Angelica walked into the lounge while she looked at Murphy stretched out on one of the couches and he had his legs bent up. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt and he was barefoot.
Three weeks had passed since the funeral and she was finally able to tell Smecker all three of her patients were now fully recovered.
She watched Murphy concentrating on whatever he was doing as she noticed the drawing pad propped against his thighs and the case with colored pencils sitting on the coffee table. A glass of whisky sat next to the case and a plate with crackers and cheese sat next to the glass.
Murphy had heard someone enter the room as he glanced up, saw her then he looked back at the drawing he was doing and he twirled the colored pencil between the fingers of his right hand.
"Straighten your left leg," she said. Snorting a breath of air, he stretched out his left leg and he felt a tiny pull on his calf muscle.
"Happy?" he asked.
"Seeing how you're not screaming, yes."
"I only did that once," he grumbled while watching her walking to the couch and she knelt down on her haunches. He went back to his drawing as she watched and he noticed how cute she looked when she titled her head to one side.
"I didn't know you could draw."
"Been drawin' on an' off since I was a kid," he said with a slight shrug of his left shoulder.
"Is it alright if I take a look?"
Nodding, he turned the drawing pad so she could see what he was drawing and she was surprised to see the drawing was of her.
"You don't like it?" he asked with a hurt look in his eyes.
"No! It's amazing!" she said. She saw the blush moving over his cheeks while he lowered his head and he cleared his throat.
"Thanks."
She gave him a small smile while he started drawing then he pointed to one of the colored pencils. She picked up the color pencil he was pointing to as he nodded and she handed him the colored pencil. He started drawing again when he felt the pain from a cramp moving over his left calf and he sighed.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"My leg hurts."
"Here," she said as she held out her hands and he handed her the drawing pad and the colored pencil. After she placed the drawing pad and the color pencil on the coffee table, she stood up while he looked at her and she held her hands out. He took her hands while she helped him to his feet and he lightly hopped on his left foot. She moved back while he followed her and she light tapped his left foot with her right foot for him to place his foot flat on the floor. She helped him walk around the room until the pain went away and she smiled. "Feeling better?"
"Aye," he said with a nod. He looked back at the couch, at her then he looked at the sliding door which led outside. "Wanna go fer a walk?"
"Sure."
They headed for the sliding door as he moved the sliding door back and they headed outside. She closed the door while they started walking and she was surprised when he slid his right hand over her left hand. Wrapping their fingers together, she let him lead the way and she admitted she liked holding hands with him.
On the lower deck, the waves brushed against the sides of the yacht as the doors opened and Connor walked outside. He wore a white t-shirt and dark jeans, but he was barefoot and he placed the sunglasses on. He walked to the railing while he moved his right shoulder in a small circle and he was grateful he didn't need to wear a sling anymore. He placed both hands on the railing while he looked out at the water and he let his mind drift back to when their mother was on board the yacht.
"Here you go," Annabelle said, pushing the small cart into the room.
"I have to eat all this?!" Romeo asked as he looked at the food on the plates.
"Aye."
He remembered the look on Romeo's face after he tasted Annabelle's cooking and he smiled.
"Can she adopt me?!" Romeo asked.
Connor softly laughed as his mind drifted off for a second time and he leaned his forearms on the railing.
"Careful," Annabelle said while Murphy was walking down the hallway.
"I am bein' careful, Ma," Murphy said.
"You're walkin' too fast."
"I am not."
"Are you talkin' back t'yer mother?!"
"No."
Connor knew Murphy didn't mind being babied by their mother, but he did admit he was getting a little jealous. His mind drifted off again and he looked out at the water.
"What's with th'face?" Annabelle asked.
"It's nothin'," Connor said.
"Aye, it is. What's wrong?"
"Ok. I'm jealous."
"You're jealous about me takin' care of yer brudder?"
"I got hurt, too."
"I know that."
"Then why aren't you babyin' me!?"
"Because you didn't seem like you wanted me to."
"I do."
"Then I guess I'm gonna have t'fix that."
"You are such a mama's boy," he whispered. His mind replayed the day she had to leave and the look she gave Smecker as she stood at the top of the gangplank made him smile.
"Do I have yer word you'll look after my boys?" Annabelle asked with a suspicious look on her face.
"Yes, Mrs. MacManus," Paul said.
"You better or there will be hell t'pay."
"Right."
Two days later, the yacht had left the harbor and Connor had wondered where they were going.
He didn't hear Angelique running up to him as she stopped and she scanned him with her eyes. He noticed she was wearing a dark blue sports bra and tight, black running pants and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was also wearing white sneakers and a white towel was draped around her neck.
