The doorman out front greeted us with just a nod, and the man behind the desk announced, “Mr. Blackwell is expecting you.”
I had to hand it to Miles. I’d only been in the building once to meet up with Kayla because I made an effort to stay away from buildings like theirs, ones with wealth and money pouring from every corner. But by the way we were greeted, and the quickness involved with getting us in the elevator, you’d have thought Amelia and I walked in here every day, familiar to the staff.
As soon as the gold-mirrored doors shut in front of us, we let out a collective sigh of relief. I grabbed Amelia’s hand and squeezed it for support. We cleared our second hurdle and made it from my place to Miles and Kayla’s … alive.
Once the doors opened to the penthouse, I saw Miles and Kayla standing there waiting. They were both in pajamas. It was the first time I’d ever seen Miles in anything but a suit- normal. It took all of two seconds for Kayla to lunge towards us, hugging me so hard that I actually had to loosen her hold on my neck. She obviously knew, which I didn’t care, since I knew she’d find out eventually anyway. I could tell by her lack of attention towards Amelia that she wasn’t very enthused about the life I inherited by being with her. It was definitely something I was going to have to discuss with her later. The situation Amelia was in wasn’t her choice either. She had no damn clue that her boyfriend would become a mobster and suck her in with him.
“Oh my God!” Kayla breathed. “Way to make me have heart attack in the middle of the night.” She let me go and punched me in the arm. “Can you just be normal and do normal stuff? Geez, Merrick!”
I laughed and gave her a sarcastic grin. “Now, what fun would that be?” I tried to lighten the mood, even though it was anything but.
Miles, who had been standing by, observing us, was soon to interject. “Kayla, sweetheart, could you please show Amelia where she and Merrick will be staying?” He placed his hand on Kayla’s lower back, speaking sweetly in his calm, sly tone.
I knew it was only to get the girls out of the room so he could speak to me openly and tell me the real shit we were in, and that’s just what he did. As soon as Amelia and Kayla were out of hearing distance, he laid right in.
“I made a few calls,” he said as he walked over to the mini bar close to the wall of windows that displayed all of Times Square below. “I know very little about the mob—just the basics—they’re bad news, but I have a good friend of the family that does, well, used to, work for the FBI. I just got off the phone with him … Antonio Antonacci. Is that his name?” he questioned, though by the tone in which he asked it, he seemed to already be certain it was.
“That’s the guy.”
“I was afraid of that,” he answered, displeased. “The Antonacci family is the largest, most dangerous mob family on the East Coast; the City is their headquarters.” He passed me a glass of scotch. “Up until a couple of years ago, they controlled most of the country.”
“Why not anymore?”
“They all started turning on each other. Money started going missing, fingers began pointing at each other, dead bodies were showing up on a daily basis … New leaders were appointed left and right, because people were killing one another so fast … Antonio is one of those appointees.”
I nodded my head, taking it all in. “Sounds like a clusterfuck of crazy,” I observed.
He nodded. “Agreed. But not any less dangerous. If anything, worse. From what Stewart tells me, in the last year or so, every member’s eyes have opened even more, ready to take down anyone that becomes a threat to their part of the organization.”
“Making me even more fucked.”
“Precisely.”
I exhaled, not enthused with the information, running my hands over my face and head, linking my fingers behind my neck with my elbows out to the sides. “Any idea how we can make it out of this alive?”
He snickered, resting back into the cushions of the couch and placing his foot on his opposite knee before taking a sip of his drink. “At the moment,” he looked at me sympathetically, “I don’t.”
“Awesome.” I sat forward, my elbows on my knees, hands holding up my head.
“I promised Kayla I would do anything I could. She’s worried sick. Stewart said he would help as much as he could, but he’s not on the force anymore,” he added, not very enthusiastically, finishing the rest of his drink and standing.
I looked up at him, an appreciative grin on my face. “So …”
“I’ve got a place down in the business district,” Miles said matter-of-factly. “I’ve arranged for a car to pick you and Amelia up at 8:00 am. You can stay there until we get this figured out, but you need to be smart. No contacting anyone. Her especially.” He raised a brow for extra emphasis. “Stay there—you can’t leave. We can’t be sure how much they do or don’t know. My hope is that they find out very little about you. They will certainly be searching every inch of this city for her. In the case that they have discovered any substantial information on you as well, I’ll have a cell provided for you both to use, eliminating usage of yours. There’s a full-time housekeeper at the apartment. She will do any shopping that you may need. I’m sorry to do this to you, but …”
“No,” I cut him off. “I get it.”
I hated being spoken to like I was by Miles. I knew he was helping me, but I always felt inferior, like his damn puppy or minion or something, but my choices were limited. Miles was the only person we had that could help us in the way we needed. He could keep us hidden until things smoothed over … or were taken care of. I was at Miles Blackwell’s mercy and had to fucking deal with it. Better yet, I had to kiss his fucking feet.
Sleep wasn’t something that was in the books once we finally made it to bed. Though we both acted calm and collected, holding each other in our arms and trying to allow sleep to overtake us, it didn’t happen. Instead we both kept catching the other staring in the dark.
