Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

 

“DAMMIT, HE’S not answering his phone.” Tony cursed, the shrill whine of the portable police flasher filling the air from its perch on the roof of his Mercury Sable.

The siren hurt his ear, but Kyle didn’t want to miss anything. Joey not returning calls was not a good sign.

Tony had called his captain and another detective but hadn’t gotten any names of the arrested. The DEA still had the club on lockdown, so Joey’s whereabouts were anyone’s guess.

Tony jerked the car back into the lane and sped down the road.

Forrester braced a hand on the dash and pushed on an imaginary brake pedal on the passenger side. “Jeez, slow down.”

“I can’t believe you kept this Joey thing from me,” Tony said for what felt like the hundredth time. “You really need to stop keeping secrets.”

“Give it a rest, would ya?” Forrester snapped.

Just five minutes earlier, Kyle had been helping Amanda and Nonna set the table, acting casual, though his stomach had been in knots. He’d hoped against all hope that Forrester and Tony were making up on the back porch, so he’d been surprised when they returned and announced that Joey had a flat tire and they were going to get him. When Dino said he would go with them, Forrester had pointed at Kyle. “C’mon, you’re coming too.”

“So you’re all just gonna leave like that?” Mrs. Giordano had demanded. “For a flat tire?”

“We’ll be back, Mama,” Tony had told her. “Missy and the baby are coming over.”

Tony wove wildly through the minimal Shiloh traffic while Forrester filled Dino in on Joey’s involvement with Alfie’s bootleg booze. Dino asked questions, and Forrester answered, both speaking like men on a mission, comrades in arms. No one would know of the rift between them.

“You don’t think he’s involved in this heroin shit, do you?” Dino sat in the back seat with Kyle, buckled in and holding on to the handle above the door in order to keep his seat.

Forrester shook his head. “He swore to me he wasn’t. He only helped with the booze because he didn’t know it was illegal.”

“How could he be so stupid?” Dino complained.

“Don’t worry. If the DEA busted your cousin in a heroin deal, no one’s gonna care about Joey’s involvement in misdemeanor alcohol sales,” Kyle assured him. “Even if Joey did get arrested, the charges will probably be dropped.”

“How do you know?” Dino asked.

“Kyle’s a lawyer,” Forrester said at the same time Tony answered, “He works for the county prosecutor.”

Dino stared at him, but when their eyes met, he quickly looked away.

Kyle squirmed. Yes, they were all getting along now, distracted from other issues in order to rescue Joey, but what was Dino really thinking? Since the moment he’d arrived at Mrs. Giordano’s house, the tension in the kitchen had been so thick it could’ve been cut with the proverbial knife. The Giordano women had made Kyle feel welcome, and oddly Tony’s equal-opportunity brand of crabbiness did too. But Dino didn’t even say hello or acknowledge Kyle was there.

It was extremely unsettling.

Once on the north side of Shiloh, they came upon a street barricade. A block away, several big black SUVs, squad cars, and officers crowded in front of the club. There was no sign of the arrested being hauled away, but for all he knew, they’d just missed it.

With the police light still flashing, Tony pulled right up to the barricade. He flipped off the siren. “You guys stay here, I’ll find out what’s going on.”

When Tony went to talk to the officer at the barricade, Forrester and Kyle piled out of the passenger side, and Dino followed suit. The fear etching Forrester’s face gave Kyle a pang, so he rubbed Forrester’s arm. “It’ll be okay.”

To his surprise, Forrester pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around his neck and swaying nervously. “God, I hope so. I don’t wanna have to tell Ma Joey’s in jail.”

Though the weight of Dino’s stare from on the other side of the car made him nervous, Kyle’s number-one priority was the man he loved. Concentrating on those dreamy brown eyes painted with worry, he encircled Forrester’s waist and smiled up at him. “Try not to get ahead of yourself. We don’t know anything yet.”

“You don’t think they’d arrest him for just being there, do you? I mean he was only going there to get his back pay.”

