“Good to see you again, Mateo,” Jenna says, holding her arms out for a hug.
Mateo stands stoically with his arms crossed.
“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?” he asks.
Jenna’s face freezes in surprise. “Um…no.”
Mateo raises his eyebrow. “No one? Did you post it on the internet?”
Jenna shakes her head, speechlessly.
I laugh awkwardly, then shoot Mateo a look. “Mateo’s paranoid about thieves knowing where we live.”
“I get that,” Tyler says, nodding self-righteously.
Jenna nudges him. “Says the guy who posts every time he has to go to the bathroom.”
I discreetly grab Mateo’s elbow, sinking my fingertips into it. He forces a smile.
“No social media while you’re here, okay?” he says, somehow friendly and menacingly at the same time. He follows up with a devastatingly charming smile. “House rules.”
“Okay, got it,” Jenna says.
Tyler nods in agreement. He proceeds to make a big show of taking his phone out of his pocket, and laying it on the table by the door. Jenna quickly follows suit. I feel Mateo’s arms relax a little.
Mateo’s phone goes off. He walks briskly to the bedroom. We hear him answer with a gruff “yeah” before closing the door.
“I made mojitos,” I tell Jenna and Tyler, then lead them to the kitchen.
I’m proud of the green-tinted drink I pour from the vintage glass pitcher. It’s made with fresh mint, organic limes, and small batch tequila. Jenna approaches me with a careful, strained smile. She lays her hand lightly on my arm.
“Everything okay, Lil?” she asks.
Tyler stands behind her, arms crossed, eyeing me intently.
“Everything’s great,” I gush. “Look at this place. It’s just like the apartment on my vision board. My job is amazing.” I glance towards the hallway, my lips curling into a smile. “And him.”
Jenna and Tyler inhale simultaneously, and hold in the breath. It occurs to me then that they’re not used to Mateo’s roughness. Not long ago, I wasn’t used to it either. Now I can’t imagine not always being accompanied by a strong alpha male. We hear the bedroom door swing open, and Mateo’s footsteps down the hallway. Jenna tenses up.
“It’s okay,” I mouth, giving her arm a squeeze. I grab the platter of pasta from the counter and make my way to the dining room. Jenna and Tyler exchange glances before following me.
————————
I swirl the citrus and mint around on my tongue, studying the leftover pasta.
“I think I rolled it too thin,” I say, tapping my finger against my chin.
“It was really good, Lil,” Jenna says.
“The parmesan was amazing,” Tyler offers.
“I know, right?” I say, leaning forward. “There’s this amazing Italian market down the block. Everything’s imported from Italy.”
I can feel my eyes sparkling as I talk about this. I’m living the life I’ve always wanted, but for some reason, my friends aren’t as thrilled as I’d like them to be. They’ve been quiet all evening, barely saying anything except to agree with me. I wonder if their trepidation has anything to do with the dark, intimidating male we’re sharing a table with.
“It was delicious,” Mateo says. He takes my hand and kisses my fingers, one at a time. He gives me a discreet look, then turns to the table. “I’m glad you guys could come for dinner. It was nice seeing you.” He stands from the table, still holding my hand. “Come on,” he says when I don’t move.
“What are you doing? Are you going somewhere?” I ask.
Mateo arches his eyebrows. “We’re going somewhere. We have that thing. Remember?”
I look down at my unfinished mojito with disappointment. Obviously the phone call Mateo had gotten was from one of this brothers telling him to rush to Jersey. And Mateo wouldn’t want to leave me here alone.
“I want to stay with my friends a little longer,” I say, sweetly. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Mateo presses his lips together, restraining himself. “You need to come with me. You can’t stay here.”
I nod my head under the table, signaling towards my holstered ankle.
“I’ll be okay,” I assure him.
Mateo stares at me silently for a few moments, turning this over in his head. Finally, and reluctantly, he agrees to let me stay. He kisses me on the forehead and leaves the apartment.
When he’s gone, I turn back to my friends. I have a new found determination to show them just how amazing my life is now.
