by K. D Clark
Ave
“My week off work is almost up,” she told Giovanni as she sat on the couch on the top floor of the club.
Gio had started to act differently towards her after their shopping incident. He’d been at the mansion more often than usual and he’d taken her to the club with him a couple more times. She stayed up in the top floor area with him instead of down on the dance floor. From the crazy looks she got from the men she realized this had to be completely out of character for him. He was still the brooding scary underboss but he was integrating her into his life. He answered some of the questions she asked about his business. And when she was at the club he didn’t hide any of his work from her. It might not seem like a big deal but it meant that he trusted her.
Wes was only at the house at night but she noticed one day during breakfast that Wes didn’t say anything as Gio’s hand rested on her thigh. He didn’t even turn away. It was like he didn’t care. She wasn’t sure if she should feel hurt or relief by his reaction.
“I’ll take care of it. You’re not going back until we get Liam.”
She swallowed her argument and sat back. If she was honest with herself she was scared to go back to work. But she had the urge to argue about it just so she could win and let him know she wasn’t one to be told what to do. She wondered how long she’d be in this predicament. In the beginning, all she’d wanted to do was go back home but now she was getting settled. Her feelings for Wes were the deepest they’d ever been and she knew once this was all over that would end. Her feelings might have changed for Wes but the situation hadn’t. He was still in the mafia and she still wanted to go back to having a normal life at the end of all this. She’d have no reason to have a connection with Giovanni. She could get used to living in the mansion for a bit longer. The other night she’d cooked dinner for them and they’d acted like she’d moved mountains. It was just lasagna like her mom used to make.
“No argument this time?” Gio asked as he took a puff of his joint.
“Do you always have to smoke?” she asked, changing the subject.
He looked at the joint balanced between his two fingers as if seeing it for the first time. “It helps.”
She didn’t ask for a further explanation. She could only imagine the things he’d seen and done throughout his time as the underboss. She could remember waking up in the middle night as a kid to her dad burning a pile of clothes in a fire in the backyard. Her mom had always turned a blind eye and had never asked questions. It wasn’t until she’d been 15 that she’d found out that her dad didn’t really work in construction.
The door behind her slammed shut and she turned around to see Wes walking toward them. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and she clamped her legs together when she thought about how it had felt between her legs last night. He smiled his cocky grin and plopped down on the couch beside her. He hooked an arm around the back and pulled her into his side. She watched for Gio’s reaction. Ever since the incident at the restaurant she’d been waiting for him to explode again if anyone so much as looked at her for too long. But he simply took another puff of his joint completely unbothered.
“Ok what’s going on?” she asked, looking between Gio and Wes.
“What do you mean?” Wes asked, trying to play innocent.
“This.” She waved her hands in between them. “The other day, Gio, you almost tore some guys head off for sitting beside me and you, Wes, stormed off when I accidentally fell asleep besides Gio. Now everything is cool?”
Gio cleared his throat. “We decided to let you do what you want, Avé.”
She scoffed as if she needed their permission to do what she wanted.
“Whoever makes you happy, Avé, we don’t care,” Wes added in.
She looked back and forth between them just waiting for Wes to erupt in laughter like it was a bad joke. When he didn’t she looked down at the table.
“What if you both make me happy?” she asked. If she was being honest Wes…well he was Wes. He was her guy but she could feel herself getting closer and closer to Giovanni the more time they spent together. She looked up to find Wes and Gio involved in some kind of staring contest. Giovanni nodded at Wes as if giving silent permission.
“Then we both make you happy,” Wes answered.
She knew what this was going to look like to the outside world. It was going to look like she was a slut but she knew no one would dare question it. At least not within hearing distance of Gio. She scooted closer to Wes on the couch.
“You think this could work?” she asked him.
“I think we can at least try.”
Gio stood up and stretched. “I gotta go, I’ll be back.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
He turned and smiled at her before winking and walking out of the door.
“He doesn’t answer to anybody does he?” she asked Wes once the door had shut.
Wes chuckled. “No one but Cassandra.”
“Who the fuck is Cassandra?” she asked, immediately feeling defensive.
“Calm down, little lion. Cassandra is the boss. We all answer to Cassandra.”
She relaxed and snuggled back in his arms. He ran his hand up and down her exposed leg, causing goosebumps to rise. Turning in his arms, she hooked one leg over him and lifted herself up so she was straddling him. His hands went to her hips. She wiggled on his lap, feeling his erection digging into the thin fabric of her underwear. Her skirt flared around them. She bent down and pressed her lips to his. Opened slightly and allowed his tongue to explore. He groaned and she smiled against his lips.
“We should stop,” he grunted out as she continued rubbing herself against him. Her panties were soaked at this point. It was crazy how one touch from Wes could set her off. Something as simple as a hand on her leg turned her into a crazed woman. She shook her head, and he grabbed her hips stopping the movement.
“Someone could walk in at any time,” he said.
“We’ll be fast,” she begged not wanting this moment to end.
