“I need your help tomorrow,” I whispered against her lips.
“Is it something illegal?”
Her voice had too much enthusiasm. I hated the fact she insisted on helping me with the jobs my father forced me to do for him. Gia had no business getting involved. A girl like Gia deserved so much more than a Mafia Wiseguy like me. I would become a Made man after college and my father’s consigliere—his most trusted advisor. There was no denying the reason he’d agreed to send me to college. It was for his own selfish reasons.
I nodded, my forehead touching hers. “Yes.”
She sucked in a deep breath and let it out, her body trembling in the process. Without slipping my hand into her jeans, I already knew her panties were wet. Gia’s heart pounded for me, especially when I was doing something wrong. She loved it, and I loved her even more. Sometimes, I wondered if I did the bad shit for her more so than for my father.
“I want to kiss you,” I said, remembering Ma was waiting for me to finish dinner.
She licked her lips, inviting me to taste her. I wanted to do just that. “What’s stopping you?”
“Because once I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop.”
She dug her heel into my ass. “Shut up and do it already.”
I shook my head, amused, and clutched her tighter. Her warmth leeched into my body, sending a wave of heat down my thighs. The only thing I craved in that moment was Gia, but Ma would kill me if I didn’t get my ass back to the house with her basil.
I tucked a dark curl behind her ear. “Are you hungry?”
“For you or food?”
“I already know the answer to the first part of your question. For food.”
“I can eat,” she said, nonchalant. “But I’d rather have you.”
I lightly brushed my lips against hers, missing her heat the second I moved away from her mouth. “Good. Because I’m starving.”
Chapter Two
Gia
Two years later
I rented a Ford Expedition, covered the license plate with the stolen one Angelo had given me, and drove through the streets of South Philly to meet Angelo and Sonny. Even though Angelo hated me being involved with his business, he never told me no. I loved being the Bonnie to his Clyde. But he never let me do more than drive.
The sex after each job was unbelievable. Angelo fucked me like he wanted to possess me on a regular day. But when he was high from the adrenaline, he fucked me like he wanted to ruin me. And he did. Until I couldn’t speak or move. It brought us both a rush from doing something we knew was wrong. It was part of the reason we worked so well together.
Once I reached the waterfront, I drove the SUV through a dark industrial park lit by the few street lamps on the deserted block. No one was around, not a car or person in sight. Nerves bubbled up in my chest, but I pushed them back, forcing the sick thoughts from my mind. I thought about all the things that could have gone wrong. If anything were to happen to Angelo, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.
“Everything will be fine,” I said aloud to myself, sucking a deep breath, as I listened to the last prompt from the GPS on my phone and pulled into the driveway.
In the darkest corner of the lot, I spotted a van with tinted windows and four Mustang Cobras, all of which were black. Angelo’s cousins ran Morelli Motors, a body shop which was little more than a front for their illegal activities. They did the usual tune-ups and engine work to seem legit to outsiders. But to those on the inside, we all knew it was one of the many funnels the Morelli family used for drugs and other illegal activities. Anytime Angelo needed help with transporting stolen merchandise or drugs, his cousins and their friends were always there to lend a helping hand.
Every job was different, but something was off about this one. I scanned the empty warehouses, eying them suspiciously. Over the years I’d been nervous, but never like this. I could feel it in my bones.
What terrified me most was losing Angelo. He was my white knight in a world full of darkness.
The closer I got to the cars I realized my suspicions were correct. Tony Morelli, aka Fat Tony, who was muscular and without an ounce of fat, was running from the building with a box marked with the Apple logo on the side. Behind him were three other men of varying builds, close in height and right on his tail. They ran to the black van, slid the boxes in the back, and then unlocked their cars.
My stomach lurched when I didn’t see Angelo or his best friend, Sonny. His real name was Samuel Bonfiglio, but everyone called him Sonny because his last name meant good son in Italian. I parked next to Tony’s car and hopped out of the Expedition, fueled by nervous energy.
