Glock (The Bad Disciples MC Book 4)

by Savannah Rylan

  I wasn’t sure if Freya told them what happened between me and Harrison, so I treaded lightly.

  “It was good. Just grading papers and getting caught up on school work, you know? The normal two days for me.” I grabbed a small bowl from the cabinet and filled it with instant oatmeal. The apple cinnamon mix filled halfway as a small cloud puffed up just above the ceramic.

  “How was yours?”

  Margo let out a small laugh. “Remind me never to drink that much liquor again. As soon as we left Luzano’s, we went to Seven-Two and I had too many drinks. I don’t even remember what happened the rest of that night. All I remember is waking up the next morning in my bed, wearing the same clothes I had on the night before, with a splitting headache. Jade was in the bed next to me sound asleep.”

  “Yeah,” Jade interjected, “you were drunk as hell. It took me and Rhea to get you into your house and up the stairs and all three of us nearly fell back down the stairs while we tried.”

  I stifled a laugh as I put some water in my bowl and then slid it into the microwave. From the sounds of it, they had no idea that I had a fun time with Harrison on the balcony of Luzano’s. If they knew, then I was sure that would have been the conversation of the morning.

  A few minutes later, the door opened again. Freya walked in and stood in the opening as the light from the hallway blazed into the dimly lit room. She stood there like a superhero who was getting ready to stop bad guys from committing a crime. Finally, she let the door close behind her as a smirk appeared at the corner of her mouth.

  “So, Carina, how are you this morning?”

  I smiled and faced the microwave. “I am good. Why are you singling me out?”

  “Oh,” she said, making her way to the coffee machine. “No reason. I was just wondering how you felt because I know it has been a long time since you,” she paused briefly, “went out.”

  One of Jade’s brows lifted above the other. “Why did you say, ‘went out’, like that? There is no need to speak in codes around here.” Freya cleared her throat as she slid the hazelnut flavor into the coffee maker. With her eyes, she directed Jada’s attention towards me.

  “Ok, what am I missing?” Jade asked, taking her cue.

  “Nothing, Jade,” I said as the microwave beeped and as I took the bowl out, steam rose above it sending the smell of apple and cinnamon around me. “Freya is just being mean.”

  “Mean?” Freya said with a smile. “No, being mean would be me telling the girls that you had sex with that man on the balcony of Luzano’s.”

  Jade and Margo’s mouths hung open as they held their coffee mugs in their hands.

  “What? You did what?” Margo asked with a voice of disbelief. “No, you did not. You did not! Did you?”

  “Damn it, Freya!” I said as I stirred my oatmeal until it thickened to my liking.

  “What?” she said, laughing. “Girl, you knew I was going to tell them eventually, so don’t act surprised.”

  “Wait, you had sex with that man that came to the table? On the balcony?” Margo asked in disbelief. “Holy shit! I never would’ve thought that you would have the balls to do something like that!”

  “I guess if you get enough liquor in her system, she turns from schoolgirl to vixen,” Jade said as they all laughed out loud.

  “Shut up! I don’t know what came over me. I guess it was just, I don’t know, I was caught in the moment.”

  “So, how was it?” Jade asked, stepping closer to me with a curious eye.

  I sprinkled the top of my oatmeal with sugar as they waited impatiently for my response. I took a deep breath, then exhaled as I leaned against the counter with the bowl in my hand.

  “It was good,” I said, smiling as I recollected the feelings from that night. “It was really good and,” I twirled my spoon around in my bowl. “And I’d do it again without thinking twice about it.”

  “You little slut!” Margo said, laughing. “And I am so jealous! The only thing we did was run into corny ass men who used the same lame ass pick up line.”

  Just then the bell rang signaling first period was about to begin. We all grabbed out things and quickly headed out of the teacher’s lounge.

  “So, you know we are going to have to finish this conversation later, right?” Jade said.

  “Alright, alright. Later, ok? I need to get back to my classroom and get ready for my kids but I promise you that I will fill you all in, ok?”

  “You better.” Margo said as she and Jade turned to walk down the long hallway.

  Freya stood next to me, smiling, as she blew steam off the top of her mug before she took a sip. “Did you really have to tell them right now?” I asked. I knew eventually I would tell them everything that happened, but I had hoped it would be over wine in the privacy of one of our apartments. Not in the teacher’s lounge at work.

  “No, I didn’t have to tell them right now, but you know it is Monday and the day is already hard to get through on its own. So, I felt like this would help pass the day. You know our chat messages will be funny all day because of this news, so,” she winked at me, “you’re welcome.”

  “Whatever, Freya.” I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t really mad at her for telling them.

  She laughed and with that, she went her way to her classroom and I made my way towards mine. Even with them knowing what happened on the balcony at Luzano’s, I still wasn’t ashamed of the fact that I let it happen. I figured I needed it, especially seeing how it loosened me up over the past couple of days. I felt like I had just started living life again. For so long, I had allowed my past failed relationships to dictate my love life but now, it seemed I had finally jumped over that hurdle.

