by Bethany-Kris
Mistakes in their world were corrected with bullets, not apologies.
Easy.
Like child’s play.
Once she was off the exit ramp and a safe place to pull over came up, Abriella took it. Putting the Hummer in park, she leaned down and pulled the latch for the hood.
If there was one good thing that came out of the friendship between her brother and Tommas for all those years, it was the knowledge Tommas had gained and passed onto Abriella. Like the fact there was a GPS tracker hooked to her Hummer that her brother had put in after she got the vehicle for her eighteenth birthday. The enforcer had an app he could log into with his phone to check Abriella’s whereabouts, but once she disconnected the right wire, her vehicle position would be lost except for the last known destination.
Climbing up on the bumper of the Hummer, Abriella balanced on her scuffed chucks and tried to keep the dirt off her skinny jeans. She stuck her hand down along the side of the battery, knowing the computer for the Hummer was in the same spot, and was careful not to touch anything that might be too hot. Once she found the wire, she pulled it higher to make sure it was the right one, and then yanked it from its home.
She stuffed the wire back down into place before jumping off the bumper. Wiping her hand off on her tweed coat, Abriella grabbed the hood and slammed it shut. That was another thing off her list for the day.
There was only one thing left, now.
Tommas.
“Where are you?” her sister asked.
“Uh, out,” Abriella said.
“You were supposed to meet me for dinner.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Tomorrow?”
“Aren’t you at school? I thought you weren’t taking March break because you had a bunch of stuff to catch up on. I could just come over there and we could grab something.”
Abriella searched her brain for an excuse as she parked her Hummer. She didn’t think it was fair to drag her sister into her affairs. Alessa didn’t need to be hiding secrets for anyone, and certainly not Abriella. The girl had enough to worry about with her pregnancy and new husband.
“Ella?” Alessa pressed.
Abriella decided to tell part of the truth. “I’m not at school.”
“But it’s Monday.”
“Thanks. I’m aware of what day it is.”
“Hey, don’t be a bitch. I was just saying.”
“Alessa, I’m not at school. I can’t meet up with you today. Tomorrow?”
Her sister sighed. “Did you skip out on your enforcer again?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you in Wicker Park?”
Abriella smiled.
Wicker Park was where the apartment that Tommas kept for her was located. It was a smart way of her sister to ask, but no, she was wrong again.
“I’m not in Wicker.”
“Oh,” Alessa said sadly.
“Don’t worry about me, Lissa. I just need a break. Joel has been crazy these last couple of days. I want some time away from his stupid ass.”
Alessa was terribly lucky that she didn’t have to live at the Trentini mansion anymore. Joel made even the simplest of tasks like watching television unbearable. He had men coming and going from the mansion doing his bidding and reporting on people’s whereabouts and actions. He raged at the dumbest things, and he made demands constantly.
Joel was planning something. Abriella didn’t know what exactly, but it was something.
“He’s been worse since the Tommas thing?”
“If you want to call it that,” Abriella replied. “I think he’s pissed because his plan didn’t work, but that doesn’t matter. I need to skip out on life for a day. If, by chance, Joel calls because the fool following me calls him—”
“I’ll say you’re with me.”
Abriella grinned, loving her sister a little bit more. “Thanks.”
“Be careful.”
“I always am.”
Alessa laughed. “Right. And say hello to Tommas for me.”
Before Abriella could even deny that she was going to see Tommas, Alessa hung up the call. She shouldn’t have been surprised that her sister knew the truth. Abriella had never hid things from Alessa.
Growing up in the lifestyle they did, sometimes all the sisters had were one another. They survived in a world that looked glamourous and mysterious from the outside, but was smothering and caustic on the inside. For a profession that claimed to tote honorable men within its rankings and families, what it really held were liars and cheats.
Tired of her own thoughts, Abriella tossed her phone on the passenger seat of the Hummer. Grabbing her bag, Abriella got out of the Hummer and made sure it was locked up tight. Chances were slim that the enforcer would actually find the vehicle, but if he happened upon it by a stroke of luck, then it was parked in a paid lot that could be used by anyone. It was also a few miles away from the small suburb where Tommas’ home was located.
After calling Damian Rossi repeatedly, Abriella finally got an answer back from the man. She had hoped that Tommas would be at the apartment he kept for her, but he was at home instead.
It was riskier than normal.
Well, their normal.
Nothing about her and Tommas was safe.
Tommas’ home wasn’t unknown like their apartment was. Anyone could see her Hummer in the driveway and recognize it. Tommas regularly had visitors to his house. Men from his crew, family, or friends.
Abriella didn’t care. She had to see him. A quick phone call from his cousin to reassure her that he was out of the hospital and fine was not enough for her.
Tommas should have known that.
It pissed her off and worried her at the same time. Abriella never did very well when she was angry and anxious. It was a terrible combination for a woman who liked to know everything and be in control.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, Abriella threw her hand high and whistled as a line of yellow cabs drove past. The very last one stopped for her and she jumped into the back seat.
