by Tia Siren
We get to the top of the stairs, and Vince rounds the corner of the station wall first, when suddenly, I hear the crack of fist hitting bone, and Vince crumbles in a heap to the ground.
“Vince!” I scream as I go to kneel by his side, my hand still clutching his, but all at once, I am being pushed in the direction of a town car. Two hands shove me inside the open door, and I tumble into the back seat, my head hitting the far door so hard, I see stars. When I get upright and turn around, it takes a minute for my vision to clear. When it does, I am face-to-face with Alexander O’Connell. And he is smirking.
“You’re a clever girl, Harlow Bullock, I have to admit that. I never expected you would make the connection between me and Adelardi.”
I rub the spot on my head where it hit the door. There’s already a lump forming. “Yeah, well, I didn’t expect that my boss was a piece-of-shit mafia plant. So, I guess we both misjudged each other.”
Alexander laughs heartily. “I always liked you, Harlow. That’s why I’m so disappointed that you had to get in the way. I can’t very well have you running to your little friend at Justice with your proof, now can I?”
“So, what are you going to do, Alexander? Kill me? My father is a senator. Do you really think that he’s just going let the disappearance of his only daughter go uninvestigated? And I hate to break it you, O’Connell, but you don’t strike me as the murdering type. You strike me as the ‘do anything for money and power’ type. But you’d never get your manicured hands dirty.” I know I’m pushing him, but I’m pissed, and I’m worried about Vince.
Alexander just keeps smiling that same serpentine smile at me.
“You’re right, Harlow. I’m not going to get my hands dirty. But you can bet that Durante Adelardi doesn’t mind getting a little messy, and he’s waiting for you at his office. What happens to you once I leave you with him? I’d say that’s on old Durante.”
I feel all of the color drain from my face. Oh my god, he’s going to let Durante Adelardi kill me. This is it. I’m about to die…
7
The town car pulls up to huge building somewhere in midtown, and stops right in front of the entrance. The streets are bustling with morning traffic, and the first thing I plan on doing when we step out of the car is running, or screaming, but Alexander turns to me, his face now serious, and angry, twisted in a way I’ve never seen it.
“If you make so much as a sound when we step out of this car, I will get my hands dirty,” he sputters. “Do you understand me?”
I gulp, and nod. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to let him kill me in the street. I start to slide of the car, and Alexander grabs my arm and jerks me the rest of the way out, pulling me toward the entrance to Adelardi Tower. There are guards everywhere, but none of them look remotely interested in what is going on with me or Alexander. They are all busying themselves with meaningless tasks, and for a moment, it almost seems like they’re intentionally avoiding looking at me. In fact, I’m sure they’re used to seeing unwilling people dragged through this lobby and never returning. It’s part and parcel of their boss’s industry.
Alexander shoves me harshly into the elevator, then follows me inside and presses PH. With every floor the elevator passes, I get more and more panicked. The further away from Vince I get, the more sure I feel that I’m going to just die—maybe even right there in the damn elevator. It feels like an eternity before we arrive at the top floor of the building and the doors open. When they do, I’m shaking so hard that all I want to do is hide in the corner and wait for the end to come.
Standing outside the elevator are a collection of huge goons, all of them armed to the teeth, include two of the men who were in my apartment. I don’t know where the third is, and I don’t care, because I’m sure wherever it is means trouble for me and Vince. Alexander drags me off the elevator, and despite the fact I am fighting him at every turn, his strength is greater. I hate that I can’t shake him. I hate him for putting me in this situation. And when he shoves me in front of Durante Adelardi, I think my hate is going to make me explode.
Durante Adelardi is tall and broad-shouldered, but he’s gotten a little chubby in his old age. He has a grey mustache and grey hair, with piercing blue eyes. His suit is clearly expensive, and yet somehow, still cheap-looking. He’s leaning against his desk, staring at me, through me, like he’s trying to stop my heart with just his eyes.
