The Twelve Vitali Ch. 02

"Ask and ye shall receive," Jacobi said, walking into the games room followed by Maryanne. "Compare what?"

"There's something wrong with my face, apparently, and they can't tell without the mirror image in front of them," Ricco shrugged and went to kiss Maryanne hello.

"Get kicked out of another school?" Jacobi asked them and watched as Rafael rolled his eyes at Ricco meaningfully. "You guys are fricken geniuses, how hard is it to get to graduation?" he demanded.

"Take it easy, Cobi; they graduated early. You know it wouldn't hurt to ask them why they were home rather than launching into a lecture based on past events," Rico said protectively. "They just want to hang out with the family for a bit before going to Uni next year. You know, spend some quality time with the parentals," he chuckled.

They'd all been affected by Stefano's heart attack over the holidays, the youngest of the siblings most of all as they saw their older siblings show signs of falling apart. Ricco understood why they had finally got their acts together and worked hard to graduate early rather than giving their parents more to worry about.

"Well, shit! Will wonders never cease," Jacobi looked bemused, but Maryanne cheered and hugged both boys.

"That's amazing, your Papa must be so proud!" she gushed.

"Probably will be when he gets around to finding out why we're here at all," Rafael sighed.

"Geez, Leo, how do you put up with this sad sack? I didn't know I was walking into a pity party tonight," Jacobi chuckled.

"Not me!" Leonardo held up his hands in surrender. "I am happy to see you both, and you, Maryanne."

"I'm eighteen and an adult now, according to the letter of the law, and you can't pity party me anymore," Rafael grouched at them, but looked like he was ready to bolt from the couch he sat on.

"He's right, you know," Ricco said.

"Yeah, he's an adult now," Jacobi agreed.

"Doesn't feel like an adult," Ricco smirked, grabbing his arm as Jacobi grabbed the other and they pulled him up from the couch and dragged him towards the French doors leading out to the pool.

"Let me go, you idiots, I'm gonna tell Papa!" Rafael fought to get loose.

"Doesn't sound like an adult," Jacobi grunted, hanging onto his kid brother and hoisting him into the cold pool. A string of curses went up from the pool as Rafael gasped at the shock of the ice-cold water. "Now he sounds like an adult. Why didn't he just say that in the first place?"

"Why?" Stefano asked, as he came across the lawn from the direction of the library.

"Because he's a surly little shit who's holding his brother back and making you and Mama worry about him needlessly," Jacobi said in response, feeling fully justified at throwing his brother in the pool.

"He wouldn't be the first Vitali to hold his brother back from doing what he wanted with his life," Stefano walked toward Rafael, picking up a towel from the hutch on the patio. "It's winter, couldn't you be a bit more grown up about this?" He tried to hide the smile that touched his lips. Boys will be boys, he loved all of his children equally, and he couldn't help but get caught up in Jacobi and Ricco's good humour tonight.

"Can I go back in?" Ricco asked Stefano.

"Let your father have a few more minutes and tell me why you thought it would be a good idea to give your little brother pneumonia tonight?" Stefano shook his head indulgently as he wrapped a towel around his shivering younger son.

*****

"Cat," Roberto said in a kindly voice. "I expect you're wondering why I would want to be involved in your trial when my son is more than capable of prosecuting this case."

"I don't really understand how the court system works," she said honestly. "I just assumed that you were the right man for the job."

"You are a breath of fresh air. Most people I come in contact with find me a little intimidating," he seemed to consider the last words and smiled. "Are you always so direct with the people you meet?"

"I guess. There's no point in pretending to be something I'm not. I wish I understood the process better, to tell you the truth, and I'm more than a little bit frightened by the thought of going to court," she admitted. "If I weren't so worried about David and Mick I might have just dropped the charges and let it go. I don't want to sound stupid, or like I deserved what happened."

"That's very understandable. What happened to you was a dreadful thing, but you seem to have come through it better than most girls in your situation. I would like to be as honest as possible with you and have you do the same for me for a few minutes while we are here alone," he said. "Nothing you say to me in here will go any further than tonight without your express permission, you understand?"

