Exposed

by Rachel Van Dyken

  He stared me down. “You know… if this marriage is going to work, you need to make sure you… listen to your husband.”

  “You aren’t my husband yet,” I countered.

  “Doesn’t matter. When you said yes, I already legally bound us in my mind and in my heart. Can’t break shit like that Tanit, that’s forever.”

  “Ohhh, is it now?”

  “It is.” His kisses continued, his searing kisses that bordered on torture.

  The buildup was too much and when it came to Dom I had no patience, no self-control. My world was him.

  “Shit, the quickest way to make a man lose his erection is to talk about his brother.”

  “Oh, are we still on that?”

  He growled. “Leave Tex out of the bedroom. He gives me enough hell as it is, and he looks like me. I don’t look like him.”

  I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing. “And the difference is?”

  “No clue, but it makes me feel better about being born second.” He laughed.

  The sound of voices filled the halls.

  I sighed then gripped him by the shoulders. “We can stay in bed a bit longer, right?”

  His eyes lit up then darkened immediately when I pulled the sheet from my body. “At least until lunch.”

  Dom laughed against my mouth, his hands tangled with the sheets in an effort to uncover both me and him. I had to grab the nightstand with my right hand to keep from flying off the mattress when, in a bout of frustration, he jerked the sheet and duvet off the bed and stood.

  Dom naked was something I would never get tired of, and as scared as I was about our future or what that meant for us, looking at him was enough to make me forget about the fear, at least for a little while.

  “Frustrated?” I asked.

  “Sexually, yes.” He stalked toward me, braced his hands on either side of my head, and kissed me so hard I felt my body disappear into the mattress. He pushed me down, his hand tilting my chin up so he could deepen the kiss, he tasted warm, inviting, so deliciously dangerous.

  “I want you,” I panted, pulling away so I could suck in air.

  Dom grinned at that, his body hovering over me as he said in a gravelly voice. “Then have me.”

  I hooked my feet behind his legs. He had no choice but to fall into me.

  “Kids!” Tex’s booming voice roared. “Take a time out, we have business.”

  “You jinxed us.” Dom panted between kisses, “This is your fault.”

  “How is this my fault?” I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him closer. “Plus we can be fast.”

  “I don’t want to be fast. I want to be slow. I want to be thorough, I want to hear my name fall from those swollen lips like a prayer—”

  I narrowly missed his teeth with my aggressive kiss then backed up onto the bed dragging him with me.

  “Please?” I whimpered.

  I had barely gotten the word out when he was inside me. Everywhere, teeth clenched, body tight.

  “Dom, I’m serious!” Tex roared. “You have one minute!”

  “Shit!” Dom moved faster.

  I moaned louder, I couldn’t help it.

  “Forty seconds!” Tex boomed, he had to be standing by the door, his voice was too loud.

  “Faster!” I urged Dom.

  “Are you kidding me right now?” He growled against my mouth as sweat slid between our bodies. I clawed at his back when he grabbed the headboard.

  “Twenty-five seconds and I’m breaking down the door.”

  “Dom, he can’t—”

  “Focusing right now…!” Dom interrupted kissing me again and again until I was trying to pull him closer, tighter. “Feels so good and I have to make it fast… I’m killing…” He panted, “Dead… he’s…” His teeth clenched. “Dead to me.”

  “Ten seconds!”

  “Coming!” Dom jerked the headboard with both hands, filing me until I saw stars. I sucked in a breath as he braced himself over me with a knowing smirk, and then the sheet was over us.

  And the door was, in fact, getting kicked in.

  “Oh, hey.” Dom’s chest rose and fell so fast he had to catch his breath. “Hey, man, didn’t hear you.”

  Tex grinned and leaned against the door. “Oh no worries, we actually don’t need you guys for another hour.”

  “THE HELL YOU DO!” Dom roared.

  “That was fun though, good times, oh and Dom? I knew you had it in you, less than a minute, not too shabby, maybe you really are a Campisi. You can go slow when you need to and fast when—”

  Dom threw a lamp at the door just as Tex left.

  It crashed to the floor.

  We sat side by side in bed, panting for a solid three minutes before he turned to me and winked, “So now that we have an hour…”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Dom

  “Tell me this isn’t crazy.” I was outside standing by the tree that the guys had all marked. Etched forever in its bark were their names. Tex was leaning against it, his name near his head. He pulled a flask out of his pocket and handed it to me.

  I took it.

  And regretted the giant swig I took the minute the whiskey burned all the way down my throat. “What the hell kind of whiskey is that?”

  “The good kind.” He shrugged, didn’t choke, then winked just as Nixon, Sergio, Phoenix, Dante, and Frank walked out, followed by Andrei.

  He gave everyone a wide berth, leaning against the side of the house with a pissed off expression on his face and his arms crossed.

  Our hate was mutual.

  I was the next Capo, and unless he killed me or Tex, he would always be the Russian with an Italian family — and too much money.

  “Come on,” Chase smacked him in the back of the head earning a curse from Andrei as they all joined us by the tree. “You nervous?”

  Chase was directing the question at me.

