Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
SURPRISE VISITS
LUCA
These past few weeks have been too quiet.
Even though I’ve been blissfully wrapped up with Mindy, I always know what’s going on in the world around me.
The family has been keeping a low profile since our war with the Giuliani family has been heating up, and the protective order that Mindy had against Ross was also terminated.
We keep taking hits, but all of this shit will come to an end soon.
However, Mindy doesn’t know that Jules has been shadowing her not only because of Ross, but because of the war my family is engaged in at the moment.
She really has no idea how dangerous I am.
Normally, it wouldn’t cross my mind to have my men guard a woman.
But Mindy is the first woman that I’m serious about.
My family does their best to keep innocents out of our business, but sometimes, women and children get hurt. And I’ll be damned if my innocent woman will have a hair on her head touched.
My ringing office phone brings me out of my angry thoughts.
“Mr. Dalonzo, there’s a woman here to see you,” the front desk security guard says before I can respond.
“Who is it?” I gruffly question.
“Mindy Stewart, sir. She’s on the visitor logs, but it says to contact you immediately. Should I send her in?”
“No, I’ll come and get her.” I can’t help the smile that graces my face.
I’ve invited Mindy to join me anytime, but she always says she doesn’t want to bother me. I know it’s just a habit for her to stay alone, but I’m breaking down her guard little by little. If I had it my way, she’d be up under me twenty-four-seven.
I stride out of my office and to the elevator. I’m so excited to see Mindy that I would’ve run down the stairs if I weren’t on the top floor. The elevator ride is brief, and in less than five minutes, I’m hugging the woman I need to convince to stay with me forever.
“Hey, Coniglia . I missed you,” I whisper in her ear.
“You just saw me yesterday, Luc,” she giggles.
“Even when you’re standing in front of me, I miss you when I blink.”
“Damn, where’s a notebook and a pen. That was some poetic shit, cugino, ” Jules says, smirking.
I shake my head. This guy never follows directions. He’s supposed to be keeping a low profile, yet here he is out in the open making himself known.
“Jules! What are you doing here?” Mindy asks with a smile brightening her face.
I’m surprised that she hasn’t realized that he’s been following her.
“I mean, it’s not like you don’t show up out of nowhere wherever I am, right?” Mindy smirks at Jules, then at me.
Okay, maybe she has noticed.
“Come, Coniglia . Let’s go to my office so we can chat. Jules, get lost.” I grab Mindy’s hand and lead her to the elevator.
“Rude,” I hear Jules chuckle before he disappears into one of the offices behind the receptionist desk.
I give Mindy a short tour before we head into my office. She’s off today, but I’m surprised she came to see me even though I’ve invited her to come to my office at any time. An emotion I can’t really name comes over me at the look of her sweet face.
“Hi,” Mindy whispers sweetly after I close the door to my office.
“Hi.” I pull Mindy’s body flush against mine, and I devour her lips.
My sweet woman opens for me like I knew she would. When she moans into my mouth, it takes all my self-control to end the kiss. My slacks are tight as fuck because my dick is ready for some action. But I’ve never been a man who was led by his smaller head, so I take a step back.
When I adjust myself, Mindy looks at me and bites her lip. The lustful gaze almost makes me want to forget where we are and throw her little ass on my desk and fuck the shit outta her. Instead, I shake my head and walk over to the couch and pull her down beside me.
“If you keep looking at me like that…” I lick my lips instead of finishing my sentence.
Mindy chuckles and playfully taps my chest. She’s absolutely glowing with a beautiful smile covering her face. I take her hand in mine and kiss it.
“I’m glad you finally came to visit me; did you want to get lunch?”
“We can, after we talk.”
For the first time, I notice that Mindy seems nervous. A frown covers my face before I can stop it. There are many reasons people need to be nervous around me, but she is the only person who doesn’t have a single one.
“Okay, Coniglia . You can tell me anything, you know that.”
“Why is Jules following me? Is it because… you’re a part of the mob,” she whispers the last part and looks around as if we aren’t in my soundproof office.
I want to smile at how cute she is. Of course, she doesn’t know that my office is soundproof and the fact that I’m not a part of the mob… I am the mob. But I don’t smile or laugh because my little bunny rabbit is obviously scared of my answer.
My only problem with her fear is that I don’t want to scare her even more.
I’m not sure if I should tell her the truth.
What if she wants to leave me because of my lifestyle?
Hell, she doesn’t even know the half of it.
Not many people can understand my compulsion for murder.
However, since Mindy has been in my life, I haven’t felt the need to kill.
“ Coniglia , Jules is your bodyguard. I am a very powerful man; all of our family has protection. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, but Jules was supposed to stay out of sight.”
“Okay, but you still didn’t answer the question. Are you in the mob, Luca?”
