The Beautiful People (23 page)

            “Take me
home,” I begged Dominic. I think he sensed the urgency, because several stop
signs and red lights were disregarded in his haste to get me back to our condo.
I was drained; literally emotionally spent and just wanted to be alone. The
second we were home, I drew a hot bath and sunk in up to my chin. The hot water
helped relieve the tension that had returned to my shoulders. The quiet
solitude of the bathroom was the sanctuary I needed. As my muscles unwound, so
did my mind. A little over a week ago I had promised to make an effort and
start living again. Sitting there in the sudsy water, I made an addendum to
that promise. I was going to live for Brittany too.

The water began to cool
down, so I stepped out of the tub. Dominic wasn’t in the bedroom, so I wandered
out into the living room, with only a towel wrapped around my body. He was in
the kitchen cooking something that smelled delicious causing my stomach to
growl.

            “Feel
better?” he asked as he dropped chopped garlic into a sauté pan.

            “Tons - I
swear baths are therapeutic.” He grinned at my answer and tossed some diced
tomatoes in with the garlic, the pan sizzled. “What are you making?” I asked,
sniffing the air.

            “I have
chicken parmesan in the oven and I’m going to sauté zucchini in with the garlic
and tomatoes.”

            “I didn’t
think I was hungry, but that smells so good, I’m actually starving.”

            “Well, you
didn’t eat anything today…yet.”

            “I’m going
to go get dressed.” I turned to head back to the bedroom.

            “You don’t
have to. You look quite appetizing in the towel.” He winked at me.

            “Too bad
you’re busy cooking. I could be your appetizer,” I teased. He cursed the sauté
pan and I giggled. “I can still be your dessert,” I let the towel drop and
walked away, feeling aroused as I knew he was watching my nakedness retreat.

I wanted to eat quickly
and get right to the ‘dessert’, but once I bit into the chicken parm I needed
to savor it.

            “This is
delicious! Where did you get the recipe?” I asked.

            “Who do you
think? Aunt Gloria.”

            “Ah, yes. “
I inhaled another bite of the crispy, cheesy, saucy goodness. Dominic set down
his fork to watch me eat. I think I made up for the past month of missed meals
in one sitting. Finally, I had to stop. I couldn’t shovel another bite into my
mouth or I was going to explode. Leaning back in the chair, I patted my taut
stomach.

            “Did you
get enough to eat?” Dom asked as he glanced down at my empty plate.

            “Mmmm, that
was delicious!”

            “So can we
move onto dessert?”

I answered his question
by straddling him at the table. I was wearing one of his long sleeve button-down
shirts, which fit like a dress, and nothing else. He was quick to discover this
and his hands eagerly explored my body. This purely human connection grounded
me and expelled any negative thought from my mind. Dominic scooped me up and
carried me effortlessly to our bedroom. We spent the rest of the night in bed, hungry
for each other and making up for lost time, each caress further erasing the
invisible scars left by Mr. Genovese.

I woke the next morning
feeling more normal than ever. The anxiety that constantly pressed on my heart
had lifted. Dominic was sprawled out next to me, the sheet barely covering him.
He was deep asleep, so I carefully got out of bed. The condo was still and
quiet as I walked to the deck. Once again the sun was shining and filtered
through the glass doors. I stepped out into the cool morning air and eased into
a deck chair. The sun was warm and the alcove soon toasty warm. My eyes were
closed, but I heard the deck door slide open. Dominic kissed my lips.

            “Morning
Sunshine,” he murmured. “I need to head out and do some things. You gonna be
alright?”

            “I’ll be
fine. I think I might head up to the co-op. It’s been awhile.”

            “Cool. I’ll
call you later,” he bent down and kissed me again. His lips lingered longer
this time. “I love you Nat. It’s good to have you back.”

            “I love you
too. Thanks for sticking it out with me.” He squeezed my shoulder and went back
inside.  

I sat on the deck for a
while after Dom left debating whether to go for a run or go directly to the
co-op. Feeling the need to express myself, I opted for the latter. Having made
the decision, I was anxious to get going. I hurried inside and showered off the
smell of sex, slipped on jeans and a hoodie then headed out the door. As soon
as I pulled out onto Columbus Boulevard the familiar dark blue sedan appeared
behind me.
What could they possibly want this time?

Sure enough the agents
followed me to the co-op and parked on the opposite side of the street. I didn’t
even acknowledge their presence. Brittany weighed heavy on my mind and instead
of sculpting, I painted. I focused on the bubbly Brittany, the person I met my
first night at Crimson. It was easy to sketch out her face from memory. Then
the darker Brittany crept into my mind, pushing the sunny one away. I sketched
the other half of her face to include the torment and pain that had haunted her
last days. Once this was sketched out on the canvas I worked with acrylic. Using
this paint on canvas was so easy to work with, if you made a mistake, you could
just paint over it and fix it. I stepped back to look at my progress. It wasn’t
bad and the difference between the two halves of the face was obvious, if not
disturbing. I had done enough for the day and cleaned up the area, leaving the
painting to dry on the easel.

I wasn’t surprised to
see Agent Phillips waiting by my car when I left the co-op.

            “Agent
Philips,” I acknowledged.

            “Ms. Ross.
We need to talk.” He was less polite than the last time. I stopped by the
driver’s side door and waited for him to ask his questions.  

            “Are you
aware that there is a criminal investigation being conducted that involves your
boyfriend and your brother?”

My skin turned cold and
my stomach suddenly felt full of lead bricks. “What are you talking about?”

            “They are
persons of interest into the slaying of Luigi Genovese and three others in New
York City a little over a month ago.”

