Gun Moll (28 page)

Melina stuck out
her tongue.

Victoria stuck her
middle finger up.

“See,” Mac
muttered.

Now, he had two
females in his place to bust his balls.

Perfect.

Melina seemed
happy, though.

Maybe she had
found a friend.

“What’s for
supper?” Mac asked.

Melina cocked a
brow at him. “Whatever I cook.”

Well, then …

“Sounds
delicious,” he said.

Victoria laughed.
“Ma raised him so well.”

“Y
ou know, Melina, I
have to tell you I’m really impressed.”

Melina smiled. “Oh,
are you now?”

“Yes. You went
from barely being in the kitchen to whipping up some great dishes.”

“What can I say?
Your sister is a pretty good teacher.”

Mac took another
bite of his chicken parmesan before speaking again. “Nice to know Vic is good
for something other than running her mouth.”

Melina reached
across the table and popped Mac on his hand.

“Don’t talk about
your sister like that.”

“Since when did
you two get to be best friends?” Mac asked.

Melina took a bite
of her breadstick before answering. “Since she has so kindly been giving me
cooking lessons in the hopes that it will make your mom comfortable
relinquishing your care to Big, Bad Melina.”

Mac touched her
leg under the table. “Big, Bad Melina. Mmm, why does that sound as sexy as it
does?”

Melina rolled her
eyes. “Because you’re sick.”

“Sick over you.”
Mac winked at her.

Melina returned
her attention to the dinner she’d prepared for them. Chicken parmesan, fresh
baked garlic bread sticks, and New York Cheesecake. Forget Mac’s mother being
impressed with her. Melina was impressed by herself. Losing her mother at such
a young age, some of the things she’d missed out on were time in the kitchen,
learning how to cook, bake and sew.

A mother would
have taught her all those things.

A mother would
have explained to her what to expect when it came to life and love.

But fate had been
a cruel mistress and so she’d been left to learn on her own and all things
considered, right now she was doing pretty good.

“Hey. Where did
you go? You have a far off look in your eye,” Mac said.

Melina swallowed a
lump in her throat. “I was thinking about my mom.”

Mac put down his
fork and reached for her hand across the table. “Tell me.”

She shook her
head. “It’s silly really. The time Victoria and I have been spending together
just reminded me that your sister was teaching me things my mother should have.
It’s weird in a way, how your sister and I have bonded. I don’t usually deal
well with women.”

“There’s nothing
wrong with thinking about your mother and missing her,” Mac said softly.

“You know I’m not
one for sentimentalities most of the time, but a part of me sometimes can’t
help but wonder how my life would’ve been if my mom hadn’t died so young. Would
I be a different woman than I am now?”

“You are exactly
who you are supposed to be, doll. Your mother would have been proud of you, no
matter what. A mother’s love is one of the few things money can’t buy.”

She nodded.
“You’re right. Just excuse me for being all sappy. Hanging out with your sister
has just been reminding me of the lack of female companionship in my life.
That’s all.”

“Things are
different now. I know it’s not easy for you to let people in, but Vic likes
you. Trust me, my sister has a short attention span, and if she didn’t enjoy
hanging out with you, she wouldn’t.”

Mac leaned across
the table and kissed her briefly on the lips before using his thumb to wipe
away a smear of marinara sauce on her cheek.

“You could’ve told
me I had sauce on my face.”

Mac’s eyes
smoldered. “Not when I was deciding if I was going to lick it off or not.”

“You are so bad.”

“And that’s why
you love me,” Mac said with confidence.

Melina’s hand
drifted towards Mac’s crotch under the table. “Is that so? Are you certain it’s
not because of your amazing cock?”

She licked her
lips as her hand found his hardness through his pants and rubbed.

“You’re not
playing fair,” Mac said, eyes bright with lust.

“All’s fair in
love and war.”

Rising from her
seat, Melina came around to Mac’s side of the table and slowly pulled back his
chair. He watched her with an amused expression on his face.

“Doll?”

“Shh.”

Melina straddled
Mac’s lap and took his face in her hands. She kissed him hard and hungrily,
trying to convey to him the best way she could just how much his unwavering
support and love meant to her. Mac’s hands gripped her waist and lifted her up.

“What are you
doing?”

“Bedroom. Now.”

Melina laughed
before Mac’s lips were covering her own as he carried her towards the bedroom. Finishing
their dinner would wait. Right now, dessert was calling.

