A Heart of Gang (The Centofanti Gang Book 1) Read online

  Little footsteps echoing through the stilled hallway announced Ava had woken up from her short nap. I immediately took a sippy cup filled with apple juice, Ava’s favorite, out of the fridge and led both of them into the back playroom away from Daniel. Ava quietly sat on the floor next to me and I handed her the cup before pulling her onto my lap. I held my daughter close as Sky and I sat in silence, thinking of our options and what to do next.

  I knew I had to go find Paul as soon as possible but I couldn't leave either of my girls behind, in case Ramsey really was going to come after us to get revenge on the Carmichaels. Taking Ava to my dad’s was also out of the question; even though he lived in the next town over, he was busy with his own personal problems.

  To my knowledge, no one in Paul's family knew about Ava. Even if it didn't seem like the best time to drop a bombshell on the Centofanti family about its youngest member, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to stay with them. At least that way I would know that Sky was safe, too, if we were all under the same roof. I had to go see Leo Carmichael anyway, so there was definitely a window of opportunity that we could take advantage of.

  I quietly told Sky what I came up with and she agreed it probably would be the safest option for the three of us. Just then, Daniel walked into the room, ending any discussion left on the subject as he hovered near the door. He looked distracted, mumbling under his breath as he shoved his phone into his pocket before turning his attention to us.

  "I have to go take care of something, it might take me an hour or longer so the car won’t be available until I’m done... Skylar, are you okay here?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine. I have Jade's jeep in her garage if I need to go anywhere."

  He nodded and left without saying another word. Sky watched him out of the window to make sure he was gone.

  "Okay, the coast is clear. What do we do now?"

  "We go find Paul. Then we go see Leo," I said. "We should probably pack some stuff for a few days, at least."

  "Yeah, good idea. I'll run across the street and pack really quick. I'll be back in twenty minutes or so."

  "Be careful, Sky," I looked at her, tears welling in my eyes.

  "You too, Jade." She hugged me tightly, then left. I made sure she got inside her house safely before turning away from the window. Taking a deep breath, I dialed the number Alpo texted to me. It rang three times before a voice answered.

  “Carmichael Enterprises, Cassie speaking. How may I help you?”

  “Hi, Cassie. I’m calling for Leo Carmichael.”

  “What’s your name, Miss?”

  “Jade. Jade Corbett.” There was a slight pause.

  “One moment, Miss Corbett. I’ll transfer you to Mr. Carmichael’s office phone.”

  “Thank you, Cassie.” I waited as she clicked me over and a soft melody played through the phone. I heard a tiny popping noise before another voice came through.

  “Leo Carmichael speaking.”

  “Hi, Mr. Carmichael. My name is Jade Corbett. I used to date your nephew, Paul.”

  “Ah, Jade! It’s a pleasure to finally hear your voice,” he chuckled, causing me to relax and smile. “I presume you’re the one who has blessed my sister with a granddaughter?”

  “Yes, sir. That would be my daughter, Ava.”

  “I’d love to meet you both sometime. Now, you’re calling because you know Paul has disappeared, am I correct?”

  “Yes, and I feel terrible for it. If I had known he was at the mall today, I would’ve said something to him. I didn’t want him to find out about Ava like this.”

  “It’s not your fault, my dear. Alpo told me what happened. The question now is where did Paul go? I’m sure he’s hiding from his family, but I think that perhaps he’s waiting for you to find him. My advice is think like he would. Ask yourself, if you were in his shoes, where would you go? I hate to cut this short, but I have a meeting in five minutes. I know you will find him, Jade. Call me or Alpo if you need anything, okay?”

  “Thank you, Mr. Carmichael.”

  “Please, call me Leo. I look forward to meeting you soon, Jade.”

  “I look forward to it, too, Leo. Goodbye.” We hung up and I looked out the window to check on Skylar. She waved from her bedroom window and gave a thumbs up.

  "Okay. Leo said to put myself in Paul’s shoes. If I were Paul, where would I go to get away?"

