Grave Digger – Brothers At Arms #4

Leon shook his head. “She told us some of the details, but I doubt we heard everything that happened.”

“She wouldn’t tell you that, would she?” Delaney suggested. “But you could hear the heartbreak in her voice. She lost her father that night because of stupid men. Men who had no honor, clearly. But I think something happened after that, after she got away.”

Zeus frowned. “Such as?”

Delaney shook her head. “That I don’t know, but something just as monumental besides losing her father. You can see it in her eyes.”

Memphis nodded. “And she said she was on her way out of town when she heard rumors that your brothers were coming here for a showdown.”

Leon raised his head and snarled. “You don’t suppose it was your brothers that tried to shake Vincent down and ultimately killed him, do you? If they were there, why wouldn’t she just say that?”

“Because then,” Grave Digger spoke up. “They would know there was a witness to the crime they committed. She said she left town after she buried her dad then changed her name and has been living under the grid since then. So she would rather just leave town than face them again.”

Delaney nodded her head. “And maybe, just maybe she has a very good reason for getting out of town before my brothers get here.”

Leon stared at her and asked, “For what very good reason?”

Delaney shook her head. “Not my place to say is it? I don’t know for sure.”

Zeus also glared at her. “Well, give us your best guess then.”

“I can’t.” Delaney sighed. “I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t there.”

Grave Digger had been watching her closely and finally he asked, “How did you know the medicine you gave her last night would work on her son? I mean I’ve heard of that medicine before but you have to special order it, it’s not something you can get around here off the shelf.”

Delaney shrugged. “Some of us in the family don’t handle Tylenol very well. It’s not an allergic reaction per say but it doesn’t work for us. My brother was one of those who couldn’t handle it, and I’m another. I carry that stuff with me, just in case I need it.”

Grave Digger kept staring at her, as he surmised, “So you think her son belongs to your brother then? Is that what you’re saying?”

Delaney glared at him. “I’m not saying that, you are,” she pointed out.

“But you suspect it, no?” Leon asked.

Delaney shrugged. “Maybe but I just can’t see her getting involved with one of my brothers.”

They all seemed to agree. The Raggetti men weren’t dating material in any way. Plus, they seemed to be the ones who killed her father, so being with one of them did not make any sense at all.

Leon raised his arms up in the air in frustration and then he dropped them to his sides. “We need to know what she knows.”

“Why?” Delaney asked him. “Why does it matter so much?”

He slowly shook his head. “Piccola ragazza, you cannot solve a puzzle when some of the pieces are missing. And you never go to war unless you know what is really at stake.” He headed out of the room.

One by one, they all followed him.

When Zeus left, he stopped by Click’s office and asked him to look into the fire that destroyed Vincent Serano’s bar, four years ago in Oakville.

Click nodded and turning to his laptop, he began the search.

Zeus then headed out to the main room. He went over to the tables and sat down next to Marty.

The girls had finished breakfast and were playing quietly with their toys and Anthony was busy coloring with his mother.

Marty glanced over at him. ‘Is she okay?”

He sighed. ‘No. And she isn’t telling us everything.”

“How do you know that?’ she asked him.

Zeus looked directly at the woman in question as he answered Marty’s question, “I just know. There’s something she’s hiding.”

“Well, it’s her story to tell, Zeus. Maybe she doesn’t want to tell strangers what happened to her.”

He turned to look at Marty.

She slowly nodded her head. “Yes, I know exactly how she feels. If you will remember my first arrival here, I did not tell you much.”

Zeus snorted. “Damn straight, you didn’t.”

Nodding, she smiled and took his hand in hers. “Give the woman some space. In time, she may trust you all enough.”

He shook his head at her. “Marty, you have to be the smartest female I have ever met and god damnit, I love you. But we are at war here. Do you get that? We don’t have time to pussyfoot around this subject. If it didn’t have anything to do with the Raggetti clan, I would mind my own damn business. But that isn’t an option, because we all know that it does have something to do with that god damned family. She has even admitted to that fact. I don’t take chances…” He reached out to cup her cheek with his hand. “…when it comes to the people I love and protect.”

