Friends & Forever Read online

  A smile tugged her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head over to kiss him. "You swear?"

  "You know I do."

  Laughing, Haven pushed away from him when he set her back on her feet. She knelt down to tie Maura's shoes when Vinnie ran over to his parents, tossing the ball to his father. "Dad, Uncle Carmine's good at football! He throws much better than you."

  Carmine grinned smugly as Dom's gaze bounced toward him. He'd come to like kids because of their lack of filter. Didn't matter what it was—they said whatever the fuck was on their mind, propriety be damned.

  "Yeah, well, your uncle used to play when we were younger. He was starting quarterback for the high school varsity team, almost got the chance to play in college."

  "Why didn't he?" Vinnie's attention shifted from his father straight to Carmine. "Why didn't you play?"

  "Shit happened."

  Tess groaned. "Don't curse at my son."

  Carmine didn't even miss a beat as he amended his statement. "Stuff happened."

  "What stuff?" Vinnie asked, eyes wide.

  Carmine wished he could be honest, but that was an ugly truth for a kid to hear. Vinnie still looked at everything with bright eyes, like he believed the world was a beautiful place to be. And while some of it was beautiful, Carmine knew there was a lot of fucking ugly out there, absolutely appalling, the kind of ugly that bred nightmares. He hadn't known about it at that age, either… had still believed in the Happily-Ever-After Once-Upon-A-Time bullshit… and he didn't ever want to be the one to take that away from anybody. He'd harmed enough people in his life.

  "My throwing arm got injured," Carmine said. It was a half-truth, at least. He had gotten shot in his arm, making it unusable for a while. "By the time it got better, well… I'd missed my chance."

  Arms slipped around him from behind, hands linking together over his stomach as Haven tilted her chin up and rested it on his shoulder. He felt her lips gently press against his neck, a tingle radiating along the skin. It was a kiss of understanding, a small peck of gratitude. She knew the truth of why that dream went up in smoke.

  Vinnie made a face, scrunching up his nose as he tossed the ball into the air and caught it again. "That sucks."

  Carmine laughed. "Yeah, I can think of quite a few words to describe exactly how much it sucked."

  "But he's not going to say those words," Tess chimed in. "Is he?"

  Carmine mock saluted her.

  "So yeah," Dom said, grasping his son by the shoulder and squeezing. "That's the reason he's better than me at throwing, but there's a lot I'm better than your uncle at."

  Carmine's brow furrowed, him and Vinnie speaking at the same time, saying the same damn thing. "Like what?"

  Dom glared at both of them. "Like computers… and school. Your uncle was a terrible student. You should've seen his grades."

  "So you're a nerd," Carmine said, waving him off. "Big deal."

  Dom pointed at him. "It is a big deal."

  Carmine looked away from his brother, instantly meeting Vinnie's curious eyes. Carmine held his gaze for a moment before turning his head and looking at his daughter, who always seemed to be watching him.

  Ah, right. Kids.

  He still sometimes forgot the little ones actually looked up to him.

  Who ever thought he would be a role model?

  God help these fucking DeMarco kids.

  "Right," Carmine said, looking back at Dom. "Yeah, you're right. You got me there. That's important, you know… going to school and studying and getting good grades and reading and writing and algebra and graduating suma cuma ladi-dadi-da or whatever. That shit matters."

  Tess groaned, but Carmine just shrugged.

  Hell, he thought he did pretty good there.

  "Anyway," Dom said loudly, rubbing his hands together as he looked around at all of them. "Time to get this party started. Who's ready?"

  "Oh, me! Me! Me!" Maura yelled, forcing her parents apart as she ran between them, demanding her mother's attention. "Let's go!"

  "Yes," Haven said, her voice tinged with just as excitement. "Let's go."

  They all hurried out, as Carmine trailed behind, grabbing Maura's little orange pumpkin-shaped bucket and handing it off to Haven so he could lock up the house. Trick or Treat. It was Maura's first time going, which meant it was also Haven's first time, a fact that Dom seemed determined to take full advantage of.

