The Accardi Twins: A Mafia Romance Duet

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Gia

“ L eave them, and get over here,” Liam demands as I move to take our plates away. He cleared his dinner while I just moved my chicken and pasta around the plate. Despite a stern inner talk, I’m on edge. I hate being here. I hate even looking at his gloating face. I hate playing the mute docile girlfriend. And I especially hate how he’s been pawing at me all night.

I feel sick as I plaster a smile on my face and walk over to his side of the table.

“Show me your tits.” He levels me with a challenging look as acid churns in my stomach.

Lifting shaking hands to the straps on my dress, I pray the diphenhydramine kicks in soon. I put 150 milligrams into his beer twenty minutes ago. It’s double the recommended dose, but Liam is a big guy, and I figure he’d need more than the average person. I want to ensure the sleeping aid knocks him out long enough for me to search his place thoroughly and pretend like I was sleeping beside him all night.

I was sorely tempted to give him an overdose and rid the world of him, but unfortunately, we need the creep. Joshua updated me on the meeting, confirming the board wants me to continue. I was mad when he told me he asked them to extract me, but it wasn’t for long. At least he was honest about it, and I know his motives were purely coming from a protective place. Although I’m not happy he tried to undermine me, it shows he cares, and that means a lot.

My mouth is dry, and my palms are sweaty as I lower the straps of my dress and my bra, exposing my chest to his leering gaze.

“Fuck, these are incredible,” Liam says, flicking his fingers at my nipples. He tweaks and rubs them until they stiffen, and I feel another part of me die inside. “Lean down. I want to suck on them,” he says, ensuring my mortification is complete. I hate that Joshua is listening to this. He’s having a hard time with me being here tonight, and I promised him I wouldn’t shut off the audio no matter what.

I zone out as Liam sucks and bites my breasts, tugging painfully on my nipples.

He pulls his mouth back and peers intensely at me. “Hmm. I’m not sure you’ve learned your lesson yet.” His conniving expression sends icicles crawling up my spine. “On your knees, whore.”

I hold my head up as I lower to my knees and reach for his zipper, panicking that I didn’t give him enough sleeping liquid. Shouldn’t he be sleepy by now? I swallow back bile as I pull his limp dick from his pants. He’s soft and floppy, like jelly in my hand. I stroke him a few times before he shoves my head down over him. I almost gag on his disgusting shaft, but I visualize all the ways I’m going to make him pay before I kill him, and it helps. Sucking his cock doesn’t induce an erection either, and I’m guessing it’s a side effect of the medicine.

“You’re fucking defective,” he snarls, slurring his words a little as he slaps me away and tucks his flaccid cock back in his pants. “You can’t even make me hard.”

How the fuck am I the defective one?

He wraps his hands around my throat, but there is no strength to his touch, and I know he’s got to be close. I need to get him to his room.

“Baby, come to bed. Let’s get naked, and I’ll get you really hard.”

“You better.” He releases my throat, grabbing my hand and yanking me toward his bedroom with a frown. He sways a little in the hallway. “What the fuck?” he says over a yawn.

“Which one is yours?” I ask, pretending like I don’t know.

“Stop talking.” He pulls me into his room. “Less talking, more fucking.” He flops down on the bed on his back, beckoning me forward with his fingers. Another yawn escapes his mouth as his eyes struggle to remain open.

Thank fucking God.

I saunter toward him sexily, smiling as I shimmy my dress down my body, leaving me in only my lace panties. Crawling up the bed, I grin as his eyes open and close. I untie his shoes and remove his socks, hiding my grimace at the strong smell emanating from his feet. Ugh. His toes are hairy and oddly shaped, and his feet are all veiny, which I know is a sign of health, but his feet are seriously gross. Grabbing his pants, I unzip them and yank them down along with his boxers.

A snore rips from his lips, and when I look up, he’s completely conked out. I slump on the bed beside him for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling, thanking whoever invented that drug for its existence. Then I spring into action. Removing his shirt is a bit of an ordeal, but I finally manage to get it off him. I take pics of him naked before I shove him under the covers. You never know when it might come in handy.

Checking he’s out for the count, I scan his apartment for cameras with the device Joshua procured for me. None show up, which is a relief. Then, I begin a thorough inspection, starting with the kitchen and ending back in the bedroom. Using another gadget Joshua gave me, I crack the code to his safe and open it. But the contents are disappointing. There are a few bundles of cash, some watches, and the deeds to a house in Boston along with a couple of fake passports and driver’s licenses. I take copies of everything and immediately send them to the cloud so the team has access to them.

I go through his closet, his drawers, and bedside tables again, growing frustrated I have found nothing of use. If he’s storing everything at the bar, I can’t see how I’ll ever be left alone there to get my hands on it. I’m lost in thought as I rummage through the second bedside table, and I almost miss it.

My eyes flit back to the small silver cylindrical object, and my breath hitches as I stare at it. “No way,” I whisper, staring at what appears to be one of our tracking chips. How did Liam get his hands on this, and why does he have it? My mind churns with ideas as I take pictures of it, making sure to zoom in on the numbers on the underside. Each number corresponds to an individual chip, so if this was an active one, we’ll be able to identify where it came from.

Did he remove it from one of the soldati on the ship? The Commission assumed the dead men missing their chips lost them during their torture. But what if it was deliberate? What if they mutilated them beyond all recognition to hide the fact they wanted their chips? It would seem like the logical answer. I wish I could take it for Ben so it could be fully analyzed, but it’s too risky to remove anything.

