by Soraya Naomi
“Well, fix it. I need the elevator from the underground to also stop here, with only limited access, of course. Figure it out with Tez. Get me a direct path that takes me from this office to the underground without my having to walk through the dance club.” And he turns back to Carmine. “So yes, just walk behind the bar with her.”
They hurry her out.
“Serena’s involved, somehow, someway,” Luca declares.
Adriano scowls at Maxim, and he instructs his second guard, “Tend to his wounds, but make it hurt. Keep him alive in the security room until the club has closed down, then lock him up in Santino’s old cell downstairs. Lastly, find out who his family is.”
“Y-you can kill me, but there’s a back-up plan, Montesi,” Maxim stutters as he’s being dragged up and cries from the pain, but Adriano ignores him.
“Why would they go on this suicide mission? We’re missing something vital,” Luca muses aloud as the guard closes the security door.
As I evaluate the faces left in the room, I all of a sudden remember that I haven’t seen the guard that was with Fallon, Rosalia, and me. “Where are Rosalia and the guard that was downstairs with us?”
“Rosalia?” James questions. “Isn’t she already gone?”
“No,” I reply. “She was with us in the underground. We got separated when the walls closed down.”
James calls Rosalia. “No answer.” Then Alessa next. “Is Rosalia with you?” He shakes his head.
“Check the camera feeds to see if she’s anywhere in the building,” Adriano advises James, who goes into the security room, and he focuses on me next. “And what were you doing down there?”
“Nothing. We wanted to see how the sex club was decorated for Halloween.”
“And again, you get into trouble.”
“But that’s not our fault,” I speak calmly because he isn’t mad about that; he’s furious I got hurt. “Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem. You didn’t forbid us to go to the sex club. We were curious.”
He grunts, not conceding but also not arguing, and scrubs the dried up blood off his beard. “Fuck! I need to wash this off!”
James barges back into the office toward Adriano. “Rosalia’s missing.”
“Something else is at play here,” Wade intervenes. “They use this kind of force with other people they work with, and their scare tactics usually work. Everyone is afraid of them; it’s unprecedented for them to be this reckless and just kidnap a random person after leaving their own people to die here.”
“I made contact with Yakiv Medlov,” Fallon abruptly announces.
All our gazes whip to Fallon.
“What?” Luca practically shouts. “When? And why didn’t you mention that right away?”
“Because you would’ve run after Medlov, and there was an ambush waiting for you at the L station. He had it all planned out. You two needed to contain the club, and I couldn’t risk you going after him in all your anger because of what they did to Cam and me.”
Smart move, Fallon.
“There was some kind of uproar at the station,” Wade adds. “Henry informed me. He said that a lot of police officers were waiting at the station because of some kind of commotion.”
“What the hell did Medlov say to you?” Luca’s completely perturbed by Fallon’s admission.
“I think the plan was to get to one of the members. I don’t know how Santino is involved. I lost Cam, and when I turned around, Medlov was standing there just staring at me, and then he gave me this card”—she takes a black business card from her pocket—“and said I must call him when I find out. Only I can call him; he won’t communicate if anyone else contacts him.”
“Find out what?” Luca asks, annoyance growing with every word Fallon speaks.
“I don’t know, but I think he meant when I found out Rosalia’s missing,” she replies.
“Fallon doesn’t become involved.” Luca steps in front of her.
But she steps around him. “Fallon can decide for herself. Normally, I wouldn’t want to get involved, but we’re talking about Rosalia here. If I can help, I will.”
Luca spins her around, aiming a glare at her that most men would cower under, but she attempts to persuade him. “Luca, it’s just a phone call.”
“We need to act fast,” James tells Adriano.
“It’s Luca’s choice,” Adriano says.
Fallon lifts a brow and rests her palm on Luca’s chest, whispering something to him, which helps, since he evidently calms and gives the go-ahead to Adriano. “Fine. Let her make the call.”
