As teenagers, Bonnie and Tyler had fooled around occasionally. They never crossed the line to intercourse for fear of Sheila's reaction. The moment it seemed the teens were getting too close, Tyler had been shipped to Milazzo for the summer. Her grandmother was not hypocritical enough to argue for the virtue of saving oneself for marriage from a religious standpoint. Bonnie had bore witness to Sheila's relationship with Giuseppe. However, she often reminded her granddaughter that a powerful man might shun a wife that had been previously claimed by another. It was a double standard but Bonnie had known that her grandmother was speaking the truth. Many men, especially those in the mafia, desired a semblance of purity from their wives.
While Bonnie and Tyler had never crossed that line, she had thought about it at length. Over the years, she had amassed a collection of sordid fantasies starring her best friend. Those fantasies were useful when Bonnie was going through a dry spell. Damon was certainly a capable lover, but she wasn't always interested in having sex with him. Sometimes it was difficult to feign attraction to her husband when she knew he had just spent the weekend with his mistress. Yet Bonnie always made herself available to Damon out of duty and some naïve hope that one day she would be enough to satisfy him.
Despite years of fantasies, there was no denying that Bonnie had been nervous about having sex with Tyler. Logically, she knew that Damon's infidelity had nothing to do with her desirability or sexual prowess. Nevertheless, there was still a small voice in the back of Bonnie's head fueling her deep-seated insecurities. Fortunately, Tyler was able to rely on years of friendship to drag Bonnie out of her own head and into the moment. He planned their entire night around ignoring the outside world and focusing on the bond they shared. After finishing dessert, the couple went upstairs to the master bedroom. The bedroom was awash with more floral arrangements and candles. It was far more than Bonnie had been expecting when they agreed to having their first 'date'.
The piece de résistance was a toe curling massage that left Bonnie practically boneless. In different circumstances, she would have fallen asleep to The Weekend crooning softly over the speakers. However, the twenty-minute massage only stoked the flames of her desire. The need for sexy lingerie was all but forgotten by the time Tyler finished massaging the tension out of her muscles. The couple shed any lingering doubts as they methodically devoured each other atop the rose petal strewn bed. Their first time together was passionate and frenzied as they gave into years of sexual tension. Tyler was now certain that his name never sounded better than when Bonnie moaned it in the throes of an orgasm.
Bonnie had required a nap after their first time. An early Christmas morning coupled with normal pregnancy fatigue meant that she was exhausted. However, Tyler was not disappointed since they had all night together. Bonnie had stirred just after midnight and she had been eager for an encore. Rounds two and three had been languid and lustful as the old friends became intimately acquainted with every inch of each other's bodies.
Tyler was particularly fond of a space on Bonnie's inner thigh that made her mewl with pleasure each time his fingers grazed it. Said thigh was curled around Tyler's waist as he plunged into her heated core. She was close and her walls tightening around his length was quickly pushing him to the brink, too. Yet he was reluctant for this moment to end because he knew it would end their night. Bonnie was certainly going to need another couple of hours of sleep after this.
It was a morbid idea to have in the moment, but Tyler was certain that he could die a happy man while buried in her warmth. His lips sought out a spot on Bonnie's neck to continue work on a hickey he had started earlier. He was quickly becoming addicted to the sweet taste of her soft skin. He moved his lips to Bonnie's ear and whispered softly.
The green-eyed girl shuddered as Tyler whispered absolute filth into her ear. She could now add dirty talk to the list of things that aroused her. It felt as if every nerve in Bonnie's body was firing at the same time. Tyler's deliberate pace was maddening. She wanted more but couldn't seem to find the words. She whined softly, "Ty, please…"
Tyler gazed down into her eyes as the candlelight flickered from beside the bed. He grabbed Bonnie's other leg and wrapped it around him. He snapped his hips forward and delighted in the desperate moan that escaped Bonnie's lips as he filled her completely. In a gravelly voice, he whispered, "I like hearing you beg."
Bonnie's breathing hitched as she rolled her hips forward to meet his quickening thrusts.
