“They can be here in a flash, baby. One fucking call.”
He was so harsh, firm in his tone that it made her heart race and her pussy spasm. She was out of her mind pushing him away. He lowered his mouth to her other breast. She ran her fingers through his hair. She squinted her eyes and wanted to let go. She did, and now she felt stupid for pushing Dominick and Giuseppe away. She was going to miss the three of them tonight. She was going to regret this.
“Please, Andreas.”
He lifted his mouth from her breast then cupped it. “You’re more than a handful. I want to strip you naked, see what’s going to be ours.”
She shook her head. “I’m not ready for that.”
He stared at her as if he were trying to read her mind. He lifted off of and offered a hand. She placed a hand into his and used the other to hold up her dress. When she stood with his assistance, she kept a hand against her top.
“Walk me to the door,” he said to her.
She did. When they got there, he swallowed hard.
“We’ll make plans for tomorrow.”
“I have to teach a martial arts class in the morning at the dojo and then stop somewhere to run an errand.”
“You teach martial arts?” he asked.
“Kids’ classes.”
“We all need to talk and to get to know one another,” he said to her.
“Exactly,” she whispered, and it was as though he understood her reservations about jumping into bed with them.
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the top, and then he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Tomorrow.” He released her hand and turned to open the door. “Lock this up,” he ordered.
She gulped and nodded.
When the door closed, she locked the locks and then looked toward the couch. She already regretted not staying with the men. Then she thought of Jimmy. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.
Chapter 7
“What do you need from me? I’ve done everything so far that you asked. You made promises, too,” Les said to the man over the phone.
“Be patient and be ready when the call comes in to do your part.”
“You should move quickly. The Coglonie men are pushing her to be their woman. I heard that she was with them last night and that one of them, Andreas, took her home. They have security there protecting her.”
“We know this.”
“Well then, how can you get her out of this situation like you promised? How? They’ll ruin her life, and she deserves better.”
“The boss knows what he’s doing. It will all work out. Just keep the phone nearby and be ready to do what is asked of you.”
“How about the money, the promises made to me for helping? Giada is going to fight this. She doesn’t realize what those Coglonie men are capable of. I don’t want her hurt. That’s what this is all about.”
“She won’t get hurt if you do your part. You know the money is to benefit you, as well. It will work out. Be ready.”
Les closed up the phone and then paced his small, dirty place. He was living in filth, barely surviving. If this situation didn’t go through soon, he would wind up on the streets, in the shelters, or begging Giada for help. She needed him to get her out of this bad situation. Those men he was helping knew what the Coglonies, the Fiorres, and Costanzas were capable of. Giada hadn’t a clue. This was best for her, even if she fought it and was too stupid to realize the men didn’t love her. They just wanted to own her. He would be ready. Her destiny lay in another man’s arms, not in the Coglonies’ arms.
* * * *
“Where is she now?” Dominick asked Andreas.
“Brew said she’s showering and changing and then needs to run an errand,” Andreas told him.
“An errand? Where?” Giuseppe asked.
“Brooklyn,” Andreas said.
“Brooklyn? What’s in Brooklyn?” Dominick asked him.
“I don’t know. She tried telling him she needed to go alone, but Brew said it wasn’t happening. What do you want to do?” Andreas asked.
Dominick exhaled. “I don’t like it. After last night and what happened between us, between you and her, Andreas, I would think she would want to get here and be with us. Maybe she really doesn’t have the same feelings.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Whatever she needs to do, she insisted that she needed to do it first before meeting us.”
“Have Brew keep us informed where she’s going as soon as he has an address,” Dominick stated.
Andreas’s phone buzzed. He glanced down, squinted, and exhaled. “I’m going to go there.”
“Where?” Giuseppe asked.
Andreas showed him his cell phone and the text message from Brew.
“Cypress Hills National Cemetery?” Giuseppe read out the words.
“It’s a military cemetery. She’s going to visit Jimmy.” Andreas headed out of the room.
Dominick looked at Giuseppe. “I’ve never seen Andreas like this. To know that Giada had been in love with a soldier who had died in combat has got to have crazy shit going through Andreas’s head. Now this.”
Giuseppe exhaled. “You know as well as I do that Andreas hasn’t been the same man since he left the service. He survived, and his friends didn’t. Men he knew for years, men who had families. He understands what she’s going through. I think it’s part of why this relationship is going to work so well.”
“It’s only going to work if Andreas and Giada are willing to take the chance, put the past behind them, and let go.”
“I think he’s already letting go. He’s talked more the last couple weeks than he has in years. This could be what Giada needs, going to the gravesite. Maybe getting some emotions out. She has protection with her, and Andreas will be minutes behind them. Let’s just see what happens,” Giuseppe said.
Dominick’s cell phone rang, and he saw it was Mateus. “Hey, Mateus, what’s going on?”
“We have a problem.”
“What is that?”
“One of the trucks with two guys Sunny hired to do a delivery of merchandise somehow wound up being delivered to one of Calvarro’s warehouses instead.”
“What?”
