My stomach growled as I descended the worn wooden stairs of my apartment building, a stark reminder that I hadn’t had anything to eat since that morning when I’d snagged a couple of blueberry muffins after a meeting. Hamerstein’s habitual catering to their high-end clients provided the sustenance that was keeping me from starving. By the time my bills were paid, there wasn’t much left for food. I had no kitchen to speak of, so my options were limited, and I wasn’t much of a cook anyway. I had visions of a steak dinner and garlic mashed potatoes in my head, but God only knew when I’d be able to splurge like that. For tonight, heavy hors d'oeuvres would have to do.
The silent auction was in full swing when I arrived at the art deco ballroom in the Four Seasons Hotel. Though the decor was sophisticated and opulent, what really had my blood pumping was the number of people in attendance. I’d been to my fair share of country club functions, but this was a whole new level of wealth. Everyone looked expensive, and this wasn’t even black tie. As I perused the auction items, I was pleased to see a frenzy of bidding taking place.
After I’d circulated a bit and eaten enough to silence my grumbling stomach, I came to the end of the display of items up for bid. A donation table had been set up for those who wished to do more than participate in the auction. My purse burned me where it was nestled between my arm and body. The auction was out of my price range, but I wanted to help. I wanted to give. Hamerstein and Associates thought I had come to the event because they’d forced the issue, but nothing could have been further from the truth. I’d come in sole support of the charity that had sunk its hooks into my heart.
My salary was nothing compared to the checks being written by the other attendees, and I couldn’t spare a single cent. My MetroCard had a low balance, my power bill was due next week, and the heels of my stilettos were wearing down to nubs.
But in the moment, all of that was secondary. I’d figure out a way to make it. The women and children Paths of Purpose served needed the money more than I did. I approached the table, picked up an envelope, and emptied all the cash in my purse into it. I grinned as I lifted the flap of the envelope up to my lips, not an ounce of regret inside me. Payday was four days away. I could scrape by until then.
“May I seal that for you?”
I stilled. That voice penetrated straight to my core. Once I turned and got a look at the face that belonged to the voice, I clutched my bag a little tighter and leaned my thighs against the table in front of me for support. There were billboards all over the city of gorgeous men, and I honestly wondered more times than not if they were even real. This man beat them all by leaps and bounds. He was easily a head taller than me, with broad shoulders and a face that was impossible to look away from. He was both classically handsome and rugged, as if an angel and a warrior had mated, and this was their creation.
An untouchable aura surrounded him, yet it felt like he’d let me slip inside the invisible barrier. His piercing look put me off balance; I felt safe and anything but that at the same time. There was only one other person I’d ever seen with eyes like his. I saw them in the mirror every single day. My onyx eyes had the slightest flecks of aquamarine in them if they were in the right light, but his were black holes to get lost in. And I did for a moment, until I remembered he’d asked me a question, and I’d yet to answer.
“No,” I flatly refused. I had to be hard for self-preservation. This angel warrior was the type of man who would be too easy to make a fool of myself over.
I’d been so excited to unload the contents of my purse that I’d missed the fancy tape dispenser perched on the table in front of me. I wanted to roll my eyes at myself. No one at an event like this would lick their donation envelope to seal it. I held out my hand and arched my brow expectantly. “Pass the tape, please.” I spoke politely enough, but I didn’t smile. I was demanding.
His features lit in amusement. No man had ever affected me like this. I wanted to coax a full-blown smile out of him to see if I could do it, which irritated me.
I stepped around him gracefully and pulled off a strip of the clear tape. I sealed the envelope and gave it to the girl behind the table, then walked away as if neither she nor the most incredible-looking being I’d ever seen were there, shoving the image of that delectable mouth with its addictive half smile out of my mind.
For the rest of the party, I managed to successfully avoid that man, though at odd times I’d feel this presence, as if someone was watching my every move. But when I’d look around, there was only a sea of party-goers. I was motivated to circulate. I needed to impress my boss and was determined to do so, staying until the very end of the event. I declined an offered ride home in one of the hired cars, something in my gut telling me it was inappropriate for an intern to accept. And then my gut got outside into the freezing October air, and I kicked myself. My MetroCard balance was too low to make it home and then to work the next day, and a taxi fare might as well have been a payment on a Rolls Royce.
I huddled in my sweater, tugging it tightly to me as a shield against the wind. It was useless. My internal thermostat was set to Texas swelter, so it felt like I might as well be in Antarctica. My mother had emailed me a picture from their outdoor patio only a few days before of her in a halter dress, her note complaining about the heat. I’d been surprised that she’d responded to my email at all, certain it was the gin constantly in her hand that had prompted it. Right about now, I’d take a shot of that heat—and a pair of tennis shoes or bedroom slippers or anything besides these damned high heels. It was a long walk back to my apartment, and in the morning, I’d just have to make the trek all over again.
I opted for the office. I could spend the night on the sofa in the breakroom, and I had a red cardigan to put on over my dress so I wouldn’t look like I was wearing the same outfit as the night before. It would be warm there, so I had a good chance of avoiding hypothermia.
