by Ali Parker
"I haven't before, but I'd like to go with you, maybe?" She leaned back and he wrapped his arms around the top of her shoulders, bending over and pressing a kiss to the side of her neck.
"I'll take you anywhere. Anytime." He kissed her again before releasing her.
"There's a kettle on the stove. You wanna fill it up with water and start it? I'll grab some wood for us."
"Yeah. You bet." Sicily moved into the tiny kitchen, the house nothing more than three rooms from what she could tell. The living room was the largest room in the house and a small two person table sat just beside the kitchen. The darkened room behind her had to be his bedroom.
He walked out of the house and she turned, walking into the darkness and breathing in deeply. The scent of his cologne and body wash rolled over her, leaving her wanting more than a cup of something warm. She wanted him, but pushing anything didn't seem her part to play, or maybe it was.
She walked back out and got busy on the water kettle as he toted an armful of wood into the house. She moved to the front door, closing it and walking to stand beside him as he loaded the hearth with it.
"Will we get to see any of your brothers and sisters this weekend, or were you really serious about everyone thinking you’re dead?" She took a seat on the couch near him and pulled her legs up under her.
Drake worked on the fire as he spoke to her. "Only D, Izzy, and my mother know I'm alive. Everyone else thinks I died, which is for the better."
"Because your father is a notorious mobster?"
He glanced around and gave her a tight smile. "That's the least of it. He's a bastard and a cold-blooded killer. He wants what's his and if anyone touches it or takes it... he'll kill them."
"Who is Izzy?"
"She's my sister, but she doesn't know that. She thinks I'm just D's brother who Joe hates. No one knows that I'm Joe's son but D, Joe, my mom, and me." He shrugged.
"Oh. Izzy is Joe's kid?"
"Yeah, one of many. She's his enforcer. In the mafia world, that's the one who goes out and murders on cue."
Sicily swallowed before pulling her legs in tighter. "Um... that sounds fucking scary. Are we going to be safe?"
He chuckled and stood, placing the gate back in front of the fire as the kettle let out a whistle. Sicily started to move, but he held up his hand.
"I'll get it." He moved to the kitchen before answering her. "We're safe. Izzy wouldn't hurt me, and D's there if nothing else."
"Your brother seems like a good guy, of sorts." She was reaching, but wanted to try to understand without judging too much. She didn't know their world and honestly didn't want to.
"He is." Drake turned around. "You want something warm to drink?"
"Not right now. Come here and talk to me." She patted the couch beside her.
He moved over and sat down, reaching for her and tugging her closer to him. "We don't need D or Izzy to protect us. I was a part of that world for twelve years before I got out. I know how to defend myself and anyone else I love from just about anything."
Sicily turned and looked up at him as the fire crackled in front of them. The shadows that played along his face left her with worry. He looked like a sexy villain that could tear a city down if needed.
What he had done in his past was something she wanted to know more about, but there had to be boundaries around it. His past was just that – the past. It couldn't affect how she saw him now. He wasn't that man anymore and from what she could see, he had given up everything to be a new man, with a new life.
He slid his fingers along her face before leaning down and brushing his lips by hers. "You look so good on this couch next to me. In this place with me."
"You look so good all the damn time." She smiled and turned, pulling him in closer as she shifted and tugged him on top of her. The soft brush of his lips was calming, but the raging need to belong to him forced her to push the moment a little.
Her tongue pressed against his lips and he groaned before opening his mouth and sucking it in deeply. Sicily tightened her grip on him and opened her legs, making room for him to snuggle in intimately. Drake ground against her, the thick press of his arousal causing her insides to melt.
"Fuck, I want you." He licked at her mouth before breaking the kiss. "You smell so good, baby."
"I want you, too." Sicily arched her back and reached up, brushing her fingers along his face as he licked at his lips.
Her phone buzzed in her purse, but she ignored it. Whatever it was... it could wait.
"Stay with me tonight. Let me make love to you." He tucked his face against the side of her neck and ran his hands over her hips, his fingers pressing into the soft skin.
"As long as you promise me it's not a one night stand. We're around each other too much to..."
Drake glanced up and cut her off. "Hush. I'm not interested in anything short-term. You're the first woman I've wanted in my life in as long as I can remember. I want to make love to you every night, but I won't ask for that promise until you see my life fully."
"I have seen your life, Drake." Sicily ran her fingers down his face before cupping his cheek and leaning up, brushing her lips by his. The desire to slip into a long night of fucking with the handsome man above her jolted through her system and she whimpered. "No more talking."
"Yeah, I agree, lover." He got up and extended his hand. "Let's go to my bedroom where we can spread you out properly."
The nefarious look on his handsome face caused her stomach to tighten. She chuckled and stood as her phone rang.
Worry grabbed her and held her in place as he worked to tug her toward the darkened room just beyond the kitchen.
"Let me get that. Something’s up. I can tell by it buzzing so much." She let out a sigh and picked up her purse, pulling the phone out as it began to ring again.
Lisa.
"Hey, what's up?" Sicily answered with more angst than she wanted.
"Fuck, Sis. Where are you?"
