Then she saw her. Alessa came alone and Gisella exhaled in relief. She didn’t look happy at all. She wore a slim fitting dress in black, and as she walked, she did so slowly. Gisella stood up and started to head toward her when Collin grabbed her hand.
“Wait for her here,” he ordered, never wanting Gisella too far from him when not accompanied by security or him or Fedarro.
One look in Alessa’s eyes and she knew something was wrong.
She smiled. “Hey, you made it. I was getting worried.”
Alessa put her hand over her waist. “I wasn’t feeling too well,” she said but hugged her and Gisella felt Alessa tighten as she embraced her. She pulled back and squinted.
“What’s wrong? Something is wrong,” she said and Alessa’s eyes filled with tears and she looked away, shaking her head.
“Come on. We can go in the back and talk.” Gisella began to pull her along but Alessa stopped her as Collin and Fedarro approached. They greeted her hello and Alessa forced a smile, but she tightened up when the men hugged her.
She stepped back as the others came over saying hello. Alda and Giada handed Alessa a glass and then opened the bottle of Patron in front of her and poured it over the glass of ice. “Come sit with us. The show is going to start soon,” Giada said, and they all headed toward a table.
As conversation took place around them, Gisella noticed that Cobra, Roman, Ziek, and Lenox remained nearby and were trying to get Alessa’s attention, but Alessa remained looking away from them. Giada and Alda were engaged in conversation so Gisella leaned closer to Alessa.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Maybe you should.”
“I can’t, Gisella. I don’t know what’s going on. My life is a mess right now. I can’t seem to get away from the past or my family and their fucked up ways,” she stated.
“Are you talking about your Uncle Roger and Calvin? Have they contacted you to try to get information from you about Fedarro and Collin and this real estate deal?” Gisella asked. Alessa widened her eyes.
“You know about this deal? What do you know? What can you tell me?”
“Wait, I thought you might know something because obviously your uncle and that jerk Calvin contacted you.”
“I saw them last night at the event. They were so rude and things happened, Gisella. Roberto has done business with them which means he’s done illegal things.”
“Wait, he’s done business with Roger and Calvin? Are you serious? Like in the past or currently?”
Alessa swallowed hard and looked around them.
“I caught wind of something last night. From Calvin’s bimbo date I was forced to stand next to and mingle with as the men talked. Such bullshit. I was pissed and then she started rambling. Something about a real estate deal, and Roger and Calvin’s involvement, and the Fiorres.”
“Oh shit. It’s Collin and Fedarro. They’ve been trying to buy this block of buildings and keep running into red tape, and now it seems that someone is paying these lawyers under the table to make sure that Collin, Fedarro, and the guys don’t get it.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I overheard a conversation, too, and, well, my men were displeased but I was able to tell them a little bit about Calvin and Roger. What does Roberto have to do with this?”
“Oh God, he’s the one trying to get the property.”
Gisella covered her mouth and gasped.
“Oh my God, he wants revenge against Cobra and them. That’s what the blonde was saying. Something about revenge, and Roberto threatened me last night, and he—” Alessa wiped the tear away and lowered her eyes.
Gisella covered her hand with hers. “What did he do, Alessa? How did he threaten you?”
She shook her head and the music began, the show starting and Gisella swallowed hard. She locked gazes with Cobra, then Fedarro. They both knew immediately that something was wrong.
* * * *
When the show ended and they all started talking and having drinks, Gisella took Alessa by the hand and led her from the main area of the club. They were standing in the hallway, Scotch at the end keeping watch when Cobra and Fedarro appeared. Then Collin, Lenox, Roman, and Ziek came there, too.
“How did he threaten you?” she asked Alessa, and looked into her eyes, at her face, when she saw discoloration there. Her eyes widened. Alessa knew Gisella could see the bruising. She felt embarrassed. Tears filled her eyes.
“Why do these things keep happening to me? Why?” she asked and Gisella pulled her into an embrace and Alessa gasped.
