by Magan Vernon
“Yeah?” I put my hands on her hips, running my thumb along the waistband of her jeans.
“What hairdresser doesn’t think about riding someone in her chair?” She leaned over, tracing her tongue along my earlobe.
Fuck the girl could turn me on. My cock was straining against my jeans. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been with a hairdresser besides you.” I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifting her shirt up and trailing my fingers down her back.
She ground against my bulge which just made me harder as her tongue traced the line of my ear, then she worked her mouth down my neck in a pattern of breathy kisses and nips. I thought I was going to blow a hole through my jeans.
A loud throat clearing huff came from somewhere behind us and I froze, but Jackie sat straight up, looking toward the direction of the noise. A guy with a blue Mohawk and completely covered in tattoos stood near the back door. “Uh, I didn’t know anyone was still here.”
Fuck. Way to be a cock block.
Jackie scooted off of me and I had to quickly adjust myself, hoping the guy didn’t see my giant boner. “What the hell, Twitch? Didn’t you get off over an hour ago?” She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest.
He smirked, his lip ring glinting in the dim light that hung overhead. “Yeah, I just forgot my piece.”
She raised her eyebrow. “Didn’t Marci tell you that you can’t be leaving your shit here? That’s why you lost your job in the first place. The only reason you’re back is because Emilio is gone.” She kept talking even though he was walking toward the tattoo equipment.
He reached into a black bag that hung on the back of a chair at the tattoo station and pulled out a small glass pipe, putting it in the pocket of his jeans before he turned back to Jackie. “Yeah, and I’m sure Marci wouldn’t appreciate you fucking your mafia boyfriend at the shop either.” He smirked.
Jackie glared at him and I stood up next to her. “We weren’t fucking.”
She held up her arm. “I’ve got this, Nicky.”
Twitch laughed, a tweaky sound that told me the guy definitely needed to lay off the pipe. “You’ve always been one tough bitch, Jackie. Glad to see that didn’t stop when you started fucking a mafia guy.” He patted his pocket. “Now you just keep my secret and I’ll keep yours and we’ll both keep our jobs.” He gave her one last nod before he turned and walked back out the door he came in.
Jackie growled as soon as the door shut behind him. “I hate that fucking crack-head douchebag. Ugh!” She kicked the air.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her toward me. “Hey, it’s cool. We can just continue what we started at my place, okay?”
She slumped her shoulders and exhaled. “Okay. Can we stop at my place real quick first? I gotta tell Haley I won’t be home.”
“Can you call her?” I raised an eyebrow.
She wiggled out of my grasp and picked up her purse, throwing it over her shoulder. “I wish. She turns off everything during the day when she’s sleeping so she can work and go to school at night. Nothing can wake that bitch up. I promise it’ll be quick.” She patted her bag. “I always keep an extra change of clothes and makeup in my bag, so I just need to run in and talk to Haley and we’ll be good to go.”
“Why do you keep clothes in your bag?”
“In case I ever need to run, I know I’ll be prepared.”
I took her hand, interlacing our fingers. “Well with me, I hope you’ll never need to run.”
She smiled. “I hope so too.”
Chapter 16
Jackie’s neighborhood looked even more sinister at night. I couldn’t avoid the potholes that covered almost every inch of her street and felt like I had to apologize to my car once I got out. Each boarded up house we passed had a group of people outside, standing next to a rusted car. Most of them were huddled together smoking, and broke up their conversation as soon as they saw my headlights. Their gazes never left my car and I made sure to keep an eye on them in my rearview mirror. They’d probably never seen a Bentley in person before and I was sure they were watching to see where it was heading.
I pulled up to Jackie’s townhouse, parking in front. There wasn’t even a light on. Nothing to show that anyone lived there. “I’ll just be a few minutes, I promise.” She unbuckled her seatbelt. “Unless Haley took a sleeping pill, then it may be a little while longer.”
“Take as long as you need, I’ll be here.”
She leaned over the seat and placed a quick kiss on my lips. “I won’t make you wait too long. We need to finish what we started at the shop.”
“Sounds good to me.” I kissed her again.
She licked her lips. “But if you keep that up, I’m never going to want to leave this car.”
“As much as I’d love to never have you leave, I’d rather have you at my place than here,” I said into her lips.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She kissed me again and then scooted back across the seat, opening the door, and sliding out.
I watched her run across the cracked sidewalk to the front door. I hated to see her live in such filth. She was taking the bus every day to work and it killed me. I wanted to buy her another bike or a car or something, but she refused to let me. She said El Lobo and his guys would just do something to it. She was probably right and that pissed me off even more.
I kept a lookout, watching her open the flimsy storm door and getting into the piece of shit place she called home, turning on the light. I needed to get her the hell out of there. I knew I had something with her, hell I wouldn’t just introduce anyone to my family. But bringing up things like moving in together and beyond weren’t things people talked about when they just started dating. I may not have been with her long, but when you go through things like death with a person, it makes you feel like you’ve been with them forever. That shit ages you real fast. And when someone can stand by your side and not run away after they’ve watched you crumble, that person deserves to stay in your life forever.
