Devious Little Lies (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hooker gaudy gold were the three words Rena would use to describe the home of Enzo and Sage Aprea. Shane was silent as they walked down the short foyer that lead to a massive living room. She sneaked a glance at him contemplating what he was thinking. Rena wondered if she’d made a mistake in bringing Shane with her. They would be surrounded by so many men and women in “the life” and she was bringing an outsider among them. She hoped it was not a decision she would live to regret.

In front of them were more gold fixtures. Even the mirrors lining the walls were gold. The mansion screamed trashy, but then Enzo did marry Sage so it was pretty evident he wouldn’t know class if it bit him in the ass.

“I feel strangely out of place,” Shane whispered to her.

Rena smirked. “And why is that?”

“I’m just a poor guy working a nine-to-five. I’m not used to such opulence.”

“Opulence? We’re using big words tonight, aren’t we?”

“Hey I picked up something in those four years of college, even if it wasn’t a job that pays that great.”

He laughed and she couldn’t help looking at him. She could see the light returning to his eyes. The happy sparkle she saw when they first met. They were what they should be—two friends enjoying each other’s company.

“Rena, you look amazing.”

Turning, she saw Simone rushing towards her, arms outstretched. Rena let go of Shane’s arm and turned to greet her friend.

“No. You’re the one that looks amazing. How do you like the dress?” Rena asked.

“I love it. I’ve been getting compliments on it all night.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Now give me a twirl.”

Laughing, Simone twirled in front of her before hugging her tight. Her friend looked ravishing in the dark burgundy evening gown. One shoulder was bare, while the other was covered by two diagonal straps encrusted with pearls. A strategically placed slit showed the smallest peek of Simone’s breasts while the sheer panel across her stomach showed off her still-taut figure. The dress looked wonderful on her.

“I’m so glad you love the gown, Simone.”

“When your line is off the ground, I will be your first customer. You have impeccable taste,” Simone said.

“No. I’ve just got a really good model.”

The two women laughed until the sound of a throat clearing interrupted them. Shane. She guessed it was time to make introductions.

“Simone, this is Shane. He’s my date for the evening.”

Simone’s brown eyes widened as she looked at Shane. There was a question in her gaze as she looked back and forth between Shane and Rena.

“Your date?” she questioned.

“Not like that. Apparently my daughter thinks her poor, pathetic mother can’t go to a party alone so she asked her good friend Shane to take me.”

“Aww. That’s sweet of her and of you,” Simone said extending her hand to Shane. “Nice to meet you.”

He smiled a soft smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, ma’am. Rena is right. You really look like a vision in that dress.”

“Hey, don’t be complimenting other women in front of me,” Rena said. Then she laughed.

Shane darted a glance at her before facing Simone again.
I can’t believe I just said that!
She’d played it off by laughing, but for some odd reason his compliment irked her. It shouldn’t have though. Simone was a beautiful woman and a friend, so why in the hell was she being so territorial? Shane didn’t belong to her. He could go home with any woman he wanted to and she would have zero reason to be angry about it, but she would be nevertheless. Angry enough to beat the ever loving hell out of any woman that touched him.

“Well, I’ve been duly reprimanded. It won’t happen again,” he said with mock humor.

But she could read the promise in his gaze. He still had eyes only for her.

“Rena, would you mind if I talked with you privately for a moment?” Simone asked.

“Of course,” Rena said before she focused her attention on Shane.

“Will you be alright for a few minutes?” she asked him.

“I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine,” he said with a wink.

“Okay. I won’t be gone long.”

Rena touched his arm before she allowed Simone to lead her away where they could talk privately. She gave her date one last look as he stood in the crowd. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by leaving him alone.

Shane was surrounded by criminals. If only the guys could see him now. He’d been presented with an opportunity like no other and he was not going to waste it. He gazed nonchalantly at the men and women milling around him sipping champagne and eating caviar as if they didn’t have a care in the world. If only they knew their worst nightmare was among them. They’d chosen to live on the wrong side of the law and it was his job to take them down by any means necessary.

Deftly, he withdrew a small round device from his pocket and stuck it under a black oak table pushed against the wall. There was no telling what kind of intelligence the device would pick up. Before the night was over with, he’d have bugs everywhere. Enzo Aprea had been running from the law for a long time. Like a slimy snake, he’d always managed to slip away from prosecution. Tonight he was closer to nailing Enzo than anyone else had ever been or would ever get the chance to be again.

