Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Armando
The scent of dirt, metal and blood hits my nose the minute I’m let into the warehouse.
It’s three in the goddamn morning. I had to leave Hannah in my bed for this, which nearly killed me. But the don called me himself and told me to get down here. And when the don calls, you come. No questions. No complaints.
He could’ve dragged it out and made Emilio sweat his judgment, but instead the don chose to mete out the punishment tonight.
There are two parts of me now. The dead part. And the part Hannah made feel. The dead part doesn’t give a shit what goes down tonight. Not if they bury Emilio at the bottom of Lake Michigan with a pair of cement shoes. Not even if they make me pull the trigger.
But the other part—the Hannah part— fuck . I can’t stomach it. Like it physically makes me ill to think of Emilio getting whacked. Gracie being widowed before she even gets married. Not having her big wedding.
I don’t like it.
It’s not that I forgive the guy. He hired a hit on me just to save his own ass after stealing my girl.
The thing is, Grace isn’t my girl anymore. Right now it feels like she never was. We were pretending. Going through the motions of what Made Men and their pretty, gold-digging girlfriends did.
I am in one of the don’s warehouses in Little Italy, not far from Garden of Eden.
Emilio’s curled up in the fetal position, bleeding and crying like a baby. The guys have already worked him over pretty good.
Everyone important is here. All the old-timers. Alex, Don G’s son-in-law. Marco and Leo.
Don Pachino glances my way and lifts his chin to summon me. I walk over like the scene means nothing to me.
Which is only half true.
I’ve seen enough violence to harden me to the sight of it. Hell, I perpetrated enough violence to make Emilio think I was going to kill him when I got out. So the sight of him bruised and bleeding does nothing to me.
But knowing he might die soon? That makes me itchy.
“Emilio violated his oath.” The room goes quiet when Don G speaks. This is it: Emilio’s sentencing.
Looking around, I can tell I’m not the only guy who isn’t entirely comfortable. Everyone looks grim. Hands stuffed in pockets, no hint of pleasure in any of it. Emilio may have fucked me, but he’s still one of our own. He’s Family. A brother-in-arms.
And he’s been a favorite of the don’s.
“He betrayed us all when he attempted to kill a member of La Famiglia.”
Emilio lets out a sob, but he doesn’t beg. He knows better.
Don G crosses his arms over his chest and lets his words settle over all of us. Lets the tension grow. “Armando, you are the injured party. What justice do you seek?”
Fuck.
I hoped the decision would be made for me.
“I’m not the only injured party,” I say, looking toward Marco. “He got shot in the ass.”
“And he’s a bloody mess because of it,” Marco says. “Don’t worry. I got mine.”
“You sure?” I ask. “You want to shoot him in the ass too. Seems only fair.”
“I considered it,” Marco says with a smirk.
Emilio peers up at me through the swollen slits his eyes have become. There’s pleading in his gaze. Apology. “I’m sorry, Mando. I tried to cancel it, I swear to Christ, I did.”
Of course, that reminds me of Hannah, which makes me feel again.
“Yeah, I know.”
The room is silent. I don’t think anyone even breathes.
“Hannah heard you calling it off.”
I watch hope bloom on Emilio’s face. He drags himself up on his forearms, then sits up with a wince, holding his ribs, which are undoubtedly broken.
I shove my hands in my pockets like the other men. Consider Emilio, the sorry stronzo at my feet. “You’re such a fucking pansy, you couldn’t even try to kill me yourself.”
Tears fall down Emilio’s face. He spreads his hands. “I’m sorry, Mando. I just love her so much. I always loved her. Even before you went in the can. I just wanted to live to marry her.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
I sense the agitation in the room at my dry threat. The implication that he wouldn’t live to marry Grace.
I meet his pleading gaze. “Offer me restitution,” I demand, throwing it out like a challenge. Like I might not accept his offer.
Relief and eagerness spread across his face. “Anything. I’ll pay it. Name your price.”
“How much is that wedding worth to you?”
“Anything,” Emilio begs.
“Fifty thousand.” I throw out the first number that pops in my head.
“One hundred,” Don G interjects firmly.
Emilio nods eagerly, dragging himself slowly to his knees. “I’ll pay it. Yes, of course. I’ll pay it.”
“Bring it to him tomorrow, and we’ll put this to bed.” He looks at me. “No retributions.”
I hold my hands up. “I never threatened him in the first place. You told me to leave it, and I did.” I lift my shoulders. “I follow orders. I’m loyal.”
Unlike some other stronzo fucks. I don’t say it, but I know everyone there’s thinking the same thing.
Emilio will have to live with his shame for the rest of his life. He may still be in the Family, but he lost all respect tonight.
“Yes.” Don G’s glance slides back to Emilio with distaste. “I misjudged which direction the conflict would come from.”
Fuck it. Hannah’s love made me generous. Or maybe she’s just working through me. That infinite abundance of non-judgment she seems to carry. I close the distance between me and Emilio and hold out my hand.
He looks at me doubtfully, like he still expects me to pull out a gun and shoot him through the teeth, but I wait with my palm extended, steady.
When he finally takes it, I haul him to his feet. “Dumber things have been done to keep a woman. You be good to Grace.” I pull him in for a bro-hug, and he grips my shoulder tightly, like I’m the only thing keeping him alive. Which I guess is sort of true.
The tension in the room releases all at once, grunts of approval going around.
“Don’t—don’t tell her,” he begs when I release him.
I shake my head, totally cool. “Never. Nobody here will.” It’s probably true, but I look around to be sure, making it a warning.
Everyone nods his agreement.
