Her mother grabbed her purse as Mila gathered Bella’s little dish and spoon, then removed her bib. Little Tony retrieved his toys. And Gia glowed with happiness. Her family knew about Jason and they accepted him. They weren’t angry or disappointed or throwing her out of the family.
All that time she’d wasted because she’d been worried about their reaction. If she’d taken Jason to meet her parents when they’d been dating, her father would have yelled and refused to let him in the house. Her mother would have cried, crossed herself, and asked why her only daughter was trying to kill her. Today…a whole different story. She’d never imagined that Tony’s passing had caused them to change their outlook about the proper son-in-law.
“Can you repeat that?” Her father frowned.
Mama paused to send him a questioning look. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist. Gia’s stomach dropped like a stone. Worry filled the void.
Beside her, Jason’s phone dinged with a text. Nothing new since he constantly conducted business, but she wished all the noise and chaos around them would abate so her father could hear and they could all figure out what had him upset.
He pushed past Mama and Jason and marched toward the door. Everyone gathered their belongings and followed him out. Apprehension gripping her, she trailed after her family, then looked behind her to see Jason reading his phone before he darkened the screen with a satisfied nod.
“I need to see what’s wrong with my dad.”
“I’m with you,” he promised, pocketing the phone. “Is he upset?”
“I can’t tell for sure.”
Jason grabbed his coat and escorted her out the door just as her father hung up the phone, his face pale and shocked. He stepped closer to his truck, shaking, then balanced himself against it, head bowed.
Mama curled up against him and lifted a palm to his cheek. “Marco?”
Gia ran to her dad, flanking his side and taking hold of his arm. “What is it?”
He tensed, swallowed, then lifted his head to stare at them all for a long moment. His weighty gaze steadied on Mila before shifting back to his wife. “Ricky Wayman is dead.”
Chapter Eight
Fifteen minutes later, they sat around the breakfast table in her parents’ kitchen. Mama busied herself making coffee. Mila settled Little Tony in front of the TV in the next room, then put Bella in her playpen. Jason linked his fingers with her own. Daddy didn’t say a word.
“Who gave you the news? What happened exactly?” Gia asked finally as Mila entered the kitchen again and Mama sat down with her steaming mug.
Her father sighed. “Sergeant Miller called. He still works at the precinct, right?”
She nodded. “He’s retiring in March.”
“He thought I’d want to know that Wayman had been killed. Apparently, he got into a fight with one of his homies and it ended with a gunshot.”
Gia sat back in her chair, the shock still pinging inside her. A thousand emotions pelted her. Vindication warred with anger. Wayman had been an unrepentant thug, well known for selling drugs to kids. Whoever had shot him had probably done the human race a favor. But she’d wanted to arrest him and at least try to make him answer to a jury and the prison system for his crimes. His violent end shouldn’t be surprising, not when he lived so violently himself. Still, the suddenness of it left her reeling.
“Do we know why?” she asked.
Mila breathed a sigh of relief. “Do we care why? He’s dead, and I say good riddance. Wayman shot your brother in cold blood, and I hope he pays for what he’s done in Hell.”
“I can’t disagree,” her father said gruffly, sipping at his coffee. But he still looked shaken.
Mama reached out and tucked her hand in his. “I know I should look at it differently as a good Christian, but that criminal took something from me—from all of us—I can never replace. I couldn’t bring myself to forgive him. Maybe now that he’s reaped what he’s sown, I can. I don’t know. But I also know there’s a mother out there tonight grieving the loss of her son. She will miss him at Thanksgiving and Christmas, every year his birthday passes, every time she sees something he would have enjoyed… Even if her son committed terrible deeds, my heart goes out to her.”
Daddy nodded fiercely and wrapped his arms around her mother, breathing loudly into her hair as if trying to get a hold of his emotions. A long moment later, he kissed her head. “His death probably saved lives. And right or wrong, I feel a sense of closure now.”
Gia didn’t. She was relieved in a way, but even more, she felt cheated. The whole swirl of emotions barely made any sense to her. But right now had to be about her family.
Beside her, Mila sobbed quietly. “I know Wayman’s death doesn’t bring my husband back.” Her breath hitched on his name. Still, she pressed on. “But I feel better knowing that man doesn’t walk the streets any more and can’t pull the trigger again. He can’t rob any other woman of her husband or son. Maybe now, we can all move on with our lives.”
Beside Gia, Jason squeezed her hand. She knew she should let go of her anger against Wayman and her driving need for revenge to focus on tomorrow, on building her own family with her husband. On the surface, that sounded great. But how did she just forget the fact that she’d needed to give her family—and herself—some finality before she moved on?
“We certainly weren’t going to get closure from DPD,” her father added cynically.
“What do you mean?” Gia frowned. Did her dad know something she didn’t?