Chasing His Brother's Bride

Sins of the Brother

Brix watched the teeny tiny little girl bouncing in the middle of his king-sized bed as if she’d never been permitted to jump on a bed before. He had ordered the pizza and the crudites plate and they were waiting for it.

Jolie was encouraging the child to explore the place, telling her it was absolutely okay for her to jump all over the furniture. He had a feeling she was hoping it would piss him off. He knew Malik was wanting a minute alone with him but he was quite enjoying himself watching Pia. Then Jolie surprised him.

“Mommy, come jump!” Pia bounced happily waving at her mother.

Jolie climbed onto his bed, grabbed the two hands of the little girl, and started jumping. Her movements were making the little girl bounce higher and they were both giggling like fools. The high-pitched peels of laughter were bouncing off the walls and Malik poked his head into the bedroom and looked at them and then wiggled his fingers in his ears.

“My sister would never,” Malik laughed. “And Pia’s ass would be red for even suggesting it.”

“Your sister is mean and cruel but she has no choice since she is vastly outnumbered.” He followed Malik into the other room and moved to the desk in the far side of the room and sat on the edge of it. “Well?”

“She had a go bag,” Malik passed him a couple of passports. “She had a stack of hundreds at least an inch thick. I would say she put a hundred-dollar bill in the stack every pay cheque since she got to Boston. It’s probably why their house is thrift shop chic if she’s storing cash and paying off medical bills.”

“I should have read the f*****g file Johan put together for us,” he chuckled to himself. “Blindsided me when she pulled the pint-sized little thing out of the car.”

“She really looks like Val.”

“She looks like Dad. She looks like me,” Brix corrected. “I agree with her. He was an evil piece of s**t. I can’t believe the s**t he filled her head with.”

“Like what?”

“She said he told her I threw drug fueled orgies and was violent.”

“You are violent,” Malik laughed.

“Not to women,” he scowled at his friend. “You and I both know it. I would never hit a woman. I would never force a woman and I would never hurt an innocent. Not ever. Did you hear her tonight? He beat a baby out of her. He caused a miscarriage four months before he died. What the f**k was wrong with him?”

“He was testing the product a lot and you know it.” Malik whispered back. “The day she ran from the hospital, Cosimo told us he had been higher than a kite when he’d gone to question him on the missing money. Your father knew her mother was dying. He was pissed about him stealing but only wanted him to confess and then work off his debt. They’d been friends since they were small boys in Italy. He beat the s**t out of Cosimo, told him his father had sent him there to kill him. Kill him! Then let him live by taking Jolie. Jesus Christ, Brix. He took a woman as a payment for a debt. He said he took her out of there screaming and begging at the top of her lungs and when he went to stop them, Val put a gun to her head and said if he said a single word, he would kill her in front of him. He thought as long as she was alive, she was safe. He truly believed Elio knew she was there with Val. He figured if Elio was around and wasn’t calling him, it meant she was safe and the debt was paid.”

“He was dad’s close friend. He should have gone to him.” Brix sighed, “I’m with her. If it were my kid, I would have fought. I would have gone to my sworn enemy and begged for her release. I’d take a bullet for my kid and Cosimo should have known from all the s**t Val has done over the years he was a sadistic son of a b***h. This is the guy who shot his puppy dead for pissing on the floor. A f*****g puppy.”

“What was she saying about him on a rant about you the night he died?”

“I don’t know. I was stuck on the s**t about raping her multiple times in one night after beating her unconscious more than once. I was trying not to puke.”

“Whoever killed him, did everyone a favor.”

His phone rang and he looked at the number. “Keep them in there. I’ll talk to dad and explain. He’s bound to be upset.”

He waited until Malik closed the bedroom doors behind him before answering the video call.

“Hey Dad.”

“Is it true? You found her and she has a child?”

“I found her. Working for my new company here in Boston of all places. She has a little one.”

“Valentin’s?”

“Kid looks like she crawled right off his back as a clone,” he rubbed his nose. “Has our eyes and our nose, Dad. You can’t hide our nose. It was how you knew I was yours and not Will’s. Mom couldn’t hide this,” he grinned as his father chuckled.

“Cheeky b***h,” he laughed at the memory of Brixton’s mother’s attempt to deny her son’s parentage. “How is she? How is Jolie? Cosimo has been worried about her for so long.”

“She looks good, Dad. Funny story,” he recounted how she had recognized him immediately in the meeting. “She is good at her job.”

“No doubt. Her father is by far the most organized and observant person I’ve ever met. He can’t wait to see her.”

