by K. L. Myers
“That hurt.” I smiled at him, devilishly. “I think I need you to kiss it and make it better?”
He knew I was taunting him, and he played into my demands just as I’d hoped. He reached for my hand, pulling me towards the bathroom. Once inside, Jefferson locked the door and then turned to me, lifting me and placing me on the counter.
One hand pushed my hair over my shoulder before resting on my breast, lightly squeezing, and causing me to mewl in excitement.
“I thought you were going to kiss my ass and make it better, Jefferson,” I teased.
“Oh, I’ll get to that shortly,” Jefferson spoke as he lifted my shirt over my head and pressed his lips to the base of my neck before running his tongue along my collarbone. “You make me crazy, G.”
My hand lowered, brushing against his shorts. His length was hard beneath them. “And I turn you on something fierce, don’t I?”
“Stop talking, woman; I’ve got plans for that mouth of yours.”
One thing was certain: Jefferson could talk dirty like no other when he spoke, and it always got my blood simmering for him. I was just about to push my hand behind his waistband when I heard Bethany yell for us.
“Peanut, Giovanna! Angelo wants to speak with both of you. Come up to the house.”
Jefferson threw his head back. “Damn it. Don’t think you’re getting away scot-free, G. You’ll be finishing what you were about to start later tonight.”
Chapter Twelve
Angelo
I sat patiently in my study, waiting for the kids. I’d been struggling with how to approach this discussion. Should I just lay down the law or ask for their buy-in? Neither option would give me the obedience I desired. Laying down the law would only make Giovanna find a way to break it. She wasn’t my child, but I knew how rebellious she’d always been, which would put Jefferson in danger. He’d never go against my wishes. But for that spitfire of his, he’d break every rule and throw caution to the wind. He was stupid in love with her, and I knew it. Getting their buy-in meant that I’d have to break the secrecy Gabriel swore me to and only cause friction between him and his daughter.
I’d danced around the subject earlier when I explained to my boy why his girl was coming to stay with us. All I had to say was Giovanna was in danger and that I couldn’t go into more detail. That was enough for Jefferson to know it more than likely had to do with ‘family’ business and that the seriousness of the situation was grave, and just as I’d hoped, it sent him into defensive mode. In the end, I decided to go with a watered-down version of laying down the law, one that I hoped Giovanna wouldn’t defy and would force Jefferson to be the sound of reason when bad decisions had an opportunity to arise.
The two of them walked in, hand and hand, and sat in the chairs opposite the desk I sat behind.
“You wanted to see us, Dad?”
“I did.” I steepled my fingers below my chin as I contemplated what to say and then looked directly at Giovanna. My eyes bore straight into hers as I gave her a look I gave associates when I wanted them to know I meant business. “I’m not going to lecture you, Giovanna, because I know you are strong-willed and would probably just ignore my demands. So, we’re going to have a conversation, one adult to another. You’re smart enough to understand that something dire is going on right now with your mother.”
I watched as the corners of her lips turned down, and she nodded. I was getting the results I was hoping for. “You also know that my son hasn’t grown up in the same environment that you have, and so he doesn’t understand the danger that brings.”
This time, Giovanna’s shoulders slouched, and her eyes grew a little misty. I could see I was getting through to her. “That means I am trusting that when you make choices, you consider that your decision not only affects your life but that of my son’s. Do you understand what a burden that places on you to make good choices?”
Giovanna swallowed hard, then looked over at Jefferson before turning back and looking at me. “Yes, sir, I understand what you are saying.”
“Good,” I replied sternly. Jefferson began to speak up, but I quickly silenced him when I raised my hand. He knew that was the sign that told him it was not his turn to speak yet. “And you understand the consequences of not using sound judgment?”
She nodded again, and I turned to Jefferson. “Now for you, son. I know you want to believe that you know what is best, but not this time. You will never comprehend the severity of this situation, and there is not anything I can say to you to make you understand. The culture that Giovanna and I know you have never been privy too.”
