“They know I was a cop.” That's the only explanation I need. That right there is enough for them to want me dead.
“Yeah, they do. And they know you’re my girl.” Tommy rubs his hand over my belly and forces a smile from me. “You’re a woman, Tonya, and I know you hate this, but we keep women out of it.”
“But I was a cop.” I’ve seen them all a handful of times now, and each time it gets easier. But this is different. It’s not one or two of them coming over to drop something off, it’s all of them in one place. And I feel like I’m going to be an outsider.
“Yeah, for under a year. And they know about your sister and why you joined. They know you’re loyal to me.” He stands behind me and wraps his arms around my body, pulling me into his hard chest. I feel cocooned in his warmth. I close my eyes and breathe in deep. It’s not fair that he can put me at ease so effortlessly.
“Besides, there’s someone there I really think you should meet.”
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“You should meet Ava. I think you’d really love getting to know her. She lost her sister, too.”
“Ava?” The name rings a bell, but I’m not sure why.
“Yeah, she’s been asking about you. She wants to meet you.” He speaks his words softly, like he's waiting for something.
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Ivanov.” He says her last name and everything clicks into place. I turn in his arms to face him with wide eyes. She’s supposedly dead.
I part my lips, but I don’t ask. I know not to ask questions.
He gives me a small smile and says softly, “A bad man hurt her once, but she made him pay. She's a strong woman, like you. I think you two are going to get along great.”
Tears prick at my eyes, and I hold onto him with everything in me. He kisses my hair, while I try to calm down.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but he’s long gone, Tonya. He’ll never hurt anyone else.”
I cry in his arms. I haven't cried in weeks, but the need to purge all my sadness has me leaning against him in tears. He rubs my back while I cry for all of them. For my sister, for Ava’s sister. For Ava and the other survivors. I cry for them all. A calmness washes through me as I settle with exhaustion into his embrace. A feeling like a rebirth. Like I’ll finally have a fresh start. Maybe now I can finally get the catharsis I've been striving for all this time.
My blurry eyes catch a glimpse of the picture frame I put on Tommy’s nightstand. It’s the same picture that’s in my locket. My hand reaches up and I grab onto it. We were just young girls in middle school and high school, but it’s my favorite picture of us. I can’t wait until we move and make a new place of our own. We need a fresh start. And moving is the way to make that happen.
I look up at Tommy with wonder, but also a sense of insecurity. I haven’t forgotten what Jerry said, and if I’m honest with myself, I’m worried about Tommy and about him staying in the familia.
“Spit it out, baby.” His hand settles on the nape of my neck, and his thumb brushes along my jaw. It soothes me. Everything about him soothes me.
“I don’t know if I can live with you doing this, Tommy. I don’t--” I just want to list all the reasons this is so wrong. But his lips silence mine in a sweet kiss.
I moan into his mouth, just loving his touch. He pulls back, and looks at me with sincerity.
“I told you, I'm not working for the familia anymore.” I know what he said, but he's too fucking happy for that to really be the case.
“Forget about right and wrong for just a moment. Just listen to your heart, baby. What does it want? Us being together may be fucked up and wrong. But it’s what I want.”
I struggle to respond. He’s right. I do want him. He’s the only thing I want.
“Just give me a chance to love you.” His hand brushes along my belly, where our baby's growing.
It may be wrong, but I want him. I love him.
He must see that I’ve decided. He smirks and says in a playful tone, “You know you’re my bad girl.”
I shake my head and let a small laugh escape me. Tommy takes my chin in his hand and kisses me. My lips mold to his and I give in.
I love him, and that’s all that matters.
“I love you, Tommy,” I whisper as he pulls away from me.
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Tommy
I'm so fucking nervous. I don’t remember the last time my heart beat so damn hard in my chest. I shake out my hands again and start pacing.
“I’m telling you, she’s gonna say no.” I turn on my heels to face Anthony. The fucker’s grinning from ear to ear.
