Page 7

Chapter Seven

Ellie

That was surreal. I would call it an out-of-body experience if I hadn’t just felt every bit. My mind alternates between whizzing among memories of what we just did and restful silence.

Peace.

That’s what it is. When my mind is at rest, it’s at peace.

It’s a foreign feeling to me, but it’s one I’d very much like to get used to. We’re both way too hot, and neither of us can catch our breath while pressed together. I roll toward my side of the bed, always sleeping closer to the door since I had my first baby, but Enrique stops me and shifts me to the other side. I let him, not giving it much thought. My head lolls to my right, and that’s when I see the bedside table.

Oh, fuck.

I don’t move, not responding to Enrique rolling onto his side, wrapping his arm around my waist. He follows my gaze and sees what I do. He pushes up on one elbow and gently nudges me to look at him.

“I’m clean, Ellie. It’s been a while since I’ve had sex, but I’m always testing regularly.”

I nod. I’m still shocked by what we did. It all moved so fast. That’s why I’m without words.

“Ellie, are you not on birth control anymore? If you’re worried that we might have?—”

I shake my head.

“I had a hysterectomy years ago. I’m just surprised at how fast everything happened. That’s all. I’m clean, too. Not just because I haven’t been with anybody other than him, but because I double-checked.”

He kisses my cheek and settles beside me. If this had happened five years ago, I’d be in a panic. But now, I’m fine since the baby ship not only sailed but sank.

We share a series of brief kisses before we both close our eyes and doze off. It’s only an hour later when I wake, needing to go to the bathroom. I sit up and reach for a t-shirt at the end of my bed.

Most nights I sleep naked, but I changed clothes today, and the t-shirt is still there where I left it. It’s long enough it’ll cover my ass when I stand. I lift it to put it over my head, but I feel Enrique lean around my body, his arm around my waist. I twist to look down at him.

“What are you doing, chiquita ?”

“I was just going to go to the bathroom.”

“No, why are you putting on a t-shirt?”

“Because I already told you, I’m not comfortable with you seeing the back of me. I know you did when I went to get condoms. I realized that once I was in the bathroom. That doesn’t mean I want to do it again.”

“Do you know what I saw when I watched you walk away?”

I force myself not to grimace. I’m sure he’s going to say something meant to be reassuring.

“I saw an ass I plan to fuck many, many times, and the first time will be tonight. I saw an ass I want to hold on to, hips I want to grab as I plow you from behind. I saw a muscular, elegant back, shapely legs I love having wrapped around me.”

Shapely? If he means two bratwursts, then I guess that’s the shape he sees.

“Ellie, I know whatever you’re thinking right now isn’t gracious appreciation for sincere compliments. I told you your body belongs to me now. You haven’t said no. I will see and touch whatever part of it I want, and I want to see and touch all of it. There’s no part of you I don’t desire. If I’d found it a turnoff, would I have been so hard when you came back from the bathroom?”

I shake my head.

“Let me enjoy what I already love looking at, chiquita .”

He sits up and kisses my shoulder all the way up my neck. I toss the shirt aside. I muster my courage and stand, but it’s only long enough to turn around and climb back onto the bed.

“I was only going to freshen up.” I wrap my hand around his lengthening cock. “But I don’t think there’ll be much point.”

“There won’t be any point all night. I expect to see it dripping from you. I’m going to keep filling you with my cum. You will know when you finally stand up and walk to that bathroom that I’ve fully claimed you because it’ll drip between your thighs from your little pink pussy to your tight little ass.”

We lie on our sides as we kiss, our hands trailing over each other slowly. He eventually rolls me onto my back and eases into me. What we did earlier wasn’t kinky. It was just rough. This is strictly vanilla. It’s so incredibly gentle and languid it moves me just as much as the first time we had sex only an hour ago. We watch each other throughout, kissing when we can’t hold back.

“Ellie, you’re the only drug I’ve ever taken. I’m already addicted, but I’ll never get enough.”

I cup his jaw and nod. “Same, Enrique.”