"With Drake. What's the matter?" Sicily dropped Drake's hand and moved toward the door as the reception on the phone caused it to crackle a little.
"You need to get home."
"Is something wrong? What happened? Is Kari okay?"
"Yes. The fucking cops are in the living room. They say they have a warrant for your arrest."
"My arrest?" Sicily reached out and pressed her hand to the wall beside her as her knees went weak. Drake's arms wrapped around her as she tried to make sense of the conversation.
"Yes. For the fire at Judy's. I know it’s shit, but you have to get here... now."
"It's the middle of the night." Sicily turned to look up at Drake as tears burned her eyes.
"They don't care. Get here, okay? Be careful and we'll work through all of this like we always do... together."
Sicily nodded and hung up the phone as Drake grabbed her shoulders.
"What the hell was that?" His face was a mask of carefully contained anger.
"The cops are at the house. They're there to arrest me for the fire at Judy's. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do anything wrong."
Chapter 18
The drive back to town almost killed him, the situation before his girl a serious one. The last thing he wanted to do was stand in front of the cops and watch them take her on false charges, but that's exactly what they did. Drake crossed his arms over his chest, the argument doing nothing but upsetting the officers and Drake more. Jake had tried to get involved, but they shut him down, too.
There was nothing more he could do in the moment and he decided to back off when tears dripped onto Sicily's pretty face and she asked him to stop. Her whisper tore through him and he couldn't help but feel the desire to burn down the whole fucking city.
He waited until the cop car left to get onto his phone. His brother D wouldn't be thrilled about the late night call, but he didn't give a shit.
"Drake. What's up, man? Wrong phone."
"Fuck the phone. My girl's been set up with some shit and I need your intel."
"
Anything. What do you want from us?"
"Edward still working for you?"
"Yes. You want me to have him hack into the police department there and clear her on misleading evidence or what?"
"No. I need the cameras from around the city. I think I know who did this shit, but the kid involved has an Aunt who sleeps with the fucking Mayor. If the kid is on those videos as our criminal, then that will solve the problem."
"And open a whole new bucket of worms for you to deal with. It would implicate the lady and the mayor."
"Good. Fucking do it. Send me the videos now if Ed is available to dick with it."
“You sure you want this exposure? It’s dangerous for you.” D’s voice held a tight warning.
“Do it. Now.” Drake didn’t care about anything but saving Sicily at the moment.
"I'll get him right this minute. What else?"
"Nothing. I'm going to beat this kid’s ass for fucking with Sicily." Drake glanced over his shoulder as he stood in the yard. Jake approached him, nodding as if asking if he could come closer. "I gotta go, man. Just do that and we'll be good. See you Friday."
Drake dropped the call and slipped his phone into his pocket before turning around. "Fuck."
"This is horrible, man. We know she didn't do that shit, but how to we prove that to the cops? Paul wouldn't even look at me tonight. He knows something’s wrong with the situation."
"It's fucking Margaret. You know that bitch has her fingers in all the right holes." Drake growled and ran his hands through his hair. "I have a friend pulling the cameras. I'm going to go up there tonight. No way is my girl spending the night in a cell. That's not happening."
"I'll go with you."
"No. I got this, but thanks, my man. You might need to hold me back from kicking that kid, Martin's ass. The boy is only seventeen and I don't need it on my record that I whooped some kid’s ass."
"He needs his ass whooped." Jake shook his head. "He's been a huge pain this year at the high school from what their head coach was telling me."
"How so?"
"Entitlement. He thinks he should have the starting spot though he's not earned it. You know guys like him who think they deserve something and don't work to earn it or wait to get it, but simply take it."
Drake growled again and walked to his bike. "I'll call you later. Just keep Lisa and Kari calm. Lisa's ready to sue the whole damn police force."
"As she should." Jake shook his head. "It’s sad what greed can do."
"Don't I know it? I used to live my life with greed as the main reason for doing everything."
"Where'd that getcha?" Jake turned and walked backwards, sadness on his face.
"Here... living as a ghost until Sicily showed up. She's my chance at a new life. I can feel it to the deepest part of my soul."
"Then go get her. Just be careful."
Drake nodded and started the bike, pulling out and not caring about anything but getting Sicily cleared.
***
It was just after midnight when the information finally made it to his phone from D. Edward was wicked fast, but waiting more than a few minutes left Drake a nervous ball of angst.
He paced in the lobby of the station, the pretty cop who sat up front reminding him that he shouldn't be there for the millionth time. In the sleepy city of Bar Harbor the police station probably hadn't been open past working hours for years.
Tonight it was buzzing with activity. Drake tried hard not to think about how scared his girl was. Where was she? Were they questioning her again? What did they have other than the fucking sweater?
The DNA testing had to have come back that the sweater was hers, but it wasn't enough and yet... here they sat.
Fucking Margaret.
Her actions better have been greed for insurance money, like he first thought, and not revenge. Sicily not only had moved into the middle of the square and taken half of her business, but if Martin told the saucy bitch about Sicily and Drake... she would be pissed over that as well. How many times had Margaret hit on him at the gym?
