Heart's Desires (13 page)

              At Tommy’s silence, the caller continued trying to convince him to hold off on the meeting.  “Look, Lorenzo is acting suspiciously. Jan told me that this new accountant that has been there for a couple of months is working real close to Lorenzo.  She thinks she may be going through old records.”

              At the last statement, Tommy sat up to listen intently.  The caller continued.  “Jan can’t even get a look at what she’s working on.  Lorenzo has her working in his office with everything under lock and key.”

              “Fuck!”  Tommy growled into the phone at the new information.  “I need to clean this money up.  The Don will need to see that things are happening like I said they would.  The little shit we’ve been doing isn’t enough for me to take over.”

              “Well rushing into anything will certainly put Lorenzo on your trail.  He’s already been asking questions.  Just let me go there tonight and see what I can find out.”  The caller didn’t want Tommy rushing in and fucking anything up.  Besides, he had a stake in this as well. Jan was working with him too; they had been working this laundering angle way before Tommy Angeletti came into the picture.

              Tommy reluctantly agreed before disconnecting the call.  He had to make this shit work, and the only reason he’d gotten involved with Lorenzo’s club was because it made such a big profit in such a small amount of time, so it was easier to put his money in the mix, and he already had connections working at Premier.  Now, however, the Don was asking more and more questions about the business dealings in Texas, and wanted to come check things out for himself, so Tommy had to speed up his timeline.

              At first, it wasn’t hard for Tommy to convince his father that coming to the south and expanding their empire was a good idea.  He had even convinced him that enough time had passed for Lorenzo to get over his grief for his brother, so he would be able to bring Lorenzo back into the fold of the family; not that he actually wanted that to happen, but since Lorenzo was a big shot in Dallas, he could definitely use him for what he needed.

What Tommy failed to mention to the Don was that there was heat on him for some deals that had gone wrong, and he needed to disappear from Jersey for a while.  The Don had eyes and ears everywhere, but because Tommy had his own people in the right places, he was able to keep the word from spreading and getting back to his father about the real reason he wanted to go to Texas. Tommy didn’t need the Don to find out about the problems he was having, and delay turning the family over to him.  No, he had to just lie low and make the right moves to earn his father’s trust again.

              Ever since Lorenzo left, his father had been watching Tommy entirely too closely.  At first, it was questions about what was happening, then it was fewer questions and more like suspicion about his every move and his reasons for making them.  It had been over a decade, and he felt that he still hadn’t completely regained his father’s trust.

              First, Tommy thought that maybe Lorenzo had told the Don about his suspicions that Tommy was involved in his younger brother, Sergio’s death.  But as much as he didn’t like Lorenzo, he was smart and would never go to the Don without proof, and Tommy knew that he didn’t have any solid proof of what had happened the night Sergio died.  Tommy made sure that anybody in his crew that ran their mouth about what he was up to went to that drop, and none of them made it back from that deal alive. Lorenzo himself had taken care of the “enemies” that were accused of killing Sergio, so Tommy put that thought to rest.  Plus, the Don never asked him about Sergio, so he knew that wasn’t the case.

              Still, the Don’s soft spot for his nephews had been a sore spot for Tommy, and he figured if they were out of the way, then he would have more than enough power in the family without the Don running to Lorenzo for everything.

              Tommy knew that no matter what Lorenzo said to the Don, or how much he may have influenced some of the decisions that he made, Lorenzo would never be the head of the family.  Tommy was next in line, and rightfully so.  However, Tommy felt that the Moretti boys were standing in his way of having the total power that was owed to him.  Sergio was young and easily manipulated, and he was just an unfortunate pawn that Tommy had to use to get Lorenzo out of the picture.  He wanted a more permanent solution, but Lorenzo running off to Texas was good enough.

              Now, however, he needed Lorenzo’s business to help make his plans come to fruition.  His father was convinced that Lorenzo needed to be a part of the Angeletti empire, so if Tommy used his business as a cover, the Don would be satisfied that Lorenzo was helping the family, and he would show his father that he could expand the way he wanted.  It was a win-win, but Lorenzo, as usual, was being stubborn and fucking everything up.  So just as before, Tommy had to manipulate things into going the way he needed.

              Tommy would wait on his partner to see if Lorenzo knew about his plans, but he wouldn’t wait for long.  He wasn’t a patient man, and he had shit to do.  He had less than three months to get things moving before the Don made an unnecessary trip to Texas.

