by C. M. Steele
“I think we’ve given them enough of a show. How about we get to work?”
“Sure. You know how I feel about it, but those guys from last week are here.” I look over and it’s the ones he got pissy with me about.
“Your jealousy is sexy.”
“You say that now, but when I kill them, I don’t think you’ll agree.”
“Mr. Bianchi, you will do no such thing. Come now. You’ve proven your point.” I lead him to the back because as much as I love the attention he gives me, the scowl he gives my customers isn’t good for business.
****
We manage to work for two hours on paperwork makes my eyes cross so I take breaks to help the girls he’s hired. As soon as noon hits, he takes my hand and says, “It’s lunch time, Sugar, and I have it on good authority you haven’t eaten a thing.”
“I’m still full from last night’s dinner,” I say, rubbing my belly that’s completely flat. It’s not like I’m used to eating more than once a day these days. He’s always trying to feed me like a normal human being.
“Liar. Now come on. Do you want any place in particular?”
“I do like the place across the street.”
“Come on then. We can talk about the plans for the café while we wait for our food.”
“Is it more numbers?” I complain, huffing as I grab my purse.
His mouth presses against my ear, starting a low hum as he kisses down to my pulse before he says, “No. Ha. I want to hear what you want to do with the café and your plans for growth and repairs.”
“Okay.”
We head to our new little spot and talk throughout our hour-long lunch. By the time we get back to the café, things are running smoothly with a few customers eating inside while the line at the front is short.
The rest of the day has gone in a blur of hard work and stolen kisses. I send the employees on their way after they help me clean up. Giving the floor another once-over to make sure nothing has been missed, I shut off all the lights and then I head into the back room where Niccolò is coming out of the office with a devilish grin. “Are you ready, Sugar?”
Sensing he’s not talking just about leaving for the day, I answer with a softer, “Yes.”
His eyes darken and nose flares as the predator senses his easy prey. Niccolò wraps his hands around my waist, bringing me close. It’s a wonderful feeling being in his arms as he grinds his bulge on my belly. Shit, I’m short enough that if it was pointing north, he’d rub it on my tits. “Good. I hope you’re not too sore because I need to get you home and bury myself deep inside of you.”
“You can have me now,” I moan as his mouth lands on mine.
“Sounds like a fucking great idea.” He picks me up and sets me onto the steel kitchen island, and then yanks down my pants and underwear, sliding off my flats. I know this isn’t sanitary, but I can’t seem to care. Dropping to his knees, Niccolò wastes no time and sucks on my clit, licking my wet hole until I’m nearly coming off the table.
“I love eating you out, but I want you to come around my cock.” Freeing himself, he slides his thick length into me. My voice cracks as he pushes deep into my tight core. The pleasure and pain combine, driving my orgasm to the surface. With his hands on the steel bench, he pistons hard until I scream out his name. “Niccolò, I’m coming.”
“Squeeze my cock with that tight pussy, Sugar. Coat it because I’m putting my baby into you.”
“Fill me up, Niccolò.” We kiss and grind as Niccolò comes.
“I’m never letting you go,” he whispers, kissing my throat, and that’s when I feel it. Cold metal on my skin. I look down and see a beautiful princess-cut diamond ring on my finger. “Forever, Ivy.”
I gasp and kiss him, which leads to Niccolò pinning my back onto the counter, dominating my body again.
It takes another twenty minutes before we come down and actually leave the kitchen after disinfecting it. Damn, that’s a violation of so many rules of business, but I can’t be blamed because I’m marrying a criminal. I don’t even know when I said yes or that he asked; still, it’s what I want.
As soon as we step out onto the sidewalk, gunshots ring out.
“Holy shit,” I scream. Niccolò tucks me under his arm and pushes me into the backseat, and then I hear heavy footfalls of someone running our way. It’s over in a minute, but my heart’s slamming out of my chest. The back door flies open and I’m about to kick whoever it is, but it’s Niccolò.
