"I'm home. Where's the new girl?" Kenny called out, the distinct rattle of his keys being set down on the counter reaching me in the living room.
He walked into the room at the same time as Scott and the brunette.
My insides turned and twisted in on itself when I saw Scott. We awkwardly looked away at the same time.
"Stace? But you're supposed to be—" Kenny cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"Nevermind her, we're going anywhere that's not here," said the brunette, grabbing her coat off the couch and forcing Kenny to backtrack. "We'll pick the one when I get back?" she said, looking back at me with a smile, sounding excited.
It had taken me all this time to place her voice, having only ever heard it over Zoom calls. I took a step forward and looked her in the eye for the first time since getting here.
"Willow Brady?" I exclaimed, covering up my surprise with a quick smile. "Yes, of course. I may have found you something even better than what we talked about."
So this was the face behind the caked on goth makeup. I couldn't get over how stunning she was. My gaze went back and forth between her and her brother.
"We were never here," said Willow, giving me a quick thumbs up before she continued pushing Kenny into the kitchen.
"Look bossy new girl, I've had a long day—" began a protesting Kenny.
"Be cool, read the room and tell me all about it anywhere but here," said Willow, forcing Kenny out of the apartment.
The door closing was the last thing to be heard before the awkward silence descended between Scott and I.
"Some first meeting that was," I said nervously breaking the ice, my face heating up in embarrassment for not recognizing Willow sooner.
Scott said nothing. He did move closer to sit down on the couch though. I took a seat next to him, making sure not to sit too close. The seconds dragged on, feeling like hours.
"So I'm here. I didn't leave, obviously," I said, looking up at the ceiling.
"Why not?" he finally budged. "What about your dad and your fiance?"
The contempt and disbelief in his voice made me want to put up my guard. It's not like I stayed because you kissed me. It's not like I saw stars when you did. You didn't factor into my decision at all.
Instead, I went with a safe, "I declared my major. Business school."
"Stacy, that's amazing," he said, immediately wrapping me up in a bear hug.
He pulled away quickly and awkwardly mumbled, "Congratulations. I knew you could do it."
He looked down, refusing to meet my eye.
"You were right. I used you as an excuse to not have to stand up to Don Angelo. I'm sorry," I said, looking down too.
"You were right too. I was out of line. Any guy would be lucky to marry you. I just want you to be happy, Stace. I'm sorry too," he said, taking one of my hands into his and giving it a squeeze.
Then he finally looked at me and I swear the world stopped. Despite the threat of Don Angelo hanging over my head, my world was alright, if only for that moment. I squeezed his hand back.
"She really is beautiful, Scott. I'm glad I got to meet her."
He let go of my hand and got up. The forgiving mood in the room shifted.
"I think we need some space, Stace. I'm happy you're staying, but—" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, putting more and more distance between us with every step he took.
"You don't want to be friends with me because of something I can't control. I didn't ask to be born into the mafia, Scott," I said, the sting of rejection returning in full force.
"This isn't just about me. You're hard wired into my life. That's my sister, Stacy. That's the single most important person in my humble life. Do you know that she talks to you more than me? She's damn near obsessed with you. All I have heard about for months now is this stupid prom you're helping her get ready for," he said, sounding frustrated. "My one job in life is to protect her. And the sad fact is I don't know you."
"Scott," I objected with a shaky voice.
No more words came out of me when I saw the raw emotion in his eyes.
"I told you about my parent's divorce the very day that I met you. My hopes, my dreams, my insecurities, my inability to connect with people. I've shared everything with you. Until this morning, I knew nothing about your past. You're a stranger, Stacy Kendrick."
"And you're my best friend," I said with a lump in my throat.
I got up and walked to the window. We were now on opposite ends of the room. For an eternity, I watched traffic move along.
Trust no one. Not even me.
Another one of Don Angelo's stupid lessons. Another way in which I hadn't been living.
"My real last name is Luciano. I'm half Italian. I changed it to Kendrick when I got to New York. It's my mother's maiden name. My mom left Don Angelo when I was ten. He got me and she got my younger sister Jenny in the divorce. Remember when we met? When I said I haven't seen my mom and my siblings in a day? That was the first and last time I looked in on them through the window. My mom had another baby. I haven't been able to—"
Warm arms wrapped around me and I broke down. I bawled my eyes out for a good ten minutes, then looked up at him.
"It's a lot of shit. I have a lot of baggage," I said.
"Tell me all of it," he said, rubbing my arms up and down.
"What about your space?" I sniffed. "What about Willow?"
"Space is overrated," he said, kissing my forehead. "And Willow will probably give me shit if I try to tell her what to do. So what she does is up to her. Are you sure this is what you want? To stay here in New York?"
I nodded unabatingly.
"Then I'll make some coffee," he said, gently pulling away.
