Endings & Beginnings (New Mafia Trilogy #3) (30 page)

   “Good night,” I said, the huskiness of my voice
betraying my true feelings. Yes, I wanted him and still loved him, but needed
time to consider a future with Dom.

DOMINIC

I lay on the futon, listening to Natalie get ready
for bed. The only light in the apartment came from her bedroom. Minutes later,
she flipped the light off, sinking the apartment into total darkness, but I
didn’t hear her close her door. Even though I was exhausted, my body was wide
awake after our kiss. My dick throbbed with unfulfilled release, preventing
sleep from claiming me. As quietly as possible, I grabbed my tee shirt off of
the floor and lowered the blanket. I was only wearing my briefs, so I slid them
down to my knees, freeing my erection. The air conditioning was cold against
the heat of my skin, but the contrast in temperature only added to my arousal.

I didn’t need to imagine Natalie’s body against me
or her mouth on me, just the scent of her shampoo on the pillow and the
lingering taste of her on my lips was enough to get me off as I gripped my dick
and stroked. A moan drifted down the hallway and I pictured Natalie touching
herself too and that was all it took. My balls tightened up and I came hard
into the soft cotton of my shirt. I lay there for a few seconds panting, my
heart beating fast against my ribs. I pulled my briefs back up and turned to my
side. Hugging the pillow close I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

A phone ringing woke me up and I rolled over to grab
it out of my jeans. It wasn’t the burner phone ringing, but the one I used for
personal and legitimate business. The number on display was from the Grabano
Enterprises office. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was still dark
outside.

   “Hello?” I answered, clearing my throat when it
came out croaky from sleep.

   “Mr. Grabano! I’m sorry to wake you, but I don’t
know what to do!” It was Estelle the assistant and I could hear the panic in
her voice.

   “Calm down and tell me what’s going on?” I stood
up and went into the kitchen to talk so I wouldn’t disturb Natalie.

   “There are FBI agents here and they have a
warrant to search the office. What should I do?”

I knew this was a possibility and had made
preparations. “Let them search, but call my attorney and let him know what’s
happening.”

   “Oh,” she sounded surprised. “Okay, I will do
that.”

   “And Estelle?”

   “Yes?”

   “You were right in calling me. Feel free to leave
early today.”

   “Thank you, Sir,” she said and hung up.

The clock on the microwave showed it wasn’t even six
in the morning. That meant the Feds hit the office first thing. I fetched my
burner phone out of my bag and called Dante. He answered after four rings.

   “Yo Dom, what’s up?” he asked, and I heard the
rustle of sheets in the background as well as a female voice. I filled him in
on the warrant and told him to keep an eye on the situation. “I will, man,” he
said. “How’d things go yesterday?”

   “Good. We have one more chance. Dad was there
with me.”

Dante was quiet on the other end. “Yeah, sorry about
telling him, it just kind of happened. Don’t be pissed at him, though, be
pissed at me.”

   “Good thing I love ya, cuz. Dad doesn’t need to
know everything.  Remember that for next time.”

   “I will…and how are things going with Natalie?”

   “Good, better than I expected.” I leaned against
the kitchen counter and rested my head back against a cabinet. The cool
surfaces felt good. “I wish I could stay longer, but in light of the search
warrant, I’ll be heading back tonight as planned.”

   “I hear ya. Alright, well if anything happens
between now and then, I’ll call ya.”

   “Thanks, bro,” I said and ended the call. It was
early, but there was no way I’d be falling asleep. I crept down the hallway to
use the bathroom. Natalie must have heard me anyway as she was waiting in the
hall.

   “I heard your phone ring. Everything okay?” she
asked as she passed by me to enter the bathroom. She looked adorable in her
little sleep shorts. Her hair stuck out in all directions and that wasn’t the
only think sticking out, I noticed her nipples were hard underneath the white
tank top she was wearing.

   “Yeah, all good,” I answered, making an effort to
look up and meet her eyes.