“Mindy!” I hear yelling outside my office before I can answer her question.
“Stay here, baby, I need to see what’s going on.” I kiss her hand before getting up and heading to the door.
I’m almost relieved at the intrusion. The last thing I want to do is lie to Mindy, but I don’t want to tell her the truth either. This situation is something that I’m definitely not used to dealing with.
The yelling gets louder, and I’m baffled.
Nobody in their right mind would yell in a Dalonzo owned building.
Especially when I’ve been left in charge because my brother is taking care of the real family business.
When I step into the hall, the scene in front of me has me smiling. This will definitely be interesting.
“You stupid bitch!” Ross Stewart screams.
I turn around to see Mindy standing behind me, wide-eyed. I don’t have to wonder what emotion she’s feeling because it is one I’m very familiar with— fear. She is absolutely terrified of her ex-husband.
Before I can threaten the asshole, he rushes towards us. My first instinct is to protect Mindy, so I grab her and move her to the side. Like the coward he is, Ross is aiming for Mindy, so he doesn’t see the punch I throw.
The hit lands, and Ross stumbles back but doesn’t fall. His red face and wild eyes tell me all I need to know about this asshole. He’s high out of his mind right now, and there’s no telling what he might do.
As soon as the thought flashes in my mind, Ross pulls out a knife. It pisses me off that this man was not only able to get into my building, but with a weapon. I have no idea how he got passed security, but someone will lose their life behind this fuck up.
“Mindy, go into the bathroom and lock the door,” I calmly direct her.
I keep my eyes on Ross even though I want to make sure Mindy knows I’m serious.
“Luca, please be careful,” Mindy’s teary response comes from behind me.
Shortly after, I hear my personal bathroom door close and the click sounds on the lock. I know it won’t be long before our security arrives, so I know this ass whooping has to be quick. And as much as I want to kill this son-of-a-bitch, I know I can’t.
“So, you think you can just take my wife? I’ll kill her before I let anyone else have her,” Ross growls, lunging for me.
I grab the wrist of his knife-wielding hand and twist until the knife drops to the ground. I punch him in his face, and then I give him body shots that I know for sure will leave him with bruised kidneys. He coughs and gags as if he’s going to vomit, but I keep hitting.
Ross tries to swing, but it’s wild and out of control. He crashes into my desk, sending papers everywhere. He stumbles, knocking over a chair, before regaining his balance. As he stands upright, I grab him and give him an uppercut that sends him flying into a small table by the couch.
I don’t usually have a lot to say, but when I’m handing out consequences, I tend to express myself more. But there’s only one thing I want to say to this motherfucker….
“Mindy is mine.” I stomp him in his chest while he’s on the ground, and he starts to squeal.
I lift my foot up to smash his fucking head in, but I’m grabbed. I don’t lose my cool because I knew Paolo was there. He stood by while I beat the shit out of Ross Stewart, but he knew when I would take it too far.
“ Cugino , you good?” Paolo asks.
I nod even though I’m far from good. This man truly doesn’t know who he’s fucking with. If he thinks he can just waltz in here and cause chaos, then he’s underestimated me.
“Get this motherfucker out of here and get Niro on the phone. Now!” Paolo shouts to the men who have filed into my office.
While Paolo takes care of my mess, I go to get Mindy out of the bathroom. I don’t have any idea where her head is. She could be put off by all of the violence and want nothing to do with me. However, she should know by now that I will do anything to protect her.
I wait for them to carry a groaning Ross out before getting the key to the bathroom and unlocking the door.
Before I could step all the way through the door, Mindy flings herself at me.
I catch her and pull her close as she sniffles into my neck.
I can feel her tears, and for the first time, my heart aches.
Mindy doesn’t deserve any of this, especially from a piece of shit like Ross Stewart. He’s hurt her for the last time. I was going to let him live after making his life hell, but now not only will he regret the day he was born… he will beg for me to end him.
“It’s okay, Coniglia . I’ll always protect you.”
“I know, Luca. But you shouldn’t have to. Look at your office,” she sobs brokenly. “I brought this mess to you. I’m so sorry. I’m trying to divorce him and get a restraining order, but…”
“But what?” I lift Mindy’s face up so I can stare into her eyes.
Mindy shakes her head, “I… nothing. This is not your problem.”
I knew she wouldn’t ask for my help, and she won’t have to. I know she’s been looking for a divorce lawyer. I tried to let her do things on her own because she’s been controlled her entire marriage. However, that ends today.
“If it’s a problem for you, it’s a problem for me. I’ll solve it, you just gotta let me in,” I say softly, almost pleading with her to trust me.
“I have to get a divorce from him. I can’t live like this anymore,” she cries.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”