Dirty Hearts: A Bad Bod Mafia Romance

by Gray, Khardine

  We watched them. Tonight must have been our lucky night because they headed to the door Alex had pointed to earlier.

  Perfect. I didn’t know what beyond the door looked like, but anywhere away from people was good for us.

  “Let’s move, boys,” I ordered, and move we did.

  People gave way as we found our way through the sea of bodies clashing together on the dance floor, and no one dared to question us when we opened the door to the staff room that said Staff Only in big bold letters.

  The kitchen was behind here as was the door that led out to the bar area. One of the bartenders came out and looked at me. One sharp look sent him right back to where he came from, closing the door behind him. To say the man looked scared of me was an understatement. Although I guess it wasn’t just me to be afraid of. It was us as a group.

  Me in the front with The Four behind me. All dressed in black with our long coats and the crosses tattooed on my cheek and their necks. We had the look of death, carried it wherever we went, and only the foolish would mess with us.

  There was a room at the end of the corridor.

  “That’s the room,” Alex said.

  “Perfect for beating the ever-living shit out of someone.” Jude chuckled and bumped his fists with Alex.

  I got to the door and kicked it in. Dante looked a little surprised. Maybe he thought I was going to knock.

  There were two topless strippers inside who screamed and scampered to get their clothes.

  Corey glowered at me wide-eyed. He was a big, burly man with a bushy beard and muscle. He could probably take down a few regular-sized guys, but not me. Seemed, though, he was foolish enough to reach for his gun. Big mistake.

  Jude shot the gun out of his hand, and Alex moved in on him and held him in place with his guns pointed to his head.

  As did Dante and Gio while I went to him. He looked like he was about to shit himself.

  I looked at the two frightened women, who were now dressed.

  “Get out!” I barked at them, and they moved. Quickly.

  “Claudius Morientz,” Corey stated. His voice had a quiver in it. “Been a while.”

  “Long time. You know you were one of the last people I saw before my wife was killed.” I leaned in, looming over his face and sneering.

  He blinked several times. “You know that wasn’t me, right? I had nothing to do with that.”

  “Right. You could be telling the truth, but you could also be lying. So much happened that day. Remember what you said to me when I came to you for help?” Asshole. He’d known Goliath took Marissa. He’d known and never said anything to me. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known what the ultimate outcome was. Death.

  “Yes, and I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry?” Sorry never worked at any point on a guy like me. “You told me it wasn’t your problem.” I sent a jab straight to his face, and he fell backwards.

  “Please, stop, what do you want?” He crawled back on his hands.

  “Where’s Joe?”

  “Joe?” The fool looked like he didn’t know who I was talking about.

  “Cousin Joe, you prick.”

  Corey shook his head. “Haven’t seen him in years.”

  I took out both my guns and pointed them at him. “The thing is, no one’s seen you in years either. What brought you back?”

  “Oh, I’ve been here the whole time. Backwards and forwards. You know how big Chicago is. You could come and go unseen.”

  Fool. I didn’t know who he thought I was. “This is my place. Like a grand extension of my fucking house. Nothing happens here without me knowing. So, what is it, Corey? What really brought you back?”

  His jaw clenched, and the muscles in his thick neck tensed. When his eyes darted from me to my men, I knew I had him. I’d cornered him, but would he talk? These types of people would rather die than talk if they were up to something big.

  But he knew tradition. He knew it wouldn’t matter who I was. I wouldn’t just kill him and start a war between the biggest crime families on this side of the globe. That would be asking to get myself and everyone I knew assassinated before the sun could come up. Everyone I knew would have a hit on them.

  That, however, didn’t stop me from doing some form of damage.

  “Well!” I yelled, stepping closer to him.

  He shuffled back, right into the wall. Beads of sweat formed on his upper lip, and his skin flushed.

  “Nothing brought me back. Nothing. I’m just here.”

  Liar.

  All I did was stare at him. Long and hard. He knew I meant business, but still he chose to fuck with me and tell lies. Time to take this up a notch.

  “Knife, please, Jude.” I snapped my fingers, and Jude handed me my blade. It was a mean-looking knife that would gut him like a fish. “You know there’s a lot I could do to you. Killing you is just one thing. I’d piss a lot of people off, but then, do I care? Do I really care? I have the world at my fingertips. Your people try something, and I’d simply retaliate. I don’t have to remind you how things work here, do I?” I lowered myself, crouching, and pointed the knife at him.

  He pulled in a quick, shallow breath. “No, Claudius.” His voice elevated in pitch and volume.

  Without warning, I threw the knife, and he screamed. I made him think I was going to lodge it in his head, but it went just above and pierced through the wall.

  “Knife,” I cried.

  Jude handed me another, which again I threw. This time, I made Dear Corey think I was going to land it straight in his dick, but it lodged in the ground between his legs, cutting through the gray carpet.

  “Please stop, stop,” he begged.

  “Ta-lk,” I enunciated.

  The door opened behind us. I knew we’d have company soon, and behold, it was the associate, but he brought some friends. Five of them. Some mean-looking meatheads who looked like they’d just rolled out of a comic book.

