The Mafia Manipulation: A Ryker Group Book

by S. M. Dapelo

  After a few days, he started talking about things. He had four godchildren he adored, three boys and one girl. The girl was his pride and joy and the boys drove him insane, but he’d take a bullet for all of them. Marc drove him nuts, but he loved him unconditionally along with a few cousins of his that were raised on the outskirts of their family, since the father was a jerk. He served with one cousin when he was overseas and he, Marc, and this guy all became close. They still stayed in touch.

  I told him about my cousins and how they and my Uncles let me know I was lacking, even if both Dad and Elena would tear them apart if they knew. I told him about the cousin who tried to steal every boy I dated or even had a crush on. The story about my art internship caught his attention.

  “So, you hired a security team?” he asked.

  “No. I brought a group in to design a security system and we found out the art gallery I was working for was stealing and replacing the art pieces with forgeries,” I said, smiling into my tea.

  He frowned, “We always go with The Ryker Group because they’re the best.”

  I shook my head, “They’re not known for designing security systems. We got a group that was.”

  “Who?”

  “I called Dom about it and he told me to get Genesis Security.”

  “Let me guess, you worked with Jake Kaine and thought he was dreamy,” he said.

  “I didn’t know you knew them, but I worked with Mason Carr and thought he was sad,” I corrected him. “The poor guy was going through a divorce he didn’t want. He reminded me of Dom.”

  “Yeah, Mason got screwed over,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t believe his marriage didn’t work. I felt the same way about Dom’s.”

  “That’s because you didn’t know Teresa,” I shook my head. “She was only about money and status. His wife never cared about him, and it was obvious. She admitted cheating on him at their reception.”

  Luc winced, “Did she ever say with who?”

  I glared at him, “Please tell me it wasn’t you or your brother.”

  He made a face and shook his head.

  I shrugged. “Well, I don’t know and don’t care. I’m pretty sure she only let Dom know to gut him.” Just like I’d do to her if I ever saw her again.

  “I wonder if she’s going to show up to the service,” Luca mussed.

  “If she does, she won’t walk out,” I said. “I’ll end her myself.”

  He chuckled, “Oh, button.”

  I frowned at him, “Don’t think because I’ve been nice, I’m weak. I protect and avenge my family. Dom made sure I can fight and shoot.”

  That made him frown. “How much fighting and shooting are we talking about?”

  I shrugged, “I got in lots of fights in high school. Dad didn’t know, but Dom did. Luckily, he sounds like Dad, so the school talked to him. I’ve never had to shoot anything, but Dom had Rudy teach me. He was Dad’s enforcer until he retired.” And opened the best gelato shop in Kansas City.

  “Nobody ever retires,” Luc said.

  “Yeah, but they get easier jobs,” I acknowledged. He nodded, still frowning. Then he gave me a side-eye.

  “Music?” he asked.

  “What about it?”

  He sighed, “What do you like?”

  “Pretty much everything. I go through phases. Sometimes rock, sometimes country, sometimes pop.” He nodded in thought. “You?” I asked.

  “The same,” he admitted. “Dancing?”

  “I’m an artist, but Mom and Elena had me in dance classes when I was small,” I said.

  “I meant, do you like to dance?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Oh,” I looked down and shrugged. “Sure?”

  “Sound like you don’t know.” he grabbed my hand and started going through his phone. “Let’s find out.”

  “I know how to dance. I’m Italian,” I pulled my hand back.

  He gave me a look, “Trust me.” His phone started playing Grip by Bastille and pulled me into his arms. “The Devil’s got my arms” got a whole new meaning. While I never pushed myself in dance, Luca could lead, and we were moving around in no time. Then it switched to Bad Guy by Billie Eilish and he moved away, swinging his hips. The man could move. I tried to keep up, but we were alone, and I felt stupid. He grabbed me again and pushed the boundaries between grinding and humping. For a big guy, he was nimble.

  Now I wasn’t trying not to laugh, I was hoping my face wasn’t red. The music switched to “Million Pieces” by Bastille we slowed down and I glanced up. His eyes were on my lips, then on went back to my gaze.

