Filthy Marcellos: Giovanni

by Bethany-Kris

  What in the hell was Franco trying to pull?

  “Disappears?”

  “Mind your business, Kimberlynn,” Franco chided.

  Kim swallowed back her irritation. “We’re going to be late, Franco.”

  “That we are.” Franco tipped his chin towards the Lamborghini. “Go get in the car and give me a minute.”

  “Have a good night, Kim,” Giovanni said as she began to walk away.

  His tone was still like a thick honey to her senses. That anger she thought she witnessed in his eyes earlier was gone, replaced by something else. Kim forced herself not to react and thanked him before leaving. The farther from Giovanni she moved, the better she could breathe.

  The first thing Kim noticed inside the Lamborghini was the small laptop and odd looking black box with an antenna resting on the middle console. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the codes running down the screen. The lack of a key in the ignition was telling. The car was hot. Kim didn’t want to be anywhere near it, but she didn’t have much a choice.

  Kim glanced out the windshield as the door opened and Franco slid into the driver’s seat without a word. She caught a glimpse of Giovanni walking towards a car further down the street that looked to be his rental car. How had she not noticed that parked there earlier in the day?

  God, she was so distracted lately. It was getting ridiculous. Somehow, she needed to figure out a way to get Giovanni off her mind.

  Franco passed a look at the laptop. “You going to ask any questions?”

  “No.”

  “Good girl.”

  Kim scowled away from his view. Great. She was regaled to being a puppy again. He might as well just pat her head and be done with it.

  As Franco put the car in drive and began to move out from the side of the road, the vehicle stopped abruptly, lurching Kim forward in the seat. “What in the hell is that?”

  “What, Franco?”

  “Your shoulder!”

  Kim tried not to wince. She should have put her coat on instead of just holding it like she was. “Nothing, just a little scratch.”

  “How did it happen?”

  “I fell,” Kim said, using the first excuse she could think of. “Slipped down the steps in my dorm. It’s fine.”

  Franco stared at her like she was the stupidest person on earth before saying, “So expecting you to walk on two feet and not hurt yourself is out of the question, I suppose.”

  “It was an accident.”

  “I don’t need a bruised up wife, Kimberlynn. I expect you to take care of yourself.”

  With that, Franco continued driving the car out of the parking space. For a short while, Kim was relieved from his attention and badgering. It didn’t last nearly long enough.

  “At least he’s good for something. I didn’t think he could pick up the car. I hoped he wouldn’t for the sake of humor. Surely his father would have gotten him out of trouble had there been any. Who knew he was so good with techy shit.”

  Kim frowned. “Giovanni?”

  “Who else? Yes, that idiot.” Franco snorted, pushing down on the gas pedal harder. “My father thinks he’s a golden child.”

  Jealously was a horrible monster to shake. Franco couldn’t hide his in the least.

  “And I don’t like that he does that,” Franco added quieter.

  “Does what?”

  “Calls you Kim like you’re friendly. I don’t like it. That needs to stop.”

  “It’s my name,” Kim said softly, wanting to defuse his anger before it turned into suspicion. “I introduced myself to him that way.”

  “No, your name is Kimberlynn. I prefer it. You have no need to be friendly with a man like Giovanni Marcello. He isn’t one of my friends, so I don’t want to see him as one of yours, either.”

  Kim sighed, defeated. The invisible noose around her neck tightened. “Fine, Franco.”

  • • •

  Maximo Sorrento was intimidating to Kim. Large in stature, he could unnerve someone with his silence alone. While he had always been polite and respectful to Kim, she wondered if that was just his nature or a courtesy to his son. After all, Kim did attempt to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the man.

  Franco made it clear that Maximo was unapproachable in regards to their façade of a relationship. Kim wasn’t to take concerns to the man. Maximo wanted nothing to do with how the two handled their business, or rather, how Franco handled Kim. At least, that was how Franco made it appear. She wondered if Maximo actually approved of the engagement.

