19. Rain
Chapter 19
Rain
W ith a gentle stretch, I rolled out of bed and planted my feet softly on the carpeted floors. Between my legs, I felt a gentle throbbing sensation and I could feel my lips pulling themselves into an oddly satisfying smile.
My dreams the last few nights had been consumed by the Boy Scout.
Yes, Matteo Zacharra had me having orgasm after fucking orgasm and I was ready to lose my mind.
Stepping into my bathroom, I caught sight of myself and shook my head. I stopped brushing my teeth midway through when I had a flashback.
His pink tongue wrapping around my Hershey kiss of a nipple, pulling it deep into his mouth. And the moan that I’d made…
Shaking my head, I knew I needed to get in control of myself.
I stepped into the shower and adjusted the temperature. Almost immediately it began to get foggy, and I reached for a brand-new razor. Pulling a yellow one from the pack, I started rubbing shaving cream where it was needed. I uncapped the razor and carefully began to cut through the dark leg hair that started to overtake my brown legs. Making a face I stuck my legs under the water to rinse them both off before putting the razor back.
“Girlfriend, you need a Brazilian,” I looked down at the tufts of hair sprouting from my coochie. Rolling my eyes, I reached for the razor again.
“Who’s actually going to see it though?” I said out loud. “Kenji’s in jail and then I’ve burned bridges with my entire roster.”
You know who, a thought whipped through my brain.
“Absolutely not,” I shook my head.
When I was done and it looked a little smoother, I placed the razor back again.
Once I finished up my shower, I opened the glass door and stepped out to grab my fluffy robe.
As I wrapped the robe around me, thoughts of Matteo’s dream lips kissing me all over rolled through my mind. The ringing of my phone jolted me to reality.
Easing back into my bedroom, I picked it up to see my mother calling. We hadn’t spoken in a while and surprise danced around in my stomach. She’d been pretty pissed at me when I told that pedophile pastor’s wife to get out of my shop.
“Hey momma,” I tried to make my voice sound calm.
“Hey Rain,” she sounded a little out of breath. “I was just calling because your grandmother is getting into town today. I’m on my way to grab her from the airport now…we’re having dinner tonight.”
Fuck, I thought.
I’d literally forgotten all about this. Honestly, I hadn’t spoken to any of my family outside of Nora, and I doubt she knew about the lady.
“Oh, gosh I didn’t realize that was tonight.”
I heard the beeping of the car seat belt from the other end of the line and figured she was about to drive somewhere.
“Right, so do you think you can come to dinner? Nora’s bringing her boyfriend. I just adore that Mason.”
Rolling my eyes, my mother loved to throw in something about my siblings. “Sure, Mom. I’ll be there. I have to go. I need to be at the shop soon.”
She went to say something else but I was already ending the call.
Once I had on the usual all black ensemble, I grabbed my keys and left my apartment. The conversation with my mother and the idea of a pending dinner with my family had drained me.
Getting to my shop I parked my car in the back lot and headed to the front of The Siren and unlocked the door. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside and started flipping on the lights.
“I’m where the money resides, where the money resides,” I laughed lightly and headed to my station.
Moments later, more people filed in, including the lash tech I couldn’t stand and one of my clients, Isabella. She was the mistress of a huge mafia boss named Carlos Bianchi. He kept her ass in gold and Gucci and her hair done. Carlos was a big tipper and I appreciated it. A lot of the mob wives made an appointment here and there.
She sat down in my chair and peeled the sunglasses from her eyes. “Hey Rain,” she greeted me with a smile.
Shaking my head, I returned the smile and turned her around to face the mirror behind my station. “What are we thinking?” I asked, ready to start.
Isabella rolled her dark eyes. “Carlos says I should keep it long, and dark. But you know what?”
I quirked an eyebrow. “What?”
“I’m tired of doing what Carlos wants. He plays with me entirely too much. Cut it off…”
You know what they say about women who cut their hair on a whim, I thought.