“Hey, Ragusa!” a voice came from in the distance.
I froze. It was never a good sign when someone yelled my last name, especially not in a neighborhood like Jackie’s. The person shouted again. It was definitely male and deep, coming from the direction of my window. Slowly, I reached for my glove compartment, keeping my hand below the windowsill. I slipped my fingers along the edge until I felt the cool handle of my 9mm and carefully pulled it out.
“I called your name, Mother Fucker.” The voice was louder this time. Almost right by my ear.
Then I saw a dark figure standing on the sidewalk across the street, a large rifle in his hand. The crack of the first shot hit my tire before I could lift my arm to fire back. I ducked as he fired again, shot after shot. The shattering glass and screech of metal on metal rang through my ears. I covered my head, willing the sounds to go away as the glass rained down on my back, like tiny needles. Dad had suggested I look into an armored car. I said I didn’t need it. He was right. Yet again. My mind flashed back to visions of Phil standing in front of the restaurant. His blood on my hands.
I heard loud screams blending in with the gunshots. Then there was nothing but silence, a loud thud, and more silence. I was afraid to move. I didn’t even know if I could move.
“Nicky! Nicky! Oh God, Nicky please tell me you’re okay!” Jackie’s voice was right at my side.
I could still feel the cool steel of my gun in my hand and I dropped it, pushing it under the seat and out of sight before I tried to move another inch.
“What the fuck happened?” Another voice shouted from outside the window, probably Haley’s.
“This was probably Ricky and his fucking gang,” Jackie yelled. “Nicky? Nicky can you hear me?”
I opened the door, glass sliding down my arms and falling at my feet. I winced, feeling the sting as I slowly crawled out of the car, crouching down and moving as slowly as possible. I didn’t know if I’d hurt anything but every little move made more glass fall over me.
“Are you okay, baby?” Jackie asked, stepping closer.
“Don’t move. I don’t want you to get hurt.” I nodded the best I could. “I’m fine.”Slowly I sat up, shaking bits of glass out of my hair and brushing them off my shirt and pants. Then I walked over to where she stood a few feet from the car.
“I called 911, but who knows how fucking long it will take them to get here. They don’t rush when it’s a call in this neighborhood. Did you see anything? Do you know who did this?” She spoke so fast, everything coming out of her like word vomit.
I shook my head, the rage boiling. I wanted to go out and find the fucker and bash his head in. It didn’t help that Jackie already called the cops. If I went after the guy now, there was no telling what they’d try to pin on me. I had to do the next best thing. “I think I have a good clue.” I slowly pulled my phone out of my pocket and turning away from my car. I didn’t even want to look at the damage.
“We need to do something about this. We can’t just let this fucker get away with it!” Haley yelled, pointing at my car behind me.
“I know. I’m handling it,” I said in the calmest voice I could muster before typing in Dominic’s number and sending him a text with Jackie’s address and the request to come get us.
“You’re handling it? What are you going to handle? Some vigilante shit? Are we going to go shoot these fuckers up? If so, I want in on that scum bag!” Haley stepped in front of me, her hair bouncing each time she spoke.
I shook my head, laughing slightly. It was a little comical to think about the girl in six-inch stilettos and a red slip dress trying to do a drive by. “It’s fine, Haley. Let’s just wait for the police and my cousin.”
Haley pouted. “Fine.”
A crowd of people had gathered on the street. Turned out when there was a shooting, everyone came out of their houses to look.
“You’re eerily calm about this,” Jackie whispered, taking my hand and squeezing it.
“I only look it. Inside I’m a fucking wreck.” I kept my voice low, staring out into the street in front of us. Sirens blared in the distance and I could see the faint glow of blue and red lights. I’d seen enough cops for one week. I hoped it was one of the guys that worked for my dad and I could just pay him to take care of it, get my car towed and leave.
I was never that lucky.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea as soon as the squad car pulled to a stop. Two officers got out, holding onto their belt buckles like this was some sort of fight at the OK Corral. Neither of them looked very old, probably only a few years out of the academy. They both sauntered over to where we stood.
“I’m Officer Tibbs and this is Officer Dean,” the first one said and pointed to his redheaded companion. “Looks like you had some trouble with your car.” He pointed behind me.
“Yeah. You could say that,” I said through gritted teeth. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. I should have just called my father and had him send one of his guys at the station. I reached into my pocket for my phone, hoping Dominic had texted me that he wasn’t far away.
“Whoa!” Officer Dean grabbed his gun. “I’m going to need you to keep your hands where I can see them, sir”
I dropped my hands. “First off, I’m Nicholas Fucking Ragusa. Second off.” I took a step closer. “You will show me some fucking respect while I call my father and your chief of police or I will have your piece-of-shit badges as bullets for my 9mm, capeesh?”
The color completely drained from both officers’ faces. “Nicholas Ragusa?” Officer Dean asked
“Yes. That’s what I said. Now that we’ve been thoroughly introduced each other, you can call me a tow truck so we can all get the fuck out of here. I’m sure you don’t want to be here any longer than I do.”