  They were foolish enough to start shooting at us.

  Jude and Alex took them down while Dante and Gio had my back. In less than a minute, the men went down, including the associate. In the background, people screamed, probably the staff who were close by.

  I looked back to Corey and winced when I saw the blood seeping from his arm. He was howling from the pain. At least he was still alive.

  I pushed forward and backhanded him a few times, then I grabbed him up in his neck and got real close in his face.

  “It’s no secret I’m looking for Goliath,” I seethed, baring my teeth. “Last time I checked, he and Joe were best buddies. Tell Joe I want to see him. In the meantime, you can get the fuck out of Chicago. You and whoever else is here who shouldn’t be.”

  Releasing him, I stood and gave him a kick in his crotch. He howled in more pain.

  It didn’t seem like we’d achieved much from coming here tonight, but part of the mission was to let them know that I knew something was up.

  More than anything, I wanted a lead on Goliath, but I knew chances were whatever was going on might not lead me to him.

  Every year that passed felt like my chances were slipping away.

  But I had to take this recent occurrence as something to hold on to. If I could get to Joe, I might get to Goliath, and in the meantime find out whatever the fuck it was that had brought the Manellos and the Antonellas back to these paths.

  I’d just have to see what would happen next.

  Stepping past the bodies, we left.

  Chapter 18

  Ava

  * * *

  Okay…

  Focus and concentrate.

  I needed to just focus on the restaurant and concentrate on what I was doing. I could take it one hour at a time, take a break, and call Claudius.

  Or maybe he would call me. God, I hadn’t been like this since…

  Well, not since we’d been together. Not since that time when my brain told me the sun revolved around him and all there was in my world was him.

  I was acting like a l
ove-sick teenager. Worse because I hadn’t seen him last night.

  I’d worried, but he’d called, and we’d spoken for an hour before I fell asleep. It wasn’t the same as falling asleep in his arms and waking up during the course of the night to look at him asleep, holding me. Relishing the big, strong man holding me like I really belonged to him.

  Oh my God. I was doing it again. Daydreaming.

  I’d zoned out staring ahead of me at the Degas painting on the furthest corner of the restaurant where there were more dining tables than booths.

  Focus and concentrate, Ava.

  I moved from the cupboard and carried a box of menus over to the counter behind the bar.

  Friday was the big day, and I had everything I needed in store. I just had to organize it. And I had three days.

  I’d decided to set out the new menus starting tonight to give my regulars a warm-up. Some of the dishes on the menu were more expensive too, so I thought it would be nice to have the next few days including Friday at a discounted rate so they could try it before the prices went up next week.

  I was excited, very excited, and I guess it showed from the permanent afterglow that lit up my face like a lightbulb. That’s what too much sex and things falling into place did to you. To me.

  All the stuff had started to come in last week, but I was busy.

  Busy with Claudius.

  For two weeks. We’d been…

  Okay… together. We’d been together for two weeks. If anyone were to ask me if I was with him, I would say yes. Although we were treading cautiously on any sort of discussion on the matter. Like when he’d mentioned what we’d be like in the next ten years. He seemed to have just said it without thinking, lost in the moment. As lost as I was in him.

  I wished we could be more precise as to what we were doing, or just more. And, as for me, I still had a lot of issues to wade through.

  There were hurdles I had to jump over myself. A person didn’t just wake up one day and forget all the pain they’d suffered. Pain and heartbreak. The truth gave me the understanding I needed to know what had happened, but it never actually healed my heart.

  It didn’t make me suddenly forget all that happened, and it was so much worse when I thought of Marissa, and what she’d done. I couldn’t get past that part. The part where she’d wanted the guy who was mine. She might have changed, but no amount of change could eradicate what she’d done.

  A foolish game to prove something, which had set about a chain reaction of hurt.

  When I started thinking it, I felt bad because in her mind, I knew it had just been some game. She’d felt more entitled to Claudius than me. It was as simple as that. Growing up, she was the one who got everything, including her own way. Ma and Pa bent at her will and were a hundred percent stricter with me. Mainly because they saw my love for the restaurant.

  I was Miss Goody Two Shoes, and Marissa was the wild child. The wild child who couldn’t be tamed and couldn’t understand why a badass mobster who ticked every box on her list took more of a shine to me than her.

  It was thoughts like that that swirled through my mind, and then everything else after. It was raw. That was what it was, but I knew myself. It hurt but she was my sister.

  It hurt like hell, just like she knew it would. It was just as Claudius said when she asked him not to tell me. Marissa knew I would be deeply hurt and hate her if I knew the truth. She wasn’t wrong. Only time could fix it. Time would lessen the pain, or so I hoped.

  For now, I was happy. Claudius and I would see each other every day and spend the night at each other’s houses.

  As for business, I agreed to him giving me the building and the money if he agreed to act as an investor and take a percentage of the profits.

  He agreed, however, didn’t tell me what percentage he would take. My thoughts were that he wouldn’t take anything, but I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

  The place was starting to fill out for lunch, and a lot of my regulars were already here. Ready to dive into my new treats.

