BOW DOWN: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Barone Crime Family) (2 page)

I
learned
to be the way that I am from my father,

I grew up in the mafia. From the time I was a young child, I began to learn everything I could about his business. I was fascinated by the power and the money and even the logistics of the business. The men all tolerated me, even thought I was cute, little Lou asking questions about how to get shipments of heroin into the country. I used that perception of me and I learned as much as I could.

My father made me the person I became. I never thought I’d end up running my own mafia, my own army, but that was how things happened. I wasn’t the type to look back and wonder what could have changed.

I made things happen. I didn’t dwell on the impossible.

Plus, I was at war with my own father. I tried to give him a peaceful way out, but he refused and forced my hand. I was going to destroy his group of evil thugs, and then I was going to take over the city.

I was going to make things better.

I needed powerful friends if I was going to make that happen. I looked around the fundraiser ballroom, silently placing faces to names. I’d memorized a list of the most influential men in the city plus the richest men in the state, and I recognized a lot of the people I saw milling around me.

Combined, the men in that room were worth more than the entire United States government. They were the top of the top, and they could make things happen. They were the kind of people the Barone Crime Family had courted over the years, and so it was time for me to do the same thing.

I was going to smile and laugh. I was going to introduce myself and let them think I was just some pretty woman that cared about homeless children. And then, when the time was right, I was going to make my offer in a way that they couldn’t refuse.

That was the plan, anyway, right up until I saw him.

Wyatt Carter. He was the youngest attorney general in Illinois history, maybe even in the whole United States. He was tall, broad, and handsome, not to mention incredibly influential and powerful. He was one of the rising stars in the political game, and he was exactly the kind of man I needed on my side.

I didn’t know what to expect from him when we started talking, but it quickly became obvious why he was so popular. He was attractive and charming and smart, and I felt a strange excitement in my stomach as we left the ballroom together.

Out of the main room, we headed down a hallway with a marble floor. My heels made a clacking sound as we moved.

“I’d ask where we’re going, but I suspect you won’t tell me.”

I smiled over my shoulder at him. “It’s a surprise.”

“I’m sure. I don’t like surprises, you know.”

“You’ll like this one.”

He laughed. “What makes you so confident, Louisa?”

“I don’t know. I’m just a confident woman.”

“I’m a confidant man.” He suddenly caught my wrist, spinning me toward him. He pinned me back against the wall and my heart was hammering in my chest. “What are you trying to gain here?” he asked me.

I blinked at him, shocked at the sudden turn. He went from affable and kind to serious in the blink of an eye. His fingers were hard on my wrist.

“I’d like to get to know you better,” I said.

“Bullshit. You could have done that back in the party.” He glanced down the hallway. “Who are you, really?”

I stared at him, surprised. He was far more perceptive than I would have guessed.

The truth was, I wasn’t sure what I was doing. I had a simple goal in mind for the night, but as soon as I saw Wyatt, that goal suddenly changed. I wanted to make my mafia legitimate, wanted to try and get us involved in some more legal revenue streams, and I wanted the men back in that room to act as investors.

But as soon as I saw Wyatt and that cocky smile, I knew that I needed to talk to him alone. I knew that he could help me, but I couldn’t say why.

I was going to take over the city. I wanted to be in sole control of Chicago, and Wyatt Carter could help me with that, though so could any number of men back in that room.

There was something about Wyatt that I couldn’t place. As he pinned me to the wall and stared intently at my face, I knew I had made the right decision.

“I have a business proposition.”

“Do you?” He smiled slightly. “What sort of business?”

“I’d rather not say there.” I gave him a look. “Anyone could hear us,” I said pointedly.

He frowned. “True.” He released my wrist. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, Louisa, but I’ll be honest with you. I’m interested, but I don’t think you’re being truthful with me.”

I smiled, slipping away from him. “Come find out.” I continued on down the hall. After a brief moment, he continued following me.

I came to the end of the hall and opened an unmarked door. I stepped outside onto a large balcony, probably reserved for staff members to take smoking breaks on back in the day.

