Caught Red Handed (The Caught Series Book 6)

by C. M. Steele

  The night sky was so clear that the stars were bright. I walked over to the lounge chairs and admired the view of the full moon. Maybe that’s what was wrong with me. They say a full moon brings the crazies out. I laughed to myself. It wasn’t the moon at all. Deep inside I just craved Tony. Where was he?

  “Find her damn it. She couldn’t have gotten far,” I heard Tony roar as I heard a door slam. I jumped out of the chair and walked to the sliding door. He saw me and released a hard breath. Then he summoned me, “Come here, Alana.”

  I came back into the house. “I didn’t know it was a crime to step outside.”

  “It’s not, but the security is on and it went off. I thought you tried to leave me again.”

  “Says the man who left me alone after taking my virginity.” I was annoyed as fuck with him. I walked past him and rushed back up the stairs. The man irritated me, he was the one who left me. I didn’t get halfway up the stairs before he got to me and pinned me onto the steps.

  With his eyes looking hard and fearful at the same time, he gruffly replied, “Something came up at the club and I had to go there. I was already on my way back when I got the silent alarm.”

  “You have me as a prisoner here?” I asked, wondering if he was always going to leave me locked inside away from the world.

  “You didn’t seem to mind earlier,” he tossed out, like it was no big deal.

  “Let me up. You’re hurting my back,” I grunted. I could feel the impressions of the stairs on my spine.

  He was quick to let me up and turn me around, lifting my blouse. He groaned, then began to kiss my back. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Alana. I never want to hurt you.” His voice was so soft and pleading. He was scared that he hurt me and I was going to leave him.

  “I wasn’t going to run away.”

  “That’s not why the security is up. It’s because I want to keep you safe. I have enemies; any one with money does. That’s why rich people live with large gates surrounding their property. The average American homeowner has a security system in place. When it went off, I panicked. Your phone was going straight to voicemail.”

  “I didn’t take my phone charger out of the wall because I was in a hurry.”

  “Oh, I have one in the bedroom drawer that hides the cord, but it’s plugged into the wall behind the night stand. I have a thing with seeing cords everywhere.” I smiled up at him because that wasn’t an unreasonable dislike, but a bit much for a rumored mobster.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked him.

  “Yes, I just…” he paused, looking for a lie to tell me.

  “Listen, Tony. As long as you’re not out fucking someone else or seeing someone else, you don’t need to tell me your business. I know everything you do isn’t above board.”

  “There’s definitely no one else.”

  Chapter 13

  Tony

  She needed some new clothes since all she had was packed in that one small suitcase. I didn’t want her to be without choices. My wife was going to have everything she wanted. I watched her as she ate her eggs during breakfast, and I wanted to take her back to bed, but we had to get a move on. “Are you done staring at me?”

  “Never. Are you almost done? We have to get you some clothes. I have to be at the club tonight and I don’t want to leave you here.”

  “Why you don’t trust me? Think I’m going to be nosy?”

  I walked around the counter and lifted her off the chair. “Everything here is yours. You can go anywhere in the house and look at whatever you please. I don’t want you to be alone. Your safety is important to me. I trust you, Alana.”

  “Thank you, Tony.” She pressed her lips to mine.

  “Now, let’s get ready to go. I want you with me sitting there as I work.”

  “Okay.” She ran upstairs to get dressed, and when she came back down I wasn’t surprised that she was wearing jeans, a tee shirt, and sneakers. The woman that showed up at the club was desperate for a job. It wasn’t who she was normally.

  “You look cute as fuck. Come on.”

  “Says the guy looking like he belongs on the cover of GQ.”