“Where’s Angelo and Sonny?” My voice trembled as I spoke.
Tony shook his head, about to open his car door, when I grabbed his shoulder. “Get out of here, Gia. Drive and never stop. He shouldn’t have let you come.”
My blood ran cold when I heard a gunshot. I turned to run toward the building, but Tony grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, holding me back. I fought him with everything I had, my sneakers scraping along the pavement until the soles burned.
“Let me go, Tony. Get the fuck off me!”
“C’mon, T. We gotta go,” Chase said to Tony over the hood of his car.
Mark Kessler, aka Chase, was Tony’s right-hand man and best friend. Chase had earned the nickname from his crew because of his car boosting skills. None of Angelo’s friends or cousins used their real names. Angelo was one of the few who didn’t care enough to protect his identity. This was because he wanted you to know that a Morelli was behind whatever bad shit happened to you. Angelo’s brothers were no different.
“Wait a second,” Tony said to Chase. “They’ll be out in a minute. We can’t leave Gia by herself. She’s too fucking stubborn to listen.”
He was right. I would have run into the building after Angelo in a heartbeat. The thought of losing him was too much for me to bear.
“We don’t have a minute. Let’s get the fuck out of here. Take her with us.”
Chase was right about not having time. As if on cue, the first police siren sounded in the distance. The silence made it hard to figure out how close they were to the water. If we didn’t move soon, we’d be trapped in the industrial park with nowhere to run. Tony and his crew were there to create a diversion, one we were so close to losing.
Another gunshot echoed, followed by Sonny busting open the door on the loading dock. He jumped off the platform with a white box in his hand and shoved it into the rear of the open truck. Before I could say anything, he hustled back to the landing to take two boxes Angelo had stacked on top of the other. Angelo could hardly see, glancing to the right of the boxes to hand them to Sonny.
Relief washed over me. Angelo was safe, or at least I thought he was okay before I saw a man running down the hallway of the building. He was further back, but still, I had no idea how we would make it out of there without getting caught.
Angelo hopped down to the pavement next to Sonny. He took a box from Sonny, his feet moving faster than I thought possible.
“G, open the trunk,” he called out to me.
Tony released his hold on my collar, and I did as Angelo asked by clicking the button on the key fob and jogging over to the driver’s seat. Tony and his men slid into their cars, revved the engines, and lined up in position, waiting for us.
We’d done this plenty of times before. I knew the routine.
“Nah, babe, let me drive.” Angelo placed the box in the back, shut the trunk, and was at my side. “We don’t have time. Move over.”
Annoyed, but also somewhat relieved, I scooted over to the passenger seat and made room for Angelo. Sonny was in the black van, driving past us, tailed by two of the Mustangs. Tony and Chase hung back for us, the sirens getting closer to us by the second.
A bullet sunk into the bumper. The popping sound ripped a scream from my throat.
“Fuck.” Angelo pushed my head between my legs. “Keep your head down and
don’t move until I tell you.” He put the car in reverse, the wheels burning against the pavement, as he peeled out of the spot. Another bullet hit the back window, shattering the glass.
I screamed again, only louder this time.
“Listen to me, G. Don’t move, okay?” Angelo’s deep voice was like gravel, but it was the only sound that could put me at ease.
He kept his hand on my head as we drove, fisting my curls between his fingers. I did as he said, trying not to cry. This was one of the scariest nights of my life, but unfortunately not one of the worst. Those days had yet to come.
I’d asked Angelo to include me in any of the jobs that weren’t messy. I never should have made him do something he didn’t want me to do when he was already in over his head with his father’s bullshit. The last thing he needed was to worry about me on top of everything else.
Angelo released his grip on my hair and let out a puff of air. “You can look now.”
I sat up straight, studying every feature of his handsome face. Even in the dark, his blue eyes popped against his olive skin.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked through clenched teeth, angry with himself for no reason.
