Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous)

by Montes, E. L.

  Marcus came to a complete halt, causing me to jerk in his arm. I studied him suspiciously. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “We’re here.” His lips spread into a boyish grin.

  Bunching my brows together, I looked around us. We were in front of Lucky Strikes. “Your big surprise is a bowling alley?”

  He nodded.

  “Um . . . thanks?” I didn’t know what else to say. My handsome, top notch lawyer/mobster boyfriend took me bowling as a surprise date. I was at a loss for words, and not in a good way.

  “Trust me. You’ll love it.” Grabbing my elbow, he dragged me into the building.

  After we rented our lane and grabbed our bowling shoes and some alcoholic beverages, we made our way toward lane number eight. I couldn’t believe we were going to bowl. Still in shock by it all, I tossed off my boots and laced up the bowling shoes. I was in a freaking dress for Christ’s sake! I was sure I looked ridiculous. I stood and stared down as I rocked in the blue-and-red bowling shoes. My eyes darted to Marcus at the sound of him chuckling. “What?” I asked.

  “You look adorable.”

  Suspiciously, I flashed him another glare and grabbed my martini. I sipped on my drink as he entered our names onto the screen. The last time I went bowling was probably a few years ago with some college friends in undergrad. No, it was with an ex-boyfriend, the one who’d cheated on me with my roommate. Good times!

  Marcus was up first. He searched for a bowling ball. Once he found the perfect one, he turned and winked at me. “Babe, don’t be discouraged if you don’t win. It’s a learning process; you’ll get better with each try.” I cocked a brow at him. He laughed at my expression and then turned around, slowly walking toward the edge of the lane. Straightening his position, he took a deep breath. He took the game seriously, I could see. Marcus gently stretched his arm back with the bowling ball in hand and then tossed it down the lane. It gently rolled down the smoothly waxed wooden surface. His aim was a little too far to the right, so by the time the ball hit the pins, only three went down. He tried again and missed completely as the ball rolled into the left side gutter.

  “My fingers were stuck.”

  “Yeah, sure they were.” After downing my drink, I went and searched for the perfect bowling ball. I settled for a nine-pound orange one. Walking toward the edge of the lane, I straightened my position and scooted lightly toward the right. Staring down the lane, I focused on the first pin. Keeping steady, I swung my arm back and tossed the ball down the lane with no hesitation. All I could hear was the sound of the ball rolling along the wooden surface at a rapid speed until it collided with the middle pin. My eyes and mouth spread wide open when all ten pins were knocked down. Strike! Turning, I ran toward Marcus, who was just as shocked as I was, and jumped into his arms. “Oh my God, I got a strike on my first try!” I squealed.

  “That’s awesome.” He laughed.

  The next few rounds, I continued with my strikes. I was on a high, beating Marcus. He was failing miserably. I found it hilarious that he came up with a ludicrous excuse every time he missed the pins or didn’t bowl a strike. The more I drank my martinis, the looser I got and the better my aim was getting.

  It was beginning to get crowded in the bowling alley. Groups of people chatted and sang along to the loud music playing. The lights were dimmed as colorful strobe lights flicked through the space. I was actually having a really great time.

  It was Marcus’s turn again, so I decided to help him out. I walked up behind him, and he must have sensed I was near, because he looked over his shoulder. “Here, let me help you.” Placing my hand behind his, I straightened the ball in his hand. “You want to have a straight angle.”

  “Mia?” He arched a brow.

  “Shh, listen, don’t be discouraged if you don’t win. It’s a learning process. You’ll get better with each try.” I threw his words back at him then innocently batted my lashes.

  Laughing, he shook his head. “I’m not sure if I should kiss you or kill you.”

  Looking aside, I raised a finger toward my chin. “Mmmh. Decisions, decisions. I would prefer the kissing.” I nodded and looked back at him.

  His eyes brightened as his smile widened. Tossing the ball in his hand down the lane, without bothering to see if it hit any of the pins, he turned to face me. He picked me up in his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist as he kissed me eagerly. He bit on my lip playfully, forcing me to laugh.

