Defending My Mobster (BWWM Romance) (7 page)

“We could have a do-over…” I said.

Whispering, like it was some kind of secret shared only between us, I watched Angel smile a little wickedly before opening his mouth.

“I like that idea almost as much as the idea of getting you naked,” he pointed out.

Smiling, I didn’t really have a response for that. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“Now, you can do this for me, right, Nia?” he asked.

“Yeah, I can do it. I want to.” I had a feeling I had to do this for him but even more for me. I was not going to be able to recover if I didn't start working towards it. Helping find out what was going on in my life and Angel’s life was a good place to start. I could begin climbing back from this place.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and stepped out from behind my bedroom door. Instead of letting myself worry over the past hour, about Angel leaving to go back to his apartment, I shored myself up mentally. He’d made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere. My dress was just low cut enough to keep people’s attention but not too low.

It was kind of weird being so dependent after everything that’d happened over the past two weeks, but I beat it back. Angel needed me to be sexy and confident. I used to know how to do that. I decided to fake it until I made it back.

Judging by his expression, I’d already nailed the first part. It pleased me to still be able to get his attention in this way, that I was able to please him in this way. It excited me in many ways. Physically and mentally.

“Damn, this is going to be hard,” he mumbled more to himself than me. Angel scanned my ruby red cocktail dress before fixating on my face.

“What?” I asked. I walked slowly around the couch, liking the way he tensed up just the slightest. It was nice to know that I had that kind of effect on him, since he had that effect on me. Turnabout is fair play. I remembered my dad had told me that before he passed.

“Trying to remember why we’re going in the first place when it would be so easy to pull you into a soundproof, windowless room and have my wicked way with you, bella.” I wanted to laugh but tried something else instead.

“You think I’m easy?” It was instantly written all over Angel’s face that he knew my question was a joke, and he wrapped his hands around my hips to squeeze lightly. It felt wonderful.

“I think that you, Nia, are totally smitten with my charm and good looks. What I know for a definite though, is that you’ll end up bare assed by the end of the night if you want to tease me,” he playfully threatened.

“As long as I don’t wake up alone,” I told him. Glancing up past his lapel from under my lashes, a blind person could’ve seen the mixture of desire and self-deprecation in Angel’s eyes.

“The only reason that would happen is if I was making you breakfast, Nia. Can’t let a girl go hungry because she’s too wiped out after a long, thorough tumble in the sack, right?” he asked. He was amused generosity itself. I snorted sarcastically.

Pulling me a half step closer, Angel ducked his head and I closed my eyes in preparation for a kiss. Unfortunately, though, I was too eager because he only chuckled. His hands moved from my waist to cup my butt and further press us together.

“Believe you me, bella, it’ll be a long, long night. Just not tonight.” I tried to not let my disappointment show at his words.

We went out to his car and got in. It was a long drive across town but that was alright with me. My confidence was still at a record low and I needed the extra time to bolster myself. By the time we got to where we were going, I was as ready as I would ever be.

Chapter 8 - Angel

Pulling up in front of the hotel that was housing the party I wanted to take Nia to, I glanced over and heaved a breath. If she was beautiful that night at the restaurant, she could kill tonight. Her dress had a slit that reached her outer thigh, her feet were clad in delicate looking black heels and she wore minimal jewelry.

Just my kind of woman. It still amazed me how she was always just my sort of woman. How I got this lucky I would never know.

“Remind me periodically that it’s not becoming of a Mafia leader to take you into a coat room, please,” I asked half-jokingly.

“I have a horrible memory,” she responded. Scowling a little, I popped open the door and tried to control myself. Maybe having Nia turn into a playful minx wasn’t the best idea. Then again, maybe she was like this when she didn’t have work in her head. It was nice, but right now I needed to be focused. I needed her to be focused.

“You just love giving me a major hard on, don’t you?” I mumbled as I led her up the steps, I couldn’t hold my smirk when I saw goosebumps fly over Nia’s chest.

“It’s validating, yeah. You deserve it,” she told me.

The first person I saw when I walked into the club in the basement was Roman, surrounded by women as usual. Thankfully he didn’t notice me yet, and I had a chance to examine him. He looked good, but after so many years his smile seemed a little forced, although no one would really notice it. While Nia took in everything, my gaze hopped from person to person. Everyone was recognizable. No one stood out too much.

“Angel, is that Travis Burton?” Nia’s question made me frown. Travis Burton wasn’t part of my network and therefore shouldn’t be here. This was, first and foremost, a business meeting in fancy clothing. The man was about my age with a skinned head and a brain for business. It explained why he was so wealthy. What I didn’t like, though, was the fact that I knew he wasn’t supposed to be here. That made everything off kilter. It confirmed my idea that there were things going on I needed to know about.

Then I saw the woman he was standing with. Crap.

“Shit, what the hell is she doing inviting that bastard,” I asked out loud.  Aleesha was one of my father’s financial advisors, the key word being ‘was’. She didn’t exactly see eye to eye with anyone else. The fact that she and Travis were together was like a bomb waiting for the detonator to be popped. I had to find a way to defuse it and soon. The fallout would be nasty if I did not. If I could, it would still be bloody, but not in the way she would make things.

“Come on, Nia. There’s someone I want you to meet before everything goes to hell.” Even though this was sort of an undercover mission, I wanted to show Nia around. Everyone knew about her, had seen her picture in the paper after the media explosion and my father was no exception. At 79, with arthritis and a bad back though, he wasn’t exactly keen on searching for her. Tugging her past the tables and ignoring the jazz music that played live on stage, I could feel she was getting nervous. She had no reason to be, my father wasn’t all that bad. Of course she could not know that, all she would know was the media reports.