“Where to, Miss?” the guy asked.
Abriella rattled off Tommas’ home address. “And take me around the back.”
“Not the front?”
She couldn’t remember a time when she entered Tommas’ home through the front door. The back door was safer with the ten foot high privacy fence surrounding the rear of the property. Abriella had keys to enter the back as well as the house and through the front.
Sometimes, the reality of needing to sneak around like they did made her feel like a dirty little secret.
Or a man’s whore.
She refused to think on it for long. It only hurt her.
Why?
Because even being Tommas’ whore was out of reach for Abriella. A man’s mistress could be taken out, shown off, and cared for. She could still have some semblance of a relationship with her man. Abriella didn’t even get the pleasure of having those things.
Tommas had told her a long time ago that she could be whatever she wanted with him or for him. He would never judge her, or for that matter, take their private business out for everyone else to see and pick apart. He had mostly kept that promise—he gave her what she asked for, when he could, he let her lose control when everything in her life had to be kept just so. He let her be his lover in a way that most men wouldn’t understand. She liked it that way. She loved that Tommas gave her the kind of freedom to be his private slut, that he never treated her like she was precious china, or a princess that couldn’t get dirty.
He let her be.
Abriella needed it.
She just wished she could also be his equal in public.
“No, take me to the back of the house,” Abriella said.
“The back it is, Miss.”
Pushing the silver key into the deadbolt was so familiar to Abriella that it soothed her in a way. She had a dozen other memories with Tommas that started exactly this way by simply sliding in a key and turning the lock.
Their entire relationship
, whatever it was, had always been private, behind closed doors, and away from prying eyes. The outside never touched them when they were together. It was easier to pretend like what they had was real that way.
The back door didn’t make a sound when it swung open. Abriella stepped into the quiet home and listened for any noise. She couldn’t even hear the sound of a television. Tommas always kept his TV on even when he wasn’t home.
Was he not here?
Had Damian lied to her?
Abriella’s messenger bag made a soft thump when it hit the cherry hardwood. She toed off her chucks and kicked them into the corner. Padding down the hallway, she peeked into the small office as she passed only to find it dark and empty. The living room was in the same condition.
The end of the hall veered off into two separate rooms. One was the kitchen, and the other was the entryway that led to the front of the house or the stairwell for the second level. When she turned to take the kitchen corner, Abriella heard a floorboard creak.
That was it.
Then a gun was in her face. All she saw was a flash of brushed silver, the black butt enclosed by a fist, and the cold blue eyes of her lover.
Gasping, Abriella stumbled back with a shout. “Tommas!”
Immediately, Tommas’ gun dropped to his side. “Jesus fucking Christ, Ella. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Somehow, Abriella had backed into the wall without even knowing it. Her heart was in her throat, pounding like it was about to leap right out. Blood rushed in her ears as she tried to calm down and speak.
“You asshole,” Abriella managed to say.
“Me? You came in here—”
“I came to see you!”
“Without telling me you were coming?”
“I thought your cousin did.”
Tommas’ brow furrowed as he rubbed at his forehead. His brief distraction gave Abriella the chance to look him over for injuries. There wasn’t much to see except the cut under his eye and the bandage wrapped three times around his chest.
That made her realize he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
Abriella’s mouth went dry as her gaze traveled over the cut expanse of his chest and straight down to where a pair of cotton sleep pants rested low on his hips. Tommas was tall, lean and built like a man who ran a ten-k every day with his roped arms and defined chest. The bruising from the attack were the only marks on his skin.
Tommas shifted on his feet, ran his fingers through his hair, and glanced at Abriella. The simple movements took the worry out of his eyes, made him seem happier for the moment, and even sexier in a blink. Abriella’s stomach clenched, reminding her how long it had been since she had this man between her thighs.
God, she wished he was wearing something. Abriella didn’t think very clearly when Tommas was barely clothed, grinning like he was, and looking at her like he missed her.
“Didn’t Damian tell you I was looking for you?” Abriella asked, finally finding her voice.
“No, but that doesn’t surprise me. He’s been on my ass ever since the second hospital round. He practically barricaded me in this house for forty-eight hours waking me up every time I even thought about drifting off to sleep, the dick.”
“At least you have someone who cares.”
Although, Abriella wished she could have been there for Tommas.
“Yes, if you want to see it that way.”
“Damian cares. He just shows it differently than most people.”
“You didn’t come here to talk about my cousin, did you?”
“No,” she replied, grinning.
“Good,” Tommas said, chuckling. He waved his gun. “Sorry about that.”
“Are you really?”
“Ella, I didn’t know who the hell was coming into my house. I’ve been out of it for a couple of days. I finally sent Damian home this morning after I was able to keep my breakfast down and could stand on my own.”
“You’re not supposed to wrap ribs, Tommas.”
“The nurses said that, too.”
“But it feels better, right?”
Tommas nodded. “Yeah.”
“Let me take it off.”
