Marco’s eyebrow raised as he studied the two men, their tittering annoying him.
“Is that funny for some reason?”
“Nah,” Frank insisted. “It’s nothing.”
Tracey set his drink down forcefully, causing him to look up at her and she subtly lifted her chin toward the back hallway.
A fission of alarm slid through him.
Tracey dropped her eyes back toward the glasses and pretended to busy herself.
Oh, no. Fucking August…
Marco rose from the stool and the soldiers looked at him uncertainly, the smirks falling from their faces in unison.
“Uh, where you going, boss?” Tommy asked nervously.
“What? Now I gotta fucking announce it every time I take a leak?” Marco snapped. “Mind your fucking business.”
He made his way toward the washrooms, his pulse quickening.
What’s that fucking prick up to now? He wondered. If he’s shooting up…
He didn’t need this bullshit, not today.
Pushing his way into the washroom, he looked around.
A middle-aged man flashed him a phony smile as he dried his hands, but as Marco walked by the stalls, checking underneath them for other occupants, he couldn’t see any sign of August.
Marco opened the door to the hallway, listening closely. Suddenly he heard a thud.
It was coming form the women’s washroom.
A sick tingling sensation slithered through Marco’s body as he strode forward.
A woman’s voice cried out and he knew instinctively what was happening.
Oh fuck, not again, he thought, rage coursing through his veins as he understood what Tracey had been trying to tell him.
Of course. She couldn’t come right out and tell him what August was doing, not if she valued her life.
Tracey had been inside the operation long enough to know that snitches did not meet with happy endings in the mafia.
Marco shoved at the door but it was locked from the inside.
You fucking asshole! I am going to end your life if you’re doing what I think you’re doing.
Not stopping to consider his actions, he backed up and kicked the door.
The first one didn’t fully open it, but the second kick splintered the door inward at the deadbolt and August was knocked sideways as the heavy wood struck him.
A stunning girl with jet-black hair backed up against the sinks, her lipstick smeared as she gasped for breath. She lifted one hand to her neck, where Marco noticed the red marks of a man’s grip. Marco clenched his fists, the anger coming hard and fast upon him.
It was clear she was not there of her own accord, her shapely frame trembling as she struggled to compose herself.
Their eyes met and she held up her hands to ward him away.
Marco barely had time to scan her for injuries as August stumbled to his feet.
“Marco! What the – “
Marco didn’t allow him to finish his sentence.
Grabbing him by the collar, he yanked the soldier to his feet, pummeling his face with his fist as he dragged him into the hallway toward the emergency exit.
August tried to fight off the blows but Marco was enraged, each punch more intense than the last.
“Stop it!” August begged as Marco tossed him into the alleyway. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong! She wanted it!”
“Yeah, well it looks to me like you want it to, asshole,” Marco growled, delivering a kick to his ribs as August’s skinny frame collapsed onto the ground.
August sobbed and curled into the fetal position.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Marco raged. “You’re a sick fuck! You know that?”
“This is the last time, I swear – “
Marco’s foot met his stomach, and the blow finally silenced him.
“Shit! Marco!” Tommy screamed, bursting out of the door. “You’re going to kill him!”
Marco backed up, gathering the remnants of his control, red streaking his hands as he stared at the pile of shit unconscious on the ground.
“Get him cleaned up and lock him up at the Magna warehouse,” Marco said. “If he gets away, I am coming after you next. Capish?”
Tommy gaped at him.
“Do you fucking understand?” Marco growled quietly, and Tommy regained his composure.
“Yeah, I got it,” Tommy mumbled. “He was only having fun, boss – “
A new wave of fury washed over Marco and he lunged at Tommy.
“You think that shit is okay?” he hissed, his hand circling Tommy’s throat. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I see Christina…or Sara.”
Tommy’s face turned pale.
“You wouldn’t…”
“Oh? It’s different when it’s your family?” he spat. “What the fuck is wrong with you stronzos?”
Marco didn’t wait for a response, stalking back into the restaurant where a crowd had gathered around the women’s washroom.
He pushed through the group, looking for the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is she?” he asked Tracey. “Which way did she go?”
Tracey shook her head.
“I offered to take her to the hospital but she swore she was okay. She looked like she just wanted to get out of here.”
“Fuck!” Marco spit. “You should have kept her here.”
“I don’t think she’s going to say anything, Marco,” Tracey mumbled. “She was pretty scared.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Marco sighed. “I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
Tracey eyed him, slipping his drink closer toward him and he looked at her.
“Drink this. After the day you’ve had…”
“What do you know about my day?” he snapped, his anger suddenly finding a new target.
Another one who fucking knows so much about me, he thought bitterly.
“I know it’s the anniversary of your dad’s death,” she said quietly. “I just saw Angela Suzzi groping you, and then you just had to stop that piece of shit from raping yet another woman. I think you’ve earned this drink. It’s on me. You’re a superhero today,” she said with a small smile.
