CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Markie
IT HAD BEEN years since my mom died, but I still sometimes heard her voice in my head. I carried around a picture of her in my purse so I wouldn't forget what she looked like. She was kind and beautiful, but not delicate. Being a police officer, she spoke with authority and strength, reassuring me whenever I was hurt or scared. As a child, I'd known that whatever happened, she'd handle it. Everything would be all right.
So, when Angel's mom (Annetta) and grandma (who insisted I call her Nonna) led me to the kitchen table, sat on either side of me, and reassured me that everything would be okay, with that same authority and strength in their voices, I lowered my head to my hands and bawled.
They rubbed my back and let me cry until my tears ran out, handing me tissues, getting me water, being genuinely kind and exactly what I needed. Once I got myself under control, Dr. Monte grilled me for details about my brain tumor, most of which I didn't know. It had been over a year since I'd gotten the diagnosis, and I couldn't remember several of the terms the doctor had used. I'd blocked that crap from my brain long ago.
"The flight from Africa made my migraines worse, so I went in for a checkup at this clinic." I took the business card from my purse and handed it to the doctor. "They had me sign a release so they could get my records and they refilled my prescription pain pills, but that was it. They wanted to do the scans again, but I don't have insurance and didn't see the point."
Dr. Monte nodded, pulling out a consent form almost identical to the one I'd completed for the clinic. "I'm going to need your records, so if you could please fill out and sign this form, I can get a better idea of what we're dealing with. Also, I need you in my office first thing in the morning for scans."
"I still don't have insurance and I can't--"
"You leave that up to us," Annetta said, patting my arm.
Dr. Monte passed me a business card. "We open at eight tomorrow. I'll see you then."
She left, and Nonna made me a cappuccino, while Annetta fed me some delicious homemade amaretti (almond shortbread cookies), both reassuring me that everything would be fine. Their kindness did me in, and when they started asking questions about my past, I told them everything. As in everything. I started with the hit-and-run car crash that took my parents and forced me and Ariana to live with an uncle who basically hated us.
"Did they ever find the driver?" Annetta asked.
"No." I took another sip of my cappuccino. The caffeine was helping clear my head. "That's why I went to school for criminal justice. I wanted to become a cop--more specifically, a detective--so I could find the jerk, and other jerks like him."
"So, you're a police officer?" Nonna, asked. The worried look she gave Annetta told me cops weren't her favorite people, which suited me fine, because I now felt the same way.
"No. I was still in school when I discovered the truth about my parents. They were murdered. The hit-and-run was staged by dirty cops."
"What happened?" Annetta asked.
"My dad had uncovered a trafficking ring within his department, and they killed him for it. Killed them both for it. When I found out, I went to my uncle, since he's the Boise DA. You gotta understand that me and Ari were never close to Uncle Jay. He let us stay there because we had nowhere else to go and he cared about his community image, but that was it. But it wasn't like we had family dinners together or anything. Still, I thought he would help me find justice for my parents. He..."
My chest constricted as the betrayal I'd felt that day came flooding back. I'd never in a million years forget the look of pity in Uncle Jay's eyes.
"He knew, didn't he?" Nonna asked.
I nodded. "His own sister and brother-in-law had been murdered. He knew, and did nothing."
"I can't imagine," Nonna said, wrapping her hands around her cup. "There is nothing more important than family."
I felt the same. Especially now that I only had my sister left. I couldn't imagine standing back and letting something bad happen to her. Hell, if I ever saw that jerk in the condom costume again, I'd let him have it.
"I'd gotten my cancer diagnosis a few weeks before I found out about my parents. I knew I was terminal. My parents had set up their will to give Ariana and I monthly payments from their life insurance, which meant I had money in my bank account. Not a ton, but enough Uncle Jay advised me to take my money and go find some remote part of the world to die. Said if the police department ever found out what I knew they'd kill both me and Ari."
And my sweet Uncle Jay wouldn't have done a damn thing about it.
"What did you do?" Annetta asked.
"I dropped out of college and went to Africa. I tried to get Ari to come with me, but she had her own dreams and they had nothing to do with volunteering at an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. I loved it, though. It made me feel useful despite... everything. I would have stayed with the kids in Africa until the end, but Ariana stopped returning my calls and texts and I was worried that something had happened to her. So here I am." I smiled at Nonna. "Because family is everything."
"And how do you know Angel?" Annetta asked.
My chest tightened again as I recalled how Angel and I had met and the things we'd done together. The way he'd invited Max to eat with us and had called a cab and sent him to a motel afterward. I thought of taking me up on High Roller, and the way he kissed me with an intensity that made my knees weak. As I detailed our incredible adventures together, my feelings for him grew even more conflicted.
"He volunteered at an orphanage with you?" Nonna asked, sounding amazed.
I nodded. "He and Bones were great. Those kids need strong male role models, and it was awesome to have them step up like that. Angel also took me to San Diego so I could walk on the beach. I'd never done that before, and wanted to before... before I can't. We went diving, as well, but in hindsight, that probably wasn't the best idea, considering my condition. Worst migraine of my life. Seriously, the ocean was so beautiful, though. I don't regret any of it."
"But Angel didn't know about your tumor?" Annetta asked.
I shook my head. "I never meant for things between us to go so far. I kept telling him I couldn't be in a relationship, but he doesn't exactly accept the word no."
They both laughed.
"The men in this family are bullheaded," Nonna replied. "They see something they want, nothing can deter them from going after it."
"Clearly." After all, he and Bones had brought me here at gunpoint. "But I don't think Angel wants me anymore. He thinks I'm a cop or something. We're not exactly on the best terms right now."
"He's protecting his family," Nonna replied. "Surely you can't blame him after your own experience with the authorities."
She had me there.
"Angel and Dom will clear this mess up, and then everything will be fine," Annetta reassured me. "We are people of many resources, and my husband is adept at solving problems."
I appreciated her confidence, but still thought it necessary to remind her of the truth. "I don't know that terminal cancer is a problem anyone can solve."
"We'll see what Dr. Monte says," Annetta replied, sounding a little bullheaded herself. "But enough about this. I think you should join the family tomorrow after your doctor's appointment. There are a lot of us, and we all take a day to Christmas shop for local families in need. Then we meet here, wrap everything, and then we call a service to have it delivered. This'll give you a chance to meet everyone."
I'd always wanted a big family, and I couldn't think of anything I'd enjoy more than shopping and wrapping presents with Angel's. There was only one problem. "I'm still not sure where Angel and I stand right now."
As if on cue, he stepped into the kitchen, looking exhausted. "You ready to go, Markie?"
Annetta hugged me. "It was so nice to meet you, dear. Don't worry, these things have a way of working themselves out," she whispered.