The Power of a Woman: A Mafia Erotic Romance (23 page)

I shook my head quickly, almost maniacally.
Reel it in
, I scolded myself. Of course, he wasn’t really asking. This was more of a test to see if I had the balls to say yes. He’d smoke the cigar regardless. He toked until the cherry was fiery red, and then he blew out a disgusting plume of smoke across the limo. I nearly choked, but it was more than the smoke. My internal red flag was waving, bullying me for attention. Cigars equaled Scarface, and Scarface equaled agonizing memories. Memories and demons I’d battled every day since.

Indifferent, Carlo relaxed into the cool leather seat, as Charlie’s eyes trained on my every move. The car pulled out of the underground parking garage, and we were on the move. Where? I hadn’t a fucking clue. I balanced myself on the balls of my hands to keep from leaning into Stefan. My body naturally craved to yield to him, but this wasn’t the time. Even with him here, I was threadbare on security. The limo made a left turn out and on to the main road. I was keeping a mental note of the direction we were heading.

I was startled by the sudden introduction of music into the cabin of the limo. Well, more like freaked out. It was Giacomo Puccini’s, “Madame Butterfly.” Two things entered my mind: my mother and Sunday gravy, and
Fatal Attraction
—the movie with the freakish Glenn Close. To say I was disturbed was putting it mildly. The green-eyed monster smiled across from me, and I was positive the exaggerated roll of my stomach was to his delight. Memories of my mother were ones of romance and natural beauty. They were warm and life was good. This wasn’t what the green-eyed monster was going for. The undertaker looked for the Glenn Close—unstable, aggressive, kiss your ass goodbye and life as you know it.

Carlo smiled, almost to himself, before speaking. “Who cannot live with honor must die without honor.”

I gulped, digging my fingernails into the curve of the seat.

“I have plenty of honor,” Stefan answered, crossing his own leg. I was the only one left sitting spine-straight. Who could fucking relax? What the fuck was going on? I wanted to scream. I didn’t, of course. I stared out the window, taking in whatever signs I could through the dark window tint, trying to get a fix on the direction we were heading. We seemed to be heading back toward my side of town. However, I couldn’t be sure.
Fucking grease-balls and window tint
, I stewed to myself.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as Carlo ashed his stogie into the ashtray on the door. “I agree. Honor, above all else.”

Stefan nodded once. He was a proud man and weighed every decision heavily.

“Which brings us to why we’re here.” Charlie dropped his phone in his lap, and the limo came to a stop. I sat back, trying to blend into the seat as best I could. This is it. I was sure of it. We were going to be chopped into pieces and used as chum for sharks off Montauk Point.

The interior divider parted slowly. “Ms. Albanese’s residence,” the driver called out.

Wait. What?
“You brought us to my house?” My implausible voice shook with disbelief.

Carlo didn’t acknowledge my statement, but continued to enjoy the taste of his cigar. However, Charlie’s words cut me like a knife. “You.” He pointed with his fore and middle finger. Then he proceeded to open the limo door.
Me, what about Stefan?

“I’m not leaving without Stefan,” I announced, unyielding to any movement.

This time, it was Stefan who answered. “Yes you are, Tesoro.” He leaned in to kiss my shaking palm, and then pulled me up and out of my seat before I could respond. “Go.” He nodded.

I looked into his eyes and then to Carlo. His nod was the final nail in my coffin. What could I do? I wanted to scream and fall to my knees in despair, but my dramatics wouldn’t be appreciated or tolerated. Besides, I still had to get past my father. How could I possibly explain away all this? I couldn’t. So I did what any good catholic Italian girl would do. I nodded and made the sign of the cross, blessing Stefan and myself at the same time.

When I exited the limo, I didn’t meet the undertaker’s eyes. Instead, I looked to the heavens, grabbing the cross I got for my first holy communion.
Gesù Cristo onnipotente tenerio al sicuro. Tenerlo al sicuro. Nel nome del Padre, del Figlio, e dell Spirito Santo
, I prayed, walking up to my house.
Jesus Christ Almighty, keep him safe. Keep him safe. In the name of the father, son and Holy Spirit
.

