Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous)

by Montes, E. L.

  My chest heaved in and out as I breathed heavily. “And Mia?”

  He arched a brow. “Do you agree on the club?”

  “You can have the fuckin’ club.”

  “Then Mia is no longer an issue.”

  That was all I needed to hear. I bent over, grabbed my jacket from the ground, faced Gio with a narrow glare, and got the fuck out of there.

  As I entered my car, I reached for my phone and dialed Jimmie’s number. He wasn’t going to be thrilled with my news.

  “What the fuck, Marcus?” Jimmie’s voice pierced through the car speakers as I sped down the highway.

  “I had enough, Jimmie.”

  “Did you honestly believe Lou would just let you walk out scot free?”

  “No, I don’t, but that’s where you come in. We need to figure out who was working with Michael. Fast. I can’t risk the chances of Mia getting hurt.”

  Jimmie cursed under his breath. “You just fuckin’ signed your death warrant.” He blew out through the phone. “I’ll see what I can do. At first, I wasn’t successful, but I just got some information that may lead me somewhere.”

  “Good. Oh, and Jimmie, don’t mention this to Mia. I don’t want to scare her.”

  “She has to know soon. What if she’s confronted by one of Lou’s men?”

  “I’ll take care of that. Just take care of the Michael situation.”

  “Alright, I’m on it.”

  ***

  The scorching water hit my aching muscles. I bowed my head and allowed the steamy water from the shower to drench my skin and seize all of the tension. With a drained sigh, I thought of Mia. I had a busted lip and bruised face. There was no way I could see her that night. She would only question me, and all I wanted to do was to protect her from it all.

  I felt as if I were being pulled apart in so many fucking directions: one toward Mia and another toward the dark fucking path my life had been heading before I met her. Mia kept me grounded and at that very moment, there was no room to be weak. I needed to focus on protecting her and bringing down Lou. I had no clue how, but I was starting with Mia. I wasn’t sure whom to trust because anyone could be working with Lou.

  After my shower, I dressed and drove to Mia’s apartment, parked out front, and stayed in the car all night until the early morning. That was all I could do for now.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MIA

  For the next couple of weeks, I’d been extremely busy with school, studies, and tutoring. I hadn’t had much time for anything else. Literally nothing else, not even Marcus. God, I missed him so much. The separation was killing me. He was just as busy with the firm and with all of the jobs lately, so I wasn’t sure when we’d have time for just us, until he texted me last night.

  Do you think I can buy some time to spend with my girl? Maybe dinner tomorrow night?

  It made me smile and feel guilty at the same time. I knew that if we actually lived together, it would be easier on both of us. What the hell was wrong with me? It was just at that moment when I realized that nothing else mattered as long as I had him close by me always.

  I quickly glanced at the bedroom door when I heard a light knock, and Megan poked her head through. “Hey, Mia.”

  “Megan, hi! Come in.”

  She padded her way over to my bed and slumped down beside me, tossing her head back onto a pillow. I quickly grabbed some of the notes I’d written from beneath her and secured them under my textbook. My bed had become my fort for the last few days. If I wasn’t in the library with my tutor or in class, I was in my bedroom. It was also a mess.

  “I feel as if, even though you live here, you’ve been so absent.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. This class is kicking my ass. With only a few weeks left, I’m really focused and determined to get it over with.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.” She glared at the pile of textbooks, my laptop, and documents spread along my comforter.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Hey, do you want to have a spa day today? You could use a day off from all of this.”

  “I have dinner plans with Marcus tonight.”

  She shrugged. “It’s only noon, and we’ll be back before then. What time is he expected?”

  “I believe eight.”

  She jumped up and grabbed my arm with both hands, pleading with her eyes. “See, we have plenty of time. Please! I miss you.”

  With an eye roll, I tossed the highlighter in my hand on the bed and agreed. “Fine.”

  “Yay!” she squealed.

