Gianni (Mafia Heat, #2)

by Jade, Ella

  “Hey.” She ran her fingers along my jaw. “You look troubled.”

  “Never.” I kissed the top of her head. “Not with you in my arms and in my bed.”

  “I like being in your arms and in your bed.”

  “I’ve been giving our current arrangement some thought.”

  “Have you?”

  “I live for Friday nights. I can’t wait for you to get here. Dominick jokes that I’m so distracted by three o’clock that I’m essentially useless.”

  “I can’t wait until the final bell rings and I get to leave. I come straight to you.” She trailed her fingers along my chest. “On Sunday nights I get this dreadful feeling in my stomach because Monday morning I have to leave you. I know we see one another during the week but it’s never the same.”

  “That’s exactly how I feel.”

  “I’m not surprised.” She laughed “We’re always in sync.”

  “Yes, well, I’d like to be even more in sync.” I shifted onto my side so I could see her beautiful face. “I want you to move in with me. I need you here all the time. I just do. I can’t explain it.”

  “You want me to live here?”

  “It makes sense.” Even if it didn’t make sense, I would still want her here. The nights I spent without her were lonely and miserable. “You’re here all weekend and two nights during the week.” I rested my hand on her hip. “What do you think?”

  “Um... I—”

  Before she could answer, my phone buzzed with a call.

  “It’s the middle of the night,” she said. “Who is calling you?”

  I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and glanced at the screen. “It’s Dominick.” I got up from the bed. “I have to take it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Hey,” I answered. “What’s up?”

  “We have a situation at the docks that we need to take care of.” Judging from his groggy voice my father must have woken him up. “I’ll be in your driveway in ten minutes.”

  “Is it serious?”

  “Would I be calling you at one in the morning if it wasn’t?”

  “Good point,” I said. “See you in ten.”

  When I ended the call and turned around, I found Angelique staring at me with concern in her expression.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I have to go take care of something.” I went into my closet for a pair of jeans and a hoodie.

  “Now?” She got out of bed and came into the walk-in.

  I quickly got dressed but I realized normal people didn’t go to the docks in the middle of the night to take care of an illegal shipment. It wasn’t even for my family. Our hands had been clean for years when it came to certain products. We mainly provided backup for some of the other families because no one seemed to have the brains we possessed when it involved these jobs. This was another reason why my father’s dream of retiring would never come to fruition. Too many people relied on us.

  “Why don’t you go back to bed?” I brought her close to me, kissing her gently. “I’ll join you before you know it.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I won’t be long.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Dominick is waiting for me.”

  “Gianni?”

  “Please don’t make an issue of this. Sometimes emergencies arise and I have to handle them.”

  “In the middle of the night?”

  “Yes.” I let go of her. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “I do.” She shook her head. “All the time. I wonder what you’re doing when you’re not at the construction company. Your family has enemies. What if...”

  “Don’t go there.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  “Angel.” I cupped the side of her face in my hand. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “Can anyone?”

  “You put yourself at risk every time you leave to do who knows what.”

  “You knew I wasn’t an accountant or a lawyer. You know what I do.”

  “No, I don’t and maybe that’s the problem. I can speculate and my imagination gets the better of me. You won’t tell me what you do. Where you do it.”

  “I can’t.” I brought my lips to hers. “I need you to understand.”

  “Maybe I can’t accept this or understand it.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “How can I?”

  “What are you saying?” Would she leave me over this?

  “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “We’ll talk about this when I get back.”

  “Fine.” She backed away from me and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

  “Fuck!”

  My phoned dinged with a text.

  I’m outside

  I’ll be right there, I replied to my brother.

  I reached for the box at the top of my closet and retrieved my gun. As I shoved it in the back of my pants, I wished with every fiber of my being that I could have been a lawyer for her. A respectable man with a job she didn’t have to be ashamed of.

  “Angelique.” I tapped on the bathroom door. “Baby, I’ll be back soon.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  I rested my head against the door. “Promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”

  Utter silence.

  “I love you.” I placed my palm on the door. “With all my heart.”

  “I love you too.” Her voice was barely audible but she said it.

  If we had love, we had it all, right?

  ANGELIQUE

  After tossing and turning, I decided it was hopeless to fall asleep. The sun would be up soon and Gianni still wasn’t back. I thought a hot shower might help relax me. When I got out I’d decide if I would spend the rest of the day here or go home.

  I kept telling myself I accepted who Gianni was, but whenever I had to prove I was okay with his job, I failed. Maybe it was the fear of knowing awful things could happen to him. There was something else that bothered me. There was a part of his life, a big part, that he couldn’t share with me. That hurt.

  Stepping into the huge shower stall, I let the powerful jets pulsate into my tired muscles. I tried to clear my mind but he had been gone for hours. I lathered myself in his soap because it made me feel close to him. What am I doing? Maybe I should go home and think.

