by Cala Riley
He turns to Gio next. “And you. I know what happened in the past, and I honestly cannot blame Isabel for hating you. You keep pursuing her even though she has repeatedly told you no. Give it up. If you really loved her, you would let her move on. If you really loved her, you would want her to be happy. I can tell you that’s all she wants for you. She wants you to be happy without her.”
He lets out a huge sigh. “And, Bash.” His eyes swing to his. “You need to learn to put your foot down a little more with Sofia. Trust me when I say she knows which buttons to press to get what she wants. She isn’t always thinking about safety. You need to lay down the rules and tell her there’s no negotiation. All these girls want is to feel like they still have some sort of control over their lives. I agree with Lorenzo and Giovanni being at the party. In the background though. If they really want this party, they need to understand we need our best there to protect them. Stand your ground,” he tells each of us while looking us in the eye. “Fuck, I think I would rather deal with the women.” He turns and leaves the room. We all stare at the door in silence for a moment.
“Do I need to kill him?” I break the silence first.
“Normally, I would say yes. No one speaks to me that way with the exception of Sofia. Unfortunately for you, I understand what he’s saying. He’s right.” Bash leans forward in his chair. “Don’t repeat it, but he is. I’m going to tell Sofia she can have this party at Ivory. They want to do it for all the guards who have been protecting them and a couple of people from Bello Italiano. Mia also wants to invite some people from the clinic. I can’t have all those random people here, but the club can be secured. I’ll tell Sofia that you two will run security. From the shadows though. No interacting with the girls unless they are in direct danger. Understood?”
“This is fucking stupid,” I mutter.
“Are you going to claim Mia?”
I stay silent.
“Then leave her alone. Matteo isn’t wrong about how you two have been acting lately. Get your house in order.”
Bash moves to leave, but Gio speaks up.
“I think Matteo has been spending too much time with the girls. Maybe we should give him some time off. Invite him to more manly things.”
Bash chuckles. “I think Matteo is in the perfect position. He has a unique insight into our women. We would be wise to use it.”
∞∞∞
“The hens have arrived.”
I chuckle at Matteo’s code word for the girls. I don’t know how Bash’s conversation with Sofia went, but the party was planned quickly after it happened. A week later, on a Saturday night the club has been closed to the general public.
“You going to be okay tonight?” Gio asks from beside me.
Bash made it clear we are not allowed to go down to the main floor unless there is a safety concern. So instead, we are stuck up here in the VIP lounge looking over the floor. I know the moment Mia walks through the door. I can feel her energy like a beacon. My eyes slide to her.
Normally she looks like innocent the angel my mind believes her to be. Not tonight. Tonight, she looks like a vixen. A woman on a mission to lure every man within a twenty-mile radius into her dark web.
Her hair is different. It’s curled with different strands of purple and red intertwined with her gorgeous blonde locks. A shiny necklace hangs around her neck, dropping low, begging for eyes to follow it into the cleavage and see where is ends. The dress? That dress has “fuck me” written all over it. It’s short, tight, and black. It clings to every one of her curves, accentuating all of them. Then those legs. Mia’s a short girl, but she knows how to showcase her legs and make them look longer. Tonight, she’s wearing a pair of red high heels that make her legs look a million miles long.
I bite my lip looking at her. My thoughts immediately jump to what she would look like bent over with me fucking her from behind.
She looks up at me as if she can sense my stare. She can’t see me though. We kept the lights up here off. Gio and I are hiding in the shadows, meant to be keeping an eye on the crowd, but I cannot keep my eyes off her.
She looks away then and starts laughing at whatever Sofia said.
“Are you even listening to me, man?”
“Huh? Sorry, I was doing my job.”
Gio laughs. “Sure. I was just saying I think the girls came tonight to punish us. Look at how Izzy is dressed. Fuck, she looks like a wet dream.”