  This was what I’d hoped for years ago when I’d dreamed of running the restaurant. My parents were also going to be coming by on Friday before heading back to Italy. They’d come for the month. Spent a week with me here going over the place to be assured it was still in good hands, spent that day with me at the cemetery on Marissa’s anniversary, then they went to Florida. I was going to tell them in person about Claudius. I wasn’t sure how they’d take it. I knew they hadn’t outrightly blamed him for anything, but maybe that was for reasons I didn’t know. They’d been here when I wasn’t and had seen what I didn’t see. I knew for a fact that they would have found it strange that Claudius was suddenly with Marissa, but they’d never said anything. They also knew the dangers and darkness that lurked in the circles we travelled in. Asking too many questions or saying too much was never a good thing. They knew not to do that. So did I.

  My parents were from Italy and knew the ways of the underworld. They knew the horrible things that could happen. It was what had brought them to Chicago permanently.

  Ariel rushed up to me with a smile on her face.

  “Ava, I just took a booking from the mayor’s office for Friday. He and his family want to eat here.” She squealed.

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus, really?” I tried to tamp down the excitement in my voice.

  “Yes. Not just that. We’re full for reservations for the next two weeks. I have people on a waiting list.”

  My eyes bulged. That had never happened before.

  “Oh my gosh. This is really happening.”

  She rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled wide, nodding her auburn head. “Well done, absolutely well done.”

  “Not just me. You too.” We’d all done well. My success was theirs. We were a team, and whatever good happened should be shared amongst us. I was thinking that I’d do a mid-year bonus as well as the Christmas one. My staff deserved it.

  The main door opened, and a shiver ran down my spine.

  Three guys in suits came in, looked about the place, and waited at the service desk to be seated.

  There was… something about them that gave me an uncomfortable feeling. It almost, almost reminded me of when I’d first met Claudius and Luc. Not in the sense that I felt uncomfortable around them, but I knew they were important. Just like Pa said. They looked like mobsters. Old school in their crisp suits and stature.

  I’d never seen these guys before though. Not many mobster types came here much after Pa had handed the restaurant to me. Not like the past. These guys screamed trouble, just from the look of them.

  There were Italian. I could tell from the olive skin and their sharp features.

  “I better go. These guys look like they mean business,” Ariel bubbled. Obviously not catching the trouble vibe.

  I watched her go over to them and usher them to seats in one of the VIP lounges.

  Seconds later, she came back to me with a cautious look on her face. “Hey, they’re asking to speak to the owner.” Her brows rose, and she pursed her lips together. “It was weird. That was the first thing they said.”

  “Did they say why?” My pulse quickened.

  “No, I handed them a menu, and they didn’t even take it. They just asked to speak to you.”

  If that wasn’t weird, I didn’t know what was. Chances were, though, that I was just paranoid. Being kidnapped in the span of one’s life tended to do that to a person. No matter how much time passed. It wasn’t something I was likely to forget.

  “It’s cool. I’ll go.” I gave her a little smile to mask my nerves.

  With my head held high, I took my stride toward them.

  The older man looked at me first when I approached the table.

  “Hi, I’m Ava De Luca. I own Delizioso. My maître d’ said you wanted to see me.” Always gracious; that was me.

  Being gracious diffused a situation if it got out of hand, it covered fear and nerves, but most importantly allowed me to assess the
situation.

  Like now.

  “Ava De Luca. The name proceeds you,” the man said with a slow easy smile.

  “Oh, thank you. Can I help you with something?”

  “Just wanted to put a name to a face. That’s important, you know. It’s good to check things out, see what’s what, and… who belongs to whom.”

  Who belongs to whom?

  That was an odd thing to say.

  I glanced at the other two guys and saw the cunning smiles.

  “Sure, those things are important.” I tried to say that on an even breath to still my heart, which sped up as my nerves scattered.

  “They sure are, Angel Doll.”

  Oh God…

  If there was one thing in this world that I trusted, it was my instincts. My instincts, which screamed at me. This wasn’t just trouble.

  Angel Doll. Claudius was the only person who called me that.

  I continued to stare at the man, but I wouldn’t let him see my fear.

  “Nice place you have set up here. I’d bet you have some interesting clientele,” he continued.

  “I’m proud to say that people seem to like the food. I try my best.”

  “Sure, you do, Angel Doll.”

  I wished like hell he would stop calling me that.

  “I do.” I had to ball my fists at my sides to stop my hands from shaking.

  “Bet you got a lot of secret recipes out back, right? Old secret recipes people shouldn’t ask about.”

  “Not so much. My chefs and I are very creative. It’s more about how we cook. Our technique.”

  He chuckled. “You’re real smooth. Sure, I know technique. Skill, right, but even those are secrets, and asking too many questions about something secret could get a person killed.” The smile in the center of his fat face widened, and his cheeks puffed out, highlighting his dark stubble. “Or the people they know.”

  The other guys laughed too.

  My stomach fluttered, and my thoughts froze. I didn’t know what the hell to say to that.

  He was threatening me. He was actually threatening me.

  “I just cook food and run my restaurant.” My mind raced, thinking of what the hell to do.