“Well, my Angelo did say you were excellent at accounting and quite independent.”
Swallowing hard, she tried not to react. Angelo wouldn’t have been complimentary if he’d known the accounting she’d discovered on his computer—information revealing who the Cabrinis were and what had led her down the road she was now on.
“Let’s clean you up a bit, sweetie.”
After wetting a washcloth in the sink, she cleaned the mess off her son. She glanced at Victor. What would her life have been like if she hadn’t discovered the crooked accounting three years ago? She’d never have gone to the cops, Angelo wouldn’t be dead and Jack wouldn’t be on the run because he had a price on his head.
But then she wouldn’t have her precious son either. She couldn’t imagine life without Jonathan. He was everything to her. Maybe she’d make some different choices but she didn’t regret having this child.
Callie lowered Jonathan to the floor to play with his friends while she picked up. Heather came over, shooing her away.
“I’ll clean. Jonathan needs to open his presents. He’s two. Not the most patient age. Go.”
“All right, but I owe you.” She found Jonathan hovering over his stack in the living room.
In what seemed like seconds, the young boy ripped all the paper off and squealed over every new toy. Scott cleared away the wrappings then returned with a huge grin, his hands behind his back.
“I was taking out the trash and I found something on the back steps. You wouldn’t know who it belongs to, would you, Jonathan?”
The boy turned eager eyes to his uncle and shouted, “Mine.”
Scott swung his hand around, a shiny, red tricycle with a horn attached to the handlebars, dangling from it. Jonathan squealed again as he ran to check it out.
“What dis?”
Scott laughed. “This is a tricycle.”
“Twitle,” Jonathan attempted.
“Good enough for now. Let’s see how it fits you. Hop on.”
As Scott assisted the boy onto the seat, Callie crossed her arms, scolding, “You shouldn’t have gotten him something this big.”
Scott’s familiar crooked grin tugged at her heart. “I didn’t. It’s from Aunt Agatha. She asked me to put it together for her.”
Nodding, she tidied up Jonathan’s toys as he was pushed around the room. Soon the boy’s eyes began to grow heavy from his missed nap and people began to leave.
Scott, Heather, and Victor were the only ones remaining. When Victor announced he was leaving, she breathed a sigh of relief. She called for Jonathan to say good-bye. He slid off the tricycle and toddled toward Callie. His attention was caught halfway there and her eyes widened with horror when he spotted her laptop tucked hastily on a shelf. Her biggest fear slipped out of her son’s mouth.
“Dah dee?” Jonathan pointed to the computer knowing this was for when they wanted to see Jack. Damn, Victor couldn’t know this.
His eyes narrowed. “Did he just say ‘daddy’?”
Scooping her son up, she kissed his cheek. “I think he said, ‘doggy’. We’ve been looking at dogs online recently. I mentioned maybe getting a puppy and he hasn’t let me forget it. But I’m not ready to take care of something else that slobbers and drools all day.”
Wiping the corner of Jonathan’s mouth to lend credence to her words, she lifted her son’s hand. “Say good-bye, sweetheart.”
Victor leaned in to pat the child’s head. “Soon, Callina, he’ll need a man’s guidance to mold him into the right kind of person to take over for me. With Angelo gone, Jonathan will inherit everything. I wish you’d reconsider coming to live back in New Jersey. I’ll help raise him right.”
Victor tried to show concern but all Callie saw was the sly look of a criminal who wanted to corrupt her son. Jonathan could not become what Victor was, she’d rather die. Why couldn’t she be brave enough to find a way out of this mess?
Because her last act of bravery was what had gotten her here? She couldn’t risk anything more now that she had Jonathan to consider. Her only hope was the authorities coming through someday. Soon.
After Victor left, Jonathan pointed to the laptop again. “See Dah dee. Mama, see Dah dee?”
She hugged her son, wanting to give him his wish, especially today on his birthday. The text Jack sent last night had been short and to the point. He’d be on after five. Callie had long ago stopped hoping she could get much more from him.
“We’ll try and see Daddy a little later.”
