Warning [Part Three]

by A. D. Justice

  “Open your eyes, doll.”

  Her lids fluttered open and her ecstasy-laden eyes peered up at me, so much love in them that I could see and feel it without her saying a word.

  “Now keep them on me. I fucking love watching you come.”

  She slightly lifted her hips to meet me each time I pushed into her. With my increased tempo and harder thrusts, she lingered on the cusp of her orgasm. Her fingernails digging into my skin only made me work harder. My eyes were locked on to hers, an invisible tether keeping either of us from looking away. Emotions swirled deep in her emerald green eyes, pulling me even more into her with every tick of the clock.

  “Let go, doll. Scream as loud as you want. You know how much I love that fucking mouth of yours anyway.”

  Her entire body tensed at once for a split second when she reached the summit. The sexiest scream broke free from her lips as her body soaked me with warm gushes. The pure satisfaction in her eyes coupled with the constricting muscles around my cock made it impossible for me to hold out any longer. So I stopped resisting the urge and fell over the edge with her.

  Stroking her cheek with my thumb, I kept my gaze fixed on hers. Sharing my deep feelings ran counter to my normal interactions, but there was something important I had to convey to her.

  “Jilly, this isn’t easy for me to say. I’ve never been big on explaining my feelings, so you’ll have to cut me some slack. But it’s important that I say this to you. It means a lot to me.”

  “Damon, you know you can tell me anything.”

  “You’re a part of me now, one I can’t and won’t live without. Without you, any hope of me being a good man would be gone. You’re the single light of my life, doll. I won’t go back into the life of total darkness I lived in before I found you. I love you more than anything.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes before sliding out of the corners and down her temples, disappearing into her hairline. Tears of joy. Tears of love. I saw both emotions glistening in her watery eyes.

  I gingerly rolled off of her, careful not to put my weight on her and the babies. I lay in bed beside her, stroking her bare skin with my fingertips while we talked.

  “I love you too, Damon. More than anything in the world. You won’t lose me—not now, not ever. I’ll never leave you. Being without you those three months showed me there’s no way I can be happy any other way than at your side. Now tell me what you’re worried about. This isn’t like you.”

  “It’s not, is it? What was it you called me before? Oh, yeah. A cocky devil. I’m still all that and then some, but the stakes are higher than I’m willing to gamble against now. You were right when you said we needed to join the rest of the world in the current century, but maybe not in the ways you meant. As younger generations gain more leadership positions, they change the rules to fit what they want. The older Bosses expect everyone to follow the original laws, so they’re more easily caught off guard when new rules are created. What Leo and Geno did was unheard of when they were our age.

  “A Boss’s wife has been known to run the entire family when her husband was in prison, but he picked right back up when he got out. Some families have had female capos, that’s true. But those women were also the first to be taken out. Your own men are even more likely to turn on you. I love you, but I’ll never agree to making you a capo. Sexist or not, no man in the family business wants a woman over him. When a rival family member uses that to taunt a made man, an all-out war is inevitable.”

  She was silent longer than usual. That wasn’t the news she wanted to hear, I understood that. But there was so much she didn’t understand. She was kind, thoughtful, and giving. She genuinely cared about others. Not quite the hallmarks of a cold-blooded killer. But a killer was exactly what she’d have to become to fit into that role.

  “It sounds like you don’t think I’m capable of doing whatever needed to be done. Even though Marco is taking the credit—or the blame, depending on how you look at it—for killing your uncle.”

  “When you shot Leo, that was different. In the heat of the moment and under extreme circumstances, you snapped. You had an especially personal reason for pulling the trigger. That act wouldn’t come so easily if I ordered you to carry out a hit on a guy for not paying his weekly cut on time. Could you walk into his place of business, see the pictures of his wife and kids on his desk, and still pull the trigger when he didn’t hand over fifty percent of his earnings on the spot?”

  She didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. “The horrified expression on your face tells me all I need to know, doll. You can’t hesitate. You can’t show weakness, because that flaw is the first one weeded out of the family. We’re only as strong as our weakest link. That saying is old but true.”

  “Are you suggesting I just stay home and mind the kids? Take care of my man’s every need and forget about my own? No job, no contributions to the family, no goals or aspirations to call my own?”

  “Just the opposite, actually. I was thinking you could make all the money and I could stop shaking down the neighborhood businesses. That would go a long way in getting them on our side. We’ve ruled by fear for so long. Maybe it’s time we change things up and get the jump on the other families.”

  “You just said I couldn’t be a capo, and there’s no way I can just walk into a building and kill someone who hasn’t done anything to me. So, exactly how am I going to earn all the money?”

  “We could create another segment of the family. We have capos, soldiers, associates, goons—all the muscle we need whenever we need to flex it. So, maybe I should pull Carrie’s business into the family and create a new role for the two of you. That way, we could keep it secret and keep you both protected.”

  “Will you promise, on your family honor, not to keep secrets from me? Not to keep me in the dark about anything?”