There have been times in my life when I scoffed at prayer. Would God still hear me? And then I thought of what my mother used to tell me, “God looks at you and reads the language of your longing. At that moment, you are the prayer. So be content just to be a desperate prayer and let faith sustain you.”

I wasn’t praying for healing or for a new pair of shoes. This was my life…it was Stefan.

Our
life.

The gate creaked as I slowly opened it, trying to remain as quiet as possible. I knew our security goons would be around, and I didn’t want to alert any of them that I had been out. That was the last thing I needed—my father asking me where I was. I felt quite certain that I couldn’t say Carlo Genovese had dropped me off at the house. It wasn’t believable. Hell, I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen the man with my own two eyes.

I managed to get through the gate, latching it behind me, and then scurried through the shadows to the back yard. I could hear the voices of the guards, and used that as my guide, not getting near them and remaining as silent as possible. Once I made it to the back, just beneath my window, a light flickered on in the downstairs study, and I knew I couldn’t waste any more time climbing back up.

Putting one foot in front of the other, climbing the trellis, I finally pulled myself through my window. My heartbeat was wild within my chest, pounding an erratic beat against my ribcage. My breaths were frantic and short. I stumbled to my bed, sat on the mattress, and held my head in my hands, hoping to calm the fear within me.

I was Jordana Albanese. I was strong, capable, fearless…yet here I sat, panic filling me. I needed to calm down, to remind myself of who I was. I needed to find my courage and strength, to pull from my inner power.

Just as I thought I’d had it under control, my bedroom door swung open. My head flung back, catching my father’s wide eyes as he searched the room. Finally, he flipped on the light switch, turning on the lamp next to my bed. As soon as his eyes met mine, his rigid posture deflated and a desperate exhale left his lips.
Shit.

“What’s going on, Daddy?”

He slowly moved to my bed and then sat next to me. “There were noises outside, and I worried you went missing as well.” He pulled me into his arms, his heart pounding harshly in his chest. These days, he ate paranoia for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Who could blame him? These were fucked-up, troubled times, and he hadn’t a clue just how much so. “What are you doing awake? It’s three in the morning.”

“I couldn’t sleep, Daddy. I’m so worried about Matty. I feel responsible, you know? He was with me, and then he vanished. I fear that I could’ve done something to keep him safe.” This was partly true.

“No, sweetheart.” He held me close and rubbed my back in slow, soothing strokes. “Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have prevented it. You know Matteo, he will do what he wants, regardless of anyone else’s feelings.”

Wait. What? I hadn’t expected him to say that. Since he went missing, my father had accused every other family for being at fault for Matty vanishing. Now it seemed he’d changed his tune, putting the blame on Matty himself. Which would’ve made sense had I not talked to Stefan already. I didn’t know where he went or why, but I trusted Stefan when he’d said my brother was safe. After all, it was all I had to go on.

My father backed away, holding my face in his hands so he could look me in the eyes. “You should get some rest. Stop worrying. Let me do that.”

I nodded and then allowed him to tuck me in like he used to do when I was younger. It seemed ridiculous for him to do that now, but I didn’t argue, knowing he needed it. He left my room, turning off the light and closing the door behind him. I wanted to sleep, but images wouldn’t leave my mind. Images of Carlo, of Charlie…of Stefan. I wondered what they were doing, what was being said in my absence. And I wondered if I’d ever see Stefan again.

Finally, sleep pulled me under, and I didn’t open my eyes again until morning.

Someone shook me until I woke, causing me to nearly punch Laura in the face. I didn’t like being woken that way. Never wake a person like that, unless you want a fist to meet your face.

“What the fuck, Laura?” I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she said, sounding like Ricky Ricardo from
I Love Lucy
. “You can’t just leave me behind at a club while Stefan Giannotti carries you out over his shoulder.”

