Rebirth (RAW Family 3)

“You do?” she breathed, and in that moment, I knew it was what she needed to hear, what she prayed to hear from me. If I’d told her I’d never wanted to hear his name spoken, Nikki would delete Happy’s number and pretend the last five years of her life never happened. I, however, was not so cruel. This was my issue to deal with, not hers.

“I do, babe.” And I meant that. “I mean, I wouldn’t make it easy on him.” When she let out a soggy laugh, I smiled. That smile fell as an awkward silence ensued. “Talk to him, Nikki. It’s okay. I want you to.”

My best friend was silent a long moment, but when she spoke I felt those words deep in my soul. “I love you, Lexi.”

“I love you too, Nik Nak.” I blew out a long breath, putting a hand to my forehead as my eyes closed. “And as soon as I know what the hell is going on, we’ll talk, okay?” Before I hung up, I asked, “How’s Dave?” At her scoff, my face bunched. “That good, huh?”

She hesitated. “He’s... uh... upset.”

I couldn’t help the soft laugh that bubbled up my throat. Knowing Dave, upset was the biggest understatement of the century, and when I heard Nikki’s responding laughter, the hilarity increased. It was such an unbelievable situation. That’s what made it all the more comical.

It felt good to laugh in the face of despair. I was pretty sure I was treading the thin line between sanity and hysteria.

When we finally got ourselves under control, I chuckled. “Well, I’m going to go now and try not to think on the fact that my ex just returned from the dead, lives across the street from me, and is trying to insert himself back into my life.”

Nikki gasped loudly. “He lives across the street?”

Ugh. I was not talking about this. “Okay, so bye.”

“Wait!” she called, but I already had my finger on the end call button.

I did not have the strength to deal. Not today.

Chapter Thirteen

Lexi

“Can I come in?”

My cold eyes roamed the small woman, and when Manda held up her hands in a conciliating way, she uttered quickly, “I found out by accident. I was never meant to know. I swear it.” She inhaled deeply, and carried on through an exhale, “Our dad doesn’t even know yet.” Her face bunched at the thought. “And, shit, is he going to be pissed at me.”

I studied her a moment. Old habits died hard and curiosity had always been my failing. I mean, look at where it got me with Twitch. Pregnant by a criminal and alone in the world—that’s where.

Truth was, I wanted to know the facts and I needed to talk to somebody who knew what the fuck was going on here. Manda might just be that person. Lord knows I didn’t want Twitch anywhere near me right now.

Without a word, I stepped aside and with a tight smile, she moved past me, into the house. I gently shut the door behind us and followed her into the kitchen. When Manda saw A.J., her smile beamed. “Hey, you.” But A.J. barely spared a smile for his aunt before walking into his room, and Manda frowned. “Is he okay?”

No, he wasn’t.

I folded my arms across my chest. “He wants his daddy.”

Manda nodded in understanding, and I was thankful for her not offering her advice in this uncomfortable situation.

Molly stood from the kitchen table, staring Manda in the eye before peering at me. “I’ll get him ready for bed.”

“Thanks, Molly.” She really was a godsend. When I walked toward the fridge, I spoke along the way. “I take it you’re here to talk.”

At least she had the grace to look uncomfortable. “Yeah. I thought I should come bridge the gap.”

I brought out a bottle of white wine and held it in my hand. “I guess we’re going to need this.” But before I left the fridge, I twisted back to her and uttered, “How bad is it?” At her clear grimace, I reached into the fridge with a sigh and pulled out a second bottle, while muttering, “Rock ‘n Roll.” Bumping the fridge door shut with my butt, I jerked my chin toward the cabinet to the left before slipping on my Pikachu slippers. “Grab a couple of glasses, will ya? Let’s sit on the porch.”

When we were both seated, I opened the wine and filled our glasses.

Manda started, “Well—”

But I cut her off with a click of my tongue. Inhaling deeply, I spoke a hushed, “Let me prepare,” and lifting my glass, I put it to my lips, tipped it back, and swallowed over and over again until its contents were gone. Manda’s eyes widened at my unladylike hiccup, and I poured again. “One more.” I emptied the second glass then smiled. “Okay, I’m good. Lay it on me.”

“Where do you want to me start?” she offered slowly.

What a question. “From the beginning, of course.”

