Love in the Eye of the Storm

Jam was busy in the kitchen and knew where everything was by now.

"Here?" I squeaked. I was sure Joey had seen the penthouse or certainly knew about it. He'd think Jam was marrying someone from the slums.

He stopped and looked at me. "Yeah, here. You're upset."

I shook my head and turned to shower and change for the company. I flipped through the clothes in my closet and realized I had nothing but clothes that I wear in the bakery, practical, and hang around here clothing. I cringed. It was going to be worse than I thought.

Sofia was drop-dead gorgeous but as sweet as she was beautiful. She wore jeans and a white T-shirt, like an outfit from Saks. Thick black wavy hair fell below her shoulders, and colossal navy-blue eyes shaded by thick black eyelashes—just a perfect amount of makeup. I didn't even own makeup. But she made me feel comfortable and like we'd known each other forever.

I had a friend.

Later, Jam told me he was happy because not only was she gorgeous, but she was an ace at martial arts, proficient in handling firearms, and usually had a knife or two on her. She was raised in the family and learned to protect and care for herself at a young age.

She stopped by the bakery the next day, and I taught her how to make bread, and she took me shopping.

I set the alarm and locked the shop, and she pulled her black Jaguar to the curb. She filled me in on the family and what to expect. She told me she was as excited to meet me as I was to meet her and that we don't associate with those, not within the circle. We were the only two women because there were few in this town, and they weren't married.

"You'll be introduced when you go meet Jam's Dad in New York. That's where most of them are."

"I'm nervous about that," I confided.

"They'll love you! Jam's Dad has wanted him to find a nice girl and settle down," she laughed.

She helped me carry all the shopping bags into the apartment and said her goodbyes. I was surprised that Jam wasn't home yet. Pasqualina altered between cleaning her exquisite coal-black fur and watching me as I began to go through my new clothes. They were all piled on the bed when he walked in.

"I see you enjoyed your day with Sofia!"

"I did. She's so nice. I've not had many friends," I admitted.

In the weeks ahead, my life was a whirlwind. Between the martial arts and firearm instruction, Jam and I went to the range every few days until he was confident I could handle and use a gun.

We approved the architect's plans, and the workers swarmed the building like bees, making great strides almost daily.

I enjoyed keeping my bakery schedule which kept my nerves at bay.

The bell on the door tinkled.

"Hey hey hey," Joey said, coming in, his eyes darting around.

He looked like the poster boy for the mob. You've seen black hair, rugged, big, menacing, and everything else in the film clips. Just the fact he was here concerned me because Jam said Joey would look in on me if he couldn't be around.

"Where's Jam," I asked, knowing that was why he was here.

"He had to make a run to New York on business. He wanted me to look in on you. Besides Jam killing me, Sofia would kick my ass if I didn't." His laugh was rusty like he didn't use it often.

Thanks, Joey. I'm good. I'll lock up soon and head home. It's all alarmed and heavily locked," I chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm not too comfortable letting you walk to your apartment by yourself," he said, looking around like someone snuck in.

"I'll be fine. Even Jam lets me do it by myself sometimes."

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.***.***.***.

Jam

.***.***.***.

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LAST MINUTE I WAS CALLED TO MEET WITH A COUPLE OF NEW YORK BOSSES. Dad and I went to a nondescript house in the Bronx. They wanted me to add to my territory. The last guy didn't work out, and I didn't ask what happened to him. It likely wasn't good.

We shook hands on it. Dad and I stopped for a quick dinner before I headed back.

The emergency number that Joey and I set up shrilly vibrated my phone. I tensed and picked it up.

"They got her, boss. They snatched her outside her apartment. I'm watching the video now, but it looks like La Rossa's goons."

The guy I whacked.

We're leaving now. Dad was already on the phone with his boys, and they'd catch up with us on the interstate.

Dad rode with me in the Lexus, and as promised, three black SUV's fell into place behind us.

Joey kept the line open, verifying that La Rossa's gang grabbed her and where they were usually holed up. Joey was on the way there to check it out. Dad stayed in touch with the SUV's that not only carried four men each but an arsenal.

I knew La Rossa wouldn't have that many men. He was small-time, and without his leadership, his goons were retaliating in a clusterfuck sort of way.

When we pulled in, our fifteen men didn't take long to surround the old warehouse. Joey's prior surveillance had the doors marked that they used.

One of Dad's men pulled out a long tube, and I started, but Dad put a hand on my arm. It nearly knocked him off his feet when a fireball shot out and landed on the roof with the loudest retort I'd ever heard that made my ears ring.

