Last Man Standing Page 7

  “When Frank told you about his life here in Chicago, you admitted you already knew he wasn’t your father. At that point you must have considered the possibilities. Have you been dreaming about a fairy-tale daddy, Elena? An upstanding citizen in the community? A doctor, perhaps? Or maybe a lawyer?”

  “So he is like you.”

  Feeling her judgment, he said, “Sorry to ruin the fairy tale, Elena.”

  Her chin lifted. “When do I get to meet him?”

  Lucky laughed, then sobered. “You don’t.”

  A knock on the door prevented Elena from protesting Lucky’s ridiculous last statement. She stood stiff and angry as he turned to admit a slender Asian woman carrying a small first-aid kit, a blue parrot riding her shoulder.

  “Benito said there was an accident.” When the woman locked eyes with Elena, she gave a gasp of surprise. The noise sent the parrot into flight, flapping his wings to reach his perch.

  “Elena,” Lucky said, “this is Summ, the housekeeper.”

  Elena held out her hand as the woman came toward her. “I’m pleased to meet you. I’m—”

  “No need to tell me.” Summ squeezed Elena’s hand. “You are miracle. The one I have been praying for. Wonderful miracle.” She raised Elena’s hand to examine the cut. “Come, I fix.”

  Summ’s gaze swept the room as she placed the first-aid kit on the coffee table, but she never said anything about the mess, nor did she acknowledge Lucky as he came forward to stand at Elena’s side. The minute the wound was cleaned and bandaged, he said, “You can leave now.”

  The housekeeper stood slowly, almost reluctantly. “When should shujin expect visit from musume? It is late, but such a miracle will give him great pleasure.”

  “There will be no visit,” Lucky said.

  Elena watched the little woman straighten her spine. “No visit? Shujin must see musume.”

  “No.” Lucky shook his head. “And you will keep what you know to yourself. Capiche?”

  Summ scowled. “You make mistake. Big mistake.” She angled her head in Elena’s direction. “Tell him, musume. Tell wakui shujin to let you see father.” To Lucky, she said, “You responsible for giving peace in death or not. Up to you. But if you deny my shujin peaceful heart on journey, I pray evil spirit eat your liver.”

  When Summ headed for the door, Elena followed her. “Wait a minute. What do you mean, in death?”

  “Never mind, Elena.” Lucky pointed to the door. “Leave us, Summ. You’ve said enough.”

  “I don’t think she’s said near enough,” Elena argued. “Stay, please.”

  “Go.” Lucky opened the door, shouted, “Palone!” Benito appeared, ducking his head as he entered the room. “Yes, sir?”

  “Escort Summ to her room,” Lucky told him. “If she resists, toss her over your shoulder.”

  The bodyguard glanced at Summ, then back at Lucky. “You want me to touch her?”

  Lucky arched a black brow. “If you think you can herd her, be my guest. But do it quickly, Palone.”

  “Gwaak! Big mistake, moron. Gwaak!”

  Lucky gave the bird a dirty look, while Summ offered Lucky one in kind.

  Elena stood back and observed the situation, noting that neither Lucky nor Summ looked as if they were going to back down. On the other hand, Benito Palone looked reluctant but resigned to doing as he was told.

  As he advanced, Summ spun around and waved her hand. “You are big fool,” she said, then shrieked, “Chansu, attack!”

  The minute the words were out of the woman’s mouth, Benito Palone spun on his heel and scrambled for the door as Chansu lifted off his perch, sailing out the door after Palone like an eagle hunting a fat rabbit. The guard appeared momentarily confused in the hallway. There was a wild cry from Palone, followed by a victory squawk from Chansu. Then a door slammed and all went quiet.

  With a smug look on her face, Summ turned to Lucky. “I bring tea.” She eyed the way he was standing. “Sleep better with Matcha so you make wise decision in morning.” To Elena she said, “Come, musume. I show you to upstairs bedroom.”

  Chapter 6

  Lucky sat at the breakfast table the following morning listening to Joey’s angry voice bounce off the walls like cymbals in an outhouse.

