“Come on.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I tossed the shirt to my friend. “Here, give Sean his shirt back. I have to dance again.” I took a step away. “Shit – I didn’t bring another outfit.”
“I have something you can borrow,” Tina plucked a red leather dress from a hanging rack.
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. We trade outfits all the time around here.”
Quickly I changed. The outfit laced up the back and dipped rather low in the front. It hugged me tight and the side split to my thigh on both sides. I took a deep breath as I stared at myself in the mirror. It exposed a lot – the most indecent thing I had worn in my entire life. And you know what? I really liked how I looked in it.
NINETEEN
(Sean)
I TWISTED THE GOLD BAND around and around my finger and thought about slipping it into my pocket. Up until then, I had never wanted to remove it, believing that my ring alone connected me eternally to Sara.
Asleep, I dreamed of my wife, but when my eyes were wide open, I entertained fantasies I felt were that of a cheating heart. I never thought another woman could cause me to have such impure thoughts. Who was this blue eyed enigmatic mistress that distracted my suffering? I still didn’t have that answer. Eric took his time with that information giving the woman more time to ignite the flame of desire deep within my fragmented soul.
Jessie took the stage again. Wearing a dress I’d seen before, but on her – wow. The leather clung to everything. I glued my gaze to her bare thighs, seeing more and more of her with each graceful turn.
Two months, and she was still there. I hadn’t been able to dismiss her. Seeing her is what got me out of bed every day and I no longer had to force myself to get up and dress the way I had for a decade.
She looked good on that stage. She seemed more comfortable. Lifting the hem of her dress, showing so much more than usual. I had a feeling she was going to show it all that night. I loved the idea – but hated that I had to share the view with so many others.
Even as a teenager the scantily clad women did nothing for me. I wasn’t aroused by the display of flesh, but that day found myself wanting to see so much more of one particular dancer and my heart quickened as she reached to untie her dress.
A dainty hand pulled a string. I gulped. My heart raced – nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing. That alone was enough to tease me. Enough to drive me insane and it honestly entertained me.
She left the stage, her tone crimson with embarrassment. I don’t think she noticed the applause she received. The men were starting to like the woman who left everything to their imaginations and I watched her move through the room when she returned to her waitressing duties. Completely addicted.
“Are you alright, Seany?” Tina set a glass in front of me. “You look like you could use this.”
“You have no idea.” I slightly shook my head, still dazed as I came to terms conflicted by doubts, risks, and Sara.
“Hello?” Tina waved her hand in front of me and I blinked rapidly until I saw her clearly. “I’m starting to worry about you.”
I chuckled and picked up my drink. I gazed at the wilting roses on my table and laughed again. “I think I’m going to be okay.” I grinned from ear to ear, causing Tina to scrutinize me with raised brows and pierced lips.
“Lay off the weed, Seany. You’re getting a little creepy.” She eyed me too long and too hard. “Put your damn shirt back on.” She smacked me in the face with the item that still wreaked of beer.
I laughed again as she walked away and joined her friend at the bar. She and Jessie shared a joke, giggled and looked my way.
I held up my recently empty glass and Tina rolled her eyes, set a fresh glass on Jessie’s tray and sent her my way.
“Tina gave up on me, huh?” Try as I may, I couldn’t wipe the impish smile away.
“She says you scare her and that you’re my problem tonight.” Jessie seemed annoyed that she had to deal with me. I guess our run in had flustered her. “Anything else?” Bluntly, she inquired and placed a hand on her hip.
“Yeah.” I drunk the contents of the glass in one gulp. “Bring the whole bottle and another glass.”
I thought I heard her growl as she went to do my bidding. Was there nothing she could do that didn’t drive me crazy? It was a new experience, one that had created a war within me.
“Here you go.” One by one she placed the items in front of me. “Two glasses, one mouth,” she sarcastically pointed out. “You have a hell of a drinking problem, Sean.”