Unexpectedly, Marco chuckled and Tracey eyed him with surprise.
Yeah. If the fucking Joker was a superhero, he thought.
“Hey, look at that,” he laughed, raising the tumbler to his lips. “Someone does pay attention to my shit after all.”
He took a long sip and sighed.
“Sorry for being such an asshole. I want to find that girl though. Do you know who she is?”
“I got her name before the three musketeers showed.”
“That’s something,” Marco said with interest. “I can have Carmello track her.”
Tracey eyed him, warily. She must have decided he could be trusted not to hurt the girl further, because she provided the information lecture-free.
“Her name is Sofia Morano. She just moved here from Virginia.”
Welcome to Miami, sweetheart, where you can’t even go for a drink without being accosted in a bathroom, he thought bitterly.
Marco reached for his phone to message Carmello, their go-to tech expert. If anyone could locate this girl, it was Carm.
“Marco…” Tracey interrupted his thoughts.
“What?”
“Did you see her?”
“Who? The girl?”
“Yeah,” Tracey replied slowly. “Did you look at her?”
“For a second. Why?”
Tracey inhaled slowly.
“She reminds me of someone.”
He waited, eyeing her expectantly, his fingers poised over the keypad.
“Who?” he demanded impatiently.
“Mara.”
And just like that, Marco’s night got worse.
Chapter Four
Too close, too close, that was way too fucking close!
Andrea fumbled with her keys, trying to remember which one was which, as he
r hands shook violently.
She knew that she had been seconds away from employing desperate tactics in the bathroom at Il Toro when Marco Sardelli had burst in, his emerald eyes on fire.
How did he know I was in there? Does he know who I am?
A thousand hysterical questions floated through her brain as she finally managed to open the door to her unit and slam it behind her.
She had not been damaged much physically, but Andrea knew her emotional state was going to need some time to recoup.
I have to call Agent Draggan and tell him what happened, she thought, flipping on every light in her path.
The apartment was small, sparsely decorated in Sofia Moran’s tastes, which just happened to coincide with Andrea’s.
An eclectic mix of Mexican artwork and music paraphernalia littered the walls. The homey scene did nothing for her, however, as all she saw was the freezer calling her name, as she rushed to claim the bottle of vodka and the tub of ice cream from its depths.
The clear, sharp liquid sloshed into a water glass, and she didn’t bother with mix, taking a quick gulp immediately.
She felt the burn warming her throat, and blissfully, she slowly stopped quivering.
Okay, she told herself. Okay, you got this. Now a scoop of ice cream. Good. Good. You’re going to make it.
Slowly, she made her way to the couch, taking her glass of straight up courage, and the tub of ice cream with her. She kicked off her heels carelessly and sank into the deep cushions.
She looked around the wired apartment slowly, wondering if anyone was bothering to monitor her on her first night going undercover. For some reason, she had the acute feeling that she had been thrown to the wolves without a second thought.
They should have responded to what happened in Il Toro, she thought. The minute August cornered me in that bathroom, they should have busted in to save me…right?
There had been protocols put in place, procedures the agent had walked her through before sending her out undercover, but nothing had prepared her for something like what had happened in that bathroom with August.
If Marco hadn’t shown up, would her backup have come, or would they have just let it happen? Was anyone even paying attention? Maybe they were, and they just didn’t think it was important enough to blow cover over.
A sick feeling of dread washed over Andrea as she considered how close she had come to being hurt.
I’m unarmed out there. Even if I managed to overpower him, I still would have been in mob territory. They weren’t going to let me walk away. I could have been just like August’s other victims – vanished without a trace.
Andrea took another swig of her drink and willed herself to think rationally.
You’re being melodramatic. You could have taken August down yourself, and you would have. Even before Marco Sardelli arrived, you got a couple good blows to his kidneys.
But then she remembered how black dots had been dancing in front of her eyes as he had squeezed the slender column of her throat. I only had maybe another twenty seconds before I lost consciousness. Would I have been able to overpower the behemoth before that?
Andrea wasn’t sure, but she did know one thing. She was not going to let Draggan pull her off this case. Not yet. And if he thinks I can’t handle an incident like this, then he might do exactly that. Maybe this is normal operating procedure for undercover agents.
Okay, I’m not calling Draggan. I can handle this, she pep-talked her still shaking self.
But then she realized she might have something equally as terrifying to worry about.
Draggan might not care at all. After all, where was the man? Why hadn’t anyone tried to contact her after the bathroom incident?
Jeez, either too much coverage or not enough? Andrea didn’t know which option was worse. She wanted Draggan to trust her enough to be able to do the job, but she also wanted to know that someone would be there to save her if she needed it. Damn it!
Either scenario caused Andrea to shudder.
Again, her mind shifted to Marco Sardelli’s untimely arrival.
A new wave of stress coursed through her.
How had he known I was in there? Maybe my cover is already compromised.
