"Thanks Papa," Lorna's tone bristled with disrespect, but since the man didn't seem to have a problem with it, he hoped the worst was over.
"Don't get sassy, young lady. He lived because I'd already seen the tape and how he tried to offer comfort to Lucca at the end before he was threatened with his life. I still don't know if I want you considering being with someone that's not Italian," he said looking Aidan up and down like he could smell the difference and it was making him sick.
"That's not your decision, Papa. It's not guaranteed that we'll be together for the long haul anyway, but we're working on it."
"Speak for yourself, Lorna. I'm in it for the long haul." He put his two cents out there because he meant it, and he could tell that she didn't want her father to put demands on them.
"If you are going to be taking care of my daughter, I'd like to know more about you, Aidan. What kinds of things do The Devil's Stepbrothers do? That's a dumb name by the way." Antonio was used to saying whatever he wanted - that was a fact - but when Aidan looked over at his friend who was trying to work his way into the Giovannis' businesses, it didn't appear that slight had been a problem.
"There are lots of things we can do-"
"This is probably not the best time. How about you and Aidan come by tomorrow around noon? Aidan knows the way." Antonio actually had a smile on his face like he was impressed that the lone biker could find him and make enough waves to get into see him.
They all got out of the limo, and Antonio yelled out to the men who stood there in parking lot waiting to see if they were going to have to fight or scatter. "You men will all be working together in some capacity, so look around and learn the faces."
"Papa?" Lorna walked over to her father who gave her a hug. Aidan didn't go too far away just because it was going to take a long time, if ever, for there to be any kind of trust between Aidan and her father.
"I've been being an ass and you were right. I was taking out my hostility on you. There was no reason to keep you out of your job or house. I've already had the house freshened up for you and new stock, and clean-up is happening this week for the shop. I already set it up. It was going to be a bargaining chip."
"I may go back to both places for a while, but I want to be able to call everything my own. I'm going to be working on getting out from under you with the business."
"Take your time, Lorna. I still wish he'd have been Italian."
Aidan watched Lorna and her father joke around a bit before the man called him over.
"I want you to be the go between for me with your bikers and what I want done. I don't mind working with Maverick, but I want all business to go through you. I'll work on your pay."
"Are you just wanting to give me a job so you can have more control over your daughter through me? Because if that's the case, you can count me out of your little plan." Aidan watched the man frown and knew then that was what he wanted to do.
"I'm possessive and controlling over my loved ones because I want to keep them safe. I know my daughter isn't a baby anymore, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to treat her as such." Antonio walked away from Lorna and nodded for Aidan to follow him. "I like that you have heart, son, even when I didn't want you with Lorna because of what happened with Lucca, I still thought you had some potential."
"Thank you. I hope to be around a good long while, at least until Lorna is done putting up with me. The job we can talk about tomorrow, but I'd really like to get Lorna something to eat and then relax for the rest of the evening." Aidan said and was surprised when Antonio's big meaty hand clapped him on the back and a rough chuckle escaped his mouth. What alternate universe was this?
He looked around the parking lot and saw all the people slightly mingling as much as career criminals could do, but the smile on Maverick's face couldn't be denied. His scruffy face rarely looked pleased, but that changed tonight.
"Holy shit, Aidan. You really worked that out for us, and to think I didn't want to bring your sorry ass with us. Fuckin' Pacemaker was the one who talked me into it. Call me in the morning to tell me where to meet you." Maverick was the second person of the night to pat his back in a friendly gesture.
Aidan looked around the parking lot for the woman who'd really saved the day. It was a good thing she wasn't a wilting flower because the father would have run all over all of them. The head count was three to one based on what he could see quickly, and no one was fighting with fists anymore. He looked to his left and his right and saw Antoine get in his car with a little wave to him. What … The … Fuck? Was this all some elaborate plan to sneak Lorna away while he was filled with the knowledge that he and his crew were not only fine but thriving in this inner city market?
"Hey there," Lorna said from behind him, and the aggression he'd felt building up dissipated instantly. "You ready to go home?"
"Where is that exactly?"
"I don't really know. I figured I'd say ‘Let's go home,' and you could pick a spot. I will say that if my Papa got the house ready for me, then there is more food at the house than at the apartment."
He noticed how she said the house and the apartment instead of putting ownership on either of them.
"Then it's the house with the food and drinks for the win."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The house was lit up like he'd expected it to be when he'd come looking almost a month ago. When they got there, an older woman was walking out.
"It's all ready for you, Lorna. I'm glad you're back." She walked quickly like she'd been waiting for her to return. "The keys are on the front table." Then she gave a quick wave as she walked to a car that sat waiting for her.
Standing in front of the house, it seemed so surreal, and he remembered the first time he'd been standing here with his balls full and expectations high after he'd had to stop from giving her the bone in the alleyway on their walk over from the bar.
"Are you ready to go in?" He asked her as she looked up to the house like she was checking for something.
"I'm just taking a moment to breathe it all in."
"Breathe what all in?" He turned to her so he could really capture what her expression was on her face.
"Freedom."
"Would you like me to carry you over the threshold?" He teased to lighten her spirits. He was happy that they were all alive and had even gotten some business for the fellas. Hopefully, that would make him less of the fuck up he'd been cast as for the last month or so.
"We'll save that for if all this works out between us," she said as she walked in the house.
The place looked just like it did the first time he'd been in it, but there was a meal on the table and wine in a bucket of ice.
"As much as I can't wait to fuck you straight into tomorrow, this food looks tempting." He was glad that she was already preparing to sit at the table.
Aidan joined her, and they made their plates and poured the wine. Such an elegant meal of lasagna and a hearty red, but the two of them ate it like it was slop and they were fresh out of jail. They hadn't eaten that day with the stress and tension that had swirled around them like a vortex.
Lorna sat back in her chair with a sigh after her second helping of lasagna with a smile on her face.
"Freedom, right?"
"Yes, freedom. Aidan, there were so many days I wondered what was going to become of me. I was a woman who hated being controlled, but my whole life was under the microscope, and it was my fault."
"How?" Aidan finished up his meal and scarfed down the wine that probably cost more than the rent on his apartment like an artificial fruit beverage, but he was intrigued about how she felt.
"My father runs this city, and he runs his house too. I accepted money, the boutique, and this house knowing that it would keep me safe but stunted. There are so many things I can't stand about his business: the drugs, the crime, the loss of lives … I could say more, but I can't say that I hate the lies. I've lied to so many people about who I was, what I did, and what I wanted. It was all to get away from the person I couldn't shake."
"Hey. I've heard you bashing yourself enough. Sometimes you have to take what you get. I'm not going to tell you that there are people in worse situations because who really gives a fuck about them. We're talking about you and what you're going through." He stood up and helped her out of her seat.
"Where are we going?" She asked as they climbed the steps with his hand on her lower back guiding her higher. "Are you going to fuck me on the stairs again?"