Chasing Arlo (Genoa Mafia Series Book 5)

by Ginger Ring

  Sunlight started to peek over the horizon. He’d been up for almost twenty-four hours. Oscar had been pounding energy drinks, so the guy would probably be too wired to sleep even when he was able. Only a few cars roamed the streets as they turned down the drive to the Caponelli estate. They made a brief stop for Arlo to get out. Few words were exchanged as they were all exhausted and ready for bed.

  He waved as they left the parking lot and he took a brief look in the black SUV with Illinois plates. There was nothing of interest inside and no trace that Layla had ever been in there but she obviously had. What’d possessed the woman to leave the security of the compound?

  Dragging himself inside, he took the elevator to their floor, being way too tired for the stairs. As soon as he opened his door, the cool metal of a gun barrel touched his cheek.

  “Who are you?” the gun owner inquired as he pushed the gun in deeper and it rattled against Arlo’s teeth.

  “I think the question is,” Arlo smiled as he shoved his gun into the guy’s stomach, “who the hell are you?”

  “Tony Rinaldi.” The young man lifted his chin.

  “Arlo Brunetti. You’re in my home.” Not to mention two seconds away from losing his shit.

  The guy lifted the gun in his hand and raised the other in a mock surrender. “I’m glad you’re here so I can finally leave.” Stepping back, he holstered the gun under his jacket.

  Arlo held open the door. “Then get the hell out.” The kid was only doing his job and as long as Layla was safe, he shouldn’t be angry but the thought of another man being there alone with her all night didn’t sit well. Tony grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter, nodded in Arlo’s direction, and walked out the door.

  The lights were on but she was nowhere in sight. That meant she had to be in the bedroom. That was a good sign, right? She couldn’t be that upset if she was sleeping in his bed. Peeking into the room, his heart broke and melted itself all at the same time. Layla lay there in one of his shirts, mascara had streamed down her cheeks from crying. Taking deep breaths, he flexed his fingers and briefly closed his eyes. Not wanting to wake her, he quietly turned the light off and lay on the couch. Their relationship was as complicated as the one with the Russians.

  For the first time in a long time, it felt like they’d gotten a handle on that situation. Now if only his relationship with the woman in the other room was that easy. Resting his head back, Arlo immediately fell asleep.

  ***

  Layla

  Soft snores coming from the other room awoke her. Tony? If her cousin was asleep, her father would kill him. The man was supposed to stay there and protect her until Arlo returned. Bolting upright, she tossed the pillow aside. Was he here?

  Tiptoeing to the doorway, her heart jumped for joy. He was home and looked to be unharmed. Her feet sank into the plush rug as she rounded the couch where he slept. Arlo appeared relaxed and younger than she’d seen him in a long time. Leaning forward, she pushed the hair back that had fallen in her face. They had much to discuss and way too many secrets.

  She gasped when he snatched her hands and held her in place.

  Arlo’s eyes widened as he slowly let her go. “I’m sorry. I was half asleep and you startled me.”

  Layla dropped to her knees and rested her arms on his knees. It was up to him to make the first move. His lack of response to her when he’d left had caused her to doubt everything she’d started to believe. That they had a future and that she meant something to him after all.

  Reaching down, Arlo lifted her into his lap. His strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Tension eased out of him as she melted into him. Layla rested her head against his before finally raising it to look into his eyes. His callused finger traced along her jaw before moving his palm behind her neck to pull her close. Arlo’s lips touched hers in a fierce kiss. One of longing and lust. Instantly she enveloped him with her arms, pressing her chest against his. They kissed for a long time but it would never be enough.

  Coming up for air, she broke the embrace and rested her arm across the back of the couch. “So, you do care?”

  “Never said I didn’t. It’s you I wonder about.” His gaze landed everywhere but on her.

  “Hey.” She placed her hand on his face to get him to look at her. “I swear to you on my life I never meant what you overheard. I was just messing around with Maddy. I care about you more than I have any man. I’ve wanted to be with you for so long. I think we have a future together but what the hell was that when you left? Do you realize what a wreck I was?”

  “Fuck.” Arlo frowned. “I’m sorry. I never meant to make you worry.”

  “How could I not? We were scared to death for all of you but you just walked off.” She waved her hands and shook her head. “What the hell was that?”

  Arlo sank into the cushions. “Who the hell is Tony?”

  “Stop trying to change the subject.” She rose from his lap and fisted her hands at her hips.

  “No, you tell me who he is. I know he works for your father but have you been, you know, together?”

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” Layla paced, if she wasn’t barefoot there would have been a good chance she’d kick something. “He’s my cousin, and since when do you care after the way you said goodbye last night?”

  Arlo got up and stepped in front of her. “It’s because I do care that I didn’t want to say goodbye.” He growled and walked over to the window. “All my life, when people I loved hugged me before they left…” He turned around and his voice cracked as he spoke. “They never came back.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Arlo

  “What do you mean they never came back?” Layla went to his side.