“Nope.” He shook his head at his father, “no dad. She’s angry. Really angry. We only heard the tip of iceberg of the s**t Val put her through. He built you and I into monsters in her head. Told her brutal stories but dad, from what I gather, he beat and tortured her every day. She thought I was there to kill her. She still thinks I’m going to kill her. Begged me at her shitty little kitchen table to promise to take care of Pia after I ended her life.” He saw his father’s eyes widen at the revelation.

“What the hell did Val tell her?”

“What I’ve learned so far is violent orgies and a bad temper.”

“Violent orgies?” He saw his father’s mouth tighten with the thought.

“Dad, he made her believe our family beat women like he did.”

“Is this why she hid Pia from us?”

“Yes. Its also why she’s mad at her father. She seems to believe her father would have automatically known the danger she was in from Val.”

“How would he have known?”

“Well, if the son is only a shadow of the father and he’s been working for the father for decades,” Brix let his father reach the conclusion he was leading him to.

“You’re saying, she believed Cosimo knew Val’s violent tendencies and knew she was in danger the whole time and did nothing to help her?”

“I’m saying exactly this,” Brix sighed. “Dad, she is pissed at him. Her exact words were f**k him.”

“He’s going to be hurt.”

“Dad, as a kid, if someone would have taken me out of the house as a payment to a debt, what would you have done?” he asked the question quietly.

“You, Val, Malik, Sonya, for any of you, I would have fought to the death to get any of you back.”

“Cosimo stayed in his house for eight months and said nothing. Not a word. The only reason you found out about her was because she was lying next to his dead body with his handprints around her neck and you were the one who found him.”

Elio put a shaky hand to his mouth, “Brixton, her face was battered. There was no blanket on her body and there were so many bruises you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. There was blood all over her legs. It felt like a horror movie and I knew he had done it. I considered she might have killed him and then simply passed out in relief.”

“She said tonight she wished she had of been the one to kill him but she said also said something which made sense to me. If she’d been able to kill him, she would have fired way more than one bullet.”

“He deserved more than one. Whoever shot him in the head did a disservice to that girl. He was my son and I loved him but what he did is unforgiveable. He was stealing from me. Stealing from Juan. Kidnapped a girl. He murdered eight innocent people in eight months, Brix. One of them a doctor who, based on his own guys’ reports, he had called in to check on Jolie’s broken bones. He apparently touched her ribcage and Val went on a jealous rampage and killed him right in front of her. Yet, for all of those things none compares to the truth of how he took an innocent woman and made her a s*x slave. She should have been permitted to kill him with her bare hands.”

“She’s not the type,” he chuckled. “Little Pia smacked a bully today and Jolie grounded her for putting her hands on a kid.”

His father laughed, his eyes dancing with delight. “What is my granddaughter like?”

“She’s tiny. About the size of Malik’s youngest niece. Huge brown eyes and black hair like Val’s. Jolie says she’s finicky and doesn’t eat much. She has an ear infection and is taking medicine for it. She woke up pretty cranky. I ordered her pizza and Jolie was mad but I really want to fatten the little thing up. She seems frail to me.”

“You make sure she has the best care. In fact, I would like them both checked by a doctor. Make sure there isn’t anything residual with the poor girl from the s**t the boy did to her. I’ll be there tomorrow to meet then in person.”

“Jolie is going to be hard to convince we aren’t going to take her away.” He paused, “there’s one other thing. The feds knew she was here all along. They’ve left her alone but I’m worried if they watch her, they know about Pia.”

“Do you think she’ll talk? If she’s scared of us taking Pia, do you think she’s going to talk to the feds to try to get their protection?”

“I don’t know. I have let her know she will constantly have security on her. I can’t take the risk of her running with Pia. She’s a Cacciola and an heir. The child is ours.”

“What are you thinking?” his father frowned.

“Lawyers. I think if we do it legally. Formalize a trust fund and set up support payments. Get her a house which isn’t a dump. Make her feel safe and let her know we are there to take care of her. Maybe she’ll come around and not be so skittish. Right now, she’s a flight risk and I can’t say I blame her.”

“I don’t want her running.”

“I have her here in my hotel suite. I’ll put them in my room and I’ll take the smaller room. Malik is taking a room downstairs. We’ve increased security throughout the hotel.”

“I want a tracing device in Pia.”

“Dad, she’s not going to agree to it. You can’t microchip a kid like you do a dog.”

“It’s for her safety. Val ruffled a lot of feathers. If someone finds out he had a kid, they could look for retribution.”