His last shred of control fell away as he watched Bonnie in fascination. Her slender fingers sought the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her quivering thighs. She was desperate to find the release that Tyler had been delaying. In different circumstances, he would be content to play the voyeur and watch his love chase her own pleasure. In fact, he tucked that idea away for later consideration. In that moment, he wanted to be the sole reason she fell apart.
Dots filled Bonnie's vision as Tyler plunged into her with an intensity that she had never before experienced. Just a few minutes later, Bonnie gave a strangled cry of pleasure as she climaxed for the third or fourth time that night. Her entire body trembled from the force.
The way Bonnie's body tensed around Tyler was enough to send him hurtling over the edge, too. He held onto her hips as waves of pleasure washed over him. Tyler slowed to a stop and then pulled Bonnie closer as they rode out of the powerful aftershocks.
She sought Tyler's lips with a moan. Afterwards she collapsed onto the bed with a sigh of content.
Tyler slowly withdrew from Bonnie and leaned down to kiss her once more. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she whispered.
Tyler shifted to the space beside Bonnie and collected her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as his heart rate returned to normal.
She giggled softly.
He looked down at her face and jested, "I can't speak for all men, but hearing your girlfriend laugh after sex is disconcerting."
Bonnie bit her lip to stifle another wave of giggles. "I'm sorry. I am not laughing at you, Ty."
Tyler tickled her stomach and asked, "Then what is so funny?"
"I was just thinking that I have to move out of my mother's house so that we can do that more often," she answered.
He flashed a cocky grin and said, "I like the way you think, Bon."
Bonnie said, "Well, I've always been the brains in this friendship."
He flexed his arm around Bonnie and replied, "I got no problem being the muscle."
Bonnie rested her head against Tyler's bare chest as his hand caressed the length of her back. She kept waiting for the overwhelming feeling of guilt to settle in the pit of her stomach. She was still married to Damon despite having served him with divorce papers. However, it was quickly becoming clear that there would be no feelings of guilt or regret. Having sex with Tyler might have been wrong but it felt so incredibly right.
Tyler kissed the top of Bonnie's head and tightened his arms around her. He didn't need anyone to tell him that sleeping with his boss was a bad idea. It was an even worse idea because his boss as also his childhood best friend. Tyler recognized that pursuing a relationship with Bonnie could blow up in his face. Yet he couldn't bring himself to regret the decision they made. Tyler had been telling the truth when he told Bonnie that he loved her. Being with Bonnie was worth the risk they were both taking.
"Ty?" she whispered tentatively.
He looked down at Bonnie and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm hungry," she replied sheepishly.
Tyler huffed out an amused laugh. "Do you want leftovers or do you want me to make a sandwich?"
Bonnie silently weighed the options before she asked, "Would you mind heating up the leftovers for me?"
He kissed her softly. "Nah. If I am being honest, I am hungry again, too."
She chuckled and said, "Oh, good. I really didn't feel like going downstairs."
Tyler climbed out of the bed and grabbed his boxers from the floor. He asked, "What kind of boyfriend do you think I am?"
She bit her lip and said, "The best."
He winked at Bonnie before heading down to the kitchen.
"Wash your hands before touching the food! I know where they've been," she called out.
Tyler laughed loud enough for her to hear as he walked down to the kitchen. "Yes, dear!"
Bonnie decided to use the time alone to take a quick shower. When she emerged from the bathroom, Tyler was waiting for her with leftovers from dinner and dessert.
He had turned on the overhead lights. Meanwhile, he was in the process of blowing out the dozens of candles placed around the bedroom. I brought up a little of everything since I didn't know what you would want.
Bonnie grabbed his Henley from the floor and pulled it on before she climbed onto the bed. She eyed the plate that he had placed on the bedside table with a bright smile. "This is perfect, Ty. Thank you."
Tyler sat beside her on the bed once he had extinguished all the candles. He picked up his own plate and sat back against the headboard. "You're welcome."
"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" she asked.
He chuckled. "You are going to fall asleep as soon as you finish eating."
"No, I'm not," she argued.