I reluctantly take my eyes from Mia and look at Isabel. She’s dressed just as sexy as Mia. Her dress is hugging her hips tight, but hers is a little more conservative. Instead of cleavage, her dress is up to her neck. When she turns around, I can see why. The dress hangs low in the back, almost to her ass. I look over to Gio.
“You might be right.”
He looks pained as we watch a couple of the guards walk up and talk to them. They look as if they are being polite, but I know Gio wants to go down and kick some ass. I do too. The jealousy rips through me.
It should be me down there.
“Let’s just try to make it through tonight without murdering someone, yeah?”
I watch as Bash walks up to the girls. The guards respectfully leave, and I let a breath out and thank a God I don’t believe in.
Bash looks up to us and gives a short nod. He did it for us. He wraps his arm around Sofia, and she smiles. Matteo joins the girls, and they all go to the bar to grab a drink.
“This is going to be a long night,” I mutter.
“You’re telling me.”
∞∞∞
Hours later, the party is still going strong. It seems having an open bar has only made everyone act sloppy. On and off guys have been talking to the girls all night. Thankfully, Bash and Matteo have been there to be a buffer. It was the only thing keeping me from going down there.
“Lo, come in. Over.”
Bash’s voice comes over my earpiece. I press into the device to communicate back.
“Here, over.”
“Shut it down in thirty minutes. Over.”
“Understood. Over.”
“Thank God, it’s almost over,” Gio breathes.
He’s been just as tense as I have. Tonight’s been pure torture for both of us. Almost enough for me to forget why I’m supposed to stay away from Mia.
Almost.
Especially watching Mia dance with Sofia, Isabel, and Matteo. I wanted so badly to go down there and dance with her, but I couldn’t.
Barely.
I watch Bash walk off with Sofia as the girls and Matteo head to the bar.
“Who is that?” Gio points to two men who just walked up to the girls.
I squint my eyes, trying to make the men out. “I can’t see clearly from here.” I press my earpiece and call Matteo. “Matteo, come in. Over.”
I watch as he presses his ear before I hear him through my own earpiece. “What can I do for you, Lo? Over.”
“Who are those men with you? Over.”
“They work at the clinic with Mia. Over.”
He glances up toward me as he says it. I clench my hands as I watch them chat up Isabel and Mia. The girls are laughing and smiling at them.
“They work with Mia,” I tell Gio, and he growls.
“They are getting too close. Did Mia touch his arm? Izzy is touching her hair. That’s her way of flirting. Fuck!”
I grit my teeth as I watch them flirt with my own eyes. They turn to Matteo and say something, and he nods and leans against the bar.
I watch as each couple walks a little away from the bar and starts dancing.
“What the fuck, Matteo?”
Silence. Then a moment later.
“You didn’t say over. Are you done talking? Over.”
“Asshole! Get out there with them. Over.”
“No can do, Lo man. Girls wanted to dance with someone who’s not their brother. I’m close enough to protect them. Chill the fuck out. Over.”
“Go get them now,” I yell into the comm. I add as an afte
rthought. “Over.”
He doesn’t reply, and he doesn’t move. I watch him as he watches the girls.
“Fuck this, I’m going down there.”
I’m halfway down the stairs when I hear it. A gunshot rings out. My legs move faster as I run out onto the dance floor. Everyone is scattering, but I only have one focus. Find Mia and Isabel. I run to where I saw them last as I push people out of the way. A body slams into mine, and I grab the person's shoulder ready to throw them off until I recognize the face. Mia.
“Where’s Isabel?” I yell.
Her eyes are frantic as she looks around. “She was right there. I saw her.”
I encase her in my arms, protecting her from the herd around us. There’s only about fifty people here, but they are still scattering. You can tell the difference between the guests and guards though. The guards all have their guns out and are blocking the doors. The people are trying like hell to get out, but they won’t let them. I look around for Isabel.
“I have Izzy. Has anyone seen Mia? Over,” Matteo asks in my ear.