  Just as I was going to turn the faucet off, the stall door opened and Gianni stepped inside.

  “Want some company?”

  “You’re back.” I threw my arms over his shoulders and hugged him. “You’re safe.” A sense of relief washed over me.

  “I told you I would be.” He kissed me. “Why are you in the shower this early in the morning?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I thought it would help calm me.”

  “Did it?”

  I shook my head.

  “I’m sorry I left so abruptly.”

  “I guess it couldn’t be helped.” I released him from my hold. “Maybe I overreacted.”

  “You didn’t.”

  The hot water sprayed our bodies but neither of us moved. Now that he was home, I was calmer. Ready to talk.

  “Turn around.” He guided me to face the wall. “I’ll wash your back.”

  I closed my eyes, enjoying the flow of the powerful jets and his attentive nature. Gianni massaged the body wash into my back and shoulders, relaxing me even further.

  “I had to go to the docks to oversee a shipment.”

  I tensed when I realized he was telling me about his work. As much as I pushed, I wasn’t sure I wanted the details. What if I couldn’t handle them?

  “Sometimes I do that for other families within the organization. The Marchellis are experienced in that sort of thing.” He continued to rub my shoulders. “Tonight there was a mix up and this particular family needed our expertise. Dominick and I went to assist.”

  “Were you successful?”

  “We got the job done.” He turned me to face him
. “You were on my mind the entire time.”

  “I didn’t mean to distract you.”

  “Too late.” When he grinned the knot that had been forming in my stomach since he left released itself. “I’m constantly distracted by you and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are things I can’t share. Not because I don’t trust you but because it’s just the way it is. You’re safer not knowing.” He ran his fingers along my cheek. “You don’t need to be tainted by what my family does.” He paused for a moment. “What I do.”

  “I don’t care what you do but I worry about you.”

  “I understand that and I wish there was something I could do to ease your mind.”

  “You could retire.”

  When he gazed down at me his jaw was tight and his eyes tired. He carried so much weight with him and I made it worse when he had to leave earlier.

  “I’m kidding.”

  “No, you’re not.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “Lately, I’ve been giving it some thought but my family needs me.”

  “I get that.”

  “The little I shared with you right now...” He stepped back and leaned against the eclectic tiled wall. “That’s more than I’ve ever told anyone about my father’s business.”

  “I appreciate the gesture.” I joined him by the wall, getting so close our bodies touched. “It isn’t that I need to know your every move. It’s knowing there is a part of yourself that you can’t share with me.”

  “I want to share everything with you.” He pushed the damp hair from my face. “I don’t want secrets. I have to figure out a way to balance who I was before you and who I am now.”

  “Would it help if I didn’t ask so many questions?” It would be difficult especially when he got up in the middle of the night and left but if that was what he needed me to do, I would try.

  “You can ask me anything.” He took me in his arms. “I’ll try to reassure you.”

  “I just want you to be safe.” I held onto him. “Always.”

  “Have you given any thought to what asked before I left?”

  “When you ask me to move in with you?” I had given it some thought but I wasn’t sure I was ready to answer. “We kind of got interrupted.”

  “You have my undivided attention now.”

  “I need more time to answer.” I kissed his collarbone as he massaged his fingers into my hair. “Can I take some time to think about it?”

  “How much time?”

  “Not long but there are some things I have to consider.” My father and Erica to name two. “We’ve been moving really fast. I don’t have doubts about us but I...”

  “I won’t pressure you.” He lifted my chin. “I can wait because you’re worth waiting for. I need you to know this is the real deal for me. They say when you know, you know. There isn’t anyone else in this world that I would want to spend the rest of my life with. You’re it for me. If you need time, I can give you that.”

  “You give me everything.”

  “I can give you the life you deserve. Even if I screw up, I’ll keep trying to make it right.”

  “There isn’t anything you could screw up when it comes to me.” I kissed him. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He swiped his mouth along mine, lingering at the corner, kissing me softly before our lips collided in a long, passion-inducing bond.

  When we were tethered like this, nothing else mattered. My heart belonged to him.

  “Hmm.” He stopped and licked his lips. “How about I take you to breakfast?”

  “At that little cafe by the river?” They made the best blueberry-stuffed French toast.

  “Where ever you want.” He kissed my neck, gliding his hands along my breasts. “They probably don’t open for another hour.”

  “What should we do until then?”

  “I happen to have a few ideas.” He lifted me up and spun us around so that I was against the wall.

  “Let me hear them.”

  “I’d rather show you.” He flexed his hips into me. “I want to be the one to hear you.”