"Hey," she said.
"Hullo," he said with a small nod.
"How are you?"
"I'm good."
"How's your brother?"
"He's fine."
"What about Romeo?"
"He fine."
Angelique thought he was still angry with her and she wiped her face with the end of the towel.
"Look… I know we got off on the wrong foot…," she said and he glanced at her. "But I really am sorry."
"No need t'be sorry."
"Then you're not angry with me?"
"No, I'm not angry with you."
Connor looked out at the water while he strummed his fingers on the railing and she waited for him to say something. He shook his head as she frowned while rolling her eyes and she wiped her face with the corner of the towel again.
"Wanna go for a run?" she asked and he looked at her.
"I'm not wearin' any shoes," Connor said.
"Wanna spar then?"
"You want me t'spar with you?"
"Yeah. Unless you're afraid."
"I'm not afraid."
"Let's go."
He watched her walking to the doors to below deck when he pushed off the railing and he followed her. They went downstairs when she led Connor to the gym and he glanced around the room with his eyes. She headed for the gym mat on the floor as she removed her sneakers then she placed the towel on the mat and she looked at Connor.
"Are we going to do this or not?" she asked. He walked to the mat as he looked at her and she placed her hands on her hips. He felt his eyes locking with hers as he frowned and he flexed his fingers.
"Do we need t'put on boxin' gloves or summat?" he asked.
"No. I want to see how you deal with hand-to-hand."
He watched her go into a defense stance as he stepped onto the mat and he went into defense stance.
"Whenever you're…," he said then he ducked as she went to punch him and he stood back up. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited for his next move and he arched an eyebrow. He held his arms up while he started to move to his left and she follow his movement. He knew his mother would be cross for him hitting a woman, but he also knew Angelique had no qualms in hitting him and he pretended to swing at her. Angelique dodged to the right when she saw a small grin on his face and she rolled her eyes. "Made you flinch."
"Yeah. You did," she said while she locked eyes with him and he flexed his fingers. She went to punch him, but he blocked her and she blocked him after he went to punch her. They blocked and dodged each other for several minutes when she became frustrated and she spun around to kick him. Connor blocked her kick as she hopped backward and both of them were getting a little winded. "Ready to give up?"
"Nope."
Punches and kicks continued when she swept Connor's legs out from under him and he fell onto his back. She bounced on the balls of her feet while she waited for Connor to get up, but he didn't move. He had his eyes closed as his chest quickly rose and fell and she slowly walked closer. She gently toed his right side with her left foot, but he didn't seem to notice and she frowned.
"Shit," she said, softly. She turned as she looked at the intercom panel then she took one step, felt someone grab her ankle and she fell backwards. Connor made a grunt after she had fallen onto him and she frowned at the sly grin on his face. She went to sit on his stomach as she pressed her hands against his shoulders and he placed his hands on the side of her thighs.
"You look so sexy when you're angry," he teased.
"I thought I had really hurt you!" she said with a growl and he gave her a blank look.
"I'm fine."
"If this had been a real fight…"
"It felt like a real fight t'me."
"You would have been killed!"
"I get that. But I thought it would be fun…"
"Fun?! Fun?! This isn't fucking game!"
"Calm down. I'm…."
"You know what you are?! You are an immature, fuckin' asshole!" she shouted after she lowered her face until their noses touched then she got up and she quickly walked out of the room. Confused, Connor slowly sat up as he bent his legs up and he placed his wrists on his knees.
"What th'hell was that all about?" he whispered. Shrugging, he slowly stood up when he rolled his shoulders then he stretched his back, headed for the door and he left the room.
The bridge
"Where are we going?" Romeo asked while Angelina led him up the stairs and she held tightly onto his left hand.
"It's a surprise," Angelina said. They walked to a door as she pushed the buttons on the keypad and the doors hissed open. She led him into the room while he scanned the room with his eyes and he noticed the large wooden wheel to his left.
"Captain on the bridge!" one of the men said while the men stood at attention and Romeo looked at Angelina.
"You're…? You're the captain?" Romeo asked.
"Yeah," Angelina said. She led him to the wheel as he looked at the large, wooden wheel then he looked out the large window. She walked to her first mate as he handed her the tablet and she read the report. Nodding, she handed him the tablet back then she noticed Romeo's fingers were moving. "Wanna try your hand at steering the yacht?"
"What?! Me?!" Romeo asked as he pointed to himself.
'Yeah! You!" she said while walking toward him.
"Uh…"
"It's not that hard to do."