He lifted an eyebrow but didn't argue the point. "What do you want to watch?"
Bonnie turned on the television and flicked through the stations. "Oh, ESPN is replaying the Warriors and Cavaliers game. Do you want to watch that?"
He nodded and said, "Yeah. I only got to see bits and pieces when it was on earlier. I can't believe they lost at the last moment."
She chuckled and said, "Jamie was heartbroken. Mama pointed out that they won last Christmas but then lost the championship. Jamie is convinced that the Warriors will win the championship this summer now."
"Poor kid doesn't understand the difference between correlation and causation yet," he replied with a smirk.
"They'd better win. They have Kevin Durant on the squad now instead of Harrison Barnes. If they can't beat Lebron with KD on the roster then they need to the throw the whole team away," she argued.
Tyler chuckled and asked, "Just throw the whole team away?"
She nodded.
"Okay, Coach Bennett," he teased.
"I'm upper management thank you very much," she quipped with a smirk. "I see myself more as president of basketball operations or maybe the general manager."
"The great evaluator of talent," he said with a smirk.
She shrugged her shoulders and flashed an impish smile. "I'm a natural leader."
Tyler looked at her and said, "That you are. I'd follow you anywhere, Bon."
Bonnie ducked her head sheepishly. She grabbed the remote and increased the television's volume. Then she started eating. "It tastes even better the second go around. You are going to spoil me if you cook like this too often."
"I'll cook as often as you want. We gotta fatten you up a little bit," he replied.
"You sound like Mama. She is always randomly bringing me snacks. I swear a couple of days ago she gave me a cup of dry Honey Nut Cheerios as if I am Savannah's age. I mean I ate them but I still complained."
Tyler chuckled. "Abby should have just given you a bowl of Peanut Butter Cap N Crunch. You would have been too busy stuffing your face to complain."
She glared at him but then nodded in agreement. "I don't care how old I get. I will never stop eating kids' cereal."
"Oh, I know. If I ever catch you eating a healthy cereal I will suspect that you have been switched with a pod person."
Bonnie washed down her food with the glass of milk that Tyler had brought up for her. She said, "Lucy and I were talking as she drove me over here. She mentioned that Uncle Johnny plans to leverage Damon into letting your family leave the Salvatore organization. How do you think it would go over with your family here and abroad?"
Tyler stopped chewing mid bite. He quickly swallowed and said, "I know my old man would be over the moon. You know how much he hates the Salvatores for what they did to my grandfather. The only reason he even followed in Nonno's footsteps is because he was loyal to Miss Emily."
Emily had paid for Richard's very expensive Ivy League education and subsequent business degree. While Alonso was out of prison by the time his eldest went off to college, he was in no position to afford such a high priced university. Emily hadn't required Richard's allegiance to her family. She considered paying for his education as part of the original deal that she made with Alonso. She ensured his family had only the best while she employed him as a double agent.
She asked, "What about back home? I assume that Uncle Johnny has already tested the waters with the Loiaconos in Milazzo. He wouldn't waste this sort of opportunity if he wasn't reasonably sure that the majority of your family would be in favor of the public switch."
"I would be surprised if there were any hold outs. The rank and file were ready to revolt when Domenico first betrayed my grandfather. They only stood pat because Nonno was worried that the Salvatores would slaughter our people while he was in prison," he explained.
Bonnie knew that Tyler was right. Domenico was a shrewd man. He would have tried to crush the Loiacono family because Alonso was imprisoned and unable to lead them. She said, "I told Lucy that I would talk to your father before I let Uncle Johnny make that move. I won't force your family to make such a drastic change. I wanted to run it by you first to see what you thought about it."
He appreciated the respect and considerateness that Bonnie was showing his family. As a matter of principle, she didn't have to consult Richard. The Loiacono family owed their allegiance and loyalty to her organization. However, the women that helmed the Bennett family never forgot the reason that the Salvatore organization had lost his family. The entire concept of the mafia was built on mutual trust and respect between people of the same tradition. It couldn't prosper without both.