  Kim enjoyed watching Franco squirm under his father’s scrutiny. It was one positive about being in Maximo’s company. Franco also tended to lay off Kim in his father’s presence.

  That didn’t mean she was entirely comfortable sitting at the dinner table with Maximo and his wife Corrine, because she sure as hell wasn’t. Not with the topic of conversation being the wedding that was less than two months away.

  “Pale pink and black, then?” Corrine asked.

  Kim nodded, wishing the lump in her throat would go away. “Sure.”

  “At least you didn’t go with some hot pink,” Franco said as he cut through a steak that was too small to be considered meat. “It would look like a prom vomited all over the place.”

  “Even if she had picked that color, it’s intended to be her day, son,” Maximo put in, a thick brow raising over his glass of wine. “Let the woman have her day.”

  “I was just saying—”

  “You only need to put on a tux, show up and smile for the cameras. Let her choose what she wants so she’s happy and say nothing about the color of your vest and tie. It’s a small price to pay.”

  Kim’s appreciation for Maximo climbed a notch or two.

  “Have you found your dress?” Corrine asked.

  “Not yet. I haven’t had time.”

  Plus, it was one of the biggest things she dreaded. It made everything real. Kim managed to get by most of the wedding preparation by allowing Franco to hire an event coordinator. Kim only needed to give her approval.

  “You would have a lot more time if you drop the rest of your classes at college,” Franco replied.

  Kim’s jaw ticked, but she refrained from reminding him that topic was not up for discussion.

  “Are you not hungry, Kimberlynn?” Maximo asked. “You’ve only picked at your food.”

  Kim settled for a fake smile as all eyes at the table turned on her. The last thing she wanted to do was be disrespectful to these people. It wasn’t their fault Franco forced the engagement on her, and for all purposes, they had never made her feel out of place.

  “A long day, Maximo, that’s all.”

  “You should rest more,” the older man said with a ghost of a smile. “Women deserve time to relax. Franco, don’t you allow the poor girl time away from you to rest?”

  Franco scoffed. “There’s nothing for her to rest from. Certainly not from me.”

  Kim nearly choked on the wine she was swallowing. The implication in Franco’s words was as clear as day. There was no reason for her to need rest from Franco because there was nothing happening between them to warrant it. Definitely not something sexual.

  She couldn’t believe he openly stated it like he did. To his parents and in a public place, no less. Like their personal affairs or lack thereof, was anyone’s business. Humiliation flooded Kim. She took a hell of a lot of abuse from Franco as she felt there were no other options because of the situation he put her in, but she wouldn’t stand for that.

  “Franco, that’s enough,” Kim whispered harshly. “Stop it.”

  “What? It’s true. I sure as hell hope you’re not as cold after the wedding as you are now.”

  Utensils clattered down to ceramic plates around the table. Corrine, who sat across from Kim, squeaked out a sound thick with disbelief.

  “Cristo, Franco!” Maximo loud admonishment drew the attention of several tables nearby.

  The first thing Kim could think to do was stand
from the table. She needed to leave to cool down the boiling rage and let her humiliation subside. The hand locked tightly to her wrist was the only thing that stopped her.

  “Kimberlynn—”

  Kim graced Franco with a look that stopped him from saying another word. He released his grip on her arm. She sincerely hoped every ounce of her fury was shining through strongly enough for him to know the line he leaped over was a big one.

  “Please, excuse me,” Kim said, maintaining a calm tone as she grabbed her clutch from the pocket of her jacket. “I need to use the ladies room.”

  The last thing on Kim’s mind was the bathroom. At the first exit door she came to, she slammed it open. It led to the alleyway where Franco parked the Lamborghini when they first arrived. The car was gone, now.

  Kim held her throat with one hand, bending over at the knees. It was frightening how suffocated and oppressed she constantly felt. Pretending with Franco because he demanded it of her was hard enough, but that had been something else entirely. She gulped in as much air as her lungs could take, needing to breathe to ward off the panic and anger. Her eyes burned from holding back tears and her throat closed around the sobs trying to release.

