Kingpin (An Italian Mafia Romance) (29 page)

You better remember it forever. I’m Dominic Collazo.

Alannah

“W
hat took you so long? I was starting to worry,” I snip as Dominic steps over the threshold with a smile on his gorgeous face.

I haven’t seen him since yesterday when he dropped me off at work, and I had to get a ride home from a coworker because he was too busy to get me. After all we just went through, I worry easily. I hate to be the clingy girlfriend, but I was just tied to a chair a few days ago, so I need to be in the loop all the time.

Dominic doesn’t answer my question. Instead, he keeps on smiling like the Cheshire cat and comes to give me a kiss before taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack by the front door. The apartment is mostly furnished now, so it feels a little more like home. All I have to do now is forget all about the night I was tied up and Dominic was shot in the shoulder, and I’ll be good to go.

“Are you going to answer me, or what?” I say as he keeps on smiling. He sits down on the couch across from me and leans back, but that smile doesn’t leave his face. “What are you grinning at? What’s the matter with you?”

“I’ve got something to tell you,” he says. He spreads his arms over the back of the couch, making himself good and comfortable.

“Okay. Should I be worried?” I inquire.

He smiles more, even as he starts to answer.

“No. No, you don’t ever have to worry again, Alannah,” he says.

“Alright,” I say, dragging out the word. “Are you okay? Your face is weird.”

We both laugh a little, but Dominic’s laugh is different, I just can’t tell why.

“I’m fine. I’m better than fine,” he continues. “Listen, what if I told you that I could guarantee that the shit that happened with that psychopath, Abram, will never happen again?”

I think about it for a moment, squinting.

“Okay, keep talking.”

“What if I told you that it was within my power to make sure that my business is completely legit from here on out? What if I told you that nobody would ever dare mess with us again? What if I could guarantee it?”

I can’t stop squinting now.

“Well, that would be awesome, I guess,” I say, too confused to say anything with certainty. “Dominic, what’s all this about? It’d be nice if you could guarantee that, but let’s be honest, the stuff your
family
is involved in kind of breeds violence. It’s a part of the mafia history that’ll probably never go away.”

“Well, what if I can make it go away?”

“How could you possibly make it go away?”

“Because I’m in control now.”

I pause, staring at him, hoping my face shows just how vexed I really am.

“Alannah, I’m in control of the entire family now,” he says, the smile involuntarily returning. “They made me the boss.”

My body freezes in its place. I don’t really know what to make of the announcement, so I just sit there, staring off into space, barely blinking. I’m not sure if I’m breathing or not. I’m just sitting here.

“Alannah,” Dominic says. “This is a good thing.”

“So, what you’re trying to tell me is you’re a
mob boss
now?” I inquire. I can’t even believe the words that just came out of my mouth.

Mob boss?

Dominic exhales loudly, then he rocks my world. “Yes, I am.”

“Umm, what am I supposed to say to that?” I ask, as nervous butterflies come to life in my stomach. “I was worried enough when you told me you were a made member, which Wikipedia says is a big freaking deal, by the way. Now, you’re telling me you’re the
boss
of the Giordano crime family? Am I not supposed to be fucking terrified, Dominic? Because I am.”

“Wait, wait,” Dominic pleads as he stands up and approaches me. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Alannah. You don’t have to be afraid for me. I run everything, and if anybody fucks with you, it’s fucking with me, and fucking with me means war with the entire family. Nobody wants that. So, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Dominic, this is fucking insane. If there’s one thing I learned when I was in Alaska and looking up mafia shit, it’s that the boss always gets killed.”

“Alannah, this isn’t the nineties, okay? Internal beef doesn’t happen anymore, and when Leo passed the torch to me yesterday, everybody in The Family pledged their loyalty to me.
Everybody
. In Our Thing, that’s a big deal. Loyalty means a lot to us. I’m the boss, and no one’s changing that. I made Tommy my underboss, and Frankie’s my consigliere. We’re a unified front that nobody would ever want to fuck with. You have to trust me, Alannah. I’ve never lied to you, have I?”

I don’t even have to think about the answer, because I know Dominic has always told me the truth.

“No, you haven’t,” I whisper.

“Exactly. So, I need you to trust me. I know it’s scary, and I know you didn’t exactly expect this when you decided to come back here, but this is all I know. This Thing of Ours is all I’ve ever known, and I know how to do this. You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt, and you can rest assured that no one will ever hurt you. I’ll
never
let that happen. The days of elementary and high school are over. We’re grown up now, and we can have anything we want, because I’m the most powerful man in the whole fucking city.”

I fight off a smile as Dominic leans in and kisses me on the neck.

“The most powerful man in the city?” I ask. Something about the way it sounds sends an excited chill down my spine. It’s that bad boy persona no woman can resist, even when we probably should. There’s something undeniable about a man who looks this good and has this much power. It’s almost unfair. How’s a girl supposed to resist?

Dominic smiles as he kisses my neck again.

“That’s right. The most powerful man in the city,” he says as I turn and kiss his cheek. “And the fucking richest, too.”

He kisses me on the lips and I can feel myself giving in to him. By body temperature is climbing and I feel a new sense of adventure wash over me. This man has a spell on me.

