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Gaetano Parezi groaned slightly as he walked into the family room in his brownstone. The past sixteen hours had been interminable and his body ached from the time he had spent in lock-up. All he wanted was a shower and to sleep the rest of the day away in his own bed.
"Rough night?"
Startled, Gaetano reached for the switch to the lamp on the end table, although he already knew who was there. However, he was not prepared to find his cousin sitting there casually in the armchair with a gun aimed at him. "Jesus, C. Where the hell have you been?"
Carlos scowled. "Doing damage control. Where'd you think I was, dear cugino?"
"You left without a word."
"I was securing alternate transportation for what product we had left. It seems you and Vincenzo forgot that we had buyers to whom we are still accountable."
"You sent me to a meeting –"
"At the magazine? Yes, because you are in charge of our legitimate ventures, are you not? And wouldn't it look just a little bit suspicious if we suspended all of our business the same day we took a hit?" Carlos shook his head. "You don't think, Gaetano! You seem to believe that you have all the brains in this family, yet you allowed yourself not only to be questioned but you did something so incredibly stupid that the police now have grounds to throw you in prison!"
Carlos had not lowered his gun, so Gaetano hesitated to move. He widened his stance slightly, trying not to betray the fact that he was actually a little nervous. "I don't know –"
"You think I wouldn't find out that you threatened Noelle? That you held her at gunpoint? You think I would allow that type of behaviour to go unpunished?" Carlos did not raise his voice. Instead, he kept it low, his tone even, and he almost smirked at the fearful expression of that quickly crossed his cousin's face. "Why should I treat you any differently than any other person who betrays me?"
"I did nothing to betray you or this family, Carlos. If anyone has done anything questionable, anything to put this family at risk, it has been you," Gaetano argued. "You have been so obsessed with this woman that you allowed our livelihood to be threatened."
Carlos quirked an eyebrow. "I allowed? Someone turned on us, Gaetano. And he will be taken care of as soon as I find out who he is. But that's how the NYPD got the information they did. And because of your foolishness, they have been armed with more. If anyone has become a liability, it is you. So give me one good reason not to put a bullet through your skull."
"We're family."
Carlos laughed. "Family? You think that makes you exempt?"
"You never had a chance with that Flack woman, C. And you jeopardized everything we have achieved –"
"We? Who rid us of the entire Milagro family and their allies? Who successfully aligned our family with those controlling the Eastern seaboard? What have you really done, cugino?" Carlos eased himself out of the armchair and came to stand a few feet away from his cousin, his gun still aimed at him.
"You can't kill me, Carlos. Zio Armando was my mother's brother. We are blood. That means something."
"It means nothing to me."
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Noelle poured herself another cup of coffee, so lost in thought that she did not notice the hot liquid flow over the edge of the mug.
"Whoa, there," Don said, snapping her out of her thoughts as he grabbed the coffee pot out of her hand.
"Damn it," she muttered. She grabbed the dish cloth draped over the faucet and started sopping up the spilled coffee as Don set the pot back on the burner.
As Noelle rinsed out the dish rag, Don wound an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Did you get any sleep at all?"
"Some."
"Nightmares?"
She nodded slowly.
"You shoulda woken me up, doll."
"You needed sleep more than me, considering you'd gotten maybe two, three hours the two nights before." She shut off the water and wrung out the cloth, then laid it back over the tap. With a sigh, she turned to her husband, sliding her arms around his neck and looking up into his clear, blue eyes. "Do you have to go anywhere today?"
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Nah, I'm not goin' anywhere. I was thinkin' we could just curl up on the couch, watch a couple movies, read with Katie…Maybe call Mark and Jen? See if they want to bring Erin over later and hang out?"
She smiled. "I love you."
"Yeah? That's good 'cause I'm sure crazy 'bout you." He leaned down and kissed her gently. Feeling her respond, he eased her up onto the counter and moved in between her legs, taking her face in his hands and deepening the kiss.
Noelle moaned. "Katie's…playing…in her…room," she reminded him between kisses.
"Talk about a buzz kill," he teased her as he pulled away.
She laughed softly. "Why don't you go check on her and I'll give Mark and Jen a call?"
