Bad Girl: Valetti Crime Family (A Bad Boy Mafia Romance) (15 page)

“
Y
ou sure
you didn’t see anyone?” Jerry asks me, for the fourth time. He’s nodding his head and trying to get me to talk. He should know I’m not going to say shit. I haven’t for the last three hours. They found the blood at the scene. They ran tests and came back with nothing. All I told them was that I was taken against my will by men with Russian accents who wanted information.

I shake my head with downcast eyes. I hate lying and putting them in this position, but I’m not going to give them anything to lead them to the Valettis. I told them I was blindfolded the entire time. I hate lying, but I need to stick with the story.

The Russian mob is in deep shit, and there’s plenty of evidence on them. But nothing against Tommy or his
familia
.

“Not a damn thing that could tie them there?” Jerry asks. He has a hunch it was the Valettis who came in and took the Russians out. All three of us know it was them. It makes sense. A Russian mob on their turf? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

“You’re fucking one of them, aren’t you?” Harrison sneers at me from across the table. I fucking hate the way he says it. I also hate that he’s right. He doesn’t buy that I was taken in order to get information on the Valettis. That’s the story I’m supposed to give the cops. That the Russians wanted intel on their routines and addresses. Everything and anything I knew about them. But it doesn't make sense that I would be left unharmed. Not unless the Valettis needed me alive. Or if I meant something to one of them.

Harrison can see right through that. I’m not a good liar. Jerry can as well, but he hasn’t said anything. I can see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Get out, Harrison.” Jerry doesn’t yell, doesn’t even turn to look at him.

Harrison clenches his fists and mutters an apology before stalking out of the room. There’s no love lost between us. As the door closes, Jerry leans forward and asks in a low soothing voice, “Are you sure you’re alright?” Concern is written all over his face.

“I’ll be alright.” I cross my arms over my chest and take a deep breath. I’m still a little shaken up. A lot shaken up maybe, but Tommy’s there waiting for me. I close my eyes and I can feel his lips kissing my neck and his arms holding me close to him. He’s my happy place. I need him, and now I have him. I'm not letting him go. I can't. He better know that.

“If you’re in any trouble, you know to come to me. Don’t you?” he asks, and I know he means it.

I nod my head. There may be times I don’t agree with him, but I know he’d help me if he could. Right now I don’t need help though. At least not from him.

“Are you sure you wanna go through with this?” He puts his hand on the table, offering it to me in a sweet gesture of comfort.

I accept and put my hand in his, and he squeezes. “I dug into you a bit after you left the conference room and found out about your sister. You may have joined for the wrong reasons, but you're a good cop. It's not too late to stay.” He emphasizes the last line. If only he knew. It’s too late for so many things.

“My mind's made up.” I pull my hand away and breathe in deep.

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” he says, leaning back in his seat.

A short laugh erupts from my lips. “I have no clue what I’m doing,” I confess. I run my hands through my hair and lean back, shaking my head. “I just want to be happy.”

“You deserve to be happy, Tonya. Don’t let him hurt you. And when the time comes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“He’s not going to hurt me, not ever.” I don’t know when the conversation changed, but we both know who we’re talking about. I won’t say it though. I won’t name him.

“Not the way you’re thinking.” He walks to his door and locks it before shutting the shades. “What are you going to do when he gets charged with something, and it sticks?”

I shake my head, “I’ll figure it out when it happens.” My hand subconsciously goes to my belly. I jerk it away before he has time to see. I know he loves me; I know I love him. And he’ll take care of us both.

“I hope he treats you right, Tonya. I really do. But if he ever does anything, or any of them ever do anything,” he looks at me with absolute sincerity, “I’ll be here for you.”

“Thank you, Jerry.”

“Don’t thank me,” he says bluntly. “You’re asking for trouble.” I know what he means, and I understand it, I really do. But I can’t help what I want.

A sad smile plays at my lips as I say, “I’m good at that, apparently.”

He looks at me for a long moment and I don’t know what he wants from me.

“I’ll be alright, Jerry. I promise you.” I stand up and walk over to give him a quick hug.

He walks to the door and unlocks it, but before he opens it, he adds, “I just hate to see a good girl like you wind up with a man like him.” I can’t help the smile that grows on my face. He has no idea that I’m really a bad girl at heart.

T
hat was intense
. I'm shocked at how fucked up I am over that shit. I scouted it out first. It took everything in me not to run to her as that prick put his hands on her. I got that fucker. I took him down first. I've been in worse situations though. Vince brought everyone. It feels so fucking good to know he still had my back.