  He slightly pulled away from our kiss, allowing me to rest my forehead against his. The humor in his eyes was gone. “What would I do without you, Mia?”

  Tightening my arms around his neck, I pulled him in closer to me, our lips mere inches away. “You’ll never have to find out because I’ll always be here, Marcus. I’ll always be yours.”

  With that, he gripped the back of my neck, pulled me in, and kissed me hard and passionately.

  After our date, Marcus drove me home and parked in front of my building. We continued to talk, laugh, and make out like two teenage kids for what seemed like hours. I wanted to take him in the car or even ask him to come up, but I was not giving in too easily. With my insides throbbing and aching for him, I pulled away, kissed him one last time, and wished him a good night. I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling and smiling about how wonderful it felt to spend time with Marcus. A night of pure fun was just what we needed after all the heavy drama we’d been through. Sighing, I shut my eyes and hoped that things stayed this way.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MARCUS

  It had been almost a week since Mia and I had rekindled our relationship, and everything was going smoothly. We met up for dinner or drinks three days out of the week. It was hard for us to meet up with our schedules, between her attending school and my working at the firm or meeting up with the guys, but somehow we made it work.

  It was a Thursday late night, and I was in Lou’s office. Lou called in all of his men, but he wasn’t there yet. I stood by the far right wall of his office as I heard the door open. Jimmie walked in with Vinnie. He nodded when he spotted me and greeted the other guys before making his way towards me.

  Once he shook my hand, he stood beside me and crossed his arms. “What’s going on?” Jimmie whispered as he leaned in.

  “I have no fuckin’ clue.”

  “Vinnie was about to drop me off at home after a job when we got the call to meet here.” He ran a hand over his face and breathed out a heavy sigh exhaustedly.

  “Who was the job with? I just had one with the Quincy boys.”

  He nodded, knowing who I was talking about. “It was with the men in little Italy, James’s men.”

  “Yeah, I know who that fucker is.”

  “Yeah, he wasn’t too keen on you either. He said you were a wiseass if he remembered correctly.”

  “I was fuckin’ seventeen, and it was my first deal.”

  Jimmie chuckled at that.

  For the next forty minutes, we stood there in the office observing everyone. Buddy was leaning against the wall, humming a tune as he tapped his foot against the marble floor. Gio sat on top of a desk, scrolling through his phone. Vinnie and Al stood by the door, discussing the previous night’s boxing match. Lou had more men who worked for him, but we six were his main guys that were given specific, important, top jobs or assignments.

  Before we arrived at Lou’s office, some of us were on a job with the Irish cartel. Carrick Boyle a.k.a. Rick was in charge of his family crime organization in Quincy. Rick and his men were known as the Quincy boys. Rick had done business with Lou for many years, gaining a respectable and trustworthy relationship. Everything worked out smoothly with the transaction, so I couldn’t pinpoint what could have caused this meeting.

  Our heads swung toward the door the moment Lou stormed in. He stopped midway into his office and glared at his nephew. “Are you fuckin’ dumb or something, Gio?”

  Gio’s brows molded together in confusion. “Huh?”

  Lou waved his hand toward the
antique mahogany desk. “Get the fuck up! That desk is a fuckin’ original, imported from Sicily.” He snapped his fingers eagerly.

  Gio jumped off the desk, inching toward the far left with both his hands raised in surrender. “Sorry, Uncle Lou. I had no idea.”

  Lou shook his head, walked behind the desk, and hung his suit jacket onto a coat rack. “Yeah, well, I guess that education I paid for was a fuckin’ waste.” Gio shrugged and then placed his phone into his back pocket.

  The six of us moved closer toward Lou, forming a U surrounding his desk. Lou placed his wallet and revolver on top of a stack of papers and then eased down into his chair. Once he was situated, he took a long hard look at each and every one of us, not saying a word—just taking his time, scrutinizing the six men before him. I straightened my shoulders as I shoved my hands into my front pockets. Jimmie, to my right, had his arms crossed and was intently focusing on Lou, while the others waited patiently.

