Page 95 of Skin Deep

Chapter29

Harrison

“Try not to die,” was the advice my brother-in-law gave me and my brothers. Until he got the call from Rocco Fausti to leave town, we were in New York. After that, we all had plans to leave for a while.

It was a miracle that Kelly was still breathing. He was fighting an unknown source that wanted him gone—someone close to him, he suspected. And whoever it was, he was gaining followers behind Kelly’s back. Then there was the Craigs. Whoever wanted Kelly gone might be trying to play on the father and son’s hard spot for him to get them to join him.

It had been three weeks since we’d relocated to the house in Long Island. Georgina and I decided to stay until it was time to leave. Kelly, my sister, and my brothers rotated places constantly. Though Kelly refused to leave Hell’s Kitchen, for the most part. He was fighting wars and wanted it known he wasn’t going to be run out.

I worked from home if he needed my services for anything. If it was something that needed to be done in person, he sent for another lawyer who kept in touch with me. It was too risky to have me out. The less of us out in public, the better. Lachlan was going stir crazy, finally having the pub of his dreams but not being able to enjoy it. He said it was an example of spiritual sarcasm.

For the most part, things had quieted down with the Craigs. We suspected it was because they were preparing for bigger attacks. The night at Rhinestone, my car getting slammed into, and Owen’s sliced flesh were only warnings.

We’d sent a bloody and final one back. Devin.

I walked over to the window, about to join Georgina and Gus outside on the pier. It was late spring, but the weather still held a chill from winter. Gus was basking in it. He rested next to Georgina, his tongue out, wind whipping through his fur. She was relaxing on a wooden beach chair with her feet propped up. The sun fell on her face, and her eyes were closed. She fiddled with the sunflower pressed against the dip of her suprasternal notch with the hand wearing my ring.

“Fuck,” I said to myself. “She’s beautiful.” And the most pleasant being to be stuck with. She loved to sing while she cooked, watch movies, and play board games. She loved to go for long walks along the beach with Gus and take a lot of pictures of the three of us. She loved to talk, but sometimes she basked in the quiet as much as she did the warmth from the sun, and we ate or walked in companionable silence.

She’d had a few dark days since we’d arrived, but we talked, or we didn’t. Either way, she knew I was there. Always in the darkness with her, moving her back toward the sun at whatever pace she needed me to. It was as easy as breathing for me. Like I’d understood what she’d needed my entire life, and instinctually, I just knew how to take care of her.

Her grandfather had been right when he gave me the analogy of the flowers in the field. He’d also given me his blessing to take care of his granddaughter before he left this world. No matter how Macchiavello felt about us being together, he could never trump that. Though I knew he meant a lot to Georgina, and she wanted us to get along.

I had no issue with him; he still despised me. I’d have to find a way to convince him that whatever I thought I felt for his wife was over and done. I still felt for her, but the same way she felt about me. Like we were siblings.

I’d held fool’s gold for years, until I had found the real thing. The difference went much deeper than skin.

Gus turned and looked at me when I stepped outside, then went back to his bird watching. He hovered close to wherever we were. We were a pack. I grinned about how right she was about that.

I moved over some when I caused a dark shadow to cover her face. She felt it and opened her eyes. She smiled lazily at me.

“You are finished with your work?”

“Yeah,” I said, making a motion for her to push over. She did and I took a seat, setting my hand on her knee, moving it some. “You sure you feel like going out tonight?”

She sat up, and her eyes were bright with light. “Sì!”

I grinned at how excited she was. We had told Jackie Mays that we’d meet him at Yankee Stadium. He said he wanted to show me something. Since it was something we could do in relative secrecy, I’d agreed.

I’d invited Jackie and his wife, Mrs. Pearl, to meet us between Long Island and New York after we’d settled here. He didn’t like it when I missed our monthly dinners. I’d explained to him on the phone that things were dicey, but he still insisted on getting together for one night, at least. During dinner, I told him that, once all of this was over, we were going to start meeting twice a month to make up for lost time. After he met Georgina, he told me to make it three times.

Still, it was always chancy whenever we went out in public. The lower we laid, the better, but I could tell she was looking forward to getting out. I wasn’t used to being so cooped up either, but with her, it didn’t feel like a sentence.

At the same time, we moved toward each other, and our lips met. We kissed into the house, fucked in the shower, and then again before we got ready. By the time we were done, it was time to go.

The air felt a little warmer the further we got into the city. Jackie and Mrs. Pearl met us at the stadium, and we walked in together. I was a little suspicious because they were both wearing clothes to play ball in.

“What's this about?” As we reached the field, I stopped and said under my breath, “No fucking way.”

My parents. My brothers. My sister. Cash Kelly. Georgina’s mam and her aunts. Some friends. Jackie and his family. Enough people to start a game were waiting on the field. They were separated into two teams.

Food was set up on the side—things available at a game with some Italian mixed in. Drinks were in metal coolers with ice.

I squeezed Georgina’s hand and turned toward her. “You did this?”

“Sì.But not without help.” She looked around.

“G did this,” Lach said, “for you.”

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