by J. A. Coffey
"Oh yes."
"Are you sure?" His breath tickled her ear.
His mouth moved down to her breast and sucked it hard. She clutched onto his shoulders, trying to keep herself from trembling. "Please," she whispered, her fingers sliding through his hair.
Mik spread her legs wide as he stood again. His body wedged between them. She put her legs up around his waist, he pulled her to him, letting the thick head of his dick barely enter her.
"Oh," she panted.
"Do you want me to stop?" His hands shook as he moved them up to her shoulders. He looked her in the eye.
She shook her head.
"Are you sure?"
"Please make love to me, Mik." She pulled him to her again in a ground shaking kiss. Before she knew it, he slipped all the way into her, sending her flying over the cliff of ecstasy. It wasn't too long after hers that he joined her in flight.
Chapter Seventeen
The light shining on her face was much brighter than the soft glow of the candle they usually used at night. She peeked through one eye and then snapped them both open. The lamp was on! She patted the mattress behind her. "Mik, look! The electricity is on." Her hand slid over the empty bed. She sat up to look around. Mik was gone.
The black shadows looming around the corners told her it was still dark outside.
She found him sitting on the couch with a book clutched in one hand and a mug of hot cocoa in the other. He looked up at her and smiled.
"I'm so hungry," she said.
He set his book on the coffee table. "I was going to make you a late dinner, but the food is spoiled. The fridge should probably be cleaned out before we leave this morning."
She shook her head. "I'll do it. Is it still snowing?" she asked as she went into the bedroom to grab some clean clothes. A warm shower sounded so wonderful to her but it would have to wait until after the nasty fridge was cleaned out.
"I think the snow has stopped, but the ground still looks slick out there. Gabi, please be careful." He had already gone to the kitchen and was rustling around.
It seemed like the snow level had gone down some. She shrugged and figured it was probably wishful thinking on her part.
The garbage cans were behind the cabin. She had seen them while playing in the snow. She pulled the plastic rubber can off the wood platform. A metal handle stuck up from one side with hinges on the edge of the other. Excitement tingled through her.
She dragged the garbage can a few feet away from what looked like a door and then tried to pull it open. No lock was visible, but she wasn't able to lift the door. She moved the second can from the other half of the wood. Grabbing the handle, she put one foot on the other side of the wood and pulled up with all her strength. The door creaked open, revealing the dark hole that went underneath the cabin. It looked like an old cellar, but she didn't have to go down to know what she'd found. The vault.
She took the garbage can with her as she went back to the cabin. "Mik! I found the vault and I need a flashlight," she said as she went into the cabin. She put the can in the kitchen where Mik stood, clearing out the cupboards.
"What, Gabi?" He kept his back to her.
"I found the vault. It looks like an old cellar under the house. I haven't gone down there yet, but it has to be where the money is." She started rummaging through the drawers but didn't find a flashlight. A candle, that's what she'd use. She took a new one out of the box and grabbed the lighter they'd been using when they didn't have electricity.
Mik reached out for her. "No. Don't go down there, Gabi. You have no idea what you might find. Let me go."
She spun around to face him. "I can do this." Her hands gripped her hips.
Mik shook his head and reached out to her. "I don't want you going, but if you insist, at least let me get some clothes on."
She planted a kiss on his lips and then smiled. "And I need to face my fear of the dark. This will help."
His face stated twisted in a frown. "What about dead bodies?"
"No way." She let out a small laugh.
While Mik rushed into the bedroom, she went to the door. She didn't want to wait another second to get out of there.
Chapter Eighteen
Gabrielle pushed the cobwebs away and groaned. She had been right on one account to Mik, but so had he when he told her she shouldn't be going down alone. Why did she feel compelled to go instead of waiting the few extra minutes for him to dress? Because she had to get over her fears.
