When they returned from the afterparty, Nic removed his jacket and sat his keys on the counter. Victoria quietly followed in after him and walked to the bedroom. She hadn't said a word to him all night. She shook the hands of different people she had been introduced to at the party, and talked to those people, but she refused to speak to him. Fine. Maybe it was for the best. She was supposed to be here for only one reason anyway.
Nic made his way to the bedroom, and found her pulling her dress down and stepping out of it. She removed her strapless bra and panties, but before she could put anything on to sleep in, Nic grabbed her and gently pushed her back on to the bed. She just stared up at him. Nothing really registering in her eyes. Nic removed his shirt and unbuckled his pants. He pulled them down and eased his way on top of her, resting in between her legs. He pulled the covers up over them and then pushed his thick shaft into her pussy. He braced himself with his arms a
Now...onto the even harder part. Victoria drove to her next destination...hopefully for the last time. When she arrived at Nic's, she asked the person at the gate for Jimmy. He was about to buzz her in, when she asked him not to. She had wanted to meet him at the gate.When she saw Jimmy walking down the driveway, she took a deep breath. No turning back now."Hey Vicky," Jimmy said, eyeing her suspiciously."Hey Jimmy. Can you do me a favor and hand this to Nic?" she said, placing the duffel bag in his hands.It didn't take Jimmy long to feel the neatly packed money through the bag. He sighed and looked back at her."Vicky, I...""No, please don't say anything Jimmy. None of this is your fault. I think you're a great guy. But nothing you can say will make me stay."Jimmy leaned on her door. He brushed his hand through his hair and looked at her."Alright, then I'll keep quiet.""Thank you," Victoria said, as she moved th
Victoria leaned her head against the bus window. This was the third and final bus before she reached her parents' apartment. She looked out onto the street and saw a few homeless men sitting in between cracks and corners of buildings. She saw groups of middle or high school kids playing around while walking down the street. She saw the old basketball court she had walked by a million times. It was empty, most likely due to the cold. She sighed as the bus turned a familiar corner and made its way down to her street. When she finally reached the area where her apartment was located, she exited the bus and stared at the ugly brick building. It seemed like forever since she had been there.When Victoria unlocked the door to the apartment, she instantly smelled her mother's cooking. That memorable smell made her feel all warm inside, despite it being freezing cold outside. She figured they had probably settled in for an early nap. She quietly tiptoed to the couch. She noticed new
Outside, the cold air hit her, stinging her face. She could see her breath every time she breathed in and out. She wrapped her coat tightly around her and started walking towards her old bus stop. She had taken that bus everywhere. To school, to the mall...back when life was less confusing and harsh.She sat down on the cold metal bench to think. It would be getting dark soon, and she only had twenty-two dollars and eighteen cents in her purse. She had to think of something. She refused to go back to Paul. He had already shown her more generosity than she felt she deserved. She looked out at some of the stores that were starting to turn on their closed signs. Fuck, it was freezing. She needed to think of something soon.Victoria had worked all through school, so she never really hung out with anyone. Not anyone she could actually call on to stay with for a while. Yet another reason she resented her father. And her high school boyfriend had moved away a few years ago, o
Judging on his room, he was definitely not expecting company. There were clothes all over his floor and a plate of food sitting on the floor by the bed. Pictures of different rappers and naked women littered his walls. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a questionable plant in the corner of his room."Uh, yeah...I believe in an herbal existence," Antonio said, noticing her staring at the plant. Victoria burst into a laugh. She sat down on the messy bed and looked up at him."I can take the couch. I would feel bad kicking you out of your room," Victoria said, but Antonio wouldn't hear of it. "No, absolutely not. My momma raised me better than that," he said, winking at her."Where's Sean?" Victoria asked, remembering Antonio's roommate's name."Oh, he's visiting family back on the west coast. He'll be gone for the rest of the week."That put Victoria a little more at ease. She already felt like she was imposing on Antonio, and she would f
The next morning, Victoria stared up at Antonio's ceiling. On a poster, looking back at her, was a half naked Latina who held the smile of a seductress on her face. She was wearing cut off jean shorts that looked more like panties, and a short wet, white shirt that was torn just right below her nipples. She was sitting on a counter by a cash register counting money and below her the caption read 'Sex sells'. 'It most certainly does,' Victoria thought sadly as she stared at the young woman. She wondered if the girl had a family who would look down on her for taking these photos. Did she have men degrade her for the decisions she had made? Victoria continued to stare at the pretty girl on the poster as she heard a knock on the door."Hey Vicky, are you decent?" she heard Antonio ask through the door. Decent. There was that damn word again."Yeah," she croaked out and sat up in the bed as Antonio entered."Coffee, dear?" he grinned, while handing her a cup.