  He moved back a step, “See. You can dance.”

  I nodded and looked down again. I pointed to the hall, “I’m going to paint while the sun’s good.”

  I glanced at him. He had his hand on the back of his neck and forced a smile, “Sounds good.” When I was back in the room, I just stared at the canvas, trying to calm my racing heart.

  That night he insisted cooking dinner. We sat to a typical man dinner of steak and potatoes. “Are you sick of Italian food?” I asked.

  “No, it’s been amazing,” he said. “I know I’ve been a bit of an overbearing jerk.”

  “I deserved it,” I said as I looked down at the plate. “I shouldn’t have run. I had second thoughts before I did anything, but still did it. I should have trusted my instincts.”

  “You did what you were taught,” he sipped at his beer. “I can respect that.”

  “That’s just it, I didn’t,” I shrugged. “If I’d done what I was taught, I would have either stabbed you or made sure the marinara was hot when I threw it. I’d have incapacitated you, then ran.”

  He sat back, staring at me. “Why didn’t you?”

  I picked at the potatoes, “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  He smiled, “Button, you couldn’t hurt me. I knew the sauce was cool, and I tracked you every time you took a knife. That’s what I’m trained to do. I assess every possible threat.”

  “I figured,” I said. “I just know if I hadn’t even tried, Dad’s whole, ‘I’m disappointed in you for running’ speech would have been a ‘what happened to everything we taught you’ speech.” I looked at him, “I’m not kidding. I can’t please him. The only one who’s ever been happy with me was Dom.”

  “Dom was definitely happy with you,” chuckled Luc. “He used to brag about you all the time. It was always, ‘Baby Alley did this’ and ‘Baby Alley did that’”. He got a wistful look on his face, “I’m surprised he didn’t have kids right away when he married Teresa.”

  “Me too,” I nodded. “No one would have been a better dad. But the divorce gutted him, and he was hesitant to even try dating afterward. I always thought he was missing out.”

  “You don’t date much,” Luc looked at me. “Dom was pretty fixated on finding the right match for you.”

  “Well, it’d have to be someone not afraid of my dad or brother,” I laughed. “Or at least someone who thought I was worth the family headaches.”

  “Your family headaches aren’t that bad,” he smiled at me as he grabbed my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles.

  “No, not at all,” I bit my lip, “Just the cops showing up at random times, or the FBI. Then there’s the threat of people shooting at you.”

  “See, it’s the same as my family.” He leaned over, “It’s easy to handle.” He stroked my cheek, “So you didn’t want to hurt me?”

  “No.” I smiled, “Who would save me from the raccoon?”

  He stared at my lips a moment. “I’ll gladly jump in its way,” he leaned over and ran his lips over mine, softly at first, then becoming more demanding. I cringed as I heard myself whimper, but that only seemed to encourage him. He grabbed the back of my head as I wound my hands through his hair. He pulled me onto his lap, his mouth never leaving mine. His hand slipped under my shirt just as his phone went off. Luc stopped, grabbed his phone and glanced at it, then shook his head, “Nope. Marc can call back tomorrow.” His mouth wen
t to my neck, making me tingle, going lower, and his phone went off again.

  He pulled back and stared into my eyes, “If he doesn’t have a good excuse, I’m killing him.”

  I nodded, trying to catch my breath. He pulled me closer as he answered, “What?” he yelled into the phone.

  I heard Marc through the receiver, “We have a situation.”

  “One second,” he growled as he blinked for a few seconds. Then he put me back in my chair, kissed me one more time and stood. “Go,” he barked into the phone as he walked into the living room.

  “Are you kidding me?” I put my head in my hands. How do you recover from something this intense? Luc started talking loudly in Italian and pausing at certain points. I caught “police” and “doctor”.

  He finally hung up the phone and stared at the wall while breathing heavily for a moment. “We’re going home early,” he spit out.

  I stood up, running my hands down my pants, “When?”

