Forever in My Heart Read online

With his police background, Nick spouted out facts like he was talking about a suspect—neutral and to the point. Years of staying in the background and observing had taught Vicky there was more to Nick than what he showed. He was an expert at dodging and evading.

  Vicky reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Seems like she has good ideas. I hope she kicks Franny’s ass. You’re a great dad. The kids need you in their life.”

  Warmth softened the hard lines around his eyes. “Thanks. I’m not giving up without a fight.” He slid two folders across the table, and there was a visible shift in his posture that told Vicky it was time for the reason of his visit. “Check these out.”

  Vicky opened the first folder to a young picture of Jamie DiSilva. Studying the photo, she noticed it must have been taken after he’d first enlisted. The typical military style crew cut was in place of his shoulder-length locks, but his face was the boy she’d known in high school—cocky and ready to take on the world—and contrary to the still sexy but seasoned veteran who’d returned.

  “He did his training at Fort Benning in Georgia before being shipped off to Iraq. He spent several years there before being stationed in Afghanistan,” Nick said.

  Vicky flipped through the sheets of paper. “This says he received several awards.”

  “He was promoted quickly and earned a reputation for being light on his feet.”

  “Does it say why he left?”

  “No particular reason. His tour was up, and he decided not to renew. He moved back here a month ago and applied for a business license.”

  Nick reached for the second folder. “I took the liberty of getting similar information on his partner.”

  Born in Virginia, Tristan Connelly trained with Jamie, but they hadn’t met up again until Afghanistan. Tristan’s specialty was electronics.

  “Anything odd about him?”

  “Not from what I can see.”

  “Good, because Lucy has a thing for him.”

  “Doesn’t seem her type.”

  “That’s because until now her type has been tall, skinny, and stupid. Tristan is tall, but he’s neither of the other two. Do you think I have anything to be worried about?”

  Nick took a mouthful of coffee and studied her. “On paper, there doesn’t appear to be anything that would cause me worry. But, as a detective, I know that’s generally only part of the story.” He leaned forward. “What’s the story between you and DiSilva?”

  “There is no story.”

  Nick gave her a cool stare that must intimidate the criminals. “You want to try answering again so I’ll believe you?”

  She balled up a napkin and threw it at him, only to get annoyed when it bounced off his muscled chest and onto the floor.

  “Don’t play detective with me, or I’ll cut you off from these.” She pulled the plate away with the last cannoli.

  He stopped her hand. “Hey, no need to get your panties in a ruffle. I can’t help you if I don’t know all of what’s going on.” He grabbed the pastry. “You’re not planning on starting up with this guy again, are you?”

  “What business is that of yours? Unlike when I was seventeen, you can’t control who I sleep with now.”

  Through the scruff, a faint blush stained her brother’s cheeks, and he shifted in his chair. Good. He should be uncomfortable discussing this with her.

  “I’ve apologized ad nauseam for what happened back then. And while I can’t stop you from jumping back in the sack with him, I hope you’ll use some common sense before doing so.”

  There it was…the implication she couldn’t make smart decisions.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She crossed her arms over her stomach. “I’ve made it very clear to Jamie that he’s the last man I’m interested in seeing, let alone sleep with.”

  “I hope so because, while nothing troublesome stands out, with the bad blood between our families, it wouldn’t be wise for you to get involved with him.”

  She held up a hand to ward off a speech. “I know, I know. Both Ma and Kate already grilled me.”

  Her gaze moved beyond Nick’s shoulders as the front door opened and Jamie and Tristan walked through. She was unable to stop the immediate rush of tingling between her legs, and she squirmed in her seat.

  Nick followed her gaze and studied his sister again. “Hell, Vick. You’re not over him.”