“Drive, Tony.”
“Dom. We were just shot at outside the café. Yeah. Okay. Estate. Yep. Doc, please.” My eyes roam over him and see there’s a red stain on his shoulder area. The spot that protected my head. Fuck me.
“You’re bleeding,” I sob, taking off my jacket and pressing it to the wound.
“I’ll be okay,” he grunts, the color leaving his handsome face. Even though he remains calm, panic fills me.
“Boss, we’re on our way,” Tony shouts so that Dom can hear.
“We need a hospital.”
“No, we don’t. He’ll be fine.” I look at Niccolò and don’t believe it. My heart’s pounding out of control. This can’t be happening right now. He wraps his uninjured arm around me, lifting me onto his lap.
“Oh my goodness. Who would do this? What if someone was near the café?”
“They weren’t. I don’t know the damage, but I reinforced all the windows with bulletproof glass behind the original glass. We’ll deal with it later.”
I think I’m going to faint. “Calm down, Ivy. I will not let anyone hurt you.” He presses my head to his chest. I breathe him in, and peace fills me. I relax enough to brush my lips against his throat.
Something in me goes nuts at the thought of losing him. I need him to be well. “Don’t leave me, Niccolò.”
“Never, Sugar.”
Chapter Nine
Niccolò
The pain meds are starting to wear off as I wake up. My head’s a little fuzzy, but I know who did this to me and they’ll pay with their life. As I open my eyes I hear the soft whimpers of my woman who’s resting beside me.
My arm’s bandaged from the wound and the immediate surgery I received inside Dom’s estate. It’s the first time that I’ve been shot, but it’s only because I had something worth protecting. Normally, I’m being pulled away and protected when gunfire opens up around us.
My blood turns to ice knowing that Ivy was in danger today. She would have been dead if the bullet got past my shoulder, and I’ll forever be grateful that I was in the way. There’s no way I could ever go on a day without her.
She’s everything to me, and I can’t lose her.
Of all the people willing to shoot at me, I never expected that weasel of a stepfather of hers. He looked me in the eyes as he pulled the trigger acting like a big shot. Stupid piece of shit doesn’t understand what’s coming to him. His death will not be easy or fast. In fact, my father and brother will take great pleasure in making it so as soon as they find his rat ass. He got away in a car with one of the Denali family members. I’m sure my brother’s having a field day with that after years of keeping the peace I’m sure he’s ready to lay that family down for good.
“Ivy, please, my sweet girl, don’t cry.” She lifts her head with wide, red-rimmed eyes.
“You’re awake,” she says, lifting herself out of my embrace.
I can see her better like this, but still I hate that she’s not in my arms. I cradle her face with my good hand and brush away the hair that has fallen over her eyes. “Yes, and I hate seeing you upset.”
She takes a deep breath as if she’s calming herself down and then asks, “How are you feeling?”
“Angry, honestly. The pain isn’t that bad.”
A knock on the door pulls our attention, stopping any mention of the actual shooting. “Niccolò, I’m so glad to see you up.”
“Thanks, Dom.” He and I have a lot to discuss and it’s not going to be a simple conversation, but it needs to be had,
although I wish he’d given me more time with Ivy before he came up here.
Ivy tries to get off the bed, like she’s embarrassed, but I pull her back down, bringing her back in my arms where I want her.
“Actually, I would like a moment alone with my brother, please,” Dom says, looking at both of us with a grim expression. I don’t like that he’s leaving her out of it.
“You can say it in front of her,” I say.
“No, I can’t.” I wonder if they’ve killed her father already. He escaped as I protected his daughter, but then the other guy met Enrico’s bullets.
“It’s okay, Niccolò. I need to use the bathroom.” She kisses my cheek and then stands, brushing her clothes down. I notice her clothes are different, but I suppose she was covered in my blood earlier. I hope she’s still wearing her cum-stained panties. Fuck, how can I be thinking of taking her at a time like this?
