by Nicole Banks
Naila watched as Tommy’s lips split into a huge grin. There went her pulse again; it picked up like a jackhammer. He leaned over the table once more. “I don’t know. Am I staying, amore mio?”
The way he asked the question, Naila knew had nothing to do with him staying for dinner. There was an underlying invite to stay in her bed. While Naila’s body was standing at attention, waiting to accept the invite, she knew this was where their night would end.
Naila pasted a smile on her face and addressed the waiter. “He’s not staying, so no need to take his order.”
The waiter smiled back and hurried off to the next table. Naila turned to address Tommy. “Last I checked, I wasn’t your love. That’s another pet name you should remove from your vocabulary.”
“Your Italian seems to be pretty good, bella.” He smiled.
“I’m well-versed. You seem dense, though. Do I need to specifically tell you to remove all pet names from your vocabulary? Baby, beautiful, my love, are nowhere near what my name is.”
Tommy chuckled. “What else would you like me to call you? It’s not like you gave me your name.”
Naila leaned further on the table. “And I don’t remember inviting you to sit down either.”
Tommy couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He couldn’t remember the last time he genuinely enjoyed the company of a female outside of sex, aside from his best friend but even then, this was different. He loved that she was giving him shit. Too often no one called him on his bullshit or dared to disagree with him.
Anyone who knew who he was, or who his father was, tended to kiss his ass. They didn’t want to get on ‘the Delucias’ bad side’, as the street put it.
He hated it.
It was why he took his mother’s last name. While his relationship with his pops was at one point relatively great, he wanted nothing to do with who he was or his business.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way his father’s business worked. People would always associate him with his father no matter how much distance he tried to put between the them.
He watched his nameless beauty, even more intrigued by her. Either she was clueless to the goings-on of the city or she really didn’t give a shit who he was. Judging by the way she was treating him and her business attire, he doubted she was clueless. His respect for her managed to grow even more, especially as she continued to eat her dessert and drink her beer like he wasn’t sitting across from her, desperate for her attention.
He dated plenty of women who were either the salad type or were too scared to eat in front of him. It was probably why none of his relationships lasted. He liked a woman who could eat. Tommy was here long enough to know this was all she ordered. While it wasn’t healthy by any means, it was refreshing to see a woman who enjoyed dessert.
He watched attentively as she scarfed down the rest of the tiramisu and washed it down with her beer. He half expected her to burp and wipe her mouth on her sleeve.
She looked up at him and blinked in surprise. “You’re still here?” She shrugged. “You’re more than welcome to the table, since you seem so fond of it.” She rose and he did too.
She pulled out money and left it on the table. “There’s an extra twenty in there for you if you want to get yourself something nice.” She winked at him as her lips turned up into a smirk that said she was insulting him, just in case he wasn’t bright enough to hear the sarcasm in her tone.
She turned to leave and Tommy reached out, grabbing her wrist. He braced himself, expecting her to turn around and swing. While her body might be giving him the green light, it didn’t mean she was actually on board with it.
She turned to face him, her eyes narrowed. “You must have a death wish.”
He dropped his hand immediately and took a step back. He liked his body parts attached to him, and the look she was giving him told him she’d be all too happy to cut off his limbs with a rusty saw.
“My apologies.” Tommy got away with one touch tonight; he was pushing his luck thinking he’d be able to get away with more than that.
“You’re really leaving?” He asked the question before he thought better of it.
She looked at him like he’d sprouted two heads. “Yes, that’s what one does when they’re done with dinner.”
She tried unsuccessfully to keep the smile off her face. Tommy enjoyed her smartass mouth, maybe a little too much. He didn’t want this night to end yet.
“You really do have someone?” he asked curiously.
Her lips cracked into a genuine smile as she chuckled lightly. “Even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t make it that easy for you.” She winked at him. “Night, Tommy.”
Tommy suppressed his groan as he watched her walk away. His nameless beauty was as tall as he was. Sitting down he couldn’t tell much about her frame, he could only admire her decent rack.