“So. You’re the assistant district attorney who prosecuted my son?”
I stiffen my shoulders and try to stand up as straight and brave as I can, even though I’m feeling anything but brave. “Your son and his buddies were breaking into bodegas and then trying to shake them down for protection money. He was lucky he got off as light as he did.”
I half-expect him to put a gun on me right there, but instead, Adelardi chuckles. “You’re not wrong there, Miss Bullock. My son is an idiot. Get nailed on RICO charge? Only confirms my doubts as to whether that dumbass is my son. Even so, family is family. And I’m told you’ve been poking around into my affairs, looking for evidence of…what?”
My mind starts running. I can’t tell Adelardi about anything we have on him, but he will know immediately if I lie to him. I have no idea what to say, so I just stand there, staring, channeling all the strength I’ve acquired through years of going head-to-head with scumbags like Durante Adelardi. Finally, he relents.
“All right, Bullock. I’m going to be straight with you. You’re not the one I’m after. I won’t lie that I’m not thrilled about what you’ve done, but Alexander tells me you’re a good egg just doing your job. If you agree to pack up and leave Manhattan, and never come back, you can walk out of here, with all of your limbs intact.”
Well, that sure as hell isn’t going to happen. I’m just about to tell him to go to hell when something occurs to me. “Wait, what do you mean ‘I’m not the one you’re after.’ Who are you after, then?”
Durante surveys me as if he’s debating whether or not to bother telling me. Then he shrugs. “Your boyfriend, Vince Loretto. He isn’t half the man his father was, and I’m not about to let that little shit run around, mucking up my business because of some misplaced sense of honor.”
I snicker derisively. “Vince is twice the man his father was, and that makes him more of a man than you’ll ever be.”
Durante shakes his head. “Jason Loretto was an ace attorney and he worked for us loyally for years. Vince Loretto doesn’t have a loyal bone in his body.”
“Just because he’s not loyal to you and your criminal empire doesn’t mean he’s not loyal. And if you think for one minute I’m going to run away from my life with my tail between my legs just because you told me to, you, and Mule over there, don’t know me as well as you think. So, you may as well just kill me here.” I cross my arms over my chest, shocked to realize I meant what I just said. I would actually rather die right here, than run like a coward.
“I’m not going to kill you here, Miss Bullock. It’s a waste of my resources. The rug you’re standing on probably cost more than your apartment. Besides, I’m going to wait for Vince to get up here so I can, well… two birds with one stone, as they say. Speaking of, Alex. Where is Vince? Why didn’t you just bring him up at the same time?”
Alexander steps forward and clears his throat. “Bring him up?”
“Yeah, bring him up. He isn’t here? You didn’t grab them both at the station?”
Alexander clears his throat nervously for a second time, and a thick layer of tension starts to fill the room. “I… He… I punched him and left him outside of Chambers Street Station.”
Adelardi leaps to his feet, his face turning bright red. “You left him? You left Vince Loretto on the street, with no one watching him, after snatching the woman he’s been running with? What the fuck is the matter with you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you have an idea what kind of man Vince Loretto is?”
I don’t know what comes over me, but I start laughing, and I can’t stop. Ever
yone in the room turns and looks at me like I’m insane, but I can’t stop laughing.
“What is the matter with you?” Alexander asks, more terrified than he probably means to sound.
“You’re morons! Vince is going to show up here any minute, and he’s going to destroy every last one of you. You’re going to be so sorry you started this.”
As if on cue, out of nowhere, all of the lights in the building go dead, and we are bathed in almost complete darkness, except for the faint light coming in through the shades of Durante’s office. His men start scrambling around, like rats in a sinking ship. Adelardi shouts, “Everyone! Settle the hell down! It could just be a blackout!”
I snicker. “I told you you’d be sorry.”
8
I stay firmly planted in my spot, refusing to move. On the off chance anyone starts firing a gun or throwing random punches, I want to know exactly where I am and where I can dive to hide, should the situation call for it.