“You don’t know he’s been arrested but….” His smile waned as he tried to appease Forrester. “If you were in a car and the driver stopped at the bank, went inside, and robbed it, you’re an accomplice. Even if you didn’t know. So yes, if he’s in there, he’ll spend some time in jail. But we’ll get him a great lawyer. I know a few, ya know?”

“What if he says something stupid and incriminates himself? This’ll kill Ma.”

“Once we prove he didn’t have anything to do with it, the charges will be dropped. He didn’t do anything. Don’t forget that.”

At least Kyle hoped he hadn’t done anything.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Forrester forced a smile and kissed his cheek. “Ti amo, bello.”

“I love you too.” Kyle warmed with pleasure all the way to his toes and back up. Until he remembered Dino was right there. He patted Forrester’s back and stepped out of the hug.

Forrester’s hold tightened for the briefest of seconds, but then he let Kyle go, keeping an arm around his shoulder.

Though he told himself not to, Kyle couldn’t help but glance toward Dino, wondering what he thought of their intimate exchange. Much to his relief, Dino was chewing his nail and had his eyes locked on Tony and the other officer. Tony looked furious at whatever he was being told. Kyle’s stomach knotted with worry, and it only worsened when he imagined how awful Forrester must feel.

To hell with what Dino may or may not be thinking. Forrester needed him. Forrester felt and expressed love through touch. Kyle would not deny him what he needed just to appease an awkward homophobe.

Kyle wrapped both arms around that slim waist and squeezed. “It’ll be okay. Trust me.”

Forrester’s grateful smile told Kyle he’d done the right thing.

Leaning his head on Forrester’s shoulder, Kyle joined the brothers watching Tony.

A cell phone rang.

Forrester almost jumped a foot, breaking loose from Kyle. He fumbled for the device, eyes widening when he saw the caller ID. “It’s Joey!” He answered the phone, plugging one ear. “Joey! Where the hell are you?”

Dino joined them, arms crossed nervously.

“Where are you?” Forrester craned his neck, looking over Kyle’s head. “Yeah, yeah… I see you.” He hung up and yelled back at Tony, “Hey, he’s over here!”

Kyle followed Forrester as he raced around the Mercury, scanning the crowd of curious citizens watching the DEA bust.

Then he spied Joey, ice cream cone in hand, waving at them from across the street. He let out a whoosh of breath.

“Thank God!” Dino muttered something in Italian as he followed.

Before he stepped up on the curb, Forrester grabbed Joey into a fierce hug. “Where have you been?”

“Hey, watch it, you’ll make me drop my ice cream,” Joey complained.

“Alfie owed you money?” Forrester demanded, giving him a shake. “Is that what you were talking to him about at Smitty’s?”

“Yeah, what’s it to ya?”

Tony joined them, whacking Joey in the side of the head as Forrester stepped back.

“Ow! What’s the big idea?” Joey rubbed his scalp, smoothing his hair.

“You dummy,” Tony growled, yanking him into a hug, then almost shoving him toward Dino, where he too, could hug and scold the guy.

“What are you thinking, Giuseppe?” Dino shook him by the shoulders. “You know you can’t trust Alfie. Look what he did to you with that DUI.”

Joey licked the melting ice cream from his hand. “What are you guys freaking out about? And what are you even doing here?”

“Looking for you, ya big dummy,” Forrester said. “Tony got a call that the DEA had a drug bust at the Stein, and we knew you were coming here.”

“What happened?” Tony demanded. “Were you in the club?”

Joey shook his head. “No, I came here to get the money Alfie owes me. Eighty bucks back pay. I knew the cheap bastard had it, but he’s been ducking my calls. But then I show up and there’s cops swarming the place. I was all, like, no way. Alfie’s getting busted. So I went to get some ice cream and watch the show. Figured when I saw him dragged out in cuffs, I’d flip him the Italian one-fingered hello.”

“You serious?” Forrester said, mouth gaping. “How come you didn’t answer your phone? You scared us to death.”

