Dealer and his Bestowed Bride (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 2)

by Avery Hawkes

  She nodded with a large, toothy grin. Since we had time to relax away from the city and Italian Mafia, Piper had changed.

  It wasn’t a bad change. Mostly it was how she presented herself. Her shoulders that had always been stiff and at attention, had relaxed. She kept her hair up in a mini-ponytail rather than straightening the harsh bob at the sides of her face. Smiles came easier for both of us, and so did the sex.

  It was what married life was supposed to be.

  As the took the coffee pot off the burner and poured Piper a mug-full, I heard the harsh ringing on the far edge of the kitchen counter.

  Both of us bristled, looking at the tablet that was sounding its alarm. The device had been our only contact with the outside world. While Piper had done all she could to make sure it wasn’t track-able, it was still something always on the back of our minds. I took the two coffees in one hand, then picked up the tablet in my arm, making my way back to the table.

  After taking my time to place the mugs down and get settled, I glanced at the screen.

  My twin, Simone.

  He was calling via a private application. I showed the screen to Piper, who looked back at me seriously. Slowly, she nodded her head, but I could see the worry in her eyes.

  “I’ll make it short,” I told her, trying to calm her nerves.

  My finger swiped over the screen and Simone’s face popped up on the device. While we could see him, he couldn’t see us. Piper had disabled the camera in our tablet so someone couldn’t tell our location if they hacked it.

  Simone looked annoyed, I could tell by the way his mouth was curled into a slight frown on one side. As I looked into the screen, I realized for the first time that I wasn’t looking into a mirror anymore. The two months on the coast had given me a healthy glow from the sun and the time spent running and working out in the morning had bulked me up some.

  My brother had lost weight since I’d seen him last. His skin was paler than I remembered, with dark circles under his eyes.

  We had only communicated once before, immediately after Italy, but we had since decided not to risk communication until we felt secure.

  “Hey man,” I said, giving him a half smile. He smiled back, albeit weakly.

  “I’m glad to see you’re alive,” Simone replied.

  I let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m glad too.”

  Simone’s features hardened and I could tell he was trying to find the correct words to say. My stomach was in knots, from what I understood about the men from Naples, they wouldn’t rest until they found their revenge.

  “How’s Father?” I asked, trying to start the conversation. Simone lowered his eyes.

  “Not happy, Luca.”

  My face fell, Simone’s tone and the way he shifted uncomfortably off-screen meant it was an understatement.

  “What?” I prodded.

  “Dad is being blamed for the violence going on in Italy. Luckily, they didn’t ask for a sacrificial lamb, but he will no longer receiving support from overseas.”

  I swore under my breath. A lot of my father’s business, especially from drugs, came from the European markets. Piper glanced up from her crossword puzzle and tipped her head to the side, watching my reaction.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I told him, reaching over to place my hand on Piper’s thigh. She narrowed her eyes at me as she scribbled a drawing of a flower on the side of her paper.

  “I told him what you told me,” Simone went on. “But it didn’t help. At this point, I don’t think there’s anything I can say that will make him forgive you.”

  My hand stopped on Piper’s thigh, then with a sigh lifted that same hand to my temple.

  “It’s alright, I understand. Tell him I’m sorry in any case…tell everyone I’m sorry. Damn it Simone…I apologize for what hell I brought on you too.”

  “I’ll make it through,” Simone looked into the camera. “But what hurts the most is that I’ll have to do it alone.”

  “As soon as this blows over, I’ll be back in the states. Piper and I won’t be able to stay here forever.” I glanced over to the beautiful woman sitting next to me and she returned a kind smile.

  “I’ll take care of him,” She said, her voice soft and caring. Her hand moved up to my shoulder, rubbing away the tension that built up in my muscles during the call.

  “I’ll hold you to that, Piper.” Simone said. “I’ll update you if anything happens State-side. Until then, trying to stay out of trouble.”

  “Thanks, bro.” I replied, my chest was tight. “It was great seeing you.”

  “Till next time,” Simone reached out to the tablet and the screen went dark. The call was dropped. I stared at my reflection in the dark screen for a few seconds.

  It felt like I had destroyed my family and their business in under a few weeks. But there was no other way I could see the situation playing out. The Mafia was not what I thought. The blood, revenge and rage that ran through the organization had left me tired. I buried my head in one of my hands.

