by Soraya Naomi
Carmine tells Adriano, “I already have an entire team searching the woods. He can’t get far in his dehydrated, beaten state.”
Adriano appears slightly calmer after his conversation with Mary. “You two take care of this before I lose my shit. We’re talking about a boy who managed to escape my warehouse. I presume you fired the soldier who caused this, Carmine? Henry?”
Carmine answers, “I did. The other soldiers have been ordered to contact me or Henry when they have any updates.”
“Fine.” Adriano waves his hand to dismiss us. “I’ll wait for Mary here.”
Despite the fact that I have more questions about Adriano’s precise plan regarding Mary, I don’t want to raise suspicion or mention anything that might conflict with the story she told Adriano, so I stride out, going down the black staircase and through the club that’s half full.
I want to call Mary, but not knowing what she worked out with Adriano – meaning she could be with a soldier – I decide to text her.
As I get my phone out, a hand rests on my arm from behind me and someone purrs, “Hey, Henry.”
I shake them off, quickly reading my texts from various soldiers informing me that Keano’s still on the loose. Then I type a message to Mary.
Henry: What did you say to Adriano? Are you still at my apartment?
“Do you want to go for a drink, Henry?”
Glancing up, I notice a brunette standing in front of me, coming much too close. I grunt in annoyance but ignore her as she chatters on.
“...are you still single?”
Distractedly, I simply say, “Yes.” And then send my text.
When I glance up again, the woman’s still standing before me. “So, a drink?”
Now I recognize Jordana, or bartender girl, as Mary’s dubbed her. “What? I’m busy. Leave me be.”
Getting a waft of a scent I’d recognize anywhere nowadays, I swivel around to find Mary coming up behind me and wearing a shocked expression. I frown as she clenches her jaw and spins around, heading in the opposite direction.
What the fuck just happened?
I crane my neck, hissing to Jordana, “Don’t talk to me anymore. Just stay away from me.”
Her face falls, but I don’t give a fuck about her and march toward the back entrance to catch Mary. I won’t allow her to run away from me.
CHAPTER 28
Mary
My phone beeps as I’m balanced on the armrest of Henry’s couch. This time, it’s not Carmine calling me but Adriano. Even though Henry told me not to, I need to answer him, or else they’ll go crazy.
“Hey!” I try to sound cheerful.
“Where are you, Mary?” Adriano responds.
I bite my lip and lie, “At dinner with a friend.”
“Where?”
Thinking quickly of a restaurant in this neighborhood, I reply, “Little Mexico.”
“We have an issue. Keano escaped, so I’m sending a guard to you now.”
“Oh, okay...or I can come to the club after supper?” I’d rather stay here and continue my talk with Henry when he comes back.
“No, Mary. Don’t fight me on this,” Adriano warns in his brotherly tone. “A guard is coming to pick you up. Stay there. And don’t ignore any more of Carmine’s calls, okay? He worries about you.”
Guilt fills me, so I concede, “Okay. I won’t.”
“I’m sending David; he’ll be there in fifteen minutes. And I’ll wait for you at the club.” With that, he ends the call.
Now I need to run like hell to Little Mexico, which thankfully, is located only four blocks from Henry’s apartment.
Christ, Henry! The things I do for you.
I really hate to leave without talking to Henry, because I’m worried that he’s going to pull back from me again. It also bothers me that he wants to keep us a secret from Adriano, which could possibly mean that he still just sees me as a conquest while I’m already on my way to falling in love. And I hate leaving Strawberry behind, but I don’t have a choice.
Leaping up, I grab my purse and red trench coat before bending low to stroke Strawberry while she’s playing with her chew toy. “Henry will take care of you, my baby.”
She pays me no heed, too engrossed, so I rush out the door and sprint through the blustery weather to the restaurant. The sun has set, and gratefully, the breeze cools my flushed cheeks when I open the glass door of the restaurant where a hostess awaits.
