by Bethany-Kris
“Not that I know of,” Melina finally replied.
“Well, this is another amazing meal. You’ve really outdone yourself.”
“Thank you. A full stomach is the way to a man’s heart, I’ve always heard.”
Mac reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “You had mine before you learned your way around the kitchen, doll.”
“You know, you’re right. I guess being a domestic is really not that important in the grand scheme of things.”
“No, but it is a bonus that I appreciate.”
Mac rose from the table and came around to Melina’s side. She watched him warily as he reached for her.
“What are you up to, Maccari?”
“Just wait and see.”
In one swoop, he lifted her from her chair and into his arms before he kissed her on the mouth. Melina moaned as his tongue teased her lips. Instantly, she was aching for him.
“You’re not playing fair,” she whispered against his lips.
“Weren’t you the one who told me all is fair in love and war?”
Melina could only smile as Mac took them into the bedroom.
Seeing the kids at the center again had been so nice. The moment she’d walked through the door, they’d been all over her, asking where she’d been and complaining that she’d forgotten about them. Melina had spent the next two hours catching up with everyone at the center. Before leaving and promising to return soon, she’d left a little gift for the center. Mac’s generosity was at an all-time high since he’d taken over Guido’s territory. Even now, she still had a wad of money in her pocket.
It was strange in a way though. Her financial worries were over. If she wanted something, she could have it and there would be no questions asked. Her life had changed and in the best of ways. She wondered for the first time what her parents would think of her now. Would they be proud of her? Or would they be disappointed that she hadn’t accomplished more?
If you’re happy, they’d be happy.
Melina smiled. Yes, they would be and she knew someone else who would be happy to hear about her recent turn of good fortune. Before she could talk herself out of it, she found herself heading towards the old neighborhood. Since hooking up with Mac, she’d become so removed from her old life. It would be nice to see a familiar face again. Melina looked around before she entered the building.
She heard laughter as she headed towards the stairs. And then she saw Dulcea and some of the girls sitting and drinking wine. A few of the doors to the bedrooms were closed.
“Melina? What are you doing here?” Dulcea rose from her seat and came over to where Melina stood.
“I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by.”
“You mean you still have time for us little people? Word on the streets is, you’re living the life now.”
Melina laughed. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. You’ve done well for yourself. I always knew that someday there would be a man out there to catch your eye and make you settle down.”
“Settle down? You act like I’ve gotten married or something.”
“Maybe not yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. The way I hear it, your new man is smitten with you. I’m glad to hear that. You deserve someone who appreciates you.”
“Thank you, Dulcea. That means a lot. It’s actually one of the reasons I came by. When I needed a way to support myself, you gave it to me. You treated me with respect and you didn’t cheat me. If it weren’t for you, things probably wouldn’t be as great for me as they are now.”
“Hear that, girls? Stick with me and you’ll go places just like Melina. Feels good to be thanked every now and then.”
A few of the girls gave Melina some less than friendly looks, but she ignored them. She’d never cared much for the opinions of others and she wasn’t about to start now.
“You’re welcome. Now, I guess I’ll be going.”
“It was good to see you, but it’s probably a good idea if you do get going. We’re entertaining a few VIPs and your presence here might be a conflict of interest for all parties involved.”
Melina nodded. “I get your drift. Well, it was good seeing you, Dulcea.”
“You too, Melina.”
Before she could talk herself out of it, Melina hugged her former boss before she turned and headed back towards the stairs.
Her feet never touched the first step.
“Everybody down. Hands on your heads right now.”
Armed men wearing black vests stormed the room.
Badges flashed in her face as they passed.
Police.
Holy fuck.
Melina turned, trying to get comfortable.
It didn’t work.
The concrete slab was murder on her back. Day after day, week after week, this eight-by-eight cell had been her new home.
Solicitation.
Prostitution.
Resisting arrest with violence.
Illegal possession of a firearm.
The pigs were trying to railroad her and right now, they were succeeding. Her bail had been firmly denied and every day the pigs had another go at her. They wanted information about Luca Pivetti and Mac.
She told them nothing.
Her silence infuriated them.
The money she had on her during her arrest—and mostly the basis for the official’s case—was thoroughly tied up in Mac, and his work in Cosa Nostra. The pigs believed the money came from whoring. Melina couldn’t out the truth without talking about Mac in some way.
Her hands were tied.
Literally.
They threatened her and when that didn’t work, they tried to make deals with her. She would be released with all charges dismissed, if she told them what they wanted to know. Not once was she tempted.
Freedom meant betraying the man she loved.
Freedom meant putting his life in danger.
Freedom meant taking away everything he’d ever worked for.
She wouldn’t do that to Mac. Not now.
Not ever.
She missed his kiss and his touch.
She missed waking up next to him and going to sleep in his arms.
They had started to build a life together and in one fell swoop, it had gone straight to hell again. She’d been a fool to think things would stay the way they were. Fate always had a way of stepping in and delivering a well-placed kick in the gut when you least expected it.
