27. Liam
Elena stands in the entryway of my home waiting for my approval. I love that she respects my opinion enough to ask me if what she’s wearing is okay. If she didn’t, I’d definitely tell her, but she does ask, and that means something in my book. I hold her arms at her sides and look her up and down. The bright yellow top goes well with the white blazer and her jeans. She looks ravishing.
“If you were outside, the bees would think you were a flower. You are beautiful.” I kiss her softly and remember our encounter only moments ago in the shower. This woman has a way of making my cock harder than cement, and I feel myself swelling again so soon.
“Easy, cowboy, we have to be on time.” Her gentle chiding is enough to keep me—the ferocious predator—in line. She touches my nose to hers and smiles, and I release a hearty growl loud enough to make her jolt with surprise and then giggle as she pushes me away.
“Dad is going to love you.” I back away and reach for her jacket. Slick stands holding both of our jackets, so I take hers from him and help her into it. Lunch was his idea, his way of vetting her. I’m not intimidated by his need to ensure our family business is safe. I’ve done my own vetting. Elena is trustworthy. Dad, however, must see that for himself.
“I’m sort of nervous.” She bites her lip as she pulls her long blonde hair out of the coat and lets it hang freely down her back. “I’ve never met someone like your father.”
I chuckle at her as Slick helps me into my coat. “You mean a Mob boss?” My raised eyebrows punctuate my question, and she shrugs. I can see the nervousness in her eyes, even apprehension. I know she wants nothing to do with the inner workings of my family and that she’s content to love me and be with me so long as I keep my hands clean and keep her out of it. I’m okay with all of that.
“I mean, someone so powerful. It’s sort of scary.” She chews on her bottom lip as I extend my elbow to her. She takes it, and we walk toward the door where Slick is already in place, holding it open for us.
“It’s only scary if you think of the ways he may be upset with you should he find fault in you. But I’m telling you, you’re perfect. He will love everything about you. Your heart is as pure as the driven snow, and he will see that.” I lead her out into the brisk air. It’s been weeks since the attack and the seasons have begun to shift. Not quite time for the holidays, but there is a nip to the air that has us bundling up.
“Besides,” I continue, “imagine all that power to work for you. What things could you do with a man like my father on your side? And I’m not talking illegal things. We do far more than just trade in drugs or weapons.” She stiffens at my words, and Slick rushes ahead to open the car door. “We also help local businesses grow and flourish.” Though I keep the secret behind that growth to myself.
“We’ve given to charity, donated to hospitals.” All of that helps the family come tax time, but she doesn’t need to know our motives. “And most recently, my father stopped a prostitution ring and saved twenty-three children.”
Elena gasps and looks up at me as she slides into the car. “He did?” She’s surprised by this fact, which almost irritates me that she would even consider us capable of such an atrocity as child slavery.
I climb in and sit next to her as Slick closes us in, and for the entire drive I recount Dad’s exploits in saving those children. We intended to harvest those prostitutes for ourselves, but when we saw the little ones involved, we knew we had to do better. It was a sacrifice to our sex working business, but in the long run, we believe in Karma and doing right by the next generation.
At my father’s house, I escort her up the steps and into his home. It’s been fluffed for the holidays already, much like every year this time. Boughs of pine and sprigs of holly are laced up the wooden banister we pass as we are directed to the dining room. Elena breathes out her astonishment at how amazing the house is, and when Gerard takes our coats, she clings to me.
Dad is seated at the head of the table, and he stands as we enter. This is a private dinner, just my father, me, and Elena. He requested to meet “the woman for whom I went to all the trouble.” His face is stern as we approach, but he takes her hand and kisses it warmly, as I’ve seen him do to my mother a million times before her passing.
“So nice to have you in my home, Ms. Cortez.” He bows at the shoulder, and she blushes.
“Please, just call me Elena.” She retracts her hand and smiles at me as I pull her chair out, and then she sits down. I sit to her right, placing her between my father and me. Her hand is sweaty, and I can see she is worried.
“I was just telling Elena about all of our philanthropic exploits.” As I speak, she looks to him, and I raise my eyebrows to send the signal to him that she’s been nervous. He is an expert at reading people, however, and he dives into a story about how our guns fueled mercenaries in a civil war that saved their small community in Nepal from terrorists.
It isn’t a story I’d have told, but she seems enthralled and by the end of it, she’s downed several glasses of wine and we’ve eaten our entire meal. Dad seems to enjoy her presence so much that when she stands and asks to be directed to the facilities, he almost seems disappointed that she”s leaving the room.
“Down the hall to the left, third door past the grandfather clock,” he tells her with a wink, and she nods at him before leaving the room. But the second she’s gone, it’s down to business for us.