She held a candle out in front of her, so she could search the walls enclosing the staircase for a light switch. Surely with a cabin designed as grand as this, her father would have put some sort of lighting down there. She walked clear to the bottom of the stairs before the frayed string brushed against her cheek. A deep breath escaped her lungs as if she'd found her lifeline. She gave it a yank, and light filled the large room with shelves lining the walls. Toward the back of the room was a door.
She blew the candle out and set it on the small table in the corner by the door. Fear of the dark shadows started creeping up. She pushed the feeling down into the pit of her stomach. "I'm okay. Nothing bad is down here," she said to herself. She pushed the code she'd memorized into the key pad, listened to the two beeps, and watched until the green light blinked. The click of the lock made her anxious.
She stared at the door. Should she go in or wait for Mik? It was as if the room was calling to her. A grim smile crept on her lips. Her heart pounded in her ribcage. Too late to turn back now. Fear rushed through her veins and even though her gut screamed at her to stop, she put her hands on the door.
"Do it," she ordered herself. Her sneaker hit the bottom of the door, sending it flying open. It hit the back wall with a loud bang. Oops.
She walked over to the shelves and lifted one of the boxes out to peek inside. It was full of guns. She sucked in her breath. Her hands trembled as she moved to the next box. Another filled with guns. They didn't seem to be in any particular order. Machine guns were piled on top of small handguns. Row after row she went until she reached another door.
The room was dark, so she grabbed the candle off the table and patted her pockets for some matches. Hopefully there would be a light in there, so she wouldn't have to rely on the very dim glow of the candle. She looked around for a hanging string but found none this time. She sucked in her breath and walked all the way into the large room.
This room had shelves lining the walls as well. The difference was instead of boxes, there were small plastic bags stacked one on top of another. In the center of the room sat a table with an industrial size box of bags matching the ones on the shelves. She edged closer. Her eyes didn't want to focus to the darkness, forcing her to pull at some more cobwebs and walk even closer. She held the candle over the plastic. It looked like money, but it couldn't all be hundred dollar bills.
She picked up the small plastic wrapped bundle and sure enough, it was cash. The entire room was lined with shelves. Each shelf was stacked solid with cash. No way could this be real.
"Gabi?" Mik called from somewhere near the first door.
"I'm back here."
Heavy footsteps approached, letting her relax a tiny bit.
She closed her eyes and opened them, expecting to be some other place but she wasn't. She was still inside the room filled with money.
"Did you find it?"
"Yes." She took a deep breath and tried to calm her breathing.
"Are you okay?" He came into the room.
Her hand covered her mouth. She had known her family was involved with illegal activity but didn't know to what extent. Since her father hadn't given her permission to come up to the cabin, she was in a huge amount of trouble. Hopefully he didn't believe in murdering his daughter as he did other people.
Chapter Nineteen
Johnny's plan was finally going his way. The poisoning hadn't worked and neither did the set-up at the warehouse, but fuck, he was going to get Enrico and whoever else got into his way. He had to
. A lot of money would be in his hands while gaining a new status. Too much rode on this hit. He couldn't fuck it up again.
Following them had worked this far. He had been a short distance behind them when he had spotted the ugly white vehicle turning up the mountain road. A sheriff's car, with lights flashing, cut Johnny's rental car off. He'd pulled to the side of the road to wait a few minutes but didn't get a chance to move the car before both vehicles drove by him again. He'd found the van parked in the hotel parking lot. It was going to be easier than he had thought.
With the snow slowly melting, it wouldn't be too much longer before they tried to make it up the mountain again. He could take out the three guys right there in their room, but he wanted to locate the vault first. The only guys who knew the location were sound asleep now in the hotel room. The idea of all of the Family's money made his hands itch. He figured it was loaded with cash-cash that would set him up for a long time. There was going to be a murder up there at the ritzy cabin plus a robbery. He had his gun ready to shoot all of them. Every single one of those assholes. Oh, how sweet it would be.
