BOW DOWN: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Barone Crime Family) (50 page)

I
was drenched
in Rafa’s blood. I’d never been covered in someone else’s blood before.

He had just been shot in the calf. I had thought he was going to be fine, but he hadn’t stopped bleeding. It had been coming so fast, I could barely believe it.

I thought he had died. But when I hit him, he came back to consciousness, and he managed to hold on long enough to get us back to the compound.

When I drove the car straight through the security gate, they descended on us like a swarm. That was good, though, because they quickly figured out what was happening, and men were there, grabbing Rafa and pulling him out of the car.

I was slumped in a chair in the waiting room of the mansion’s health clinic. Apparently, they had a full-time doctor and nursing staff, ready and waiting for things like this. Rafa had been dragged in there, and I’d been left alone in the waiting room, covered in his blood and blaming myself.

It was my fault.

Rafa hadn’t wanted to go from the very start. He had argued against it, wanted some backup, wanted to go to Vince. But I had pushed back, insisted that the Spiders wouldn’t do this to me, wouldn’t do this to us. I was the one who had pushed, and he had gone along with it.

Now he was in surgery, and I had no clue if he was going to survive.

My mind flashed back to what had happened in that house. It had seemed so quiet, so normal. I hadn’t seen anybody or sensed any movement as we went into that kitchen. I’d grabbed the tape and slipped it into my bag, and as soon as I walked back toward the living room, someone hit me and shoved a bag over my head.

That was when the world exploded.

He had forced me to run. I hadn’t wanted to leave him there to fight for his life, but he’d been right; they hadn’t tried to kill me. And when they pinned me down in the alleyway, they weren’t trying to hurt me. They were trying to recruit me.

I could hear their voices. “Cassidy,” she had said, “you can join us. Leave those monsters. We need reporters like you to spread the good word.”

“What are you talking about?” I had asked.

“Join us,” she insisted. “Before it’s too late.”

That was when Rafa appeared and scared them off. He was already bleeding at that point, but he still managed to get them away. I didn’t waste a second. I just ran and got the car as fast as I could.

He had saved my life twice. And now he was going to die, all because I had forced him into a situation he hadn’t wanted to be in.

My child was going to grow up without a father. That thought hit me like a ton of bricks to the chest. I had a baby growing inside me, and Rafa was the father. If he died, my baby wouldn’t have a father, and I’d have one death on my hands.

I didn’t know what I was going to do.

Hours slipped past. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I was gently shaken awake by a handsome man in his mid-forties.

“Cassidy?” he asked.

“Yes? Is Rafa okay?”

He nodded. “Rafa is going to be okay.”

I wanted to cry. “Thank you.”

“He’s only alive because you got him here so fast. The bullet nicked his posterior tibial artery, and he lost a lot of blood. We were able to repair the damage.”

“Can I see him?”

He nodded. “He’s asking for you.”

I got up and followed the doctor into the back rooms. He led me down a hall and into a side room. Sitting up in the bed was Rafa, looking pretty haggard but alive.

“Rafa,” I said softly, walking to his side.

He grinned at me. “Don’t look so fucking upset. I’m not easy to kill.”

I buried my face in his lap and let out a sob. I felt so stupid, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was so relieved that he was alive, I could barely breathe.

“Okay,” he said, stroking my hair. “It’s okay.”

I cried for a second and then took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Stop.”

“It’s all my fault. I made you go there. I got you shot. I’m so sorry, Rafa.”

“Stop,” he said again. “You didn’t force me into anything.”

“I did. I did all this.”

He sighed. “Stop,” he said again. “I’m serious. I could have turned back at any time. You don’t force me into anything at all. I chose to go with you, and I chose to do what I did. It was my fault, not yours.”

That made me want to cry again, but I bit it back and nodded. “You’re right. It’s your fault.”

He laughed loudly and then coughed, looking pained.

“How do you feel?” I asked him.

“Tired. Like fucking shit. But alive.”