“I get it, Dad. You don’t have to treat me like I’m a child.”
“You’re right, Peanut, I don’t need to treat you like a child. You are a young man. One who has no concept of the risk that surrounds Giovanna’s life and yours when you are with her.”
I specifically chose to call Jefferson Peanut. Psychologically, I was addressing him as a young man, but the use of his childhood name would stick in his mind that I was speaking to the young boy he once was. I knew how to fuck with a brain when I needed to.
“Enough with the mindfuck, Dad. I know what you’re doing. I caught on to that shit when I was fifteen. I get it. I’m not stupid. I’ve got Sal for extra protection. Plus, I don’t want to hear Mom lecture me for hours if I do something wrong. You may think you’re the badass in the family, but Mom’s bark is worse than your bite, Dad.”
I guess my son wasn’t as naïve as I thought he was. He was right—his mother would lecture him for hours and then place a pillow over my face at night and send me to hell where I belong. It didn’t lessen my worry, but maybe, just maybe, we’d all get through this shit unscathed.
“Well, then, I guess you two are free to go.” As they rose from their chairs, I couldn’t help but have the last word. “Oh, and Peanut,”—I smiled at him when I said his nickname—“I guess I need to find a new tactic when we have serious conversations from now on. That is since you’re on to my ‘mindfuck’ games, as you call them.”
Chapter Thirteen
Giovanna
Jefferson lay on my bed as I packed more of my personal items into a box. I’d barely spent any time here since my piece-of-crap mother turned our world upside down and my father sent me to stay with Jefferson and his family. I slid the door to my closet open and reached up to the top shelf to retrieve Panda. My childhood stuffed animal was weathered. Part of its stuffing was bunched together from the years of washing it, giving his face a lopsided look. To this day, he still gave me comfort when I felt lost or lonely. I held the black and white bundle of fur to my chest and cuddled it for a moment before placing it in the box with my other items.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Tell me you don’t sleep with that,” Jefferson asked.
“No, I don’t sleep with him, but I might now that you’ve mentioned it.” Reaching into the box to retrieve Panda, I lifted him to my lips and placed a kiss on his cheek. “He doesn’t ridicule me for having a boyfriend, and since my boyfriend wants to make fun of my Panda, I might replace you with him.”
Jefferson’s hands clutched at his chest as he fell back on my bed. “You just broke my heart, G. I may never recover from being replaced by a toy.”
Without thinking, I threw Panda at Jefferson. When he caught it, he held it up in the air at face level. “You and I need to talk,” he said to Panda with a straight face. “You know she’s my girl now, and it’s time you found someone else to snuggle with.” Jefferson’s hand grasped the back of Panda’s head, moving it side to side and up and down as he mimicked a bear talking to him. “Technically, she was mine first. But since you’re such a good-looking and loving boyfriend, I guess I could go back on the shelf.”
Jefferson tossed Panda back to me, and I placed him back in the box. “He’ll never be far from me, so get used to seeing him around more and more because he’s coming with me.”
Sal was on the phone when Jefferson and I walked into our living room. Hi
s face contorted, indicating he wasn’t pleased with what he heard on the phone. I placed the box on the table, and we waited for him to finish his call.
“I’ve got to run an errand for my boss, kids. It won’t take me but maybe an hour. You two need to stay put. Do you think you can stay out of trouble until I get back? Your parents will have my head if something happens to you while I’m gone.”
Jefferson smiled at Sal before pulling me against him. “Yeah, Sal, I think we can find something to keep us busy for an hour, but you might want to make it two just to be safe, and ignore the screaming if you get back early. It's just going to be G’s cries of passion.”
I quickly pulled away from Jefferson, smacking him on the arm. Sal chuckled at both of us. “I’m serious, you two. No funny business, and DO NOT leave this house, do you hear me?”
Jefferson saluted Sal. “Aye aye, captain. No funny business, we promise.” Then he winked at me and smiled before sitting on the couch and reaching for the remote.
