“Yeah.” He started up the Jeep and turned the radio down. “A lot better than I thought.” He turned to face me, and smiled. “Look, Ari, I like you a lot.”
“But…?” I asked, feeling my heart plummet.
“But I had some stuff I had to deal with first.”
“Had to? As in past-tense?”
His smile widened. “Almost completely. I have one more thing I gotta handle.” His smile fell. “But in the meantime, I have to know you’re safe. There are people who’d use you to get to me if they knew how much I cared about you. You understand?”
I looked from Bones to the flowers in my hand, my heart plummeting. “You care about me? Because it really feels like I’m being handled.”
His brow scrunched up. “Wait, what?”
“I’m not an idiot, Bones. I see exactly what you’re doing here. You’re some control freak who thinks he can lead me on with promises of tomorrow if I just do what you want today. You say you care about me, but that’s not how you care about someone. That’s—”
Before I could finish, Bones lunged at me. His lips greedily sought mine as his hands slid behind my head, keeping me captive. He smelled of metal and musk, and I breathed him in and let his scent make me crazy. His tongue explored my mouth, claiming me. I grabbed his suit jacket, holding him against me as his hands roamed down my back, around my waist, and under my shirt. I knew I should pull away, but his passion stole the oxygen from my brain. I lost the will to think, to move, to breathe. All I wanted was him.
By the time we finally came up for air, the windows were foggy. Bones kissed my cheek and drifted down to my neck. “I’m not handling you, Ari. My feelings are very real. You’re right, though,” he whispered against my neck, sounding as breathless as I felt. “I am a control freak. But you drive me crazy. I’d lose my mind if anything happened to you. That is what would send me over the edge. That is what I need you to protect me from.”
My eyes burned at his words. I closed them and let the vibration of his deep voice against my skin soothe me. This felt so good—so right. Like nothing in my life ever had.
He moved from my neck to trail kisses across my jawline, ending back at my lips. “You have no idea what you do to me. What I want to do to you. We just gotta get out of this town first.”
Out of this town and away from my dream. A dream I was no closer to than when I’d arrived in Vegas over a year ago. Could I give it all up for a chance to be with Bones? Probably. Would he break my heart and make me regret it? Probably. Was I stupid enough to do it anyway? Yes.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He kissed me one last time—a soft and gentle promise—before putting on his seat belt. I picked up the flowers, slightly embarrassed at the way I’d tossed them down to grab onto him, and he defogged the windows. Then, he held my hand and drove me home.
The next morning, Bones was gone before I got up. Markie was in the kitchen teaching Angel how to make crepes filled with fruit and whipped cream for my birthday breakfast, just like the ones Mom used to make. It was a sweet gesture, but it made me sad. Made me miss all the things we’d lost. She and Angel cleaned up the dishes while I went to the gym alone, wondering where Bones was.
About two hours later I got back and he still wasn’t home, so I showered then lounged on the sofa watching television and waiting until it was time to get ready.
Markie and I had shared a bathroom growing up, but it had been years since we’d been crammed into a space getting ready for a big event around each other. Not like Bones’s bathroom was small, but unlike Angel’s bathroom, it only had one sink, which meant the mirror was made for one person. The third time Markie elbowed me—and apologized—I dropped my curling iron into the sink, gave up, and sat on the toilet seat.
“There’s room. Get back over here,” she insisted, scooting until she was pressed against the wall, eyeliner still in hand. She glanced down at my curling iron in the sink, and a flash of sadness rolled over her expression before she smiled it away. She never complained about her hair, but every once in a while I could tell she missed her long golden locks.
“Nah, I can wait. It’s not like we’re in a huge hurry.”
I watched her finished lining her eyes. She looked tired.
“You sure you’re up for this?” I asked. “You’ve been doing a lot, you know?”
“Ohmigosh, you sound like Angel. We’re taking a cab to a restaurant and eating dinner. We’re not going out dancing or painting the town red.”
