Is this destiny?

Chapter 1358 - Bruno, Kicks, And Mike's Rejection

After thinking for a bit, Jeff got an idea how to pacify Charlie!

"Considering the damage Bruno received today, his body can't take much more. Death is an easy exit for Bruno.", Jeff told Charlie while giving him a meaningful look. 

Charlie paused. "What do you have on your mind?"

"He should suffer. At least twenty four hours. We have ways to make him wish he is dead.", Jeff gave Charlie a meaningful look.

Jeff exhaled in relief when he saw that Charlie relaxed slightly.

Charlie agreed when he heard that Jeff asked for one day. "Twenty four hours. I will be back tomorrow."

Charlie looked at Emma and realized that she was watching him act like an animal.

"I'm sorry you had to see that.", Charlie told Emma. He wanted to hug her, but his hands are bloody (Bruno's blood).

JoAnna handed Charlie sanitizing wipes to clean up. She has her medical bag handy with necessities.

"There is no need to apologize.", Emma told Charlie and turned to Jeff and JoAnna. "I want to talk to Bruno tomorrow. If possible."

"We will notify you when he is awake.", JoAnna assured Emma.

Emma expressed her gratitude to Jeff and JoAnna. "If not for you, we would not catch him this quickly and we would probably not find out why Bruno approached me. Or about my father."

JoAnna smiled. "That is what friends are for. If you need to talk, you know where I am."

"Thank you.", Emma gave JoAnna a big hug before turning to Charlie. "Let's call Mike, Sean and Ryan. I want to meet with them and tell them about Angelo. They believe that our father is dead and it's probably a good idea that it stays that way. But if Bruno came after me, there is no insurance that next Bruno will not target them. They need to know."

"Do you want them to come here and talk to Bruno tomorrow?", Charlie guessed.

Emma confirmed. "I want to give them that option."

"What about your mom?", Charlie asked.

Emma said that she will talk to her mom about a tiny detail how she is still married (and dating Jarred), but after they returned from Switzerland Mrs. Ronin went to Seattle and Emma didn't get a chance to talk to her.

Emma's expression showed that she does not know what to do. "I believe that she knows that Angelo is alive and who he is, but I don't know if Jarred does."

"Let's see if we can meet with your brothers tonight, or tomorrow morning and all of you can decide if you will include your mom in this or not.", Charlie suggested. "But I want to talk to your mom, because if she does not tell my Uncle about Angelo, I will."

Emma agreed. They don't know if Angelo is aware that Mrs. Ronin is in a relationship with Jarred or not, but if he is watching them, it is a matter of time before he finds out.

Bruno disclosed how Angelo is keeping their photos and that he never looked at any other woman, and it is highly possible that Angelo still has feelings for Emma's mom, and that means trouble for Jarred.

Charlie and Emma continued discussing plans related to Bruno and Angelo as they walked out of the room.

"What will you say to Charlie in twenty four hours?", JoAnna asked Jeff when the door closed behind Emma and Charlie.

Jeff shrugged, indicating that he does not know. "I will think of something by tomorrow. I welcome any ideas you might have."

"You did good by stopping Charlie.", JoAnna praised Jeff and moved toward unmoving Bruno to verify his condition. 

Jeff pulled JoAnna back. "Don't bend. I will get our men to tie him up to the bed."

Within a minute, two men entered and carried Bruno to another room.

Jeff turned to JoAnna and his expression softened. "Let's go home. It's late, and I'm sure that you are tired. I will rub your feet and we can have a dinner…"

JoAnna smiled and leaned into her husband's embrace. "Sounds good. But let me check this guy first. We don't want him to die on us. And for the massage, I want you to rub my shoulders also. I feel a bit stiff."

Jeff kissed JoAnna's cheek and murmured into her ear: "I will massage any part of your body... anytime... because there is only one thing that should be stiff and that is on me."

JoAnna saw that Jeff is flirty and she wanted to respond, but a sudden movement in her belly made her gasp and she quickly put Jeff's hand over that area. "Did you feel that?"

Jeff wanted to say 'no', but in the next instant he felt a small nudge against his palm and his face lit up.

"I think that our kids are excited about the massage...", Jeff said with a big grin on his face.

JoAnna laughed. 

…

At Mike's and Tiffany's apartment…

On their way from the safehouse, Emma called Mike to see when it's a good time to talk, and he said that he and Tiffany are available, so Charlie and Emma went to their apartment.

Ryan and Sean are at the Cliffside house, and Emma decided to meet with them in the morning.

Back to present…

Mike is staring blankly at Emma while processing the information that their father is alive and a boss of some Italian mafia. And then there is a thing that the man who got a taste of Mike's fists in an alley is working for their father.

"Mike, are you OK?", Emma asked with concern apparent in her voice.

Mike is not OK, but there is not much anyone can do about it. He needs time to accept this. For 23 years he believes that his father is dead. It would be one thing to hear that he was in a coma or somehow unable to contact him, but his father is alive and well.

"When did you find out?", Mike asked Emma after a long silence.

"When Charlie came to our place in Seattle, I thought that mom is a bit strange and we started investigating if dad is alive. Soon after that I found out that he is alive and based on how difficult it was to find anything about him, we guessed that he is a man who has power or some backing. Everything else came tonight from Bruno."

"And you believe this, Bruno person?"

"We know that Bruno is involved with Nero armi and he has no reason to lie.", Emma explained.

Mike was unable to hide his displeasure. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I will go and talk to Bruno tomorrow. I want to know more about dad and I'm here to ask if you want to join as well."

"No.", Mike rejected flatly.

Emma was surprised that Mike is not interested to find out more. "You are not curious?"

"Why would I be curious about a man who didn't reach out to me for twenty years?"

Emma remembered that she didn't clarify this part. "Mom told him to stay away from us, to keep us safe."

Mike didn't buy this. "He is a man, and we are his children. If he wanted to be our father, nothing would stand in his way to be a part of our lives."

Emma knows that Mike grew up without a father figure in his life and that was very tough for him. The revelation how Angelo choose something else over them hurts Mike probably the most out of all Ronin siblings. Emma is a girl and Sean and Ryan had each other, while Mike was by himself mostly.

Emma does not understand Mike's state of mind because she was busy with school and taking care of her younger siblings while their mom worked. Emma didn't have the time to miss her father and she accepted that he does not exist, just how now she accepts that he is somewhere out there.

She does not have any intention to welcome Angelo in her life as her father, but she wants to know more about him.

However, everyone is different.

Emma wondered, how will Sean and Ryan react to this news?

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