Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
B ianca
I can’t take it anymore. He’s here in the hotel every day, and yet he won’t come within a hundred feet of me. His eyes shutter when he sees me. I’m so damn tired of this. If he really wants me, then he needs to figure out if pushing me away is really going to be what he wants.
Exhaling slowly, I pull up the number I got six weeks ago from a guy who stopped in his tracks when he saw me going through the hotel. I’ve never called him and believed I never would. I warned him of it when he asked for my number. He said fine, but he would give me his number. If ever I called him, then he’d answer.
He answers. “Bianca, hey. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t hear from you after all. Which would have been tragic. A loss too immense for me to ever recover from.”
Rolling my eyes. “A tragedy. Oh my, now I’m all aflutter. Does that mean I could see you tonight? I really need to get out of the cage my brother has me in. Even if it’s only for a few hours.”
It’s been more than a week, and not a peep of a threat. No one gives a shit about me. I need to get out of the hotel before I go crazy. There are only so many hours I can swim and be by the pool.
“Well, uh. I don’t, I mean my friends and I are meeting up tonight. It’s kind of a standing hangout night. We get dinner, then hang out playing penny poker. Nothing crazy, but it’s not something I feel like I can step out. I can get a late-night dinner at eleven. How does that sound?”
“Sounds perfect.” Does he really think I’m so stupid as to not know I’m in side chick territory? He has a main chick he’s going to put to bed, then come out and play with me. Why were all men such pigs?
His relief is palpable. “Awesome, great. Maybe next week you can join us. Just not yet, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it. Not a problem.”
“Awesome, I’ll pick you up at the hotel on the strip at eleven.”
“No need, I’m going to meet you there.” I’m not an idiot. I’ve learned my lesson on ensuring I always have my own way home, and not drinking enough to be in someone else’s power.
“Oh, well. All right, yeah, I get it.”
I decide I need to show a little more skin for Gaetano. Once he sees pictures of me out with another man, it will send him running to me. I know, I know, I’m supposed to be waiting for three weeks, but every day feels like a month without him. My skin is itchy and tight, longing for his touch, and I feel like I’m going to explode without him. I’m back to being pissed at him.
Poor Sandro, he looks exhausted to me. It’s the first time he’s come home before midnight since he got back from Chicago seven days ago.
“Are you going out?” An eyebrow comes up at me.
I shrug. “I have a date.”
“A date?” Both eyebrows are in on it now.
“Yeah, a date. I can go on a date.” Why is he such a dick?
“Yes, of course. You surprised me. Have you thought of changing your room at all? I know you bought some furniture, but if there’s anything else, let me know.”
Finally, we could talk about redoing the place. “I called the best interior designer in Vegas. She’s agreed to come next week. I’ve sent her my ideas for the living room and all the measurements.”
“Why did you do that? I told you that you can redo your room. However, it will be Carina who redecorates our home.”
I stomp my foot, demanding his attention. “This is my home too.”
“Yes, but eventually you are going to move out—maybe with this guy you’re going out with. This will still be our home once you’re gone. Her home. She needs to be the one to decide what she wants to live in.”
He hasn’t even seen me since he’s been back. Less than five minutes into seeing me, all he wants to do is tell me off. “Fine. Whatever. I can’t do anything right.”
Gaetano
“What do you mean she’s going on a date?” I spit out the words at Bobby. Seething inside at the idea of Bianca out with a man.
Bobby shrugs. “She told me that she was going to go out on a date, so I figured someone should go out and keep an eye on her, you know? With the whole someone after Sandro, you think.”
Jesus Christ. My phone is in my hand when it rings, it’s the front desk. “Yes?”
“Sir, a Mundo Reyes is here to see Mr. Leonetti. Mr. Leonetti went home barely ten minutes ago, so I wasn’t sure if I should bother him with Mr. Reyes.”
Fucking hell.
“Two minutes,” I tell her as I put her on hold to call Sandro. “Mundo Reyes is here. He wants to see you.”
“Go ahead and take him to my office.”
I hang up with him and flip back to her. “I’ll be right down. I’m going to take him up to Sandro’s office. Until Mundo clears the exit again, we’re on red alert.”
I’m guiding Mundo out of the elevator and into Sandro’s office with one hand on my gun as I close the door.
Mundo sits in one of the chairs in front of Sandro’s desk without an invitation. I brace for what he’s going to say and am glad I did because I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it myself.
“I am here to inform you that you have no further worries for your life. At least until the next person wants to kill you. I killed my brother Guillermo this morning. He was the one who had a contract out on your life.”
“Guillermo, the one over Los Angeles?” Sandro murmurs for confirmation.
“Past tense. Augusto’s heart attack was due to finding out Luca had Bella. The word went out Augusto intended to kill Luca. Guillermo was trying to gain his favor. He hoped Augusto would have him take over the cartel, instead of me. Everyone knew the only way to get to Luca was through you. With you dead, Guillermo planned to go in for the kill himself.” He shakes his head.
