by Ruby Rowe
“Have you been crying?”
“I didn’t drive over here to chit-chat. I’m worried about Mom. Where is she?”
“Upstairs.” He points toward the staircase, so I move past him and stride toward it.
“She can barely walk. I can’t believe you—” My words are muffled in a split-second as Mickey covers my mouth with his hand. He yanks me back against his body, wrapping me beneath his arm.
“For once in your life, shut the hell up,” he mutters in my ear. “I used to love your smart mouth, but that was before you gave me the big F-you.”
My yell garbles against his hand again as I squirm to get away. He clamps down hard against my stomach and drags me to the living room.
I shove my elbows back, fighting him the entire way, and once we’re at the sofa, he pushes me face down on it. Ouch. My purse is pinned between me and the cushion, so I start to get up, but he stops me by digging a knee into my back and grasping my wrists.
“Where are my parents?”
“At home and likely asleep. You’ll be knocked out soon, too, except you’re not waking up this time.”
“You’ve lost your mind. Are you wanting to spend your golden years in prison?” I groan from pain as he buries his knee deeper against my spine and yanks my purse off my shoulder.
I feel him tie my wrists behind my back, and I put up a futile battle, kicking and screaming, before he binds my ankles, too. My hair’s in my face, and I’m sweaty and out of breath. I swear I’m kicking his ass the first chance I get.
He flips me over to my back and slides a hand through his dark hair, trying to get his breath, too.
“Your repeated rejections are ending tonight. I gave you plenty of chances to see how we belong together, but you failed again and again.”
He pulls out a white handkerchief from his front pocket and attempts to gag me with it, but I swing my head back and forth until he smacks my cheek to still me. Whimpering from the sting, I glare at him as he ties the cloth behind my head.
“Let’s make a phone call, shall we?” Digging around in my purse, he pulls out my cell phone and scrolls the screen before holding the phone to his ear.
“Griffin Golino, this is Mickey DeLuca…” I moan against the handkerchief. “What the hell do I want?... I have what I want right here. The beauty is tied up and gagged. From what I’ve seen on television, she enjoys it rough.”
Squirming, I try to stand, but Mickey sneers and pushes me back down on the couch. “Damn, she’s still feisty as ever. If you call the authorities, she’ll be dead when they arrive. You’re her only chance at living. You come to my house alone … or not.
“The choice is yours, but if you’re not here in twenty minutes, I’ll assume your Juliet doesn’t mean shit to you. Here’s my address…”
Juliet–no … he can’t be…
I groan against the handkerchief, louder this time, pleading for Mickey to stop. Griffin can’t come here. Mick’s gone off the deep end and has something evil planned.
He tosses my cell phone on the couch, and wrapping his fingers around my bicep, he pulls me up until I’m standing. I glance around, wondering if there’s something I could reach to cut the ties binding me.
My eyes zoom in on the coffee table in front of me, and I suck in an agonizing breath. A hardback of Romeo and Juliet is lying right in the center.
“Yes, sweetheart, I’m Romeo.” He yanks down the handkerchief, causing the corners of my mouth to sting like my cheek.
After I get a breath, I ask, “How could you torment me like that? It was cruel.”
“Well, I didn’t personally. I have a lot of people who’ll do shit for me for the right price.” He grasps my chin. “You were supposed to be mine forever, Ava. Your father gave you to me. The first time I saw you, at your sixteenth birthday party, you stood out like the star you would become.
“I was twenty-four, and all these boys were there, vying for your attention. Boys, that’s all they were, but I was a man, and although I shouldn’t have, I wanted you.
“Teddy clasped my shoulder and pointed at you as you laughed with your friends. He said, ‘Show me your loyalty and worth, and in two years, on this day, she’s all yours.’ ”
Mickey’s eyes are on mine, but his mind is far in the past. He touches my cheek, so I pull away. “See, that behavior right there is what brought us to this moment.
