Mafia's Desire

35

Since the run-in with Michael five days previous, I had not been to work. I was too afraid to return and Ermanno forbade me from going back. Dorothy had been there by herself, with new security measures in place including two armed guards hiding in the store.

Two days earlier, there was a vehicle with an out-of-state plate driving by the bookstore. He even pulled into the parking lot before exiting a few seconds later. It was a black Honda Accord, the exact vehicle Michael drove. However, his windows were tinted so we were not able to see inside to identify the driver.

They were able to identify the license plate number and were able to track his movements if he was spotted by a stoplight camera. That much was comforting.

"What if I go back to the store?" I asked, placing my hands on my husband's chest while he reviewed camera footage from the store from the night before.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Go back? What are you talking about?"

"Like a ploy, a setup. I go in like I'm working for the day, that everything is normal. My car is clearly visible in the parking lot with no other vehicles. He'd never know it was a setup."

Ermanno shook his head adamantly. "No."

"Ermanno," I said with a sigh. "I think it would be the most efficient way to lure him in. You could be inside waiting for him and he'd never know."

His jaw was clenched tight as he looked at me. "There are too many risks. Anything could go wrong."

I had thought about that, but the anxiety I felt knowing that Michael was here and looking for me, far outweighed the fear I felt that something would go wrong. I just needed him gone.

"How else are we going to catch him?" I asked. "He's only passed through two stoplights. You can't really analyze his driving patterns off of that. No one has spotted him other than when he drove by the store. He's not some mastermind criminal. He's a moron. I trust you not to let anything go wrong, Ermanno. I just want this to end."

His eyes softened as I spoke and he seemed to think about my words. "Okay," he said.

"Okay?"

"We will do it."

I moved my hand around his back and cuddled into him. His hands moved up and down my back and sides, gently dipping into my hair.

"I don't like it," he said. "But it will work."

His hands slid to my butt where he squeezed, then he lifted me and placed me on the desk.

Bending down, his hands slid across my stomach and he pressed his lips against Violet's home.

"I can't wait for her to be born," he said.

"Me either. Fourteen weeks left... and then we're parents." A nauseous feeling entered my stomach at the thought. Was I prepared to be a mother? To raise a child? Be responsible for every facet of their life. I wasn't sure.

"She's excited in there," he said as he felt Violet kicking.

"She loves it when her daddy talks to her."

A large smile, I think the biggest one I'd ever seen come from this man, appeared on his lips. I smiled too, I couldn't help it. Seeing him smile was contagious.