“You pull my hair harder when you fuck me,” I muttered, out of breath.
He winked. “Wait until later.”
My skin tingled from one look, and those words made me wet in anticipation. I had no doubt Angelo would give me what I wanted after this was all over. Angelo was good at three things—fucking, stealing shit that didn’t belong to him, and killing the people who wanted what belonged to him. And I was sick enough to want to fuck him after he did all of those things.
Sonny and two of Tony’s crew members were in front of us, keeping a safe distance. They turned off the main stretch in the industrial park which I thought we were supposed to follow. Instead, Angelo took another turn, one that led us in the opposite direction of where I came from.
“What are you doing? The cops are on our ass.”
“I’m taking a detour.” He said it so matter-of-factly I’d assumed he knew the way. “Keep the driving to me, babe. Just sit back and relax. I got you.”
Angelo always had me. He would never let anything happen to me. Whether he knew where we were going or not, he never flinched, not once did he look panicked. I did enough of that for the both of us. Angelo had nerves of steel. He was made for this life.
While I was also born into the life, Angelo was forged into the man he’d become through the sweat, tears, and the blood of others. His father made sure of it. That’s why he made Angelo and Sonny do the bullshit jobs no one wanted. It was his way of teaching him a lesson. Angelo Morelli, Sr. owned everyone and everything in the city of Philadelphia—myself included. I just didn’t know it until it was too late.
As much as my dad wanted me away from the life, he was so heavily in bed with mobsters he had no choice but to become one of their associates. Our fathers were best friends. They grew up together, same as Angelo and me. When my dad saw how much I cared for Angelo at an early age, he knew we were doomed. He knew we would never stay away from each other.
Tony drove in front of us, with Chase in the rear. We turned around a bend, and then Tony swerved in the opposite direction. He was leading the cops down a different path. We had one of the stolen boxes in our trunk, but Tony was clean. The most the cops could pull him over was for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Angelo drove without any more interruptions with Chase still behind us. He raised my hand to his lips and planted a kiss on my skin.
“I fucking love you, woman. That’s why you can’t come with me anymore.”
Anger shot through me. “No, you don’t get to decide what’s right for me.”
“This shit is dangerous, Gia. What do you not understand about what happened back there? You are not coming anymore.”
“No,” I said again with more forcefulness in my tone.
“Keep talking back. It will hurt worse.”
My pussy clenched from his promise. I smacked my legs together, and he glanced down, noticing my sudden gesture.
Angelo pushed my thighs apart with his hand and tore at the crotch of my leggings until they ripped. “Don’t fight me, G. You know how much I like it when you beg.”
Despite our age, Angelo and I were well beyond our years. We might as well have been in our thirties with how much shit we’d been through together by our second year of college. He kissed me on a park bench when we were ten, and he hadn’t stopped since that day. I let him feel my tits when we were twelve. I parted my legs for him a month later, and he said I was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. But I made him wait until we were fourteen to take my virginity. Every good moment I’d ever had was with Angelo. The only problem was that we grew up too fast.
Over the years, our sex had become rougher. But I loved it. With each job Angelo took or man he killed, he became a different person. I became a different person along with him. We were no longer the innocent kids kissing when no one was looking.
He moved my panties to the side and hissed when he pushed two fingers inside me. “Damn, Gia. Fuck.” Biting his bottom lip, he drove and continued to finger fuck me, groaning with pleasure the more he spread me open.
He was like a ravenous beast. I saw the hunger in his eyes, felt the intensity with every thrust of his fingers. I clamped down on him, holding his fingers like a vise.
“I need to feel you, baby. Come for me,” he growled, his eyes still focused on the road.
My breathing was erratic, the jolt of adrenaline rushed through my body, causing my heart to pound. I gripped the handlebar on the door and rode my orgasm along with his fingers, shoving him further inside me until I could comply with his request.