I smiled. “I never understood that expression.”
Markie paused, mid eyeliner stroke and looked at me. “Yeah, I have no clue what it means.”
I left her to her makeup while I snooped around Bones’s bathroom. Opening a cabinet, I found an unopened bottle of body wash, popped the top, and gave it a good sniff. It smelled like heaven.
“What are you doing?” Markie sounded scandalized, like I’d stolen the crown jewels or something.
“Barely resisting the urge to rub this all over my body.” I closed my eyes and breathed it in again. Suddenly we were back in his Jeep with his lips on my neck.
“Get out of his personal stuff, you freak,” Markie scolded.
I laughed.
“You seem better today,” she said. “Did you and Bones make up last night?”
“You’d know all the details by now if you hadn’t been bumpin’ uglies with your boyfriend last night.”
Markie’s brows shot up her forehead and her face turned red. “We were not bumping anything. We fell asleep watching a movie in his room.”
I eyed my blushing sister, trying not to laugh at how scandalized she sounded. “Poor Angel. Are you ever gonna give it up for that guy?”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you and Bones.”
I grinned. “Oh, well I would give it up for Bones in a second. Shoot, all he had to do was kiss my neck and my panties melted off. I didn’t even care that we were in the parking lot.”
“You did it in his car?” Markie asked, her eyes widening.
“No. Unfortunately we didn’t get past second base. The boy can suck face like nobody’s business, though. I can’t wait until—”
“Ari!”
My big sister was still so freaking innocent. It made me want to mess with her even more. “What? Did you see the flowers he got me? Tell me you wouldn’t have your hands down Angel’s pants if he brought you that bouquet.”
Her eyes bulged out of her head.
“And have you seen Bones’s body? All those muscles to nibble.” I took another whiff of his soap. “And smell this. Tell me you wouldn’t want to jump the sexy guy wearing this.”
“Ohmigosh you’re ridiculous. Stop it.”
“Fine.” I popped the cap back on the body wash and searched through the rest of his cabinets, finding a giant medical kit stocked with more supplies than the average pharmacy store. “Holy crap, check this out,” I said, riffling through the contents.
Markie glanced down. “What? It’s just a medical kit.”
Reading package labels, I asked, “With chest seals? Tactical tourniquets? And what’s a LOKSAC? This looks like it belongs in a trench, not in a bathroom.” I thought about the scars on Bones’s chest and back, wondering how many of these kits he’d been through.
“Angel’s family isn’t exactly safe to be around,” Markie reminded me.
That was the understatement of the century. Angel had a legitimate job now, but what about Bones? He worked an awful lot for someone who didn’t actually go to a job. And what was this “one more thing” he had to take care of? How dangerous would it be? Would he need this kit before he was through?
No time for worries like that now. It was my twenty-first birthday, I had a hot date, and nothing was going to bring me down. Determined to lighten the mood, I opened a package of gauze and wrapped it around my chest.
“Hey Markie, look. I think I figured out what I’m wearing tonight.”
She giggled.
“What are you doing?”
I stood, twirling so she could get the full effect. “What? You don’t think this looks hot? Oh, just wait till you see it with my shirt off.”
“Oh no, please.”
“It’s my party. I can dress like a hoochie if I want. Hey, think I can get Bones to go all the way if I show up like this?”
Markie laughed, throwing her hands in the air. “What am I going to do with you?”
Her question plunged me into a memory.
I was drunk, sitting in the middle of the floor at the Drinkwaters’ party because I could no longer stand. Markie’s boyfriend, Trent, stood over me laughing, drink in hand. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked.
“Uh… help me up?” I slurred.
Still laughing, he hefted me to my feet and into him. I wrapped my arms around his chest, willing the room to stop spinning. Trent felt warm and hard. I snuggled in, enjoying the feeling. The next thing I knew, we were dancing slowly. He put a finger under my chin and angled my face up until my lips met his. Something in the back of my mind screamed that what we were doing was wrong, but it all felt so good to my body. I wanted this. I wanted this hot, older guy to want me. I didn’t care who we’d hurt, I wanted to feel loved and valued and beautiful. Trent made me feel all that and more.
