by C. D. Reiss
He held my face in one hand, a little too tight, to make me look him in the eye. “He threatened you?”
“He threatened Katrina.” I pushed him off me. “I want to go home. My God, how did I let myself get stuck here?”
I pushed him hard, and he stepped back. Having gotten out from under him, I walked to the open gate. I didn’t know where I was going. I guessed I’d have to call a cab. I could wait for it in the pupuseria down the street, but I knew he wouldn’t let me go. I still wanted the freedom of that open gate and that dark street and those empty sidewalks. I heard him one step behind me, then he grabbed my forearm.
I twisted and yanked away. “Stop!”
His gaze was dark and unreadable for the second I saw him. He shifted, a blur in my vision, then he became a force of movement against me. He picked me up at the waist and carried me over his shoulder. I would have screamed, but he’d knocked the breath out of me. All I could do was watch the light shift on the blacktop as he carried me across it.
I pounded his back, but I was helpless. “Antonio!”
“Be quiet.”
“Stop!”
“Basta, woman.” He avoided the garage where Otto had gone and opened the door to the dark office without breaking his stride, passing the water cooler and the reception desk. He smacked open his office door then slammed it closed with his foot.
With a lung-emptying thud, I was dumped into a chair. He leaned over me, so threatening and powerful that if he demanded it, I’d have told him the sky was beneath my feet.
“Listen to me,” he growled, putting his hands on the chair arms. “I will kill any bastard who touches you. So you walk into a room like that again without me, you’d better want the man dead.”
He meant it. From the tightness in his lips and the lines in his brow, I knew he wasn’t speaking metaphorically. He’d kill for me, and it would be my responsibility.
“I’ll admit I was scared, and you were the first person I thought of,” I said. “And the last person. But in between that, I was afraid of getting you involved.”
“You’re involved. I’m involved. We can’t go backward now. You said you saw that stupid punk face to face, and I went crazy. I saw you with that other ass, the one who cheated on you, and I went crazy. I don’t have a brain when it comes to you. You know how much trouble it could be for me if I get arrested for something stupid? Like beating that guy with the ugly Porsche? But I thought he kicked you, and I lost my mind.”
“You didn’t even know me.”
He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “When I was a young, they called me Tonio-botz because I’d go off over nothing. But I’m a man now, and I don’t do that. Tonio-botz was a garbage kid who had no control over himself. But he’s back every time I see you.”
I was scared of him, for him, about him. I was also turned on. I touched his face. “I bet he wasn’t so bad.”
“Please understand.”
“I do. Would you kiss me?”
With breakneck speed and intensity, he kissed me, using his tongue without prelude as if it was a dick shoved in me. I leaned up and he knelt back until we were both on the floor.
“Here.” I pulled his wrist and slid his hand between my legs. “Feel how wet I am.” I pressed his hand under my skirt to my damp panties, moving until his pinkie touched my soaking skin. “It’s never been this easy, and it’s you. This is how I react to you. It terrifies me.”
He sucked air through his teeth. “We’re even then, Contessa.”
“Take me now, please. Fuck me scared.”
He slipped two fingers in me all the way, pressing as if he wanted to get his whole hand in, and I spread my legs as if I wanted exactly the same thing. He put his face to mine until he took up the curves of my vision. His breath fell on my open mouth as he watched me react to his touch.
“I want to fuck you so hard we have the same skin.”
“Yes,” I gasped, reaching for his belt.
A knock came at the door. “Spin? You in there?”
“Fuck,” he grumbled, then shouted to the door. “What, Zo?”
“Uh, sorry, but uh, we got word from Donna Maria. And you said—”
“All right.” He removed his fingers from me.
Zo didn’t get the message. “You said if we heard from her that—”
“Zo! Basta! I’ll see you inside.” He straightened my panties and skirt. “I’m sorry, Contessa. Business calls. You and I will share a skin later.”
“Can Otto drive me home?”
“I’m sorry, but you’re not going home tonight. I’ll have one of the guys go to your house and pack you a bag. But until I take care of Scott Mabat, you’re staying at my side.” He stood, erection apparent under his pants.
I was still splayed on the floor. “Antonio, really?”
“Really. It’s like the kids’ shows. When the song comes, the bouncing ball tells you when to sing the words.” He put his hand out to help me up. “Just follow along.”
***
We crossed the parking lot holding hands, and when we went into the pitch dark garage, he squeezed my hand. I heard men talking and a thup thup sound.
“Follow along,” he said and opened a door in the back.
In a low room decorated in wood paneling and cigarette smoke, a handful of men faced the same direction. Zo crooked his arm and straightened it quickly. A thup followed, and the others reacted by exchanging handslaps and cash.
Darts.
An Italian flag draped one wall. The chairs were wooden and well worn, like the desk and linoleum floor. I recognized a man in a fedora from outside Zia’s restaurant. Silence fell on the room like a lead curtain.
Antonio kissed me on both cheeks, left first, then right. He stared me in the face for a second before facing his crew. “Signori, this is Theresa. Theresa, you’ve met Lorenzo.”