“Originally, I thought playing Romeo would drive you back to me, or at least to New York, far away from Oliver, but then you jumped right into another man’s arms. I hate that bodyguard of yours. Even more so now that I found out who he really is.
“When the detective I hired told me he was a Golino, a brilliant, new plan came to mind. Two star-crossed lovers from rival mobster bosses fall in love against their families’ wishes.” He pulls something from his back pocket and holds it up. It’s a syringe with the plastic cap covering a long needle.
“I’m going to put you to sleep soon, but don’t worry; you won’t feel any pain. You’ll pass out, and then your heart won’t be able to take the amount of sedative in your system, and it will stop beating.”
“Mickey, no. Please don’t hurt me.”
“Your new Romeo’s going to show up afterward, and if he truly can’t live without you, he’ll take his own life, but this story ends differently. I mean, I wouldn’t be a producer if I didn’t put my own spin on it, right?”
His gaze darkens. “Unlike Juliet, you won’t wake up to find your Romeo dead. I’ll at least spare you the torture of having to see your loved ones die.
“As soon as I inject you, I’m going to drive over to your parents’ home and kill them, too, and frame your boyfriend for the murder of all three of you.
“He’s a Golino, after all. Wouldn’t he want to off the Leonis? I figure he’ll either go to prison or be dead like you. Whichever way is a win for me.
“The final step will be telling Victor about your father’s deceit. He had to have known who your boyfriend was. I’ll convince Victor that without Angel, we’ll have the entire operation.
“Teddy named me as last beneficiary of some of his assets. If you, Ellen and Angel are deceased, guess who gets all the money? This is so much better than my original plan. I’m pretty proud of myself for coming up with it.”
“Griffin won’t take his own life. We didn’t mean anything to each other, Mickey. I want to be with you. I was foolish, and if you’ll still have me, I’ll move back to Brooklyn with you.”
“You told me you loved him, and I can’t live with that, sweetheart. If I can’t have you, no man can.”
Find the actress in you, Ava.
“No, Mick, I love you.” I widen my eyes and gaze into his. “Like you suggested on our way to New York, I’ve been having some mid-life crisis, looking for a younger man so I would feel younger, but you and I belong together. We always have.”
“You’re just saying that.”
I shake my head. “You know I never lie. Many times, you’ve said I’m too honest.”
He studies me with his squinting, beady eyes, and I notice the dark bruising on his face that was left by Griffin’s fist.
“This better not be a trick.”
“It’s not. I promise. I’ve been thinking that I want to move to New York, too, and start a family. I can’t be away from you and my parents.
“You know how much I hated it when we were apart all those years, and if we’re together in Brooklyn, then there’s no reason for you to look for sex elsewhere. I get that now.”
He touches my cheek. “You do? I’ve tried to explain it so many times.”
I smile. “I know, and I should’ve realized the problem was me. I wasn’t making you a priority. I love you.”
His fingers skim over my lips. “You’re really coming back to me.” Tears coat my eyes. I shouldn’t be saying those three words to Mickey, only Griffin, but I’ll do anything to save those I love.
“Yes, Mickey. I’ll always be yours.”
“I
never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know. You only did this because you love me so much.” He drops the syringe and turns me around to free my wrists. I exhale heavily and think of my next move.
Grabbing my shoulders, he shifts me back to face him and begins kissing me passionately. The urge to push him away challenges my will to stay, but I fight it and hook my arms around his neck, giving in to him.
I become Ava the actress and moan into his mouth. He pulls me closer, and I feel him hardening against my pelvis.
“Untie my ankles, so we can go to your room,” I whisper as his mouth skirts down my throat, to my neck and to the swell of my breasts. I’m close to losing my cool, so I close my eyes and imagine Griffin’s mouth on me instead.
Mick squats to untie my ankles, and I shove my fingers into his hair, pulling like I can’t wait for more.
