Defending My Mobster (BWWM Romance) (6 page)

I’d completely broken a woman that might not have deserved it. What did that make me?

“Nia…” I called. Walking across the living room and into the threshold of her bedroom, I was kind of shocked to find her unconscious on the floor. Nia didn’t resemble anything like the feisty woman I remembered, always ready for anything life threw at her. She looked sad. The kind of sad that killed people.

When I picked her up, she didn’t even feel like I remembered. Those memories, the ones I’d been trying to forget, crashed against me as I carefully set Nia in her bed. Everything about her was different, like she said, and it was entirely my fault.

I knew she hadn’t shown up for work since the Monday before last. I knew she hadn’t left her apartment, and ordered take out from two businesses under my employ almost every other night. I knew Roman hadn’t been in contact with her and the only person that called her was Mark, from her office.

“Damn it all,” I muttered to myself.

Hours later and I was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, staring into space, when Nia woke up.

“Nia… listen, I…“ I began. Standing as she sat up with some trouble, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to say but she cut me off before I had a chance to talk. Her voice was whispery, hoarse and it clearly took a lot out of her to speak.

“I don’t want to hear it, Angel,” she said softly.

“I know that but-” I tried.

Cut off a second time as Nia shook her head, I knew it was a stretch to try to apologize verbally. It was a stretch a few miles too long.

“No, go be with your f-family,” she said.

Walking the few feet to the side of her bed, I did something I vowed never to do. Nia was worth it though, even after everything I put her through. Getting on my knees, I took her face in my hands and made her look at me. Her once soft skin was rough, flushed and tear stained while her eyes were bright from crying.

“No, I don’t want to be with them, I want to be with you. I was wrong, okay? And I’m sorry. I can never tell you how sorry I am. You were right, I should’ve trusted you. I shouldn’t have let you open the door or left you. Nia, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. If you will just give me the chance. Please.” Groveling on my knees was never something I had ever considered doing with anyone, ever. I had never messed up so badly though. I had never put anyone in this kind of situation and cared so much for that person.

“…You said I could ask you for anything, right?” Nodding firmly, I wasn’t sure where the question was going but I hoped it was to a good place. Nia blinked a few times though, before continuing. Her voice was cracking and soft, nothing like the commanding presence I’d come to know.

“Will you sleep with me? Just for a little while,” she said in a scared voice.

“Yeah, bella, I can do that,” I answered.

Slipping into her bed after taking off my shirt, I laid on my side and Nia instantly tucked herself against my chest. She was shaking when I wrapped my arms around her, and her breath came in short, shallow pants.

“I’m going to make this right, Nia,” I mumbled against her hair. I wasn’t exactly sure what to feel. Or how to make it right. I was going to find a way though. I had to.

                  ***

“Nia, it’s time to wake up,” I said. Over the past few days I learned a few things. Number one being that Nia wasn’t a morning person. Holding myself up on my elbow, I couldn’t get over how cute she was as she groaned softly before snuggling into her pillow. It was a daily ritual, apparently.

“Come on, bella. You have to get ready for the day,” I tried again. After the first day, I made sure that Nia’s firm knew she was going through some personal things, and it was a relief when they told me she had enough vacation days to take months off at a time. Getting out of bed was hard for her, but I was working on it, slowly but surely. Today she would get prepared for the next twelve hours. Tomorrow, though, she might leave her apartment.

It was a step in the right direction, no matter how small. Wasn't there a motto that joked about taking baby steps? Yes I knew there had been. It was right, sometimes baby steps were the right way for people to move forward. It would not work for me I knew, but that did not mean it was not a perfectly acceptable way for others to proceed.

“I don’t want to, Angel,” she said petulantly. Muffled by her pillow, Nia’s tired grumble made me sigh. We went through this every morning.

“You have to. You can take a nap later, okay? I’ll stay with you. Now it’s time to eat breakfast,” I told her. I felt like I was babysitting a five year old, but I couldn’t complain. Nia’s rapid decline was, after all, my fault. Even though I’d spent the last three days with her, she still woke up in the middle of the night, thinking I’d left. She was depressed beyond anything I’d seen before, but thankfully she wasn’t suicidal.

“…why are you even here? Go away. I hate you,” she said again.

There were those three little words again. However, Nia didn’t have much of a reason not to hate me lately, so I didn’t protest as my hand trailed up and down her back. I deserved to hear those words, it was a lesson I could never forget. Would never forget.

“I know. Come on, Nia,” I told her.

Scowling into the phone as Roman’s name flashed with every ring, I wasn’t exactly sure I wanted to answer it. Then again, not answering would tip him off, and if Nia was right, my cousin was doing some very fishy stuff when I wasn’t looking. If that were true then he and I were going to have to come to an agreement. He was not going to like it. It was the sort of agreement no one would like. It was not made for that.

“Yeah, hey, what’s up, man?” I answered. Thankfully Nia was in the shower, and it usually took her a long while to get out. Standing over the stove, I held my phone to my ear with my shoulder and tried to be pleasant. If Roman was planning something stupid, I had to stay one step ahead.

“Angel, where you at? I’ve been trying to call you since last night,” he said. I could tell he was probing, searching for something in my voice.

“Sorry, been kind of preoccupied. What do you want?” I asked. There’d been a time when Roman called me for almost no reason, but it’d been a phase that passed quickly. Now he only called about business, or to ask if I wanted to hang out with him. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d go, though. Not now, maybe not ever again depending on what I found out about him.