"Yes, lawyer and client confidentiality, I get it," she said.

"I was aware of Peter Donati sending off several tests the day following your ordeal. He is a good man and would never betray your confidence," he hastened to reassure her as she took a sharp breath at his words. "I am going to guess what those tests were for, and you can confirm or deny, but I am hoping you will be honest with me, because it will matter to the outcome of the trial."

"I understand, you don't have to guess," she said, her shoulders slumping. "It stays here between us though, doesn't it?" she asked.

"It will, you have my word of honour," he nodded and saw her sit straighter as if readying herself for reliving the ordeal again. "If you could tell me the story again, the full story this time, it would help tremendously."

"Ned was mad that I'd moved out of the apartment we had once shared without telling him. He claimed that I belonged to him. I tried to fight back, but he said he would hurt David. He'd only destroyed my stuff that afternoon before I got home. He was trying to force me to turn to him for help and support again, but then I came home and he decided to take everything he wanted," she said, her voice sounding a lot stronger than she felt. "If I didn't give him what he wanted, then he threatened to hurt David and destroy the things he had worked so hard for, and I couldn't do that to my brother. Not when he's doing so well."

"Ned raped you," Roberto said in a statement. "If you consented under duress, threats to your brother," he explained as her eyebrows knitted together, "It is still rape."

"I don't want anyone to know, especially not David. He'd do something stupid to him if he knew. Just the bruises on my face that he saw made him make the threat. I don't want him in any trouble with the police ever, especially not because of me."

"You should have told your lawyer," Roberto said with a hint of disapproval.

"Ricco is such a nice man, and I know he is helping us out because Coach Frankie asked him to and not charging us the fees he would normally ask for," she lowered her eyes with her voice. "I don't want anyone to know that I let Ned use me like a whore. That's what he told me I was now... A whore. He said that I should be ready and willing whenever he wanted to fuck me, or else. It's not like I haven't slept with him willingly in the past. It's not like I was an innocent virgin getting raped. I was an ex-girlfriend that he bullied into sex."

She went on to explain that she hadn't told anyone about the rape except Pete, who had run a pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases screen for her. He'd also taken photos of her injuries, explaining the bite and belt marks that covered her body beneath the clothes she wore.

"Just because he called you a whore doesn't make it true," Roberto kept the kind fatherly tone in his voice.

"That's just it. If we lose and I am given a choice between letting Ned use me like a whore or having my brother's life messed up, I'll be that whore," she blushed and hung her head. "I'll fight the good fight in court with you and Ricco, but if it doesn't work out then I'll do what I have to do to make sure at least one of us has a good life."

Roberto was shocked by her words. It was as if she didn't believe that this court case wasn't going to go her way and she had already resigned herself to a brutal future at the hands of a thug who got off on raping her.

"You did try to get away from this man though? Moved away even? Allowed him access to you only after he had threatened the life of your brother," he said to clarify that she wasn't just a doormat or a battered woman who returned time and again after a simple apology from her abuser.

"Do you think he would have destroyed what was left of my life if I hadn't refused to take him back?" she asked. "We broke up a long time ago, but I stayed in the flat in our old neighbourhood. It was cheap, and I had friends there. We'd run into each other sometimes, but it was nothing more than a quick hello and goodbye. He had a string of other girlfriends, and in between he would ask me to take him back, but I didn't love him. I don't think I ever did. I think I was just grateful he gave us a place to stay when my mother overdosed and we lost everything. It was when I moved out of the old neighbourhood that he seemed to lose it. I think he was stalking me when I was moving the last of my stuff out. I'm not sure how else he would have found me." She suggested.

Roberto built up a picture in his mind of what he knew of this girl's life, and he shook his head, wondering how she had survived it all to become the open and honest woman sitting before him. Frankie had told him most of what she had said, so he knew it to be true.

"I want you to know that I always win. So you need not worry about being treated like a whore ever again. The question is not if he will go to jail, but how long he will go to jail for. The break and enter charges and destruction of property are straightforward and will involve both David and Michael, as well as yourself. The assault, which will be the main thrust of our case, is not as easy to prove. Without witnesses it becomes a he said, she said, battle. I would like you to allow me access to your test results and the photos Doctor Donati took the following day. We will argue consent through duress rather than rape, and we should be able to argue that in a closed courtroom, so no one but the lawyers and the judge will know what truly happened."