There were enough people around that I wasn’t too nervous being on the streets at night. I was still young enough to think I was invincible, but I kept my guard up, aware of my surroundings. When a car so dark it almost blended into the night slowed beside me, I kept moving at a steady pace. If I sped up, whoever was behind those tinted windows would know I was nervous. I lifted my chin, putting on an air of confidence even though my heart rate had accelerated exponentially.
“It’s cold.”
I’d only heard that voice once, yet it was branded on my memory. “No shit,” I replied without turning toward him, the angel warrior. I kept moving. He laughed, and I nearly tripped, but I held it together despite feeling every note of his laughter all over my body. I’d never heard a laugh like that, and I got the feeling he didn’t let it out all that often. It was deceptively alluring, and it was dangerous. I already felt myself warming toward him when I didn’t want to.
“Get in. You shouldn’t be out here on your own.” Just like I hadn’t asked for that tape to seal the envelope, he wasn’t asking me if I needed a lift. He was commanding me. It both turned me on and pissed me off at the same time.
“I’ll take my chances,” I tossed back, continuing toward the office without looking at him. If I saw that face again, I’d be in trouble, and it was taking a valiant effort to avoid temptation.
“Don’t be foolish just to prove a point.” His accurate assessment sent a shiver through me. The car continued to creep along beside me, all other traffic be damned. I didn’t give in. It was far less dangerous out on the street than it would have been in there with him.
“Go away.”
He laughed again, and I had to keep myself from walking faster. “That’s something I’ve never had a woman say to me before.”
“There’s a first time for everything. Even at your age,” I added, hoping the little dig would insult him. He couldn’t have been older than his early thirties, but I was grasping at straws to get him to leave me alone. I didn’t like people who made me nervous, and this man made me quake like no one ever had.
“Don’
t make me get out of this car.”
I hated threats, but coming out of his mouth, the warning was sexy. What will you do if I make you get out? I dared him in my mind.
A group of six people approached, laughing as they strolled. I seized the opportunity to join them when they veered off into a discreet club. I made a beeline through glow-sticks and black lights directly to the back door, where I exited into a dingy alley. Most of the floodlights overhead didn’t work, and I all but ran back to the main street, peering around the corner to make sure that damn black car was gone. The coast was clear, and my walk was brisker than the wind for the remaining few blocks to the building where the Hamerstein and Associates offices were housed.
Once I was inside stretched out on the breakroom sofa, I didn’t sleep a wink. All I could think about were those eyes and that laugh that was still rumbling through me. He wasn’t like the boys at school or even the men who were friends of my father. I couldn’t put my finger on it, struggled to find a single word in the English language to adequately describe him.
Sex wasn’t something I had time for. Johnny Caldwell was a mistake I had no intention of repeating with just anyone. But I knew the man with the seductive laugh would have left me with a different outlook if he’d had me first. He drew out this desire in me I hadn’t known was there, a potent yearning for his hands and that mouth to touch me anywhere they could. I now regretted wasting myself with Johnny in a way I hadn’t before, yet I knew if I let that raven-haired god touch me, there would be no coming back from it. How could there be, when he’d left me breathless after the briefest of encounters?
I stared at the ceiling, my eyes adjusted to the dark, every so often checking the time on the green digital display of the microwave clock. My heart wouldn’t settle into a normal rhythm as I worked over why a stranger had had such a profound effect on me. I was smart, but I was at a loss, this sort of thing beyond my realm of knowledge. So I did the only thing I could. I got up, put on a pot of coffee, and focused on something that would actually benefit me…work.
4
Daniel
Present
I couldn’t say no to her. It was like a chronic symptom of a problem I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to fix. That was the reason why, instead of Vivian in the back of the car headed to her new apartment, I was. She had demanded a week, one I desperately didn’t want to give her, couldn’t afford to, yet I’d caved.
There was no way I could stay in our home with her. Hell, I’d nearly changed my mind when she’d growled in that stubborn voice to “fuck fond.” I couldn’t have agreed more with that sentiment. It didn’t even scratch the surface of what we had between us.
I scrubbed my forehead a few times. The battle had started. I’d completed my task, yet I felt no better for it. In fact, I was worried. Vivian hadn’t made leaving her easy, but I’d expected to still be arguing, likely until the sun came up.
But she hadn’t cursed me out or screamed at me. Overall, she’d remained relatively calm. I’d come out unscathed, at least from the standpoint of her reaction, and that was a bad sign. It was impossible to guess what her next move would be, but there would be one.
What if there isn’t? I’d told her to move on with her life, in essence given her my blessing and a parting gift. Vivian didn’t realize it, but she’d been wrong when she said I couldn’t cut my heart out. I had, but I hadn’t thrown it away. I’d given it to her.
I hated that it had come to this. That the past and the future had finally collided, no matter how I’d tried to keep them apart. But there was nothing to be done for it. This was to spare her what lay ahead. Letting her go was the best thing for her. So why didn’t it feel that way?
My phone vibrated in the pocket of my pants. A pit formed in my stomach when I saw the caller ID, but I couldn’t ignore the other woman in my life. “Muriella.” My voice sounded strained and raw.