He said, "Well, I am on board with it. I think my dad will be, too. When are you planning to talk to him about it?"
"I was thinking of asking him to drop by Mama's house later today. I want to give him as much time as possible to think about it. But we don't have long considering that Uncle Johnny will be arriving in a few days. I don't have a firm date yet but I know he plans to be here for New Years Eve. Mama is scrambling to plan something for the night now. He's bringing my uncles Gianni and Maurizio with him."
Tyler blinked in surprise. Gianni and Maurizio were Big John's sons. The two men helped their father helm the Benedetto family's massive international organization. Therefore, the two men rarely made the trip stateside because they had other responsibilities. "Shit…"
Bonnie nodded and said, "Aunt Geneva is coming in from Miami, too."
Geneva was Sheila's sister and the only surviving child of Emily.
He raised an eyebrow and said, "I will start to worry if you say that Big John is bringing his sister with him, too."
She understood his concern. Bonnie loved her aunt but the woman might as well have been the personification of death. Fiammetta, had only come to the United States a handful of times in the last forty years. She had attended Emily, Paul, and Sheila's funerals. Fiammetta had also attended Bonnie and Damon's wedding. The remaining time she made the trip was when the Bennett family was dragged into the bloody mob war that Giuseppe started. His enemies had targeted the Bennett organization because they were the Salvatores' allies. Fiammetta orchestrated a deadly strike following a rival's funeral that killed or seriously injured scores of made men. The crushing blow had given Giuseppe and Mikael the momentum they needed to end the two-year war. There were those that questioned if the move was honorable because everyone tended to respect the sanctity of funerals. However, Fiammetta had seen quite enough of men and their wars after Sheila and Abby had nearly been killed by a car bomb.
Bonnie shook her head and said, "That's not part of the plan as far as I am aware. I have been thinking about making a trip home to see her before the twins are born. I will definitely have to go to Milazzo if Uncle Johnny convinces Damon to let your family go. I will need to meet face to face with the rest of your family."
Tyler knew that Bonnie wouldn't make the same mistake that Damon had made in neglecting the relationships in Milazzo. Despite living stateside for her entire life, Bonnie's heart was very much in Milazzo. Sheila and even Abby were similar in that way. "They are going to respect and love you the way they did Miss Emily and Miss Sheila."
She smiled in response. They settled into a comfortable silence while eating and watching the game.
A little later, her green eyes narrowed when she heard her phone ringing. It was nearly 3:30 in the morning. She couldn't imagine who would call so late. Bonnie placed her cleared plate on the nightstand and grabbed her phone. She frowned when she saw that Damon was calling.
Tyler glanced at the phone and asked, "Seriously?"
Bonnie muted the television and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, Bunny. I hope that I didn't wake you up," he said apologetically.
"No, I was up eating a snack. Is everything okay with Sarah?"
He said, "Sarah is fine but she had a nightmare. She won't tell what it is about. I've been trying to get her back to sleep for the last hour but she isn't having it. Stefan has tried to help but nothing seems to be working. Sarah wants you."
Bonnie's heart dropped into her stomach when she heard that Sarah had a nightmare. She had been sleeping peacefully at Abby's house for the last week. "Can you put her on the phone?"
"Sure." A moment later, Sarah's soft voice was on the phone. "I'm sorry. I want to come home, Mama."
Bonnie wasn't sure if it was pregnancy hormones but she felt like crying for her daughter. "No, it's okay, bambolina. I will come and get you right now. Give the phone to Papa."
Sarah sniffled. "Okay." Damon said, "I can bring Sarah over there so that you don't have to come out the house. It's late."
"No, I will pick up Sarah. I have been thinking about getting my car from the house. This is the perfect time to do it. I will be there soon. Can you pack up Sarah's stuff for me?"
He said, "Sure. I'll see you when you get here."
Bonnie ended the call and sighed softly. "I should have known that Sarah would have a nightmare being back at the Manor.''
Tyler rubbed Bonnie's back and said, "You can't beat yourself up about that, Bon. She spent several nights in the Manor once you came back from Shadow Hills without any nightmares."