“You fucking love this, don’t you?” I ask him.
He smirks back at me and says, “You know I do. You get all stressed out about shit you shouldn’t be worried about.” He takes a sip of his drink and then adds, “Besides, you’ll have plenty of stress when the next list comes in.”
He’s right. I’m not as calm as Anthony is yet. I’m doing hits with him now. I’m cut off from familia business, and taking the contract hits instead. Anthony’s been showing me the ropes. And I have to admit I’m enjoying it, but I’ve got a ton of shit to learn.
I should probably be worried that I’m not really seen as a member of the familia by outsiders, but I’m not. Vince told me not to be. He’s my cousin, my blood, and he’s grown to love Tonya. All the family has.
He said things need to blow over, time to settle down. And I’m fine with that. I’d be lying if I said I was unhappy taking these hits with Anthony. It’s a nice change of pace, and less risk than what I’m used to. I don’t really give a shit what I do, so long as I have my family and my girl.
She’s accepted, especially with the women. They’ve been pampering the hell out of her since she’s pregnant with our little boy. She’s having a difficult time now that she’s so far along. But he's going to be here soon. We can't fucking wait.
“You're thinking about him, aren’t you?” Anthony asks. Then he teases, “He’s gonna ruin your sex life.”
I shake my head and grin at him. He's got a shit-eating grin on his face. “You said her pregnancy was gonna ruin our sex life, and look how good that turned out.” I can hardly keep up with her. My bad girl still wants me. All fucking day if she can. “You’re so damn negative, you know that?” I tell him, as I peek out of the back doors and into the restaurant.
“Yeah, I’m a little jealous, I gotta admit that.”
I look at my brother with surprise. “Of me?” He’s never been jealous of me my whole life.
He scrunches his forehead as he replies, “Don’t look at me like that. I can be jealous if I want.”
“If you wanna girl, go get one. You wanna baby, go make one.”
He huffs a laugh and downs his drink. “It’s not quite that simple, Tommy.”
I start to tell him, “Yeah, it is that simple,” but think back and realize that no, it's not. Not for the right one. Then I hear my girl. She’s laughing, and I’d recognize that beautiful sound anywhere. I open the door a crack and look out.
She’s in black leggings and a hot pink sweater that hugs her swollen belly. She went out for ladies’ night and looks so damn happy. Ava’s hanging on her arm. The two of them are close now. Thick as thieves. I’ve gotten to know more about Kane than I ever wanted.
“Showtime.” Anthony smacks my shoulder and gets ready to open the door.
“Not yet.” I say quickly, shutting it and taking a deep breath.
“Bro, knock it off. It’s in the bag.” I look back at him and try to calm my nerves. “For real, Tommy. She loves you.” He pats my back and adds, “She’s gonna make a good wife.”
I nod my head. She is. She’s gonna be my wife. And I’m going to give her our happily ever after that she deserves.
Anthony smiles at me. “That’s the Tommy I know. Go get yourself a wife.” He opens the door and I take a few steps out into the restaur
ant.
She's facing away from me in her seat. They sat her like that on purpose. Ava sees me first, and lights up. She grabs a drink menu and tries to distract Tonya. The ladies look up at me one by one, and try to not make it obvious.
Aunt Linda’s smile is so fucking big, though. She’s gonna give it away. She covers her face with her hand and pretends to cough. I get down on my knee behind her and look to my right to see the guys coming out. We’re all ready to surprise her with a baby shower. I knew I wanted to do this in front of everyone, and doing it here and now, it just felt right.
While the ladies distract her, the guys open up the back room doors where the party will be. I hear them all standing behind me. It’s go time. I know it is, but I can’t fucking move. My nerves are getting the best of me.
I shake out my hands with my eyes closed, and that’s when I hear her.
“Tommy?” Her voice is full of shock. I open my eyes with the ring box in my left hand, get down on one knee, and see her wide-eyed and covering her mouth. She's got her hands up like she’s saying a prayer.
