Chasing His Brother's Bride
Chasing His Brother’s Bride – Chapter 62

Jolie made her way downstairs and found Keely sitting at the island, typing on her laptop keyboard.

“Hi. You’re back early.”

“I arranged a bunch of consulting appointments for the staff,” she shrugged and then looked up with annoyance. “How was it so many people feel sad this woman offed herself? She was a bitch.”

She chuckled, “she was something.”

Keely looked at her suddenly with a wicked grin, “I saw the video the guys were watching last night. Her man making her dress up and pretend to be you was hilarious.”

“Very funny,” she gagged at the notion.

“India is coming this week with her daughter. I’m nervous,” she blurted it out.

“I bet,” Jolie moved to the pantry. “You’ve been chatting though?”

“A lot. She told me the day after I told her I couldn’t keep sneaking around, Tony found out about her having an affair. He assumed it was with a man. When she gave me radio silence it was because he had beat her nearly unconscious. He destroyed all her phones and for the last several years, he has kept her under lock and key. I didn’t have anything to do with Val’s guys so I had no way to know.”

“I’m sorry to hear this, Keely. I hope you two can sort it out.”

“Me too.”

She found a box of cereal and took it to the island. “Brix and Malik are getting Pia ready for school. Apparently, I deserve a break. She told me to make her cereal but not until she gets down here so she can watch.”

“You take a lot of s**t about your cooking.” Keely grinned, “but you take it like the boss you are. I heard the boys kissed your rings Saturday night. Brix took some ribbing about not getting you a pinky ring of your own. I’m betting he gets one made special for you.”

She held up her middle finger to Keely. “I did what I needed to do.”

“Like a boss.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the compliment made her shift uncomfortably.

“You cried this morning didn’t you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it’s what makes you the perfect Dona,” Keely shrugged. “You will never ever be the person who makes rash decisions, impulsively and without considering the outcome but you also have the biggest heart of anyone I know. It keeps the humanity in the family.”

“Thanks,” she plunked down in the stool next to her friend. “Why are you really here?”

“Kelsey flew in last night and is staying at my parents’ house. She brought a man to introduce to them.”

“I saw a photo of her. You’re fraternal, right?”

“Yin and Yang.”

“Neat.”

“Yeah, I figured since she was here, I could kill a bunch of birds with one stone.” She didn’t look to Jolie.

“You’re going to tell them?”

“It feels wrong Brix and Malik know but they don’t. She’s my sister and I hid it so long but if I tell her then I have to tell Mom and if I tell Mom, I need to tell Dad. Telling Dad means Elio replaces out and then it means he might be upset for killing Val.”

“He won’t be,” Jolie shook her head earnestly. “Because of your actions, he has Pia. He’ll never be upset with you.”

“They’re all supposed to come over this morning after they drop Pia to school. Can you sit with me when I tell them?”

“Definitely. I won’t leave your side.”

“This it the other part of being La Dona,” Keely said quietly. “There’s not a person in the family who would come to you for support and be refused. You’re a good person Jolie and strong.”

“Thanks Keely.” She hugged her sideways and looked at the computer screen. “Appointments?”

“Yeah. I rearranged Brix’s schedule a bit but they still have a ton of things to do.”

She pointed to a blocked off section, “what is this?”

She giggled, “I have a follow-up appointment today with Brix’s mom. She never did pass my sensitivity training program ahead of her flight home. She was ordered by the Don to complete it today.”

Jolie snorted, “how’s that going?”

“She is one of those people who fear homosexuals because she’s afraid of her own sexuality. I know it. I think she wants me.”

“Keely!” she shoved her sideways as Keely laughed out loud.

“She needs to get in line though. I’ve never been one for older ladies but there are two others I’d do long before her.”

“You’re disgusting,” Jolie shivered with disgust.

The sound of Pia racing down the stairs with heavy footsteps chasing her made Jolie look up with a smile.

“Mom, mom, guess what?” Pia scrambled up onto a stool.

“What?”

“My daddies said we can go to Disney.”

“Did they?” She looked to them with raised eyebrows as they both approached her with wide smiles. She shook her head and wriggled in her seat. She was still sore from all their attentions. “When is this happening?”

“Tomorrow,” Pia said.

“You have school.” Jolie protested.

“Not tomorrow,” Brix corrected interrupting her protests. “Nobody said tomorrow. I said when school was out and if you kept your room tidy from now until then we could go.”

“I want to go tomorrow,” Pia said glaring at him.

“And I said no.” Brix retorted glaring back at her. “You need to go to school.”

“Bullshit,” Pia muttered under her breath and kicking the island furiously.

“What did you say?” Brix blinked. “You can’t use this word, Pia.”

Jolie covered her mouth with her hands and looked away, knowing the posture she herself had right now, was the same one Elio had held in the office yesterday morning when she’d argued with Brix. Pia was getting very comfortable with her fathers. She stifled her giggle as Pia glared back at him and boldly uttered the word a second time.

“At least she used it right,” Malik grunted and walked around the counter. “She’s in a house full of soldiers. She’s going to be picking up words.”

“Pia,” Brix moved to squat in front of her, “you cannot be rude to Daddy simply because I don’t give you what you want.”