“How long are you going to be in this bed?”

“Not long, doc says. Damage wasn’t that bad. No broken bones.”

“Good,” I said. “I hate seeing you like this.”

He laughed. “Please. You’re dripping wet right now. Nothing sexier than a man in a hospital gown.”

I smiled and laughed, feeling a bit better. He did look good, despite having just nearly died.

“Okay,” someone said from the doorway. I turned and Vince was standing there. “Enough of all this shit.”

“Vince,” Rafa said.

Vince came into the room and took his hand. “Brother. You good?”

“I’m good.”

Vince looked at me. “You mind giving us a second?”

I glanced at Rafa and then nodded. “Of course. I’ll be back in my room.” I looked at Rafa. “I’ll come back soon.”

“And wear something sexy,” Rafa said.

I couldn’t help but smile as I left. The two men began to talk in lower tones as I headed out of the clinic and back toward my room.

He wasn’t dead. I felt exhausted, drained, and broken, but Rafa wasn’t dead. We still had a chance to get out of this mess. I put my hand on my stomach without thinking, and I only realized what I was doing when I was halfway back to my room.

I wasn’t sure I was pregnant. It was probably too soon to take the test, but I didn’t need it. I knew I was having his baby, knew it the second that danger started. I’d had this overwhelming urge to save myself, not for my own life, but for the life growing inside me.

In the end, we’d gotten out of there, both of us. And we’d gotten out of there with our tape. I felt the weight of my bag against my shoulder and took a deep, steadying breath.

It was time to go find out what we had nearly died for.

T
hree days
in a fucking hospital bed.

Three fucking days. I hated sitting still for an hour, let alone for three fucking days. I wasn’t the kind of man to go and actually listen to a doctor’s orders, and I would have been out of that bed in a day if it weren’t for her.

Cassidy never left my side the whole fucking time, except for when I begged her to go eat a meal or to take a shower. Otherwise, she was sitting with me, talking with me, laughing with me, or just watching television in silence with me.

Three days. That was a long time when you were stuck in a bed with only one person to keep you company. We learned a lot about each other in those three days.

I told her things I never thought I’d tell someone. I talked about my childhood. I talked about my wants and my fears, my deepest fucking desires. And she told me the same. She talked about her ambitions, her need to try to save the city. It only made me admire her all that much more.

She was stronger than she realized. The girl was a champion. She could do absolutely anything if she wanted to, and the more we talked, the more I was convinced of that.

And the more I wanted her. I kept thinking about coming deep between her legs and wished that I could get out of the damn fucking bed and take her like I really wanted to.

Instead, we talked. She told me about her parents, about her first boyfriend, and about college. I told her about the first man I killed, a story I never thought I’d tell.

Time slowly dripped past, and finally the doctor gave me the okay.

I woke up that morning, excited as fuck to finally be getting out of bed and out on my own. There was a knock at the door, and Cassidy came inside.

Wheeling a wheelchair.

“Fuck no,” I said.

She stared at me. “You’re getting in it.”

“Fuck off,” I said.

She couldn’t help herself. She cracked and broke into a huge smile. “I’m just kidding.”

“Asshole,” I said, standing up. I was wearing clothes she had brought me from our room the day before. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Doctor signed off?”

“Fuck the doctor. I signed off.” I walked past her, out into the hall and back toward our room.

“How’s it feel?” she asked.

“Damn good. I hated being in that room.”

“Oh come on, at least you had company.”

I grinned at her. “True. Damn sexy company.”

“Enough with that.” She couldn’t hide her smile.

“Come on. We have some work to do.”

She sighed. “Already?”

“Already. We talked about this.”

She stopped, crossing her arms. “You need to recover more.”

“No. We need to show Vince.”

I could see the uncertainty, but we were doing things my way from now on.

The first morning, Cassidy came into my bedroom. She didn’t say a word, just hooked up a VHS player to the television in the corner and put the tape in. We both watched as one of Ernesto’s top lieutenants joked about stealing money from the mafia to start his own whorehouse on the side. He bragged that nobody knew about it.