It had only been recently that she’d wanted Wes every night. Every night that he crawled into her bed, it was only a matter of time before they were going at it. She knew deep down things had changed on an emotional level for them and that was probably what was sparking this sudden increase. He turned his head and looked around as if checking to make sure they were alone. The only noise was the faint thud from the music in the club two floors below them.
“Fine, but we gotta be fast.”
She smiled and quickly made work of undoing his belt buckle from his slacks. She didn’t bother trying to slide his pants down, instead just took him out of his boxers. He sprang free, already hard and at attention. The veins popped out, and unable to control herself she slid down his body until she was on her knees in front of him. She looked him in his eyes, making sure his icy blue eyes were trained on her before she stuck her tongue out and swirled it around the tip. His head fell back against the couch. He thrusted his hips up an inch. She took that as a sign and took him completely in her mouth until he hit her gag reflex. Each time she gagged it was like a direct line to her core and made her body heat up. His hand came down to tangle in her hair but he didn’t apply any pressure. He allowed her to take control and do what she pleased. When she felt him getting close she climbed back up his body and straddled him again. She took no time pushing her panties to the side and lowering herself onto him. Her body tingled with the new sensation. He grabbed her and pulled her close to him so she had to hold onto the back of the couch. He kissed her neck and dug his fingers into her hips as she rode him. She ground against him so her clit hit against his hard body each time she came back down. Her breathing quickened and just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore she heard the click of the door opening.
“Fuck!” she jumped up from Wes and hurried to smooth her skirt down.
“Oh shit,” someone said.
Wes tucked himself back into his pants and turned to glare at whoever had w
alked in. She straightened herself on the couch and smoothed her hair down. She turned to see the man who’d walked in the door. It was the man from the restaurant that Gio had taken her to. Short beard, straight nose and olive toned skin that gave away his deep Italian heritage. Wes straightened in his seat.
“Boss,” Wes greeted.
Avé looked back and forth between the two men. Well shit. The man looked between the two of them and shook his head.
“Giovanni is going to kill you,” he said before walking the rest of the way into the room. He pulled a stack of cash from his pocket and dropping it on the coffee table. Wes seemed torn. As if trying to decide whether or not to tell him about their new little arrangement.
“I’m Avé,” she said, saving Wes from the awkwardness.
The man nodded. “Avé,” he repeated as if trying out the name. Women didn’t often have a voice in the world they lived in so the point that she was talking to him at all and not scurrying out of the room was probably a surprise in itself.
“You know your little affair is about to get my man killed.”
She smiled. “I don’t think so. You see we already talked about it. All three of us. No one is going to be killing anyone, at least not on my watch.”
He tilted his head as if trying to figure her out.
Wes cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that.”
Tommy nodded. “Let's just forget it ever happened.”
*****
She stood in front of the stove looking over a boiling pot of water. Wes and Giovanni were gone so she was alone apart from the couple of guys posted outside the front door. She hummed and danced as she walked around the kitchen, grabbing ingredients. She didn’t know when they would be home but she wanted to cook anyways. If she was in bed before they got home she’d put the leftovers in the fridge. Her phone rang on the granite counter top. She leaned over to see her mom’s photo flashing across the screen. She quickly washed and dried her hands before picking up the phone.
“Hey, mom,” she greeted.
“Sweetheart, how’s it going?” her mom asked.
She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could stir the noodles in the boiling water.
“I’m good, mom. Just working and staying busy,” she lied.
“Good, good. I saw your father today.”
She set the spoon down on the stove between two burners and took a seat at the island.
“Yea, how's he doing?” she asked. Her father had got arrested last year and was currently awaiting trial. It was a vicious cycle he’d been in since she’d been fifteen years old. That’s how she’d first found out about what he did for a living. When she'd been woken up in the dead of the night by the DEA kicking down your front door it had become very apparent that her dad wasn’t working construction.
“He’s good, he misses you, you should really come up to visit with him,” she said.
She hated the way her mom's voice broke as she spoke. After the initial arrest of her father, it had been years spent behind bars just for him to be out for a few months to go back in. Her mom was always taken care of though. Her father had enough money to last them a lifetime but it was never the money. It was that she’d had to raise Avé on her own most of the time. That was the reality of getting involved with someone in Cosa Nostra. The reason Avé tried her best to keep her distance, although that wasn't going according to plan. She remembered clearly her mom crying behind closed doors and the cops raiding their home tearing up her mother's newly bought pillows.
“When I get a chance I’ll come up and visit,” she promised.
Although she was pretty sure Gio and Wes weren’t going to allow her to go anywhere while Liam was still out there. She talked to her mom a while longer before hanging up but she couldn’t stop the seed that had been planted in her head from their conversation. Was this the life she was setting herself up for? A life with a man behind bars…or two men behind bars? What about if she wanted children? Would she have to explain to her kids what their father did for a living? Or would she just let them find out the way she had found out about her dad? The life wasn’t fair. She was still staring at her blank phone when she heard someone coming towards the kitchen. Their heavy footsteps echoed. She got up and went back to the stove, turning the flame off and grabbing a strainer from the cabinet.
