Chapter 22 – Vanessa
Chapter Twenty-Two
Vanessa
Moretti and Hawk disappear through a curtain in the back corner of the VIP section. The bartender left with the last set of people Moretti talked to, and it feels like all the energy was drained out of the room.
Anson stands over by the door that we came in, and Ziggy lingers in the opposite corner near the weird curtain Moretti left through.
It’s very unassuming.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was just wall decor, but there must be a hallway that leads somewhere.
It’s weird that both Ziggy and Anson are here.
From what I remember, Angel only has two guys, and they’re both here in the club with us. That sucks for her. Unless she has some third guy I don’t know about, she’s stuck at the mansion with a new baby all by herself.
I mean, I understand they have to work, but I wouldn’t like being trapped at home alone with a baby while my guys were out working at all hours of the night.
That sounds so lonely.
Shit.
I’d be resentful as hell to be stuck at home while my guys were out handling business. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a parent. I like kids. Babies are cute. I had decent role models.
My mom was great.
My biological dad was too.
I had a solid relationship with each of them, and I think they taught me enough that I could fumble my way through parenthood.
I don’t know.
I definitely wouldn’t want to be left to do everything on my own.
It’s scary to think about how quickly things can change.
My mom was always healthy. She had asthma and got bronchitis frequently, but it was mostly under control.
Then she got the flu.
The fucking flu.
People get the flu every damn day, but she developed pneumonia.
One day I was focused on homecoming and keeping my grades up, never thinking there was a chance she wouldn’t get better.
And the next, she went and died. It progressed so fast. We didn’t even have time to get used to the idea.
She was there, then she wasn’t.
My biological father, Daniel, had a heart attack a few months later…
And he was gone too.
Julian was never the warm and fuzzy type. He just got significantly worse after my mom and Daniel were gone.
I stretch back against the leather love seat, wondering if the gummy is ever going to kick in. I’m not sure I feel much of anything.
Magnum meets my eyes as he comes over, bending down until our faces are close together. “How ya doing, princess?”
“I’m okay. I was just thinking about my mom,” I say before I can stop myself.
“She passed away?”
“Yeah.”
He puts himself on the cushion next to me, rather than sitting on the fully open other side of the love seat. “That’s rough.”
I nod as he tosses his arm around my shoulder.
Lemon and honey.
Damn, I love the way Mag smells.
Turning into him, I rest my head on his chest. “What’s your real name? I doubt it’s Magnum. Unless…” I snort. “Shit. Sorry. Don’t tell me your parents actually—”
“Dylan McCarthy,” he says, laughing.
“Dylan, huh?” I peek at him, running my hand over his T-shirt. “It’s cute. Do you want me to call you that?”
He scoffs. “God no.”
“Okay, good. I’m not sure it fits you.”
“Not at all. So, what’s the deal? You seem down in the dumps since Moretti slunk away to handle whatever shady business he had to take care of.”
“I’m good,” I fib. “I don’t think that gummy did shit, though. I much prefer the light buzz that comes from a glass of wine.”
“All right, get up. We’re going to dance. I can’t have you slipping into the sads. That’s almost as bad as having your high ruined by paranoia.”
I snort. “The sads?”
“Up with you, woman.”
Magnum is an excellent dancer. His arm rests against my lower back, and his hand teases down my ass cheek. Music vibrates up to us from the lower level. It’s upbeat and easy to move to.
I stay as close to his front as possible, sucking down deep hits of his scent. There’s something about Magnum that makes me feel light. It’s hard to explain, but he always manages to cheer me up.
It’s addictive.
He spins me toward the half wall that looks out over the club and slides up behind me. He sweeps my hair away from my face and neck, tucking it over my shoulder as he grinds against my backside.
“Having fun yet, princess?” His stubble scratches against my cheek as he kisses his way down, licking and sucking on my neck. I never knew that was such an erogenous area.
“Mmm, yep.” My nipples tighten, and I shiver as I shove my ass against his jeans.
My entire body feels lighter and strangely floaty.
Hmm.
The gummy might be kicking in, but it’s a super mellow feeling, almost like everything is smoother.
Does that even make sense?
Probably not.
It’s kinda like the buzz I get from Hawk’s, Moretti’s, and Magnum’s scents.
It’s subtle, but I enjoy it.
I really love the way his hand teases over the silky top layer of my dress and how the material brushes my skin. He was right. Every sensation is heightened, but I’m also calm and relaxed.
“I bet I could fuck you right here. The half wall would block us from the waist down so no one would even know.” Magnum brings his other hand to my thigh, working up toward the bottom of my dress.
“Not tonight or anything. We’ll need to ease into it the first couple times.
Get you prepared for the full experience of taking alpha cock, but once you’ve had the sweet and tender encounters, we can get to the fast and dirty club quickies. Would you be open to that?”
My head bobs up and down of its own volition.
After the way Moretti teased me at the restaurant, I think I would be open to more public encounters.
The risk of getting caught made everything more intense.
I think I like the idea that someone could notice more than if someone was actively watching.
I’m not sure if that still qualifies as exhibitionism, but I’m down to explore so I can learn what I do or don’t like.
“You’re my goddamn dream girl,” Mag says, flicking his tongue over my throat.
My eyes fall shut as I give in to the moment. He makes me feel wanted and desired in a way I haven’t felt before, and I love it.
I’m pretty good at keeping my walls up, but I don’t want to play it cool or act like I’m unaffected by him. I want to make him feel the way he makes me feel.
My eyes pop open, and I scan the crowd. It’s crazy how all those people are down there just living their lives. Clubs and bars are always energizing, and I wonder if it’s the music or if they pump in oxygen like casinos.