I release a breath.
“I have Mia. Taking her to secondary location. Bash? You have Sofia? Over.” I start to move Mia, and she pulls back.
“Izzy. Sofia,” she screams in my ear.
“Isabel is with Matteo on their way to a secondary location. I need to get you to your secondary location.”
She holds steady as I try to move her again. “Sofia?”
I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, keeping my hand over the end of her dress, making sure she doesn’t show anyone what’s mine. Instead of making my way to the entrances, I head back up to VIP. I go through the office and to the other door. Within minutes, we are standing outside the back door.
“What happened? I have Sofia. Over,” Bash yells into the comms.
“Gunshots. Don’t know if anyone was hurt. Caused panic. Taking Mia to a safe location. I suggest you two do the same. I have a feeling they were after them. Over.”
“Agreed. Everyone check in when you arrive. Over,” Bash says.
“I’ll stay behind and find out what happened. Over,” Giovanni adds after the fact.
The line goes silent then.
“We need to get to my SUV. Sofia’s safe with Bash. Isabel’s safe with Matteo. Are you going to run, or do I have to carry you?” I set Mia down in front of me and take her face in my hands.
“They really are safe?” I nod. “Okay. Let’s go.”
I grab her hand and look out the door. I check both ways and see nothing out of the ordinary. I press the remote start on my key ring, and the SUV starts with no issues. I breathe a sigh of relief. I nod to the guard who is standing in front of it. We had a guard for each vehicle outside tonight. Their only job had been to stand and guard the cars. Mine is the only one left, so I know the others have already made their way to somewhere safe.
“Okay. Run.” I pull Mia out the door and over to the SUV. The guard opens the door, and I shove her in. Within seconds, I’m in my side and rushing out of the back alley.
“What happened, Lo?” I notice her use of my nickname instead of my proper name.
I tear my earpiece out and throw it in the cup holder.
“I don’t know, Mia. Did you see anything? Tell me what it felt like from down there.”
She takes a deep breath. “I had been dancing with Eric. We were smiling and laughing. Suddenly it sounded like a gun went off. I panicked and dropped to the floor. Eric tried to yank me up. He kept yelling at me. He said I needed to run with him. He kept saying we had to get out of the open. What he said made sense, but I froze. I couldn’t find Izzy. I looked around, but all I could see was people running. Eric started pulling me. Then when I ran into you.”
She starts to breathe heavily as she thinks back. I reach out and grab her hand.
“Calm down, mio piccolo angelo. You need to breathe. Take a deep breath with me. Come on. In.” I breathe in and listen to her do the same. “Out.” I let the breath out in one whoosh. “Again.” We do it several more times before she finally seems okay.
“Thank you. I’m calm now.” She moves to pull her hand out of mine, but I’m not quite ready to let go yet.
“Please. I just need to know you’re okay.”
“Okay, Lo.”
We drive in silence for a while before she speaks up. “We’re leaving Brooklyn? Where is this safe location?”
“I don’t know where the others are going. This was the plan. Each one of us picked our own safe locations to take you girls to if something went wrong. I’m taking you to mine.”
“Where is that?”
“My home.”
“But we are leaving Brooklyn?”
I glance over and see she looks confused.
“Not my house here in Brooklyn. My home. Remember the one I told you about?” I glance over and see recognition light behind her eyes.
“In Manhattan. The home you had before you moved to Brooklyn.”
I nod and look back to the road.
“Okay. Can I put some music on? The silence is making me think too much.”
“Sure.”
She leans forward and uses her right hand to turn on the radio. She finds a station she likes and turns the music up just enough to create a small background noise.
I breathe in her scent. Lemon and cinnamon. I don’t know why she smells that way to me, but I’m thankful tonight wasn’t the last night I got to take comfort in it. I’m thankful for its invasion now.
Chapter Ten
Mia
My heartbeat has finally returned to normal. It took a while, but holding Lo’s hand has helped much to my dismay.
