A Bad Man: Joey (6 page)

“You think I’m a bad man, Marra, but if I was really that bad then I wouldn’t be letting you walk away right now.” He let go of her a second later and moved down the hall and disappeared behind one of the bedroom doors. He slammed it shut, and she jumped a little.

God, what a night to almost be killed, and then to have Joey Bacelli nearly fuck her.

She glanced at the door, contemplating just leaving, but knew she wasn’t going to. Marra wasn’t a fool, and leaving in her condition, and especially in the city at this hour, wasn’t smart. No, she’d sleep this night away, and in the morning convince Joey that letting her go was the best option.

Marra thought that might be easier said than done.

Chapter Six

“What did you find out?” Joey asked Niklo over the phone, and walked over to the window to look out over Central Park.

“Found out that Carlos has been holding up in some foreclosed estate in Sugar Hill, and that he has been trying to move into Bourbon for the last six months. Not sure what his game is, but he has some kind of vendetta with the Bacelli family,” Niklo stated, and then shouted something to someone about watching the merchandise or fingers would be taken off as payment.

That had Joey’s interest picking up immensely. Although this was news to him, he wasn’t shocked. He had felt the pressure of the Gondalo crew trying to slowly take up residence in his town, but he was surprised that they actually thought they could accomplish it. It had been little things Joey noticed, like coming into Bourbon late at night, causing fights in his bars, drinking up the liquor, insulting the women that were paid to give them a good time, and then leaving before Joey or his men could get there and shut things down. Six months wasn’t that long in the big picture, but when Joey had tried to reach out to Carlos, set the ground rules if they planned on working in a close, but separate town, Carlos had eluded him each time. There hadn’t been a sit-down, hadn’t been anything worked out, and now two of Carlos’s men were dead because of Joey, Mario was gone, and Mario’s wife was being used as a pawn. There would be no more talking things out, coming to an agreement that could make them both a lot of money

It wasn’t that Joey didn’t allow people into Bourbon, but he ran things here. The Bacelli crew had been in this town all his life and even before that. His father had been the Boss, had run this town and made it what it was, and Joey had no plans to let some back alley group of wannabe mobsters take that away. He took a sip from his coffee and stared out at the people walking back and forth on the sidewalk below. His apartment was in the heart of NY, and although he loved Bourbon, there were more times than not he just needed to get away and clear his head. He was ruthless, and he wouldn’t change that for anything, but that also didn’t mean it didn’t chip away at his humanity. Sometimes getting his head on straight to think clearer made him a better leader, and one that could handle the brutality of the life he led.

“What the fuck kind of vendetta?” He turned and walked over to the sink to set his mug in it. It was early, and although the sun was just barely starting to crest over the skyscrapers, Joey hadn’t gotten more than a few hours of rest. Marra was still asleep, which was good because if he had to see her right now after how worked up he had been just hours before, he might molest her before she even had time to rub the sleep from her eyes. Joey scrubbed his face with a hand and braced his back against the counter. Just thinking about her got him harder than a fucking steel pipe, and that was bad news especially with the Carlos shit happening. Pushing away his thoughts of Marra and how he wanted to do some pretty fucking wicked things to her body, he focused on Niklo and what his younger brother was saying.

“Carlos has been keeping his intentions and the reason for all of this hush-hush,” said Niklo.

Joey felt pissed that all of this was going down, that Marra was in the thick of it, and that his people were in jeopardy.

“I might have gotten the info out of some Sugar Hill drunk that heard too much, but enjoyed talking to the end of my baseball bat,” said Niklo.

Joey shook his head despite Niklo not being able to see him. His brother did like to use violence to get what he wanted, but fuck, they all did, he supposed. They might all use muscle to get answers, but Niklo was definitely a sadist at heart, and liked to come up with “unique” ways to get the answers he sought.

“Seems like Carlos might not be so hush-hush now with what he wants, not after Mario and two of his guys are gone.” The sound of the voice on the other end dimmed, and then Niklo was the only thing Joey could hear. “Joey, man, this Carlos might not have his shit in order, and be so unorganized I could mow his crew down with a kick to the balls, but regardless of all of that he has some revenge on the brain and in his blood.”

