Shielded Wrongs: A Dark Mafia Romance (Bellandi Crime Syndicate Book 4)

by Adelaide Forrest

  "Happy to help, Lover Boy. Now can we go out to the floor? You might not want to see the new girl dance, but I sure as shit do."

  18

  Enzo

  Music pulsed through me as I walked into the private room where Bryan waited for me. The girl on stage winked at me as I entered, undulating her hips against the pole as she gripped it above her head and dropped down slowly.

  Yavin paid her extra to tell grand stories to the other girls of what happened during her private performances for Bryan, keeping her mouth shut about what really went down when nobody was looking, and I slipped into the room unnoticed by patrons of the club. "How much this week?" I asked, studying the bags at his feet.

  "Hello to you too, Sweetheart. What's put you in such a fine mood?" he teased, becoming more and more comfortable with me despite the fact that my near hatred of him grew every day. It didn't matter that he'd been grateful not to have to put up with Sadie. Nothing could appease the beast that roared through my veins anytime there was even a hint of another man breathing her air.

  It certainly didn't help that she worked in a gym full of men who'd love nothing more than to pin her to the wall and taste her sinful mouth. That they'd want to discover just how stunning she looked when she came.

  "Sadie is with Yavin," I said shortly, bending down to peek inside the bags full of cash. Nodding, I had to admit that the bags felt heavier than normal. "This is a shit ton of cash."

  "Rafael and Calix brought an entire army with them. Where do you think those guys are going to get their fix while they’re here? My buddy at one of the stables said the girls are all walking funny after yesterday," he chuckled. Gritting my teeth against the reminder of just what kind of men these were, I tried not to let it bother me. None of the others seemed remotely fazed by the whores. The drugs. The guns.

  I'd known what I was getting myself into when I’d agreed to work for Matteo. It didn't mean I liked to think about the potential lives harmed by his businesses. At least all the women were involved of their own volition, not coerced into stripping or hooking or sold to the highest bidder by egotistical and pushy pimps who had no business living.

  If they didn't do it for Matteo, they'd probably do it for someone who treated them poorly. The devil you know and all that; at least he made sure they were safe and cared for. It was all I had to hang on to when the morals I'd been raised with tried to rear their judgmental heads.

  Rafael poked his head into the room. All I felt was satisfaction that at least the demented fuck wasn't harassing Yavin. I dealt with psycho daily. Shit. I even liked Ryker.

  But something about Rafe set my nerves on edge, a darkness within his soul that felt like a whole different level. Ryker had boundaries and limits, despite his enjoyment of causing people pain.

  Somehow I knew Rafe was different, that he'd stop at nothing to get what he wanted once he set his mind to it. Enough to make the psychos I knew look like child's play.

  "Well, I guess at least they paid well," I agreed, zipping up our portion of the cash from the more illegal aspects of business at Tease. Yav couldn't exactly mark down blow and sex on the itemized tax forms, so a portion stayed behind for him to launder while the rest went to offshore accounts.

  Rafael’s steps were slow and casual, unhurried as he observed his surroundings and made his way over to us. "I'm told your woman is here. I am surprised you allowed her to leave the bedroom after the stunt she pulled. I'd tie mine to my bed and not let her see the light of day until she lived and breathed my name, had she endangered herself that way."

  "I have a feeling Sadie would find a way out of handcuffs," I said with a grunt of disapproval. "How is Isa, anyway?"

  "As expected, Matteo forbade me from touching her while I am here." He shrugged, despite the fire burning in his odd eyes, which seemed to glow as if lit from the pits of Hell that burned inside his very soul. "We have come up with another course of action, but he's requested she be eighteen before I make my move."

  "And?”

  "I can be patient. I myself am not fond of how young she is," he agreed, barely glancing up at the stripper who worked the pole like the professional she was, with her eyes on him. Some women desired all the power of a beast between their legs, unconcerned with the consequences of those actions. Others just appreciated the extra money that came with going above and beyond the expectations of their job title.

  Natalie was both.

