by Nicole Fox
My father scoffed.
“Spoken like a true mafia slut. Your mother would be so disappointed.”
I hung up on him, flinging my phone away from me.
There was an anger that rolled and boiled in my stomach. I knew that my father wasn’t necessarily a good man, but that didn’t change the fact that accepting it and realizing that we would never be on level with each other hurt something fierce. I buried my face in my pillow, let out a scream, and started to cry.
# # #
“You’re in a bit of a predicament, aren’t you, Governor?”
Rick Brown sat once more in his office. The press was gone, there were no more flashing lights and no more people trying to get answers out of him. But he felt no better for it. He had just set into motion something that he could not reverse. Between the investigations, his slipping control on his state, and now this …
He stared across the desk at Marshal. The police chief had been in this game for a long time, even longer than he had. He always toed the line between the politicians and the mafia, because it was the police who kept the streets from running red with blood. He frowned.
“I suppose you think I’m rather stupid, do you?”
“I think you acted on impulse.”
“Same thing.”
Marshal’s lips twitched; that was the closest thing to a smile or a smirk Rick had ever seen. At his expense.
“Can you fix it?” Rick drew out a lighter and a cigar from a fancy case in his desk. He lit it and took a puff. It was the only thing shy of having some young tail on the side that would take the edge off this most glorious fuck-up.
“For a price,” Marshal said. “There’s a lot of evidence against you and, unfortunately, no evidence against the Esposito’s for what you’re claiming. And besides. We both know that your girl wasn’t kidnapped, nor was she raped; Geno’s boy doesn’t play by those rules, and neither does Geno.”
“You say that like the truth has ever mattered before.”
“It does to some people. Sometimes.”
Rick rolled his eyes, taking another puff from his cigar.
“Do whatever you have to do. Bring my daughter back to me. I can keep her quiet. Make it seem like some sort of daring rescue or something if you have to, but she needs to be in my care again by tomorrow night.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Governor.”
“Less so than I expect you know what you’re doing, Marshal.”
# # #
Sirens blare through the air, and I was shaken awake. My head was throbbing, but I could hear Tony yelling insistently beside me.
“Evie. Evie! You have to wake up. We need to get the fuck out of here.”
“What …what …what’s going on?”
“Cops,” Tony spat, pulling me out of bed. “Fucking cops. We gotta go before they bust up in here; I’m not having a shootout with you here.”
Disoriented before, that awakened and alerted me instantly. Cops. Shoot out. Shit. They were probably here because of that shit that my father pulled on the news.
Trying to shake off the funk of sleep and weariness, I went to pull on real clothes. All I had on was a pair of shorts and a very thin, very flimsy tank. Tony shoved my shoes at me instead and shook his head.
“No time, babe. Come on. Shoes on. We have to go!”
I flushed, worried and scared. I nodded, shoving them on my feet without even bothering to get socks on. The whole home was in an uproar, people running through the halls, shouting, their guns out. Tony tugged me along, and I followed him as quickly as I possibly could.
He pulled me outside to the garage. I could see the flashing lights of police cars barreling down the expansive drive, and I was distinctly reminded of the night that Tony whisked me away from my father. Only, this time, it felt far more urgent. There were more cops and more guns, too. I saw Tony’s men lining up and getting themselves ready to defend the compound.
A shot rang out, and I ducked instinctively, yelling out. Tony kept his arm on me, keeping me close. Another shot rang out, then another. I felt air whiz past my ear, and I screamed again as glass from a window shattered behind me.
“Shit, what the fuck are they thinking?!”
Tony grabbed me, pulling me into a sprint that I forced myself to manage. I panted, my chest aching as more and more shots rang out around us.
“There she is!”
“There!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
“Keep these pigs out of our territory!”
I listened to the shouting as we got to his car and I jumped in. I could tell that they were here for me and that taking me was what they wanted. Did my father put them up to it? I didn’t have time to think about it as I fumbled with the seat belt. Tony ran to his slide, slid in, and booked it. The cop cars were pooling in from the front—but Tony was taking us around through the back, where a hidden, dirt road was.
“Tony. Tony, what about everyone else?”
“Everyone else can hold their own,” he said roughly. “We all know who they’re here for. They’re here for you. And that means that they’ll head out once they can’t find you.”
“Are you sure? What if they hurt someone? What if someone is killed?” Suddenly, running away seemed less and less appealing. I felt sick again—sick and horrible—and I was going to be the reason that someone that I cared about ended up hurt or worse—dead.