  “You knew she wasn’t our sister! You’ve known for weeks!”

  Lucky closed his eyes as his brother’s roar nearly sent his eyes out the back of his head. He’d been up all night drinking, and he had the absolute worst headache he’d ever had in his life.

  When Joey’s fist hit the table and a glass flew off it to shatter on the slate floor, Lucky groaned.

  As if he was in an interrogation chamber being fired at from both directions, Lucky winced and squinted against the bright beam of light that had found his face through the stained-glass windows.

  Joey stood, knocked over the chair.

  Again Lucky groaned.

  “So Elena is Vito and Grace’s daughter, and Frank knew it?” Joey turned and gave Lucky a sour look.

  “Yes. I don’t think he knew it when he rescued Grace from Vincent’s cabin that fateful night, but after they were in Key West and Elena was born, I’m sure he was aware of it. He never put his name on her birth certificate.”

  Joey shoved his hand’s into his pants pockets. “And you’re telling me it’s because of her eyes?”

  “She has Vito’s eyes, Joey.” Lucky rubbed his temples.

  “If you saw that, why didn’t I see that?”

  “Because you had your mind on Rhea and Niccolo when we where in Florida a week ago. You weren’t looking at anything else or anybody.” Lucky reached for the second glass of tomato juice that had miraculously stayed upright when the empty one had bounced off the table moments ago. He swallowed a handful of pills, then chased them down with the juice.

  “Are you living here now? I thought you didn’t intend to move in until after Vito was gone.”

  “I haven’t exactly moved in. Like I said, Palone called last night and told me Vito wanted to see me. Elena was with me. I had no choice but to bring her along.”

  “You would have had a choice if you had told me the truth weeks ago,” Joey argued. “Then she wouldn’t be here under Vito’s nose.”

  That was true enough. Lucky leaned back and closed his eyes. This was a mess, and he was responsible for making it worse.

  “She knows Vito’s her father?”

  Lucky nodded. “Yes.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Upstairs asleep in the orange room.”

  “What’s the orange room?”

  “The orange bedroom next to the green bedroom. Down the hall from the blue bedroom.”

  His brother was looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

  Lucky had called Joey an hour ago wanting to catch him before he went to the office at Masado Towers. He’d decided to tell him about Elena and to come clean with how long he’d known the truth. It wasn’t going well. Not that he’d expected it would.

  “Have you called Frank and told him she’s here?” Joey asked.

  “Yes. I also told him that Elena knows that Vito’s her father. He chewed my ass off on the phone and wants me to fly her home immediately. I told him that wasn’t going to happen.”

  “And why not?”

  “Because she’s determined to meet Vito.”

  “Like that’s going to happen.” Joey snorted. “Hell, just take her back and drop her in Frank’s lap and let him deal with her.”

  “You sound just like Frank. He says if I’m not willing to bring her by force, then he’s coming to get her.”

  “He can’t do that! He’s dead!”

  Lucky winced as the thunderclap of words sent a flash of lightning through the top of his head. “I told him that, Joey. But he’s worried, okay? I told him I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And that I’d get her back to Santa Palazzo as soon as possible.”

  “Did he agree to that?”

  “He gave me twenty-four hour
s. So you’re mad at me, too, right?”

  “Hell, yes, I’m mad. I thought we were in this together. Then I learn you’re keeping secrets.”

  “True, I kept a few things from you. But at the time you had your hands full with Rhea and Niccolo.”

  “I’m not buying that.” Joey leaned forward and rested his hands on the table to level his brother with a questioning look. “Just like I’m not buying that there isn’t more you’re not telling me. Why can’t you do as Frank asked? Why can’t you just toss her in the plane and fly her back and forget her?”

  Lucky leaned back in his chair—a green leather commander chair that was driving the pain in his back out his tailbone. “I can’t, Joey. Not yet. I will, but only after—”

  “I learn the truth.”

  Her sexy voice sent Lucky and Joey’s eyes to the open archway that led into the kitchen. Elena, wearing an orange velvet robe, was leaning against the frame.

  “You should still be sleeping,” Lucky heard himself say, noting the dark color beneath her eyes.

