Bow Down(191)
28
Rafa
My fucking wound ached, but it was more than worth it to have had that girl riding my cock. Cassidy made me feel right, made me feel good. She lit a fucking fire in my stomach and set me blazing for hours.
No other woman had made me feel that way. Maybe it was the danger we found ourselves in together, or maybe it was the baby I knew was growing inside her.
Or maybe it was just her. Smart, strong, and fucking sexy, Cassidy was something I’d never experienced before. I knew I should have hated her, knew I should have let my people have her, but I couldn’t. She was my enemy, but she wasn’t.
We ate lunch together, talking and laughing quietly. It was so comfortable being together like that. After the time we spent together while I was recovering from surgery, it felt like I had known her for years. We could talk about everything and nothing, and it all felt good.
Of course, that couldn’t last. Nothing good could last in the mafia.
There was a knock at the door just as we finished eating.
“Go away,” I yelled.
She laughed and got up. She walked over to the door and opened it.
Arturo Barone was standing there, smiling.
“Hello, dear,” he said.
She stepped back, clearly surprised. I stood up, a surge of protective fear running through me.
Arturo never made house calls. You always went to him if you were going to see him at all. In all my time with the mafia, I’d seen Arturo outside his office maybe a handful of times.
He stepped into the room. “Are you going to offer me a drink?”
“Of course.” I stood up.
“You sit down,” he said to me. “Didn’t you almost die?”
“Yeah,” I grunted, and sat.
Cassidy went to the bar. “What would you like?”
“Whisky.” He looked at me. “I’m glad you survived, young Rafa.”
“Thank you.”
Cassidy gave him a glass and he took a small drink.
“We should talk,” he said.
“What about?”
“Your visit with Ernesto this morning.”
I sat very, very still, not sure what to expect. I had figured Ernesto would go to Arturo, but I’d never expected him to go straight there. I’d figured the guy would at least get his people in line before talking to Arturo.
“He tells me you threatened him,” Arturo said. “Which is good, considering the shit you saw on that tape.”
“Did he show you?”
“Yes,” Arturo said.
I didn’t know what fucking game Ernesto was playing, but that man was totally fucking stupid.
“And?” I asked.
“And Marco is dead, or at least about to be dead. And Ernesto won’t be bothering you anymore.” He walked over and sat at the table. Cassidy joined us.
“Ernesto knew about Marco.”
Arturo shook his head. “He didn’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“If he knew, he wouldn’t have come to me right away. It took my boys ten minutes to find the leak, and Ernesto was as surprised as me.”
“So he gets away with it.”
“No, he doesn’t. The men involved are being rounded up, and Ernesto’s crew is going to be seriously weakened.” Arturo smiled at me. “Which is good for you, right?”
“Right,” I answered.
“Funny how it works out that way. The Spiders give you the perfect bit of information.”
“Yeah. Funny.”
He smiled at Cassidy. “You did well.”
“Thank you. It was all Rafa’s plan.”
“I’m sure.” He took another sip and then sighed. “This part is awkward.”
“What is?” she asked.
“I need more from you, Cassidy.”
“No,” I heard myself say.
There was a short silence as Arturo looked at me.
“You’re very protective of this girl,” he said finally. “I understand that she is carrying your baby, or at least you say that she is, but you must know your place.”
“She’s been in enough danger.”
“And she won’t be in any more. I simply want her to contact her Spiders again, and let my people try to trace their signal.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Cassidy said.
“That’s okay. You can try.”
“Okay,” she said simply.
I wanted to flip the fucking table.
This had not been part of the plan. I didn’t want her to get more involved with the mob, let alone personally involved with Arturo himself. She needed to fly under the radar, let the organization forget about her so that she could slip away and live her life again. Instead, she was inserting herself in the middle of a damn mob war.
“Cassidy,” I said, but Arturo held up a hand.