He didn’t even want to look at her because he knew there would be disappointment in her eyes. The fact that he didn’t say anything should have told her the truth that she didn’t want to be true, but knowing her as he did she knew, she would want to hear it from his mouth. She moved off the bed and came around to sit next to him.
“My name is Aidan Barnes, and I’m with a mercenary biker group from Idaho called the Devil’s Stepbrothers. I’ve never really told anyone my whole story because I’m a nobody from nowhere, and any story I make up is better than the truth. That’s what I’ve always thought anyway. I shared some of my history with you because you seemed to recognize the desire to be someone else, but I’m sharing my truth with you now because you saved my life.”
“You were really here to kill Lucca?” She wanted to hear the words, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d given up a lot in the last few hours, and she deserved to hear it all.
“Yes. I knew you had some information about him and you were the way to get to him, but I didn’t know you were related. I thought you were an ex-girlfriend or something, and I had no idea you were the big boss’s daughter.”
“So you did use me to get to Lucca?” Her voice sounded so small, and for once in his life, he was ashamed about what he had been planning to do, but this was his job. “How many other people have you killed? How many other lives have you destroyed? When you take someone away like that, it’s not that person you punish but the people left behind wondering what happened. Those people put up signs and look for clues to find the loved ones you so easily discard.”
He hadn’t really thought about the other people who were affected. Aidan didn’t have any family or anyone who’d care if he never returned from any mission, so it was difficult to see her point of view, but he thought about what happened tonight. What if something would have happened to Lorna, and he didn’t know about it? He’d have spent a lot of time, money, and energy attempting to retrace the steps she took and knowing the people who she’d been with it would have been for nothing. They didn’t leave traces unless they wanted to, and if he were going to kill his own daughter in his own home, Aidan would bet there would be nothing of her left. That thought chilled him.
“I don’t know what to say about the families of the people I was hired to kill. I’ve never thought about them until right now, but to answer your question. Yes I was using you to get to Lucca… at first. The rest of the time I was trying to figure out what I was going to do to keep you. That’s not to say that I wasn’t going to do my job. I’m good at it, Lorna. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been really good at.” He took a moment to look over at her, and he could see her confusion. He’d gotten her into something that he didn’t know if she’d ever make it out of. For the first time in his life, he was worried about another person’s safety.
She stood up, put her clothes on and then paced around the room cataloging what had been going on in her life. “I’ve betrayed my family for a criminal. The one thing I didn’t want anyone to be in my life was a person who could use violence for their gain. I’ve grown up around it, and I’ve done my best to keep it out of my life, but the farther I run, the closer it gets. A liar and a thief and I brought him home and tried to bring him into my family.”
He didn’t know what to say to her or do for her. His mind was blown from having someone go out on a limb for him. The boy no one wanted and the man no one thought about. He was someone who was sent to do the tough jobs, the almost suicide jobs, because he had no family and no real place to call home. He had an apartment that had a reasonable amount of stuff in it, but there was no one to call if something happened to him and no one who would claim his body if he died. He was nobody, and that’s what made him good at what he did.
“My father was right. I was going to bring them down, and I am naïve. I thought you cared about me like I did for you, but I was wrong.” Lorna slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He knew she felt alone since she’d gone against her family and was now stuck with the criminal who was going to betray her with her family. He knew how it felt because that’s the only feeling he’d ever had until a week or so ago when he hooked up with Lorna.
“I didn’t mean for it to get this far. I did plan to use you for information and after I saw your body in the pictures I meant to have sex with you as well, but I didn’t plan to stay around this long. Honestly I didn’t think you’d let me stay around this long. I’ve enjoyed being with you even as I planned to take away your cousin.”
“I have to fix this. I’m going to go see my father and tell him I’m sorry.” She stood up and walked toward the door. He caught her just before she walked out and spun her to face him. Lorna tore her arm out of his hand with her eyes full of contempt and disgust.
“I know you’re upset…” he said trying to explain why he stopped her.
“Of course you know why I’m upset. You’re the reason. You and all of the people like you who don’t care to be decent human beings. You take what you want and throw everything else away. I texted you because I thought you were going to be killed in some senseless way just for fucking Giovanni’s daughter, but you’re more like my father than I ever imagined.” She could barely get all of what she wanted to say because she was hyperventilating. He backed away from her with his hands up. She already felt violated; there was no reason for her to feel trapped as well. Aidan got the feeling that was how she spent most of her life, and she wasn’t happy about it.
“I just wanted to remind you of a few things before you go barreling out into the night.”
She looked skeptical, and he couldn’t fault her for that. The trust she thought she had with him was damaged, but if she didn’t listen to him. she may be in a worse position than even she thought. He could tell she was going over the options in her mind and the exact moment she decided it may be to her advantage to see what the criminal could bring to the table.
