by Bethany-Kris
Melina stiffened as Mac caught the heels she held with two of his fingers. Without her heels, Melina was a couple of inches shorter and had to stare up at him.
“Let me help with these,” Mac said quietly.
“I—”
Mac leaned forward and silenced whatever Melina was about to say with a hard kiss. Instantly, the tension in her body released and Mac used that opening to move closer, close enough that her chest was pushed against his and her hands fisted into the bottom of his T-shirt. Her kiss was no different than the first time. Her mouth was still as hot as sin with a sweetness lingering right behind. It still made him harder than steel, too. Then, Mac felt her hand open and her palm press against his midsection as if to push him away.
He let her pull away, but he grabbed her waist to keep her close.
“We have guests,” Mac said under his breath, shooting a look over Melina’s shoulder.
Melina’s gaze flicked up to meet his, wary and tired. “Oh?”
“As of now, they’re under the impression we’re very close. I’d like for them to believe that for a while longer, and it would be in your best interest if you did, too.”
“I had no one to call,” Melina whispered.
Mac softened at that admission. Guessing by the defeated expression Melina wore, she had been let down one too many times in her life by people who should have given a damn. Sometimes, life was an awful bitch like that.
“I came, doll.”
“Thank you.”
Two words spoken so softly that if he wasn’t so close to her, he might not have heard them.
Mac ticked two fingers under her chin, forcing Melina to look up again. “You’re welcome. You might be tough as shit with enough stubbornness and fire to rival Satan himself, but you’ve got a lot to learn yet, woman. Right now, I want you to smile, let me put these shoes on you, and then you can take my hand, and let me escort you out of the jail like the good boyfriend I am. I want those detectives to believe we’re together so they’ll stop digging for things that don’t exist. It needs to be believable. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t sound too excited now.”
Melina smirked. “I’m not used to a man saving me.”
“I’m not used to being a hero.”
“Put the damn shoes on me, Mac.”
“Your wish, my command, doll.”
Melina didn’t say a word that time.
“The mob isn’t dead.”
The words had been spoken so quietly beside him that Mac almost missed Melina’s statement. Without responding, Mac found the closest turnoff point he could that was safe to do so on the busy street and turned his car off.
“No,” Mac admitted, “It’s very much alive and as active as it always was in New York.”
Melina frowned. “They have … oh, my God, they have rooms dedicated to you guys.”
“Rooms?”
“With boards and pictures … everything. Under each one is bullet points of info.” Melina rubbed at her temples with the pads of her fingers. “They paraded me through the rooms, past the info and pictures, like they were trying to get me to say something. It’s like they thought I was in with it all or something. They thought I knew what I was looking at—they believed that crap.”
“When was this?” Mac asked.
“Before they took me to the jail and charged me.”
Mac blew out a slow breath. “Do you remember anything specific about—”
“Jesus, if it’s not them, it’s you,” Melina cut in angrily. “What, do you want to know the info I got from the cops, too? Not very much, Mac, considering they figured I knew everything there was to know anyway.”
“All right, chill, woman.”
“Sorry. It just … that was a lot to take in. I didn’t expect to get out of there anytime soon. I had no access to money and no one to call.”
Yeah, she’d mentioned that at the jail, too.
“What about family?” he asked.
“Dead.”
Ouch.
Melina’s tone offered no room for discussion. Mac dropped that topic. “Your boss, doll?”
Melina scoffed, avoiding his stare by glancing out the window. “You have a pretty good idea of what I do for a living, don’t you?”
“You’re an escort.”
“Exactly. I’m sure my boss would love to find out I ended up in jail on solicitation charges. That would go over just perfectly fine. She probably would have paid my bail the very first second she could.”
“Nice use of sarcasm,” Mac noted.
Melina shrugged like it didn’t make a difference. “It is what it is.”
This girl was so bitter, it practically radiated off her. Someone or something had done her terribly wrong and she likely believed everyone else was out to mess her up in some way, too.
“I think you’ve been stuck getting fucked over by a lot of different things and instead of going out and getting something better for yourself, you’ve just been demanding the wrongs of the world should start doing you right for once. That’s not how it works, bella.”
Melina cocked a brow as she regarded him again. “Italian, right?”
Mac grinned. “Yes.”
“Beautiful.”
“Bellissima.”
Melina wet her lips. “The most beautiful.”
“Bang on, doll.”
“I don’t expect the world to hand me anything,” Melina said quietly, “but I haven’t been in the right place to do anything about what I’ve been given, either. Not lately.”
“You’ll get there. Give it time.”
If there was anything Mac knew about life, it was that the damn thing kept moving forward.
“Maybe.”
“About your boss,” Mac said as he turned the car on and pulled back onto the road.
“What about her?”
“You should know you won’t be able to go back to that job.”
Melina’s lips thinned. “Excuse me?”
“Right now, the cops believe you’re somehow involved with whatever schemes my Capo—”
“Guido Vasari.”