  As I closed my eyes and let my mind wander to Paul, our old meeting spot at the beach came to mind; I gasped as my eyes shot open, mentally smacking myself for not thinking of it sooner.

  Of course…today would have been our anniversary. He would have gone to the place where everything ended.

  I swirled away from the window, almost knocking over Ava who walked over to me. Catching her before she fell, I whispered in her ear. She smiled and ran to her room with me right behind her. Together, we packed everything we needed for the next few days, from clothes and bath necessities to toys and snacks. Ava put on her shoes and I tied them before helping her into her jacket.

  By the time we had the suitcases in the car, Sky was back with her stuff. We packed her bags into the car and immediately left. I told Sky about my hunch and she smiled, understanding why I thought he would be at the beach. As I sped down the highway, Ava happily singing along to The Little Mermaid, I called Alpo and told him where to meet me.

  He and Sky both agreed that the first time Paul officially met Ava, it should just be the three of us. The plan was Alpo would take Sky and our stuff back to the Carmichael house while we had a family reunion.

  My heart was hammering in my chest as I got closer to the exit. How would Paul react to meeting Ava? How would he react to seeing me after four years? Would he be angry with me or would he understand why I did what I did? How would I react to him? Would there still be a connection, a spark between us? These questions clouded my mind as I got off the exit and drove to the beach.

  Alpo was already waiting for us there, standing next to the same black SUV I remember he bought shortly after graduation to help his mother out before she passed away by Christmas the same year. I easily recognized him from the haircut alone; it was styled the same way from high school. His dark brown hair looked almost black as he had it combed over to one side. He was still a similar build to Paul from the last time I had seen them; a little more muscular than before, I noticed.

  His russet brown eyes watched us pull into the parking lot, an expression of relief on his face when he met my gaze through the windshield. I parked next to him and he immediately helped Sky put everything in the trunk. They hugged Ava and I both before driving away, leaving us to venture on alone.

  I turned toward the empty beach and looked for any sign indicating that he was here. A dark shadow almost directly in front of us caught my eye. At first, I thought it was a boulder, but then it moved and I knew it was him. After all these years, I still knew him. Taking a deep breath, I glanced down to see Ava watching me curiously.

  "Ready to go see Daddy, baby girl?"

  "Yes, Mommy."

  She held tightly to my hand as I led her down the beach toward the water. Once we were a few feet away, I squeezed her hand gently and pulled her behind me. Motioning for her to be quiet, I took another deep breath.

  "Paul?" My voice cracked. He froze at the sound of his name. I counted to 30 before he turned around. Our eyes met over the sandy distance and it was as if the world had disappeared around us.

  My heart skipped a beat as I took in the man standing in front of me. His dark chocolate brown eyes were the same as I remembered, whereas his curly black hair was more of a buzz cut. He appeared more muscular, his skin more tanned than the last time. It definitely brought out the Italian side of him. Blue jeans and a plain dark shirt was still his style, I noticed as I shifted nervously under his gaze. His expression was guarded so I tried to see myself through his eyes.

  My caramel brown hair now had blonde highlights and a lot longer than it was last time I saw him. Eyes were still the same shade of hazel
with a hint of emerald; skin was tanned and I was a little chunkier after having Ava but still in great shape. I was still wearing yoga pants and a dark purple tank top from our trip to the mall, not concerned with changing before we left the house. I thought I looked pretty good as I watched his eyes travel downward. He tensed slightly as he noticed the little hand I was holding. I gave Ava another gentle squeeze before bringing her out from behind me.

  "Um, Paul, this is Ava," I offered a small smile as she shyly took a step toward him. "She's, um, she's our daughter."

  I saw the shock and pride in his eyes before he returned his gaze to Ava. Kneeling down to her level, Paul smiled hesitantly.

  "Hello, Ava," he said.

  "Hi Daddy," she beamed happily. "Mommy said she was going to find you and she did."