  I felt pressure from Piper’s hand, then felt her body against mine. She had moved from her chair over to me, sitting down on my lap. Her delicate hands grabbed my forearms, bringing them down.

  “It’s okay,” she said, her bright, shining eyes looking into mine. She understood the pain of losing someone to the Mafia. I watched as she lowered her mouth onto my lips, kissing me.

  My hands grabbed her and brought her close, forcing my mouth onto hers. She twisted to the side in my arms, resting against me, letting me just be with her. I didn’t know what I would do without her. When Robert had taken her away, I felt as though he had left with a piece of my heart.

  Even if our prior jobs had caused a war between crime bosses, we had each other.

  After a few more deep kisses I leaned my head back to look at Piper.

  “I love you,” I told her.

  “Right back at ya!” she said with a cheeky grin.

  I gripped her upper-arms firmly, being careful not to hurt her. “Piper…”

  She knew what I wanted, for her to say it back. She had said it once, in passing, but it had evaded her lips since.

  Quickly, Piper brushed my hand off of her and straightened on my lap. With nonchalance, she placed her arms around my neck, glancing down at my lips like she wanted more than anything to eat me up.

  “I have a surprise for you,” she said, wiggling in excitement on my lap. Her movement stirred my large cock beneath it and it rose to press against her.

  “Oh, really?” I growled, placing my hands on her hips and leaning in to graze my teeth over the supple flesh of her neck. Before I could kiss the slight indentation I made on her skin, she pushed me back against the chair.

  “Behave,” she warned, wiggling her eyebrows. I could feel the heat between her legs, but I tried to banish it from my mind and focus on what Piper had for me.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  She replied with a shy smile, dipping her head down as she gathered herself. Her teeth bit her bottom lip in nervousness and I felt my stomach flip around in knots.

  “Piper?” I asked after she had been quiet for too long.

  “I-I…” she looked up to me and I noticed shining tears at the sides of her eyes. My hand on her hip moved around to her waist, as if to keep her from flying off and away from me. She certainly looked like she as going to flee at any moment.

  Finally, she was able to rustle up the courage she needed. “I know we’ve had a difficult time for the last two months. But, even if we’ve been running from the Mafia, this is the happiest I have been in my life.”

  I smiled at her, watching her features. The dimple in her cheek deepened as she turned the edge of her mouth up.

  “I’m happy too,” I replied, grasping the curve of her body with one hand as I raised my free palm up to her cheek. Piper leaned into me and closed her eyes.

  After a few seconds of peace, she opened her eyes and twisted around to grab the crossword puzzle behind me. I
looked at her incredulously as she brought the book up between us.

  “Here’s a clue,” she said, flipping the pages to another page of the crossword book.

  “A clue?” I had no idea what the woman was up to, but I decided to humor her.

  “What’s an eight letter word for expecting?” She gave me a large grin, her pen poised and at the ready as she watched my expression.

  My entire body went numb as a burst of joy exploded from my chest. It must have been evident I my face that I knew the answer, because tears were shining in her eyes. I knew that my own were starting to water.

  “Really?” I took her in my arms, holding her close to me. She laughed and cried, every emotion seeming to bubble out of her at once.

  “I went to town and got a pregnancy test last week,” she told me, the puzzle dropping to the floor.

  “We’re having a baby!” The thought hit me and I felt as though I was flying. Nothing could have made me happier.

  I took Piper in my arms and stood, holding her on her back and legs, like a bride and groom on their wedding night. I twirled her around and kissed her lips. I couldn’t stop smiling and my cheeks were starting to hurt.

  “I love you Luca,” she told me, the words finally setting in to her vocabulary. I kissed her once more as I walked toward our bedroom. I placed her down on the fluffy white sheets, my face hovering over hers.

  “I love you too, Piper.”

  The End

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  More Books by Avery Hawkes

  Loved DEALER? Try PATRIOT by Avery Hawkes!

  If you enjoyed Dealer by Avery Hawkes, you can receive the next book for FREE!

  Click here to join Avery’s mailing list:

  https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/w9c5c2

  For more information on books by Avery Hawkes, visit her website:

  HawkesAvery.wordpress.com