  “I will, but you have to do the same. No more approaching my father or anyone else with this kind of an idea before we’ve talked about it. No more setting up covert operations to take down a rival family member in the middle of the night.”

  “Hmm. You know, when you put it that way, you make me sound very guilty of doing to you exactly what I’ve accused you of doing to me.”

  “Funny how it works out that way, isn’t it?”

  “Wait. How do you know about Carrie’s business? I didn’t think she’d told anyone about it.”

  “It was best to let her believe I didn’t know what she’d been up to. Made it easier to protect her that way. She does the opposite of what anyone tells her to do. If I’d tried to strong-arm her, she would’ve done something really stupid and gotten herself killed.”

  “And you think she’s changed?” Jillian laughed at the absurdity of her question.

  “No, she hasn’t exactly changed, but she does have a new perspective now. After everything that’s happened with Lorenzo, Leo, and Geno, she realizes she’s not invincible like she used to think. She wanted to prove she could run part of the family business on her own, and she’s accomplished that. I believe she’ll be ready to join us now.”

  “And if she isn’t?” Jillian searched my eyes, already knowing what my answer would be.

  “Then I’ll shut her shit down and take it over the old-fashioned way. I won’t be asking for her permission, Jillian. I’ll tell her what her options are and let her choose which one she takes. Option A is she brings her schemes into the family, continues to run the operations, and expands the reach under our protection. Option B is she refuses to join us, and then I take it from her anyway and completely shut her out of all current and future operations. There is no Option C in this equation, though.”

  “Damon…you’d do that to your own sister?”

  “Absolutely. And don’t you dare think for one second that she wouldn’t do it to me or you if the need arose. This is a dog-eat-dog world, doll, and we are the bi
g dogs. And we’re going to remain the big dogs one way or another, because I won’t allow another family to move in and take mine away from me.”

  “Wow. Okay. I have to admit, you’re right. I’m not cut out for this…to carry out the hard decisions you have to make. I have some experience with accounting systems, though. That secret, behind-the-scenes job you mentioned sounds great to me. I can even do that work from home.”

  “Perfect. I’d love to come home to eat lunch every day. Maybe we’ll even have time for actual food now and then.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jillian

  “It’s too soon for you to go back to work, Damon.”

  “I’m fine, doll. I’ve had two weeks of nothing but rest since Benny’s funeral. I love my parents, but I’m ready to get back to my place. But this time, you’re not staying with my sister instead of me.”

  “Are you sure about that?” I couldn’t help but tease him. With his cocky attitude, he deserved it.

  His chocolate brown eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. The mischievous gleam I saw was both a warning and a dare. “I’m fucking positive about it. You want to see how much of my energy I have back? I’ll show you…when I tie you to my bed and keep you there all to myself.”

  “Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you turn full-tilt alpha on me? It’s so hot.”

  “Fuck. We’ll never get out of their house if you don’t quit talking to me like that. I can’t even finish packing my clothes.”

  “You get Luigi to take our suitcases downstairs, and I’ll finish packing for you. But for the record, you didn’t just rest for two weeks. You worked the entire time, setting up the arrangement with your sister and searching for Geno. You haven’t fooled me one bit, Mr. Marchetti.”

  The smile he flashed me was the same one that reeled me back in, every time. The charm of a little boy combined with the confidence of a gorgeous man. As usual, I was complete putty in his hands.

  “If you don’t mind putting the rest of my clothes in here, I’ll go find Luigi. You’ll be faster at it with two good hands anyway.”

  “I don’t mind at all. It’ll only take a minute.”

  Within minutes of Damon going downstairs, I had the rest of his clothes packed and both of our small suitcases sitting by the door. Carrie had brought items for both Damon and me from his apartment since her overprotective brother thought it was too dangerous for me to go alone. But I understood I could be collateral damage in Geno’s lone war, or he could even use me against Damon, so I didn’t press the issue. Carrie traveled with an entourage of armed muscle who were more than ready for an encounter.

  But there hadn’t been a sighting or rumor of Geno since that terrible day more than two weeks ago.

  Speaking of that day, the nightmares had started almost right away and hadn’t slowed down. I didn’t want to change my actions, but I wasn’t sure how to live with them either. I fought off panic attacks in the dark, scared that I’d be found out and arrested. I’d wake up and reach for Damon, clinging to him until the fears subsided. I’d started to dread falling asleep.

  “You all right, doll?” Damon stood in the doorway watching me.

  “I’m okay.”

  He narrowed his eyes, his keen instincts seeing right through me. “You were lost deep in thought. You left me. Where’d you go?”

  “We both know I’ll never leave you, Damon. I’m right here with you. Are we ready to leave?”

  He nodded. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

  “Let’s say goodbye to your parents. Your mom will probably be upset. I think she has enjoyed having you back home again.”

  “She’ll be okay. It’s not like we’ll be far away. We’ll still be here every Sunday for dinner. But I’ll enjoy having you all to myself again.”

  “You’ll be gone most of the time. It’s more like I’ll have me all to myself.”