It gave me a second to get more answers to the lingering thoughts in my head, at least.
“Can I ask you something?” I whispered, pushing her loose hair back from her face.
She nodded her head, but didn’t answer. I could tell she wasn’t all for explaining, but she knew that I deserved some answers.
“What was so different?” I asked. “The weekend we were together, I mean. You didn’t seem afraid at all being with me, out in public …”
She took a deep breath before raising her head and propping it on the hand that was held up by her elbow. This wasn’t just going to be a short and sweet conversation; I was happy to see her settling in.
“He was gone, out on the West Coast for work. Those were the only times I had to myself, to be normal.”
“Weren’t there still people here watching you?”
“Not really. His cousin was here, and was supposed to keep an eye on me, but didn’t care to watch my every move. He knew the space I needed, and how unhappy I was. He probably wouldn’t have ever thought I was,” she paused, “you know.” She smiled.
“Racing dirt bikes? Screwing a hot ass bartender?” I joked.
She lightly chuckled. “Yeah, that.” She blushed. “But he knew I raced. I don’t know if Antonio knew, but Joey did. It was our little secret that I did it on the side. I didn’t tell him where I was that weekend, so he just assumed I was at the tracks.”
“So there’s actually normal people in that family?”
She tilted her head and gave me a “not exactly” look. “Just Joey.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” I asked next. I hated thinking that all the while I was falling for her, she was taken. Though I knew where her heart was, she still wasn’t completely mine.
She sighed, biting down on her lip. “He may call me his girlfriend, but he’s nothing to me and he hasn’t been for a while. When I called him that earlier, it wasn’t because that’s who he is to me, it was a just a reference to explain the situation. It was probably bad wording, sorry.”
Ya think?!
“He was my boyfriend, and yeah, I cared for him, but he changed into someone new … a monster.” She paused and stared into my eyes. “I haven’t loved him for a long time, Merrick. Truly. “
I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything. I was having a hard time processing everything. It wasn’t too much or anything like that. I mean, it was a whole fucking lot, but it didn’t change my mind about anything. It was just that this whole time away from Amelia, I felt like I was loving someone that didn’t love me, and at the same time, so was Antonio. He was with someone, that same person, that didn’t care for him like he cared for her. Though, if you loved someone, you didn’t do shit like that to them and keep ‘em practically as your hostage, but …
I exhaled. I wasn’t going to think about it anymore or to try and reason with the situation. When it came down to it, they didn’t have a relationship. She was being controlled; she was his possession. He was a fuck that didn’t deserve an ounce of pity. What Amelia and I had was leaps and bounds different. We were real. They weren’t.
“What happened to your phone? I tried calling it a zillion times … and then it was disconnected?”
She sighed. “I told Antonio that my phone was acting weird and needed a new one.” She paused, giving me an apologetic look. “If he ever looked at my phone or was there when you called, he would have gone ballistic and went looking for you …” She hung her head. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
I nodded my head before kissing her forehead and pulling her into my chest. I didn’t need to know anymore. I had all the answers I needed. She felt nothing for him. She loved me, and even though she had yet to tell me, I knew because she was here with me … not there with him.
Her arms fit around my chest and back, hugging my side as my hand gently caressed her arm. We lay like that for hours, until the sun was up and it was time to go to our new home, our hideout. At least for a little bit.
Just as Miles said, there was a black Town Car with tinted windows waiting at the curb when we walked outside. Our heads naturally tilted down as we walked out in the daylight. For the first time in my life, I was afraid of the outside world. Inside, where no one could see us, seemed much safer and more comforting, at least as much as one could feel in our position.
As soon as the driver closed our door, I pulled Amelia to the middle of the backseat, removing the distance between us.
“We’re good,” I whispered before kissing the top of her head. “We’re good, baby.”
She nodded her head, but not confidently. I could tell she was anything but assured. Her smirk and tight grin gave her away—she was scared. Every movement we made, every corner we turned, she was in panic mode, not knowing or believing that she wasn’t being watched, that she was safe. The fucker had messed with her head so much that it was like she feared life away from him. I didn’t doubt, after hearing her stories, that he would harm her if he found us, but it wasn’t something I could even fathom thinking about. I needed my mind to stay positive and strong, though every time I saw her frown or noticed the fear in her eyes, my insides caved and I felt like anything but the tough guy I was trying to be.
With the morning traffic, cars and taxis everywhere, if took a bit to get downtown. The high rise we pulled up alongside wasn’t near the stature of Miles’ Times Square apartment, but was still way more glamorous than anything you’d ever catch me living in. Before the driver got out, he turned to speak.
“Mr. Blackwell’s living quarters are on the top floor. The elevator to the left is his and will bring you right up to where you need to be. The doorman and desk personnel are expecting you and will see that there are no troubles in getting you safely inside. I will have your bags delivered soon, as well.”
I nodded my head, appreciative, even though I wanted to chuckle … bags? We had none of those. Just one, actually. And that was it.
“Thank you,” I replied before taking Amelia’s hand and stepping onto the sidewalk. I really did owe Miles. In the six hours since I’d called him, he managed to have everything set up, keeping our safety at the forefront.