He looked confused. “It didn’t ring.”

“I called you a million times.”

Joey slid his phone out of his pocket. “Huh, I guess you did.” With the hand holding the ice cream, he tapped the screen a few times with his pinky. “Whoops, I had it on silent.”

“Perché io?” Forrester cursed.

“How could you be so stupid, Giuseppe?” Tony demanded, reaching out to whack him on the head again.

Joey must’ve seen it coming and dodged it. “I’m not stupid!”

“You are too,” Tony snapped and the other two heartily agreed, though their relief was barely disguised by their frustration.

Kyle had to fight laughter at the insane up and down of the afternoon. Would being in the Giordano family always be like this?

Not wanting things to escalate into a big Italian drama before they got the rest of Joey’s story, Kyle raised his hands. “Let’s everybody take a breather. No name-calling or fighting. The important thing is nobody got arrested.”

“Yeah,” Joey said petulantly. “Thanks, Kyle. At least you’re on my side.”

Tony and Dino gave Kyle an arch look, but Forrester listened to the advice. Forrester exhaled slowly and nodded. Then he held out his hand, and Kyle took it. Kyle could see the tension rolling off him. “Yeah, Kyle’s right. At least your dumb ass wasn’t arrested.”

“Screw you, Frankie.”

“You never told us you were working for Alfie. How come?” Tony wanted to know.

“Because I knew you all would lecture me. I’m not a little kid anymore, and I’m sick of you guys always telling me what to do.” He licked his ice cream in a circle along the base, then all the way to the tip. For a moment Kyle was distracted from the situation at hand.

With a scoff, Dino gestured to the police tape blocking the nightclub. “I think you just proved you need us telling you what to do.”

“No,” Joey insisted. “I needed a job, and Alfie needed a bouncer at the club. I know he’s up to no good, he always is, but bouncing was easy work and I got to meet a lot of chicks. Then Alfie got me and Blake pouring big bottles of booze into the ones behind the bar. Told me it was cheaper. Made sense to me. I didn’t know it was illegal, not until Frankie told me.”

“What about loading them boxes next to Frankie’s building?”

He squirmed and mouthed the last of the ice cream from the cone.

Kyle squirmed too, but for entirely different reasons.

Noticing four sets of waiting eyes, Joey took a bite of his cone, crunching before he said, “Alfie said booze was cheaper in Indiana. So me and Blake helped him buy a vanload from these Mexican dudes. That’s it.”

“You should’ve told me about Joey back when I searched the place,” Tony told Forrester, his face scrunched in a frown.

“Yeah, probably.” Forrester looked chagrined, blushing adorably. Kyle had to fight a smile.

“Where was the pickup?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know, Tony, you know I’m bad with directions. It was late at night, and I was playing Candy Crush while we were driving out there.”

“Of course you were,” Dino muttered.

“Hey,” Joey got defensive. “It was somewhere outside of Gilead, that’s all I know. Not by the water, but by some cornfields or something. It’s not like they got streetlights out there. We pulled up, and these dudes loaded up our van. Alfie paid them, and then we went back to Frankie’s building and unloaded the boxes next door. He can’t keep it in the club, I guess, or they’d know what he was up to.”

“You didn’t think you should report that once you knew it was illegal?” Tony crossed his big arms across his chest, his uniform shirt stretching the seams. He looked like an intimidating daddy bear scolding his pup.

Jeez, these men are gonna be the death of me!

“I didn’t wanna get into trouble when Alfie got arrested, so I quit. Booze? I ain’t got no problem helping the guy save a buck. We’re family. But drugs?” He raised his hands. “I didn’t want anything to do with that. I’m sick of Alfie getting me into trouble.”

“What are we gonna do with you, Giuseppe?” Dino ruffled up his hair, a faint twinkle of affection in his eyes making him just as handsome as his siblings, even if Kyle wasn’t exactly fond of the guy.