Adriano takes the card and Fallon’s phone from her, entering the number and putting it on speaker.
“Fallon,” Medlov answers intimately.
“Medlov, I believe you have something of ours?”
“Very clever, Fallon.”
Luca’s seething while she smartly ignores him and plays along.
“Where’s Rosalia?”
“She’s safe with me,” Medlov replies.
“You want to speak to her,” Adriano mouths and gestures.
“I want to speak to Rosalia,” Fallon says.
“Say hi,” we hear Medlov order Rosalia.
James stands next to Fallon with a restless expression on his normally controlled face, afraid his daughter might be hurt.
“Hello...” Rosalia’s hesitant voice sounds small.
Wade inches closer too, and now we all huddle around Adriano’s desk.
“Rosalia, are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Fallon demands in a rush.
“I-I’m fine.”
“That’s enough,” Medlov says into the receiver.
“What do you want?” Fallon asks without any direction from Adriano or Luca.
“My men failed their mission, so I want to give Rosalia back to you. But I’ll only meet if you’re present, Fallon.”
“Why me?”
“Because I want the voice of reason to be there to control the men.” Fallon catches my eye, and Adriano notices it, arching his brow at me in question.
“To show goodwill, I’ll give Rosalia back to you. Midnight. Wicker Park. I’ll text the address to this phone.” And he hangs up.
“Send soldiers to Wicker Park,” Adriano instructs the last guard left in his office. “Contact Henry and tell him to find the license numbers of Medlov’s vehicles and locate them.”
“What kind of mind game is this?” James reflects. “First, they come in, start a war, and then take one of us just to give her back? Fallon needs maximum protection before going in.”
“Fallon’s not going,” Luca’s interrupts with an inflexible tone.
“What was that look, ladies?” Adriano’s attention shifts from me to Fallon, not missing anything.
“He must have been spying on us in the dance club, because Cam and I joked about me being the voice of reason,” Fallon replies honestly.
“So Medlov was inside the club spying on you, Fallon?” Luca asks her.
“Apparently. Or one of his men overheard our conversation and informed Medlov.”
“What the fuck?” Luca forcefully stashes his gun back into his waistband.
Fallon and I are both stunned by the intensity of Luca’s temper.
“Jesus Christ, I need a cigarette.” Adriano slides open his drawer and lights a smoke. “What’s his fascination with Fallon?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” Luca snarls.
“Then what do you suggest?’ Fallon crosses her arms over her chest.
“I suggest you stay out of it, as usual. What the hell were you thinking getting tangled up in this?” He braces his neck roughly.
“This was bound to happen someday. You can’t keep me out of it anymore.” Fallon stands her ground admirably.
I want to intervene because I know exactly how they feel, but Adriano signals me not to, silently telling me to wait.
“Should we leave?” I whisper.
“No. Luca’s going to explode soon. We need to b
e here when it happens.”
“Why?”
Adriano looks down his nose at me. “Because Fallon’s going through with it.”
“My daughter has been taken,” James intrudes on Fallon and Luca’s dispute.
“My wife will not be bait!” Luca towers over James.
“She won’t be bait. She’ll just be the leader of the meet, with our instructions and all of us there to protect her.”
“I said no.”
“Luca, I decide whether or not I’m going, not you.” Fallon attempts to overrule him.
Uh-oh.
Luca directs a chilling stare at her. “Fallon, stop talking.”
“Luca, listen to me! We’re losing valuable time here.” Fallon’s patience is running thin too.
Adriano dramatically blows out a ring of smoke. “Dobbiamo darci tutti una calmata.” Everyone needs to calm down. And he places his cig in the ashtray, standing opposite Luca. “I get that you’re worried.”
“I’m not worried. This isn’t happening,” Luca relays, unyielding.
“If she can get us to Rosalia, we need to do it.”
In a split-second, Luca lunges forward and grabs Adriano’s collar, crashing him against the wall. “I’m not risking my wife’s life. You, of all people, should understand that.”