"You can do that?" Cat was stunned.

"I am very good at what I do, Miss Leone, and I guarantee Ned Kelso will not be walking free from this trial," Roberto gave a small, confident chuckle. "Now tell me everything from the time you arrived home. I need to know as much as you can remember in as much detail as possible."

He took notes, and she answered all his questions as honestly as she could until she had been through the whole scene. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and Roberto raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, we were supposed to pick up a pizza and some beers on the way home, but we've been talking for so long I think I owe Ricco an apology for keeping him waiting. He's probably just as hungry as I am," she pulled a face.

"I'd like to make a counteroffer of good pasta and a bottle of very nice red wine that you can have now before you leave," Roberto chuckled.

"That sounds divine, as long as it's okay with Ricco. I don't want to mess up any plans he has made," she said carefully. She was starving, and hot food of any description sounded good right now.

"Let's see, shall we?" he smiled and stood from the desk, offering her his arm as they walked from the library.

Finding the brothers together with Stefano, Roberto announced that dinner would be served in ten minutes and instructed his sons to be in attendance. Then he guided both Maryanne and Cat to the dining room, offering them seats on either side of his at the end of the table. Rather than washing up, as she would normally do, Cat was offered a hot towel, which she accepted gratefully from a maid. The four brothers and Stefano followed them in, still teasing and joking with each other and obviously in a good mood.

"I told you I always win," Roberto whispered and winked at Cat, then sat back in his chair and observed the four of his sons that sat before him.

"So, who would like to tell me why my two babies are home before their mother arrives home from Zia Anna's?" He asked, giving the two younger boys an inquisitive look.

*****

"You were quiet at dinner," Ricco said as he drove Cat home.

"I was so hungry my mouth was always full," she laughed easily, making him smile. "Your father's cook is amazing. Did you always have a cook and maids when you were growing up?"

"Better than pizza and beer?" he asked, avoiding answering her question.

"Nothing is better than pizza and beer, but that came close," she continued to laugh lightly. It was as if Roberto had lifted a huge weight from her shoulders by assuring her that Ned would go to jail. "So, did you?" she asked again.

"Yeah, I have a housekeeper at my apartment as well. I'm not much of a homemaker," he admitted.

"Typical guy. My brother would probably pay someone to cook and clean if I wasn't around to pick up after him. Mick's not a bad cook though," she acknowledged.

"What's the deal with you and Mick?" Ricco asked.

"He's David's best friend. I love him like a brother," she said and twisted her lips. "I guess David thinks he likes me more than a sister, but I've never dated anyone aside of Ned. Never been game to, really. Ned's always been a bit of a loose cannon, even after we broke up. I would never do that to Mick, or anyone for that matter."

"Surely that's up to him. I bet if you gave Mick a choice he wouldn't be scared off by an asshole like Ned," Ricco said, feeling that if she was dating someone else he could move on from the attraction he felt for her.

"Maybe, but he's not my type. I've known him for too long. He really is like a brother to me now," she admitted. "That chemistry thing just isn't there for me.

"What about your girlfriend? Won't she be worried about you spending so much time with me this week?" Cat asked curiously. Ricco was a very good looking and successful man. She found it hard to believe he could be single.

"Well, I have so many that they are used to having to share my time," he said with a perfectly straight face, making her look at him quizzically before turning his grin on her. "No girlfriend, Cobi was always more of the ladies' man than me. I am a bit lost when left to my own devices," it was a half-truth, but a truth none-the-less.

"I find that hard to believe, you're rich, tall, dark and handsome, I'm surprised you're not on some bachelor of the year list somewhere. Add to that the fact that you are genuinely the nicest lawyer I've ever met; it's a pretty winning combination," she said without any agenda of her own, just stating facts. "I'd offer to be your wingman, but I doubt I would fit into the clubs you'd go to. David might be able to pull it off though, if he leaves Mick at home," she giggled.