Before she can speak, the door opens again and I’m confronted with David. Luckily, I was here in the nick of time.
“Mary, are you ready to go?” he asks.
“Yes,” I reply as he steps aside, waving his arm to usher me outside.
Unbuttoning my coat because I’m so hot from the run, I walk out again and get into the passenger seat of his black SUV.
***
I follow David, who’s navigating his way through the mass of customers in Club 7, but stop dead in my tracks when I pass the bar and see that damn Jordana chatting with Henry. He’s looking down at his phone with his back to me, and she’s right in his face.
I halt behind Henry just as she asks, “...are you still single?”
“Yes,” he answers, shocking me and simultaneously breaking my heart.
Aren’t we dating?
Since Henry fucks me ten ways to Sunday, I don’t see myself as single. And it’s really shady for him to still tell people that he’s single – I didn’t expect that from him.
Suddenly, Henry’s gaze shoots up, and as he turns his head, his brows pull together when he meets my glower.
Not able to confront him here and seeing that David is continuing on, I pivot around and stalk off toward the back entrance. Pushing through the heavy doors that lead into the empty hallway, I’m grabbed by my arm within seconds.
“Mary. Stop!” Henry shouts.
I wrench myself free and face him. He straightens, but his eyes fill with confusion and he reaches for me again, yet I step back.
“You’re single? Then what have we been doing?” I demand. My vision blurs, so I blink back looming tears.
“What?” He frowns, folding his fingers around my upper arm again in a gentle yet steady grip and refusing to let go.
Why can’t this guy make up his mind? He lets me fall for him and goes to extreme lengths to protect me, but then he tells some girl that he’s single. I thought he was mine, or at least that he was becoming mine.
I clench my jaw, pointing irately inside. “She asked you if you were single and you said yes.” For a second time, I shake him off and shift backward until I almost hit the wall.
“I wasn’t even fucking listening to her,” he throws back in an irritated tone, holding up his phone, screen facing me. “I was texting you because I wanted to know what Adriano said to you. He didn’t tell me.”
My glare softens a bit. “But—”
“No buts, Mary. I only replied to Jordana to shut her up.” He shoves his phone into his back pocket, raking his hands through his hair.
He gives the impression he’s remorseful, so I’m inclined to believe him. Still, jealousy is a bad advisor.
“I’m sorry I overreacted. It just hurt my...feelings. She’s always eye-fucking you,” I grind out and he lets out an irked sigh, but then the doors fly open and David comes through them.
Henry turns around, expertly creating distance between us, both literally and figuratively. He retreats a step, and I sense him shutting down on me, pulling away because he’s so bad at relationships. Because he’s aggravated since others keep interfering, and because he still doesn’t want my brothers to know. Maybe they threatened him?
“Mary! I thought you were behind me.” David glimpses toward the end of the hallway. “We’ll take the elevator up to Adriano’s office.” Then he throws out his arm, expecting me to precede him and disrupting my argument with Henry.
While upset that we weren’t able to finish our conversation, I get into the elevator as Henry watches me, my disheartened gaze glue
d to his until the door closes and breaks our stare.
Traveling one floor up, the elevator opens into Adriano’s black and white office where I go left to his desk and David returns downstairs. As I plop down into the padded chair, I fling my purse aside, wondering where the hell I stand with Henry.
My musings are interrupted when Adriano and Carmine appear from the security room and visibly relax at the sight of me.
Shaking off my sadness about Henry, I speak in a cheery tone, “Brothers, you summoned?”
Carmine rests his hip against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ignoring my calls, sis? Should I be worried?”
Is he hinting about Henry and me?
After the Keano incident, Carmine witnessed how close Henry and I are, yet he’s never asked me about it, which I appreciate. Carmine’s treating me more like an adult these days.
Regardless, I play dumb. “I just didn’t hear it because it was on silent when I was in the restaurant.”
“Don’t put your phone on silent anymore unless you’re in class,” he orders with a glare.