  Jamie caught her gaze across the room, and her nipples contracted with remembrance of the pleasure of his mouth there. Nick was right, she still desired Jamie. Though her body still remembered the feel of Jamie’s touch, her mind recalled the events of the past few years and all the pain caused to her family. While sex with Jamie was something done by a young and impetuous virgin nine years ago, sex with him now could cause her family pain. She had no choice but to control her lustful thoughts, because there was no way she’d cause them any more hurt than they’d already endured from the DiSilva family.

  ****

  “I’ll get us two coffees,” Tristan said. “You want anything else?”

  He looked over to where Vicky sat involved in what seemed to be an intense conversation and felt something stir in his groin that was further confirmed when she caught his gaze.

  Oh yeah, he wanted something else, all right.

  “Get me a blueberry muffin.”

  Tristan nodded and got in line.

  Jamie grabbed a table as far away from Vicky as he could find. He flipped open his tablet and scrolled through the appointments for the next week. There wasn’t much and what little work they had was mostly small jobs. Tristan had discussed an idea on how to increase business. Jamie liked it, but wasn’t sure he could sell the idea. Especially after his last encounter with the pretty café owner.

  “DiSilva.”

  He glanced up and into the hard and cool eyes of Nick DiFrancesco. So, that’s who Vicky had been talking to. And based on his grim expression, Nick wasn’t there to welcome Jamie home. Take a ticket, dude, and get in line with the rest of the people not happy to see me.

  “Nick. It’s been a while, man.”

  “It’s Detective DiFrancesco, and this isn’t a social call.”

  Jamie tensed but held his temper at bay. “Then state your business, Nick, and leave.”

  “Why do you keep coming in here after Vicky asked you to stay away?”

  “I’m sitting at a table minding my own business. Or has the freedom to breathe the same air as other people been made illegal in this country since I’ve been away?”

  “Your mere presence is offensive and makes the patrons uncomfortable,” Nick said.

  Jamie looked around the room. People were talking and laughing. Across the room, a mother broke off a piece of muffin and handed it to a child who waved his hands in anticipation. At the counter, Tristan leaned forward and whispered something to Lucy, making her giggle.

  “No one seems uncomfortable from what I can see.” Jamie leaned back in his chair with his arms folded casually across his chest.

  Nick took a step closer, anger emanating from him. Jamie may be pushing his buttons, but he didn’t give a fuck.

  “I’m going to say this once. You mess with my sister, and you mess with me. And I can promise you won’t get off as easily as your brothers did.”

  Jamie almost flinched. He hated what his brothers had become, but they had shared the same blood. While he wouldn’t have wanted them to die, he did believe in justice and would have been supportive of their punishment. But death was a whole other story.

  Living was the challenge—hell, he knew what it was like to try living in a town where people judged you for your family and not for your own accomplishments. And knowing this made his half Italian, half Irish blood boil. Thankfully, years of army training had taught him how to maintain his composure in the face of the enemy. And right now, Nick DiFrancesco was definitely the enemy.

  Jamie rose. He could do his own intimidation when he chose to. “I’m not messing with your sister. I’m trying to enjoy s
ome of her fine coffee and have a business meeting with my partner. If either of you have an issue with it, get a restraining order, although I think you’ll find it difficult justifying the cause.” Take that, Mr. Ace Detective.

  Nick stepped forward until they were almost nose to nose.

  Jamie clenched his fists and waited for his former friend to throw the first punch.

  ****

  Vicky finished talking to a girl who lived a few blocks over about a fire engine cake she wanted for her son’s first birthday. Vicky turned with the intention of heading behind the counter when she noticed Nick and Jamie in a draw.

  “Crap,” she muttered under her breath and ran across the room before fists started flying.

  “Hey, boys. Have you tried my cream puffs today? They’re sure to put a smile on the most sour of faces. And by the looks of you two, you both could use one.”

  Or a dozen.

  She wedged between them, pushing each back with a hand. It was like pushing concrete. Neither man moved.

  They were equally stubborn and between them there was enough testosterone to fight a bull blindfolded. Well, she sure as hell wasn’t going to allow their idiotic male pride mess up her store or give the town something to gossip about, although it may already be too late for that.

