Love and Sacrifice (10 page)

            
 
Chapter 17

             
“Get Over It”

Tommy

I hear a loud banging on my door and immediately reach for the gun next to my bed. It's three o'clock in the morning. I'm not sleeping, but still, who the hell could that be?

I look outside my window and see Ella.

What the hell is she doing here?

I lean my head against my door and sigh
, still holding my gun. I quickly open the door and pull her inside, locking it.

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask as I face her. She takes me in as she gazes down at my shirtless body.

"Oh, that must be your infamous gun." She points to the gun in my right hand. I place it behind my back so she won't be nervous.

She smacks her lips at me. "Oh please, I grew up around guns."
I shake my head and shrug, placing the gun on top of my coffee table.

"What are you doing here
, Ella?"

"Well, I knew you would be up and... I wanted to see you."

It takes me a minute to realize what she’s wearing: a very tight and short, dark blue dress and black high heels. God, she has sexy legs.

Snap out of it, Tommy.

I rub my temple. “I thought I told you ─ ”

“I went out with Dina tonight,” she interrupts me. “We went to this local bar and this rich frat guy flirted with me and we made out for a bit.”

My blood boils from the words coming out of her mouth. I immediately imagine her kissing some other guy. Some idiot frat boy with his hands all over her and all I want to do is find and kill him.

“How do you feel about that?” she asks me.

“Get out, Ella,” I tell her calmly.

“No.”

“Ella! Get out!” My heart is beating so fast.

“So, you are jealous?”

I pull my hair and hit the wall with my hands. “Yes! I am jealous. Is that what the hell you wanted to hear?!”

“Yes. And by the way I lied. Not about the frat boy, but the kissing. I didn’t kiss him. He didn’t even get my number.” She shrugs her shoulders and goes into my fridge, pulling out a beer. I watch in disbelief as she pops the cap and has this confident and victorious smirk on her face. I don’t know whether to be turned on or pissed. Screw it, I’m both.

“You’re crazy,” I tell her.

“So, are you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“You. I want you to stop being a dumb ass and just admit that this thing we have is the best thing that has ever happened to us.”

“Okay, fine. You make me feel things I have never felt before. Is that good? I can’t stand the fact of anyone hurting you. I would hurt anyone that touches you. You make me laugh, you make me smile. You make me happy and it drives me crazy.”

“Why?!” I can’t answer that. “Why are you so scared of it? You know I never got the whole ‘my life is messed up so everything good that happens is bad for me, but oh, I will accept all the bad shit.’ Tommy, I get it. Your past is torture. I know that every day you think about your mother because of the way you grab your pendant and rub it like you’re talking to her. I know that you hate the fact that you resemble your father. I know the fact that you have taken a life and do not have any remorse about it scares you into thinking you’re a monster, but you know what Tommy? To me you’re a... ” She waves her hand in the air trying to find the right word. “A warrior, a protector, you are someone with so much strength, honor, and loyalty, but you’re so stupid!”

She pushes me out of nowhere. “Really? You’re going to say that to me then push me?”

“Because you are stupid! And I hate you for making me be this girl. The girl that tries to save people and go crazy over a boy.”

“Hey, I never asked you to save me or come over here at freaking three a.m. in the morning.”

“Well, get over it, because I’m here because of you. To me you are worth going past my boundaries,” she huffs her chest. “You fucking idiot!”

She pushes me again then punches my chest and it actually kind of hurts. I start laughing because this girl is really into me and I love it, every bit of it.

“Stop laughing.” She pushes me against the wall and I grab her wrists, stopping her. She glares at me in anger and lust, turning me on even more. I pull her to me and kiss her, not wasting any time as I enter her mouth with my tongue and grip her ass. She grabs my hair and pulls it hard. I lift her up and place her on the kitchen counter, pushing her dress to her waist and ripping off her underwear. Drunk from her warm scent and soft legs around my waist, I pull down my sweats and thrust into her hard, completely falling into her as she clutches my face and presses her forehead against mine. She feels so good, so perfect. We just match perfectly. If I go real fast, she speeds right up, and if she goes slowly, I take my time. It’s just right.

After a few more thrusts, she buries her head into the crook of my neck and grips my back. I grab the knob on one of the kitchen cabinets and thrust harder into her, sending both of us to our climaxes at the same time.

            
 
Ella

I fall onto the bed, trying to catch my breath. He falls next to me and rubs the after sweat from his face.

“I never thought you would be so flexible,” he says.

I laugh and slap him on the chest. “Shut up.” I brush the hair from my face. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah.”

I prop my head up on my hand and face him. “I bet you’re glad I came over, huh?”

His face turns serious. “I was glad when you knocked on my door.”

I smile at his truth. “It’s okay that you don’t want to go with me to the wedding or anything else you don’t feel comfortable doing, Tommy. I just want to keep being with you.”