“Oh my god, Luca. Stop it!” Fallon tries to tug him back, but Adriano holds up his hands, palms facing us.
“It’s fine, Fallon.” And he asks Luca calmly, “Then what should we do?”
“We go without Fallon,” Luca offers.
“And risk leaving Rosalia with an enemy longer than we have to? She’s James’s daughter and Cam’s sister.”
Luca expels a loud sigh and lowers his arms. He looks at Fallon as if she’s the only person in the world. “But you have to listen to us!”
“Yes, I will.” She closes the distance between them, and he wraps his arms around her.
Then James rushes us into action. “What’s the address?”
Adriano reads the message lighting up Fallon’s phone screen. “Wicker Park, 1474 North Damen Avenue.”
“The soldiers are already on the way to stake it out. We need a handgun for Fallon to hide,” I start.
“Okay, Clemenza.” Adriano’s tone is bland, but he also sends me a provocative smile. “First, let’s get out of these costumes. Cam and I can clean up and change here.”
The tension from the discussion between Luca and Fallon has had an opposite, restful effect on Adriano and me, because after witnessing Luca and Fallon arguing right in front of us, he also sees how it disturbs a relationship.
“We’re going home to change,” Luca comments, and Adriano narrows his eyes.
“We meet back here in forty-five minutes. Cam and I will have the team assembled by then, and we’ll instruct Fallon.”
“Wade and I will rally up more soldiers while you change, Adriano,” James adds.
Luca entwines his hand with Fallon’s and opens the door.
“Luca, forty-five minutes,” Adriano stresses.
“Okay, yes,” Luca replies as he storms out.
Then Adriano mentions to Wade, “By the way, Santino’s dead.”
“Hmm...He was an undercover FBI agent, infiltrating Sal. It was a highly secretive operation though, because – as you know – it’s been almost impossible to uncover any information. Anyway, you’ll have to dispose of the body carefully.”
“My Capo will take care of it.” Adriano makes a hand gesture, dismissing Wade and James.
At last, I’ll have a moment alone with Adriano, and as soon as Wade and James provide us privacy, Adriano and I crash into each other’s arms.
“Did you see what happened downstairs?” I ask.
His embrace tightens. “Yes.”
“I’m fine. Pissed-off but fine,” I reassure him.
“Just let me hold you for a second.” His hands stroke my hair, and after minutes of silence, he continues, “Dammit, Cam, I can’t even explain how the emotions crippled me. I want to rip their hearts out, but that would be too easy of a death for them. I’m going to make Medlov pay.”
Only his hug can make me feel protected again; it’s all I need, and I’ll never walk away from that. “I know you will. And I do understand your fear of me getting hurt a little bit better now, because I was so scared for Fallon and Rosalia while being down there, and still, Rosalia got taken. I hate that she’s in the middle of this. But did you see how we handled the situation?”
“I saw how heroically you fought, and that makes me proud.” A soft kiss is pressed to the top of my head. “But it also scared the hell out of me.”
“Thank you for not barking at me in front of the others.”
“That only gets me into the doghouse with you, and that’s the last thing I want.” His palms start to rub slow circles on my lower back.
“See, we’re learning. But right now, I really need to get out of this suffocating costume and clean off this makeup.”
“Let’s go underground to one of the private rooms. We can wash up there. I have clothes here in my office, and I’ll get you something to wear down there.”
“Hooker clothes?”
“No. They have a closet full of new clothes. Come on. I want to shower with you.”
We make our way downstairs, and then I’m back in the underground where, just an hour earlier, I swore never to enter again. Yet with Adriano, it’s different.
We stand opposite one another under a hot stream of water in a bathroom adjacent to one of the private rooms near the sex club. Blood washes from Adriano’s face as he massages my body with ocean scented shower gel. There’s a slight tremor in his touch, betraying his lingering rage about what happened, but he’s slowly relaxing. His hands are generous and soothing, cuddling my breasts, my sides, my hips.