Bonnie said, "I know but…it is her first time being there without me."
He pressed a kiss to her temple. "Get dressed and I will drive you over there to get her."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He kissed her softly. "Hey, there is no reason to be sorry. Sarah comes first."
Bonnie climbed out of the bed and took off his shirt. She smiled softly. "You will probably need this."
He chuckled and said, "I don't know. I think I can pull off the shirtless look."
She smirked at him. "You definitely could."
Tyler dressed in his previously discarded clothes and then sat on the side of the bed to put on his shoes. Afterwards, he collected the dishes from their snack. He said, "I am going to go put these in the dishwasher."
She finished pulling on a striped maxi dress and said, "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."
He nodded. "Okay."
Bonnie found a pair of flip-flops to slip on her feet. Then she went to brush her teeth. As she was walking back into the room, her eyes drifted to the bed. Bonnie didn't know when she would return to the beach house. She technically hadn't moved into the house despite the work on it being finished.
She pulled the sheets off the bed and took them to the laundry room down the hall. Bonnie tossed them into the washer but didn't bother starting the machine.
When Bonnie made it downstairs Tyler was standing over the sink eating almond cookies. She teased him, "We just ate."
Tyler grinned at her and said, "Oh, these aren't for me. They're for Sarah."
She laughed at him. "You want to give my five-year-old almond cookies in the middle of the night?"
He shrugged. "Why not? It's not like she has a job to go to in the morning. Come on. I want her to like me."
Bonnie sobered somewhat. She took his hand. "She does like you, Ty. But fine you can bring the cookies."
Tyler grinned at Bonnie and then put the lid on the Tupperware container. "Let's go get her."
They turned out the lights on the way out of the house. Then the couple piled into Tyler's car and set off for the Salvatore Manor.
Bonnie held Tyler's hand while he drove. "You'll have to stay in the car while I am in the house."
He chuckled, "I am aware. I don't actually want Damon to shoot me in the face."
"Neither do I. I happen to love this face."
"Yeah?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes and said, "You know that I do."
"Are you going to be okay being alone with him?" he asked after a beat.
The green-eyed girl nodded. "You don't need to worry about me, Ty. Damon is crazy but he isn't stupid. Besides, he wouldn't do anything to upset Sarah more than she already is."
He didn't share Bonnie's faith in Damon but this was hardly the time to argue the point.
Bonnie fiddled with the radio to find something to fill the silence. They were both anxious about Damon's reaction to seeing Tyler with her. Just because Damon didn't react in front of Sarah, didn't mean that there wouldn't be consequences later.
When they arrived at the Manor, Tyler slowed to a stop at the front gate. He leaned out the car and pressed the call button. Then he leaned forward so that the guard manning the cameras could see his face.
Bonnie hated being here. She would be happy never to see the Manor again. It felt like a prison.
He drove up to the main house after the gate opened. Tyler parked in front of the house. "I'm going to go see who is on duty and get them to bring your car around front, Bon."
She squeezed his hand and said, "Thank you."
Bonnie climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door. She knocked rather than using her keys to enter the house.
Damon opened the door. He smiled tiredly. "Hi, Bunny. Sarah will be down in a minute. She insisted on taking her new baby dolls home with her tonight. Stefan is helping her pack. I am sorry for dragging you out of the house so late at night."
She shook her head as she walked into the house. "It is fine. I am just glad that you called me."
He said, "I wouldn't keep Sarah here if she wanted to go home with you. I miss her but…"
"It's just the first try. She will stay the night again, Damon. Maybe what happened here with Giuseppe isn't so far in the past for our little girl," she replied sadly.
Bonnie knew that night still lingered in her own mind. The visible bruises were all healed but the mental ones sometimes woke her up at night.
He swallowed thickly because he had wondered the same thing. "You think she had a nightmare about him?"
Bonnie said, "It is the first thing that came to mind when you called me. I suppose it is just as likely that Sarah had a nightmare that any normal five-year-old might have. Either way, I will talk to her about it when we get home. I'll let you know if it is anything that would cause us to be concerned."