He pulls me down and I lay my head on his damp chest. I listen to his heartbeat and can only hope that one day he will be fully comfortable with me.

“Good, because I hate suits, and I definitely hate ties,” he says, which is not the answer I was hoping for, but like my dad said, give it time.

            
 
Chapter 18

             
“Snap”

             
Tomm
y
             

F
eeling my bed move, I turn around and see Ella, naked and stretching.

             
"I'm about to go take a shower. Feel free to join me," she smiles while walking backwards out of my room. I flip off the covers and check my phone: 1:36 p.m. We slept most of the day away after our night/morning activities. I hear the shower and stand up, about to head into the bathroom when I hear a knock on the door.

Ella told her parents
she was staying at Dina's, but you never know. Her father and three men could be outside, or maybe he found out and he's coming to kill me. I throw on my sweats and hear more knocking. Moving my gun from the coffee table to the top of the refrigerator, I glance out the window and my heart sinks.

             
Deeply inhaling and exhaling, I brace myself and open the door. Vico, Chris and Terry smile at me.

             
"What are you guys doing here?"

             
"We’re doing recon with another inside guy at the Pierce house,” Chris says as they walk in.

             
"Listen, you guys need to go right back out because I got company in the shower," I calmly tell them, like it’s nothing.

             
"Little Tommy boy got himself some last night?" Vico asks.

             
I give them a cocky smile. "You can say that."

             
"Let me go have a peek," Vico says, heading towards my bathroom.

             
"Vico, you can't."

"Why?" Terry asks with that same smug grin on his face like he knows something.
Vico and Chris are giving me questionable looks too, so I just say what I have to.

"Ella Pierce is in there."

              Vico and Chris were speechless. Terry nodded.

             
"Oh shit!" Vico exclaims, jumping up and down. "Nice Tommy."

             
"How was she?" Chris asks.

             
"Nice and sweet, she does things you wouldn't believe," I tell them what they want to hear.

             
"Damn, let me have a crack at her," Chris says.

             
I feel my left temple jump at the vision of Chris, Vico, and especially Terry getting their hands on Ella.

             
"No. You can't. It's not time yet with the case and all," I tell them, hoping that's a good enough reason for them because they don't really follow rules.

             
"You’re right. That's what we came to tell you," Chris says.

             
I don't know what Ella is doing in that shower, but I need her to stay in there.

             
"Okay, hurry up," I tell them.

             
"We're telling you because we know you’re tired of this bullshit place and we are pleased to inform you that you will soon be free, buddy."

             
"What happened?”

             
"That detective brother of yours; we shot up his house while his family was there." My heart sank further.

             
"That's good. Scare him," I say him with a smile.

             
"Oh, we went there to do more than scare him,” Terry says quietly.

“U
nfortunately, no one died."             

"Well
, he got the hint. Now if you don't mind, get out. I'll see you guys later," I say firmly, smiling and patting Vico on the back, showing I’m glad to hear their news, even though I’m not.

They leave and close the door just in time for the shower to
stop.

Ella

              I heard the door and guys’ voices, but I stayed in the bathroom and took a long hot shower, hoping he would join me, but he didn't. When I get back in the bedroom, he looks a little unhinged.

             
"You okay? Who was at the door?"

             
"Oh, I didn't know you could hear."

             
"Yeah, I heard voices, but I was hoping you would join me." I wrap my arms around his neck.

             
"Yeah, some friends. They're assholes."

             
"Friends from the city?"

             
"No, coworkers from the catering company."

             
"I thought you hated everyone at that job?"

             
"Well, like you, they are starting to grow on me."

             
"Shut up." I shut him up with a kiss on the mouth and he pulls me in for a hug. I hear him inhale my fresh scent.

             
"Let's get away," he whispers in my ear, holding on to me tightly.

             
I look at him with a confused smile. "What?"

             
"Let's get out of here. Go out of town, have an adventure."

             
"Where is this coming from?"

             
He goes into deep thought. "I don't know. I'm trippin."

             
“You’re not in trouble, are you?” I ask point blank.

             
“No.” He looks me in the eye when he says it. “I’m not. I just… worry too much about nothing.” He releases the embrace and goes through his folded clothes in the corner of his room.

             
"I would like that, though, Tommy." I get his attention back. "Go away on a trip with you. We should do that one day... in the future."

Tommy

              I don't know why I drive pass Joey's place, but a part of me is curious. I pull up in front of his place and see boarded windows and shattered glass on the ground.

             
Joey comes out of the house, carrying a chair with bullet holes in it. He sees me instantly and my stupid ass gets out of the car. Why should I care or have any guilt about this? Still, no matter how much I try to convince myself I don’t care, I’m glad his family is okay.

             
He walks fast towards me and without a word pushes me against my car. "You see! Huh?!” He points to his house. "You see what your friends did to my house!" He gets closer to my face. "Or were you with them?"

             
I push him away from me and stand my ground, knowing that I really don't have a right to. "I didn't have shit to do with this!"