Sandro stares him down. “What do you want for killing him?”
One shoulder lifts. “Nothing. I killed him as much for me as anyone. Although I would like my offer out to not only the Outfit but to the Italian mafia as well. If the answer is no, I’m fine with it. In the next few months, I’m making changes. There will be no more trafficking, no more brothels, no more using women as shields, and killing them once we get what we want. My brothers will be ordered to marry. I want to clean up our image and appear legitimate instead of the barely better than animals of Augusto’s time. If there are women within the Outfit and Italian mafia willing to marry my brothers, I would pay well, and it would be profitable all the way around.”
Jaw tight, Sandro nods. “I will let them know.”
“I hear you have a sister….”
Everything in me tightens in anger at the idea of Bianca being considered for a marriage.
Thank fuck Sandro doesn’t let him finish. He shakes his head. “She is not up for consideration. Bianca will marry a civilian and have nothing to do with this life.”
Another shrug. “All right. And you’ll continue to keep traffickers and cargo out of Vegas?”
“Yes. If you can continue to give a heads up, it would be appreciated. Regardless, we have ears and eyes in the sky to help keep anything coming through here or women being taken.” Since traffickers weren’t able to get cargo through Vegas, they moved to kidnapping women, especially women from out of town.
“Good, if I hear anything, I’ll give you a call.” He takes out his wallet and offers Sandro a card. “My number if you want to reach out.” With a nod, he walks away.
Once the door is closed behind him, Sandro swings his head to me. “That seem too easy to you, too?”
I nod. “I also think it is that easy. Guillermo was Augusto in more ways than Mundo would have wanted, even if Guillermo hadn’t hired the hitter. If you’ll remember a few years ago there were rumors Guillermo was pissed Mundo would take over. If we heard those rumors, Mundo heard them.”
It makes sense. Augusto was in a rage when Bella escaped his plans to marry her off to Manuel Rodriguez of the Rodriguez cartel. Because we didn’t work with the Reyes cartel, many in Vegas also dropped them in favor of the Rodriguez cartel. Augusto hoped to create a link with the Rodriguez cartel by marrying his daughter to the deadly enforcer Manuel. Although Manuel was third to his father and brother, the man is someone anyone with intelligence would want as an ally.
I notice Sandro doesn’t even seem to be paying attention. “Sandro? You good?”
He nods. “Yeah, I’m glad the threat is over. I’ll call Chicago and let them know. I’m heading up to bed.”
I walk him to the elevator, him going up and me going down. Fucking Bianca going on a date. The only good thing is, it looks like she’s driving to meet him. I broke into her tracker on her phone almost a year ago and plug it into my phone so I can follow her.
Closing my eyes, I sigh. I should not be here. I really should not be here. This is not anywhere I should be. Not at a classy place off the strip where a plate is going to cost two hundred dollars, and it will actually be worth it. I shouldn’t be watching the couple in the corner. Bianca deserved privacy with the guy. Since tonight will be his last night on earth, they deserve this last bit of time together without me watching every move he’s making.
Then I blink, and she’s not at the table in the corner, she’s right in front of me. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. The way she lined her eyes turns her into a kitten. I want her purring for me, in my arms, in my bed.
“Gaetano?”
“Hm.”
“What are you doing here, Gaetano?”
“I’m having dinner,” I murmur as I nod at the waiter.
A woman eyes me with a gleeful smile. The woman’s hand is barely on the chair before Bianca growls. “Go the fuck away, ho.”
The woman looks between me and Bianca and flees.
It’s entirely wrong to be as hard as I am right now at the sight of Bianca jealous. “Care to join me for dinner?”
“I’m here on a date with another man. No, thank you.” She takes one step back.
“Leave now, and he won’t feel it when the time comes. It will be quick and easy.” I promise her.
Eyes wide, she shakes her head. “How can you? I can’t have you...”
“That doesn’t seem to matter. If he touches you, I have to make him pay.” I attempt to inject an apology into the words even though I don’t mean it.
“I regret the day I met you.” She hisses low at me.
“If it gives you any comfort, I do too,” I admit.
She blinks, once, twice. “You regret me? How dare you? After everything you’ve?—”
I send two fingers to cover her lips, quieting the diatribe. Those beautiful eyes are spitting at me, no words are needed to understand how she feels about me at the moment.
Without a word, she turns and walks away. Three minutes later, she and the guy are making their way toward the exit. She tries, I’ll give her that. But she couldn’t stop him from running his hand over her back as he followed her to her SUV.
It takes two minutes to pull a few hundred-dollar bills and toss them on the table and follow them. I catch up to them easily in the parking lot. He has his fucking hand around her arm, arguing with her.
My brain short-functions, and I send the butt of my gun into his skull. He crumbles to the ground.
“Gaetano, no stop it. That’s enough.”
He’s groaning, trying to stand. Sticking the barrel of the gun under his chin, I wrap my other hand into his hair.
