Dealer and his Bestowed Bride (The Rossi Family Mafia Book 2) (14 page)

We were both panting, still basking in the glow of our public sexual encounter. After we caught our breath, we looked at each other and then started to chuckle. With how insane the night had been, this was the cherry on top of the fucked-up cake.
 

Then, there was a sound from above us.
 

A slow clap.
 

I looked up and there was a wrinkled Italian grandmother, who looked like she was taking down her laundry. She had a cigarette in her mouth and she was clapping her hands together.
 

"Brava!" she said from the side of her mouth, still biting down on the cigarette. Her voice echoed through the alleyway and I realized how loud we had been.
 

I turned beet red and both Luca and I burst out laughing. As quickly as we could, we adjusted ourselves and left the old woman in peace. We made our way down the streets of Florence with a new sexual experience checked off of our bucket list.
 

"What the fuck happened last night?"
Our boss stood up from the table where we had last seen him eat a full Italian meal. His face was beet red and I watched as his muscles tensed at the side of his neck. The man’s eyebrow twitched in anger. He looked like a pot that was about to boil over. "Everyone's talking about the low-level bar fight that broke out at a million-dollar event!"
 

"Sir, I tried to make contact with Robert just to get a lay of the land. However, when I did, he tried to harass Piper."

The woman next to me fiddled with her thumbs. She had been quiet with me all morning. The smells of the alley and the feeling of her tight cunt was still fresh in my mind. It seems she couldn’t get over the experience either, with all the secret glances she stole my way.
 

I went on, "I take full responsibility for what went down last night."
 

Franco wiped his hand across his face. "Fucking damn it. You're lucky my name wasn't tied to this bullshit, or else your head would be on a pike, Rossi."

"I understand sir," I said. I sat a little straighter, my shoulders squared and my hands comfortably folded onto my lap. Even if I was in deep shit, my face stayed calm, serene, and in control. If I could control my body and mind, I could control the situation. At any minute Franco could snap his fingers and have the guards that stood beside him kill Piper and I. I wanted to stay on his good side.
 

"And you," he turned to Piper as he took out a silver cigarette case and flipped it open. The man casually picked out a slender cigarette and placed it to his grubby lips. A guard reached into his pocket and lit it for him. Piper kept fiddling with her thumbs, barely glancing up at the man. Unlike me, it didn't seem like she cared what he thought. That made him angry.

"Yah, what?" she asked, tilting her head.

"You need to get your shit together. From what I hear you threw a drink on Mr. Georgeson?"

"He was trying to kidnap me," she replied, glancing at the dirt underneath her fingernails.
 

"I don't care if he was trying to fuck you right there for everyone to see. When you react, you need to do everything you can to not make a scene." He took a long drag on his cigarette, the smoke wafting up toward the ceiling. "It looks to me like you were trying your hardest to get me in the papers."

We both were silent. The only sound came from the front of the restaurant, where the waiters were prepping the small room for dinner service.
 

"What are you doing to fix this?" The large man asked, breaking our silence.
 

"I can tell you one thing that the fight did right, it made him want to come beat the shit out of me at Garnet."

"And that's a good thing … because?" Piper asked. She had finally sat up in her chair and was attentive to the people around her.
 

"It's a good thing, because he'll be coming into our territory. We know he's angry and he'll eventually come to Garnet to exact his revenge."

"He could send men to shoot everyone in the club, how do you know he will be there?"
 

I looked and her and raised my eyebrows. "Robert KNOWS that you are with me. From what I saw yesterday, the last thing he wants is for you to be dead."

Franco sat back and slowly bobbed his head up and down in agreement. "He has a point."
 

"I don't know, Rob is … crazy." Piper said, her voice becoming weak.
 

"But he wants you," I replied. "Enough to start a scene. Enough … that he was still willing to talk to you after you poured a glass of wine over his head. If you're the bait, then we can get him to the club."

"What will you do once he arrives?" Our boss asked, a cough escaping him as he inhaled too much smoke. I held my chin, staring off into space in thought.
 

"There are a few options. The first, is we use Piper to get some info about his club business. Something illegal." Even as I said it I bristled. A job like that would probably take weeks or months and would require Piper to give up herself to Robert. However …” I glanced at Piper, whose gaze had become distant, “… he would want more than a pretty smile and a few drinks in order to give up such information.
 

"Then," I went on, "there's the drug direction. We get him to the bar and offer him dirty drugs. Enough synthetic chemicals so that he OD's. Anyone looking into it would see that he was partying too much. A dead druggie club owner wouldn't make someone turn their head."

"Finally, I think we should think about burning the place. It's the only other death that wouldn't seem suspicious."

"Burning my NEW club?" Franco turned red and looked like his veins were going to pop out of his neck.
 

"It would be tricky, we wouldn't want to set the entire neighborhood up in flames, but it could work. Piper shoots him when he comes into the bar from above, we set the entire place on fire and start fresh, with less competition in town."

"That's insane," Piper told me, crossing her arms indignantly. "You could easily destroy surrounding historic buildings. Setting fire to Florence because of a petty squabble?"

"She's right," Franco said. "Except for the petty part. Let's go with the drugs. It's clean, it's fast. I'd rather we stay away from fires so the government doesn’t get involved."

"Yes sir" I said.
 

"Leave," he waved his hands at us. "I'll prep my men. Be at Garnet tonight an hour before opening."

The guards stepped forward, motioning for us to get up. We had no other choice. Sadly, this time we left the restaurant without a delicious meal.

When we stepped outside, it was bright from the afternoon sun. I blinked for a second as my eyes adjusted to the glaring light. Everywhere, people were walking, riding on scooters, laughing, and enjoying their afternoons. For Piper and I, there seemed to be a cloud that loomed over us as we stepped out into the street.
 