“Get three men to the stairwell entrance and call down to the guards at the front doors. Find out what’s happening down there!” Adelardi yells at no one in particular. There is a flurry of activity around me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Alexander cowering in a wing chair, as if he’s avoiding both a random attack and the ire of Durante. I give my eyes one more second to adjust to the shadows, then I inch as close to the window as I can. The light from outside gives me a bit of an advantage if anyone moves toward me. But at the moment, I’m pretty sure everyone is more focused on whether or not Vince is in the building, than on what I am doing.
“Boss, no one downstairs is answering. I think something is wrong,” one of the guys from outside the elevator says.
“No shit, you think?” Adelardi answers angrily. He crosses back to his desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out a shiny Desert Eagle .50 caliber handgun. I take a few steps back toward the wall; I’ve seen that gun before, and I know what it does to human targets. The autopsy photos have come across my desk more than once.
Be careful, Vince. Please be careful, I send up as a silent prayer. The room goes deathly quiet as all of the men inside begin to assess the situation in earnest. I can almost hear their hearts beating. Then, out of nowhere, we all hear a grunt, a groan, and the crack of bones from out by the elevator. It’s followed by what sounds like a gun clattering to the floor and the thump of a body hitting a wall.
“Get out there! Go!” Durante screams at the men in his office. They all hesitate for a second, looking at each other as if they wish they’d chosen a different profession, but it’s too late now. The henchmen rush in a clump out to the hall, and the cacophony of hand-to-hand combat echoes into the office. Sounds of smashing, crashing, screaming, and cracking bounce off the walls of Adelardi’s office, and even in the darkness of the room, I can see the look of barely concealed panic on his face.
In the corner of the room, Alexander shrieks, “Do something! Why are you just standing there? What the hell is the matter with you? You’re the big bad criminal mastermind, aren’t you?”
Everything happens in slow motion. Adelardi rolls his eyes, lifts his gun, turns to Alexander, takes aim, and fires. I swear I watch the bullet inch across the room, and when it makes contact with Alexander’s chest, I spin around toward the window, unable to handle the horror it creates. I hear Alexander crumple to the floor.
“He was a pain in the ass anyway,” Adelardi mutters as he turns back to the door. I don’t even have time to say anything before the door to his office explodes open, the wood shattering in pieces, as Vince dives inside.
“Harlow! Harlow, are you okay?” Vince yells as he squats on the floor, trying to make out the shapes of who is left in the room. I see him look over at Alex, in a heap on the floor, his chest a crime scene, and Vince’s face contorts into an expression of pure disgust. In fact, he’s distracted enough that he doesn’t notice Adelardi lifting his gun again, and aiming it in his direction.
“Vince! Look out!” I scream.
Vince spins around, and dives to the left, just in time to avoid being shot. In an instant, he is across the room and leaping on top of Adelardi, punching him in the face so hard that I can hear his jaw shatter. I have to concentrate to keep from throwing up all over myself. Then Vince knocks the gun out of Adelardi’s hand and pins him flat to the desk.
“You may have eliminated one problem, but you can’t get rid of me that easily, you garbage heap. I’m going to take you down so hard, your great-great-great grandchildren will know my name.”
I know this isn’t the time, but I feel a flutter of lust rush through me. Damn, that man is a beast. I rush over to him. Adelardi is moaning on the desk, holding his jaw and groaning out words that I’m sure would be profane if he could form them properly. Vince keeps a strong knee on Adelardi’s chest, then pulls me into his arms, and kisses me. The lust returns, and I have to remind myself of Alexander in the corner to bring myself back to reality. When I pull away, I see blood trickling down Vince’s shoulder.
“Oh, my god! Baby! You’ve been shot!”
Vince looks over at his arm. “As long as you’re okay, I could fly.”
