Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
GOOSE
Plugging my phone into the charger, I wait until it’s showing a charge before I turn to watch Cidney walk out of the bathroom. She’s freshly showered, the steam following behind her as she makes her way toward the bed, wearing a sexy little shorts and tank top pajama set thing.
“The meet has been confirmed,” I announce.
After we fucked on the couch expertly, I might add, I sent Bullet a text asking him to get that shit set up. I agree with Cidney and the fact that she’s done being a prisoner in her own home. She shouldn’t have to be.
However, I am glad that I’ve got her apartment under surveillance. It should have already been done a long time ago. She might not be an old lady, but she is a very important part of the Vicious Reapers and should be kept safe. That is just righting a wrong at this point.
“It is?” Cidney asks, lifting her gaze to meet mine as she stops in her tracks. She’s just a few feet from the bed, but she is frozen in place, her eyes widening.
She appears surprised, and I have to wonder why she would be. I said I would get it done, and I have. Does she think I’m going to fuck her over or something? That I won’t take care of something I’ve promised to do?
I watch as she blinks slowly, then she clears her throat before she asks a question, one that I should have anticipated but wasn’t thinking about until now.
“Does Ivy know about it?”
Fuck.
I wasn’t really thinking about Ivy. Sure, he’s been at the forefront of my mind, because Cidney is still technically off-limits, even though she’s been on-limits behind closed doors… and often.
“He doesn’t,” I state. “Would you like him there?”
I’m not sure I want to deal with the situation that would involve Ivy.
He’s going to find out I’m fucking Cidney, and that’s going to be a whole new level of drama.
He’ll expect me to make a decision. I won’t be able to tell him I’m just having a bit of fun, either.
He will, without a doubt, demand I claim her after he kicks my ass, or at least tries.
“I’m not sure…” Her words trail off, and I can’t help but smirk. She’s probably playing the scenario over in her head, too, then she wrinkles her nose and shakes her head a couple of times.
“No, I don’t think I want him there,” she finally murmurs.
Thank fuck. We can save that drama for another day. I’ll need to get the fuck back in the gym if I’m going to deal with Ivy and him finding out about the fact I’ve been fucking his cousin.
Because I will have to deal with it… eventually.
“Then we’ll deal with it as much as we can before we tell him anything,” she murmurs.
I can tell she doesn’t want to deal with it at all, and I couldn’t agree with her more.
My lips twitch into a smirk as I sit up.
I pat the empty space on the bed next to me.
I’m ready for her to come to bed, and I’m ready to fuck her again.
Though I probably won’t, because now we’re both focused on the meet.
I still can’t believe I slept on the couch the first night here. It was on principle alone, nothing else. I thought I could do it, that I could stay away from her, but I fucking failed. Cidney crawls into bed. The mattress dips when she sinks down, shifting closer to me.
“When am I meeting him?”
My brain tells me never, because I don’t want to put her in any kind of danger, but I know this needs to be done. And she’s in more danger sitting here in this apartment day in and day out with no resolution.
“Tomorrow, for lunch, we’ll head into Raleigh.”
She lifts her hand, her palm cupping my cheek as she shifts closer to me. Then I feel her lips against mine. She tastes fucking amazing. But she breaks the kiss, settling her cheek against my chest, and I lie back on the pillow.
“I’m nervous,” she whispers.
I reach for the table lamp and flick it off before settling into the mattress, my head resting on the soft pillow. When I pull Cidney close to me, she settles against my side and lets out a long breath as she curls closer. Closing my eyes, I soak in the moment. The perfect fucking moment.
CIDNEY
Smoothing out the skirt of my suit, I take one step forward before Goose slides up beside me. I feel his hand on the small of my back as he guides me toward the restaurant. Exhaling a shaky breath, I square my shoulders in an attempt to be stronger, or at least appear that way.
Inside, I’m shaking like a leaf on a tree. I’m ready to throw up right here on the sidewalk. But I don’t do that. I take one step forward, then another. Stopping in front of the door, I tilt my head back slightly, looking up at the sign.
Bella Lucia.
That’s a pretty name.
Goose reaches for the door and holds it open for me. I don’t know what I’m doing here. Yesterday, this sounded like such an amazing idea. This was what we wanted, what I needed to move forward. To get this over and done with. To find out who Jeffery really is and why he really did what he did.