  "Come on, Twinkle Toes," Dom said, pushing his mask down over his face as he grabbed her arm, linking his with hers and pulling her toward him. "We're making good on that promise I made you years ago."

  "What promise?" Haven asked, startled.

  "The promise to take you trick or treating," Dom said. "Or well, what did you call them? Treatsters? Yeah, we're doing that."

  "But, I thought… I mean…" She looked to Carmine, panicked, but he merely smiled as he grabbed Maura's hand. Realizing he wasn't going to interject, she turned to Tess, but Tess was already being dragged away by an enthusiastic Vinnie. "But I don't have a costume."

  "You don't need one," Dom said. "Trust me."

  Haven didn't look certain, but Carmine didn't have a chance to reassure her, because in the blink of an eye Dom was dragging her across the street while Maura took off in the opposite direction, staying on the sidewalk. Carmine ran after his daughter, shoving past people. He gave her freedom to move, let her dictate where they went, but he kept her at an arm's reach at all times. Dusk was approaching, and it would be dark soon, porch lights on at a few of the houses on Felton Drive, but Maura scampered right past them, too excited to be out there, surrounded by kids in costumes, to give a shit about actually getting candy.

  "Look, Daddy!" she squealed. "It's a princess! Oh, it's a witch! Daddy, daddy… look! It's a ninja!"

  Carmine tried to look at everything she pointed at, but she hardly gave him a chance to pause before she ran ahead some more.

  "Uh, you know the point of this is to actually trick or treat, right? I did explain that shit to you, didn't I?"

  She didn't respond, forcing her way past a slow group of people. Carmine squeezed around them, muttering "excuse me," and expected his daughter to keep running ahead when she abruptly turned, darting beside a black Mercedes in a driveway to approach a house.

  Oh, no.

  Fuck.

  No.

  "Maura, sweetheart, I don't think…" He darted after her, but she was too damn quick, too lithe, for him to stop. "I don't think this is a good a idea."

  Maura ignored him, running up the front steps, straight to the dark wooden door of the house, the porch light very much unlit, the shades drawn. Someone was home, all right, but they sure as fuck has no intention of participating in the festivities.

  "Why don't we go to the house next door," Carmine suggested, glancing over there. "They look like they're giving out full-size candy bars."

  But no, of course they wouldn't go there.

  That made too much sense.

  He paused at the bottom of the front steps, shoving his hands in his pockets, as Maura reached up on her tiptoes and pressed the doorbell.

  Again.

  And again.

  And again.

  She assaulted the fucking thing, the chimes so loud Carmine could hear them where he stood. It was only about thirty seconds, that's it, before the door was yanked open, Corrado Moretti appearing.

  He stood there, his expression hard, like chiseled from stone, his dark eyes fixed straight at Carmine, while Maura stood right in front of him, still pressing the goddamn doorbell.

  His gaze shifted from Carmine's to Maura on his porch. "I think that's quite enough."

  Maura stopped pressing the button and looked up at him, a smile lighting her face. None of the trepidation Carmine felt radiated from the girl. She didn't fear Corrado a bit. As far as she was concerned, the man was just family, his cold persona not putting her off at all.

  "Tricky treat!" she declared.

  Corrado blinked a
few times, regarding her seriously. "Tricky treat?"

  Carmine cleared his throat. "Trick or treat."

  Corrado looked over at Carmine when he spoke, raising his eyebrows, before he looked back down at the girl. "Trick or treat?"

  She nodded enthusiastically. "Tricky treat!"

  Corrado just stared at the girl, his gaze so intense Carmine could see her start to fidget. Not from discomfort, no… from boredom. Neither of them seemed to know what to do. It was Maura's first time trick or treating, and Carmine had a sneaking suspicious his uncle had never done this before, either. Corrado just wanted the girl to go away, but all Maura knew was she was supposed to get something.

  Carmine was about to interject, to suggest yet again to Maura they go elsewhere, when Corrado looked up again. There, in his eyes, Carmine saw something startling, something he had only ever seen from his uncle once before. Panic. The last time had left Carmine's world in shambles, but this? Oh, this was going to be fun…

  Maura's boredom won out at that moment as she reached for the doorbell again, pressing the button. The chime rang out, garnering Corrado's attention. He turned back to her as Carmine smirked. He was going to enjoy this way too much.