  “While you and—” she eyed Joey “—your brother conspire to get rid of me?”

  “There are things you don’t understand,” Joey said.

  “Yes, it’s complicated.” She eyed Lucky. “You look terrible.”

  “Thank you. I feel worse than terrible, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Have you decided when I can see my father?” she asked. “Summ said he sleeps late, so after lunch—”

  “It’s not going to happen,” Joey offered.

  Elena’s hands went to her hips. “I will see my father before I leave this house. You can count on that, Joey.”

  “What you can count on, sweetheart, is leaving within the hour.”

  “Joey.” Lucky slowly stood, his head ready to explode. His nagging back pain prevented him from standing straight. “She’ll go after I clear up a few of her questions.”

  His brother stared at him with a look of disbelief. “You’re going to let her see him, aren’t you?”

  Lucky didn’t answer.

  Joey ran his hands through his short black hair. “Are you crazy? If Vito learns that he’s got a daughter, he’ll know that Grace never—”

  “Joey!”

  His brother snapped his mouth shut.

  “Died?” said Elena. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”

  “Elena—”

  She came forward. “I told you last night, Lucky, that I’m not as naive as I look. Frank told me Mother was supposed to have died years ago. But before he told me that, I researched her injuries. I know they weren’t caused by an accident. I know she was…beaten. Complicated. Oh, yes—” Elena’s gaze shifted from Lucky to his brother “—I would agree with you on that, Joey. But that’s not going to stop me from meeting my father. Or learning everything I can about the night my mother was nearly beaten to death.”

  Lucky stepped forward and took her by the arm and steered her back to the kitchen entrance. “Go to your room, Elena,” he insisted. “Stay there until I come for you.”

  “As you wish, wakai shujin,” she sniffed, then pulled away from him and left.

  “What the hell did she call you?” Joey asked.

  “It’s not important.” Lucky headed back to the table, stopping to right the turned-over chair. Pointing to it, he said, “Sit, Joey. We need to talk about something else.”

  Joey’s dark eyes narrowed as he sat on the chair. “Don’t tell me there’s more bad news.”

  Lucky sat on the chair across from his older brother. “I ran into Moody Trafano last night.”

  “Trafano? Where?”

  “At the Shedd.”

  “I thought we agreed you would avoid that place until we were ready to tell the world you’re Vito’s heir.”

  “I was there looking over my newly acquired assets.”

  “You mean you were drinking?”

  Lucky shrugged. “That, too.”

  “So what about Trafano?”

  “He made the first move, Joey.”

  His brother swore. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  Lucky chewed on the words a minute, then finally spit them out. “I shot him.”

  “You…shot him.” Joey sank back in the chair. “Is he dead?”

  “No. I shot him in the knee.”

  “You shot him in the knee.” Joey repeated. “That’s just great, Lucky. You know what you’ve done, don’t you?”

  “I know.”

  “Dammit!” Joey stood, the chair falling over again with a crash. He rubbed the back of his neck, unbuttoned his gray suit jacket and started to pace. “Have you talked to Jacky about this?”

  “He was there shortly after it happened.”

  “Vinnie D’Lano has already promised he’s going to get me for dumping Sophia,” Joey reminded Lucky. “When he hears about this on top of Vito making you his heir, there’s going to be all-out war.”

  “It was bound to happen, anyway, Joey,” Lucky reasoned, not liking how that sounded. He wasn’t into making matters worse. He was the fixer, after all. “I figure we have about a week or two before D’Lano gets out of jail. Once that happens, he’ll hit us. I would have walked away if I could have, Joey. But I was flat on my back. My legs…” Lucky refused to go on. “It was either him or me, with Elena in the middle.”

  The look Joey offered him said he understood. He walked to the narrow stained-glass windows lining the room to the southeast. “I’ll talk to Jacky and find out the status on Moody. See if he can pinpoint how soon Vincent can be released from jail.” He turned from the window. “Until you hear from me, you stay here.”

  “Hiding out? There’s no way, Joey.”