“I don’t go back that far, I’m afraid,” she said with a sad smile. “Like I said, I only found out my brother was alive by accident, and I can only tell you what I know. So how about I start with a bit of background on our family?”

Sure, why not? “Proceed.”

Was I already tipsy? Felt like it.

“Okay,” Manda started. “Well, let’s begin with the most senior member of the Falco family, Antonio Falco Senior, or Papa Tony as he’s referred to on the streets.”

“The streets?” I blinked. At her blank stare, my shoulders drooped. Ah, heck. “Your dad’s a mobster?”

Manda’s lips pursed before she motioned toward the bottle and feigned a smile. “Drink up.”

All right then.

Looked like I was going to need it. Taking her advice, I drank from my glass and she refilled it without judgment, and at that moment, I loved my sister-in-law.

“Papa Tony had been a high hitter his entire life, working his way up from nothing. He was a part of a firm called Occhi Bianchi, as his father was, like his father before him.” She sipped her wine. “My dad was young when he married my mother, Angela Rossi, and like most arranged marriages, neither of them were happy about the situation.” She shrugged. “Long story short, my brothers were born days apart at the same hospital. Mom knew Dad screwed around and didn’t really care, up until Zep was born. I don’t know what happened to her, but something changed and she asked my father to be faithful to her so they could show their children how a family truly loves.” Manda’s eyes set on me. “You should know my father loved Tony’s mother. He loved her a lot. But he was married, and although he honored his wife’s wishes to remain faithful, he gave his name to his bastard son. Of course, he never saw the boy again.”

How sad. I listened intently.

Manda went on. “When I was born, my father refused to give me his name.”

My brow bunched. What the shit? “Because you’re a girl?”

“No. He did it to protect me,” she said carefully. “He gave me my mother’s name and sent me to live with her sister. I grew up in another state, away from my parents, and this was done because my father’s status had elevated a great deal over a short period. Everyone wanted to be connected to Antonio Falco, even if it meant marrying his children. My father didn’t want that for me. He knew one day Zep would likely marry for alliance, and he wanted at least one of his children to marry for love.

“Unfortunately,” she went on with a smile, “by an awful stroke of luck, I happened to be living a life away from the sleazy underworld my father was so heavily involved in when, by chance, I was working the late shift in an ER in Chicago and I was kidnapped by a couple of thugs. The same kind of thugs my father tried desperately to keep me from.”

Putting a hand to my mouth, I gasped loudly. “No way. How did they know who you were?”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “They didn’t. It was pure dumb luck that they’d chosen me, and when I arrived at the mansion, I was dragged into a room with a heavily bleeding man. He had multiple gunshot wounds. I had no tools, no equipment. Hell, I didn’t even have bandages.” She sipped at her wine then inclined her head slightly. “It was then I was told if that man died, so would I.”

“Oh my God.” I was positively

enthralled and leaned in to her. “What did you do?”

“Whatever I could to keep him alive,” she told me. “He lost a lot of blood, and although I removed the bullets I could find and sealed the wounds, I wasn’t seeing the improvement I was hoping to see. After a whole lot of cussing and some wild convincing, I managed to talk one of the thugs into letting me back into the hospital for supplies. By the time we made it back, the man’s condition worsened and I thought I’d lose him, in turn losing my own life. So I did the only thing I could.”

I leaned in, wide-eyed. “What’s that?”

“I told him if he died on me, I’d bring him back and kill him all over again.”

I blinked at her a moment before a shocked laugh left me. What a wild story.

“Countless IVs and days later, the man regained consciousness, and when he looked into my eyes, something happened to me. It was like a spark—faint, but it was there.” Manda smiled softly. “I spent weeks at that mansion looking after the surly man. Day after day, he cursed me as I cared for him, and I couldn’t wait to be out of there. Only, the day I was finally allowed to leave—” She looked at me, melancholy. “—I didn’t want to go.”

“Ugh.” I held a hand to my heart. “You fell in love?” At her slow, dejected nod, I asked, “What did you do?”

Manda grinned then, holding out her left hand. “Married him, of course.”

I looked down at the sparkly platinum ring then back up to the woman herself. My brow knitted. “You are out of your mind.”

“I know,” she said, beaming. “But the right man will do that to a sane woman.”

Sheesh. Didn’t I know it?