Okay...these shorts were really short. But at least the black shirt was able to be tucked down inside them. The neckline was low, but whatever, it was an honest job and she was grateful. And at least she got to wear her Converse.When she walked out, she saw Greg standing next to a woman with long brunette hair. She was laughing at something he was saying. He turned his attention toward Victoria."Whoa, hot. Good. Alright, this is Tracy, she's going to be your shadow today. But I'm pretty sure you can handle it," Greg said, placing his arm around Tracy's shoulder.Tracy smiled at her. "Hiya sweetie. Come on, I'll show you the ropes," she said in a thick southern accent.The day moved by pretty fast. It was basic waitressing 101. The customers were a little rowdy, much different than Victoria was used to. She had several ask for her phone number and one college kid that kept staring at her ass. But all in all, the day went pretty well. And Tracy even share
"And this is the last one, Nic. It's to make sure that the bartenders at the club...Nic?" Eddie asked. He slowly waved his hand in front of Nic's face.Nic's eyes followed Eddie's hand before they locked on his eyes. "Yes?""Um, I was just saying this is the last one you have to sign," Eddie sighed.Nic leaned down, glanced over the document and then signed his name. Eddie scooped up the papers and stuffed them in his briefcase. He gave a small smile to Nic before he quickly exited.Nic leaned back in his chair. He slowly ran his hand over the top of his desk, thinking about the time he and Victoria made love on top of it. The light blue lingerie had hugged her curves, causing his manhood to stand at full attention. God, what was it about that girl? He would never admit it to anyone, but he dreamt about her. It had only been a couple days, but he kept feeling a tightening in his chest. He wanted her back. A part of him wanted to make up for the night he c
Victoria was so proud of herself. She had finally learned to perfect Lasagna. She had been looking over several recipes all day, and found the perfect one. Sure, it was a basic dish, but she was still proud that she had made it. The cheese was a bright golden color, and the edges were slightly browned, and the smell...oh, it was fantastic. She couldn't wait for Antonio to taste it. He couldn't make fun of her Italian cooking anymore, seeing that she had tried to make chicken parmigiano the night before and it was...well, nasty, no other word. And she had been bragging that entire day about how good a cook she was. But tonight, she would redeem herself. She was adding tomatoes to the salad, when she heard the front door unlock. She quickly picked up her Lasagna masterpiece and headed to the front of the house."Ta da!" she shouted, and held the scrumptious dish right under Antonio's nose when he entered.But he didn't smile. He didn't even look at her. He looked down at
"I think he needs a brother," Nic whispered to her, pulling her away from the crib. "Let's get started on that."Veronica laughed, as the two of them entered their bedroom. Nic went to take a shower, but Veronica didn't feel like budging. She was so tired, and instead opted to plop down face first on the bed, and stayed like that until she heard the shower cut off.She finally crawled underneath the covers, when she remembered something. "Oh, hey Nic," Veronica yelled from the bed."What?" she heard him say."Some woman from that party we went to months ago invited us to her party. I forgot to tell you. It's a garden party, or key party...something like that. But she seemed nice, so I wanted to let you know."Ve
His hands were shaking, and he needed to slow down his breathing. Even though he knew it wasn't there, he still felt there was blood on his hands. He quickly wiped his palms across his jeans-covered thighs. Fuck, this was spinning way out of control.He could bullshit and charm his way out of almost every situation. It was a gift he had. One that his father never fully appreciated. His old man wanted him to be more like him, old school. Or like that fucker, Nic. But that wasn't Sonny.And until tonight, he had never taken another human being's life. Until tonight, he thought over in his head again. Fuck!Sonny knew he shouldn't have gotten involved with the Russians. He had never played at that level before. That was more Nic's territory, because where Sonny liked to bullshit, charm and make an idle threat every now
Veronica wasn't sure how long she lovingly admired her two boys, but she couldn't take her eyes away from them. Nic's eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising up and down. And Sebastian's little face was turned to the side resting on his father's chest. His tiny little pink lips made an 'o' shape as he yawned, never once opening his eyes.After what seemed like forever, Veronica quietly backed out of the living room and went back into Nic's study to open up her last timed quiz. She glanced at the photo by his computer. It was a picture Isabelle had taken of her that first day in the hospital, with Sebastian in her hands. She personally hated the picture because she had just woken up, and with all the pushing, sweating and lack of makeup ...she swore she looked hideous. But Nic wouldn't let her change it. He said it was his favorite picture.Before the t