“Don’t show you’re nervous, bella. They can sense it, like wolves,” I informed her. It was true too. For generations, the Mafia had lived by instinct and smarts. Some were smarter than others but the instincts were always strong. They had to be, like wolves had to be, to survive. We had survived and most of the people here had, by instinct.

“Angel, I don’t like the mental movie that’s playing in my head,” she said. Frowning at the possibilities, I glanced down and thought how unfortunate it was that Nia and I were on the same page. On the other hand, it was good that we were. We would work well together.

Travis Burton made her edgy, and frankly had the same effect on me. He was not a man who inspired safety. Of course he was completely untrustworthy and that did not help his image any. It made him unpredictable and that made me nervous.

“Always remain five steps ahead, Nia. That’s the plan for tonight. Nothing will go wrong unless we slip up,” I told her. I was confident we would not. She nodded hesitantly, agreeing with me. At least I think she did. Otherwise she was just going along with me and that would work as well. Not as good, but it would.

Honestly, I was surprised that Nia managed to shake off her depression for this, but I wasn’t under the illusion it would stay that way. The backlash would be severe once we got in the car, or back to her apartment. It did occur to me to bring her to my place, just to be safe. The only problem with that plan was that she would feel pressured. Pressure could cause the same problem I wanted to avoid.

She was turning me into a sentimental softie, and I wasn’t sure I minded it that much. Two months before, I would never have felt this way. She said I changed her, but I too was being changed. The fact that I did not mind was the biggest change of all.

“Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Miss Nia Jefferson,” I said. At my introduction, everyone in the immediate vicinity, including Roman, was instantly enraptured. I could feel them staring, assessing the situation and trying to figure out what would happen. Let them wonder. Nia was about to shine. I knew she would.

Glancing over at her, I was glad Nia was doing such a good job at keeping her nerves in check. My father, on the other hand, had obviously gotten a bit senile in the past few days as he stood up slowly from his chair.

“Well, aren’t you a delightful creature? Remind me again, my dear, who are you exactly?” he said. This was the exact reason I had taken over. My father had a horrible memory now, but my mother managed to keep him in line. Now that he wasn’t the head he was, for all intents and purposes, set to live out the rest of his days in peace. Most people were surprised he’d gotten to this point with only a few injuries and scars, but then again he wasn’t a man anyone wanted to deal with.

“Nia, I defended Angel at his murder trial,” she told him with a smile.

“Ah! So you’re the woman that cleared my son! Welcome, welcome, have a seat. I insist,” he said. Maybe it was a bit hard to understand my father because of his accent but his hand gestures obviously made it through. Pulling out a chair for her, I could tell that Nia was a little more comfortable because my father acted like a ten year old.

“Angel has told me quite a bit about you!” he told her. Frowning as I leaned back in my seat, I watched my dad lean in close to Nia even though he didn’t bother lowering his voice.

“You enjoy riding horses,” he exclaimed. Rubbing my jaw, I had to resist the urge to chuckle when Nia let out a gasp before her big brown eyes swerved to me. All I saw there was merriment, so obviously she didn’t take the observation to heart. If my memory served me, it wasn’t even her that liked horses. It was Rachel, Roman’s sister-in-law.

“Oh yes. I’m quite good at it, too,” she informed him. I was pleased she would go along with Dad.

Whatever my father said or asked, Nia played into perfectly. It was a one-two punch, because she was such a good liar and even I, sitting so close, had a hard time deciphering when she was telling the truth. This would definitely be a skill to exploit later if the time came. Now, however, I had to physically keep myself from laughing at the ridiculously believable stories she spun. Despite the situation, for a little while there I had a good time thanks to Nia's treatment of my father. All good things must come to an end though.

“Are you almost ready to leave, bella?” I asked politely. She hid her relief well, I thought.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask,” she said smiling. We’d only been here for about an hour, but Nia’s words were slightly strained. I didn’t blame her. She was out of her element after all; she was a lawyer that fought for innocent people. Being surrounded by criminals wasn’t her forte. No wonder she had a case of the nerves. It would like me being undercover in a police station. There would be no way I could be comfortable, and not nervous in such a situation. Thinking this helped me to understand her nerves and appreciate her ability to hide them. I guess good lawyers excel at those things.

“Come on,” I said.

“Don’t you think we should wait?” she asked. Shaking my head as Nia stood up from her chair, I cracked a smirk before glancing at my father. It was nice that she had a break from his incessant talking although she seemed to enjoy it.

“If we leave early, they’ll assume that we’re going back to my place. It’ll buy us some time. Deception is the key,” I explained. She nodded her understanding and took my arm as I presented it to her. She was good and I was proud.

Pulling Nia away and towards the front door, I couldn’t deny that not all of it was a lie. I wanted to get her back to her apartment, where we’d be alone. Her show tonight reminded me of the person she used to be, and that person was a walking, breathing wet dream. She was a dream I would gladly experience as often as possible.

“It’s hard to lie,” Nia muttered, letting out a sigh and I wrapped my arm around her waist to lean against the crest of her ear.

“Then don’t lie, just keep walking. Burton is watching us so just think about all of the things I’m going to do to you, bella,” I teased her. I had to stop myself from thinking about them too. It was not easy.