  Ava looked up at me and smiled, which I instantly smiled back at. She let go of my hand and faced Paul again, taking a small step forward as if she was unsure if it was okay to do so.

  "Mommy did, didn't she? Why did she say that?"

  "Because I asked her to. I didn't want Mommy to cry for you at night anymore. She misses you."

  The honest sincerity in Ava's voice was enough to make me start crying. I turned away from them, waving Paul off as he started for me. Walking a short distance, I thought about what Ava said. How many nights had I spent crying over what I lost? Too many to keep track, that's for sure. I watched from a distance as Ava and Paul bonded, and knew I made the right choice when I promised Ava I'd find her daddy. Just looking at them made me smile, as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

  Paul glanced toward me and quietly said something to Ava, who giggled. Instantly, I knew they were up to trouble. He stood up from his crouching position and slowly made his way to me. The look in his eyes was enough to warn me and I tried to run away, but he was much faster than me. He threw me over his shoulder and ran toward the water as I squirmed and struggled, playfully screaming for him to put me down. We hit the icy water together and the hard impact from the incoming wave separated us.

  Laughing, I found him swimming to me, a carefree grin stretched across his face. Paul stopped a few feet away from me, silence stretching between us. Ava watched us from the shallow water, happiness glowing in her eyes.

  "She's beautiful... just like her mom," Paul's voice sent chills down my spine. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

  "I was scared," I whispered. "I wanted to keep her safe. She means the world to me. Besides, it wasn’t like you were too worried about me. You never came looking for me. I didn’t even get a phone call."

  "I was giving you space, I thought you didn’t want to be around me after I told you the truth. I should’ve protected you better, especially once I knew Alpo wasn’t lying about you being pregnant,” Paul sighed sadly. “Did she really ask you to find me?"

  "Yes, she really did."

  "Why? And why did you say yes, even after everything I put you through?"

  "Ava deserves to know who her dad is. She needs a family, Paul. I want her to be happy. I don’t want her to have a rocky relationship with you, like I did with my dad growing up."

  "What about you? What do you want, Jade? Isn’t your happiness important too?" His eyes locked on mine as I thought about his question.

  "Now you’re sounding like Skylar. What if what I want isn't what someone else wants?" I said slowly, carefully weighing each word as I spoke. He smirked playfully and rolled his eyes.

  "You won't know unless you ask."

  Before I could get a word out, Paul had crossed the distance between us in one fluid movement. His mouth crushed against mine as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I flung my arms around his neck as our bodies molded together, still a perfect fit. Paul broke the kiss first, his eyes twinkling under the setting sun.

  "Does that answer your question?"

  Not trusting my voice, I nodded as I held onto him as tightly as I could. A sudden blood curdling scream from the beach broke us apart. We watched in frozen horror as Ava was snatched from the shallow water and thrown over a man's shoulder, kicking and screaming as she tried to reach for us. Paul was already halfway to shore when my body was able to function again. I swam as fast as I could, but I knew it was too late. The man reached his car and tossed Ava into the backseat before glancing back. My blood went cold despite being in the icy water when I recognized the face.

  "DANIEL!"

  CHAPTER 7: ASKING FOR HELP

  Ava's screams jolted him back to reality, the horror filled sounds sending jolts of ice through his veins. Without thinking, Paul released Jade and launched himself into the cool water, racing back to the shore as quickly as the slow waves allowed. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to reach his daughter in time, but he couldn't give up. He just met her! There was no way in hell that he was going to let someone take her away. Clambering to his feet as soon as he reached the sand, Paul ran towards the black car. The man had roughly opened the door and shoved Ava inside. Behind Paul, Jade screamed, her voice filled with a panicked rage.

  "DANIEL!"