While I worked on Isabella’s hair, starting with a shampoo and deep condition that had her strands bathed in white suds, I daydreamed. I couldn’t explain it, but I was getting flashes of that house. I’d dreamed about it every night for the longest time.
Even as I toiled away with Isabella’s hair, shaping and sculpting it until it was in a perfect bob, I could feel Matteo’s presence on the outer recesses of my mind. I couldn’t explain it but I could feel him as if he were standing right next to me dropping kisses on my shoulders…my lips…between my legs.
Pushing Isabella under the dryer, I set the time and then stepped outside with my cellphone.
He picked up on the first ring.
“How are you doing it?” I hissed into the phone, as people walked by on the busy street in front of me.
“Doing what?” Matteo asked and I could tell he was grinning.
“You’re in my head,” I groaned. “Tell me how in the hell you could be in my head all the time. Day and night.”
His voice turned husky and deep. “Maybe you just want me, Stizzy. You know I haven’t forgotten what you taste like…”
“Agent Zacharra,” I looked around, my core already feeling tingly.
“I know you’ve seen the news,” he said. “Technically, not an agent at the moment.”
I laughed then, because I had caught bits and pieces of it. Something about him killing some man in cold blood and I knew before Nora ever said it wasn’t Matteo that it hadn’t been him. “I know it’s not true.”
His voice remained husky and deep, letting me know he was getting off on this in some weird ass way and in truth, I was enjoying it too. “Oh yeah?”
“You’re Captain America,” I shrugged, looking back into the shop. “From where I was standing, I could see Isabella flipping through a magazine. “You’re the good guy.”
A small pause filled the air for just a moment and then he spoke again. “Maybe that’s why I’m in your head, Stizzy.”
Curiosity killed the cat, Rain, I thought.
“Why?”
Matteo’s laugh was deep and husky rolling down my spine leaving my cheeks flushed. The effect this man was having on me was out of control. “Because I’m a good guy,” he whispered. “But I can be bad when I need to be.”
On the sidewalk, in front of my business and strangers passing by, I got hot and bothered clenching my legs together. Had he cast a spell on me?
“Still there?” Matteo asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Come see me before I go,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Say you’ll come first,” he chuckled.
“Maybe,” I replied.
“You sound scared, Stizzy,” he replied.
“Never,” I squared my shoulders.
“Then come and see me tonight,” he replied.
“I really can’t,” I offered. “I have a family dinner tonight. My sister and your brother are even going to be in attendance…”
It was quiet again and I figured Matteo had given up. “Probably for the best. No one is supposed to know where I’m at anyway. I’ll talk you again soon, Stizzy.”
He ended the call, and I could hear the hurt in his voice. Matteo Zacharra really wanted something from me that I couldn’t give him.
My heart and it was better if I stayed away from him.
The rest of the day passed without incident, and by the time I got home, exhaustion was creeping into nearly every fiber of my being. More than anything I wanted to collapse onto my couch and turn on an old movie and sleep.
My cellphone pinged the second I sat it down with a message from Nora.
I’m so excited to see, Nana, the message read.
Groaning, I wanted to write back and tell her I wasn’t going to come.
I’m about to shower and get ready now, I replied.
Once I chose an outfit, a simple pink and black polka dotted shirt and a pair of jeans, I grabbed a shower. Making sure not to stay under the water too long, I scrubbed myself clean. Once I was done, I didn’t even bother with any makeup and simply pulled my hair into a loose braid.
Grabbing my keys I drove to my parents’ house slowly. For some reason I just didn’t have the energy to deal with my family and I wasn’t sure why.
I parked on the side of the street and glanced towards the packed driveway. My brothers were already here with their wives and kids. Moments later, the sounds of a bike’s engine filled the air as Mason and Nora parked directly in front of me. I watched as she removed her helmet and handed it to Mason. Studying them, they seemed deep in conversation about something until I eased out of the car.
