Maneuver (Men of Inked: Southside Book 1)

by Chelle Bliss

  “Patience is a virtue.” She smiles, slowly closing the door and staring at me with a sexy smirk on her face through the crack.

  “So is generosity, baby.” I watch under the door as the skirt drops to the floor. “And you’re about to understand how generous I can be.”

  “I said I don’t want you to buy me clothes.” She slides on her shorts, and the dressing room door opens again. “I never asked for this.” She grabs a hefty stack of hangers with all the items I liked, and I can see this bothers her.

  “I’m not talking about clothes.”

  “You want me to pay you back in sexual favors?” She fakes disgust, but I know she’s going to love every inch of what I’m going to give her.

  I grab her chin between my fingers and move my lips within an inch of hers. “No, sweetheart, I’m going to be the one doing the pleasing.”

  Her blue eyes sparkle as she tips her head up, staring at me with so much need I can feel the heat coming off her in waves. “I like your style, Mr. Gallo.”

  “Baby, you haven’t seen nothing yet.” I pull on her bottom lip with my teeth.

  Lulu smacks my arm and lets out a little grunt, reminding us both she’s there.

  “Let’s go home,” I tell her. “The kid needs a nap, and I need some Delilah.”

  “Fuck,” she groans as she pulls away. “Between work, Lulu, and you, I get nothing done.”

  “Baby, we’re all you need doing.” I swat her ass as we exit the dressing room, already pulling out my wallet because I can’t waste another minute. All I want to do is to be on top of her, touching her, consuming her.

  19

  Delilah

  Lucio crawls out of the bed, and I roll over, too comfortable and exhausted to bother getting out of bed with him. There’s someone pounding at the door, but I don’t care if it’s God himself, I’m not leaving the warmth.

  The birds chirp outside the window. They’re a little too cheery for me. I open one eye and stare at the clock, groaning when I realize Lulu will be up any minute.

  Suddenly, I can hear the loud rumble of Lucio’s voice, and I jump to my feet, padding across the floor to the window. I pull back the curtain, trying to hide my face because I don’t want him to think I don’t trust him.

  My heart stops as soon as I see his face. Dwight’s on the walkway to the front door, waving his hands at Lucio and yelling back. Lucio takes a step forward, and Dwight backs up, knowing he’s no match for Lucio’s size and power.

  I grab a pair of jeans off the floor and slide them on before I find a clean T-shirt, pulling it over my head as I walk to the living room. I’m practically stomping my feet with every step, marching toward the door and the man who abandoned us.

  I’m so pissed my hands are shaking, and I’m breathing so fast I’m on the verge of hyperventilating. It’s been nine months since Dwight vanished into thin air. I’d say he has a huge set of balls for showing up now, but I know that’s not even remotely true.

  I can hear Dwight’s voice clear as day from the living room as he yells at Lucio. “I want to see my kid!”

  “Daughter or son?” Lucio asks. I can’t see his face, but his arms are crossed in front of him and he looks like the Hulk compared to Dwight.

  Dwight stares at him but doesn’t say anything back. The fucker doesn’t even know because he left before I found out we were having a daughter, and he’s never so much as called or texted to see if either of us survived.

  My hand’s on the doorknob, but something stops me from going outside. I hate him so much, but I’m thankful he left when he did. Lulu never had a chance to get attached to him and will never know the hurt of being abandoned.

  “I want to see my son!” Dwight screams, putting the nail in his coffin.

  “You have a daughter, asshole.”

  “Fuck you. She’s my kid, and Delilah’s my girl.”

  “You lost that right long ago. They’re mine now.”

  A thrill runs through me when I hear Lucio say those words. I don’t think I will ever get sick of hearing him call me his. The fact that he claims Lulu too makes my heart swell with pride, love, and hope.

  “Where’s Delilah?”

  I turn the knob and step onto the front step, feeling stronger than I ever have. I’m no longer the timid girl, always trying to be proper and kind. “What do you want, Dwight?”