  The name hit him like a ton of bricks, slowing his pace down just enough that the hesitation did not go unnoticed by Daniel, who sneered at him in disgust. He should’ve known Daniel wouldn’t have left Jade alone to find him; Ramsay probably instructed him to tail her in order to get to him. Urging himself to keep moving, Paul sprinted forward as the car sped away. Kneeling over slightly to steady his pounding heart rate, Paul watched helplessly as the taillights disappeared from sight, tires screeching in the distance. He rubbed the back of his neck as he cursed under his breath and turned to find Jade on her knees in the sand, tears streaming down her face as her arms were wrapped around her midriff. Paul knelt beside her and pulled her against his chest, letting her soak his shirt as she buried her face into his chest.

  "We have to find her, Paul! I can't lose her!" Jade cried. Paul's heart broke into a million pieces as the woman he loved sobbed for their child.

  "Sh, we'll find her. Don't worry, baby girl. We'll get our daughter back... What?" A faint smile had appeared on Jade's face, causing Paul to look at her in slight confusion.

  "I've called Ava 'baby girl' ever since she was born. Now I remember where I got it from. That's the nickname you called me all the time."

  "Since our first date at the bowling alley. That was right after I almost knocked you over and spilled your root beer float down the front of your shirt. It had just sort of slipped out.” They both laughed quietly at the memory before Paul stood and helped Jade up. "Come on."

  "Where are we going?"

  Paul draped his arm over Jade's shoulders as they headed towards her car, carefully rubbing her arm to keep her warm as the night’s temperature began to drop.

  "To go see my Uncle Leo and ask for his help."

  Leo Carmichael sat behind a large oak desk, his arms folded over his chest. Paul could tell he was making Jade nervous by the way she was squirming in the chair. They had told Leo the whole story from the beginning, taking turns to fill in the blanks where the other couldn’t.

  Paul realized Leo hadn't seemed all that surprised to learn the whole truth; he didn’t know what to make of Leo’s reaction. The older man was silent long after Paul had stopped talking, causing Paul to wonder what was going on in his uncle’s head. He looked from his nephew to Jade and back again before uncrossing his arms and leaning forward.

  "I already knew about Jade and Ava," Leo smirked at his nephew as he pointed to Paul’s chest before winking at Jade. "You should’ve known that this morning in your office, Paul. Sometimes, you’re clueless, kid. Besides, she also called me earlier before she found you. But I am curious to know why you didn't tell me or anyone else about her in the first place."

  "That was partly my fault, sir," Jade said, meeting Leo's steady gaze. He motioned for her to continue. "I knew his mom knew we were together in high school, but I didn’t meet anyone else in the family. At that time, I was scared that our relationship wouldn't be approv
ed of because I was raised differently. I was afraid of a lot of things that now seem silly, especially after finding out I was pregnant and we weren’t married… my parents weren’t exactly thrilled, and I doubted Paul’s mom would have been, too. I didn't know what would happen to me or the baby once the truth was out.”

  Jade took a deep breath before she continued, her hands shaking as she tried to remain brave.

  “When Paul had shown up at the beach that night, I wanted to tell him but the blood and bruises on his face terrified me. I ran away because I didn't know how I could confront my fears after realizing the potential danger I could’ve been in had I stayed with Paul. After I had Ava, I debated on finding Paul and telling him that he was the father. I knew he should’ve known the truth, should’ve known his daughter. He's the only man I've ever loved and the fear of being rejected after leaving him like that… it overwhelmed me. It was only when Ava asked me to find him did I put my fears aside and gather the courage to face the ghosts of my past."

  Leo nodded in understanding as Jade spoke. Paul admired her for being strong enough to face her fears, especially the one sitting in front of her. Uncle Leo could be quite intimidating at times, Paul knew that from experience. Jade took another deep breath, tears threatening to spill over again.

  "I should've told Paul as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Maybe she could've been protected a little better than what I had done."

  "Now, don't you go beating yourself up like that, young lady.” Uncle Leo said firmly. “We knew Ramsey still wanted revenge on us for that night, and he was waiting for the right opportunity. Daniel St. Clair was a pawn, used to get closer to you and your daughter. Somehow, Ramsey knew you two would find a way back to each other. Your house was probably bugged or constantly watched. I wouldn’t put that past either of them."