Killer Santas

Chapter 18

Almost a week later, Elaina was in the sitting room, reading a book by the fireplace, when Tony poked his head into the room. "I'd thought I'd find you here," he said, smiling softly, as he entered, sitting down next to her.

Elaina placed her finger between the pages of her book. She glanced over at him, a slight smile playing about her lips. Tony's bullet wounds, one from Victor in the alleyway in his arm and the other from the final shootout, had healed nicely, although he still took things easy and she saw him wince at times if he moved too quickly or brushed against an object. "What is it, Tony?" she asked.

He glanced at the Christmas tree, several presents beneath the branches, nestled among the festive red rug wrapped around the tree's base. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present."

Elaina frowned. "But Christmas is tomorrow. Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't," Tony said, tilted his head slightly, still grinning. "You see, you're going to need it."

With a confused smile, Elaina watched as Tony stood, walked over to the tree, and knelt down, tugging a blue gift-wrapped box out from under the branches. Rising, he snatched a candy cane off one of the branches and walked back over to Elaina, laying the package in her lap.

"Open it," he said encouragingly, peeling the plastic off the candy cane and sucking on the end of the striped candy.

Elaina tore off the paper, her brow furrowing as the boxing for a brand new .380 pistol revealed itself. She looked up at Tony, who lifted an eyebrow anxiously, waiting for her reaction.

"My own gun?" Elaina asked, running her finger over the image on the box.

Tony nodded eagerly. "Yes, so you can protect yourself. It's small enough so that you can conceal it easily. If you're going to join the Andrisano family, you need to make sure you can take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Tony," Elaina said, leaning forward and embracing him. "Thank you for everything."

"What are you talking about?" Tony said, drawing back and looking at her. "You're the one who saved my life."

"You saved my life first," Elaina reminded him. "And if I had just trusted you over Victor to begin with, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"That reminds me," Tony said, tilting his head. "In the alleyway, you told me that you wouldn't end up like Tilly. Who is Tilly?"

"Victor told me she was your ex," Elaina said, feeling awkward. "He said you killed her."

Tony laughed. "I've never dated a Tilly, ever. My ex is named Millie, though, and she left me because she liked Victor better. She wasn't his type and ended up being a bit miffed when he rejected her." He grinned wryly. "He must have just made that up to scare you."

"Did she know you were in the Mafia?" Elaina asked curiously.

Tony shook his head. "No. She just thought I worked for my dad's construction company, like most people do. She had no idea, and still has no idea. I'd like to keep it that way, personally."

Elaina laughed. "Thank you for the gun, Tony, and for the explanation."

"No problem," Tony said. "There's one more thing, though. My father said I could tell you." He grinned at her. "He wants you to take over Victor's accounting firm."

Elaina's eyes widened. "What?"

Tony nodded. "He thinks it'll be fitting, for you to manage the firm. Of course, it'll be closer under the family wing than it was under Victor's management, but that will be only a minor change." He brushed aside a strand of her hair. "What do you say?"

Elaina felt overwhelmed. Joining the Mafia, being given her own gun, and now being put in the charge of the firm...it was a lot to take in. But she knew what her answer was. "Yes, of course."

"Great!" Tony enthused. "But I do have one more question to ask." Elaina glanced at him, narrowing her eyes, as he pulled something out of his pocket. "Will you join me for dinner tonight?" He held up a slip of paper, her name written in the center. It took her a moment to realize what it was from.

"You have my name!" Elaina exclaimed, seizing the paper and examining it. "How did you get this? You don't work for the firm!"

"No, I don't, but I have friends who do," Tony said, nodding to the slip of paper. "Turns out Michael was in charge of preparing the names, and he gave me yours." An expression of sorrow passed over his face. "Michael knew about the game. He was supposed to bring you to me at the restaurant that night, to keep you safe."

"But then he died," Elaina whispered.

Tony nodded, taking her hand gently in his and squeezing it reassuringly. "Don't feel guilty about it, that was his choice," he said. "I asked Michael to protect you. He accepted. He didn't have to, and I told him that." He was silent for a moment. "Michael was my best friend."

"I'm sorry," Elaina whispered, closing her eyes momentarily. Thank you, Michael. Thank you for protecting me. And I'm sorry, so, so sorry, that you died.

"I'm sorry you had to witness it," Tony returned. "We're planning a funeral for him, a private one, for after the holidays."

There was silence as they reflected on the past, on their fortune to have lived through it. Then Elaina glanced up at Tony, at the pensive expression on his face, and she felt warmth flood her chest. She still had him. After everything that occurred, all the shootings, she still had him. She could be thankful for him.

"So, are we on for dinner tonight?" Tony pressed after several minutes.

"Yes," Elaina answered.

****

Romano's restaurant was dimly lit as the waiter served their food, two plates of spaghetti carbonara. Tony smiled at Elaina over the table, the candles in the center of the white tablecloth flickering.

"I understand, now," Elaina started as she picked up her utensils. "Why you consider Fall Out Boy's 'Yule Shoot Your Eye Out' a Christmas song. When we talked about it before, you said we all have people we don't want to see for Christmas. At the time, I thought that was odd. Now I understand what you mean." She met his eyes. "You were talking about Victor, right?"

Tony nodded. "Yes. He's my brother, and we used to be close when we were younger. But then...." He shrugged. "I got Andrisano Construction and he started the accounting firm, and it was eventual, but then one day we noticed he seemed distant. My father heard wind of his plans to take over and so we concocted the Secret Santa scheme to make sure him and his people were stopped. I wanted to keep you out of it, so I asked you to dinner that night so that I could take you to safety. But then...Victor interfered.

"But now that's over."

They continued to talk as they ate the good Italian food, Elaina's new pistol safe in her purse. Afterwards, they drove back to the Andrisano's house, Tony helping Elaina out of the car, and they walked up the front steps to stand on the porch, snowflakes stuck in Elaina's dark hair and dusting the shoulders of Tony's overcoat.

"Thank you for tonight," Elaina said, looking up into Tony's eyes. "I enjoyed it."

"So did I," Tony said, leaning forward. And then he kissed her.

Elaina immediately returned his kiss, twining her arms around his neck. Tony's arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer to him.

When finally they broke apart, Tony smiled softly down at her. "Let's get out of the cold, shall we?" he said quietly, and opened the door for her. "Merry Christmas, Elaina."

"Merry Christmas, Tony," she returned, taking his hand in hers and stepping into the warm, lit house. "Merry Christmas."