“I still can’t get over how gorgeous he is.” I refill my mojito, and offer more to Jenna and Tyler. They hold out their glasses eagerly.
“Can’t argue with that,” Tyler says, taking a sip.
Jenna gives me that look, like she wants to say something, but doesn’t know if she should. Her eyes and lips are pursed, her head cocked.
I sigh, putting my glass on the table. “What?”
“What?” Jenna asks, shaking her head quickly. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” I say, impatiently. “You’ve been acting weird all night. You both have. What’s up?”
Jenna and Tyler lock eyes, and communicate telepathically for a few moments. They nod to each other, then turn back to me.
“So,” Tyler says, dragging out the word. “Mateo?”
I laugh, squinting at him. “Mateo, yes.”
“I mean, he’s still-“ Tyler’s voice trails off.
I shake my head, utterly confused. Tyler rolls his eyes.
“In the mafia,” he whispers.
This surprises me. Mateo being in the mafia is such old news.
“He is,” I say. “So?”
“So?” Jenna glances around, then lowers her voice. “Lily, he’s dangerous.”
I take a big gulp of mojito, then swat the air dismissively. “Come on. You two were the ones encouraging me to hook up with him.”
“We told you to fuck him, not move in with him,” Jenna says.
I squint my eyes at them, realizing how serious they are, and I start to feel offended.
“Mateo’s not dangerous,” I say. “He’d never hurt me.”
“Of course not,” Tyler says, jovially. “We didn’t mean that. It’s just, his line of business is so messy. And illegal. You don’t want to get caught up in any mafia drama.”
I reach under the table, feeling the hard barrel of the gun digging into my calf. I speak in a calm, steady voice. “I can handle myself just fine, thank you.”
Tyler blinks at me in confusion, then laughs sarcastically. “Are you serious, Lily? You could stand up to mobster bad guys?”
Electricity pulses up my spine. I want to see the doubt disappear from their expressions. I can’t help myself. I swing my legs out from under the table, and flash the gun. Tyler and Jenna recoil back, reaching for each other.
“Is that a gun?” Jenna asks.
I nod. “Mateo’s been teaching me how to use it. No one’s going to fuck with me.”
Tyler blinks rapidly, trying to get ahold of himself. He stares at me in shock, then his expression sours.
“Stop deluding yourself, Lily. I’ve seen you skin your knee and pass out from the sight of blood,” Tyler says. “You couldn’t handle any real mafia stuff.”
I tilt my forehead towards them, arching my brows. “Oh, really?”
That’s enough to send them spinning. They lean closer towards me. Their eyes are no longer full of concern, but of need for juicy gossip. Dark wheels turn in my head. I shouldn’t tell them, but I really want to.
“You have to promise not to tell anyone,” I say, seriously.
They nod their heads enthusiastically. “We promise,” they say in unison.
I make them swear to stay silent three more times. I take a deep breath, and look over my raptured audience.
“I witnessed a murder. That night at Club Neon, I saw Mateo shoot someone.”
<
br /> I pause to let that information sink in. Jenna and Tyler freeze for a moment. Tyler’s mouth drops, and Jenna’s face goes white.
“Who?” Tyler asks.
“The asshole who almost killed you,” I say. “The club owner was making dangerous drugs, poison, and selling it around the neighborhood. Mateo did what he had to do.” I describe what I saw that night, the club owner’s head hitting the desk, the bloodied paper, the cold thrill that went through me when I looked into Mateo’s hardened eyes.
Jenna blinks, horror washing over her face. “You went home with him that night. I drove you.”
Heat rushes up to my face when I recall that first night under Mateo’s watch, him sleeping naked on my bedroom floor, the interplay of fear and desire going on inside of me.
“The Romanos usually kill witnesses,” I say, casually. “Mateo was watching me. Making sure I didn’t snitch.”
Tyler gulps. “Is he still watching you?”
“In a way,” I say, taking a sip.
Jenna slaps her hands on her thighs. “You have to call the cops. Tell them what you saw. Tell them Mateo is keeping you against your will.” Her breath is heavy, and her face red.