Nora spotted me, her eyes lighting up. “Yay, you made it!”
“Almost didn’t,” I murmured as she hugged me from the side. “Hey, Mason!”
He nodded quietly and followed me and Nora into my parents house. From outside the door, I could already hear the madness that was my family.
Stepping inside, I first saw my father had fresh flowers for our mom by the door. Floral scents hit my noise immediately. That was their thing. He loved getting her fresh flowers, and he’d been doing it for as long as I could remember.
Laughter and chatter hit my ears as I spotted T.J. and Dione hugged up. They were watching my grandmother hold her brand new great-granddaughter, Amelia.
My grandmother looked up eyes meeting my face, her warm eyes penetrating me like they’d always been able to do. Her hair was a lot grayer these days, nearly all the way white, but her eyes. They were still a vibrant and rich brown that offered me a small sense of comfort like they had when I’d been a wild ass teenage girl.
Violet Ellis-Allan had always been the only one to see the real me.
“There she is,” she grinned at me widely.
“Hi Nana,” I whispered quietly.
Our beautiful reunion was cut short by deep dark haunting laughter as my father came in from the back patio where he’d been grilling followed by my living nightmare. Dread came upon me quick, like a dark cloud over a beautiful picnic in the middle of a meadow.
Pastor Justin Jefferson had come in behind my father, the two of them laughing at something unknown as they headed into the kitchen and out of sight. A light sweat broke out over my body as my eyes began to search the room wildly.
How can I leave, panic was rising into my throat and my stomach felt tight.
Or is it my chest?
“Rain, you okay?” Nora asked, walking past me and dropping a kiss on my grandmother’s cheek, staring down at the baby.
Swiping my palms over my jeans, I forced a smile while feeling sick inside. “I’m fine.”
As my heart pounded in my chest, I came over to hug my grandmother and meet baby Amelia finally.
“She’s perfect, guys,” I looked over to Dione and T.J. who were holding hands.
“I hope so, cause last one,” Dione grinned.
“You say that now,” T.J. kissed her cheek softly.
“Now you two, don’t go getting started,” my mom appeared out of nowhere. “Rain and Nora I need y’all to help set the table. Mason, so glad you could make it, I need you to grab the beers out of the garage and put them in the coolers.”
She started doling out tasks to Thomas and CeCe next, but then it dawned on me.
Trying not to cause too much alarm, I turned to my brother and his wife. “T.J., where are Anna-Banna and Alice?”
“Oh, the girls are on the trampoline, mama and daddy got it for them for Christmas,” T.J. shrugged about to get on the task at hand.
“Yeah, after we said don’t,” Dione shook her head.
“Oh, okay,” I remarked. “I’m gonna go say hi.”
They nodded and everyone began to shuffle around, getting to the tasks that my mother had set for us.
The spring air seemed to calm me the second I stepped outside, and relief flooded me. The girls were on the trampoline bouncing away. For a moment, I watched them. They had no idea that a fucking predator was mere inches from them.
You should tell T.J., I thought but shame washed over me.
If I’d told all those years ago…
Taking a deep breath, I walked down the newly rebuilt steps of the back deck.
“Hey girls!” I called.
“Auntie Rain!” Anna called.
“Hey Auntie Rain, where’s Auntie Nora?” Alice asked.
I studied their hair and noticed Dione had pulled both girl’s tresses into afro puffs and it looked dry.
“Auntie Nora is inside,” I smiled as both leaned over to hug me. "You girls having fun?”
“Yes, Pop Pop and Grammy got us this cool trampoline…wanna get on this with us?” Anna smiled sweetly.
“No thanks, I’d break this thing, I’m too big,” I grinned teasingly.
“Auntie Rainnnnn” Alice exaggerated my name.
Behind me, I heard the door open, and my mother called us in for the food. “Hey y’all, Pop Pop is about to say the prayer. Come on!”