*****
Gabrielle hurried into the chilly bedroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around her, finding Mik sitting on the foot of the bed. "I'm glad you're ready. It'll only take me a few minutes and then we're out of here."
His gaze slid over her bare shoulder as he reached a hand out to her. "Come here."
Shaking her head, she said, "Nope. I need to get dressed." She tossed the towel onto the chair and grabbed a fresh pair of panties. After sliding them up her hips, she slipped into a t-shirt.
"Gabi," he said, never taking his eyes off her. His hand connected with hers, guiding her over to him.
"Damn, Mik. Are you always going to have the ability to seduce me like this?" Her legs straddled his lap as she pressed her mouth against his.
"I sure hope so," he answered, his voice gruff against her kisses.
"Hello?" A dreaded voice rang out in the cabin.
Her lips froze on top of Mikolas' with her eyes wide open in shock. Why had her father come here? The mumbled sounds suggested there were more than just him in the living room.
"Oh, shit," she said, jumping off Mikolas. She glanced at the door and then back at him while whispering, "This can't be happening. Tell me I'm dreaming, Mik."
"You're not dreaming, baby," he whispered.
She grabbed her discarded pants and slipped them up over her pink thong. "Stay in here. I need to tell him I'm with you so he isn't surprised. Besides, if he freaks out, it‘ll give you time to run and we'll meet up in town."
The bedroom door creaked open enough for her to pass through and then quickly shut behind her again to cut off any view of the bedroom. Her father stood outside of the door with one hand tucked in his shirt, probably ready to pull his gun.
"It's okay, Dad."
"Gabrielle, what are you doing here?" her father questioned.
The two guys standing behind him relaxed a bit, but Gabrielle figured they were never really allowed to be totally at ease. At least Mikolas' father hadn't joined Enrico on this trip.
"Didn't Mom tell you anything?"
"You said you were going on vacation with a friend."
"Mom wanted me to leave because of your death threat. She told me about your cabin. I came here with a friend. I just didn't tell you I was coming here."
She wished she had put on the bra. One of the men, a new associate of her father's, ogled her breasts. Lucky for him, her father hadn't seen or Rif would be a dead man.
Her arms didn't do much to guard the scenery her breasts were providing them. "Can we talk privately?" she asked her father.
He snapped his fingers. "Outside. I need to talk to my daughter."
The men hurried out the door, giving Gabrielle a chance to relax her arms. "I need to tell you something really important. I hope you're not upset."
"Has anyone hurt you?" his father demanded to know.
She gave a small laugh. "No. Can we sit down?"
Gabrielle followed her father over to the leather couch. He sat against the soft cushion and put his feet on the coffee table. Gabrielle marveled at the fact that her father could furnish his house with tables that cost a few grand and then put his dirty shoes on them. But then again, money wasn't an issue here.
"What's going on? Where's your friend?" he fired at her as he took the gun from his waistband and set it on the couch between them.
"In there," she said, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.
"What did you say her name was?"
She sucked in her breath and slowly let it out. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm not here with a girl friend."
"What? You have a man here with you?"
"Yes, Dad, and it didn't start out the way it looks to you right now."
Enrico grabbed the gun again and rested it against his thick thigh. He glanced back at the bedroom door as if he would be ready to shoot any man who walked through it. And he probably would.
"How did it happen?"
"I'll tell you, but you have to know who's in there first."
"Yeah, yeah." He waved the gun in the air like it was his third hand. "Tell me."
"Only if you promise me two things." Gabrielle sucked in her breath with anticipation, ready for him to explode.
Even though Enrico was the Don of the Mafia, one thing was for certain. He never broke a promise to his wife or daughter. Gabrielle couldn't remember a time when her father told her something and hadn't come through with it.
"Shit, Gab, just tell me what it is. I don't have time for this bullshit."
She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest as she shook her head. "Not until you promise you'll listen to my whole story and you won't kill the guy no matter what."