  His eyes travel up my body, looking at me like I’m a prize he’s already won. “I came back for you, baby.”

  I tip my head back and laugh as I hold my stomach. “What makes you think I want you?”

  “We made a life.” He takes a step toward me, but Lucio holds out his arm and presses his palm into Dwight’s chest. “We are in love.”

  “We are?” My mouth drops open, and I widen my eyes, totally fucking with this worthless human. “Was that before or after you ditched me?”

  Dwight’s eyes narrow and he tries to push Lucio away, but he’s not strong enough to even make him sway. “Don’t be that way. You know I had to go.”

  I step forward, descending the cement stairs as slowly as possible with my eyes locked on him. “Did you get arrested?”

  “No.”

  “Did you get called away on some secret mission?” I ask as I stand a few feet away from them, letting Lucio stay between us.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  I tap my chin and glance at the sky. “That’s right. You couldn’t handle having a baby. You were a coward and decided you needed to live a little, like somehow I was trying to trap you.”

  Dwight drags his hand through his dirty-blond hair and stares at the ground. “I…” He starts to speak, but I don’t give him a chance to come up with another lame excuse.

  “I’m not your woman.” I point toward Lulu’s bedroom window. “She’s not your daughter. You’re nothing to us, just like we were nothing to you.”

  When he tries to move toward me again, Lucio grabs him by the arm and holds up a finger. “Take one more step, and I’m knocking your ass out.”

  “How the hell did you find me anyway?”

  “Your dad told me where you were,” he says as he reaches out his hand. “We can make us work again. You can’t want this.” His eyes go to Lucio and back to me. “You’re better than this, Delilah.”

  I touch Lucio’s shoulder, knowing he’s about to knock Dwight’s lights out with one punch to the jaw. I should let him, but I’ve never been one to use my hands when my mouth will do the trick.

  “Sweetheart, can you give us a minute?” Lucio turns to me with worry all over his face. “I’ll be fine,” I tell him, trying to make him comfortable. “I need to do this.”

  Lucio shakes his head and keeps his hand wrapped around Dwight’s arm. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  I touch his face, and his eyes close. “Please,” I beg. “She’s probably awake and hungry by now.” I don’t dare say her name. Dwight doesn’t deserve to walk away from here knowing anything about Lulu.

  Lucio nods before turning around and leveling Dwight with his gaze. “I see you try to touch her, and you’re not leaving this front yard without a broken bone.”

  Dwight swallows, turning pale as a ghost, but he nods slowly. Lucio releases him but not before lunging forward, causing Dwight to flinch. There’s a smirk on Lucio’s lips when he turns to face me.

  “Dwight won’t hurt me.” I slide my hand across Lucio’s cheek. “He’s never been that kind of man. He’s a coward, for sure, but not a hitter.”

  “You have five minutes, and then I’m coming back out.”

  I lean forward, popping up on my bare tiptoes to give him a hard kiss. “Understood,” I murmur against his mouth. “But I won’t need that long.”

  Lucio touches my waist, holding on to me as he walks away. His hand slips away as he makes his way up the stairs, and I watch him, waiting for him to go inside before I lay into Dwight about his disappearing act.

  I turn, narrowing my eyes, and stick my pointy finger square in his c
hest. “How dare you show your ugly face, you bastard.”

  His eyes widen as he backs up, clearly not expecting me to be pissed off and ready to vocalize every bit of that anger.

  “You take off, leaving me with my father and a baby on the way. I know you were scared, but be a man, for fuck’s sake. I was scared too, but I couldn’t just walk away from the situation like you did.” He tries to touch my hand, but I swat his arm away and keep going, pressing harder into his chest. “You need to forget we exist. You did a good enough job with that since the day you left, so it shouldn’t be that hard to do it again.”

  “But she has a right to know her father.”

  “You were a sperm donor, Dwight. Let’s not fool ourselves. Your name may be on her birth certificate, but—” I turn for a second, seeing Lucio watching from Lulu’s bedroom window “—this man has been more of a father to her than you could ever be.”

