Love and War (16 page)

“Are you going to tell me why I’m here or are we just gazing at the stars?” Diesel asked softly.

Caprice turned around. Diesel was towering over her, so close that she could feel his breath on her hair every time he exhaled.

“We don’t have to talk,” she purred. “I’m sure you can think of something else you’d rather be doing with me.”

“What are you up to, Caprice?”

“Changing your life.”

Diesel burst out laughing. “Oh yeah?”

Caprice slid her hand along the chiseled curve of Diesel’s cheek. “Yup.”

She started to walk away, but Diesel pulled her into his arms. She sank against his chest and nestled her head on his shoulder.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered. “But you are not supposed to be in New York. You said you were going out west.”

“I know, but things have changed. I’m leaving New York though…soon. But not before you and I talk. I really need you to listen to me.”

“What do we need to talk about?”

Caprice looked up at Diesel. Everything about him was exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him. He always kept a fresh haircut and tonight was no exception. He was dressed in his signature black jeans and black wife beater. He even smelled the same. She remembered the last time she really had a good look at him, but this time when his eyes met hers, the dreamy doe-eyed expression was gone; replaced by a seriousness he had never seen before.

“Aries.”

Diesel exhaled and let Caprice go. He took a few steps back, sat down on the bed, and took a swig of his drink.

“You just aren’t going to let that go, are you?”

“No,” Caprice said firmly. “I can’t just let it go. You know that. But I could use your help.”

Diesel shook his head slowly. “No.”

“You say that as if you really have a choice.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Caprice sat next to him on the bed and crossed her legs. She took a sip of her drink before answering.

“It’s simple,” Caprice stated. “And I’m going to be completely straight with you. Aries is already a non-
motherfuckin
’ factor. This time tomorrow, he’ll be dead. It’s up to you if this goes smoothly or if a lot of people are going to end up hurt.”

“What’s going to happen tomorrow?” Diesel asked.

Caprice laughed softly. “I’m not telling you that. I have a proposition for you though.”

Diesel ran his hands over his waves. Caprice had vengeance in her eyes and a score to settle. She was serious, really serious. Whatever she had planned for the next day was going to be bloody.

“Talk. I’m listening,” he replied.

“We know Cesar has ended your arrangement. At the rate you’re selling, you’ll be bone dry by the end of the week. And without a leader,” Caprice added. So like I said, I’m here to change your life.”

“How do you expect do that? And ain’t
nothin
’ wrong with my life for you to be
tryin
’ to change.”

“You really think you have a good life?” She laughed but it was cynical…downright evil. “Please. I have a good life. You know nothing about living good.”

Diesel pushed her away from him and stood up. “I’m out of here. Ain’t nobody got time for your shit. Open your safe and give me my piece.”

“Sit back down,” Caprice ordered. “We’re not done.”

“I’m done.”

“Are you?” Caprice raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “You haven’t even heard my proposition. Besides, I know you’re not pissed because I said your life was shit. Sit down.”

“Say what you have to say, Caprice.”

“Fine,” she sighed when it became clear that Diesel was not going to sit down. “After tomorrow, I’m assuming you’ll be the number one man in BDM. So you have two options. One, BDM falls back in line with us. You re-up with us and after the shit that Aries pulled, our cut is now thirty percent. Do that and we’ll leave you alone to run your business as you see fit. As long as there is never any type of retaliation against us…ever.”

“Say I don’t want to re-up with you,”

“
Ahhh
,” Caprice sneered. “Let’s just say my brother is on the warpath and leave it at that. I’m sure you know what that means.”

“So what’s behind door number two?”

Caprice broke into a wide smile. “A new life for you and your family out of state. A high paying job with real benefits. Proper medical care for your mother. The good life.”

“What’s the trick?”

“There’s no trick,” Caprice stated. “No tricks. Only conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“You have to get Aries to meet me tomorrow. Alone at the St. Albans house. That’s all you have to do. Get him there and go pack up your family. I’ll have a place in Atlantic City waiting for you.”

Diesel eyed Caprice with suspicion. She’d taken a beating a few months ago. Those metal bats must have really screwed up her head if she thought for second he believed she was serious.

“Atlantic City? What are you talking about?”

“That’s where I’m going to be. We’re building a casino there. It’s going to be the best one on the strip, and it has to be staffed. I’m offering you a real life…a safe life. And if you want, you can have a life with me.”

“And all I have to do is set up my best friend, right? You are out of your damn mind.”

Caprice shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She was trying to keep it cool, but his words hurt. She was honestly trying to look out for him. He had to realize that no matter what he said, the situation wasn’t going to change. If he didn’t cooperate with her, her brother and his goons were going to kill him in less than twenty-four hours without hesitation. There would be nothing she could do about it. He had to know that. He’d been in the streets way too long not to realize the entire Black Diamond Mafia would pay for what Aries had done.

“Aries is a bitch,” Caprice stated coolly. “He never asked me any questions about my family or anything. All he did was try to fuck. He assumed that because I was Nico’s sister, I was working against him. He had no concrete proof, yet he ordered his bitches to hurt me. I was in the hospital for weeks, Diesel!” Caprice yelled. “My jaw was wired shut. I had to have surgery to fix my face! Four broken ribs, my left leg was broken in three different places!
 
My brain was swollen. I almost fuckin’ died!
 
All over a fuckin’ assumption!”

“But they weren’t wrong, were they? You were
workin
’ for your brother.”

“Maybe…maybe not. I told you that I had just met my father and his family. Don’t you know anything about Italians? You do know that women rarely work in the family business, right? Why on earth would Nico ever let his little sister do something as dangerous as spy on the Black Diamond Mafia? Did you ever consider that my involvement now is simply because they tried to kill me?”