He continued meandering around the room, doing his best to avoid the adoring gazes some of the scantily clad women were throwing his way. Too bad for them he wasn’t interested. His eyes were only for his original quarry. Catching Enzo red-handed would just be a bonus to go along with his original goal. She was leaning close to Hector Guerico’s wife as they talked in hushed whispers. He needed to be closer to hear what they were saying, but he couldn’t afford to draw attention. There were other fish he needed to fry, so Rena Rosetti would just have to wait.

Using his peripheral vision to check the placement of everyone around him, he slipped quietly down the hall. He had more bugs to plant, but he had to be quick about it. The last thing he needed was to draw any more attention than he already was. He was sure that before the night was over he would have enough dirt to put away some high-level mob figures. After all, they thought they were among friends. Why wouldn’t they speak freely?

* * * * *

Pregnant?

That was the absolute last thing Simone needed with everything else going on in her life. It was already obvious that Hector being away was taking a toll on her. Now she had a baby to add to the mix.

“Does Hector know?” Rena asked.

Simone shook her head. “I couldn’t spring this on him now. He’d be going even more stir crazy than he already is.”

“Eventually you’re going to have to tell him.”

Sighing she said, “I know. I just don’t want to stress him out any more.”

“And you are a wonderful and thoughtful wife for putting him first, but you and I both know that when the men in our lives decide to be a part of the
Cosa Nostra
, stress is one of the things that comes with it.”

Simone smiled, but Rena could see tears forming in her eyes. Rena pulled her friend into a tight hug. Simone wasn’t like her. She still had her goodness, her inner light. Not to mention the fact that she was still madly in love with her husband it was well-known he felt the same way about her.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.

Rena pulled back to look at her. “You do what you always have. You love him and your children. You hold your head up high and you do whatever it takes to bring him home. Don’t let anyone know just how bad you’re really hurting. When someone thinks you’re weak, they will take the first opportunity to exploit it.”

Rena knew that she sounded like an elder stateswoman giving Simone advice, but she could impart a little of the wisdom she’d learned in her time as a mob wife. She wasn’t so heartless that she wanted to see another woman struggle like she had, especially a woman as nice as Simone.

“I expected a chilly reception, but this is pretty damn near ice cold,” Simone said as if reading her mind.

“I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe Sage put the word out before we got here.”

“There’s no telling when it comes to that bitch,” Simone added.

Laughing, Rena hit her on the arm playfully. “I can’t believe you just called her that.”

“What? Don’t act like you haven’t called her worse.”

“Oh believe me I have and to her face at that. I’m just surprised to hear such language coming from you.”

Lifting her hands up in mock surrender Simone said, “Hey. I may look like a goody-two-shoes but we all have a dark side, even me.”

“I’ll second that.”

“Now that would be a sight to see indeed.”

Something touched her bare shoulder causing her to look over at a large, gnarled hand. Looking up she found the hand belonged to a tall, gray-haired man with icy blue eyes. Enzo Aprea. Sage’s husband.

“If I weren’t enjoying your hospitality tonight you might have lost that arm,” Rena said.

He slid his hand down her arm and Rena bit her tongue in an effort to jerk his hand away. His eyes never left hers. The old coot knew exactly what he was doing and it was pissing her off.

“I’d love to show you even more hospitality if you’re up to it,” Enzo said.

Rena would love nothing more than to wipe the sick smirk off his face, but she hadn’t come to cause an altercation. She came to be the center of attention and take the shine away from Sage but the last thing Rena wanted was Enzo’s attention in the process.

She turned to Simone. “Can you give us a minute?”

Simone nodded and walked away without sparing Enzo a second glance.

“Now that you’ve been exceptionally rude, what is it you want?”

“Oh come now, Rena, we’re old friends. There’s no reason for such hostility.”

“Friends? That’s not a word I use loosely. I don’t think your wife would like it either.”

Enzo shrugged, the lines in his face just begging for a shot of Botox. He needed to let his Barbie blow-up doll get him some.

“Sage knows her place. She and I have an understanding.”

Rena tried to hold her laughter. Her rival didn’t have the perfect marriage. Even at his age and with a much younger wife, Enzo was still open to playing the field. It was pathetic.

“Well, whatever you two have going on has nothing to do with me. Besides, I don’t think my husband would appreciate your little offer of extra hospitality. Tony is not an understanding man when it comes to some things.”