We got set up in the kitchen, sitting side by side at the island, waiting on the coffee maker.
"Ask me anything," I said, ready to unveil intimate mafia secrets if need be just to keep him talking to me for one more night.
"So what exactly do you do for the mafia that has your dad calling you back every couple of months?" Stacy scrunched up her face, hesitating. By now she had detailed her father's entire operation. What was one more thing? I knew more details than I was comfortable with knowing. Was knowing this shit safe? Sleep would not come easily tonight. This was the last question I got to ask Stacy before Kenny and Willow walked through the door at one in the morning. "Parrrr-ttttyyy," they howled together, stumbling through the door. "Willow Eleanor Brady, are you drunk?" I asked, getting up from my seat at the island to follow her into the living room. "I guess that's my cue to leave," Stacy mumbled behind me, taking the opportunity to get up too and duck her head. "Full naming me, I see cool bro mode is not active," said Willow, dragging Kenny's inebriated body to the couch and dumping him onto it."I'll see you both tomorrow," said Stacy, her eyes pleading for me not to ask my question a
"Boys are stupid," I said to no one in particular, as I entered my apartment. I couldn't really blame Scott for freaking out after everything I laid at his feet last night. Still, it would have been nice if Willow didn't find out like that. My past brought me no joy. In fact, I was ashamed of it. Now that it was all out there, I felt like Scott was judging me. How did he expect me to tell him my most personal shame? Aren't we all entitled to some secrets? As I went from the kitchen to the living room turning on the lights in the apartment, something immediately struck me. My study's door was open. I know I closed it before I went shopping with Willow this morning. The cushions on my couch were all at different angles. Passing the coffee table with quiet careful steps, I made my way over to the corner of the room where my bookshelf was located. I slid my fingers along the books until I found the one I wanted, pulled it out, opened it up and took my gun out of the hollowed out Physics
I watched her frame rise as she took a deep breath. I had turned the flash of my camera off after some nasty looks over her shoulder, but she was still painfully aware of me. How could she not be? It was a Sunday and this was a library. The place was a ghost town.Of course, I knew she would break any minute now, even if I was sitting a few chairs away from her. In the meantime, I wasn't complaining. It had been some time since I had last gotten a picture of her.She was sitting at a desk filled with textbooks, pulling her hair into a bun and piercing it with a pencil, before opening the book in front of her. It was her little ritual before she started studying. "Three, two, one," I counted her down. No sooner had I finished when she turned to me, her cheeks tinted a light pink, and whisper yelled, "Stop that. You're annoying me.""Permission to approach?" I asked.Not waiting for an answer, I jumped up and went to her. To piss her off just a little more, I took another snap, this ti
"You sure this is the place?" I asked, clocking the unmarked black van across the street. "Joey's not smart enough to bluff. He is ambitious though and he hates my guts. There's not much he wouldn't do to take me out of play as daddy's future heir. I'm not sure what we're walking into," said Stacy from next to me as we stood at the entrance of Hotel Topaz. "Yeah, I'm out," said Kenny on the other side of me, turning to walk away. I grabbed him by his suit jacket and pulled him back to the spot next to me."Sorry," said Kenny, fixing his collar before attempting to turn and make a run for it again. Just as he turned, he bumped into a man dressed in overalls, presumably some sort of service delivery man. This sent Kenny stumbling back, smack into me. "Sorry again," he said. "Look, I know this is scary. I'm terrified, but Willow is my sister and I don't really have much of a choice. If either of you wants out, I'll understand," I said, taking the invite Joey had given Kenny for us o
She grabbed my hand and we linked our fingers in each other's, her squeezing my hand hard as I led us to the elevator. Once we were in the elevator, we watched the manager unlock a little compartment below the button panel. It was a special button with a b for basement on it. The manager pushed the button while the rest of us anxiously waited for the elevator to move. When the elevator doors opened again, I asked the manager, "Where's the bathroom?" Following his directions, I pulled Stacy along behind me. "I guess I'll just go and mingle," Ken called after us. "Go team."By the time we got to the bathroom, Stacy was pale. I could feel her trembling next to me as her hand shook in mine. First, I locked the door behind us. Then, I let go of her hand and checked all the stalls to make sure they were empty. Finally, I went back to her and stopped her pacing by laying my hands on her shoulders and bringing her to a halt in front of the mirror. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. Scott, don'
