Luke looks over to me with a helpless look in his eyes. Bringing myself over to cuddle with Lucy, I think up something to say.
“Mommies and daddies sleep in the same bed, so if you ever need me I will be in here, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy, but can I sleep in here every night, too?”
“No, sweetheart. You can’t sleep in here every night, so unless you have a bad dream or you need Mommy or Daddy for anything, you have to sleep in your bed, okay?”
“Okay.”
Luke pulls her in and gives her a kiss on her forehead.
“Let’s get up and have some breakfast,” he suggests.
After we all get up, shower, and dress, we have our breakfast and Luke leaves for work. I call Jen to make sure we are all set for me to drop Lucy off for a few hours while I go visit Vincent. Jen and I chat a few minutes about doctors and some of the things I need to look for around here, then we hang up. I decide to spend the morning with Lucy watching a movie that Camillia got her yesterday.
When the movie ends we take it out of the DVD player. Lucy runs up to her room to get her shoes while I go into the kitchen and get my purse and phone. For the first time, Lucy notices that as I am locking up the house I use a code that sets the alarm, so I bend down and teach her the numbers.
“Do you think you can remember how to do what I just showed you, Lucy?”
“I think so, Mommy. Can I try it?”
“Yes you can, but listen very carefully one more time, okay? “
I go through the drill with her one more time showing her how to set it. When she tries it, she does it with such ease that I give her a big hug and tell her how proud I am of her. We walk out to the car and get her all buckled in, but as I am climbing into the car, I get the feeling again that I am being watched. I turn my head slowly in every direction, but I notice nothing.
This shit has got to stop. I climb into the car and we drive to Bubba and Jen’s house. Once we get there, Lucy is out of the car so fast, running toward the house to see Zoe. All she talked about the whole way over here was Zoe and how much Lucy would love to have a baby brother or sister. Before getting out of the car, I place my hand on my stomach and think to myself how much I would love that, too.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The drive to the restaurant takes about forty-five minutes. When Vincent called me and told me when and where to meet him, I had this feeling he knew what I wanted to talk to him about. He has set up our lunch at a small restaurant on the beach in Grand Haven, which is a quaint town. Pulling into the restaurant parking lot, I notice that it is right on the channel, so we can sit and watch the boats go in and out of Lake Michigan. Approaching the hostess stand, I see Vincent sitting at a corner table, so I point to him to let the cute young hostess know I will just walk over to him. She hands me a menu and tells me to go ahead. Vincent stands up as I arrive at his table, and we hug and take our seats.
“Would you like something to drink, Shayne?” he asks.
“Just water is good, thank you.”
I notice that Vincent has a glass of what appears to be Scotch sitting in front of him. As he picks up the glass and takes a small sip his hands are lightly shaking, which makes me believe he is nervous about this meeting.
The waitress comes over and introduces herself as Dezi, and asks if we are ready to order as she places a glass of water in front of me. I haven’t even looked at the menu yet, so I ask if they have a chef salad and Vincent places his order as well. After she leaves I turn to him.
“I think you know what I want to talk about, Vincent?”
He starts to say something, but I put my hand up.
“Please just let me finish, and then you can talk all you want to.”
Leaning back in his chair and tilting his head to the side, he gestures with his hand for me to continue.
“I think I deserve to know the truth about what is going on with Ben Menetti. And I mean everything, Vincent. This is scaring the shit out of me, and I…I just need to know what is going on.”
Leaning forward and taking a hefty drink, he runs his hands through his hair and places them down on the table.
“Seven years ago I was the attorney for Benito Menetti, who is Ben’s father. Now without boring you with the details of this case, we lost it, meaning Benito was sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole. Anyway, that is the reason why we left when we did all those years ago. His family and close friends began threatening us, but Camillia the most. It started with phone calls and slashing her tires and things like that.”
He reaches across the table and places his hands over the top of mine and gives them a tight squeeze as he continues.
“It was when they started calling me and threatening Antonio and Luciano and you that both Camillia and I decided we had to do something about it, so we decided to pack up and leave. That was the hardest part of it all, Shayne, destroying what you and my son had. I need you to know that I will never forgive myself for that, but I just couldn’t put you in danger anymore. If something would have happened to you, my son would have never forgiven me and it was hard enough making him leave.”