Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous) (24 page)

***

Megan and I sat in a small room wrapped in oversized
robes as we sipped champagne. The lights were dimmed as soft music played in
the background. The scent of lavender filled the room, making it feel like a
sanctuary. I was happy that had Megan invited me along. I needed that moment to
get away from it all. Deep down, I still felt guilty because I could have been
using that time for my studies, but I’d been working my butt off for the past
couple of weeks. A few hours wouldn’t kill me.

“Ladies, whenever you’re ready.” A very good-looking man exited
one of the rooms. Megan wiggled her brows at me as we both stood and made our
way over to him. As we entered the room, there were two massage beds beside each
other. It was even darker in that room than it had been in the waiting room.
“I’ll give you five minutes to get yourselves together. Each of you will lie on
the bed face down. Please remove everything except for your underwear.” He
smiled and left Megan and me alone.

Megan stripped off the robe and lay on the bed to the left. I
took the one on the right and nestled in. “This is going to be awesome,” she
said in a loud whisper.

“I’m glad you talked me into this. I really needed it.”

“Of course, now relax and enjoy it.” There was a knock at the
door, and this time, the man brought a woman with him. She was my masseuse
while he worked on Megan.

I wasn’t sure how long it was into our massages, because I was in
such a daze, when Megan called out for me. It felt amazing as my masseuse
worked out all the kinks in my aching and stressed muscles. “Mia,” she
whispered again.

“Yes,” I moaned as the masseuse continued to work her magic.

“Um, I think Jeremy was right.”

Oh my God. I snorted, causing both of us to erupt into full-blown
laughs. It was so bad that we had to stop the massages early. We couldn’t stop
laughing.

***

I couldn’t control the impulse that came over me. Once
I saw Marcus leaning against his car, looking every bit as sexy as he was, I
exited the apartment building, and a squeal escaped me as I ran and jumped into
Marcus’s arms. Nearly knocking him over, I landed wet kisses all over his face.
How I had missed that handsome face. He held me tightly against his chest with
a smile. “Whoa, is it safe to say that someone missed me?” He flashed a crooked,
adorable grin.

“You have no idea.” I smashed my lips against his, kissing him
over and over again. My eyes flashed opened. “And I’m horny. I’m so horny.” I
rumbled against his mouth.

Chuckling, he narrowed his glare. “Quite honestly, I’m not sure
if I should be thrilled about that or feel offended?” I raised a brow, confused
as to why he would feel offended. “Because you see me as your love slave
instead of your boyfriend.” He winked.

I smiled. “Feel offended, very offended, but whatever you do,
just take it out on me in bed.”

Marcus tossed his head back and laughed. After he controlled
himself, he pulled me in tighter. “Ah, I’ve missed you.”

“So you agree then? We can just ditch dinner and go straight for
the car sex?”

“Settle down there.” He placed me back down on the ground. “We
need to eat first. You’ll need plenty of fuel for what I have planned for you.”

I snapped my fingers. “Damn it, I was so close.”

Shaking his head, he opened the passenger door for me. “Come on
my little horny demon. Let’s go eat.”

“Fine, but if you need me to quickly polish you off on the way to
the restaurant, I’m your gal.” I winked and hopped into the passenger seat.

“What has gotten into you?” He laughed. “Have I neglected you for
that long?”

Innocently, I shrugged and batted my lashes. He laughed again and
shut the door.

The entire drive to the restaurant, Marcus and I chatted as if
the last two weeks had not even passed. We caught up, sure, but a lot of it was
because we had deepened our connection. I told him about Jeremy and the
massages, and we couldn’t stop laughing about it. I also mentioned that I was
taking my studies more seriously because the semester was coming to an end, but
I left out the tutoring and possibility of failing my class. We were in such a
good spirits, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

We pulled into a parking lot, and he cut off the ignition. I was
still laughing from our goofing around. Calming, I tossed my head against the
headrest and ogled him. Marcus leaned back and stared at me as well. He brought
the back of his fingers to my face and traced them along my jawline. “You’re so
beautiful.”