  Arlo placed his hand on the cool glass of the window. Outside all was peaceful as people strolled by below on the walking path or cruised around in boats. If they had any chance at all, they needed to be honest. They had many obstacles to their relationship, so he needed to get past this one.

  “I was a wild kid. A typical boy, I guess. My mom had her hands full with me.”

  “And this has what to do with what we were just talking about?” Layla was losing patience with him. Hell, she’d waited for him all night and here he was stalling. Never had she looked more beautiful standing there wearing nothing but one of his dress shirts.

  “I’m getting to that.” He took her hands in his again. “I was a kid but old enough to stay alone. My mother got a phone call. A friend of hers was sick and needed to go to the hospital. Neither of my parents were big into affection, but before she left, Mom stopped and hugged me to her chest. It took me by surprise. I didn’t even know what to say. I was in shock. Both my mom and dad had grown up in mob families, they were tough and all business, so this was out of the ordinary for us both. Mom looked at me one more time before she left and said, ‘be a good boy.’ She ruffled my hair and left.” Taking a deep breath, he stared at the ceiling. “On the way to her friend’s house, she skidded on an icy spot in the road and hit a semi head on.”

  Layla gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I thought it had been a car accident but I never heard the specifics. That still doesn’t explain your behavior toward me.”

  “After that it was just my dad. As you know he worked closely with Mr. Caponelli, so I spent a lot of time at Roman’s.”

  “Like father, like son,” she added.

  “Something like that. One night he was acting very agitated, not like his usual self. He had a job that night. It must have been an important one as he never acted that way. Right before he walked out the door, he did the same thing my mother had. He reached for me and gave me a big hug.” It sent a chill down his spine just thinking about it. Like someone had just walked over his grave. A premonition of bad things to come. “I waited up all night but he never came home. Around noon, some police officers came to the door. I found out later that they’d found his body in the river. Head bashed by a bat or some such shit.” He rubbed his for
ehead and returned to gazing out the window.

  “What happened to you after that?” Layla enveloped him in an embrace from behind.

  “I was alone and underaged. Social services were called but I left before they could return.”

  “Did you stay with family?”

  “The only family we had were the Caponellis. I ran as fast as I could to Roman’s house. Joseph knew, of course, and turned a blind eye to me staying in Roman’s room most of the time. He pretended I wasn’t really living there and often invited me to eat at the table with them.”

  “Is that why you two are so close?”

  “That and several other reasons.” He’d give his life for the guy.

  “Years later—I was seventeen at the time—I overheard Joseph on the phone in his office. They had found out who killed my father. I had a name and an address. That night Roman and I snuck out. We’d run with his father’s men enough to know what to do. Roman took a couple of weapons from the gun safe and we left at midnight hoping to settle the score.”

  He could still feel the fear that raced through his veins. Neither had killed before but it had to be done. There was no proof so they could go to the police but if they made the man confess, justice would be served.

  “What happened next?” The heat from her body meshed with his. She was his equal in every sense but the one that was most important to her father.

  “We were two tough kids who were scared shitless inside. After driving twenty minutes to a suburb, we found the place that he lived. It wasn’t a rival mob family but the home of a used car salesman’s house. We could be in and out without causing a stir, he was the only one there. Come to find out, my father had been sleeping with the man’s wife. He found out who he was, followed him after he left a bar, and hit him in the head as he walked along the river. It had nothing to do with a job. The man had contacted him and wanted to talk.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  “You and me both. Anyway, when push came to shove, I couldn’t kill him. Roman shot him in the head and we left out the back door. We were young, stupid, and had no clue what we were doing.”

  “What happened next?”

  “We were nervous as fuck but feeling like we were kings of the street. Roman wanted a drink but we were underage. Old enough to kill but not old enough to drink.” He chuckled and shook his head at their stupidity. “We robbed a fucking liquor store. Stole some cash from the register to make it look good, when it was a bottle of Jack that we really wanted.” He tapped his index finger on the pane. Tap. Tap. Tap. “The next morning the authorities showed up at the Caponellis’. A camera had caught us both leaving the business. I confessed to the crime and did the time.”

  “Roman let you?”

  “He wasn’t there when they showed up. I owed him for what he’d done for me. Everything he’d done for me. Besides, Roman was going to college once we graduated. Had his whole life planned out. I had nothing.”

  “So, you spent years in prison for a crime you hadn’t committed?”

  “I was an accomplice to a worse crime, just not brave enough to pull the trigger.” Some of the weight he’d carried for years seemed to lift.

  “It’s quite the story. I’m glad you shared it with me but it still doesn’t explain why you treated me the way you did last night.”

  “I guess I just have a strange way of dealing with things.”

  “I lost my mother too. She died of cancer and I hugged her every day.” Layla said it to his back. “You didn’t hug me because you were afraid you wouldn’t be coming back? Like a superstition kind of thing.”