  “Delilah, please.”

  “I don’t know what you were thinking showing up here, but you’re not getting a happy ending. I’m going to a lawyer and getting papers drawn up for you to relinquish your parental rights. Sign them. If you don’t, so help me God, I’ll go to everyone at the country club and tell them you knocked me up and took off.”

  His mouth hangs open, and I know I’m hitting him right where it hurts. “What will your daddy think when he finds out you ran away from your responsibilities?”

  “I’ll tell him.” He steps forward and tries to touch me again, but I back away. “I’ll make him understand. Don’t cut me out of her life. Out of yours.”

  My hand slams into his chest, knocking him backward and causing him to stumble, almost losing his footing. “Sign the papers, Dwight, or…”

  “Or what?” He challenges me, finding a pair of balls I never knew he had.

  “Or I won’t be able to stop what happens to you.”

  “What’s that mean?” His lips twist.

  I have no idea what it means, but I’ll find a way to make him pay. The only thing I need right now is for him to believe I know of ways to hurt him that stretch beyond the law.

  “I know people,” I say simply, wondering if I could get Johnny to strong-arm Dwight. I’m sure he’d do anything for me; he seems to have taken to me like the rest of the family.

  “You know people?” He looks confused.

  “Never mind,” I tell him, knowing the only thing Dwight cares about is money. “You know what?” I stalk forward. “I don’t have any money anymore, but I sure could use some child support. What are you making now? Ten thousand a month?” I smile as his face pales. “I’m sure I can make a case to get a hefty payment from you each and every month.”

  The last thing I want is his money, but it’s the only motivator I have for his dumb ass.

  He jerks his head back. “You’re broke?”

  “Not a dime.” I draw out the word, following him as he’s already heading toward the sidewalk. “My father stole it, but I’m sure you can help us out, right? We could use all that back child support to get a new place.”

  “Back child support?” He almost chokes on the words, and I know he’s doing a calculation in his head.

  “Yeah. I figure you owe us about—” I tap my chin and stop near the sidewalk, but he keeps moving “—about thirty grand by now.”

  “What? That’s insane!”

  I’m lying through my teeth. I have no idea how much I’d be awarded by a judge for child support, but Dwight is too stupid to know any better.

  “Sign. The. Fucking. Papers.”

  “Fine,” he says, throwing his hands up in the air. “You’re nothing but a broke-ass hood rat anyway.”

  I roll my eyes, not feeling the sting from his country-club, cardigan-wearing, dumb-ass words.

  “Fuck off, Dwight. Thanks for the lousy lay and the great kid,” I hurl at him as he walks around the corner and out of my life again.

  This time, he’s not coming back.

  Lucio’s out the door before I have a chance to turn around. “He gone?”

  “He’s gone,” I say, turning toward him and burying my face in his chest as soon as he gets close enough. “He’s an asshole.”

  He wraps his arms around me and holds me tightly. “I’m proud of you.”

  His words warm my insides, making me feel better than anything else in the world. Lucio does that to me. He makes me feel better about myself, more confident, and tougher than I’ve ever been in my entire life.

  20

  Lucio

  “I got the shots,” Daphne says as she rounds the bar and heads toward the middle of the room.

  We’re cleaning up, readying the bar for tomorrow’s service. The bar was busy tonight. More crowded than we’ve been in a long time.

  “I’m exhausted,” Delilah says, wiping off the last table.

  “It’s Saturday night. We can’t go yet.” Daphne sets down the bottle of vodka, along with a plate of cut-up lemons and sugar. “I’m putting my foot down and requiring us to do a team-building activity.”

  Angelo raises an eyebrow and glances in my direction. “It’s my last weekend without the kids,” he says like he’s justifying something.

  “That’s exactly why you deserve to get shit-faced,” Daphne tells him and motions toward the table. “We have a new employee, and this will be great for team building and morale.” When I groan, Daphne stalks across the room and grabs me by the hand. “We could all use a little downtime before the shitshow starts.”