Those Russian pricks didn't stand a chance, and only two of 'em even got a shot off. They aimed at nothing. They couldn't see us in the dark. The one that took cover--fuck, if I was him, I would've just killed myself. Instead now he's sitting there, chained to a chair with a gag in his mouth. He should've known this was going to happen.

“Whatcha gonna do with him, boss?” I ask Vince.

“Well, we got the information we need, so I couldn't give two fucks. Figured you may wanna take some aggression out, since it was your girl he took.” Vince walks over to the sink in the back room. We're in the basement of the safe house. It's fucking freezing down here. The fucker in the chair has bruises all over his face. His one eye is swollen so bad his face looks inhuman.

Anthony's drying off his tools. I instinctively look down and see three fingers on this fucker's right hand have been removed. That's usually Anthony's first move. They're easy to cut off, and it makes a pretty bold statement.

“So you got everything you need?” I ask Vince as he dries off his hands. He turns back to me.

“Yeah, they aren't going to fuck with us unless they want their entire operation shut down. Thanks, Nik!” Vince slaps a hand on the man's shoulder and he doesn't even react. He's so close to death.

“Alright, I'm good. Just kill the bastard,” I say.

Vince looks at Anthony and he nods as we turn to leave. Anthony's not talkative when he's on the job. Never has been. I used to take offense to it. But now I get it; he has to be in the right headspace, and that doesn't include saying a fucking word.

“There's one more reason I called you down here,” Vince says as we climb the stairs.

“I figured there was.” And it's about Tonya. I know it is. I waited at the station and followed her home last night. I just held her all night; I needed to feel her. Knowing I almost lost her fucking hurts. I'm not letting her go. I can't.

“I understand that you wanna be with her. And truthfully, she's a nice broad.” We walk into his kitchen and he grabs me a beer. The faint sounds of a chainsaw can be heard coming from the basement. It sends chills down my spine.

“I'm not leaving her, Vince. I can't do that.” My stomach drops, knowing that what means. I don't wanna leave my family. The
familia
is all I know. But I'm not letting her go.

“I get that. I do.” He passes a beer to me and shuts the fridge.

Leaning against the counter, he pops the cap off his beer with his keys. “She's still associated, Tommy.” I put down my beer and shake my head as he tries to pass me his keys. I can't drink right now. “You know we can't have that shit.”

“Yeah. I know.” I do know. I wouldn't be a smart move to have that shit known.

“Good,” he says with finality. “I'm sorry, Tommy.”

I nod my head, my throat closes, and my heart tries to leap out of my chest. “What's it gonna mean, boss?”

“You can't do errands anymore. It can't happen. You can't represent the
familia
.” I wanna argue with him, but I can't. I know it's true. Fuck--realistically, he should kill me. It's a risk keeping me alive. It's a risk letting her get close. “Not like that, anyway,” he says, and it brings my attention back to him.

“I've been thinking about you and your brother. I think it'd be good to finally take on those contracts. We'd get a shit-ton more money from the hits. And it'd keep us in a good place with our contacts. Anthony always said he'd need another person to help. That's what I want from you two, and he agreed already. Just need you in on this, too.”

My heart slows, and I swear to God I lose feeling in my hands. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you're gonna be taking a cop as your girl, then you're going to have to be a contractor.”

“A contractor?” I ask, not understanding.

“You two will do the hits. We'll give you the names and you get it done.” I nod, taking it all in.

“What about the rest of the
familia
business?” I ask.

He shakes his head and says, “That's no longer a concern of yours. It keeps things a little neater.”

“I understand.” I take a moment to process it as he opens my beer himself and hands it to me. I finally ask, “Does that mean I don't have to call your ass 'boss' anymore?” We both give a small laugh. I have to admit it hurts a bit, but I understand. And I'm fucking grateful to still be around.

He smiles broadly. “It's the best I can do, Tommy. She's loyal to the family, and to you. That's enough for me. She's a good girl, like my Elle. She's not gonna say shit. So long as that's the case, everything's good.”

“That mean I'm not made anymore?” That'd put some bigass targets on my back.

“You're still a Valetti. And just like last night, we've got you, and you've got us, right?”

I pull my cousin in for a hug and feel like a little bitch for getting even the least bit emotional. This is better than I'd hoped for.

“You'd better fucking marry that broad, too. The sooner, the better,” he says.

“Yeah, I know, so she doesn't have to talk.”