Mac shot her a sly smile. “So, you do remember some of what you saw on those boards, huh?”
Melina shrugged. “A bit.”
“Good to know.”
“They’re not really sure what you are or where you stand, I think.”
Mac chuckled. “Fuck, girl, me either.”
“Kind of crappy work, if you don’t even have a title, isn’t it?”
“I’m looking for a button, not just a title. Any man can have a title—soldato, Capo, stolto.”
Melina’s nose crinkled in her confusion. “Stolto?”
“Fool.”
“Ah.”
“Every man in the mafia is some other man’s fool. It’s knowing which one you’re willing to be a fool for and who thinks you’re his. Trust me when I say, knowing the two makes all the difference.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Mac smiled as he took a corner smoothly, his Challenger’s wheels not even skipping once on the wet pavement. “Like I was saying, the cops believe you’re somehow involved with the Pivetti Cosa Nostra and that your profession as an escort ties into it. By the way they talked, I think we can safely assume there’s a taskforce that already had your name pinned down under whoever you’re working for.”
Melina swallowed hard. “Yeah?”
“Seemed like it.”
“Damn.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mac said, seeing the concern flicker in Melina’s hard gaze.
“That’s hard to do when my one job just became a choice between income and risking jail.”
“I think that’s an easy choice.”
“It is,” she muttered, “but it still leaves me screwed.”
“Not really. The police think you’re with me, anyway, so you’ll be sticking close to me for a while until their mess blows over. Just to be safe,�
� Mac added quickly when Melina opened her mouth with an obvious rebuttal right on the tip of her tongue. Before she could get in a word edgewise, he continued with, “And they are not the only ones you have to worry about. The cops should be the very least of your fucking worries right now, Melina.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You caught more attention the other night than just mine,” Mac admitted.
Melina stiffened in the seat. “What?”
“My Capo took note of the fact that the woman who caused a ruckus between two of his guys also happened to draw the attention of cops outside his club. That doesn’t look good on Guido and he’s quick to cull any person who draws any sort of attention to his business, you see. Especially the official side of things. No person in the mob wants that mess around.”
“But I was just—”
“An innocent patron enjoying a night out, I know.” Mac sighed, taking another corner sharply as he said, “I’d already got Vin off your back by making a statement about who you belonged to. That was for your own good, but the idiot took the info back to Guido. I kept it going so Guido would leave you alone on the basis that the cops were just trying to mess around with his guys in a new way. It wouldn’t be a stretch.”
Melina finally seemed to take note of where they were as Mac pulled into an underground parking garage. Throb’s parking garage was empty but for a few vehicles and a couple of soldiers, who Guido liked to make watch his car when he wasn’t inside it.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Mac turned the car off and faced her. “You have to trust me.”
“To do what?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“Doll, I’m not even sure yet.”
“Great,” Melina mumbled.
Mac drummed his fingers to the steering wheel. “My boss let me know I should bring my girl around to properly meet him once I got her out of jail.”
“But I’m not your girl.”
“But he believes you are.”
Melina rubbed at her forehead again. “So what now?”
“Now, you make a good show for him and make him believe the cops didn’t infect you with a desire to turn rat. You’ve got no place here, Melina, and trust me when I say you want Guido to let you go on your merry little way.”
“Will you let me go on my way after, too?”
“For the most part,” Mac said. “Once everything is clear with the cops.”
“Is it really that serious?” she asked quietly.
Because Mac opened his mouth to make a claim on her just to keep a fool away and Guido decided to get involved, yeah, it kind of was serious.
“This isn’t a life for games,” Mac murmured.
“Playing pretend is a pretty serious game.”
“Good thing you’re the kind of woman who doesn’t seem to like to lose, doll.”
Melina couldn’t believe the difference in Throb. Where it had been a wild and crazy scene when she’d left a couple of nights before, now it was a ghost town. For a moment, her steps started to falter. Mac stopped walking and looked at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“What if I screw up?” she asked.
His eyes, usually so expressive, held not a hint of warmth. “You can’t afford to. Not with a guy like Guido. Not when it comes to the mob. There are no second chances.”
Melina exhaled slowly. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“It’s not meant to. You should know by now that I’m not one for bullshit. I’m not going to sugarcoat this shit.”
Melina looked down.
Mac placed his finger under her chin, forcing her to stare up at him. “Whatever happens, I’m right here with you. You’re not in this alone.”
“I’m always alone, Mac. This time isn’t any different.”
Straightening her spine, Melina marched away, leaving Mac to catch up with her. It didn’t matter what he said. If she wanted to make it out of this situation without a bullet in her head, then she had no one to depend on but herself. Mac’s loyalty was to his boss, not her. As she opened the door and stepped inside the quiet establishment, Mac grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him.
“Listen to me. Now is not the time for you to go off half-cocked. I know you don’t trust anyone, but today I’m asking you to trust me. Please, Melina? At least until I get us out of this.”