“You’re such a bad girl. You were supposed to wait till I told you to turn around.” I smirk at her. Just seeing her excitement and the happiness in her eyes puts me at ease.
Her hands fly down and start flapping like she’s a little kid.
“Tonya Ann Kelly, marry me.” I hold up the box to show her the three carat, cushion cut diamond ring with side accents I've picked out for her. I went to three different stores, but the second I saw this one, it was all over. I knew I needed to put this one on her finger.
She flings herself at me and wraps her arms around me. I don’t wait for her to answer. I slip the ring on her finger, where it belongs. Everyone’s clapping and laughing. I can hear Aunt Linda crying, 'cause that’s what she does. But the best sound is coming from my bad girl’s lips. She’s got her head buried in my neck while she clings to me, “I love you so much Tommy. I love you.”
I pull back to look into her gorgeous eyes; they’re full of nothing but happiness. “I know you do, baby. I love you, too.”
About the Author
Thank you for reading Bad Girl. I hope you loved reading it as much as I loved writing it.
More by Willow Winters
The Valetti Crime Family
Dirty Dom
His Hostage
Good Girl
@WillowWintersBB
Willow Winters
[email protected]
Sneak Peek at Bad Boy, Anthony Valetti’s Story
Have a sneak peek at Bad Boy, coming this September!
Chapter 1
Anthony
I stare at the picture from the envelope and feel so damn conflicted. I crumple the edges in my hand not knowing if I really want to go through with this. My eyes travel along each feature of her face. Her big brown eyes and long thick lashes. She has gorgeous full lips I want to bite and see wrapped around my cock. Her nails are done in a classic shade of red and her light brown hair hangs over her shoulders in loose curls. Her breasts peek out just above the loose blouse. I wish I could slowly strip her out of those clothes. But I can’t. She’s not mine. Even worse, I’m supposed to kill her.
I shove the slip of paper back into the envelope with the other two. Those hits I couldn’t give to shits about. Assholes who have it coming to them. One stole and ran to keep up his addiction. You don’t steal from a mob boss and think you can get away with it. Another killed a made man. He knows it’s coming. Neither are doing a good job of hiding. They’ll be easy hits.
I take another swig from my beer and debate on taking the sheet back out. But I have her face memorized. I want her. More than that, I want to break her. I’m a sick fuck and I know it. I think back to the last chick I had. She liked to play. But that’s what it was to her. Play. I want the real thing. I want to earn a woman’s submission. Earn her desire to please me through training. But it’s always pretend. I’ve never had an opportunity like this. But it’s wrong. It’s so fucked up and wrong.
But then again, so am I.
I carve up assholes and kill for a living. The torturing, the screams, it doesn’t affect me in the least.
This broad, she has it coming to her, even if she doesn’t know it. She probably thought she was doing the right thing by going to the cops. She probably thinks she safe in the witness protection program. She’s not. She didn’t know what she was doing and now it’s my responsibility to make her disappear. She costs the Cassano’s familia lot of money more than anything.
I grind my teeth and slowly peel back the label on the beer bottle. I have to be delicate so it doesn’t tear apart. Patience. I need patience. With everything I do, I need patience.
“Anthony, you wanna talk now?” I hear Vince as he pulls up the stool to my right. I messaged him earlier. The bottle hits the bar and I push it away from me as the bar tender slides Vince his Jack.
I lean back a bit and tap my knuckles on the bar before facing him. Vince is a ruthless fucker, and he doesn’t take any shit. He’s also my cousin, so I feel safe with him. But this is the mob and he’s the Don. I’m never that safe.
“It’s about the hits we got in.” I tell him in a low enough voice that no one else here is going to hear. Not that it matters. It’s our bar and we know everyone in here.
“You need help? Tommy’s not enough?” he asks cocking a brow. Tommy’s my brother and he’s my second in command on the hits. Technically we’re both contractors for the familia. We do hits only and don’t bother with that other bullshit.