  “You belong on my dick, Alana. Every time you’re in my arms, I don’t want to let go. Fuck, Alana.” I loved this woman. What I did to deserve her, I don’t know, but I’ll prove my worth to her. Well, I’ll try. Some things couldn’t be undone.

  ~~~~~

  She was looking so cute as she came down the steps in an outfit that was pretty, yet covered up. It was a one shoulder green blouse that was loose fitting and rested at her hips, and a pair of jeans with some gold sandals. She looked like the girl next door and I wanted to take her back upstairs. There were tons of sexy things that we picked up at the stores, but the thought of her wearing them to the club annoyed me to the point that I told her to wear what made her comfortable. It would work for tonight. All her goodies weren’t on display and I liked that. She was gorgeous either way, but this outfit was less likely to get a man killed.

  I grabbed her hand and led her to the car. We had to be at the club soon and I wanted her by my side as much as possible. She stayed up in my office the entire night because I didn’t like the dicks looking at my woman. The paid women on the stage were there for that. She helped me with some paperwork and ordering more clothes online. After about an hour of talking to my staff and some guests, I went up to my office and locked the door. It was time to give some special attention to Alana.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have come here tonight,” she complained with her arms crossed.

  “Why? Are you bored up here?”

  “No, it’s that you don’t want me down there. Is it because I’m not dressed up enough?”

  “Hell no. I don’t want your sexy ass any place there’s a swarm of horny men. I don’t want to kill them for looking at you. When we walked in you got more attention than the chick on stage.”

  “That’s because I’m in plain clothes and no jewelry on. They were probably wondering what I was doing here.” She was right about one thing. She needed some jewelry and a fat rock on her finger.

  “No, they were thinking that girl next door look is sexy as fuck and how they’d like to see you become the bad girl. Not going to happen. Your everything belongs to me.”

  Chapter 14

  Alana

  This has been a whirlwind romance that’s going to crash and burn soon. Besides the amazing sex, there’s nothing else between us. I know he made promises of family and the future, but he doesn’t know the truth. I’m not sure I can take the secret anymore, but I’m not sure I can live without him. Tony was in a meeting with some liquor distributors, so I was in our room, recovering from our last bout of incredible sex. My body ached and sizzled in so many different ways. This was all new to me; everything was new, the sex, the lies, the crime. A shiver washed over me as I considered the possibility that he would learn about Simms. I wondered what would happen once he started asking me questions about my life. I assume he didn’t ask me about my past because he didn’t want to go tit for tat on the subject of pasts. Being a gangster meant that his past was loaded with skeletons, real skeletons.

  He only left about twenty minutes ago, and I missed him already. I was pathetic when it came to Anthony Franchetti. My phone was buzzing from Greg again. I went into the corner of the room and answered it.

  “Can you stop calling me?” I hissed into the phone. He didn’t buy that I died in the fire. He knew that I was with Tony, so he wouldn’t quit harassing me. My phone was on vibrate to keep Tony from asking questions. He was busy with his club and his management when he wasn’t inside me. I knew he was kind of a loan shark, but as for the gangster side, I didn’t see much of it.

  “So, you’re alive.” His voice made my skin crawl. How was it that I was now on the side of the criminal and annoyed by the cop? All my life I was the do-gooder and smarty pants. Now, I was the boss’s mistress or whatever they called me when I wasn’t around. “That’s what I thought. Since you’ve b
eing hiding with Franchetti, I assume he doesn’t know you were sent to spy on him. Oh, and the engagement was a nice touch that I didn’t see coming. We want details.”

  “There’s nothing to tell you. I know nothing and he hasn’t done anything wrong, so leave me alone. I told you I wasn’t doing this anymore, and we’re not engaged.” Where he got that idea, I don’t know, but it was ludicrous.

  “That’s the response that I thought I would get from you. It’s a pity. Your father would be disappointed in you. You’ve become a thug’s whore.” That was low. Simms was giving me a bad vibe, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to get better without the truth coming out of my mouth first.

