Rushed(102)

"That's all right. Should I take a hat or anything?"

Tomasso nodded and took a forkful of eggs and speared a bite of steak with it. "Sure. But let's work up a sweat first, okay?"

I smiled and gave him a lifted eyebrow. "Careful what you wish for. You may just get it."



After a good workout in which we made sure his legs would not atrophy and that his strength loss in his legs would be minimized, I finished off with a few yoga poses for him just for the tease. We changed out of our sweat-soaked workout clothes, and I drove us out to Golden Gardens Park. The seaside area was picturesque, although far from what I'd expected when Tomasso said beach. I still had in my mind something more akin to Brazilian beaches, which for the most part are the sorts of places where someone can go with a towel, an umbrella, and some sunglasses to lay out and relax for a long time.

The beach that we pulled up to was far too rocky, with the sand being more like fish tank gravel, which crunched and squealed under my feet as we made our way along the path that paralleled the water. "You're sure you're okay?"

"The rocks are pretty steady. I'm doing fine," Tomasso replied, jabbing his crutches into the path and hopping forward. "Besides, there's a bench up ahead. I think that'll be a good place for us to sit down, relax some, and talk about things that are best not discussed at the house."

"I thought that might be your reason for coming out here," I replied. "You have suspicions?"

"Enough that I need to make a plan of action," Tomasso said, reaching the bench. He pivoted around and sat down, much more adept with his crutches and brace than he had been just days before.

I sat down next to him, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my shoulders and face. The view over the water was far different than what I could see in Brazil, even with the summer heat allowing some of the people who were brave enough to walk the beach in swimwear. Still, it had its own form of rugged beauty. The Pacific Ocean outside Seattle had a wild, untamed beauty that was in its own way as breathtaking as the refined warmth of Brazil.

"I can see the appeal of this," I said, resting my leg on his uninjured thigh. He'd worked the leg hard, and I expected that when his ankle was strong enough to spend a little time outside his brace and he could exercise his injured leg again, he'd regain strength there quickly. "It's peaceful."

"It is," he agreed, taking my hand in his. “Maybe we can come back here some time and really enjoy it.”

I smiled and squeezed his fingers. "Remember, that's two dates you have to take me on now, the Cascades, and now here. Keep it up, and I won't be able to go back to Brazil. But seriously, I assume you found something out about Jake Marconi?"

Tomasso nodded and sighed. "I talked with a friend last night after you went to bed, and he told me that there may be a connection between Leonard Frakes and Jake. It seems like a stretch—a girl in Korea."

I looked around at the passers-by, all of whom looked like normal people enjoying a far more mundane existence than what I led, and tried to think of what to say. "Are you sure enough to do something about it? He’s your friend."

"Some things are more important than friendship," Tomasso said in a quiet, intense voice. "Like honor. And lo—”

"Don't," I said softly, cutting him off. "Not yet—you can’t possibly mean it anyway. Let's just . . . let's focus on keeping you healthy, and this issue with Jake Marconi, then we can go from there. What do you want to do?"

"I need to confront him," Tomasso said, conviction in his voice after pausing and considering what I'd just said. I could see he wanted to say more, but he understood my point of view and was willing to respect it. "But I need to do it in such a way that minimizes risk. And I can't confront him by myself. I'm not in the best shape for a confrontation, and before you ask, no, you can't be the one to take a shot either. This is Bertoli business."

"It is Mendosa business as well," I reminded him, "he may have been involved with trying to kill me, after all. That is just as important as your own family loyalty issues. I won’t sit back and be a wallflower in this."

Tomasso looked like he was going to argue the point, then he saw the expression on my face and relented. "You have a point. But Luisa, there's another reason I don't want you involved."

"I know," I said, taking his hand and giving his knuckles a kiss. "But that's not going to stop me, regardless of whether we give voice to those reasons or not. I told you before that I know how to handle myself."

Tomasso kissed my knuckles and turned his eyes back toward the sea. "I know you can. All right, well, someone once said respect was the most important thing. I guess I'll bow to the experts."

We sat back and watched the gulls circle and dive into the water out on the ocean. The sun was warm, and I was content. I had Tomasso sitting next to me and a feeling of well-being and peace in my heart. "Do we have to go back yet?"

He shook his head. "No. Nothing needs to be done until tonight,” I said, smiling.



We stayed there until after noon, when we got up and made our way back toward the parking lot. Finding a little stand that was selling soft-serve ice cream, I was able to let myself feel the fantasy again, even as we sat down with our drippy cones and discussed the details of what we had to do. The whole ordeal was cute, if that word could relate to two people casually discussing the setup and possible shooting of another man.