“Tony, please. Please go back. I’ll go with them. I’ll do something to make all of this stop. Please—”
“I’m not losing you, Evie,” he said. “I’m not fucking losing you. Don’t you realize that I love you too much for that?”
Silence fell between us. He had never said that he loved me before, but it was out there now. It was out there and the two of us were silent, because it was really fucked up that it had to be said at a time like this.
I could still hear the sirens even when we were far away. I didn’t know where this road led—Tony and I had never come down this way—but I hoped and prayed that the cops wouldn’t realize that the road existed and wouldn’t try to come after us. After more driving, and when we couldn’t hear the sirens any longer, Tony pulled off to the side, killing the car.
It was eerily quiet.
“Evie—”
I undid the buckle of my seat before he could say anymore and leaned over to kiss him. I reached over to the other side of his seat—having to maneuver a little, considering my belly—to slide his seat back.
“Evie, what—”
I climbed into his lap, facing the wheel instead of facing him. I pressed my ass against his cock.
“Fuck me,” I said, my voice shaky. “Fuck me, Tony. Please.”
Tony’s hands settled on my hips, almost hesitant until I ground against him again. I felt him get hard against me, and I was hot and wet in response. He slid a hand into my shorts, easily sliding the fabric out of the way so that his fingers could find my pussy and slide in, caressing my insides slowly, almost tenderly. I rocked against his hand, moving my hips and tightening around his fingers. My brows furrowed and slicked up with sweat. It was so easy to work me up while pregnant; everything was so sensitive and—
“Ah …” His thumb slid over my clit and circled. I felt like I could cum then and there, but I wanted him inside me.
I reached around, desperate, fumbling with his sleep pants to slide them down and release his cock. With my shorts out of the way, it was easy to guide him to my entrance. I felt him stretch me as I lowered myself on him, letting him fill me up to the hilt.
“Fuck, Evie …”
I placed my hands on the dashboard, on either side of the steering wheel. Tony loved fucking me like this, but this was the first time we were doing it somewhere besides a bed. I wasn’t complaining. I needed to feel him—needed him to make me feel good. He …he loved me. I needed to show him I loved him too.
I lifted my hips, swiveling them down. I didn’t go hard and rough; we were a little too far
in for that, but it still felt good at this slower pace. Tony’s hands gripped my hips, guiding me, but letting me control the pace—letting me rock and rut against his cock.
“Just like that, baby,” he said. “Just like that. Fuck you feel good. So tight and nice and right.”
“Tony …” I breathed out his name like a prayer. “Tony …”
He leaned forward, burying his face in my neck, inhaling my scent, kissing me, and biting me. I moaned, sliding down onto him a little harder as my nails slid across the dashboard to leave marks as I rocked and swiveled on him some more.
The car rocked gently beneath us with our pace, the windows fogging as we panted harder and harder with each other. I moaned, tossing my head back as he hit nice and deep, and he nudged his cock against my inner, sensitive places.
His hands moved from my hips to my breasts, gripping. He pinched my nipples, squeezed my swollen breasts. Then they moved from my breasts to my thighs, then from my thighs to back in my shorts to play with my clit.
“Tony,” I said again, shaking and quivering in his lap. “Tony …I love you too.”
“I know you do baby, I know you do.”
My skin was hot and flushed as I let him take me like this, as his hands roamed all over my body, and as the pleasure built until we were cumming softly together. He filled me up, warming my insides. He stayed hard, though, and kept rocking in me until he leaned me forward, pressing against my back.
“It’s going to be okay,” he reassured me. “I promise.”
We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the feeling of each other. I had to trust that that was true—that everything would be okay. That Tony and I and everyone else would make it through this. If I fell into the trap of being discouraged, then that would make me want to do something stupid—tuck tail and go back to my father. Things that I absolutely, one hundred percent, could not do under any circumstances.
Eventually, I pulled myself off of him, once he’d gone soft. I sat back in my chair and sighed.
“So, what do we do from here?”
“We wait. Too dangerous to call or text in and tell them where we are. If anyone was taken in, chances are they’ll be watching the phones. They might still be watching the house. I know for a fact that my father probably won’t be taken in.”
“Why’s that?”
“The police chief knows where and where not to step when it comes to the family. He’s not going to do anything too drastic; taking my father in would be considered too drastic.”
“What about the others?”
“Not so sure.”
