Ruthless: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (4 page)

"
C
armen
, it's so good to see you again."

I had to smile as Daniel came across the patio around the pool to give me a hug. He was, as always, dressed to impress, or dressed to kill, knowing what he could do. Still, he looked relaxed that night, and I had to giggle as he pulled me close. "Careful. You hug me like that, and Adriana’s going to get jealous."

"Yeah, right," Daniel dismissed with a laugh. He squeezed me tight and lifted me a bit off the ground before setting me down and stepping back. "You look great though. Hey, Ade told me that you're going to start teaching Johnny?"

"Next week," I agreed, looking over at John "Johnny" Neiman. Partially named after his late grandfather, Gianni "Johnny" Bertoli, he'd inherited the best features of both of his parents in my opinion, with a tall, lean frame for his age as well as reddish-blond hair that you knew was going to be strawberry blond when he got older. With sparkling blue eyes and a charming grin, I felt bad for Adriana and Daniel when Johnny got old enough to become interested in girls. Then again, like father, like son, I guess. "Have you told him?"

"Oh, Johnny thinks it's the best thing to happen to him all year, at least until we bring out his grandmother's cake," Daniel said with a laugh. "Seriously, he spent the rest of the afternoon running around the house and saying he was going to become a famous dancer. He even tried to twirl, but he fell on his butt doing it."

I chuckled and looked up at his father. "And your son saying he wants to be a dancer doesn't worry you?"

"Why should it?" Daniel asked, giving me a raised eyebrow. “He's just excited to see you. It's been a while since you came by the house just to hang out."

"Yeah, I know," I said, reaching out and grabbing a glass of something from a server that was walking around. "Work's been busting my ass, that's all. You too, though. I mean, you've been out of state what, five times in the past two months?"

"Six," Daniel said. "Yeah, it kinda sucks, and I'm actually looking for someone to help me with the load. Unfortunately, Carlo is a little short on manpower right now, so he gets first pick of the best. And you know the problems I have recruiting outside the family."

"Actually, I don't, and I don't want to know either," I said. I knew that Carlo Bertoli was a Mafia man, but the fewer specifics I knew about the operations, the better it was for me. "What about bringing in a Girl Friday?"

"You? What are you going to do, charm the bad guys?" Daniel said, mock rubbing at his shoulder when I pretended to start punching him. "Okay, okay, I got it, you're the Littlest Hands of Stone."

"Kick his ass some more," Adriana said, joining her husband and laughing. "How're you doing, Carmen?"

"Just working on my jab. Hope you don't mind," I replied with a laugh. I took a drink of whatever it was that I'd grabbed off the server's platter and nodded in approval. "Nice mix. What is it?"

"Be careful. I think it's spiked," Adriana said, sipping her own drink. "It's subtle, but yeah, it's in there. Mom has a weakness for Mai Tais, so I'm going to keep myself limited to just a few, then join Johnny on the kiddie table."

"Thanks for the warning. So what's the agenda?"

Adriana tapped her chin, looking around. "You'd have to find Tommy. I'm just going with the flow. You know how it is."

I nodded, sipping at my drink. I could taste the underlying essence of alcohol and reminded myself to be careful. "Think I'll find Tomasso and Luisa and see what they're up to.”

I make my way around and bump into Margaret Bertoli first, still looking amazing even though she was now north of fifty years old. "Mrs. Bertoli, happy birthday. What is it, thirty-nine today?"

She laughed and shook my hand. "For the umpteenth time. But I think I'm holding together pretty well."

"You're a lucky woman. I hope I have the same luck as you."

"Thank you. I'm glad to see you. It gives my daughter and Luisa a dose of reality they don't get the rest of the time."

I laughed and shook my head. "If you think that having me around is showing them reality, then you need to stop whatever it is you're drinking now and switch to water or coffee. I'm just as strange as anyone else around here.”

"Oh, I don't know about that," Margaret said, pointing with her chin toward a group of Bertoli men who were standing around, laughing wildly while all wearing nearly identical suits. "I swear they would look more at home on a trading house floor or working mergers and acquisitions."

"No offense, Mrs. Bertoli, but their similarities with men on Wall Street end at the suits. Those are some hard men over there. By the way, where's Angelo?"

"He's up to no good somewhere or another," Margaret said dismissively. "Probably wrapping my present at the last minute since he most likely forgot to go shopping until today. You know how he is."

