Bad Men: (Dark *M/F/M* Mafia Romance), page 12
Accepting what needed to be done, I pulled away from the curb and drove back to Mia’s diner. I parked out front and made my way inside for a cup of coffee and my own stool for the next seven hours.
The wait wasn’t nearly as unbearable as I’d imagined. I got to watch Mia in her element, watch her make people laugh and leave with a smile on their faces. She was quick, too. The kind of waitress every diner needed. I found I really enjoyed studying her every motion. I liked the swing of her hips, the sway of her hair, the way she laughed even though the joke was dumb as fuck. I liked that she shot me a grin every time she passed my stool. More than all that, I liked watching guys hit on her and her shut them down.
“Are you sure you want to stay?” she asked after the twentieth time.
“If I wanted to leave, I would,” I said, sipping at my third cup of coffee; at that rate, I would be up for the next twenty hours, but she made a mean brew. I probably could have lived off the stuff.
“Well, can you at least order something then?” she tapped her pencil on her pad. “You’ve been drinking coffee since you got here. It’s not good for you.” The bell behind her jingled under the large palm that slammed down on it. She turned away and gathered up the steaming plates. “How about a plate of fries?” she offered, already skirting around the counter in the direction of the food’s owners.
Fries did sound nice, but I didn’t want her waiting on me, as ridiculous as that sounded; waiting on people was literally her entire job, but if I wanted food, I would make my own, which was complicated when I wasn’t able.
She delivered the three plates of fully loaded burgers to the three jocks squished into a booth in the corner. One of them — the one who had been doing most of the talking, a pimply-faced blond with moron written all over him — said something to her that she laughed off with a wave of her hand. He seemed to persist before passing her a folded napkin. I didn’t need to see it to know he’d given her his number.
Mia peered down at it, then at him. Her smile never faltered, not even when she set the napkin back down and shook her head. Then, to my utter astonishment, she pointed to me and gave him a little shrug.
All three pairs of eyes glanced in my direction and I returned it with my deadliest stare, daring them to try again.
They turned back to their food without another word. Mia returned to me with a grin twisting up the one corner of her mouth.
“What’d you tell them?” I asked when she regained her spot on the other side of the counter.
“That you were my brother and have been super overprotective since you had to kill my last boyfriend.”
I would have believed her if it wasn’t for the twinkle in her eyes and the laugh she was failing miserably to conceal.
“Liar,” I mumbled.
Mia broke in a fit of giggles. “I told them I was already taken by you, so they were out of luck.”
She swung away and set a torn slip from her pad on the pickup window. The meaty hand I occasionally saw dragging receipts in and food out, snatched the piece of paper and disappeared with it.
“I can’t wait to finally get out of here,” she said once she’d returned. “I just want to take off my shoes and curl up on the couch.”
“You want me to take you home?” I offered.
She thought about it for a full two seconds before giving me a shake of her head. “Not unless you want to take me home.”
I didn’t. I’d been hoping to take her back somewhere quiet and get lost in her. But if she was tired, I could wait.
“Up to you,” I replied.
She seemed to think about that for a long moment before responding. “Do you know any quiet places we could drive to?”
I knew several. The city may have been an ocean of people and buildings, but there was always an isolated location if someone was looking for one. Only, the majority of those places were used to … discard, of certain problems. Something told me that wasn’t what she meant.
Some freckly brunette with enormous tits and lips so plump she might have been having an allergic reaction to a bee sting, replaced Mia. She gave me a few sidelong glances I ignored as I led Mia out the door.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked as I pulled open the passenger side door for her and watched her slide into the seat.
I closed her in and made my way to my side before answering, “Thought we could head back to my place.”
She snapped her belt into place across her lap with a resounding click. “Is Nero okay with that?”
I shoved the keys into the ignition and pulled the car onto the road. “He’s going to have to be.”
I was still fuming. Part of me, a part I was keeping stubbornly slathered with the greasy remains of my anger was still terrified. It was a jumbled mess of confusion packed tight with irritation and brewed with anger, so much fucking anger at everything. At Nero for his stupid and careless mistake, at myself for not having the guts to free us of the quicksand pulling us under, but mainly at Mia for whatever voodoo bullshit she had us under. That was the only explanation I could come up with to justify why I wasn’t removing her from our lives forever. It was the only thing that explained why the thought of anything happening to her had my hands trembling. I concealed it by tightening my fingers around the wheel.
“Why are you still here?” I blurted before I could stop myself.
Mia’s chin turned from the passing rush of buildings and faces to tilt in my direction. I didn’t have to look to see the question in her eyes; her curiosity seemed to echo in the heat that crawled up into my cheeks.
“What do you mean?”
There was no taking it back now.
“Why are you here?” I repeated, gesturing with one hand to the filth and misery that made up our part of the city. “We both know you don’t belong here with the rest of us. You deserve better.”
“What’s better?” she countered.