Joey exhaled, knowing that even the most unplanned things could be followed through if the person wanted vengeance. “Find out what you can. I want to know everything about what this vendetta is, and why we never heard about it until now.”

The sound of the bedroom door opening had him glancing at the hallway. Marra looked at him, their gazes clashed, and he swore the fucking connection and heat slammed into him enough that he actually took a step back.

“Joey, did you hear me?”

He saw her lips part. Yeah, she had felt it, too, but she was still trying to refuse what was happening. She moved down the hallway and disappeared into the bathroom. He turned from her, focused on the stove, and thought about what the fuck he needed to do. “I’m staying in the city for the time being, at least until I can figure out what the hell to do with Carlos and this revenge mindset he clearly has.”

Niklo grunted in agreement. “You keeping the girl there with you?”

“Yeah, for the time being. At least until this blows over and I know she’s safe.”

Niklo was silent for a moment. “You can keep her safe without taking her into the city, Joey,” Niklo said seriously.

Yeah, he could have, but that wasn’t the point. Joey knew what Niklo was getting at though. “She isn’t a problem, and won’t cloud my judgment when push comes to shove.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, but I don’t want your hard-on for her to make you think twice if push comes to shove.”

“There isn’t going to be anything that happens to her, Niklo. She’s under Bacelli protection, got it?”

“Yeah, what the fuck ever, man. I just want to make sure you’re in this, and that some woman that you’ve wanted as your goomah for the last year won’t come between whatever we plan.”

“She isn’t my goomah, and I don’t want her as one.” What he didn’t tell Niklo was that he wanted Marra as his, and only
his
. He didn’t want a piece of ass on the side. Joey wanted Marra by his side. “Listen, just send over some clothes for her. I don’t have shit here for her to wear except some of my sweats and t-shirts.”

“I’m sure your territorial ass is all about that.” Niklo started laughing. “All right, I’ll bring some shit over. But there is one more thing.”

“What?”

“Angie has been coming around asking for you.”

Joey rested his head on the cabinet and refrained from cursing out loud. “I’ve been avoiding her for the last couple of months. When she isn’t trying to find me at my place in town, she’s blowing up my phone.”

“Why not just tell her to fuck off? I grew up around Angie, too, and I know how she can be. The only way to get through her head is to tell her how the fuck it is.”

“You think I didn’t do that? She’s adamant when she wants to get her point across.”

“If she was a male she would have made one hell of a made man.” Niklo started laughing, but then sobered. “On second thought, she’d probably stab us all in the back right after she slit our throats.”

“Just avoid her. She’ll get the point soon enough.” Probably not, but Joey had more pressing issues right now, and didn’t have time to deal with a woman that thought the world revolved around her. “Just bring me the shit because I’m not going to leave Marra alone until I know what the fuck is going on.” He hung up the phone, knowing that he could have Alex or Niklo, or even Little Johnny over here watching Marra while he hunted down Carlos and needed this. But the selfish part of him wanted to be with her, keep her for himself, and not let anyone else spend time with her. He was becoming a possessive bastard, but in all honesty ever since he had seen Marra he had wanted her.

Over the last year that desire had grown to a dangerous level.

The sound of bare feet on the hardwood floor had him looking at Marra. She stood there in his clothes, her hair an even wilder mess around her face. “How long were you standing there?”

She shrugged. “Just long enough to hear about Angie, the crazy ex-girlfriend.”

He nodded once, grabbed a cup from the strainer, and turned to show it to her. “Coffee?”

She shook her head. “I don’t like coffee.”

He lifted a brow, and then chuckled. “Yet you work at Vincenzo’s, which specializes in coffee.” He grinned and put the cup down.

“I hope it’s okay, but I found an unused toothbrush in the bathroom.”

“Anything here is for you to use. In fact I’ll have someone bring some other things here for you.”

She was silent for a second, looked at the ground, and then finally glanced at him again. “I need to leave, Joey.”