“You’re quite a catch yourself. I think we make a pretty fine
couple, Mr. DeLuca.”

His face softened with a sly grin. “I love seeing you like this.”

“Like?”

“Happy. Laughing. Just being you.”

My heart swelled with so much love for him. “You make me like
this.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips against the tip of my nose and
then trailed his lips down to mine. “Good. I would hate to be responsible for
your unhappiness.”

“You could never make me unhappy.”

Although he nodded at that statement, his eyes filled with doubt.

During the next couple of hours, Marcus and I indulged in good
food, wine, and conversation. We discussed the talk he had with his mother and
how he felt better afterwards. That was a relief. The issue with his mother was
such a huge burden on him, and I was glad that it was finally resolved. It reminded
me of something: in life sometimes you don’t have second chances, and you
shouldn’t be scared to just take a chance on something you really want. There
could be numerous excuses that you come up with to avoid making that leap of
faith. That day, I decided to take a leap for the reason staring right at me.

“Marcus?”

“Yeah?” He ate the last bite of his meal, wiping his plate clean.

“I want to move in.”

He looked up from his plate and shot me a slight grin. “You’re
joking?”

“No, well, not right now. After this semester, during winter
break. I can’t focus on a move at this moment with my upcoming exams, but
definitely when it’s all over. That is, if you still want me?”

“Are you kidding? You can move in tonight. Hell, you don’t need
to move a thing. I’ll do it all so you can focus on your studies.”

Laughing, I rolled my eyes, “Marcus, you can wait a few more
weeks.”

“What if I withhold sex from you until you move in? Would that
make you move in any faster?”

My jaw dropped open with a gasp. “You wouldn’t dare.”

With a mischievous grin, he leaned back in his chair, placing
both his hands behind his head. “Oh, how the tables have turned. You remember
that two-week bet? It’ll be a bit similar.”

My expression fell. He did not just go there! I reached for the
napkin and tossed it at him. He burst out laughing.

“That is so not fair.”

“Maybe you’re right, but I remember having that same argument
about your little arrangement.” He winked.

When I went to speak again, his phone beeped. He grabbed it from
the table and swiped the screen to read the message. His facial expression went
from humorous to unreadable within a matter of seconds. “Everything okay?” My
eyes scanned his face.

“Yeah, but I need to get going.”

“What? You mean our night is over?”

He glanced at me with apologetic eyes. “Yes, babe, I’m sorry. I
have to be somewhere, and it’s very important.”

“Where do you have to be?”

“I have to meet with Jimmie.”

“For what?”

“To collect some information.”

“What kind of information?”

Our eyes locked. We were pleading with each other; he was
pleading with me to stop the interrogation and I was pleading with him to
answer.

“Mia, can you just drop it? The information is confidential.”

I dropped my gaze. “Okay. I’m going to use the restroom and then
we can go.” I stood from my chair and began to briskly pass him when he caught
my wrist.

“Mia, just trust me, okay?” I nodded and hurried to the restroom.

After Marcus paid the bill, we jumped in his car and drove in
silence back to my apartment. For the entire drive, my mind raced, wondering what
the information could be that he claimed was so important. I shouldn’t be upset
that he was leaving, but in a way, I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t seen him in
over two weeks, and I wanted to be selfish, even if it was for one night.

As he pulled up in front of my building, Marcus tugged at my chin
for me to look at him. I tore my gaze from the passenger window and focused on
him. “Mia, I’m sorry. I promise we’ll have plenty of nights together. I just
really need to take care of a few things. I’m working on our future.”

What was that supposed to mean? But I knew that questioning him
was problematic, so instead, I leaned in and kissed him. “I know you are.” I
gently smiled. “We have the rest of our lives together, right?”

His eyes gleamed. “Exactly.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MARCUS

After Mia entered her apartment building, I waited for a
few minutes and then sped off. As I kept my eyes focused on the road, I quickly
dialed Jimmie’s number, only glancing a few times at the screen. On the third
ring, he answered, his voice in surround sound coming out of my car speakers.
“Are you on your way?” He asked.

“Yeah, you’re home, right?”

“Yep.”

