“I’ll make it fast.” He dipped his head down to take my ear between his teeth and sucked on it. “Rub your clit for me. I want to watch you.”
I did as he asked, almost feeling ashamed of what we were doing in his family’s restaurant. But neither of us cared. Angelo had his right arm across the back of the booth and his left hand between my legs when he sunk his teeth into my neck, nibbling at my flesh.
I had to cover my mouth with my free hand to keep from screaming. Each time his teeth scraped my skin, Angelo did the same with his fingers to the inner walls of my pussy. My entire body hurt, but it was the good kind of pain that sent a ripple of pleasure down my body.
“That’s it, G,” he whispered against the shell of my ear. “Strangle my fingers with your pussy. C’mon, come for me.”
“Angelo,” I moaned, and this time, he covered my mouth with his.
An orgasm rocked through me like a hurricane, its violent force causing my entire body to tremble. Angelo kept his lips on mine, invading my mouth with his tongue until I hit the full peak of my climax.
“Damn, babe,” he spoke against my lips. “If you milk my cock like you did my fingers, I won’t be able to stop fucking you until morning.”
“Promise?” I could hardly get out the words I was so out of breath.
He nodded, his forehead brushing against mine.
“Good. I expect you to keep it.”
And he did. All. Night. Long.
Chapter Twelve
Gia
I leaned back in the chair by the window and glanced over to Angelo. He was sitting on the couch next to Sonny, flipping through his phone. A few seconds passed before he looked over at me.
“His phone either died or is turned off,” Angelo said. “He doesn’t have a signal for anyone to locate him. A few of our cop friends tried and came up empty-handed. I’m sorry, Gia. Don’t worry. I will keep looking until I find your dad.”
I’d tried to reach my dad for two days without success. My mother was worried sick and had been calling hospitals searching for him. She wanted to check police stations to see if he was in the drunk tank, which would have been unusual for my dad. But we didn’t want to draw attention to the not-so-legal aspects of his business. Plus, he wasn’t a big drinker. When he did get drunk, he never drove. I’d ruled out that possibility almost immediately.
“What about his car? That was how I found you,” Sonny blurted out as if I needed a reminder of the night I watched Angelo kill someone when my father was now missing. “It was easy to track.”
“That’s a good idea.” Angelo tapped Sonny on the arm. “Fire up your laptop.”
For someone with little book smarts, Sonny was surprisingly good with computers. He did most of the research for Angelo when they were pulling bigger jobs for the family. He also kept a large stash of porn on his beat-up MacBook Air.
Sonny was attractive but weird, not like Angelo with his sexy swagger and ruggedly handsome good looks. Similar in height and build to Angelo, he had a body that I wouldn’t have given a second thought to defiling if I wasn’t with Angelo. His dark hair swept over his forehead and had a messy on purpose look. A dimple creased Sonny’s right check whenever he smiled. Like Angelo, he didn’t do that enough. Most of the men in my life were hardened by all the things they had done.
I could never figure out Sonny. Even after close to twenty years of friendship, I still had no idea what made Sonny tick. He liked women, but I never saw him with any. His taste in porn was kind of scary. It put the roughest of sex I’d ever had with Angelo to shame. He was into some serious kink which made me wonder just how much he liked torturing people.
Sonny typed away on the keyboard, biting the inside of his cheek. He did that whenever he was nervous or thinking something over. His gaze shifted from the screen to Angelo, and I knew he’d found something. He kept his mouth shut and waited for Angelo to glance over.
“Did you find something?” I asked Sonny.
He looked at Angelo, concern furrowing his brow.
“We found him.” Angelo pushed himself up from the couch and slid his phone into his pocket.
I jumped out of the chair and ran over to Angelo. “Where is he? Take me to him.”
“Somewhere we leave things we don’t want to be found,” he said without making eye contact with me.
“What the fuck does that mean, Angelo?” I gripped his jacket in my hands, yelling in his face. “Don’t talk in circles. Where’s my dad?”
“His car is at a construction site off I-95 close to New York.”
“What’s so weird about that? He used to check out sites all the time with the project managers.”
“G, he’s been gone for two days and no longer works at Carlini Construction. You own the company now. Your dad should be down at City Hall, not in North Jersey.”
He had a point.
“What’s so special about this location?”
“Enzo used to dump his kills there before he broke off from my dad. That’s how he made the initial contacts with the boss in Jersey.”
My hands flew up to my mouth, my eyes widening in shock. “He didn’t.”
“I don’t know, babe. Only one way to find out.”
My entire body trembled at the thought of finding my father under a pile of dirt. He was supposed to be clean. His affiliation with the family wasn’t as well-known as others. The citizens wouldn’t have voted him into City Council if they thought he was a racketeer. Would they?
“Why would someone take my father out to this site? Why would someone want to hurt him?”
“I don’t know, G. Maybe to get back at us.” Angelo held me in his arms for a few seconds, glancing over his shoulder at Sonny. “Get your keys. You’re driving us up there.”