She stood up from the couch and walked him around.Nic leaned back observing his wife. He watched her cute full hips sway back and forth, as she lightly bounced Sebastian. He couldn't think of a more beautiful sight.How the hell did life bring him here? A little less than two years ago, he looked at people differently. In one glance at Veronica, he thought he knew exactly who she was. Someone who would never matter to him, and who was weak. Someone he could prey on. But Veronica sliced and diced that version of Nic Andretti to shreds, and amazingly she didn't do it by force. She didn't do it by being more cunning, or by any other sneaky methods. She accomplished a feat no other had, and she did it with love. Selfless, generous, unwavering love.He remembered thinking that he had planned to teach her a lesson the fi
"And by the way," Jimmy said, in afterthought, "Detective Marsh's car was blown up, and he was beat up and mugged. Crazy world we live in.""When did this happen?" Nic asked."Oh, it hasn't happened yet. I'm psychic, didn't you know?" he smiled over at Nic.Nic nodded. Karma was certainly a bitch.Nic's palms started sweating the closer and closer they got to Jimmy's house. He had asked everyone not to tell Veronica that he had been released. He wanted to surprise her.But at the moment, he could hardly swallow or keep a single coherent thought in his head. He would be seeing his son, Sebastian, for the first time. And he had to laugh at the fact that he didn't want to disappoint him. Although Sebastian was less than three da
"Well Nic, looks like you really fucked up yesterday. Threatening to kill a detective just doing his duty? Why, what did I ever do to deserve that," Marsh taunted, leaning against his cell. And as always, Reuben was there with Nic."I don't know what you're talking about," Nic answered."Sure. Several guards heard you yell that you wanted to kill me.""No they didn't."Marsh stared at Nic skeptically. "I never took you for a lying man. Cold-hearted killer, but not a liar. They heard you, asshole.""Yeah, they heard me threaten to kill someone, and it was my attorney. He's been falling down on the job, haven't you noticed," Nic dead-panned."Yep, and Nic already apologized to me fo
Nic's heart started beating rapidly. That asshole had to be lying. He slowly got up and walked over to pick up the photos. He flipped through them. His hands started to shake when he saw a picture of her being put in the backseat of Antonio's car and pictures of them arriving at the hospital and his mom escorting Veronica inside. Nic suddenly couldn't breathe. He dropped the photos to the ground as if they electrocuted him.Nic staggered backwards until his calves touched his cot, and then he slowly sat down. He had missed his son being born. He hadn't been away from him more than a few hours since he was conceived...and on the most important day, because of his past lifestyle and FUCKING MARSH, he had missed it.Nic considered himself a sane and rational man. And under any other circumstances, he would have found a cool place in his mind...some place he could
The next morning, Veronica was awakened by Marianna bringing her in a large plate of food. "Good morning, cara mia. You are eating today. Every bite," she demanded, as she sat at the edge of the bed, watching Veronica like a hawk. Veronica didn't feel like eating, but she started stuffing the food in her mouth just to please Marianna. "How are you able to stay so calm?" Veronica asked, pausing in between bites. Marianna thought about it for a moment. "Because I can't help my son right now. All I can do is pray for him, but there's nothing I can help Reuben or Jimmy with. What I can do for him is watch over you and his baby growing inside you. Those are the things I can do, and I'm going to do them, because I love him, I love you and my grandson. Now eat."
Marsh stepped into the interrogation room holding a cloth to his nose. He threw a few files down onto the table and stared at Nic."Nicolas Andretti...I finally got you, you fucker. And don't worry, I fucking own this precinct. There are no cameras rolling behind those mirrors. Just you and me. Together at last."Nic's wrists were raw from the tight handcuffs, but he refused to complain about it. First, it wouldn't do any good, and second, he wouldn't give that asshole the satisfaction. He stared back at Marsh with a bored expression."So Nic, this is how we're going to do this. Believe it or not, I have an amazing proposition for you. How about you walk out of here today--no questions asked. You leave, go see your wife and fly back to California. How does that sound?"N