by AA Lee
Angelo sat at a round table on the main floor and flipped open the metal case that held his cigarettes. Rafa knew better than to send her an invitation. What was he thinking? When Rafa got off the phone, he was going to fire him. That is what he told himself even if he knew that he could not replace Rafa. He could not believe that Rafa did such a thing.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked when Rafa hung up.
“I am still trying to get us a permit to open the damn gentleman’s club. It would be easier to pick out a different plot of land than to try to change the laws already in effect for the area.”
“We’ve been through this before. That is a prime location, so make it happen.”
Rafa dropped his phone on the table and swallowed the shot from his glass. “Well, nothing is going to happen at this time of night. I’ll go down to the city office tomorrow morning and see what I can do.”
Angelo exhaled a puff of smoke and took a drink of wine. He looked around the room, at the tables and then at the bar. “It looks good, doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does,” Rafa answered.
“It is the perfect cover to hide what is sitting right on top of us.”
“Yes, being off the radar is the only good thing about buying in Key Biscayne.”
“It’s easy access too.”
Rafa seemed to think about it and nodded. “We can move stock quickly to this area. It does make a good transfer location.”
“Yes, and it’s a straight drive north and west.”
“I still prefer Miami.” Rafa pointed.
Angelo pulled the cigarette from his lips. “Key Biscayne has other good points.”
“Oh, you mean like a certain blond who you bought a restaurant for?”
“No,” Angelo glared. “But I wasn’t going to get her mixed up with group money either.”
“Proof,” said Rafa.
“Of what? What are you going on about now? You are getting on my nerves.”
“It’s proof that you didn’t want her dead if she could not handle the business and bring you a profit.”
Angelo huffed. “It’s only proof that I expected her to succeed and wanted to profit off of her myself.”
“Sure it is,” Rafa said and stared across the room.
“Why did you send her an invitation? You were the one who convinced me that she wouldn’t be able to handle the life. And weren’t you the one advising me to do what my father says?”
“Yes, but I also know that she makes you smile, and I didn’t think that was possible for anyone to do.” Rafa kept glancing at the dance floor in between sips of his drink.
“I don’t like –” Angelo did not finish and gave Rafa an annoyed glance. “What the hell do you keep looking at?” he asked, though uninterested with anything going on. All he could really think about was the confused expression on Ella’s face when he left her on the roof.
“Oh, nothing,” Rafa shook his head. “Just a pretty little blond, in a silky red dress…dancing with Sid.”
Angelo inhaled a deep, steady breath and tried to control his temper. Rafa was aggravating him more today than other days. Rafa’s intentions were deliberate and Angelo dropped his cigarette in Rafa’s drink. He was probably just trying to gain a reaction. Angelo was not sure and turned toward the dance floor to check. He could not think straight when he saw it was true. Ella’s arms rested around Sid’s shoulders, and Sid’s hands settled far lower than what was casual. Angelo had to close his eyes and turn back around; otherwise, he would have dragged the man outside and shot him. “You set that up.” He brushed it off as though it did not matter. “How much did you pay Sid to dance with her?”
“A thousand,” Rafa shrugged.
“You wasted your money then. I have no interest in her.”
“No?”
“No.” Angelo took another drink, being careful not to shatter the wine glass with his tightened grip.
“Oh. Then I guess you won’t care that he just grabbed her ass. I only paid him to dance with her.”
Angelo turned his head back to the dance floor to see if Rafa spoke the truth. If seeing Sid’s greasy brown curly hair did not annoy him enough, Sid’s hand not only touched the seat of her dress but also squeezed. “Well…” He stood. Angelo could feel every muscle in his face tighten with the angered heat that started to build. Then he reared his fist back and smashed the smirk off Rafa’s face for paying the asshole to touch Ella.
“I guess the bastard shouldn’t have taken your money,” Angelo said as he slipped off his coat and dropped it to the back of the chair.
Rafa stretched his jaw. He had known that Angelo would punch him. He had waited for it. That is why he had not moved.
“Just giving you a good reason to make a move,” Rafa said. His smug tone made Angelo want to hit him again. “I don’t like Sid anyway. The dumbass has been creeping around all night as if he owns the place. He should have known there were strings attached to my money.”
“I’ll deal with you later, Rafa.” Angelo pointed at him and scowled.
***
Ella did not care for the way that Sid grabbed her upper thigh. She did agree to dance with him, but he was pushing his boundaries. He made her feel uncomfortable. She did not think that their casual chat gave him permission for more. Forcing her hands between her chest and Sid’s, Ella shoved him away from her as hard as she could.
“I told you to move your hands.” She took a giant step back but Sid immediately closed the gap and wrapped her in his arms. Ella could smell the alcohol on his breath. Sid drank too much in the short time the club had opened. The bartender should have cut him off.
“What do you think you are doing?” Angelo marched straight up to them and shoved Sid away from her. Ella had only wanted him to see her dancing with the man. She had never intended for it to get out of hand.
“Look…I’m trying to have a good…” Sid stammered his words at seeing Angelo standing next to her. “Rafa,” he groaned. “Mr. Tomassi, I didn’t know she was with you.”