***

              Chase had been working Lorenzo since the day she met him at the bar. She “accidentally” bumped into him at his gym.  Of course it was with the help of Marcus’ surveillance that she had known where to find him.  Although they had exchanged numbers, had a few texts filled with witty banter, and a couple of phone conversations, they hadn’t gotten around to an actual date.  Tonight at Premier, Chase was there to get him finally to ask her out so she could get closer to him.

              Chase sashayed into Premier as though she owned the place.  She was in full undercover mode, and she wasn’t about to fuck anything up.  She had her back story together, and the boys were already there to back her up.  She let her superiors know that she might have a way to get some solid evidence on Angeletti, but they weren’t interested in hypotheticals.  Her captain also told her she only had a couple of month’s tops to get what she needed, and it had already been over two months.  He told her if she didn’t have positive Intel on the case, he would pull her off of Angeletti permanently, and bring her back to Jersey.

              Chase sauntered up to the bar.  She was wearing her hair loose in big barrel curls, and had on minimal make-up with pink glossy lips and mascara to highlight her sultry brown eyes.  She sported a fitted white bandage dress that showed how toned and fit her body actually was, and she wore the tallest heels that she could stand making her average height boost to an easy five-foot nine.  She played it cool as she discreetly looked around the club.  She ordered a club soda with an olive to make it look as if she had a drink, but really wouldn’t be partaking in any alcohol because she needed to keep her wits about her.

              As she glanced around the place, she noticed one of the VIP sections in particular capturing a lot of attention from many of the patrons.  Of course, it was her backup, and she shook her head at the realization.  She would never know how they were Special Ops and able to blend in when they were as attractive as any male model gracing the cover of GQ.  Almost all of the women in the club were practically salivating.

Chase continued her perusal of her surroundings, taking in the décor as well as all the people.  She knew the guys were aware she was there because she’d texted Mike before she came inside. That would be the last time she had direct contact with them as she’d had to leave that phone in the car and bring a secondary phone in with her.  She couldn’t risk anyone going through a phone and blowing her cover.

              Chase sipped her mock cocktail and swayed to the beat of the music.  She was very aware of the looks she was receiving, and usually she would be uncomfortable, but now she wasn’t Chase Johnson, FBI.  She was Chase Sanders, new girl in town.  She had been undercover plenty of times, and the one thing she learned was to use her first name on the off chance someone recognized her. Her first name would be the same, so no harm, no foul.  She could easily explain away the last name change.

              She figured she would head to the dance floor; she had yet to see Lorenzo even though she had texted him and let him know that she would be making an appearance at Premier.  She didn’t want to seem desperate, so she decided not to text him a second time.  Instead, she would play it nonchalant and let him come to her.  She was sure he was used to women chasing him, and although her name might suggest differently, she definitely wasn’t down for chasing a man, undercover or not.

              As she made her way to the dance floor, she knew the exact moment she caught the J.C. Inc. boys’ attention.  Marcus’ beer was suspended in mid-air, as if he were frozen in time, and she could see Mike’s Adam’s apple bob as he visibly swallowed.  She smirked and winked, acknowledging them as she sauntered past, never breaking stride.

CHAPTER 22

“Damn, I know ya’ll saw that!”  Marcus spoke low as to not draw too much attention, and although the music was loud enough, he knew that the guys heard what he said.

              Mike nodded and tried desperately not to stare openly at Chase as she moved to the dance floor.  “I’ve never seen her look like that.”

              “What the hell did you numbnuts think? That she was going to come in here wearing her official dark suit and ponytail?”  Jake admonished, shaking his head and frowning at his friends.

              Mike scoffed.  “Of course not. I just didn’t think she could look like… that.”  Mike’s blue eyes were wide with total disbelief.

              “I don’t know why not. I told you that sista was fine as hell.  I guess you believe me now.”  Marcus smirked as he looked at Mike’s disbelieving expression.

              And Mike really couldn’t believe it. He was dumbfounded that he never noticed how attractive Chase really was.  He had known Chase for years. They had gone to college together, had worked on many cases over the years, and never once did he ever see her the way she looked tonight.  He only ever thought of her as a buddy, but with the way that dress hugged all her curves, his mind couldn’t help but change.

              Tony watched as the men around him all took notice of the woman in the white dress.  He did his damndest not to openly gape at her as well, not only because Korri would tear him a new one, but because his cousin and his friends were actively ignoring her.