Police sirens outside sound like music to my ears as we wait for someone to arrive and help us sort through this mess. It’s going to take a long time to explain what has happened in the office, but as long as we are together, I am sure we can manage to survive anything.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
It’s been three weeks since Durante Adelardi’s trial concluded, with the mob boss being sent to jail for twenty-seven life sentences, one for each murder that Vince’s evidence proved, including the murder of District Attorney Alexander O’Connell. With Alexander gone, especially after everything I did to prosecute Adelardi and bring down his criminal empire, the governor has asked me to run for the open district attorney seat next year. And with my new husband at my side, I’m tempted to say yes.
But not until after we’ve had a proper honeymoon.
Despite the sentimental objections of my family, Vince and I were married in front of a judge at the courthouse. After everything we went through, the last thing we wanted was to wait while we planned a huge ceremony. Every day feels like a gift, and I can’t imagine a scenario where I loved this man any more that I do in this moment; my champion, my protector, my savior, my hero.
I’ve only just moved into Vince’s apartment officially, though I only spent a few nights in my old place after “the incident,” as we’ve come to call it. Every time I went to sleep, I dreamed those men were coming back, and Vince would have to come over and stay with me. It just got easier to sleep at his place. And what a place it was. As soon as Adelardi was behind bars, Vince started making arrangements to move his practice to Manhattan, and then took the New York bar. It turned out that my man wasn’t just a warrior; he was a genius. He didn’t even study for the bar… he just showed up on the day of the test and got one of the highest scores in the state’s history. Firms from all over were begging him to join, but instead, he opted to open his own practice focusing on entertainment, for the most part. In his downtime, he does pro bono work for veterans in need of a helping hand, and if it’s possible, it just makes me love him even more.
I never in a million years imagined this is how my career-making trial would end up…with me in the arms of my husband. Who would have guessed that I would be here, with this man, my one-night stand, a handsome stranger I was never supposed to see again after that fateful night in a dive bar. I look around and shake my head with a smile; his shiny new high rise is the quintessential New York lawyer’s bachelor pad. It’s decorated beautifully, and sparsely, but in need of a little bit of my feminine touch. Every inch is full of the things that make Vince who he is, from memories of his time in the service hung on the wall to the instruments he plays for fun. My fingers itch to play across the keys of his priceless Fazioli Brunei piano, but... Maybe later. Right now, I’m thinking of all the things my hands can do to Vince’s magnificen
t body.
We are supposed to meet my parents at my favorite restaurant in Central Park in an hour. My dad is in town for a meeting with the governor and he’s convinced me to go with him so I can get some face time, should I decide to go through with this “running for office” craziness. But suddenly, Vince is behind me, his arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his strong, warm body. I feel like I’m melding with him. Every time he touches me, it’s like the first time.
“I thought you were taking a shower. We’re going to be late,” I say as he trails kisses down my neck and over my earlobe, sending shivers straight to my core.
“Then we’ll be a little late. They’re your parents. What are they going to do? Ditch you?”
I laugh as he spins me around into an embrace. Vince runs his fingers along my jawline, making me shiver. His finger under my chin, he tilts my head up to him. His lips are warm and soft as he presses them against mine. I sigh and melt into him; I can’t help myself. He knows just how to touch me, physically and emotionally.
His big hands smooth all over my body, wrapping around my curves. Vince makes me feel like a well-loved woman. When we touch, it’s as if everything, the outside world, our jobs, the stress of everything we’ve been through, gets quiet and fades away. We’ve become addicted to each other and I love the feeling. Our kisses soon go from comforting to wild.
Vince’s tongue plunges between my lips and I lightly draw his tongue into my mouth, as my hands clutch onto his shirt. His broad shoulders tempt my hands to explore once again, and I find them rubbing across his chest and gripping onto his biceps.
He is all hard-bodied man. Hard where I am soft, unyielding where I am pliable, we fit so well together. Raking my fingers through his hair, I grab and pull him away from my lips. With his head angled back and to the side, I suck on the sensitive skin below his ear, earning a low rumble from his throat.