Zo came up to me as if for the first time and took my hand. “Piacere.” He kissed me on each cheek, right then left, and stepped back.
“Otto, you’re still here?” Antonio said.
He stepped forward and took my hand. “Piacere di conoscerla.” He kissed me the same way, left then right.
“Good to meet you,” I said.
“Now go home,” Antonio said. He indicated a man in a checked jacket and receding hairline. “Enzo, meet Theresa.”
“Very nice to meet you,” he said in a clean California accent I wouldn’t have noticed in any other group.
“You, as well.” I counted three more. Fedora was next.
“Niccoló, this is Theresa.”
“Piacere.” He kissed me quickly, in the middle of counting a stack of bills, as if the whole process was inconvenient.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Last, Simone, I’d like you to meet Theresa.”
“Good to meet you!” The only blond in the crew, he shook my hand like a car salesman and smiled big, only kissing each cheek when Antonio shot him a look. He did it right then left, and the mix-up meant we almost kissed on the lips. He laughed.
“Enzo, Niccoló,” Antonio said, “go get the half-Armenian strozzino. Call me when you have him. Zo, bring the lady to the little house then pick her up a bag.”
Otto, Enzo, and Niccoló left, chattering in deep voices.
“Antonio,” I said with warning in my voice.
“The ball with the music,” he said. “Please. Call your roommate and tell her Zo’s coming.”
“I have work tomorrow.”
“I hope so.” He whispered in my ear, “I’ll come to you. Just wait.”
Paulie burst in. “Hey! I heard there was a formal introduction.”
“Hi, Paulie,” I said.
“This is Theresa,” Antonio said.
Paulie joyfully kissed my left cheek, then my right, and took me by the shoulders. “Welcome. Good to have you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Paulie turned to Antonio. “We taking care of the Donna Maria thing?”
“Ye
s. Let me get Theresa set up, then we’ll talk about it.”
thirty-three.
he little house stood up into the foothills behind a hundred feet of allergens. It could have been in the Tennessee mountains for all its foliage and acreage. A skinny kid of about nineteen with an acne problem sat on the porch. He stood when Zo and I drove up.
“Don,” Zo said, “this is Theresa. The boss formally introduced her tonight.”
“Huh,” the kid huffed, as if surprised. “All right, then. Piacere.” His accent was terrible, but he kissed me on both cheeks, left then right.
“Donatello’s gonna be on the porch. He’s keeping his eyes on you so, don’t worry about him.” Zo punched the kid in the arm, and he almost fell over.
“Thanks,” the kid said.
“This is a safe house, isn’t it?” I said.
“Used to be. Now it’s just safe.”
He took me through the two-bedroom house, which looked more lived in than any safe house I’d seen in movies. I saw old world touches all over in the unfinished wood and hand-painted ceramics. The quilt on my bed was deep burgundy, the oil paintings showed seashores and mountains, and the kitchen, the only ultra-modern part of the house, had a basket of fresh fruit on the counter.
“This is Antonio’s house?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“It’s smaller than my loft.”
Zo shrugged. “He likes it that way.”
“Can you bring Katrina? It’s her I’m worried about.”
“Boss has it covered. He takes care of his people. And after tonight, you’re with us.” Zo kissed me on both cheeks again and left.
***
“Katrina? Are you all right?”
“I got a shard of swan in my foot, I want you to know.”
I was curled up on a strange couch, in a strange house, with a strange guy on the porch to protect me. I had the news on and muted. The ticker moved, and the heads talked. “There’s a guy coming to get a bag for me. Can you put some stuff in it?”
“Cups? Plates? Saucers? What do you want?”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“When I’m not crying, I’m fine. God, I botched this.”
“We’ll make it right. I don’t know how, but we will. It’s a good movie.”
“I’m going to my parents in the OC tomorrow. I’ll stay a few days and get my shit together. If he chases me there, my dad will just shoot him.”
“Great plan.”
She sniffed. “Do you want the electric toothbrush? Or a regular one?”
“Regular. I don’t intend to be gone long enough to charge the electric one.”
“Okay. I gotta go. Michael’s coming over.”
“Really?”
Daniel’s face appeared on the screen. The ticker told me he was doing the unprecedented: opening a major case against an organized crime family at the tail end of a mayoral campaign.
“Reckless asshole,” I mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Have fun with Michael. And, Kat?”
“Yes?”
“There are going to be men around watching you. Stay calm, okay?”
“Jesus, Tee Dray, what are you into?”
“I don’t know, but I think I’m up to my eyeballs.”
***
I slept on the couch until the navy sky faded into morning cyan. He came to me in a haze of pine and musk. His lips were my awakening, the hard firearm at his back a reflection of the hardness between his legs.
“Capo,” I whispered through my sleep.
“Ah, Contessa. I could barely talk tonight. All I wanted to do was make peace so I could fuck you every day and night.” He pulled up my shirt and kissed my belly.
“Is this about the trouble with your men?”
“Done for now. Tie up loose ends tomorrow.” He pushed up my bra.
I wove my fingers in his hair when he sucked my nipples. “I can go to work?”