              “Who is that woman?”  Tony leaned in and asked, using the same low tone as the others.

              “Work.”  Jake’s response let Tony know that he didn’t need to ask any more questions.  The woman had to do with his work, and that could mean any number of different things, but Tony knew if his cousin had to work closely with her, then he was going to have a lot of explaining to do to Charlie.

              ***

              Charlie eyed Jake from the dance floor as he slowly sipped at the same beer he had been drinking all night.  He thought he was slick, but she wasn’t crazy. She knew that when the guys showed up, they were working on something.  It pissed her off that he didn’t tell her that he was working tonight.  He didn’t even have to tell her what he was working on, because most likely she didn’t want to know anyway. However, he could’ve mentioned it.

              “Hey what’s up? Why did you stop dancing? You ready to sit down?”  Korri questioned Charlie as she continued to sway to the music.

              “No, I’m cool.”  Charlie turned to her cousin and started to move.  “Have you ever seen that chick in the white dress before?”  Charlie asked, nodding in Chase’s direction.

              Korri turned slightly, trying not to be obvious that she was looking at Chase.  “No, I don’t think so.”  Korri frowned.  “Why do you ask?”

              “Because the men at our table seem to be actively trying not to stare at her.”

              Korri laughed.  “Charlie, she’s a beautiful woman in a skin tight dress.  What they’re trying to do is not get cussed out by us.” 

              Charlie shrugged, but she didn’t think that was the real reason.  “If you say so.”

              “I do say so. Relax.  Let’s get some more drinks, and shake it up some more,” Korri said, dragging Charlie by the hand to the bar.

              “Sure, but I think I will stick to water.  I feel dehydrated or something,” Charlie responded.

              “You’re probably just out of practice,” Korri stated, giving her cousin a warm smile. “I mean, all you do is work. This is your first time out since your welcome home party, and I had to practically threaten you to come to that.  You deserve to relax and have some fun, Charlie.”

              The girls and Brandon continued to have fun dancing and laughing.  Charlie even began to relax some, but she still felt uneasy.  Jake was up to something, and she was definitely going to find out what it was.

              They decided, after working up a sweat, that they needed to sit down and cool off.

              “Hey, Heart, you having fun, baby?”  Jake snuggled into Charlie’s neck as she sat down beside him.

              “Yeah, Jacob I’m having fun.  What about you?”  Charlie narrowed her eyes at him.  “You want something else to drink?  I mean you must be thirsty since you’ve been sipping on the same beer all night.”

              “Nope, I’m good with this beer.”  Jake turned to face her fully, smiling widely.  He knew he was going to have to come clean, just not while they were at Premier.  The guys had taken over scoping out the club and making sure Chase was covered, so he could actually relax, but he just didn’t want to drink just in case something popped off and he needed to go into protective mode.

              Charlie smiled a sweet, sugary smile that didn’t reach her eyes.  “Are you working, Jacob?”

             
Shit. 
“Not here, Heart.  We can talk about this later.”  Jake tried to caress her face but Charlie leaned away from his touch and narrowed her eyes.

              “Umm hum, later.  We will definitely be
talking
later,” Charlie responded. If something was going on at Premier and Jake knew about it, then he should’ve told her.
This is my job, and I need to know what the hell is going on around here.

              “There’s no need to be upset, baby. I promise,” Jake pleaded, not wanting to fight, especially when this was supposed to be the two of them celebrating their new relationship.

              “There is a need, but like you said, we can talk about this later.”  Charlie leaned back and started a conversation with Brandon, who was sitting on the other side of the couch.

              If she thought she was going to freeze Jake out, she was sorely mistaken.  Yes, he probably should have told her that he was working and he was watching her boss.  But without proper proof, she would just want to argue that he was being overprotective and therefore not listen to him.  So he had to do what he had to do, and keep her ass in the dark until he had solid evidence.

              Jake knew she was super pissed because for the next twenty minutes Charlie actively ignored him.  She didn’t move away from him completely, but she moved where they were no longer touching.  She talked to everyone but him, and wouldn’t look in his direction.  However, Jake had had about enough when she went to the bar and some Casanova looking motherfucker slid up next to her, and she smiled wide at him, and laughed at something he said as he slid his hand on her lower back.