  I glared right back at him. “Nah I just took a sip of Tex’s flask, I don’t even know where I’m at right now.”

  “Thought that shit was water.” Chase grabbed the flask, sniffed, took a drink, then shrugged. “Water.”

  I sighed as he stepped forward and placed a silver knife in my hand. It had the Russian sickle wrapped around the handle and then an Eagle on the top of it, as if it was looking out for the Russians, dominating the world, willing to be dipped in blood. I clenched it tight in my hand.

  “It’s time,” was all Tex said as he shoved me toward the tree where the guys had written their names and The Elect.

  Dante was at the bottom, it looked fresher than the others.

  I stepped forward and started carving out my name. The ritual felt like something out of a book or a movie, something holy that I couldn’t quite place. This was their tree.

  Their group.

  Their thing.

  I was ten years too late.

  And now they were asking me to not just be the guy they picked up and put to work, but an equal.

  With a heavy heart, I continued writing my name.

  “Andrei.” Tex barked when I was done.

  Slowly, Andrei stepped forward, his eyes hooded, void of emotion, and that was after his happy ending. I’d heard stories of his rage.

  Stories of his beef with Chase and the rest of the guys, and that when it counted most.

  He’d saved them all.

  At great personal cost.

  But they never talked about it.

  He treated the world like shit.

  And the world treated him the exact same way back — at least most in the world did. Few understood the way his mind worked.

  Then again, how normal could you be when you’re born with your own blood on your hands? When you were six and your father asked you to slit your brother’s throat?

  Yeah, not normal.

  I handed him the knife. He jerked it from my grip and wrote a giant A on the tree followed by a P.

  Andrei. Petrov.

  Somewhere there was a pig flying.<
br />
  “All right.” Tex rubbed his hands together. “Now we get you married and send the De Langes a fun little message.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” I muttered under my breath.

  “Come on, baby bro.” Tex grinned wickedly. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “I prefer to keep my adventure between the sheets.” I winked. “Then again, you wouldn’t understand that, would you?”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Break it up,” Nixon barked. “Go get ready, son.”

  Son. I used to hate that he teased that way.

  But the way he said it.

  Like he truly was taking responsibility for me.

  And would in true fashion.

  Walk her down the aisle.

  I tried not to appear choked up.

  But I could tell Nixon saw.

  He winked and ushered everyone back into the house, but he held back. I did the same.

  And when he reached out and pulled me into his arms for a hug.

  I let him.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Tanit

  “Ten times.” Luciana grinned, rubbing her pregnant belly as she yawned and sat down on my bed. Trace just laughed as she pulled out a beautiful silk, off-white dress and a pair of red shoes.

  Blood. Red.

  I stared, open-mouthed.

  “Something borrowed.” Mo waltzed into the room. “Also handy when there’s a gunfight and you get blood everywhere. Your shoes will still look incredible. I would know.”

  “I was just going to ask how you would know but…” My voice trailed off as I took a shaky breath and then turned my attention back to Luciana, “And what do you mean ten times?”

  “I would plug my ears.” Trace yawned. “But I’ve already lost so much sleep…”

  “Three kids.” Mo patted her on the back. “And one fiery little girl who thinks her dad is a King — good luck with that one.”

  Trace glared. “She’s nine and asked when she could start her own Family and become a boss.”

  I winced. This way of life. It was strange, even to someone who grew up in it with my own family.

  “Ten times. That’s the record.” Luciana yawned and rubbed her pregnant belly. “I need a nap.”

  “Nope!” El ran in with a bottle of wine followed by Bee holding glasses. “We rarely get girl time anymore with all the kids—”

  As she said kids, screaming commenced in the form of kids ages one through nine.

  The women went completely silent as Phoenix stopped at the door and pounded his hand on the wall. “How long again?”

  “An hour, you’ll survive.” Bee kissed him on the cheek and held out her glass to El, who poured a heavy amount to the brim. “You’ll survive. Aren’t you an assassin? Hmm? Big bad ass?”

  I didn’t know whose kid it was, but someone came barreling down the hall screaming about getting their hair pulled followed by another kid screaming that they pulled their own hair. A horn sounded.

  And then. Silence.

  Phoenix was holding the horn above his head with a happy expression on his face. “Who wants ice cream?”

  More screaming.

  But the good kind.

  “You’re the best.” Bee winked.

  “And you’ll prove it tonight, again, and again, and again…” He kissed her soundly on the mouth and left.

  I sighed.

  All the women turned to me like I’d just announced I wanted to marry him instead.

  “What?” I rubbed my bare arms.

  They circled me like I was their prey.

  “So…” Luciana sat closest to me, or rather lay as best she could, tucking her hair behind her Burberry headband again. “How are things… with Dom… you guys doing okay? I know things are happening really fast.”

  Her eyes were sympathetic, her touch tender. She was the most empathetic person I’d ever met in my entire life. It was impossible not to like her. And impossible not to be a little bit in love with her each time she opened her mouth.

  “Good.” I took a deep breath. “I’m just… it’s a lot to take in emotionally after my father…” My throat closed up.