Don G. turns and walks away, like he’s not going to dignify Emilio with any more of his attention. He stops at the door. “Settle it by tomorrow. Mando, tell me when it’s done. And then I don’t ever want to hear of this shit again.”
“ Capito, Capito ,” Emilio says, but Don G gives him his back again.
Marco saunters to my side, eying Emilio with disdain. “Well, I’d be worried, too, if I took your girl. You are a fucking badass.”
It’s a joke, and it lightens some of the tension in the room. Guys start moving around, talking to each other.
“My girl’s waiting for me at home, so no offense, but I got better places to be.”
“Go. Go home.” Lorenzo makes a shooing motion. “Take care of that pregnant girl of yours.”
Some of the guys grunt in surprise to hear my news.
I suspect Lorenzo’s invested in me and Hannah and the baby since I entrusted him with their lives earlier. I might think about making him godfather. Although Marco would be a wiser choice, not just because he’s younger.
That guy would saw off his own hand for me.
I clasp his hand, and we smack each other’s shoulders.
“See you tomorrow, Emilio,” I say without any taunt in my voice. I don’t know how the guy is going to come up with a hundred grand by tomorrow, but it’s not my problem.
Even if I offered to give him some time to pull it together, Don G would never stand for it.
He made his ruling. His will be done.
Hannah
Armando comes in at six in the morning.
I remember him getting a phone call and leaving. It must have been around three.
I sit up in bed, scared. Searching his face for bruises or blood, but apart from looking tired, he seems whole.
“Is everything okay?”
I don’t ask where he’s been. I know he can’t tell me.
He nods. “It’s good. Shit got resolved with Emilio.”
Emilio. It’s not like me to hold a grudge, but he put a hit on Armando, so I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive him for that.
Still, I don’t really want to hear he’s dead, either. Not that Armando would share that with me if he was.
“Will there… still be a wedding for him and Grace?”
Armando shucks his clothing and comes to the bed. “Yeah. He’s paying me restitution. Do you know what that means, Flowers?” He crawls toward me and pushes me back down, covering my body with his own.
I have absolutely no clue. “No?”
“It means I have money to invest in Garden of Eden. Our family business.”
My eyes fill with tears.
Family business.
I don’t think I realized how alone I’ve felt running Garden of Eden until this moment. I brought Josie on to try to lessen that burden, but she wasn’t invested in it like I am.
But now I have Armando. And I already know this man can do anything. Which means, the business is saved. I know he’ll help me straighten it out. Fix everything.
That’s the kind of guy he is.
“That’s it, baby. Cry me those tears. Are they happy ones?”
“Yes.” I nod. “I’m happy.”
He grins. It’s a rare occurrence to see a smile on him, and it takes my breath away. “What are you happy about?”
“That we’re a family.”
His smile grows wider.
“You’re my family, Flowers. You and that baby are everything to me.”
I reach for him and pull him down.
After a searing kiss, he lifts his head. “You're mine, Hannah,” he says, his voice low and possessive. “You're mine, and I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the conviction in his words, but I don't shy away from them. Instead, I welcome them, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his. We kiss deeply, passionately, the world around us fading away as we lose ourselves in each other.
There's something about him that makes me feel safe, secure, like nothing can touch me as long as he's by my side.
I moan softly into his mouth as he nudges my legs apart.
He kisses every inch of my skin, starting with my neck and moving down my shoulders then to my breasts. I arch my back as his lips close around my nipple, his fingers slipping between my legs. I gasp as he enters me, his movements slow and deliberate.
But I want more than his fingers. I want his dick buried deep inside me. “More,” I moan. “More.”
I don't even realize what I'm doing until I'm on top of him after shedding him of his pants, my legs straddling his hips. I position myself, his dick pressing against my sex. The thick tip of his cock slips into me, and I gasp, my body momentarily stilling.
He's so fucking big, and this angle almost hurts.
But I like the pain. I love it.
I start to move, sliding up his length, the feeling of his thickness stretching me so much more intense than his fingers.
I'm impaling myself on his cock, my moans loud and throaty. His hands grip my hips, forcing me to ride his cock, his hips rising to meet mine, driving his cock deep inside me.
I throw my head back, throwing my hair behind me as I let myself go, my orgasm exploding through my body like fireworks in the night sky.
I ride him harder and faster, my body desperate for more, needing more. My nails dig into his shoulders, my hips bucking wildly against him. I'm moaning louder and louder, my cries of pleasure echoing through the room.
I slow to a stop, straddling him and staring him in the eye as I move myself up and down his cock. He looks at me like I'm the most beautiful woman in the world as I ride him, my movements slow and rhythmic.
My eyes flutter closed as I near my next orgasm.
“That's right,” he whispers, his words soft and full of need. “Come for me, Hannah. Come for me.”
His words push me into my orgasm, his words and his cock. I throw my head back and scream his name, my body quivering as I come again.
He flips me over on the bed and positions himself behind me, his cock sliding into me once more. His hands grip my hips, and he thrusts deep into me.
His cock pulses inside me, his body growing tense and tight. He thrusts a few more times before growing still. He moans deeply as his cock twitches inside me, his hot seed filling me.
He pulls out and lies beside me on the bed, pulling me against his body.
“I love you, Flowers.”
I tuck my face against his neck, basking in the power of his words. In his love. His attention. His promise.
“I love you so much,” I tell him.
“You brought me back from the dead. You gave me a reason to live. I owe you everything. I want you to know, I will never let you down again.”
Tears spear my eyes once more. “I know you won’t,” I whisper against his skin.
I trust this man with my life. With our child. With our future.
He’s my everything.