by Lewis, Anna
“Have you decided to stop freezing me out?” he answered.
“I’m not freezing you out…I was wondering if we can come by for dinner?” I asked slowly.
“Of course, I’ll be right over to pick you up,” he said, almost as eager as Gio was. Soon Josh was knocking on the door and Gio hurried to answer it for him.
“Josh!” he hopped into his arms for a hug and I felt bad for keeping them apart for so long. They had a bond.
“I missed you man,” Josh said as he set Gio back on his feet. When his eyes met mine he gave me a small smile, mirroring my shy one. Gio took Josh’s hand and pulled him fully inside. “Hey…” he said kind of awkwardly.
“Hey,” I said in kind, hating that things were awkward between us. I went over to give him a hug and he held me for a long time. Encircled in his warmth I was able to relax some.
“So how about we get going, I thought ordering a pizza tonight would be better than cooking,” Josh said after he let me go.
“Yay, pizza!” Gio practically rejoiced and I had to laugh. Gio chattered the whole drive to Josh’s penthouse. Telling him every facet about his week and Josh listened with interest the whole time.
Gio and I had been to Josh’s place only once before. It was definitely fancy, a two story penthouse on the Upper West Side with great views of the city and Central Park. Gio loved his house of course, he had video games, including a Wii and could really be his sometimes hyper self, running around the wide spaces.
Having dinner with Josh was just like usual. There wasn’t any tension and we easily fell into our rhythm. Gio and I ended up staying late of course, mostly because Josh didn’t want us to go home.
“Can we sleep over mommy?” Gio asked me, his voice groggy, we were watching Minions on Netflix and it was way past Gio’s bedtime.
“Sure honey we can sleep over,” I said, giving in. I glanced at Josh who had a little smug smile on his face. Shaking my head at him while he picked Gio up he simply stuck his tongue out at me and carried him to bed. When Josh came back down he laid behind me on the couch and wrapped an arm around me.
“Are things okay with us again?” he asked, whispering in my ear. I shivered at his breath tickling my skin, but nodded.
“Yeah things are good,” I said. He kissed my neck, sending another shiver through me. His hand slid down to my waistband and he tickled the sensitive skin of my belly. Josh pulled me onto his chest a bit more and his other hand came around to grip my breasts. He pinched my nipple through my shirt and bra and slid his other fingers against the folds of my sex.
“Josh…” I breathed, more out of need than anything else. He rubbed my clit while he sucked and nibbled along my neck. His other hand slid underneath my bra then, kneading my breasts. My hips moved restlessly against him, soon enough I’d be lost to an orgasm. I couldn’t hold in my moan as my body began to tremble and convulse as waves of pleasure coursed through me.
“I need you Maddy,” he whispered hoarsely. And I got up to undress, Josh quickly followed suit. I pushed him back down onto the couch though and knelt in between his legs. His erection curved up on his belly and he was watching me with lidded eyes. I gripped him in my fist and stroked his length slowly, watching as he held himself with tight restraint before taking him into my mouth. Josh groaned, his fingers running through my hair restlessly as I drew him to the very back of my throat. I sucked him until he was completely rigid and gently pushing my shoulders back.
“You’ll make me explode Maddy…” he murmured and pulled me up to straddle his legs. I kissed him deeply, licking into his mouth and pressing my naked chest against his. I lifted a fraction to position his erection at my entrance and slowly sank down onto him. He gripped my hips tightly as I rode him with an urgency brought on by our days apart. It didn’t take long before we were both lost in the heights of our shared passion.
We managed to move to Josh’s bedroom at some point in the night. Come morning I woke up to his body practically wrapped around mine. After having woken up to Giovanni like that around me time and time again I knew Josh felt possessive of me, but it didn’t bother me or make me feel uneasy. For some reason I didn’t feel suffocated like I did with Giovanni before things got really bad with him. I felt safe and oddly protected. When he felt me stir, Josh opened his eyes and gave me a slow smile.