We kiss as we come together. We doze off, but this time we wake to his phone ringing. He rolls off the bed and answers it. I don’t speak Spanish but can usually follow along somewhat. But the conversation is moving too fast for me to know what’s going on. I’m not sure if he’s speaking it and hoping I don’t understand, or if that’s just his regular preference.

The only word I recognize is little brother. Will took Spanish in school, and he’d call Steve and Hunt that when he wanted to annoy them.

I don’t bother pulling the sheet over me as he slides his boxer briefs back on then his jeans. He’s about to fasten the button when he hangs up the call. I continue to watch him, saying nothing. I wish he wasn’t leaving, but I won’t ask questions he can’t answer. I won’t complain about him leaving. I’ll just accept what he can offer me because that’s all I can offer him. At least, that’s what I thought at the beginning of tonight. He sits on the edge of the bed beside me.

“You can tell I have to go, chiquita , but believe me this is the last thing I want to do. I don’t want to leave this bed. I don’t want to leave you. But something came up that I need to deal with. I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”

“I got your note, but I didn’t think about it earlier. You already told me you were going out of town, but then you showed up tonight.”

He mulls over what he wants to say, and I’m not sure what his response will be. Will it be the truth or a lie?

“When I wrote that note, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I didn’t want you to think I was ghosting you, but I wanted time to find out whether whoever’s across the street was there because of us or some other reason. When I found out a car drove past your place four times by the time I got here, I knew I wouldn’t stay away. But I really have to be away for a while. I don’t know how long it will take, but there’s a good chance I won’t stay in New York. If that’s the case, I want that security detail with you around the clock, Ellie. I want a car parked in your driveway. If you go anywhere, I want at least two men with you.”

I know he won’t budge on this, so I don’t bother arguing. I merely nod. His expression morphs to one of sadness, or maybe that’s guilt.

“I’m okay. I’m not agreeing out of resignation. It’s not like I feel you’re bullying me into this or something. I’m agreeing because it’s the right thing to do, and I don’t want to be any type of distraction or worry when you’re dealing with whatever it is you have to do.”

“Thank you, chiquita . If I’m going to be away for more than a week, it’s because something went really wrong. I’ll send one of my nephews to you. I’ll make sure you know that before anyone shows up at your door. I don’t want to be away from you for that long, but if I have to be, then I want to ensure you’re as protected as can be.”

“I don’t know any of your family, Enrique. I don’t even know your men who’ll camp out in my driveway.”

“I know, little one, but we’ll sort it out if it comes to that.”

“All right. I know you need to go, so I don’t want to delay you.”

“You aren’t a delay, little one. I may have to deal with something, but it’s not more important than this conversation.”

“Thank you.”

We kiss once more, and I watch him walk out of my bedroom. I can’t hear the door close downstairs, but my bedroom looks out over the front yard. The motion sensor light at the front door flicks on. I don’t want to watch him walk away, so I finally pull the covers up.

It takes me ages to fall asleep, but when I do, I’m passed out until morning. When I head outside for Constantine’s morning walk, there’s a car parked in my driveway with a guy sitting in it. I approach the passenger side and lean forward. He winds down the window, and we stare at each other for a moment.

“Good morning, Ms. McCann. El jefe assigned me as your guard for today. I’m Andrés. My partner, Carlos, is across the street tucked away in the trees. That car is still parked with a camera pointing toward you.”

I don’t straighten, but my gaze darts in the car’s direction. I’d seen it, but I hadn’t given it much thought. I’m not a nosy neighbor, even if I am aware of what goes on around me.

I nod. “Did Enr— el jefe —say anything about whether I can still go for walks?”

Andrés smiles when I catch myself, uncertain how informal I can be. Obviously, this guy knows Enrique and I are involved. If he was staked out here last night, then he knows how long Enrique stayed.

“ El jefe said we’re to watch out for you while you keep your routine. If you need to go anywhere, then we go with you.”

“All right. Thank you.”