“Oh shit, cooking two nights in a row?” Gio said as he came around the corner and peered into the sink where she was shaking the strainer.
She looked up at him and smiled. He was dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips and he was completely shirtless. His hair had specks of water droplets in it. He must have been home for a while but the place was so big she hadn’t heard him. Her eyes lingered on his exposed chest before following the path of muscles down to the deep V.
“You act like you never eat,” she said, forcing her eyes back to the noodles. She dumped them into a skillet where she had the sauce, vegetables, and meat simmering.
“Food at the club isn’t exactly anything to brag about.”
He circled the island and sat down on one of the stools. She could feel his eyes on her as she finished up the pasta and turned the burner off. She joined him at the island while the food cooled down. He reached a hand up and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. It must have fallen from out of the bun she had piled up on top of her head.
She cleared her throat. “So how was work, honey?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “The housewife act doesn’t fit you.”
Her mind when back to the phone call with her mom.
“We haven’t found Liam if that’s what you’re asking,” he said.
She was glad he was finally filling her in on something even if the information wasn’t good. She turned her head away from him to look down at the granite countertop. It was a weird feeling. In the beginning, all she’d wanted to do was have them take care of Liam so she could go back to her life. But now what? Could she just go back and act like none of this had happened? Like she hadn’t started to develop feelings for the exact men she’d tried so hard to stay away from. Giovanni grabbed her chin in-between two of his fingers and gently turned her head so she looked at him. His face was softer than usual but his dark eyes were still burning a hole right through her.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” he said.
Pulling away from his hold, she got up from the stool. She grabbed two bowls out of the cabinet and started to fill them with the pasta. The stool scraped against the tile floor and Giovanni stood behind her. He placed both hands on her hips and pulled her close to him. She set the spoon down. The smell of fresh soap filled her nose. His body was hard and warm against her back and she could feel him getting hard. He dipped his head to the crook of her neck causing goosebumps to raise over her arm.
“What I would give to find out what was going on in that head of yours,” he said before planting a kiss on the side of her neck.
Her body acted of its own accord as she pushed her butt against his groin. He moved his hand from her hips to under her tank top. She bit down on her bottom lip to try to stop the moan trying to escape from something as simple as his hands against her skin.
“Hello! Anybody home?” The sound of Wes’ voice made her jump out of Giovanni’s arms.
He unraveled his hands from her hips and smirked at her as he reached in front of her to grab the finished bowl of pasta. He walked back over to the island as Wes came around the corner.
“Oh shit cooking again?”
She and Gio burst out in laughter.
Wes
“Let me know if you need anything,” Tommy said as they slapped hands. Wes gave him a nod before walking out of the empty building. Tommy owned a good amount of real estate around Queens so they were always meeting at random empty houses and apartments. It was smart, really. Kept them on the move. As he stepped outside, the cold air hit him in the face but he’d still wanted to get one last ride out of his motor
cycle. He walked to the curb where it was parked and hooked a leg over the bike. His phone vibrated in his pocket as he grabbed for his helmet. He took the phone out of his jacket pocket. It was an unknown number. He answered the phone and waited for the person on the other end to speak.
“It’s Shane.”
Wes stayed silent, raking his brain.
The man sighed. “From the restaurant that you barged into and demanded to know where Liam was.”
“Why are you calling me?” Wes asked.
“He’s hiding out in a house outside the city. 1493 Sussex Court.”
Wes scoffed. “And why would I believe you?”
Giving Wes this information would mean death for him. But if he was as desperate to get rid of Liam as it sounded then maybe it was worth risking his life.
“What else do you have?” the man asked.
Wes hung up. It was a risk but what other option did he have? He didn’t trust the man, he never trusted the Irish, they were snakes. He called Gio, and he picked up on the first ring.
“I got a lead,” he said.
“Where at?”
“1493 Sussex Court."
“Fuck, I didn’t think he was scared enough to leave the city. Come by the nightclub,” Gio said before hanging up.
Wes started his motorcycle and made his way towards the nightclub. He couldn’t stop thinking at the end of this Avé was going to make a choice. A choice he didn’t know if he could handle.
As he pulled up to the club the sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the city. He parked in front and walked right up to the bouncer and slapped his hand. There wasn’t a line at the nightclub yet considering it was still pretty early in the day. He walked inside and went up to the third floor. There were five men already there including Enzo and Tommy. The other men must have been soldiers from other crews. Tommy had his gun in pieces across the coffee table cleaning it so that it wouldn’t jam. There had to be at least 8 guns on the table that Wes assumed had already been cleaned. Enzo sat on the edge of the couch with his knee bouncing up and down. He didn’t know much about Enzo but he got the feeling that the guy could be dangerous. Gio was sitting at one of the tables with a laptop in front of his face.