  She tried to reason with Nick first. “Please stop. This isn’t helping anyone.”

  “It’s helping me just fine,” Nick said through clenched teeth.

  Vicky had to restrain her eye roll. How dare her family call her the drama queen.

  She grasped Nick’s arms—well the shirt—and dug her nails into his biceps. He shifted his gaze away from Jamie and onto her.

  “Go,” she said before he could bark out an order to her. “I’ve got this under control.”

  “I’m not leaving until he does,” Nick said.

  She angled her head and shot a warning glance at Jamie when, beneath her hand, he tensed. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut.” She nodded at the seat. “Sit.” Placing her other hand on his chest, she added, “Please.”

  He stared into her eyes a full ten seconds before shrugging and lowering himself into the chair.

  Confident a major crisis had been avoided, she yanked her brother’s arm and pulled him—sort of—out the front door.

  He rounded on her as soon as they hit the sidewalk. “What the fuck is wrong with you, allowing him to stay there?”

  “I don’t have any reason to force him to go. He’s not doing anything wrong.”

  “But he could.”

  “A stranger off the street could. I’d rather have him stay—keep your enemies close, ya know?”

  Nick rubbed his unshaven jaw. “I don’t know about this, Vick. If anything happens to you—”

  “Nothing will. But if it were to, it will be my own fault, right?”

  “Try telling that to Ma.”

  “What Ma doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  “Fine. But if he does anything questionable, you tell me and I’ll get a restraining order on him.”

  She saluted him. “Yes, sir. I promise.”

  “You call me twice a day, you hear?”

  Just what she didn’t need, an overprotective brother.

  “I will.”

  Knowing Nick, he’d have a few uniformed cops patrol the area in addition to stopping by more himself.

  After kissing him goodbye and agreeing to call him later, she returned inside. Now she could only hope dealing with Jamie was easier.

  Chapter Seven

  Jamie was furious. In all the time he’d been deployed, he encountered a lot of horrible situations, but after the scene he’d just been part of, he realized none of them had ever been personal. Nick—aka Detective DiFrancesco—had touched on the essence of what had been bothering Jamie since he returned.

  “You all right?” Tristan asked, setting the coffees on the table and dropping into the empty chair.

  “Nothing like a good fight to get your adrenaline flowing for the day. Almost better than coffee,” Jamie said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

  “Lucy said that was Vicky’s oldest brother, Nick.”

  “Yeah. A cop—or in this case, detective—with an attitude.”

  Jamie tensed when the café door opened, prepared to go another round with Nick. He relaxed when Vicky entered. Alone. She headed over to his table.

  “Can I talk to you?” she asked Jamie. “In private.”

  Tristan rose. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

  She sat in the chair he vacated.

  “Come to give me a second talking to?” Jamie asked.

  Her eyes flashed to his with heat, but there wasn’t any anger when she spoke.

  “I’m sorry about Nick’s behavior. Sometimes he gets carried away with being a cop and an overprotective brother.”

  No shit.

  Jamie was speechless. He hadn’t been expecting her to be—nice. He took a sip from his coffee before he spoke. “I suppose if I was an older brother, I’d have a chip on my shoulder about my family, too.”

  He watched her shred the napkin on the table. Then there was the nervous way she kept licking her lips. The sight of her pink tongue was a huge turn on and reminded him of places she’d had her tongue—on him. He clenched the coffee mug tighter. If he didn’t get his mind to focus on something else, he’d be more aroused than he already was.

  “So what are we going to do about it?” she asked.

  “About the fact your family and the majority of this town thinks I’m like my brothers?”

  She flinched.

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass what people think about me. However, I’d prefer if the reason was justified. And it isn’t. I’m my own person, yet people have made presumptions about the man I’ve become that have nothing to do with my actions.”

  She continued to stare at him, her light brown eyes soft and filled with warmth the way he’d remembered. Something pulled in his chest, and it had nothing to do with the growing hard-on he had.

