Chapter 1



The next morning



Shane sipped her coffee, listening absent-mindedly to the water running in the shower and resting her back against the kitchen counter. Her mind wandered, and she imagined Carmen’s naked body, the scent of her vanilla bubble bath, the soft sponge running across her smooth, tanned skin…

She shook her head and giggled to herself, then she exhaled a long sigh.

That was a typical case of sexual abstinence. Shane almost didn’t remember the last time she and Carmen had made love. Obviously some random, quick sessions in the middle of the night didn’t count, to her. She wanted so much more than that and she was sure that Carmen wanted it, too.

During the last four months, Shane had done her best not to bother Carmen too much. Carmen didn’t need that, she just needed to be supported.

Carmen, who had suffered a lot giving birth to the twins. Carmen, who had been so down after discovering that she wasn’t going to breastfeed – and that was something she had never taken in consideration, because it had never happened in her family – because of a light hypothyroidism and a consequent lack of milk supply.

Carmen, who had decided not do get too depressed for that and had showed tremendous maternal skills and resources. Carmen, who had worked hard to regain her top form just to be desirable for Shane.

Their life had become so full, with Aidan and Olivia. Everything seemed always in a hurry and sometimes, at night, when they plopped on the couch just to share that intimacy that belongs to people in love, they were way too tired to do anything but cuddling.

Carmen had never, ever faltered. Not with the twins, not with their friends, not with Shane. She was always present, she would always try to be at her most beautiful, and supportive and helpful, but Shane knew that she was exhausted and she didn’t want to carry things too far.

The whole Sanders (Junior and Senior) incident had been a lot to bear for both of them and they needed to relax. Yeah, Shane thought as she nodded to herself, they needed to take back what was theirs.

“Yeah”, she said under her breath, placing the mug in the sink, “Yeah, let’s do it”.



“She’s got a way about her
I don’t know what it is
But I know that I can’t live without her…
She’s got a way of pleasin’
I don’t know why it is
But there doesn’t have to be a reason
Anyway”



Behind her shoulders, Carmen chuckled.

“What are you saying?”.

Shane spun on her toes, caught off guard, and smiled embarrassed. Carmen was right in front of her, wrapped in her bathrobe, drying her hair with a towel. She narrowed her eyes, probably trying to figure out what was going on in Shane’s mind.

“I am going to call Dante”.

Carmen’s mouth made a perfect “O” as she nodded, acting surprised.

“You were really serious, last night, then”, she observed.

“Of course I was…”, Shane confirmed, placing her hands on Carmen’s hips and kissing her on her forehead, “…And we made a deal”.

“I remember something like that”, Carmen laughed.

“I know you do, honey”, Shane laughed back.

That connection, that complicity, was something that Shane didn’t want to lose for anything in the world. They shared an endless look that seemed overloaded of something nameless and instinctual.

“Call him”, Carmen murmured then, huskily, gently scraping Shane’s forearms with her nails, “Call Dante”.

“Yes, Ma’am”, Shane nodded, repressing a new motion of excitement.

She grabbed the phone from the counter, with a sigh, and dialed a number that she knew by heart. Carmen, Shane, Cassandra and Dante had become very good friends after the dangerous events of the previous year.

“Dan? Hi, it’s me…”, Shane’s eyes darted in Carmen’s direction. She was throwing her a look as she washed two feeding bottles.

“…Were you sleeping?”, Shane frowned, “…Oh, I’m sorry man, I mean, it’s already… Okay, okay. Thank you. So… how is it going? …Glad to hear that. Uhm, yeah, yeah, we’re good… Yeah, Carm is great, too…”.

Carmen rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking the feeding bottles full of warm milk.

“…What about Cass and Alex? …I see. Look, would you like to have lunch with me and Carmen? Today. Yes. No, no, our place. You know, the twins… Yeah… What?”.

Shane listened carefully for a while and Carmen stopped mid-track, observing her concerned.

“…Nah, we got nothing in store for you…”, Shane lied, throwing a glance to Carmen. Carmen arched her eyebrows and scoffed, walking toward the bedroom where the babies were surely about to wake up.

“…We just want to spend some time with our beloved Italian friend…”, Shane said casually, “…What do you mean why I’m being such an ass-kisser? I’m not!”.