Gisella pulled back just as Fedarro and Collin approached, and Alessa shook her head, begging Gisella to not say a word about her being hurt. Gisella narrowed her eyes at Alessa.
“What’s going on? Something is wrong. Talk to us,” Fedarro stated. Collin placed his hands over Gisella’s shoulders and pulled her back against his front.
“Tell them, Alessa. Tell them what you found out last night.”
Alessa looked at them, and then at Cobra, Lenox, Ziek, and Roman.
“I was at a party last night with Roberto.” She saw their angry expressions and heard Cobra and Roman make noises like they were upset about that.
“My Uncle Roger and ex-boyfriend Calvin were there. They were talking and I found out that Roberto has done business with them. They walked away to talk and left me with Calvin’s girlfriend, and she was blabbing about a deal, a contract. Roberto is trying to buy the property that you guys are trying to buy.”
“Roberto is? That fucking piece of shit. This is what this is about?” Cobra yelled and slammed his hand against the wall. Alessa jumped back, wrapped an arm around her waist, and moved behind Fedarro.
“Alessa, shit, baby, he isn’t pissed at you. He’s pissed at Roberto. We haven’t been able to figure out who was causing all the problems,” Ziek said to her and moved closer. Fedarro turned and looked at her, his eyes landed on her cheek. He reached up, held her gaze, and she knew he saw the bruising, and her reaction had him putting things together quickly.
“Do not be afraid of these men. Of my men. They are soldiers, and they care so much for you. They can protect you,” Fedarro told her, and she started to shake her head when Gisella spoke.
“He hit you. I can see the bruising. What else did Roberto do? How did he threaten you?” Gisella asked.
“He struck you?” Roman roared and then the four men, plus Fedarro and Collin, started asking her questions. Roman pulled her closer to him and cupped her cheek then looked at the other cheek.
“He hit you?”
“He’s dead. I’ll fucking kill him for laying a hand on her,” Cobra roared and slammed his hand against the wall again. Tears spilled from her eyes and she heard Collin, Scotch, and Ziek telling him to calm down and that killing Roberto was only going to cause more problems, and that he could get arrested.
She saw how angry he was and he looked at her, eyed over her body, and more tears fell.
“Don’t, Cobra. There’s other ways we can handle this situation,” she said to him.
“Other ways? How, when he hurt you to get to us? He’s screwing us out of this deal to seek revenge,” Cobra stated.
“What does he want revenge for?” she asked.
Cobra took a few unsteady breaths, then Roman narrowed his eyes and stared into hers. “For killing his brothers,” he said, and her eyes widened.
“It isn’t what you think. We’ll explain, but know right now that he will suffer for hurting you,” Roman said.
“He won’t succeed. Now that you know he’s involved as well as my uncle and Calvin, your lawyers can take them down,” Alessa stated.
“No, Alessa, they can’t. They’ve got our lawyers caught up in so much red tape and other bullshit, there’s no way,” Fedarro said.
“I’ll help.”
“How, baby?” Lenox asked her, and when he wrapped his arm round her waist she gasped and took a sharp intake of b
reath.
They all scrunched their eyebrows and looked at her.
“You’re hurting here, too?” Lenox asked and eased his arm from her waist. She looked at them.
“I’ll help because I’m tired of being treated this way. No matter how hard I fight, I work, some man comes along and breaks me down, tries using me, or abusing me in some way. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, but I know what needs to be done here. I’m finished being a victim. Finished letting men beat me down, use me, and try intimidating me. I can’t take this anymore. Roberto went and paid off my college loans without my consent. Then he threatened me, hurt me. He more than likely told my uncle that I belong to Roberto now, and any day now I’ll hear from my parents and they’ll push and demand and force me to stay with Roberto. I’m done with this. I can’t live like this,” she said and then exhaled.
“You don’t need to be further involved with this,” Fedarro said to her.
“I know what needs to be done, if you’ll allow me access to your attorneys,” she said to Fedarro and Collin. They looked at one another and then at Cobra, Roman, Ziek, and Lenox, who held her close and kissed her neck softly.