The two officers stared at each other, raising their eyebrows. It was as if they had an entire silent conversation before Officer Tibbs nodded. “Okay, we’re going to step back into the car and call our chief and a tow for you.”
I nodded. “Good. I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, dialing in my father’s number, keeping my eyes on the officers as they slowly walked back to their car, whispering to each other the whole way.
“Hello, Nicky, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“Hey, Dad, I’m over at Jackie’s. There’s been a problem.”
His tone didn’t even change. “What kind of problem?”
“My car’s been shot. The police are going to tow it and Dominic’s on his way to pick me up.”
My father was silent a moment. I thought he might have even hung up. I was about to say something when he spoke. “What do you need me to do?”
“Call the police chief, tell him that Officer Tibbs and Office Dean responded here. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Very well. Let me know how it goes.”
“Will do.”
I disconnected the call and slid my phone back into my pocket. Jackie grabbed onto my biceps, tugging at it until I looked down at her. “What the hell was that, Nicky?”
I leaned down, keeping my voice low. If I thought the crowd was bad before, now every single person on the block was standing on their front porch, watching what was going down on the street in front of them. “I’m just doing what I have to do to get shit done.”
She shook her head. “This isn’t like you.”
I raised my eyebrows, gritting my teeth and trying to keep my anger down. The last thing I needed was to yell at Jackie. I knew I had a temper. Fighting usually kept that at bay, it was why I’d been numb for so long. But all of the shit with El Lobo was making it bubble to the surface and it was getting harder and harder to keep it under control. “What the hell do you want me to do? Get us dragged down to the station like some common criminals? Tell them that I’m El Principe, a mafia prince in the middle of a war with a bunch of fucking gangbangers?”
She turned her cheek as if I’d slapped her and maybe my words had. Her jaw tightened and she bit her lip. “I guess you can’t tell them that.”
“Hey...” I lowered my voice, stepping closer to her and taking her hands. “I’m sorry for yelling. It could have been you they went after. If they hurt you...” I put my fingers to her chin and she turned, her eyes meeting mine. “I don’t know what I would have done if something would’ve happened to you.”
“You shouldn’t be worried about me. You were the one they went after. Your car was shot up with you in it. I’m just glad that you’re okay.” She put her hand on my cheek, running her thumb along my jawline. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you either.”
“Ey, I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but some guido-looking guy is over there talking to the cops. I’m guessing he’s with you guys?” Haley yelled.
I turned slowly and saw Dominic leaning over the cop car, his big, goofy smile on his face. Then, as if he knew I was looking at him, he instantly stopped his conversation with the police officers and jogged over to us. “Hey, cuz. WHOA, shit, your Bentley!”
I winced and Jackie punched him in the arm. “Don’t fucking talk about the man’s car.”
Dominic rubbed his arm. “Hey, geez, sorry. No disrespect.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I can’t even look at it right now. I haven’t looked at it.”
“What the fuck happened, man?”
“I was just sitting out here, waiting for Jackie and someone called my name, then shot.” I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Man, this is fucked up, Nick. We have to do something about this shit.”
I looked out onto the road, watching as the light of the tow truck came into view. “I know. We’re going to take care of this.” I sighed, shaking my head. “Let’s just get my car taken care of and get the hell out of here for now.”
“Okay,” Dominic said.
“Wait,” Haley yelled.
She stood there, batting her eyelashes, curling a strand of hair around her finger. �
��Do you think you could follow me to work? I’m scared.”
Dominic’s face broke out into such a large grin I thought it might break. Of course he’d be willing to follow the stripper anywhere she asked. “Yeah, we can do that. No problem.” He walked up to her, sticking his hand out. “I’m Dominic.”
“Haley,” she cooed.
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Just what we need to make this night.”
Chapter 17
After signing all the documents for the tow truck driver and paying him a huge tip to make sure it got to the shop safely, we took off in Dominic’s car.
After following Haley to work we got back on the Dan Ryan, heading toward the city. I sat in the backseat with Jackie and every five seconds I’d see Dominic’s eyes flicker toward us in the mirror.
“Is there something you want to ask me, cuz?” I tightened my grip on Jackie’s shoulder. She leaned against me with her head on my chest.
“No. Nothing. Nothing at all.” He shook his head and kept his eyes on the road.
I let go of Jackie and leaned forward. “Bullshit, Dom. You wouldn’t keep looking in the backseat if you didn’t want to talk to me.”
His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were completely white. “I just can’t believe this shit. It feels like they’re getting away with it. They’re running around like they fucking own us. And what the fuck are we doing? We’re running away, just driving back to your condo. We should be going after them right now!”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Dom, we’re not animals. This isn’t like the Wild West and we can’t just go running after someone and shoot them because they shot us.” I shook my head, sliding back in my seat. “We strategize. We plan. We’re going to show them who really runs this town.”
Jackie shook her head. “Whoa, you guys are fucking nuts, do you know that?”
