by AJ Wolf
“Hey buddy.” I hold my hand up to him, making sure to keep it out of his reach, slowly stepping the rest of the way out of the SUV. He doesn’t move, but his eyes track me. I reach back into the car, keeping my eyes on him as I dig around for one of Duke’s bones. Holding it out in front of me I keep my other hand up, “Do you want a bone?”
His eyes leave mine and snap onto the treat in my hand. He sits and even though he’s still coming off as aggressive, I step forward. He flashes his teeth at me and I pause, shifting the bone closer to his face. “Take it.”
He slowly pulls the bone from my fingers like he thinks I’m going to trick him and I lower my other hand to pet his head, just barely brushing it. “That’s a good boy.”
I don’t actually know if he’s a boy or not, but it seems to appease him because he thumps his tail against the road, letting me give him another head rub. The door opens and out comes who I’m assuming is Beverly, followed by two little fluffy puppies. I’ve never actually seen her in person, but I know of her through both The Boss and Laney.
“There you are.” She completely ignores me, walking straight to the dog who wiggles around to show off his bone. “Did you give him this or did he take it?”
At first I don’t realize she’s talking to me, so it takes me a second to answer. “Oh, I gave it to him. I always have bones and junk in the car for my dog.”
I reach down and pick up a puppy that’s chewing at my boot, and she smiles, “I’m Beverly.” She points at the big dog, “That’s Dylan and the two little ones are Tom and Jerry.”
I laugh, pulling my face away from puppy kisses. “Jessie… and like the cat and mouse?”
She nods, picking up the puppy near her. “Yes. But it works for dogs too, don’t you think?”
She says it in a tone that says I better agree, and I nod,” They’re great names.”
That seems to be the answer she was looking for because her next smile is giant, “See Andrea!” She yells and it startles me, accidentally making the puppy in my arms squeak. Andrea comes around the side of my SUV, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Jessie here says that Tom and Jerry are great names.”
He shakes his head, just noticing me standing there. “Why am I not surprised you’re making friends with, Wolf?” She sets her puppy down, frowning over at him. “And he’s lying to be nice. Those are stupid names.”
I suck my lips between my teeth, shaking my head no when she looks at me for confirmation. “You have a stupid name! Why do you hate everything I love?”
He looks at me, blinking like he wants me to say something, but I have no idea what’s going on, so I stay quiet while petting the puppy. “I wouldn’t hate it if it wasn’t stupid.”
She gasps and Dylan drops his bone to flash his teeth at Andrea. I set the puppy down and pat his side, pulling his attention on to me. I doubt we need someone getting bit over an argument about dog names.
“I’d be careful, that dog is fucking mean.”
I look up at Andrea when he says it, about to answer when Beverly slaps his arm. “He is not! He just doesn’t like giant idiots like you.“
I rub his ears while they bicker, finding a spot under his chin that makes his tongue flop to the side. “He’s not mean, he’s just doing his job.” Andrea huffs at this and I laugh, continuing to pet Dylan’s head. “He’s a guard dog is he not?”
“He chases the made men around the fucking house. Everyone is scared of him.”
I shrug while patting his side before I stand all the way. “His house, not theirs.”
Andrea shakes his head, a quiet “Dog people are fucking weird,” mumbled under his breath as he walks away.
Beverly is staring at me, looking obnoxiously pleased that I took Dylan’s side. “We should be friends.”
I have no idea how to respond to that and thankfully I don’t have to because The Boss steps out of the house then, “Get the fuck inside, Wolf, and quit playing with the fucking dogs.”
I reach through the open window of the SUV and grab the folder I need, nodding to Beverly as I pass. “Nice to meet you.”
“Remy, I want him on my guard!”
The Boss frowns, shaking his head at her over my head as I climb the steps. “Absolutely fucking not.” His eyes drop to mine, watching me as I take the last few steps. “What the fuck did you do?”
“I pet her dog.”
He closes his eyes, lips pinching as he turns away. “Don’t you have your own fucking dog? Pet that. You might as well have asked her to be your best fucking friend.” He looks over his shoulder at me as I follow him to his office. “Do I need to threaten to break your legs or are you smart enough to stay the fuck away from my wife?”
I clear my throat, shutting the door behind us. “I can stay away from your wife.”
He sits behind his desk, leaning back in the seat like he’s already over this and we haven’t even started. “What do you have to show me?”
I place the folder in front of him, a nervousness gathering in my gut. He’s going to have one of two responses, and I hope it’s the one I want.
I watch him open it, tongue running over his teeth as he looks at all the evidence I have in there. There are time stamped pictures of Donatello with Olivia at the warehouse, screenshots of camera footage of Olivia at the clinics, her doctor name, dates of visits, and the last image of her leaving Donatello’s house, bump on display taken just yesterday. I see his face get more annoyed with every piece of information he turns over, slapping it all shut when he’s done.
“Does Delaney know?”
I nod, swallowing. “She came to me earlier about it.”
“How long have you suspected, and you didn’t tell her?”
His question throws me off guard, and I stumble, mouth opening and closing before I get anything out. “I’ve had eyes on him since Alabama, but I just recently learned about the pregnancy.”