Without breaking the kiss, he led me out of the living room until we were alone in a bedroom. He locked the door behind us and kept kissing me, leading me to the bed.
“I know just what to do with you,” he said.
“Ari?” Markie asked, the concern in her voice breaking through my memory. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, pulling the stupid gauze off my chest, disgusted with myself. “We should hurry and get ready. The guys are probably waiting at the door and we’re not even dressed.”
I replaced the first aid kit and closed the cabinet. I could feel Markie’s gaze boring into me, but I didn’t say more. I couldn’t. I needed a drink. I needed the whole damn bar to be numb enough to forget.
On my way out of the bathroom, I remembered why I hadn’t yet dressed. “How nice is this place we’re going?” I asked.
“Swanky,” she replied, seemingly happy I’d recovered enough to talk to her. “And you need to dress especially nice.”
“Uh…” I glanced in Bones’s closet that we’d, for the most part, taken over. “I don’t know that I have anything that would qualify as especially nice.”
“Sure you do.” She set down her mascara, returning with a garment bag. She held it out to me and waited.
“What’s this?”
She smiled. “Your outfit. Check it out.” When she realized I wasn’t going to take it, she laid it across the bed and walked back into the bathroom.
Curious, I unzipped the garment bag and peeked inside to find a long black dress.
“Try it on,” Markie called.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I pulled it from the garment bag, unzipped the back, and stepped in. It was sleeveless, floor-length, fitted through the waist and hips, down to the calves, where it flared just enough to walk comfortably. I stared at myself in the mirror, shocked.
“How does it look?” Markie asked.
“Like Jessica Rabbit meets Audrey Hepburn. Check out my curves. Ohmigod, I look like a lounge singer. It’s so perfect. Where did you find this thing?”
Markie whistled her appreciation at me. “Angel knows a guy. You look gorgeous, Sis.”
Angel knew all sorts of guys, but they seemed more likely to design guns than dresses. The thing fit like it was made for me. I’d never felt so beautiful. “This is too much.”
“It’s exactly enough.”
“Markie, this must have cost a fortune.”
She waved me off. “You only turn twenty-one once. Angel and I wanted to make sure you had something you could leave an impression in.”
“It will definitely make an impression,” I said, imagining Bones’s eyeballs rolling out of his head in his best Roger Rabbit impression. “Thank you.”
“Don’t forget the gloves,” she said.
The gloves came above my elbows, adding mad levels of glamor. I didn’t deserve something so nice, not after the things I’d done and the people I’d hurt.
No. Happy thoughts only. Tonight’s gonna be amazing.
Determined to make it so, I finished adding waves to my hair, stuffing back the guilt, worry, and fear, and becoming the confident performer I saw in the mirror.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Bones
“HEY BUD, LONG night? Busy day?” Angel asked, dipping his razor into a sink full of water.
“Yeah to both.” I hadn’t seen Angel since yesterday afternoon. He was already in bed when I dropped Ariana off last night. I went back out to get the supplies for her present, and spent half the night working on it. Then I got a call from one of Carlo’s soldiers early this morning, with a possible lead on Joey Durante. Ready to get this thing done and over with, I jumped at the chance to meet with the contact, and rushed right out.
The contact was an older guy named Martin who worked at a convenience store a few blocks from Circus Circus. When I arrived, Martin took one look at me and told me I looked like my old man.
“You knew my pops?” I asked, surprised.
Martin nodded and told the kid working with him he was taking a break. Then he led me out back to an enclosed area with a plastic picnic table. He lit up a cigarette, leaned against the building, and started in on the tale about the Durante family.