Andrea knew she had no choice but to contact Agent Draggan for instructions on how to proceed. She couldn’t just walk back into Il Toro now. It would look weird, going back as if nothing had happened.
Not to mention she didn’t want to see August again. Ever. As it was, she would have a hard time getting his leering, bulbous face out of her mind when she tried to fall asleep.
Idly, she wondered what Marco had done to the soldier.
A small shiver slid through her as she recalled the look of fury in the capo’s bright green eyes.
She had seen pictures of him, but nothing had prepared her for his impact and piercing resolve in real person. She had to admit also, that when she thought back, she could now drool a little over his intense attractiveness.
His olive skin and dark waves were a stunning contrast to his piercing emerald eyes, enshrouded in thick, black lashes.
He was tall and imposing, built like a tank, both stylish and intimidating with massive shoulders clearly defined beneath a three-hundred-dollar silk shirt.
Even when she had studied the photos of him, knowing how dangerous of a man he was, Andrea could not deny she felt a spark of interest while eying his sulky lips.
But nothing had prepared her for the magnitude of his presence.
Andrea wasn’t sure if it was the fury he had displayed which made him seem incredibly sexy, or the fact that he was saving her.
When he had busted down the door, August fell back and Andrea got her first good look at the man.
Silently she had cheered him on, relishing the blows Marco administered on her would-be assailant, but when he hauled August out of the bathroom and into the night, Andrea knew she had to disappear.
Tracey had tried to stop her, to take her to the hospital, but Andrea just wanted to make it back to her undercover apartment and recover her composure, weigh out her next move.
As long as she stayed in the restaurant’s bar, she would feel like a sitting duck.
Yet as she sat alone in the unfamiliar apartment, a part of her wished she had stayed and seen through what had happened with August.
He wasn’t going to hurt you anymore, not with Marco kicking his ass. You may have missed your only opportunity to get close to him.
Andrea groaned aloud, bringing the glass to her lips.
It was empty, only fuelling Andrea’s frustration.
“Why did I ever agree to this shit, Draggan?” she growled aloud to the empty room. “Are you even listening, you jackass?”
A knock on the door caused her to gasp and Andrea clamped her lips together.
Huh. Maybe they’re listening after all, she thought, rising from her spot on the couch. Suddenly, the effects of all the alcohol she had consumed hit her and Andrea floated toward the door, throwing it open with renewed anger.
“It took you long en – “
She stopped in mid-sentence, her mouth falling open as she saw who stood outside her door.
Her first instinct was to slam the door in Marco Sardelli’s face, but he seemed to anticipate her reaction, jamming his foot in the doorway before she managed to close it.
“Wait,” he ordered her. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
Gaping in shock, Andrea backed away from the entranceway, unsure of how to react.
He wasn’t going to let me get away. Of course not. He can’t risk me turning in one of his boys. But how did he know where to find me? He couldn’t have followed me or he would have been here sooner. Oh God, he knows I’m a cop. I’m dead.
And then she remembered her conversation with Tracey.
She knew my undercover name. She told him who I said I was and he tracked me down. Goddamn it! Dead on my first night. I didn’t even get a solid hour of intel. I told them this was a death trap!
There was a firearm in her bedroom closet but she would never make it that far, not if he intended to kill her.
“Don’t be afraid, Sofia,” he said and Andrea found herself relieved that he called her by her undercover name.
Okay, so he doesn’t know I’m a cop. That’s something.
He stepped over the threshold, holding his hands up to show her he had no malintent, but Andrea had seen enough mob movies to know it could be a ploy.
“I just want to talk to you, okay? Are you expecting someone? Is that who you thought I was?”
She continued to back away until her calves made contact with the wood and glass coffee table.
The door closed behind him and she tried to keep her breathing regular.
Just remain calm. He doesn’t look murderous or angry now. He looks very solemn and…sensual.
Andrea wondered just how drunk she was, her eyes fixed on his high cheekbones and chiseled jawline.
Marco paused a safe distance away, slowly lowering his arms.
“I only came here to see if you were hurt. Do you want to go to the hospital?”
Andrea shook her head quickly, not trusting her voice just yet. She was sure her face reflected her racing thoughts. Hopefully he attributed that to her ordeal tonight, and not to her panic about her cover possibly being blown.
“I swear – I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he told her, his green eyes narrowing slightly as he studied her face. “My name is Marco.”
She nodded, unsure of how else to respond.
“I’m the one who…” he paused delicately and cleared his throat. “I’m the one who took care of August.”
Andrea’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean, ‘took care of him’?” she asked, her brows raising with alarm. Had he killed the guy??
Marco’s face seemed to relax.
“So, you can talk,” he sighed. “That’s something.”
“What did you do to him?”
Marco glanced at his long fingers and Andrea found her own gaze falling toward them also.
“Well, let’s just say he’ll never do that to anyone again,” Marco replied gruffly and Andrea heard the note of sincerity in his voice.
He was genuinely appalled by August.
BREAKING THE LAW Page 4