I can be gracious, even if I don’t like this arrangement. I’d rather not have anybody monitoring my coming and going. But it seems like somebody may already be doing that. It’s reassuring to know at least some men are on my side.

I take Constantine to the top of the road, but I don’t go into the park. There are too many blind spots. I’ll run if I have to. But what if I were to injure myself and get stuck barely able to hobble? As I walk up my driveway, I pull out my phone and tap on the group text I have with my boys.

Me

I’m sending you a link to a video call in five minutes. Unless you’re doing something for him you will get on this call.

My boys know who I’m talking about. They also know it’s rare for me to demand anything of them these days. I put out food and water for Constantine before heading into my office. I didn’t open the curtains or the blinds this morning. I leave it that way. I set up the video call and send out the link before I hop on. I make sure the signal jammers are on, so no one’s monitoring my calls. Enrique’s not the only one with more secrets than the Vatican.

Hunt’s the first one to join me. “Mom, what’s going on?”

“Let’s wait for your brothers. It’s not an emergency, but it is urgent.”

A moment later, my other two boys appear on screen.

“Mom?”

“It’s all right, Will. I’m not dying, and neither is anyone else. But I need to speak to you guys about something. Did you go digging when I asked you not to?”

“No.” All three of them answer at the same time.

“Are you having me watched instead?”

“Mom, who’s watching you? What’s going on?”

Will jumps in, but he’s no more overprotective of me than the others. I’m certain that’s what they all want to know.

“I noticed a car parked a couple houses down that isn’t usually there. I haven’t seen anybody coming and going from it, but there’s a dash cam pointed toward my place. So be honest. Are you watching me?”

“No.” Steve answers for all three.

“Are you watching Enrique when he comes and goes?”

“No. But should we? Is he the reason why?”

Will’s voice hardens, and he gets the same stubborn gleam in his eyes he’s had since he was a toddler.

“If it’s not you, I don’t know yet. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“You told us not to be nosy, and we’ve respected that wish, Mom. But now you’re making it awfully hard to stick with that.”

“I know, Hunt, but there’s no reason to panic until there’s a reason to panic.”

“You always say that, but by the time you realize you should panic, it’s usually too late. That’s the whole reason people panic.”

Steve has never appreciated that logic, but I’ve stuck with it for years.

“Look, I don’t know why the car’s there. I thought maybe you guys were being overprotective. I don’t think there’s any reason to believe this is about me. It probably isn’t even about Enrique. I don’t know whether the dash cam is on, even if it’s pointing toward my place. I’ll just keep an eye out and see if I can spot who’s coming and going from the house and who gets in and out of the car. If there’s anything that worries me, then I promise I’ll let you know.”

“But if it isn’t about you, Mom, is there something about Enrique we should know?” Steve’s the quiet one, but when he speaks, it’s best to listen.

There’s a shit ton about Enrique they should know, and at some point, I’ll wind up telling. But not yet.

“He’s a wealthy man, so who knows who might be curious about him? Nothing’s shown up online, but for all I know maybe it’s paparazzi.” I laugh, trying to ease the tension that has inevitably grown during this call.

“Mom, is there something about Enrique that would make Tommaso suspicious?”

“I don’t know whether he pays attention to me anymore.”

All three boys stare at me through their cameras as though I’ve lost my mind.

“Fine, I’ll call him next.”

“Are you going to tell Dad something’s going on?” Will looks ready to choke over his words.

Now it’s my turn for my expression to harden. “No, and neither are you. You know how I feel about him being involved in my life now. I’m fine seeing him at family events. I’m fine talking about him, but no one’s bringing him back into my life in ways he doesn’t need to be. That’s the point of divorce. If he finds out, then it better be through Tommaso and not through any of you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, but he can watch out for you, too.”

“Hunt, that is the very last thing I need or want. You know that. And don’t you dare bring him into this.”

“All right, Mom, if that’s what you want, then we can agree to that.” Hunt doesn’t like it, but he offers a compromise.

