Saturday Evening

"I was never mad at you, I was so mad at Terry Hill, but I was also mad at me. I didn't realize how much danger we were in. All Gronchi has to do is hire some more mercs and we're gone. It's all too real. I was afraid I might lash out and you could get hurt," said Steve.

"That's very noble, now why don't you want to take a nice vacation somewhere?" asked Fabbi. "You could take that camper up to the UP and shoot some squirrels and drink beer." It was hard to tell if she saw herself as an inquisitor or a game show host.

Steve thought for a long time trying to put some complex feelings into words and finally said, "Every time I love someone and I leave, sometimes for just a little while, when I come back they're ... gone. No more, Maybe we can get married, have kids, and live happily ever after, after this is done. Bruce is tracking down Alfeo Gronchi for me. I will end it."

"That's why you said Not Again when we saw the lights," whispered Nadia, and Steve nodded. "Were you serious when you said getting married and having babies?" Nadia whimpered, and again Steve nodded.

The room was silent for a long time as Steve and Nadia clutched each other, and soon Aunt Fabbi realized they forgot she was there. "Ok, pizza is on the way, I found a place that makes a proper New York pie, then tomorrow I swing by at noon and we're going shopping for your master bedroom." She snapped her purse closed and got up. As she left she said, "Be sure to tip the delivery man nicely." And she was gone.

Her son Marco held her car door open for her and she got in and gave a huge sigh of relief. She never wanted Steve to marry Maria, when she looked at his background she wanted him to marry Nadia, he's better suited for that headstrong girl, but he made Maria so happy... What's wrong with being happy for the last year of your life? Fabbi sighed and said, "We haven't been to Cobalt in a long time, let's dine there tonight Marco."

It truly was a great pizza and with a full belly and the air cleared, Steve and Nadia found their eyes had gotten too heavy and they climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. But about three AM Steve was awakened by gentle kisses. Nadia was gently kissing his shoulder then she slowly kissed her way down to his nipple, then she lingered there with kisses and licks that caused thrills that Steve never felt before. He reached over and turned on a small light and Nadia smiled at him. "I can't wait any longer... I know I'm ready now."

Steve wasn't the most experienced man, but he did realize the implications of what she just said. "You've never...?" The question hung in the air between them.

"No... I have fooled around some but I never met someone that I really wanted... and I want you..." She looked like she was going to cry.

Steve pulled her close and began kissing her as he unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing; it was one of his shirts. Between kisses he said, "You look sad, do I scare you?"

"No, it's just, it seems like every time we get to a point where we can be real something else happens to set us back."

"Turn your phone off so the world can't find us," said Steve as he shut his phone off then placed it in his nightstand and Nadia did the same. "Ok this is your first time, what do you want? Playful? Rough? Sweet? Romantic? Orrrrr maybe the Venus Butterfly?"

"What's the Venus Butterfly?" Nadia was starting to laugh now.

"It's just a little thing that became popular in the sixties, but we need a blindfold, some silk rope, and a jar of mayonnaise."

"Instead, can I get sweet and romantic with a side of playful?" she smiled as she lay back and Steve opened her (his) shirt revealing her body. He could have spent the rest of his life at this moment gazing at Nadia's naked body. Her skin was flawless, her breasts large and firm, eraser size nipples centered in coral pink areola, a narrow waist and flat tummy with a tiny belly button, round hips and two perfect legs that needed no metal braces. If Maria entered his thoughts at this moment, it was just to whisper thank you.

"Thirty four double D?" said Steve breaking his reverie.

"On some bras yeah, how did you know?"

"Who does the laundry around here?" and with that he leaned forward and gently suckled on her right nipple, his tongue flickering over the tiny bundle of nerves causing her to gasp and run her fingers through his hair, holding him to his task. His free hand went to her left breast where he twirled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger then at the same time he nipped her right nipple with his teeth and pinched her left nipple causing her to gasp and arch her back.

Nadia felt lightning bolts shoot from her nipples to her clit as Steve pleasured her far beyond the stumbling encounters with stoned boys at UF Gainesville. Steve was kind and gentle, maybe a little too gentle but she can work on that. Now he began kissing his way downward, lower and lower pausing only to tickle her belly button with the tip of his tongue. Now to her bikini trimmed bush which he plucked at with his teeth before moving southward.

To Steve, Nadia smelled like the fresh mown hay of the spring, fragrant and earthy, something he relished in his youth, and then he began to run his tongue up and down the folds of her lower lips. She was red and swollen with excitement and possibly confused, her hands were in his hair, sometimes pushing him away, and other times holding him close to her, allowing him to lick and probe her pussy.

Nadia's gasps soon filled the room as Steve's loving attention to her vagina gently roused her building delicious tension. She lifted her knees and spread her legs wide, opening herself up to him and he took advantage of the opportunity. Gently spreading her nether lips open exposing her tiny clit he began to pepper the so sensitive bead with gentile kisses and fluttery licks knowing that too much stimulation could cause her to demand an end to it all right now.