La Rossa's men came running out like scared little girls, and our men took them down. We didn't know how many were still in the building, so we gained entry once we walked by the bullet-riddled bodies. Not knowing how many men remained, we were careful while looking for Wren.

A single shot rang out, and we ran down the dark hallway through long unused equipment. There was an open door, and we sidled around it, passing two guys in a thickening pool of their own blood.

I kicked the last door in and saw movement in a shadowy corner. It was Wren.

"Stop! It's Wren. She's here," I warned the others so they didn't come in with a hail of gunfire.

I ran over and gathered her in my arms. Her face was splattered with blood.

"Oh my god, are you alright, baby?" I said, hugging and rocking her.

"Yyyyeah," she said, her voice trembling. "Not my blood." I looked down and saw her pistol on the floor beside her.

"You were the one that shot them?"

She nodded. "After running outside, these two stayed but weren't watching me. I could get the gun out of my boot. I snuck to the door and shot them."

"He he he." I heard Dad's baritone chuckle behind me. "That's a good way to start, young lady, with the small-time. The next time you'll take them all down."

"Next time?" she squeaked.

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.***.***.***.

Wren

.***.***.***.

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IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO REACT. Rough hands grabbed me, and something went over my head and covered my eyes. It must have been a van because I heard the door slide after they threw me in the back.

My head slammed against something, and it began to throb. I didn't know how many there were. They didn't talk. They drove fast, and I slid side to side as they careened around corners. I didn't fight when they grabbed me under the arms and ankles and carried me inside.

I pretended to be knocked out so they'd relax. It gave me time to think. Thankfully, they didn't check me for weapons because I had my pistol in one boot and a knife in the other. Thanks to Sofia's suggestions.

It worked because they didn't bother to tie me up. They threw me into a room and slammed the door. I took the towel off my head, but it was pitch black.

At least an hour passed, and I wondered if they asked for ransom or what they wanted with me. I wasn't worried because I knew Jam would come for me, but I planned on taking care of myself before that if I could.

I gingerly felt the knot on my head, but at least it quit throbbing. Until whatever hit the roof. It was so loud that my ears were still ringing. I heard footsteps running and crawled to the door, cracking it open enough to look out. All the guys left but two.

One of them turned, noticed the door was cracked open, and put his hand on his holstered gun. But they weren't smart enough to pat me down, so he was unprepared. His lips curled in a wolfish sneer until he saw the barrel pointed at him.

Jam's mantra was stuck in my head. Shoot to kill. I did shoot right between those thick black eyebrows.

The other guy was off guard as well. His gun was still holstered when he came in. When he looked down to see his partner crumpled on the floor, he collapsed in a bloody heap on top of him.

Their bodies were in the way, but I pushed the door closed as much as possible. I sat on my ass, knees up and arms propped to steady the gun in my hands because I was afraid the other men would come back and find them dead and kill me. I prayed Jam would get here before that.

I heard scuffling, and the door flew open. The light from the other room blinded me for a moment, but I still had the pistol steadied and pointed at the door.

"Wren, Wren, it's me, baby!"

Jam climbed over the pile of bodies, followed by another man, an older version of Jam. It was Pasquale Salvatore Matteo—Jam's Dad.

The first time meeting my future father-in-law wasn't exactly a scene from a Hallmark movie, but I'd guess he'd prefer something out of The Godfather anyhow.

Later, when we were home and cuddled in Jam's arms, I asked, "So, did your Dad think I was good enough for his son?"

He laughed loudly. "He was pretty damn impressed, my little Wren. He told me it was a helluva way to get into the family. So, you got his full approval. Probably more than anyone ever has that was not blood-related."

"Someday, you'll have to tell me how Pasqualina got her name. I can guess, but I'm sure the story will be much better."

.

.***.***.***.

Wren & Jam

.***.***.***.

.

THE WEDDING WAS HELD IN NEW YORK. The security was high, the alcohol flowed, and the celebration was loud and Italian. Best of all, no shots were fired.

Pasqual proudly paid for it all. The bakery intake couldn't cover a four hundred dollars a head wedding venue, anyhow. And Pasqual wanted only the best for his new daughter-in-law.

It was decided that Wren was probably the only bride celebrated at her wedding reception for the guys she plugged right before her wedding.

The wedding night was all we dreamt it would be. And Wren paid up for all those eye rolls.

Jam and Wren will spend the rest of their lives together doing what they want to do without any of those little annoyances running around.

And the rest? They knew not to fuck with Wren.

~the end~