“We’re fucking right here. I want your bodyguard to find us while I’m buried inside you.” As he stands, he takes my sundress with him and pulls it over my head, leaving me in my satin bra and panties.
His eyes peruse my body. “You never change. You’ve always been so damn beautiful, and now I know how rough you like it.” He pushes me back onto the sofa and begins unbuttoning his shirt.
He never takes his eyes off mine, and as soon as he starts to lower his jeans and leans over to remove them, I grab the crystal vase on the coffee table and hit him over the head with it.
As he groans and stumbles back, I jump up and take off running. I make it to the foyer, where I can see the front door, but I feel the impact to my back as he pushes me forward. I smack the floor, face down, before he grabs my ankles and begins dragging me backward.
My bare skin sticks to the shiny white marble, causing a squeaking sound to echo in the room. My arms, chest and stomach are sticking–clinging–stalling and saving me a few seconds longer from what I fear is the inevitable.
My fingertips cling, too, as I fight to get away. He climbs over top of me to lie on my body, and it presses my cheek harder against the cold floor. My chest compresses, too, and I can’t breathe as his hot breath coats my ear.
“I should’ve known you were putting on an act. You leave me no choice now. It’s time for you to go nighty-night.”
“No, Mickey, no, please!” In my peripheral, I see the needle moving closer to my neck. With all my strength, I jerk my body backward. My shoulders, chest, torso and pelvis, I hurl all of them back at once, and he falls off me and over to his side, hitting the floor forcefully.
My face is turned away from the front door, but I hear glass shattering from that direction and the sound of the door busting open.
Hearing a deafening shot next, I watch Mickey’s body fly backward and land against the bottom two steps of his marble staircase. The syringe falls from his hand as blood seeps out the gunshot wound in his forehead.
Shrieking, I squeeze my eyes shut so I can’t see his frozen gaze staring straight ahead. The room is noisy with voices and footsteps, and I don’t know what’s happening around me, whether I’m still in danger or safe.
I’m rolled over on my back, and when I open my eyes, Griffin’s staring down at me with a look of terror.
“God, Ava.” Scrambling to get on my knees, I wrap my arms around his legs and sob, but he grabs me and pulls me up into his arms. “Shhh, baby, it’s OK. He can’t hurt you now. Never again will he hurt you.”
I clutch his body, wanting to crawl inside his protective frame. Burying my face against his chest, I squeeze the back of his neck with all my might and convulse in his embrace.
After several seconds, he leads me to the living room and looks me over. “Do you have any injuries?”
“No.”
“Where are your clothes?” He glances around before he retrieves my dress from the floor, and after pulling it gently over my head, he straightens it. “Ava, look at me.” I drag my gaze away from the direction of the foyer. “I’m so sorry I had to kill him. I didn’t have a choice.”
“If you hadn’t, I would’ve found a way.”
Shaking his head, he pulls me to his chest.
“I have to call the authorities.”
“How did you get here so fast? Who’s in there?”
“I’d gone back to the apartment to get some of my things, so Kellen and I, along with several of the bodyguards, left from the house. What matters is you’re safe now, and I’ll spend the rest of my life ensuring it stays that way.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Griffin
After hours of questioning, Harold picks Ava, Kellen and me up at the police station. Like a total dick, I take the front passenger seat, leaving Kellen no choice but to ride in the back with her.
I can’t be that close. Feeling her against me at Mickey’s was almost my undoing where I considered saying fuck you to Dominic, endangering Ava further.
Fortunately, the police separated us quickly, and this is the first time I’ve seen her in hours. She weeps in the backseat, and I can hardly stomach the desperation I feel to comfort her.
Ending our relationship crushed me, and to see Mickey harming her through the glass on his front door created a storm of fury like nothing I’ve felt before. I killed a man, and I would have killed a hundred more to save her.
The emotions I’ve been forced to experience today need to vanish. I can’t bear them a second longer, especially with the sound of her cries filling this confined space.
