by A. L Long
“How do you know all this, Sly? How?” I pleaded as the tears came pouring down.
“I know because…” he paused like he was afraid to say what needed to be said.
“How?” I demanded.
“I know, because my father was there.”
I didn’t understand what Sly was saying. Why would his father be there? It didn’t make any sense. Trying to sort out the information, it finally hit me. “The only way your dad could have known is if he worked for Carlos. Oh, my God, is that it? Did your father work for Carlos Giordano?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sly
I didn’t know how to tell Nikki the truth. The truth was my father didn’t work for Carlos, but he did work for Angelo Conti, who was not only a rival, but also Carlos’ cousin.
“Sly, please answer me. Did your father work for Carlos?” she asked again.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Then how was he there? Who did he work for?”
Standing again, I ran my hand through my hair, pacing the short distance between the bed and the bathroom. Turning to face Nikki, I stopped and took in a deep breath. “My father was there because he worked for Angelo Conti.” Looking over to Nikki, I began explaining, seeing the confusion on her face. “Angelo Conti is the cousin of Carlos. Something happened between the two families and it ended up in a rivalry between them. My father was instructed to keep close tabs on Carlos and find out what his next move was going to be, only he got more than he bargained for. As much as I hate my father for the life he chose, there is no way he could have known about the plan to kill your parents.”
“What did he see, Sly?” she asked.
“Everything. He saw both of your parents facing each other on their knees with gags over their mouths and their hands tied behind their backs. One of Carlos’ men shot your father while your mom watched. He could tell by the look on her face that she just died herself. My father couldn’t hear what Carlos said to her, but whatever it was, it was the last thing he said before he kissed her on the forehead and then shot her himself. My dad said he had seen enough. He got the hell out of there and waited until they cleaned up the mess and went back to their car. My father assumed that Carlos had their bodies dumped in the water close to the dock where they were killed.”
“What does this have to do with Mandy?” she asked.
“My father, as much as I hate him, and I’m not agreeing with what he did, is the person that saw what happened that night in the ring. He had no idea that you were the same same girl that I fell in love with.”
“Wait. Are you saying that your father contacted the police about knowing what happened that night in the ring? This is so messed up, Sly. Why would he do that?”
“Revenge,” I stated.
“Revenge, are you kidding me? I can’t believe this shit,” she yelled as she threw her hands in the air and left the room.
I knew that the information I had wasn’t going to sit well with her, especially knowing that I may have prevented this whole thing. I needed to make her understand that I had no control over what my father was going to do. Running after her, I had to let her know.
Nikki didn’t go very far. She was in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of wine, which she pulled from one of the cupboards. I was with her on this one, only I needed something a lot stronger than wine. Going to the same cupboard, I reached towards the back and pulled out a bottle of whiskey that I found earlier when I was putting away the groceries. As I filled my glass about three-quarters full, I gazed over to Nikki as she downed her wine and was ready to pour another glass.
Placing my hand on the bottle, I focused on her hand as it began shaking as she poured the wine. “Let me do that,” I offered.
“Everything is so messed up, Sly,”
I pulled her into me, knowing that this was all messed up, but that it wasn’t the end of the world. There had to be a way to fix this before her world came crashing down. “Everything will be okay, baby. We will figure this out,” I said, lifting her chin and placing my lips over hers. Her hand wrapped around mine, needing to hold onto something that was real.
Breaking the kiss, she looked up at me with tear-drenched eyes and asked, “Did you mean what you said? Do you really love me?”
Lifting her from the floor, I answered with a definite, “Hell, yeah.”
My lips fell upon hers once again, only now she knew exactly how I felt. There was no way in hell I was ever going to let anything happen to her. Leaving our drinks, I carried her to the bedroom, where I planned to worship her all night, only this time there were not going to be any interruptions. Closing the door, I took her over to the bed and placed her gently down, Propping my body on my elbows, I stared at her, seeing for the first time the woman I loved more than anything look back at me with desperation.
Dipping my head, I kissed her tenderly on her swollen lips, tasting a hint of salt from the tears she shed. Tearing away from her long enough to remove her top, I continue to feast on her as I slowly moved down her body. Holding her breast with my hand, I gently caressed the soft flesh until her nipple peaked through the thin material of her bra. Lowering the cup of her bra, my mouth found her nipple and began licking and sucking the taut bud. Her back began to arch, letting me know that my assault on her breast was giving her the pleasure she needed. This is the way it would always be. To be the only man she would ever want. Moving further down her body, I soaked up every inch of her velvety skin as I trailed one kiss after another down her body.