After I’m clean, I wash him, tracing his sculpted body with my fingers. It’s what we need to rinse off the mayhem of the night and find security with each other before we start another operation; getting Rosalia back. During all the turmoil that stains our lives, he and I process our adrenaline rushes in the same way: with one another, simply feeling and caressing while steam rises between us.
Once we’ve had enough, he towel-dries me and we move back into the carpeted room. Adriano steps into a clean set of black boxers, unmistakably less on edge than he was an hour ago, but something still seems to be plaguing his mind.
Jeans, a purple sweater, a trench coat, and leather ankle boots are splayed on the bed for me to wear. I trace the fabric and see that it’s the correct size. Not knowing how much time we have left to discuss the situation, I start, “So, what’s our plan when we get to Wicker Park?”
Adriano scours his wet hair back with his fingers, and the strands fall perfectly into place. “Cam, I don’t want you to come along.”
Downright shocked, I blurt, “What? Why not?”
“Because I had to watch you get molested a couple of hours ago. This is what I’m most afraid of; that you’ll get hurt.”
I drop the jeans onto the bed and walk up to him, naked. “But I handled myself well, and this concerns my sister.”
“Cam, you stay here,” he states resolutely.
I take a deep breath while going over my options. I don’t need to provoke Adriano, so I reason with him, make him look beyond the fear that’s ruling his current state of mind. “No. Don’t take two steps forward and then three steps back again when a threat looms. That’s not how this works.”
His penetrating manner is troubled while I give him time to process.
“We’ve already been through this, and we were finally making progress. Don’t go back to ordering me around. We have to stand together. Let’s not have the same discussion Luca and Fallon are probably having right now. You and Luca have to trust us to defend ourselves.”
“It’s not just some kind of caveman thing. Not for me, and not for Luca. This is the second time Fallon’s been involved in Syndicate business, and she’s not lik
e you, Cam. She comes from a softer background,” he explains, defending Luca’s bossy behavior of earlier.
“But she’s been with Luca for a year and a half now. She’s not that naïve girl who escaped the headquarters with me anymore.”
His eyes widen with that admission before his mouth turns up into a grin. “You do use logic a lot these days, and I hate it when you’re right. It’s just that this entire situation isn’t sitting well with me.”
Relief flits through me. But on the other hand, I’m surprised that he’s caving so easily. However, I can tell that he’s trying his best, and that’s all I want.
“And I love it when you admit that I’m right.”
Letting go of that last shred of anger for now, he lifts me up into his arms and sinks onto the burgundy chair that’s facing a full-length mirror hanging on the wall. As I sit astride Adriano, his hands sift up and down my arching back and his tongue demands entrance into my mouth. His fingers dig into my hips, dragging me back and forth across his now-solid cock, which feels so good. Then he nuzzles my cleavage and sucks my nipples before he shifts me around as if I weigh nothing so that I’m facing the mirror, and he guides my legs over his.
“Remember when we were here the last time, Cam?” His voice is a sexy, low rasp.
This is the room where we first saw each other after nine months apart. When Adriano came to save me. We didn’t even speak those first few minutes we saw one another. No, undeniable yearning burned between us, and we almost had sex right on this chair.
Adriano shoves down his boxers and exposes his arousal, rubbing it between my legs while nipping my neck and massaging my breasts.
“I do...” I pant, jolts of desire streaking up my thighs as his hands massage my breasts, side, and stomach.
Then he bites the soft spot where my neck meets my shoulder as he clutches the curve of my hips and ass, sliding around to my stomach and down to cup me between my legs. He groans against my skin as I tilt my head to give him better access and throw my arm back to grip the hair at his nape.
“I wanted to fuck you so badly that day.” His fingers circle my wetness, and he pushes one inside, making me gasp. “In that moment, I realized how much I’d actually missed you.”