I felt him the moment I walked into the club tonight. I knew he was watching me. Sofia told us they were going to be there, but that they were ordered to the shadows. She said Bash wouldn’t agree to the party without them being there. We relented. I didn’t care for Lo, but I understood we needed protection.
After what happened tonight, I’m beyond glad they were there. I didn’t think anything would happen, but it seems I was wrong. I think back to that moment.
Eric and I dancing together. He told me he loved my new hair color, which made me smile. When I chose the purple and red, I was looking for something edgy. Something different than the innocent Mia. I don’t know why I did it, but I’m glad I did. One second he’s complimenting me, the next he’s pulling me. Something in my gut told me to stand still. To wait. Someone would come.
No, not someone. Lo. I knew he would come for me.
Then, his arms were around me. He was shielding me. Keeping me safe from the stampede of people around us. It was like my body knew to wait for him, even when my mind was screaming at me to run.
I didn’t see anyone hurt. I don’t even know where the shot came from. As soon as I knew my girls were safe, I was beyond happy to follow Lo wherever he wanted to take me. I might be mad at him, but in a crisis, there is no one else I would rather have on my side.
We pull into a garage, and he drives through until he finds a parking area. We exit, and he grabs my hand, pulling me with him. His eyes continue to scour the area. A noise behind me makes me jump, and he chuckles. I look back and see a metal door lowering behind his SUV.
He presses the elevator button, and it opens within seconds. Once inside, he turns a key and presses the P.
“You live in a penthouse?”
“Lived. I don’t really stay here anymore. Only when I’m in the city.”
“How rich are you?”
“Enough I guess.” Lo shrugs it off as if it’s no big deal he has a penthouse.
Once the elevator doors open, I expect to step into his apartment. Instead, we step into a hallway.
“Why the hall? Do you share this floor?”
“Nope. I had them put the hall in. I don’t want the elevator opening into my home. Come on.”
He pulls me to the door and opens it. Once inside, he presses a code into the alarm. He turns and hands
me a gun.
“I’m going to search the apartment. You stand here. Shoot anyone who isn’t me, okay?”
I nod as I take the gun. I have never held one let alone shot one. My dad always carried one, but he always told me it wasn’t for young women to mess with. I wish he would have taught me how to use one about now.
Lo comes back minutes later and takes the gun back from me.
“Let’s get you settled.”
We walk further into the apartment, and I’m amazed by how beautiful it is. The walls here are just as empty as the ones in his Brooklyn home, but this place is decorated. I set my purse on a table as I walk over to the windows. I open the curtains and my breath catches in my throat. He has a gorgeous view of Manhattan. It even overlooks a park and the river. I’m stunned speechless.
“You approve of the view?”
“Lo, it’s gorgeous. You’re so lucky.”
“I suppose.”
He hands me a bottle of water, and I gratefully take it.
“Why don’t you spend more time here?”
“No need to. Most of my business is in Brooklyn.”
“How sad, Lo.” I reach out to grab his hand, but he takes a step back.
“We shouldn’t, Mia.”
“Shouldn’t what? Comfort each other?”
“I can’t.”
My anger takes over. This man had been holding my hand in the car, offering me comfort while he protected me. I don’t understand how he can flip the switch so quickly.
“Am I really that bad, Lo?” I whisper.
“What?”
“Am I really that bad? Is it really so wrong for us to want to be together?” I demand.
“God, no. You’re gorgeous. Perfection. I want you so fucking bad my cock is straining against my pants right now. Watching you tonight? It was torture. If it was as simple as wanting you, I would take you right now.”
I take in his words, and my heart sinks. He only wants sex. That’s what it is. It is what Scarlett can offer him. He thinks I want a relationship. Well, I do, but I want whatever he can offer at this point.
I sound like a pathetic female, the kind I always make fun of. Giving everything to a man who doesn’t give an ounce of it back. I can’t seem to help myself though.