“Enrico,” Dom calls out.
“Yes, boss,” he says from the doorway.
“Show Ivy the restroom down the hall.”
“Ma’am.” She follows him out, and I want to yell at my brother for doing that. He closes the door behind my bride-to-be and then comes to sit on a chair that someone put near my bed.
“We have to kill him for what he did, but you need to decide what she must know. This is one road I cannot retreat from. You know damn well what Cormack had to do, and this was worse because you could have died. And that’s fucking hard for me to say. My wife was in danger, and Peter deserved his fate; this asshole almost killed his daughter.”
“You don’t have to convince me. Her father will die, but how do I tell her he signed his death warrant?”
“I don’t know. If he’d waited until the girls had been together… I can’t even process that bullshit. By the way, Mom wants a word with you. She’s panicking.”
“That’s because she loves me more.”
“Ha, keep believing that, kid. I’ve got to check on my wife, who’s worried about Ivy. She really likes your girl.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but since I own her, we’ll just have to come to some sort of understanding.”
“You could kidnap her like Nero did.”
“This is a little more complicated.” Nero didn’t have to kill her only family member.
“I’ll tell her if you’d like.” Dom won’t mince words which could hurt my sweet Ivy. I wouldn’t do a thing to upset her, so I have to figure out how to make her understand that his death must happen.
“Nah. I’ll do it. It has to come from me.”
Chapter Ten
Ivy
I get confused after stepping out of the bathroom, but Enrico isn’t there anymore so I try to find my way back. I stumble on an open door and then I hear, “I can’t believe her father tried to kill Nico in the middle of a busy area.” It was my stepfather? Is that why Dom wanted to talk to Niccolò alone? Icing me out, so they can decide my fate.
“Her father’s a sick fuck, Mariana. Domani told me that they offered him Ivy as payment, but he told him to fuck off because he’d never betray me.” I’m mortified by every word that comes out of her mouth. I learned that my stepfather was capable of using me like that, but to hear it from someone I consider a friend and almost family, it hurts.
“Yeah, Domani probably wanted to kill him for that,” Mariana adds. From what I’ve learned of the Don, I don’t have a doubt that he would have killed my father for insulting his marriage like that. The man is obsessed with his wife.
“He wanted to, but he felt bad for the girl since he believed she was sick and needed the money for her medical care. We know it was total bullshit, but now this; it’s just too much. That asshole almost killed Nico. There’s no coming back from that, and now we’re going to have to go to war with the Denali family, according to Domani. He’s worried about Luca and my safety and wants to send us into hiding.”
My heart falls into my stomach, which is moving around like a damn washing machine with every word. “Oh my goodness. Do you think we’ll be going to war?”
“Her father’s going to be a dead man and so is whoever he was working with. Dom will settle for nothing less. I don’t know if it will start a war, but the gauntlet’s been thrown.”
“Well, they’re lucky they haven’t married yet. Walking away will be easier.” My heart cracks at that moment, and my ears ring.
Leaving is the only thing I can do. I have to get out of here. It’s for the best that I never see him again. I don’t want to be the reason they go to war, and she’s right. It’s best that we’re not together. How can he ever forgive me for my stepfather?
I walk out the back door and nearly run into Enrico. He freezes, arching his brow with suspicion, and then he asks, “Ma’am, do you need something?”
“I need to go get my things from the condo,” I lie and not very convincingly either.
“We can have someone do that for you.” Yep. He doesn’t believe me and knows I’m up to something. Does he think I’m working with my stepdad?
“No. It’s my personal things, so it’s best if I do it,” I insist.
“Okay. I can take you, then.”
I smile at him as politely as I can. “Good, because I don’t have a car and I frankly don’t have any idea where we are.”
“Does Niccolò know you’re leaving?”
“Yes, but he’s busy with Mr. Bianchi right now.”