Marty grabbed his hand and kissed it, then shook her head as she moved over to the girls who were playing with their dolls.

Zeus turned to look at the woman with the secret past, then he looked around the room and found he wasn’t the only one staring at her. Grave Digger and Leon were as well. Well, at least he wasn’t the only one with more questions. He looked over at Emily again.

 She was looking back at him now with a blank expression on her face. She held his gaze for a moment then turned away.

Ten minutes later, Click brought a piece of paper to him and handed it to him without a word.

Zeus stared down at it. It was a copy of an Oakville newspaper article, about the explosion at the bar that had reportedly been started with a fire. It stated that the police found three bodies, not just one in the ruins of the building after the fire department put out the flames. The bodies were burned and there was no way to identify them. One body was found at the end of the bar and the other two were found in the back of the bar. The article said an open gas line was found as well. Zeus then looked up at Click.

His IT nodded at him, then went back to his office.

Zeus looked over at Leon and Calderone as he got up and walked over to them. They were sitting with Memphis, Grave Digger, and Diabolus. He sat down at the table and handed the article to Leon.

Leon read it then passed it to his son. He looked at Zeus then shook his head. “So there was more to the story, si?”

“You think?” Zeus scoffed.

“Who were the other two bodies?” Memphis asked.

Zeus shrugged as he took a guess, “She did say four men burst into the bar when the door was opened.”

“They killed her dad and the explosion killed two of them.” Grave Digger snarled. “Don’t expect me to feel sorry for them. They got what they deserved.” Then he got up and went over to Emily’s table. He sat down with her, reached over, and took her hand in his. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

Emily stared at him in puzzlement as she froze. Then she tried to pull her hand away.

Grave Digger wasn’t letting go as he leaned closer to her and whispered, “You’ve got nothing to fear from us, Emily. We aren’t going to hurt you.”

“What do you want?” she finally asked softly. Distrust shone in her eyes.

Grave Digger sat back in his chair and studied her for a moment then he said, “You know what being a family means? It means you are close to your brothers, everybody working toward the same goal. This MC is a family. We all came together when we didn’t have anything in common. We had to learn to trust each other but we did. Together, we grew as brothers and as a family.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Emily asked. “I only have my boy. I’m not a brother nor am I part of your family.”

“But you’re here now and we are offering you protection,” Grave Digger told her.

Emily stared at him. “Well, excuse me if I don’t remember that part. This supposed offer of protection. What I remember is…” Her voice fell away as she glanced over to where Zeus was sitting. “…being interrogated. Told that I had to answer questions when my son was so sick and that my son would be separated from me until I answered all the questions I was asked. That is what I recall.”

Grave Digger sighed and explained this, “Our president does what he has always done. Protect the MC, and all who live here. The kids too. He handled it negatively, but his motivation comes from his heart. He needs to be informed about everything that goes on here and especially if it has to do with the Raggettis. We have been under attack from them for more than a year now. He almost lost his baby daughter because of it. But for us to protect you… you can’t keep secrets from us. We need to know just who or what is coming for you. When we found you, we had the Raggetti brothers coming for us yet again. They want this place back for some undiscovered secrets it might hold. And believe me honey, this old place had its secrets and we’re hoping we caught them all.”

“And if you didn’t?” Emily asked.

Grave Digger shrugged. “They’re coming in here anyway. If we can’t keep them out, then they will come in here guns blazing and they will either live or die. To my mind, they are like little annoying yapping dogs. Barking, barking, and barking. The damn things will just never shut up. Only they’ll come after you with guns or knives and they just keep coming. They just aren’t bright enough to stay away.”

“But why? What is it that they really want?”

