Mafia Legacy

Chapter Thirty Three- Charlotte

"Earlier this evening, District Attorney Scott Whitaker was arrested on several felony counts of witness tampering. The charges came as footage of Whitaker coercing witnesses and bribing them to lie was released late last night. Charges in three of his pending cases have all been dropped in connection with the coercion, including the trial of Luca Catalano—a local business mogul who was accused of being tied to organized crime, and in the murder of Maggie Fields out of New Orleans. The interim DA is declining to recharge Catalano or his co-defendant, Angelo Deltorio, and they're both being released today."

I was clutching the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles were turning white as I listened to the radio. The news of Whitaker's arrest was all anyone could talk about, but it still didn't feel completely real to me. Marco and I had sent the videos to every news station we could find late last night, and by the 6AM news cycle, it was on every TV in the state. We knew it was only a matter of time until Whitaker had to step down, but we hadn't expected him to get arrested so soon.

In light of his arrest, I'd been notified that they were releasing both Angelo and Luca, and so right now, I was sitting out in front of the hospital, praying that it was true. Praying that any second, I'd see Luca walk out of there, free of handcuffs and his prison uniform. Free from bars and out into the sunshine. That I'd get to feel him in my arms as he pressed his lips to mine, and then get him home to our family as fast as possible. It wouldn't be real to me until then. Everything had happened so quickly that Luca hadn't even been transferred back to the prison again yet.

My heart was beating a mile a minute as the clock ticked, and I was getting restless. Julia was going to text me when she picked Angelo up, and so far, I hadn't heard from her either. There were still so many things that could go wrong, and the longer I waited, the more I started to panic. I'd waited weeks for him, but these last few minutes were going to be the death of me.

About the time I had decided I was going to go inside and find out what was taking so damn long, the glass door slid open and I saw Luca walking with one of the guards. I waved my arms in the air dramatically, tears streaming down my cheeks as I was unable to contain my excitement. Luca grinned, winking at me and then turning to the guard and shaking his hand. As he headed toward the car, I unbuckled my seat belt and got out, meeting him just a few yards in front of the car.

Luca dropped the small bag he was carrying and swooped me into his arms, pressing his lips into mine aggressively. His embrace was so strong it was nearly crushing me, but I wasn't going to stop him. I'd been waiting so long for this moment. Soon, my soft tears had turned to sobs, and I was sucking in air, trying to catch my breath. The emotions of the last few weeks were hitting me like a brick wall now that Luca was safe in my arms, and I was safe in his.

"Babe..." Luca chuckled, kissing my cheek as he sat me back down on the ground. "I hope these are happy tears."

I nodded. "They are I just... I can't believe you're actually here. I'm just so happy to see you."

"I know." He agreed. "Every night I was away, I dreamt about this moment, and all I want to do is enjoy it." He kissed me again, his fingers intertwining in my hair.

"You mean you don't want to hear about how Marco and I made this happen?" I teased, wiping the tears off of my cheeks.

"Now that's a story I am going to need a drink for." He grinned, throwing his arm around me as we walked to the side of the car. He put his bag in and then opened my door for me. "Where are the kids? I kind of thought they'd be with you."

"They are dying to see you, but I wanted just a few minutes of having you to myself." I admitted. "Can we take the long way home?"

"I'll do you one better. How about we stop at the park?" He shot me a wink.