  She’s referring to my father. As soon as word got out that he was going to be released from prison soon, people started showing up in droves to get a glimpse of the local mafioso.

  Delilah walks toward us, sitting down first and slipping off her shoes to rub her heels. “My feet are killing me,” she says and makes a noise so close to the one she makes when I slip my cock inside her, I almost go rock hard. “We have time for a drink, Lucio, don’t we?”

  “One hour,” I say and take the seat next to her.

  “Come on, everyone.” Daphne claps her hands. “And I mean everyone.”

  “What’s your team-building activity?” Angelo asks, knowing it’s useless to argue with her.

  “Two Truths and a Lie.” She smiles and stares down at us. “It’s the best way to get to know each other.”

  I don’t know how this will help anything. Most of us grew up together, and there isn’t much we don’t know about each other.

  “This might be your dumbest idea yet,” Angelo grumbles.

  Daphne sits down, ignoring our brother’s grumpy mood and starts to pour the shots. “We have a new employee. Wouldn’t it be nice to get to know her a little better?”

  “I’m all about a drink to unwind, Daph, but shots are a little much,” Michelle says as she takes the seat next to Daphne and pulls the glass in front of her.

  “You’re not a lightweight. Stop complaining.”

  Everyone’s finally seated except for Vinnie. He’s not here. Not like he ever is, but it’s his final weekend home before he returns to school to finish out the spring semester.

  Delilah places her hand on my leg and rests her face in her other palm. “I’ve never played this,” she admits.

  “Oh, girl. It’s easy. You come up with two truths and a lie about yourself. You tell the table, and we have to guess which one is the lie.”

  “Where’s the drink come in?” Delilah asks, staring at a shot glass filled with vodka.

  “If you guess wrong, you gotta drink.”

  “I’m a human lie detector.” Delilah smiles. “Prepare to get slaughtered.”

  “You got a lot of shit talk for a little girl,” Angelo teases. “I can see why you two work so well.” His gaze bounces between the two of us. “I’ll go first.” The table gives him their full attention. “I lost my virginity at fourteen, I was once with a woman twenty years older than myself, and I haven’t been touched by a woman in two years.”

  I raise an eyebrow. I know his first two are true, which mea
ns the last one is his lie. He’s been with someone, which is surprising because he hasn’t bothered to mention it to anyone.

  Delilah tips her head to the side, studying my brother’s face. “That’s easy. The last one’s your lie,” she answers like she’s known him his entire life.

  “Why d’you think that?” Angelo asks, leaning back in his chair.

  “There’s no way you’ve been celibate for two years. You’re not grouchy enough. I mean, you’re intense and everything, but not near enough for that to be true.”

  The entire table bursts out laughing. Daphne suddenly stops and slams her palms down on the table. “Wait.” She turns and gawks at him. “Who have you been seeing behind our backs?”

  “None of your business,” he says before downing the shot and grimacing. “You don’t need to know everything about my life.” I catch the subtle glance he gives Michelle from across the table, but I don’t say a word because it’s none of my business who my brother is sleeping with.

  “Delilah, it’s your turn,” Daphne says, but her voice isn’t as cheery as it was only a minute ago.

  Daphne hates not being in the loop. She’s used to having her nose so far up in our business that the revelation has to sting.

  “So, wait. You slept with a woman twenty years older than you?” Delilah looks shocked. “Who was that?”

  “Mrs. Kinsey,” I answer for him because all the guys had a turn with her as we grew up.

  “Who?” The tiny lines between Daphne’s eyebrows deepen. “Who the hell is that?”

  “It’s a dude thing, little sister.” Angelo pats her on the shoulder, and she stiffens.

  “The old lady from down the street?”

  “She wasn’t so old back then,” Angelo says.

  Mrs. Kinsey was a widow in her forties, but damn if she didn’t look a day older than thirty back then. The boys in the neighborhood knew about her and her wild sexual appetite.

  “You banged her, man?” I ask Angelo because I couldn’t do it. I tried, God how I tried, but she didn’t do it for me.