“Indeed he’s not. Perhaps if he were a little open-minded about certain things, you two would be together right now.”

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh nothing. Just that Tony can be a little hot-headed sometimes. If I had a woman like you waiting at home, let’s just say I’d do my best to keep my nose clean so to speak.”

“Keeping your nose clean has never interested you, Enzo. You like that White Lady, don’t you? Tell me how much of your profit have you snorted up this month?”

His blue eyes darkened as his lips formed a thin line. She’d hit a mark. Only a few people were privy to the fact that Enzo was a raving cocaine addict.

“Careful. There may come a time when you need my assistance.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, but I don’t think that day is coming any time soon.”

Sticking his hands in his pockets, his posture relaxed. “You never know. Life has a funny way of fucking you over sometimes.”

“I’m well aware.”

He lifted a brow. “Good. Then you know the ass you kick might have to be the ass you kiss one day.”

“Indeed I do. Keep that in mind, Enzo.”

With the fakest smile she could muster, Rena walked away. She’d given the bastard enough of her time and besides, she had to find the innocent lamb she’d brought into the den of wolves. She’d never meant to leave him alone for so long. Her gaze flicked from the people milling about sipping on champagne and eating finger foods. Many of them she recognized, some she didn’t. But they weren’t important, Shane was. She took a few more steps across the gaudily decorated room and stopped in her tracks.

A red haze blurred her vision. She’d finally run across the woman of the hour. Sage Aprea had one of her hands on Shane’s forearm, caressing him and staring into his eyes. The bitch had crossed another line with her and Sage would be lucky if she didn’t pummel her face in right there in front of all her guests.

Shane was trying his best to be polite, but the flirtatiously inappropriate woman rubbing his arm was really starting to work his nerves. She looked like a scarecrow with a bad dye job. Rena could teach her a thing or two about how a woman was supposed to look. Speaking of his date, he could see Rena marching towards him. Her eyes were narrowed to thin slits, but that did nothing to hide the storm brewing behind them.

“I must admit, I’m jealous Rena has such a handsome date for the evening,” the woman said to him.

“I don’t think your husband would appreciate you saying that, Sage,” Rena said sidling up beside him.

Rena looped her arm through his and pulled him away from Sage’s grasp. The blonde’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t sure what the relationship was between the two of them, but a blind man could see they didn’t like each other.

“Well, I’m surprised Tony is okay with you being here with another man.”

Rena shrugged. “That’s nothing you need to be concerned about. If I were you I’d be worried about my own husband trying to find his next conquest for the evening.”

Shane stared back and forth between the two of them, waiting to see whose claws would scratch the deepest, but before another word could be said, the unmistakable sound of gunshots filled the air. Shane’s only thought was of Rena. Without thought, he pushed her to the ground and covered her body with his own. What the hell had they walked into?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Armageddon had come.

Shane covered Rena’s body and her face was pressed into the floor. Screams and gunshots filled the air. She tried to move her head from under Shane’s arm so she could see what was going on.

“Stay still, Rena.”

A machine gun fired and all she could hear was glass breaking and bullets hitting bodies. This was bad. She never should’ve let Shane come with her. Now because of her stupidity, he might very well lose his life. She couldn’t let that happen. Rena moved his arm from across her back and what she saw stopped her cold. Blood, shiny red and wet spread across the floor but that was not the worst sight. The dead lying around her and Shane were likely the only reason they were still alive. So many bodies. And then a new terror gripped her heart.

Simone.

Where was she?

“I have to find Simone,” she shouted in Shane’s ear.

His dark eyes found hers and there was fury in them. “Shut up and let me try to get us out of here in one piece.”

He’d never spoken to her so harshly and if they weren’t in a fight for their lives, she’d kick him in his ass. The next thing she knew, Shane was grabbing her and pulling her behind an overturned table. Bullets continued to fly around them. Where was Cesare? She shouldn’t have come to the snake’s den without her army.

Rena didn’t know what was louder, her heart beating in her ears or the gunshots and screams. From her place behind the overturned table, a pair of black boots came into her line of sight. Shane reached out and grabbed and there was a thud as something hit the ground beside them. It was a man holding a machine gun. Dressed in slacks and a black T-shirt, his scarred face twisted into a mask of fury as he attacked Shane. A scream tore from Rena’s throat.