  “What’s this spa thing I’m hearing about?” Jeremy trudged into the room with a bowl of cereal in his hand. His curly blond hair was tossed in all sorts of directions as his blue sleepy eyes scanned my bed.

  “We’re getting massages,” Megan said with a nod.

  Jeremy scrunched his nose and shook his head before dipping the spoon into the bowl of flakes and shoved it in his mouth. After a few chews, he asked, “You like massages?”

  “Who doesn’t?” Megan shot back.

  “I don’t.” He made another face.

  “Had a bad experience before, Jeremy?” I asked, laughing at his face expression.

  “Nope, never got one.”

  Megan arched a brow in confusion. “Then why are you so against it?”

  “It puts you in a completely relaxed state.”

  Both Megan and I were beyond confused, but curious as to what he’d come up with. “Okay, that’s kind of the point, Jeremy.” I chimed in.

  “Exactly.” Megan followed.

  Jeremy rolled his eyes, “Exactly, my point. Just imagine: your lying there, completely relaxed. Every single muscle has never been so stress-free. Then you have someone pressing down on each part of your body. It feels great, right? But,” he held a finger up with wide eyes, “eventually when they push down on your back, you’re bound to let one loose.”

  “What?” I burst out laughing. He was too much. I couldn’t take it. My head fell back as I held my stomach trying to control the ache from laughing so hard.

  “A fart, Jeremy! Really? That’s why you don’t like massages!” Megan stood with a hand on her hip as she rolled her eyes. “You’re unbelievable!”

  He gave a slight shrug. “Don’t believe me? Wait and see.” He turned on the heels of his bare feet and left the room.

  Megan shot me a look when I couldn’t control my breathing. “Are you going or not?” She asked with slight annoyance.

  “Okay, phew. Okay. I’m going.” I calmed myself.

  ***

  Megan and I sat in a small room wrapped in oversized robes as we sipped champagne. The lights were dimmed as soft music played in the background. The scent of lavender filled the room, making it feel like a sanctuary. I was happy that had Megan invited me along. I needed that moment to get away from it all. Deep down, I still felt guilty because I could have been using that time for my studies, but I’d been working my butt off for the past couple of weeks. A few hours wouldn’t kill me.

  “Ladies, whenever you’re ready.” A very good-looking man exited one of the rooms. Megan wiggled her brows at me as we both stood and made our way over to him. As we entered the room, there were two massage beds beside each other. It was even darker in that room than it had been in the waiting room. “I’ll give you five minutes to get yourselves together. Each of you will lie on the bed face down. Please remove everything except for your underwear.” He smiled and left Megan and me alone.

  Megan stripped off the robe and lay on the bed to the left. I took the one on the right and nestled in. “This is going to be awesome,” she said in a loud whisper.

  “I’m glad you talked me into this. I really needed it.”

  “Of course, now relax and enjoy it.” There was a knock at the door, and this time, the man brought a woman with him. She was my masseuse while he worked on Megan.

  I wasn’t sure how long it was into our massages, because I was in such a daze, when Megan called out for me. It felt
amazing as my masseuse worked out all the kinks in my aching and stressed muscles. “Mia,” she whispered again.

  “Yes,” I moaned as the masseuse continued to work her magic.

  “Um, I think Jeremy was right.”

  Oh my God. I snorted, causing both of us to erupt into full-blown laughs. It was so bad that we had to stop the massages early. We couldn’t stop laughing.

  ***

  I couldn’t control the impulse that came over me. Once I saw Marcus leaning against his car, looking every bit as sexy as he was, I exited the apartment building, and a squeal escaped me as I ran and jumped into Marcus’s arms. Nearly knocking him over, I landed wet kisses all over his face. How I had missed that handsome face. He held me tightly against his chest with a smile. “Whoa, is it safe to say that someone missed me?” He flashed a crooked, adorable grin.

  “You have no idea.” I smashed my lips against his, kissing him over and over again. My eyes flashed opened. “And I’m horny. I’m so horny.” I rumbled against his mouth.

