Forbidden Temptations (Tempted Series Book 2) (25 page)

I was sure of one thing, I wanted Adrianna back and nothing was going to stop me from getting what I wanted, what I fucking deserved.

A car pulled into the Valente’s driveway and seconds later Mike stumbled out of the car. He wasn’t alone, always had one woman or another with him. This time she was blonde with tits the size of watermelons. I wondered where he found these over processed broad’s, maybe they were strippers. None of them ever looked like the girl you bring home to Mom. Mike towered over his date, standing about six feet tall and despite the fact that he couldn’t play football anymore, he was in prime shape. He definitely wasn’t the lanky kid I remembered. He wasn’t as broad as I was but he had an athletic build. Mike and Adrianna were the same age, twenty-five, but they both looked older. A part of me believed that was due to the lives they lived and the sadness they endured. His brown hair was mussed by way of either his own fingers or his date’s. I haven’t been up close to Mike, haven’t been face to face in years, but I’d bet anything that his brown eyes would stare at me blankly. He was empty, a fact proven by the way he lived his life. He started to hide it better though. He didn’t use his date as a prop to hold him upright like he did those first few times I had followed him from bar to bar. Mike wasn’t living, he was existing, just a shell of a man. It was a real fucking shame.

I tried to figure out the point of these trips, what Vic was hoping I’d uncover by sitting here for hours as Mike got drunk and then got laid. I watched as he entered the house and the front door closed as the lights flicked on inside. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard, knowing that in approximately two hours, a cab would pull up and the blonde would be a distant memory. I moved to recline my seat when I saw a police car creeping down the street out of the side view mirror. As the car passed me, I noticed the cops paid close attention to the house numbers before stopping in front of the Valente house.

“Ah, shit Mike what the fuck did you do?” I mumbled loudly and watched the cops turn off the engine of their car and slowly make their way up the walkway to the front door. I lowered my window in hopes of being able to hear what they were saying but I was too far away. They rang the bell first but after waiting a minute and getting no response, they started to bang on the door. So much for my nap, I thought as I ran my fingers through my hair and Mike opened the door half dressed. They exchanged a few words but nothing I could make out and then the blonde was beside Mike, handing him his shirt. Within minutes, the woman Mike had brought home ushered him to the passenger door of his car before climbing into the driver’s seat. The police made their way back to their car, waited for Mike and his girl to peel out of the driveway before they started their car and followed them.

What the fuck just happened?

I started up my truck and tailed Mike and the cops, keeping enough distance between us so they couldn’t tell I was following them. I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed Vic’s cell to give him a heads up. I didn’t know what mess Mike had found himself in but if he was in trouble with the cops then Victor would want to know. He didn’t answer, so I dropped my phone onto the passenger seat and continued following them until they pulled into a hospital parking lot.

The police parked in the fire lane as Mike stepped out of his car. The officers walked around and met Mike, escorting him into the hospital. I followed his date until she found a spot and then I parked my car. I was close behind her as she walked on wobbly heels across the parking lot and into the lobby of the emergency room.

Mike was nowhere in sight, neither were the cops that had brought him here. I don’t know how shit works in Pennsylvania but back in New York when the police paid you a visit and they weren’t there to arrest you it only meant one thing. One of your loved ones was in some sort of trouble. From what I could tell, Mike didn’t have anyone close in his life other than Maryanne. Oh God, please don’t let something be wrong with her, Mike would lose his fucking mind if something happened to his only living parent.

I walked to the water fountain, dipped my head to take a sip, and lifted my eyes to scan the room for Mike’s date. She sat in the corner of the emergency room by herself playing on her phone. I straightened up and walked towards her taking a seat a few seats away from her. I dropped my head and peered at her from the corner of my eye as she lifted her phone to her ear.

“Yeah, it’s me. So are you ready for how my night wound up?” She said with a sigh, leaning back against the plastic chair in the lobby. “Yes, I left with the hot guy from the bar. By the time we got back to his place and started getting into it the fucking cops showed up at his house.”

I lifted my head and turned it slightly to watch as she shuffled through the contents of her purse and propped the phone to her ear with her shoulder. Boy, Michael really knew how to pick them.

“I don’t know they said something about his mother being in a car accident. I know right. So now, I’m sitting in the emergency room because I drove him here. I feel bad for the guy, he’s a mess.”

I stood up and made my way to the reception desk, the woman behind the counter lifted her eyes to mine.

“Can I help you?” She asked me.

“Yes, I was wondering if you could give me some information on Maryanne Valente.”

“Are you family?”

“I’m her nephew,” I lied, knowing it wasn’t likely they would tell me much. “Look, my cousin is in with her now. The cops showed up at his house and told him his mother was in a bad car accident. I want to know if maybe I should call the rest of the family. If she’s critical our family has to trek it from New York.”

She bit the inside of her cheek before diverting her eyes to her computer screen and began to work her fingers against the keyboard. She paused before lifting her head and staring at me sorrowfully.

“You might want to make those phone calls.”

I stared at her blankly for a second, my mind processing the underlying meaning behind her words before the rest of me did.

“Now,” she added.

“Thank you,” I replied, my voice barely audible. I turned around, grabbing my phone from my pocket and dialed Victor again, praying to God he answered the phone this time.

I was sitting on the front porch of the Valente home when the black Escalade pulled into the driveway, parking behind Mike’s beat up truck. It had been hours since I watched Mike walk out of the hospital with tears in his eyes and a blank expression on his face. I lingered around the hospital and tried to find out as much as possible but it didn’t matter because the doctors had declared Maryanne brain dead. The doctors said there was nothing anyone could do, and that being said it was too much for Mike to process. He asked the doctors to keep her on the ventilator until the next day so he could gather his bearings and say goodbye to the only person he had left in life.