“You’re seriously going to watch TV after that big speech of yours about making me scream?”
“No – Yes.” He shook his head. “I don’t know right now. I’m starving, and if my stomach rumbles any louder, it’s going to shake the house.”
I was just about to tell Jefferson what an idiot he was when my phone rang. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled it out to see that Switch was calling me. “Hey, Switch, what’s up?” Jefferson rolled his eyes at me, then turned back to watch the television. “Sure, we’re pretty hungry ourselves. Yeah, we’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“We’ll be where in a few minutes? You know we aren’t supposed to go anywhere.”
“Are you hungry or not?”
“I’m starving, but you heard Sal.”
“Are you interested in Guiseppe’s Pizza or not? It just a couple of blocks over; we can be there and back before Sal ever knows. Besides, it’s the middle of the afternoon. What could happen?”
“Said the captain of the boat before the shark ate the back half of it and then feasted on the crew members.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Jefferson's ridiculous analogy. “That was in the movies, and sharks don’t eat boats. So, are you hungry or not, because Switch is waiting for us.”
“I guess, but if we get in trouble, I’m blaming it all on you.”
“Oh, how brave you are. Come on, let's go.”
A gun barrel pressed against the side of my head as I struggled for my freedom. Jefferson and I had been walking in the alley behind Giuseppe’s Pizza when two men exited a parked car and grabbed us. It all happened so fast that I never got a good look at the man now standing behind me, but his booming voice was enough to activate my fighting instincts.
“I’ll blow your brains out, girl, if you don’t stop fighting, and then I’ll let Vinnie line the sidewalk with the blood of your friend.”
I glanced in Jefferson’s direction. His body was pressed against the asphalt by a man twice his size with greasy slicked-back hair. He didn’t move; his eyes just gazed back at me, full of fear and hatred. All his hours in the gym never prepared him for the reality of our situation.
“Don’t hurt him!” I screamed at the barbarian in front of me. “What do you want from us?”
“What’s your name, boy?” asked the man behind me.
I couldn’t let them know he was Angelo’s son. I was confident these men were from a rival family. No one else would hold a gun to my head, knowing who our fathers were. And having Angelo’s son in their hands would be like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
“My name is Jefferson, and my dad—”
I had to stop him from saying who his dad was, so I interrupted. “His dad is some stockbroker who lives in Queens. I met him on the subway earlier today.”
Vinnie flipped Jefferson over and placed the barrel of his gun against his forehead. “Is that so?”
“Just look at him. He’s scared shitless. Let him go,” I cried out.
“He doesn’t look so scared to me, girlie. He looks pretty pissed, if you ask me, but we’ll let him go so he can deliver a message to your father. But not before we mess up his pretty face.” Vinnie pulled Jefferson up by his hair and pressed his body against the brick wall. “Listen to me, boy, and listen good. You tell Gabriel that his no-good wife stole something that didn’t belong to her. My boss wants it back, so if he doesn’t want something to happen to his daughter, he’ll find his wife and retrieve the black bag and its contents. He has two days, and if he isn’t at dock nine by midnight on the second night, he won’t like the body we drop off at his doorstep. Do you understand?”
Jefferson nodded his head, but his eyes never left mine. I could see his fear, but he couldn’t see mine. I’d never show them how frightened I was. Thank you, Mom, for dragging me into your mess.
“My father will kill both of you for this!” I screamed at the two men.
Vinnie’s arm drew back and then lunged forward, connecting with Jefferson's gut and forcing him to double over and cry out in pain. “Let him come for us, and we’ll be happy to end him as well.”
I helplessly watched as he raised his knee and collided it with Jefferson’s face, causing him to drop to the ground. A piercing wail echoed in the alley when Vito’s leg drew back and connected with Jefferson's ribs. It took everything in me to watch emotionlessly as my heart was breaking to pieces inside.