Diesel rolled his eyes. His mouth turned up into a small smirk. “You’re good, Caprice. But, don’t try to con me.”

“I’m not trying to con you. I’m telling you that Aries is stupid and a bad leader. I’m trying to make you understand why you shouldn’t be protecting him. He did what he did to me based on an assumption. Tell me, Diesel, is that how a boss operates? Do you feel safe working for a man that didn’t even have the balls to finish the job? If you were in charge and you found out about me, would you have let me live?”

Diesel’s silence confirmed everything Caprice thought she knew about him. He wasn’t happy with the way Aries ran his gang. Diesel had wanted to handle the Bonatelli situation differently from the very start; he’d said so on a few different occasions. But Aries always had a plan. Look where all his plans got them. Gangs had tried to go up against the Italians many times in New York. None of them had been successful. Now they were in a position that meant Aries could stay protected and BDM would go to war with the Bonatelli Family. Or Diesel could do as Caprice suggested and walk away. He sat down on the bed next to Caprice.

Caprice saw the anger and frustration burning in Diesel’s eyes. She used it to her advantage as she hiked up her dress and straddled his thick thighs. She looked him right in the eyes, daring him to look away.

“You would be a better leader than him,” she said. “You could probably work well with Paolo or my brother. But you don’t have to. Why stay in New York? Why choose your fake family over your real family? You went to college because you wanted to be better than what you were. Here’s your chance.”

Diesel’s hands crept slowly around Caprice’s waist and down to her ass.
 
He gripped her tightly while he looked in her eyes for any sign that she was lying.

“And all I have to do is…”

“Trust me,” Caprice finished his sentence. “All you have to do is trust me. Because whether you help me or not, whether you still care about me or not; you can’t stop what’s already in motion. I’m not asking you to be with us on this, Diesel. I’m simply telling you not to be against us. The day after tomorrow, I’ll be in Atlantic City. You have one day to decide where you’re going to be.”

Diesel’s grip tightened on Caprice’s ass. He slid his other hand into her hair. In the weeks they had spent together, they’d never been so close. He was torn by the decision he had to make, but there was one thing he was sure of…

He was still completely in love with the woman in front of him.

He almost didn’t care who her family was. Caprice was special to him. Had Aries told him what he planned to do to her, Diesel would have figured out a way to stop him. In fact, he still felt guilty that he hadn’t stopped him.

“Why are you taking this risk?” he asked Caprice. “How do you know that I’m not going straight to Aries when I leave here and tell him what you’re up to?”

“I don’t,” Caprice whispered softly. Her eyes began to fill with warm tears. “But I trust you.”

“Why?”

“My gut tells me I can trust you.”

“And? I mean, you’re putting your life on the line here,” Diesel said. “And it isn’t because you trust me.”

Caprice closed her eyes and sighed. “I think…I think I’m in love with you. That’s why I trust you. That’s why I’m doing this. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“I wanted to hear that three months ago,” Diesel answered and pressed his mouth firmly against hers, kissing her forcefully. His tongue probed inside her mouth like he was treasure hunting.

Diesel moved one of his hands and began to stroke her braless nipple through the thin cotton of her dress. Caprice’s moans became involuntary when he moved from her lips to her neck, sucking hard…marking his territory.

Without warning, Diesel swung Caprice onto her back and pinned her arms to the bed with one hand. Caprice gasped as every nerve ending in her body caught on fire. With one hand holding Caprice’s wrists over her head, Diesel unzipped the long silver zipper on the front of her dress and opened it.

Circling his fingers around her navel, he watched with immense satisfaction as Caprice’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Atlantic City,” he murmured. “A casino, huh?”

“Yes,” she moaned as Diesel played with the top of her panties. “And hotel.”

“What will you have me doing there?”

In the heat of the moment, Caprice had a laundry list of what he could do in Atlantic City…none of which involved working at The Capri, and she would get to it later. But for now, she didn’t have a clue as to exactly what job he could do when they got there. That’s what she told him too. She had no reason to lie to Diesel.

“So,” he dragged the word out slowly. “You expect me to betray my best friend, uproot my mother and siblings, and move to Atlantic City and do what? Be your boy toy? Your kept nigga? I don’t think so, Caprice. Seems like that only works for you. What’s in it for me?”

What’s in it for you?” Caprice repeated angrily and slapped Diesel’s hand away from her body. She wiggled out of his grip and sat up on the bed.

“Are you fuckin’ serious right now? What’s in it for you? How about not having my brother blow your brains out for starters? How about making some real money that won’t get you locked up? I’m offering you the deal of the fuckin’ century. Sack up and make a choice!”

“And what’s Nico going to do when I show up in Atlantic City with you?”

“Like I said, trust me and you won’t have to worry about my brother.”

“I don’t know what Aries has planned for tomorrow. I don’t know if he’s even going to be in the city.”
 
Diesel pushed Caprice gently back down on the bed and kissed her navel. “But I’ll do my best.”

“That’s not good enough.”

Diesel slipped his hand between Caprice’s thighs and pulled down her damp panties. His thumb circled her clit as he slid his middle finger into her pussy as deep as it would go. She sucked in her breath in a quick hard gasp.

“Make it enough,” Diesel whispered. He continued to stroke her with his thick fingers until her thighs began to quiver.

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” he said between flicking his tongue across Caprice’s hardened nipples.

She wasn’t hearing a word that was coming out of Diesel’s mouth. Her body was screaming for more while simultaneously dealing with the sensations he was already delivering. It was too much for her to concentrate.