Gangster

by Sapphire Knight

  Step one toward getting her belongings here is complete. I’ve put Dillion in charge of retrieving them. He’ll have the guys bring over way more of her belongings than she needs because by the time this is over with, I don’t plan for her to ever go back to her apartment.

  This will be her home. Our home. Together.

  I’ll wed her, fill her with my babies, and we’ll grow old together—here. I know it’s all very demanding and pigheaded of me, but it’s my plan. I was telling the truth about her bringing me peace, and I don’t plan to let that serenity slip through my fingers.

  The crew will think I’ve lost it when I admit to them that this is far more than her staying around until the threat’s snuffed out. Frankly, I don’t give two shits about what anyone thinks, except her. When did that happen? I knew I wanted her from the very start, unlike anything I’ve felt before toward a woman, but it was purely primal. Now I’m over here simply thinking of her overall welfare in the scheme of things and not considering what could happen to me or the guys who’ve devoted their lives to keeping me safe. I wish it were entirely true; I know they’re mainly here for the money. I did save them after all, not the other way around.

  Could Grace be happy here, holed up in a house full of men? Or better yet, could I stand her being around them all the time? I’m jealous when it comes to her, and I wouldn’t put it past myself to sink a bullet into someone’s skull if they tried to take what’s mine.

  Grace steps into my office without knocking and I have to grit my teeth to keep my cool. This is the one place in the house that if the door’s shut, you need to knock. I deal with a lot of business in here and the majority of it, no one needs to hear about. That’s one of the many reasons why there’s a thick ass barrier on the hinges to enter. I’ve got to talk to her and also bite my tongue to learn patience. I’m not used to having a woman in my space and a strong willed one at that.

  “He wasn’t too thrilled about me needing time off on such short notice, especially with how busy we’ve been this last week. But, I promised to make calls from home to check on clients and correspond through email.”

  “Good. Do you need me to have a laptop delivered here for you?” She could always just quit the useless job and tell that dickweed to screw off. Or better yet, let me do it for her.

  “Actually, would Dillion mind grabbing my laptop off my kitchen counter when he gets my other stuff? It has the account information for my clients already on it.”

  “I’ll let him know. He’ll take care of everything.” Including packing up all her other belongings; I want everything here in my home.

  “I still don’t like the idea of him going through my drawers.”

  “Bella, I told you, we can order whatever you’d like offline and have it overnighted. Him digging through your things doesn’t have to be so in-depth.”

  She lightly bites her bottom lip. “I have a budget and that doesn’t really fit in with draining my savings account.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of letting you pay for anything. I can give you a card and you can order whatever you want.”

  “I don’t like that, Thaddaeus. I appreciate everything you’ve done, really, but I don’t need your money. I can pay my own way, this is just a time that I have to use my better judgment and I have clothes at home that will work just fine.”

  “Suit yourself. We’ll be lying low for the week anyhow, no need for anything past sweat pants and T-shirts.” There’s also the fact that I don’t want anyone checking her out while we’re cramped up in this house all week long or an artery may explode.

  “Joker?” Cage makes his way into my office as well and I gesture for Grace to take a seat.

  “Anything?”

  He shakes his head.

  “This is utter fucking bullshit. You’re not digging enough; find me something damn it.”

  Cage has been making calls since breakfast, trying to find out if anyone knows who’s after Grace. I made it loud and clear that my guys make it known that if anyone touches a fucking hair on this woman’s head, that half a million won’t be enough for what I’ll do to them. The gods themselves wouldn’t be able to save them from my wrath.

  I rarely issue citywide threats, but I had to take some sort of action immediately. My declaration will stave off a few that go looking for her, but not all. I’ll have to make one hell of an example to fend off the others. Can’t say I mind that bit, being locked up here for a full week will no doubt feed into me needing to relieve some pressure. Sex can only do so much in that department.

  Marrying Grace would do the trick. No one would have balls large enough to come after her with my ring on her finger, but I know she won’t go for it. Like she said about her twelve-month rule; ring needs to be on her finger, but we’ve only been seeing each other for a month so no rush. I know what that means. She wants it to happen eventually, but not necessarily tomorrow. I’m not a man to pussyfoot around. I know what I want even if it has been four short weeks with her in my life. I need to figure out a way to speed up time or her thought process on it all.

  “I’m doing my best.”

  I blow out an irritated breath. “Fine … okay, keep checking around and passing along the word. I’ll fucking scalp them.”

  “The word?” Grace interrupts, her eyes wide at my last threat and Cage grunts. He’s still not a fan of her knowing our business. He can shut his trap or fuck off too. This is her life and she means too much to me, already.

  “Yes, baby.” I trail my finger lightly over the side of her beautiful face, before I take my seat again. She’s exquisite, nothing I’ve ever had finer than her. “I’m letting it be known that if anyone has a nut sack big enough to harm you, that I’ll be sure and feed their cock to a meat grinder while it’s still attached to their body.”

  Her mouth falls open in a small ‘o’ and fuck if I don’t picture what I could stick in there. She has perfect lips My guys would call them dick-sucking lips, but I’d never let her hear them speaking that way. Cage snickers, shaking his head. He’s used to me like this; her, not so much.