  Lou leaned back in his chair, laying an elbow on the armrest, as his index finger and thumb framed his face. Crossing his legs, he let out a roguish laugh. “I call bullshit.” Each of us gave the others questioning glares and then turned our attention back on Lou. His smile widened. “I call bullshit because it’s come to my attention that someone in this very room has been lying to me.”

  My breathing remained steady, but I felt a rush of heat course through my veins. Jimmie shifted uncomfortably beside me. As I quickly glanced over at him, I could see his forehead becoming damp. It was warm in the space we occupied, but I knew my brother. He was fucking nervous. No one seemed to notice the change in his demeanor but me.

  Come on, Jimmie, don’t fuck this up.

  “For years, I truly thought my men were loyal.” Lou sucked his teeth three times as he slowly shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame on me for believing there were still devoted men in this world.” After one hard look at each of us, he uncrossed his legs and leaned into the desk. His elbows were placed on top of the wooden surface. He pointed an index finger and brought it toward his lips as his thumb rested beneath his chin. He sat in deep thought for a short period of time.

  “What to do?” Lou questioned in a low voice. Then, as if something lit up in his head, he spread his arms wide with a cocky grin. “Ah, that’s right. If I need something done, I must do it myself!” He stood from his chair, straightened his shoulders, and cracked his neck. Reaching for his revolver, he tightened his grip around the handle, twirling and examining the black metal piece in his hand. Everyone straightened, adjusting their positions.

  Lou walked around the desk until he was in the center of us. He slowly walked back and forth with his left hand behind his back. He gestured with his right hand, tightly holding the gun, as he spoke, “See what I don’t understand is, while thinking back on it all, I truly thought I took very good care of my men.” Stopping to face me, he angled his head and asked, “Do you think I do, Marky? Take good care of my men, that is?” I gave a curt nod in response. With a crooked grin, he tapped the cold metal gun in his hand along the side of my face, turned, and made his way back to the center. All traces of humor washed away from his features as he stood tall and eyed every one of his men before him. “If I take good care of my men, then tell me why the FUCK am I having this fuckin’ conversation!” His arms spread wide as he glanced around the room like a lunatic.

  “Tell me!” Lou’s face was slowly turning red as his anger built. It was dead silent. The drop of a pin could be heard a mile away. Landing his glare on Vinnie, he pointed his gun. “Vinnie, you got something to say?”

  Vinnie shook his head. “No, boss.”

  “Hmm.” Then Lou’s arm shifted over to Buddy. “Buddy, what about you?” Lou asked.

  Buddy raised a brow. “I’m the most loyal to you, Lou.”

  Amused by that statement, Lou smiled mockingly as he approached Buddy. “Is that so?”

  Buddy stood his ground and nodded. “Yes, it is.” With both hands folded behind his back, Lou leaned into him, their faces mere inches away from one another as Lou drilled his eyes into Buddy’s for an awkwardly long time.

  As if another idea just popped into his head, Lou swirled around and made his way back toward the center. Raising his gun, he aimed it at Buddy. “Eeny.” Lou smirked and then began pointing at each and every one of us, as he continued. “Meeny. Miny. Moe. Catch a Rat.” The gun landed on Jimmie. I stiffened. My body dampened with sweat as my heart thrashed against my chest. All sound went faint, except for my breathing, which grew hasty. Everything around me felt as if it was going in slow motion. I showed no sign of uneasiness as I exhaled when Lou took the aim off of Jimmie and began to go down the row of men again. “By his toe. If he squeals.” Mischievously, his smile grew lopsided. “Then let the fucker go.” Without a second thought, Lou pulled the trigger.

  A loud ringing noise echoed in the room after the gun went off. My eyes traced from the blood splattered on Lou’s shirt to Al dead on the ground. He lay flat on his belly, his head landing on Lou’s leather shoes. Kicking the head aside, Lou spit on the lifeless body and then made his way behind the desk. The other men, including Jimmie and myself, looked at each other, confused.

  “Uncle Lou, Al was the rat?” Gio asked in astonishment.