  “Detective, leave me alone or I’ll report you,” I warned him. He was pushing me too far.

  “Not if they find out who you are before you can run again.” I felt like Tony was in love with me or as close to love as a thug could be. We had the most amazing week together and he talked about having a family. As much as I hate it, I think it was best I told him the truth. “Maybe I’ll tell him first,” I countered. Either way, it would have to come to a head sooner or later. I was surprised he didn’t know everything about me already.

  “Then you’ll be dead like his ex-slut. She was killed for working for another crime family. Oh, he didn’t tell you that, did he? She left him and he killed her. Then he was lucky to only get shot in the ass. When he finds out that you are working for us, well, he’ll probably take his time disposing of you. Keep that in mind if you think it’s best to switch sides, Alana.”

  “Drop dead.” I hung up the phone and sat on the bed with my head bent on my knees as I curled them up to my chest, trying to calm down. He killed an ex-girlfriend because she was working for the other side? I was a goner. I had to get out of here and fast before Tony came for me. I packed my bags and would sneak out in the night. Now to figure out how not to trigger an alarm.

  Chapter 15

  Tony

  I was fucking madly in love with her. Sitting in my office, attempting to work. and all I could do was think of her. Alana is everything that a guy could want and she’s all mine. She’s lying in bed after being fucked for the hundredth time this week. But I needed to get some work done or I’d end up losing my business.

  I thought about taking her to the club tonight, but I didn’t want anyone eyeing her like she was fucking candy. Besides, she said she was too tired to go. I forgot that until now she hadn't been forced into a different waking hour. Most people didn’t operate like night owls. Opening up another business during the day may be a better solution for us. It was something I needed to discuss with my lawyers and my cousin, the one person who I could trust with my future.

  Trust. I popped out of my desk chair, feeling that I could trust Alana, too. There was so much I still needed to learn about her. I knew her parents were dead and that’s why she needed the job so bad. She hated pickles on her food and she was only eighteen. I was in love with a girl who was barely legal, but she was a sweetheart and that in itself was worth its weight in gold.

  My guy Tic walked into my office without fucking knocking. He got the name because his face was full of expression especially when he was pissed. He had a tic in his jaw that told the person on the receiving end they were fucked. Tic was lucky as hell that I left Alana upstairs to sleep because if she’d been awake and riding my dick like I really wanted, this fucker was going to catch a bullet in his nuts. “What do you want?”

  “Boss, you’ve got to get rid of the broad. I can do it for you,” he said. Instant rage flooded my brain and traveled down to my trigger finger. I jumped out of my chair, my gun in my hand and out of my waistband in a second and pointed at his head.

  “What the fuck did you say?” I asked my voice tight with violent promise, a deranged look in my eyes that told him what he said was a big fuck-up on his part.

  He threw his hands up in the air and backed up, his eyes round and fearful. “Whoa, boss. Chill. I guess you don’t know yet.”

  “Know what? She has someone else sniffing around?” That was the only thing I could consider, and I’d just cap that motherfucker and get on with our lives. Her pussy was owned by me and only me.

  “Yeah, the cops. She’s a fucking snitch.” I shook my head vehemently. Not believing a single word of that. My sweet Alana wouldn’t be working for the cops. She wouldn’t and she was only eighteen. There’s no way that shit would even be legal.

  “Bullshit, Tic. You are talking about the woman I’m going to marry.” That was the only warning I was going to give his ass.

  “Fuck, boss. I’m sorry, but we got the proof.” He held his hands up and shook his head.

  “She’s not old enough to be a cop. She’s only eighteen.” I was in full blown denial. There wasn’t anything that would make this right.

  “Yeah, well, my little sister went to high school with her. She was seen with cops several times at the end of the year and not because she was in trouble. Dahlia said she knew her and that she wanted to be a detective when she grew up.”