He nodded. "Thanks."
Her green eyes moved up the stairs when she heard footsteps. She smiled seeing her daughter walking down the stairs with her poor uncle serving as a porter.
Sarah's eyes lit up when she saw her mother waiting in the foyer. She bounded down the stairs and rushed into Bonnie's arm. "I missed you, Mama!"
Bonnie lifted Sarah up and hugged her tight. "I missed you too, bambolina. Did you have fun here with Papa?"
She nodded. "Papa got me a big sister and a little brother!"
Damon chuckled and said, "Victor is your uncle…"
"Oh!" she said. "I like them."
"Really? Well, you are going to have to tell me all about them on the way back to Nonna's house. But first hug your papa goodbye."
Sarah landed on her feet and ran over to Damon. "Bye, Papa. I had fun."
Stefan hugged Bonnie and said, "Belated Merry Christmas, Bunny."
"Same to you, Stef," Bonnie said.
Damon hugged Sarah. "I had fun, too. Maybe you can come over again soon."
"Okay," she said affably.
He felt the remaining tension bleed from his body upon hearing that she wasn't afraid to return. He smoothed a hand over her wild black curls and said, "I'll help you take your bags out to the car."
Bonne said, "Uh, that won't be necessary. I can handle carrying everything outside."
"It's not a problem. Besides, I don't want you having to lift all of these bags in your condition. Our daughter does not travel light."
She looked at Stefan with wide eyes. She hoped that he would read the sheer panic on her face.
Stefan stifled a groan because he understood her expression perfectly. Damon had ranted for hours the previous day about Tyler being at Midnight Mass with her. He didn't want a repeat or worse tonight.
Damon looked between his wife and his brother since they weren't exactly being subtle.
"Just sit this one out, Damon," Stefan said firmly.
Bonnie took Sarah's hand and picked up two of her bags. She was happy to see her car waiting in front of the house. The back was already open.
Tyler walked up to Bonnie and took the bags from her. He tossed them into the back of the car.
"Thanks. I am going to get Sarah settled in the car," she said.
Stefan frowned at his friend as he loaded the rest of the bags into the car. He whispered, "Are you crazy?"
Tyler asked, "Who else was going to bring her this time of night?"
"Anybody but you," he snapped.
Tyler whispered heatedly, "There was no one else to bring her."
Stefan sighed deeply and said, "My brother…"
"I know. I am trying to steer clear of him as much as I can."
"I don't know if that is going to be enough in the long run, Tyler. Maybe you should consider taking off for a while. Go visit your family."
Tyler clapped Stefan on the back. "That ain't happening. If I am going to die it won't be while on the run."
Stefan's eyebrows furrowed to express his concern. He said, "I hope you understand that is a real possibility."
"I do and I am telling you she's fucking worth it."
Stefan stared at his friend for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. I'll do everything I can to keep him off you."
Tyler was looking over Stefan's shoulder. "I appreciate the gesture but I don't think even you will be able to do that."
Stefan followed Tyler's gaze to find Damon glaring daggers at them. "Great…"
He closed the back of the car and walked around to Bonnie's door. He said, "I'll follow you back to Abby's house."
Bonnie was tempted to say something to Damon. She needed to reinforce the seriousness of her previous threat. However, she would not start an argument in front of Sarah.
Tyler said, "We'll talk about it later…"
Sarah was munching on an almond cookie in the backseat. "Thank you for the cookies, Tyler."
"You're welcome," he said with a smile. Tyler closed Bonnie's door and then walked back to his own car.
Stefan walked back to the house. "Damon…"
Damon held up a hand to silence his younger brother. His stormy blue eyes watched as Bonnie drove away from the manor. Afterwards he turned and walked into the house without a word. Damon was not obtuse nor was he unseeing. Bonnie had tried to use her braids to obscure the hickeys on her neck—she failed. He didn't know if Tyler was fucking his wife but he figured it wouldn't be long.
Stefan closed the door and hurried after his brother. "Damon!"