            “You think
they did that? Are you crazy? They would have to be crazy to go and do
something stupid like that!” I exclaimed, attempting to refute his claim.

            “Calm down,
Ms. Ross. I came here so you can pass a message along,” he paused. “The
Genovese family has the same suspicions. Your brother and boyfriend need to
watch their backs. If they want to talk about available options and get
protection, have them contact me.” He handed me his business card. I took it
with a shaking hand.

            “Thank you
for your time Ms. Ross.” He said and then walked back to his car. The second he
had his back to me I went to open my door, but hadn’t unlocked it yet, I
fumbled for my keys and managed to unlock the door. As soon as I was safe in
the confines of my car, I called Grant.

            “Grant,
it’s Nat. Jesus Christ, we need to talk. Now!” I knew I sounded hysterical and
hoped it got his attention.

            “What’s
going on?”

            “The FBI
just paid me a nice visit and they had some really fucked up news.”

            “Wait, we
can’t talk about this over the phone. Where are you?”

            “Manayunk.
At the co-op.”

            “You sound
upset, are you okay to drive?”

            “No.” And I
wasn’t. The way my legs were weak and shaking, I didn’t trust myself to
accelerate or brake safely.

            “Alright.
Just stay put. I’ll be there soon,” he said and hung up. I did what he said and
waited inside my car. One of the artists came up and tapped on the window. “Are
you alright?” she yelled through the glass. “I’m fine, waiting for someone,” I
yelled back and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and continued on her way.

Grant must have broken
every traffic law in the book because he pulled up behind my car in less than
twenty minutes and during rush hour too. I got out of my car and went to sit in
the passenger seat of his Lexus.

            “What’s
going on?” he asked immediately.

I took a deep breath to
steady my voice and answered. “Agent Phillips with the FBI wanted me to give
you and Dom a message. They’re investigating you both in the murders of Mr.
Genovese,” I winced when I said his name, “and the other three. He also said
that the five families suspect you too and to watch your backs.” I handed him
Agent Phillips business card. “He said that you should call him if you want to
talk and want protection.”

Grant licked his lips
several times so I knew he was upset by my news. He didn’t give any other
indication that he was affected as he sat there in silent contemplation,
chewing on his bottom lip.

            “Did he say
anything else?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

            “No. That
was it. What are you going to do? Are you going to call him?”

            “I’m not
calling him because he’s going to try to get me to testify against everyone in
order to save my ass…and I’m not a traitor.”

            “Oh, so you
would rather get killed or go to prison? Great fucking plan, Grant,” I
responded angrily.  “Did you consider me at all? What the hell am I supposed to
do if any of those two things happen?”

He was silent again as
he mulled this over. “I didn’t think of it, because those things won’t happen,”
he reassured me.

I rolled my eyes at
this. “What, are you omniscient now? You and Dom did kill those men and it’s
just a matter of time before the feds lock you up or the five families knock
you down. I think that you should talk to Agent Phillips, at least feel him
out.”

            “No. That
is not an option,” he barked and smacked his hand against the steering wheel
hard enough that the horn chirped.

            “God, you
are so fucking stubborn! I’ll talk some sense into Dom.”

            “Go ahead
if you don’t want him to trust you ever again. He’ll think you’re weak and will
turn on him and his family just for considering it.”

            “Yeah
right!” I scoffed.

            “Fine, find
out the hard way,” Grant shrugged his shoulders indifferently. His face was
stern, making him look older than his 25 years.

            “Are you
serious? Would Dom really do that?”

            “Yes.
Family loyalty is first and foremost with the Grabanos. No matter how much you think
he loves you, the second he doubts your loyalty, you’ll get kicked to the curb
and I’ll probably be considered a risk then too.” We both knew what happened to
risks. I felt helpless. Grant uncharacteristically reached over and patted my
knee. “Just hang in there and don’t worry, everything will work out,” His
attempt to reassure fell flat because his forced optimism did nothing to break
up the knots in my stomach.

            “What
should I do if the FBI approaches me again?”

            “Hear them
out, be polite and give them absolutely nothing,” he advised. “And let me talk
to the boys. I’ll let them know about the potential threat with the five
families. We’ll be on our guard.”

I sighed and leaned my
head back against the headrest. Life was returning back to normal, the FBI was
watching me and lives were in danger. I needed a fucking vacation.

            “Hey Grant?
Let’s go visit Mom for a couple days.” He stared at me with his eyebrows
raised.

            “I thought
you were avoiding her.”

            “I am, well
was, but I’m sure she’s missing us and you did say she’s worried…plus, it would
be nice to get away from things for a while,” I admitted.

            “How about
next Sunday and Monday we head up? I can arrange it with Miranda to have Sunday
night off.”

            “One of the
perks of sleeping with the manager, huh?” I teased. “That sounds good.” I felt
better already and was actually looking forward to going home, for once. In the
past I dreaded being in the suffocating house trying to live up to my mom’s
high expectations. I opened the car door and started to get out.

Grant leaned over
towards the passenger seat and asked “Are you calm enough to drive? You won’t
run over any unsuspecting pedestrians will you?” He loved to tease me about my
driving. I had one accident in my driving career and will never live it down.
Fortunately, it didn’t involve any pedestrians as he was alluding to now.

            “Ha, ha.
You’re hilarious,” I stuck my tongue out at him and shut the door. He made sure
I was safely in my car before driving away from the curb. I pulled out right behind
him and attempted to follow him back to the city. He made a game out of weaving
in between cars and bouncing from lane to lane that I gave up after the first
five miles.