DARK ANGEL: A Mafia Romance -- Book Three: A Violent Love Affair (Erotic Romance) (4 page)

I tried to distract myself with working on edits for my latest book that afternoon, but I kept thinking back to the way Paul Fernelli had looked at Angelo. The threat had been clear in his glare
, and I couldn’t help but worry for my man. His world was something far beyond my scope of experience, and I couldn’t understand it. But it was dark, vicious, and dangerous – that much, anyone could see.

I’d know
n that Angelo wasn’t a man anyone would want to cross, but I also knew he would never have killed a man over some simple arbitrary slight. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, and I thought back to the way he’d said he’d do whatever it took to keep me safe. As much as I hated to admit it, I did feel safer having heard those words.

Still, I was worried that Paul Fernelli might think that Angelo had something to do with his brother’s death
. It was plausible enough – after all, that’s what I’d thought before I had spoken to him. I wondered what that would mean for Angelo, and how far Paul would take this vendetta before he figured out the truth.

When six o’clock rolled around and I still hadn’t heard from Angelo
, I left him a text asking what time he would be over. I frowned down at my phone when I got the reply to my question. “Stuck at work,” the message read. “Can’t make it for dinner, my love. I’m sorry. Call you later.”

He had left work early in order to speak with me yesterday, and I knew he was a busy man, but something about
this curt reply didn’t feel right. If he’d known he’d be late, why didn’t he let me know sooner?

I
was sad that I wouldn’t be seeing him, but I had never been one to cling to a man and didn’t want to be one of those women, so I let it go.

I scrounged in my kitchen for something suitable for dinner, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I hadn’t been shopping in way too long. I e
nded up ordering Chinese anyway, chasing away my loneliness with egg rolls and sesame chicken.

After I ate, I turned on a good action movie I’d watched a million times before while I worked my way through my edits. When I finished, I sent them off to my publisher and treated myself to a nice long bath with a very large glass of wine. I was just heading to bed around midnight when my cell phone rang.

My heart started to race as I saw it was Angelo calling. I settled back on the bed, letting it ring a few times before I answered it.

“
Cara mia
.”

His sinfully dark voice had my lips curving in a smile. “Hello, my dark angel.”

There was a long pause of silence then I heard his deep chuckle over the line. “Is that what I am to you, Karen? Your dark angel?”

“That’s what I thought the first time I saw you…
it kind of stuck.”

He made a sort of humming noise that had my toes curling with
desire. “I like it. I like the thought of tempting you to do all sorts of naughty things with me.”

I smiled.
“How was work tonight?”

“Exhausting,” he said. “I would have rather been with you.”

“Hmm,” I said, lowering my voice to a seductive purr. “Does that mean you’ll be coming over?”

“I’m sorry,
cara
. It was a long night and I’m already home. I wish you were here with me now.”

Worry flooded me
for a moment, but I shook it off. I understood. Of course he was tired – we’d barely gotten any sleep the night before, and he’d worked all day. “Well, why don’t we both get a good night’s sleep, and then we can have dinner tomorrow night.”

There was another long pause, only this time I felt the weight of it between us.

“I have to work again tomorrow,
cara mia
. Things have been crazy with me, bouncing between DeSilvo’s and Bliss.”

“I see.”

“How about I come over after work tomorrow, if it’s not too late.” he said. I knew that he had heard the irritation in my voice, and I felt angry with myself. The man was working, and I couldn’t fault him for that. He had responsibilities, after all. I had to respect that. I needed to get a grip.

“Sure, that sounds great,” I said, wanting to lighten the mood. “
I got my edits done tonight, and I wanted to get some work done tomorrow on a new story that I’ve been working on tomorrow. I’ll be around, just give me a buzz.”

“I miss you,” Angelo said softly.

I closed my eyes and forced myself not to squirm as my body flushed from his low, heated murmur. “I miss you, too,” I whispered back. “I just have one question for you before you go to bed.”

“What is it,
cara
?”

I snuggled back i
nto bed and got comfortable. “Well...” I said, drawing out the word. “…What are you wearing right now?”

His rich laughter made me smile
, and we settled into a delightfully sexy conversation that soon had me forgetting any disappointment I’d felt.

Chapter Four

There was a line of people waiting outside of Fever as our car pulled up, and I heard the beat of the music before I even opened the door. Tonight, Jonathan had ordered his car and driver to take us to dinner and then to the club. We’d decided to make a night of it, even inviting Maria along to join Jonathan, Amanda and I out for some fun.

Angelo, of course, was another story…

The driver got out and walked around to open the door for us. I followed my friends out of the car and looked at the crowd in front of the club Tony and Angelo owned. There was an eclectic group gathered out front and I could see all of them looking hopefully at the bouncers guarding the gates. I barely noticed the looks my skimpy, little, black dress garnered as we made our way to the entrance.

Tonight I had dressed to prove a point.

Maybe it was just to myself, but the little black halter dress made me feel sexy and sophisticated. Accenting the dark dress with wicked leopard print high-heels and a matching clutch I thought my outfit suited the club called
Fever
perfectly.