“Hey…I love you,” he said, spreading an instant warmth through my chest.
“I love you too…” I said shyly, meaning the words more than I ever had saying them to Giovanni.
Chapter 10
After spending most of the weekend with Josh I didn’t get to see him as much as I wanted. Work needed me to stay a couple of extra shifts lately and Gio’s been spending time with Aunt Aida, though really Josh has been rescuing Gio whenever he wasn’t working.
“So are you coming home early tonight or am I kidnapping Gio again?” Josh asked me. I stole a five-minute break from the nurse’s station to take his call.
“Can you save him from Aunt Aida again? I have to stay until eight tonight…which sucks, usually I leave early on Fridays.” I sighed, trying not to complain too much because the extra money was much needed. My phone beeped, signaling another call, I glanced at the screen and my blood turned to slush in my veins. I was beginning to think that unknown number had finally given it a rest.
“Maddy…?” I tuned back into my conversation with Josh and put the phone to my ear.
“Yeah…I have to go Josh I’ll talk to you when I get off,” I said hurriedly. He didn’t ask any questions since he knew I was at work and at a hospital, anything could be happening. He ended the call and the unknown number called again, I mustered the gumption to actually answer, but when I went to tap the green button, the phone stopped ringing. Whoever it was hung up.
With my heart in my throat I took several deep breaths and put my phone on vibrate before heading back to work. I had to relax, after little over a week of this number calling me nothing happened outside of those phone calls. I was definitely being paranoid. I focused on work and my patients, the four extra hours spent at work went by in a blur really. By the time I had my bag and was headed out I felt as if I could find any bench and sleep for a good seven hours.
I noticed that the nights were getting cooler as fall was quickly running its course into winter. I picked up my pace in getting to the hospital’s parking garage around the corner. The breeze was brisk and I didn’t have a jacket or anything.
“Maddison Lochte…seems like we found you.”
I was just about to step into one of the stairwells of the parking garage when three huge men converged on me from the street. I felt the blood drain from my face as my heart started to beat all too fast, making me feel faint and getting my adrenaline going at the same time.
“Who…who are you?” I asked, my voice shaky with fear.
“You do know that it’s rude not to answer phone calls right? He’s been calling and calling. After giving you some space he figured you’d have calmed down and would at least talk to him…” I took in the faces of each of the men. They were all hard looking, flat gazes and rigid expressions. The one that was speaking had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and was the cockiest of the group. The other two were a bit leaner, but taller also and shared resemblance in their clear colored eyes and thin lips.
“You’re talking about…Giovanni…” I said numbly, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks I couldn’t even hope to shrug off.
To be continued…
Book 2: Keeping Her Safe
After Maddy’s unexpected visit by Giovanni’s men, Josh finds her shaken up and scared at her apartment. Joshua takes over, moving her and Gio into his penthouse and hiring security to keep them safe when he’s not around. Things are tense as Gio is having a hard time knowing his dad is trying to come for him and his mom. Joshua is doing all he can to make them feel secure and protected. When his security team finds a lead on Giovanni in Chicago Joshua is more than ready to confront him
. But as prepared as he thought he was, Joshua wasn’t ready for meeting Giovanni face to face.
Chapter 1
Maddy
The three men surrounding me were my worst nightmare come to realization. He was after me, he’d found me and it was only a matter of time before he himself was standing over me.
“Wow…I figured you’d be a little sharper, being a nurse and all. Don’t you have to be on your toes when people’s lives are under your care?” the lead one spoke again, his tone as derisive as his sneer.
“What is it you came here to do?” I snapped at him, a surprising fierceness rising from my chest.
“To give you a warning and a message. You need to get yourself and your son back to Chicago or there will be consequences. Giovanni misses his family and simply wants to work things out without there having to be a mess involved,” he said. I glanced around wondering how, in one of the busiest cities in the world, no one had come by yet.