I gently took her arm when she turned away and guided her into the chair nearest to me,
“Let’s have a drinking problem together.”
“I’m working.”
“I am the boss.” I poked out my lip and was rewarded with a smile.
She sat down. “I’m trying to sober up.”
“Mmmm – no I’m not going to allow that,” I joked. She held out a glass and I obediently filled it. “A word of advice … don’t dance in an outfit you haven’t practiced in.”
“Ugh! You saw that?”
“Yeah … Cheers.” I tapped her glass and chugged it. “Ahh ... It burns but it’s so good.” I embellished my tone in a way that made her giggle.
“You’re kind of funny. I didn’t expect that.”
“What did you expect?”
“You just seem like the serious type. You usually wear a suit.”
“Well, I haven’t had a reason to laugh in a long time.”
“Really?” She drank the whiskey quicker than I had drank mine. “I know what you mean.”
“You don’t like flowers?” I nodded at the centerpiece.
“Do you always send flowers to your employees?” She raised a brow. “Your wife doesn’t look like someone I want to tangle with.”
“My wife?”
“The woman molded to you earlier? The redhead?” she spat.
“Big red? Oh, no, no, no.” I chuckled. “She’s just – she’s not my wife.”
“So, you regularly entertain strange women?” She closed her eyes and took a breath. “I’m – Look, thank you but the flowers were not appropriate.” She held up that damn ring.
“It wasn’t a romantic thing. I just felt like you deserved a really big apology.”
“A simple I’m sorry would’ve been good enough.”
“I thought I did that?”
I placed my hand on hers and although she appeared uncomfortable, she didn’t pull away and I wondered if she felt the tingle too.
“You did … but,” she took in a deep breath. “But don’t ever act like you own me again.”
“Own you? That’s how you took it?” I grinned. “I thought I was just being too friendly.”
She giggled and rolled her eyes while she drank down her whiskey. And then her eyes caught mine and I believe we both were mesmerized, unable to pull away, both entranced and bewildered.
Her eyes were so vibrantly blue and they had specks of turquoise that glittered with every flick of the candle’s flame. I couldn’t break the gaze.
“Why do I feel like I know you?” She whispered, prompting me to lean. She closed her eyes, ready to allow my advances. “I mean – really know you.”
“Will you go out with me?” I murmured before our lips could touch.
She quickly moved her hand from mine.
“Sean – I – No – We can’t date.” She stood abruptly, bumping the table, making the bottle tip over. “I – No!”
She stared at me like a small animal caught in the middle of the highway. Eyes wide, like she’d just barely escaped death.
“I thought you were going to fire her?” Spencer slithered over with a towel to soak up the mess. “I have a whole list of better strippers begging for a job.”
“I think the way she dances is good for business,” I stated dryly. “As a matter of fact, I don’t want her to remove her clothes –ever.”
“I guess she reall
y does know who to screw to get ahead in this place,” Spencer popped off, immediately pissing me off. In one swift movement, I stood and clutched his scrawny neck, lifting him in the air with one hand.
“I can’t breathe!” He clawed my hold, his eyes bulging. “Boss!”
“If you couldn’t breathe, you wouldn’t be able to talk,” I snarled. “You’re on very thin ice, Spencer. You might want to take your next steps very carefully.”
“I see your temper has improved.”
I released my hold on Spencer and nodded for him to get lost.
“What do you want, Carl?”
I poured another drink and fumed. Carl’s presence couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time and brought an instant reality check.
“I don’t want anything.” Bolivar’s only son sat across from me without invitation and plucked a rose. “I’m beginning to wonder about you, Sean.” He gestured with the rose, obviously believing the flowers’ were a sign of weakness. He flung the flower on the table and kicked back his chair, rocking it on its hind legs. “It’s my father that has a request.”
“I bet he does.”
“It’s a message, really. He’s paying you a visit – tonight,” Carl informed me. “He doesn’t like to be stood up so I wouldn’t get any ideas about making a short night of it.”