“And if she wasn’t, you think I would be okay with your behavior?” Angelo growled and slammed his fist into Sid’s temple. Sid’s eyes rolled back. His body instantly fell to the stage. Then Angelo looked around the room, stopping for a second and gesturing his chin at someone. “Sammy, take care of this asshole,” he said and looked straight at Ella. “It wasn’t smart to dance with someone you don’t know.”
“I was handling the situation.” Her voice trailed as Angelo grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the club.
This was it. He was making her leave. Why did she ever think that her plan would work? If anything, it completely backfired. Nothing she could say now would make the situation worse.
“Hey, I was having a good time in there,” she said, planting her feet on the ground.
“With Sid?” he asked. “I doubt that is true. It looked to me like you couldn’t get him off you. Some fun,” Angelo scoffed.
“I could have enjoyed a game of pool or another drink.”
“Rafa also sent you the invitation, not me. Then he paid Sid to dance with you to make me jealous.”
“What?” Ella looked down. “Why would he do something like that? I could have gotten a more decent dance partner without his help.”
“Ah, so you came here looking for men. Clubs are always a good place to pick up decent men with virtuous thoughts,” Angelo puffed. “Why did you agree to dance with him anyway?”
“Why does it even matter to you?” Ella jerked her hand away and stared at him. Then she stopped walking and looked around with utter confusion. In their argument, she followed Angelo straight to the beach.
“Tell me why,” he said again.
“Why do you care?” Her voice lowered. “You have had a problem with me since our date. I never did anything to you.”
“Then leave,” he said and continued walking.
Ella sighed and shook her head. “I wanted to get your attention.”
�
�And what would you do with my attention?” He stopped and turned around.
“You looked lonely. Maybe I just want to spend time with you. Is that really so bad?”
“Nobody gives me their time, Ella. Not without a motive.”
“Shame,” she said and kicked off her heels. “No wonder you’re always so tense.”
Ella lifted the hem of her dress and touched her feet to the water. Angelo still had not moved. She admired his muscular build underneath the moonlight. Angelo defined sexy with his rolled shirtsleeves exposing his forearms. She appreciated the way his shirt tucked in at the waist of his buckled slacks. The dark brown hair against his lips and chin made him even more alluring.
“I don’t know,” she added. “I don’t have a motive. Maybe I am just interested.” She shrugged in shy realization of what she had said. Ella could feel her cheeks gain heat as she admitted the truth. Angelo said nothing in return to her admission. He merely pulled a cigarette from a case in his shirt and lit it up.
“So why did you choose a career in real estate? That is a tough business to enter and find success. I can’t see that it was some childhood dream when you were growing up.”
“No, it wasn’t. I wanted to become a detective, but sometimes I would go with my father to look at a new house a client had hired him to sell. I fell in love with the different floorplans and fantasized about what people could do with them. I knew in my teens that I wanted to be part of that. A new home is kind of a new life. Maybe I wanted a different life. I don’t know. How many children actually grow up doing what they wanted as kids?”
“Who knows? I never had a choice, so I couldn’t answer that question. I did what my father raised me to do, and every birthday put me one step closer.”
“Fathers can be very insistent,” Ella nodded, “and when is your birthday?”
“Next week – on the ninth.”
“Do you celebrate?”
“Yes, I celebrate.” Angelo reared his arm back and threw a shell as far as he could throw. “I celebrate every morning when I wake up alive.”
“Oh,” Ella whispered, not knowing how to respond when Angelo walked in front of her and took her hands.
“Why didn’t you just go home, Ella? Did you not hear anything I said about your freedom? You are about to get yourself into something that you never dreamed or wanted. If you come see me again, your entire life will change. Listen to my warning, sweetheart; don’t bother with me.”
Ella breathed deep and shivered under his stature. But something about his expression bordered bewitching and fierce, as though his deep brown eyes could seduce and kill her in the same moment. Yet, she still paid no attention to his warning. “And what if I don’t listen?” She glanced up at him; the tremble in her legs worsened with the serious gaze of his eyes.
“If you don’t…” Angelo slipped his hands around her cheeks, gently stroking them with his fingers and bringing her within an inch of his chest. “If you don’t, it will be too late to change your mind.”
With that, he gently pressed her forehead with his lips and lifted, gazing at the spellbound look in her eyes. He knew what even his lightest kiss would do. With it, he sealed her fate.
CHAPTER 14
It was Angelo’s birthday and Ella clenched a card between her fingers. She hoped he would like it, since it had taken her forty-five minutes to find one with the perfect message. With her other arm, she cradled an expensive bottle of French cabernet like a newborn baby. Ella had a hard time finding the rarity. There were few of these valuable bottles for sale anywhere in the country, and she thought it was the perfect gift.
She tiptoed into Illusions. The club was dark and quiet, much too quiet with only an hour until the doors opened. Ella expected the employees to prepare for a busy Friday night; however, she did not hear one employee’s steps.
“How dare you come in here and make demands like you are my boss? Did you really think that would work?” Loud, continual thuds followed, hitting every single step until it stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Ella assumed it was a person falling down. Then she heard the sound of heavy boots stomping close behind.