I watch him as he stands and walks over to the front door. He steps outside, and after a minute or two, he comes back and makes sure to lock the door behind him. I notice he’s holding a black duffel bag, and that Cheshire smile has returned.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I gotta show you something,” he replies as he starts walking down the hall towards the bedroom. “Follow me.”

I get up and follow him into my room. Once we’re inside, Dominic closes the door as if there’s somebody else in the house and he wants privacy. He unzips the bag, and turns it upside down over the bed. Countless stacks of money come pouring out and scatter across my floral-patterned comforter.

It’s more money than I’ve ever seen at one time, and the sight of it takes my breath away. I’m filled with two emotions that are starting to become all too common: excitement and fear. I know eventually one of them will win the battle between the two, and I’m either going to settle into this, or run for my life. Right now, however, the combination of the two mixes into a heightened sense of arousal. It’s all so new to me. The money, the power, the love—all of it is addicting, and I feel like I’m becoming strung out. Something in the back of my mind screams for me to quit, but I can’t.

Even when I know I should be saying
no
, and running away, I think there’s something in me that likes it. All of it: the excitement, the love, the fear. I like it all. I want it all. I don’t know what I have inside of me that makes me feel this way, but whatever it is, I like that too.

“What is all this, Dominic?” I ask, doing my best to fight back a smile.

“Every member of The Family has to kick up to the boss every month,” he says, looking down at the stacks of cash. “This is their first payment to me.”

“So, they’re paying you just for being the boss?”

“That’s right. Perks of being the boss, babe.

“How much is it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even care. This is why I can go legit and keep heat off of me. I’m gonna drop all of my rackets off to other guys in The Family, and everything with my name on it will be legal now. I run the casinos and rake in what The Family kicks up to me every month. There won’t be any heat from St. Louis PD or the FBI, because I won’t be attached to anything illegal. I’m untouchable.”

“This is fucking crazy, Dominic,” I say again, because it’s all I keep thinking.

“Yeah, it is,” he agrees as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind, and nuzzles my neck. “You know what else is crazy? Me . . . about you.”

“Aww, look at you being incredibly corny for me. How sweet.”

“I know it’s corny, but it’s true,” he says into my ear. I feel the warmth of his mouth on my skin and I become weak in the knees for him. “I’ve loved you since I was eleven years old, and nothing comes before you, Alannah. Nothing. And now that I’ve been put in this position, nothing can stand in our way. You and me are gonna rule this fucking city. Because I’m the kingpin, and you’re my queen.”

He kisses me on the neck again, and I let my head fall backwards to give him more room to work. He licks my skin and heat spreads throughout my body, warming me up in all the right places.

Dominic pushes me forward and I fall onto the stacks of money as he starts to pull down my pants. I feel hot in a way I’ve never felt before as I hear him undoing his pants and ripping open a condom wrapper. I bend over and give him access to all of me, as I lay my face on top of the money and breathe it all in. It’s like a scene from a gangster movie, as Dominic slides himself inside of me and fucks me on top of the stacks of cash. He thrusts hard and deep, like he’s been waiting all day to do it—like his newfound power has given him the hardest, most sensitive erection of his life, and he can’t hold back any longer.

I let him do it, because I love it. I love feeling his skin slam against mine, and I love his sweat dripping onto my back as I lay on top of the money. I grab it and squeeze as the orgasm hits me like a freight train, and I smile as Dominic flips me over and continues giving me everything I need, right here on top of more money than I care to count.

I know it’s dangerous, I know some would say it’s wrong. They may even say I’m stupid for staying with him. People may judge me and tell me how bad of an idea this is. Those people don’t understand, and I don’t need their approval.

I’ve known Dominic since I was eleven—that’s fourteen years of my life, and there’s no erasing that. Like I said before, when it comes to Dominic, the rules change. So, everyone can save their judgements.

I didn’t have a choice when I was fifteen. I had to move to Alaska because I was a minor, and it broke my heart into pieces that were never put back together until I came back. I have a choice whether to stay or go this time. And I choose Dominic.

He’s the kingpin, and I’m his queen.

We’re in this.

Together.

“O
ut of all the people in the world, the last person I expected to hear from is you.”

“Well, it took me a while to come to this decision, so I guess I surprised myself, too.”

“Alright, well, I’m here. In private, like you asked. So, what’s this about?”

“It’s about Dominic.”

“Well, I figured. Why else would you be talking to me?”

“Look, I think we both know that what just happened with The Family isn’t the best idea. I think he might be in a little over his head.”

“Maybe he is, but what the fuck is the point? He’s the boss now, so everybody in The Family has to just suck it up and accept it. There’s nothing anybody can do about it now.”

“Why not?”

“What do you mean, why not?”

“Why can’t anybody do anything about it?”

“Because that’s not the way it’s supposed to work anymore. This ain’t the nineties where John Gotti kills Paul Castellano to take his position as boss. It’s 2016, and things are done differently. So, as much as we may not like it, and as much damage as it might cause, we have to deal with it.”

“I don’t want to just deal with it. Look, I don’t want to see Dominic in this position because I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? He’s the most powerful, protected man in St. Louis. Nobody would dare lay a finger on him now.”