Now that he watched her walk away, he could tell, even in her pantsuit, she was stacked. She had ass for days, which made his mouth water. He watched transfixed as the switch in her hips got more pronounced the farther she got.
He chuckled. He knew that extra sway was for him—her parting gift, as it were. He shook his head as the need to chase her down increased with each step she took. He wanted to take her into the nearest bathroom and show her why giving in to her body’s wants would be beneficial.
Whatever blood remained in his upper region kept his feet rooted in place. He already overstepped too much tonight, which rarely ever happened. He had no doubt she’d eat him alive if he went after her, regardless of what signals her body was sending him.
Tommy pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Kat. She was his friends with benefits—more benefits than friends—but the arrangement worked for both of them.
He had a hard-on that a very intriguing dark-eyed beauty caused. While he would have loved to have gone home with her, he knew when to cut his losses. Kat would have to do.
He had a meeting with his pops tonight, which was why he was even at this restaurant in the first place. He sat back down and waited. His father was already late, and he prayed he’d get here soon. He had an early morning.
The busboy came by to collect the plates and the tip. He looked at Tommy and did a double take as recognition quickly hit him. The busboy stopped what he was doing and started apologizing.
“I–I–I’m so sorry, Mr. Delucia. They said–”
Tommy held up his hand, effectively stopping the stuttering busboy. He hated when people referred to him as Mr. Delucia. That was his father, and as much as it pained his father to hear it, he was nothing like him.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a crisp hundred dollar bill. “Mr. Delucia is my father, not me. No need to apologize for doing your job.” Tommy placed the hundred on top of the money his dark-eyed beauty left. It really hurt his ego that he didn’t get her damn name.
That never happened.
The busboy took the money and continued to clean the table. “I’ll send a waiter over right away.”
“There’s no need.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tommy watched as the busboy scurried away. He probably thought if he stayed and offended him further, he’d be fitted with cement boots. He laughed to himself. Everyone who crossed his path assumed he had his father’s temper.
That Delucia temper had been what made their name legendary. When his father was younger, he was quick to shoot first. As he got older, even though he was still considered cutthroat, his temper didn’t flare anymore.
Tommy didn’t have his father’s temperament or his drive for that lifestyle. That was the point of this little sit-down. His father wanted him in on the family business, and Tommy wanted no part of it.
His father was having health issues that seemed to be worsening by the day. Their ask-no-questions family doctor thought it might be the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease or maybe even cancer. But without the right equipment and with his father’s refusal to go to a specialist, no one knew for sure what was wro
ng with him.
His father was getting desperate to make a shift in power because of his health. Naturally, the shift should have gone to Tommy; it was his birthright. But it wasn’t what he wanted. It was why Tommy was here at Nova tonight; he wanted to persuade his father to hand over the family business to someone else.
Tommy’s phone chimed, and he turned it over to read the incoming text message:
Your father needs to reschedule. Something’s come up. Stop by tomorrow.
It was from one of his father’s bodyguards. Angelo, his father’s second-in-command, should have been the one to deliver the message, but Tommy hated the guy. He made that very clear the second he was old enough to voice his opinion. Under no circumstances was Angelo to speak to him. The man had the tendency to bring out the worst in Tommy. He managed to take him to a place he never liked nor wanted to go. It was a place that, if he was being honest, made him too much like his pops.
It didn’t help matters that Tommy had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that Angelo was a snake. There was something in the way he moved and talked that made Tommy not trust him.
He told his father of his feelings, but he had no solid proof that he was dirty dealing. Without hard evidence, his father wouldn’t do anything. He had too much faith in Angelo. Tommy prayed that wouldn’t be his father’s downfall.
He sent a quick response, and two news alerts came in on his phone:
Another victim overdoses in Brooklyn–this time a young teenage female.
Small explosion downtown.
He clicked the second news alert:
At three this afternoon, the warehouse belonging to alleged crime mob boss Delucia went up in flames. Bystanders said they heard two loud booms, like fireworks going off. The smoke could be seen all the way in the outer boroughs. Was this an insurance scam or the signs of another mob war on the horizon? Investigators are on the scene now. We’ll have more later.