“So, what is done with Granger?” he asks me, and I lick my lips before finishing my glass of wine.
“It’s ordered. I promised her I would not kill. I did not promise her he would live.” I’m glad she’s not here. She’d see the way my eyes grow black as night when my temper gets aroused. She’s becoming a master at reading me.
“And then the petty bullshit is done? No more of this nonsense?” he asks, waving his finger around in the air as if to indicate he’s irritated by my choices.
“It’s done then,” I tell him as I gesture for the butler to fill my glass again. He walks over to us and pours the wine, and I say, “Hers too. Fill it to the brim. I want to get lucky on the way home.”
The butler smirks briefly as he fills Elena’s glass, and then I look to my father who is scowling.
“Life is about more than sex and money, Dominic.” Then he pauses, and I notice his chest puff out. “But you’ve done well selecting Elena as your partner. She’s a sturdy woman, able to walk through fire and not be scorched by it. That’s resilience if I’ve ever seen it. And she’s beautiful. She’ll make handsome grandsons. I’m assuming there are wedding bells soon?” He reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out a small rectangular tin, from which he produces two cigars. He offers me one, but I wave him off.
“I’m not smoking.” I think of what he’s asked. I haven’t planned a wedding yet, but Elena will do whatever I want. I keep her happy enough. One thing I have thought of, however, is children. I want them—a lot of them—and the amount of sex we’ve been having will produce an heir. It’s just a matter of time. “When I’m ready, yes. Wedding bells will ring.”
“Good,” he grunts, and I notice the mischief in his eye. “I need a grandson to smoke with since my own child refuses.”
“It’s a filthy habit.” I chuckle just as Elena walks back into the room.
Her face is lit up with happiness at our laughter, and she sits down next to me and picks up her glass of wine to have a drink. “What’s funny?” she asks, and Dad brings his trimmed cigar to his lips.
“Dad is making jokes about needing grandchildren. I told him all in due time.” I place my hand on her back and let my fingers rub over her shoulder, and she blushes.
“Now, on with the business at hand.” Dad lights his lighter, holds the flame to the end of the cigar, and puffs until the cherry is burning brightly before extinguishing the open flame. “We thought it only proper to tell you that I have purchased the theater.” Dad’s announcement makes Elena look at me in surprise.
“It’s true,” I tell her. “Dad saw it as an excellent opportunity. Not only did he want to invest in your career because he believes in you, but expanding our business allows us to do better for people.” I’m really selling this benevolence thing, and I think she’s fully buying it. She doesn’t have to know about the money laundering we plan to partake in via the theater.
“Wow, that’s incredible.” Her eyes bounce from Dad’s face to mine as she sips her drink. “But isn’t it going to look like nepotism if I’m gaining the lead role?”
Her concern is genuine, but I assuage it. “Not at all. Dad will make the announcement that he’s the owner, but everything will be run by Mr. Monroe.” We’ve had him fully vetted, and he understands it cannot look like nepotism at all. So, when Elena tries out and scores the lead role at a different theater, she will take a backseat at our theater. She doesn’t have to know how many strings I’m pulling, and to others, it will look like she’s doing it all on her own. Besides, I don’t think I’ll even have to pull those strings. She really is amazing on stage.
“Best of all,” Dad tells her, “you will always have an in with the boss.” He winks and continues. “You can help us discern what shows the cast is hungry for, and we’ll make sure our eager fans are fed! It’s a win-win.” He puffs on his cigar confidently, and she sits back in her seat and grins at me.
“I think it’s wonderful, and I am so happy to be a part of this amazing enterprise.” I can’t tell if it’s the wine or if she’s genuinely happy, but this is a very different Elena Cortez from the one I encountered with the lie about my identity. I’m convinced she truly loves me, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
“Now, about those grandchildren,” Dad jokes, and Elena joins us in a laugh. Her smile is radiant. I feel like she has been a part of our family for ages, that she was born for this.
When I first met her, my only thought was her stunning beauty and how I could make her mine. But beneath it all lay a resilience I’d never encountered in a woman, and I’ve had my share of women. It takes a special person to join this family and fit in, and I feel like in only a few short minutes with my father, I’ve found a lifetime partner.
The relationship is built on some unspoken truths that will forever remain that way, things I cannot ever tell her lest she leave and I am forced to do something I will forever regret. But it won’t come to that. Not with her. She is content to give me space and privacy so long as I give her confident reassurance of my love and my heart toward her. And that’s all a man could hope for.
“Shall we get you home, young lady?” I ask her, standing.
Elena sways to her feet, further proof the wine has affected her, and we say our goodbyes. And for the entire drive home, she rides my lap like she was made just for me. I’d say this will work out perfectly.