  “That’s your fucking proof?” That wasn’t enough for me. She could have changed her mind. She came to the club for a job. A lot of women who are smart came there for the extra money for school. I didn’t want to believe him. I couldn’t believe it because that meant that everything I dreamed of was a fucking lie.

  “No. There’s more.” The solemnness in his voice told me I was about to be crushed.

  “What the fuck else?” I asked, annoyed and full of resentment.

  “We looked at surveillance tapes of the club because the police were looking for a suspect who claimed he’d been at the club on the night she came there, and she got out of an unmarked car. We watched the car and the driver got out. I’d seen the guy before he’s a detective. The one that was at the club looking for her, Gregory Simms.”

  I paled and was ready to kill the fucking messenger. My girl played me and that was why he’d been looking for her. Maybe she was afraid to call him because I was around. Damn, I couldn’t wrap my head around this. I was played before, but that chick was nothing to me and it cost me big time. This time was a lot fucking worse. She was everything to me. How the fuck could she do this to me? Playing me this whole time, giving me her virginity only to get me on something illegal. My heart was fucking breaking on the damn spot. This was bullshit and I didn’t want to believe. I had to see for myself.

  “Tic, get the fuck out of here before I kill the messenger.” He was out of the door without turning back, and he was wise because I felt like putting a bullet in someone and it would never be her. No matter how much I felt betrayed.

  I climbed the stairs up to the bedroom two at a time. I damn near kicked in the door. She was startled out of her sleep or it looked like it. I noticed that her luggage was on the side. “Tony, what’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide and her heart racing.

  “You working for the cops?” I don’t know how I managed to get the words out of my mouth, but from the look on her face, I got my answer. She looked petrified and kept eyeing my gun. The tears were already rolling down her cheeks. Those tears weren’t for me or for us; they were out of fear that I was going to kill her. She was so damn scared of me because it was all true. The beating in my brain grew to a monstrous fucking rhythm. It hit a crescendo when I saw her phone in her hand.

  “Get the fuck out,” I roared, hating both of us at the moment. “Get your shit and get the fuck out. I don’t want to ever see you again. You fucking disgust me.” I got the fuck out of the room and out of the damn house before I fucking lost it and did some shit I knew I’d regret.

  “Boss, what’s going on?” Vinny asked, following me around the side of the house. I was pacing back and forth.

  “I want her out of here. Take her wherever she wants to go, but I don’t want to know where. Just get her out of here and don’t fucking touch a hair on her head.” As much as I hated her, I loved her so much the thought of losing her was fucking killing me inside. The feeling
of being torn in two was sending me into a fit of uncontrolled rage. I walked back around to the front of the house with Vinny in tow. Waving him off to go in the house, I hopped in my truck and drove off. There was no way I could even speak to anyone right now. I was ready to pop off on someone.

  Chapter 16

  Alana

  I was out of the house with my suitcase and my bag, hoping that I wasn’t gunned down just walking away. Tony didn’t want me here and I’d been trying to bring him down. Or I was that first ten minutes I was in the club. Now, I was going to be like his ex-girlfriend—a dead girlfriend.

  “Ms. Alana, come with me.” Vinny frightened me when he grabbed my suitcase from my hand.

  “Please don’t kill me,” I begged.

  “I’m not going to kill you, even if he told me to, which he didn’t. I know what’s going on, but he needs time to cool down. Is there somewhere I could take you?”

  “I don’t have a place to live, but the airport would be the best place for me. I have family in another state.” Maybe I could stay with my cousins in Colorado for a while until I got my life back together and as far from Tony’s world as possible.

  “Do you need money?” Vinny asked, shaking me out of the thought of never seeing Tony again. The pain in my chest may be worse than the bullet. At least then it would be over, now he’ll forever be in my heart.

  “I have enough, I think.”

  “Well, I won’t let you suffer just because of this. I know that you love him. I can see it even if he’s not ready to believe it.”

  “I do. I had no idea when I agreed to do work with them that I would fall hard and fast for Tony. I swear I called them that night to bow out. I couldn’t be a snitch. Even before I met him, I knew I was out of my league.”