Just like the movies, when we enter the restaurant, there is a man sitting at the back. He’s wearing a suit, and there's a glass of wine in front of him, along with a basket of bread and a plate with oil, balsamic vinegar, and some spices.
I already know it tastes amazing. Just the smells in this place tell me that the food is out of this world. I can only hope that this meeting will go well enough that I can get some food. Because a plate of pasta sounds like heaven right now, and I know it’s going to taste amazing. I can just tell.
The man at the table lifts his head, his eyes finding mine as he motions for us to move closer. I don’t know where Bullet is, but I know he’s supposed to show up. I’m not sure I care either.
But then I hear a throat clear behind me. Turning my head, shifting my gaze away from the man at the table, I look over my shoulder to see that Bullet is indeed here, and thankfully, Ivy is not.
“Take a seat, my friends,” the man at the table states.
“Lorenzo,” Bullet murmurs as he takes a step forward.
The man at the table dips his chin. “Sit,” he demands.
We do that. The three of us sit at this round table, yet somehow are still across from him. He motions for a waiter to come over. A few moments later, the waiter bends at the waist. Lorenzo murmurs something in his ear, he nods a few times, and then he straightens his spine and hurries away.
“He’s gonna bring some wine, water, and more bread,” Lorenzo announces.
Well, I’m here for the bread, I know that much. We don’t speak. That is, until the bread, water, and wine arrive. I reach for the bread, ignoring everyone else around me, because I can’t wait a second longer to taste this heavenly loaf.
Dipping my bread into the oil and vinegar spice mixture, I bring it to my lips and moan the second it touches my tongue. Pure heaven. I love sweets like the next girl, but there is something about warm, fresh, soft bread that is almost orgasmic.
“Well, I’m glad to see a woman enjoy bread. These days, too many people villainize bread. I don’t understand it,” Lorenzo says, waving his hand around.
A few moments later, the waiter appears again, this time taking our order. I make Lorenzo proud a second time when I order spaghetti alla scampi. He smirks, ordering himself a lasagna, and then Bullet and Goose order sandwiches, but I don’t pay attention to them. I'm too busy taking this man in.
“How did you know my mother?” I blurt out the moment the waiter walks away with our lunch orders.
Lorenzo lifts his head, his eyes find mine, and his lips curve up into a smirk. “We were young. Children, really,” he murmurs. “I have many fond memories of her. With her. I loved her.”
“And then?” I ask.
“She met your father and ran to him, or ran from me, I’m not sure. At the time, I was angry, which caused problems between the club and my family. I wanted everyone to suffer the same pain I was feeling at the time. I’m not proud of the war I started, but I was glad to see it end.”
“So what is happening now? With Jeffrey?”
Bullet whistles, and I know it’s because I’m not mincing words. I’m not playing around, though. I want this done so I can enjoy my lunch. My mouth is watering just thinking about the pasta that is going to be set down in front of me.
“Down to the hard questions, then,” Lorenzo says with a chuckle.
He leans back in his chair, folding his hands over his belly and lacing his fingers together as his gaze finds mine. I watch as his tongue slides across his bottom lip. His eyes search mine, and then he clears his throat.
“I like you. You have gumption,” he declares. “My son, Goffredo, has his ideas of what he thinks the world should be. He is young and doesn’t fully understand…”
I open my mouth to say something, but Bullet speaks before I can get a word out. “He understood enough to shoot one of our men. I would be justified in killing him for that,” he states.
To Lorenzo’s credit, he doesn’t appear to be shocked by what Bullet is saying. “I know you could. It’s the main reason I agreed to this, and of course, because I wanted to lay eyes on Cidney myself.”
His gaze flicks to meet mine again, his eyes searching, then he shakes his head once. “I knew you weren’t mine. I knew it before you came into this world, but over the years, I’ve checked in on you, and it confirmed it for me. You look exactly like your father.”
“Then why?” I ask.
I’m met with nothing but silence.
The food is delivered, and unfortunately, that means that I don’t get to enjoy said food with this situation being done and over. Either the cook is too quick, or Lorenzo is too slow. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s both.
“He’s a good boy.”