He stepped out beside me. The city spread out around us, and the view was gorgeous. We were high up, though not the highest around. We stood there for a moment, silently watching the city unfold ahead of us, streetlights and headlights rolling along down beneath us.

“How did you know about this place?” he asked me.

“Is that important?”

“No,” he admitted. “But I’m curious.”

“You should be more curious about what my business proposition is.”

“There’s only one thing I want from you, Louisa.” He stepped toward me, taking me by the hips and pressing me back against the wall. We melted together into the shadows. “That’s every inch of your skin. Have you ever had a thick cock between your legs while you looked out over the city?”

“No,” I said, shocked at how soaking wet I was. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I realized that I wanted him.

I never felt this way about men. To me, men were just tools to be used in order to further my goals. But this man, he did something to me. Maybe it was how cocky he was, but I’d met plenty of cocky men.

No, it was because I knew he could back up everything he said. This man had power, not because it had been given to him, but because he had built it all for himself.

I knew this man could take me if he wanted me. Wyatt could have me, fuck me, use me, and I wanted him to. It was crazy, but I wanted to feel his thick cock between my legs, wanted to beg his name. I wanted him to pump his hot cum deep inside of me and leave me a quivering mess on the ground, begging for more.

I wanted him to fuck me, destroy me, and make me ask for more.

That wasn’t how I normally got what I wanted. I didn’t use sex as a weapon, because that was exactly what the men I wanted to destroy did. I never slept with a man just to gain something.

With Wyatt, it wasn’t about business. It was just pure, animal wanting.

“Is that the business you want? You brought me out here so you could suck my cock. Or maybe you want my tongue on your clit while I feel those perfect breasts?”

“I brought you out here for business.”

He smiled at me, so sure of himself. “I’ll take what I want first. And then maybe we’ll talk business.”

He kissed me then, and I knew I’d let him have it.

His lips pressed against mine, firm and hard as his tongue entered my mouth, flooding my body with his taste. He pressed me back against the wall harder, pinning me there, and I gave myself to him. I kissed him back, needing him, wanting him to make me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

But just then, the door opened. Our kiss broke off slowly and Wyatt looked over.

“What, Ethan?”

I looked over and noticed a man standing in the doorway. He was shorter than Wyatt, around my height, and clean-cut looking. He had thick glasses and was almost nerdy in his appearance.

“You’re needed in there,” the man said.

“Not now,” Wyatt responded.

“Sorry, Wyatt. It’s important.”

Wyatt grunted. “Fine.”

The man nodded and left.

Wyatt released me. “That was my assistant. He can be very annoying, but he wouldn’t have come out here if it wasn’t important.”

“I see,” I said.

“We can discuss what you wanted some other time.” He turned to leave.

“You’re going to want to hear what I have to say,” I said to him. “Sooner or later, you’ll need to hear it.”

He looked back at me, a small smile on his face. “I’m sure that’s true.” He left then.

I leaned back against the wall, breathing hard, that kiss still fresh in my mind. I was dripping wet and desire rang through my core like a bell. I couldn’t believe I was having this reaction to just a kiss from some stranger, but it was happening. I had to breathe deeply for a couple minutes before I was finally back under control.

I wanted Wyatt Carter, and I needed him. This was going to be more complicated than I realized.

I slipped back into the building and left down the stairs, silently plotting my next move.

I
was exhausted
as I climbed into the back of my car. Ethan got in beside me, his nose buried in his iPhone like always. The driver nodded and headed off.

Those things always took a lot out of me. Some men were able to rub elbows with guys like that all night long, but it drained me to keep pretending to give a fuck about them and their stupid, petty problems. The ultra-rich were so far out of touch with reality that sometimes it sickened me. As the attorney general, I had to put up with that sort of shit, at least for political purposes.

But I hated them. God, at the end of the night, I hated them. When I was tired and the whisky was floating around in the back of my mind, I hated those white-haired privileged bastards and what they were doing to Chicago.

I grew up in the city. I loved the city like no other place in the world, and although my duty was to the entire state, Chicago got the brunt of my attention. I couldn’t help it; the city was my favorite place in the world.