“Well, what of it?” Mac asked.
Randy set his briefcase to the courthouse steps, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Despite it being illegal to smoke on the steps, the lawyer lit one up and took a heavy drag. “No dice, Mac. Bail denied again.”
Cursing low, Mac smacked a cement pillar with his palm, wishing that would help with his irritation. It didn’t help at all.
“Calm down,” the lawyer mumbled around his cigarette. “We’ve got eyes all around this place watching us right now.”
Mac’s gaze swept the courthouse, looking for the people Randy mentioned. While he didn’t immediately see anyone, he knew the lawyer was probably right. Mac, being who he was, being affiliated to the mafia, was the only goddamn reason Melina was behind bars right now and he couldn’t get her out.
“She’s going to have to talk or do a bit of time,” Randy added after a long moment. “They’ve got all their strings tied up in nice little bows, and in the process, they’ve tied her up. She can’t admit to the money not coming from Dulcea’s place without explaining where it did come from, and that’ll lead back to you. Then, they’re opening her up right there for questioning about you, your money, and where it comes from. Melina’s not going to do that.”
“And therefore, not going to talk about the money at all,” Mac muttered.
“Guilty by her silence,” the lawyer confirmed. “It’s a shitty situation, but we’re not looking at a lot of time right now. A great deal of those charges will be dismissed in the end.”
“Except the possession
of an illegal firearm, resisting arrest, and assault on an officer.”
Randy shrugged, taking another drag from his cigarette. “What can I say? She got angry.”
Mac scowled, knowing damn well Melina didn’t do well with cops. It wasn’t like he had thought to tell his lover that if something came up in that kind of situation, her best bet was to comply and shout for a lawyer as often as she could.
Things had changed since a few months ago.
Now that Mac was made, the changes were all the more apparent.
Like the fact that Melina wasn’t his wife and that put him in a bad position with the family. When a man’s woman got locked up, he had to concern himself with keeping his own image clean. If the woman was his wife, it was easier to get by with visiting her or working to her benefit to get her out.
Mac had to do all of that on the low for Melina.
“Four months in lockup, and it won’t be a prison out of state,” Randy said. “Seven months, max.”
Mac clenched his teeth, holding back his groan.
Seven months was too long.
“It’ll be quicker and easier, if she pleads it out,” the lawyer added.
“She won’t do that,” Mac replied, already distracted and wishing there was something he could do.
More.
He wanted to do more for his girl.
Mac knew Melina, and there was no way in hell that girl was going to plead guilty to those charges.
“No contest, then?” the lawyer asked. “She’s not admitting guilt, just saying she’s not willing to contest the charges or go to trial.”
The longer Mac stood there, talking about his girl’s freedom like it should even be in question, the more agitated he became. None of this would have even happened, if he hadn’t come into Melina’s life and put her in the spotlight.
It wasn’t fair.
Mac would much rather take the seven months off Melina’s hands then make her do it. God knew he had done more than enough in his life to deserve time behind bars.
“I need an answer on that,” Randy said, tossing his cigarette away.
Mac sighed, eyeing the courthouse.
He wanted to talk to Melina.
Luca ordered him to stay away.
What the boss wanted, he got.
Finally, Mac nodded. “Convince her to plead no contest.”
“Will do. Anything you want her to know?”
“Just tell her I’m around—I’m here.”
That would be enough for Melina to know Mac was keeping an eye on her, trying to take care of this bullshit, and that he still loved her.
Of course, he did.
She was his gun moll.
No man was worth shit without his girl.
Mac couldn’t do much else for Melina, without disobeying his boss.
And that right there was his new life in a nutshell. All he worked for, he finally had. But the thing he wanted the most, the person who had helped to get him there, was now out of reach.
Mac hit the lock button on the fob in his hand, making sure his Dodge Challenger was closed up tight. Sticking his keys back into his pants pocket, he fixed his suit jacket and scanned the street up one side and down the other. People milled about, going in and out of the busy hub that was the very center of Hell’s Kitchen.
They barely seemed to notice the Capo with a black bag in his hand as he strolled across the street and entered a small pizzeria known for its sauce on pizzas, not to mention the man who owned it.
Mac passed the tables without picking one, nodding to an older gentleman he recognized that was playing a game of checkers with a friend. The old man tipped his black, wide-brimmed hat in Mac’s direction, and nothing more.
Respect was everything—more importantly, it was everything to the men whose time had already passed in the business of la famiglia. Despite their time having come to an end when they passed on their reigns to other, younger men, the old timers still hung around their familiar haunts.
And when they were there, they deserved a proper acknowledgment.
Mac walked right on past the cash where a woman was working at the register. She offered him a look and a smile, but didn’t stop him as he went back into the kitchen of the restaurant. The closer he came to the private offices at the rear of the restaurant, the louder the voices became. Laughter and murmurs echoed above the clanging noise of the chef in the kitchen.