Middle child Steve has always been the conciliatory one. But for now, Hunt, the baby of the family, tries to keep the peace. But he has always had an ingrained sense of self-justice. He’s always been one to let most things go, but if someone wrongs him… If he thinks I’m wronging them by not listening to their suggestion, he’ll dig his heels in.

“Mom, Hunt’s not wrong.”

As the oldest child, Will has always been protective of his younger brothers, even when they haven’t always liked each other or been best friends. I never expected them to be best friends, though I always wished they had been. They were always free to have whomever they wanted as friends, so they drifted in different circles. But now that they’re adults, they’ve come back around and are closer than they used to be. I’m certain the divorce played a large part in that.

“All right, Will. Let me let you go, and I’ll call Tommaso.”

“Should I be on that call too, Mom?” Will sounds anything but excited.

“No, let me deal with this. I don’t want to make it a bigger deal than it has to be. If he’s not involved, then I don’t want him asking questions he doesn’t need to. I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“All right, Mom. Love you.”

“Love you.”

“Love you.”

Hearing all three say those two words at the same time will always make my heart overflow.

“I love you too, boys.”

I end the video call. I can only imagine the call they’re having amongst themselves now. I grab my phone and tap a contact.

“Hello, Elodie.”

Fuck my life.

“Hey, Frank. Is Don Tommaso around?”

“Yeah, he asked me to answer for him. He’s just coming out of the kitchen. Here you go.”

“Hello, Elodie.”

“Morning, Don Tommaso.”

It’s never a good morning when I have to talk to the Boston don.

“Elodie, cut it out. You haven’t called me that in decades. You didn’t even call me that when you worked for me.”

“Yes, worked. Past tense, Tommaso.”

“What’s going on? I don’t care for that tone, Elodie. What’re you accusing me of?”

“What tone? Are you asking because you feel guilty?”

I must be on speaker because I hear two men laugh.

“You know, that’s not an emotion I generally feel.”

“I know. I’m all too familiar with that. But you are suspicious by nature. Are you keeping tabs on me?”

“What makes you think I might be?”

“Tommaso, you and I have known each other a long time. We can run circles around each other for days. But in the end, the result is always the same thing. I last longer than you do. So just be honest with me. Are you having me watched?”

“No. Somebody’s watching you?”

His tone changes immediately. I know his fake concern from his genuine concern. He’s worried.

“I’m not sure. I thought maybe somebody was. But I can totally be wrong. Before I do anything about it, I wanted to check with you.”

“No, it’s not me. Do you want me to find out who it is?”

“If I’m being paranoid, then I don’t need more eyes on me than I already think there are.”

There’s a pause, and the longer it draws out, the less I’ll like whatever he says next.

“I’m glad you called, Elodie, because I was actually going to call you this week.”

“No, I’m retired. I don’t do that anymore. You know the deal.”

“You’re the only one good enough to go.”

“No, find someone else. I don’t care who it is, but it’s not me.”

I refuse to get sucked back into a life I left when I left my husband.

“So, you’d be fine with one of your boys?”

Stronzo . Asshole.

“You promised me, Tommaso. Thanks for nothing.”

“Elodie—”

“I was done with any obligation I had to you. You wrote it down, and Tori notarized it. You’re going to break your word to your sister? Maybe you’ll break your word to me, but you don’t do it to her.”

“It wouldn’t surprise her if I did.”

“But it sure as shit would disappoint her.”

“Maybe so, but she understands business comes first.”

“Tommaso Vizzini comes first. That’s what you really mean. There are other people who can do what I used to.”

“I need you to do?—”

“No, I don’t need to hear you out to know I’m certain I won’t like it. I’m not doing it.”

“All right, never mind. I’ll have Steve go to Brazil.”

My hand clenches around the armrest. I’m barely containing my anger. It’s rapidly moving to rage.

“I will never forgive you, Tommaso. You and I will not be good. You know what that means. If you’re willing to send me down there, it’s because you know I have no limits. If you send my son, I’ll have no limits toward you either.

“I figured you’d see it my way, eventually.”

“What do you want?”