He looks back at me with a grin as he says, “Well, that and Ma will be pissed if you don't do right by her.” His joke fills my chest with warmth. He's right, too. Aunt Linda will kick my ass.

“Love you, cuz,” Vince says.

“Love you, Vince.” We both pat each other on the back harder than we should to make up for getting so emotional.

“Still family?” I ask again, not really believing it could be that good.

Vince nods his head, “Always.”

“
Y
ou gotta meet the
familia
.” Tommy wants to take me to his aunt’s house for dinner. To Dante Valetti’s house. Dante Valetti is the former Don and father of the current Don, Vincent Valetti. I’m nervous as hell. It’s been two weeks of just us. Two weeks of hiding away in his apartment while we figure this shit out. There’s no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision leaving the department and doing what feels right. But then I remember his family, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.

“They know I was a cop.” That's the only explanation I need. That right there is enough for them to want me dead.

“Yeah, they do. And they know you’re my girl.” Tommy rubs his hand over my belly and forces a smile from me. “You’re a woman, Tonya, and I know you hate this, but we keep women out of it.”

“But I was a cop.” I’ve seen them all a handful of times now, and each time it gets easier. But this is different. It’s not one or two of them coming over to drop something off, it’s all of them in one place. And I feel like I’m going to be an outsider.

“Yeah, for under a year. And they know about your sister and why you joined. They know you’re loyal to me.” He stands behind me and wraps his arms around my body, pulling me into his hard chest. I feel cocooned in his warmth. I close my eyes and breathe in deep. It’s not fair that he can put me at ease so effortlessly.

“Besides, there’s someone there I really think you should meet.”

“Who’s that?” I ask.

“You should meet Ava. I think you’d really love getting to know her. She lost her sister, too.”

“Ava?” The name rings a bell, but I’m not sure why.

“Yeah, she’s been asking about you. She wants to meet you.” He speaks his words softly, like he's waiting for something.

“Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Ivanov.” He says her last name and everything clicks into place. I turn in his arms to face him with wide eyes. She’s supposedly dead.

I part my lips, but I don’t ask. I know not to ask questions.

He gives me a small smile and says softly, “A bad man hurt her once, but she made him pay. She's a strong woman, like you. I think you two are going to get along great.”

Tears prick at my eyes, and I hold onto him with everything in me. He kisses my hair, while I try to calm down.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but he’s long gone, Tonya. He’ll never hurt anyone else.”

I cry in his arms. I haven't cried in weeks, but the need to purge all my sadness has me leaning against him in tears. He rubs my back while I cry for all of them. For my sister, for Ava’s sister. For Ava and the other survivors. I cry for them all. A calmness washes through me as I settle with exhaustion into his embrace. A feeling like a rebirth. Like I’ll finally have a fresh start. Maybe now I can finally get the catharsis I've been striving for all this time.

My blurry eyes catch a glimpse of the picture frame I put on Tommy’s nightstand. It’s the same picture that’s in my locket. My hand reaches up and I grab onto it. We were just young girls in middle school and high school, but it’s my favorite picture of us. I can’t wait until we move and make a new place of our own. We need a fresh start. And moving is the way to make that happen.

I look up at Tommy with wonder, but also a sense of insecurity. I haven’t forgotten what Jerry said, and if I’m honest with myself, I’m worried about Tommy and about him staying in the
familia
.

“Spit it out, baby.” His hand settles on the nape of my neck, and his thumb brushes along my jaw. It soothes me. Everything about him soothes me.

“I don’t know if I can live with you doing this, Tommy. I don’t--” I just want to list all the reasons this is so wrong. But his lips silence mine in a sweet kiss.

I moan into his mouth, just loving his touch. He pulls back, and looks at me with sincerity.

“I told you, I'm not working for the
familia
anymore.” I know what he said, but he's too fucking happy for that to really be the case.

“Forget about right and wrong for just a moment. Just listen to your heart, baby. What does it want? Us being together may be fucked up and wrong. But it’s what I want.”

I struggle to respond. He’s right. I do want him. He’s the only thing I want.

“Just give me a chance to love you.” His hand brushes along my belly, where our baby's growing.

It may be wrong, but I want him. I love him.

He must see that I’ve decided. He smirks and says in a playful tone, “You know you’re my bad girl.”

I shake my head and let a small laugh escape me. Tommy takes my chin in his hand and kisses me. My lips mold to his and I give in.

I love him, and that’s all that matters.

“I love you, Tommy,” I whisper as he pulls away from me.

“I love you, too.”