“First, you let your men take care of you. Work things out with them, Alessa, and tomorrow we’ll all sit down and talk this out,” Fedarro said, and then took Gisella’s hand, and he and Collin led her out of the hallway.
She stared at Roman, Cobra, and Ziek. “My men?” she questioned as tears fell.
“We want to be. We realized what we did, Alessa. How badly we made you feel. That wasn’t our intentions. You’re so beautiful, so perfect, I guess we felt vulnerable and weak and didn’t know how to handle that,” Roman told her.
“We figured being commanding, controlling, helped us to handle that vulnerable feeling and stay in control, but not having you, and seeing you with that dick, made us feel even more out of control,” Ziek told her.
“I don’t know what to say or what to do. I’m so confused. So broken down and hurt. I just can’t think. I can’t make decisions. I don’t know what to do about Roberto and his threats.”
“His threats are powerless. Come with us now. We can talk things through. Take our time and be honest about what we all feel and want,” Lenox said to her. He was so sexy in a Pierce Brosnan kind of way. Their power, though, their strength and tempers made her concerned for her safety. Roberto struck her. Hell, kicked her. Cobra and Roman, with their tempers, could kill her.
“Don’t look at us like that. Please, baby, I don’t know what this dick did exactly, but we would never lay a hand on you to hurt you,” Roman said.
“Come on. We need to figure this out, and quickly. Our time apart has been torturous,” Cobra said and the others agreed. Lenox remained holding her as the four men led her out of The Red Slipper and into their SUV.
* * * *
Lenox didn’t like the fact that Alessa was shaking as she sat between him and Ziek. Cobra was driving and Roman was in the passenger seat.
“I don’t think this a good idea,” she whispered.
Lenox held her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. He held her gaze, saw the tears in her hazel green eyes. “It’s time to hand over the reins to us, Alessa. To let down your guard, even if it’s just a little, and give us a chance.” He kissed her knuckles again.
“It’s so hard,” she said, her voice cracking.
“It doesn’t have to be, baby,” Ziek added and placed his hand on her knee and turned in his seat.
She sniffled. “I’m so tired, Ziek. I’m tired of feeling confused, hurt, and alone. I’m obviously not a good judge of character at all. I thought if I focused on work, on achieving my dream and nothing else, that maybe I would be okay. That I wouldn’t have time or energy to feel so scared and alone.”
Ziek reached out and cupped her cheek. “Sweetie, we didn’t help you, either. We failed you when you needed us because we were so caught up in our macho, hardcore ways. We were dicks to you and it wasn’t right.”
“Why are you saying these things now, because of Roberto and this deal? To make me stay away from him? Why?”
“Oh, you are staying away from him, and if he tries to come near you, to hurt you again, I will kill him,” Cobra stated.
When they pulled off the street and down into the underground garage, Alessa sat forward. “Where are we?”
“Some place we can talk, relax, and not get interrupted,” Roman said as Cobra pulled the SUV into a parking spot. Lenox got out first and took her hand. She slid from the seat, her long, sexy legs revealed to the thigh as the slit exposed her beautiful skin. As she bent, he caught sight of the deep cleavage of her breasts and the scent of her shampoo. She stood slowly but then straightened her shoulders, trying to act tough, but it was obvious she felt pain. He wondered what the prick did to her. Had he assaulted her, touched her, worse? Lenox was feeling overwhelmed with jealousy and anger, and wanted to fucking know what Roberto did, but she needed him to be patient.
As they all stepped into the elevator, Lenox brought her hand to his lips and held her gaze. He kissed her fingers, stared down into her eyes, and she held his gaze.
“We heard about the business your starting and the catering or specialty desserts. You’re establishing quite the reputation. How long have you been a pastry chef?” he asked. The doors opened and they walked from the elevator to another one. They stepped inside.
“I started to practice and learn the trade while in law school,” she stated.