“Shh. No talking.” He pulled away and got on his knees, looking at me. He yanked at my skirt and panties, slipping them off. “Spread your legs.” He shrugged out of his jacket and pulled off his shirt. “Touch yourself.” There was a sense of urgency about his manner as he wiggled out of the last of his clothes.
I watched him with my fingers between my legs, stroking my hardened, wet clit. “I want you so bad.” I moaned. “I want you inside me.”
“Shh.” He put his cock at my opening. He thrust forward.
I put my hands on his shoulders, letting the thrust of his hips take me. He took my hands and pinned them to my sides, wrapping his arms around me tight. He pressed the whole of his body to mine as if he was trying to crawl into my skin. If he did, I couldn’t have stopped him. He had me powerless under his weight, restrained by his desire. My legs were free but pinioned by the fulcrum of his cock.
“Every day,” he whispered, “I’ll take you like this. In the morning, before coffee, I fuck you. At night, I fuck you harder. In our bedroom, our living room, our kitchen, I’ll love you in every room. Amore mio, I’ll break you with my love and put you back together. And when I retire, you still call me Capo because you’re mine. Always mine.”
His lips spoke into my cheek. I felt wrapped in him, past, present and future. I had no whim or hunger outside the building pleasure in my legs and safe pressure of his skin and muscle.
I gasped. I was going to come. I wondered if my explosion would be held down, tamped by the weight of his arms and the swirling affection in his words. But my orgasm came in a flood. My back arched, and my thighs got stiff. I saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing but Antonio. His weight, his breath, his scent, and his pleasure, concurrent with mine, swirled together inside my skin, and I, inside his.
***
We stayed wrapped around each other for a long time, just breathing together. I was so tired, I fell asleep under him. He whispered mi amore, kissing my neck and shoulders, then relaxed his arms.
“My Capo,” I said. “Always.”
“You should sleep.” He brushed wet strands of hair from my face as if it was of great concern. “I brought your bag.”
“I hope she packed work clothes.”
“You stay here today. I haven’t taken care of the strozzino yet.”
“Antonio, please. I have to live.”
He pressed his fingers to my lips. “What do you think happened last night?”
“I followed the bouncing ball.”
“You are under my protection. My crew recognizes you. They can’t touch you, and they will protect you. But you also have a responsibility to us to stay out of trouble. For a few days, things will be disrupted. Bruno and Vito, they’re doing their own thing. I didn’t want that. Vito, with the young girls…” He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t like it, but…” He looked up and crooked his neck as if shaking off the thought. “We have to pay tribute to another family, so everyone recognizes them as their own thing, not just us. This has to be completed before I can let you walk around without an escort.”
“What?” I sat up, and he moved off me.
“I couldn’t isolate you and keep you safe. This was the only way. You’re untouchable now, as long as you obey the rules.”
“What are the rules?”
“Do not talk to the press or police. Not talk about our business with anyone. Not ask questions.” He held up his hand to my pending objections. “You can ask me. But no one else. I have all the information. My men only know some things, and if they talk, you get half the story. And I know what can hurt you.”
“You might have mentioned this before all the double kissing happened.”
“What am I asking? That you be loyal? That you come to me first? Only the saying of it makes you sit up and cross your arms.”
I huffed. Of course he was right. Of course I had no intention of ratting him out or investigating him further. It was indeed the list of rules that bristled me.
“This needs to be on a probationary basis,” I said.
> “One minute probation,” he said then kissed me, his hand tight on my jaw, his tongue prying my mouth open. He stopped. “My minute’s up, Contessa. Are you still mine?”
“You are my Capo,” I whispered. “But I’m mad at you.”
“Get in the shower then before I fuck you again.”
***
Katrina had packed everything I needed. One set of work clothes, one set of regular clothes. Shoes, toiletries, and a note.
Tee – Thank you for everything. You are a shining star. I promise not to let you down. You’ll be proud of me one day.
Be safe, okay?
The Directrix
When I got out of the bathroom, Antonio held up my phone. “What are we going to do about this guy?”
There was a text from Daniel.
—need to speak with you in person by tomorrow—
“What are we going to do about you looking at my texts?”
“As long as you’re talking to him and the thing is face up on the table, I’ll look.”
“You don’t trust me?” I asked.
“I do.”
“I think you’re missing an opportunity to get some inside information, Capo.”
He crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze. “Contessa.”
“If I don’t see him, he’s going to get suspicious. He’s just opened a case against, I’m assuming, you? Knowing I might be with you? Let me see him and find out what he wants.”
“You’re going to spy for me? I don’t want that from you, ever.”
“To be honest, I just want to go home and have kind of a normal day. You know, one where I don’t see a gun or take part in some ritual I don’t understand.”
“And you need to see Daniel Brower to do that?”
“He’s not a loan shark or a baby capo looking for territory. He’s not going to hate you any more than he already does, and he’ll never touch me. What’s the harm in me putting on my work clothes and taking a lunch?” I put my hands on his forearms, and he dropped them. “We’ll be in public. I promise.” I slipped my hands around his waist and held him close.
He put his arms around me and kissed my head. “Come vuoi tu.”