  “That’s, um some threat.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” I wink and Cage snorts.

  “I’m going to my office,” he grumbles and I return his nod.

  “He has an office too?” She peers over at me curiously, her questions coming more freely as she warms up to everything going on.

  “We all do. Once your laptop gets here, I’ll set one up for you too. Anything you need, cara, you say the word.”

  “Oh, I don’t need my own office, really. I’m fine. Thank you though, that’s very kind of you. I can just sit on the sofa or your bed, kitchen stool, you know, anywhere.” She giggles and the soft tinkle makes me grin. Something about this woman, I swear.

  “Nonsense, Bella. This is your home now too. You’ll have your own place to work and anything else you need, no arguing about it.”

  The sweet smile she sends me is enough to make me feel like I’ve just bought her the moon and trust me, if I could, I would. I’d do damn near anything to keep her looking like she does right now. My chest swells with pride, my mind quickly running over what else I could possibly do to make her happy.

  “I like having you here like this,” I admit outright, not wanting to close myself off from her like I do with everyone else. I want her to know me—the real man inside. I think he’s the only one she could ever possibly love, not this hard exterior that I’ve worked so meticulously over time to form.

  “Yeah?” She perks up, climbing to her feet and approaches my desk. “I haven’t gotten on your nerves yet?”

  “Maybe just a little, but not bad.”

  She laughs, leaning her hip against the smooth dark wood, right beside my thigh. “You’re so charming.” It’s sarcastic, but I find myself smirking again. I feel like a fucking fruit loop smiling around her so much. It’s like I turn into a giant pussy when it comes to her.

  “It comes natural with you and that smart mouth.”

>   “I’ve toned it down with you, a lot.” I open my arms and she sits on my lap, snuggling in until her feet are pulled up into my lap and she’s comfortable.

  Meeting my amused gaze, she grows serious. “I didn’t understand how to act when I first saw you and I apologize. I didn’t give you any respect or even a chance. You’ve earned it with me and now I see that I was wrong. The way that I treated you in that restaurant was unbelievably rude. You’ve quickly become the most caring, giving, thoughtful man I’ve met, and I wish I could go back to change the way I behaved.”

  “I don’t.” Kissing the top of her head, I brush my nose against hers. “I loved every damn minute I was in that restaurant. You weren’t some little meek thing, cowering down to me. You stood your ground, and in return, you, amore, earned my respect.”

  Her lips seek mine out, lost, wanting to be found and ravished. So I do exactly that. I kiss her like she’s the breath that my lungs need to keep me alive. In a sense, now she is. Without her, my life would be mundane. The killing, the fucking all the same boring cycle that I’d been stuck in without realizing it before. She’s opened not only my eyes but also my heart.

  As I feel Grace’s body surrender, offering up more pieces of her to me, I fall a little deeper than before the kiss began. It’s like Alice in Wonderland—the falling. I feel like we’re spiraling down, dropping helplessly into the unknown and not the faintest idea as to where we’ll end up.

  That night I put in a call to the familia. Yes, I have cousins everywhere throughout the city. My familia is a lot larger than most know and my ties to the mob run deep. I grew up in the lifestyle, surrounded by mobsters. The real kind of mobsters that’d hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you threaten their organization.

  Everyone I knew was uncle or cousin so and so. You didn’t let anyone near that wasn’t familia. I was young and dumb, believing I’d eventually join them and pledge my loyalty to the Italian Mafia.

  It changed the moment I witnessed my father shoot my mother in cold blood—a Mafia-ordered hit. She’d fallen in love with one of my so-called uncles. Turns out, he was a friend of the familia. She stayed true to my father, but knowing that her heart was elsewhere drove him completely mad. The mob found out about it and ordered a hit on her. My father was distracted with his wife and in the Mafia life, Mafia comes first. Familia is second, no matter how much they claim differently.

  Seeing him murder her to follow orders flipped a switch inside me. I refused to be one of them. I wouldn’t go against my familia, but I wouldn’t show them my loyalty either. I was done with the mob and their ways. I decided to carve out my own path, make my own crew and earn their loyalties. I still love my familia when they’re being my actual familia and not being the mob. To this day, I would open my home to any of them, but I will not pledge myself to their way of life.

  At my request, my cousin—a man I grew up with—will alert my uncles as to what’s going on right now. They need to know that Grace is mine and that she will be forever, if I have any say in it. And, they also need to know that I’ll go to war for her. I’ll tear this city apart to find anyone that poses a threat toward her. My life is one thing, but I won’t tolerate it toward her.

  Hopefully with them informed, they’ll be able to help weed out whoever is testing my sanity. Because that’s exactly what she is. Anything happens to Grace—and I’m so far gone for her— I’ll completely lose it. There will be no more attempting to keep the peace. No mercy. No nothing. Only me laughing as I watch them all burn, not giving a flying fuck who goes down into the flames.

  If you let a person talk longenough, you’ll hear their trueintentions. Listen twice, speak once.