After a second search of his place, I’m satisfied I have found the only evidence here. I glance at my watch. Three a.m. is too early to leave. I can’t risk Liam checking the cameras downstairs. He expects me to spend the night, so I shall. I plonk my butt on the couch and pull up a book on my phone to read. There is no way in hell I’m risking falling asleep. In case I doze off, I set my alarm for five thirty, but I don’t need it. I’m still awake and itching to get out before he wakes up. I have no clue how long that stuff will keep him in the Land of Nod.

I tiptoe into his room and slowly climb into the bed beside him, watching him the entire time for any signs he might be waking. But he’s completely comatose. He hasn’t even budged position all night. I wriggle a little in the bed to mess up my side, only getting out when I’ve left enough body heat. I spritz a little bit of my perfume on the pillow, smirking when I deliberately smudge his brand-new white silk pillow with my mascara. Satisfied I’ve done enough to “prove” I spent the night, I go out to the kitchen and write him a note, confirming I have left to go to the gym before an early-morning meeting with a client.

I leave it beside him on the bed, staring at him as he snores like a freight train, debating whether to grab the pillow and smother him with it. I hightail it out of his place before I’m tempted to do it.

When I arrive home, I discover I have a guest. Joshua is pacing the floor in the living room like a madman, scrubbing his hands down his face and tugging on his hair. His head picks up when he hears my heels clicking across the floors. Bruising shadows paint the skin under his eyes, worry lines furrow his brow, and his usually pristine hair is sticking up every which way.

“Thank God.” His giant strides eat up the gap between us in no time, and then he’s reeling me into his arms. “I was so worried.” He almost squeezes me to death he’s hugging me so tight. “I couldn’t sit still for a second all night. I was going out of my mind.” He clasps my face in his large hands. “I shouldn’t be here, Gia, but I couldn’t not come. I wanted to be here when you returned to make sure you are okay with my own eyes. It was hell knowing you were over there, dealing with all that shit, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help you.”

“I’m okay,” I say, my voice muffled as he tucks my head into his neck and holds me tight.

“I barely stopped myself from going over there. I fucking hate that prick, and I want him dead,” he growls. “I know we have a deal, but please let me cut his hands off, one finger at a time.”

“Only if you let me slice his revolting dick from his body.”

“I’m gutting his balls.”

I giggle as I lift my head. “I want his ass. I have a few creative ideas for it.”

“Fuck, you were made for me,” he says before claiming my lips in a hard kiss. Joshua is normally so careful with me, but he’s not holding back tonight, devouring my mouth with panicked intensity.

“Wait,” I say, easing back a few minutes later. “I want to shower and get his stench off me.”

“I’ll make coffee, and I picked up some pastries from that bakery on the corner. The board has convened another emergency session to discuss the chip you found. They want you to attend.”

“Thanks for coming in on such short notice, Gia,” Massimo says as he sips from a paper cup of coffee.

“It’s no problem. I haven’t actually gone to sleep yet.”

“You are doing a fantastic job under difficult circumstances,” he adds. “We are grateful for your loyalty.”

“Thank you, Don Greco.”

“I called Philip the instant Joshua forwarded me the images you took of the chip,” Ben says.

“I’m guessing it is from one of the dead men on the ship,” I say.

“You would be correct,” Ben confirms with a grim smile.

“How many more were missing?” Joshua asks, linking his fingers with mine under the table.

“Seven in total,” Cristian confirms.

“That’s why they completely disfigured those men,” Caleb muses, leaning back in his seat as he draws the same conclusion as me. “It was to disguise the fact they took their chips.”

“Are the chips still active?” I ask. “Are they using them to hide their spies within our ranks?”

Fiero shakes his head. “We thought that too, but none of those chips are active any longer.”

“They were all deactivated the night their owners were killed,” Ben confirms.

“So, what are they doing with them?” Joshua asks.

“We’d all love the answer to that question.” Massimo’s gaze dances around the table. “I have a feeling it’s a vital piece of evidence.”

Joshua squeezes my hand under the table.

“When are you seeing Liam again?” Fiero asks.

“Not for a while. He told me last night he’s going to Ireland today with his family for Christmas. He won’t be back until January third.”

I felt like throwing a party when he told me. It required every ounce of acting talent to pretend to be sad. At least I’ll have a reprieve from the stress of spending time with him, and I’ll get to spend the holidays with my family and Joshua. I’m hoping the assignment might be ended before Liam returns and I’ve seen the last of him.

“That’s unfortunate. Hanging around the bar might have proven beneficial. The holiday spirit can often lower guards and loosen tongues.”

“Can’t we ask O’Hara to send his men there to keep their ear to the ground?” Cristian suggests.

“We can, and we will,” Joshua says. “I really don’t see how there is much more Gia can do. She won’t get an opportunity to search the bar even if invited back.”

“I think we should stage a little breaking and entering,” Ben says. “If Liam is keeping anything there, we’ll find it. We’ll hire outside the family. Make it look like a Christmas robbery so we’re not showing our hand early.”

“I think that would work,” Massimo says. He turns to face me. “We’ll extract you fully in January. You’ll have to go into hiding until this blows over. Liam will not take kindly to you disappearing on him.”

Thank fuck. I breathe a sigh of relief.

“You can stay at my house,” Ben offers. “It’s completely secure, and we have tons of room. The east wing is free right now. You can stay there, if you like.” Ben has gone to great lengths to keep the location of his home a secret, and no one knows he lives in Greenwich or the coordinates of the estate. He has round-the-clock guards and top-notch security measures including a large basement-level panic room, equipped with full supplies.

“Or you can stay with Mom,” Joshua says. “You know she’d love to have you too.”

I smile at both men. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you.”