I nodded. “That I do. Well, good to see you, Mrs. Bertoli. I’m going to make my rounds and say hello.”

She smiled, and looking around, I felt a little thirsty myself, so I found the drink table and decided to go non-alcoholic this time, skipping the Mai Tai in favor of ginger ale. I was just starting to sip when I felt someone coming up behind me, and suddenly, a man was so close behind me that I could feel the warmth of his body. "I want to dance."

I turned and saw a man whom I'd never spoken to before, but knew from a family photograph was Luisa's brother. "Eduardo, isn't it? Sorry, but I'm a bit tired. Another time, maybe.”

It wasn't that I was tired, actually. After all, my normal dance workouts would last an hour or more with few water breaks. But there was something about him that irked me. He was intense, but not in a sexy way. I turned and started to walk away, looking for my friends, but I didn't see anyone. The mass of people on the patio were seemingly faceless, or at least faces I didn't know.

"I know what you are," Eduardo said in a low voice, stopping me in my tracks. "How much did they pay to entertain the guests tonight?"

I turned back, anger and shame mixing in equal amounts. "What?"

"You’re a whore, and I’m in need of entertainment. So let’s start with a dance and see where it goes,” Eduardo said, reaching out and grabbing my arm. I tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron, and he pulled me closer, despite my struggles. "The more you fight, the more I like it, so please, keep going."

"Let me go!" I said, whimpering as his hand ground down on my forearm bones. I'd had grabby customers when I worked at the Starlight Club, but then I had a bouncer. Eduardo was strong, and I couldn't pull away. "Stop it!"

"I don't think so," Eduardo said, starting to turn away and pull me toward the house.

"Hey, asshole," a voice said behind us, and I turned to see a guy standing between us and the door. “The lady said to let her go."

I placed the guy as Eduardo let me go. He was the guy who'd parked cars earlier. I was worried for him. Eduardo isn’t exactly the kind of guy you’d want to mess with, which is probably why he has the reputation of being a huge asshole.

“You need to walk away before I change my idea on who I'm going to ass fuck tonight," Eduardo said, his voice low and seething. "Now go, before I make you bleed."

Eduardo reached to grab my arm again, when suddenly, the parking lot guy charged forward blindly, ramming himself into Eduardo, driving him the six or seven feet back until both of them flew into the pool. All motion at the party stopped as the two men went under, and I flinched when I saw Eduardo viciously elbow the other man in the back of the head.

"What the hell is going on here?" a voice boomed, and Carlo Bertoli appeared out of nowhere. Someone reached down and fished the man. "Who's starting a fight at Margaret's party?"

One of the Bertoli men, I didn't know who, laughed as they pulled the man out of the pool. "Looks like Degrassi got drunk and decided to start a fight," he said, setting the soaking wet man on the patio. "Luisa's brother ended it."

"Is that what happened?" Carlo asked, and I saw Tomasso, Luisa, Adriana and Daniel appear in the crowd, Luisa helping her brother out of the pool. "Did this idiot start a fight in my house?"

"
Si, Senor Bertoli
," Eduardo said, wiping his eyes. "This crazy man—"

“That isn't what happened at all!" I said. When nobody heard me, I raised my voice. “Wait! That man . . . Eduardo is lying."

Mr. Bertoli looked from me to Eduardo, then to the rest of his family. He came over, and while his voice was low, it was intense and brooked no disagreement. “Explain yourself.”

"I was getting a drink when Eduardo harassed me," I said softly, ashamed. Mr. Bertoli waved everyone else off and came closer, within whispering distance.

"What happened, Carmen?"

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Sir, I was getting a drink when Eduardo came up and sexually harassed me. He grabbed my arm," I said, showing him my forearm, which was already red with finger marks, "and tried to drag me inside. The other man . . . I don't know his name. He was just trying to stop Eduardo.”

Don Bertoli patted me on the shoulder. “I’ll handle it,” he said simply. “But let’s talk later."

He turned around and looked at Eduardo Mendosa, his kind features obliterated. "Luisa, take your brother to get dried off, then I want to see him in my study. Five minutes."

"
Si,
Don Bertoli," Luisa said. When Eduardo started to struggle, she grabbed his arm, with Tomasso taking the other side, where they walked him out of the party. Mr. Bertoli watched, then turned back to me.

