it was no less than I’d expect. Nix and Luca always played mediator when we were younger, and Frankie and I would get into it. What was pissing me off was that, for the first time in our lifetimes spent together, I’d been left out.
Now I know why Frankie ran six years ago.
“I know Frankie’s done nothing wrong,” I replied coolly. “There’s only one person in this room who’s done anything wrong.” With that, Robert Regal finally stood up, and it took everything in me not to give myself away.
She wasn’t the same battered woman when I saw her last.
The woman stood around five-five to my six-one and gone were the blood and bruises on her face. She had a scar above her eye, and I remembered the gash that Basco hadn’t been able to sew up, but it didn’t take away from her surprising beauty. Robbie had hair the color of milk chocolate, big brown eyes surrounded by dark lashes with a touch of mascara adorning them. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched, except one had a blank spot where the scar cut in. Her nose was delicate, and she had high, rosy cheekbones. With face was heart-shaped, and she had a pair of lips that should always have a dick between them.
The rest of her was fucking me up, too.
She was wearing a loose-fitting peach dress that stopped just above her knees, but the flowing fabric did nothing to hide her big tits and wide hips. She was built like a goddamn pinup girl. Fuck, did she have a fucking rack on her.
And that just pissed me off further.
“I’m standing right here,” she said, “If you have something to say, say it to me.”
This girl was either reckless or just plain fucking stupid. I didn’t relish killing women, but I’ve done it before. “I already have,” I reminded her. “Or did you forget about our little heart-to-heart the night you almost got my sister fucking killed?”
Robbie flinched and her weakness was evident. “I was invited here by my friend,” she replied. “If you don’t like it, that’s your problem. I’m not going to stop being friends with Frankie just because you don’t like it.”
“Have you no shame?” I countered. “Have you no fucking remorse for what you did?”
Her composure vanished. “Of course, I do!” she yelled. “I feel shame, remorse, and guilt every damn day! But she’s forgiven me. I’m not going to refuse her gift. Not for anyone. She’s my friend, damnit!”
“And what happens the next time the dick you’re riding finds out who your friend is?” I snarled. “Are we going to have to kill him, too? Maybe if you learned how to keep your legs closed to every lowlife piece of shit you come across, I wouldn’t be so worried!”
“Ciro!” Frankie gasped.
“Fuck you, Ciro Mancini!” Robbie screamed like a banshee. “Fuck you! I don’t care who you are! You can go to hell.”
I was in her face before anyone could stop me. I sneered down at this beautiful, enraged woman, “I’m already there, baby.” I felt hands on my arms, trying to pull me back. “I’m there every fucking time I look at my sister and see that fucking scar down her face. I’m there every time I close my eyes and see Francesca sitting in the goddamn chair!”
“Ciro, please,” Frankie cried. “Don’t do this.”
“Ciro, that’s enough,” Nix added, his voice right behind me.
“You think you’re the only one?” she challenged. “You think you’re the only one haunted by what happened?”
“Ciro, it’s time to step back,” Luca’s voice hit my eardrums, but I was blind, deaf, and dumb to everything but this woman in front of me.
“You think I give a shit? Do you think I give a fuck about what you’re feeling?” I tossed back. “You don’t deserve a moment’s peace after everything you caused!” My anger was at an all-time high and it was rising with every second I engaged with this woman. “I should have put a bullet in your fucking head when I had the chance. But, then, I guess the trash of Cedar Creek wouldn’t know where to get their pussy from anymore.”
The slap turned my head sideways.
Everyone moved at once.
Nix and Luca were standing in front of me, both men restraining me. Frankie was shielding Robbie, her eyes wide with shock, while Robbie looked terrified.
“Ciro…” Frankie whispered, knowing a line had been crossed.
I shook Nix and Luca off and took a few steps back. I didn’t trust myself and I knew no one else did either, because Nix and Luca joined Frankie in surrounding Robbie.
Everything shut down.
The fire was out.
The blood in my veins had turned to ice and I knew I needed to get away from everyone.
From her.
“If you ever strike me again, nothing will stop me from killing you,” I warned her, my tone quiet and absolute.
I didn’t wait for her response. I turned and walked out of the apartment.
Chapter 6
Roberta~
My entire body was trembling. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was petrified.
When Ciro first walked into the kitchen, I had known it wasn’t going to go well. He’s never made a secret of his feelings for me, so I wasn’t surprised when he got nasty. But I never imagined the encounter would end with me losing my goddamn mind and slapping the man. I slapped a man who was reputed to be one of the most dangerous men in the state, proving that I didn’t have enough sense to dress myself in the morning.
It was one thing to remain seated as Ciro ranted about me being there because I didn’t blame him for his concerns. Frankie was my best friend, but she wasn’t my sister. So, if I felt torn apart by what happened to her, I couldn’t imagine what Ciro felt. But when he started yelling at her, that was a different story.
Culpability ran deep in my veins and I wasn’t about to let him yell at Frankie for something that was my fault, and we were trying to move past. If Ciro never forgave me, I could live with that. But I wasn’t going to let him continue to punish Frankie for befriending me. For trying to move on from this horrible regret.
Not being able to defend Frankie the night Randy took her was what had given me the courage to defend her at that kitchen table. I probably signed my own death warrant by doing so, but I couldn’t sit there and do nothing.
I also knew things were bad when, instead of continuing dinner, Luca had offered to escort me to the building’s garage where my car had been parked. More telling than that was the fact that Frankie hadn’t step in to stop him. She hadn’t insisted we finish dinner or offer banalities of how everything was fine.
With shaky hands, I had grabbed my purse and sweater, and let Luca escort me out of the building aptly named Kratos. If I remembered high school correctly, she was the Greek God of strength and power.
