Becoming the Mob Queen: An Angel City Mafia Novel (Angel City Mafia Romance)

by Renee Strong

  He bent over me and traced the shape of my face with his fingers. “That’s good work, Lexi. That helps a lot.”

  “Good,” I said to him but my eyes had closed.

  The last thing I remembered before I feel asleep was him kissing me on the forehead.

  The phone rang a couple of times before Bobby picked up.

  “You got Vince and Tommy there?”

  “Yeah,” Bobby said.

  “You back at home? The shipment done?”

  “Yeah,” Bobby said again.

  “Good. Put me on loudspeaker.”

  I waited a second until I heard the beep of the button being pressed.

  “How’s she doing, Dom?” Bobby asked.

  “She’s pretty banged up but nothing that won’t heal. I’m sure Vince told you about it.”

  “Yeah,” Bobby said heavily. “He said someone had really done a number on her.”

  “Well here’s the thing—and this is where we might have a problem.” I took a beat to organize my thoughts. If what Lexi had said was accurate, and there was no reason to think it wasn’t, this could spell trouble for the family.

  “It looks like it could have been the Russians.”

  I heard a rapid-fire string of swearing from the other end of the line but I couldn’t tell who it was.

  Bobby spoke quietly and sharply after a second.

  “If that’s true, Dominic, that could break more than a decade’s truce. It’s a pretty big thing to bring to Vlad. How sure are you that she’s right?”

  I leaned onto the countertop in the kitchen. I’d wanted to make sure I was far enough away from Lexi to be out of hearing distance. She didn’t need to trouble herself with this. Not when I was going to make sure she had a new life set up somewhere in the very near future. Somewhere far away from this mess and danger.

  “Pretty sure. She gave me two names—Serge and Jules. She said the scooter Vince stashed in the doc’s trunk is Jules’s. When she’s awake, I might be able to get some idea of where they took her.”

  I could hear someone—Bobby I guessed—clicking his fingers.

  “Tommy, see what you can dig up. Vince, put a call in and see if you can trace the plate number on that thing.”

  I heard them move around and a door click shut and then Bobby came back on the line.

  “They’re dealing with it, little brother. They’ll get the information. Vince will drop over the prescription pills the doc wrote over to you soon.”

  I rubbed my eye with the butt of my palm. I was suddenly very fucking tired.

  “Listen, don’t wait up for Vince to get there. He’ll let himself in and leave the pills on the kitchen table and let himself back out again. You go get some rest and take care of that girl.”

  I allowed myself a deep exhale. Sleep sounded good to me. I thanked Bobby and hung up. Tomorrow, I needed to get Lexi very far away. I’d have to say goodbye to the first woman I’d ever taken the chance to know for longer than a few hours. Three days in and it already felt like I’d known her for years.

  I walked down to the bedroom, took my dressing gown off, and climbed in beside her. Pressing my skin to hers, I concentrated on how good it made me feel to be close to her. I ignored the voice telling me it would be for the last time.

  Chapter 10

  Lexi

  I woke up not sure of what time it was. The room was dark. My eyes took a few moments to adjust.

  It took me a couple more moments to remember where I was and as I did, I smiled to myself. I was in Dominic’s house, in Dominic’s bed. Sure, I’d taken one hell of a scenic and quite frankly painful route to get there, but here I was. Most normal girls would be running a mile in the opposite direction at that point. But no one had ever accused me of being too normal.

  All the crap I’d gone through in the last few days to get here felt worth it to be waking up beside Dominic. Having his smell and shape and warmth near me made me feel like things were going to be okay. Which was crazy, given how menacing and dangerous a world he inhabited.

  But then, love doesn’t often make a lot of sense.

  “Love.”

  I turned the word over in my head. It had first come to me when he was lifting me out of the bath and so carefully and protectively carrying me to bed. As he carried me and I pressed my face into his chest, I’d realized I was starting to fall for him.