“You can’t be that worried about it if it’s taken you this long to come find me.”

“Wiseass. I called the next day, and your dad said you were sleeping.”

I rolled my eyes, giving into her curious nature. “What is it you want to know?”

“When did it start?” she asked, getting comfortable in my bed next to me.

“A while ago,” I answered curtly.

“Really? You’re going to keep it vague with me? I tell you everything.”

“Let’s face it, Laura, this isn’t an episode of fucking
Gossip Girl
. How about I just tell you the basic facts and then we’ll leave it at that?”

My cousin shrugged, but I knew she wouldn’t drop the subject without some juicy tidbits.

“I needed a man that knew what he was doing in bed. I found Stefan, not having a clue as to who he was. It wasn’t like I knew him. We all knew about his brother, Nico, but never too much about Stefan. We talked briefly, he’s hot as shit, and then he took me to his apartment—for sex.”

“Go on…”

“Needless to say, it was the best fuck of my life. I’d go as far as calling it life changing, and exactly what I needed. We met up again, and before I knew it, it’d become a regular thing.”

“Dana, don’t play this off as purely sexual. I saw the way he looked at you across the room at dinner the other night. And then he chased you down like a caveman and carried you out.”

“It was purely sexual to begin with, but then something changed,” I said with a smile, replaying his words to me from the night before. “We developed feelings for each other.” I glanced up at her, catching her wide eyes. “I’m in love with him.”

“This is so bad, Dana. So very, very bad. You know you guys can’t be together. Your families hate each other. Look at what his family did to Matty. And you’re okay with that? How do you know you’re not just a pawn in his game?”

“I just know, okay? He loves me, too. He’s not just saying it to say it. Not to mention, he’s the one that helped my father with Matty’s debt. If he was really behind it, would he have done that? No. So please, stop painting him with the same colors you paint his father. They’re not the same. Stefan left the family business for years to go to school. He only came back when Nico was killed.”

“I’m worried about you. This can’t end well.”

The last thing I needed this morning was her negativity. I was still stuck on the word “pawn” she chose to use. That didn’t sit well with me. I wasn’t
anyone’s
fucking pawn.

I placed my hand on hers. “Trust me, Laura. I know what I’m doing. We have a plan, and we will be together.” I couldn’t tell her more of this plan we had, because, well, I didn’t really know what it was. But regardless, it was something between Stefan and me. No one else needed to know.

“If you say so. But you know you can always come to me, right? If there’s a problem, or he’s doing something that scares you…I’m always here for you.”

“I know.” I gave her a comforting smile. “And I love you for that. But for the first time in my life, I don’t feel lost. I’m not worried about him. I know he’ll do anything to protect me—he already has.” She had no fucking clue just how much we’d already been through or the depth of protection he’d already provided.

“Oh, yeah? What has he done?” She didn’t sound challenging, more like excited.

I waved my finger at her. “Nope. You know I won’t tell you that. It’s personal. All you need to know is that he came to my rescue, and did things that could get him killed. But he did them for me, to keep me safe.” I kept my voice still, but she teetered on the verge of an ass kicking if she continued on this path.

Fuck, I needed caffeine.

“You going to marry him?” she asked, and the question nearly gutted me. Of course I wanted to get married one day. The possibility of that happening, though, was another story. We weren’t there yet, but someday, I hoped we’d get there.

“I hope so…eventually. We just have to work it all out first.”

Laura nodded and then jumped out of the bed. “Since you won’t give me any real dirt to sink my teeth into, let’s go shopping.”

I groaned, not wanting to shop with her. She was the worst person to go with. But she did have her daddy’s limitless credit card, and maybe some retail therapy is what I needed. Maybe hitting Agent Provocateur or La Perla would cheer me up. Not to mention, those were two of Stefan’s favorite stores. He had a real fetish for all things lace. Thinking of that, I nodded and got up to get dressed.