  Who was she? Since when had she become such a doormat that a man like Franco had this kind of awful effect on her? She had always been independent and proud of it, but now she felt weak. She couldn’t imagine being married to him for the rest of her life.

  Kim would rather die. Well, that was her only other option.

  God, she hated Franco for doing this to her.

  “Trouble in paradise, Tesoro?”

  The unmistakeable tenor of Giovanni Marcello sent another round of hysterics threatening to pull Kim under. Holy hell. Could this day get any fucking worse?

  “What are you doing here?” Kim asked, standing straight and wiping at her cheeks to rid any tears that might have escaped. She tried not to stare at the man leaning against the brick wall further down the alley, failing miserably.

  “I wanted to make sure your fiancé did what I told him to and got rid of the car as soon as he arrived here. It stayed a little too long, in my opinion. They just rolled it out of the back here a couple of minutes ago.”

  Kim’s embarrassment of having her panic attack witnessed set her defenses up. “Don’t you have another car to steal for Franco?”

  Giovanni laughed, tossing the butt of a cigarette to the ground. “No, the Lambo was just for shits and giggles. I’m not doing Franco’s work. Delivering it to him was enough of a hassle I didn’t want to deal with, but his girl just had to have a drive in it, I guess.”

  His girl?

  “I didn’t know anything about that car until I came outside,” Kim said.

  “Figured that out when you asked where it came from and looked at it like it was the ugliest thing on the block. Still pissed me off like nothing else.”

  The anger Kim thought she’d caught a glimpse of in Giovanni’s eyes earlier suddenly made a lot more sense. It wasn’t just anger, it was jealousy. It also left her more unsettled in her heart. The only reason he would have to be angry with her was if he felt betrayed by her in some way.

  Kim couldn’t afford to stand there and mull it over. It hurt and left her far too confused. “I have to get back to Franco.”

  Giovanni hummed under his breath. “You do that, Kim.”

  She swore a hint of sadness colored his words. She couldn’t dwell on it. Giovanni was unobtainable. Better to get that clear in her head before she let her feelings run off with themselves.

  As Kim reached for the exit door to pull it open again, she heard him ask, “Behind your ear … is it still there?”

  Subconsciously, Kim covered the hickey he asked about with her fingertips, feeling heat bloom on her skin at the acknowledgment. The white hot lust Giovanni created inside her shot straight down to the unexpected ache between her thighs.

  “It is there, isn’t it?” Giovanni asked.

  “Yes,” Kim said softly, positive she could feel the heat of his gaze on her back.

  “When you touch it, does it feel like my mouth, teeth, and tongue on you all over again?”

  Kim bit her cheek, but the word slipped out of her mouth on its own accord. “Yes.”

  “Have a very good night, Kim,” Giovanni murmured.

  • • •

  The table was empty but for Franco when Kim entered the dining room. She stayed in the shadow of the hallway, watching as Franco allowed a pretty redhead at the table beside his to scrawl something with black eyeliner to the inside of his wrist. Tossing the girl a wink and grin that seemed charming, Franco sat straight in his chair like nothing had even happened.

  Kim inhaled so deeply it burned her lungs. It wasn’t the first time she happened upon Franco and another female. The first time it occurred, the girl was still naked and on her knees with Franco’s dick in her mouth, actually. Asking Franco why only taught Kim to mind her own business.

  What happened between her and Giovanni should have left Kim feeling dirty, or at the very least, bad for betraying Franco. She couldn’t even manage to bring forth a drop of those emotions. Why should she when he couldn’t even be bothered to hide his unfaithfulness? It wouldn’t surprise her if he already had children spread across Vegas.

  Steeling her spine straight, Kim walked over to the table as if she hadn’t seen a thing. “Where’s your father and Corrine?”

  Franco waved, a name and phone number scribbled in black flashing on his wrist before it disappeared. “He’s angry with me for what I said, forced me to apologize, and left. He gives his apologies.”

  Kim said nothing; she didn’t know what to say.