He didn’t need this shit either. “Marra, don’t be a fucking fool.” He stared at her, saw the anger morph her expression, but didn’t show any emotion.

“What did you just say?” Although she tried to sound outraged, Joey could hear the hurt in her voice.

He exhaled and moved closer to her. She took a step back, but the wall stopped her retreat. “Don’t let your need to get away from me, and from your feelings, make you a tragedy.”

She opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. “I don’t need your protection. I can leave, go far away from here, and you won’t have to worry about me anymore, Joey. And if you won’t let me leave town, how in the hell am I suppose to get to my job on Monday?”

He searched her face, and then reached out and cupped her cheek. “It’s the weekend, so worrying about Monday isn’t very productive right now. You’re in danger, and I promise you that shit will get straightened out. You don’t need to run.”

She jumped slightly when he started moving his finger back and forth over her cheek, but then relaxed in his hold.

“
Not
worrying about you is not an option, Marra.” He stared at her lips, wanting to kiss her so fucking badly, but not wanting to get slapped because he was rushing her. “I didn’t want to get gritty with you concerning what you could face if Carlos and his men get you, but it is clear your stubborn ass needs to have it that way. These men are clearly fucking morons and unstable if they think they can go up against my organization and the people I considered under my protection, and not feel my wrath.” He didn’t move although he should have. “If they wanted to hurt you they could do it a hundred different ways, and by the end of it you’d be begging for death.” Joey was all about saying it how it was, but with Marra he almost wanted to keep her in this little bubble of protection, away from the ugliness of how he lived his life. But that wasn’t a reality, and if she wanted to survive, she needed to know. “They’ll gouge out your eyes, pull your fingernails off with rusty pliers, and take a blowtorch to your skin as they watch it bubble up.”

The sound of her gasping was loud, and the fear and reality of what he had just said covered her face in ghastly horror. “Is that stuff you’d do, too?”

She may know about what he did, about the mafia, or at least what she thought she knew from watching movies and reading books, but she didn’t know half of it. “If it was to make a point, or to get what I wanted, then yeah. I’d fucking do all of that and more.”

She didn’t flinch, didn’t make a sound of outrage, but she did look sad, and Joey hated that fucking look on her. He didn’t want her to be sad about what he did, or about him in general. He wanted her to be a survivor, be strong and feisty like he knew she was, and just be with him. That might never happen, especially now, but he wasn’t going to give up.

“Why are you so adamant on leaving? I know you’re smart enough to realize the danger.”

She looked down at his chest. He was only wearing a pair of lounge pants and nothing else, and he knew that it was starting to affect her because her breathing became harsher. She looked back at his face, and then sighed as if in resignation. “It isn’t because I’m stupid and don’t think something won’t happen. Let’s be honest here, Joey. But I know that what you want isn’t something I can give you, and that is part of the reason I want to go. I know if I stay I won’t be able to keep my emotions in check, even if I should be focusing on my life being at risk.” She swallowed and then licked her lips.

“You think I haven’t noticed that you are trying to keep me away?”

She shrugged.

“Take away everything else, Marra, everything aside from you and me and right now—”

“I don’t want this life where I am looking over my shoulder because of the man I am with, and being with you would ensure that.”

“I would never let anyone or anything hurt you, and you being here right now is proof of that.”

“A relationship, or even a one-night stand, wouldn’t do us any good. Your life doesn’t have room for a woman that wants your time for more than a few hours a week between the sheets. I am not a goomah, Joey.” He saw her search his face with her gaze. “And my life doesn’t have room for a man that could crush me in more than one way.”

“I’d never hurt you. I’d never let anyone hurt you, Marra,” he said again, harder this time. God forbid anyone that even tried to touch her, because their fate would be the same as when he put a bullet through the skull of his enemies. “I’d kill anyone that thought they could touch you.”

Her breathing shifted to something deeper, faster, and he knew that she was becoming aroused.

“I know you wouldn’t, Joey. And I know you think me staying here with you keeps me safe. But I could go, just leave far away from here.”