Twisted Judgement

by K. D Clark

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “The mall,” he said and looked over at her to confirm.

  She shook her head. “Barney’s.”

  He rolled his eyes but made a left turn to head back towards the luxury department store.

  “Where’s Justine? I haven’t seen her in a few days?” she asked.

  “I fired her,” he said.

  “What? Why?” But she already had a feeling she knew why. When she’d asked Gio if they were sleeping together she hadn’t meant for the girl to lose her job.

  “Don’t fire her because of me—”

  “I didn’t,” Gio snapped as if the thought offended him. “I made sure she found another job. Now drop it.”

  They rode in silence for a while. He wasn’t like Wes, he didn’t openly talk about what was going on in his head but she knew that she’d had something to do with him getting rid of his housekeeper. Giovanni was a mystery and it was going to take a lot of work to solve the puzzle.

  “You grew up here?” she asked as he maneuvered the streets knowing exactly where to go.

  “Grew up not far from Wes,” he said.

  “So you’re the one who got him—”

  “No. Wes joined on his own. He wasn’t even aware that I was involved. My dad drilled it into my head that we don’t talk about that stuff outside of family so no I didn’t advertise the opportunity to Wes.”

  They came to a stoplight, and he looked over at her, searching her face for a response. It was like he knew exactly what she had been insinuating. That maybe Wes wouldn’t be a part of this world if it wasn’t for Gio. That maybe it was his fault that she and Wes couldn’t be together. But that wasn’t it at all. Gio wasn’t going to give her an out. She and Wes weren’t together because of her. She looked away from his dark eyes and out of the window.

  “You should let Wes tell you how he joined,” he said as the light turned green.

  She nodded. “And how did you get involved?”

  She felt like she knew the answer to this one already. Men often groomed their sons to be their successors. It was important to keep things in the family. Her mom and dad had tried for a son for a long time after she was born but her mom had trouble getting pregnant again. She was silently grateful she’d been born a girl and had got more of a choice in what she’d wanted to do with her life.

  “For someone who hates this life you are awfully curious.”

  “I don’t hate it. I just…don't want to be surrounded by crime and fear all the time. That’s not a way to live.”

  His eyes flashed to her and they softened a bit as if he finally understood what she was saying. They spent twenty minutes trying to find parking and when they did they still had three blocks to walk. She wrapped her arms around herself as they got out of the car. The cold wind blew through her hair. She cursed herself for not bring a jacket. Giovanni laughed and she flipped him off. He walked around the back of the Mercedes. Grabbed a black cotton jacket out and threw it at her. She caught it and then pulled it out in front of her to look at it.

  “I can’t imagine you wearing this.” She raised an eyebrow. “When do you wear something like this?”

  “Are you cold or not?” he asked.

  She sighed and slipped on the jacket. It was definitely his. It smelled like a mix of weed and cologne. She was embarrassed to admit that she took comfort in the familiar smell. They walked to the store in silence but she didn’t miss the way people cleared the way for Giovanni. If it wasn’t the suit and nice watch that gave him away it was the sheer size of him with dark eyes and tan skin. It was no secret what he did for a living. When they walked into the store she felt at home. It might sound vain but she loved to shop. She liked that she was able to take care of herself and reward herself for all her hard work. Giovanni stayed silent as she made her way through each department trying on clothes and shoes. At one point he waved a salesperson over to help her out. It was like having her own bodyguard. A few times he stepped away to take a phone call but his eyes remained trained on her. After she’d picked out all the clothes she wanted, the salesman walked away with the garments over his arm to place them behind the counter.

  She walked up to Gio. “I’m done,” she said, a smile across her face. Buying stuff was a high that she loved. It was a way that she showed herself that all her hard work was worth it.

  “I guess I know what makes you happy now,” he said.

  She shrugged and walked past him to check out. The salesman finished bagging everything and she grabbed her wallet out of her purse. Before she could give the man her card Giovanni reached over her and handed his card to him.

  Her eyebrows fused together. “You don’t have to do that,” she said to Giovanni, her voice filled with more venom than she’d intended.

  “I don’t have to do anything,” he said with his usual scowl back in place, letting her know it wasn’t up for discussion.

  The salesman swiped the card and handed it back to Giovanni. Giovanni grabbed the bags and turned to walk out of the department store. She had no choice but to follow along.

  “I can buy things myself,” she said when they got onto the sidewalk but she knew how stupid it sounded.

  “And I can buy things for you. Stop being so damn stubborn and say thank you,” he snapped.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and walked ahead of him to the car. She knew she looked ridiculous. She was literally throwing a fit because Giovanni had bought her hundreds of dollars’ worth of stuff. It was her pride and she knew it.

  Giovanni

  On the way back to the house he stopped by Lucas’ restaurant. He was in town and Gio needed to talk to him about Jayce. He pulled around back and got out of the car. Avé stayed in her seat with her arms crossed so he circled the car and opened her door.

  “Come on I’m not leaving you here to get kidnapped.”

