Bend: A Dark Mafia Romance

by B. B. Hamel

  I needed to start making a plan, or else risk getting left behind.

  Chapter 30

  Vince

  I was half awake when Kaley showed up at my door talking about Jacque the crazy horse guy.

  I hadn’t noticed before, but she was right. The atmosphere in the house for her was definitely getting more and more dangerous. I’d warned her that it would, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

  I got changed and checked my phone. I had a message from Lucas, which I quickly pulled up and listened to.

  “Vince, Russians hit back already this morning. Lost a few guys down at the docks. Come to Arturo’s study when you get this.”

  I cursed and checked the time. That message had come in an hour ago. I quickly left my room and headed toward Arturo’s study.

  This probably explained why Kaley had felt a shift in the house. If the Russians had started killing back already, people were going to start blaming her for their deaths. If I had known about it, I would have warned her.

  As it stood, I was more or less the only person who gave a shit about her. The other captains would use Kaley in their war faster than I could spit. Lucas and Natalie might be on my side, but only so far.

  No, Kaley was my responsibility. I’d let her into the house knowing that it might be a bad idea, and so I had to protect her.

  But I was torn between her and the mob. I couldn’t just lie to her and tell her that I’d do anything to keep her safe, because there were lines I wouldn’t cross.

  I’d grown up in the mob. I didn’t have a family and had no clue how to handle that sort of responsibility. I didn’t know what it meant to be a father, let alone to have one. As far as I was concerned, the mob was my father and my mother.

  I cursed again as I walked down the hallway and stopped outside Arturo’s office. I took a deep breath before knocking.

  “Come,” he called out. I pushed open the door.

  It was filled with cigar smoke inside. Arturo was puffing away, along with Alfonse and Gian. Lucas was sitting in a chair, his shirt half open, drinking what looked like whisky.

  “Vince,” Arturo said. “Nice of you to join us.”

  “I was sleeping,” I said.

  “Russians hits us,” Lucas said.

  “What happened?”

  Lucas filled me in. Only a few hours after we hit them, a squad of Russians rolled into one of our pizza shops and shot up the place. They only killed the wise guys who worked in the back counting money. Two were dead and two more were wounded.

  “Bastards,” Arturo said. “In fucking broad daylight, the fucking scum.”

  “What’s the plan?” I asked him.

  “We hit back.”

  “We escalate,” Gian added. “We fucking kill them.”

  “With those guns you got, we’ll win this, and fast,” Alfonse said.

  “Have they said anything about it?” I asked Arturo.

  “We got one message about the girl, but fuck them,” he said. “Fuck them up their disgusting Russian assholes.”

  “Maybe we should revisit the girl now that he’s here,” Alfonse said.

  “What about Kaley?” I asked.

  “They’re thinking about giving her back,” Lucas said. “Without the kid though.”

  I blinked. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  Arturo shrugged. “Wars are expensive.”

  “What happened to killing more Russians?”

  He laughed. “We’ll give her back after we do that.”

  “No,” I said.

  Arturo raised an eyebrow. “No?”

  “We have to keep the girl. That boy is my son.”

  “We’ll keep the boy safe. Russians don’t want him anyway.”

  “And the girl is his mother,” I said. “We keep her, too.”

  “It’s a good move,” Gian said. “We’d save money.”

  “Arturo,” I said, “listen to me. If we bend to the Russians now, what will people say?”

  “True,” he said, nodding. “It wouldn’t look good.”

  “No. It’d look awful. We get hit, what, twice? And we’re already giving the girl back?”

  “Weakness,” Lucas said. “That would look like weakness.”

  “We can’t be weak,” Arturo said.

  “But we can’t be dead and poor,” Alfonse said.

  “Who said we’d be dead and poor?” I asked him. “We can win this war without using the girl.”

  “How do we do that?” Arturo asked me. “Seems like the girl isn’t worth all this trouble.”

  I laughed. “This was never about her. You said it yourself.”

  “True. I’ve been looking for an excuse to kill Russians for a long time.”

  “Don’t listen to these cowards,” I said, gesturing at Gian and Alfonse.

  “Yo, motherfucker, who you calling a coward?” Alfonse said.

  “I’ll fucking strangle you,” Gian added, standing.

  “Gentlemen,” Arturo warned, and the two captains took their seats again, but they looked pissed.

  “Arturo, we can win this war. Let me watch over the girl. I’ll take care of her.”

  “Aren’t you already?”

  “Of course,” I said. “But I’ll keep her out of the way.”

  Arturo looked at Lucas. “What do you think, son?”

  “We keep the girl. We kill the Russians.” He shrugged. “Seems easy to me.”

  “Fine. We keep the girl.”

  “Isn’t this something the council should vote on?” Alfonse asked.

  “Fuck the council,” Arturo said. “I made the call; now live with it.”

  Alfonse sat back in his chair, looking annoyed.

  “What now?” Gian asked.

  “Vincent here will make a plan to hit the Russians back. Right, Vincent?”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Meanwhile, everyone calm the fuck down.” Arturo nodded at me. “Go get to work.”

