Strapped: A Second Chance Mafia Romance (21 page)

A
s I finally get Sophia inside
my apartment, my mind is buzzing with anticipation. Everything that happened is still spinning through my mind, and I feel really uneasy with it all. I know that Arial agreed to pass my message on to Aiden, to save Freddie’s life, but I don’t trust her one bit. She’s already proven that she can’t be trusted, and that makes me
very
uncomfortable. Maybe none of the Irish know about her involvement with one of theirs – Sophia didn’t, and she’s supposed to be her best friend – so maybe they’ll both go on the run to escape everyone.

Sure, there will be queries as to what happened to their men, but what I
really
need is for them to leave Sophia completely alone. I don’t want there to be any confusion as to why they were killed. I need it to be known.

No, I can’t just leave it at that. I need to finish this once and for all.

“I know that this sucks,” I tell Sophia as she slides onto the sofa, wanting to be honest. “But if I call some guys around to watch you, will you be okay if I go out for a bit?”

“Where?” She asks, looking panicked. “Do you really have to go now? And who will you send to watch me? What if… what if they… don’t like me or something?” Of course she still doesn’t fully trust the Italians – how could she after being betrayed by her own people? But I know for certain that she’ll be safe.

“The doors will be locked and the men will be waiting outside the building.” I step forward and grip onto her hands, looking seriously into her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you, I really don’t. Please believe me that I wouldn’t be doing this if I really didn’t have to, but I cannot keep having your life at risk. I won’t be able to be with you twenty-four seven for the rest of your life, and I’m sure that you don’t want that either.” I watch as she slowly shakes her head, accepting my words. “I need to make sure that you’re kept safe forever.”

“What…?” She gulps, trying to keep her fear deep inside. “What are you going to do?”

I honestly contemplate telling her my full plan, but I realize that she’s been through enough. My being honest right now will be much more for my benefit than hers. I need to protect her from at least some of this nightmare.

“I’m going to gather up some of my guys, make a plan from there,” I end up replying evasively. “So… do you think that you’ll be okay?”

She nods doubtfully, and I have to take that as enough, so I take her to bed and get the television set up for her.

“You pick a movie,” I smile, trying to look confident and calm. “I’m just going to make some phone calls, then I’ll be in to say goodbye.”

I slip away from her as she flicks through my random selection of DVDs, before dialing Diego’s number.

“Hey dude,” he answers. “How ya doing?”

“Diego, shit just got real,” I tell him seriously. “Two Irish guys jumped Sophia, nearly killed her. Luckily I was there…”

“What did you do?” He gasps, shocked.

“I killed one of them and shot the other. I told him and his crazy ass girlfriend to get a message back to this Aiden douchebag, but I don’t think that they’ll do it…”

“He brought his girlfriend along?” Diego asks, completely and understandably stunned. It’s an unwritten rule that we never bring partners into our mess. One because we don’t want them to get hurt, and two because the fewer people that know about what we do, the better.

“Yeah, she was the trap. It’s Sophia’s friend… do you remember the bridesmaid at the wedding?”

“The hot one?” He gasps. “No way!”

“She might be hot, but she’s crazy,” I reply sharply. “We need to take action now, okay? Call up the rest of the guys and we’ll meet by Teasers. Hopefully someone will have some information for me. Oh, and send three guys to watch my apartment please.”

“Consider it done,” he states before clicking off the phone.

I sneak back into the bedroom to see Sophia gazing at the TV with a glazed expression on her face. She’s obviously emotionally and mentally exhausted with it all, and I really hope that she gets the rest that she needs.

“I’m going now,” I tell her, stepping forward to kiss her on her forehead. But as I lean in, she twists her face nearer to me, and I end up meeting her lips instead – a sensation that sparks an intense emotion within me. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Yeah,” she replies a little sadly. “I’ll see you later.”

As I step out of the front door, I check that my guys are on the case protecting the building, before I sling my leg over my bike and race over to where I need to be. This time, there’s no question, no hesitation. Action needs to be taken and that’s the end of it. I don’t even have any intention of consulting my dad on this one. It’s
my
wife that’s being threatened,
me
that’s been affected, and that’s the end of it.

I don’t even have time to think about votes or democracy – this needs to happen.

I stalk through the doors quickly, spotting my guys at the usual table, but this time I’m not hanging around to drink and have a laugh tonight. I don’t even sit down, I simply loom over the table, all business.

“Okay, you guys,” I start in a commanding tone. “What do you have for me? We need to strike today before those Irish fuckers become too confident. We need to attack while they aren’t expecting it.”

“I think that we should go for Gary’s Betting Shop,” Liam tells me. “There seems to be a
lot
of comings and goings in there. We all know that it’s one of their meeting places… so I say we go there and get our message across. We may even be able to spot things that can help us too…”

“Done,” I agree, not really caring the reasons for taking this place, just needing somewhere to go for. “Drink up, we’re going now. It’s not far from here anyway, so we can walk it easily.”