Losing all control to be gentle, I lifted her hips from the bed and pulled the black leggings from her body, along with the tiny thong she was wearing underneath. Removing my own clothes, I positioned my body between her toned legs and placed them on either side of my shoulders. Lost in her scent, I lowered my head and began consuming her sweet honey that was waiting for me to devour it. Her folds were so slick with her juices that my tongue moved with ease between them, lapping up every drop of her essence. Moving my tongue to her swollen nub, I slid my finger between her folds to find that they effortlessly slid inside her tight channel.
My cock pulsated to point of almost being painful. All I wanted at that moment was to taste her, feel her, worship her. It didn’t matter that my own desire was about to take control. I wanted to give her everything that her body needed. Working my finger in and out of her, I began to feel the movement of her hips as she pressed against me. “That’s it, baby. Feel everything that I am going to give you.”
I heard a small moan as she increased her movements. Taming her need to come, I pulled my finger from inside her and moved up her body. Taking her nipple in my mouth, I circled the hard peak while caressing the other one between my fingers; pinching and tugging on the sensitive bud. Her moans became louder. I was filled with so much desire for this woman that I was about to lose my own self-control. Giving her a passionate kiss on the lips, I positioned my shaft between her legs where I knew her entrance would be ready to consume me. Claiming her as mine, I marked her with my mouth, sucking and kissing her breast as I gently pushed inside her. The minuted I entered her, her walls tightened around my cock, sending a surge of pleasure down my cock to the base of my sac. Moving slowly, I wanted to savor this feeling. The harder she pushed against me, the slower my movements were.
“Sly, please,” rang from her mouth as her need to come escalated.
“Not yet, baby,” I whispered, kissing the area right below her earlobe, which I knew would send her over the edge.
Moving my hands under her hips, her walls tightened like a vice grip on my cock, sending me closer to my own release as she exploded, unwilling to hold on any longer. My movements increased, feeling the warmth of her essence surround me. Pumping harder and deeper, my cock began to pulsate, synchronizing with the beating of my heart.
Like a sign from above, her scream of ecstasy filled the room and my walls came down, spilling my seed deep inside her. When our bodies finally relaxed and our breathing evened out, I swipe
d away her damp hair and confessed, “I love you, baby.”
Her arms wrapped around me and she planted her head on my shoulder, just holding me as tightly as she could. Even though she didn’t say that she loved me back, I knew without a doubt the feeling she had for me. Kissing her on the forehead, I got off of her and slipped into the bathroom to grab a washcloth. When I returned, she was already asleep. Careful not to wake her, I took the warm cloth and slid it gently between her legs. She must have felt the warmth because her legs opened for me and a soft request came from her lips. “More.”
I knew exactly what she wanted, only this time it would not be rushed, I would be a man making love to the woman he loved. Slow, easy, passionate.
~****~
The sun was barely peeking through the window when I heard an annoying sound coming from the door. It almost sounded like someone was trying to claw their way into the room. It was then that I remembered the new addition to our home. Sitting up, I leaned over and gave Nikki a sweet peck on the cheek before getting up to see what damage Romeo did to the door. Even though he was a small dog, the way he was going at it, I knew there was going to be bare wood showing on the door frame.
As soon as I opened the door, he darted to the bed, hiding his body under the covers. I was surprised to find that he had done minimal damage to the door, Walking out of the bedroom into the living room was another story. Every throw pillow that was on the couch was shredded to pieces. I couldn’t believe that a dog his size could be so destructive.
Before Nikki got out of bed, not only did I have a little talk with Romeo, I also managed to clean up the mess he made with the pillows. Hearing her footsteps as I put the last of the pillow stuffing into a garbage bag, I stowed it away in the pantry until I could get rid of it.
With her eyes barely open and her hair in a messy something or other on top of her head, she was still beautiful. Even if she wore a gunny sack, she would still have been the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. “What’s going on with Romeo? He came in the bedroom with his tail between his legs,” she asked, yawning as she spoke.
Opening the pantry door, I showed her exactly why the stupid mutt was feeling so guilty. Looking down at him with an angered look, she pointed her finger at him and shook it. “You are a bad dog, Romeo.”
Just like when he came to the room, he sauntered off with his tail between his legs and headed to the bedroom.
“I already told him that, baby. You have to remember, he’s still considered a puppy according to the vet,” I reminded her.
Walking up to me, she bumped my hip with hers, letting me know that she wanted me to move over. Taking a mug from the cupboard, she poured herself a cup of coffee and headed to the couch, which was now bare because it no longer had the pillows on it. Joining her on the couch, there was a knock at the door. I could only wonder who would be knocking at the door this early in the morning, for one. And for another, who even knew we were here except for Peter and the guys?
Opening the door, I was speechless. It made sense. The only thing I could think to say was, “Come in.”
When the deputy sheriff peered over to where Nikki was sitting, he asked in a deep voice, “Nikki Jennings?”
Nikki stood and acknowledged him. “Yes, can I help you?”