Scott and I had what felt like less than thirty seconds to meet up with Kenny, who had found Willow throwing up in the bathroom, before we were discovered. "Stay with Willow. Lay low. Find a different way out of here and then text it to me and whatever you do, don't come up to us until the time is right," Scott had said to Kenny. "Incoming," I said, spotting Don Marcus and Luca at a poker table not too far away. Both of them here threw me for a loop. One was bad enough as it is, but both of them? It was an uncommon and unfortunate occurrence. They had spotted us too. Luca and I made eye contact as he whispered to the two big hulks now headed our way. "How will I know when the time is right?" asked a nervous Kenny. "Trust me, you'll know. Now go," said Scott, seamlessly turning away from Kenny just as Luca's men approached us. "Don Marcus wants to talk," said one of the big guys, hands behind his back. "Lead the way," said Scott, his voice almost chipper. If his heart
Scott and I had what felt like less than thirty seconds to meet up with Kenny, who had found Willow throwing up in the bathroom, before we were discovered. "Stay with Willow. Lay low. Find a different way out of here and then text it to me and whatever you do, don't come up to us until the time is right," Scott had said to Kenny. "Incoming," I said, spotting Don Marcus and Luca at a poker table not too far away. Both of them here threw me for a loop. One was bad enough as it is, but both kof them? It was an uncommon and unfortunate occurrence. They had spotted us too. Luca and I made eye contact as he whispered to the two big hulks now headed our way. "How will I know when the time is right?" asked a nervous Kenny. "Trust me, you'll know. Now go," said Scott, seamlessly turning away from Kenny just as Luca's men approached us. "Don Marcus wants to talk," said one of the big guys, hands behind his back. "Lead the way," said Scott, his voice almost chipper. If his heart was beat
I had no doubt that my face had the same question written all over it. I almost fell out of my chair. His misplaced confidence was making me sweat and I didn't like where this was going at all. "What? I read too. Mostly books with pictures in them, but I do read," Scott said, looking at me. I wanted to strangle him where he sat. "I'm no expert, of course, but then I don't need to be because the silent auction happening up front tells the story. You're businessmen at the end of the day. Who in their right minds from amongst all your rich clients would buy from you again if you sold them a forgery? The art in this room must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars," said Scott. "Don Cattaneo, excuse my friend. He majored in art," I said with a hiss, but the don was already out of his chair."Who is this kid, a narc? Get him out of my hotel," Don Marcus thundered. Luca, ever the cool customer, motioned for his men to back off, then for his father to sit down. "Imagine if, hypothetic
"FBI headquarters. No arresting Luca while we're there. Your word, dad," I said, already knowing the idea of walking in there wouldn't sit well with Luca. Yes I threw in the dad bit to throw Jeff off his game, but like I said, I wasn't above anything. "He is off the hook for anything revealed that directly leads to finding Don Angelo and Stacy. Anything else is fair game. I'm the director of the FBI, Scott. That's the best I can do," said Jeff with a shrug. My fuse was so fucking short at this point I had half a mind to throw them both out of the car. I must have done something right though, because my father and Luca finally found some common ground. "Like I want to tell you anything anyway," said Luca dismissively. "Jen Jen, where are you?" "Still in the house. I will stall them as long as I can," she said, completely unfazed by the dons she was currently sharing a house with. Something in me softened for just a second. She was definitely Stacy's sister. Fucking brave to
"They'll fall in line. They have to. I didn't work this hard to take down Don Angelo just to hand him over to the feds," a hot headed Luca insisted, his judgment clouded by his desire for vengeance. "You and Jen Jen are just going to have to trust me." "I don't understand why you think we need him. We have the full force of the FBI behind us. Let him go get himself killed if he wants to. We can find them ourselves," said Jeff, his stupid pride clouding his judgment. "Like you found me after I walked out of a hotel right under your agents' noses? Even knowing where I was, you couldn't get onto Cattaneo property. He has intel. Access. Connections. Things you don't have. If I have to choose between the two of you, I will pick him," I spat back at Jeff, getting pissed off at their narrow mindedness. This had Luca grinning back at Jeff smugly in the rearview mirror. My baby was in danger. The one thing I swore to myself she would never be again and these idiots had me sitting in a car
"You can't go in there. They won't side with you. Not with Don Angelo on the loose. They will cower at my father's feet. Walking in there is suicide," said Jenny's voice through the phone. "She's right," said Jeff, the mere sound of his voice setting Luca off. "What the fuck were you thinking, bringing a fed with you?" Luca asked, glaring at me. There I was, in a car with the next Don Angelo and Jeff. They didn't trust each other and I didn't trust them. It was the perfect storm. To bring Stacy home though, I was willing to use everything and everyone at my disposal. The real surprise wasn't Luca getting pissed at me for bringing Jeff. It was Jeff getting in Luca's car in the first place. "He's not just a fed anymore. He's the director of the FBI," I said, to Jeff's surprise. "What? Did you think you were in this car because I wanted to bond with you? I keep tabs on you too, Jeff. I know your promotion to director came directly after Don Angelo's arrest. New job. Must be a l