The foul taste in my mouth is one I haven’t had in nearly a year. That’s the last time I spoke to Tommaso Vizzini, the Boston Mafia don. My old boss.

“The Kimuras withheld payment for product sitting off the coast. I refuse to bring it ashore without them paying. They’ve already received payment from their buyers. However, they’re crying foul to them, saying we’re the ones holding out and not bringing in the goods like promised. They think they can keep their own money while also keeping their customers’. They want us at odds with their buyers, so I’ll give in to them to keep the peace. I want you to go down there and look at their books.”

He wants me to use my forensic accounting skills to find out where the money is and where it’s going. If only he needed a pencil pusher.

Oh, no.

There’s a reason they say women are a better shot than men. I can prove it every day of the week and twice on Sundays. That’s how I wound up in this fucking shitstorm.

“How many do you think it’ll be?”

“Start at the top of the pile.”

“You cannot be serious. You want me to go after Ignacio? How the hell am I supposed to get out of there if I carry out a hit on the most senior leader of the Rio cartel? Every donos will be after me.”

The Brazilian structure is looser than the Italians and some of the other syndicates. Ignacio Kimura must be out of prison if Tommaso is sending me down there. He oversees a cadre of favela leaders— donos —slum lords. They’re the ones who’ll be after me.

“Cut the head off the octopus and the tentacles no longer move.”

“In this case, the octopus will sprout another head. Benicio’s a fucking psychopath. Do you want me dead? Is that what this is about?”

Benicio Kimura’s nickname is Pato. Not because he looks like a duck or swims like one. It’s because he can hold his breath under water long enough to drown a man four times his size. That’s how he earned it.

“Of course not.”

“Then why are you putting me in this position, Tommaso? You know there’s a greater likelihood I won’t come home if you send me down there.”

“You’ve always come home from every other mission. That’s why we’re having this conversation.”

“Yeah, and you know how much I fucking resented that.”

“Well, you also know once you’re in, you’re in for life, Elodie.”

“Men. That applies to men. I am not a Made Man. Your grandfather swore the Vizzinis would never have Made Women. I was never supposed to be part of this. You promised me, Tommaso, that I was retired.”

“Your retirement was too early. You’re going to do this, Elle. You’re going to do it with a fucking smile on your face. There’ll be a big old cash deposit waiting for you when you get back.”

I’m fighting a losing battle, and I know it. It fucking sucks, but he can hold my boys over my head. He has been for years, but now all three of them are old enough and trained well enough that he could send them on missions far more dangerous than they went on when they were in high school and college.

I want to think Will is now senior enough Tommaso wouldn’t send him on something like this, but he will if he can punish me by doing that. That’s how fucked-up things are when you’re a family in the Mafia.

“All right, send me the details. I’ll make it work. When do you want me to leave?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

“That soon? I have other obligations.”

The fuck am I going to tell Enrique? How am I going to tell him when he’s not around? If this were a pre-planned trip, I would have said something when he told me he was going to be away. If I make it sound like something’s just come up, he’ll worry and want to know what’s going on.

“Rearrange your schedule.”

Well, I’m used to doing that. But I can’t say something so snarky aloud. I have something else to say instead.

“How many people is it? Because the price went up. Every dono is two mil, and Ignacio is ten mil.”

“That’s ridiculous. No way.”

“Yes way. If you’re asking me to do this, it’s not because I’m disposable and you don’t care what happens to me. You’re sending me because you know it’s something no one else is likely to accomplish. You’re going to pay me accordingly, or I’m going to take a vacation on the beach in Rio.”

“You have an awfully high opinion of yourself. You always have.”

“I do, and I’ve earned that opinion of myself and the reputation I have. That reputation is what you’re banking on.”

“Fine. Pull all of it off, you’ll get exactly what you demand. Don’t accomplish it all, you won’t get a damn thing.”

“Regardless, this is the last time I’m doing shit for you, Tommaso. I’m serious, and if you try to hold my boys ransom like this again, I’ll take you out at the knees. You better hope Rocco is ready to lead because once you’re kneeling in front of me, I’ll put a fucking bullet through your head.”

