Untraceable (56 page)

“
He’s a jerk, but it’s not the
same. I didn’t sleep with him.”

“
Thank God, right?”

She gave a choked laugh, “He
wanted me to, but I wanted to be like you, Mom. You always told me
that you
knew
Daddy was the one you wanted to share that moment forever
with, not just share ‘forever’ in a moment. I want to be sure,
too.”

“
But
if
you had made that mistake, would
you have wanted Daddy to know?”

“
I think I’d have rather died
instead.”

“
Would you have wanted him to
forgive you?”

She couldn’t hold back the fresh burst of
tears and sobs as she began to see my point.

“
He would have rather died than to
hurt you, Leigh. And all he wants right now is to know that you can
forgive him and let him make it up to you. He’s been making it up
to me for twenty years.”

She threw her arms around my neck and
whispered her thanks. Then she tumbled from the bed and started
calling for him as she ran downstairs. Micah was at the base of the
stairs before she could reach it. He had huge tear drops on his
cheeks as she leapt into his arms and held on tightly. All I could
hear her say as her face was buried against his neck was that she
loved him and that she forgave him. Micah simply cried as he
whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

It took a while before they composed. The
special father/daughter bond they’d always shared was stronger than
ever. Her daddy was no longer a super being who couldn’t do any
wrong but instead, he was as human as she was. He could feel hurt
as deeply as she could, and he needed the love, forgiveness, and
support of his family as much as she did.

It would be several hours before Micah would
leave to go to the hotel. He called David and told him what was
happening and that he would like for him, Nadia, and the girls to
come to the house and be part of this introduction into our family.
I told him though to ask David to give the phone to my mom so that
I could explain it to her. She needed to know the entire truth, not
just the fact that Micah fathered a child with someone
else.

I took the phone and went into the den and
closed the door. There was no need to be gentle. She knew I’d been
held hostage, but she needed to know that Sharon threatened to have
me raped if Micah didn’t bend to her desires, and that part of
those desires included sleeping with Micah.

My mom was still one of the most wonderful
women I knew. She accepted my explanation without so much as a
stutter or a pause. She trusted me and she trusted Micah, but she
openly said she didn’t know if we should trust Micah Moretti. She
was, understandably, afraid that the mafia was a breath away from
coming back into our world.

“
Dad isn’t going to let that
happen, but I know what you mean. I’m afraid, but how can anyone
who looks so much like Micah not have some of him on the inside,
too? This isn’t going to be easy, and if he truly wants a
connection with us he’ll have to understand he can’t have both
worlds. If he tells us he’s actively working in the mafia, he can’t
come back.

When Mom, David, and the girls showed up,
David was in a suit. Immediately, I knew why. Mom never told David
that the guns had to go, and I knew that strapped underneath his
coat rested a pair of Glocks. I didn’t like it, but I knew he had
his reasons.

Micah and David said they would drive to town
and bring him back to the house. I walked outside with them, not
wanting everyone to see exactly how apprehensive I was for them to
leave. I was kissing Micah goodbye, when I heard the front door
close. I turned around to see Joshua heading for us.

“
I’m going with you,” he simply
stated.

“
No,” was the first word to pop
out of my mouth.

I felt Micah’s hand come to rest on my arm,
pausing me from continuing my refusal.

“
Why, son?”

“
Dad, you’ve already told me what
you’re worried about, but this is what I’ll be doing for the rest
of my life, no matter which government agency I decide to work
with. You won’t be able to shield me from these people. If he is
mafia, then I want to hear what you and Uncle David have to say to
him, and to listen to his responses. I want to figure out how he
thinks and what makes him tick.”

It took every ounce of willpower I possessed
to keep my mouth shut. Joshua was my baby, my first baby, but he
was also a grown man. I trusted his judgment, his intelligence, and
his goodness. In the back of my mind, I’m sure I had a sliver of
fear that he might find his newest brother to be fascinating. My
son was a Gavarreen, but he wasn’t mafia groomed and emotionally
anesthetized.

Unless Micah opposed it, I would not ask him
to stay.

I could see the slight hesitation on Micah’s
part as he considered it. “Come on,” he finally said, putting his
arm around Joshua as they headed for David’s car.

Town was only fifteen minutes away, but they
didn’t return for an hour and a half. Micah called me to tell me
they were pulling in the driveway. I asked everyone to come into
the living room and have a seat. A couple minutes later, the front
door opened and in walked four men who were all very obviously
related—they were Gavarreens, even if one didn’t share the
name.

The first thing I noticed was the stunned look
on young Micah’s face. You could have heard a feather fall in the
silence. Micah senior would make each introduction, beginning with
Celeste.

“
You are my grandmother?” he
repeated as if he couldn’t believe it.

Celeste had been holding something in her lap
the entire time she had been seated in the living room waiting. I
assumed it was a small clutch, but when she rose to greet her
grandson, I saw what she’d been sheltering.

“
Yes,” she said with her sweet
smile slowly broadening, “And this is your grandfather.” She handed
him the small, leather picture frame.

I remembered it now. She always brought it
with her when she came to visit, and she would put it on the
nightstand by the bed. How deep and how strong was her love for the
man who swept her off her feet, fathered her children, and loved
her for a lifetime. I knew if God blessed Micah and I to reach her
age and something happened to him, I would also cling to his memory
just as she clung to Giorgio’s.