Since I’m used to their commanding attitudes, I nod and lean back.
Adriano slides open his desk drawer and takes out his keys. “I have men looking for Keano, Mary. Until we have him, you can’t go home. Do you want to stay with me or at Mom and Dad’s?”
I’ll have more privacy in my old bedroom at my parents’. Privacy I need because the second I’m alone, I’m going to call Henry. “I’ll stay at Mom and Dad’s. Some stuff is still in my old room. But how long will I have to stay there?”
“I hope that my soldiers will catch him soon and it’ll only be for tonight,” Adriano explains. “However, he seems to have gotten out of the woods, so it could take longer. It’s best you sleep at the Astoria until we have him. This is one reason why Carmine and I didn’t want you to buy that apartment, Mary.” He angles his head to the side, showing me an I told you so look.
“Yes, yes.” I rub my palm across my forehead. “Let’s not have that discussion again. I’ll never be able to afford the Astoria.”
Carmine shakes his head. “You need to learn to accept our money. I want to spend it on you. Who else am I going to spend it on?”
I wave my hand in frustration. “We’re getting off topic. What am I supposed to tell our parents?”
Carmine and Adriano both simply stare at me and then exchange a glance as Carmine comments around a smile, “Good question.”
And we all chuckle.
Before they decide I should stay with Adriano instead, I suggest, “I’ll just say I forgot my apartment is getting painted. I’ll text Dad now. Maybe he’s still awake.”
“Okay,” Adriano approves, gesturing for us to move out. “Let’s go.”
***
After receiving a text from my father that he’s about to turn in and it’s fine for me to sleep in my room, Adriano and Carmine drop me off and go to their own apartments while I use my old key to get in.
Changing into a pink nightgown, I topple backward onto the sapphire duvet of my queen-size bed. My old bedroom still has most of my furniture, including a white desk that’s pushed against the heavily draped window where, as I stare at the clouds veiling the moon, I think about what a whirlwind of emotions this day has been.
It started out on a promising note with our date, but now I feel like Henry and I have taken ten steps back. I’m mixed up and saddened that I’m teetering precariously close to the edge of cloud nine and the real world is invading the world I’ve fashioned with Henry where he comes to me at night, a routine I’ve become accustomed to.
Grabbing my purse lying next to me, I locate my phone, bringing it up to my ear after I dial the number.
Henry answers on the first ring, “Hey.”
“Hey, I’m in my old room at the Astoria. My parents are already asleep.”
“I know – I tailed you guys. Did you tell Adriano about the suspicious man at the park and that you were at my apartment?”
“No, I definitely didn’t tell him I was at your apartment, and with everything that’s going on, I actually forgot about that guy. I’m not even sure if he was following me, so let’s not worry Adriano more. I’m safe now.”
“Okay.”
We’re both quiet for a few seconds. I’m not sure what else to say since we’ve just had our first argument, and then I hear him releasing a deep breath. “I need to see you.”
I expected that in order to avoid finishing our disagreement, he’d prefer not to see me any more tonight. Overjoyed, I say, “So do I, but how?”
“Open the front door quietly – I snuck past the receptionist.”
I jump up and tiptoe down the hall, inching open the door to find Henry lowering his phone and cutting the call.
He’s still in his charcoal slacks and vest over a sky-blue dress shirt that doesn’t hide his powerful physique. A physique I’ve been fixated with from the beginning. Yet I want more. More from him than just his body.
Together, we silently tread to the shadows of my bedroom where only a small lamp is on, and our eyes meet as we stand opposite each other, both knowing we’re at a crossroads.
“Are you mad at me?” he asks in a calm tone.
I comb my curls over to one side, nervous about making myself vulnerable. “No. I’m confused. It was deceitful when you said you were single after all these weeks, and last night, and our date this morning.”
His gaze is pinned on me as he retorts, “I didn’t even fucking hear her, Mary.”
I’m not sure why, but moisture pools in my eyes, and I let the words tumble out before I lose the courage, “But do you consider yourself single?”
