Maggie Lee (Book 11): The Hitwoman Hires a Manny (6 page)

I stared at her in horror. If he was in the next room, he’d no doubt heard everything I’d said. And yelled. And shrieked.

I was pretty sure my head was literally going to explode like an overfilled water balloon at any moment.

Susan ushered me toward the dining room, waving her arms like a farm-wife directing a flock of wayward chickens.

Deciding that the stranger in the next room would be easier to deal with than my aunt, I stumbled into the dining room.

“Uh, hi,” I muttered to the dark-haired, broad-shouldered man who had his back to me as he examined some of Susan’s silverware.

Turning, he flashed a heart-stopping smile at me. “Hi, Maggie.”

I gasped, unable to conceal my surprise that Angel Delveccio, wearing a Navy t-shirt, was standing in front of me. “
You’re
the manny?”

“The one you’re going to fire,” he confirmed, a devilish twinkle in his eye.

I sank into the nearest chair, trying to make sense of what was going on, while war drums beat relentlessly against the interior of my skull. “I don’t understand.” I squinted at him suspiciously. “Did your uncle put you up to this?”

His gaze narrowed and frown lines wrinkled his forehead, but he kept his tone light. “No. This was all your aunt’s doing.”

I made a mental note to add Susan to the list of my future assassination victims.

“Mind if I sit?” Angel asked.

I waved my hand. “Help yourself.”

He helped himself to the seat beside me. I half-expected the antique chair to splinter beneath his rugged weight. Our knees practically touched and I could smell his spicy aftershave.

“Look,” I said in a rush. “I’m sorry about what you overheard. I didn’t mean to insult you. If she’d said you were here…” I sucked in a breath and eyed him suspiciously. “What
are
you doing here?”

“Maybe I should explain what happened,” he offered.

I nodded, massaging my temples with my fingertips.

“Your aunt saw me helping your niece practice her physical therapy exercises.”

“And why did you do that?”

“She was trying to show Dominic…I was there to visit Dominic…not spy on your niece,” he added hurriedly as though he thought that I might think he was some kind of pervert, besides being homeless.

“Go on.”

Angel expelled a puff of frustration. “Anyway, she was trying to show Dom the exercises they’ll teach him to do, but she wasn’t doing it quite right and I wanted to make sure she didn’t adopt any bad habits, so I showed her the right way.”

Dropping my hands into my lap, I looked closely at him. “And how do you know the
right way
?”

Angel squared his shoulders and lifted his chin defensively before saying, “I’m a physical therapist.”

“For real?”

He nodded curtly.

I wondered what Tony/Anthony Delveccio thought about their nephew doing such honest, noble work instead of going into the family business.

“Now that I’ve left the Navy, I’m trying to get resettled. Looking for a job. Finding a place to live. Your aunt suggested I could help out for a while here, while I figured things out, but she should have discussed it with you first.” He leaned closer and whispered, “I thought you’d put her up to the offer.”

I blinked. “Me? Why?”

He shrugged. “I thought maybe my uncle had suggested it.”

I shook my head as a bolt of nervousness shot through me. What would Delveccio think about this arrangement? If he disapproved, it could strain our dealings. I looked up at the dark-eyed man who was watching me carefully. “Did you ask your uncle about it?”

Annoyance flashed in his gaze. “Nope.”

I cringed inwardly, realizing that asking a grown military man if he’d gotten permission from his uncle was probably pretty insulting. “I didn’t mean…” I began to apologize.

He waved it off. “I get it. You’ve spent enough time with my uncles to know that they usually get their way.”

I nodded, wondering if he could tell the difference between the twin mobsters.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

“Look,” he said finally, “I get that you don’t want me here.”

“I didn’t say that.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t appreciate Aunt Susan arranging things behind my back, and the idea of entrusting Katie’s care to a stranger terrifies me,” I admitted.

He nodded slowly. “I understand. But eventually you’re going to have to. Wouldn’t it be better to have it be the devil you know?”

“But I don’t know you,” I countered.

He sat back in his chair and regarded me steadily. “You know that I helped you change your tire. And you know that Katie likes me. You know that if anything happened to your niece, my uncle would kill me…literally.” A challenge sparkled in his eyes as he added that bit, waiting to see how I’d react to the mention of his family’s illegal practices.

I didn’t bat an eye.

“You can run a background check on me,” Angel offered. “You’ll find out where I got my degree, that I was honorably discharged from the Navy, and that my credit score is stellar.”

“So why live here?” I asked.

“It beats living in an extended stay hotel.”

“But you’ve met my family.”