She gave me a sleepy smile before yawning and
closing the door. I wandered back to the living room and laid down on the
futon, stretching out across the mattress and staring up at the ceiling. The
room had grown lighter and I saw glimpses of dawn through the blinds. Natalie
came out and sat down next to me. I felt heat radiating off of her body and
instinctively rolled towards her so I lay on my side.

   “Can’t sleep?”

   “Nah, I’m up now. Don’t let me keep you awake,
though.”

   “I’m good. Want to go for a run?” she asked.

Yeah, I did. That was the perfect distraction from
her sitting so close and from whatever the fuck was going on in Philly. We
quickly changed and after a brief internal debate, I left both phones sitting
on the kitchen counter.

I let Natalie take the lead so I could watch her ass
as she ran in front of me. I admired her long legs and the flex of her calf
muscles with each stride. She looked over her shoulder at me and caught me
looking.

   “Come on, you pervert, run alongside me,” she
said.

   “Pervert?” I caught up to her and smacked her
ass, which made her squeal with laughter.

She put me through the paces and by the third mile I
was sweating so much that I stripped my shirt off and tucked it in the waist
band of my shorts. It was her turn to ogle me. “Who’s the pervert now?” I
asked, puffing out my chest. Natalie giggled and blushed, quickly turning her
attention away from my abs. We teased and goofed off on the return trip, my
stomach hurt from laughing and I collapsed, panting on the bottom of the stairs
that led to her apartment. She sat down next to me, panting just as hard.

   “God, I needed that,” I said, leaning back on my
elbows and stretching my legs out.

   “Me too.”

We sat there for a few minutes, catching our breath
and enjoying the light breeze. I heard Natalie’s stomach growl and grinned.
“Let’s go feed your beast, Ross. Got anything to eat?” I asked.

She blushed and looked away. “No, I have to go
grocery shopping.” I narrowed my eyes at her embarrassment, knowing she wasn’t
telling me everything.

   “Well, let me take you out for breakfast then,” I
said and got to my feet.

   “Okay,” she agreed and stood up with me. Her
apartment was cool and it felt great on my sweaty skin. I let Natalie shower
first and while she was showering, took a look through her kitchen to see if
there were enough ingredients to make her breakfast. I loved to cook, but
rarely did unless I had someone to cook for. I was shocked to see how empty her
refrigerator was. There was a single bagel, a small tub of store brand cream
cheese, a quart of skim milk and two apples. Her cabinets were just as empty
containing a couple packets of ramen, a box of rice and a jar of store brand
peanut butter. What the hell did my girl eat? I asked myself. This explained
her reaction, though. The eviction notice and lack of food were all signs that
Natalie wasn’t having an easy time of things and she was too stubborn to ask
for help. Fuck, I didn’t like to think of her struggling and wanted to make
sure she never wanted for anything, but I knew she’d never accept that.

Natalie was still in the shower, the water rushing
through the pipes hidden in the wall that separated the kitchen and bathroom,
when my personal phone rang. Recognizing my attorney’s number, I answered right
away and frowned when he revealed the reason behind the search warrant.

   “An anonymous tip came in that I was storing
heroin there?” I asked; making sure I’d heard him right the first time.

   “Yes. It was reason enough for them to get a
warrant.”

   “Obviously they didn’t find anything.”

   “No and Special Agent Phillips is quite irate.
He’s going to keep sniffing around,” Seth said.

   “Let him. Shit’s buttoned up. I’m more concerned
over who this fucking tipster is. Someone wants my ass to burn from all of this
heat.”

   “That I can’t help you with, but legally they
don’t have anything on you or the business.”

   “Thanks,” I said and hung up. Picking up my
burner phone, I called Dante and relayed the information. I told him to have
Johnny do some digging, see if he could uncover the identity of our anonymous
tipster.