“Did you do it?” she demanded in a tone I couldn’t recall ever hearing from her. Anger. Hurt. All rolled into one statement.
“Yes.” It was all I could say. It was all I would get the chance to. Dead air in my ear, I looked at the screen. She’d hung up on me. In over twenty years, that was a first.
I’d told her that I was breaking things off with Vivian before I’d done it. In hindsight, I wondered if I’d been hoping she’d talk me out of it, show me another way. But when she’d demanded the why for my actions, I’d clammed up, as I was apt to do, refusing to give her the particulars. Because it was going to affect her too. I wasn’t ready to lose both of the people who were my family.
“Fuck!” I yanked on my hair just as the phone vibrated again. “What?”
“You need to get to the docks.”
I practically snapped the phone in half. I didn’t have the time, patience, or inclination to deal with Vinny Salvatore right now. The last place I wanted to go was the docks.
“There better be a good fucking reason and no goddamn problems.”
“Just get here.”
I jabbed the screen to end the call and instructed the driver to a new destination. I made a fist and had a feeling tonight I was going to want to plant it in Vinny’s face. The only reason I had anything to do with the motherfucker was out of obligation to his brother. Somebody had to be the one to keep him on a chain. He was a liability. Had the worst judgment of any human being I’d ever met. I didn’t trust him, and neither did his family.
Vinny wasn’t actually stupid, but he thought he was smarter than everyone else. Constantly tried to go over, around, and under his older brother, whose authority he resented tremendously. I tried to stay out of that family squabble, yet somehow I always ended up right in the fucking center of it.
I owed Donato Salvatore my life. He supported me in my business, and had taught me how to use my natural skills and turn them into something profitable. He ran interference if I got into trouble, guided me without insinuating I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. And when he needed me, I was there for him.
Unfortunately, keeping up with his younger brother Vinny was a full-time job.
The buildings lost the shine of Manhattan the closer we got to the East River. I knew who owned much of the property in Hunts Point. The dilapidated state was by design, to warn off anyone who ventured into the territory. The sky was a rich orange as daylight drew to an end. It was dangerous to be here at any time, but I’d lost my fear of the area nearly thirty years ago. I preferred the shadows of the darkness to the light. It was easier to hide in the blackness. This was where I’d become a man. As much as I hated returning, I needed it. To remind me of where I’d been.
The car rolled past an old warehouse on Dupont Street that caused bitterness and pure hatred to rise to the surface. Over the years, I’d come to believe my course had been set the second I came into this world, but in that building, the defining moment of my life had occurred. There, I’d learned exactly how worthless I was, and that I’d do anything to prove I wasn’t.
I spotted Vinny through the window. I cracked my knuckles and rolled my neck like I was about to throw down. That’s what dealing with Vinny felt like every fucking time. I’d always managed to keep my temper in check around him, but this evening, I could guarantee I was ready to beat the shit out of someone, and Vinny was well-deserving.
I slid out of the car, approaching him unnoticed. He jumped when he discovered I was right behind him. “Jesus Christ, Elliott.” His hand immediately went to the concealed gun on his hip.
“You should always be aware of your surroundings,” I said coolly, and his eyes flared.
“You sound like my brother,” he returned with disgust.
“He’s a wise man. Perhaps one day you’ll be smart enough to listen to him.”
Vinny’s fingers flexed around the Beretta, and I fought the urge to laugh in his face. His short temper had taken many a life, but he wouldn’t take mine. Not here. Not like this.
“We have a problem,” he gritted out. Technically he was second in comm
and in his family, but he was well aware his brother trusted me above him. Donato and I weren’t oblivious to Vinny’s feelings. They were valid, but most times secondary.
“When do we not have a problem?” I muttered, walking to the edge of the worn-out docks, avoiding a nail sticking up out of one of the planks.
“The painting is gone,” Vinny said behind me. I immediately halted. “It was supposed to be on that boat.” He pointed to a fishing vessel that looked ready to sink. “It’s not.”
“You put an $80 million Cézanne on a boat?” Fury boiled up.
“We had to hide it.” His gaze shifted back and forth, from the vessel to me. He licked his lips. It was his tell. He’s lying.
“So instead of using one of the planes at your disposal, you put yet another set of hands on the painting? Let's not even mention the elements,” I stated coldly. With Vinny it was better to play along. Eventually he’d lead right where I wanted to go.
“This seemed more discreet. And you’ve used this tactic before,” he justified. We were around the same age, but sometimes he was like a fucking teenager.
“The difference is my goods made it to their destination safely. Here’s what I suggest. Either you find what you’ve lost or come up with the cash.” I walked away and was halfway back to the car before I turned. “By tomorrow.”
“There’s no way!” he shouted.
“You should have considered that before.”
I climbed back into the car and instructed the driver to go two blocks and stop where I could see the docks. Then I dialed.
“Is it delivered?” Donato asked hopefully. He harbored a lot of guilt about his brother, felt responsible for the man he’d become.
Broken and Beautiful Page 70