  At his words, she uncrossed her arms and got out of the car. He shook his head. He’d known she would be mad that he bought all the stuff she got at Barney’s but he also didn’t care. He’d found out that they at least had one thing in common—the love of money. She liked to spend it and he liked to earn it. Maybe that was what bothered her most about the whole thing but it was probably just her pride. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she might like this little arrangement they had going on. If he was being honest with himself he didn’t hate it. Although he was used to coming home at night to an empty house it was kind of nice to have people there. Being an underboss meant having a lot of enemies and always keeping an eye on the people who were close to you. You couldn’t trust anybody in this industry. The people closest to you could end up being your downfall. He waved her in front of him and she walked ahead towards the door to the restaurant. He couldn’t take his eyes off her ass as her hips swayed when she walked. His dick twitched at the sight. He needed to be careful. Wes might not have staked a claim on her but that didn’t mean he didn’t have feelings for her. And if he had to guess Avé had feelings for him too. The last thing he wanted was to get in-between them but her smart mouth and bad attitude were turning him on like nothing else. She opened the door and he reached across her to hold it open. Once she’d walked inside he grabbed her elbow and guided her through the busy kitchen. The cooks shouted orders and people in white coats rushed past them. It was lunchtime and Lucas’ restaurant was a pretty popular spot in Manhattan. He led her out to the dining room to a booth in the back.

  “I’ll be back,” he said, turning around before she could complain. He walked back into the kitchen and took a left to Lucas’ office. He didn’t bother knocking, instead opened the door to find Lucas going through a stack of paperwork. He stood up and they slapped hands.

  “How's it going?” Giovanni asked, sitting in the chair opposite him.

  “Good. Busy but good,” he answered, sitting back down in his seat before pushing the stack of papers to the side and crossing his arms over on the wooden desk.

  “I bet. Running
two crews isn’t easy. Where are we at with Jayce?” he asked although he already knew the answer. He did that a lot. He often did it to see if people would lie to him or sugarcoat things but it had also simply become a habit too.

  “Learning,” Lucas said.

  A knock sounded at the door. Gio raised an eyebrow at Lucas.

  “It’s Tommy,” Lucas told him. “Come in,” he yelled.

  Tommy walked in dressed in a blue dress shirt and dark jeans. His beard was grown out across his square-shaped face. He was in charge of the crew in Queens. He came from an old mafia family much like himself. He didn’t give Giovanni trouble so he left the guy alone. He knew the rules and the respect that Cosa Nostra was built on and he kept that honor and respect as a way of life. Things usually ran smoothly in Queens because of that.

  He stuck his hand out and slapped it with Giovanni’s. “Boss.”

  Gio nodded in acknowledgment. He waved at the chair beside him and Tommy took a seat. “How are things going in Queens, Tommaso?”

  “Why, you hear somethin’?” he asked

  Gio laughed. “Nope, haven’t heard a thing.”

  Tommy nodded. “That means it's going good I guess.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.”

  “I gotta get back soon. I was just stopping in. You got that stuff I need?” he asked Lucas.

  Lucas reached under the desk and pulled out a book bag. As he gave it to Tommy there was the sound of metal clinking together.

  “You sure these silencers going to fit what I have?” Tommy asked Lucas.

  “It should be no problem,” Lucas said.

  Tommy slung the bag over his shoulder. He slapped hands with Giovanni and Lucas before leaving.

  “How long until Jayce can take over Manhattan?” Gio asked once Tommy had left.

  “It won’t be long now. He needs to learns the operations of the business first.”

  “And get his respect,” Gio added in.

  Lucas waved him off. “That will come with time.”

  Gio shook his head. “No, he needs the respect before he gets anything.”

  It was the most important aspect of their business. You couldn’t buy it or force it, respect had to be given or else it was meaningless.

  “I’ll make sure he gets the respect from the crew,” Lucas assured him.

  “What’s going on with the shipments?” he asked changing the subject. “Everything coming in on time?”

  He sat back in the chair and talked with Lucas about business. He needed to take a trip down to New Jersey soon. He trusted Lucas but even then it was good to see things with his own eyes. After close to an hour he left and walked back out to the restaurant area where he’d left Avé. When he found the booth empty his heartbeat picked up a notch but it was only a second before he spotted her at the bar next to Tommy. His teeth clenched together as he walked across the busy restaurant to the barstools where Tommy was sitting closer than he would like to Avé. She pushed her blonde hair over her shoulder and turned just enough to see him storming towards them. She didn’t look surprised like he expected. Her lips twisted up into a smirk. Tommy turned to see what she was looking at. One look at Gio’s face and Tommy hopped up from the stool.

  “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he gritted out through clenched teeth. There went his plan to keep Avé hidden.

  Avé looked back and forth between them. “You two know each other?” she asked.

  He ignored her and focused all his attention on Tommy. Tommy nodded and made the wise decision to quickly walk past him and out of the restaurant.

  “Oh, you’re playing babysitter and big brother now?” she said.

  “Come on,” he gritted out and walked back toward the kitchen.

  “Am I not allowed to talk to people now? I’m just supposed to sit around and only interact with you or Wes?” she shouted from behind him loud enough that the kitchen crew paused what they were doing but only for a moment.