  Rafe's eyes left the stripper, uninterested in the body twining so sensually. "Her disappearance will attract less attention when she is eighteen, anyway. Parents can only do so much when their only child goes on vacation and never comes home."

  "What exactly are you doing here if you aren't interested in the entertainment?" I asked, accepting the slip of paper from Bryan where Yavin had marked down exactly how much money he was sending for transfer to the accounts.

  Rafe shrugged. "My men thought it would help distract me from following my Princesa. Since I cannot bring her to Ibiza for some time, regardless."

  "Doesn't seem like it worked very well," Bryan chuckled, accepting the slip of paper back as I signed off that I'd seen it transferred to Bryan's custody. There'd been a time when we were less coordinated, but several betrayals over the course of Matteo's leadership meant he'd cracked down. Now when money went missing, we knew everyone who'd touched it.

  Bryan hefted a bag up onto each shoulder, ignoring the silent, scathing reprimand Rafe gave him with burning eyes. To be so oblivious to the danger lurking right beside you; I'd never understand such a thing. I almost envied the lack of real-life experience, but also knew with war tensions brewing, Bryan would see his fair share of horror in the coming months.

  He made for the door hidden behind one of the curtains at the back of the room, his car waiting in the alley just outside. Hefting up two more of the cash-laden bags, Rafe followed suit, and we deposited them into Bryan's trunk. As soon as it was closed, Bryan climbed into the driver's seat and took it to the next stage in the journey.

  Even I didn't know where it went at that point. One of the most crucial aspects of operating safely was that no one person besides Matteo knew the entirety of Bellandi operations. Lino knew the legitimate, Yavin knew Tease, Max knew the stables, Ryker knew the Warehouse and cleanup, Ash knew Indulgence, Seb knew security, Massimo knew the Underground, Sergio knew the dealers, Brando knew the weapons, and our finance guy Nick knew the transfer of money and the process it went through once it left our businesses.

  No one person could rat out or dismantle an entire operation because they didn't know everything. Everyone and everything had a place.

  Turning back for the club, Rafe and I made our way inside and snuck out the door into the hallway, before Natalie would turn off the music and muss herself up to look like she'd had quite the private show with Bryan. We made our way down the hall of VIP rooms, crossing the main space to go for Yavin's office. The idea of Rafe near Sadie didn't sit right with me, what with her rebellions and how controlled Rafe appeared to want his woman.

  "It is such a pleasure to see a woman capable of enjoying the female body, is it not?" Rafe asked, halting his steps to glance over to the leather couches that lined the back of the main space. Separate from the seven stages strewn around the room, they were where customers typically brought girls when they paid for a lap dance.

  I sighed when my eyes found Yavin's, amusement tinting his cheeks as he laughed his ass off. Sure enough, the woman sitting on the couch with another woman grinding her pussy all over her lap was Sadie.

  Both the stripper and Sadie wore huge grins, Sadie's hands wandering in a way that men wouldn't be allowed in the public room when getting a dance. But the dancer didn't mind the attention, and even though Sadie was fully dressed, all the men in her vicinity turned to watch her as she drew back a hand and smacked the stripper's ass as she got a faceful of cleavage. "Fuck," I grunted, hanging my head for only a moment as I tried to calm my jealousy.

  Man. Woman. It didn'
t matter to me. Other hands on my woman wouldn't be tolerated.

  Storming over to the sofa and ignoring Rafe's sharp bark of laughter behind me, I glared at Yavin until he got the point. "I thought my instructions were very clear," I told Sadie.

  "I'm fully clothed, and I haven't touched a pole, so I'd say they were clear, yes." She grinned up at me as the stripper spun on her lap, arching her back so that her head hung over Sadie's shoulder. A taller person would have a perfect view of her tits with her ass grinding on her lap, but Sadie was buried beneath her. "Crimson is teaching me how to give a lap dance," she said as the stripper in question leaned forward and circled her hips.