“I have nothing better to do.”
Carl remained for a couple hours. Anyone watching would have thought it a friendly visit between friends, but no words were spoken. Although Carl had appeared to arrive alone, a quick survey of the room revealed three men standing not so far away with all their attention focused on our table.
“Hey, Baby!” Carl constantly addressed the waitress with the title each time she refilled our glasses. “You have some pretty fine women here, Gianetti.” And then he would continuously stare as she walked away.
I really hated that Jessie still served my table that night. I remained blank each time, refusing to reveal that I had any interest in the woman Carl lustfully undressed with his eyes.
“How about you and I get out of here?” Carl grabbed Jessie by the waist and forced her onto his lap and laid a hand on her thigh. “What do you say?” He presented Jessie with a thin folded stack of bills, set it on her leg, slipped it higher and preceded to push the object under the bottom of her dress.
Inside I fumed, but outwardly I remained partial and sipped my whiskey. It was painful for me to advert my eyes. Excruciating to pretend like I didn’t see or care. I felt the muscles in my cheeks jump madly, but I couldn’t reveal my feelings. I had to ignore and pretend she was nobody.
“I think we’d have a lot of fun,” Carl coerced.
Jessie answered by rearing back her hand and delivering an echoing slap to his cheek, making him release her immediately.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” Carl jumped up and clutched her arm, thwarting her retreat. I witnessed no fear. Jessie stared with furious eyes that were unaffected by the customer’s enraged threats.
“We don’t serve that kind of entertainment here,” I spoke calmly, still showing no special fascination. I dismissed the waitress with a nod and I hoped she understood that I didn’t want her to return.
“Funny, it was the kind of entertainment your father offered.” Carl buttoned his jacket and returned to his liquor.
“Well, my father’s not here anymore, is he?” I kept a pleasant tone. “These girls are decent.”
“And my son will respect that.” Carl’s cockiness suddenly faded in his father’s presence.
Respectfully, I stood. Hunter Bolivar had no conscience in many aspects of life but had always been disgusted by the intimate abuse of a woman.
I extended my hand. Hunter Bolivar stared at it with a twisted lip. Remarkably, the man hadn’t changed at all since I had seen him last. His hair was the same silver it had been when I was just a boy and he hadn’t lost a pound of his protruding belly.
“Will you look at this? Little Sean all grown up!” He cupped my face and gave an old fashioned greeting, placing a peck on each of my cheeks.
“How are you, Sir?” Respect. No matter how much I disliked the man I had to pretend he was my best friend. It was the way it worked. Our hate for each other’s family was mutual but we were respectful in each other presence. But neither would let down our guard even for an instant. The guy’s real name wasn’t even Hunter. He’d earned the nickname because he stalked his victims. In his younger days, if someone gave him a name, he would tie on a camo headband until he had tracked down and taken them out.
Bolivar grinned with satisfaction and turned to the bee-hived blond at his side. “Sir? Will you listen to this kid?” He chuckled that deep bellied laugh that made my skin crawl. This was the man who had deleted my grandfather. I knew it. My father had known it. But no one would talk. My grandfather was a made-guy. He was the guy, yet no retribution had ever been collected. The entire situation smelled as foul as a recently iced skunk.
“I’ve known this kid since he was in diapers. I used to bounce the little jerk on my knee and now he calls me sir? – Sit down. Sit down. We need to have a talk. Hey, waitress!”
I shifted my eyes to Matt who stood nearby. Immediately, he retrieved the bottle and discretely dismissed Jessie for the night and I was able to concentrate once I knew she was out of the building.
“You keep refusing my offer, Sean.” Hunter began casually. “I hope your resistance isn’t personal.”
“No,” I admitted. “It’s nothing personal – in fact – I think you taking over is a good idea.” I curled my lip into a smile. Maybe all the answers were sitting right in front of me. “But, I need to know what part does my family play in your plans if I agree?”