“That’s right. We had no idea that you were in law school. What made you not want to be a lawyer?” Ziek asked as the second doors opened and a small entryway appeared along with a set of double doors. Cobra punched in the code and the doors opened.
“It was my parents’ dream, not mine.” She stopped and looked around. “Holy God, this is gorgeous,” she said and he smiled.
“Let’s show you around while Roman grabs drinks,” Lenox told her and she paused, looked at Roman, and didn’t move.
“I’ll pour it in front of you,” he said sounding pissed.
“You don’t have to, Roman. You know what I went through. You know how I acted, how scared not knowing makes me feel. I could use a drink,” she said to him and he nodded then walked over to the living room and bar area.
“So this is the kitchen,” Lenox said and motioned with his hand. They watched her closely as she slid her hand along the counter, the industrial stove, and the stainless steel double oven. When she turned slowly, glancing back at the oven again and then looking out toward the city skyline, her jaw dropped.
“Oh God, this is gorgeous.”
“I bet you could create some masterpieces in this kitchen,” Ziek said to her and passed her the glass of Patron on ice. They all had glasses of Patron and stood around her and the island in the kitchen. Lenox raised his glass.
“To starting over,” he said.
“To finishing where we left off,” Cobra stated and leaned over the counter, held her gaze and tilted his glass toward Alessa’s. She hesitated but then clinked his glass, took a sip, and didn’t take her eyes off of Cobra’s.
“Let’s go sit down and get comfortable,” Lenox suggested and they all walked into the living room.
* * * *
Roman watched Lenox undo his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, then leaned back into the sofa. Alessa sat down next to him and crossed her legs. Roman sat on her other side, and Ziek and Cobra sat across from them. They all undid their ties, then Roman looked at Alessa.
“Get comfortable, and relax.”
She held her glass with both hands and worried her bottom lip as she stared at him.
“That’s not so easy.”
“Why not?” Roman asked, reaching out and stroking her cheek. She closed her eyes and he knew she felt the attraction.
“Tell us why you can’t relax around us,” Cobra said.
She looked at him, but Roman still stroked her jaw. “I guess you intimidate me.”
“We s
hould. We’re big men, but we would never hurt you.”
“You say that, Cobra, but you’re made men. Enforcers in an organized crime family, I know you have capabilities.”
“More than you’ll ever know, but none that we would use to hurt you, only use to protect you. Which brings me to my question about Roberto and what he did to you. I want to know,” Cobra said.
She looked down only for Roman to grip her chin and give her a firm expression.
“We have a right to know. We failed you by pushing you away, making you feel cheap and meaningless, and that wasn’t our intention,” he stated. Tears filled her eyes.
“You broke my heart,” she said. Roman felt his gut clench and his heart actually ache.
“We are going to make that all up to you,” he replied and slowly moved closer to kiss her. When she didn’t pull away, or tell him she wanted to leave, his lips touched hers and he felt triumphant. He wanted to explore her mouth, but hesitated kissing her too deeply. They all agreed on slow, yet when they kissed, he wanted fast. Roman pulled back and brushed his thumb along her lower lip. “So sweet.”
She stared at him.
“You are beautiful, baby, and like no other. You’re smart, strong, and brave,” he said to her. She shook her head as tears fell.
“Not brave or strong.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t stop him. I couldn’t move. I froze,” she said and the tears kept rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away, and stood up. Gasped and held her side. Roman stood up, too, and took her hand, turned her around to face him.
She was precious, so incredibly beautiful, emotional, and all woman and he knew in that moment that he would do anything for her. Roman would move heaven and earth for her. He cupped her cheeks, stared at her mouth, then her eyes, and she covered his hands with hers.
“You are special to us. We want you in every way. To protect you, to care for you, to be here for you when others failed you. We. Will. Not. Fail. You.”
Roman pressed his lips to hers, felt her tighten only a moment before her hands pressed against his chest, singed his skin through the dress shirt he wore, and then caressed up and down. He pulled her closer as he stepped closer.
Ingredients to Love Page 11