  "She's touching you," I said. "That goes against my rules. Should I get a lap dance too?" Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched Sadie’s eyes flare with annoyance. Crimson seemed to get the picture, standing from her lap and accepting the roll of cash Sadie gave her before she scurried off.

  "I don't know," Sadie whispered. "Are there male strippers here? Because I'd pay to see that."

  "Baby Girl," I warned. "The only reason I'm not spanking your ass is because I knew from the get go that you were a little wild. I like you wild. I just want you wild with me." Her expression stilled as she studied me, something churning behind her honeyed gaze.

  Shaking off the moment, Sadie stood from her seat slowly, her moves accentuated by the music pulsing as she crossed one foot in front of the other and made her way to me. Her hips rolled side to side with each step, mimicking the moves she'd undoubtedly observed with the dancers on stage. Her finger touched my chest, trailing over the suit jacket I'd slipped on before coming to the club. "So, it didn't turn you on to watch me touch her?" she asked, that finger making its way up to my neck to touch the bare skin she found there. Grasping her palm around the back of my neck, she tugged me down to her level so she could whisper in my ear. "Because it sure as fuck turned me on."

  My dick twitched despite my jealousy. I'd never let another woman touch Sadie like that, but that didn't mean the thought of her getting turned on watching and touching other women wouldn't drive me crazy. She grabbed my hand, tugging me over to the sofa and pushing until I sat exactly where she'd been. "I think if another woman gave you a lap dance, I might have to tear her off you by the hair," she murmured, stepping back to look at me. "Is that how you feel at the gym when the guys touch me?"

  I glared up at her, watching as she dropped slowly, swerving her hips from side to side in front of me. When she hit her knees to the floor, those dainty but calloused hands touched my knees. Shoving them open suddenly, she slid between them, rising until her legs straightened but her waist bent towards me. Leaning over me and giving me a line of vision down her shirt, the lacy smoky grey of her bra peeked out where it hugged her high, firm tits.

  The illogical urge to tell her to stop stuck on my tongue, both hating and loving the fact that other men watched her little show. Knowing she was mine, with her attention fixed entirely on me. "Do you want me to stop?" she asked, spinning slowly and perching her tight little ass on my cock where it strained against my slacks, desperate to escape the confines of my pants and get inside her. Hands on my thighs, she rolled her hips around, gyrating against me and driving me insane with the temptation she built in me. "Because I think you like knowing that other men are wishing they were you right now," she whispered, turning and straddling my lap so she ground her pussy down on me. Cursing all the clothes between us, I reached up a hand and grabbed her around the back of the head until I pulled her face down into mine.

  "You're going to regret this when I get you home," I murmured, nipping her bottom lip with my teeth. She giggled, looking thrilled with her successful torment. She thrived under the music and the excitement.

  Sadie was not meant to be caged. She was meant to be wild and free, and I'd learn to tolerate those aspects of her personality as long as I was beside her when she got a case of recklessness in her veins. "Looking forward to it," she admitted with a sultry smile, touching her lips to mine softly.

  Testing.

  Sadie never initiated intimacy between us, always left that for me because of her hesitance to be open in our relationship. The moment her soft lips touched mine, I tugged her down harder. One hand in her hair and one at her hip, encouraging her pussy to grind down on my dick while I devoured her mouth like it would give me my last breath. Her hair fell in a curtain around us, blocking out the view of other patrons until Yavin cleared his throat pointedly.

  When Sadie pulled away with a broad grin that wasn't the least bit sheepish, I knew without a doubt that I'd need to keep the two of them separated as much as possible. No good could come of them conspiring together.

  "Sadie wants to go to fight night tomorrow," Yavin said, leaving little doubt to what they'd discussed. "I told her you hate fight night."

  "I'll trade a lap dance for fight night," Sadie offered. "Seems like a fair trade."

  "I already had a lap dance," I told her, my face twisting into an evil grin as I looked up at her. "I want something else."

  "He wants me to suck his dick," Sadie whispered, leaning over to Yavin like I couldn't hear her. My fingers tightened on her hips, holding her steady.