“Don’t we want a getaway car?” Someone asks, and I shake my head angrily.

“No, we’re just going to go in, and get a message across. There shouldn’t be any need for a quick getaway.” But even as I say those words, I wonder if I’m going to live to regret those words. “Actually yeah, a couple of you
should
get cars… just in case.”

“Yes, boss.”

With that, we all spring into action. Some of us move towards Gary’s Betting Shop, the others go to get cars. I can hear a murmured conversation going on behind me, but I’m tuning it out, simply getting into the zone. I allow everything that’s happened to flood my mind, to get me pumped up and ready to do what needs to be done.

These fuckers want Sophia, and they cannot have her.

I know for a fact that I’m going to have to kill Aiden eventually – I can already tell that he’s the sort of man who won’t stop until he has what he wants (just look at what he did to Patrick!) – but he won’t win this time. I won’t have it. Sophia is
mine
and he really needs to accept that.

“Come on,” I eventually instruct the guys behind me. “Get your guns to the ready – we don’t know what we’re walking into here.”

With my hand touching the cool metal of my gun, I feel totally in control, which is exactly where I need to be. As I stroll through the door, and my eyes flick around the shop, I can quickly deduce that there are no innocent bystanders, which is perfect. I recognize the only two men from the Irish mafia, so there will be no one that I need to silence.

“Well, well, well,” I announce in a cocky voice, swaggering around. “What do we have here then?”

“We don’t want any trouble,” one of them instantly warns, giving me a look at his own gun. I laugh loudly, wanting to show him that I don’t care, and with that, Diego and the others join me one by one. “What… what are you doing here?” He asks, sounding far more scared.

“We have a message for you,” I tell him. I look like I’m only looking at him, but I can already see that the other guy is planning something. He’s shifting in his seat, trying to sort himself out before he makes his move. When he does, I’ll be ready for it. “I need you to tell your precious Aiden that I’m coming for him.” Okay, the other guy is moving now – slowly and delicately, as if he thinks that it won’t get the attention of my men. I send Diego a meaningful look, and he steadies himself, ready for action.

“He won’t care,” the man answers, panicking, but before I can ask why, everything happens all at once.

The other guy charges at me with a knife in his hand.

My guys grab the one I was talking to, holding him in place.

I turn, and punch, knocking the knife from him.

Then I carry on hitting and hitting until he lies on the ground, practically defeated.

“Don’t
ever
come at me in a sneak attack,” I hiss at his almost dead body. I look to the man in Diego’s arms. “See what happens when people cross me?”

He looks away, acting as if he’s never seen blood before, which angers me even further, so without even thinking, I pull my gun out and I pull the trigger, splatting his brain everywhere. I know I’m acting irrational and insane. But I need people to leave Sophia alone! It’s making me crazy.

If my boys are shocked by my insanity, they remain ever professional and don’t let it show on any of their faces. Even as I get closer to the one man left alive, the one who is now quivering in his boots. This makes me think
much
less of the Irish mafia – we have always been taught to take death bravely. The last thing your enemy needs to see, it’s your indifference.

But not here – he might as well be pissing his pants!

“Now,” I command, pointing the gun under his chin. “You take this message back to your boss
today.
” He nods, and I can tell that this guy will actually do it, for fear of his own life. “Tell him that Enzo Carbone is going to hunt him down for what he’s doing to Sophia Murphy. Tell him that not only will he
never
get his hands on her, but also that I’m going to kill him before he can do anything. His reign will be over before it can even get started. Tell him that we all know he killed Patrick Murphy, and let him know that’ll it’ll all be for nothing.”

And with that, I spin on my heels and I stalk from the shop, straight into one of the getaway cars that’s waiting outside for me.

“Take me to get my bike,” I tell the driver, without even looking at him. “I need to get home.”

I need to get as far away as possible from the scene of the crime, just in case the man rings the police about the murder – even though I’m pretty confident that he won’t – and I need to be alone. I don’t want any comments from my boys right now, even though I probably really need to hear them. I don’t want to be questioned about my feelings for my wife, and I know that there will be plenty now. I’ve made it
really
obvious with my threats.

I just need to be back with her where everything makes sense…

I
try
my best to lose myself in the movie, but I just cannot concentrate on anything that anyone is saying on the screen. I keep finding myself pacing up and down the apartment, just waiting for any kind of noise, a sign that he’s coming back for me. It’s too tense, too awful without him and I can barely cope. I keep glancing out of the window, where I can see what I assume are Enzo’s men, but even that isn’t enough to make me feel any semblance of safe.

This feels horrible, I know that he’s in danger and that it’s my fault – or at least, it’s because of me – and there’s nothing I can do to help that. It’s worse that when I used to fear about my dad – and look how that turned out. I can’t keep going through all of this turmoil. The stress alone will send me over the edge.