My former college roommate was dressed in a bold electric blue dress that came to her knees and Maria looked stunning in a dark emerald colored dress. Jonathan was dressed in a nice white dress-shirt and
fitted dark jeans. The four of us looked ready for a wild night out on the town, and we had gotten a good start on our buzz at dinner already.

Now, it was time for project
“Get Even”
to begin.

It was Saturday night
, and I hadn’t seen Angelo since he’d dropped me off at my apartment Wednesday afternoon. After our playful round of phone sex that night, Angelo had blown me off again on Thursday… and Friday.

Thursday I had spent the entire day working on my new story
, and when he stood me up I’d pulled out a pint of chocolate ice cream from my freezer that I always had on hand in case of emergencies. (And of course, stupid male moments definitely qualified as emergencies.)

Angelo had called me again late that night after he’d gotten off of work and we had another round of phone sex, whispering to each other breathlessly. I loved hearing the need in his voice as he commanded my movements over the phone, but nothing compared to the real thing. I missed his hands on me, missed waking up with our limbs tangled together in bed.

I’d only know him for a short amount of time, but there was no mistaking the fact that I had fallen in love with my dark angel. From the way he spoke to me, and the emotions in his every word, I knew that Angelo cared deeply for me as well. That was why his actions were so damn confusing.

On Friday afternoon I got another bouquet of red roses with a card from Angelo that simply said,
Miss you
. We’d had plans to spend Friday night together, but I knew after receiving the flowers that he would be blowing me off again. Around five that evening he called, apologizing and saying he had to take care of some things and that he wouldn’t be able to meet me. Again.

Pissed off, I debated finishing off the ice cream in my freezer when Amanda had come knocking on my door, carrying two bottles of wine with her. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she had snarled as she stomped into my kitchen.

After the first bottle she finally broke her silence. “Three days! It’s been three days since I’ve had sex!”

I’d blinked at her, pausing as I opened the second bottle of wine. “Okay…
so?”

“I don’t know!” she had said, t
hrowing her hands in the air. “Call me spoiled, but Tony and I haven’t spent a single night apart since we got engaged. Until Wednesday, that is. Since then I haven’t seen him at all! What if…” she trailed off, the flush of her buzz showing on her face. “… What if he’s changed his mind about marrying me?”

The misery on her face was clear
, and as I’d hugged her it finally started to make sense to me. Sitting down on the couch, armed with two full glasses of wine, I’d told her what had happened outside of Angelo’s apartment building. Amanda had blinked in surprise at hearing about Carlo Fernelli, and then she’d flushed with guilt.

“I think Tony’s family
is part of the mob or something,” she said. “I wanted to tell you, but Tony swore to me he wasn’t involved with any of that stuff. I didn’t know about Angelo though, and was trying to figure out a way to warn you. You don’t think…”

“No,” I said emphatically. “Angelo had nothing to do with Carlo’s death, but I don’t think his brother believes that.” Suddenly, it all made sense. I
t couldn’t have been any clearer to me when I had started thinking about everything that had happened.

Since Wednesday both Angelo and Tony had been avoiding Amanda and I with some skewed hope of keeping us safe. Anger had surged through me at that. Instead of just talking to me about it, Angelo had been lying and keeping secrets. Amanda and I were both pissed off the more we’d talked about it and as we got drunk we came up with a plan of action.

As I prepared to get ready for Saturday night, Angelo had called me to once again tell me he would be working late. This time I had been downright cheerful when I told him it was okay and that I had plans with a few friends. I’d smiled as I practically heard his teeth grinding as he had asked me what I was doing.

“I’m going out to dinner with friends. Have a good night, Angelo,” I purred right before I’d ended the call.

And now, here I was…

“Sweetheart, you look ready to rumble,” Jonathan whispered to me as he bumped his shoulder against mine as we followed Maria and Amanda toward the front of the club. I smacked him playfully in return.

“I am,” I whispered conspiratorially.

Jonathan chuckled then held his arm out so I could take it. “Well then, this should be a very interesting night. Let’s go party.”

I linked my arm with his as we walked up to the entrance, past a long line of waiting people. When the bouncer saw Maria and Amanda, he immediately lifted the rope to allow us entry. I heard the grumbles coming from the crowd of waiting people and couldn’t help but smile.

Who didn’t love VIP service?

“Follow me,” Maria yelled over the music. “I called ahead and reserved a table for us.”

Perfect
, I thought.

It had been clear to me over dinner that Maria had no idea what was going on with Angelo and Tony, so we hadn’t talked about it. I had discussed everything with Jonathan when he had arrived to pick me up before the others. I never hid anything from Jonathan, so I told him everything. After he’d gotten over his shock, he had agreed that Angelo had been avoiding me in hope
s that anyone coming after him might leave me alone.

It wasn’t the sentiment I objected to, just the shitty execution with no explanation.

The darkness of the club was jarring at first as we made our way through the hallway. When we reached the main part of the club, we walked into complete chaos. Red tinted lights flashed through the darkness, flickering over writhing bodies on the dance floor as we made our way through the crowd of people to the private tables. The primal beat of the music had me swaying to the rhythm and made me think of hot, sweaty animalistic sex with Angelo.