  "Not quite, Carina. I want you to meet my family."

  The paling of her face was obvious even in the black lights of the cub.

  Yavin's roar of laughter as he strolled back toward his office said everything there was to say about what Sadie thought of my deal. My commitment-phobe would meet my family, whether she agreed or not.

  But she didn't need to know that.

  19

  Sadie

  I paced about the living room, five steps in either direction as Enzo watched. He didn't comment on my obsessive counting or the taps against my thigh, but I knew he saw them. He knew what they were, and a few days prior the thought would have horrified me. Too distracted by my anxiety to care, I kept up my high-strung pacing. Rebel huffed out a heavy breath from her place on her bed, standing and stretching with a dramatic groan. Trotting over to me, she butted her big head against my hand, distracting me mid-count.

  With a sigh, I knelt down in front of her and hugged her to my chest as my hands stroked over her fur while Enzo watched us with a thoughtful look on his face. Something about her soothed me, distracted me from the impulses that consumed me so thoroughly. “Why don't you come sit, Baby Girl? They'll be here soon. Dinner's covered, so you just need to come and relax. They'll love you."

  Pressing a kiss to the top of Rebel's head, I stood and made my way to the couch to sit next to him. He wrapped his arm around me, rubbing the tension in my shoulder with his massive hand. "I can't believe you're making me do this,” I said as I groaned into his side. “You realize we've known each other for less than a week, right? It is way too soon to be doing the meet the family thing."

  "You'd be a mess whether I introduced you today or in six months. Besides, we'll be married by then. I think it'd be weird for you to meet my family at our wedding."

  "Enzo!" I shrieked, turning to punch him in the arm. He chuckled, clutching it like the dramatic baby men tended to be when it served their purpose. "We will not be married in six months. Who said I even believe in marriage?"

  He stilled, pursing his lips as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. I didn't not agree with marriage, but that was one of those conversations couples needed to have before they threw out the discussions about fucking marriage. We'd never talked about kids or anything of a serious nature, and I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. Given that Bellandi men tended to make those decisions for their women.

  I'd castrate him.

  "My mother wants grandchildren," he murmured. "She'll make that very clear tonight, I'm sure."

  "Do you not want kids?" I asked, waiting on the edge of my seat for his answer. While I didn't want kids right at that moment, the impossibility of them in the future might be a deal breaker for me.

  The fact that it might have been a deal breaker felt significant, as
if I was hoping for a future to our relationship despite his lack of desire to sleep with me. I needed to get my shit together, but I didn’t know how to do that when I didn’t actually want to.

  "Eventually," he said, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I'd like to have you to myself for a while first though, and I don't like the idea of bringing a baby into the world while we're fighting a war on the streets. Everything is too uncertain and dangerous right now." He paused, studying me intently before he sighed. "If I'd been a better man, I would have stayed away from you and not pursued a relationship. Claiming you as mine only put a bigger target on your back."

  "Yes well, you're obviously a very bad man," I scolded, rolling my eyes at his ridiculous self-criticism. I knew the Bellandis weren't exactly on the up-and-up and that most would be classified as criminals by most. But being best friends with Ivory and getting to know them, I wouldn't say they were terrible humans either.

  It was an odd juxtaposition. Criminal, but not evil.

  Even if they did ally with men I suspected were the outright devil.

  "Just tell my mother we'll have kids when we're ready. Better yet, let me tell her that. She's used to me dismissing her nosiness." I huffed a laugh, leaning into his chest and drawing in a deep breath of him. With the scent of him filling my lungs, tension faded from my body until I relaxed. Surrounded by him was my favorite place to be lately. Although I knew it was the most dangerous for my heart.

  Enzo had worked his way in slowly like a disease, claiming every nook of the beating muscle in my chest for himself until I couldn’t deny my feelings for him anymore. I couldn’t resist the need to explore what grew between us no matter how hard I tried. He was probably the biggest risk I’d ever take, but I knew without a doubt I would regret not taking the leap with him for the rest of my life. I just had to hope it was worth it.