  Chuckling, he narrowed his glare. “Quite honestly, I’m not sure if I should be thrilled about that or feel offended?” I raised a brow, confused as to why he would feel offended. “Because you see me as your love slave instead of your boyfriend.” He winked.

  I smiled. “Feel offended, very offended, but whatever you do, just take it out on me in bed.”

  Marcus tossed his head back and laughed. After he controlled himself, he pulled me in tighter. “Ah, I’ve missed you.”

  “So you agree then? We can just ditch dinner and go straight for the car sex?”

  “Settle down there.” He placed me back down on the ground. “We need to eat first. You’ll need plenty of fuel for what I have planned for you.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Damn it, I was so close.”

  Shaking his head, he opened the passenger door for me. “Come on my little horny demon. Let’s go eat.”

  “Fine, but if you need me to quickly polish you off on the way to the restaurant, I’m your gal.” I winked and hopped into the passenger seat.

  “What has gotten into you?” He laughed. “Have I neglected you for that long?”

  Innocently, I shrugged and batted my lashes. He laughed again and shut the door.

  The entire drive to the restaurant, Marcus and I chatted as if the last two weeks had not even passed. We caught up, sure, but a lot of it was because we had deepened our connection. I told him about Jeremy and the massages, and we couldn’t stop laughing about it. I also mentioned that I was taking my studies more seriously because the semester was coming to an end, but I left out the tutoring and possibility of failing my class. We were in such a good spirits, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

  We pulled into a parking lot, and he cut off the ignition. I was still laughing from our goofing around. Calming, I tossed my head against the headrest and ogled him. Marcus leaned back and stared at me as well. He brought the back of his fingers to my face and traced them along my jawline. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “You’re quite a catch yourself. I think we make a pretty fine couple, Mr. DeLuca.”

  His face softened with a sly grin. “I love seeing you like this.”

  “Like?”

  “Happy. Laughing. Just being you.”

  My heart swelled with so much love for him. “You make me like this.”

  He leaned in and pressed his lips against the tip of my nose and then trailed his lips down to mine. “Good. I would hate to be responsible for your unhappiness.”

  “You could never make me unhappy.”

  Although he nodded at that statement, his eyes filled with doubt.

  During the next couple of hours, Marcus and I indulged in good food, wine, and conversation. We discussed the talk he had with his mother and how he felt better afterwards. That was a relief. The issue with his mother was such a huge burden on him, and I was glad that it was finally resolved. It reminded me of something: in life sometimes you don’t have second chances, and you shouldn’t be scared to just take a chance on something you really want. There could be numerous excuses that you come up with to avoid making that leap of faith. That day, I decided to take a leap for the reason staring right at me.

  “Marcus?”

  “Yeah?” He ate the last bite of his meal, wiping his plate clean.

  “I want to move in.”

  He looked up from his plate and shot me a slight grin. “You’re joking?”

  “No, well, not right now. After this semester, during winter break. I can’t focus on a move at this moment with my upcoming exams, but definitely when it’s all over. That is, if you still want me?”

  “Are you kidding? You can move in tonight. Hell, you don’t need to move a thing. I’ll do it all so you can focus on your studies.”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes, “Marcus, you can wait a few more weeks.”

  “What if I withhold sex from you until you move in? Would that make you move in any faster?”

  My jaw dropped open with a gasp. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  With a mischievous grin, he leaned back in his chair, placing both his hands behind his head. “Oh, how the tables have turned. You remember that two-week bet? It’ll be a bit similar.”

  My expression fell. He did not just go there! I reached for the napkin and tossed it at him. He burst out laughing.

  “That is so not fair.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but I remember having that same argument about your little arrangement.” He winked.

  When I went to speak again, his phone beeped. He grabbed it from the table and swiped the screen to read the message. His facial expression went from humorous to unreadable within a matter of seconds. “Everything okay?” My eyes scanned his face.

