Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous)

by Montes, E. L.

  I hadn’t seen or spoken to Marcus’s mother in almost a month. The problem was I had thought that everyone in his family knew about our breakup, but Marcus had been secretive as usual. Theresa reached out to me with a relieved expression on her face as she pulled me into a tight embrace. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you so much. How are you, honey?”

  “I’m good, thank you. I’ve missed you too. How are you?”

  Stepping back to inspect me at arm’s length, her eyes glistened. My heart ached. From the moment I’d met Theresa, she was filled with so much joy, and her presence radiated nothing but positive vibes. Even if you were in the gloomiest mood, the clouds hanging overhead disappeared when she walked in the room. Though, from the look of Theresa standing in front of me now, I could tell there was definitely something wrong. I could feel it.

  “Are you okay?”

  She sniffed back tears and forced a smile, showing just the slightest dimple. “Yes, I’m just so happy to see you. I’ve missed our weekly catch-up lunches.”

  How could I have been so selfish? I leaned back in for a hug and held her tightly as tears sprung from my eyes. Theresa loved me as much as I loved her and the entire DeLuca family. I had allowed my issues with Marcus to affect my relationship with all of them. “I’m so sorry, Theresa. I just couldn’t . . .”

  “No, no need to explain. I know.”

  I brought my stare back at her. “You knew? About . . .”

  Nodding, she responded, “I know my boys. I figured it out. I never mentioned it to Marcus, but he wasn’t the same the past few weeks, well, not the same as he was when he was with you. He went back to the way he used to be, before you.” Waving her hand dismissively, she added, “I’m just happy you’re here.”

  Ashamed, I looked down. I didn’t know how to respond. I felt I had to make up for lost time, so I blurted, “Lunch on Wednesday? I would love to catch up, Theresa.”

  Nodding, she sniffed and reached to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I would love that honey. Our usual spot?”

  I nodded, gave her one last tight hug, and left.

  ***

  After parking my car, I strolled along the wet cobblestone pavement toward my apartment building. The afternoon breeze was slightly chilly, but, nonetheless, it was a beautiful day. Breathing in the cool air, I admired how quiet and beautiful my neighborhood in Cambridge was. Trees lined the sidewalk along the park. Vehicles parked on the side of the street, in front of the brick townhomes. I was lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to invest in a building in this neighborhood.

  Spotting both Megan’s and Jeremy’s vehicles, I felt a slight burst of excitement rush through me. I couldn’t wait to tell them that Marcus and I were giving it another try. I walked through the front door and saw Ms. Connor standing in the hallway with her evil pug, Gypsy. “Good evening.” I nodded as I passed her and headed up the stairs.

  “Oh, Ms. Sullivan.” She exclaimed in a high-pitched annoying tone. I needed to take a few calming breaths before turning to face her.

  “Yes, Ms. Connor?” I managed a slight smile.

  “These past four nights, a gentleman was sleeping in front of your door.” She waited for me to respond, and when she realized that I wasn’t going to say anything, she continued. “I thought you should know, and I felt very uncomfortable with the entire situation.”

  I gently nodded, “Not to worry, Ms. Connor, it won’t happen again. Is that all?”

  With a smug look, she lifted Gypsy into her arms then turned to exit the building after saying, “I suppose that is all.” God! She managed to crawl under my skin every time.

  I dropped my keys on the side table by the door after entering my apartment. It was completely dark except for the TV screen casting light from the movie being shown. I approached the couch and saw both Jeremy and Megan cuddled up together, with a bowl of popcorn between their laps. Jeremy’s aqua blue eyes shot back at me as he smiled. “Hey, Mia, just in time, we were getting ready to watch Dirty Dancing.” His tone was tinged with sarcasm as he rolled “dancing” off his tongue and he waved his hand in the air mockingly.

  Biting back a laugh, I made my way around and sank on the couch beside him. “Yeah, Mia, you should so watch it with us.” Megan said excitedly.

  “Since when do you watch romance movies?” I questioned Jeremy. Also, taking notice of the time, I added, “And what happened with your date last night? You’re usually sunk between a pair of legs around this time. Aww, did she send you home early?”