  Arlo turned around and framed her face with his hands. “No, I didn’t hug you because I didn’t want you to spend the rest of your life knowing that someone who loved you never came back for you.” The hurt had gone both ways. He’d suffered for years not wanting to get close to anyone again. Roman was his only friend and he knew they would both kill and die for each other. They’d proved that many times over.

  As Roman’s wife, Madison was now included in that circle.

  “Did you just say you loved me?” Layla pressed closer.

  Damn, he hadn’t meant to say it but he really did mean it. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  “We’ve only been a couple for three days.” She giggled.

  “Sometimes you just know things are meant to be. I can’t help loving you but I never dreamed you would feel the same way.”

  “I…”

  Arlo pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. Don’t say anything now.”

  “But I want to tell you how I feel about you.”

  “Tell me when I least expect it. Like I said, I have issues. Issues that were made worse by what I overheard you say to Madison.”

  “I said it wasn’t true.” She stomped her foot.

  “And I believe you now. It took a while but I do. If you say you love me now, it’ll be because you’re saying what you think I want to hear.”

  Layla groaned and shook her head.

  “I’m not saying that I won’t believe you, I just want to hear it when I least expect it.”

  “Whatever.” Layla planted a big kiss on his lips. “You make me happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.” She strolled away, her hips swaying in the oversized shirt.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get dressed. I have a club to get ready to open.” She stopped at the doorway of the bedroom. “Since I can’t tell you how I feel, would you be open to me showing you?”

  “Showing me?” Damn, she was beautiful and such a tease. Warmth flowed through his veins just thinking about all her soft curves.

  Layla dropped the shirt to the floor. “Come to the bedroom and find out.”

  Arlo rushed across the room and Layla wrapped her arms around him as soon as he stepped through the door. Her bare breasts pressed up against his chest. This was heaven for sure. Maybe he did die last night and just didn’t know it. When her lips touched his, he knew he was still on earth. It was too good to be a dream. She tasted of cinnamon and some other spice he couldn’t begin to comprehend. It didn’t matter. His woman was here, that’s all he cared about.

  He grabbed her full ass and squeezed. Was it too much to hope for that she loved him too? The last thing he wanted was gratitude or an automatic response. When she said it for the first time, he wanted there to be no doubt in his mind.

  Layla pulled back and pressed a finger to his chest. “About this no hugging when we say goodbye thing.”

  “Yes.” He knew she wasn’t going to let this go.

  “We need something else. Something that is just our own to show we care but no one else will know.”

  “Okay, and what would that be?” He grinned at her concern over the problem they had to work through.

  A frown crossed her face as she tried to come up with a solution. How she could think of anything while standing there naked had him baffled. The only thoughts in his mind were getting her into bed and under him. “I got it.” Her eyes widened and a grin lit up her face. “We link pinkies.”

  “Pinkies?” He shook his head and laughed. This woman never failed to surprise him. Reaching out, he wrapped his pinky finger around hers. “There. Even if I have to leave you, this will always mean that I’m coming back. No matter what. If I have to crawl my way back on my hands and knees from hell, I will.”

  She drew his palm closer and placed it over her heart. “You better or I will hunt you down and bring you back myself.”

  “Deal.” Sliding his palm down, he cupped her breast. “Can we have sex now?”

  “Arlo, I thought you’d never ask.” The woman was a tease.

  “I think you forgot that it was you who wanted to show me something.” His thumb flicked her nipple.

  Layla moaned. “What can I say? When you’re around, I can’t remember a thing.”

  “Then let me give you something that you’ll never forget.” Picking her up in his arms, he tossed her gently on the
bed. She stretched like a cat and he nearly lost his mind. How did he get so lucky to have her here?

  Never had he removed his clothes so fast in his life. As soon as he got into bed, she was on top of him. What a bear cat this woman was! He was the one that was supposed to be making love to her, but he wasn’t about to say no to it being the other way around.

  “And another thing,” she started as she reached down to cover his hard length with her hand. “Don’t pull the jealousy crap on me. You’re the only man I want.” Layla rose and drew him into her body. “And don’t you ever forget it.”

  “No matter what happens, baby.” He could barely speak as she began to move on top of him. “That’s something I will always remember.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Layla

  Draping her sweater over her shoulders, Layla took in the reddish colors of the sumac along the road.

  “Do you want me to turn down the air conditioning?” Arlo already had his fingers on the dial. He always put her first and it sent a shiver of goosebumps down her arm. Someday, somehow, she knew it in her bones he would have to choose between Roman and herself and that was something she never wanted to happen. It was inevitable and she should have seen it coming. Arlo had mentioned it many times. Her father’s issue with him was a mystery. He’d had no problem with her marrying Roman and his being a Caponelli but for some reason he hated Arlo. Whoever she married would have to help her run the family businesses and territories. All she cared about was being with the man she loved.

  “You aren’t coming down with something are you?” His concern touched her.

  “No, but it just feels like fall is coming early this year.”

  “You know how it is. Wait a day and the weather will change again.” Even the sumac leaves had started to turn, as they usually did in late August. Little did she realize how quickly her time in Genoa would fly by.