Lots of love to my pre-reader Sunshine1220 and my beta mizzdee for their work on this chapter.
A few weeks ago, I lost a surrogate big sister. She was a larger than life woman who we lost too soon. When I started writing scripts in college, I promised to write a part for her. Well, I can't think of a better fic, to put her in. There are no small roles, and I think she would have gotten a kick out of seeing herself in a period mob fic. Here's to you, Gina!
columbarium - a wall, building, or structure that holds cremated remains at a cemetery or church.
Strunzo - piece of shit
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 7
The morning of Maria's internment, Isabella and I got dressed and made our way to the cemetery. I drove down the winding path and parked just past the columbarium, then walked around to Bella's door to help her out. We approached the small gathering of people, and Esme was practically vibrating as she saw me.
"I wasn't sure you were coming." She pulled me in for a hug and turned to Isabella as soon as she released me. "Is this her?"
"Mother," I warned.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking around you. I'm Esme Masen. I've heard a little about you, but that's mostly been from Alice. You're Isabella, right?"
"Yes Ma'am, Isabella Cigno." Isabella extended a hand, but was quickly pulled into a hug.
"Please, call me Esme. I'm so glad you were both able to make it. This is such a small ceremony, but that's the necessity of the situation."
I watched my mom link her arm with Isabella's and lead her over to the priest. My father took a few steps away from the makeshift altar by Maria's resting place and motioned for me to follow him.
"Aro called from Chicago. He won't be home until tomorrow, but we were given the go ahead. The Carlucci's washed their hands of him."
"Alice has been staying with Sulpicia since yesterday. I'd been keeping watch and Isabella, and I had errands to run, so she packed a bag. I'd feel better if she stayed there until this was over, that way we can focus our men on finding Jimmy and taking care of him."
"I agree. But that leaves Isabella alone at the apartment."
"Not if she stays with you and mom."
"Have you mentioned that to Isabella yet?"
"No, I was going to bring it up today after she met you both. That way it wouldn't seem so overwhelming."
"You thought after she met Esme would be less intimidating?"
"That's your wife you're talking about."
"And I love her, but she's like a typhoon sometimes."
I heard a car door slam and saw Lucio and Nettie approaching. My dad and I stopped talking and moved to flank the family. They'd barely gotten to the altar and already Lucio was complaining.
"This is disrespectful to Maria. She should have a service in the church with the whole community able to pay their respects."
"Maria is getting a quiet service, so as not to draw attention to how she died. The father is here to give a proper ceremony, so be happy we afforded her that." My father hissed the last part, and thankfully, Moretti shut up.
"Father, you can begin the service," my mother said.
Father Francis bowed his head and began to speak. "We are here today to lay to rest Maria Masen. She was a beloved daughter and mother. A wife, sister, and friend who is gone too soon. As it is written in Lamentations 'But, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.'
"That love has the power to heal broken hearts and mend bonds torn apart by differences. It will surround young Peter and help him to remember the good times with his mother as he grows into a man. In Romans 8 we are told, 'For I am sure that neither death nor life ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
"Maria may be gone in body, but her soul resides with our Lord in heaven. There is no more pain or hardship, peace has found her."
Father Francis continued with his service, and soon the staff member from the cemetery approached. The priest motioned him forward and he removed the shroud from the simple metal urn, placing it into the wall. Nettie wept as the facing was installed, though the engraved nameplate wouldn't be ready for a little time yet.
With a nod in our direction, the staff member left and Father Francis blessed her spot in the columbarium. After a final blessing, he ended the service. Father Francis shook our hands and left.
Peter looked up at his maternal grandparents, but they didn't even acknowledge him. Isabella walked up to him and offered Peter a hand. He took it and they walked a short distance away, my mother trailing behind them.
With the Moretti's focused on their daughter's final resting place, I pulled Jasper close. "We got the okay from Seattle. So we need to plan our next move."
"What about the ladies?"
"I'm going to see if Isabella will stay with Mom and Dad. Alice is already staying at Aro's house, so I'm sure he's told her or Sulpicia it would be wise for her to extend that stay. I want Jimmy handled, yesterday."
"Got it. I'll meet you at the bar this evening so we can figure this out."
Jasper and I approached the others, and Peter reached for his father to pick him up. Jasper did and he turned to my mom. "Thanks for all the help with my little man, Ma."
"We love having him. Will we have any other guests?" My mother looked to Isabella and back.
"I'll let you know later." I took Isabella's hand and led her over to the car.
Once we were on our way out of the cemetery, Isabella turned to me. "Are Peter's grandparents always like that?"
"The Moretti's are trouble, but the fact that they're not demanding time with him or trying to fight Jasper for custody anymore means he can stop worrying on that front. He was worried that if they got him for a day, they would bolt with him."
"That's sad. But I'm sure it's a relief for Jasper. Now, what was your mother saying about them having other guests?"
"My father told me that Aro called from Chicago. Carlucci gave us permission to go after Jimmy. So things are going to get dicey until that has been taken care of. Peter will be staying with them, and Alice will probably stay with Sulpicia and Aro. My mother was asking if you would be staying with them as well, or if you were going to stay with Alice."
"Which of those options do you want?"
"If I had my choice, I'd want you with my parents. My father will be home most of the time, and I could visit freely. But you might want to stay with Alice. I'm not going to put pressure on you here. I want you to be comfortable wherever you're staying."
"I want to stay with you," she pleaded.
"Okay, so we'll go pick up some things and get you settled at my parents. I'll be staying there too so I'll come by and see you when I can."
"Edward, I want-"
"Bella, I'm barely going to be at my house as it is. Stay with my parents so I'll know you're safe. I want you around people, otherwise we'd let you stay in the apartment. I'll be there as much as I can, but we need to make this look good for Jimmy."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Don't worry about that, let's just get back to the apartment and then settle you at the house."