             
Fuck no… she’s taking this shit too damn far.  She knows I don’t play that shit. 
Jake saw red, but took several deep breaths to get his temper under control before he went over, dragged her ass out of the club, and fucked her in the street so she could remember who the hell he was.

              Before Jake could move, Charlie removed the man’s hand and shook her head.  Her hands went to her hips in response to whatever the guy said, and she took a step back.  Her facial expression changed from sweet to angry, and her lips pursed as if she was trying her best to keep from saying something inappropriate.

              Jake realized then that Charlie probably worked with this guy, or at least was familiar with him if she was trying not to say something.  He stood and made his way to the bar.  She could be mad all she wanted to, but he wasn’t going to sit and watch some douche bag make her uncomfortable.              

              Jake stalked up to the two of them, sliding his arm possessively around Charlie’s small waist and kissing her neck.  She exhaled and shuddered, looking at him with pleading eyes for him to calm down.  Charlie could see in his face and tell by his body language that he was upset.

              “You alright, baby?”  Jake asked. He spoke to Charlie, but he looked at the unknown man.

              “Yes, Bear. I’m fine.  This is Frank.  He’s one of the assistant managers here at Premier.”  Charlie was looking directly at Jake, but he was still eyeing the man with anger lining the handsome features of his face.

              Frank nodded, but didn’t say anything as they both stared at each other for a long time.  Charlie cleared her throat to gain their attention.

              Jake’s handsome face held a blank expression that gave away nothing, but Charlie knew he was seconds away from making a scene.  Frank stood looking smugly at Jake as though he knew some sort of secret.

              “I was just telling Frank that I was here with my boyfriend and friends.”  Charlie nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.

              “And I guess you’re the boyfriend?”  Frank looked Jake up and down, sizing him up.

              Frank wasn’t a small man.  He stood about six-foot three and had some mass to him.  His skin was light brown and his dark hair and brown eyes showed his Latin roots, but clearly he had underestimated Jake.

              Jake didn’t know what it was that said he was some sort of pussy to these assholes in Premier; first Lorenzo, and now this Frank character. 
I guess they all want to see if they can slay the giant. 
Jake shook his head, trying for Charlie’s sake to calm down.

              Charlie turned toward Frank and glared at him.  “I already told you that!” 

              Frank smirked.  Charlie knew he was a button pusher, and that was just his personality.  But it was not the time for him to be immature.

              “Stop being so damn childish.  Don’t you have work to do?”  Charlie put her hands back on her hips while discreetly sliding between the two men.

              “Oh, so you need your girl to fight your battles for you?”  Frank smugly addressed Jake.

              Jake could see it now, this guy was just an asshole.  It didn’t matter who Frank was talking to, he was just the type of guy that got off on winding people up.  Jake knew he had to calm down.  He had promised Charlie before that he would let her handle things at her job, and he didn’t want to embarrass her again. 

              Jake wasn’t used to having someone he cared about so deeply.  He would do anything for Charlie, but he had to keep his head on straight, and get his emotions under control.

              “Naw, man.  My woman wants to spend the night with me at home, not bailing me out of jail,” Jake said seriously, not breaking eye contact.  His muscles were tight with tension.

              Frank hesitated for a brief second.  He saw the underlying fury in Jake’s eyes, and he recognized that he may have poked the wrong giant.  “Yeah, whatever, man.  I have work to do.  Catch you later, Charlie.”  Frank turned quickly and walked away.

              “Coward,” Jake mumbled as he watched Frank scurry away.

              “You know I didn’t need to be saved.  I can handle Frank.”  Charlie addressed Jake as she tugged his hand to make him look at her.  “Superman is your cousin’s M.O.,” she said, smirking.

              Jake smirked back at her relaxing just a bit.  “You looked uncomfortable, Heart, and he had his hands on you.”

              “I appreciate you coming to my rescue, Bear.”  She gave him a small smile, ignoring his comment.

              Jake pulled her in for a hug, and she melted into his embrace.  “Let’s go dance.”

              Charlie’s perfectly arched brow raised. “You don’t dance.”

              “No, but you do, and I can just stand there with my hands on your hips, while you twerk that beautiful ass on me.”

              Charlie laughed. “And just what do you know about twerking, Jacob Cameron?”

              Jake nodded to the dance floor where Korri was dropping and popping on Tony, but he seemed to be keeping up with her with his own moves.  They both laughed as they headed to join their cousins.