“That’s not what’s going on,” I say, quickly. “He’s not keeping me against my will.”
Tyler nods. “Stockholm syndrome,” he says with the definitive diagnosis.
“It’s not like that. Mateo and I have history. All of that got drudged up.”
“You’re deluding yourself,” Jenna says. “This isn’t normal.”
“I have everything I’ve ever wanted,” I say, not meaning to yell. “I thought my friends would be happy for me.”
“We want you to be happy,” Jenna says, grabbing my hand. “We just don’t want to see you, you know, murdered.”
I yank my hand away. “I’m going to be fine. Mateo’s brother doesn’t even want to kill me anymore.”
Tyler studies me suspiciously. “Then why do you have a gun strapped to your ankle?”
“Just-“ I start, shaking my head defensively. “Just in case.”
Jenna and Tyler stare at me, speechless, as if they don’t recognize me anymore. I straighten my back. Maybe I am a different person, someone better, stronger, and that’s all thanks to Mateo. I shrug off their doubts, finishing the last of my drink. I wipe my lips and smile.
“I made cheesecake,” I say, cheerily.
Chapter Eleven
————————
Mateo
I don’t like leaving Lily alone. Even when she leaves for work in the morning, I follow her to her building, and I check on her throughout the day. She has no idea I do this.
But sometimes I have to go. I can’t talk much with my brothers over the phone, and I can’t drag her out to Jersey whenever I need to meet with them. The other night, when Tyler and Jenna were over for dinner, the last thing I wanted to do was leave that apartment without her. But why teach her how to defend herself if I’m not going to trust her? Lily’s gotten skilled at using a firearm, and is one hell of a shot. I know she can stand up to anyone, as long as she gets out of her head.
Everything was fine that night, so today, I shouldn’t worry. Shortly after I checked on Lily during her lunch break, Leo called and said it was urgent. He couldn’t say much over the phone, so I had to leave the city and meet him and Vince at the pool hall.
All I can think about is her. I check my phone several times, even though the ringer’s turned up to full volume, just in case anything goes wrong. I visualize the look in Lily’s eyes when she’s aiming her gun, determination and grit hardening her face, and tell myself to calm the fuck down.
Leo and Vince are waiting for me in the back office. They don’t even greet me when I walk in. Vince closes the door behind me, and we get right down to business.
“Shit’s hit the fan,” Vince says, sitting behind his desk.
“Just like I knew it would,” Leo says, eying me.
I know immediately this is about Lily. I grab the arms of the chair to keep from running back to the city to protect her.
“We have some new intel. The Salvatores were in business with John,” Vince explains. “They were making a lot of money off of the shit he was selling. It was cheap to make, and they could charge a high price. Kept changing the name so people wouldn’t find out what it really was.”
I look at both of them and shrug. “That’s it? I could’ve told you that.”
Vince shakes his head. “That’s not it. They never found John’s body. They’re assuming he’s dead.”
This news almost makes me smile. I grit my teeth, stopping the twitching at the sides of my mouth. If my brothers knew just how much I cared for Lily, they’d accuse me of being soft, of letting her influence my judgement.
“Since he’s dead, they’ll forget the whole thing. They can’t recoup that income. It would be a waste of time,” I say.
Vince’s eyes go dark. Leo shoots up from his chair and stands over me.
“They won’t be searching for information anymore. They’ll be out for revenge,” Leo says. “You know how the Salvatores operate.”
I taste bile at the back of my throat. The Salvatores are ruthless. When they want revenge on someone, they don’t just kill that person, they torture and kill the people they’re closest with. I turn into myself, the blood turning to ice in my veins. If they find out I killed John, they’ll go after the person I care most about. Lily.
“They don’t know I had anything to do it,” I say, grasping at any straw I can find. “Do they?”
Vince avoids my gaze, but Leo looks me square in the eye.
“That’s what we thought,” Leo says. “We hadn’t heard any reports of then sniffing around. But this morning, I got a call from Layla, Mike’s wife. He’s missing, Mateo. He hasn’t been home in two days.