He nodded, kissing her forehead gently before he headed down the hall to Katie's room. He pushed the door open and found his daughter on the floor, playing with a toy school bus that doubled as a puzzle. She was working on putting the various pieces in through the different-shaped holes on the roof, an intent expression on her face. "Hey, cutie."
"Hiya," she greeted, glancing up with a smile. She held out a piece for him.
He walked over and sat down on the floor next to her, then pulled her onto his lap. "I don't know. This looks pretty complicated."
"I help you," Katie assured him.
Don chuckled at her innocent offer. "Okay, you help your old man."
Hours later, Mark and Jen arrived with their daughter, and the two young girls were soon cozy in Don and Noelle's bed watching Cars for the millionth time with as much exuberance as the first. In the living room, the adults settled, the women with cups of tea and the men each with a beer in hand.
For a while, the conversation was light, Mark and Don discussing the Rangers poor performance as of late, while Noelle and Jen chatted about a new play that had just opened up off-Broadway that they were both dying to see. However, when a quiet pause fell over the group, Noelle took a deep breath and looked at her brother. "You sleep last night?"
He gave her a half-smile. "Probably as much as you."
Jen, sitting next to her husband on the couch, put a hand on his knee. "I'm just glad you're both okay."
"Yeah, well, mostly thanks to Noli's kung fu moves," Mark said, his tone teasing though the weight of truth underlied his words.
"I guess it pays to live with a cop," she replied, glancing across the room at her husband.
Don smirked.
"Well, you're both in one piece, and that's all that matters," Jen remarked. "Especially considering…"
Noelle raised her eyebrows. "Considering what?"
Jen glanced at Mark, who nodded with a smile, taking her hand. She looked back at Noelle. "I'm pregnant," she admitted with a smile.
Noelle took in the news and soon shrieked with delight. "Are you serious? Oh, my God, guys, this is the best news! Congratulations!" She jumped up and offered her best friend a hug, then kissed her brother's cheek. Sitting down then on the arm of the chair where Don was seated after he offered his own congratulations, she said, "Should've guessed it was morning sickness."
"And afternoon, and middle of the night…" Jen laughed. "I had my suspicions, but I just had it confirmed yesterday."
Noelle looked at her brother. "You told Mom and Dad yet?"
He shook his head. "No. Soon. We were actually going to wait a while to say anything to anybody, but after yesterday, we had to tell someone. You were the obvious choice."
"I'm so happy for you guys. What about Erin? Did you tell her?"
"We told her last night. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't burst in here this afternoon and tell you already. She's so excited. Ever since Katie, she's been begging for her own little brother or sister."
Noelle and Jen were soon talking names and nursery colours and about all the things they would have to buy if the baby was a boy. Meanwhile, Don flipped on the hockey game and he and Mark moved on to discussing the merits of getting tickets to one of the upcoming home games and the chances the Yankees had this year with Spring Training around the corner.
"Don, your phone," Noelle cut in, hearing the text message alert.
"I thought I shut the damn thing off," he sighed, getting up and heading into the kitchen where he had left it. Finding the offensive object, he flipped it open, his eyes widening as the read the incoming text message from Chief Bowery: Parezi's dead. Warrant out for Caravaggio. Take the weekend. You've earned it.
"Everything okay?" Noli asked as she brought the empty tea cups into the kitchen and set them in the sink.
"I, uh – I'm not sure of all the details, but – Gaetano Parezi's dead and there's a warrant out for Carlos' arrest," Don explained a little incredulously.
"What? How?"
"I don't know. Bowery didn't say anymore. Just told me to take the weekend."
"I'd feel better if Carlos was in custody, but this feels like a step in the right direction. Like it could really be over." She wrapped her arms around her husband, leaning up to kiss him gently.
"How're you doing, babe? This all really hit you yet?"
Noelle shrugged. "In the grand scheme of things, I'd rather think about the fact that I'm about to be an aunt again, and that I've got you and Katie, and Mark and Jen are happy…"
"Mommy! Daddy! 'gain!" Katie exclaimed, running into the kitchen.
Don glanced at his wife. "Explain to me how she can watch the same movie over and over again and not get tired of it?"
"Asks the man who practically wore out the instant reply button on the DVR controller during the Super Bowl. C'mon, munchkin, your daddy hasn't heard 'Life is a Highway' nearly enough…"