Romeo looked at the large, wooden wheel then at her and he gave her a shy smile. She stood next to him when she looked out the window and he arched his eyebrows up.
"Place your hands here," she said as she pointed to the large, wooden wheel and he took hold of the two small handles. "Now, do you see this white handle?"
"Yeah," Romeo said while looking at the white handle.
"That needs to stay in that position."
"Got it."
Romeo felt the pull of the large, wooden wheel as the urge to move the large wooden wheel filled his head, but he kept the large, wooden wheel steady and he glanced at her.
"Ok, move the wheel until the white handle is at three o'clock," she said.
Romeo knew what three o'clock looked like from the clock in the kitchen of his uncle's restaurant and he moved the large, wooden wheel. He felt the boat moving as he almost let go of the large, wooden wheel and she smiled at him.
"Move the white handle back to its original position."
Nodding, Romeo moved the large, wooden wheel back to its original position and he felt the boat moving.
"Well done. Now, move the wheel until the white handle is at nine o'clock," she said and he moved the large, wooden wheel. "Ok, move it back."
Romeo moved the large, wooden wheel back to its original position as she placed her right hand on his left shoulder and he smiled at her.
"Ready to make everyone feel a little sea sick?" she asked.
"Sure," Romeo said with a nod.
"Turn the wheel so the white handle goes all the way to six o'clock then back to its original position five times."
"Ok…."
Romeo spun the large, wooden wheel as the boat moved and he smiled. Angelina noticed the green look on the bridge crews' faces as she patted Romeo's right shoulder then she pointed to the doorway.
"Later," Romeo said as they quickly left the room and their laughter echoed down the staircase. They headed along the deck when they saw Murphy and Angelica and Angelica saw the smiles on their faces.
"Spinning donuts again?" Angelica teased.
"It wasn't me," Angelina said as she glanced at Romeo.
"Wait. It was him?!" Murphy asked.
"She said it was ok," Romeo said with a shrug. Murphy snickered while Connor walked to them and Murphy felt the anger and frustration coming from his twin.
"Feelin' a little dizzy, Brudder?" Murphy asked.
"Why was th'ship spinnin' around in circles?" Connor asked.
"Romeo was drivin'."
"He was?!" he asked while he looked at Romeo.
"Hey. At least I didn't run into anything like I did with that forklift," Romeo said with an angry tone to his voice.
"You still should've told us you didn't know how t'drive th'fuckin' thing."
"If I did, you wouldn't've let me go with you."
"Whoa. What are you three talking about?" Angelina asked.
Romeo felt a little embarrassed as he told her and Angelica about what happened when they decided to raid a Chinese mafia drug manufacturing warehouse.
"You're lucky all of you didn't get killed," Angelica said.
"It's more his fault then it's mine," he said as he pointed to Connor.
"Aye. It was his plan," Murphy agreed and Connor snorted a breath of air while he rolled his eyes.
"It was a perfect plan," Connor said in his defense and Murphy gave him a goofy grin while he patted his brother's right shoulder.
"What's going on with you? You look upset about something," Angelica said while she looked at Connor.
"Well…. I was sparrin' with… What's her name?"
"Angelique?"
"Aye. Her. We were sparrin' when I pulled a little prank on her."
"What did you do?" Murphy asked.
"She swept my legs out from under me. So, I fell onto my back an' pretended t'be knocked out."
"Oh shit. That must have pissed her off," Angelina said with a shake of her head.
"She did call me an immature, fuckin' asshole."
"Well, that was a dick move," Romeo said.
"What is her problem?"
"Her problem is she takes her training very seriously," made Connor turn around and he saw Angelique standing behind him.
"Oh boy," Angelina whispered.
"I was takin' it seriously," Connor said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Then why did you do it?" Angelique asked as she arched an eyebrow.
"I told you. I was havin' a little fun," he said then he held up his left hand just as she opened her mouth to say something. "I get it. I have seen enough martial arts movies and tv shows t'know that mat trainin' is t'be takin' very seriously. Nothin' is hidden once you step onto th'mat. I also know I could've died if that was a real fight. What you don't get is, in a real fight, I am all business."
"He is," Murphy said with a nod.
"So, if I am comfortable enough t'play pranks on you… Have a little fun with you while we're sparrin'… It means I give. You win."
"I…win," Angelique repeated with a confused look on her face.
"Aye."
"What happens if I feel comfortable enough to pull a prank on you?"
"What do you think?"
"It'll piss you off?"
"Aye, it will," he said with a nod then he held out his right hand. "Truce?"