  The thought came out of the blue—and it, more than anything that had happened in the preceding few days, was what frightened me. I’d never been “in love” before, as far as I could remember. I’d gotten used to guys, and even grown to like having them around, but I’d never felt about anyone the way I felt about Dominic.

  He was intoxicating. The danger of his world made that intoxication feel even more exhilarating.

  I turned over to reach my arms around him, to run my hands through his hair, and kiss him softly on his cheek while he slept soundly, but my hands found empty space instead.

  He wasn’t there.

  I sat up and fumbled for the switch on the bedside lamp. The room lit up but it just confirmed what I knew. Dominic wasn’t in the room.

  I didn’t think he’d just leave me there—not after how protective and sweet he’d been the night before. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sank my feet into the soft carpet. I wiggled my toes for a couple of seconds to work the stiffness out of my legs—I was still plenty sore. A kidnapping, escape, and scooter accident will leave a girl with some pain.

  I padded over to the en suite bathroom, flicked on the light, and spotted the dressing gown he’d given me the night before. I shrugged it on over my shoulders, wincing a little as the material rubbed over the road rash on my arm.

  It was then I caught sight of myself in the mirror. The image staring back at me made me wince. My hair was sticking out at every direction. That tended to happen when I got it wet and didn’t dry it properly.

  But my face was what really took my breath away. Under and around my eye, I had the beginnings of an angry-looking shiner. My lips, which were normally quite full, had swollen to twice their normal size. There was a deep cut in the bottom one and some scabbing around the corner of my mouth.

  I felt myself get hot with rage. I had been pushed around my whole life and I had fought back against that my whole life. People had been trying to make me bend to their will since I was in diapers. They soon learned that they had picked the wrong girl to try that shit with.

  They were about to learn it again. I would get revenge on the guys who had done this to me. I was going to make them pay.

  Bobby sat and sipped at an espresso. It didn’t look like he’d been to sleep yet. I felt guilty that I had taken even a few hours’ sleep. While I had slept beside Lexi, it looked like Bobby had been doing the hard work of figuring out where the attack had come from.

  Vince and Tommy sat at the other side of the granite breakfast bar on high stools. Vince looked seriously tired, too—there were heavy bags under his eyes and I caught him a couple of times stifling a yawn.

  “Have you guys slept yet?” I asked. I stared at Vince. “You especially?”

  He rubbed his face, and I could hear the rough skin of his hand catching the bristly hairs of his unshaved skin.

  “Don’t worry about it, Dom,” he said in forced cheerfulness. “I don’t need much sleep to be this handsome.”

  I grinned at him and Tommy snorted to the right of Vince. “Besides,” Vince said in a more serious voice, “we’re all just doing what we need to do. We can worry about sleep when we’re done.”

  He reached into his pocket and took out a paper bag, He slid it across the breakfast bar to me.

  “Here, before I forget.”

  I picked it up and flipped it over in my hands. It was the bag with the prescription pills in it.

  “How’s she doing anyway?” Vince asked. “She doing okay?”

  I opened the stickered bag with the pills in and took out the box inside to read the label. This was strong stuf
f.

  “Yeah, she’s sleeping now. She’s pretty tough though.”

  Vince nodded and Tommy sat forward a bit.

  “About the girl, Dominic. Had you given any thought to what city you wanted us to get her to?”

  The question made my heart hurt. I had been consciously trying to give that question as little thought as I could. I knew Lexi couldn’t stay here, now that I knew that someone had apparently decided it was good to put a target on her back, but actually choosing a city to relocate her in was beyond me. Putting a name on the place I was sending her to would make it too real. I wanted to give myself an hour before I sealed that particular fate.

  “Nothing decided yet, Tommy. When I do, can you start make the arrangements for a new condo and car for her? You know, the usual? But, like, somewhere really nice?”

  Tommy nodded. Bobby put down his espresso cup.

  “You know, it’ll be hard for a few days, Dominic, but she’ll thank you for it later,” he said sadly.