After slamming my fist down on the dash, I sling my head back against the seat, and I don’t know if it was Kellen or Ava who pushed the button, but the partition closes. God, make me numb, or at least allow me to feel anything other than this crippling pain.
We arrive at her mansion, and it takes several minutes to get through the gate. The press is crowding us, forcing Harold to drive slowly. Their cameras bang loudly on the windows, their shouts piercing, and I imagine jumping out of the car and grabbing each of them by the throat before I smash their mics and cameras into a thousand little pieces. Fuck, all I want to do is take Ava to Malibu, away from all this bullshit.
Kellen gets out when I do, and I look at him.
“Is Bonnie on her way to stay the night?”
“Yes, I sent two guys to pick her up. You and I need to talk,” he says assertively.
“Fine. Once she’s inside, come to my apartment.” I leave them and stride across the driveway and yard. I open the door to my place and flip on the light.
I left so fast this evening that I didn’t grab any of my belongings, so I begin rounding up clothes to take with me. My phone rings, and when I see it’s Teddy, I answer.
“Did you talk to him?” I ask.
“Yes…”
“So, how bad will the retaliation be?”
“Victor is married to my daughter and becoming boss in less than a month. He’s angry but understands the circumstances. He won’t disobey my order to leave you and Ava alone.”
“Like I told you at the station, I’m sorry. I know you were tight with Mickey, and if I could’ve prevented his death, I would’ve, but when I saw him holding that syringe, I had no choice. If I’d only shot to injure him, he might’ve stuck her, and I couldn’t risk it.”
“I understand. He tried to kill my daughter, and she told me Ellen and I were next. I’m relieved that you were the one to do it.”
“And you’re sure about Victor? The last thing either of us needs is a war between our families.”
“It’s handled. Uh, Ava told me at the police station that you left her. I know this has to do with Dominic, but there must be another way.”
“There’s not. Look, if everything’s cool with your guys in New York, then our business here is finished. For as long as Ava lives in Los Angeles, I’ll ensure she’s safe from my uncle and his men. Good luck with your move to Brooklyn.”
As I hang up on him, there’s a knock on my door.
“Come in.” Kellen opens it as I shove some clothes in a duffel bag. I know what he’s going to say, and i
t won’t change my mind about leaving. “We already went over the temporary security plan, and Ava’s not going to argue with me for promoting you. You’re ready; she knows it, so there’s no need to talk.”
“Yes, there is. We need to discuss why you’re leaving her and this job. It makes no sense.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Maybe everyone else is in the dark about your family, but you told me, and that makes this my business. If Mickey hadn’t called you tonight, to lure you to his place, you would’ve blamed yourself for Ava’s death since you left her this evening, giving her the opportunity to take off without her bodyguard.”
I glance at him and notice his suit jacket’s open, his shirt’s wrinkled and his hair’s a mess. We all need some damn sleep.
“You’re right. I would’ve blamed myself, but it worked out, and Romeo’s dead, so she should be safe from here on out.”
“You’re as bullheaded as she is.” He shakes his head and opens the door. “You didn’t see what a mess she was, lying on the floor in the fetal position after you left. She loves you, man, and you love her. I’d easily give up a promotion to know you two are happy together.”
He leaves, and I scrub my face. Kellen doesn’t understand how close we came to a war tonight. If Mickey would’ve had the chance to tell Victor about my identity, no one around me would be safe.
Ava’s better off alone and away from any mob activity. With Teddy moving and Mickey gone, she’s finally safe. I’ll keep Dominic happy, and she’ll never be on his radar again.
I’ll return to Dungeon Six to satisfy my cravings and needs as a Top, but my heart will forever belong to Ava. Never will I love another woman.
Ava
“Please, eat a few bites,” Bonnie says as she sits on the side of my bed with a tray of food. She pushes her black glasses up her nose, and I think about how she probably rushed over here in the middle of the night without her contacts. She’s a true friend.