A third man exited from the driver's seat and opened the back door as my assailant pushed me closer. I glanced back at Jefferson curled into a fetal position with his arms holding his chest, and all I wanted was to run to him.
“Don’t lie there too long, boy. Time’s ticking. Midnight. Dock nine. Make sure Gabriel is there, or else.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jefferson
I’d never felt such pain before. With each breath I took, it felt as if his boot was connecting with my side all over again. I lay there humiliated and ashamed at myself for not doing something, anything to try and help Giovanna. What kind of man was I if I couldn’t protect my girl? And where did I go from here? Gabriel wasn’t home when we left, so I couldn’t be sure he’d be there now. But there was one person I knew would know what to do: my dad. And he was in the city today, so I knew he’d come for me. My hands trembled as I dialed his number. I wasn’t afraid of the wrath I was sure I was going to face, but more of what he was going to do to whomever it was who messed me up and took Giovanna.
“Peanut.”
I loved and hated that he called me by my nickname. “Dad.” My voice trembled.
“Son, what’s wrong?”
“Dad, I’m sorry, don’t be mad. I’m in the alley behind Giuseppe’s Pizza, and I need you. Something happened.”
“Figlio di puttana.” I hated when he cursed at me. “What kind of trouble are you in, and where is Sal?” I could hear anger laced with fear in his voice.
“It’s not me, it’s Giovanna. Please come quickly. I don’t know how to get ahold of her father. I’ll explain later.”
“Hold on, Jefferson.” I heard him speaking to someone in Italian in the background, and I was no longer Peanut, I was now Jefferson. My night was not going to end well for me.
“Lorenzo will be there in less than ten. I will meet both of you at Gabriel’s house. And, son, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, and Sal is a dead man when your mother finds out.”
“Um, Dad, I’m hurt. I think I might have a broken rib or something.”
“Figlio di puttana, tua madre mi auccidera,” I heard him say as he hung up the phone. He was right—my mom was going to kill Sal even though it wasn’t his fault.
I rested against the brick wall, leaning forward in an attempt to breathe in and out. The pain was so intense I thought I was going to pass out. I knew I needed medical attention, but there wasn’t time for it. I was sure I’d have to explain what happened, and I knew my dad wouldn’t be pleased if my mother got a call from anyone but him. Plus, Giovanna was in danger, and that
meant I didn’t have time for a hospital right now.
It wasn’t long before a charcoal gray Mercedes turned into the alley and approached cautiously. When the car came to a stop, the door opened slowly, and Lorenzo stepped out. Noticing I was in pain and barely able to move, he ran to my side.
“Hold on, kid. Let me help you.”
Leaning against Lorenzo’s side, I let him help me walk to the car and get situated.
“You don’t look so good. Your dad is going to have a field day with this. Want to tell me what happened?”
The car ride to Gabriel’s was short, but it was enough time to explain how Giovanna and I left the house unsupervised and went for pizza, how we’d gone out the back door only to find two men waiting for us. When I got to the part about Giovanna’s mom stealing from their boss, Lorenzo beat his hand against the steering wheel.
“That bitch! I knew she’d eventually get that girl into trouble. Only, this wasn’t what I had expected. This isn’t good, kid, and I fear it won’t end well.”
“For whom? Who won’t it end well for? They said they’d mess Giovanna up bad. Would they really do that?”
Lorenzo turned to me once he parked the car. “Kid, your dad has done a great job at sheltering you. Yes, Jefferson, they might even kill her to send a message.”
I tried to climb out of the car, but the pain was too much, forcing me to scream in agony. That’s when Lorenzo’s arm reached in to assist. It still hurt like no other, but I had to get out. We both moved slowly up the stairs to the front door. Just as we reached the porch, Gabriel swung the door open, giving us a clear path into the house.
“Sit him on a chair so I can look at him.”
Lorenzo pulled out a wooden chair from the kitchen table. I was about to sit when the front door burst open. “Where is he?” my dad shouted.