Ella froze and caught her breath. She had never heard Angelo talk like that. His fierce tone sent chills down the back of her neck, spreading to the tips of her fingers. Her hand immediately touched the wall, balancing her legs when a piercing click echoed throughout the silent room. Ella felt an instant moment of déjà vu when he pulled the trigger twice.
Ella huddled in a corner near her father’s open office door. Vicious curses echoed throughout the house. She had never heard his voice rise to that level. He was shouting at a man whom she had just let inside through their front door.
“You have nerve coming to my fucking house and talking to me that way. If you had something to say, you should have waited until I got to the damn office. There is not a good enough reason to come here where my daughter is. You should have known I wouldn’t put up with that shit.”
“Come with me,” said Mr. Sullivan in a firm but gentle manner of tone. Ella’s caretaker grabbed her hand and led her from the empty den where her father’s office set. “This is no place for you. Follow me.”
He wrapped his arm around her head and tried to cover her ears so she heard nothing more, but even his strong biceps could not shield her from the metal clicking sound. Then something like a bomb exploded. Ella collapsed to the floor out of fear for her life, but Mr. Sullivan quickly scooped up her body and carried her off.
With the shock of the memory, Ella raised both hands to her mouth. The card flew from her fingers and the bottle tumbled. She jolted forward and tried to save the wine, but it was too late. The costly cabernet crashed to the floor and shattered.
“Who’s there?” Angelo commanded as he stepped out into the dim light of the stairs and crossed his arms. Ella said nothing. Her body trembled with the unfolding scene; she could not answer him if she tried. “Answer me or you will be next,” he warned. Angelo had already fired a gun twice. She knew by the sound of his voice that he did not play. Ella was having none of this type of confrontation and bolted through the door.
She ran across the patio and skidded down the stairs to her car. She could see it from the side of the club where she had parked in one of the closest spots. Ella was almost in the clear, with just a few more feet to go to pass the club, when a pair of hands jerked her up from the ground and dragged her through the back door.
“Nice try.” Rafa set her on her feet. “It looks like you and I are going to get more acquainted.”
Ella panted and tried to calm down. Her hands were shaking without control. They caught her. She had no idea what they would do with her now.
“Brett,” Rafa said. Ella turned around to see Brett standing directly behind her and smiling as if they had caught a mouse. She knew right then that she had witnessed something that she should have never seen. “Go lock the front door and find someone to clean up the wine from the floor.” Rafa pointed. “And you.” He grabbed Ella’s arm. “You will come upstairs with me.”
“I don’t guess I have a choice in this?” she asked, though she already knew the answer.
Rafa kept a straight face as he spoke. “Not anymore.”
Ella sighed as Rafa walked around the bar in the main room and up the steps. These men were like her father, and they did not take intruders lightly. Angelo’s warning on the roof suddenly made so much sense. Where was Rafa taking her?
“The VIP room is through this door,” he said and placed his thumb over a small black plate. “There are two ways to get in and out. Either you have a card or your thumbprint is added to the security system.” Rafa looked back. “None of which you have, so don’t try to run. It will be pointless.”
They are never going to let me leave. Ella shivered as he led her around a curved hallway. The music grew louder. The soft glow of the hallway became brighter with every step they took. Finally, the hallway opened to another large room. A casino. A baccarat table stoo
d on one end with slot machines in between. There were several men playing roulette by the bar.
Rafa ignored all of that and walked past two women who danced on stage in the middle of the room. Ella frowned as they showed off their stringed panties and voluptuous breasts. How was this different from the strip club? Half-naked women for the men’s amusement did not please her at all. To think, Angelo probably saw them every night and had the nerve to tell her that she did not belong at that club.
Rafa led her to several tables where more men sat around with serious expressions and looked at the cards in their hands. He walked up to one of the tables and pulled out a chair. “That seat is for you. Join the game.”
Rafa spoke with an eerie amusement. Ella wondered if the game was with cards or something entirely different. All the men at the table paused to look at her. She felt like they were toying with her and trying to make her break. While part of her wanted to cave in and cry, the other part had grown used to masking how she felt. She simply stared at the pile of chips in the middle and waited.
“There,” Rafa said as an attendant set a couple of stacks of chips in front of her. “That is courtesy of the owner of our company.”
“The owner?” Ella’s brow rose as she looked behind her. Was Angelo the owner? No, it could not have been him. He kept talking about the company as if he were an employee with high status. Ella shuddered. Was it the older man he took her to meet? Antonio? Maybe that was why Antonio asked her so many questions. How was she caught up with him?
“He says that you can keep anything you win. If you lose, he will find a way to get his money back.”
Ella rested her hands on her lap and looked at the ceiling. In between the simple hanging lights, cameras looked down on her. She had no doubt that that the owner was watching her now.
“Okay,” she said and tried to focus on the game. She did not want to think about what Antonio would do with her if she lost his money. “What’s the high and low, and how much is the ante?” she asked.
The dealer gave a small smile as Rafa answered. “Five hundred high, fifty low – Twenty-five to ante.”