  “Who will?”

  Vince and Tommy’s gazes turned to the doorway and Bobby pulled a face of horror. I turned behind me and saw Lexi standing in the door, her hair scraped back into a ponytail and the dressing gown tied tightly at the waist.

  “Lexi,” I said. “You should be getting your rest. It’s still early in the morning.”

  She ignored me and walked to the breakfast bar, fixing Bobby with a hard look.

  “Who’ll thank Dominic for what?”

  Bobby gave a guarded little half smile and nodded his head toward me.

  “I think that’s a question for Dominic.”

  She sat at the stool at the head of the breakfast bar and reached for the pot of espresso.

  “Who’s got a cup?”

  Tommy shot up from his seat at her harsh tone, and grabbed her an espresso cup. She poured herself a coffee.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Now who exactly are you sending somewhere, Dominic? I heard you talking from the hallway.”

  I cleared my throat a little. My mouth had gone dry all of a sudden.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  She took a sip of the espresso and pulled a face, I assume because of how strong it was. Still, despite the strength of it, she jutted her lip out in appreciation. It was definitely a class above that swill she had in her apartment.

  “I want to talk about it now,” she said, resting the cup back down on the counter.

  I heard a sharp inhale of breath from a couple of the guys and my gaze switched to Bobby. He was studiously not looking at me and was doing a piss-poor job of keeping the amusement off his face.

  “Let’s talk outside,” I said quietly. “Or rather, guys, will you go to the den to give us a couple of minutes?”

  I hadn’t even finished the sentence before they were all on their way out the door. Typical. They could spend days running guns or drugs or facing down cops, but give them an awkward personal moment, and they were all instantly out.

  I moved to a seat closer to Lexi and took her hand.

  “Lexi, I’m arranging for Tommy—the guy who got you the cup—to get you out of Angel City. It’s not safe for you here.”

  I looked at her. She hadn’t broken her gaze at me but I couldn’t read the expression on her face.

  “He’ll set you up somewhere nice where you can have a good life. The best of everything. And we can get your mom into a good hospital, where you won’t have to worry about paying the bills. It’s for the best.”

  I waited for her to cry or smile or nod or something along those lines. Instead, she yanked her hand out of mine.

  “Fuck you, Dominic.”

  I was rendered silent for a second. “What?” was the best response I could come up with.

  “You heard me,” she said with acid in her voice. “Fuck you. How dare you fucking think that you can just spirit me away without even asking my opinion on it.”

  I shook my head and tried to respond. “That’s not… I wasn’t…”

  “It is and you were,” she said. “You just decided that I had to go without ever once considering what I felt about it. What sort of bullshit is that?”

  I sat up straighter in my seat and steeled my expression at her.

  “You don’t even know what you’re getting into with this world. What sort of things you’re exposing yourself to.”

  She sarcastically swept her hand over the bruises on her face.

  “Oh, I think I’ve a pretty fucking good idea, don’t you? Real first-hand experience right here.”

  She stood up.

  “Can someone get me something to wear? And some makeup to cover up this mess?” She pointed to her face again. “I’d like to shower and get dressed.”

  I pushed out an exasperated breath.

  “Yeah. I mean, I can send someone to get you new clothes. And whatever make-up you want.”

  She gave a short, curt nod.

  “Great. I’ll write a list.” She sashayed toward the door.

  “But, Lexi,” I said sternly, “you’re not staying here.”

  “Oh, we’ll fucking see about that,” she said sharply as she walked out the door into the hall.

  A light rap came on the door of the bedroom and I made sure I was decent.

  “Just a second,” I said and smoothed down my dressing gown, ensuring it was closed properly. I took a breath and walked over to open the door. The guy I had seen last night, the one who had been with Dominic when I’d literally crashed back into his life, stood there.

  He passed me a bag and I took it. The bag was one of those thick ones from a high-end store, closed with a ribbon bow.