  “Now. Don’t worry about packing. We’ll have everything sent,” he looked as frustrated as I felt.

  “Now? As in this second,” I looked around, “But…”

  He walked over to me and kissed the top of my head, “I know. The timing sucks, but something came up and the cops will not believe you’re safe until they see you.”

  “What?” I tried to understand.

  “I’m being accused of kidnapping you,” he forced a smile.

  “Well…” I bit my lip.

  “Yeah, a surveillance video surfaced of me putting you in the Ferrari back in Colorado. The FBI is trying to claim that’s their reasoning in getting involved,” he sighed. “Tanner’s sister scared them off for now, but her husband, who’s this genius with strategy, is saying the only way to keep them out of everything is to show up a couple of days early and play nice. We’ll go back, do some shopping together, then go to the memorial service. Your dad moved it up, claiming it’ll throw his enemies off.”

  I took a shaky breath, “Okay,” then looked at the door. I could see a dark SUV through the window.

  Luc took my hand and walked me out the door. “Oh, and button?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re in Montana. Next time I’ll run you to Yellowstone,” he smirked. Next time?

  ◆◆◆

  The flight consisted of Luc texting on his phone and me reading a mystery novel the attendant scrounged up. When we landed, Luc glanced out the window and nodded, “My team’s already here. Rocco will come up, you’ll exit with him in front and me behind you,” Luc put his hand out to me to help me to my feet.

  I frowned at him, “Why all the security? I’m Dad’s illegitimate kid. No one cares about me.”

  “Wrong. You’re Cosmo Amato’s only living child, darling. You were right to be wary while you were in hiding. The problem is we don’t know who we need to worry about.” He stared me down until I looked away. He grabbed my chin and made me look at him, “One thing I want you to be aware of, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m here to keep you safe.”

  I bit my lip and nodded. The door to the plane opened, and a large black-haired man walked in. His blue eyes scanned the plane until they found Luc, and he gave a nod, “It’s all clear, Luca.”

  “Let’s go. We need to stop by and meet with Missy in Overland Park. Alley’s going to need something to wear tomorrow.”

  “Wait,” I stopped, “you’re taking me to Elena’s personal shopper?”

  “As ordered by your father, but our family uses her too,” he put a hand to the small of my back, ushering me behind who I assumed was Rocco.

  “You’re taking orders from my father?”

  “If I agree with them,” he replied. They put me into another black SUV with Luc joining me in the back. “Rocco, did you work on those other projects I asked you to while I was out of town?”

  “Everything is taken care of and secured,” Rocco answered from the driver’s seat. “I also contacted Tiffany, since I’m assuming that’s who you’d want to finish everything off.”

  Luc winced, “Is it too late to go with someone else?”

  “She’s been on the Plaza job for a week, but hasn’t started on the 55th Street project,” Rocco said, looking back in the rear-view mirror.

  “Call Elena and see who she recommends for the house. We’ll look at the store tomorrow. If there are any issues, we’ll get someone else,” Luc rubbed the back of his neck and stared out the window. “We’re staying at the safe house tonight. Have security set up.”

  We pulled up in front of a local mall, one of the higher end ones, and exited. Luc wrapped his arm around my waist and led me into the women’s area. A perky blond ran up with a gigantic smile, “Luca. I missed you,” she fawned.

  Luc frowned, “Missy, we need to get Alley outfitted. She’s gonna need something for a memorial service and a few more outfits. I think Elena and Jennifer sent you a list?”

  “Mom and Elena are working together?” My brows went up, “Alert the church, it’s a miracle.”

  “Just try on a couple of outfits so Missy can get an idea, please.” Luc looked at me, “This is not what I do.”

  “No, it’s usually Marco,” giggled Missy. “How’d you get stuck taking your brother’s girlfriend shopping?”

  “She’s not Marco’s girlfriend,” growled Luc.

  Missy stopped and blinked for a moment. Then her eyes grew wide, as did her smile, “I told them you weren’t gay. I just won a hundred dollars.”