He chuckled. “Trust me, compared to
my
family they’re not that bad.”

“They’re nuts,” I warned him.

“Remember where we first met,” he reminded me.

I couldn’t help but smile considering that we’d met at the mental health facility where my mother and his cousin resided.

“C’mon, Maggie,” he murmured, leaning closer so that the scent of his spicy aftershave tickled my nose. “You need the help. I need a place to get my bearings. What do you have to lose?”

“Animals.”

He sat back. “You’re going to lose animals?”

“How do you feel about them?”

“Well,” he answered carefully, “I’m not a vegan or anything. Not really a tofu hot dog kinda guy.”

“Me neither,” I assured him, shuddering at the thought of soy-based “meat”.

“Well, I don’t hunt animals if that’s what you mean…”

“Pets,” I explained. “I meant, how do you feel about pets?”

An expression of relief crossed Angel’s face. “I like pets.”

I nodded my approval. “But the real question is whether they like you.”

He cocked his head to the side, a smile playing at his lips. “So I don’t only need to earn your approval, but the pets’ too?”

“It’s a package deal.”

“Bring ‘em on.”

I nodded. “Follow me.”

Jumping to my feet, I led him through the kitchen where Susan and Loretta were making a show of peeling potatoes.

I gave them a look to let them know that I knew that they’d been eavesdropping on the dining room conversation. Susan had the good sense to look embarrassed.

Loretta winked at me and mouthed “handsome” before saying, “I feel safer having a virile young man in the house. Don’t you, Maggie?”

Cheeks burning, I didn’t answer. I didn’t feel safer.  I felt more on edge than ever.

Ignoring her, I led Angel to the entrance of the basement. “Don’t be afraid.”

He chuckled. “I’ve served in a war zone, I think I can handle--”

“Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!” DeeDee barked excitedly, rushing up the stairs toward us.

I sensed Angel freeze behind me.

Not that I could blame him, if a barking Doberman pinscher charged me, I’d stop dead in my tracks too.

“It’s okay,” I told him. Then I waved at the dog, motioning for her to retrace her steps. “Get back down there.”

The dog obeyed, but watched us curiously as we descended. “This who?”

“This is Angel,” I told her, in a voice loud enough for God and Piss to hear too as we reached the base of the staircase. “He might be helping out with Katie.”

“Might?” DeeDee sniffed his hand.

To his credit, the Navy man didn’t flinch. He just stood still, letting her check him out.

“This is DeeDee,” I told him.

“Good dog,” he murmured softly, slowly moving to stroke her chest. “That’s a good dog.”

“Hungry,” DeeDee panted at him hopefully.

“Why will he be helping?” God demanded to know from his enclosure.

Angel whipped his head from side to side trying to identify the source of the squeaking sound.

I pointed at the terrarium. “That’s Godzilla. He was Katie’s, but after the accident, he moved in with me.”

Angel kept petting DeeDee, but waved hello to the lizard with his free hand. “Nice to meet you.”

God waved back with his tail, but I don’t think the man noticed.

“Angel is a physical therapist,” I explained to the animals.

Angel chuckled. No doubt no one had ever explained him to their pets before, but he didn’t seem to think it was terribly weird.

“Hungry,” DeeDee panted again, fixing her dark eyes on the man stroking her, trying to will him to feed her.

“What’s wrong, cucciola?” he murmured.

She cocked her head in my direction, signaling she hadn’t understood him.

I shrugged at the dog. “What did you call her?”

“Cucciola. Sweet little puppy.”

DeeDee licked his palm, approving of the endearment.

I smiled, knowing he’d just won the dog’s heart. “She’s hungry.”

“She’s
always
hungry,” God groused.

“Have a seat.” I waved for Angel to sit on the couch while I grabbed a biscuit for the dog and tossed it to her.

Angel sank down on the sofa and slowly surveyed the room. I waited, knowing it was a lot to take in the first time. Even though I was so accustomed to it, I never noticed it anymore.

“When we were kids, we called it The Ship,” I said.

“I can see why,” Angel murmured, studying the walls, each of which offered a painted ocean view. One wall consisted of an endless line of white-capped waves. Another featured a tropical island complete with palm trees and a Tiki hut. Still another showed mermaids frolicking in the sea. The floor was painted to look like the boards of a ship and the ceiling was a sky dotted with fluffy clouds.

“Someone’s very talented,” Angel said quietly, but I got the distinct impression he wasn’t a fan of the artwork.

“My mother in her manic stage.”

I let the statement hang in the air, like a spotlight showing off an unexpected detail in the paintings.