Shane landed a hard punch to the man’s face and she could hear bone crack. The scarred murderer yelled and then there were footsteps racing towards them. They were about to die. She could feel the Grim Reaper breathing down her neck. A tall, stocky, dark-skinned man stood over the table, aiming a gun at her. She closed her eyes and waited for death but the bullet never came. Her eyes opened as a body fell atop her. It was the African American man who had been going to kill her. A bullet hole oozed from between his eyes, splashing her dress.

“I’ve got you, Boss Lady.”

Hands reached for the dead man crushing her weight. It was Cesare, smoking gun in hand. He jerked the dead man off her and as Rena rolled away, another gunshot rang out too close for comfort. The arm of her bodyguard’s suit turned red. Without so much as a grunt of pain, he turned around and fired off a round of shots. More bodies hit the ground as hot, sticky blood covered her arm.

“Let’s go, Rena.”

Bloody hands reached for her and as Rena fought she realized they belonged to Shane. Their first attacker lay dead on the other side of her, neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Slinging the machine gun over his shoulder, he dragged Rena to her feet and pushed her towards Cesare.

“Take her. I’ll cover both of you,” Shane said.

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” she yelled.

His eyes were hard as he ignored her by turning away and raising the machine gun, firing in a wide spray all behind him. Rena nearly lost her balance as Cesare jerked her forward and they started to run. His body shielded hers and as more men approached them, he fired hitting them in the throat. Risking a glance back, she saw Shane following behind them, gun blasting. They just might make it out alive.

Rena ran behind Cesare as fast as she could in her heels. The front door loomed in front of them. And then two more men appeared at the front door with guns raised. Death stared her in the face once again and just when she was sure that fate had finally caught up with her, Rena was sent sprawling to the ground. Throwing her arms out to stop herself from hitting the floor face first, the spray of shells fell across her body, burning Rena’s skin.

She screamed and the two men in front of Cesare and her dropped dead. Faster than lightning she was jerked to her feet again and pulled out the front door. Her heel broke as they ran down the stairs and towards the Hummer. Step after step brought them closer to freedom. Sirens sounded in the distance. The police were on their way and Rena knew they had to get out of there. Cesare opened the back door and pushed her inside. Rena slid over to make room for Shane.

“You’re injured. Let me drive!” Shane yelled.

“I’m fine. You guard her,” Cesare ordered.

“I don’t have time for macho bullshit from either of you. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Rena interjected.

The testosterone fest ended and Shane jumped into the vehicle, slamming the door closed behind him, his grip still tight on the machine gun. A minute later, the Hummer was burning rubber as they fled. Cesare was driving so erratically, Rena slid on the seat and slammed hard into Shane. His arm wrapped around her, holding her against him. In the darkness she couldn’t see him, but she could feel the tenseness that emanated from his body. Her mouth was dry and silence hung heavy between them as Cesare drove like a bat out of hell.

“Who were those people, Rena?” he finally asked in a low tone.

“What are you talking about?”

“Now is the not the time to get a case of amnesia. This party. Who hosted it?”

“Enzo Aprea and that skanky blonde who couldn’t keep her hands off you.”

There was more snark in her voice than she’d intended, but Rena wasn’t in control of her emotions or anything else right now.

“But who are they, Rena? Regular people don’t have their homes shot up by men with machine guns. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Enzo is a rich businessman. With money comes jealousy and a lot of enemies. Maybe somebody wanted to get back at him.”

The lies rolled easily off her tongue. She couldn’t tell Shane the truth. He would be as disgusted with her as she was with herself and she couldn’t bear to see the look in his eyes.

“I’m young, but I’m not an idiot. We could’ve died tonight.”

“I know,” her voice broke, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have never let you come. If anything happened to you…”

“What, Rena? What if I didn’t make it out alive? What then?”

A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away. Suddenly she was too emotional to speak.

“Rena?” he pressed again.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do. After what just happened, there’s no denying it.”

His hand cradled her chin and turned her head. As they flew through town, the city lights shone inside, illuminating the space between them. There was a smudge of blood on the side of his face. Shane was a regular person who should have never been involved with any of this…or her.

“I don’t know if I could have ever forgiven myself.”

“Now, we’re finally getting somewhere.”

Before Rena could register the meaning of his words, his lips took hers with a ferociousness that left her gasping. This time she didn’t fight it.