Damn. Another hit on one of his father’s properties. This was the second one that Tommy knew about, and now it made sense why his father had to reschedule; he was probably tied up with the feds.
He re-read the article and searched the internet about the other hit his father had a couple of weeks back. Nothing in the articles seemed to draw any attention to him. They kept alluding to an insurance scam, but he didn’t think that was the case.
Tommy closed the web browsers. This wasn’t his problem. He needed to remember that. He dialed Kat to let her know he’d be by earlier than expected. She picked up on the first ring. “Miss me already?” Her voice was husky, like he caught her in the middle of something.
“Are you playing with yourself, Kat?” he teased.
“Maybe,” she groaned.
“Tsk, tsk, gattino. You know better than to start without me. I’ll be there soon to give you your punishment.” Tommy hung up on her, laughing. He’d have fun with her tonight—he had some things he needed to work out of his system.
He stood and turned, bumping into what felt like a brick wall. Tommy was tall himself with decent weight to him. What he bumped into dwarfed him.
The guy mumbled his apologies until he realized who he bumped into. Tommy watched as the brick wall’s mouth cracked open into a wide smile.
Here we go.
It was always the same; he’d get hit with the fake platitudes and the ‘please don’t hurt me, it was an accident’ babble.
“I’m Bishop.” The guy held his hand out, and Tommy eyed him cautiously before clasping his hand in a firm grip. This was new. Tommy was the first to pull away, and his eyes did a quick scan of the restaurant. He didn’t see anything off, and it allowed him to relax just a little bit.
Bishop chuckled. “Considering who your father is, it’s very ballsy for the prodigal son not to have any bodyguards around him, especially with what’s been happening to his properties and such. No protection detail?”
Bishop pressed his lips together as his eyes scanned the restaurant just as Tommy had done earlier. When his eyes landed back on Tommy, he smirked. “You guys must think you’re untouchable, huh? That’s a little arrogant, don’t you think?”
Tommy tensed and his hands balled into fists. “Considering who my father is, don’t you think it’s a little arrogant to be threatening me in a public place?”
Bishop held up his hands. “I think you misunderstood. I’m just making an honest observation. Always good to keep an eye on things.” He pointed to his eye. “You never know when it’ll prove useful.” He smiled but it lacked friendliness. “Just think of me as a concerned citizen. I would hate to have something happen to Delucia’s only son.”
Bishop leaned in closer and held the back of his hand by his lips, like he was about to unload a juicy secret. “Especially with all the things going on concerning your father’s health.”
Tommy smiled, baring his teeth. This was the shit he hated. No matter how hard he tried to distance himself from the lifestyle, he was always reminded that a different last name didn’t mean a fucking thing.
When Tommy spoke, he was calm, but it still held enough bite to get his message across. “From one concerned citizen to another, let me be the first to tell you, I’m not in the business—never will be. As far as my father goes, he’s as healthy as a horse. Be sure to pass that message along to whoever needs to hear it.”
He turned away and headed straight for the exit. It was stupid of him to give his back to Bishop, but he had to get out of there. He flexed his fists trying to control his anger.
It would do no good to his cause if he allowed his anger to get the better of him. He was removed from the lifestyle. He wanted it to stay that way.
He desperately wanted to put to bed the rumors of his father’s health and his taking over the business. Every time he thought he had a clean break, something tried to pull him back in.
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To my usual suspects: my mom, my sister, and the girls—–Gina, Short Stuff, and Baby Mama—always strong-arming me into cover models.
And to my readers who are always willing to come on this crazy ride with me.
You guys are the best!
Want to know more about Nicole Banks?
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Be sure to check out The next installments in the Shattered Hearts Series:
Shattered
Into Pieces
&
Collision
Her Mafia Romance novels:
Tesoro
&
Orso
Both part of the Tesoro Series.
Ice
&
Kiss of Death
Both part of the Council Series.
Her dystopian novella:
Ad Remedium
As well as her poetry book:
A Mind Seduction
Available on all major ebook retailers.