Gun Moll (24 page)

The bouncer nodded
at Mac’s jacket. Mac opened up the leather jacket wide and turned around to
show the man he had no weapons on him. He’d left it at home with Melina. The
bouncer grunted under his breath and moved aside to let him pass without a
word.

Mac entered the
dance club, feeling the heavy bass thrumming hard against the soles of his
Italian leather shoes. Usually, he liked music and loved to dance. Tonight was
not the right time. He swerved in and out of swaying, sweaty bodies, searching
for a face in the crowd he might recognize.

It didn’t take
long at all for Mac to find Luca.

A small set of
winding metal stairs led to an upstairs section that was securely monitored by
two men in black suits. It was a VIP section that was only used by the most
important people in the venue. Luca was definitely one of those people.

Mac crossed the
last half of the dance floor, keeping his gaze locked up above on the Don
sitting in a booth and sipping from a glass. Unconcerned, and with his arm
around his wife, Luca seemed to be enjoying his evening.

He certainly
didn’t look like he was concerned about having put a hit out on two people
earlier in the day. Then again, it was Luca’s job to be cold and distant from
his choices when it came to protecting the family by whatever means necessary.

At the bottom of
the stairs, Mac was stopped by the men in black.

“I’m here to see
the Don,” Mac said.

“Boss is busy,”
said the one man on the right.

Mac didn’t
recognize either of the men. It wasn’t such a surprise. Luca had a handful of
guards that rotated duty, depending on what he was doing that day and who he
was with. His wife had an entirely separate horde of guards.

“He’s not too busy
to see one of his soldiers, is he?” Mac asked.

Up above, Mac
caught Luca’s eye. The Don’s brow furrowed as he looked down at Mac, and then
snapped his fingers twice to gain the attention of the bodyguards.

“Let him pass,
cafone
,”
Luca barked. “He’s one of Guido’s best
soldatos
. Let him up, Johnny.”

Luca’s interest in
seeing Mac only left him more confused. Surely, if Luca had put the hit out on
him and Melina, the man would simply order the bodyguard to take Mac away.
Unless, that was, Luca was being incredibly cocky and arrogant.

That was a
possibility.

The guard allowed
Mac to pass. Mac took the metal stairs two at a time, his hands thrown casually
inside his pockets. As he rounded the last few stairs, his nervousness finally
began to settle. He just wanted some answers. Luca could provide them.

“
Soldato
,”
Luca said, leaning across the table to grab a cigar from the top of a pile. The
Don removed his arm from around his wife to pull out a gold zippo as he worked
on lighting the cigar. “What brings you to the club tonight, Maccari?”

“I had something
to take care of, Boss.”

Neeya Pivetti
smiled at Mac and waved at the seat across the booth for him to sit down. He
took the offer, and sat in the booth. “Evening, Mac. I didn’t think we would be
seeing you again so soon. How’s your girlfriend—Melina, was it?”

Mac took note of
the fact that Luca didn’t seem bothered or concerned over his wife questioning him
about Melina.

“She’s fine right
now,” Mac said. “At home sleeping without me. Earlier, however, she was nearly
gunned down on the street corner as I was finishing up some business.”

That caught Luca’s
attention. The boss’s head snapped up, his gaze finding Mac instantly. Luca’s
eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint as he took Mac in for a second time, like
he was reconsidering why Mac was there.

“Is that so?” Luca
asked.

“
Sì
,” Mac
confirmed.

“And you felt the
need to come here and what, confront me, Maccari?”

Mac leaned back in
the booth. “Actually, I wanted to know why a Don couldn’t manage to find a
better hired gun to do the job, if that was the case and you had put out the
hit. You didn’t hide the fact you were uncomfortable with Melina, and you
promised to fix the issue if need be.”

Luca’s lips
thinned into a tight, angry line. “You’re either terribly arrogant, or mighty
stupid.”

“Luca,” Neeya said
quietly.

“Hush, woman.”

Neeya’s mouth
snapped shut.

“I was hoping to
find out if you were the one who put the hit out,” Mac continued without
missing a beat. “And if that is the case, I’m more than willing to accept the
punishment for Melina, if you leave her be and let her go.”

“He’s not going to
kill Melina,” Neeya said, quiet and sure.

Mac didn’t know
about that.

Luca still didn’t
look pleased. “Neeya, that’s enough. Be quiet.”

“No.” Neeya
flicked her wrist in her husband’s direction, as if to dismiss him. “Luca won’t
hurt the girl—I like her. Tell him, Luca.”

“Neeya,
mio Dio
.
Stop it.”

“
Luca
.”

Luca’s gaze cut
back to Mac in a blink. “I didn’t put out the hit, not that I owe you a single
fucking explanation for anything, Maccari. You’re a good soldier, but you are
seriously forgetting your fucking place in the food chain of this family right
now.”

“Disrespect is the
first thing to get a man killed,” Mac said.

“You’re goddamn
right,” Luca replied smoothly.

“Then surely you
can understand why I did come here looking for you tonight. I wanted to know if
you had decided to fix the issue like you said you would. That was all.”

“I didn’t.”

The two words had
come out of Luca’s mouth clipped and pissed. It was enough to tell Mac that the
boss was telling the truth.

“But if I had,
what would you have done?” Luca asked.

“Nothing.”

Luca smiled
coldly. “I doubt that.”