“Not a fucking mix-up. Calvarro must have gotten wind of the deliveries and had his guys redirect the route. It’s stolen shit. How do you want to handle this?” Mateus asked.
“Head-on. The fucker is challenging all of us. He wants to make this first move to giving us trouble, then he’ll regret it.”
“I wonder if this has something to do with a sexy, blue-eyed woman the three of you Coglonies have yet to claim,” Mateus said.
“We’re all in this together. Let’s call for a meeting and see how we want to handle it.”
“Plan on taking that shipment back?” Mateus asked.
“How about we plan on taking something of theirs to show Calvarro who has more connections and power in this city?”
“Exactly. I’ll work on it with Sunny and the others. We’ll be in touch later today.”
“Is he just being sore about our takeover, or is it he’s pissed about Giada and not getting her in his bed?” Giuseppe asked.
“Probably both and then some. You saw him last night. He wants her.”
“Well, he can’t have her. She’s ours.”
“Not yet she isn’t. You know as well as I do if she doesn’t fully accept us, our protection, being our woman, that it will be more difficult to protect her. We still need to resolve this work issue and how she’s supposed to deal with these men. We can’t ask her to quit her job,” Dominick stated.
“Why the fuck not? We can take care of her, no problem,” Giuseppe said, and Dominick gave him a funny look.
“I hear what you’re saying, but the reality is that she’s an independent, professional woman who has made a career in the finance and banking world. We can’t force her to leave all that hard work behind. What we can do is ensure she is never left alone with Alajandro, Toro, or Calvarro. That, we have control o
ver.”
* * * *
“It all went according to plan. That was the largest shipment, too, over a hundred grand of product,” Loppo said to Calvarro.
“Good. Maybe that will send the message that they can’t push us around without us pushing back. I mean what the fuck is this shit? The Costanzas, Sanclare, the Fiorres, and even the Coglonies, who hardly ever dabble in this shit, are all moving in on our territory and our products, imported from our country, not made here in the States. This is bullshit,” Calvarro stated.
“What is the next step?” Loppo asked.
“We ensure that we keep Giada close and that she is accessible to Alajandro and Toro, and, of course, that means to me. That way, when we plan negotiations to maintain dominance in this market over all others, we have some cards to play with.”
“So if you don’t like what these men offer when you ask for a sit-down, then you’re going after the woman?”
“Exactly. Obviously since the Coglonies provided security for her last night and this morning, she is important to them.”
“You were interested in her, too,” Loppo stated.
“What man wouldn’t be? You saw her. Plus, Alajandro and Toro really want her, too. Anything can happen. She could be the playing tool we need to negotiate our terms. We shall see. We play nice from here on out unless provoked not to. Patience is key here, Loppo. Patience.”
* * * *
“Can you wait here please, Brew? I need some time alone.”
He nodded and watched her walk along the long paved pathway of the cemetery. His chest tightened. He’d overheard the bosses and knew that Giada hadn’t stayed with them last night because of this man she lost, a soldier who she was in love with but who’d died in combat. It was sad to learn of her loss, and in the weeks they had all spent around her when protecting her, they all saw a side to their bosses they had never seen. Dominick, Andreas, and Giuseppe were in love with Giada. She was special. That was for sure. Each of the security guys thought so, and they were pleased for their bosses. Brew was concerned, though. The men she had been doing business with were bad men, men capable of terrible, violent acts to get what they wanted. He took her protection seriously, and he wasn’t surprised when the other SUV pulled up, and instead, of it being extra security and Train, Andreas stepped out of the back seat.
* * * *
Giada made her way down the path and to the perfect little spot by the bench and tree. Jimmy Lawrence’s gravesite. She read the military dedication on the headstone, showing years of sacrifice and his birth and death dates, along with an American flag. She pulled the old flag from its spot and replaced it with a new, bright-colored American flag. Her soldier, her lover, and her best friend now gone forever.
She pressed her hand to the grave. Instantly tears stung her eyes, and her chest tightened. She felt different today, her heart heavy with emotion yet determination to get through this and make the necessary changes she needed to. For the past two years, she’d come here often. At first, it was every day, sometimes more than once, or otherwise for hours. Rain, snow, wind, or sunshine, she sat here and sobbed, remembering the good times as well as the bad. She’d asked God why he’d been taken from her and asked God for strength to go on living.
She closed her eyes, kept her hand on the tombstone, and saw Jimmy’s bright smile; his firm, muscular jaw; and that dimple in his right cheek she always brought out in him when he smiled wide. His image was a little fuzzy in her head. Was she forgetting what he looked like?
Tears filled her eyes. It had been months since she’d come here. Not out of forgetting or not caring but out of confusion as to what she was feeling for the Coglonie men. She knew she would never forget Jimmy. He would always have a part of her heart. She would talk about him, remembering their love and their laughter. Last night while she lay in bed unable to sleep, she’d thought of Jimmy, and she’d thought of Andreas, Dominick, and Giuseppe.