  Luca’s mouth dropped open, “Why would anyone think I’m gay?”

  “Because no one’s seen you with a woman who wasn’t dating your brother in over two years,” she shrugged.

  “I’m not his woman,” I shook my head. Her face dimmed for a second until Luc butted in.

  “Yes, she is. It’s why Elena gave you the list she did,” he grabbed my arm and turned me away. “Just go with it,” he pleaded.

  “Okay, but I’m not…”

  “Just go with it. Trust me,” his eyes bore into mine.

  “Do you really want people to think I’m your girlfriend?” I blinked.

  He smirked and ran his thumb over my chin, “I can think of worse things.”

  I tried to hide a smile as I turned toward Missy, “I guess I’m his girlfriend.”

  “Alley has a problem with the fact her father has arranged it all. He’s old school,” Luc gave a wicked smile.

  “Arranged? Like he introduced you?” Missy looked between us.

  “Like he and my brother decided to marry us off to each other for familial peace,” Luc leaned against the wall behind me, “She’s still adjusting.” I looked over my shoulder and glared. He just gave an innocent shrug. Where did he come up with that crap? Worst cover story ever.

  It only took twenty minutes for Missy to try a few pieces on me and assure Luc she’d send everything over to Dad’s place. Luc looked at the list and pointed at a few things, “Send those to my apartment. Plus that,” he pointed to something. “We’ll take this outfit,” he looked to what I was wearing: jeans, an off the shoulder blue sweater, and flats.

  “Shouldn’t I see what I’m getting?”

  “You will see when it shows up,” he said. “It’s only a few outfits, the rest of your stuff will show up in a couple of days. Feddi’s dealing with the movers.”

  “I own that house, you know?”

  “You still will. But the amount of rent charged in that area should be more illegal than most of the things we do.” Luc grabbed my hand as he pulled me back to the vehicle. Abruptly he stilled and glanced at the window. I couldn’t take a breath before I was on my back on the asphalt and a shot rang out.

  “Stay down,” he whispered into my ear. “Are we clear?” he asked louder. I heard a soft, “You’re clear. Jeff took care of the shooter. Get her in the car. It’s bulletproof.”

  “Who did I just hear?” I asked as Luc pulled me up and into the SUV.

  “I have an earpiece,” Luca frowned. “How good’s your h
earing.

  “Excellent,” I admitted. “What just happened?”

  “An attempted hit.” He tapped the front seat, “Rocco, get us home. Take us through the garage. I want it swept before we get there and three men waiting to accompany us.”

  Ten minutes later, we were pulling up to one of the more exclusive apartment buildings in the area. They dragged me into an elevator that we rode to the penthouse. I was quickly shown the amenities and deposited on the leather sofa.

  “Watch TV,” he muttered as he put his phone down.

  “Shouldn’t we talk about what happened.”

  “No. I’ll work it out and if there’s anything to tell you, I will. Watch TV,” he repeated. Guess it was lucky I was used to tight lipped men.

  “Can I work on my website?” I huffed.

  “We grabbed the laptop in case you wanted to work on anything, you can use the Internet now. The office is through here.” He led me into a glass and chrome room and sat me at the desk.

  “This is feeling like a kidnapping again,” I grumbled.

  Luc picked up my hand and put it towards his mouth, “You’re the one that wants to work, button. I can think of a couple of other things to do,” he kissed the palm.

  My mouth fell open, “What…”

  He kept the smirk on his face as he dropped my hand and headed toward the door, “Have fun working.”

  I blinked for a few minutes until my brain caught up with my hormones. The handsome jerk was obviously messing with me. I shook my head and opened the computer, pulling up my images and programs for something to focus on for the time being.

  When I work, time and surroundings escape me, so I jumped when a hand landed on me, “Alley, are you okay?” I looked up to Luc standing above me.

  “Yeah, sorry,” I stood and stretched, “What time is it?”

  He laughed, “Time to stop. We have a full day tomorrow.”

  I stretched. “I think I’ll agree with you,” I smiled.