  “I imagine you want one from me, too?” Franco asked, standing from the table.

  Franco held out Kim’s coat and she let him tug the article on. The way his hands rested on her shoulders may have appeared affectionate to anyone else in the restaurant, but the weight of his fingers digging into her bones was anything but.

  “I won’t ask for an apology if you’ll keep any comments about that sort of thing to yourself,” Kim said.

  Franco was lucky Kim didn’t verbally cut him up and down like she wanted to. The consequences would have been worth it to humiliate him in front of the people around them like he had her. Sadly, Kim was too exhausted to fight again.

  “Also to you,” Franco replied, cocking a single brow. “Because you should know that once we’re married, sweetheart, I expect you to act like a proper wife in all aspects, including my bedroom.”

  Bile spilled onto the back of Kim’s tongue at the thought.

  “And you not wanting to really won’t stop me if you refuse,” he added.

  Chapter Ten

  “How are things?” Antony asked.

  “Good,” Gio replied, keeping an eye on the boys stripping the Lamborghini down to nothing but spare parts.

  Usually, Gio would have wiped his hands clean of the deal. He’d been curious about how fast they could chop the car, so he checked it out.

  “You’re working,” Antony said.

  “Something like that. Tricking alarms on your cars has come in handy for me.”

  Antony laughed. “You’re such a shit, Gio. You sound … healthy, son.”

  Gio’s brow crinkled. “What?”

  “Sober.”

  Oh.

  “I’m pleased,” Antony added lower. “Maybe Vegas was what you needed, after all.”

  After partying the week before, Gio didn’t have the slightest interest in getting high or drunk. It had little to do with Vegas. Why would he get high? He didn’t need to feel anything. Damn, he was feeling too much as it was; tied up into a million frustrated knots. Thoughts of Kim kept him that way. Getting fucked up wouldn’t relax him. It would only make it a hell of a lot worse.

  “Your mother misses you terribly,” Antony said.

  “I know. She told me fifteen times last week on my birthday.”

  Antony chuckled. “She wants me to send
you back here on the next flight.”

  “Not yet,” Gio said.

  Something inside wasn’t ready to leave.

  “Well, it’s your choice. How’s business there?”

  “Same old. It’s quiet. Franco’s definitely got control of this car nonsense.”

  “Complete control?”

  “Seems like it,” Gio replied.

  “And Nunz is involved?”

  “Nunz’s son, mostly. For the hands-on aspects, I mean. He’s an alright kid, but his father is one lazy fuck.”

  Antony hummed his agreement. “Who’s being paid dues if two bosses are involved?”

  “Both. Max takes a cut and Nunz’s son pays a portion to his father for what comes in from his side of things, too.”

  “Too many chiefs,” Antony noted.

  “Yeah. Three bosses being paid would leave nothing in the end. I mean, there’s good money here, but it’s a lot of work. Max doesn’t seem interested in running it, so I don’t understand why he offered the deal to you.”

  “Possibly because Franco asked him to. Franco likely assumed I would be more willing to consider an offer from his father than him.”

  “Especially with Nunz involved.”

  “Max didn’t tell me Nunz was involved,” Antony said. “Not at the Commission meeting. He only spoke in regards to Nunz’s girl marrying Franco.”

  How hadn’t Gio realized that? Antony was right. Maximo didn’t say anything about Nunz and the car scheme. During his couple of short meetings with Maximo, the man hadn’t mentioned Nunz or the man’s guys, either. In fact, the only one of Nunz’s guys who was working the scheme was Cody.

  Did Maximo even know Nunz was taking a cut of the cars?

  “Gio?” Antony asked. “Did you hang up on me, son?”

  “No, just thinking.”

  “Fill me in.”

  Gio wasn’t sure he should right then. He didn’t know his assumptions were fact. “Nunz’s kid … Cody, he’s twenty-three and is still unmade.”

  “So?” Antony asked, sounding bored.

  “It’s unusual. I mean, he’s doing family business, but he’s not in with the family.”