  Corrado reached for the girl's hand, gently grasping it and pulling it away from the doorbell before she could press it again.

  "Trick or treat," he said again as he let go of her hand. "What are you supposed to be?"

  "A princess."

  He eyed her dirty, ripped dress, the only sign of costume she wore anymore. "What kind of princess?"

  "A princess of pizza!"

  Corrado's brow furrowed at her response.

  "She means a principessa," Carmine said. "She's just a princess, with the dress, and uh… she had a tiara and whatever, but it went missing."

  "It's never good when a princess loses her crown," Corrado said. "So I suppose you expect a treat, or was the incessant ringing of my doorbell you subjecting me to a trick in advance?"

  Maura obviously had no idea what the hell he said to her and chose to just smile and nod, not waiting for an invitation inside. Before Corrado could respond, she slipped past him, walking on into his house on her own. Corrado watched her incredulously, before turning to Carmine as he stepped up onto the porch. The man said nothing, but his expression spoke volumes.

  Carmine nodded at his uncle, restraining his amused smile, as he followed his daughter into the house. Corrado followed, shutting the front door behind them, and strode straight past as he headed for the kitchen. Maura eagerly trailed him as Carmine lingered in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, his hands still in his pockets.

  "Celia is at the grocery store right now, but we should have something around here," Corrado said, opening up a cabinet to look inside. "What sort of treat are you expecting?"

  "Candy."

  "I'm not sure we have candy."

  "Why not?"

  "Because we don't eat it," Corrado said, closing that cabinet and moving on to the next. He pushed some things aside, pulling out a can of fruit and setting it on the counter. "Peaches."

  "That's not a treat!"

  "They're sweet." Corrado looked at Maura, her expression no-nonsense, before he turned to his pantry. "Cheerios, then."

  He pulled out the box of cereal, setting it on the counter beside the can of peaches, and glanced at Maura again. He didn't wait for her response. Her expression was a big fat hell no.

  "Raisins," Corrado said, pulling out a small box of sun maid raisins and holding them out to Maura. "There you go."

  She took the box from him and stared at it in horror.

  It went on for a few minutes, the counter covered in shit Corrado dug out of the cabinets and found in the refrigerator: more fruit, vegetables, even a jug of orange juice. Maura just stared at him, no longer humoring him with a response, her nose perpetually scrunched with disgust, as the man grew more frazzled.

  Giving up, Corrado reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Carmine watched with shock as he opened it. "Twenty. Is twenty good?"

  He pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and held it out to Maura, who eagerly dropped the box of raisins to snatch up the money. Relief seemed to pass across Corrado's face until the front door opened, Celia's voice shouting out. "Corrado, bellissimo, can you help me with these groceries?"

  Maura perked up. Celia to the fucking rescue. She jetted out of the kitchen, still clutching the money. "Aunt Celia!"

  Carmine turned his head toward the hall, watching as Celia gasped, dropping the bags of groceries to scoop Maura up in her arms. "Princess DeMarco! To what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

  Maura beamed. "Tricky treat!"

  "Ah!" Celia grinned, giving her the once over, gaze settling on her hand. "Money?" Celia turned to Corrado, eyebrows raised when he joined her in the hallway to grab some of the groceries. "You paid the girl off?"

  "She wanted nothing we had."

  Celia rolled her eyes, looking back at Maura, and smiled again. "Lucky for you, Miss Pretty in Pink, I just bought a ton of treats."

  Celia carried Maura into the kitchen, setting her on the counter, as Carmine walked outside to help Corrado get the rest of the groceries. They carried them all into the kitchen and stood back as Celia fished through them, pulling out candy bars, and lollipops, and ice cream. Maura sat on the counter, eating a fudge pop, chocolate dripping down her chin, melting on her hands that she wiped on her dress. Celia put away the groceries, occasionally pulling out something she bought precisely for this reason, adding it to Maura's pile of makeshift treats.