“Enjoy the party. Don’t let him ruin the fun." He turned back around, all smiles again. "Come on, everyone, it isn't a Bertoli party without someone falling in the pool! Angelo, how about you join the DJ up front and see if you can give us something to dance to?"

I saw another two Bertoli men helping my savior to his feet, taking him over to a chair. Pausing, I went over to the man, who was still dripping on the concrete. "Thank you."

"It's okay. It was the right thing to do," the man mumbled, rubbing at his neck. "You're okay?"

"I will be," I said. Suddenly, I offered my hand to him. "Carmen Esperanza."

"Dante Degrassi," the wet man said, shaking his hand off before grabbing mine. "It's nice to meet you."

I
watched
the party for another ten minutes after waking up, sipping at a drink someone put in my hand and rubbing at the ache in my neck. It was hard to take my eyes off Carmen. She was beautiful, even dancing with the little boy who was her partner. I sighed, knowing that my good deed would most likely not be rewarded. I knew that regardless of what Carmen may have told Don Bertoli, I'd fucked up yet again.

I was lost in my haze of self-recrimination when someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I saw Tomasso Bertoli standing next to me. "Come with me," he said, all business. "We need to talk."

Swallowing the rest of my drink to calm my nerves, I followed him inside to the kitchen, where at least I could drip on the floor without ruining anything. Inside, I found Luisa already waiting. Separately, Tomasso and Luisa were intimidating enough, but I knew their reputation. Nobody got on their bad side for long, not without hospital visits or leaving town. Or dying. "Uhm, what do you need, Mr. Bertoli?"

"My father is talking to Eduardo right now, and we're going to double-check with Carmen before anything happens, but I want your story about what happened," Tomasso said, indicating the chair where I was to sit. “Normally, I wouldn’t care about a little tussle, but it’s the matter of respecting where you’re at. My wife has already said you and her brother had a bit of a confrontation earlier?"

"I bumped into him by accident when I was going around to park his car and he shoved me. It was nothing,” I said, suppressing the urge to say more. I may not have been a true Bertoli man, but my family had been, and I reminded myself to remember my roots. "It had nothing to do with the incident at the pool."

"Then what you were doing tackling my brother into the pool?" Luisa said. Gone from her face and her demeanor were the pleasantries from earlier when she’d given me the packet of cash.

"I was going to the snack table to get another slice of cake. Before I got there, I saw Carmen at the drink table, and Eduardo came up behind her. He grabbed her wrist, and I came closer, and I heard her say she wanted him to let her go. He refused and started to pull her toward the glass doors right there, and I stepped in."

"Why'd you get involved?" Tomasso asked, his voice level but curious. "They could have been going off for a tryst. That's happened before at parties."

I nodded, then wiped at my lips with the back of my hand, a habit I'd had since my teen years. "I saw her face. It wasn’t some kind of role play. She was scared, and the way he was grabbing her wrist, she looked like she was in pain. He let her go for a second, talked some shit to me, then went to grab her again. Nobody seemed to be noticing what was going on, so I reacted.”

My voice was hard and angry at the end, and I stopped, realizing I was close to criticizing the Bertolis in their own house. I took a deep breath and continued. "I wasn't really thinking clearly. I apologize for disrupting the party."

Tomasso and Luisa studied me for a minute, then leaned in close, talking so quietly that I couldn't hear. I sat back, rubbing my hair and wishing I had at least a towel to let me dry off a little. Finally, they seemed to reach some sort of agreement, and Luisa waved me up with her hand. "Come with us."

The couple tried to lead me out of the kitchen, but I stopped at the door, coughing slightly. "Uhm, Mrs. Bertoli?"

Luisa, who'd been in the lead, turned back. "Yes?"

"Would you mind if I got a towel? I don't want to drip all over the house."

Luisa looked down, then at her husband before I saw a ghost of a smile cross her features.

"Okay," Tomasso said. "Grab him some stuff from my stash? Are shorts and a t-shirt okay for you?"

I nodded and walked back to the chair, sitting down while Luisa left. Tomasso stayed behind, going over to the coffee machine in the corner and pouring himself a mug. "You want one?"

I nodded, realizing how cold I was, and reached out gratefully when he held out the mug. "How do you take it?”

"Just black is fine," I said, taking the mug and sipping it. It was good coffee, a lot better than the cheap shit at my apartment. "Thank you, sir."