The drive was quiet, and when we pulled up, Alice's borrowed car was already parked outside.
We entered the apartment and found Alice going through the refrigerator. She pointed to the open door when I walked into the room. "Do I need to empty this out? Or will someone be staying here?"
"I'll probably put someone here. Don't worry about that stuff."
"Okay. Is Isabella staying with you all, or should I wait for her?"
"She'll be with us. You can head out if you want," I told her.
Alice ran into Isabella's room to say goodbye and then left her. I sat on the couch, surprised that it wasn't too much later that she emerged. With a single suitcase and her purse in hand, we locked up and headed to the car.
I dropped her off at the house, my mother promising to show her up to my old room. From there, I drove over to the bar, and was surprised that Emmett Macrino was sitting at the table with Jasper.
Emmett followed us into the office, but I didn't like it. This was my job and I didn't want it taken away because I was too close to it.
"What do you have to say, Mac?"
"I wanted to offer my help to your crew. Lighten some of the load so they can focus on this scumball."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Your men are going to be rotating between their legitimate work and this detail. So, what if some of my guys filled in for them, that way the legitimate business didn't suffer. You've got four projects with the construction crews for my uncle, right?"
"Five. The cafe was an added job," I admitted.
"Okay, so the foremen don't question who shows up to do the work, as long as they do it, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, I'll give you ten guys to spread out between those five jobs. That means ten of your guys will be free at all times to do their shifts looking for this guy. Once he's iced, my guys come back to me and yours can go back to business as usual." Emmett sat back, looking pleased with himself.
"I appreciate it. And if we can spread out our guys, we might end this quicker."
"You might think of luring him back to where he knows to look for your girl. Pull your men back from the cafe and put Alice's car back on the street. He doesn't know about Alice does he?"
"Not that we know," Jasper interjected.
"So make him think she's unprotected, he'll make a move and then-"
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" I yelled. "You want me to use Isabella as bait for that nut? What if he slips past us?"
Emmett held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything about putting Isabella in that apartment. But if you wanted a female puttering around to make it look like she was there, I have an option."
"Who's that?" I asked.
"Gina."
"You want to put your sister in that situation?" I asked, shocked.
"No, but she was visiting with Sulpicia this morning, and I don't know what was said, but she came to me after that and said if she could help, she was still a damn good shot."
"Your sister has done enough for this organization."
"And if Aro could have opened the books for a woman, she earned her button in '53 outside your hospital room."
Jasper looked between us, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"One of the guys who shot at us that day, he came for me at the hospital. Gina was there picking up her parents' personal effects when she saw my guard get shot. He didn't know anyone would be coming from that end of the hall, so he never saw her coming. She shot him before he got a hand on the doorknob."
"Christ," Jasper whispered. "And she got off?"
"She said it was self-defense, and with one of Aro's lawyers sitting beside her, it was handled, and she came home to a house full of siblings to raise," Emmett explained. "She was adamant about helping out."
"Fine, come by my parents place later and I'll get you the key, and Jasper can get Alice's car for you. That's what Isabella was driving when she had her run in with Jimmy."
"Perfect. And I'll tell my sister to pack a bag. We'll catch this jerk and make sure Isabella is safe."
"I appreciate it. I'll leave you two to figure out the logistics with the crews. Jasper, you know who I want on it."
"Yeah. We'll call the crews in here once we know who will be on this detail. The sooner we find him, the better," Jasper said, knowing I wanted this taken care of.
But it wasn't that easy. For days we searched for him, had Gina go out on little trips to the store when she wasn't staying shut in the apartment, and tried to draw him out. The fucker wasn't making a move. It made me edgy. I didn't like the idea of him going back to Seattle and making amends with Carlucci, saying he backed off once he realized he'd pissed off another family.
I was driving around at night, doing my own shifts on top of what the crew was doing. A part of me wanted to be the one to catch him. To bring him down on my own. To make him pay for everything he'd done to Isabella.
The progress reports we were getting from my men lacked any progress, which meant that I'd stay at the bar all night drinking and then make my way home. Ma wasn't too happy with that development, but there were only two things that would take the edge off right now, and the other wasn't an option.
From what Isabella had told me about her time with Jimmy, that was how she got into this mess. She was his release when he'd come home wound up tight. I'd almost lost it, but she promised he didn't hurt her. Just that the few times had been adrenaline fueled from some job he'd done, details of which she'd never known, but they'd worked him up enough to need her.
I would never be that way with her, especially since I couldn't even take her on a date yet. Which wasn't helping matters. I wanted to start building a life with her, and I couldn't do that with this strunzo walking around.
After three weeks of this, I was ready to snap. I closed the bar that night and stumbled into my parents' house to find Isabella curled up on the recliner. I must have been louder than I thought, because when I turned around after double checking the door, she was sitting up.
"Go to bed, I'm home now."
"You can have the bed, I'm comfortable here," she yawned.
"Isabella, I'm not having this argument with you."
"I'm not arguing. I can't sleep in the bed, so you might as well have it."
That made me turn to her. "What's wrong with the bed?"
"It isn't the bed, it's me. I try to lay down, but my agita gets bad and I get heartburn. Plus the baby is more active when I'm lying down. In the chair I can get into a position that calms us both."
"You feel the baby moving around?" I sat on the end of the coffee table so I was close to her.
"Yeah, you want to feel him?" She held out her hand to me.
I put my hand in hers and she pressed it against her stomach. I was surprised by how firm it was and then I felt the tiniest push. "Wow, that's pretty amazing. It's crazy how something so small could cause so much trouble."
Isabella removed her hand from mine and I stood, kissing her forehead before I went up to my room so that both of us could get some sleep.