  “You’re right. We haven’t been fair to you. It’s going to take time for people to forget what happened, especially me. Seeing you here makes me remember and it hurts.”

  Now he had no idea what she was talking about.

  “What do you mean?”

  She blinked. “You do know what happened here, don’t you?”

  “Apparently not, since I’m asking.”

  She took a deep breath before meeting his eyes again. “On New Year’s Eve, Sal and some goon stormed in here and held both me and my six-year-old nephew at gunpoint.”

  Jamie felt all the color drain from his face. “Fuck, Vick. No one ever said anything to me.”

  “He tied us up in chairs back to back.” She pointed to an area where two moms sat with their toddlers. “Right about there. I tried to fight him, and when I did, that excited the sick bastard. He beat me. Gave me a nice black eye and a bunch of bruises.”

  She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze. Jamie lifted her chin up and searched her face for signs of any scarring. Thankfully, there wasn’t any. She pulled away, but not before he managed to clasp a hand.

  “Continue,” he said.

  “He blamed Kate for Mario’s death and wanted her to pay. He lured Kate here, and when she arrived, he smacked her around, too. Then he tried to rape her.”

  It was worse than he thought. If his brother hadn’t already been dead, he would have been when Jamie had gotten through with him. He knew Sal was messed up, but this was beyond anything Jamie could have imagined. He squeezed her hand, encouraging her to continue.

  Tears filled her baby browns, but didn’t spill. “What he didn’t know is that her present husband had snuck in the back and caused a diversion in the kitchen. I managed to untie my hands and freed Lucas and myself. Kate escaped with Lucas, while Edward and I fought Sal and the other guy. They bolted right before the cops arrived.”

  “I’d heard there was a car
crash,” he said when he could find his voice.

  “There was. Kate took off in Edward’s car. Sal followed her and Lucas onto the Boulevard. Nick had arrived by then, and Edward and I jumped in his SUV and chased after them. I saw it happen. Kate sped through an intersection as the light changed yellow. A delivery truck was coming the other way and clipped the tail of the car. She crashed into a sign. The guy driving Sal’s car didn’t stop, and they got plowed into by the truck. The EMTs said they both died instantly.”

  “What about Kate and the boy?”

  “Lucas was shaken, but fine, although Kate tells me he has nightmares occasionally. Kate suffered a concussion, some sore ribs, and a bunch of cuts and bruises, but otherwise was fine.”

  “Now I understand why everyone hates my family. Can’t say I blame them.” Jamie closed his eyes. “For what it’s worth, my brother deserved what he got. I’m sorry for the pain he caused you.”

  A single tear slid down her cheek. She swiped at it with her hands and nodded.

  “I need to get back to work,” she said, rising. “I won’t give you a hard time about coming in here as long as you don’t give me a reason to.”

  She walked away, leaving him to think about his brother and his fucked up family.

  ****

  Vicky cleared off empty cups and plates onto a tray. Although nearly two days had passed since her conversation with Jamie, memories of New Year’s Eve kept inching their way into her mind. Now, standing in the very spot where she’d been tied, she could remember every detail about that night. The loud banging on the door—the feel of the itchy rope around her wrist—Sal’s goon holding a gun to Lucas’s head—the smell of Sal’s whiskey-laced breath in her face and then the crack of his hand across her face when she mouthed off to him.

  Her hand shook as she wiped down the table. She hated feeling vulnerable but couldn’t seem to stop the sense of panic that washed over her. Last night, she’d dreamt about it. A disturbing dream of Sal tying her up and hitting her that changed to Jamie cleaning her wounds and kissing her bruises. What started out as abusive turned erotic, with Jamie untying her and making love to her.

  Goose bumps spread across her arms as she remembered the thought of his mouth along her neck and as he moved slowly down toward her breasts. Her nipples contracted, and she blinked away the memory as a customer came in the door.