His face twisted, leaving deep creases between his eyebrows. His mouth formed into a frown. Remaining silent, he set the gun back on the couch. After a few moments he muttered, "Fine. I'll listen and I won't kill him." The frown set even deeper into his face.
"It's Mikolas."
Enrico jumped to his feet, grabbing his gun in the process. He was quick for an almost fifty-year-old. "You better be talking about another Mikolas."
"Daddy, it is Mikolas Russo." She jumped to her feet. "And you're not going to hurt him."
He whipped around, shot a glare over the bedroom door and then stomped to the front door, slamming it behind him. Gabrielle could hear him swearing and throwing stuff in the front yard. It was a better reaction than she had thought. They were lucky that her father had let Mik live so far, but this still wasn't over. Her hands trembled as she pushed some hair from her face.
The bedroom door slowly opened. Mik, dressed to leave the cabin for good, walked out. "Where's he at?" he asked.
Gabrielle pointed to the front door. "Listen carefully and you can hear the screaming."
"You told him about me already."
"Yes, and he promised not to kill you."
The door swung open. Enrico, with eyes bulging with anger, charged toward Mik and tossed his gun down onto the couch. His grip went around Mik's throat, pushing him against the beige wall.
"Dad!" Gabrielle screamed. She jumped up from the couch and took a few steps in their direction but stopped. She didn't want to be close if they started swinging at each other
Mik's face started turning red, matching the tint of her father's skin. Mik didn't try to pull away or flinch even though it had to be like looking the grim reaper in the eye.
"You son-of-a-bitch! I told you not to touch my daughter," Enrico screamed into Mik's face. "Why? You could have any woman in Vegas. Why her?"
Mik took a gulp of air. "I love her, Enrico. I always have."
Enrico's hand gripped tighter around Mik's neck. "I told you I would feed your dick to the lions if you touched her."
"I... know..." Mikolas took rapid breaths, tears welling in his eyes.
"Let him go. I need to tell you the rest of it," she ord
ered.
"I would kill you right here if I hadn't promised my daughter I wouldn't." He let go of Mik. "You should thank Gabrielle since she's the reason why you're still alive."
Mik walked over to the hearth and slid his shoes on. Grabbing Gabi's sweatshirt, he said, "I'm going outside so you can talk."
"Dad, please sit with me. I want to explain this to you."
"Mik, be a man and face me. Don‘t leave the dirty work to Gabrielle." Enrico stalked over to the chair and flung himself down. With his face twisted in a frown, his eyes shot daggers at the couple.
"Fine," Mik said as he joined Gabrielle on the couch.
She was relieved when Mik sat far enough away, she didn't want him to hold her hand or have any other physical contact while they discussed this issue with her father.
"Tell me." Enrico pulled a cigar out of his pocket and lit up.
"I called Mikolas to my house and made him come here at gunpoint after I heard you talking to Leon about the hit put on you. Mom gave me one night here, but we got snowed in."
"I see," Enrico said.
Mik leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He ran his hand through his hair before looking up at her father. "But the truth, Enrico, is I love Gabrielle. I have tried to respect your wishes and stay away from her, but when she brought me here I couldn't resist it anymore."
"Mm hm."
"And, Dad, I love you too, but I want to leave this life. And I want to leave with Mikolas." She couldn't resist anymore. She grabbed Mik's hand in hers.
The action seemed to have surprised her father. He looked from Gabrielle to Mik and back to her. "What do you want to say about this, Mik?"
"I want the same as she does. I'm willing to give up anything to be with her. I don't think I would be a good husband to her, one she deserves if I'm required to have things like a mistress."
"You guys have those?" Gabrielle's wide eyes shot to Mik.
He nodded. "It's a sign of prestige." He looked back to Enrico. "Gabrielle deserves better than the Mafia life-no offense to you, Enrico. You sent her away for her safety once and now her mother did this time."