"So, you think I'm tall dark and handsome?" his mouth quirked into a smile.

"I may not be in the best frame of mind with everything that is happening, but I'm not blind, Ricco," she laughed, not denying the fact that she believed the words. "Do you have a type? No, wait, let me guess," she turned in her seat to look at him. "Maryanne suits Jacobi, I think, so I imagine that, like him, you like tallish women with long graceful legs. You'd be a leg man over a breast man," she began.

"A what man?" He burst out laughing.

"It's like chicken, you either like breast meat or legs and thighs, I'm guessing you're a leg man," she explained.

"You're likening women to chicken?" he was horrified and thought it was hilarious at the same time.

"No, not women, just the breast or the leg analogy. Tell me if I am wrong, you're a leg man, right?" she pressed. She saw him hesitate and she added. "Okay, I'll go so far as to say thighs and ass rather than the whole leg," she grinned knowing she was right.

"Do you always just say whatever pops into your head?" Ricco glanced at her.

"No, I wouldn't do that. Some of my thoughts aren't very nice," Cat said contritely.

"Tell me one not nice thought you had tonight and I will answer your chicken question," he challenged her.

"Jacobi talks over the top of you, not to add to what you're saying, but to claim it as his thought," Cat said, looking out of the car window.

"We've always been a bit like that, having the same thoughts at the same time. I guess I just don't notice anymore. That wasn't a bad thing to think," Ricco said.

"I guess not, but I was getting mad at you for letting him take over any conversation your father tried to draw you into, even when he didn't know anything about it," she said. "He doesn't let you have a voice."

"You got mad at me for something Cobi did?" he asked, stunned by her response.

"No, I got mad at you for letting him do that to you. Forget I said anything, I don't know anything about twins, but if someone else blew out the candles on my birthday cake for me every year without even considering how I felt, I would be pissed, not laughing about it over dinner," Cat said.

"Doesn't bother me, never has," he shrugged.

"Your turn," she said as he pulled into the carpark below her building. "Was I right?"

"Yes," he admitted, feeling heat flame his cheeks. "Good night, Cat, I'll call you tomorrow about what Papa thinks we should do next."

"Sweet dreams when you get there, Ricco," she said cheerily and got out of the car. He waited for her to get into the elevator and waved before driving away again. She never ceased to surprise him; she was so unlike any woman he had ever met before.

He considered what she said as he drove home. She was mad at him, and he had never known. Nothing in her outward appearance told him she was mad during the dinner. She was her usual blunt self and regaled them all with her adorable mannerisms. Even his father's austere attitude softened when talking with her. He smiled thinking of her chicken analogy; she'd been right, but not about Maryanne. He'd have to be blind not to be attracted to Maryanne. The attraction was one thing though, loving her the way his brother did and wanted him to was quite another. Still, there was time to form that bond.

*****

Cat had gone back to work in the isolated studio within Vanessa's company. She had accepted the extra security measures Roberto had insisted upon until her case was able to be heard in court in case one of Ned's associates decided to come after her and make her drop the charges. She hadn't argued, mainly because Roberto had pointed out that Ned had threatened David and Mick as well, and it was in all of their best interests to be vigilant.

The extradition of Ned from New South Wales back to Victoria to face the charges against him was taking longer than expected, and Roberto had asked a member of the Martino table to consult on the case for him and keep him up to date with the court hearing. It seemed Ned had affiliations with several underworld characters, which caused them to look closer at his dealings in Melbourne and its criminal underbelly. As the picture built up, Roberto became concerned that Ned could cut a deal for information on his associates and considered how he could stop that from occurring. Even if he could block that information from this particular trial, he wondered if Cat knew anything about this side of the man who had assaulted her.

Ricco walked into the small studio with an easy smile, looking just as handsome as ever, Cat thought, as she turned to greet him. Why couldn't he be one of the short fat and bald lawyers she saw on television? She wouldn't find that nearly as distracting as she found him. Even though she knew he was way out of her league, she had taken to daydreaming about him and had woken up blushing furiously from some very erotic dreams in the last few weeks. She knew she had to get a grip and took a large breath as she put down the palette and brush she held.