Miles Away (Carrion #1)(52)
Letty’s face fell against Miles’s shoulder. Inching closer to his neck, her lips gently kissed his neck, his beard brushing against her face.
In a whisper, Letty replied, “I hope you’re right, Miles. I hope you’re right.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
DANTE SABOTINO HID in the shadows of Juan Alves’s two-story Cape Cod as he glared at the black vintage Dodge Charger that stood parked in the driveway. Peering at the New Jersey plates, Dante immediately identified who the owner of the car was. The license plate read “BOSS” in big blue letters, and anyone that knew Miles well, knew that he was more than a little obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. But in light of other decisions that were made in the war room tonight, and decrees that were passed down to the soldiers of Carrion, the most ironic thing was that Miles Capadonno was indeed the Boss. Even if he didn’t know it yet.
A slippery smile creased Dante’s badly scarred face.
“I got you, now. Boss or not. Just wait.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
THE LETTERS HAD A profound and heavy-hitting impact on Letty. While she tried to wrap her head around the words and the emotions that were included in Miles’s correspondence, Miles decided to give her a little bit of space. Lifting himself off of the mattress, Miles brushed a hand through Letty’s long dark hair that she had taken out of her bun. It flowed past her shoulders in wavy tendrils. Though she was not the stereotypical image of beauty—thin, blonde and tall—Letty was perfect in Miles’s eyes. She was strong. Letty exuded strength both physically and mentally, having withstood time and threats and heartbreak. Her curvaceous body was soft, but in each of those limbs were muscles used to build a life, carry a child, and love a man beyond measure. Miles never wanted anything or anyone to hurt Letty again. He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again.
Breaking Letty from her thoughts, Miles asked in a gravelly voice, “Mind if I get a shower?”
She looked surprised that he was even asking. “I’m not your warden, babe. Towels are in the hall linen closet.”
Miles smiled at her response. Giving her a glance back as he walked out of the room, he noticed that Letty didn’t follow him, but instead dug into another letter, clearly invested in the words he wrote so long ago. Miles walked down the narrow hallway, his rough hand brushing along the polished oak banister as he approached the linen closet that was set between Letty and G’s bedrooms. Opening the door with a pull, Miles eyed the shelves of neatly folded linens. On the top shelf, Miles reached for a black terry bath towel. Pulling it down, he noticed something else—a piece of paper had fluttered to the ground. It looked like someone had discarded it quickly, tucking it away from view.
Reaching down to the floor to pick it up, Miles promptly realized that it wasn’t a piece of paper at all, but a photograph. Flipping it over, a pang of jealousy swirled through Miles’s stomach as he took in the image of Richie “Ruin” Rizzolli with his arm wrapped around Letty’s shoulder. They were dressed to the nines, with Letty wearing an elegant, champagne-colored gown, and Ruin dressed sharply in a tuxedo. Flashing his million watt smile up at the camera, Ruin looked like a movie star instead of a boxer. As he looked at the photograph, Miles wanted to break Ruin’s face. Once one of Miles’s best friends growing up, Ruin had clearly strayed from that role when he hooked up with and impregnated the only girl Miles had ever loved. A voice from behind Miles spoke, startling him as he looked down at the photograph.
“That was taken at your cousin Freddie’s wedding almost three years ago. That was the night. The only night. He can be quite charming when he wants to be, and I was lonely. It’s stupid, really.”
Turning around to face Letty, Miles had a look of understanding painted across his face. Letty found more kindness in Miles’s eyes than she expected to.
“Everybody has a past, Letty.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, “Well, that’s over now. It was one night. I’d say I made out okay in the deal. I got G.”
“Gabriel deserves a father, though...” Miles said as he cast a hard look at Letty. Glancing down at the photograph, he flicked Ruin’s face with his index finger. “And if this idiot’s not gonna do it, I sure as hell will fill in the role.”
Miles passed Letty back the photograph. She watched, mouth gaping, as Miles walked down the hallway with the towel draped over his shoulder. Shaking her head, Letty tucked the photo away in the closet again, out of view, but not destroyed. She figured she should save one photograph to show her son once he was old enough to understand. While Ruin might not be much of a father to G, he deserved to know the truth. Letty’s heart hammered in her chest as Miles glanced back over his shoulder at her.
“I told you. Everything is gonna be all right in the end. You’ll see...” Miles assured her.
Not waiting for a reply, Miles turned and entered the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him.
Miles opened the shower door and turned on the shower head, making the water as hot as he could tolerate. After years upon years of terrible water pressure and lukewarm water, what Miles truly needed right now was a hot shower. It cured so many ails. Placing his bath towel on the edge of the sink, Miles stared at himself in the vanity mirror while the water heated to his desired temperature. Miles Capadonno was the picture of rugged strength. His tattoos, muscles, beard and stature gave him the appearance of someone that you did not want to f*ck with. Generally, Miles liked his appearance, but he didn’t look this way for vanity purposes. He needed to look a part to keep himself alive.