“Listen, little nurse in training—”
“Stop it,” Abriella cut in, cocking a brow. “You’re not supposed to wrap your chest. Is it a break or just a crack?”
Tommas sighed before he tossed his gun to the small, decorative table in the hallway. He lifted his arms up, allowing Abriella to begin unraveling the bandage. “Just a crack.”
“And what about the rest?”
“A couple of bruised organs. A bad concussion that could have been a lot worse.”
Abriella tried to hide her frown as she placed the unwound bandage on the floor, and failed miserably. “And what does that mean?”
“It means that I forced my release from the hospital before I should have. The doctor made it clear I shouldn’t leave, but I signed the disclaimers and every other fucking paper they wanted me to and went.”
“Oh, Tommy.”
“I didn’t even make it two hours out of the hospital before Nate rushed me back in after I passed out in the car.”
Abriella cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over his strong jawline. The scruff of his unshaven cheeks tickled her skin. “Stupid man.”
“I couldn’t stay in the hospital, Ella.”
“Yet, you went right back.”
“Only because I didn’t have a choice.”
“Why on earth did you force a release if you knew you weren’t ready?”
Tommas’ jaw tightened under her touch. “I made a point to go see your brother.”
Jesus.
“And?” Abriella dared to ask.
“And it’s not over.”
“Of course not.”
Tommas grabbed her wrist, stopping the stroking of her hand. “Yes, of course not. Do you understand what it would mean if I did bend to Joel’s demands and wants? Don’t you know what that would do?”
“Yes.”
“Do you? Do you really?”
Abriella bristled at Tommas’ dark tone. “I said yes, Tommy. I’m not a fucking idiot. I know what my brother would do to the Outfit if he had control.”
“No,” Tommas said harshly, grabbing her wrist even tighter. “Not the Outfit. I don’t give a fuck about that in the end, because without you, the Outfit would mean nothing to me anyway. I meant to us, Ella. As it is, you’re just a woman with a last name in need of being changed. You are his chess piece to move as he wishes to advance himself in the game. That is it. Nothing more.”
“Oh.”
“You know all this.”
“I do,” she agreed.
“And yet, we’re the second thing on your mind when it comes to what is wrong with your brother taking control. Second place is the first to lose, Abriella.”
She stepped back from him, needing the space. “Don’t say that.”
Tommas waved at her. “That’s how it feels. Like we’re the runner up. Like we’re just not good enough to be the thing you’re concerned about.”
“Don’t say that!”
“I—”
Abriella moved back in front of Tommas and jabbed a finger into his chest, right over the spot where his heart beat. She didn’t think about if it would hurt him, but he didn’t give off any indications that it did.
“Don’t. You. Say. That.”
Tommas’ fingers encircled hers and held tight. “I didn’t mean it like that, Ella. I’m frustrated and concerned about you, us, and a lot of other people. I don’t mean to lash out.”
“Not good enough,” Abriella said heatedly. “That is not a good enough excuse, Tommas. You know better—you know that I care about you more than anything. Do I say it just the way you want me to? No, but that’s not because I don’t want to. It’s because I’m not allowed to.”
“Not allowed?”
“Yes, exactly. Not allowed. I have never been free to date, or to pick who I want to give my tim
e and love to. Instead, I’ve been told to sit down, shut up, and be pretty until the right last name comes along for my family. That name hasn’t arrived yet, but he might. And I thought …”
Tommas stepped closer, letting his hands trail up Abriella’s sides until he was holding her so tightly that it ached and relieved at the same time.
Home.
She found home in his touch.
Always.
“Don’t do that,” Abriella said weakly.
Tommas smirked, his blue eyes gleaming with mischief. “Hmm, what?”
“Touch me, Tommy. I’m trying to talk.”
“So talk. Let me help. You thought ...”
Abriella wet her lips and said, “I thought that keeping you at a distance would force you to keep me at a distance, too. It never did. You kept bringing me closer. You draw me in over and over again. I adore you, but that frightens me. It has always scared me. You have all the control here, and I have none.”
“I love you,” Tommas murmured. “I have loved you for years, Ella.”
“I know you do.”
“What you know, Ella, is what I want.”
For her to say it back.
Yeah, she knew.
Abriella tipped her chin down. “I need to keep this one thing for me, Tommy.”
“It drives me crazy. You’ve given me everything else. Whatever I wanted to take, you handed over. Your body, your secrets, your words … everything. I already know you do, Abriella, just fucking say it for me.”
She couldn’t.
It hurt because the words practically clawed their way out of her chest. They wanted out. Her heart screamed for Tommas when they were apart, and it only got louder the closer she was to him. He’d won her over by daring her to be the rebel she wanted to be, and then sealed the deal by allowing her to be whoever she needed to be with him.
They were insane.
Sometimes volatile.
Dirty liars—secret keepers.
Sneaks. Lovers. Best friends.
But it was beautiful.
She wouldn’t ruin that. She refused to take what they had, make it better, but then turn around and destroy it when she was forced away from Tommas because of someone else’s demands. How awful would that make her?