He leads me to the vehicle, and we drive out of the estate. In that time, no one calls which is great because then they might tell him to turn around. Everything is going according to plan. As soon as I get to the condo, he pulls up outside the building. I have the code to get inside, but I won’t need it because I have no intention of stepping inside.
As he goes to let me out of the backseat, I jump out of the vehicle before he can get around to my side, darting into traffic, missing two vehicles, and creating distance between us. Enrico’s searching for me, but it’s dark out and there are lots of alleyways between the buildings.
He heads in one direction while I flee the other way, thankful that he chose that way because the train station is around the corner and I’m there before he can see me.
Mercifully a green line train appears. I have no reason to get on it other than he wouldn’t expect it. At least I can take it to the connection to the blue line.
Damn it, as I make the transfer, I remember that I can’t go to the apartment because they’ll be looking for my father there. No one will be at the café since someone has probably boarded it up.
I take the next train back around and then end up outside the back of my café. I move to unlock the door, but it’s already unlocked. Shit, they forgot to lock up for the night. No. I’m sure I did.
I push through the door and pray no one robbed the money I have in the safe. When I get inside I’m met with my father and Ella in a very compromising position. I turn on my heel to dash away when another arm grabs me. I’m about to faint when I see Tony D. “I have her, boss.”
“Let me go.” I fight him, trying to get away before he can hurt me.
“Relax, Mrs. Bianchi.” Why did he call me that when he’s working for these two nasty fucks? Doesn’t he know I didn’t marry Niccolò?
“Bianchi? She married those crooks?” My stepfather snarls out as if he’s even remotely close to being on their level.
“No, we’re not married. How could you two?” I question, waving my arm between them.
She rolls her eyes at me while she fixes her skirt. “He’s my sugar daddy, Ivy. He wanted his debts canceled, and I get a cut of the earnings. All you need to do is die already. You have shit timing. The other day you walked in before I could blow your boyfriend’s brains out.” She smirks and then I remember that she was standing right behind Niccolò while he was looking down.
Tony moves me behind him as Ella pulls out a gun and points it my way. Wait, who is he working for?
I see Tony’s second gun under his suit jacket. I pull it out
and undo the safety. Luckily I watched a safety video on firearms while scrolling YouTube. I reach around and pull the trigger, hitting her arm. She fires before falling, but she misses us and accidentally shoots my stepfather in his forearm.
“Move another inch, and I’ll blow your brains out,” I tell my stepfather who is still standing there with his pants still open. Fucking gross. If he hadn’t already emotionally scarred me, here was the ultimate wound.
“Pull up your pants. She doesn’t need to see your little dick,” Tony barks. It would be comical if I didn’t just shoot someone. He fixes his pants with a lot of effort since he’s bleeding from his arm where Ella hit him. “Here. Domani wants to talk to you.”
He hands me the phone that I didn’t know he had on him. He’s wearing an earpiece, which he takes out, so he can’t hear the conversation.
“Hello?” I answer, wondering why he wants to talk to me.
“You’re in trouble, Miss Vincent. I didn’t tell Niccolò that you booked it, but you could have been killed, and it would have devastated my brother. I don’t take kindly to him being hurt, so you’re going to need to get back here, safely.”
“You could all die if we go to war over me.”
“The war isn’t over you. It’s over the other reasons. You were a convenient excuse for them. Now, follow Enrico out to safety. I’m sorry, but your father’s going to die for his crimes. I will not show him mercy when he doesn’t deserve it.”
“I know.”
“You’re going to have to make a tough decision, Ivy. What’s more important to you? He dies either way, but will you hate my brother for it?” he asks. There’s a tension in his voice that’s truly concerned that I’ll despise Niccolò which I never could.
“For what? This?” I aim the gun at my stepfather and pull the trigger, shooting him in the chest instead of the head which was my intended target. I suppose I got lucky when it came to Ella.