When the elevator doors opened, we were greeted by an older woman in a maid’s uniform who was holding two chilled glasses of water. As nice as it was, it was fucking weird too. I’d never had anyone waiting for me with a drink in hand, ready to wipe my ass if I needed. As much as I appreciated the gesture by Miles, it wasn’t gonna happen— this nice lady would be free from her duties while we stayed here. I didn’t like the idea of some stranger all up in my face, waiting with a beverage or a warm towel or whatever. Not to mention, I was in a trust no one state of mind. I didn’t know her from Adam—who the fuck knew who she was or where she was from? Granted, I’m sure Miles Blackwell didn’t have just anyone working for him, caring for one of his homes. I’m sure this lady was stripped clean and background checked all the way back to the day she popped out into this world, but I still wasn’t convinced. We obviously needed someone to do our minor shopping for food, but the chick was not living with us, around us every second of the day—that’s where I had to draw the line.
I spread the fakest smile I could across my face and accepted the drink, saying, “thank you,” as pleasantly as I could as Amelia and I both took the glasses of water from her hands.
“I’ll be just down the hall. The refrigerator has been freshly stocked. Please don’t hesitate to ring me for anything.” She smiled and nodded before turning towards the hallway on our left.
Oh dear Lord, I was shacking up with Mrs. Doubtfire! I looked to Amelia, who seemed to be eating this up, a huge grin spread across her face, the biggest I’d see on her in a while. I shrugged my shoulders; I guess if it tickled her fancy to have a servant, then I could deal with it for a bit.
We did a quick exploration of the apartment as we sipped our waters. It was as clean and extravagant as their place in Times Square, just a bit smaller. I guess if I was going to be on house arrest somewhere, this was a place I wouldn’t mind staying.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” Amelia said once we made it to the master bedroom.
I wrapped my arm around her waist, bringing her body flush to mine, our faces only inches apart. “Mind if I join you?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows. I wasn’t the least bit enthused about our situation, but I was finally in the same place as my girl after being separated for so long. As fucked up as life was at the moment, a little R and R with my girl wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Her lips curled into a devious smile. “I suppose.”
I smacked her perfect little plump ass as she turned towards the bathroom. “Go get all naked and shit. I’ll be right in.”
She chuckled as she walked away, shaking her ass cheeks at me as she did. Staring at Amelia from the back was something that would never get old. My girl was fucking fine and there was nothing is this world that I loved more than studying it.
I used the two seconds alone to take a breather, sitting on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. The phone that the driver slipped me before exiting the car buzzed in my pocket. I took it out to see who it was. There was no name on the screen, but I recognized the number. Kayla.
“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”
“Seriously?” she replied, venom dripping from her voice. “You’re seriously joking around right now?!”
I rolled my eyes, sighing. “Trying to make the best out of it. What’s up?” I asked, my voice back to the straightlaced, no shit tone.
“What the hell, Merrick? Why?”
I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. Here it was, the why the hell would you get involved with someone like her discussion. “Don’t even go there, K.”
She let out an exasperated breath. “I just got off the phone with Miles. Do you understand how much danger you guys are in? It’s bad, Merrick.”
I returned to my original position with hand holding up my head, elbows rested on my knees. I sighed shakily. “I’m well aware, but thanks for the reminder.”
/> “Don’t be an ass to me! We’re the ones trying to help you.”
My blood was starting to turn heated. “You think I don’t know this? You think I don’t appreciate all that you and Miles are doing for us?” My anger was started to show in my volume. “Shit, Kayla. I finally find the girl I fell for again and all of a sudden I’m wanted by the fucking mob! Of course I fucking know how deep I’m in.” I paused. “And don’t for one second blame this on Amelia.”
She snorted. “How can I not? You weren’t on the mob’s most wanted before she walked into your life.”
“This wasn’t her choice. You can’t help who you fall for.” I took a deep breath, not wanting to think about Amelia once in love with another man. “You should know better than anyone else. I fucking love her, and that’s it.”
“I’m sorry. I get it. I just frickin’ hate it.”
“Well, it’s not a walk in the park for us either.”
“All right. Well, Miles and I will be over tonight. He has some things he wants to talk to you about.”
“Thanks, darling.”
“Be safe, okay?”
“Love you too, K.”
As soon as I hung up with Kayla, I hightailed it into the now steaming bathroom, running into walls as I eagerly stripped down to nothing. Her hair was already slicked back, soaked, her cheeks slightly pink from the heat. Her eyes, though … God, Amelia’s eyes were all I saw when I looked at her. I’d never seen green eyes like hers. They were amazing greenish-blueish-tealish pools, like the clearest Caribbean waters, outlined with the darkest, thickest lashes I’d ever seen. They pulled me in, putting me in a trance. I couldn’t fucking describe what happened every time I looked her in the eyes—everything around me just vanished. Like in the movies, like I’m walking on those ridiculously fluffy clouds in a pussy-whipped chick flick. Amelia was my own personal chick flick, sucking me in with those damn huge eyes.
I gave her face a once over, shaking my head with a mischievous grin. “Damn baby, you are so fucking hot,” I groaned, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her wet, naked body close to mine.
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