"Too many," he muttered and stood as his phone pulled up the images from Edward.
Three different short clips that showed the blond, lanky kid who sold Sicily a bag of lies going into the shop with a sweater over his arm and a bag on his back. The explosion happened a few minutes after he walked out.
I’m going to kill him.
The little fucker walked across the street and opened Sicily's shop, walking in like nothing ever happened. Why hadn’t the videos been shown to the cops? Because Margaret was sleeping with the mayor. D was right... this was going to get ugly before it got cleared up.
Drake didn't give two shits. The whole world could crumble before him before he let anything happen to Sicily. He stood and walked to the counter as the female cop looked up, exasperation sitting on her face.
"Mr. DeMarco, you really should go home. Nothing is going to change tonight."
"Yes, it is. Get Paul up here."
"He's not willing to see you just yet. They are reviewing additional..."
Drake turned and walked toward the hall, yelling, "Paul. Get your ass out here."
"Mr. DeMarco. We'll arrest you if you don't..." The girl moved toward him and Drake turned, pinning her with a stare that made her think twice about coming close to him.
Paul yelled from down the hall, his voice laced with worry and exhaustion. "Drake. Come on back, man. I have ten minutes before I leave. You can have it."
Drake didn't pay attention to the girl again, but walked toward the detective who had to play cop, coffee maker, and receptionist due to them being short staffed most days of the week.
"She didn't do this," Drake barked as they walked down the hall.
"As a cop I'll tell you that I can't discuss this with you." Paul turned on the light in a small room and held the door for him. "As your friend, I'll tell you to stop representing girls you're in love with."
Drake walked in and took a seat before sliding his phone across the table. "As Miss Moretti's legal counsel, I'll tell you that you guys have something much worse on your hands than the cake wars you think you're in the middle of."
Paul glanced down at the phone. "What's this?"
"Where are the camera clips from the early morning when Judy's was set on fire, Paul?"
"The county told us they were destroyed because of the electrical explosion of the fire."
"They fucking lied. Check it out." Drake nodded toward the phone as Paul let out a long breath and fell into a seat.
Drake would bet his life on the fact that Paul wasn't involved in whatever cover up Margaret was working on. The guy seemed too legit and good-hearted to be, but stranger things had happened.
Paul watched the videos, his complexion paling significantly with each one. "Son of a bitch."
"Let her go or I'll press charges against the police station for extortion."
Paul glanced up. "You wouldn't do that. I had no part in this."
"That's my woman you have locked up back there. I know her and she's scared and probably mentally diving into a deep hole. I would wreck every barrier I had to in order to get to her." Drake narrowed his eyes and squeezed his hands into tight fists as the room seemed to grow darker around him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Sicily.
"Send these to me and post bail for her. I'll have you refunded tomorrow when we go live with the truth. I didn't know." Paul stood and walked to the door. "Wait out front and I'll release her to you."
"Fine." Drake stood and walked to the front as he worked to e-mail the files to Paul. He looked up at the officer and gave her a credit card. "Post bail for her and bring her to me."
The officer nodded and stood up. She disappeared into the back for a minute and returned with a file in her hands. She was swiping Drake's card as Paul rounded the corner with Sicily next to him. The pretty girl let out a soft cry and ran to Drake as he moved toward her.
Wrapping his arms around her, he picked her up and
pressed his face against the crook of her neck. "It's okay, baby. I'm here. Nothing’s gonna happen to you now."
Chapter 19
Drake took her home the night before, but left shortly after. Some part of her wanted to invite him to stay the night, but she couldn't. She needed to cry out her fear and humiliation alone. That the police would really think her capable of doing something so heinous weighed heavily on her.
She woke the next morning, still torn over what to do about Martin. He had been the one to tear her name down and throw her under the bus. He didn't need to go into baking, but acting. The little shit had her completely fooled.
Drake told her to call when she woke up, but she couldn't stand the thought of sounding so pathetic on the phone to him. She would call later when she got her bearings. First thing was first... she needed to fire Martin and give him a piece of her mind.
The cops should have picked him up already, but if his aunt Margaret was as powerful as Drake said she was, then chances of him even knowing about being caught were slim. It was almost a family affair at that point. The only damage done had been to Judy's, so it would be up to Margaret to press charges, which she would have to do if she wanted the insurance funds.
"Hey," Lisa mumbled as she looked up from the kitchen table.
Sicily walked in and made her way to the coffee pot. "Hey. Kari already gone?"
"Yeah. She and Jake wanted to get their day started. She said to tell you she's thinking about you." Lisa got up and walked over, pulling Sicily into a tight hug as she turned. "You okay?"
Sicily relaxed against her closest friend. "Yeah. Just still a little shaken by all of it. I wouldn't be out of that creepy ass cell if Drake hadn't have pulled a few strings. Thank God for him."
"How did he get ahold of those videos? Jake said they were ruined from the explosion."
"The county lied, I guess." Sicily shrugged. "No clue how he got them, and I don't care. I'm just grateful."
"You still going out of town with him this weekend?" Lisa moved back and brushed her hand down the back of Sicily's hair.