  The money lay on the counter beside her as she kicked her legs, untied Nikes banging against the cabinet beneath her. Her gaze kept flickering to Corrado, her expression curious. After a moment, she reached for the money, slowly slipping it beneath her dress, into the pocket of her pants, like she thought he might try to take it back from her.

  Sneaky little girl.

  "You remind me of someone."

  Carmine's brow furrowed, his gaze going to Corrado when the man spoke. It took a minute for him to realize his uncle was talking to Maura. The girl kept eating her fudge pop. "Is it daddy? Mommy says I'm like daddy."

  "No," Corrado said. "Not him."

  "Grandma?" Maura asked. "Daddy says I have her name."

  "No," Corrado said. "You remind me of your mother."

  "Mommy?"

  "Yes," Corrado said. "You remind me of her when she was a child."

  Celia stopped what she was doing to look at him with surprise, but she said nothing, her gaze flickering to Carmine, a smile on her lips.

  "Your mother wasn't afraid of me," Corrado continued. "She stared at me like that."

  "Like what?"

  "Like that."

  Corrado stared at her pointedly, while Maura continued to stare back. The girl shrugged after a moment, dropping it, as she finished her fudge pop just in time for Celia to pull her off the counter.

  "Come on, your highness," Celia said, taking her sticky hand. "Let's get you cleaned up."

  Those two walked out, leaving Carmine alone in the kitchen with Corrado. He glanced at his uncle, seeing the man was watching him, his expression serious. He looked as if he had something to say, and Carmine's insides coiled in anticipation, his stomach instinctively knotting. He'd seen sides of Corrado others hadn't ever seen, sides he wondered if Celia knew existed. His uncle was most terrifying when he grew serious, and Carmine was hard pressed to think of a time when a more serious expression was ever on his uncle's face. Carmine had witnessed him kill men and look more relaxed about it.

  Corrado waited until they were gone, upstairs, out of earshot, before he pushed away from the counter he'd been leaning against to stroll over toward Carmine. The closer he got, the more tense Carmine grew. Corrado paused a few feet in front of him, staring at him, his mouth opening.

  "Thank you."

  Carmine anticipated a lot of things.

  How dare you bring your kid to my house.


  How dare you let her beg for candy.

  How dare you let her take my fucking money.

  He even wouldn't have been surprised by an "I'll kill you" for old time's sake.

  But thank you?

  Thank you?

  What the fuck?

  "I, uh… I didn't…" Carmine stammered, not knowing what the hell to say. If he didn't know his uncle so well, he might think that was sarcasm, but Corrado said something sarcastic even less than he fucking said 'thank you'. "You're welcome?"

  Corrado's serious expression melted a bit, the corner of his lips twitching with the hint of a smile. "You don't even know why I'm thanking you."

  "No," he admitted. "I'm just shocked I did anything to deserve some gratitude."

  "You do a lot to deserve my gratitude."

  Carmine stared at him with disbelief. "You're shitting me."

  The smile withered away just as quickly as it started to appear. "Profanity aside, I have no problem with you, Carmine. Not anymore, anyway. You were a terrible soldato. One of the worst I've ever been unfortunate enough to come across. But you're a good nephew. You're a good man. I don't much care for holidays like this, but I can tell this meant a lot to Celia, you coming here, bringing your daughter… so thank you."

  "You're welcome," Carmine said. "You might want to tone it down, though, you know… you keep up this whole family Kumbaya shit and I might start hitting you up for free babysitting."

  Corrado laughed. He fucking laughed. Carmine could scarcely remember the last time he heard the man let out a laugh that wasn't bitter or scathing. Fuck, had it ever happened before?

  "We used to babysit you and your brother," Corrado said. "Or, well… Celia babysat you. I've never been good with children."

  "I don't know," Carmine said. "You just did pretty good with Maura. You might be better than you think. Maybe it's like a secret talent or something."

  Corrado laughed. Again. "I have many talents, kid, but this isn't one of them."

  "Is that why you never had children?"

  "One of many reasons," Corrado said. "I never wanted to have to be responsible for anyone else... and yet, now I'm in charge of hundreds."