I had no clue how it had been recorded. It was probably a security tape, though the sound was pretty fucking good. There wasn’t much context, just Marco the idiot sitting on a blue couch wearing his usual dark suit. I couldn’t tell who he was talking to, and the tape stopped when he stopped talking.

We were showing Vince, and then we were deciding where to go from there. No more fucking around; no more making mistakes. We needed his help.

“Come on,” I said, “hand it over.”

She reluctantly gave me the tape. “I still think we should do this ourselves.”

“Yeah, I know. We’re doing it my way now.”

“Okay.” She followed me when I started walking toward the office.

I knew Vince would be in there. He always was. That bastard was constantly working, which wasn’t so bad. I opened the door and stepped in, and he looked up from what he was doing.

“You’re alive,” he said.

“Barely.” I grinned at him.

“Good to see you up.”

“You act like I’ve never been shot before.”

He laughed. “You looked like you were dead, man.”

“Well, I’m not dead yet. But I have something for you.”

“What’s that?” He stood up as Cassidy and I walked into the office. She began to set the VHS player up to the small TV in the corner.

“We found this at the house the Spiders lured us to.”

“They left it for you?”

“I think so.”

“Why the fuck would they do that?”

“Can’t say. I assume it was in case their plan fell through.”

“They’re fucking insane.”

“That they are.”

Cass nodded to me and turned the TV on. She silently hit play, and we stood around the small screen, watching.

I paid more attention to Vince’s face than I did to the tape. I’d seen it enough to know what the guy said. Vince didn’t look too surprised, but I could see a small smile creeping up along his face.

Finally, it ended, and Cassidy hit stop.

Vince couldn’t help but laugh. “This is fucking crazy.”

“Right?”

“That’s one of Ernesto’s top guys. If any of that is true, it could take down his whole organization.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“Wait, why?” Cassidy asked.

“You don’t get to steal that kind of money from the mafia without bribing people, no matter how high up you are,” Vince said.

“We’re serious about money.” I grinned at her.

“So you guys think he had help?”

“Definitely,” Vince confirmed. He looked at me. “What should we do with this?”

“I was hoping you’d know.”

“Well, shit. I guess we should take it to Ernesto and rub his dirty fucking face in it.”

“Why?” Cassidy asked. “We can just take it to Arturo and torch him.”

“No,” I said. “It’s better if we have leverage over him instead of just destroying him. He could be useful.”

“He’s dangerous, though,” Cassidy said.

“He is,” Vince agreed.

“We’re dangerous too,” I said, grinning.

Vince laughed. “Trust me, Cassidy. This is the best play.”

She glanced at me, and I knew what that look meant. “It’ll be okay,” I said.

“Okay. I trust you.”

Vince looked at me. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Right now?” Cassidy asked.

“Right now. We can’t sit on this.”

She looked nervous, but I nodded at her. “Stay here. It’s going to be okay.”

“I want to come.”

“No. It’s dangerous, and I don’t think he’ll listen if you’re there.”

She went to argue again, but she stopped herself. I could see the defiance in her eyes, but I also saw something else. She was remembering what had happened last time, my body bleeding in the backseat of the car as I mumbled directions to her, near death and draining. I could see that, and I wished she didn’t have to remember that shit, wished I could take that away.

She nodded. “Okay. Go get him.”

I grinned at Vince, grabbed the tape and the player, and we headed out.

“Strong girl,” Vince said as we walked.

“She is.”

“Saved your life.”

“Almost got me killed, too.”

“True. But you should have seen her yelling at security.”

I laughed. “I can imagine.”

“So is she really pregnant?”

“Could be.” I shrugged. “Not for lack of trying.”

“Damn.” Vince laughed, shaking his head. “You’re all sorts of fucked up, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re trying to get this girl pregnant to keep her safe. The Rafa I know would never give a fuck about some bitch.”