  He cringed before answering. “Ugh, did you have to go there? Worst date ever. And Missy over here,” he nudged his head toward Megan, “forced me to watch it. She swears my day will get better.”

  Flinging my shoes and jacket off, I made myself comfortable beside him and grabbed a handful of popcorn. I leaned back against the armrest, “That bad, huh?”

  “Mia, it was worse than bad; it was excruciating.”

  “What happened?”

  Megan rolled her eyes, clearly not wanting to hear the story again. Reaching for the remote, she paused the movie. Adjusting in his seat to fully face me, he began his story. “First off, let me start by saying that I went out of my way to take her out to dinner.” He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to respond. Shoving popcorn into my mouth, I nodded.

  “Okay, it was a pizza joint, but that’s the not the point. Everything was going great. I picked her up and gave her my best Jeremy charm.” He flashed a grin. “She was going for it. Then we got to the restaurant. Wasn’t the best place, whatever, we’re seated in a booth, but she wanted to sit next to me?” He spread his arms and widened both of his eyes as if the act were illegal.

  Confused, I raised a brow, and with a mouth full of popcorn, I asked, “And . . . what’s wrong with that exactly?”

  He tilted his head and stared at me as if it was obvious. “Mia. No elbow room.”

  I shot him a puzzled expression. “What?”

  “You know elbow room.” Jeremy waved his bent arms. “Dude, she hovered over my shoulder, breathing heavily on my neck, while I tried to look at the menu. Then she snuggled close while I was trying to eat.” Sighing, he shook his head in disbelief. “You know how much I love my food.”

  “You can’t be serious?” I asked.

  He was serious. I looked over at Megan for a better explanation, but she simply shook her head and raised her hands in defeat.

  “I took her straight home afterwards.” He reached for more popcorn and straightened into the chair.

  “You’re a dick.” I shot out.

  “Yeah, well, I get that a lot.”

  “I feel sorry for the woman that marries you. Seriously, it’ll be like marrying a thirty-year-old toddler with no manners whatsoever.”

  He cocked a brow with a curt nod. “You, know I get that too.”

  “Shut up!” I nudged his shoulder.

  “Can we please watch Dirty Dancing now?” Megan spat out.

  Jeremy tilted his head to the side. “Yes, please, let’s watch Patrick Swayze save Baby from the corner.” Megan rolled her eyes, grabbed the remote, and hit play. Within the next few hours, we watched several old movies, ordered in pizza, and laughed at Jeremy’s goofy ways. At first, I wanted to mention that Marcus and I got back together, but instead, I decided to save it. That evening, I was going to enjoy a night with my friends.

  The evening passed by quickly, and before I knew it, Jeremy stood and stretched. “I’m going to hit the bed. Megan, you joining me?”

  She widened her eyes and looked at me as her cheeks turned a light shade of red in embarrassment. “Jeremy.”

  “What? Mia’s fine. She won’t think anything of it.” Megan shook her head and slumped back in the seat. Jeremy reached down, grabbed her wrist, and lifted her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “Megan, don’t be shy around Mia. You slept in my bed last night.”

  Megan glared at me and quickly added, “Not in the way that you think, Mi
a.”

  I raised my hands. “Hey, no judgment here.” I could tell she was completely horrified by Jeremy’s public display of affection.

  Before she could respond, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen, and my entire face lit up when I saw it was Marcus. “Hello.” I answered with a huge grin.

  “Hey, just wanted to call and check up on you.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes, and to also ask what your plans are for tomorrow.” I pressed my lips together to hold back the slight squeal that was trying to escape. I excused myself from Jeremy and Megan and ran into my bedroom.

  As I flopped back on my bed and stared at the ceiling, I listened to his steady breathing on the other end of the phone. “I’m not sure yet, why?”

  “Well, if you’re not busy, I would love to take you out on a date.”

  My stomach fluttered with nerves. I wasn’t sure why it did, although it felt nice. “What kind of date?”

  I could hear him shifting as he chuckled in a low raspy tone. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

  “So we’re playing that game?”

  His vibrant laugh forced an even wider grin across my face. I wasn’t sure that was even possible. “No, baby, you’re playing that game. I’m just simply here as an unwilling participant.”