  - 2Pac

  I’ve been cooped up in this house for five days. Sure, those days have been filled with Thaddaeus’ insatiable lovemaking and there are also the perks of shirtless men, but I’m not used to not being able to go out anywhere. I miss my after work and lunchtime walks. Having clients to check up on has helped keep me busy, the time off has also shown me how much I dislike my job. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now I know for sure that I need to find something else to do with my life.

  “Penny for your thoughts, Poppet?” And Maximillian, he’s a whole other story.

  I’ve never met someone so night and day in my life. He seemed unnaturally evil the first time I met him, but ever since I’ve been here, he’s been a complete gentleman. Makes me wonder how he got tied up with the rest of the crew. He doesn’t quite fit in with them; it’s almost as if he’s more selfish. Not necessarily in a bad way. I’d guess it has something to do with how he grew up. Sometimes you meet a man and you can tell they weren’t loved enough as a child, and that’s what I get from him. Part of me wants to hate him while the other piece of me just wants to hug him and tell him it’s okay. Stupid? Probably, but we’ll see how it plays out with time.

  Dillion’s funny and nice, but he’s a criminal and doesn’t hide the fact that he specializes in tax fraud and destroying evidence. Cage, he’s like a momma bear all the time. He eats a lot, is insanely buff, and is constantly grouchy. Not just toward me, but in general. It’s baffling how four completely different men can come together and form such a strong type of brotherhood with each other. I wonder how Tyson is. Could he be more like Thaddaeus? He’s a wanderer, that’s all I’ve really heard. I know Thaddaeus is fond of him. though. I can tell just by the way he says the guy’s name that he’s more like a brother.

  “I was just thinking that I’m tired of being stuck in the house.”

  “We could go for a stroll, maybe check the gardens. You need a smile on that gorgeous face.”

  Ah, the gardens have been my saving grace. Even in the cold weather they’re beautiful and peaceful. I can sit in Thaddaeus’ gardens for hours and do absolutely nothing it seems. I can only imagine this place in the spring and summer. Especially with the pool, I’m sure it’s breathtaking.

  “Thank you, that’s kind of you to offer, but I’ve already been out there twice today.”

  Truth is, it’s close to my cycle and I’m craving chocolate cake and cinnamon rolls and anything sugary I can get my hands on. The guys have offered several times that if I want anything specific they’ll go pick it up or the cook will make it. I feel guilty asking though. They’ve already done so much for me, like making sure I’m protected all the time. I don’t want to bother them unless it’s necessary and the lurking danger is another motivating factor to not leave the premises.

  “I’m wanting a cinnamon roll and Frappuccino something fierce,” I nearly groan, just thinking of it and imagining the smells from each of them.

  He chuckles. “Have you stopped in Beanery Bliss?”

  “Oh, my God, I love that place!”

  I smile and he takes my hand, pressing a kiss to the middle of my palm. My mouth grows dry at his affection just as a throat clears from behind me.

  Pulling my hand away, I turn to find Thaddaeus behind us, glowering at the very spot Max just had to his lips. I nearly blurt out that it was platonic and swear that it wasn’t me, but stop myself. I have no reason to feel guilty. Thaddaeus owns my heart.

  “Um…hi.”

  “Bella. Maximillian.”

  “Joker, Grace here was just requesting we head to the Beanery Bliss for a snack.” He doesn’t seem the least bit bothered that Thaddaeus appears pissed and ready to decapitate him for touching me.

  “What?” My eyes snap to his that are full of mischief. “I didn’t. I just said that I was craving a cinnamon roll and a Frappuccino. You added in the rest of it!”

  “Good idea. I need some fucking air,” he growls. “Max, get the crew. We’ll take the Denali.”

  “Give me five to round up the lads.” Maximillian strides off, following the order and not giving me a second glance.

  Obviously, the possible threat of danger does nothing to deter his need for a snack. I think his sweet tooth is worse than mine. Who am I kidding; every man in this house is addi
cted to sugar.

  I found an entire cabinet loaded down with sugary cereals and snack cakes. It’s a wonder how they stay in such great shape. If I hadn’t caught Dillion and Cage leaving to run in the mornings, I’d have thought they were super beings or something.

  “Thaddaeus, we don’t have to go out. I know how important you said it is that we stay here for this week. I really don’t mind, I promise. It was just a stupid craving, that’s all. I don’t want to jeopardize anyone’s safety because of me.”

  Wrapping his arm around my waist, he tugs me along to walk with him. “Bella, I need to get out of the house too, trust me. The ride will be good for us. We can all grab a coffee and a pastry then get back home.”

  He calls it home as if it’s mine as well. I kind of like the sound of it to be honest. The house is lovely, his staff welcoming, and even the guys have been kind to me. I was caught off guard with the way they’ve treated me. I was expecting them to be rude and annoyed, but it’s been the opposite.

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s nothing. I want you happy.”

  “I am happy. Well, except we haven’t finished our conversation about my birth control.” He was not too thrilled that I brought it up either. “My appointment’s for Monday to get a refill and get new lab work done. I talked to Dr. Carrie, and she thinks we’ll be fine having sex since I was on my pills for so long.”