“Are you going to give me any clue about this urgent info that
you retrieved?

“Nope.” The information he had must have been intense because he
didn’t disclose it over the phone.

“Fine, I just dropped Mia off. I should be home in forty
minutes.”

“See you soon, Bro.”

With traffic, it was impossible to go any faster than I was
already going. As I ripped through the hectic city of Greater Boston to Back
Bay, where trucks double-parked and pedestrians hadn’t a care in the world as
they risked walking in front of moving vehicles, my mind was immersed in the
last couple of weeks. Mia was busy with school, which prevented her from
questioning my absence. Jimmie and I had been working hard on trying to find
any piece of information that could link us to who Michael was working with. We
searched old documents and emails he had sent us.

It was difficult to trust anyone, so we walked on eggshells and
were careful with whom we spoke. We knew that any of Lou’s men were out of the
question. Even if we suspected one of his men, we couldn’t risk it. I hadn’t
spoken to that bastard since our encounter at Gio’s home a couple of weeks
back. Jimmie wasn’t thrilled with it, but it got us away from Lou, for now at
least, until we found something to bring the fucker down. Lou used the club
last Sunday for the first time. I had heard it was a smooth transaction, but I
knew that it wouldn’t always be the case. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure
out his infatuation with the damn club.

After a pain-in-the-ass car ride, I finally reached my home.
Hopping out of the car, I hurried into the house, tossed my keys onto the table
by the door, and entered the living room area. Jimmie was there with Elle. He
nodded in acknowledgment.

“Uncle Marc!” Elle squealed in excitement. I hadn’t seen Elle for
the past couple of weeks either, with her being in school and with my sleeping
in my damn car at night watching Mia’s place.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Elle ran over to me and pulled me into a hug.

Jimmie stood up from the couch. “Elle, Uncle Marc and I need to
talk, and it’s past your bedtime. Get ready for bed, and I’ll be up in a little
while to tuck you in.”

“Pfft.” She sucked her teeth. Jimmie sent an authoritative glare
her way. She slightly pouted and bowed her head. “Sorry, Daddy. Good night,
Uncle Marc.”

“Night, baby.” I waited until she made it up the stairs then shot
Jimmie a narrow glare.

“What?”

“Why are you making my little girl pout?” I asked him.

“My little girl, Marcus. Remember that.” He shook his head.
“She’s been giving me a lot of attitude lately. I need to show her who’s the
parent, or she’ll walk all over me, as she does with you.”

“Whatever.” No point in getting into that. “What’s going on?”

He looked over my shoulder and then leaned in to whisper, “I
found out who was working with Michael, and you won’t fuckin’ believe who he
is.”

“Who?” He nudged his head behind me. I turned to see my office
door closed. “He’s here?” Jimmie nodded. “What the fuck, Jimmie? Are you sure
he’s not working with Lou?”

“Marcus, I have evidence: photos of Michael and him together
trading information. When I confronted him, he didn’t deny it. Marcus, he knew
every single detail of the info Michael gave to us.
Everything
.”

With a deep breath, I nodded, spun around, and stormed over to
the office door with Jimmie following closely behind me. I wasn’t sure who to
expect as I opened the door, but once I entered the room, my chest constricted when
I saw who it was.

Vinnie, my right hand man when it came to jobs for Lou, was
standing by my desk. “Vinnie?”

“What’s up, Marky.” He nodded his head.

“You were working with Michael? But . . .” I tried to make sense
of it. Nothing came up.

“I know it comes as a shock.”

“A fuckin’ shock is an understatement, don’t you think?” I shook
off the uneasiness in discovering that bit of information and walked over and
grabbed a seat behind my desk and looked over at him. He and Jimmie took a seat
in front of me.

“I don’t understand. Are you with Boston PD?”

“Nah, I’m actually with the FBI.”

I laughed once, but I wasn’t the least bit amused.
How the
fuck did I miss that?
An agent? I shook my head in disbelief, “For how
long?”

He leaned back in his chair lost in thought. “Well, I’ve been
working with the agency for six years now and on the Sorrento case for about
three years.”