He studied the picture in earnest, and then he
embraced Celeste and told her he wished he could have had the
opportunity to meet him. Gwen was next, her greeting a little
stiffer than her mother’s, but he still seemed genuine in his
happiness to meet her. My mother of course was only an aunt by
marriage, but he was very congenial and polite. Then came his
cousins Brook and Bree. Those girls had no fear or apprehension as
they both rose at the same time and hugged him. I watched his
cheeks pink slightly as they stepped back.

He glanced at David with a smile, “All the
women in my new family are exceptionally beautiful.”

Oh—I cringed! I could see David’s expression
harden instantly. Anyone else would have curled up and died after
getting that look from David, but young Micah turned to look at
Annaleigh and Caleb.

“
And this must be my sister and
younger brother.”

Micah didn’t get the chance to say anything as
our daughter stepped forward and offered her hand.

“
I’m Annaleigh. Everyone just
calls me Leigh.”

He accepted her hand, “Thank you.”

I suddenly realized why he was thanking her.
She didn’t wait for the introduction. She stepped up and accepted
him immediately.

“
And I’m Caleb,” Caleb said,
following his sisters lead in taking initiative.

“
It is good to meet you
Caleb.”

For the next hour we talked, shared, and even
laughed as we got to know him a little better. He told us all about
growing up in Verona Italy; the architecture and ancient beauty of
the city. He also told about his grandfather taking him on trips to
Venice, Milan, and Rome. Our kids told him about what life was like
growing up in America, but I could see he was struggling to
comprehend it. When it hit me, I had to keep from gasping—he’d had
very little time to be a child and to be innocent like our
children. He was younger than Joshua, but he had a maturity and
sophistication that came with someone who grew up around adults. I
didn’t know what Micah learned before they showed up at the house,
but I was certain now that Micah Moretti was raised to be an
instrument in the mafia.

Joshua was in observation mode; he watched,
studied, listened, and scrutinized every moment of young Micah’s
presence.

Then suddenly, as if he’d been on a timer, he
told us how wonderful it had been to meet all of us and that he
hoped someday in the future he would be allowed to
return.

Micah and Joshua would take him back to his
hotel. David was taking Nadia and the girls home, and Celeste and
Gwen had made arrangements the day before for a cab that would take
them to the airport to catch their flight to New
Orleans.

Leigh asked if she needed to stay home with me
after everyone left, but I knew she wanted to go see
Hunter.

“
No, I’m fine. You go ahead, but
just for today—for me—be home before dark.”

“
Caleb,” she called to her
brother, “We’re going to the bowling alley. You wanna
come?”

He smiled and said sure.

The house that had been full was now empty and
quiet. The return trip didn’t take Micah quite as long. Joshua,
sensing that his father and I needed a little private time, said he
was going to catch up with Leigh and Caleb at the bowling
alley.

“
So tell me about him,” I said, as
I watched Joshua’s car disappear down the drive.

I felt Micah’s warm arms encircle me from
behind as he pulled me in securely. He kissed the side of my
head.

“
He has some hard decisions to
make, Leese.”

“
Decisions between the mafia and
our kind of life?”

“
Yeah,” he said, his voice growing
thick, “Vitale sees him as the son he never had, his eventual
replacement.”

“
Why, Micah? I can’t believe that
Vitale Moretti would wish that life on his grandson.”

“
Leese, you have to understand
that people who live and have been raised in the Family, it’s all
they know. I was third generation mafia and, oddly enough, happy in
it until I found out there was something better; a different world
was out there.”

“
Micah, I’m scared. Things have
been so wonderful for so long, I don’t want to go back to being
afraid that you’re going to get pulled back in, or, God-forbid,
Joshua is going to get pulled into that world.”

“
Don’t worry about Joshua. If
anything, I think he was an influence on Micah.”

I twisted in his arms so that I could look at
him, “I have to ask because you refused to let me name Joshua after
you, how do you feel? I mean I know this has been a terrible shock,
but she named him after you.”

“
He is me all over again, mafia
and all.”

“
Well then he is either a good
actor, which you were also by the way, or he shows his emotions
slightly more.”

“
He’s a good actor.”

“
What should I tell my
dad?”

“
Your dad already made his
decision. Micah broke the rules in coming here. Vitale didn’t know
where he was headed when he left Virginia. He talked with him on
the phone when we were there at the hotel. Vitale said your father
has every right to kill him over this, but instead he told Vitale,
Micah could take one hour to get to meet the family and then to get
the hell out of Florida.”

“
But Micah, what if he decides he
wants to change?”

“
Change is a long hard road in
this business—you know that firsthand.”

“
So you’re telling me we’re still
safe?”

“
We’re safe, but Micah’s
not.”

“
From my dad?”

“
Your dad has the ultimate
say concerning anyone in the Family, but Vitale is still Micah’s
Boss, and as his boss he’s put him in a dangerous position. I hated
Sharon, but this boy
is
my son; I can’t stand knowing what it means, or
knowing what could happen to him.”

“
What’s his position,
Micah?”

“
Joshua wants to keep in
touch with him.”

“
That’s not a good
thing.”

“
I know, but they seemed
to understand each other—I couldn’t tell him no. But, phone calls
only. It’s too dangerous for anything else.”

“
You didn’t answer
me.”

Micah took in a deep breath, and then
he tipped my chin up and kissed my cheek, “If you’d have let your
dad make us untraceable, he never would have found us. You stole my
heart with your innocence, grace, and kindness. You certainly
displayed all of those things today when he showed up. You would
have had every right to tell him to get out of here—and I wouldn’t
have stopped you.”