Her oblivious response fueled my irritation. “Better than all this. Better than working yourself to death, better than getting shot in the street just because you took a wrong turn. Your parents used to tell everyone about your AP classes, all your awards and honors, and all the schools that wanted you. You were supposed to get out of this dump. You were supposed to—”
“Merry some rich guy, buy a two story with a picket fence and have two perfect children?” she finished for me.
“Yes! No!” I smacked the leather pad over the horn, releasing a blare that startled even me. “But you could be doing anything you want. Why didn’t you go to school somewhere far away in some fancy city?”
She snorted a laugh. “What’s a fancy city?”
I ignored her snark. “Why did you stay, Mia? You could have had a free ride to any school you wanted.”
I caught her shrug from the corner of my eye. “I know I could.”
It wasn’t arrogance in her voice. It was the quiet murmur of someone who had something just inches from their grasp before losing it.
“Where did you get accepted?” I hedged.
She jerked up the same shoulder again. “Columbus, and a few others.” It was pure luck the light took that moment to turn red, forcing me to stop when my head snapped in her direction. “I know what you’re going to say,” she interrupted before I could open my mouth. “Why didn’t I go? Why am I still here?” Her brown eyes met mine with a wisdom I knew I wouldn’t like. “I was going to. With me gone, Eduardo’s monthly payments would have gone down, taking some of the pressure off my parents. But then Dad had that work accident and pulled his back. He was in bed for months, and mom got diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis. I couldn’t leave them. Eduardo wasn’t going to give them a break, give my dad a chance to get better when he couldn’t work, so my mom had to take two jobs, nearly killing herself in the process. So, I stayed. I got a job and here I am.”
“That’s…”
Insane! I wanted to snap.
Stupid.
Selfless.
Kind.
Of course she would give up her own future for them. It didn’t surprise me at all, yet I was pissed.
“But you can still go back,” I pointed out.
Mia nodded. “I might one day. Right now, I have a family who needs me. School will be there when I’m ready for it, and before you say it, no, I don’t feel like I’m missing something. Would I like for my family not to have to live the way we do? Yes. Would I like for them not to have to pay Eduardo once a month? Absolutely. But we don’t always get cupcakes and rainbows in life.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Instead, I focused on driving the rest of the way in silence.
Chapter Nine — Nero
I heard the keys in the front door a split second before it was opened and footsteps echoed down the hall. I stayed seated on the edge of my bed, clammy palms mashed together between my knees as if I’d been praying.
I hadn’t been.
Religion and I had parted ways years ago and we’d never made up. I didn’t expect that to change just because I fucked up and needed divine intervention. I knew I would need to face the music, face what I’d done and accept whatever punishment fate saw fit. It was facing Dav that terrified me. It was the knowledge that I had screwed up so royally, there was a chance I could have lost my best friend forever. To most, it would have seemed ridiculous to be so crippled by something seemingly inconsequential, especially given that I killed people for a living but those people would never understand the bond Dav and I shared, the years of brotherhood. I knew I had to make things right, no matter what I had to do.
Pushing to my feet, I started for the door. I threw it open and joined the subtle rustle of fabric down the hallway.
Mia glanced up when I approached. Her brown eyes blinked once before her mouth bowed into a grin.
“Hey!” she said in greeting. “How did you sleep?”
It was at the back of my mind to tell her I hadn’t. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. I was more preoccupied by the presence of her in my living room. The fact that Dav stood a few feet from her, arms crossed, made me think this was an intentional decision on his part, a decision he’d made on his own, a decision neither of us had ever made in all the years we’d lived on our own. Women were never allowed back at our place. It was one of our rules. That only made me wonder if this was a test, an attempt to punish me by waving her in my face. The other part of me wondered if this was his way of telling me she’d failed and it was my job now to finish what I should have completed the night before. Whichever one it was, Dav was giving me no hints.
“Is it okay I’m here?” Mia was saying when I returned my attention to her.
I had no idea.
“It’s fine.” Dav answered for me, one hand going to the small of her back. “Do you want a drink?”
She eyed me a moment longer, visibly waiting for a response, but when I offered none, she glanced to Dav. “Water, please. Thank you.”
With a final glower at me, Dav pivoted on his heels and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me alone with the tiny woman staring up at me again.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“Yeah,” I murmured, sparing glances over her head to where I could just make out the figure yanking open cupboards and running the faucet. “How are you?”
One shoulder lifted in a small shrug. “I’m all right. Tired.”
Dav returned, glass of water in hand. “You can sit down,” he told her, motioning towards the sofas.
Mia looked to me again, a dip in her brows that mirrored the twist at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe I should—”
Dav was already moving her deeper into the room, and what felt like our lives. The water glass was placed on the coffee table and she was nudged to the sofa across from it. I followed, having nothing else to do, except playout whatever game Dav was playing. My butt hit the armchair before Mia took a cushion. She sat rigid with her knees pressed tightly together. Her teeth worked anxiously at her bottom lip while she studied the fingers twisting together in her lap.
“How was work?” Dav broke the serrated tension.
Mia raised her chin and fixed him with a quirked eyebrow. “You were there with me the whole time.”