"Truce," she said, taking his hand as she spun around, adjusted her hold on his left arm, swept his left leg out from under him then she flipped him onto the deck. He made a low grunt as he looked up at her and Angelique sat on his stomach. She placed her hands on his shoulders as she leaned over until their noses touched and she smiled. "Are you pissed off at me?"
"Aye, I am."
The others looked at each other as she lightly punched his right shoulder and he laughed while he rolled his eyes.
Below deck
"What the hell is going on?!" Paul asked after the ship had spun around in circles. Eunice and Sibeal sat on the chairs in front of the desk and Smecker sighed, sitting back in the chair.
"Looks like Kane might have been spinning donuts again," Eunice said with a small grin.
"Nothin' wrong with havin' a little fun," Sibeal said, smiling.
"Well, fun time is over. We have work to do," Paul said.
"What are you talking about?" Eunice asked.
"There is this asshole who's been coasting under the FBI radar for the last few years. He's got his fingers in the drug trade, human trafficking and gun running, but no one's been able to get their hands on him."
"Why not?"
"He keeps convincing the courts that he's innocent."
"Which means he's either got great lawyers or someone else is doing all the dirty work."
"Right."
"An' you want Connor, Romeo an' Murphy t'take this person out even if he is innocent?" Sibeal asked.
"Yep."
"Maybe we should talk this over with them," Eunice said.
"Talk what over with us?" Connor asked while the door opened and he, Romeo and Murphy entered the room.
"I have a job for you," Paul said. He watched Connor and Romeo sit on the couch near the door and Murphy was looking at the paintings on the wall.
"What sort of job?"
Smecker removed the file folder from the middle desk drawer as he placed the file folder on the desk and Connor and Romeo rose to their feet. They walked to the desk while Smecker opened the file folder and Connor turned to look at Murphy.
"Murphy," Connor called and Murphy walked to the desk.
"I need you to take down this guy," Paul said as he turned the photograph around and they looked at the man with black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a dark suit, a white shirt, a black tie and black hard leather shoes and his hair was brushed back. "He's a drug dealer, but he also has his fingers in human trafficking and gun running."
"Why hasn't anyone else taken him out?" Romeo asked.
"He's slippery and he somehow convinces the courts he's clean."
Connor and Murphy looked at the rest of the photographs and some of the information in the file folder when they stood straighter and their eyes locked. They had a silent conversation with each other as they nodded their heads and Connor looked at Smecker.
"Do you know where he is?" Connor asked.
"Yeah," Paul said as he turned the first photograph around to face him. "He's in Milan."
Milan – the Yakavetta Estate
The bright sunlight shimmered on the white stucco of the three-story house with a terracotta roof and the polarized windows. Armed guards walked along the parapet of the large, white stone walls which surrounded the manicured grounds and the waves moved over the sides of the small yacht moored to the dock. A black Tomahawk helicopter sat on the helicopter pad and two guards stood next to the helicopter.
Inside the house, the sound of footsteps on the highly polished marble flooring while Giovani Yakavetta walked down the elegantly decorated hallway and he adjusted the black tie. He nodded to one of the maids as she curtsied and she made a small grin after she took a peek at his bottom.
Giovani walked to the large, muscular guards standing in front of the large, oak doors and he folded his hands in front of him. The guards were dressed in dark suits, white shirts, black ties, black leather belts and black, hard leather shoes and dark sunglasses covered their eyes.
"Well?!" Giovani asked, strumming the fingers of his left hand over the knuckles of his right hand.
Nodding, the guard on the left opened one of the large, oak doors as Giovani walked in the room and the guard closed the door behind him. Giovani stopped near one of the white couches framed in a dark wood as he looked at the large portrait over the mantel of the marble fireplace and he sighed.
The portrait was of Papa Joe Yakavetta and Giovani pressed his lips into a thin line. He had only met his uncle a handful of times and, like most members of the family, he thought Uncle Joe was invincible.
"Until you met the Saints," he whispered with a light shake of his head.
"Jonny?" made him turn around as he looked at his mother and Lucinda Yakavetta walked closer. Her dark hair was streaked with white and silver, but she still was a beautiful woman. Her dark eyes shimmered in the light and she wore a white sundress with a gold chain belt around her waist and she wore white ivory bracelets on her wrists.
"Mother," he said as he walked to her and he leaned over to kiss her cheek. Lucinda was good at reading people and she saw the anger in his dark eyes.
"You seem upset. What's wrong?"
"I just heard from one of our people in Boston. It appears they've been released from prison."
"Who are you talking about?"
"The Saints."