“But you didn’t tell her. Even when you found out.” It’s not a question, but a statement. “Donatello knew what would happen if he broke her heart again.” He says it with anger, his jaw flexing as he grinds his teeth. “The fucking Puttana always has to make this more difficult than they need to be.” His eyes find mine. “Why were you even looking into this?”
I take a deep breath and fold my hands behind my back, pinching my fingers together to help me keep a level head. “I was already with Delaney in Alabama.” He raises his brow and I continue, watching the way he cracks his knuckles. “Donatello came and pulled rank, forced me to end things with her or he’d report that my job was compromised and have me punished for it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to beat him at his own game, so I had my own men watch him. I wanted to find anything I could that would rip him and Delaney apart. That’s how I found out about Olivia originally. He was fucking her while him and Delaney were on a break.”
He hasn’t said anything, just watching me with his dark eyes, tracking the little movements I make like a snake waiting to strike.
“Donatello Genovese doesn’t deserve your sister.”
He nods, clucking. “And you think you do?” The way he asks, tells me he isn’t completely sure he thinks I do.
“I do. She’s the most amazing, talented, and beautiful soul I know. But she’s also selfish and greedy. She wants everything she can’t have, takes everything without care of the consequences and loves so deeply that any blow is catastrophic to her heart.” I blink, wetting my lips. “I see her like no one else. I want her like no one else. I’m who she runs to when the world is too much because I’m the only one who understands her monsters and accepts them as part of her and not the flaws everyone else deems them to be. I love her despite her greedy heart. Fuck, I love her because of it.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose before he responds. “That’s very poetic of you but it tells me absolutely nothing.” He stands from his seat, hands finding his pockets and I watch him as he watches me. “I’m a man of actions, Wolf, and actions have consequences.” His eyes find mine
. “You will be there when Donatello is handled and so will Delaney.” He pauses waiting to see if I’m going to question him. Then continues when I don’t. “Regardless of what happens, you will not interact with her in any way. You won’t talk to her, you won’t touch her, you won’t comfort her and you won’t assist her in any way. The only thing you are allowed to do is watch. Is that understood, Wolf?”
I have no idea what he has planned, but I nod, not really having another option. “Understood.”
“You should have brought this information to me sooner. You should have also told Delaney.” He stops in front of me. “You should have done your job properly and kept your hands off my sister.” He pulls his hands from his pockets and reaches behind me opening the door. “I think you have good intentions, but intentions are not actions. Leave. You’ll know when you’re needed again.”
I nod and turn toward the door without question, quickly making my way out of the house and to my SUV. I decide to go out the back gate, avoiding Luca and start driving without direction. I need to find Laney. I need to suck up my own hurt and apologize to her. I need to make sure that we’re okay, because I have no idea what Capo Famiglia has planned, and it doesn’t sound like it’s anything that can help my situation. Not to mention how Laney will take the news of finding out I’m the one who told The Boss about Donatello and his indiscretions.
I doubt she’ll answer if I call or text, but I pull my phone out anyway and dial her number.
“This is Laney! If you’re getting my voicemail it’s because I’m ignoring you. Try again later and good luck!”
Her phone goes straight to voicemail, but I smile because it’s such a Laney kind of message. She said she was going to a hotel. She’ll probably go to one owned by The Famiglia, which means I can find which one she’s at. There’s a handful in the city, but she probably stayed closer to this side. She’s renting her condo out so I know she couldn’t have ran there as a last minute decision.
I try her phone again, listening to the same message play. She’s deliberately hanging up on me. I try to text her instead.
Answer the phone, Laney Girl.
I wait about ten minutes and call again, getting the voicemail on the first ring. It doesn’t even show she’s opened my message either. Fucking stubborn girl.
Pulling over, I look up the number for the hotel closest to my location, dialing the front desk. I wait for the receptionist to answer, tapping my fingers along my thigh.
“Has anyone booked a room under the last name Luciano today?” I know they’ll be honest, recognizing the last name. The only way they wouldn’t tell me is if she requested it, and I doubt she thought of that.
“No, Sir. No one under that name has been in.”
Fuck. “Is there any way to check the other locations without having to call each one?”
“Uh, can I ask who’s requesting the information?”
“Jessie Wolf Mariani.”
There’s a slight pause as she recognizes the name. “Of course, one moment.”
She must just set the phone down and not actually mute it because I can hear the tapping of her keyboard while I wait.
“Mr. Mariani?”
“I’m here.”
“Great. We have a Luciano checked into the downtown Manhattan location.”
“What room?”
“Room forty-seven on the third floor.”
“Thank you.”
Hanging up, I flip a U-turn and head toward Manhattan. I need to find my girl and convince her that she’s mine.
There’s a light tapping on my door. It’s an ominous thumping that makes my gut sink. I don’t want to deal with anyone right now. Muting the TV, I pull my knees to my chest and listen to another round of knocking. I already know who’s standing out in that hall and I don’t know how he found me, but I’m not shocked.
The tapping stops and a moment later my phone chimes in my palm as a text flashes across the screen.