But the rich were developing the fuck out of it, ruining whatever character Chicago used to have. I couldn’t do anything about that, and so I smiled and nodded when they talked about their plans, but I despised them.

I needed more power. Only then could I finally remake the city the way I saw fit.

The only thought that was even keeping me awake was the memory of Louisa. She hadn’t shown back up at the fundraiser, so I had to assume that she left. But there was something about her, something so damn alluring and special that I couldn’t help myself with her. She was dripping wet, I was sure of it, and all I needed was a little more time to get a taste.

Then there was the matter of her business proposition. She hadn’t gotten to it, but there seemed to really be something there. She didn’t seem like she was just making it up to get my attention, which intrigued me.

“Ethan,” I said.

He didn’t look up. “Yes?”

“Find out everything you can about the woman I was with tonight. Her name was Louisa.”

“Okay.” He continued tapping away at his phone.

I looked at him for a second. Ethan was much more than he seemed. At first glance, he was just some nerdy kid in a suit, but I knew he was much, much more than that. I’d been close with Ethan for as long as I could remember, from back at my Harvard days. Now, he was my closest friend and my personal assistant.

The car pulled up outside of the hotel not long later. We climbed out and rode the elevator up to the top floor. I had the penthouse, and Ethan was staying in the guest room.

“Drink?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “Work.”

“You’re always working.”

“What else is there to do?”

“Drink.”

He shrugged and disappeared back into his room.

I sighed, pouring myself a whisky. I loosened my tie and walked out onto the balcony, sipping my drink and looking out over the city.

Her lips came back to me. The way she kissed sent chills down my spine. I so badly wanted to finish what I had started.

It was a very rare woman that made me continually think about her. In fact, I’d never bothered to think about a woman past the time we spent together. I had a million important things that could take up my time, and I didn’t have the space to think about women.

Louisa was different, apparently.

After I finished my drink and went to get anther, there was a knock at the door.

I walked over and checked the peephole. I sighed and opened the door.

“Arturo,” I said.

Arturo Barone smiled at me. “Wyatt.”

He was an older man, rounding in the middle, but he still retained a strength to him. He stepped inside, shaking my hand.

I wasn’t in the mood to meet with the most powerful mafia boss in the city, but he was the most powerful mafia boss in the city. I couldn’t turn him away, especially since he had done me so many favors in the past. I wasn’t in his pockets, not exactly, but we had close ties. I liked him, to the extent that he wasn’t another snobbish rich man trying to control the world, but he was a thug. He could be very, very dangerous, and so I was very careful around him.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked him

He poured himself a drink. “I came to see my star.”

“I’m nobody’s star, Arturo. Just a guy.”

“You’re the youngest attorney general ever. I’m proud of you.”

I smiled, though I wanted him to leave. “Thank you.”

“Here’s to you.”

“Salut.”

We clinked and drank.

“So, you saw the old and the rich tonight?” Arturo said.

I kept my smile plastered to my face. He clearly wanted me to know that he was watching me, and that was fine. I should have expected it.

“Yes,” I said. “They were old and rich, as always.”

“Find any good donors?”

“I have some leads.”

“Good, good.” He opened his jacket and took out an envelope. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“That’s a fat bribe.”

I took the envelope and looked inside. It was cash, and a lot of it.

“For?”

“There’s a man I want you to be lenient with.”

I nodded. “I can do that. Send my assistant the details.”

“Already done. How is Ethan these days?”

“He’s well. He sends his regards.”

“Good. I’m fond of that boy.”

“I’m sure you are.” Since you’re both killers, I silently added.

“Well. I’ll leave you be. I just wanted to stop in and say hello personally.”

“I appreciate that, Arturo. I really do.”

“Good.” He shook my hand again. “Until next time.”

“Take care.”

He turned and left. I caught a glimpse of his bodyguards leaving with him back down the hallway.

I shut the door softly and sighed, finishing my drink.

The mega-wealthy and the mafia. I should have known what sort of shit was waiting for me at the top of the power pyramid.

I couldn’t wait to find out what was at the very top.