“You so are!”, Carmen mouthed appearing from the hallway, the bottles still in her hands, “Keep a low profile!”.

Shane nodded.

“Look, Dan, we just want to have lunch with you, okay? Nothing more. You’re home alone and I have a day off, so I just thought… Just come here, okay? At midday. Alright. See ya”.

Shane hung up and pursed her lips, giving Carmen a guilty look.

Carmen chuckled, amused.

“Babe, don’t start anything that you can’t finish”, she admonished.

Shane sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ve been lucky. He was still half-asleep…”, she mumbled.

“And?”.

“He’ll be here at twelve”.

Carmen nodded, satisfied, and threw one feeding bottle to Shane. Shane grabbed it mid-air.

“Aidan or Olivia?”, Carmen asked.

“Liv”, Shane replied after a quick meditation.

“Alright”, Carmen agreed, and they both headed for the kids room.



“She’s got a smile that heals me
I don’t know what it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She’s got a way of talkin’
I don’t know what it is
But it lifts me up when we are walkin’
Anywhere”



Dante Bizzarri was thirty-five and a big softie. Obviously no-one of the bad guys he had imprisoned, arrested, beaten the shit out of or even killed – only when strictly necessary – during his years as a NOCS (the Italian version of the American SWAT) member wouldn’t have been of the same mind, but his friends definitely were.

Tall and burly, he looked somehow like a Hell’s Angel, with his motorcycle, his unshaven brown beard, his tattoos and his scars. But he was the kind of guy who helped grannies carrying their bags, the kind of guy that loved to laugh, the kind of guy that children adored.

He was also the kind of guy that would cry watching a romantic movie, but… oh well, nevermind.

Dante was good-looking, smart, strong and a very good friend. And he was a father, too. His wife, Cassandra, had given birth to baby Alexandra just a few months before Carmen had her twins. He was used to diapers and baby food and regurgitations and lullabies.

He was the perfect guardian for Liv and Aidan, both in Carmen’s and Shane’s mind.

When Shane heard the unmistakable noise of Dante’s Agusta Brutale motorcycle approaching the small path that leaded to their house, she quickly ran across the hallway and opened the master bedroom’s door.

Carmen was on the bed with the babies. After spending half of the night awake, Olivia was finally sleeping soundly, laying on her stomach, her rose lips slightly parted.

Aidan, on the contrary, was completely awake and his big brown eyes wandered across the room with curiosity as she suckled on his bottle. Carmen was still feeding him, silently, lovingly, and when she looked up and saw Shane, she smiled.

“Hey”, Shane whispered, careful not to wake up Liv.

“Hey”, Carmen whispered back, winking.

“He’s here”, Shane mouthed in a conspiratorial way.

Carmen giggled silently.

“Alright. I’m coming”.

Shane rolled her eyes and disappeared again.



“She comes to me when I’m feelin’ down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around
She’s got a way of showin’
How I make her feel
And I find the strength to keep on goin’”




Dante raised his fist, ready to knock on the door, when Shane opened it with a big grin painted all over her face.

“Hi!”, she exclaimed, happily.

Dante arched his eyebrows, surprised by that warm welcome.

“Hey”, he replied.

Shane hugged him tightly and patted him soundly on his back.

“Are you okay?”, Dante asked cautiously, frowning.

He spoke a very good English but his Italian accent was always very thick. Shane pulled back and threw him a look. Dante sported a black t-shirt, a leather jacket, blue jeans and military boots. He also had a paper bag that smelled like home-made bread.

“I’m great. Come in. It’s nice to see you”, Shane nodded, still smiling.

“Aaaalright…”, Dante murmured, perplexed, walking over the doorstep.

“What’s that?”, Shane said, pointing at the paper bag.

“Oh, this”, Dante jerked a little, “This is some home-made bread. I was bored, so I thought to cook something”.

“I bet it tastes like engine oil”, Shane joked, and Dante waved a hand in her direction.

“Shut up”.

They laughed.

“Where’s Carmen?”.

Shane rubbed the nape of her neck.

“She’s coming. She just finished feeding the babies”.

Dante smiled a big, white smile and blinked his eyelids. His green eyes – so similar to Shane’s – softened.

“How are they?”, he asked, gently.

Shane shrugged and a dumb grin spread all over her face. The famous God-sent-me-a-gift-from-Heaven-and-it’s-my-family grin that Dante knew so well.