The door to the office was open, so Mac didn’t bother to knock.
It wasn’t the time for knocking, anyway.
The moment he stepped into the room, the voices quieted instantly.
At the head of the office, sitting on the corner of a mahogany desk with a smoking cigar dangling between the tips of his fingers, was Luca. The man waved a hand high at Mac’s appearance.
“There you are,” the boss muttered.
A good eight pairs of eyes focused on Mac. Six other family Capos, and Luca’s two men, Matthew and Enzo.
Mac checked his watch. “Three minutes early, Boss.”
“Cutting it too close, Mac.”
He didn’t argue with the man. It wasn’t his place to do so, and here in this spot, he was not to act familiar with Luca in any way. Luca was his boss, and nothing more.
Mac didn’t bother to excuse his almost lateness to Luca, because the man wouldn’t be pleased to know it was caused by Melina’s second bail hearing. Luca had warned Mac repeatedly to let the lawyer handle it, and to keep a distance for the sake of his new status in the Pivetti family.
Luca slid off the desk, snuffing his cigar out in an ashtray. “One rule about today. What is it, Mac?”
“Never be late,” Mac said.
“Exactly. You do not want to find out what happens if you are late.”
Enzo chuckled from his seat on the couch. “Go easy on him, Luca.”
Luca cut his man with a single look that shut him up instantly.
No favoritism.
Nothing else mattered.
“It won’t happen,” Mac promised, lifting his black bag higher for the boss to see. “And we’ve all got better business to be getting to, yeah?”
Luca smiled. “We do.”
Every second Wednesday of the month was dedicated to nothing more than a Capo paying dues to his boss. Mac had learned quickly in the last few weeks, since his rise in the family that every second Wednesday was held with a sort of higher respect than most other days. Money had to be down to the very last penny. Each and every bill and coin was accounted for.
Mac quickly learned how to keep books to prove where his money was coming in and out of, in case he got questioned about certain cash flows like he had that first Wednesday. Being a soldier for Guido all those years had been helpful, especially when it came to taking control of a crew that Mac basically managed alone for years, but it was nothing compared to having the actual title.
Being a Capo was fucking tedious.
Penny-counting, money-watching, time-crawling fucking tedious.
But Mac enjoyed every second of it.
Over the next two hours, Mac and the other Pivetti Capos paid the money due to their boss for tribute. It seemed like issues rarely happened on tribute, because Luca was known for his penchant to turn violent to make a simple point very clear to his men.
Mac was not interested in being one of them, but he was learning that he was expected to be no different with his crew. In a matter of weeks, Mac had gone from being one of the soldiers in the crew to essentially being their boss.
It was difficult for some of them to separate the man they knew him to be for years, to the Capo that didn’t have the time or patience for their bullshit.
But he made it work.
His crew was easy.
It was the other Capos that were making the transition of welcoming Mac into the folds more difficult than it needed to be. He had heard enough whispers to know that not all of the Capos felt he had earned his way into their Cosa Nostra, while others felt that his initiation wa
s invalid, as it hadn’t involved all of the made men in the family.
If and when Mac needed to deal with those issues, he would.
Luca had given him fair warning about it, after all.
Once the men began to trickle out of the back office, finished with tribute and dismissed by their boss, Mac turned to leave as well.
Luca’s call stopped him. “Wait a moment, Mac. Take a seat.”
Mac dropped into the closest chair by the door, waiting as the last few men left the office, some eyeing him from the side as they went. Once it was only Luca, Matthew, Enzo, and Mac left behind, Luca nodded at the door.
Reaching over, Mac closed it without a word.
“What can I do for you, Boss?” Mac asked.
Luca thumbed through a stack of bills on the table, handing over a pile to Matthew without a word, and then another to Enzo. “How is the court thing going?”
Mac drummed his fingers to his thigh. “Not well.”
“You’re keeping a distance like I told you to, right?”
“As much as I can.”
Which wasn’t a complete lie.
Luca didn’t seem to be satisfied with that answer. “Let the lawyer handle it. You do not need attention on you right now being newly made, Mac. Cops have a way with fresh meat, like you’re an easy way in for them. Do not give them that opening.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Still, I’m watching,” the boss warned.
“She’s not going to talk, Luca.”
Luca’s gaze lifted, and his lips drew thin. “For both your sakes, I certainly hope not.”
“The lawyer is going to have her plead no contest to the charges, and that’ll force the cops to drop the questioning and demands on our side of things,” Mac explained. “They’ll get something, but nothing from us.”
“And your woman will be … where?”
Mac’s jaw ticked. “Randy said seven months, maximum time.”
“That’s a bit of a wait for a woman, isn’t it?”
Not when a man loved that woman.
Mac chose not to say anything about that. “I have a request.”
Luca sighed, sitting down on the edge of the desk. “Go ahead.”
