Nightshade

by Jen Talty

  “I guess there is no other way to answer that.” He leaned across the counter. “We’ve been invited to a party in the city tonight. I figure we can stay at my loft through the next week. Maybe go see a show and then attend the fundraiser my mother is heading up. She’s dying to meet you and has been sending me text messages day and night.”

  “Not sure I’m ready to meet her. At least around here, when I go out, people just wave and whisper, ‘that’s the chick Xavier brought home, but no one knows how they met.’”

  He took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her skin. “How would you like people to think we met?”

  “Anywhere but a dating app,” she said with a nervous smile. “What did you tell your parents?”

  His lips parted as if surprised by the question. “I’ve been avoiding telling my parents anything about us, saying its new and I don’t know where it’s headed.”

  “And they are okay with that response? Considering it’s already been reported that we’re living together.”

  “Yeah. I hadn’t thought about that part.” He laughed. “I guess we need a cover story. Where do you live?”

  “My apartment is near Columbia University.”

  “I know the area well,” he said, nodding. “Ever go to the coffee shop near 114th and Riverside?”

  “Eddie’s,” she said, nodding her head. “They make the best banana muffins.”

  “I’m partial to the lemon poppy seed ones.”

  “Oh, those are good too,” she said.

  “Well, let’s say we met there a few months ago. Continued to bump into each other and then exchanged numbers, and things took off from there.”

  “I really do go there all the time,” she said, concern edging into her brain. “I stopped there when I was home to get some of my things while you were gone.”

  “I have a friend that lives near there, and we’d often snag a cup of coffee there. So, we met once when I was visiting Charlie and then I just kept showing up, trying to get your number.” Xavier winked. “I can persistent.”

  “I bet you can be.” That was an easy enough tale, one even her parents would buy. “Can we add a twist to that story?”

  “Is it a kinky twist?”

  “Get your mind out of the gutter,” she said, shaking her head, though she could think of a few things she’d like to try, especially after last night’s marathon between the kitchen, the bed, and finally the shower. “When I signed the agreement, I had to give my parents a reason why I came out here, and I told them you hired me to help with legal research for your latest work.”

  “So, when you wouldn’t go out with me, I hired you and the rest is history. That also explains you sort of bunking with me.” He arched a brow, but his smile never faded. “You know, hiring you isn’t a bad idea. I’m working on a mafia piece, specifically the Carluccis. Interested?”

  Hell, no. What the fuck had she been thinking? Bad move on her part to say anything to him about her parents. She would make sure they never met. And telling her parents she was working for Xavier and his family, she should have come up with a different lie.

  Now she was stuck.

  “I don’t know much about the mafia, so I’m not sure how I could help,” she said, backpedaling.

  “Oh, come on. You’re smart. You understand research and more importantly, you can help me with the legal aspect of my piece. Not just how it relates to the mafia but protecting myself from crossing certain lines.” His excitement almost made her forget the same mafia held her parents’ business hostage.

  Almost.

  “What do you say? I’ll pay you an assistant salary. I figure this project will last a few months, so does seven grand a month sound fair? It won’t be a lot of work, and if we go over a certain—”

  “You want to pay me more money?” She held up her hand. Any amount of money would help, and she wasn’t about to negotiate when she planned on accidentally losing the one piece of jewelry he’d bought her so she could pawn it.

  “I don’t want to take advantage of you. If you’re going to do the work, you deserve to get paid.”

  She swallowed her pride. “That’s more than fair.”

  “Wonderful. We’ll start on Monday. The limo will be here in two hours to take us into the city. I think that gives us enough time to have a little more fun in the tub.”

  “I’m game, but it’s still a no to doing it in the limo.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  When he found out the truth, he’d probably hire the mafia to hide her body.

  5

  The city lights beamed through the glass windows on the top of one of the most expensive buildings in the Upper East Side. Xavier’s childhood friend, Max, stood next to him, staring out the window, twirling the ice in his nearly empty glass of scotch. “I can’t believe you’ve got yourself a girlfriend.”

  “I can’t believe you’re married.”

  Max laughed. “Amazing any woman would have me, right?”

  Xavier sipped his wine, glancing across the room. “Are you sure your wife is alright with this?”

  Sadie was one badass federal agent who’d recently been promoted to the organized crime unit and currently worked on a team investigating one of the bigwigs in the Carlucci crime family.

  “Honestly, not really and not because she’s worried about her job or anything, but because she thinks you’re being a dick.”

  Xavier laughed, though it was forced and didn’t stop the large lump in his throat from expanding. “She’s right about that one.”

  “Why do you think she’s involved with the Carluccis?”

  Xavier caught Cali’s gaze. She smiled sweetly, raising her wine glass to her lips. Every time he stole a glance, she took his breath away.

  “After we started dating.” Total lie, but even if Max could tell, he wouldn’t call Xavier out on it. Not yet anyway. “I found out her parents have a business loan with them.”

  “Fuck, that can’t be good,” Max said.