  Lou grabbed a cloth from the inside of his jacket. Removing his shoe, he began wiping off the blood. “From the sound of it, Gio, it seems as if you don’t believe my source was accurate. Is that so?” He asked. After wiping off his shoes and putting them back on, he then unbuttoned his shirt, replacing it with a fresh one that was removed from the desk drawer.

  “No, not at all, it’s just when you mentioned a rat, my first guess was Buddy. You know what I mean?”

  “Fuck you!” Buddy coughed back and spit at Gio. The saliva fell on top of Gio’s shoes.

  “Fuck you. You fuckin’ cocksucker!” Gio began making his way toward Buddy. The two of them had been going at it for days; it was some unfinished business from years ago before Gio had skipped town. If you asked me, it was really just a competition for Lou’s affection. They both were like sons to him.

  “Enough!” Lou slammed his hand on the desk and began barking orders. “Vinnie and Buddy, take care of the body. Gio, go fetch the car and bring it out back. I’ll meet you down there in five minutes. Marky, you got my money?”

  Gio walked out the door. On his way out, he and Buddy exchanged pissed-off glares. Buddy and Vinnie picked up the body from the floor and carried it down the stairs. Jimmie reached for the duffle bag that was beside him and handed it over to me. I placed the bag on top of Lou’s desk and unzipped it. “It’s all accounted for.”

  Lou reached for his jacket, slipped his arms through the well-tailored dark blue sleeves, and smiled. “Good, how was the exchange?”

  “Same as always with the Boyle’s: smooth. He placed another order for this time next month.”

  Nodding, Lou reached in the bag, took two large stacks of money, and handed them to me. “You did good, Marky. Keep it up.” After grabbing the bag, he left the room.

  Once the door was shut, I turned and looked at Jimmie, gesturing my head toward the door. Without a word, we both left Lou’s office and made our way toward my car. When we entered, I twisted in my seat to fully look at him. “What the fuck was that?”

  “What?” He asked.

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Jimmie. I know you. You were shitting bricks in there. Care to explain?”

  “What do you think, Marcus? When he said someone was hiding something, I instantly thought about Michael. He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

  “No, he won’t.”

  Jimmie tossed his hands in the air and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Marcus! You can’t be that naïve? If he doesn’t know already, Lou is going to figure out that Mia is Michael Sullivan’s sister, and when he does, Lou will begin to piece together the fuckin’ puzzle. It’s only a matter of time. Al wasn’t the rat. Lou was trying to send a message.” Huffing out a deep breath, he sa
nk his head back onto the headrest. “The one person that crossed my mind while we were in there was my little girl. I can’t be a failure to her. And I know you love Mia. I truly understand, but now you have to think about her too. We need to dig deeper and get more info. There had to be someone Michael was working with besides us. He was too smart to have done it any other way.”

  With one last glance at him, I turned in my seat, started the car, and pulled off.

  What the fuck was I supposed to do now?

  ***

  That night I lay in bed, staring blankly at the white ceiling. My mind was sprinting with all of the chaos. I wasn’t being naïve as Jimmie insinuated. I knew that eventually Lou would figure it all out. I guess I had been in denial, keeping that thought tucked away in the back of my mind, hoping it would all go away. My main focus for so long had been Mia, but I couldn’t stop Jimmie’s words as they trampled through my head.

  I fought back the urge to grab a drink. There was always something soothing about having liquor course through my bloodstream. It made everything seem to vanish in that moment. It was another weakness of mine along with Mia.

  I was becoming weak, and that was the one thing that I couldn’t become while managing that lifestyle. Weakness was a sign of failure. I’d come too far to fail. Mia was my greatest weakness and I knew that. I had to find a way to juggle it all, because if I kept going about everything the way I had been, she’d be the death of me.

  CHAPTER SIX

  MIA

  “What’s wrong, Mia?” Megan chirped from the other end of the clothing rack.

  I hadn’t realized that I was dozing off. Yawning, I forced a smile. “I’m just tired. I stayed up all night studying for an exam.”

  “Sorry, I promise I won’t keep you long. This is the first date Jeremy is taking me on, like an actual date.” She smiled as her eyes glistened. “I’m nervous.”