She stared at him hard. His eyes shifted back and forth, watching her intently. Melina felt unnerved under the force of his gaze. Get it together, girl.
She nodded. “Okay.”
He offered her a lazy smile. “Good. Now go in there, and be the ball-breaking doll I know and like.”
Melina arched a brow. “And here I thought soft and sweet was your type.”
“Hardly. I like a woman who can give it as good as she gets it. Keep that in mind.”
Winking at Melina, he grabbed her hand and walked her through the empty floor and to the right wall of the club. When he stopped, she waited to see what he would do next. She could barely believe it when Mac swung the panel open, exposing a staircase that led up to a hallway shrouded in darkness.
“What in the hell?”
Mac laughed. “You aren’t scared, are you?”
“Yes, but I can’t let that stop me.”
Without a second thought, Melina took the stairs two at a time up to the hallway. Behind her, she could barely hear Mac’s footsteps. When his hand slid around her waist, she tried not to be startled.
“Told you. I’m right here with you.”
His lips were pressed to the shell of her ear. She could smell his cologne, and for a minute, she forgot that she was about to be interrogated by a Cosa Nostra Capo. All she could think about was their close proximity, and the way it made her body feel.
“Doll, if you don’t get moving, I’m not going to be responsible for what people might see if they decide to come out into this hallway.”
Melina shook her head, offering him a half smile. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
“It’s part of my charm.”
“Charm? Yeah, right. How much further?”
“Just up and around the corner. Let me make the introductions and just go with the flow. Remember, we’re together.”
The hand holding her waist suddenly felt too warm. Too intimate. Especially with his lips still brushing her ear.
“I got it.”
His hand slid from her waist to grip her hand again. Melina allowed him to lead her down the dark hallway until they reached another door with light filtering out underneath it. She could hear men’s voices raised in boisterous laughter. She didn’t say a word as Mac opened the door and ushered her into the room. For a moment, she was blindsided by the light as they stepped out from the darkness.
When her eyes finally focused, she surveyed the men in the room. Sitting behind a desk was a heavyset man with dark eyes. His black hair was thinning on the top. He wore a bright gold chain that nestled into the wiry hair that was bared beneath the two buttons left open at the top of his shirt. The dark suit he wore definitely hadn’t come off the rack. She could spot the expert tailoring a mile away.
Yes, this man was important. She’d bet her life that he was Mac’s boss.
“Skip, this is Melina Morgan, my girlfriend.”
“Ah. Mac, you’ve done well for yourself. She’s a real looker.”
A looker? Who in the hell still talked like that? Melina bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. Now was not the time for her to let her mouth write a check she had no way of cashing.
“Thank you, Guido. Sometimes you luck up and land a good one.”
Mac turned his eyes on Melina and she saw the softness in them before it was quickly replaced.
“If landing a prostitute is good, that is.”
Melina’s eyes focused on the hulking man that stood next to Guido. Visibly corded veins stood out on his gigantic neck and forearms. So, Mr.
Steroid King wants to talk shit. Melina smiled and ignored Mac visibly tensing beside her. When he made a step to move forward, she placed her hand lightly on his arm, meeting his gaze briefly, before turning back to the asshole standing in front of her.
“Trust me, a guy like Mac doesn’t have to pay for it. You, on the other hand … I’m not sure there’s enough money that makes taking you to bed worth it.”
Guido laughed, slapping his hand on the desk in front of him. “Damn, Tip. I think this girl just cut your balls off with that one.”
Tip glowered at Melina, but she lifted her chin in defiance.
“She has her own particular charm. It’s one of many reasons being with her is never dull,” Mac said.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. As he winked at her, Melina couldn’t help but smile back. She could do this. There was nothing to worry about.
Just a bunch of men, trying to measure who had the biggest cock.
Nothing new.
“I’m not buying it.”
Mac’s arm slid around Melina’s waist, and he held her close as he turned his attention to the man that had been sitting quietly on a chair in the corner. Melina swallowed as recognition dawned on her face.
Her other dance partner.
Vincent Carracci.
Enforcer.
“And why is that, Vin? Because you tried to push up on my girl and got shut down?”
Mac smirked. His hand drifted casually up and down Melina’s waist in a firm mark of possession. Deciding to play along, she leaned her head on Mac’s shoulder as they waited for Vin to respond.
“Hardly. Pretty girls are a dime a dozen. I just find it suspect that your girl tries to hook up with me and then is taken away by the cops. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Vincent does have a point. The last thing I need is cops snooping around my business.”
Melina shifted so that she was facing Guido again.
“Then let me put your mind at ease. I’m no fan of the cops, and with the business I work in, I don’t need them focusing on me either.”
Guido lifted his hands. “But how do I know this? How do I know they didn’t let you go with the intention to use you as an informant?”
“She’s on the level, Skip,” Mac said.
