I looked down on the sleeping form of my daughter, feeling a tear form in eye as I looked at her beautiful hair and button nose that she'd inherited from her mother. Leaning over, I gave her a kiss on the temple and stood up, wiping away the tear. "Good night, Princess. Daddy's gotta go to work, but I'll be back in the morning to make sure you get breakfast."
My Julia yawned and turned over in her sleep, warm and content in the little one-piece outfit that we dressed her in. I found her teddy bear, a gift from her grandfather, and tucked it next to her, where she laid her tiny little hand over it. I watched for another moment before leaving, smiling as I came into the bedroom and found Luisa waiting for me. "She's sleeping well."
"She knows that she's being taken care of," my beautiful wife said, kissing me on the cheek. "Margaret is going to do a great job making sure Julia's taken care of tonight. In fact, I think she's looking forward to it. Remember how much she was beaming at dinner?"
I chuckled and reached up, fixing Luisa's tie. She always wore a suit when the two of us worked together, and she knew I loved how sexy she looked in it. "You're sure you want to do this?" I asked, brushing a speck of dust off her collar. "You know you don't have to."
"Have you ever looked up what the name Luisa means?" she asked, a smirk on her beautiful features.
"No, can’t say that I have,” I admitted, tempted to pull her close and kiss her deeper. I didn't. There wasn't enough time to do what I would have wanted if we did. “Does it mean perfection?” I teased.
"Close, but your flattery isn't quite right," Luisa said, patting my chest and checking my tie. "It means 'great warrior.' Now, how am I supposed to sit around on my ass all the time with a name like that?"
"You're going to make a great Mafia queen some day," I chuckled in reply. The two of us left the nursery that was next to my rooms in the house and headed into the main hallway, where I found Aunt Margaret already waiting. "Your niece is sleeping soundly with Mr. Bear."
"That's good," Margaret said, smiling. "I actually have some work to get done tonight, so I guess I'll be using her diaper table for my laptop. How're you two feeling?"
"I'm good," I said, rolling my neck. "My wife didn't break my neck today in practice—just twisted it a little."
"I was just trying to squeeze his head some, make sure it doesn't get too big," Luisa joked in reply, causing Margaret to laugh. "But we're feeling good. Thankfully, Julia still likes mid-afternoon naps."
"Those are a blessing," Margaret said. "I caught one myself, only an hour or so, but if the princess wakes up, well, I'm not exactly in my twenties any longer."
"You still look twenty-nine to me," I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "But seriously, thanks for looking out for Julia tonight."
"We're a family. It's what we do."
Luisa and I headed downstairs, stopping in the kitchen to arm ourselves. "So what's the job tonight?"
I smiled, knowing my wife knew exactly what the job was. She just liked to act that way so that we would go over it before going to work. "Not a big deal. Some punk named Teddy Maguire, who's bringing in some bad shit to the University District, trying to peddle some doctored-up study drugs to the college students."
Luisa shook her head in good humor, perplexed by the American obsession with drugs. "Like some Adderall or whatever it is he's calling it can replace decent study and a good night's sleep. In any case, we find him and?"
"And put the fear of God in his heart. Or at least the fear of the Bertolis. Seattle and Tacoma aren’t welcome zones for him. The pistols are just in case he gets stupid," I said, handing Luisa her Beretta. "You ready?"
"Ready," she said, sliding it into her holster. "By the way, after work, you mind if we stop off at the Starlight Club?"
"The Starlight? Why?" I asked, grinning a familiar smile at the little play. We had gotten into a habit of it, and it was a great way to blow off some steam after a night's work.
"I think I'd like to dance a little for my husband. I'm sure Terry can get us a VIP room—don't you think?"
"I'm sure. One question, though. What are we going to do when your brother gets here next week?"
Luisa shrugged and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "We'll figure out something. I'm just glad that my dad is trying to make amends for his behavior last time you were in Brazil."
We left the house and went out to our car. "Hey, who's driving tonight?"
Luisa held up her hand. "I believe it’s my turn. You drove last time."
"No way. You drove last time. I'm sure of it," I replied, smiling.
She crossed her hands over her chest and raised an eyebrow at me. "So how should we settle this?"
"Rock, paper, scissors?"
My lovely wife considered it, then nodded. "Deal. Ready? 1 . . . 2 . . .”
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