She analyzed her feelings for the three men and what she found so appealing about each of them. She kept coming back to the same things. They each made her feel protected. They each had a way of caring for her and showing their desires. Those expressions in their eyes and the intensity of this powerful connection between the four of them could not be ignored any longer. She’d realized last night that truly the only thing standing in her way of accepting them as her men, her lovers, was Jimmy. Jimmy was no longer here. Jimmy would want her to be happy, and he would want her safe. She wasn’t safe without the Coglonie men around her, not just because of men like Calvarro but also because that was how the Coglonie men made her feel—safe, secure, loved. Hell, she was fighting being in love with them. Why?
It was time—time to move on, time to use her heart to love another man, in this case, three men, three men she honestly already loved and felt stupid admitting that. Tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, Jimmy, I’ll never forget you, baby. I’ll never ever forget you.” The tears fell, blocking her vision a moment as her heart ached. She could remember his kisses, his strong embrace, the way he completed her. She could remember the instant loss each time he left for another tour of duty and the ultimate emptiness that she’d felt learning that he was dead, that he would never come through that door again smiling, ready to make love to her because he’d missed her terribly.
She sniffled and then gulped. “It’s time to move on. I guess I came here today looking for your blessing in some way or maybe just to give you the respect I feel you deserve being the only man I ever loved, until now.”
She wiped her eyes and exhaled. She chuckled. “I love them, and I haven’t even been with them, haven’t gone on dates, haven’t made love to them, yet I love them already, and I’m scared Jimmy. I’m scared of losing them, of not getting enough time to love them fully. I mean I know that’s crazy, Jimmy. I know it, but I can’t help it.
“When I lost you, a part of me died. My friends tell me it’s time to love again, to give my heart, and to not to be alone and afraid anymore. I believe that Andreas, Dominick, and Giuseppe are the ones for me, that they’ll protect me and love me the way you would want them to, the way I so desperately need them to.
“It’s so crazy. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just tired of being alone. Maybe I just think I love them, even though they can’t possibly love me, not yet, but that’s a risk I’m ready to take. I have to take it. I can’t stand being without them, and pushing them away is stupid. I only pushed them away because of guilt, and that isn’t fair. I don’t want to be alone anymore, fighting these feelings. I hope you’re okay with this, Jimmy. I’ll never forget you. I’ll never stop loving you, but I need these men. I want them in my life, in my heart, and to be part of them. I do.”
The tears rolled down her cheeks, and she sniffled. Her vision blurred once again. She felt the presence behind her, but before she could turn, strong arms wrapped around her midsection and held her tight.
Andreas. She tightened up but then exhaled. Had he heard all she said?
His lips pressed against her neck by her ear. “I’m going to take such good care of you, baby. My cousins and I adore you so much already. I know this is hard. I understand it, Giada. I do. Jimmy won’t need to worry about you anymore. I’m taking over his job, his role as protector from here on out. You’re mine to love, to hold, and to cherish. I’m not taking his place. The three of us aren’t. We’re starting a new journey—together.”
He squeezed her tighter and continued kissing her neck and then held her as she let the tears fall, letting go of the past and preparing herself to take the leap of faith into the future, a future with Andreas, Dominick, and Giuseppe Coglonie—three made men.
* * * *
“Where are we headed?” Andreas asked Giada. She sat in the back of the SUV with him, leaning on his shoulder and holding onto his arm.
“Wherever Dominick and Giuseppe are,” she whispered.
He looked toward the front seat where Train was driving and Logic was in the passenger seat.
>
“They’re at the penthouse,” Train told him.
Andreas nodded. He kept his hand on Giada’s knee and stroked her thigh.
She held his hand when they exited the SUV in the underground garage. There were multiple men from the security team there as a precaution. They all said hello to Giada, who said hello back. Andreas had a feeling that all their security team liked her. They would protect her like they protected him and his cousins, too. She stared straight ahead once they were in the private elevator. Train and Logic stood in front of them and Giada behind them and in front of Andreas. He placed his hands on her hips. The blue sweater she wore hung off her shoulders, revealing some fancy blue lace halter-type tank that matched the sweater. His hands looked so huge on her hips. He loved how the swell of her ass stuck out in the dark black pants she wore, dramatized by the low-heeled black boots giving her a little height but not much compared to him and the two men in front of her. She eased back against him and placed her hand over his. She stroked his fingers there. The anticipation of what was coming today had his heart racing as well as filled with apprehension.
He knew that he wasn’t a great man, that he had done shit in his life to survive and even just to deal with the nightmares in his head and release the tension the military life caused in him. He’d fucked up a lot of people in a fit of rage, but none of them were good people. They were criminals, killers, men who did damage to the weak and preyed on them. Transitioning to organized crime had not been so difficult.
The doors opened, Train pressed in the pass code, and the short entryway appeared. “We’ll be around if you need us,” Train said to him.
Andreas nodded.
Logic gave Giada a smile. “Glad to see you here where you’re safest.” He then headed down the hallway.
Train remained, and as Andreas pulled Giada along with him to the next set of doors, he saw Train’s security replacement coming their way.
[Made Men 6] The Root of All Evil Page 10