A black sedan was parked next to the restaurant and the driver got out and waved to Piper and me.
 

"You go," Piper said. "I'll walk."

"I'll join you" I raised my hand to get the driver's attention and then shook my head to tell him we wouldn't need his services.

Piper shrugged, she didn't seem to be happy about me joining her, but she didn't bitch about it either. She just started walking, allowing me to just be by her side. The woman kept her hands firmly secured in her jean pockets and was wearing a deep maroon sweater.
 

We walked slowly down toward the Arno. When we got there, the river was sparkling in the afternoon sun. Piper walked up to the wall and leaned over, watching as a boat passed. I joined her, enjoying the beauty of the city, rather than letting the events of the past week get to me.
 

"I had everything together." Piper said out of the blue.
 

"Come again?" I asked.

She shrugged, her eyes still planted on the boat that was slowly drifting away. "I thought I had it all figured out. I was going to be someone, do something. I was the first woman sniper to be top in my class, you know?" Without telling me, she straightened and started walking down the Arno. I followed her, one slow step after the other.
 

"You were trained to be a sniper?"

She reached up, her soft finger touching the healing scar on my cheek. "If I wasn't, you wouldn't have that." Her hand stayed on the scar for a second too long, and as she realized it, Piper's hand fell down to her side.
 

"Thanks for that," I said sarcastically.
 

"I was going somewhere in my life, and Rob took that from me."

"You knew him beforehand." I said. It wasn't a question, at this point it was obvious they had a history.

"He got involved with the Mafia for stupid reasons. The same reason I took this job. Money. Power ... I guess he was sick of being left in my dust. I just wish he wouldn't have brought me down with him."

"So, he's the one who got you involved in the Mafia?"

She looked at me, her eyes large and sparkling in the sun. "He forced me to kill someone."

I wanted to reach out to her, to touch her, to do something. But, there was something in me that was afraid that she'd push me away. I kept my hands to myself and watched as her face evolved through many different emotions.
 

Grief. Fear. Anger. And something else that I couldn't put a finger on. Nostalgia?

"He killed his partners and blamed it on me. I was too good of a sniper to kill, so they decided to put me to work for two years. I went from a promising Air Force sniper to a piece of shit criminal. Rob left for Italy and I stayed in New York. Once they had enough of me, I was thrown out with the garbage."

She kicked at a stone in the road. We both turned onto one of the many bridges that were built over the Arno. Piper stopped near the middle, looking out at the water.

"I'm sorry you went through that," I said softly.

"Me too," she replied, shrugging. "But here I am, doing another job for the Mafia to make something of myself. To survive. And once again I'm a pawn in a man's game."

"Piper, I—"

"Don't try to deny it. You know it's true. They chose me for this job, not because I'm an excellent sniper, but because they want to use me as bait. Meat." Her voice was trembling in fury and I could she her hands gripping the wall for support.

"We're not going to do that," I said. "If we follow the plan, then you don't have to be seen by him ever again."

She turned, her short hair wafting up in the wind. It made her look wild, reminding me of the previous night in the alley. However, that night was born out of pure lust, while there was something more I saw in her. When I looked at the woman standing next to me, looking out at the city of Florence, I saw my wife.

She was leaning against the rail on the bridge, so I reached over to touch her hand. Piper didn't pull away.
 

"Do you promise?" she asked, her voice cracking. I looked up from our hands and saw tears were filling her eyes. When I didn't answer soon enough, she repeated herself. "Do you promise you won't use me as live bait for that man?"

I nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "I promise," I said.
 

The young woman sighed, then reached up to wipe her eyes before the alligator tears started. Piper turned away from me, not wanting me to see her pain.
 

The Piper who had acted out, who had drowned herself in wine and swore like a sailor, she had done it for a reason—she was scared. In that moment, I didn’t pity her, but an overwhelming need to protect her. I cleared my throat.

"I've always had my family," I said softly, "They've stood by me and supported me through thick and thin. I've always had them, my business, and great prospects. That's to say ..." I paused, "I don't know what it's like to lose everything. I'm sorry, Piper. I wish I could take what happened to you away."

"I wish I could too," she whispered.
 

Moving closer, I placed my hand around her shoulder and brought her closer to me. She rested her head on my chest. Piper's breathing was erratic as she tried to keep the tears at bay. My hatred for the man who hurt her grew inside of me and I knew that I would have to do everything to get rid of him.

I kissed the top of Piper's head and we looked out at the Arno river. Birds flew through the sky on the cool fall breeze and the sounds of the water calmed both of us. While we didn't have much time before we had to get ready for the club opening, I wished that the moment would last forever.
 

I tried to etch everything into my mind. Her smell, the way her body felt against mine. The beauty of Florence and the smells of the city.
 

Most of all, I wanted to be with Piper, for us to be this close instead of bickering and fighting with each other. For one moment, suspended in time, I was alone with my wife and I felt like it was real, like she was meant for me … and I for her.
 

For the first time in my life I felt like I had a reason to live, and that was to protect her.
 

Even being the owner of the place, I had yet to step into Garnet.
Apparently, the former club owner had found himself tied to a rock at the bottom of the river. I hoped that I would stay above water for the time being.
 

I watched as the bartenders and DJ setup for the night. It was a medium-sized space with a dance floor at the center. To one side, there was a bar, lit up by red lights, fitting for the name. At the other side, there were comfortable chairs and couches for people to sit down near the end of the night. I grimaced at the thought of what things would probably happen on those poor chairs.
 

I walked through the space, shaking hands and introducing myself to each employee. They all were Italian, but young enough to know English pretty well. After I had made sure to inspect the entire first floor, I headed up the stairs to the second.