“So we going back home? I’m starving,” Joey announced around a mouthful of ice cream cone. “Ma made lasagna.”

The rest of them exchanged looks, knowing Joey still didn’t know about Mrs. Giordano’s cancer. The brothers shook their heads at Kyle in an unspoken agreement to tell Joey later, perhaps let her tell him privately, Kyle couldn’t be sure. Their moods could switch on a dime, and Kyle was done trying to anticipate their next reaction.

“Yeah, I’ll drive with you, Joey.” Dino glanced so quickly at Forrester’s and Kyle’s clasped hands that if Kyle had blinked, he would’ve missed it.

Thankfully Forrester didn’t seem to see it.

Was Dino that eager to get away from them?

“See you back at the house,” Tony said, and they all piled back into his car. He took his flasher off the roof and stowed it. “That was a whole helluva lot of excitement for nothing.”

“You can say that again,” Forrester agreed, pulling on his seat belt. “You see that? He didn’t want to drive with us.”

So he had noticed Dino’s hurry to leave.

Tony raised an appeasing hand. “Now don’t be jumping to conclusions, Frankie. Somebody’s gotta keep an eye on Joey.”

“You know that’s not it.”

Tony sighed and buckled in. “I’ll talk to him.”

Kyle sat up straighter and hope fluttered in his chest. Maybe they had made amends on the back porch, come to a truce. Could this be genuine acceptance?

“Don’t punch him or Ma will be upset.”

“What Ma don’t know won’t hurt her.” Tony met Kyle’s gaze through the rearview mirror. “You got your seat belt on?”

Hastily he buckled in. “Um, yeah.”

“Well, let’s go back to the cancer party,” Tony said.

“Can you believe her?” Forrester complained. “Making food like it’s fucking Easter.”

“You really surprised?” Tony backed out of the space and did a three-point turn to head home.

“No, not really.”

“Tell me everything her doctors said.”

The drive back to the small house was quick, and Forrester filled him in. How she’d known since Christmas about a lump, her “surprise” surgery, and how Dr. Sullivan started her chemo immediately. Surprisingly, Tony didn’t interrupt as Forrester laid out the treatment plan. As fast as the brothers flew off the handle, they were just as quick to clam up and say nothing when they were deep in thought.

Was that maybe what Dino had been doing about Forrester?

Kyle clung to that hope. The way they’d pulled together for Joey proved their brotherly love was real, not just a show. He prayed that love would be enough to mend the broken fences between Forrester and Dino too.

As Kyle expected, they were bombarded with questions the moment they walked into the house. It was almost impossible for Kyle to keep up. Amanda and Ma didn’t question the flat tire story, both of them quick to scold Joey about checking the air pressure in his tires. Nonna was too busy cooing in Italian to a little baby, who Kyle assumed must be Baby Anthony. Much to Kyle’s chagrin, that chilly air around Forrester and Dino had returned, so he kept close to Forrester’s side. Concern etched Missy’s pretty face when she embraced Tony. The two of them seemed somewhat separate from the overdramatic discussion about Joey and his tire.

But then very efficiently, Mrs. Giordano had everyone sitting at the table. Soon they were all passing dishes and plates back and forth, reaching in front of each other and across the table, scrapes of spoons and knives against plates and bowls adding to the cacophony of the chaotic but well-choreographed dance.

When a basket of rolls crossed in front of Kyle, Forrester took one and added it to Kyle’s plate without asking. He did the same with the lasagna, the spaghetti, and the green beans. Rather than say it was too much food—let alone too many carbs—Kyle just went with it, enjoying everyone talking about their day, school fundraisers, the DEA bust, Alfie, anything but Mrs. Giordano’s diagnosis. He felt odd, uncomfortable, and totally loved by the way his boyfriend waited on him the same way Amanda served Dino’s meal, Tony did for Missy, and how all of them doted on Joey.

Forrester filled Kyle’s salad bowl when that made the rounds. “Italian or ranch?”