I was just finishing up the call when I heard the
water shut off. Minutes later Natalie appeared; her face glowing from being
freshly scrubbed and her hair up in a towel. She wore a yellow sundress that
accented her tan and the diamond pendant I gave her for her college graduation
present.

   “The shower is all yours,” she said and
disappeared back into her bedroom.

I stepped into the steamy bathroom that smelled like
Natalie’s coconut and lime body wash. God, I missed sharing a bathroom with
her, I thought to myself as I shaved and showered. She had left a small bottle
of Ralph Lauren body wash on the edge of the tub for me. It wasn’t my usual
fragrance and had more of a citrus tang. I shrugged and used it any way, not
really wanting to know who it might have belonged to. Probably Jason and with
that thought, I squeezed the bottle so hard half of the soap spilled out.

Throwing on jeans and a black tee shirt, I ran a
comb through my wet hair and brushed my teeth. Natalie was in the living room
waiting for me. She had righted the futon so it was no longer a bed and folded
my sheets and blanket. My shirt from the night before sat on top of my bag and
I smirked at the idea of her discovering its last function.

   “Ready to go?” I asked, sticking a phone in each
pocket and tucking the gun in the waistband of my jeans. The cool metal against
the small of my back was a reassurance. “You pick the place.”

Once again I drove Natalie’s BMW and we had the top
down. The sun was shining through a smog bank, causing the temperature to rise,
but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Natalie hooked up her phone to stream her iTunes and
Royal Blood blasted through the speakers. It was so freeing being away from the
pressures of Philadelphia and driving down unfamiliar streets with my favorite
girl by my side. For the first time in months I felt at peace.

We ate a small café that specialized in omelets and
had amazing homemade corned beef hash. It pleased me to see Natalie clean her
plate. Now that I had a chance to really take her in, I could tell she had lost
some weight.

   “So, how’ve you been, Nat?”

She set her fork down and took a sip of coffee.
“Okay, I guess. I’ve been busy working.”

   “That’s what Victor said. He’s been wanting to
take you shooting.”

   “Yeah, my hours have been crazy. Need to pay the
bills, ya know? Speaking of which, I will pay you back for the rent.”

   “Nope. I won’t accept any money from you. It was
a gift.” She narrowed her hazel eyes at me and I laughed. “I wanted to help and
I did. Deal with it, Ross.”

   “Fine,” she finally said.

I paid the bill for breakfast and Natalie watched,
chewing pensively on her lip the entire time. “What?” I asked.

   “Thanks, Dom. It’s been hard lately and I’m
trying to do things on my own. It’s stressful and everything costs so damn much
out here.”

   “Hey, you ever need anything, just call me. I’ve
got your back.”  

I held the door for her and we left the restaurant.
“What time is your flight?” she asked.

   “8:00. I figured I’d leave for the airport by
five so I can return the rental. Do you have to work today?”

   “No, I actually have the day off. It’s my first
one off in two weeks.”

   “Lucky me,” I said and smiled at her. Traffic was
light and on the way back to her apartment I pulled into a strip mall that had
a grocery store. “Come on, let’s get you stocked up. Your cabinets are bare.”

The protest was immediate. “Dom, no, you’ve done
enough.”

   “Do you want Aunt Gloria to find out I left you
living on crumbs? I’d never hear the end of it. Grant is going to want a full
report on how you’re doing too. My hands are tied. Now let’s go.” I walked
beside her with my hand on the small of her back into the store, but stepped
away to grab a cart. When she put a store brand item in the cart, I replaced it
with a name brand, but she wasn’t having it so I backed off. At least she was
buying food.

I paid the cashier and loaded the groceries into
Natalie’s car. She was silent on the drive back to her place. “It’s okay to
accept help every once in a while,” I told her.

   “I know, it’s hard to accept though,” she paused
and looked at me. “Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

We reached her apartment complex and unloaded the
groceries. “I’m cooking dinner tonight before I leave.”

   “You don’t have to, Dom.”

   “I want to. I like cooking for you and I bought
ingredients for chicken parmesan.”