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay, man. Your dad said you left his house a few days ago and looked super pissed,” he explained. Expertly flipping a pancake, I tried to think of what to say to that but there was no way around it. I didn’t want to lie because then I’d have to back it up, remember it and think of more lies to go along with it. Running my hand over my hair, I felt a frown slide over my face before opening my mouth.

“Yeah, I went to go see if Nia was okay. Apparently she didn’t show up for work in two weeks, no notice, no nothing,” I said. I was trying to come off casual, like I was just checking in on my lawyer. 

There were so many conflicting thoughts running around inside me, and the silence on the phone seemed damning. What had he done? I asked myself furiously.

“But she’s okay right? I mean, why wouldn’t she be?” he asked.

“I don’t know, she wasn’t there. Hey, listen, I gotta go. Got a girl in the shower. I’ll call you later,” I told him. I hadn't lied on that one. I did have a girl in the shower.

Chapter 7 - Nia

“Nia, I need you to tell me everything that you saw with Roman, everything he said to you and everything you said back,” Angel asked. Speaking slowly, Angel watched me with intense, dark eyes. Obviously worried about what I might do.

I didn’t really want to tell him, though, because everything was so unstable. If he found out, would he leave? Probably. I had no more self-confidence, I was barely able to get out of bed. I couldn't refuse though. It could be important if his cousin was really, as I believed, running some kind of game. Angel had to know and so did I.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I leaned back against the couch cushions and wiped my face. Here we go, I thought.

“He showed up at my job asking about you, and when he asked if I got you off the hook I said no. He smiled and walked off. And then, in the court room, he was sitting behind the prosecution desk. He looked so mad and kind of disappointed. Angel, every time you went to court he’s been there and something always happens. First there was the continuation because of the gun then the woman that went crazy. It happened right next to him. It can’t be coincidence…”

Biting my lip hard, I wanted to stop but the incident that happened here two weeks ago was the most convincing evidence I had.

“W-while you were in the hallway, Roman gave me that same smile. Like he wanted it to happen. He said I had to stay out of his way and then he ran after you. No one else knew you were here. And he showed up at my office at 7:30 in the morning. He told me not to get involved with you because you have enemies… I told him, I said I wasn’t interested in having sex with you, and that we went on a date to celebrate winning your case. It was true, I didn’t lie. I didn’t want to do anything with you because your trial was only a few days before. It would look bad for me if I jumped into a relationship with a previous client right off the bat,” I continued to explain.

“And then you were being so nice, and I was this close… I was so close to-“ Angel leaned forward as I choked up to pull me into his lap. Before I could get too hysterical, though, he spoke up, low and steadying.

“I know, bella. I need you to tell me what else Roman said to you that morning. If he’s planning something, you have to help me stop him. You need to go into kick ass lawyer mode,” he told me.

Mumbling, Angel threaded his fingers through my hair and I closed my eyes with a sigh. Then I started talking, once I got going again I couldn't stop. I just related every memory to him hoping against hope that it would be enough.

I told him about everything I’d noticed, everything I thought about his cousin, right down to his facial expressions. When I finished he didn’t seem very happy, but then again why would he? His cousin was up to something that might involve him going to jail. Or worse, dead.

“Nia. Thank you,” he said. Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t for Angel to kiss me. True, it was only a light pressing of his lips to my forehead, but it was still surprising. Staring, a little wide eyed, I couldn’t do much more than gulp harshly. Did he want me? I was even more confused now.

If he kissed me, that meant he wanted me, right? It was hard to wrestle with.

“I want to take you out tonight, okay?” he asked. Nodding before I had a chance to think about it, I opened my mouth to say something but Angel cut me off with a slight shake of his head.

“I know it’s hard, but I need you to trust me, Nia. If Roman is planning something big, I want to force him to make a move. I need you to be sexy and confident and all of the things I know you are, okay? Like you said, none of this seems to be coincidence, and I have to out my cousin before he tries to come at me again,” he explained. It made a kind of sense to my muddled thinking.

“You want to bait him? What if he shoots you or something?” I asked. Twisting to sit on my knees, it wasn’t the trust part I was worrying about. It was foolish, but I did trust Angel, a lot more than I probably should. He was a mobster after all. Holding his face in my hands, I tried to search for some sign of uncertainty but there was none. Only a gentle determination. He had a plan and he was going to see it through and wanted my help. Could I deny him?

“He can’t shoot me where we’re going. There are rules. If he breaks them, he’s a dead man. If he wants what I think he wants, he has to be alive to take it,” Angel explained.

“Angel…” Furrowing my eyebrows, I’d never realized how bright Angel’s eyes were. Their dark depths shone with something that was mesmerizing, rich and beautiful.

“Don’t kiss me unless you’re prepared to stop acting like someone you’re not,” Muttering, Angel’s words made me realize how suddenly close I was to his face.

“…You’re doing it again… Being so-so…” At a loss once again, I licked my lips before deciding to take the plunge. There wasn’t anything left for me to lose. I had lost everything.

Angel’s lips were surprisingly gentle and soft, like he used lip balm. The entire kiss was just like that, sweet and hesitant and slow. After a moment, it wasn’t hard to open my mouth and sigh. I could feel him holding back, and it made me feel better about myself. If I wasn’t on my back already then he didn’t want to push me. If he didn’t want to push me, it meant he cared. He still cared.

If he still cared then I still cared.