“No.” I say with finality. I never need help. These hits we take are easy and good money.
He takes a sip and licks his lips. “What’s the problem then?” he asks.
“There’s one that I’d rather not do,” I tell me.
“Why’s that?” he asks setting the glass down and facing me with squared shoulders. He’s in business mode. Right now he’s not a friend. Not my cousin. Right now he’s the boss.
“I want to make them an offer instead.”
His brow furrows. “I’m listening.”
“One’s a woman.” His eyes flash with sympathy. None of us like taking women out. It’s something that rarely happens, but when it does, we don’t like it. We make it quick and painless. Maybe it’s sexist. I don’t give a fuck. I’ve tortured a lot of men for information. Never a woman though. That’s where I draw the line.
“They won’t let her walk.” His words are said with finality.
“I want to ask if they’d accept a substantial monetary offer for me to buy her from them.” I feel my blood rush faster and hotter. No one knows about my sick perversions. I’m sure they can guess. But I’ve never said a thing about it and they’ve never asked.
“Buy her and then what?” he asks with his eyes trained to the back of the bar.
“I want to keep her.” My voice is low, but steady.
“As a pet? As a slave?” The disgust and disbelief are equal in his voice and it almost makes me regret letting the dark desire come to light. Almost. But I want this. I want it more than anything.
“If that’s what you want to call it.” The determination in my voice rings out clearly. I’m sure my eyes look dark and absolute. I’m not ashamed of what I want. But I’m not willing to risk my position in the familia over it. Not yet anyway. It’s been three days since I’ve been given the hit. Each day my obsession has grown. I cleared out a room for her already. In my head she’s already mine. This is a formality. But to Vince, this is just a depraved sickness.
“After that shit Ava went through-”
I stop him right there, “this would be nothing like that.” My voice is louder than it should be and the dark stare he gives me in return makes that clear. I settle in my seat and continue with a respectful tone, “I would never hurt her. Not like that. Not beyond any pain she didn’t want.”
“Ava said some days she’d rather be dead than be in that position.” My heart drops for her. She went t
hrough a lot of shit. They loved hurting her and humiliating her. She’s a strong woman surviving all that. That’s not what I want. The idea of doing that to a woman makes me angry. I’d never do that. Never.
“It’s not the same.” I grab my beer and turn away from him slightly. He doesn’t understand. I didn’t expect him to anyway. “She’s already dead. She’s on their list.” I take a drink and then look back to him. “I’ll give her a choice.”
“Death or your slave?” He asks with a humorless grunt. I know to him he’d see her as a slave, as a pet. That’s fine. To me she’d be mine. Nothing else but mine.
“Better than death with no escape.” I respond flatly.
He takes a sip of Jack and looks at me, “it may not be to her. You want to hurt her and abuse her, rather than carrying out an order that would give her a quick death.”
“No. I don’t want that. It’s not like that.” He doesn’t fucking get it. I torture for a living. I can see how he thinks that’s what I’d do to her. But I wouldn’t. I don’t know how much I should explain. To be honest I don’t fucking feel like explaining anything.
My blood heats with anger but then a pang of worry, what if she doesn’t get it either? I brush the doubt to the side. I’ll show her. I’ll have to teach her how perfect it would be to be mine. I’ve looked into her. I’ve been obsessed learning about her. She’ll learn. She’s smart. She’ll catch on quick that I’ll be a good master to her.
Vince shakes his head and asks, “what are you looking to get from me Anthony?”
“I want your permission to offer them a deal for her.” I need that to go to the Cassano boss. He’s the one who ordered the hit. A number of other bosses come to us and we take care of their mess. For the right price. I don’t want to piss off anyone. I want this to be a clean deal. Vince is quiet for a long time.
Bad Girl: Valetti Crime Family (A Bad Boy Mafia Romance) Page 15