“Tell her goodnight,” I murmur low.
“Goodnight,” he mumbles.
“This is bullshit, Gaetano.” Bianca spits out at me from across the hood of the SUV.
“Go home, Bianca.”
“I really fucking hate you.”
“Goodnight, Bianca.” I keep my eyes on him. It’s easier than pretending I didn’t see the hurt and longing in her eyes.
“For the record. Grant, I’m not sorry. You racist dickhead.” The disgust on her face shouldn’t have me smiling. God, what was it about this woman?
Gaetano
I’m not really surprised when I find her waiting in front of my door two hours after I had Grant drive us to the room in the desert.
Good. The better to finally get to the spanking, her plump round ass deserves.
“You did it. You killed Dan.”
“Dan who?”
“The guy who asked me out my first semester of college.” She spits out the words at me.
“I did. He had several cases of DV against him and two protective orders.”
She rolls her eyes. “What about Adam?”
“Adam was trying to get you drunk in order to fuck you. It’s not my fault you have shitty taste in men.”
I unlock the door and push it open so she can enter.
Stepping inside, she sighs. “Exactly, take you for instance?—”
“You didn’t fall in love with me. We were always meant to be.” I correct her.
Shaking her head. “You have to stop killing men who are trying to date me if you’re not going to. This is what you wanted. What you told me to do. You told me to find someone else, so I will. Or have you finally come to your senses?”
Closing the door, I flick the lock and toss my keys onto the table. I return my attention to her and find it’s finally clicked that there is a reason I let her in, and it’s not what she thinks it is.
“Bend over the recliner, ass out in preparation for the spanking you’ve been working toward,” I demand as I remove my suit jacket and don’t give a fuck where it lands.
I’m unbuttoning the sleeves of my shirt and rolling it back so that it doesn’t hinder me when she finds her tongue. “Gaetano, no, please. I’ll be good. Don’t spank me.”
She’s backing away from the recliner. I take one step forward, and she goes running for my bedroom. I’m on her in seconds, grasping her to me with one arm around her waist and lifting her off her feet.
“Gaetano, please don’t drop me.” She squeals.
“I’m never going to drop you, angel.” I sigh as I snag one of her shoes and tear it off her. She takes off the other one on her own. Putting her back down, I give her no room. “Bend over the bed, pull up your dress, and show me your ass for the spanking you’ve earned.”
“I hate you.” Is muttered under her breath as she bends over the edge of the bed.
Unsheathing my knife, I keep in the small of my back, I take a step closer to her. “Pull up the bottom of your dress to over your ass. Present yourself to me.”
Fucking hell, she does it perfectly, arching her back and lifting her ass up for me. Sexy, so fucking sexy. She’s wearing a thong and a damn garter belt and stockings. “Did you wear this for him or me?”
The brat better answer correctly. This dress was bad enough, a black cobweb of sparkling lace that barely covers her ass.
“You, Gaetano,” she whispers.
“Brat,” I mutter. Spreading the bottom of the dress with one hand, I pull up the knife through the black lace. The knife is extremely sharp and splits the two sides without any resistance.
“Gaetano, what the hell are you doing? Do you know how much this dress costs?”
“You should have thought of that before wearing it out for anyone to see you in it.” One last slash separates it, and the dress falls to the floor. The bra she’s wearing is barely there, the same as the black thong. A flick of my wrist ends the thong. I tug it off her, leaving her ass a pretty picture between the garter belt and suspenders fastened to the black silk stockings covering her legs.
“You’re getting twenty. Count them off.”
A whimper escapes between her lips.
“Do you understand?” I ask as I run one hand over a shaking globe of her ass. Fuck. I want to bite it, suck on it and feel the bite mark as I fuck her. Jesus, I don’t recognize myself when I get close to her.
“Yes.” Is more of a squeak than an actual word.
I bring down my right hand to one cheek and watch it shake from the force.
“One,” she pants.
Brat. Of course, she likes this. This smack has a little more power to it as I move to the other cheek.
“Two.” The word is spit out. Perfect.
“Ow, fuck you, Gaetano.”
“What was that, brat?” I chide her.
“Fuck you. It hurts and I hate you.”
“Bad girl. You didn’t say three, so now we have to go back to one.” I click my tongue against my teeth. I’m loving the sight of her round red ass.
“Three, I’m sorry. Three.”
This smack has the perfect power that will have her feeling it tomorrow and cause her pussy to leak down her inner thighs. “One,” I utter the word low into her ear.
With a heavy sigh, she gives in. “One.”
“Good girl.” I praise her the way she deserves.
By the time she whimpers twenty, the sheet beneath her is soaking wet. There is no need for preparation. With one hand on her ass, and the other around my cock, I guide it into her pussy from behind. I'm not gentle. I can't be. This woman has undone all of my strength of will and sanity. I fuck her hard, punishing, and wildly. Within minutes, she's coming with a scream of my name, and I follow with an orgasm that has me fighting for air.