  “Ah...” I tightened my legs around his waist when he entered me. “I’ll scream as loud as you want.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  ANGELIQUE

  Sacrifice

  As I sat at the breakfast table mindlessly gazing at my phone, my father came in and took a seat next to me. We hadn’t seen one another much over the past week. He’d been in D.C. and I’d been spending most of my time with Gianni.

  “I didn’t expect you home this morning.” He prepared his coffee with the cream I’d left on the counter. “It’s a pleasant surprise.”

  “I wanted to come home and get situated for the week.”

  “Trouble in paradise?” His dry tone wasn’t lost on me.

  “Not at all.” I beamed. “Quite the opposite.”

  “I thought maybe this infatuation would be over by now.”

  “Infatuation?”

  “He’s been your crush since you were a kid.”

  I realized my father didn’t use Gianni’s name. Was that intentional?

  “Gianni is more than a crush now.”

  “You being home this morning doesn’t indicate a problem?”

  “I’m here because I wanted to run something by you.” Judging from the way our morning began, he wasn’t going to like this but I was an adult and capable of making my own decisions. “Gianni has asked me to move in with him and I’m going to accept.”

  He sipped his coffee, pondering my words. I cleared my breakfast plates, rinsing them in the sink, and putting them in the dishwasher as I waited for his response. His silence got the better of me.

  “Did you hear what I said?” I stared at him but he still didn’t react. “Dad?”

  “Loud and clear.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Dad, I want to move in with him.”

  “Do you want my blessing?” He pushed his tablet across the table. “Because you’re not going to get that. How did you expect me to react?”

  “You’re not happy I’m seeing him. I keep hoping you’ll come around. See how good he is for me.”

  “I keep hoping you’ll come to your senses and see he’s not the man for you at all.”

  “How can you say that?” Frustration dominated my emotions. Hadn’t he noticed how happy I’d been? How in love I was? “You don’t know anything about him.”

  “I know more than you think.”

  “I don’t understand where this animosity is coming from. You’ve always spoken highly of the Marchellis. Gianni’s a good man.”

  “He’s a mob enforcer. I never expected you to get involved with him.”

  “That’s not who I see when I’m with him.” Was Gianni flawed? Yes, but he never hid who he was from me. Was there a part of me that wished he was nothing more than a business owner with a thriving construction company? Absolutely. Did I want to believe his family was legitimate? Of course. Those paths were crossed long before I came into his world. “He’s kind and protective. He’s funny and always makes me laugh. Isn’t that what you want for me?”

  “Angelique.”

  I had to make him understand. I didn’t want to fight with my dad but this rift that had developed between us ever since I started dating Gianni was unnecessary. Maybe if I put some distance between us, we could mend our relationship.

  “You know he’s loyal and he loves his family. He takes care of me. We take care of each other. I love him.”

  “You’re obsessed with him. He’s the first man you’ve been serious with. First loves aren’t meant to last.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “Because you’re young and a romantic. Trust me, Gianni is not the man for you. He’ll cause you nothing but heartache.”

  “I didn’t expect you to be thrilled that I’m moving in with him but I did hope you would respect I’m an adult who is capable of making my own choices.”

  “Even if I don
’t agree with those choices?” He met me by the sink. “I’ve always looked after you. Made sure you were protected and happy. You’re a smart, beautiful woman who has so much potential. Don’t let him ruin that for you.”

  “He would never do anything to hurt me.” Gianni and I may not have been together for long but I trusted him. The connection we created was so much deeper than I ever thought possible. “You’re wrong about him but even if you weren’t, it’s time you start allowing me to make my own way in my life.”

  “This is my fault.” He shook his head. “I kept you sheltered. I was always worried that I’d lose you like I lost your mother.”

  “Gianni isn’t going to take me from you.”

  “When she died, you were all I had left. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you. Not then, not now. The Marchellis are dangerous. People get shot and kidnapped around them. Ask Vincenzo and Nadia.”

  “That had nothing to do with the Marchellis.”

  “It had everything to do with them and it scares me that you can’t see that.”

  “Gianni would never let anything happen to me.” I believed that with my heart and soul. “I appreciate how much you’ve cared for me through the years. I understood your fears after Mom died. I accepted your overprotective side because I thought it helped you heal but I’m not a kid.”

  “You’re still my kid.”

  “You have to let me live my life.”

  “Not with him.” He balled his fist by his side. “Right now you’re new to him. Once the excitement wears off, he’ll break your heart.”

  “He’s not capable of breaking my heart. If you took the time to get to know him. To see how he is with me, you’d understand.”

  “You don’t know who he is.”

  “I know exactly who he is when he’s with me.” That was all that mattered. “Please don’t make me choose between the two of you.”

  My father’s eyes darkened, almost as if he was formulating a plan. Had I gone too far? He meant well but he had to let go and let me make my own choices. I’d never been more sure of anyone. Gianni was everything to me.