by Sam Crescent
She held her hand out, and he shook it.
She had a firm grip but not too hard.
“I’ll also make sure you don’t see Daniel either.”
“You’ll keep him away from the diner?”
“I’ll be sure to try. I can’t guarantee anything.” He winked at her. “Have a good life, Arika Jane.” With that, he walked out.
Didn’t look back.
There was no point in looking back.
They had no business being together.
Even when he walked out into the street, he didn’t look up, even though he’d be able to see her window. He knew she was watching.
Climbing into his car, he took off, heading toward one of the family homes where Daniel had already told him to be.
Driving in that direction, he let his windows down and just let the ride clear his head. Right now, he didn’t want to think. Life went on, and as much as he didn’t want her to go home, he couldn’t bring himself to force her to be part of this life. While she’d been staying in his home, he’d seen another side of this life.
They’d been talking about mistresses, and one of Galiza’s mistresses had been caught trying to sell family secrets. She thought because he hadn’t been around to visit her, that he was going to replace her. Out of jealousy and spite, she’d tried to bring him down, and in doing so, she’d been made an example of.
She’d gone to the cops, turning rat on them.
The entire incident had left a bad taste in his mouth.
Galiza hadn’t allowed him to deal with her.
He had to watch his boss in action. It didn’t start with an easy kind of torture. No, that would have been way too quick. First Galiza had made his men use her. Take her body, fuck her until she had no doubt that she was nothing but a useless whore. A cum bucket, as he said. There had been so many men, and Vincenzo had no choice but to watch. At first, she’d tried to enjoy it, but then the torture had begun.
Her body was cut, slashed, burned, and the scent of burning flesh and the sounds of screams filled the air.
This was what they did to traitorous whores. By the time she drew her last breath, she’d been reduced to nothing.
She’d pissed and shit herself, begged and pleaded until Galiza finally got what he wanted. Whatever sick and twisted satisfaction he got from the episode.
In doing so, it had reminded Vincenzo exactly why Arika couldn’t be his.
She deserved a life away from all of that. There’s no way in hell that he’d ever allow anything like that to touch her. To get near her. So, he’d walked away, and now she was free to live her life. To be with someone who deserved her.
Not someone who was going to spend the rest of his life killing the people he was told to do.
Pulling up at the mansion of Galiza, he saw Daniel leaning against his car, smoking a cigarette.
He’d seen Galiza torture many women. Some were slow; others were quick. Normally, it didn’t affect him. With Arika in his life, it had.
“Do we know what this is about?” he asked, walking over to Daniel.
“I’m guessing it has to do with this Vitale bullshit. Cops are riding a few of the businesses. The strip clubs and massage places. We had a raid on one of the strip clubs. Couple of the bitches are in custody. The lawyer’s on the case, but it doesn’t take away the fact that they know stuff because of his last mistress spilling shit to them.”
They were not allowed to use her name.
“We better go in then.”
“You deal with her?”
“She’s dealt with. Don’t bring her up again and don’t go back to that diner.”
“I want to go and see that chick.”
“You don’t see that chick. There will be others out there like Rachel. She’s nothing. I promised her that you’d keep your distance. We dealt with your fuck-up. Now let her go.”
“You should have left her fucking ass in the street to die.”
“And if she didn’t die? They go to the diner, look over security footage, see who was last in her section. Grow the fuck up, Daniel. I was doing everything I could to keep us from getting locked up.”
“No, you were thinking with your dick, but if you like to think otherwise, be my guest.”
“Are we going to have a problem here?”
“No problem. Just don’t tell me who to look for.”
“I’ll keep you alive for every single week you don’t go there.”
“I’m already alive,” Daniel said.
“Because I haven’t grown bored with you yet. Try me, Daniel, we’ll see.”
“So, the great mafia beast has a weakness. I didn’t see that shit coming.” Daniel smirked, slapping his chest. “Keep your panties on, buddy. I have no interest in the diner anymore. Found something more entertaining. Shall we?”
He didn’t say anything as they made their way inside Galiza’s home.
The women were nowhere to be found, so they were probably in the kitchen, far away from any of this mess.
Taking a seat down from Galiza’s sons, Vincenzo sipped at the water that was on the table. He did this every single time to show he wasn’t afraid. There were tales of poison being put in the drinks, and everyone for a time had been afraid of that. Galiza himself told Vincenzo he’d started the rumor. No one got near their water to poison them.
Daniel was near the other soldiers. His rank was not as high as Vincenzo’s.
Sitting back, he watched Galiza’s sons. None of them were paying attention to the others. He didn’t trust any of them, and they certainly didn’t like him.
Finally, after five minutes, the man himself came out. Galiza. He took a seat at the table, nodding at all of them.
“Thank you all for coming. I imagine you’ve all got better shit to be doing. We’ve had a series of raids and police interventions on several of our businesses.”