Damn the man. Everything made me think of him now.

When Maria had made her call to reserve our table in the car on our way over, I knew that Tony and Angelo would find out about our plans, even though Amanda had asked her not to tell Tony. Maria had smiled conspiratorially at Amanda, and called the one of the managers instead of her cousin to make the arrangements.

Walking through the crowd, my body hummed with
anticipation. I gave it a half-hour tops before our men made their appearance.

We arrived at a sectioned off area of the club and were immediately let through the velvet ropes to the platform where a large booth in the corner had been reserved for us. From our position at the table we could see the entire club. A waitress immediately came over and took our orders right after we sat down.

“I told Rocco to meet us here,” Jonathan said in a yell as he put his cell phone down on the table. “I told him I was doing girl’s night out with you, but he wants to join us.”

Since Amanda and Tony’s engagement party last weekend
, Jonathan and Rocco had been spending a lot of time together. Rocco was another cousin of Angelo, Tony, and Maria. Because he was gay and a fashion designer, he seemed left out of the other activities the family was involved in. He and Amanda were working on putting a collection of clothes together, using a similar theme for his men’s and her women’s fall line. I liked Rocco. He seemed like a good match for Jonathan, and I wanted my friend’s happiness more than anything.

“He should have come to dinner with us,” I yelled back.

Jonathan shook his head. “He was having dinner with a couple of his friends. I told him they should all come meet us, but you know how it is.”

“The more the merrier,” Amanda said with a smile.

The waitress came back with our drinks and a round of shots I had ordered on the sly. Maria, Jonathan and Amanda let out a whoop of laughter as we each took one of the small glasses. We drank down the shots, and I sipped my vodka tonic to cool the burn in my throat.

“I wanna
dance!” Amanda yelled. Jonathan pulled her up from the booth and they headed down to the dance floor, leaving me alone with Maria.

She
turned to me with serious eyes. “Karen, I wanted to apologize to you for the other night.”

“No need,” I assured her. “Really. I appreciated you giving me the heads up.”

Maria winced. “Angelo said I’d upset you, though. I swear to you, that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted you to give him a chance, but I guess I did the opposite. He was so mad at me for making you doubt him.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like he’s one to talk.”

“I take it you’re mad at him right now?” she asked with a smirk.

“You could say that,” I replied.
“Men are just stupid sometimes.”

She laughed. “Boy, do I know it.”

There was something I had been wanting to ask her, and with the liquid courage loosening my tongue I went for it.

“Maria, is there something going on with you and Vincenzo?”

I watched as her face paled. “Wh-what?”

“Forget it,” I said quickly, feeling bad for putting her on the spot. I went to lift my drink again but she gripped my hand with hers so hard it hurt.

“How did you know?”

I could barely hear her whisper and her eyes were wide with fright. I squeezed her hand back reassuringly. “Honestly, I didn’t, but there was something in the way you said his name at dinner the other night. I’m an observer, and I could tell you cared for him.”

“When we were young, Vinnie and Angelo used to be best friends,” she said after a long moment. “I’ve loved him for such a long time, but when we got older our families started to fight – and Karen, it’s only gotten worse. My uncle would kill me if he knew, and so would Vinnie’s family. Angelo told me to end it. I tried, but I still love him. It doesn’t seem to matter that we can’t see each other anymore. I just don’t know how to stop.”

Sympathy flooded through me. I could see how painful the separation was for Maria
, and I thought it was a shame that their families could stop them from following their hearts.

“I understand. You don’t have a choice who you fall in love with. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything,” I swore.

She shot me a teary smile and then pounded back her drink. “Come on,” she said. “Enough of that. Let’s go dance.”

Maria and I joined Jonathan and Amanda on the dance floor. I lost myself in the beat, enjoying the music as I start
ed to dance. I felt the crush of bodies around me and grinned. This was my element, and I knew what to do. I whirled away from a guy that got a bit too clingy to me. Jonathan pulled me to him, switching places with me in a well-rehearsed move we always used when we went out together. I loved my friend, and he was always watching out for me. I smiled warmly and he winked at me in response.

Another man started dancing with me, this time more respectfully. I smiled up at him, enjoying the thrill of moving to the beat with him.
He was a good dancer, but I knew in my heart that Angelo was the man that I wanted. I was almost sure he was trying to protect me, but on the off chance that I was wrong and he was really giving me the brush off then I might as well have a little fun.

A new song just started when the man I was dancing with tried to pull me closer.
But I was suddenly jerked backwards, a steel-hard arm banding around my waist, holding me to a muscular body.

“Hands off what belongs to me.”
I grimaced, not liking the rough treatment.

It seems m
y dark angel had arrived.

I looked over to see the guy I had been dancing with had put his hands up in surrender before he turned and disappeared into the crowd. I glanced up at Angelo and saw his eyes glittering with anger.

“Hi, baby,” I said with a grin. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Not one more damn word, Karen,” he bit out between clenched teeth. “I should spank the fuck out of your ass, you little
upstart.”