Picking up on my distraction, one of the other guys grabbed my upper arm in a vise-like grip and shoved me into the stairwell where there was absolutely no one in sight or hearing.
“I left Giovanni, he’s an abusive asshole and I don’t want him in my life or my son’s life anymore. You can run back to Chicago and tell him that yourself,” I spat. The slap came before I could even flinch away. He hit me so hard across the face that my vision blurred and I stumbled back. Then he was pressing me against the wall, his face directly in mine.
“Forget about all that domestic shit, you can work that out with him. What’s more important is what you know about Giovanni. You know what line of work he’s in and that’s a liability. The only reason we’re sparing you right now is because that idiot is some kind of obsessed with you.” He let me go and my knees buckled a bit but I caught my footing. “Either way it’s you come back to Chicago, or Giovanni loses his patience and comes here. We’ve been watching you for weeks and know all your routines. I bet Giovanni would just love to see you all lovey dovey with that billionaire you’re messing around with. No doubt for his money anyway.”
“I’m not…” he hit me again, smacking me in the face before fisting my hair in his hands with painful tightness.
“If you know what’s good for you and whoever else you love you’ll take this chance bitch. You have two weeks to get back to Chicago, or else Giovanni’s coming here for you,” he hissed then threw me to the ground. They all left me there, quickly filing back out into the street. I slowly got up, my eyes blurring with tears just as I started to hyperventilate. I needed to at least get to my car before passing out. I barely made it to the second flight of stairs before I ended up crouching down, overcome with terror, panic, and anxiety. What was I going to do? What the hell could I do?
* * *
Joshua
“Josh do you love mommy?” Gio’s question caught me way off guard, to say the least. We were playing Headbandz, the kid version, and I was pretty sure my card was a pickle, then Gio went and did a one-eighty train of thought shift on me.
“Um…I do love your mom, very much, and I love you too,” I told him. Gio smiled happily and fiddled with the card in his hand.
“Can you marry mommy? So we can be a family?” he asked without looking up at me. His hair was flopping down into his face, hiding his expression. Kid needed a serious haircut.
“I want to marry your mom, and we most likely will. When it happens, it happens. Just know that we’re already a family. Because we love each other,” I told him and squeezed his shoulder in comfort.
“Okay…” he said softly and finally looked up at me, his eyes a little clouded with some emotion I couldn’t figure out. Maybe he was trying to make sense of stuff, I had no idea.
“Still got something on your mind?” I asked him and he nodded.
“Mommy and I ran away from daddy because he didn’t love us. He was a bad guy…like in Batman. But if you marry mommy then he can’t come to take us.” he said, making my heart pound a little bit. I hated that Gio was talking about stuff like that. He should be a happy kid, having no knowledge that bad guys in cartoons actually exist. What the hell was his father all about anyway? What did he do to them that would have Maddy not see me for a week and have Gio wiser beyond his years?
“Hey let’s not talk about your dad anymore. I know it upsets you. He’s gone now, in the past okay?” Gio nodded and took a deep breath. “So…am I a pickle?” I asked, pointing to the card strapped to my head with a goofy smile. Gio giggled and he nodded.
“You’re good at this game…” he commented while looking through the cards I’d guessed right. I checked my watch and realized only then how late it was. Maddy should have at least called by now, it was pushing nine thirty.
“Hey give me a sec, I’m going to go see if your mom’s off of work yet,” I got up from the floor and went to grab my phone in the kitchen. Maddy had been working late for the past few days and I’d been mostly watching after Gio for her since he really didn’t like spending too much time at their aunt’s house in Queens. Maybe she’d been tired and just gone straight to Aida’s without thinking?
I dialed Maddy’s number, but she didn’t answer. After calling her a couple more times without her answering I called Aida.
“Hello, Josh?” she answered, bemused. Usually after I picked Gio up from her house Maddy came to get him from my place or they slept over. Plus, I never really called Aunt Aida just to talk.