“I’m still that Rafa. But we all change, don’t we?”

“We fucking do. Trust me. You’ll change even more when that kid comes along.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Just remember what’s important.”

“What’s that?”

“Your life. Your kid’s life.” He shook his head, sighing. “Everything else is just bullshit. This organization, this money, this danger—it’s good, and it gets us through the day, but in the end all that matters is your family. If this girl is family to you, hold on to that.”

“I don’t know about family. We barely know each other.”

“Family isn’t always so simple.” We stopped outside a plain door. “You ready?”

“Let’s go.”

Vince knocked as I hung back. We heard Ernesto grumble from inside before finally pulling the door open. He stopped short when he saw that it was the two of us.

“What are you two assholes doing at my door?” he asked.

Ernesto lived in the mansion most of the time. A lot of the top guys did, since it was so damn plush and comfortable. Ernesto had long ties in the mob, and a friendship with Arturo, but he wasn’t invincible.

Nobody was invincible when it came to stealing from the mafia.

“We’re just here to talk,” Vince said, “and to show you a little movie.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Movie?”

I raised the player. “That’s right.”

Ernesto looked at me. “I heard you were dead.”

“I was for a little bit, but I’m back. The Devil says hello.”

He laughed loudly, grinning hugely. “Okay, fine. Come in. Let’s make this fast.”

We followed him into his outer room. Ernesto’s suite was huge, really more of an apartment, and we entered into his outer sitting room. I knew he had rooms farther in, but most people didn’t get to see them.

I walked over to the television on a stand in the corner and began to hook up the player.

“What’s so important that you need to come show this to me unannounced?” he asked, clearly thrown off balance by our sudden appearance.

“It’s about one of your guys,” Vince said.

“Marco,” I added. “You know Marco, right?”

“Of course. He’s one of my best men.” Ernesto scowled at us. “What the fuck is on this tape?”

“You’ll see,” Vince answered, and crossed his arms. I got the machine set up and turned the television on.

Without further ado, I hit play.

Watching Ernesto’s face was one of the most satisfying experiences I had ever had in my life. He went from bored and annoyed to shocked to terrified to angry as fuck in the span of about thirty seconds.

He whirled on Vince, practically shaking with rage. “What the fuck is this?”

Vince looked at me.

“I found it just before the Spiders almost killed me,” I said. “I think it’s their way of stirring the pot.”

“It’s a fucking lie,” he spat, “a dirty fucking lie. My boys wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t they?” Vince shrugged. “Seems like they would, Ernesto.”

“You piece of shit.” He stepped up to Vince, who just smiled. In a fight, Ernesto was toast. I fingered my gun just in case. “You two cunts better leave.”

“Ernesto, please,” Vince said. “Don’t overreact here. Nobody is blaming you.”

“I hear the implications. I can see them.”

“Nobody is implying,” Vince said.

“I am,” I said.

Vince laughed. “Rafa, stop.”

“You piece of shit.” Ernesto stepped toward me, and I just smiled at him. “That bullet should have ended you.”

“It didn’t, so I’m here to take you by the balls and squeeze.”

“Play nice, Ernesto,” Vince said, “or else we’ll take this to Arturo.”

“Good. Show him. Show him what a cunt you are.”

“I’m being kind by coming to you first,” Vince said. “I’m giving you a chance to make this right.”

“Get out,” he roared. “Get out now.”

I ejected the tape and headed toward the door. Vince gave Ernesto one last look. “Reconsider this reaction and come see me soon.” He waved and then we left.

Out in the hall, Vince laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. That had been such a ballsy move, a really fucking ballsy move. We had no real proof that any of what was on the tape was real, but I was betting by the way Ernesto had reacted that every single word was true.

“Now what?” I asked him.

“Now we wait for him to realize that he’s up shit creek and for him to try to paddle on back.”

I laughed, and we walked down the hall together. I felt elated and good for the first time in a long time, despite the pain in my leg.