Dav gave an indecisive bob of his head that rolled with the shrug of his shoulder. “Nero wasn’t.”
Eyes the liquid gold of whiskey lifted and met mine. “It was fine.” Her gaze dropped just as quickly and she drew in a quick breath. “Can I use your bathroom?”
Dav gave her directions and we both watched her push to her feet and pad from the room. The soft clip of her strides echoed through the hall and stopped with the click of the bathroom door closing behind her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dav asked the second we were sure she couldn’t hear us. “Why are you acting as if she’s responsible for the death of your turtle?”
“Why is she here?” I asked instead. “Since when do we bring women to our apartment?”
“Since I thought we needed a quiet place with her,” he responded a bit too quickly, making me think he’d already rationalized the decision on the drive back.
“Then you take her to a motel,” I bit out, careful to keep my voice down.
Dav’s eyes darkened. “Pay by the hour then drop her off where I found her?”
My jaw clenched at the insinuation. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“That’s what it sounded like,” he retorted, pushing forward in his seat, bracing his weight on the elbows he rested on his knees. “I’m not going to disrespect her like that.”
“Why is she here?” I said again, fingers curling around the armrests.
“I wanted her here,” he replied simply, dropping back.
“Those are not the rules—”
“Don’t talk to me about rules,” he snarled out before I could finish. “You owe me one.”
I snapped my mouth shut around the protest building up in my throat. I knew he had me there. I had no right to come down on him when I was the one who had betrayed those rules in the first place.
“Did she say anything?” I murmured, fire gone, replaced with dread.
Dav was silent for too many heartbeats before dropping his gaze and giving a barely imperceptible shake of his head. “She was surprisingly tight-lipped about everything, except what a gentleman you were.”
“Gentleman?” I muttered, brain fumbling to recall what I’d done to deserve that title.
Dav snorted. “You picked her up and drove her home. That, according to her, was basically all that happened.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that,” I mumbled, ego taking a small hit.
“Grateful,” Dav replied sharply. “You should feel damn grateful.”
He was right. That whole thing could have gone sideways real quick if Mia had been any other woman. It was no secret most of them couldn’t keep a secret to save their lives, but she’d been asked by Davien. There would have been no reason for her to keep anything we did the night before a secret, not from him. She may not have even thought twice about it, yet, she hadn’t. She hadn’t said a word. It made no sense.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why didn’t she tell you?”
Dav’s mouth opened, but it was Mia’s soft voice that answered from the doorway, “Because I’m not an idiot.” She glowered from me to Dav, then back. “I grew up on the same streets you did. I know what happens to people who don’t keep their mouth shut.” Her gaze moved to Dav and narrowed further. “I knew you weren’t just asking me those questions. You could have just asked Nero if it was that important, so, why come to me? I’m not a snitch.”
“It wasn’t because we thought you were a snitch,” Dav said, finding his voice before I could. “And you’re right, you did grow up on the same streets we did, but it’s not the same streets, Mia. You’re not in our world, not entirely, and you never will be, not if we have anything to say about it. But we needed to be sure we could trust you. Men in our position, the roles we play are dangerous. Not only for us, but for you, and we don’t want anything happening to you.”
She exhaled slowly and pursed her lips. “You don’t need to tell me that. I already know.”
I rose to my feet and went to her. I don’t know why, but an overwhelming wave of relief washed over me when I cupped her jaw and she didn’t pull away. She peered up at me with those big eyes, eyes full of unwarranted trust, trust we didn’t deserve. But it didn’t stop me from claiming her mouth in a kiss crackling with things I knew I had no right to feel, sensations I should have known better than to share. It was all worth it when she melted against me, thin arms going around my shoulders.
“How are you feeling?” I murmured against the soft folds of her mouth.
“Wet,” she whispered without pause.
I felt the grin pull across my face. “Of course you are.”
Without another word, I hoisted her up with one arm around her waist. Her legs immediately twisted around my hips and locked into place at the ankles as I carted her to where Dav sat waiting.
She didn’t ask, didn’t even hesitate when I set her down and released her. She turned and climbed straight into the other man’s lap. Her knees hugged his hips and she closed her mouth over his in a hungry clamp that matched the tight fists of her fingers in his hair. Dav groaned and clasped her closer. His hands raked up the curved arch of her spine to flatten between her shoulder blades, urging her closer.
I left them there, lost in the assault of teeth and nails, and made my way to the armchair. It wasn’t positioned in a way that gave me much of a view, but I made myself comfortable, or as comfortable as one could get with a raging hard on scraping against the metal teeth of their zipper.
I fished him out and eased the hurt with slow strokes. The heavy weight throbbed in my palm, begging me to join the pair four feet away.
But it wasn’t my turn. I could join in and Dav wouldn’t say a word, nor would Mia, but I’d already had her. I’d already been buried inside her wet little slit. It was Dav’s turn. Plus, I enjoyed watching as much as I did participating, especially when Dav pulled up the hem of her uniform over the smooth globes of her ass and I was gifted with the sight of her exposed mound.