  “Hey play nice, remember?”

  “Right . . . so tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I’m free.”

  “Good, be ready by noon.”

  “By noon? That’s early.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t say early morning, but I’m playing nice.”

  I laughed and caved in. “Okay . . . what are you doing now?”

  Hesitating, he took a deep breath. “I’m in the car waiting for Jimmie. We were called in for a meeting.”

  I took a quick glance at the time. It was almost ten. “Oh.” I whispered. It wasn’t a surprise to me that he was out at a meeting that late. Although I had I accepted him with all of his flaws, this was one I wanted so desperately to take away. I hated his lifestyle, but I loved him.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MARCUS

  Mia’s tone was filled with disappointment. I wanted to shake off the silence between us through the phone. Not wanting to end our call on a bad note, I blurted, “Hey, the next two weeks will be fun, taking my girl out on the best dates she’s ever had.”

  “Ha! I’ll be the judge of that.” She giggled, and even though I couldn’t see her, I knew she was smiling on the other end of the phone. Jimmie stepped into the car and eyed me suspiciously. He wasn’t used to me smiling like a fucking kid.

  “Babe, I have to go. I’ll call you later?”

  “Sure, well, maybe tomorrow. I’m pretty tired and might call it a night. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I love you, Mia.”

  There was a slight sigh before she replied, “I love you too . . . and Marcus?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Please be careful.” After I told her I would, we ended our call.

  As I drove off, I let Jimmie in on everything that was going on between Mia and me, even told him about the bet I lost. He burst out laughing and thought Mia was pretty damned clever. He laughed harder when I punched his bicep for thinking it was funny to begin with. Jimmie seemed happy that Mia and I were working it out. In the beginning, when Jimmie found out that Mia was related to Michael Sullivan, he wanted me to end things immediately. He felt it would backfire, not just on me, but on everything we had been working so hard for so long to do—bring down Lou Sorrento.

  I was fucking hardheaded and couldn’t simply walk away. Deep down, I knew she deserved better. You could call me a selfish man, I guess. I couldn’t see her with anyone else. She was meant for me in so many ways. Since she came into my life, everything had changed; I learned to laugh again, to smile, to break down, and be the person I was before my father’s death. I didn’t think that was even possible. I learned to live again, and I could not walk away from that.

  I had this feeling deep down that I couldn’t live without her. When you finally find a person who makes you feel alive, how could you possibly breathe if she were gone? I knew I couldn’t.

  Jimmie shifted in his seat, and my attention was brought back to him. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I need to find a new babysitter fast.”

  “What happened to that Melissa chick?”

  “She starts college in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to find anyone you can actually trust.” He bounced his right knee and began chewing on his thumbnail, as he usually did he was stressed or worried about things that involved Elle.

  “Don’t worry, man, we’ll find someone. And you have me and Mom until then. You’ll be fine.”

  He nodded and changed the subject. “So what do you think this meeting’s about?”

  Thoughts of my earlier encounter with Lou brought forth several conclusions. “He’s pissed about the last warehouse that was raided by the FBI. He knows there’s a rat in the group and demanded that I find out who it is within the next week, and that if I don’t, he’ll do it his fuckin’ self.” At a red light, I took a glance at Jimmie who was staring straight ahead, lost in thought.

  After a few seconds, he tightened his jaw and nodded. “Fuck. I can’t think of who the fuckin’ rat could be. Everyone in the group is just too fuckin’ loyal to Lou, you know?” He took in a deep breath and then scratched his head. “Michael wasn’t working with the FBI. It was just the three of us trying to build a case before we brought the evidence to any agents.”

  “Well, maybe before he died, he gave some info to an agent that he trusted.”

  Jimmie shook his head. “Maybe, but Michael and I met up the night before his death. He told me that there were no updates. He said that we were getting close and that he might have some leads, but didn’t say anything about any FBI agents. It just doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense.”

  Jimmie was right. None of that shit made any fucking sense, so I began to go through the list of Lou’s people in my head. “Well, hands down, I know Vinnie and Larry are not involved. What about Buddy?”