Vincenzo listened to each point that he already knew. Business being ruined. Their affairs being looked into and they had also had a shipment of coke that had been seized by cops, which they were working on removing all connections to themselves.
“So, the first order of business, I need the cops that whore spoke to. I want to know everything about them. Who their families are, the precinct they work for. We can either end this with civility or they can swim with the fucking fishes, as cliché as that shit sounds. Got it? I want you handling that, Barbato,” Galiza said, looking at Vincenzo.
“Consider it done.”
He listened as Galiza handed jobs down to each man. All of them were given a job that was either Vitale detail or handling of the businesses that had been targeted.
“I want to hear noise about this. I want the streets to know that we don’t sit down and take betrayal easily. I want blood. I want everyone to get the fucking message.”
With that, they were all ready to go.
He had a job to do first, and that meant getting his hands fucking dirty. Cops were always difficult to handle, especially if they had nothing to lose.
****
One month later
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Rachel said.
“Going out on a blind date does not sound like fun.” Arika grabbed the two plates of loaded burgers with extra fries before turning to her friend. “Believe me, I’ve done the whole blind date thing. He doesn’t show.” She’d tried it once at the last place she worked. It turned out the guy had arrived, taken one look at her, and left without giving her any warning.
She of course was left waiting, wondering what the hell to do.
“This is not a blind date though. This is a bunch of people, girls and guys, getting together Friday night at a bar. There’s dancing, booze, and later we’ll go out for food. Come on, Arika. You’ve got to live a little. You know. What happened to you during that break?”
“Nothing.”
She left the kitchen, and Rachel stood back so she could serve two construction workers their food. They were diner regulars. She smiled as they thanked he
r before tucking in. The diner wasn’t so busy tonight, but she didn’t mind the easy shift. The couple of weeks she had off due to illness that no one could know about, she caught up on a lot of studying, work, and she finally had her life in order. For the past month she’d been panicking in case a bill landed in her mail, but as yet, nothing.
Heading over to the coffee machine, she filled up her pitcher, and Rachel was there.
“Are you going to tell me what you did on that vacation? I’ve heard a couple of girls talk and they said a guy with a suit came in. He had a meeting with Frank and then ta-da, you still have a job.”
“It’s nothing. Honestly, I just needed some rest. What will it take for you to stop asking so many questions?”
“So easy. Come out with us Friday night. Come on, Arika. It’ll be fun. I know you do believe in having fun, right?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop being a party pooper.”
“I’m not being a party pooper.”
“Then come to the club. Prove to me you know how to have a good time.” Rachel started shaking her chest and shimmying from side to side. “Come on, Arika. Show me how to have fun.”
“Fine. Fine. Just stop rubbing your body all over me.”
“Honey, you so need to get laid if you think for even a second that is me rubbing my body all over you.”
Arika didn’t want to think about sex or anything to do with men. Since he’d left her in her apartment alone, something had been completely wrong with her. Most nights were spent yearning for him and his touch, and she just couldn’t shove aside the need building in her head. Her fantasies were filled with him.
“Can we not talk about that? Okay.”
Rachel hugged her close. “Wear something sexy. A dress that’s low-cut. You’ve got to show off those babies. They are so fucking sexy to see.” Rachel kissed her cheek.
It was that nagging conversation three days ago that had Arika standing at a bar, wearing a black cocktail dress that molded to every single curve, low-cut as Rachel asked. She watched as Rachel stood in the center of the crowd, all of them cheering as she downed another shot.
Arika had ordered a beer and was carefully sipping the light lager.
She and alcohol didn’t mix well. The men were hanging on to Rachel’s every word. Each time her friend turned toward her, she’d tip her beer bottle at her friend and force a smile to her lips.
This was why she didn’t want to come.
She seemed like an outsider looking in. She wouldn’t feel sorry for herself tonight, and at least while she was out at a bar, she refused to think about him.
The guy that had shot his way into her world, literally, had blown her mind, and left her high and dry. Not that she blamed him.
The man was dangerous with a capital D.
“Come on, honey, I didn’t mean to leave you sitting here all on your own,” Rachel said, grabbing her arm.
“Don’t worry.”
“We’re having fun. Come on, let’s dance.”
Before she knew what was happening, she was on the dance floor. Rachel let out a whoop as a long, upbeat number came on. Arika didn’t recognize it, and copying her friend’s moves, she tried to dance along.
By the time the song ended they were both laughing, but Rachel wasn’t ready to leave the dance floor.
“Have you seen anyone you want to leave with tonight?” Rachel asked.
“Nope.”
“You’ve got to have seen someone.”
“I’m just enjoying dancing and being away from everything.” She grabbed Rachel’s hands and whooped. “Come on, stop worrying so much about everything.”
They danced together, and as she anticipated, two guys moved between them and Arika let them, especially as Rachel looked more than happy to be part of that sandwich.