Tomasso nodded and poured himself another mug. "You know," he said as he sipped at his coffee, "you're either one of the bravest men I've met in a while or one of the dumbest. Eduardo's not a guy most people
choose
to fight. I know that firsthand.”

"You won, though, I suspect," I replied. "Or at least you didn't end up face-first in a pool."

"I did," Tomasso replied, "which is why I said you had to be either brave or dumb to do what you did. So which is it?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. “Like I said, I just reacted. I didn’t think. It was the right thing to do, and I'd do it again. Might just protect my head a bit better, though."

Tomasso chuckled and sipped his coffee. "Good idea. Out on the deck, someone called you Degrassi, and the name clicked for me. Your dad was Bobby Degrassi, right?"

I nodded, smiling. "That’s him."

Tomasso was going to say more when Luisa came back with the clothes. "You're going to have to go commando, sorry."

I shrugged. "I've done it before. Thanks."

Luisa left while I quickly shimmied out of my suit, dropping the wet mess on the floor after getting out my wallet and the soggy clip of cash Luisa had given me earlier. "Glad I left my cellphone back at the apartment," I joked as I pulled the shorts on. "Would hate to have to replace that."

"What, your black book on there?" Tomasso said with a laugh, which I echoed.

"You remember how that is. But thanks for the clothes. I guess I'm ready to see the Godfather now."

Luisa and Tomasso led me across the house to Don Bertoli's study, where I saw Carmen sitting inside, her hands folded in her lap. She looked like a lady sitting there in her cocktail dress, and I had to tear my eyes away from her as we came in. "Don Bertoli, forgive the clothes. I asked your son if I could borrow some so I wasn’t dripping all over your floor.”

"It is fine," Don Bertoli said, gesturing. "Have a seat, Dante, and tell me what happened."

I repeated my story one more time, making sure that I told the Don exactly the same thing I'd told his son. He listened to it all, then nodded. "All right then, Dante, thank you. First, let me say you acted appropriately, if a little . . . loudly for my tastes. If you'll wait a minute, one more thing before I have someone drive you home."

He left the room, giving his son a look. Tomasso and Luisa followed close behind, leaving me alone with Carmen. There was an uncomfortable silence, and I cleared my throat. "So, how's the arm?"

Carmen smiled and held up her forearm. “It'll be okay. Maybe a bruise. Thank you again for sticking up for me."

"He was being a jerk," I replied, waving it off. "Someone has to keep jerks like that in check from harassing ladies like yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" Carmen asked, suddenly defensive.

I raised an eyebrow, confused. I hadn't meant to make her angry. I must have said something wrong. "Nothing. Just that you shouldn't be harassed, that's all."

Before Carmen could reply, Mr. Bertoli was back, along with Tomasso and Luisa, and between them was Eduardo Mendosa, who looked chagrined but still cocky as he walked into the room. He had changed clothes too, although his clothes looked like they were actually his and not borrowed. Coming next to the Don's desk, he didn't even look at me as he gave Carmen a look that was about as slimy as any I'd seen a man give a woman in my life.

"Miss Esperanza, I apologize for my actions at the party and ask for your forgiveness." The words were robotic and almost forced between his teeth as Tomasso and Luisa stood on each side of him, Mr. Bertoli sitting with an expectant look on his face. "I'm sorry."

Carmen was obviously not taken in by the falseness of the man's apology, but she was all class. Standing, she nodded gracefully before smiling. "I accept your apology. Thank you."

Eduardo turned to go when Luisa cleared her throat and jostled her brother's elbow. He stopped, and sighed, looking at me. "And you too, Degrasso. Apologies."

I was so stunned that I could only nod my acceptance, even though he mangled my name. He shrugged off his sister's hand and left the room, leaving me and Carmen still sitting in our chairs. I still felt like I'd been stunned, and I wondered if those elbows to the back of my head had rattled me more than I'd first thought. "So . . . there it is."

It was obvious Eduardo didn’t mean his words, but it was about the Don teaching him his place, and if he was satisfied, we all were. He made a nod to Luisa, and she took the cue.

"Carmen, shall we?" She said.

The two women left, and I was left with the Godfather and Tomasso. Don Bertoli looked at me, then sighed. “Don’t mind Eduardo. He'll be leaving the United States soon, and it’s only because of economic reasons that I allow him here.” He turned to look at his son. “Tomasso, will you take Dante home? And make sure he’s compensated for the evening."