The entire ride to New Jersey Angelo sat in the backseat of his car with me, while Sonny navigated the roads. Angelo clasped my hands between his, attempting to calm my nerves. Every time I thought of what we might find, waves of nausea almost knocked me out. All this time I was worried I would lose Angelo because of the Mafia wars they had going on between crews and families. I never expected my father to be one of the casualties.
When we found the construction site, my heart rate sped up so fast I had trouble breathing. I opened the door, and my legs felt like mush when I tried to stand on my own. Adrenaline shot through my veins, setting my body on fire, the heat brushing my cheeks and chest enough to make me feel like passing out.
Angelo followed me out of the car with a pair of bolt cutters in his hand to cut the lock from the fence. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Let me look. If it’s bad, you shouldn’t see your dad like this. I don’t want that for you.”
I nodded. “I can’t believe this is happening. My dad’s a businessman.”
“So am I,” Angelo said in a serious tone.
“If you say so.” I gave him a look like he was crazy. “My dad wasn’t part of any of this.”
“He’s tied to Enzo and his crew. Your dad’s a lot more invested than you think.”
“Why? He has nothing to profit from men like Enzo.”
“Men like me,” Angelo adds.
“You know what I mean, babe.”
“No, I don’t. I’m exactly like the men you talk badly about all the time. We’re all cut from the same cloth. Mine’s just a little nicer.”
His comment made me laugh, even though it wasn’t supposed to be funny. This was not a time for laughing. I had a habit of not acting in the appropriate manner when I was under a lot of stress.
I followed Angelo and Sonny, keeping a safe distance until we found my father’s BMW coupe parked at the back of the lot along the barbed wire fence that encased the entire property.
Angelo pushed his hand out behind him and touched my stomach. “Stay here, G.”
I did as Angelo asked and watched as Sonny and he inched toward my father’s car. With each second that passed, sweat dotted my brows. Bile rose from my stomach, choking me. My head spun from al
l the possibilities running through my mind.
“He’s alive,” Angelo yelled over to me.
I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, stopping at the driver’s side door where Sonny was helping my father up from the seat.
“Daddy!” I threw myself at him and hugged his middle. Like Angelo, he was tall, his bulky frame much larger than my five foot nothing.
My dad wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head. “Gianna, I knew you would find me.”
I glanced up at his face, covered in tiny scratches, dried blood, and dirt. “What happened to you? I looked everywhere for you.”
“I was walking out of City Hall and to my car. It was dark in the garage. I turned to open my door, and someone hit me on the back of the head with something.”
“Did you see anyone?” Angelo asked.
My dad shook his head.
“Did they talk? Did you recognize any of their voices?”
“No. I woke up in my trunk, disoriented and with a concussion. They pulled me out of the trunk and tied my hands to the steering wheel. I never saw their faces, they never spoke a word to each other.”
“Wiseguys,” Angelo said under his breath to Sonny.
Sonny nodded in agreement, keeping his mouth shut. They either knew something or had their suspicions. Most of the time, Angelo and Sonny spoke in code around me. I hated being kept in the dark when I was in as much danger as them. It was clear by my father’s disappearance that someone was after my family. What if I was next? The idea haunted me at night, forced me to check every door and window.
“How come you didn’t drive home?” I asked my dad.
“I tried. The car won’t start. The engine keeps turning over.”
“You could have called for help,” I countered.
Dad shook his head. “My phone died not long after I woke up, and I don’t have a charger.”
Sonny popped the hood, toyed with a few things, and then said, “Try it now, Lorenzo.”
Angelo and Sonny were both good with cars from all the years they’d spent around Tony and the guys from Morelli Motors.
My dad got behind the wheel, and after a few tries, the engine roared to life. “What the hell?” He clutched the wheel, confused.
Sonny shut the hood and leaned on the window frame of my dad’s open door. “It was the starter. You should be good to go.”
Whoever did this wanted to send a message not hurt him. I was confused as fuck about the entire situation. Was this the work of Angelo’s father, or was my dad caught in the middle of his turf war with Enzo? Or was there something else Angelo wasn’t telling me? I had no idea what to think anymore. My entire life was so fucked up.
Dad let out a sigh of relief. “I looked under the hood, but I had no idea where to begin.”
“No problem,” Sonny said. “I can swing by one day and show you. In case there’s a next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” I spat, angling my body to look at Angelo. “You better figure out who did this.”
A fire blazed behind Angelo’s beautiful blue eyes. His jaw clenched but only enough for me to notice. If we were alone, he probably would’ve tied me to his bed and spanked me for my insubordination. I loved when he did that, which made me disobey him even more.
I expected him to reprimand me. Instead, he glanced at my dad and his disheveled appearance. “I will find out who did this.”
What if he already knew? I couldn’t bear the thought of Angelo having anything to do with my father’s disappearance. But this had Mafia written all over it. It didn’t take much to see this was the work of Wiseguys.
“I’m going home with my dad,” I told Angelo, hoping he wouldn’t argue with me.
“We’ll follow you. Don’t get cute. Drive straight home.” His face was expressionless, his tone devoid of any emotion. He could be loving one minute and downright terrifying the next.
“Daddy, get in the passenger seat. I’m driving.”