  I turned and quickly left the room. Lucas followed me out, shutting the door behind us.

  “You should have heard them earlier,” Lucas said. “They keep pretending like they want to fight this war, but as soon as we talk about our dead guys, they’re suddenly all about giving Kaley back to the Russians.”

  “Fuck,” I said. “I didn’t think this would happen so fast.”

  “They’re cowards,” Lucas said. “But they’re more afraid of looking like cowards. We’ll keep fighting.”

  “Not sure that’s much better.”

  “Kaley unhappy?”

  “Very,” I said.

  “Understandable. We’re killing her family.”

  I grunted. “Having a family is complicated.”

  “Yeah,” Lucas said, “it fucking is.”

  I nodded at him and walked off, heading back toward my room.

  I shouldn’t have been so surprised about that scene back in Arturo’s office, but I was. I had assumed that everyone wanted this war and that everyone was on board, but apparently there was a large group of people who didn’t want to be fighting. Sure, everyone said they wanted the war, because otherwise you looked like a pathetic weakling. But when the bullets started flying, they were talking about giving Kaley back.

  I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want this war much anymore, since I could see what it was doing to Kaley, but I couldn’t let them end it either.

  I had to find another solution.

  I quickly walked through the hallways, heading back toward my room. But instead of going inside, I walked past it and went down toward Kaley’s place. I quickly knocked on the door.

  She answered after a minute, holding Alexei.

  “Vince,” she said. “What do you want?”

  “Let me inside.”

  She moved and let me slip past. She shut the door behind us and turned toward me.

  “What do you want?” she asked again.

  “Pack your stuff,” I said. “You’re coming to stay with me.”
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  She looked at me strangely. “What are you talking about?”

  “Get your stuff and Alexei’s stuff. You’re coming to stay in my room.”

  She bit her lip. “Why?”

  “You said you felt unsafe, right? Well, there’s no better way for me to keep you safe.”

  “I don’t know. Alexei cries all night sometimes, especially in a new room. He’s just getting used to this one.”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “We’ll survive a crying baby. Come on.”

  She looked at me for a second and then sighed and nodded. “Okay. But just to be clear, this is for Alex. To keep him safe.”

  I grinned at her. “Sure it is.”

  “Here,” she said and handed me the baby. “It’s for him. Don’t forget that.”

  I watched her ass move across the floor and felt my cock stirring in my pants.

  We both knew it was for the kid. But we also both knew it was because we wanted to be near each other, couldn’t get enough of each other.

  “You’re coming to live with me, little man,” I said to Alexei. “Your mommy pretends like she hates me, but we both know she doesn’t.”

  He just smiled up at me.

  Chapter 31

  Kaley

  I didn’t know how I’d ended up here.

  One second I was staying in my own room thinking about how I could keep distance between me and Vince, and the next I was staying in his room, practically on top of him.

  “You can have the bedroom,” he said.

  “What about you?”

  He shrugged. “I have an apartment in the city. Most of my stuff is there, so it doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that.”

  “Sure. I don’t live here.”

  “I would understand it if you did.”

  He laughed as he carried my bags into the bedroom. “It’s nice here, sure, but if you stay too long, you can go soft.”

  “And you don’t want to go soft.”

  He grinned. “Do I seem like the type that can be soft?”

  “I guess not.”

  He finished carrying my stuff into the bedroom and walked over to the little side table with liquor on it. He poured himself a whisky and held it up to me.

  “To mother and father living together,” he said, smirking.

  “Good one.”

  He knocked his drink back.

  “Make yourself at home,” he said, pouring another and then sitting on the couch.

  I watched as he loosened his shirt, unbuttoning a button. I stared at him for a second before quickly disappearing back into the bedroom.

  I shut the door behind me. “This will be good,” I said softly to Alexei. “This will be good. There won’t be any problems.”

  And as soon as I said the words, I knew that was totally wrong.

  I understood why he wanted me to stay in his room. Logically, it made sense. If there were problems in the mob and people wanted to see me get thrown out, it made sense to keep me as close to Vince as possible.

  But it was also so dangerous. My attraction to him was only growing stronger every day, and I was still pissed that he wasn’t backing down from murdering the Russians. It was dangerous to get too close to him, because Alexei and I might have to run at any time.

  Still, this was the right move. As I rocked Alexei, I couldn’t help but picture what I could do with Vince while living in his room.

  He’d be there every morning. Maybe he’d even come into my room, wake me up with his strong hands slipping down between my legs. I’d pretend like I was angry, of course, but truthfully I’d be soaking wet. I’d been having these dreams where I wake up in bed with Vince and he instantly begins to press his mouth against my pussy, eating me with an incredible hunger.

  I could feel myself getting excited just thinking about this fantasy, and so I quickly turned on the little television and sat in bed with Alexei in my lap, talking to him and bouncing him slightly.

  I couldn’t let myself get drawn into any fantasies. I needed to keep my head on my shoulders, because this little game was getting more and more dangerous every day.