“Back when the Mariani family took power, Maurizio Durante was killed. Three of his sons were also iced, but Joey—the youngest—disappeared. The kid must have only been about four or five back then, so the Marianis didn’t look too hard for him, if you know what I mean.”
Angel’s dad had won the war, and needed to secure his throne. He hadn’t been willing to waste time and money to hunt down a kid. Now that Joey was back, I wondered if the boss was regretting his decision.
Martin took a drag from his cigarette and continued. “Rumor has it that the Marianis got the drop on the Durantes because they had a guy on the inside. An enforcer who was feeding information back to Dom. Old Maurizio had a niece named Ambra who was quite the looker, and the Mariani enforcer fell for her. Hard. They got married, and had a little girl. All while he was carrying Durante secrets back to Dom. When the shit hit the fan, the enforcer got both Ambra and their young daughter out of there.”
“How did Joey escape?” I asked.
Martin shrugged. “Ambra was Joey’s babysitter, so she’d be my best guess.”
“What happened to Ambra and the child?” I asked.
“Nobody knows.” Martin took another drag.
“And the enforcer?”
Martin let out a breath of smoke and looked away. His hesitancy to answer raised a red flag in my mind, but I waited for him to answer. “He led a double life for a few years, going back and forth between his other family and Ambra and their daughter. Then about thirteen years ago he up and disappeared for good. To this day, nobody knows where he is… which family finally got wise to him and put him under.”
Ice filled my veins. Dreading the answer I feared he’d give me, I asked, “Who was the enforcer?”
Martin put out his cigarette in the ashtray by the door and looked me in the eye. His expression—a mixture of pity and understanding—only confirmed my fears. He didn’t give me a name, though. Instead, he frowned and said, “I believe you already know.”
Then he went back inside, leaving me alone with a truth I refused to accept.
I drove around for the next several hours, trying to reconcile a man I could barely remember with the enforcer from Martin’s story. By the time I got back to the condo my body was exhausted, my mind was numb, and my heart was torn.
“What’s wrong?” Angel asked, turning to stare at me. “What happened?”
I opened my mouth to tell him, but Carlo’s warning sounded in my ears.
“This woman
who’s after your girl… that’s your problem. She’s not after Angel. You better keep my nephew out of it, or you and me… we’re gonna have beef.”
Carlo knew. He’d known all along and he’d kept the truth from me. Now, after all these years, he sent me to Martin as his twisted way of coming clean. This was my fight, my family, and Carlo should know better than to think I’d ever drag Angel into it.
“Nothing. Just tired and running late.” I scooted past him to the second sink, turned on the water, and splashed my face. The cold blast did little to wake me up, but it did keep Angel from asking more questions. I pulled out my razor and cleaned up the two-day shadow on my face, then grabbed a fresh suit from the side of Angel’s closet I’d taken over and headed to his bedroom to dress.
“You pick up that Camry again?” Angel asked, pulling on his suit.
“Nope. Haven’t seen it since I started driving the Jeep.”
“Well, that’s… something, I guess,” he said. “Did you find out who wants Ari?”
“Nope,” I said. “I’ve got a lot of feelers out there, though. I’m sure I’ll hear something soon.”
“You and Ari better?”
“Yep.”
“You wanna talk about it?” he asked.
“I’m good. Unless, of course, you want me to lie on your bed and tell you all my deepest, darkest desires like you’re some sort of damn shrink.” I smoothed down his blankets, as if I was considering it.
“Stay off my bed!” Angel snapped. “And keep that shit to yourself. Nobody wants to hear your desires. Don’t even say that word in my presence.”
I laughed, feeling lighter. “Oh come on. Please give me advice on my love life. You know, since you’re such a pro and all.”
He flipped me off. We finished dressing and hung out in the living room, waiting for the girls.
“Wanna shoot some faces off?” Angel asked.
Since he wasn’t exactly the violent type, I knew he meant in-game. We fired up the television.
Breaking Bones (Mariani Crime Family #2) Page 15