“You always give me what I want. If you don’t take me to Disney, I’ll ask Nonno.” She folded her tiny arms over her chest mutinously and didn’t break eye contact. “He said I’m going to be the boss someday. If I’m the boss, I’m going to live at Disney. I want to go tomorrow.”

Brix looked to Jolie with wide eyes. “He said she was going to be the boss?”

Jolie shrugged, “she’s in a houseful of soldiers in a progressive Italian family,” she felt a glimmer of pride at the possibility her daughter could hold a true title of Dona.

“She cannot be boss. She is a girl. We do not let women be part of the business.”

“As I said to the guys Saturday night, you do not let innocents be part of business. Anyway, she’s five. You don’t have to worry about it now.”

The front door slamming open and the tread of Jolie’s favorite bodyguard made her look up smiling. “Good morning, Trey. Did you oversleep?”

“No.” He looked to Brix, “Axl’s father showed up at Opal’s house this morning bitching about child support. I was in the shower. Axl tried to defend his mother and the man hit my boy.”

“Is he dead?” Jolie asked bluntly as Keely snickered at her comment.

“No, but he is in my trunk. Opal is upset. Axl was,” he scratched his temple, “laughing. The kid is laughing and I don’t know if he’s in shock or he is replaceing it truly funny. They should be here any minute but the kid has a black eye.”

“Bring Opal and Axl to my office when they get here. Have the guys take your car and the contents to the warehouse and after we speak to your wife and kid, we can go have a chat with her baby daddy.” Brix said simply. “He will leave them alone after today.”

“Wife and kid?” Opal’s voice shrieked as she slammed into the house. “I am not his wife.”

“Yet,” Trey said bluntly.

“I don’t remember a proposal.”

“Well, consider this a proposal,” Trey said straight faced as he glared back at the feisty woman.

“Fine, I accept.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Jolie looked to Keely who was shaking her head in disbelief.

Axl was holding a bag of frozen vegetables to his eye with a wide smile. “Thanks Dad.” He patted Trey’s shoulder as he walked past him. “Also, when you take the i***t in the trunk away, can I come? He’s been torturing me my whole life. I can take a pledge of allegiance to the family or whatever but I want to watch.”

Opal swore and rounded on Brix but before she could open her mouth, Trey spun her back, mumbled quietly about sealing their engagement, kissed her full on the mouth and then dragged her to Brix’s office.

“They are really weird,” Axl muttered as he plunked down beside Pia at the island. “Hey squirt.”

“Hey Axl. Daddy won’t take me to Disney until school is done.”

He shrugged, “I have school too and you can’t go without me, Pia. If you wait for me then I’ll take you on the rides.”

“Fine, but you have to take me on all the rides,” Pia hissed angrily.

“Deal.”

“I’m going to my treehouse,” Pia slid off her stool and stomped away to sulk.

Axl looked to Brix who gave him a grateful smile for persuading the child to wait, “so can I come?”

“Yup. Let’s go have a chat with your mom and Trey.” He put his hand on Axl’s shoulder and then stopped and pulled the boy into a hug. “This family will always protect you, Axl. Always. There is no pledge or vow you have to make. You are family. You come to us with problems and we fix them. Understand?”

Axl blinked away his tears at Brix’s words and cracked a joke, “it would be cooler if you said capisce.”

Brix laughed and hugged him tighter, “capisce?”

“Thanks Brix.”

Jolie watched Brix, Malik, and Axl head to the office with a smile on her face. “They’re good men.”

“The best,” Keely said quietly. “This family is nothing like a Coppola movie.”

“True dat,” Jolie said earning her a laugh and a nudge from Keely for her attempt at being cool. “It is nothing like I thought it was. I always thought it was thugs and low-life bastards who killed, murdered, and raped their way through the world. Instead, they are thoughtful, kind, accepting people who protect innocents with open minds and giant hearts.”

“They are ruthless too.” Keely grinned, “I overheard my dad and Elio once when I was a teenager talking about how my dad ground up a guy through a meat grinder. It seemed he owed Elio money and dad just hacked him up and turned him into burger.”

“Ew,” Jolie shuddered. “I didn’t need to know.”

“Brix takes teeth and also likes to use fire to burn flesh. Malik is an expert at getting rid of bodies. He doesn’t leave a trace.”

“How do you know all this and more importantly why do you know all this?”

At her silence Jolie gasped, “Keely, do you do s**t for them? Like kill people?”

Keely giggled, “unlike Elio who has always had a firm belief girls have no business in the business, my dad is more open minded. He used to bring me and Kelsey along for the rides. Like take your daughters to work days. We learned a few tricks along the way. I’ve helped my dad with a few interrogations and disposals. It’s probably why Kelsey is a mortician.” She paused, “it’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to tell him what happened. I knew what he would do to Val and Chiara and Elio wouldn’t have forgiven him. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. The Cacciola family is learning women are the force behind them. You were a badass killing our rapist and saving my life. I ordered my first hit this weekend even though I’m feeling ill about it right now and I’m pretty sure Pia is going to be the head of this family at some point in her life.”

As Jolie and Keely discussed the various ways women were stronger than men, Jolie realized having a family, specifically the Cacciola family, was a gift. Despite the fear and terror, she had once known from them, they were her safe haven and her heart belonged purely to them. Their acceptance and love were healing her in ways she had never realized she needed. Gratitude and happiness filled her and she knew there was nowhere she would ever be than without her family. Family was everything.