Shaking his head he told her, “This place stood empty for years before we bought it off the old man. We’ve lived here for seven years and now that Barrett Raggetti is out of prison, he’s coming here to find the treasures his grandfather told him about. Treasures he doesn’t even know are real or not. For all he knows, they are just an old man’s boasts. But none of it belongs to the Raggetti family any more. It doesn’t belong to us either. That’s why Leon’s is here. We didn’t want any of it. He’s taking the ill-gotten gains back with him because they are mob owned. Raggetti just never gave it back to them, so we are righting that wrong.”

Emily nodded then looked down at her son who was now sleeping on her lap. “The Raggetti brothers were two of the four men that broke into my dad’s bar, four years ago. Like I said, I was in the office taking in the receipts and counting the cash for the week but I was also watching the cameras and I saw their faces. My dad had sound too on the cams, so I listened to them threaten him. I was going to grab the gun my dad had in the safe but he used the code words we had and he told me to stay where I was. I just pushed the cash and checks into the bag and I called the police… that was when I saw one of them stab him.” She paused and lowered her head.

Her words were softly spoken but the whole room was listening.

 “I grabbed the gun and started to leave the office when I caught my dad’s face. By that time, he was on the floor and the Raggetti’s were laughing at his efforts to hang onto his bar. My dad was struggling to live but I saw him turn his head and stare at the camera. He mouthed the words I love you then he mouthed the word run. One of them must have seen him and he came down the hall looking for me. I ran but he saw me as I almost reached the kitchen. I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time but I broke off the gas line and ran. I knew they had set a fire and were probably going to let it take hold before they left. So I prayed the broken gas line would surprise them and blow them to hell.”

The room had gone quiet as she answered one of the main questions, they all had.

She glanced down at her sleeping son again, then continued her story, “I got as far as the alley before I heard the explosion and the blast threw me to the ground. I hit my head hard but I also knew I had to get away from there. One of the men finally caught up with me and he hit me a few times then I heard the sirens and he ran away. I laid there in the alleyway and I cried, because I knew my dad was gone. I finally realized that he was dead as soon as those bastards broke into the bar. I crawled home and I didn’t even know I was hurt. The next morning, there was a knock on my door… the police department. They told me my dad died in an explosion, along with two other men. They didn’t know I was at the bar the night before and I let them believe that. I told them I had gone home and wasn’t there when this happened. They wanted to know if I knew who they were. When I told them I didn’t, they allowed me to bury my dad. I took what money I had available and I left town the same day. I’ve been running ever since. Then I got stuck behind your fence and I couldn’t get away.” She hung her head and sighed. “I just need to disappear. I’ve been hiding for years. I can do it again.

“Did they see you?” Zeus asked.

Emily shrugged. “I don’t know if they ever saw my face but I did not want to take that chance.” Reaching out, she brushed her son’s hair out of his face. “One of them caught me but I don’t know if he ever saw my face. I’ve got my son now to think of and I can’t take that chance, can I? I can’t lose my son. He’s all I got left in this world and I love him so much.” Shaking her head she whispered, “I can’t lose him, not to the likes of the Raggetti’s. I just can’t.”

“You know, not all of us are tarred by the crazy brush of my brothers,” Delaney told her.

Emily raised her head up and with haunted eyes, she smiled slightly. “I never said you were. You don’t have the same crazy in your eyes that they do. When I was watching those cameras, I could see the insanity in their eyes. It scared me but I’m not afraid of you. You look normal but like everyone else, you can’t help who you are any more than they can.” She dropped her head and stared at her son while the room went silent.

Leon broke the silence, “But you can get help. Protection that you haven’t had since your father passed. You do not have to do this alone anymore, Emmy.”

Her head shot up, as she looked stunned. She stared at him as her lips trembled.

He gave her a wise nod. “Mia caro, you don’t think he told me about you? His Emmy. The light of his life.”

Tears filled her eyes and one rolled down along her cheek.