I’m numb to this news at first, ignoring that this is a very, very bad sign. Mike’s one of our midlevel guys. He’s been with the family since Pop first took over. Mike and Pop were close friends, grew up together.
“You sure he didn’t run off with some mistress?” I ask.
Leo swats me on the back of the head. “Come on. You know Mike’s not that kind of guy.”
I do know that. Mike is a consummate family man, home for dinner every night, no matter what. If Layla hasn’t seen him, something’s wrong.
Leo punches the wall, denting the drywall. “The Salvatores have him. I fucking know it. They want to make sure it was you before they act.”
I jump up to my feet, fully grasping the situation. “I need to get to Lily.”
Leo and Vince stand in front of me, side by side, blocking my way out.
“First, we find Mike,” Vince says.
“Come on, Vince, you know he’s dead,” I say.
“He might not be yet,” Leo says. “We owe it to him, to his wife, Pop, to try and find him.”
I have to stop myself from laughing in his face. I love Mike like an uncle, but there’s no fucking way I’m leaving Lily in Manhattan, all alone. I force my arms by my side to keep from knocking my brothers out.
“She’s my responsibility,” I say, calmly. “Now get the fuck out of my way.”
Leo clenches his jaw, then pokes me hard in the chest. “This is why we get rid of witnesses. Keeping them around makes things complicated. I knew I should’ve shot her.”
When those words leave his mouth, all I can see is black. I grab Leo by the collar of the shirt, and with brute force, shove him out of the way. He stumbles back, slamming into a wall. Leo curses after me as I shove past Vince.
“Let him go,” I hear Vince saying as I walk out of the pool hall.
“He’s no fucking use to us anyway,” Leo mumbles.
I probably break a dozen traffic laws as I speed back to Manhattan. I weave in and out of lanes, pushing the speed limit beyond what’s acceptable. People honk at me, flip me off, but I don’t care. I have to get back to Lily. The Salvatores are close to figuring out it was m
e. Mike knows all about that night, and the Salvatores will do anything to get him to talk.
It’s late in the afternoon when I get back to the city. I should go check on Lily at work, but something tells me to go to the apartment.
I jiggle the doorknob while searching for my keys in my pocket, and see it’s unlocked. Tensing all of my muscles, I burst through the door with a yell. Lily screams. I rush to the living room and find her standing by the window. Her face is pale, her shoulders tense, and she’s fiddling with the drapes.
I run up and clasp her face with both hands, then press my lips against hers.
“Are you okay?” I ask, studying her eyes.
Lily doesn’t answer immediately. I leave her to look around the apartment, throwing open closet doors to see if anyone’s hiding there.
“Mateo,” Lily calls weakly. “What are you doing?”
No one’s here, but knowing that doesn’t stop the panic constricting my chest. I pace around in circles, then charge to the bedroom and start emptying the drawers.
“Mateo.”
Lily leans against the doorframe, looking weak and fragile.
“We’re leaving,” I say, unzipping a duffel bag so hard I almost rip it.
Lily takes a sharp gasp. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” She runs to the window and looks outside of it.
I haven’t decided how much I want to tell her. I lock my eyes on hers.
“It’s getting too dangerous. It’s only a matter of time-“ I stop talking and start packing. “I have to get you out of here,” I mumble, mindlessly. I pause, and whisper inaudibly. “Away from me.”
This thought keeps charging into my head, that the only way to keep Lily safe, is to get her as far away from me as possible. I haven’t accepted it as the only option yet, but it’s always there, in the back of my mind.
Lily grabs my arm. Her hands are small on my tattooed bicep, and her palms are clammy.
“Do you know?” she asks, her eyes glazing.
I’m so busy tearing through the room, I don’t pay attention to what she says. She repeats the question three more times before it finally sinks in. I throw a handful of undershirts onto the bed and turn to her.
“Know what?”
Witness: A Dark Mafia Romance (Romano Brothers Book 2) Page 10