“I’ll talk to her. I want her to feel safe. I want to reassure her she has nothing to fear. She has spent six years thinking I was coming to the hospital to finish the job Val started. It’s going to take time for her to trust us.”

“Make it happen Brix. Find a way to make her believe we mean her no harm. We owe her everything.”

“I’ll figure it out.” He saw the door of the bedroom open up and Malik mouthed the word pizza. “Dad, our dinner is here. I want to make sure the girls eat and relax before bed.”

“Okay. Keep me posted on any changes. I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon. I love you, son.”

“Love you too, Dad.” He saw Jolie’s eyebrow lift at the expressed sentiment as she and Pia entered the room.

“Uncle Brixton, who are you talking to on the phone?”

“My father,” he noted the way Jolie gripped the small child’s hand at her middle. “Did you want to say hello? He’s your grandfather.”

“Yes!” she tore away from her mother’s protesting reach and flung herself at his legs. “I have uncles and a grandfather?”

“Dad, this is Pia. Pia this is my Dad Elio. You can call him Nonno if you like.” He watched the tears stream down his father’s face as the little girl waved excitedly through the phone at him.

“Hi. Uncle Brix ordered pepperoni pizza.”

“Is your mom there with you?” his father asked the little girl. When she nodded, he spoke again, “then you listen to her okay? She’s your mama and though me and Uncle Brix and Uncle Malik, we’re going to help your mama take care of you, she’s the boss, okay? We have to listen to her. You be a good girl for her, okay? If I come visit you tomorrow, is there something special you would like to have?”

“I want a stuffy.” Pia didn’t hesitate. “A pink one.”

“I will bring you a pink stuffy.” He promised, “now you go eat your dinner and listen to your mama and Uncle Brix, okay? I love you little Pia.”

She smiled brightly and waved and looked to her mother, “I’m getting a new stuffy.”

“Great. Now let’s get your dinner and then a bath and bed. Say goodnight to Nonno,” Jolie whispered as if the words were being dragged from her lungs.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dad. Night.” He hung up the phone and looked to Jolie. “He’s very excited to see you both.”

He watched as her hazel eyes darkened to a shade of brown and the way she ran a shaky hand through her hair. She was feeling overwhelmed and nervous and he had her trapped and she was feeling it.

“Jolie,” he spoke softly as he approached her while Pia raced to the food where Malik was setting it up. “Breathe, sweetheart. You’re family. She is family. We aren’t going to let anything happen to either of you.”

“What if it’s not what I want?”

“You don’t get to choose family, Jolie. It is good to have family, to have protection.”

“Where was this protection when your brother tried to murder me on a daily basis?”

“I can’t fix the past but I can make sure the present and the future are the best ones the both of you can have.” He reached a hand to her arm and watched as she jumped nervously away from him. He dropped his hand. “It’s okay, Jolie. I won’t hurt you.”

“He told me the first time he had s*x with a girl, it was one you set him up with.” She met his eyes and whispered to him. “He said it was a woman you tied up just for him.”

Air whooshed from his lungs in horror, “Jolie, I don’t know what he told you or why he told you but I never once, not ever, have I tied a woman up, for myself or anyone else. If he fantasized something in his sick twisted mind, I have no control over this but I promise you it is not remotely based in reality.”

“You’re saying you never killed or hurt someone?”

He paused as he met her eyes directly, “no. I won’t lie to you Jolie. You know who we are. You know what we do. I do what I have to for my work and for my family. I will tell you the truth. I’ve never hit a woman. I’ve never assaulted a woman. I’ve never had a woman tell me no and I take from her anyway. I have never harmed an innocent and I have never, not ever, lined a woman up for my kid brother to abuse. Not ever.”

“But.”

He stopped her speaking, “no more Jolie. I’m not repeating myself again. You are now part of our family. Get used to it. Tonight, has been a lot for both of us. Let’s have dinner and then you and Pia can take my room for the night. Tomorrow is a new day and we will come up with a plan for keeping you both safe.” He pulled her close and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, the need to comfort and protect her fueling his actions but not missing the way she sighed with resignation.

As she moved to the table and plunked down beside her child, he was torn between wanting to scream at her for being so pig-headedly stubborn and holding her and reassuring her he would move heaven and earth to ensure nothing would ever happen to either of them again. He felt an incredible need to repair the damages his brother had done but wasn’t quite sure where to start. The task felt insurmountable but as he heard Pia giggle it dawned on him, no matter what, he was going to accomplish what he was going to set out to do. These two were now his family, his girls and he was going to spend the rest of his life keeping them protected.