“I’m giving you ten minutes. This better be good.” She closed the door and sat at the circle table while she looked at her nails. She’d never looked more like the princess he’d heard about until right then. He tried to get his words together so he would know what they were up against. “The clock is ticking, Aidan. Spit it out or let me go.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lorna had been duped again. How had this happened? She knew she’d been taken in by his good looks, but that wasn’t the reason she’d kept him around. They were so much alike, and for that reason alone, she knew she should have fucked him and sent him away like she did with all of her other play toys. She knew that she told people she was anyone other than herself because she knew she’d be judged by her father’s actions, so she made herself into whoever she wanted to for that day. As soon as he opened his mouth, she’d recognized the trait she’d picked up long ago and wanted to know more about the man who was so much like her. What she didn’t think about was what he was hiding. He could have been anything, and she’d brought him to her home. Maybe she didn’t need to live alone since that decision could have cost her life.
Aidan paced the room looking like he was searching for words, and her anger grew. She wasn’t always happy that she had the family she did, but they were hers, and they loved her. Lorna wasn’t sure about the conditions that were placed on her. Tonight, she’d embarrassed her father when she knocked him down, and she’d saved someone her father wanted killed. Her father was right. He’d killed people for less than either of the things she’d done, and that crossed her mind as soon as she opened that door.
“Your father is a very cutthroat boss. I don’t know what that means for you and your relationship with him, but I think we need to figure out how we can make all this work.”
“We? This is your mess.” She felt the need to remind him.
“That you’ve hooked your name with by saving me. I don’t think your father is going to take this lightly.”
She hated that Aidan was probably right. “So what do you think we should do?”
“We nee
d to find a way to satisfy my boss and your father at the same time. If we can do that, then we can both be free. From this situation and if you want… from each other.”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to work anything out with this man. He’d already broken her trust and her heart. What else could he do? This didn’t seem very fixable, but she wanted to know what exactly he had in mind. “If we work together, you’re going to have to be completely honest with me. Full disclosure. Can you do that?”
“Yes, I can.” He looked like he was earnest, but that could just be his award winning acting coming into play. She couldn’t believe she fell for every line he’d handed her. She thought he was some poor boy from Idaho, but really that could all be a line too.
“So what’s the first thing that must be done?” She wondered if he had all that worked out because it seemed like an impossible task.
“We need to find out who is trying to get rid of your cousin and what issue are they having. Maybe it’s something we can fix ourselves, and there would be no need for bloodshed,” he said sounding hopeful.
“You do know these men are criminals and like to kill. How do you know it wasn’t something as simple as you stepped on my turf, and I’m going to make an example out of you?”
He sat down on the other chair across from her and looked like he was thinking of this question and wanted to answer it honestly.
“I don’t know that, but I want to try to find out if we can start there. Sometimes things are not what seem. We won’t know what’s going on until we try.” He looked like that little piece of plan was going to work, but at this point they didn’t have much else. “Do you think we can work together?”
“The way you make it sound, I don’t have much of a choice.” She hated that her voice got almost whiny when she didn’t get her way, but this wasn’t just a little issue; this is one what would cause her store to close down and her life to change.
When his phone rang, she saw him look down at the caller ID, and his eyes get wide for a second.
“Put it on speaker,” she said because she didn’t want to be left out of anything. He pressed the answer button and didn’t say anything, but the voice that came through the line left her no doubt on who was on the other end of the line.
“Barnes!” It wasn’t a question; it was a demand. Lucca had somehow found Aidan’s number and had something to say. “We have a large organization, so we know where you are, and I know that you have my cousin. You both need to leave before reinforcements show up and your lives are terminated. I don’t know if what everyone is saying is true, but you better fix this and nothing better happen to my cousin or I’ll kill you myself.” The call was disconnected, and they looked at each other for a few seconds before they jumped up to leave. He had to throw on his clothes and they both went to the door.
“Stay back. If someone is going to get killed, it’s going to be me.” He said as he jumped in front of her on their way out the door.
“Where are we going?” She asked as they closed the door and went for the steps.
“I’m not sure where we are going, but we need to make this right. I guess we take the motorcycle and try to get away from this area, but don’t worry; we’ll work this out, and you’ll be back at your boutique before you know it.”
She couldn’t help but be skeptical, but when he reached for her hand she knew that he would try his best. He revved up his bike, and she hopped on behind him. The lights of a half a dozen cars could be seen in the distance, so Aidan left his lights out as he drove in the opposite direction.
“God bless us,” she said as a prayer. Her life had never been peaceful, but it looked like she’d made a turn to hell.
CHAPTER NINE
How could someone be your heaven and your hell?
Lorna Giovanni lay on her side and watched the man who she’d been hiding out with for the last week. His jet black hair had grown out longer than she’d seen it, but that was to be expected. They were on the outskirts of town living in a beautiful cabin like they were on the run. There was a reason for that. They were on the run from seemingly everyone.