But Nadia was in heaven, never had she experienced such a patient, gentle lover. The days of the fumbling oafs that could be sent away with a halfhearted blowjob was over. Now Steve slid a finger into her tight pussy as he continued to worship her clit, then a second finger which eased in and out, exploring her moist depths preparing her. And she was ready, the thrills he was churning up had her at the edge of screaming, "Fuck me!"

"Hmmm?" Steve looked up at her but continued to suckle at her clit and now he introduced a pinky finger pressing at her tight ass.

She didn't mean to say it out loud but the cat's out of the bag. "Fuck me... Oh god I'll never be more ready."

Steve eased up over Nadia and lubricated his cock with saliva then said, "This really is your first time?" In response she nodded nervously so he took her hand and put it on his aching cock and said, "guide me in."

She looked a little confused but she held his slippery cock and it felt so big now, so hard. She rubbed the head of it up and down her labia until it felt right... "right there, yessss" She arched her back as Steve eased inside of her, slowly spreading her open and delving inside and the thought that there was a man inside of her... The fascination of having the man she loved actually inside her body overwhelmed her and she was starting to cum before he was all the way in. She clasped his back and growled, urging him on.

Steve started fucking with shallow strokes, keeping an eye on her beautiful face looking for signs of pain or fear, and seeing none he probed deeper with each thrust. Their love making didn't last long, they were too eager, they had been waiting so long. Nadia came long and hard, her hips rising off the bed trying to get Steve in deeper, her cries and gasps of passion filled the air as waves of sexual bliss washed over her and never seemed to end. Finally, as her orgasm finished Steve came with a loud growl of pleasure, his cock throbbed as he fired volley after volley of semen into her willing depths, and only now he thought to ask if she was on the pill.

Slowly they returned to earth, hugging and kissing, their shared bliss softening to a sweet exhaustion. "Was it everything you hoped for?" asked Steve as Nadia held him tightly.

"Yes," she said dreamily, "for starters." Then her satisfied smile broke into a huge grin, "and I want more." They snuggled together glowing in their satisfaction dreaming dreams of building a life together when they're safe, but that won't happen until Alfeo Gronchi is dead.

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Fabrizia Bellini-Scordato loved to visit Manhattan in the winter. Even though her home is in the unending summer of South Florida, she still loves to walk in the cold crisp air of Manhattan in January. There's always an exciting, vibrant feeling in the air, the chill of winter makes it even sharper. As always she stopped and laid a rose at the site of the "accident" that claimed the life of her brother-in-law Guiseppi D'Amato and permanently injured her little sister. The rose will be gone soon, her tears will be gone too, and this whole incident needs to be ended.

Her next stop was a little restaurant in North Merrick, a bedroom community on Long Island. Eddies Place was a small upscale eatery that served old world dishes to a generation just discovering the old traditions. As she followed Marco inside she saw a gentleman far in the back of the eatery raise his hand and wave her over. "Fabrizia! You look marvelous!" said the man who rose and kissed her cheeks. "Not a day older than we last met." The man was in his seventies with a balding pate, a pleasant smile and a round belly announcing to the community his wife's cooking skills. They both looked like they were dressed for church, she was in a plain Navy blue dress with a string of pearls and he was in a gray flannel suit with white shirt and blue tie.

"Flattery will get you anywhere, Dom. This is my son Marco. Marco this is Domonic Gronchi. Could you give us some privacy Marco?"

Dom turned to the man next to him and said, "Freddy, why don't you join Marco at the bar, have them put in on my tab. Thank you." When the young men left the head of the Gronchi family smiled at Fabbi and said, "What brought you out of the warmth to come up here. It can't be the bagels."

"It's your nephew Dom," said Fabbi as Domonic poured her a cup of tea.

"Alfeo? I thought getting him out of the way in Italy would settle things down."

Fabbi leaned forward and glared at him. "On the way out, he killed my sister."

"Fabbi, there's no proof!" Dom shrugged and held his palms skyward. "Some weekend warriors mistook her house for a kidnappers hideout. He told me himself."

"Four survivors were rounded up and are singing. They all identified Alfeo as the man that hired them."

Dominic's smile faded. "Idiota," Dom groaned. "I'm done with that stronza. But I cannot correct it... he's family."

"Just before he left, he shot a priest in confession. They have the pistol with his prints and a witness that puts him in the building at the time," said Fabbi. Dominic knew that everything that Fabrizia said was true, she built an empire on information collection and she's renown for her honesty. As Dom wrestled with the shame of having a family member sink so low as to kill a priest, Fabbi continued. "Maria's widower is ready to go to war, he was special forces in the Army and is very angry. He is training her daughter in weapons and tactics, they could drag us all into a war that we thought ended ten years ago, we don't want that, do you?" Dom shook his head and Fabbi said, "I want them to have something we never had, a quiet, happy life."

"What do you propose la mia amica?"

"Bring him back and let the Florida cops pick him up at JFK. He pleads guilty if they agree to wave the death penalty and he spends his years in a federal pen of your choice. Otherwise, I assure you it will get ugly and we can't afford that. Neither of us."