Don’t die, Enzo,
I beg inside.
I need you. I don’t have anyone else…

Then, as if I’ve somehow magically summoned him, he staggers through the door, looking disheveled and desperately unhappy. A combination that I have no idea what to do with, so I decide to focus on the positive – he’s alive at least!

“Oh my God, Enzo,” I race to his side, and throw my arms around him. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?” I’m panicking now, really trying to figure something out, but my brain is drawing a blank.

“I’m okay,” he eventually gasps. “I just need a drink.”

I watch in shock as he pulls away from me, and he grabs the nearest bottle of whiskey. I stand to one side, feeling like I want to be invisible for a second as he glugs down two tumblers in quick concession.

Something has clearly happened, and I’m desperately afraid to know what.

As he sits down, and he holds his head in his hands, I find myself drawn towards him like a magnet. He’s hurting, and although I can sense danger inside, I find myself wanting to comfort him regardless. I can’t help myself, there’s such a deep feeling there that it’s making me contradict everything that I ever thought I would fall for. I always promised myself that I would marry someone safe and secure,
nothing
like my father. Now here I am, with a man that’s definitely somewhat the same, if not
exactly
like him. Sure, the wedding might have been a sham, but the feelings are real. I certainly didn’t have to fall for Enzo, but I’ve gone ahead and done so anyway.

“Can I do anything?” I ask him, wanting him to look at me, to communicate with me… something. I can’t stand the tension. It’s building up powerfully inside of me, slowly driving me wild. “Can I… can I help?”

“I killed someone,” he gasps, finally giving me eye contact, showing me the sheer hurt there deep inside. I can instantly tell that this wasn’t his initial intention, that he didn’t mean to do it. Maybe something happened, someone was in danger – maybe he saved them like he did me. Or is that me just trying to find excuses for him committing such a deplorable act? “Someone else. One of the Irish mafia. I wanted a message to be taken to Aiden, and I took it too far.”

I gulp down, picturing
that
scene all over again. The gunshot, the blood, the terror… If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t be able to imagine that Enzo could be capable of that.

But I
have
seen it, and for some reason I’m not put off. I should be running for the hills, but all I want to do is hold him.

“Right,” I practically whisper. “So… what now?” If I could hazard a guess as to how this game goes, the Irish will take a shot back next… and this will escalate until almost everyone is dead.

I don’t want to die, and I don’t want Enzo to either. I don’t care what he’s done, he isn’t a terrible person. The world might not know that, but I do. It’s just his world that has led him to become who he is.

“I don’t know,” he admits. “Things could get… weird. Maybe we should hide out at my dad’s for a while. There will be loads of protection there.”

Even the idea of that has me trembling with fear. I don’t want to live among people I don’t know or trust, no way! Enzo might want to see the best in them, but I can’t. I shake my head nervously, hoping that he won’t hate me for refusing.

“I can’t do that,” I tell him. “I think that they want me dead too…”

“They don’t,” he tries to argue, but I won’t be budged. I’ll never be able to feel safe that way. The only one that I can trust to protect me, the only one I want to be around is Enzo, which sparks a brilliant idea in my mind. “We should go on the run,” I grab onto him as my tone turns to one of excitement. “Just me and you. We could escape this, start a new life. Live a totally different way. There will no violence, no mob, just us.” I grow incessant by my plan. This is it! It’ll be perfect – Enzo has to see that. “It’ll be amazing, I promise you.”

“We can’t,” he instantly shoots me down, dismissing my idea. “I can’t abandon my people, not now. Not when things are so crazy.”

“But…” I start, but he won’t let me get a word in edgewise.

“We can’t go, that’ll make things so much worse. They will end up finding us eventually, trust me.” He pulls me in for a deep hug, and it takes all that I have not to fall apart. Frustrated tears prick my eyes as I find myself in yet another situation where I cannot control what happens in my life.

This isn’t fair, none of it!

“Come on,” he pulls back and looks at me. “Let’s get to bed.”

I don’t want to agree when I’m so upset, but the look that he gives me melts my heart a little and I find myself nodding. He takes my hand and leads me into his room, all the while my heart is racing and my head is spinning. I feel like I can’t grasp hold of my thoughts for long enough to make a clear and concise decision about everything that’s going on.

I’m a mess, but as long as Enzo is here, at least I feel at home… a sensation that I
know
is very strange.

Once we’re both in the bed, Enzo slides his body closer to mine, and I find myself melting into his embrace – however much I don’t want to. I want him to understand that I’m irritated, and that I’m finding all of this hard, but I can’t seem to keep away from him, however much I want to.

Maybe it’s time for me to accept that he’s right anyway, maybe he knows all of this much better than I do. Maybe it’s time to start listening to him. I suppose the Irish would catch up with us eventually if they want me that badly, then things would get really complex.