Tony pulled his phone from his pocket after tucking himself back into his pants.
“Hm …just a little after one in the morning.” He turned the car back on.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a little safehouse, just a little further. We haven’t been followed, so I doubt they’re gonna be coming this way. We’ll stay there tonight and then see what we can or need to do in the morning. Sound good?”
I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
We continued down the road, driving at a normal speed. It wasn’t that long until we were at the safehouse Tony described. It was a two-story house, and small. It had an old-time feel to it. Tony pulled us up to the front of it and let me out.
“Welcome to the Esposito home before the glitz and glam.”
My eyes widened.
“This—?”
Tony nodded, leading me up the front stairs to the porch.
“Back before the family had money, they lived out here. My father, his brothers and sisters, their parents, and their grandparents. They were immigrants, you know. My great-grandparents built this house, and generations of Esposito children lived here. They started building the main complex slowly, gradually moving from here to there until this place stopped being used as the family home and was made into a safehouse in case anything went south.”
He opened up the door and led me in. There was minimal furniture, but it was cozy. It was obvious that the home hadn’t been used by anyone for much of anything in years. He flicked the light on and stretched.
“There’s not any food here. At least, nothing that’s probably any good, unless you want canned beans or something.”
I shook my head.
“No, I’m good. I think I want to get some more sleep before we figure out what’s going on tomorrow.”
“That sounds good.”
Tony took me by the hand, leading me up the stairs and down the hallway. He pushed open one of the doors, and we made our way into a room. It was about as bare as the downstairs, with a single bed, dresser, and a mirror.
“It’s not really fancy,” Tony said. “But it’s what we’ve got for now.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Better the bed than the floor. Or the car.”
He laughed a little.
“You’re right about that.”
I pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed. Tony followed after. He wrapped himself around me, pressing behind me as he did. His warmth was nice, and despite how the night had gone, I was grateful for him here tonight.
“Tony?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
I felt him smile as he pressed his mouth to the back of my neck.
“I love you too, Evie.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tony
I woke up to the smell of something cooking. I rolled over, finding the other half of my bed empty.
“Evie?”
I got no answer and rubbed my hands in my eyes. I was sore and still damn tired, to be honest. I rolled over after a moment, groaned, and got out of the bed. I made my way down the creaky, old stairs and stood in the entryway to the kitchen.
Evie stood there, humming and swaying a little to the tune that she hummed. Her hair was still a mess from sleep, but she was beautiful nonetheless. She was frying something on the stove, and I tilted my head before I went to her, wrapping my arms around her, and settling my chin on her shoulder.
“Eggs?” I raised a brow. “Where’d you get those?”
“There’s chickens outside,” she said, sounding pleased with herself. “There were a few eggs, and I figured the worst that would happen was that I would crack one open and it would have a chick in it. I lucked out, clearly.”
“Clearly.”
I snuggled against her back, pressed to it gently. My hands settled on her stomach as she flipped the eggs and eventually put them onto a plate.
“Breakfast is served!” she said cutely. “No milk. Or toast. Or meat of any kind. But it’s something.”
I smiled and we sat down at the small, round table in the dining area. She’d cooked up four eggs, two for herself and two for me. We started eating, silent for a little while before she spoke up again.
“Any word from anyone at the compound?” she asked. I shook my head.
“Not yet. We might need to give it a couple of hours.”
“Hmm.”
I reached across the table and rubbed my fingers over her hand.
“It’ll be okay,” I told her, like I’d told her last night to reassure her. “There’s not a whole lot we can do right now, but I know that it’s not going to be the end of the world or anything like that. Push comes to shove, we’ll need to go into town and get more food supplies and maybe some other necessities. I can’t imagine that anything else will happen today.”
She nodded, seeming to accept that.
We finished eating up, and after I’d cleaned, Evie went to take a shower. While she was in there, I checked around the house, figuring I could see if there was anything that needed to be done to it while we were there, as well as making a mental list of food items to buy, just in case. I was just settling into the couch when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Allan.
I answered immediately.
“What’s up.”
“A whole lot of shit, that’s what’s up.”
�
��How is everything? What happened?”
Allan sighed. I heard other sounds from the other side and listened as it seemed like he was moving from one place to another. He got back to me.
“Someone hired them to come bust up shit looking for Evie,” he said. “Like, dude. They sent a whole fuck-ton of cops. We ended up moving into the house, and they ended up coming in. There was gonna be a lot of shooting—a few people got clipped—”