Page 53 of Capone
This was what the guards all looked forward to. We all placed them on certain assignments based on their job history and training. The job I was sending Trent on was perfect for him. Our newest client, Shannon, had gained a stalker. This person was relentless. They had broken into her home on three occasions while she was at work. Somehow, they kept disarming her alarm and now she was completely shaken up.
Soon as I read her file, Trent came into mind. He went from cop to detective in a span of two years. Eventually, he moved over to SWAT. He was on the force for six years before applying here.
After I went over the details with him, he shook my hand before making a quick exit.
“You ready to get out of here, Lil Bit?”
Before she could answer, the gym doors opened, and Cara sauntered in. Duke and Daisy, Cara’s Great Danes, were right behind her, staying close. This wasn’t surprising at all. Every time Cara got pregnant, they liked to keep a close eye on her and sometimes that required taking them wherever she was going.
I turned to Gabi to make sure she wasn’t frightened. Great Danes were normally large but these two were abnormally huge. They both almost reached Cara’s chest.
I was taken back when not only did Gabi show no fear, but she took off with the speed of lightening to embrace the dogs. Duke and Daisy, already being accustomed to dealing with kids, sat firmly on their butts and ate up the attention.
Cara walked over to me after speaking to Gabi. “Just wanted to let you know, I’m already digging into Whitney and Dennis. I know their trying to take Gabi from Giovanna. Soon as I find something, you and Giovanna will be the first to know.”
I wasn’t the least surprised Cara was looking into those two. We didn’t take threats lightly. If Whitney thought she was going to continue to throw her weight around in Giovanna’s life, she was in for a rude awakening.
I hated to speak ill of the dead, but I’m not her weak-ass son. It was my job to protect Giovanna and Gabi. I didn’t understand, as a man, how he allowed his mother to treat Giovanna the way that he had. The more I learned about her marriage, the more patient I became. Going through what she did would make anyone hesitant to trust someone with their heart again.
If they couldn’t fall in line, then I would get them in line. Coming after Giovanna and Gabi was a slippery slope that neither wanted to go down.
Don’t askme how I got here because I honestly didn’t know. One second, I was watching Gabi fawn all over Duke and Daisy, then the next, we were walking out of an animal shelter with two puppies.
I intended to only get one, but one look from Gabi and she convinced me to grab his brother. The shelter had recently stumbled upon a box of Cane Corso puppies on the side of the road. Hearing something like that wasn’t abnormal, but I was still shocked because Cane Corsos are expensive. They could have gotten a pretty penny from that litter.
There was a total of ten puppies but only two were left. Both of them were jet black, while one had icy-blue eyes and the other had grey.
I knew Giovanna was probably going to kill me. There was so much on our plates and now I’ve added two puppies to the mix. But what was I supposed to do?
I hadn’t been doing this parenting thing for too long, and she knew I was a sucker when it came to Lil Bit. So really, she could only blame herself for this. That sounded reasonable.
Right?
Hearing the jingle of keys in the front door, I shot off the couch to meet her. Her brows rose when she nearly bumped into me because I was so close to the door.
“Hey, baby. How was your day?” I leaned forward to kiss her lips, hoping to distract her from Gabi’s loud giggles in the livingroom. We had been home for an hour, and she had been playing with the dogs nonstop and wouldn’t let them out of her sight.
“It was good.” She tried stepping around me, but I pulled her against me. “What’s with you?” she asked suspiciously.
“What do you mean? I can’t hold my woman?” I tried to deflect. It didn’t work. She narrowed her eyes at me.
Giovanna gave me a stern look. “Capone, what is going on?”
Before I could open my mouth, Gabi came running around the corner, followed by one of the puppies. “Mommy, look. Pony got me puppy.”
Inwardly, I cringed. Gabi outed me and didn’t even know it. Giovanna’s head whipped back to me as she stared at me in disbelief.
“You got her a puppy?!” she shrieked. Just as I was about to plead my case, the second damn puppy came trailing around the corner. Giovanna’s mouth dropped open. “Two? You got her two puppies?!”
“In my defense, she did that thing with her eyes, where they get all big, like Puss in Boots. And t-then she poked out her lip. I couldn’t say no. What was I supposed to do?” I threw my hands up in frustration.
Giovanna stared at me blankly before throwing her head back, roaring with laughter. She stared down at Gabi as she happily played with the puppies, trying to beckon her over to play as well.
“She does look happy.”
I watched her carefully, feeling like she was accepting this a little too easily. “That’s it?”
Giovanna shrugged, placing her keys in the key bowl. “What’s done is done. We can't take them back. But it’ll be awhile before you take Gabi for the day. Next thing you know, you’ll be buying her an actual pony,” she said as she walked over to kneel next to Gabi and the puppies.