  When I got to my classroom, I removed the stack of papers I graded over the weekend. I made smiley faces inside the zeroes of the 100% papers. That was the first time I’d done anything like that since my last relationship. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that things were beginning to change. I wondered if that time with Harrison was just for that purpose, or if there was something deeper between us. Only time would tell.

  The children flooded into the classroom, rambunctious and full of energy like they did every Monday. For them, their weeks went in reverse order of adults. Mondays, they were full of energy and by the end of the week, they were generally much calmer because of all the strength they exerted throughout the week. For adults, it seemed we got more energy once the week was ending. Now that I thought about it, the way that the children handled the week made a lot more sense than the way we handled it.

  Lunch time was just around the corner when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and Harrison’s name flashed across the screen. I grabbed it from my desk and stood to my feet while my class did an assignment.

  “Sarah, can you please watch over the class? I need to step out and take this phone call quickly.”

  “Yes, Ms. Dellucci.”

  I went into the hallway and cleared the jitters from my voice, then answered. “Hey, Harrison. How are you doing?”

  “I am good. I didn’t catch you in the middle of anything, did I?”

  “Not really. My kids are just doing some busy work right now, so it is alright. I have a few minutes. What’s up?”

  “I was hoping you had time to hang out with me. Maybe grab a bite to eat tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Oh,” I smiled. A surge of jitters ran through my veins. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be cool with me. Tomorrow will work best.”

  “No problem. Tomorrow it is then. I’ll give you a call later with the details.”

  “Ok.”

  “Alright. You enjoy the rest of your day.”

  “I will. Can’t wait to hear from you again.”

  “Likewise.”

  I ended the call and leaned against the wall next to my door while butterflies flapped their wings around in my stomach. I didn’t believe it was possible to have this type of giddiness over a man at my age, but Harrison seemed like the perfect man to erupt those feeling
s out of my heart. I couldn’t explain it, but then again, I didn’t want to.

  Chapter 9

  Harrison

  After I hung up the phone, I laid backwards on my bed, facing the ceiling. The fan spun around slowly and I followed one of the blades around until my eyes became tired of seeing them. My pistol sat on the dresser inside of my new spot in Arlington Heights, Illinois. I was stationed in a suburb of Chicago to help make my cover story more believable. Nobody in the mafia would stand for a son of mobster living in the city of Chicago, so I had to play the part. For the time being, I lived in a fully furnished three-bedroom apartment with more space than I would ever need.

  The floors were decorated with a plush carpet that my feet sunk into with each step I took. Marble countertops adorned the kitchen and bathrooms and my living room was large enough to house most of my apartment in the city. The king-sized bed was next to a balcony that overlooked a large courtyard with a manmade pond in the middle of the lawn.

  Another man would have loved to be relocated in a spot like this, but I hated it. It was too quaint for my liking. I loved the sound of downtown Chicago. The sound of cars screeching to a halt, followed by slamming doors and yells of two people about whose fault it was. Out here, there was none of that. The only constant sound were the timed sprinklers that went off at about 6 pm every night inside the apartment grounds.

  I ran my hands over my head, thinking about Carina. I had to find out more about her and I could only hope that she was mistakenly named as an affiliate to the Dellucci crime family. I would hate to be the one to put her and her family in jail. During past times of my involvement with undercover work, I had gotten close to the assailants, but I never had a problem differentiating between the enemy and the good guys. I never allowed myself to get caught up in the emotional aspect of things, but then again, I’ve never dealt with a woman on the other side before.

  Even worse, I never allowed myself to become connected to one of them before I knew who they could potentially be. Fuck, I was such an idiot. I had to clear this up before I went any further with her and in the worst-case scenario, if she was a part of the crime family, I would then have to turn off all of my emotions and use her as a way in. I would have to forget whatever feelings I had already developed for her. For the most part, I was robotic, so something like that didn’t seem impossible for me to do.

  I sat upright on the bed and pressed my feet into the soft, carpeted floor, then stood up and walked to the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. I put my hands on the railing as the sun reached its highest point in the sky. A brisk gust of wind blew against my bare chest, sparking a memory of me pushing Carina against the wall on the top deck of Luzano’s. Her moans. The way she dug her nails into my back. The inaudible sounds that barely escaped her lips as my cock drove inside of her.

  I blinked my eyes, erasing that recollection as the passionate moans echoed inside of my mind. She had somehow gotten under my skin, and I needed to get my mind in the right place. I exhaled, then made my way back into the bedroom and grabbed the manila folder. I paged through the photos that Captain O’Malley gave me during my last visit to his office. I scrutinized the pictures, looking for resemblances between her and her supposed brothers. Maybe the eyes. The shape of the eyes connects them. Possibly the nose, but that is a stretch.

  I grinded my top and bottom rows of teeth together. She was definitely related to them. I scanned the other documents in the folder that was information gathered on the family. It was pretty clear that the Dellucci family had three children. Though it seemed someone had tried to separate Carina from the rest of them. Now I could only hope that she wasn’t involved or didn’t know about the family business. I didn’t want to think about the possibility of her being a part of it all. The most important thing for me to do was to get to the bottom of things before I jumped to incorrect conclusions.