She’d met the sexy Aidan Barnes at a dive bar where he was trying to find information about where to find the mark he’d been sent to kill. Little did she know he was there to kill her favorite cousin Lucca, and little did he know she was the only daughter of the city’s largest organized crime boss. Since she’d met him, it was like she was in a constant state of “what the fuck.” Sometimes it was wonder, amazement, disbelief, or a varied amount of other things that made her feel this way. They had a deep connection, and it was one that she hadn’t ever found with another person.
Unfortunately, she’d acted irrationally when she heard from her controlling father that he was going to kill him and pushed the head of the organized underworld down in front of her cousin and many of his followers. She was able to save Aidan, but she didn’t know for how long, and she didn’t know what her punishment would be for her part of what her father would call betrayal of the family for a stranger.
“You know I can feel you staring at me,” he muttered in his deep sleepy voice. Have mercy. The man sounded like her favorite treat deep, dark and chocolate, and it made her want to slide her fingers into her panties immediately.
She’d heard before that your body can feel someone watching it even when they slept, but she didn’t believe it before now. “I stare at you all the time, and you never notice.”
“I notice. I just don’t say anything about it because I think it’s hot as hell, but you’ve been doing it for quite a while. So I thought I’d let you know so you can either tell me what’s on your mind or I can occupy your time since you have nothing better to do than to stare at me.” He opened his eyes, and his clear green gaze scanned her face as if he were looking for the answers there. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know, Aidan. Could it be that we are hiding out from who knows how many groups? Doesn’t that bother you? How the hell is this going to end?” She wasn’t actively trying to wake him up to talk to him, but now that he asked her, she did have a lot of things on her mind.
He sat up on his elbow and turned toward her. “There is a lot going on in that mind of yours. Know that I have a few things in the works for how to get both of us out of this.”
“Do these plans include us walking on our own two feet and being a part of the land of the living?” She wasn’t trying to be a smart ass, but they were both living here in la-la land on borrowed time and money, and the real world was just outside that door.
“That is the plan. I want us both to get out of this alive.” He looked so sincere, and she had to give it to him. This man could wake up and have a decent conversation. She didn’t know if someone had awakened her out of a deep sleep if she’d have much more than grunts from her.
“What about my cousin, Lucca? If you were hired to kill him, then won’t there be some repercussions from that?” She was getting herself all worked up about this, but it didn’t seem like he worried at all. The man had been hired to kill her cousin… her freaking favorite cousin, and here she lay in the bed with him. Her father would call it sleeping with the enemy, but she had to believe that Aidan was going to make sure everything was going to be okay.
“I’m working on it and hoping that we can be out of here within the week.” He gathered her into his arms and rolled onto his back pulling her on top of him. Warm and fragrant, she was filled with the beauty of being in the bed with a man who filled her spirit as well as her sexual needs.
She knew that he was having lots of conversations with people off and on throughout the day. The talks he’d been having were quiet and personal. Growing up with a mafia father had taught her not to ask many questions, but she wasn’t a kid anymore, and Aidan wasn’t her father so her need to have answers grew with each phone call. They had bought throw away phones since she’d had to ditch hers while she was trying to save his life when her father found out that her new boyfriend was trying to ki
ll his first in command who was also his nephew.
“Lucca won’t be killed. Right?” She picked her head off his chest to see his face when he answered that question. It had been difficult listening to the real reason he’d fallen into her life, and it was something she was still working through. Her father could order someone’s death as easily as people ordered a pepperoni pizza, heavy on the sauce and light on the mozzarella. Lorna didn’t like violence and had tried her whole life to stay away from it, but she’d practically fallen for this beautiful man within days, and after listen to him tell her his life story, it appeared she’d been vigilant for nothing. This man was as dangerous as they came.
“I’m trying to get that whole deal resolved.” He looked her in the eye when he said those words so she wanted to believe that he was telling her the truth, but did she really know? When working with criminals, no one knows 100%.
“I don’t know what I would do if someone killed Lucca. He’s more like a brother to me than my brothers are. He was one of the only ones who ever tried to understand that I was different from most of the people the family who just went along with the mob lifestyle. He stood up for me and helped me get the life I wanted.” She looked over to see if Aidan could hear what she was trying to say about her cousin Lucca and was relieved when she watched the remorse fill his eyes. It would have to be enough that he understood what was going on with her and how important Lucca and his survival was to her. That man had fought tooth and nail to get permission for her to move out of her family’s home and for her father to set up that boutique for her. Lucca was the second in command, but her father looked up to him more than anyone else, so when she had Lucca’s ear, she knew she also had her fathers.
Hitman's Lust: a Dark Mafia Romance Page 26