  He turned around to glare at her. She didn’t back down, she never backed down. He hated how much it turned him on his dick twitched every time she challenged him. He grabbed her elbow and half dragged her the rest of the way out of the kitchen to the car.

  “What’s wrong, did I embarrass you?” she teased, pulling away from his grasp.

  He placed both hands on the car, boxing her in between himself and the car. She didn’t look scared. She squared her shoulder and stared him in the face like she was ready for battle. She smelled like vanilla and the scent filled his nose, confusing his body. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or horny, probably a combination of both.

  “What is wrong with you?” he asked, thoroughly confused about what was going on. It was like she was intentionally trying to piss him off.

  “I don’t need you to pay my way for anything. I don’t need you to protect me in a castle like I can’t do anything for myself.”

  He shook his head. So that’s what this was about? Any other woman would be in heaven to have a guy buying them as much shit as he’d bought for her.

  “Fine. I won’t pay for you anymore,” he said. “Now can we go?”

  He didn’t like the idea of being out in the parking lot exposed. She opened her mouth to answer but he opened the passenger door, and she closed her mouth again. She walked away from him and got inside the car. Giovanni rubbed a hand down his face as he tried to figure out the mystery that was Avé.

  Wes

  “And then he had the nerve to stare the guy down as if he had some sort of claim over who I talk to.”

  Wes let out a laugh, and Avé reached over to slug him in the shoulder.

  “This is not funny, Wes,” she complained but he continued to laugh into the pillow. As soon as Wes had crawled into her bed she’d been ready to tell him all about her little adventure with Giovanni. He found it hilarious.

  “He could do worse than take you shopping, Avé,” Wes said once his laughter had subsided.

  She turned away from him to face the wall. “I know that, Wes, but I don’t like it.”

  He reached over and pulled her into his chest in the dark room. She snuggled closer to him and he moved his hand across the curve in her hip before dipping a finger between her legs. She wiggled her ass against him and he pushed back just as hard. He moved two fingers between her folds, feeling that she was already soaked for him. She let out a moan as he circled her clit. He loved the sound of her moans and the feel of her in his palm. He started to think it was the closest he’d ever get to heaven. She turned around on her back and he lifted himself to hover above her for only a second before scooting down under the cover and in-between her legs. He pulled up the big t-shirt she was wearing and she lifted her hips. He dipped his head down between her legs and licked a clean line from her opening to her clit. Her hips wiggled as he did. He did it two more times before she reached under the cover and grabbed his hair pushing him closer to her pussy. He laughed against her clit.

  “Wes!” she whined.

  He flicked her clit, and her legs opened wider for him. He inserted two fingers inside and she gasped. Her walls tightened around his fingers and he knew she was close.

  “Wes,” she moaned as her legs started to shake. It wasn’t long after that until she came with his name on her lips.

  *****

  Once Avé had fallen asleep he got out of bed and into the shower. After changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt he walked out to the kitchen to see Giovanni sitting on the couch. He sat down next to him.

  “Havin’ fun?” Gio joked.

  Wes flicked him off and Gio laughed. Gio grabbed the remote from the table and turned it to a UFC fighting match.

  “I don’t get her, man,” Gio said after a moment.

  Wes laughed. “Yea I’m catching onto that. I’m running out of leads on Liam,” he admitted.

  Everything was coming to a dead end. He had no idea where Liam was hiding. He felt like he was just grabbing at straws at this point.

  Gio nodded. �
��He’ll surface eventually.”

  “And until then? You think this little living arrangement is going to work?”

  Although honestly, he wasn’t that excited for it to end. Once it was over him and Ave would go back to how things had been before.

  “It has to work. Whether she likes it or, not she’s not going back home with this son of a bitch still out there.”

  Wes sat back in the chair. “You like her,” he stated. He doubted anyone else would be able to tell but Wes and he had been friends long enough that he knew something was up. Giovanni never cared about what a women thought about him. He didn’t care what anybody thought of him.

  Giovanni turned to stare at him as if searching his face for any signs of anger or jealousy. But he came up empty. Wes could understand why Gio would get feelings for her. Any man would after a while. That was just the kind of women she was. She could knock any man off their feet with just her looks but it was her confidence and attitude that drew Giovanni in.

  Gio nodded. “Yea I like her.”

  He wouldn’t say it out loud but Wes knew the only reason Gio was keeping his distance was for his sake.

  “If you make her happy there’s no bad blood,” he said.

  Gio raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? You’d be ok if I was fucking your girl? You wouldn’t go behind my back and try to kill me later right?”

  It wasn’t normal. Especially in their world where a man could lose his life for getting involved with a made man’s women.

  Wes nodded. “She doesn’t belong to me, the same way she doesn’t belong to you. She makes her own choices about who she wants to be with. If she wants to be with both of us that’s fine with me.”

  It sounded like a lie even as he said it but it was true. He wanted her to be happy and Avé was not a woman to be claimed by anyone. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. It should bother him that Gio wanted to get involved with Avé but it didn’t. He’d known Gio so long that he knew Gio wouldn’t hurt her. At the end of the day they both had the same goal and it all centered around the beautiful blonde living in the mansion.