  I stood up and dropped the papers back onto the dresser, then marched into the living room. I reclined on the large, sectional couch and flipped on the 62-inch television that was mounted on the wall just above the fireplace. I grabbed my phone and searched for restaurants that I could take Carina to on our date tomorrow. The department gave me a stipend for my time undercover in case I needed to show the Dellucci family that I had money of my own. My plans were to take Carina to one of the most expensive restaurants in the city and figure out why Carina had such a hold on me.

  ***

  The next day, I arrived at Carina’s home. She lived in a middle-class neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. A small, two story home with a white picket fence enclosing a front yard with a bed of roses near the porch. Her cement pathway looked as if it was freshly laid and hardened. I stayed in front, carefully scanning the block to see if there was anything abnormal around that would cause me to be on edge. A pack of birds flew out of a tree in unison, making me jump slightly. They flapped their wings as they followed each other to another landing. I shook my head for being so on edge. As I picked up my phone, the front door opened.

  Carina stepped outside and closed the door behind her while I slid my phone back into my pocket. She walked down her stairs, wearing jeans and high heels with a tightly fitted blouse. I got out of my car and held her door open. Her smile widened the closer she got.

  “You look nice,” she said after she kissed me on the lips.

  “Likewise.” I closed the door behind her and then walked to my side and climbed in. “So, you live out here, huh? Is it quiet?”

  “Well,” she said as she slid her purse onto the ground, “most days are pretty quiet. There are some that are a little livelier than others, but for the most part, we are quiet.”

  “Yeah. I hate it when it is too quiet. I need some noise here and there, you know? It helps me know that I am alive.” I turned the key in the ignition, then eased out of her neighborhood. The sun was on its way down beyond the tree line as I drove to a red light.

  “Were you born here in Chicago?”

  “Miami. I moved here almost four years ago.”

  “Really? I would’ve never guessed it by the way you carry yourself. I mean, you have a certain um,” she looked at me, “no, wait. I don’t want to offend you.”

  “Go ahead. I’m not easily offended.”

  “Ok. Well, you come off like a… like a tough guy, you know? Like you belong out here in Chicago. On the south side, somewhere.”

  I knew exactly where she was talking about. I’d been in and out of most of the hoods of Chicago since I’ve been stationed here, as well as Liberty City, Miami. There wasn’t an area I was afraid to be in and that alone helped me maneuver in and out of certain demographics.

  “Nah, I’m not from here.”

  “I see that now.” The light flipped green and with that, I accelerated through the intersection.

  “So, tell me more about what kind of stocks you do. I still don’t get how you work here in Chicago and not on Wall Street.” I chuckled as the streetlights cascaded over our vehicle

  “I got transferred here for business. Government business, but I can’t reveal too much because it is not for the general public to know.”

  “Oooh, some top-secret type of stuff, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess you can say that. Since we are going to be honest with each other, tell me more about you. What does your family do for a living? Are they all school teachers as well?”

  She readjusted herself in her seat and faced forward. A short exhale escaped her lungs and I took note of how quickly her demeanor had changed at the mention of her family.

  “No, they aren’t teachers, per say. I mean, they teach, but not the way you expect.” A sickening feeling penetrated my stomach as she fumbled around the truth. I almost wanted to stop her, but she kept going. “They have their own business for the most part. I try to stay out of it though.”

  “Why?” I pushed slightly. I wanted her to keep talking about them, but I didn’t want her to feel like I was digging for information.

  “I
just want to stay out of it. I have my own things going on with teaching and all that. It takes up enough of my time and I really don’t understand much of what they do.”

  “A family business?”

  “Yeah, a family business. They deal a lot with waste management and real estate.”

  Without saying it verbatim, she told me everything I didn’t want to know. Just by her reaction, I could tell that she was connected to the Dellucci crime family. She wouldn’t flat out tell me what was going on with her family business, so there was no other conclusion to draw.

  “I got it. A family business,” I looked at her. I could see the concern in her face. “By the way, I don’t think I ever caught your last name.”

  “Dellucci,” she said, calmly. “Carina Dellucci.” I could tell by her blank stare that she was hoping that I didn’t recognize it from somewhere.

  We arrived at the restaurant. The valet took my vehicle and parked it as we walked down the red carpet and through a set of double doors that were held open by one of the waiters.

  “Welcome to Saviano’s,” he said with an Italian accent. We walked by him, passing two large fish tanks on both sides. Colorful fish darted throughout the water as if they were chasing after each other. The bottom of the tank was filled with seaweed and shells that housed small sea critters that scurried across the bottom of the tank.

  “Wow, this is beautiful,” she said as she interlocked her fingers with mine. Since we stopped talking about her family, she started to feel comfortable around me again. I wanted to put my guard down with her, but knowing that she was associated with the Dellucci crime family, I knew had to start separating my feelings from reality. The truth was that she was now a part of the enemy. I had to play this hand right or else, everything would go to shit before it had a chance to start.

  “Yeah. I figured that I would take you somewhere nice.” Small water fountains spouted water three feet into the air and splashed back into the basin as we made our way to the hostess.