“Coming here was
all I needed to do,” Mac said, shrugging.

“A distraction for
me?”

Mac nodded. “If
you want to see it that way.”

“To give your girl
a chance to run,” Luca murmured.

Mac passed Neeya a
look. “Wouldn’t you do the same?”

Luca’s expression
remained passive. “I would. You have a problem, I see.”

The darkness
coating Luca’s tone was enough to make Mac want to leave the man’s space. “Do
I?”

“Yes.” Luca
scoffed, adding, “Seems you have someone who wants to kill you, Maccari, and
it’s not me. Who is it?”

“I don’t have the
first clue,” Mac admitted.

“That’s not good,”
Neeya said, frowning at her husband.

“That’s how it
usually works,
bella
,” Luca replied. “We never know who until it’s too
late.”

Neeya didn’t seem
pleased with that answer, but she stayed quiet.

Luca patted his
wife’s knee, saying, “Worry not. I’m sure Maccari is more than capable of
handling the problem. Aren’t you, Mac?”

“Sure,” Mac said.

Neeya glanced down
at her lap. “I would like to invite your girlfriend to dinner again, Mac. Please
make sure that she’s alive to come.”

Mac passed Luca a
look, wondering how to take that statement.

Luca just
shrugged. “You heard the woman. If you find out who is the person behind this
nonsense, I give you full permission to take care of it, Maccari.”

That seemingly
flippant statement was anything but simple.

“Even if he’s
made?” Mac asked.

Luca smirked.
“Especially, if he’s made. If he is, then he likely wants to get rid of you for
a reason. Maybe you know something. Maybe you’re in his way. Who knows? Do you
know something I don’t, Maccari?”

“No.”

“Then I suggest
you work on figuring it out,” Luca said, turning away from Mac to give all of
his attention to his wife. “Have a good evening, Maccari.”

Dismissed.

Mac didn’t mind.
He left without saying goodbye.

Mac let the hot
water beat down on his tense shoulders and back. Turning around, he tipped his
head under the water. All of the sound around him was muted by the torrent of
rain drumming on his head. He’d gotten back to Melina’s apartment before dawn,
and found that his girl was still sleeping in bed, unaware that he had left.

Well, he suspected
she didn’t know.

Sighing, Mac
rolled his head back and forth, cracking his neck. It took away a little more tension
still lingering in his muscles. After his meeting with Luca, Mac was left more
unsettled than ever and with more questions than he had answers.

Who was coming
after him?

Were they after
Melina, too?

Was it both of
them?

Mac didn’t know.
He hated not knowing things.

The slide of the
glass shower door was the only warning Mac got that someone had entered his
private space a second before small but strong arms wrapped around him from
behind. He let out a contented sigh at the feeling of Melina’s plump lips
pressing to the spot between his shoulder blades.

“Morning, doll,”
Mac murmured.

“Morning,” she
whispered.

Melina hugged him
tighter. Mac let her. Her perky breasts pressed to his back, and her body
molded perfectly against his.

“You wanted a
shower too, huh?” he asked jokingly.

“I wanted to be
with you.”

Mac smiled. “I
like that.”

“Me, too.”

Spinning slowly,
Mac encircled Melina in his embrace. She tilted her head up, allowing him to
bend his head just enough to capture her lips with his own. Her soul-brown eyes
watched him with an intensity he hadn’t seen from her before as her lips parted
to let him deepen the kiss. The moment he did, Melina let out a little moan
that was enough to make his cock harden. She moved closer, pressing her tight
body harder against his.

Mac let his hand
fall from her side and snake between Melina’s thighs. He stroked her bare
pussy, feeling her shudder under his palm. She was hot to the touch, and he
loved that. Her body was always so responsive to him, no matter what he was
doing. He was finding himself constantly needing her little sounds, and wanting
to watch her face when he was buried deep in her pussy and fucking them both to
a fast heaven.

He craved those
things.

Badly.

Every day.

“Now this is a
damn good morning,” Melina breathed.

Mac stroked her
sex again, spreading her open with two fingers before he let them sink inside.
Her snug walls flexed around him, and Melina swallowed a cry. Her forehead fell
against his, and she rubbed her cheek along the stubble dotting his jaw. Her hips
rolled into his hand with every thrust as steam fogged up the glass surrounding
them.

“No dirty words
for me today?” Melina asked.

Mac chuckled. “You
don’t need it. I don’t need it. Not this morning. This is enough, huh? Just
feeling me, babe. Feeling you all over me. Loving all your little sounds and
the way you move against me, wanting more. Loving kissing your mouth when you
come, and filling you full all over again when you ask for more. What else do
you want, doll?”

Melina’s gaze
found his, knowing and searching at the same time. “Love me.”

The rhythm of
Mac’s fingers slowed for a second. Melina didn’t stop watching him.

Love was a big
word.

It was kind of
scary, too.

The only love Mac
had ever seen between a man and a woman growing up was one that had been
unhealthy and untrue. He didn’t think it was real—he wasn’t sure he knew how to
love someone.

But he did know
how he had been seeing Melina for the last little while.

She was by his
side every morning. He liked kissing her mouth, holding her hand, keeping her
near, and needing her even closer. He made sure she was happy, pleased, and
taken care of. He wanted her smiles, and fuck any other man that thought they
deserved one, too.