             
"Yeah, you didn't have shit to do with the prosecutor mysteriously misplacing evidence too, huh?"

             
I look away, not knowing what to say.

             
"My wife and son were here! I tried to give you a chance because you, you piece of shit, are my brother… but I'm done! You tell your boss that I am coming for him with everything I got and I will use you if I have to. I already gave my department your name as a link to the Valentine family. It's over, Tommy. I suggest you fucking get out of town because there is a war brewing and you need to figure out whose side you’re on and who is worth saving. So, snap out of your shit!” He pushes me against my car again. It takes everything in me not to kick the shit out of him. “Get the hell away from my house!”

****

            
 
Coming to Mickey’s warehouse doesn’t help
.
Mickey and everybody, including a few strippers and his lawyer, Vico, Chris, and Terry are popping bottles and smoking cigars like someone's having a baby or something.

             
"There he is!" Mickey points to me, holding his cigar between his lips and claps. "This kid, right here; I love this kid."

             
Putting the cigar in the ashtray and holding my face, he kisses my forehead and laughs. "This kid is my heir to all of this. And after we take over New York, we will be kings." He sits back in his seat behind his desk and snorts a line of coke, then takes a shot of vodka. "After we take down Roman Pierce we’ll get back to business and go after Corella next."

             
Oscar Corella and his brothers are the top dogs now in New York since Roman Pierce left. They took over the Irish territory and are at war with us. They just don't know it yet.

             
"What happened?" I ask.

             
"The state prosecutor has no evidence," his lawyer says. "The case is going to be dropped the day after tomorrow."

             
"That's great, Mickey," I smile at him, but I'm lying. I don't want Mickey to go to jail, but Ella is in danger now. Mickey passes me a shot of vodka. We clink our glasses and drink up. He has a smile on his face that I've never seen before.

             
"What about Tommy's brother?" Vico asks.

             
Mickey throws his shot glass at Vico. "Hey! That narc is no brother of Tommy." Mickey places his hand on my shoulder like a proud father. "Ain't that right?"

             
"Yeah, that's right," I say, smiling, but some part of me feels overwhelmed.

             
"We’ll take care of him. Tonight, we celebrate."

             
"So, Mickey," Terry continues, sitting in his seat with his legs crossed and his fingers circling his glass. "You should be real proud of your boy, here. I hear he has Ella Pierce in the palm of his hand. Meeting her family and shit, hell, I even hear the way she looks at him causes your heart to melt."

             
"How would you know that?" I ask him.

             
"Mickey has his little secret moles following the Pierce family too. You didn't know?"

             
Mickey has guys on the inside who watch from a distance, guys so secretive that we don’t even know about them. But I have heard that Terry knows a few.

             
"Well, that's good. You can pull the trigger when the time comes," Mickey says to me, causing me to feel rage for me the first time in my life.

             
"Yeah, but I can't wait to taste her brother's girlfriend."

             
"Who? Henry Stonem's daughter?" the lawyer asks.

             
“Yeah, she’s ripe, but from what Tommy boy says, Ella Pierce sounds like she could be better than her friend.”

             
“Yeah, man, she’s hot. Her mom is too,” adds Vico.

             
“Well, you boys will get to see what they’re really like soon,” Mickey chimes in.

             
Everything is so blurry for me. Every one of these guys are strangers to me now, strangers trying to hurt what is mine. All I want is to kill them all.

             
Terry continues smiling at me, baiting me in front of Mickey.

             
“You know, Tommy boy,” Terry says, standing and walking up to me. “Picture this; call it a bonding experience between us. Me and you just switching it up on her, tie her up and have our way in front of her daddy.” My body isn’t moving, but the inside of me is boiling over. “What do you think of that, Mickey?”

             
“I like the sound of that,” Mickey says and I’m not shocked.

             
“I know that’s not your style, Tommy, but you don’t care if we have a crack at her, right?”

             
I can’t even answer. I swallow the huge lump in my throat. “You can sit back and watch while we make her life as pleasurable and miserable as possible.” He leans in and whispers, “I’m going to gut her like your pops did your mother.”

             
I don’t think anymore, I just let myself go, grabbing Terry by the collar and shoving him hard into the wall. I hear a crack.

             
“Hey!” Chris yells, trying to pull me off of him. I swing at Terry’s face as he smiles at me, but Vico hooks his arm into mine and he and Chris yank me away from him. I push them off and back up, seeing the look of shock and confusion on their faces while Mickey looks at me with disappointment and fury.

             
“Everybody out,” Mickey calmly orders. Nobody moves because they’re all still looking at me, ready to kill me themselves.

             
“OUT!!!” Mickey screams at the top of his lungs. The girls run and the guys, one by one, bump into me as they walk out. His lawyer grabs his briefcase and the hooker that was sitting on his lap. Terry, that fucking prick, keeps smiling as he brushes off his shoulders and walks out.