Leaving the dance floor, she stood in line for the toilet, waiting her turn. Pushing some of her hair off her face, she folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep her composure. She wasn’t one for wasting her time in nightclubs. She should be at home studying even though she’d done as much studying as anyone could do. The line didn’t take that long to diminish, and she was in and done within minutes. She left the bathroom and came to a stop as she bumped into a very hard masculine chest.
She recognized the scent of him immediately.
Her body tensed up, and as she looked up, she saw him. Vincenzo.
“Arika,” he said.
Just the sound of her name coming from his lips made her ache for more.
“Vincenzo.” She glanced around, seeing no one. “I … what are you doing here?”
“This is a nightclub for people to have some fun.”
“You’re here on a date.”
“Not on a date.”
“Oh.”
“You?”
“No date. My friend from work wanted me to come. She kept nagging me, and I finally caved.”
“You’re not having fun?”
“It’s not really my scene.”
“What about dancing?” he asked.
She couldn’t believe they were discussing dancing.
“My dance partner was stolen.”
“Then he wasn’t a good partner.”
“Oh, it wasn’t a he, more of a she.” She shrugged. “So, how have you been?”
“Busy.”
“Right, I better go.”
She really didn’t want to.
As she made to move past him though, he caught her arm. “Want to dance with me?”
She should pull out of his arms, shake her head, and tell him no.
She didn’t.
“I’d love to dance.”
He slid his hand down, taking hold of hers and leading her onto the dance floor. Biting her lip, she tried not to show how fucking happy she was about this. She spotted Rachel dancing with the two men she left her with.
Ignoring the fast beat of the music, Vincenzo took control, drawing her close to him. One of his hands was at her waist, the other near the base of her back.
“Why did you come to this nightclub?”
“Is this one owned by your bosses?” she asked.
“Just answer the questions, Arika.”
“Rachel picked it. She said it was a good one and that it was a lot of fun. I didn’t think about who owned it or anything like that. Should I leave?”
“Not yet.”
“If it’s so dangerous for us both to be seen together, why are you dancing with me right now?”
“Because, you’re just a woman in a bar and I’m just a man waiting to get laid.”
She looked up at him.
He wasn’t looking around the club but focused on her.
“No one will ever know who you are. We can have women that are a one-time-only deal.”
“Ah, the double standards.”
“Have you thought about me, Arika?”
She loved and hated it when he said her name. It made her a little weak.
“Have you thought about me?” she asked.
“I asked you first.”
“Do you always get what you want?”
“Most of the time.”
“That must be nice.”
“It has its benefits. Of course, it makes me very spoiled.”
She didn’t see a point in lying to him. “Yes, I thought about you. A lot.”
“At this very moment, Arika, we’re two people in a bar. We have no past, no future.”
“Okay.”
“So, what I want to know is if you’re willing to come to my apartment within the city a few blocks from here and have yourself completely and totally fucked by me.”
She had stopped dancing.
“You can say no,” he said.
“You want to sleep with me?”
“No. I want to take that cherry, Arika. I want to give you a night you’ll never forget. I want to fuck your mouth, your pussy, and if at all possible, fuck your ass. I want to consume you, and tonight I will do
that.”
“For one night?”
“For one night. There will be no repeat performance.”
“For my safety?”
“Yes. It’s your decision. I will respect it.”
Staring at him, she knew there was no way she’d say no. She wanted this. She wanted him.
“I’ve just got to say goodnight to my friend.”
Chapter Seven
Waiting to take Arika home was sheer fucking torture. Vincenzo was used to waiting though. He’d been at the nightclub after a hard day’s work to have a drink and unwind. He’d been in the VIP section that overlooked the dance floor when he caught sight of her. He’d seen her drinking alone at the bar, then move onto the dance floor with her friend before leaving to go to the bathrooms. He should have stayed away, but this was his one chance.
For the past month he’d done everything that Galiza had needed. He’d found the cops responsible, both of them partners with families. All it had taken was showing up on the right day for them to agree to hand over the evidence and point the case elsewhere. The Vitales were being handled, but that would always be an ongoing problem that wouldn’t end overnight.
He’d just gotten done sending a message to a pimp who thought he could use Galiza streets to sell his whores, and the last person he’d expected to see was the woman that plagued his thoughts.
Daniel hadn’t brought her up again, and keeping to his promise, Vincenzo had not stepped foot inside her diner or near her apartment block.
Seeing her alone though, it was too good of an opportunity to miss.
With the elevator doors pinging open, he saw she was nervous, but he also saw her arousal. Her nipples were tight and hard, pressing against the front of her dress. If she’d been living with him, there’s no way he’d have let her out that night. He’d have shown her what he’d like to do to her body.
Opening up his apartment door, neither of them spoke as she stepped over the threshold. Closing it, he grabbed her arm and pressed her up against the door, trapping her between his body and the door. Before she could form any kind of protest, he held her hands above her head, and with the other, he teased a finger down the front of her dress. “Did you wear this with the intention of getting fucked?”