  Three hours later and Alexei still hadn’t stopped crying.

  He had started almost as soon as I’d put the television on. I didn’t understand it. I tried everything, tried feeding him and changing him, but nothing worked. I sang to him and bounced him, I put him in his little chair, I walked him around the room, and nothing.

  I had been afraid this would happen, had even warned Vince of it. Alexei didn’t do well with change, and since we were in a new room, he was likely just reacting to that. He’d probably be crying on and off for the rest of the night, and I could already tell that I was in for a rough evening.

  It was so frustrating. I hated that I kept dragging Alexei around. I knew it wasn’t his fault, that I needed to give him stability, but I just couldn’t. And it wasn’t like I could explain that to him rationally or something like that.

  I felt terrible since it was getting late, but I couldn’t do anything. Alexei just kept crying.

  Vince lasted another ten minutes before he knocked on my door. “Kaley, open up,” he said.

  I went over to the door and pulled it open. “I’m sorry,” I said. “He gets like this when you change his surroundings. He likes stability and routine.”

  Vince stared at me. “Give him.”

  I cocked my head. “What?”

  “Give him to me.”

  “You want a crying baby.”

  Vince held out his arms. “Now.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m sorry. You can go sleep somewhere else if you want.”

  He just stared at me. “Kaley.”

  I sighed. “Fine.” I carefully handed Alexei over to Vince.

  And marveled at how the tiny baby basically disappeared into Vince’s large arms.

  “Okay, little man,” Vince said, walking away and into the living room. “I know it sucks in here, but it’s okay. Papa Vince has you now.”

  I just stared, completely floored, as Vince walked around the room, bouncing Alex slightly and talking to him softly. He seemed like it was a totally normal thing for him to be doing, not at all completely unexpected and strange. I knew he was able to get Alexei to sleep the other day, but I hadn’t actually seen it.

  And he was calling himself “Papa,” which was even stranger. Vince kept saying over and over that he didn’t know what he wanted with Alexei, wasn’t sure if he could be a father.

  But the proof was right in front of me. Vince was wrong.

  Being a father wasn’t about being perfect. Nobody was perfect, and everybody screwed up sometimes. Being a father was all about being there for your child, and Vince was clearly able to do that. When the pressure was on, Vince stepped up.

  Even better, it actually worked.

  I sat down slowly on the couch, absolutely blown away, as Vince kept walking circles. He went around and around for nearly ten minutes, rocking Alexei, talking to him, even singing to him at one point in Italian.

  And slowly but surely, Alexei calmed down. He went from bawling at the top of his lungs to only crying intermittently to finally falling sleep in Vince’s arms.

  I absolutely couldn’t believe it. He walked over to me, holding the little guy in his arms and grinning like mad.

  “Easy,” he whispered.

  “Holy shit,” I said.

  He smirked even bigger and then walked back into the bedroom. I followed and watched as he slowly and incredibly gently placed Alexei into his crib and stepped back.

  Alexei didn’t stir. He slept soundly, breathing deeply. Vince walked away and softly shut the door.

  “Holy shit,” I said again.

  “Right? Kid loves me.”

  “Vince, I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never been able to put Alex down when he gets like that.”

  “Guess he just needs a man’s touch.”

  I laughed, completely mystified. Vince poured himself anoth
er whisky, knocking it back.

  “You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

  “Sure I did,” he said. “The kid kept crying, and I knew I could fix it.”

  “Shit,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Come here, mommy,” he said, grinning.

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “What? You’re my son’s mommy. I’ll call you what I want.”

  Reluctantly, I walked over to him, feeling something beginning to spread through my chest. He poured me a drink and handed it to me.

  “Here’s to crying babies,” he said.

  “I don’t want to drink to that.”

  He clinked my glass. “Too late.”

  I laughed as we both knocked our drinks back. I made a little face. “Gross.”

  “That’s some good-ass whisky you’re calling gross.”

  “Doesn’t matter what it is; I’m not a fan.”

  He laughed and shrugged. “More for me then.”

  “Seriously, Vince, how did you do that?”

  He poured himself another drink. “No clue. The kid just likes me, I guess.”

  He sat down on the couch, and that feeling spread through my whole body.

  It was desire. I knew suddenly in that moment what I wanted. My son needed a father, but more than that, I needed Vince. I needed his body, his face, his skin, every inch of him.

  I walked over to him and dropped down onto my knees in front of him, putting my hands on his thighs.

  He smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Well hello there, mommy,” he said.

  “Don’t talk.” I reached forward and began to unbuckle his belt.

  He just grinned and nodded at me as I unbuckled his pants. I tugged them down and took them off, tossing them aside. I knelt in front of him and began to stroke his cock through his boxer briefs, surprised at how hard it was already.

  “Fuck, girl,” he said. “Don’t tease me like that.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “I want to tease you a little bit.”

  He leaned forward and grabbed my hair. “And I want to see you suck this cock.”

  I gasped as he kissed me hard. I kept stroking him as he kissed me, desire and need flooding through me.