“They’re very, very good. They’re growing up so fast… They’re adorable”.

“I know, I know, they’re two super kids”, Dante agreed with a sigh, placing the paper bag on the kitchen table.

“Hey!”, Carmen greeted him, entering the room.

Dante spread his arms, laughing.

“Hi beautiful, come here!”, and they hugged. Shane watched the scene with not a single bit of jealousy. She and Dante shared this almost “dudeish” relationship, but Dante and Carmen… well, they acted like they were relatives. They were both very effusive and talkative and funny, and kisses and hugs were very normal things to share, for them.

Dante pulled back and gave Carmen the once-over. He still had his hands on Carmen’s shoulders, while Carmen’s were on his face.

“You look amazing”, he observed, satisfied.

“And you’re scraggy, as usual”, Carmen laughed, rubbing his cheeks.

He just shrugged in response.

“So…”, Carmen exhaled, clasping her hands together, “…We have a fabulous Mexiloaf for you and a bottle of Nero d’Avola wine. What do you think about it?”.

Dante tilted his head.

“Well, I think that you guys are spoiling me and that’s great. And I also think that there’s something else. I am puzzling myself over it, so please, guys, just tell me what it is”, he replied, mischievously.

Carmen and Shane froze in place.

“Well, I think I’m gonna take the babies”, Shane blurted out then, disappearing in the hallway and getting out of trouble.

She was sure that Carmen would spill the beans in a much better way than she would.



“She’s got a light around her
And everywhere she goes
A million dreams of love surround her
Everywhere
She comes to me when I’m feelin’ down
Inspires me without a sound
She touches me and I get turned around”



Dante laughed heartily at Carmen’s sudden embarrassment.

“Come on, Carmen, spill it. I’m not stupid”.

Carmen smiled her million-dollar smile.

“You’re right, you aren’t. And Shane is not good at lying…”, she admitted.

Dante nodded knowingly. He took off his jacket and hung it on a chair, then he rested his back against the kitchen counter and crossed his massive arms on his chest.

“What’s the matter?”, he asked quietly, still smiling.

Carmen shrugged and arched her eyebrows.

“Well, I need a vacation. We, Shane and I, need some days off. These last months have been frantic and I’m exhausted. So Shane proposed to…”.

“You’re asking me to look after Liv and Aidan for some days…”, Dante murmured gently.

Carmen’s eyes widened.

“It would be just for a weekend, Dante. Just for a couple of days. Yeah, we are asking you to take care of the kids while we’re away”.

Dante ducked his head.

“Where are you guys going and when?”.

“Tomorrow morning, Playa del Rey”, Carmen replied immediately, unable to hide something to that cop face, “We boarded a room at Sheraton Getaway. We won’t be very far from here, you see? We’ll be able to come back home immediately if anything happens”.

“Nothing’s going to happen”, Dante shrugged casually.

“What do you mean? Are you saying that you can’t do that?”, Carmen murmured.

Dante chuckled, eyeing the Mexiloaf in an earthenware pot.

“Can I…?”, he mumbled, pointing at it.

“Take your hands off the pot. Answer my question, first”, Carmen ordered, and Dante shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, obediently.

“I am just saying that nothing’s gonna happen and that I hope you’ll enjoy your little vacation…”, he elaborated, shrugging again.

Carmen smiled.

“You’re saying yes”.

“I’m saying yes. I love those kids”, he nodded.

Carmen giggled.

“I bet you do”.

They shared a friendly, grateful look. Carmen was happy about Dante being the biological father of Olivia and Aidan. He acted like a friend to them, like an uncle, and not a single time he had showed anything else but a complete support to Shane, Carmen and their family. If he even felt melancholy or anything else seeing those kids, he was sensitive enough not to show it.

“I’m gonna help Shane with the babies…”, Dante whispered, breaking eye-contact with Carmen. Carmen looked down, sighing.

Dante walked toward the hallway and placed a small kiss on Carmen’s temple before disappearing behind the closed door.



“She’s got a smile that heals me
I don’t know what it is
But I have to laugh when she reveals me
She’s got a way about her
I don’t know what it is
But I know that I can’t live without her
Anyway”*








TBC


**
* “She’s Got A Way” (Elvis Costello)