  “The question is, did they know what they were getting into when they took it, or was it a shakedown of some kind?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the latter. Sadie can’t talk much about it, but she’s been unusually busy with work lately and some complaints about one specific person within the organization.”

  “I hope she’s not involved with them. I kind of like this one,” Xavier admitted, only kind of was an understatement.

  “I’m sure she’s not. Hell, she’s planning on going to law school. That’s got to be a good sign, right?”

  Wishful thinking. The mafia had their own legal team, and they were some of the brightest attorneys in the business.

  “Here she comes,” Xavier said.

  “I’ll go get Sadie.”

  Xavier stared over his wine glass at the vision waltzing across the floor. Life certainly knew how to hand him a twist of fate. He had no idea what to expect when he’d become a client of Nightshade other than combing through a dozen or so women, looking for just one with a connection to the Carluccis.

  He found her.

  But he’d lost his heart a little too fast.

  “Your friends are very nice for insanely rich folk.”

  “Most of them, anyway.” He wrapped a protective arm around her waist. “I bet you got hit on at least three times since I left your side.”

  She shook her head. “You made it very clear when you introduced me to people that I was off limits.”

  “Glad my idiot fiends listened.”

  “Me too.” Palming his cheek, she kissed him, her tongue easing between his lips. “Are we taking a limo back to the loft?”

  He groaned, squeezing her hips. “Damn straight we are.”

  “You’re intoxicating,” she whispered against his ear, her hot breath rolling off his skin. “I keep doing unexpected things with you.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “Get a room,” Max�
��s voice boomed across the apartment, startling Xavier.

  He pulled Cali closer, not wanting to let her go, wishing he’d never asked his buddy to have his wife bring up the Carlucci name. He wanted to go back in time to a point where he could find a way to meet her on his own, be ignorant about her knowledge of the mafia, and where he didn’t have to ask probing questions intended to out her mob connections.

  He just wanted to get to know the woman in his arms.

  “Ah, new love,” Sadie said, her hand tucked into Max’s elbow. She might have come from money, but she had more refinement than most people. But she had a razor-sharp tongue too. “Remember when we were like that?”

  “Are you kidding? We’re still like that; we just have enough class to keep it private.” Max kissed his wife’s cheek. “Cali, meet my wife, Sadie, the best woman in the world, and the greatest FBI agent specializing in organized crime you’ll ever meet.”

  “Ignore my husband. He’s had one too many.”

  Xavier held his breath, feeling every muscle in Cali’s body tense.

  Definitely not a good sign.

  “My wife is being modest. She’s an expert on the Carluccis, and Xavier is interviewing her for a piece he’s working on.”

  “You really need to learn to zip it,” Sadie said, patting Max’s chest. “I don’t think Xavier’s girlfriend wants to hear about the Carluccis.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Xavier said, setting the trap. “She’s helping me with my research now.”

  “Really,” Sadie said with a little too much inflection. “Find anything interesting about the Carluccis?”

  “I haven’t started working on it yet, and I don’t really know much about that family, specifically.” Cali leaned away from Xavier.

  He took that as a big fat negative sign.

  “I will say I’m fascinated by the mafia mentality and how that has changed over the years,” Cali said, keeping her distance.

  Xavier wasn’t sure what to think about that. She willingly continued the conversation after being visibly uncomfortable. He needed to understand why she backed away and if it was because she was one of them.

  Or being extorted by them.

  Both equally plausible.

  “Changed how?” Sadie asked. “In my line of work, the only change I’ve seen is that we’re more focus on gang-related crimes than the mob.”

  Xavier should offer to refill drinks, letting Sadie do her own brand of investigative questions, making her own judgment about Cali and her potential ties to the mafia. But his overprotective instincts kicked in.

  Or maybe it was his desire to pretend he wasn’t in the middle of a story that he’d put his entire career and family life on hold for.

  “Organized crime has become more white-collar in nature,” Cali said, her hands folded across her chest in a closed off, defensive stance. “The gang dynamic has taken over where the mob used to rule the streets.”

  “You’re right about that,” Sadie said. “But that doesn’t change the way the mob handles things that go wrong within their own organization. Just a month ago, we pulled a man from the Hudson. Murdered. He was connected to the Carluccis and was a member of their exclusive men’s club, Nightshade.”

  Xavier coughed, nearly spitting out his wine.

  “Doesn’t mean he was killed by them,” Cali said, her words laced with conviction. “I’ve never heard of Nightshade.”

  He’d never survive the next few months if she were in cahoots with the mob.

  “It appears to be a legit club, but I highly doubt it,” Sadie said. “And I’ve seen a lot of violent crimes when it comes to the mafia.”

  “I don’t know about any of that.” Cali chomped down on her fingernail. “But I look forward to finding out more.”

  He hoped so, but right now he had his doubts, and he contemplated sending her back to the loft alone in the limo.

  He wouldn’t be able to resist her charm.

  6

  Cali didn’t know what was worse: the fact she’d taken the necklace and hid it in her purse, waiting for Xavier to notice it wasn’t on her neck or that she was willing to use sex to deflect any real conversation.