“We’re going to
kill each other if we keep this up,” Melina said hours later.

“Not a bad way to
die is it?”

“Not in the
least.”

Melina lay on
Mac’s chest in the darkness of his bedroom. His arms were wrapped around her,
holding her close to him. She snuggled closer as he played with a lock of her
hair. As much as she loved the primal connection she had with Mac, she loved
this part, too.

Afterglow.

The comforting
silence of two hearts beating.

The feel of a hard
body holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

It was a high
she’d probably never get used to.

“You know, every
time it just gets better and better,” Mac said.

“Believe me, I’ve
noticed.”

Mac laughed in the
darkness. “Glad to know all of my hard work is not going unappreciated. But on
a serious note, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh. What is it?”

“I had some
business I was doing for Anthony that went south and so I owe him. He told me
how he wanted me to pay up.”

Melina’s breath
caught in her throat. “And what’s that?”

“He wants me to
fight for him. High stakes. Lots of money involved.”

“How much of it
does he get?”

“All of it.”

Melina sat
straight up in bed and frowned. “All of it? Is he out of his mind?”

“Doll, that’s the
way things work.”

“That’s bullshit,
Mac. You’re the one putting your life and health on the line every time you
fight and he gets to sit back and enjoy all the rewards. I’m not okay with
that.”

Melina saw the
outline of Mac’s body as he shifted in bed. Seconds later, he’d turned on one
of the lamps before he rested back against the headboard.

“I know it’s not
ideal, but I don’t have a choice. If I don’t do this, my reputation is dead and
possibly me too, for not making things right.”

Melina folded her
arms. “There are too many stupid rules to follow if you ask me. Blink wrong and
you’re dead. A dollar short and you’re dead. What’s the point of dealing with
all of this?”

Mac reached for
her hand. “I was born into this life. I know these streets and I know what it
takes to make it. I’m just paying my dues and giving respect where it’s
supposed to go.”

“And once this is
over with, are you good with him?”

“Yeah. He gave his
word and in this life, your word is everything.”

She couldn’t
believe how calm Mac was being. The fact that he was going to fight and hand
over every red cent he made didn’t appear to bother him in the slightest. Nor
did the fact that he was fighting for Anthony, a man she wasn’t fond of in the
least. The man gave her the creeps.

“Then I’m going to
be right there with you and I don’t want to hear any arguments about it.”

Mac smiled at her,
showing his perfect white teeth. “There’s no one else I would rather have in my
corner.”

“Like there’s
anyone else I would let be in your corner. You never know when you’re going to
need me to put another bullet in someone.”

Mac pulled her
down on top of him until they were nose to nose. “So now we get to the real
reason.”

Melina smiled.
“What can I say? I think I was born for this role.”

Beneath the
covers, Mac cupped her ass in his hands. “I think you were, too. In fact, I
know you were.”

The sound of Mac’s
phone ringing caught their attention. Melina shifted to Mac’s left side so he
could answer his phone. He answered on the third ring.

“Mac.”

Melina sat up and
listened, watching the expression on her lover’s face. A muscle in his jaw
moved.

“Guido.”

Her body tensed
when she heard the name. Why was Mac’s Capo calling him so late?

“Yeah. We’ll be
there.”

Mac ended the call
and stared at her with a half smirk on his face.

“We’ll be where?”
Melina pressed.

“We’ve been
invited to another get together at the Pivetti mansion tomorrow night.”

Melina raised a
brow. “Really? That’s a surprise.”

“Not really. The
invitation came from Neeya and we have you to thank for that. You keep making
an impression, doll.”

“Excuse me for not
jumping for joy at the thought of going into the lion’s den again. Luca wasn’t
exactly very cordial to me the last time we went there and neither were his
other guests.”

“I know that, but
this will give us a chance to size up the players.”

“You mean find out
who’s trying to kill you or me, or possibly both of us?” Melina asked.

“Yeah, and you
know the old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Now
we have a prime opportunity.”

Melina twisted an
errant stand of hair. What Mac said made perfect sense. Their lives were on the
line and a dinner surrounded by all the key players in their corrupt world
could put an end to the mystery once and for all. She’d rather walk on broken
glass than attend another party, but Melina had never run away from anything
and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Fine. But I’m not
going to be so nice this time.”

Mac drew her back
into the circle of his arms before turning out the light. “I’d expect nothing
less.”

Subterfuge and
innuendos had become their way of life, but together they would figure things
out. They had too much to lose otherwise.