I squint as a large man in a suit crosses the first dance floor, striding toward the square-shaped bar in the middle of the room. He’s ridiculously out of place with the entourage following him.
Most of the people in the club are in their twenties or early thirties.
The guy glances over his shoulder, and the side of his face comes into view. Combine that with the comb-over of like ten hairs… It clicks.
Grigoryan.
But why the fuck is he here?
I glare at Ziggy, who stands in front of the curtain blocking the route Moretti used to disappear.
He rocks on his heels, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m pretty sure the boss wanted you to stay up here.”
“I’m sure he did, but that’s not going to happen. Move,” I hiss, jabbing a finger at his chest.
“Aww, come on, Mrs. Moretti. You’re scary and all, but Mr. Moretti will fire my ass in a heartbeat.” Ziggy shrugs, twisting away from my finger.
“Grigoryan is downstairs with his entourage,” I say, quirking an eyebrow.
“Well, fuck. All right, I’ll go down and let him know.” He steps back, nodding like that’s the end of the conversation.
He wishes.
“Or we could do it,” Magnum says, skirting around Moretti’s enforcer. He grabs the curtain, pulling it back. “Um, cool party trick?”
I peek around, and it’s just a wall panel.
Moretti has secret passageways in his club.
Why am I not surprised?
“Where’s the latch?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
“Come on—” Ziggy starts.
I weave around him and pat the wall.
“It’s a kick plate,” the enforcer says after an embarrassing amount of time passes. “Bump the bottom right of the panel.”
The creepy secret passageway leads to a door. Behind that door is a stairwell with a fuckton of stairs, like at least four or five flights, and they only go one direction—down.
There’s another door at the bottom.
Once we’re through that, the space opens up, and the unfinished brick walls, concrete floor, and sour smell indicate that we’re in the basement. The long rectangular room has nothing else of note. There is, however, a large opening across from us, and noise spills out.
“This isn’t shady or anything,” Magnum says from behind me, keeping his voice low.
“Not at all,” I whisper back, taking off before I can stop myself. It wasn’t totally dark in Moretti’s secret passage, but it was dimly lit. Much brighter light spills from the room, and it takes my eyes a second to adjust as I stop dead in my tracks.
“Ay, your wife is here,” one of the men says. There are several of them, all standing around the plastic sheeting spread across the concrete floor.
Moretti has a guy on his knees.
The man’s hands are shackled to the floor with a circular ring and actual chains.
Moretti’s knee rests against the man’s back, and he’s choking him from behind.
Is that a garrote?
Nah, I think a garrote has to be wire.
That’s just a good old-fashioned piece of rope with the ends twisted around my husband’s hands.
“Uh, maybe we should go…” Magnum wraps his arm around my middle, pulling me backward.
“Darling,” Moretti says, continuing to choke out his prisoner. “Did you need something?”
Hawk shoves off the opposite wall and makes his way around the plastic sheet that takes up most of the floor.
My head swivels, and there are two more men on their knees over near the left wall. A couple of Moretti’s guys watch over them at gunpoint.
“Is this part of the club?” I ask, and I have no idea why those are the words that come out of my mouth.
“Technically? No. That passageway you came through connects to the building adjacent to the club, but I own all three in this row,” Moretti says, drawing my attention back to him.
He has his suit coat off and the sleeves on his button-down rolled up.
The veins on his forearms poke out as he tightens his hold, twisting the ends of the rope.
It’s kinda hot, and I don’t know how I feel about being attracted to him right now. It’s a gray area since I’m pretty sure he’s strangling that guy…to death.
“The cameras catch me entering the VIP section, providing an alibi that I never left, while I slip over to handle business,” he says calmly.
“That’s smart,” I admit, swiping Magnum’s hand off my middle. “What did he do to make it worth leaving me alone during our date?”
“I’ll be done in just one minute.” Moretti flashes me a dazzling smile. “Did you miss me?”
“What did he do?” I ask again.
If he wanted a wife to look pretty and provide alibis without asking questions, he could have had his pick of other women. He chose me, so he’d better get used to sharing details about how to run the family business. He’s mentioned wanting heirs multiple times.
I understand how this life works.
If anything happens to him, I need to know enough to protect our children until they come of age and step into their place, carrying on his family name.
“Stephen is responsible for a rash of break-ins in my territory,” Moretti says. “That was annoying, but it wouldn’t be enough cause for me to put him down. Unfortunately, his new strategy was to focus on the elderly.”
“Brutally sexually assaulting them while he was robbing them of their life’s savings,” Hawk says, like he wants me to know the full scope of the guy’s crimes.
Hearing he was robbing defenseless old people would be enough for me to not lose any sleep about his loss of life.
Raping old people?
Jesus Christ.
I don’t care if I sound like a broken record. I’m really starting to hate men.
“I hope you tortured him for a while before putting him out of his misery,” I say, meaning every word.
“My men did. His friends watched. I was hoping someone would crack so we could gain an understanding of exactly how involved the other two were,” Moretti says, nodding to the two guys on their knees as Stephen stops fighting.
“No one wants to speak, so I’m going to accept that as an admission of guilt for all three.
” He unhooks the rope from under Stephen’s jaw and untwists it from his hands. “Did you need something, darling?”
I nod, and my stomach drops. “Grigoryan is here, and he brought a decent number of men.”
“At least six,” Magnum says, chiming in. “Maybe seven.”
“He’s feeling exceptionally brave. Isn’t he?
” Moretti’s head snaps up. “Let me wash my hands, and I’ll address that.
Hawk, I want you and Magnum down here to supervise the cleanup.
Get Stephen to the incinerator. Put his friends down, too, while you’re at it.
Vanessa will be coming with me to address our guest.”