Good Girl(44)

“You okay, Ava?” he asks, with a slightly worried tone in his voice.

No, I’m not. I know I’m not okay. But he won’t want this fucked-up version of me.

I press my lips together to keep the automatic response of “Yes, Kane” from coming through. He doesn’t like that. Or he at least doesn’t want it right now. So I nod my head instead and offer him a sweet smile.

He smirks at me and leans in for another kiss before saying, “Good girl.”

It soothes the broken part of me. That’s all I need right now. I just need to keep being his good girl.





Kane





My nerves are getting the best of me. I like Vince. I like the other fuckers sitting in the room--Tommy, Anthony, and Dom. But I know he’s pissed at me. I directly disobeyed him again. He’s fucking pissed. I just got here. And Dom brought me back here without saying a word. We’re in the same office as before. I’m sure they aren’t planning on getting rid of me here, though. Mostly because there’s a nice carpet beneath my feet and not a plastic tarp.

“What are you doing, Kane?” Vince finally asks. His fists are clenched and laying on the table. Pretty sure this isn’t going to come to blows, but if it does, I’m gonna be pissed. He’s the Don, and he has every right to beat the shit out of me. I’m not going to be able to fight back. That’d be a serious infraction. But I won’t fucking like it. Technically I could fight back, but I don’t want to be an enemy of the Valettis. That, and there are three other men in the room that could hold me down. Maybe it’s a compliment that so many men are present.

“I have feelings for her, Vince. She needs me. I’m not going to lose her.” I push the words out. I don’t know if he’ll understand, but he’s going to have to get used to it.

She’s mine. And it’s staying that way.

“And how are you going to take care of her? You’ve got a target on your back, and no family behind you.” He narrows his eyes and leans forward before adding, “What are you going to do about that?”

Is this fucker serious? Is he really questioning my ability to take care of Ava? That motherfucker. I bite my tongue and try real fucking hard not to turn my hands into white-knuckled fists. But I fail miserably.

I watch as his eyes travel to my fists and he smirks. “You don’t like that, do you?”

“No, I don’t fucking like what you’re implying.”

“The fact that she’d be better off without you.” He leans back and shrugs as he says, “All of our women would be better off without us. We know it. They know it.” He points a finger at me. “You know it, too.”

A tightening pain spreads through my chest. I know she would be better off without me. But I’m a fucking bastard, and she said yes. That’s all I need to keep her. I stare back at him with the air between us crackling.

“I’m not letting her go,” I bite out, making sure he knows we’re going to have problems if he tries to take her from me.

“That’s fine.” His eyebrows raise. “But that’s not what I asked. What are you going to do, Kane? Where are you going to go?”

I try to relax some. I take a moment to think of an answer. I could go anywhere, and do anything. But I’m fucking good at being in the mob. I’m damn good at what I do. That, and Vince is right; there’s a huge fucking target on my back. Now I’ve taken out two families that were big names. It’s not good to be too well-known.

People tend to disappear when they reach a certain level of visibility. They’re a threat, they’re also a competitor. I don’t need every fucking guy out there thinking he can prove something by getting the best of me. And that’s a very real possibility at this point.

“I’m asking you what your plan is, because I need someone I can trust, and I'm not sure if that person is you.” The last line comes out hard. His anger is coming back in full force.

“What can I do for you?” For the first time in a long time, hope starts to creep up on me. If I can get into Vince’s good graces, things may turn out to be just fine. People don’t fuck with the Valettis. It’d be a dream come true to get in tight with them. Maybe I could become a made man if I can prove my loyalty to them. My blood spikes with doubt. Ava. I doubt Vince would make me a made man for constantly going rogue.

But I can fucking try.

“Tommy’s being watched. He’s out on bail.”

My eyes dart to Tommy in the corner of the room. I thought the stale air and tension in the room were solely because of me. I hadn’t picked up on the different emotions. Vince and Anthony are pissed. Dom looks anxious as fuck. But Tommy, he just looks defeated.