  Joey pointed his finger at his brother. “You listen to me, little brother. I’m not burying you alongside Frank’s empty casket. We’ve come too far to get careless now. You were there for me and Jacky the past two months. If we stick together we’re unbeatable. To the end and beyond, it’s what we promised. Capiche?”

  “Eternamente, fratello,” Lucky agreed. “Always.”

  “So it’s settled, then. You’ll remain here at Dante Armanno until I talk things over with Jacky and see where we stand.”

  Elena returned to her room to find Summ making her bed. Today the housekeeper was wearing a silk dress in a rich copper brown, her black hair loose and pulled back from her small face by a wide copper clip.

  “Good morning,” Elena said, noticing a teapot and cups on the small table, along with a plate of pastries.

  “Did you sleep well?” Summ rounded the bed to stuff the pillows into two orange velvet pillow shams.

  “Yes. A short night, but the bed was soft and warm.” She glanced at the long wooden bench at the foot of the bed where a pair of black silk pants and a matching loose shirt lay.

  “I did not see any luggage. I thought maybe you might like clean clothes.”

  Elena had packed light when she’d left Key West. So light, in fact, that she had one small bag at the motel where she was staying, and the clothes inside wouldn’t keep a Chicago fly warm. She reached out and sent her fingers over the soft satin. “Thank you, Summ. It’s thoughtful of you.”

  Smiling, the housekeeper moved to the table in front of a two-story window overlooking a courtyard covered in snow. The cold weather outside only served to make Elena more aware of the warmth inside. Whatever had drawn her to the house last night still held her captivated.

  “Musume?”

  Elena looked over her shoulder. “What does that mean?”

  “It mean daughter. Sit, musume, and I serve you tea.” Summ motioned to one of the tufted chairs with elegant wooden legs. “Need strength today.”

  Elena pulled the orange robe close around her hips and sat. “What’s my father like?”

  As Summ poured the tea, Elena caught the scent of cinnamon. “Father very smart.” Summ shrugged. “Gruff like bear, but kind.” She placed the tea on the table in front of Elena, then pointed to the past
ry. “Sweet, but not made with sugar. Won’t destroy pretty figure. You like.”

  Elena smiled. “I’m sure I will.”

  Summ sat, her slender body almost childlike. But she was no child. She was a very wise woman who last night had stood up to the giant named Benito, and to wakai shujin.

  “What does wakai shujin mean?”

  “It mean young master,” Summ offered. “Has he agreed to let you see your father?”

  “I think…maybe.”

  Summ nodded. “Good. Father need to see musume.”

  “I believe Lucky thinks so, too.”

  Summ eyed Elena. “He is good man. Also gruff like bear.”

  Elena pictured Lucky’s rebellious black hair and last night’s unshaven jaw. “Yes, he is hairy like a bear, too.”

  They shared a chuckle.

  “Want to hear story about hairy bear? It is story about legendary fight in alley when he was only fifteen. Shujin say story earn him much respect. Make him feared by many.”

  Elena reached for one of Summ’s sugarless pastries, anxious to hear the story.

  “It was nighttime, and in those days he was known as Nine-Lives Lucky. He…”

  As Summ told the story of how Lucky had entered an alley in Little Italy to save his brother and friend from a gang of ten, Elena sipped her tea, completely absorbed. It was an unbelievable story. The kind of fiction that would have made a good movie.

  Summ ended the story with, “Shujin say he is like Armanno, the great warrior in Sicily.”

  Elena sat silent. Mesmerized. Suddenly she felt Summ’s eyes on her and she blinked. “What is it, Summ?”

  “You look like your mother’s picture on wall, but you have your father’s eyes. That is why I stare. Forgive, please.” She bowed her head. “It will make losing shujin not so hard knowing that he lives in you.”

  “Losing him? What do you mean?”

  Summ glanced up. “You do not know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Your father is sick, musume.”

  “Sick?”

  A long minute lapsed before Summ said, “Father has hungry disease in throat.”

  “Cancer?”

  Summ nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. In that moment Elena knew that she was more than just a housekeeper. She was in love with her father. Did he feel the same way about her?