“Don’t threaten me, Elodie. No one does that and lives.”

“What’re you going to do? Kill me? You’re going to pay me close to twenty-million-dollars because you need me. It sure as shit isn’t for shits and giggles. I won’t threaten your sons like you did mine. I’m not fucked-up like that. I will punish you if you do something to my boys. There’ll be no stopping me. There’s a reason your sister and I have been best friends since I was a teenager.”

“Yeah, you were fucking tiny tyrants together.”

“And you and Frank learned to keep your mouths fucking shut, didn’t you?”

Tori is ten years older than me and started babysitting me when I was five. I wanted to be her. Once I was in high school and had more in common with a woman in her twenties, we became thick as thieves. From the first time she came over to babysit me, I was a mini her, so we always ran roughshod over her brothers. I got started young.

“I thought you’d mellowed with age.”

“These are my terms. Figure out how to live with it, Tommaso.”

I wait for a response, but it’s not the don who snaps at me.

“You’re not worth the bullshit that goes along with dealing with you, Elle.”

“Frank, I’ll stand right here and remember that the next time you get froggy, thinking you’ll force me to carry out a hit. Send me the info.”

I’m usually not rude enough to hang up without everyone saying goodbye, but I want the last word.

I glance toward the window and brace myself. I hate what I have to do. Not just the trip to Rio. I hate the situation this puts me in with Enrique. I’ve been dreading this conversation for the past two days. I head outside with a smile I don’t feel plastered on my face.

“Andrés, how do I get a message to Enrique?”

Over the past couple days, I’ve gotten to know the guys who guard my place. They never ask anything of me. They relieve each other every few hours, never getting out of their cars, never asking to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. When I walk by, they nod with a smile. They’re always polite. I’m certain it’s on pain of death if they aren’t.

“I can pass it along to his brother. He’ll know how to get in touch with el jefe .”

It was too much to hope I could keep my message private. I definitely don’t want to discuss this with my guard before Enrique knows about it.

“Actually, is there any way I could speak directly to el patrón ?”

I’m guessing at what Enrique’s brother goes by. But I don’t know for sure if his brother is his second-in-command or his heir or what. He might be the cartel equivalent of consigliere rather than underboss. He might be Enrique’s top advisor, and one of his nephews could be the equivalent of his underboss. I can’t ask those things without giving away that I understand even a little about syndicate hierarchies.

Andrés calls somebody and hands the phone to me. “It’s senor Luis, his brother.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I accept the phone and straighten, taking a step back from the window. Andrés takes the hint and winds it up.

“Luis?”

“Hello, Ms. McCann.”

“Hello, Mr. Diaz.”

“No, it’s Luis.”

“It’s Elodie.”

“It’s Ms. McCann until my brother says otherwise.”

I want to roll my eyes, but this is hardly the hill to die on. Considering what I dealt with the other day on my call with Tommaso and Frank, I’ll take all the chivalry I can get. It may be the last for me.

“I didn’t get to tell Enrique I already had a trip planned, and I’m leaving in a few hours for about a week. It slipped my mind since I haven’t had a way to get in touch with him. I hoped I could tell him myself that I won’t travel without letting somebody know.”

There’s a protracted silence before Luis responds.

“Where are you going?”

“On a trip with some friends. Just a little getaway.”

“If you’d like to use our family’s jet, it’s at your disposal, Ms. McCann.”

There’s not a chance in fucking hell I’m using the Cartel’s jet. I’m not telling them where I’m going either. They aren’t taking me there, and they sure as shit won’t be watching me while I’m in Brazil.

“No, that’s not necessary. I already have flights arranged.”

In the Vizzinis’ jet.

“I wanted to let you know I’ll be away, so if you hear from Enrique or he gets back, I don’t want him to think I just took off.”

That’s exactly what I want to do.

“I’ll make sure he knows. Andrés and Carlos can take you to the airport.”

I’d rather take an Uber or Lyft.

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“ Buen viaje .”

Nothing about this is going to be a good voyage.