Let me in Laney Girl.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I drop my phone onto the bed and stare at the door. Despite how much I’d prefer to be alone, we need to have whatever conversation he’s come to have. I stand and quietly walk to the door, opening it without looking through the peephole. Jessie’s leaning on the wall across the hall, his head lifting from his chest at the sound of the door. My heart aches at the look on his face, his baby blues scraping their way past my already weakened walls.
“What do you want Jessie?” I ran from him just hours earlier, but he found me. Like always.
His crystal eyes shift between my own before he answers, pushing himself off the wall and taking the few steps it takes to stand directly in front of me. One of his hands go to the door, keeping it open like he thinks I might shut it on him. Instead of giving me an answer, he gestures with his chin for me to back up.
I stare at his beautiful face longer than appropriate, my heart crawling into my throat with his nearness. I want my Jessie back… I did this to us, but I had to.
Averting my eyes, I release the door and step farther into the room. I watch as he shuts the door behind him and his hands push into the pockets of his joggers. “We need to talk.”
I cross my arms over my chest bringing my gaze up to his, my skin pebbling with goosebumps with the chill that snakes up my spine. I hate this. We shouldn’t be like this. “Then talk.”
“I don’t know how to start this…” He turns his face to the floor, frowning at the beige carpet at his feet. “I’m sorry.” His jaw clenches after he says it, like he’s not sure he actually means it or not. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have put you in a situation that made you have to choose before you were ready.” His gaze comes back to mine, searching my face for a reaction.
I appreciate his apology but he’s apologizing for things I’m partially guilty of. “You can’t take all the blame Jessie. I shouldn’t have allowed any of this to happen. You have the right to be mad… I hurt you.”
There’s a long stretch of silence as my quiet words hang in the air and I unfold my arms, twisting my fingers in front of me. “I should have told you I was part of the Famiglia sooner.”
Now, that I agree with. “Yes. You should have.” He takes a step closer as I continue talking. “You should have told me when we were still in Alabama. At the very least, you should have told me when you came back here, not continued to keep it a secret. Why did you even keep it a secret? Do you realize how much easier things could have been from the beginning?”
A piece of me always thought I had to let him go eventually. I thought I couldn’t bring him into my corrupt way of life. I kept my heart guarded because of it. Let myself fall back into Donatello. What if I had known the whole time Jessie was just as dirty as the rest of us? If I had known, would I have fought harder for him?
He stops in front of me, still out of reach but close enough I can smell the familiar scent of his laundry detergent, smell the tobacco on his skin. “I couldn’t tell you at Auburn. Capo Famiglia wanted me to stay under the radar. Besides, do you really think you would have given me any kind of chance if you’d known?” He shakes his head when I go to answer, silencing me. “No, you wouldn’t have, you would have done everything in your power to lose me like you’ve done to every other made man who’s ever had to watch you.” He lets out a loud breath that I feel across my lips. “And then when I got back I was worried you wouldn’t trust what we had. You’d think I was still working under the Famiglia, that you didn’t know the real me. I just wanted you to be sure enough in us that when I told you, you wouldn’t question me or my feelings.”
He’s right. That’s exactly what I did, what I’m doing. “Why’d you even take the job? You’re a Capo, running errands and being a tail is beneath you. Especially if you’re this big amazing mafia man like you say.”
I’m mocking him but he doesn’t feed into it. Instead he shrugs, his gaze drifting around the hotel room to avoid looking directly at me. “I was asked, it’s not typically
good for one’s health to refuse Capo Famiglia himself.” At my silence he elaborates, eyes still on the bland décor instead of me. “I’m the best in the Famiglia when it comes to finding things. I guess Capo Famiglia assumed that meant I would also be good at watching you.”
“You can call him Remy. We both know who you’re talking about and I couldn’t care less about formalities right now.”
His eyes meet mine once more, continuing like I hadn’t spoken at all. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first went down there. I figured I’d integrate myself in your routine just enough to be able to keep an eye on you. Check in every once in a while in between my other business. But then I met you and you were so…” He pauses, a hand coming from his pocket to gesture vaguely at my form. “As soon as I saw you stretched out on the bed, I was a fucking goner.”
I sigh, looking down at my hands to avoid his gaze. “Was anything you told me even true? Do I even know you?” Is the Jessie I know really my Jessie?
I hear his feet shift in place before he lets out a long breath of his own. “I’m twenty-seven, not twenty-three. We decided to change my age for the college story to seem more believable with my year.” I frown, my eyes still on my fingers. “But I never lied to you about anything else Laney. Everything I told you about me and my family was the truth. You met my family here.” He pauses and I can feel his stare. “You know me. And you know I never meant to hurt you.” He steps closer, his shoes becoming visible past my fingers. “You’re right, I should have told you right after I got back. I was just waiting for the right time; it was never meant to stay a secret. Clearly I waited too long. I fucked up.”
Despite feeling annoyed with the situation in general, I believe him. I understand how the Famiglia works, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it. “Who else knew?” My eyes flick up to his at his silence. Based on his expression, he knows what I’m asking.