"It's the only thing to do," agreed Dom, "you're a wise woman as always. Is there anything else?"

"Come down and visit some time, I'll make fresh Shrimp Fra Diavolo and Risotto."

"You were always my favorite Fabbi."

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The occasion was Nadia's twenty second birthday, and her first birthday without her mother so the family is compensating with a gathering around the pool on a warm Saturday afternoon. "I love it here," grinned Steve as he handed Fabbi and Nadia a tall, ice cold lemonade as they lounged on the patio. "In the UP in March I'd be shoveling the driveway, here I'm watching my garden bloom." He noticed the sideways glare he got from Nadia and amended that statement, "our garden."

"And how is work?" asked Fabbi as Steve got in a floating lounge chair and relaxed in the pool. Steve returned to the hospital for work in January and it's been a tough two months getting back up to speed but he's finally back in the groove of things.

"It's getting better, Nadia meets me at noon and we have lunch. Doctor Albertson said he's going to recertify me for home health care next month if I want."

"Do you want?"

"What do I want? I want Alfeo Gronchi's head on a silver platter and I want Nadia to be the happiest woman on earth. Nadia came over to the pool, leaned over and kissed her man.

"Hand me that platter and I will do anything you want." With a happy growl Steve pulled Nadia into his lap, upsetting the floating lounge and they both ended up in the water. They came to the surface kissing.

Anna and Emma came out of the house after changing into their swimsuits as Jeannie followed holding four month old Maria, and Derick took up position at the bar. As the sun set and the tiki torches were lit, Steve got out of the pool and started the grill. A hot Saturday Evening in Florida with family and friends, cold beer, burgers and dogs. Steve looked at the chrome serving platter next to the grill and was about to say something when a voice cried out, "EVERYBODY!"

Lisa jumped up and screamed, "TURN ON CNN!" Lisa was holding her phone to her ear and pleaded for everyone to hush.

Derick turned the TV to CNN just in time to see... "This is Ashley McKenzie live at JKF International Airport where this amazing arrest just took place."

The scene changed to show people coming out of customs at JKF and many being shuffled to the side by TSA agents. That's when Alfeo Gronchi could be seen exiting customs and walking toward the camera. Suddenly Bruce and two NYPD officers stepped up to Alfeo. The sound was a bit muffled but they could hear Bruce say, "Alfeo Gronchi, I'm Detective Leonard McLaren with the Vero Beach PD and I have an arrest warrant for you in the murder of Father Ewen MacCailein and two counts of Solicitation of Murder and two counts of facilitating murder in the deaths of Darlene Colella and Annamaria Anderson, furthermore the City of New York has opened up an inquiry into the death of Guiseppi D'Amato. You have the right to remain silent..."

As Bruce walked past the camera everyone was stunned, staring at the tv in silence. Then the scene went live and Ashley breathlessly announced "New York City developer Alfeo Gronchi has been arrested and is being charged with the murder of a beloved priest in Vero Beach Florida, and is also charged in connection with a shootout just blocks away from the church that left ten people dead and nearly half a dozen injured..."

Cheering went up as everybody was overwhelmed with relief, it's over! The fear of Alfeo Gronchi returning to finish the job was gone! "NADIA! DIDJA HEAR THE NEWS?"

Nadia turned in Steve's arms and saw Mrs. Weberman leaning out of her window. "Yes we did Mrs. Weberman! Come on over!" Several neighbors did come over and it became a very lively bash. It eventually attracted the attention of the Vero Beach PD who walked around the garage to see if this party was getting out of control.

Nadia did something that she never thought she would ever do, she threw her arms around the nearest cop and cried, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I'm just here to check out the noise, ma'am."

"Didn't you hear? The shoot out that was here last year, they just caught the guy!"

Steve continued to grill every burger and dog they had but he called out, "Lisa! Your friends want you!"

A fairly tipsy Detective Lisa McLaren explained the party to the officers as a celebration of her husband's starring role on CNN live. While she did that, Steve and Nadia took a cheeseburger over to Fabbi who remained in her chair with a wise smile on her face. Steve proffered the burger and said, "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything," she said as she took the burger and tried a dainty bite.

"You spoke to someone in the Gronchi family, didn't you," said Nadia.

"I had a lovely cup of tea with an old friend and invited him to come down and I would make him fresh Shrimp Fra Diavolo and Risotto." She smiled as she nibbled the burger. "I may have asked him to place a phone call. So do you two feel safe?"

"How long is Gronchi going to be in prison?"

"It shouldn't be too terribly long," said Fabbi as she lifted the bun and inspected the burger. "Word got out that Mister Gronchi named many Black Ridge names at his deposition and there appears to be some unrest in the Black Ridge members of the prison community." She looked up at a joyful Steve and Nadia with an innocent smile.

Steve put his arm around Nadia's narrow waist and said, "Thank you again Aunt Fabbi."

"It's Aunt Fabbi now? Not sis?" the matriarch asked.

"No, your niece and I are free to make plans for our future now. I think our familial relationship will change in the near future."

"We will talk more lovebirds, but for now, enjoy your victory