There was a slight lull in the talking and Kyle quickly said, “Italian,” and the conversation resumed.

Enjoying the delicious food while he tried to keep up with the chatter, Kyle felt like a TV extra dropped into some crazy sitcom without a script. Multiple conversations were had simultaneously, everyone jumping in and out of each like a game of double dutch. He missed half of what was said, so he just sat there quietly beside Forrester.

Beneath the table, a hand brushed his knee, startling him. Their eyes met and Kyle took a deep breath and smiled.

“You like?” Forrester asked, nodding toward his plate as he took a big bite of salad—drenched in ranch.

“It’s delicious,” he answered honestly.

He smiled as he swallowed, then mouthed, “I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you.”

“Of course,” he said, squeezing Forrester’s hand back.

“Olive juice.”

For a moment he imagined Forrester might kiss him, and he held his breath. But he just kept smiling and returned to eating.

Across the table, Kyle felt rather than saw Dino staring at them. Kyle glanced over, their eyes met, and he squirmed from Dino’s unreadable expression. Feeling very conspicuous, he let go of Forrester’s hand. He placed both hands on the table, in plain view, and fidgeted with his fork. The rich food did a flip-flop in his stomach.

“You okay?” Forrester looked at him oddly.

He forced a smile and took a bite of green beans. “Yeah, fine.”

But then Forrester caught Kyle’s quick glance in Dino’s direction, and his entire body stiffened. His fist clenched around his fork and then, to Kyle’s shock, he placed his hand back over Kyle’s, holding it right on top of the table with a defiant set to his jaw.

Kyle squirmed but didn’t resist.

Dino looked away, and Kyle let out a breath.

What was with the guy?

After they put a big dent in the food and no one could eat another bite—though Forrester must’ve asked Kyle three times if he wanted anything else—Amanda began clearing the table. When Mrs. Giordano stood to help, almost everyone at the table was quick with a “No!”

“All right, all right,” she grumbled, looking at Joey and barely able to hide the guilt that her “baby” still didn’t know.

Kyle stood and took his and Forrester’s plates, insisting Forrester stay seated.

Rinsing the dishes in the sink, Kyle was surprised when Tony joined him, plates in hand. “Thanks for helping today.”

Though Forrester always talked about what an overbearing man Tony was, Kyle felt comfortable with him. “No problem. But I didn’t really do anything.”

“You gonna say anything about the alcohol?”

“Depends. What’s the general consensus of what you guys wanna do? I mean, I’m not on Alfie’s case, and you didn’t find anything in the shop next to the bookstore. If there are some Mexican guys selling illegal alcohol in Gilead, that’s out of our jurisdiction, as far as I see it.”

“You okay leaving Joey out of it?”

“I don’t think the DEA will care one bit about it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either.”

“But you could let Sherriff Bentley know that a trusted source told you he saw people selling illegal alcohol. Just as a professional courtesy,” Kyle suggested.

Tony smiled at him. “You’re an all right guy, Kyle.”

He squirmed, blushing in self-conscious pleasure. “Thanks.”

“Frankie’s a lucky man.”

He risked a glance up, not feeling anything but familial acceptance from Tony. “That would be me, actually.”

Tony’s head tipped to the side, and then he laughed, slapping Kyle on the shoulder roughly.

“What’s going on over here?” Forrester asked, not sounding annoyed or exactly concerned. Curious, maybe?

“I was just telling your boyfriend about your browser history,” Tony said as Forrester joined them.

Kyle shook his head. “His what?”

“Look who thinks he’s so funny.” Forrester slugged him, and they both play-wrestled.

“Knock it off,” Amanda told them as she loaded the dishwasher. “Lady with a baby here. Jeez, Kyle, they’re nuts, right?”

Kyle chuckled.

Dare he say it?

He felt like he might just fit in with this crew.

Until he saw Dino watching them.

Kyle’s smile faded, and he went back to rinsing plates.

Yes, some bridges had been mended, but if only there was something he could do about the last one.