  I should’ve kept my mouth shut because my knee-jerk response only raised his suspicions even more. His assessing stare intensified, and I felt my skin heating under the weight of his scrutiny. He had an uncanny ability to read my thoughts and feelings, sometimes before I’d even worked out what they meant. But being out of commission the past couple of weeks had only given him more time to perfect his skills, regardless of how hard I tried to deflect.

  “Is there anything left for Luigi to put in the trunk?” Damon’s question was innocent enough, but I knew better than to think he wouldn’t press the issue later.

  “No, we’re all set.”

  In the back seat on the way to Damon’s apartment in the city after saying our goodbyes, Damon and I were both quiet. Once we arrived at his place, he wrapped his hand around my arm and turned me to face him directly. The empathy and perception in his eyes were palpable, instantly reassuring me that I could trust him.

  “When are you going to let me help you, doll?”

  “Help me with what?”

  “With all those bad dreams and restless nights. With the anxiety you try to fight off alone instead of talking to me about it.”

  “You’ve always been able to see straight through me. It’s a little maddening sometimes.” I slid my fingertips along his jaw.

  “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours? Let me help.”

  “Damon, just the thought of being found out and going to prison nearly steals my breath away. Maria has to know by now. She has to wonder where he is. She’ll eventually go to the police and file a missing person’s report.”

  “First, going to prison isn’t even a remote possibility for you. You’ll never take the rap for Leo’s death. If he somehow rose from the grave and fingered you for his death, I’d give a full confession and do the time before I’d let you serve one day. Second, he’ll never be found, and arrangements have been made to explain his absence. Aunt Maria will be taken care of for the rest of her life, and she knows better than to go to the police. She knows what he did and the penalty he faced. Lastly, no matter what we come up against in the future, I’ll be here to protect you.”

  “The other problem is I don’t know how to deal with these feelings. It’s not that I want to change it, but I don’t know how to live with myself either.”

  “You saved my life, Jillian, and you saved Marco’s life. You found the courage to stand up for your mom, and you saved two lives because of it. How do you live with yourself after that? With pride, knowing when most anyone else would’ve frozen in place, you had the guts to do what had to be done. When you look in the mirror, the reflection shows a beautiful, brave woman. I wouldn’t even be here right now if it weren’t for her. That’s how you live with it, knowing the alternative would’ve been harder to accept.”

  After a heavy sigh to release all the tension I’d carried for far too long, I stepped into his embrace and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You put everything into perspective for me just now. With a simple explanation. Only a few words. But I already feel better and can breathe easier. Thank you, Damon. I know none of this has been easy for you, either, but you’ve taken such good care of me.”

  “I always will, doll.” He leaned down and kissed me, soft and sweet but not lacking in the sweep-me-off-my-feet factor.

  Since I moved from Louisiana to Carrie’s to Mama Lina’s to Damon’s, everything I owned was in complete disarray. After a long day of unpacking all my belongings, I was more than ready to fall into the bed and stay for a week by the time night fell. Damon climbed into bed behind me, draped his arm over my waist, and nuzzled against the back of my neck.

  Then his hand slid down to my stomach and protectively cradled our babies in his palm. I covered his hand with mine and guided it to the spot where one of them was extra active. “Before long, they’ll both be using my bladder as a trampoline.”

  He chuckled, his lips brushing against the nape of my neck. “You have
no idea how fucking sexy this is—your being pregnant with my babies. Your baby bump is still small, but I can’t wait for that to change. I’ve done some reading up on it. They say one day, no one can really tell you’re pregnant, but the next day you’ll show all of a sudden.”

  “Every woman is different, Damon. Just because that happened to one doesn’t mean it’ll happen to me too.”

  “Twins, doll. Very good possibility of it. Could be tomorrow. Could be next week. Or even next month. But it’ll happen.”

  “Remember when I said you take such good care of me?”

  “Sure do.”

  “I take it back.”

  The silence only lasted for a couple of seconds before I burst out laughing uncontrollably.

  “I’ll have to think of creative and imaginative punishments as payback for that slight against me.” Even the teasing tone in his voice was sexy.

  “Think about them tomorrow. I need sleep tonight.”

  He pressed his front against my back, and we fell asleep, our arms and legs entwined and hands covering our babies. For the first time in two weeks, the nightmares didn’t come when I closed my eyes. Memories didn’t flood my senses. I slept soundly in Damon’s arms without waking even once until morning.

  When I rolled over, Damon’s side of the bed was empty and cold. I padded into the bathroom but didn’t find him, the scent of his cologne barely lingering in the air. He’d already showered and dressed, so I followed his lead before venturing toward the kitchen. I found him at the table, fully dressed in his suit and tie, drinking a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. He looked like the quintessential tame businessman, only he was anything and everything except that.

  “Good morning, beautiful. I was wondering when you’d finally get out of bed. The thought of waking you up with a special surprise crossed my mind more than a couple of times.” He lifted his eyes over his coffee cup and winked. “But since you hadn’t slept all night in weeks, I behaved and let you rest instead.”