He withdrew his fingers and held them to his mouth, forcing me to watch as he sucked my juices from them. “Best pussy I’ve ever tasted.”
I laughed. “Only pussy you’ve ever tasted.”
He winked. “Yours is the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
“I can’t lose you, Angelo. I love you too much. I couldn’t handle it.”
He pressed his finger to my lips to silence me, his eyes on the road. I could taste myself on his skin.
“You’re the only one who matters to me other than Ma. So, listen to me when I say this was the last time you’re helping me. I have too much shit to deal with when I’m on a job. Worrying about you fucks with my head. It could get me killed. If you love me, you’ll stop begging me to take you along. Worry about school and acting like a normal college student. Forget about what I have to do on the side…” he paused, his forehead crinkled. “I don’t care if I have to drag you over my shoulder to the campus or chain you to my fucking bed. It doesn’t matter if I go to school or not. This is my life no matter what. But you are better than this. Promise me, Gia.”
There were times when Angelo refused to let me come with him, so I’d taken it upon myself to follow him and Sonny. I never stopped to think he cared more about me than himself and would do anything to protect me. He was right about me being a liability, or better yet, I could be a casualty.
“Okay,” I whispered, still out of breath. “I promise. I won’t ask ever again. What if you need me?”
“That’s why I call Tony and his guys. You’re going to become a lawyer just like we had always planned. None of this shit is your problem.”
“We want the same things, Angelo. You were supposed to do them with me.”
“I will. I am.” He threaded his fingers through mine and gave my hand a good squeeze. “Let’s see how the rest of the year goes.”
His words chilled my blood, the coldness behind them shooting through my veins. I shuddered from his touch. “See how it goes? What does that mean? You’re not bailing on school.”
“Anything can happen with my dad. You know that, G. Things are complicated right now. My future could change at any minute, but yours is set in stone.”
“You are my future, Angelo,” I yelled with tears
in my eyes. “Don’t you ever forget that. The only thing I know for sure is, I’m going wherever you are. I don’t care if it’s to jail or college. Stop talking like we’re breaking up.”
“The only way you’re getting rid of me is if someone puts me in the ground.”
“I hate when you talk like this,” I snapped.
“Every war has casualties,” he said, devoid of emotion. “Loving you will be the death of me.”
We didn’t speak another word for miles. I had no idea what to say, and Angelo seemed content with the uncomfortable silence. He was acting like a jerk on purpose. It was all a ploy to piss me off, but it was also to keep me safe.
After we ditched the police, we made it safely to Morelli Motors. Fat Tony and the boys were waiting outside the fenced-in lot, some sitting on the picnic bench, while others leaned back in wooden chairs, drinking beer. The body shop was the chill spot for the Broad Street Burnouts, the street racing crew Tony led alongside his best friend, Chase.
Tony and Chase were as inseparable as Angelo and Sonny. They were two criminal pairs which were part of the same enterprise. I was the fifth wheel when I was with them. Not that I minded. It was nice seeing my man in his element, once he’d relaxed and was with his friends.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Tony smacked Angelo in the arm, shaking his head. “I thought this was supposed to be an easy job. What was with the security guard?”
Angelo shrugged as if we didn’t just get shot at. “How was I supposed to know the rent-a-cop had a gun? They usually have a flashlight and a baton.”
“That shit was fucked.” Sonny pushed a hand through the dark waves that swept over his forehead and looked at Angelo. “Next time, remind me to wear a vest. We barely got out of there alive.”
“It wasn’t that bad. Only the one guard.”
“And fucking Cujo,” Tony added. “If I hadn’t trapped that fucker in a room, one of us would’ve lost a leg. Next time, do your homework, Lo.”
Only people within his inner circle called Angelo Lo. I did on occasion, but Tony and Sonny used the nickname more than most.
The First Sin (Sins of the Past Book 1) Page 2