The girls scrambled off the trampoline and I slowly walked in behind them and joined my sister and Mason on the other side of the dining area. Before my father could start the prayer, my mother stopped him.
“Before we start, you all know that Pastor Justin is a guest. I know you’ve all briefly met but Pastor,” my mother smiled. “Would you mind blessing this food.”
Glancing at my father, I saw him take a deep breath as the Pastor offered a smile. He looked around the room and his eyes finally landed on me. “If everyone would bow their heads…”
As we sat down to finally eat, I felt more secure with my grandmother beside me on the left and Nora to my right. Mostly, I picked at my food until my grandmother touched my hand.
“Is something wrong?” she leaned over and whispered.
I shook my head softly. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she patted my hand again.
“What?” I whispered back thinking she was about to say I smelled or something off the wall.
“That man has not taken his eyes off you all night,” she offered me a gentle smile.
“Yeah, well…”
She patted my hand again. “I don’t like him.”
“He knows mom,” I shrugged.
“Mmmmhmmm,” she sighed glancing in my parents direction.
Leaning over, I taped Mason behind Nora’s back. “Please tell me you have a cigarette?”
Nora shook her head. “He’s supposed to be quitting.”
Mason frowned. “I am quitting…but I have some. They’re on my bike though.”
He slowly pushed away from the chair. “Be right back.”
Nora shrugged and I followed her man outside, getting looks from the family. The sun was starting to go down when we made it to his bike, the sky was a rosy glow of reds and oranges. It wasn’t until I was pulling the smoke into my lungs that I finally relaxed.
“So…” Mason said, lighting up one of his own.
“Oh God,” I groaned.
“What?”
“Are you about to make a case for your brother and why I should date him?” I quirked a brow.
He grinned. “Now why would I do that when watching him struggle for your attention is so much more fun?”
“Tou-fucking-che!” I laughed loudly for the first time in hours.
“Plus, he’s kind of on the lamb,” the end of Mason’s cigarette lit up bright.
“Something tells me that you know exactly where your brother is,” I shrugged walking back up the walkway and sitting on the front steps.
Mason sat down beside me, smelling like cedar. He was good looking, and I knew exactly why my sister was head over heels for him. He had a tough exterior but he could be incredibly kind.
“I do,” he said suddenly. “But you have to know, Matteo…he would die for you.”
“Motherfucker, what?” I gasped. “He doesn’t even know me.”
Mason looked over and quirked an eyebrow. “He seems to know enough, and the consensus is, if Carmine so much as flirts with you ever again, he will murder his own brother.”
I laughed again, and it rumbled deep down in the pits of my belly. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious, Rain,” Mason’s dark eyes seemed to reflect the setting sun, but I could see he meant every word.
“What do you want me to do,” I shrugged. “Your brother isn’t my type.”
“Oh, and I’m Nora’s,” he pulled on his cigarette once more. “I know he’s been calling you. I can see the numbers that he’s dialing on the phone I gave him. I didn’t even bother to tell him not to contact you, he wouldn’t listen anyway. But I would suggest, if you can be careful, going to see him before…”
Licking at my lips, I took the bait. “Before what?”
Mason snuffed the cigarette out then and stood. With ease he twisted what was left of the cigarette until it had been reduced to nothing. “Before he leaves the state for good,” Mason headed back inside leaving me sitting alone with nothing but my thoughts.
Five minutes later, I was in my car after asking Matteo for directions.
You’re insane for this, I thought the entire ride.
As I approached the Zacharra mansion, my heart thumped against my chest and my palms grew clammy. It stood tall and imposing, just like in my recurring dreams. The white stone pillars and intricate iron gates were exactly as I had imagined them. I couldn't believe it - the house that had haunted me for months was now right in front of me, almost like a mirage in the desert.
Matteo was waiting for me.
Inside.
Something told me, I was about to be devoured.