My dad was frail and looked as though he hadn’t eaten or shaved in weeks. I hated seeing him like that.
Angelo pulled me to the side and squeezed my biceps between his strong hands. He was forceful, same as when he was about to bend me over and fuck me. My body set on fire at the promise of Angelo’s rough touch. I knew he’d hurt me later.
“Don’t do anything stupid, G.”
I rolled my eyes at him and sighed. “Like what?”
“I saw the look on your face. You’re up to no good. Do not go digging into this. I will find out who was responsible. You understand me?”
“Or what, Angelo? You gonna do the same thing to me?”
He shook his head, annoyed. “Do you like the life you have?”
“The one where I’m dating a mobster and my dad gets kidnapped by your goons? Yeah, it’s fucking peachy.”
“Talk back to me again, G, and see what happens.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, his grip tightening on me. “I won’t think twice about locking you up for your own protection. When you’re like this, you put yourself at risk. You are a threat to me. My job is dangerous. I could get killed walking to the market, and you’re a liability. Men could use you to get to me. Understand?”
I nodded my head in answer.
“I don’t know how many times I have to drill this into your pretty little head,” he continued. “Do me a favor and listen to me for once. Your mouth and curiosity will get both of us killed. Don’t look into this. Let Sonny and me take care of it. Got it?”
“Yes,” I whispered, and then he kissed me, sucking whatever air I had left from my body.
On the way home, I drove while my dad slept. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white and my hands went numb. I shook them out to gain some feeling back into them. My anger seethed right through me, causing me to grind my teeth in anger. I was still pissed about my conversation with Angelo. I loved being his, along with all the perks of dating a connected guy, but I hated everything that came along with him. At one time, I loved he was a bad man, but it was beginning to lose its appeal.
My dad coughed and turned onto his back, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He’d snored until we reached the Ben Franklin Bridge and were on our way into the city.
“Thanks for coming to get me, sweetheart.” His voice was groggy and cracked when he spoke. “I was starting to lose hope anyone would find me.”
“How come you didn’t walk off the lot and get help?”
“They locked me inside. I tried to climb the fence, but I didn’t have the strength to reach the top.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him, confused. “Why would someone go to those lengths to fence in a construction site? It looked like a bunch of dirt and building materials to me.”
He shrugged. “I bought that property for Angelo Sr. about five years ago. He obviously never did anything with it.”
“Are you saying he’s the one who did this to you?”
“I have no idea. One of his crews was handling the construction for this job. Angelo stays out of that stuff and lets his men handle everything. When I asked him about the property, he said the funding was held up, but I think they spent the money instead of paying back the note. The bank was about to foreclose. Angelo wanted me to give them more time to pay off the lot.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. You couldn’t get an extension on a loan Angelo owes.”
“Carlini Construction owns the lot, Gianna. I could have asked the bank, but the property was already mortgaged to the hilt. I had nothing to show for all the money we spent. The bank was getting nervous and started asking questions. I told Angelo I couldn’t accommodate him and I would have to sell the plots.”
“You think this was a warning?”
“Maybe. I’d like to think my oldest friend in the world didn’t do this to me. But I don’t know anymore. This world is not what it used to be. Times are changing. Younger guys are becoming more ambitious. They’re trying to take Angelo out.”
I gasped at his word
s.
“If they want to get rid of Angelo Sr., that means his entire family. You have to be careful, Gianna.” He glanced down at his hands folded in his lap and sighed. “If anything were to happen to you, I could never live with myself.”
“Angelo would kill anyone who ever touched me, you know that.”
“I do. But his love for you scares me sometimes. He treats you like property, and you see just how disposable property is to these people.”
“Daddy, Angelo loves me. He might act like a lunatic sometimes, but he would never hurt me.”
“Loving him could be the death of you,” my dad challenged. “I don’t want to see you in the middle of all this.”
“I am already in the middle of this. So are you. We’re involved in the Morelli business whether we like it or not.”
“My biggest regret is allowing you to be wrapped up in this life. I should have moved you away from Angelo when you were a kid.”
“Nothing could have kept Angelo from me. Not even you.”
He pursed his lips. “I know. That’s why I never put a stop to it.”
“Don’t fight it, Dad. It’s too late. Just know Angelo will do whatever it takes to keep me safe.”
He forced a smile that was for my benefit, but I saw right through the facade.
Chapter Thirteen
Gia
My mother looked like a modern-day Jackie Kennedy in her Chanel dress, strings of Mikimoto pearls around her neck, and chunky designer sunglasses rested on her nose. She was way overdressed for the occasion. I was also positive she was from a different era. Nonetheless, she was her usual glamorous self. I’d always remember my mother this way, with her doll-like features and soft voice that sounded as if she sung every word she spoke.
“Mom, you know it’s night outside, right? You can lose the sunglasses.”
She strolled across my bedroom to retrieve the dress Angelo had bought me from the closet and held it out in front of her. It was a red Valentino number that cost about as much as some of the cars I’d helped Angelo steal when we were kids. “Of course, darling. I know the difference between night and day. I didn’t have that much wine at dinner.”
The First Sin (Sins of the Past Book 1) Page 9