By the time he turns his body onto his side, I’m ready to imitate him, to let him in and bring him closer to me. He presses his lips sweetly up against mine, and I allow him to claim me in that way all over again. I want to be his, I want him to take me… it’s everything else that I don’t want. It’s the situation surrounding us.

After a few moments, I block the rest of the world out and I encourage the kissing to get a little more heated. He presses himself up against me, showing me that he wants me badly, and an involuntary moan bursts from my throat as a reply. I start to realize that this is headed somewhere, and that I really,
really
want that.

His hands make their way down my body and the hot desire floods through me. Nothing else matters when he can make me feel this good merely using his fingers. I give in to the sensations in my body, switching my brain off completely. I become nothing more than the passion that he’s making me feel, and that’s invigorating, exciting, and it’s driving me insane.

By the time my silk nightie is being hitched up my thighs, and Enzo’s mouth is working its ways towards my nipple, I can’t help but cry out loudly in pleasure. My eyes flicker shut, my head rolls to one side, and I succumb to the pulsing want that is all of me. Enzo really is something else, and it makes my feelings for him that much stronger. Every minute that passes with him, I like him more and more, despite my better judgment. Although I worry for where all of this is headed, when he’s working my body so well, I realize none of that matters. Not really, not in the long run…

As if he can sense exactly what I need, Enzo starts working his way down my body, kissing me all the way down. I run my fingers through his hair, arching my back against him, needing him, wanting him desperately. With one cheeky wink in my direction, he grabs hold of one of my thigh and he chucks my leg over his shoulder while he kisses my panties.

“Oh fuck,” I groan in sheer joy. He has me locked in place, he has total control over me, and I’m loving every single second of it. It’s as if he already knows my body better than I know it myself, and it feels wonderful to give myself so fully to him.

Just as I feel like I could lose it completely, he grabs hold of my underwear and yanks it from my body in one single movement, shocking me in the best way possible. It’s a move that makes me want to scream and whimper all at once.

He moves his mouth closer to my core, until I can feel his breath on me, teasing me until I feel like I could explode. He moves slowly, tantalizingly, and just as I’m about to yell out in anger because I simply cannot take it for another second longer, he plunges his tongue deep into me.

“Shit!” I buckle, quickly succumbing to the pleasure that his amazing mouth is giving me. He darts his tongue in and out a few times, before finding my clit and circling that instead. It makes me feel phenomenal, like I’m in heaven, and I find myself plunging dangerously close to the edge of desire way too quickly.

“Stop!” I finally cry out in ecstasy. “I need you.” I need to feel him once more, to be his, but this time I don’t want him to be in charge of me. I want to be in control, and I want him to view me as someone as powerful as he is. I can’t imagine that he has ever had that before really… and I want to be memorable for him.

So as he moves away from me, I rapidly flip him onto his back and I climb over him before he even has a chance to really think about it. He’s shocked, stunned by my actions, which gives me the time I need to angle myself onto him before he can work out what’s going on.

And then I slide slowly and seductively onto him.

Once every inch of him is inside of me, I ride him passionately, sitting upright on top of him so he can see every bit of me. He’s breathless, speechless, and losing himself in a heady lust which means that I’m having a serious impact on him. I’m driving him wild, and making myself feel amazing in the process, which in turn drives me insane with bliss. On top of that, I have him angled so I’m hitting all of the right spots, which quickly sends a powerful, all-consuming orgasm racing right through me – one that’s more powerful than anything that I’ve ever felt before. At one point, I think I can feel my entire body shattering under the power of it all…

I watch Enzo’s face intently as the pleasure consumes him too, and I can’t help but think at the moment he’s most vulnerable of all is also the moment that he’s the sexiest ever. I like seeing this side of him, the one that the rest of the world doesn’t get to see. It makes me feel happy, special, and really excited.

I love him.

The thought hits me so powerfully that it almost knocks me backwards.

Do I? Do I love him?

That’s a powerful statement, one that I don’t think I’m anywhere near ready for. I know that I like Enzo, I’m sure that I feel a lot for him… but love? Are either of us prepared for that?

As we lie on the bed next to one another panting heavily, it’s all that I can think of. Love feels too much, too intense and far too soon. We may be married, but I don’t know if either of us is ready to even comprehend that yet.

“We’ll figure it out, you know.” He turns to face me and tells me with happiness shining in his eyes. “I promise you. I know things seem out of control now, but they won’t be that way forever.”

“Okay,” I nod, trying to act like I totally agree with him. I
hope
that he’s right, of course, and I want to trust his words, but things have been too crazy for that. I’d be silly to just naively go with it.

“We’ll be fine,” I watch him as his head hits the pillow and he smiles to himself. “We will – we’ll be alright.”