  “Buddy’s a douchebag, but a rat? Nah, he’s beyond loyal to Lou. If Lou told him to suck his cock, he’d ask for how long.”

  I let out a deep, frustrated breath. Yeah, that was definitely true. Buddy had worked for Lou since he was a kid. He had nothing but the utmost respect for Lou and looked up to him like a father. Trying to find out who was the rat was going to be more difficult than I’d anticipated. Fuck. Lou was not going to let it go.

  For the rest of the ride, Jimmie and I drove quietly. I was sure Jimmie was trying to figure shit out in his head just as much as I was.

  As I pulled into the back of Club21’s private parking lot, I slowed down when I saw a crowd that had formed a circle in the middle of the lot. Jimmie and I quickly exchanged confused glances. I parked the car as we both hopped out and jogged towards the commotion.

  Men chanted and yelled, raising beer glasses in the air, hooting and hollering from the top of their lungs, “Get ’em. Beat his ass. That’s right—blood—I want to see fuckin’ blood!” Hurriedly, I snaked my way through the crowd and was finally in the center of it all. One guy I didn’t recognize was covered in blood with a swollen eye and busted lip. His shirt was torn, and he wobbled from side-to-side sluggishly. He brought his fist up to his face in an attempt to block oncoming punches.

  Larry, one of our men in charge of the club when I’m not around, was standing in the center of the circle. He seemed to be sober, bouncing back and forth on his toes, fist secured at eye level, positioned and ready for another swing. Larry knew fucking better than to start a riot. Anger building within me forced my legs toward them. When I got deeper into the center, I could hear that all of the shouting and yelling had died down. Once I was behind him, I yanked Larry by the shoulder and pulled him away from the other guy. Larry’s eyes flamed when he saw that I got in the middle of it all. “What the fuck, Marky? He deserves it!�
� He pointed at the drunken man, who was mumbling something unintelligible.

  “Not here, Larry!” I pointed a finger toward the back of the club. Hovering over him, I pointed that same finger into his chest. “You fuckin’ know better! Not at my club. Get your ass inside and clean up.” I heard the sound of shoes scattering along the concrete surface as employees and customers rushed away and back into the club. Looking around, I spotted Vinnie, my number one main man. Nodding at him, I yelled, “Take care of this loser.” I nudged over at the drunken man and made my way into the club.

  The hallway was clear by the time I entered. Everyone must’ve rushed back in. Instead of going toward the dance floor, I walked through a private door in the back hallway that led up a staircase toward the second level. Once I entered the second level hallway, I rushed and pushed through the crowds of people wandering around. Finally, I made my way into our VIP room at the end of the hall. When I entered, all eyes were on me: Jimmie was seated at the end of the white sectional, Buddy was leaning against the glass wall that overlooked the dance floor, and Larry hovered over the sink washing his bloody hands.

  Snapping the door shut, I shoved off my jacket and threw it over a chair. “What the fuck was all that about, Lar?”

  Wrapping a towel around his hands, he shook his head and took a seat by the table. “I got a page from the blond bartender about a drunk acting rowdy. I went to check it out, and the guy was giving me a problem, so I roughed him up a little bit and kicked him the fuck out. When I did, he took a swing at me, so . . . you know how I get.” He shrugged.

  “No, you know fuckin’ better. I don’t want police around here. You should have taken him out, closed the fuckin’ door, and left it at that. Not only were employees out there but so were customers! I want this to be a fuckin’ clean club, Larry. You got that?”

  Cocking his lips aside, he nodded, “Yeah, I got that.”

  “Good.”

  It was going to be a long fucking night.

  ***

  We all hung around in the VIP room, waiting for Lou to arrive. No one had said a word for the past forty minutes as we all sat there silently wondering why the meeting was called. Lou never asked to meet with all of us at once, unless it was something of the utmost importance. I grabbed myself a second drink and realized that the ice machine was broken. After making a phone call to one of the maintenance men, I downed the warmth of the smooth whisky in one shot. I knew that I should have stopped drinking, but it too was difficult. Liquor was my solace, my time away from all the bullshit, my only escape until I met Mia, but Mia wasn’t there at that moment, and I needed something to ease my mind from the hell-hole issue I called Lou.