"Leave it alone, Stefan. I don't want or need a fucking babysitter right now. Go back to bed," Damon ordered in a tense voice.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm about to go spend some quality time with the old man," Damon sneered.
"Oh, fuck," Stefan muttered.
He turned around and raced up the stairs to the west wing. He literally skidded to a stop in front of Zach and Meredith's bedroom. Stefan knocked on the door once before he burst into the room. He flipped on the lights. "Zio!"
Zach reached for his gun but stopped short when he recognized his nephew's voice. He sat up in bed with a glare. "You better have a good reason for bursting into our room at this ungodly time of morning."
Meredith groaned and pulled the sheet up to cover herself more. "Is someone hurt?"
"There better be," he grumbled. Long healed scars decorated the shirtless man's chest.
Stefan said, "I'm sorry but I need you now, Zio. Damon is about to go off the deep end."
He could see the near panic on his nephew's face. Zach ran a hand through his hair and leaned over to kiss Meredith. "I'm sorry, cara. Go back to sleep. I will see you in the morning."
Meredith nodded with a yawn. "Wake me up if you need to me patch someone up."
Zach climbed out of the bed and pulled on a bathrobe to cover his boxers. He said, "Here's hoping that it won't come to that."
Stefan didn't share his uncle's optimism.
The older man followed Stefan out of his bedroom and asked, "What's going on?"
"Sarah had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. Bonnie picked up Sarah but Tyler was with her. He stayed outside the whole time but Damon saw him. Now he's headed down to the cellar to see Giuseppe."
Zach slowed down for just a moment to gape at Stefan. He couldn't believe that Bonnie would behave with such blatant disrespect towards Damon. Even if she no longer cared for his feelings, she should have at least been mindful of the precarious nature of Tyler's situation. Once his brain kicked into gear, Zach ran down to the cellar as if he hadn't spent years as a heavy smoker.
He opened the door so fast that it slammed against the wall. Unfortunately, he had not been fast enough to stop Damon. The first thing he noticed was the heavy smell of gunpowder from a freshly fired gun. Then his eyes shifted to where Giuseppe was sprawled on the concrete floor.
Giuseppe writhed in pain as blood gushed from two holes in his stomach.
"What the fuck, Damon?" Zach blustered.
Damon was sitting near the door as he watched his father bleed out. "We said he was dead after Christmas. It's after Christmas."
Giuseppe looked at his younger son. He choked out, "Help me…"
Stefan shook his head. He didn't know if he would have been capable of pulling the trigger himself, but he certainly had no interest in saving his father's life. Giuseppe had earned this death a million times over.
Zach snapped, "This has fuck all to do with Giuseppe and you know it, Damon! This is you throwing a fucking temper tantrum."
"It's better than me blowing Tyler's brains out!" he screamed. "Is that what you want me to do?"
Zach shook his head. "At least finish him off, Damon."
He said, "Not a chance. I figure he can probably survive a couple of hours like this."
Zacharias knew that his nephew was right. He had used a small caliber gun to shoot Giuseppe in the stomach. It was a slow and painful way to die. He slammed his fist into the door. "Fuck! Stefan…"
The younger man's eyes were locked onto the tear-filled ones of his father.
Zach smacked the boy on the back of the head. "Hey! Get it together. I need you to put the wheels in motion like we planned."
Stefan startled out of the almost trance like stare. He blinked and looked at his uncle and nodded. "Okay…"
"Now," he insisted.
Stefan slowly ambled out of the room. He would need to drag Grayson Gilbert from his warm bed. He was Giuseppe's doctor. He was also responsible for signing a falsified death certificate. The document would certify that Giuseppe died from a heart attack in his own bed. He also needed to arrange transportation for Giuseppe's body to the funeral home. They needed to have him cremated before anyone outside of their organization got a look at the body.
Zach looked at Damon once more. He rested a hand against the crown of his head. "I need to go put on pants. Then I am going to wake up Ric and our uncles. Don't do anything else until I get back, nipote."
Damon nodded numbly but his eyes were still locked onto Giuseppe.
Zach sighed and walked out of the room. This family was going to be the death of him.