  Mo reached across the bed and patted my thigh. “No man deserves the title father if he’s willing to sacrifice his own blood for personal gain.”

  “And,” Trace added, “you did a brave thing. We’re all proud of you.” El handed me a glass of wine and yawned behind her hand.

  “Whoa, things getting too crazy for you already?” Mo teased.

  El laughed. “Sorry, I’ve been helping Sergio with all the research on the De Langes lately, so it’s been… taxing.”

  “Ohhhhh, research.” Mo made air quotes. “Got it.”

  “Shut up.” El looked away, her cheeks pink.

  Silence settled over us again.

  It was comfortable.

  “I’m scared.” I finally said it out loud. “I’m scared I’m too young. I’m scared I’m not brave enough for him. I’m scared he won’t come home. I’m scared of everything.”

  Trace was the first to speak as she knelt down next to me and pulled me into her arms. “We all are. Every single day. But we have each other. We have Family. And that’s what we live and die for — Family.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Dom

  “You ready?” Sergio rubbed his eyes, dark circles made their way known beneath his lower lashes as he pulled out a bottle of vodka and slid it toward me with a wink.

  “More ready than you are. Do you even sleep anymore?”

  He just grinned. “Val’s having trouble sleeping right now, meaning I’m having trouble sleeping, and yesterday I had a three-year-old jump on my face and announce he was farting only after the fact. We aired out our room for a solid two days before I realized that toddlers just… smell.”

  Sergio and I hadn’t been close. Ever. Nor was he the kind of person to share any sort of intimate details of his life with anyone except Phoenix. Somehow the guys had a bond beyond what the rest of them did and part me had to wonder if it was because Phoenix was the only guy in the group other than Chase who understood what it meant to lose everything only to gain it back again.

  I held out my glass as he poured straight vodka in it and nodded like I was supposed to toss it back like water. I stared down into it. My suit jacket was hanging on the chair behind me, my sleeves were rolled up.

  “It’s tradition,” he said softly. “Shot of vodka at weddings and funerals… gotta love the Russians.”

  I tilted back the white liquid. It burned down my throat and reminded me of cheap gasoline. “Horrible idea,” I croaked.

  “The worst,” he agreed with a laugh just as Val came down the hall. She was wearing a short yellow dress that hugged her curves. I did a double take when I noticed a bump and then grinned over at Sergio who couldn’t take his eyes from her.

  “So that why El’s been helping you late into the night.” I said out loud.

  “It distracts her from when Dante has to go out.” Sergio said in a low voice, his eyes still on his wife. “And it distracts me from worrying about everything that could go wrong with another pregnancy.”

  I nodded.

  A few of the girls shuffled out of the hallway bedrooms, and within minutes, I was surrounded by my family.

  The only people missing were Tanit and Nixon.

  I wrung my hands together as the living room clock mocked me, ticking by the seconds, the minutes, until I was ready to pull my own hair out.

  I knew she was approaching by the silence that surrounded my normally boisterous family.

  You could hear a pin drop.

  The first thing I thought. Beautiful.

  The second? Daring.

  She was wearing a silk dress that my brain was already conjuring ways to take off… and red shoes.

  Blood. Red.

  My smile was so wide my face hurt as her gaze met mine, and intensity pulsed between us.

  Tex put his hand on my shou
lder. “You ready for this?”

  I didn’t take my eyes off of her. “Yeah. I am.”

  I didn’t expect for it to feel so right.

  Just like I didn’t expect this to happen two months ago when I was setting the University mascot on fire.

  Life never played fair with the mafia.

  But hell, it still played.

  Didn’t it?

  It still let us have game pieces.

  Even if it meant in the end we would lose our lives to bloodshed, to violence, to ourselves.

  We still got a chance to live.

  It was a beautiful thing.

  Nixon kissed her on the cheek and gave Tex a curt nod. “Time to go to the church.”

  “The church?” Tanit repeated in a weak voice.

  “Are we even allowed back?” Chase barked out a laugh.

  “I’ve already called ahead,” Nixon said in a commanding voice. “Too many marriages have taken place under duress, bloodshed, and in this damn house. This time, we go to church, maybe, God will look down on us and forgive us for all the death — if we align another De Lange within our family the right way.”

  “Well.” Tex sighed. “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

  “Grace always is,” Nixon agreed.

  I walked toward Tanit and held out my hand; she took it. “You look beautiful.”

  She beamed. “I like your red suspenders.”

  “They match your shoes.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek, not wanting to mess up her makeup.

  “I know.” She squeezed my hand tight as we followed the group out to the waiting SUV’s.

  And I laughed when I saw the police escort.

  Two motorcycles and five police cars lined up outside the heavily guarded gate. I just gave my head a shake and laughed while Nixon shrugged as if to ask what?

  Chase jogged ahead of us, waved at each of the cops, and they smiled back like he was their best friend. The guy really should run for mayor; he’d get voted in without even campaigning.

  When he turned around, he shrugged and then looked straight through me. “You should never have to worry about a war during your wedding.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  Tanit released my hand and slowly walked up to him. The group went completely still. it seemed like time was slowing as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.