Tomasso nodded, and we left, heading out to the foyer. "Give me a moment to grab my keys," he said, disappearing for a moment. I looked around the house, letting it all sink in, when Carmen walked by again, heading back to the party. She waved and gave me a smile that made it all somehow worthwhile, and I waved back, waiting for Tomasso to reappear. He came back momentarily, and we left the house, me feeling only slightly strange until I realized I'd left my soaked shoes and clothes in the house. "What?"

"My clothes are in your kitchen," I said, wiggling my toes. "I should go get them."

"You still want them?" Tomasso asked, surprised. "I figured they'd go in the trash."

“Oh, they’ll be fine,” I said, turning around. Tomasso held up his hand, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about the clothes. I'll get them to you later. Dad says get you paid and taken home, so that’s what I’m going to do."

I sighed, reality crashing in again, and followed Tomasso to his car. I sat silently while he drove, only stopping when he reached my neighborhood. "You don't need to drop me off. I can walk from here."

"I already have the address. I know this neighborhood," he said nonchalantly.

"Thanks, Mr. Bertoli."

Tomasso dropped me off in front of my building, sticking his head out. "I'll give you a call in two or three days," he said, offering his hand. "Maybe you don't know about Carmen, but she's a friend. I won't forget that."

We shook hands, and I watched him drive away in his sports car before I went down the stairs to my little apartment. Inside, I tossed my keys onto the crappy excuse for a table I had and looked around at the shithole that was my apartment. "You've come a long way, baby."

I locked my door behind me, going over to the TV and looking at the picture hanging above it. It was the best photo I'd ever taken with my whole family, at the last home game the Mariners ever played in the old Kingdome. I was holding a baseball bat that had just gotten signed by both Ken Griffey and Alex Rodriguez, while Dad had his arm around me and Mom was giving me a kiss. It had been a great memory, one of the last ones I had left from my childhood. "I did good tonight, Dad."

I went over to my couch, which doubled as my bed, and sat down, resting my face in my hands. It hadn't always been this way, but after my father's shooting and the circumstances that surrounded it, my mother and I had spent quite a few years as
persona non grata
among the Bertoli syndicate. Dad had saved his money pretty well, so we weren't merely scraping by, but still, we tightened our belts, only to be driven nearly to the poor house when, in my first semester of college, Mom had come down with a cough. We thought it was nothing until she started coughing up blood. A trip to the clinic told us that she was already in stage three of breast cancer, and that some of it was already spreading to her lungs and more. I dropped out of college to take care of her, but even after selling the house and everything else, she died less than a year after she first coughed up some blood. I was left with no money, no house, and a family name that was worthless. Not knowing what to do, other than wanting to reclaim my family's honor, I'd gone to the few Bertoli men who would still talk to me, and had started the long road back. That was six years ago, and I was still trying to get out of the gutter.

Lying back, I chuckled. The night hadn't been all bad, after all. I pulled the wet wad of cash Luisa Bertoli had given me out of my pocket, carefully undoing the binder clip and counting out ten formerly crisp, but still good, hundred dollar bills. A nice compensation for a suit that had cost me a hundred and ninety-seven bucks at JC Penney.

Even better, though, was the smile and thanks I'd gotten from Carmen Esperanza. With her ebony hair, dynamite curves, and that shy smile, she was sexy and demure at the same time, and I could feel my cock twitch in my borrowed shorts as I thought about the way she'd moved on the dance floor, the way her hips had shimmied side to side, and the way her calves had flexed when she stepped . . .

"To hell with it," I muttered, unsnapping the shorts and pulling out my cock. I was already hard, and I let my mind go back to the inner movie I'd had burned into my short term memory, a little fantasy adding to the mix while I slowly began to pump my cock. I needed a little release.

"Dante, it was so brave of you to step in for me," Carmen said as she came closer, her cocktail dress hugging each perfect curve of her hourglass figure. "I've never had a man do that for me before."

Carmen put her arms around my neck, standing on her tiptoes and her breasts pushing into my chest, letting me pull her up into a kiss. Her lips were soft and tasted like honeyed wine, her tongue supple as she quested for entry into mine. Our tongues wound around each other hotly as I pulled the hem of her dress higher and higher, my hand exploring the perfect, silken skin. She wasn't wearing any panties underneath, and I moaned in surprise.

"I thought I might say thank you," she whispered, breaking our kiss. "Would you like your thank you with my mouth, or with something else?"