“Hey Aida, I was wondering if you’ve heard from Maddy at all tonight?” I asked her curiously, trying not to let her hear my concern.
“Well after she told me that you were coming to get Gio again tonight I haven’t heard from her, why?” she asked, almost suspicious.
“She must be stuck in traffic then, I was just trying to reach her is all, but she’s not answering the phone,” I tried to downplay as much as I could, but there was no getting anything over on Aunt Aida.
“Either her phone died or she could be at her apartment. Maybe you should drive by there to check on her,” Aida said, almost ordering me to do so instead of suggesting.
“I will, I’ll let you know when I find her,” I said.
“Please do Joshua, drop Gio here if you need to,” she answered and I ended the call. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at Gio on the floor in the living room.
“Hey man, you’re not gonna like this but…I’ve got to take you back to Aunt Aida’s,” I said while grabbing my car keys from the counter.
“Aw, why? Can I sleep over here? Is mommy working all night?” he pouted while reluctantly cleaning up the board game. Gio was one of the most well behaved near six-year olds I’d ever met. Some would probably throw a fit at not getting their way.
“Nah, your mom says to take you back to Aunt Aida’s,” I lied, not wanting to scare him, especially after our conversation a second ago.
“Are you fighting again?” he asked, seeming annoyed and I smirked.
“We’re not fighting don’t worry. It’s just that what mom says goes, so we have to do what we have to do,” I said. He sighed, but went ahead and put his shoes on. A few minutes later I was practically speeding to Queens, but getting there from the Upper West side was a mission. After a quick drop off and a pointed look from Aunt Aida to find Maddy I sped to the Bronx.
I was able to slide into the building without having to buzz up and hurried up to her apartment. After knocking on her door several times it finally unlocked and I practically pushed my way in to get to her.
“Shit…Maddy! What happened to you?” shock froze my blood as I shut the door behind me and took her battered face carefully in my hands. Her eyes were red rimmed and she had a bruised eye as well as a cut on her lip. Anger and adrenaline quickly diffused the shock in my veins and I was ready to take down whoever did this to her. “Who did this?” I asked, holding back my anger for her sake.
“It was…” she glanced behind me, suddenly realizing that I didn’t have Gio with me. “Gio, where’s Gio?” she asked, her voice jum
ping an octave with panic.
“Hey, hey, take a breath, he’s with your Aunt Aida,” I said while pulling her into my arms. As soon as her head fell against my chest she started sobbing.
Chapter 2
My chest felt tight with anxiety, I didn’t know what was wrong and I wanted to fight whatever it was.
“He’s…he’s c—coming…” she sobbed against my chest and said something more, but it was muffled.
“Baby take deep breaths, tell me who’s coming. Who did this to you?” I asked her. I scooped her into my arms and walked over to the couch. She held onto me tightly and cried until her sobs no longer wracked her body. I rubbed her back and tilted her chin so she could look up at me. I studied her face and kissed her lips gently.
“Giovanni…he wants me and Gio, he wants us to go back to Chicago or he’ll come here and take us,” she said softly, her voice still thick with tears.
“He sent someone here to do this to you?” I asked, rage creeping into my voice and making me see red.
“He’s a part of the mafia and they said that I was a liability…that I’m being given a chance…” she trailed off, her voice trembling as more tears fell to her cheeks.
“Mafia? Your ex is part of the mafia?” I asked and she hiccupped and wiped her eyes.
“I didn’t know, when we met he was a normal guy. He was nice, fun, he wasn’t that dark and twisted thing he turned into,” she said, shame heavy in her tone.
“We’ll talk about this more later, first thing’s first. You’re not going anywhere, and he’s not going to get to you or Gio. No one will lay another finger on you.” Maddy’s eyes widened, but she didn’t protest. I was taking control of the situation and making sure she and Gio were absolutely safe.
“Let’s pack a few bags for you and Gio, you’re coming home with me and eventually moving out of here. If he sent people after you, he definitely knows where you live.”