Breaking out into a run, I hastily made my way to the bathroom with Jeff and the others following behind me. When I got to the door, what was left of my composure slipped away from me. The corpses of the men who had been watching her for weeks as she took her exams laid on the floor, stacked onto each other in front of the door. The women screamed when they saw the bodies. "Don't look," said Kenny, ushering the women away from the scene. I beat Jeff through the bathroom door, stepping over the bodies. We kicked open stall doors, but they were all empty. "Fuck," a ugly scream let loose from my throat. I started pacing and dragging my fingers through my hair. No. No. No. She was gone. She was fucking gone and it was all my fault. I never should have let her out of my sight tonight. Luca warned me I was endangering her, but I just had to know better. I was so sure Don Angelo would never do anything to hurt her because I knew I never would. I thought we were the same, at lea
Unlike the nosy assholes Luca stuck me with, Stacy's bodyguards always gave her space as a sign of respect, so she wouldn't have to explain their presence. They were nearby whenever she set foot out of the house though. When she went to campus for her exams or to study at the library and even when our clandestine meetings started, they'd be nearby. When she went to lunch today, they sat two tables away until I picked her up. Then they followed us to the gallery. It was constant and honestly somewhat annoying, especially when we met with the sole purpose of fucking, but we got over it pretty quickly. Now I relied on the relief knowing they were with her gave me. "Because the two of you started associating with Luca Cattaneo. I wanted to see where it went," Jeff answered frankly, watching me panic as I started walking away from him. "Where is she, Scott?" "I'd be mad that you were having me investigated, except you're lying Jeff. I'm your son. Of course I took crazy precautions to m
"Don't take it personally. You're not the problem, buddy. It's your face and your general body and all around personality and the way women react to all those things. Just a few more months of this until you're married. No one is derailing this marriage," said Kenny. If I wasn't so ticked off at the implication that I'd even want my dick in someone other than Stacy, I'd be touched. Kenny really was rooting for us in his own way. They all were. Making certain to present me to a man this time, Kenny and Marlene walked me straight into the beginning of the end of my joy. "Hey, Agent Brady. Crap," Kenny said, belatedly finding out that the man in question was Jeff.If my boner wasn't already dead, Jeff's presence would have done it. "Hey Kenneth. Scott. Marlene, right?" said Jeff, holding out his hand to Marlene to shake. A confused Marlene accepted his handshake and said, "Have we—" "Scott's socials are flooded by your wedding
Not even all the blood from my brain flooding my dick allowed me to forget that I was still offended about being accused of cheating on my dream girl. "What he means is he's so happy you're all here," said Stacy, beaming from ear to ear as we were surrounded by our loved ones. "Ken, you and Marlene get Scott. Willow and I need to take Stacy to get some air. Goodness, you're red in the face," said my concerned mom, inevitably making my girlfriend blush more.I did a quick check to see if being surrounded by our loved ones helped. How could it though when she gave me bedroom eyes? Yup, still hard. "Happy for you, dork. You did good tonight and with Stacy too," Willow said, kissing me on my cheek before she left to join them. "So the ring is a go? Is the design ready?" Marlene asked, taking my arm and gently steering me towards someone looking at one of my unsold photos. I tried to listen to her and Kenny, but even from al
But the damage was already done. When she tried to pull away, now blushing again, I let her know about my problem by pressing my hard on into her back. She bit her lower lip again, but a muffled moan came out of her anyway. "Distract me," I said, trying to control myself. Was it even possible to have a boner that she gave me go away without one of her holes or her hands being involved? "Well you can't never sell a photo and I'm not going anywhere, so you'll just have to suck it up. In fact, you would probably sell more photos if you didn't spend all your time hiding out with me," she said, her voice shaky and uneven. "First you're jealous of a thumbs up and me knowing someone's name, who I worked with by the way, and now you want to get rid of me? Damn, talk about hot and cold," I said, resisting the urge to dry hump her ass as my hands moved impatiently about her middle and I laid a chaste kiss on her neck. "You do know no one knows who the photographer is, right?" Kenny a
"That was a good day," she said, smiling serenely. "You know it's love when you let someone bury you in the sand. One of us clearly loves the other more," I said with a snort. "I don't know what you're complaining about. So I didn't let you bury me in the sand. I let you fuck me in a cave after we went swimming. Way better," she said with a grin. "We both know that was to satisfy your selfish, horny pussy, baby. Once your mouth was on mine, you got so horny I was convinced I'd fuck you in the sea," I said, making her blush. "I hope you're happy. Now you'll never get to say you fucked me in the sea," she said with the cutest little pout. "Unlike you, I don't talk about how we fuck unless it's with you," I admonished her for what I stumbled on this afternoon. "You're such a bad girl. What dirty secrets would you have told them if I hadn't come to your defense?" She probably wouldn't find this very sexy, so I didn't tell her I would never risk her getting an infection ju