  “Yeah, but I need to get going.”

  “What? You mean our night is over?”

  He glanced at me with apologetic eyes. “Yes, babe, I’m sorry. I have to be somewhere, and it’s very important.”

  “Where do you have to be?”

  “I have to meet with Jimmie.”

  “For what?”

  “To collect some information.”

  “What kind of information?”

  Our eyes locked. We were pleading with each other; he was pleading with me to stop the interrogation and I was pleading with him to answer.

  “Mia, can you just drop it? The information is confidential.”

  I dropped my gaze. “Okay. I’m going to use the restroom and then we can go.” I stood from my chair and began to briskly pass him when he caught my wrist.

  “Mia, just trust me, okay?” I nodded and hurried to the restroom.

  After Marcus paid the bill, we jumped in his car and drove in silence back to my apartment. For the entire drive, my mind raced, wondering what the information could be that he claimed was so important. I shouldn’t be upset that he was leaving, but in a way, I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t seen him in over two weeks, and I wanted to be selfish, even if it was for one night.

  As he pulled up in front of my building, Marcus tugged at my chin for me to look at him. I tore my gaze from the passenger window and focused on him. “Mia, I’m sorry. I promise we’ll have plenty of nights together. I just really need to take care of a few things. I’m working on our future.”

  What was that supposed to mean? But I knew that questioning him was problematic, so instead, I leaned in and kissed him. “I know you are.” I gently smiled. “We have the rest of our lives together, right?”

  His eyes gleamed. “Exactly.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  MARCUS

  After Mia entered her apartment building, I waited for a few minutes and then sped off. As I kept my eyes focused on the road, I quickly dialed Jimmie’s number, only glancing a few times at the screen. On the third ring, he answered, his voice in surround sound coming out of my car speakers. “Are you on your way?” He asked.

  “Yeah, you’re home, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “
Are you going to give me any clue about this urgent info that you retrieved?

  “Nope.” The information he had must have been intense because he didn’t disclose it over the phone.

  “Fine, I just dropped Mia off. I should be home in forty minutes.”

  “See you soon, Bro.”

  With traffic, it was impossible to go any faster than I was already going. As I ripped through the hectic city of Greater Boston to Back Bay, where trucks double-parked and pedestrians hadn’t a care in the world as they risked walking in front of moving vehicles, my mind was immersed in the last couple of weeks. Mia was busy with school, which prevented her from questioning my absence. Jimmie and I had been working hard on trying to find any piece of information that could link us to who Michael was working with. We searched old documents and emails he had sent us.

  It was difficult to trust anyone, so we walked on eggshells and were careful with whom we spoke. We knew that any of Lou’s men were out of the question. Even if we suspected one of his men, we couldn’t risk it. I hadn’t spoken to that bastard since our encounter at Gio’s home a couple of weeks back. Jimmie wasn’t thrilled with it, but it got us away from Lou, for now at least, until we found something to bring the fucker down. Lou used the club last Sunday for the first time. I had heard it was a smooth transaction, but I knew that it wouldn’t always be the case. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out his infatuation with the damn club.

  After a pain-in-the-ass car ride, I finally reached my home. Hopping out of the car, I hurried into the house, tossed my keys onto the table by the door, and entered the living room area. Jimmie was there with Elle. He nodded in acknowledgment.

  “Uncle Marc!” Elle squealed in excitement. I hadn’t seen Elle for the past couple of weeks either, with her being in school and with my sleeping in my damn car at night watching Mia’s place.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” Elle ran over to me and pulled me into a hug.

  Jimmie stood up from the couch. “Elle, Uncle Marc and I need to talk, and it’s past your bedtime. Get ready for bed, and I’ll be up in a little while to tuck you in.”

  “Pfft.” She sucked her teeth. Jimmie sent an authoritative glare her way. She slightly pouted and bowed her head. “Sorry, Daddy. Good night, Uncle Marc.”