  “Thanks,” I said. He nodded and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” I said to him. He swiveled back and looked at me with a blank, unreadable expression. He didn’t strike me as the chatty type. “What’s your name?”

  “Vince,” he said in a half-grunt.

  “Vince,” I repeated. “You were helping Dominic last night?”

  “Yep,” he said.

  I waved my hand to invite him into the room and he hesitated.

  “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he said with a frown.

  “I just need your help to…” I searched my brain for a lie. “To tidy around a little. I’m still too sore to manage it.”

  The room was still almost entirely spotless—the only thing untidy was the unmade bed—and Vince looked uncertain. After another second of hesitation, he entered the room.

  “I want to make the bed,” I said, “but I’m not at full capability. Would you?”

  “Okay,” he said in that same impossible-to-read tone and moved wordlessly to start doing what I’d asked.

  I took a seat in the armchair and undid the ribbon of the bag he’d brought me. In a smaller bag, there were expensive foundations, shadows, concealers, and mascaras—in every shade and color possible. It looked like someone had panicked and just bought the entire shelf of makeup.

  I took the bag out and looked into the bigger bag. Everything I’d asked for on my list was there: black jeans, black boots, a little crop jacket, and a black top. They were all in the right sizes but much more expensive than I’d ever bought for myself.

  I caught sight of the price tag on the jeans and dropped them quickly. It ran into the hundreds of dollars. For one pair of jeans! And I’d thought that ruined dress, coming in under a hundred dollars, was expensive!

  I put the bag back down and turned my attention to Vince, who was doing a terrible job of making the bed. He didn’t exactly look like he was used to doing it. Maybe, when you have all the money these guys seemed to, you got a maid for stuff like that?

  “So the other two guys in the kitchen, who were they? One of them’s Tommy, right? Who’s the other guy?”

  Vince didn’t look up from what he was doing.

  “That’s Bobby. Dominic’s brother.”

  He grunted as he wrangled one of the under-sheets into place.
/>   Bobby. I filed that bit of information into the “useful” file in my brain.

  “And is Bobby the boss or do you guys have someone else you answer to?”

  Vince turned and fixed me with an incredulous look.

  “Look, lady, I don’t know what your angle is, but I’m not here to give lessons on the mob.” He tucked a bit of sheet under the mattress roughly. “You asked for my help and I’m giving it to you.”

  I crossed my arms. I’d judged this one wrong. He wasn’t about to give up as much information as I’d assumed.

  “I’m just making chit chat,” I said with feigned innocence. “No reason you can’t be polite.”

  He turned to look at me face on, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

  “All right,” I said in defeat. “You got me. I want to talk to someone about this plan Dominic has for me. It’s not a lot to ask.”

  “Yeah, well then you’re asking the wrong guy. You want to change the tune, you go to the organ grinder, not the monkey.” He flipped the duvet into place and ran a hand over it to smooth it. “That means Bobby. Get dressed and I’ll let him know quietly that you want to talk to him.”

  He gave me a quick look as he got up to leave, one that wasn’t unkind. I picked up my bags and headed to the en suite to get myself tidied up.

  Chapter 11

  Dominic

  “So Vlad’s expecting us?”

  Bobby nodded as he turned the wheel of his car toward one of the nightclubs downtown.

  “He was pretty open to us coming in.”

  I ground my teeth a little.

  “I don’t like this, Bobby. Why aren’t we meeting on neutral territory? We could be walking into an ambush for all we know.”

  The car bumped over a pothole and Bobby made a face as the wheel hit it heavily. I knew he was thinking of his suspension. As much as I loved my car, Bobby adored his. Every bump or potential for a scratch to it drove him nuts.

  “That’s why Vince and Tommy are meeting us there. Vlad has agreed to no pat-downs. Tommy’s got a bag full of Semtex with him in case shit goes south. He’ll light the whole place up like a Christmas tree if he gets a whiff of anything.”