His brows climb halfway up his forehead. This is the first time I’ve asked him a straightforward question about us.
Henry glances away, undeniably uncomfortable.
“Wait! Do you? Because I-I don’t see myself as single.”
He remains quiet and sits down on the edge of my bed, dropping his head in his hands, grasping his hair. He might not be used to talking about feelings, but we’re having this conversation. Now. I won’t allow my heart to get more invested without answers. Yet his silence sends doubt coursing through me like lightning.
“I’ve been very patient, Henry. I let you pull back so many times. I let you do everything to me last night. If I’m just one in a string of women, then this is over. You don’t get to order me around and protect me and then tell bartender girl you’re single,” I whisper-shout.
He looks up with a piercing glare, his nostrils flaring. He’s not used to having his weaknesses pointed out to him. But when my tears roll down my cheeks, he leaps up and cradles my face, swiping them away with his thumbs.
I can see him struggling to open up, and I lean back against the desk, out of his reach, not letting him off without any resolution.
He runs both of his hands through his hair. “You’re not one of my conquests. Don’t fucking say that. But we’re in an unusual situation. Your brother is my mafia boss. I don’t know if I can give you what you want.”
“You already do. You come to me almost every night, and I know you’re letting me in more. Or else you would’ve already bolted out of here. But if you’re adamant about keeping this a secret for now, you also have to give me something. You demand honesty and that I give myself completely to you, but I also want more from you, Henry. I’m not interested in being just a fuck buddy.” I can’t let him set the pace anymore.
He scowls at me when I say fuck buddy before looking away, and emotions tighten my throat.
Is he going to end this?
Uncertainty pierces my soul, yet I’m in love with Henry, and love doesn’t follow the rules of reason and logic.
Without thinking, I confess in a soft tone, not wanting him to reject me, “You must know that I-I’ve fallen in love with you.”
He blinks and blinks, eyes blazing with turmoil as insecurity grows inside me while he doesn’t speak the words of love. I let my sh
oulders sag in defeat, turning my back to him.
Then, all of a sudden, I’m pulled back around by my arm and Henry reveals, “You’re not and never have been just a fuck buddy.”
My heart settles down. Without waiting for permission, he clasps my face with both hands and tilts my head back, slanting his mouth over mine and thrusting his tongue inside feverishly as I clutch his shirt.
My fingers sift into Henry’s thick hair when he gathers me close, lifting me up into his arms and carrying me to the bed without breaking our kiss. While he lies on top of me, situated between my legs, his kiss becomes gentle, serious, promising that he might love me one day as his forehead rests against mine.
Neither of us speaks any more, and he doesn’t try to seduce me, seemingly careful not to treat me like a fuck buddy.
In turn, I cling to the belief that Henry’s not leading me on and remind myself that at least he doesn’t make any empty promises. Quite the contrary, he makes time for me and protects me like a man who’s infatuated with me. And I love him enough to wait for him, to give him some extra time until he can also tell me how he feels.
Nonetheless, doubt remains, and for a very good reason, I learn sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER 29
Henry
“Henry, wake up,” Mary grumbles while I spoon her, pushing her ass into my groin.
During the night, I shed my clothes and my cock twitches as I nuzzle her hair, content in this peaceful position.
We doze off again, and after I don’t know how long, I hear a creak while I keep my arm secured around Mary, my eyes flying open and widening in shock when I see her mother standing in the doorway. Thank fuck we’re under the covers as Mary wakes too.
“Mom,” she speaks in a throaty tone, apparently not uncomfortable.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you had company.” Her mother smiles with a glance at me before she shuts the door again.
Mary shifts to her back, and I stare at her.
“This isn’t how I wanted to meet your mother. Why the fuck aren’t you embarrassed?!”
Her lips twitch as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. “First, I’m not even fully awake yet. And second, why are you? We’re not teenagers who got caught. Don’t worry.”