“You will need to come with me. You are being charged with the murder of Mandy Morgan.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nikki
This had to have been the scariest thing I had ever been through. After being read my Miranda rights, I was taken back to Central Booking in Brooklyn, where I was booked, fingerprinted, and escorted to a six-by-eight cell. I was told that I was entitled to one phone call, but I didn’t know who I was going to call. Sly was working on getting my bail money. My bail hearing was set for tomorrow at noon, and I wasn’t even sure if they would let me out.
Sitting on the hard bed, all I could think about was how my life had changed within a matter of hours. One minute I was snuggled close to Sly in a warm comfortable bed, and the next, I was sitting on a hard mattress with a blanket that couldn’t have been any thicker than a piece of tissue paper. All I wanted was to be out of here. I tried to think of anything else but being in here, but when a police officer came to my cell letting me know that I had a visitor, I was back to reality. I had no idea who it could be, considering that I wasn’t allowed any visitors until tomorrow.
Being placed in a small room, I waited for whoever was coming to see me. Hearing the door open, I waited until whoever it was, was in full view before I greeted them. The minute I saw him, I should have gotten up from my chair and requested to be taken back to my cell.
“What are you doing here, Carlos?” I said between gritted teeth.
“Is that any way to talk to the one person who happens to be your ticket out of here?” he pointed out sarcastically.
“I don’t want your help. I know who you are and I know what you did.”
“I think it best for you to think twice about that, Nikki. I think maybe you have forgotten the reason you’re in here in the first place. What you should be asking yourself is, do I want to get out of here?”
I couldn’t help but wonder why Carlos was so special and how he thought he would be able to get me out of here without a hearing. “What do you want?” I asked.
“It is not a matter of what I want as much as it is what you want. I am pretty sure you don’t want to be spending the rest of your life behind bars,” he reminded me.
“Once I let them know what really happened to Mandy, they’ll see that it was an accident.”
“That may be, Nikki, but what they will not understand is how you tried to cover her death up knowing that you two were fighting illegally.”
“You were the one who covered it up. I’m done lying about this and not telling the truth about what happened that night. Sure, the fight was illegal, but I was only a child and I was forced to fight her,” I seethed as I watched Carlos take his phone from his pocket.
“Are you sure you want to do that, Nikki?” he asked, swiping the screen on his phone and then playing a video.
As I watched and listened to what was going on in the video, I knew it was all a lie. Somehow, Carlos fabricated the video to show me as the one who covered up Mandy’s death. It also showed that I ordered Carlos’ men to take her from the ring. It was me in the video, but I know, for a fact, I never said those things.
“You know that isn’t what happened, Carlos.”
“Well, it certainly looks to me like you were the one who was making the demands. Matter of fact, I don’t see myself anywhere in the video. As I recall, I wasn’t even there.”
“You liar,” I yelled with hatred for this man as I rose and was ready to smack him across the face. Even though he hadn’t put me here, he was just as guilty and he was going to use it to his advantage.
“Now, now, Nikki. You need to control that temper of yours,” he stated as I backed off and sat back down in my seat. “You can make this all go away. All you have to do is do what I say and all of this can go away.”
~****~
As the car pulled away from the police station. I kept wondering how Carlos managed to get the charges against me dropped. I hated this man sitting beside me so much that if I thought I could get away with killing him, I would have. He had me right where he wanted me. With the video still in his grubby hands, I had no other choice but to go with him. I had no idea where he was going to take me. The worst part of this whole thing was, for all Sly knew, I was still in jail awaiting my bail hearing tomorrow afternoon. I couldn’t even contact him to let him know what happened.
Pulling into the circular drive, Carlos’ driver got out of the car and came to my side, where he opened the door and stepped to the side to allow me to exit. I had never been to Carlos’ house, but looking at the enormous mansion, all I could think about was how much dirty money bought this monstrosity.
Nudging me along, Carlos placed his hand on my lower back, letting me know that he
wanted me to move. As much as I would have preferred to stay where I was, once again he had all the control. Waiting at the door was an older lady dressed in a black and white maid’s uniform with her hands crossed and hanging down in front of her. When we got closer, she moved to the side and said, “Good evening, Mr. Giordano.”
“Good evening, Agnes. Is everything ready for Ms. Jennings?” Carlos asked in a formal tone.
“Yes, sir, just as you asked.” the maid replied.
Heading into the house, there was a round table in the entrance with a crystal vase full of roses, lilies, and baby’s breath. It was very regal. Kind of like something you would see on a fancy house infomercial on how to decorate your home. The floor looked to be marble by the way it shone perfectly, with not a speck of dirt on it. Looking to the ceiling, I saw the largest three-tiered chandelier I had ever seen. It was absolutely breathtaking. As I was looking around, another gentleman entered the foyer, wearing the same black and white attire.