  She hiked her dress over her hips, exposing her tiny thong. Her hands palmed his face while her tongue went on a mission to taste every crevice in his mouth. His fingers dug into bare flesh, slowing her desperate movements.

  The limo driver navigated the city streets, turning randomly as Xavier told him to go anywhere. To drive until he was told to take them home.

  She didn’t even care that the driver knew they were having sex in the back seat. She figured it happened enough times that the knowledge no longer affected the driver.

  Kissing her way down Xavier’s chest as she unfastened each button, she tried to push the events of the evening from her mind.

  Except one thing stuck out.

  Sadie, the FBI agent, said that the Feds were actively investigating unethical business practices of certain businesses owned and operated by the Carluccis. The current contract her parents had signed with Thompson and his loan company made him a partner. God only knew what he might be running through the restaurant.

  And then there was the mention of Nightshade. If the FBI were investigating that, then Xavier would be too.

  If he wasn’t already.

  “Cali,” Xavier whispered, gently lifting her off his lap, smoothing her dress down over her thighs. “I’d like nothing more than to bury myself inside you, but your mind is somewhere else right now.”

  “What are you talking about?” She reached for him, but he curled his fingers around her wrists, resting their hands on his thighs.

  “You tell me,” he said, his tone neither accusatory nor angry, but it had a certain edge that made her squirm.

  “I’m right here with you.”

  He traced a path up her arm with his finger, tickling her skin. “When we’re together, I want you to be only thinking about your personal pleasure, or mine. Just now, I could tell your mind was on something else; it wasn’t anything related to taking me in that hot mouth of yours.”

  “I have only one thing on my mind.” Slowly, she unbuttoned his slacks and lowered the zipper, pressing her palm over him.

  “Cali, stop.” Xavier shifted, pushing her away.

  She bit back a sob. She’d been rejected before, but never by a man who was paying her.

  Worse, she was falling so hard for him, it knocked her senseless because it had only been in this moment that she knew without a doubt, she loved Xavier.

  And she was going to betray him.

  And he was going to destroy her the second a story about the mob came out.

  Closing her eyes tight, she held back the tears that threatened to expose her for what she really was.

  “Look at me,” he commanded.

  She snapped her gaze in his direction. “Why are you being like this? You’re the one who wanted to have sex in the limo.”

  “You’ve lied to me,” he whispered so softly she wondered if she’d heard him correctly.

  “What are you talking about.” A single tear rolled down her cheek.

  “You tell me.”

  “There is nothing to tell.” She folded her arms across her chest, scooting to the other side of the seat. She needed to be as far away from him as possible.

  “Your necklace, it’s missing,” he said, pointing at her cleavage.

  She glanced down, sucking in a deep breath, trying to hide her shame. “Oh, no.” She clutched her fist against her chest. “It must have fallen off. Maybe it’s in the limo.” She glided her fingers in the seats and looked on the floor, lifting the floor mats. Her heart hammered against her chest so fast she thought she might pass out. “It has to be here somewhere,” she managed, knowing the exact location of the piece of jewelry.

  “I hope you didn’t lose it at the party.”

  “Maybe we should call your friends. Ask them to look for it.”

  The limo driver’
s voice came over the speaker, letting them know he was about to pull up in front of Xavier’s building.

  He stepped from the vehicle with a tight jaw. He didn’t even take her hand or touch the small of her back as they waited for the elevator.

  Once inside the spacious, top-floor loft apartment, Xavier took her purse from her hands.

  “I have some makeup in there I want to put away,” she said, mortified as he flipped it open, pulling out her wallet. “What are you doing?”

  “I have a couple of questions for you.” He pulled out the receipt the woman at the secondhand store had given her for the dresses. Reaching in her purse once again, he held up the necklace. “I could almost understand selling the dresses, considering I know you don’t have a lot of money and are saving for law school, but what I don’t get is why would you lie about losing this? Did you plan on selling it too?”

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Think. Think. Think.

  But her mind went blank. Not even a bad lie popped into her brain.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” she muttered, collapsing onto the sofa, covering her eyes with her forearm.

  “Try me,” he said.

  She heard his feet shuffle across the room, but she didn’t bother to glance up to find out where he went. Didn’t matter.

  “And while you’re at it, explain to me how you know Thompson.”

  She laughed. A horrible response, but it was more of a sarcastic laugh anyway. “Does it matter?”

  “Yeah. Actually it does.” His tone had turned cold and harsh. The lights from the other buildings shone through the glass windows like a kaleidoscope, framing his body with an array of colors.

  “Why? You already believe certain things about me, and I’m getting the feeling that you’ve been deceitful as well.”

  “I have. I’m willing to tell you the truth, but you’ve got to be honest with me first.”

  Why the fuck not? Things couldn’t get any worse. “I need two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pay off Thompson.” She sat up, smoothing down her dress, and stared at Xavier, who stood in front of the coffee table with his hands on his hips, glaring as if she needed a good scolding.