In true Mike fashion, he went home with his date from earlier and tried to fuck his problems away. I guess his date didn’t have the heart to tell him that her pussy wouldn’t bring his mother back to life.

Jimmy and Victor climbed out of the truck and I rose to my feet to greet them at the porch steps.

“How is he?” Victor asked, catching me off guard since I hadn’t heard the man ever sound so sincerely concerned in all the years I knew him.

“I think he’s in shock,” I responded. As both men moved to walk passed me I reached out and took hold of Jimmy’s arm. “He’s got someone in there with him so ring the bell.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Kids mother’s basically dead, and he’s worried about getting laid.”

There was no use in telling him that Mike was probably trying to forget his own reality. Jimmy was a heartless prick who would never understand grief. I don’t think he is capable of feeling anything for anyone and I doubt he has lost anyone who ever mattered to him. He rang the bell obnoxiously, and I glanced at Victor to see if he would put this douche bag in his place but he was in his own fucking world. I had seen that look on his face before. It was not long after Val died – the look that he blamed himself. I couldn’t help but wonder if when I was in prison and he’d look at his daughter if he’d ever get that look in his eyes. Probably not. Victor showed no emotion to either of us when he destroyed our lives.

“Fuck this,” Jimmy said, before taking a step back, giving him a bit of leverage as he kicked in the door.

“Jimmy, what the fuck?” I growled, only for him to ignore me as he charged into the house with Victor close behind. I shook my head and followed them inside watching as Victor looked around, taking everything in about the modest house. Jimmy opening and closing doors, looking for Mike, finally narrowing it down to the last door. He tapped his knuckles against the wooden door, a creepy grin on his face as he looked at me and shouted.

“Val, get your ass out here!” He hollered, holding up one finger, then two and finally raised a third before he kicked the door open and barged into Mike’s room. I snapped and stormed in after him prepared to pull him out of the room and give the inconsiderate bastard a beating.

I was distracted by the shrill cries coming out of the naked blonde’s mouth as she stared at us not even trying to cover her body.

“Looks like our boy is doing okay.”
Jimmy said eyes glued to the woman’s rack.

“Michael!” She shrieked, attempting to cover herself with the sheet.

“What the fuck is going on?” Mike slurred, holding a baseball bat as his eyes diverted back and forth between Jimmy and myself.

“Feisty little thing aren’t you?” Jimmy crooned. He was making me fucking sick. I glanced at the woman, not giving a fuck anymore if she recognized me from the hospital and tried to wrap this charade up.

“Sweetheart, the party’s over,” I ordered, bending down to grab her discarded dress and throwing it onto the bed. I felt Mike’s eyes pierce me and I lifted my head to meet his stare with one of my own. I crossed my arms against my chest as I exchanged a moment with the kid I used to think of as a brother. I felt for him, just as I did all those years ago when his dad died. His father was a good man, loved his son and when he died Mike was shell-shocked, but I imagine losing his mother would be even harder. I only had a mother just like Mike only had Maryanne after Val’s death. If she died, I’d be devastated. Mike’s first instinct might’ve been to drink and fuck his mother’s death away but looking at him right now, I could see how he was crumbling inside.

After Mike dismissed the girl, Victor walked into the room coming face to face with Val’s son. The tension was so thick you could slice it with a knife. You could tell Mike was wondering why we were there and how we had found out about Maryanne’s accident. Aside from Jimmy, taunting the girl the room felt heavy, this wasn’t a welcomed reunion, and I’m sure Mike harbored many resentments.

In the next few moments, the words shared between Mike and Vic weren’t pleasant. Mike wanted no part of Victor or any of us for that matter. Mike’s date emerged from the bathroom fully clothed and after another pass from Jimmy, her taut ass left the room. I glanced back at Mike, saw his eyes full of unanswered questions, answers only Victor could supply. I kept my eyes on Mike, holding his gaze as I patted Jimmy on the back.

“Jim, why don’t you and I step outside and give Vic and Mike a few minutes to catch up,” I suggested.

Jimmy turned, glaring at me before looking back at the boss. “Is that good with you, boss?” Jimmy asked.

I waited for the usual tip of the chin nod from Victor signaling he gave his puppet permission to leave the room. I pulled open the door, stepped aside waiting for Jimmy to lead the way. I followed him out of Mike’s bedroom and into the living room, giving Victor a chance to redeem himself in Mike’s eyes.

Jimmy walked around the living room, inspecting it, for what I don’t know but he paused at the mantle, lifting a framed photo of Val.

“They don’t make them like him anymore,” I pointed at the photo.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jimmy asked, his head snapping up to glare at me.

“Relax I wasn’t comparing you to Val or anything,” I bit back, leaving out the part that there was nothing to compare. “It was just a different business when he was around. He was so level headed that there was never a mess to clean up.” I took a seat on the couch and shrugged my shoulders as I continued. “It seems to me like we’re always cleaning up someone’s mess these days.”

“You got something to say Bianci?” Jimmy asked as he narrowed his eyes, throwing the frame onto the couch beside me.

“You’re a little touchy Jimmy, something on your mind?”

“I don’t like little piss on’s like yourself insinuating shit,” he growled.

“Piss on? Yeah? Funny how this ‘piss on’ was the guy sent to fix your fuck up.”

“You going to take credit for that? That’s pathetic,” he laughed, sarcastically.

“I’m just stating facts. Victor didn’t send you with Jack, he sent me.”

“And you did shit!” Jimmy shouted.

“I didn’t have time to do a goddamn thing because he was fucking toast when I got there.”