“Why don’t you tell me what you want and I’ll let you know if I can accommodate it.”
“I want to retire.”
“Retire?”
“I want out,” I growled, refusing to relent unless my terms were met. “I’m willing to hand it all over – the whole operation as long as I can keep De’Bris.”
“All you want is freedom?” He cackled. “That’s is?”
“I just want to sit back. Run my club and pay taxes like a normal man.”
“I can’t grant you that favor, Sean.” Hunter continued to laugh at my request. “You know that. There’s only one way out – and you’re worth more to me alive.”
“Then my decision remains the same.”
TWENTY
(Jessie)
I LET OUT SHORT, ANGRY breaths through my teeth. Lifting my head with my hands behind my neck, pausing then lowering myself back to the floor. Heatedly. Repeatedly. Working out all my thoughts until I was soaked in my own sweat. Until my middle screamed in agony.
But I wasn’t feeling better yet. I grabbed my rope from under the bed and feverishly jumped it until I felt numb.
Out of breath, I wobbled on shaky legs. It always took a moment to slow my heart rate after my workouts. It was the only thing that seemed to help me work through my frustrations.
I moved to the kitchen, every muscle complaining that I still forced them to work. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and poured it down my throat, then gazed at the contents to find my breakfast. Again I had a hangover. Dealing with it – and everything else had become part of my morning routine.
“Good choice. I’m dying for a drink.”
I tossed him a bottle, finished mine and grabbed another for myself. Jackson’s unpredictable and stalker-like intrusions had stopped surprising me.
“I’m surprised you didn’t take a shot at me,” Jackson growled and plopped down at the small table. “What kind of cop doesn’t have her piece close at all times?”
“What kind of cop breaks into people’s homes?”
“I like you.” He chuckled and for the first time, I witnessed a friendly expression cross his face. “You’re never boring.”
“My goal in life – entertaining you.” I spat and pulled a big container of macaroni salad out of the fri
dge, found a fork and began to eat right out of the container.
“Hungry?” Jackson spat.
I answered by pulling another fork out of the drawer and dropping it in front of him.
“Why are you here?” I questioned while my mind continued to analyze the night before.
Sean Gianetti. Just thinking his name brought a smile to my lips, not an expected sneer, but a genuine smile. My cheeks warmed when I pictured the sparkle in his steel blue eyes, the way his lips curled in the corners and the way he appeared humbled and cast his gaze to his shoes when I spoke to him. I never expected to have an honest attraction to the mob boss.
“Fat boy upped the stakes.”
“What do you mean?” I raised my brow in confusion.
“Gianetti likes you,” Jackson reported. “It’s obvious. I can see it and you know Harkins sees it.”
“So?”
“So, you have the opportunity to get closer than anyone else in the Bureau.”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m just supposed to work at the club, dance and shake my ass until Bolivar shows up. Once his identity is exposed I’m out of there.”
“You may not have a choice. That little scene at the club last night has Harkins salivating.”
I touched the bugged jewel around my neck. Not one moment had been private since I’d left my home.
“I’m not going to get that involved with Sean Gianetti. Harkins can kiss my ass.” I said loudly, knowing the man was listening.
“Yeah, that statement won’t make Harkins’ head explode.” The ruffian, although he meant it sarcastically, was back to his normal, no care persona.
“I haven’t done anything to deserve Sean’s attention. I’ve done nothing but what’s outlined in a dancer’s job description – will you stop eating all the eggs!” I blocked his fork from taking the item that seemed to be the only thing he was eating from the dish. “Look, maybe the rest of you –”
Jackson put a finger to his lips, unclasped my necklace, then set it beside a worn blender on the kitchen counter and turned it on, then he returned.
“Those guys don’t need to hear everything, at least not anything that would give that gas bag a reason to chew us out.”
Son of a Mobster (Criminal Desires) Page 14