I'm Nothing (The Family Book 2) (6 page)

“I’ll go and see who that is.” He took a bite of
pancake, and left. She sipped at her coffee, wondering what the hell she was
doing. There was nothing going on between her and Tonio, and she cooked him
breakfast as if she was his girlfriend.

Get a grip, Zara. He’s going to think you’re crazy.

“Is now a bad time?” Donnie asked.

“No, come on in,” Tonio said.

She tensed up when she saw all of his friends from
last night, including two women. One, whom she recognized from school, was
heavily pregnant, and the other was carrying a little girl on her hip.

“Zara, you remember Paige?”

“Yes, hey.” She held her hand up, pleased that she was
still behind the counter. The shirt she wore was quite long and would offer her
some modesty.

“This is Charlene. Long story that’s kind of boring,
the little girl she’s holding is Donnie’s little half-sister.”

Again, Zara did the wave, not used to so many people
all at once. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Donnie told me what happened. It sucks, I’m so
sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, smiling. “Tonio got
there in time, and all is well with me. It could have been a lot worse.” She
was babbling again. “Should I have said that?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Paige walked toward the
counter. She rested a hand on her stomach. “What do you have?”

“Pancakes?”

“Oh, can I have some?”

Zara pushed her plate toward her, and Paige’s blue
eyes lit up. Her long raven hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She had
always thought that Paige was a beautiful woman. Many days she had watched the
other girl, wishing she had looks similar to Paige. She’d been fuller, but Zara
had never wanted to be like one of the slender girls at school.

“I’m going to get dressed.”

She started out of the kitchen.

“I’m coming as well,” Tonio said.

Looking behind her, she saw that his friends were
staring at them. Shaking any nerves from her body, she made her way into the
bedroom. Before they had come to his apartment last night, he’d allowed her to
pack up some clothes. Closing her door, she went to the wardrobe where she had
hung them up.

She quickly tugged on her clothes, and as she was
leaving her bedroom, Tonio was coming out of his room.

“Sorry about breakfast,” he said.

“Don’t worry. This is your place. It’s not mine.”

“Do you want to see your mom?”

“Erm, I better.”

“Would you like me to go with you?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“Donnie, Luiz, and Jake want to go with us as well.
We’ve got to ask her some questions.”

“Oh, so it’s for finding out more about Lucien?” Now
she felt stupid. She thought he wanted to come to keep her safe.
Silly, stupid Zara.

“We need to know what is going on with that pizza
shop. Something about last night doesn’t add up.”

“No, it’s fine, Tonio. You don’t owe me any
explanation. Let’s go and see.”

She walked out into the main sitting room, and she saw
Jake sitting with Charlene, bouncing the little girl up and down on his knee.
Paige was snuggled up against Donnie, and Luiz was taking a picture. Staring at
them right now, she couldn’t put the whole mafia persona on any of them.

They looked just like any kind of guys at nineteen or
twenty. She was nineteen, while some of the guys would be twenty.

Tonio cleared his throat, and the moment was lost.
“Are you ready to do this?”

“Are you staying with us, Zara?” Paige asked.

“No, I’ve got to go with them.”

Paige glared, turning toward Donnie. “Are you going to
hurt her?”

“No, we’re not. She’s going to be there with her
mother for when we ask questions. God, have some faith I’m not a total bastard.
I’m not going to hurt her.” Donnie silenced Paige’s protest with a kiss. “Be
good.”

Paige released a growl, and Tonio moved her toward the
door. “Come on, let’s get out before something bad happens.”

They left the room, and Donnie chuckled. “I love
winding her up. Sex tonight will be off the charts.”

“How does that even work?” Jake asked.

“The same as usual,” Donnie said.

“What makes you think it would be difficult to fuck a
pregnant chick?” Luiz asked.

Zara folded her arms, wishing she wasn’t privy to this
conversation.

Jake did a big circle against his abdomen. “They’re
big you know. Wouldn’t they crush you?”

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Seriously? Girls
were curious about what men talked about?

“If they don’t crush you, you’re at risk of hurting
them.”

“Do you refuse to think?” Tonio asked.

“What? Surely I’m not the only one who has thought
about this?” Jake asked.

“No, I’ve never thought about pregnancy sex,” Zara
said. “It’s not on my list of things to worry about.” She forced a smile to her
lips, wishing this trip didn’t happen. They were only a few feet from her
mother’s room.

“I tell you what, Jake, you’ll find a way. It’s either
find a way or use your hand. Believe me, when you’re with the woman you love,
you’ll give her everything,” Donnie said, knocking on the door. “Don’t talk to
Paige about this. She’s already upset that she’s ‘the size of a tank’. I don’t
think that either. Her words, not mine.”

“I was thinking a cow,” Luiz said, chuckling.

Donnie slammed his fist against Luiz’s arm.

“Sorry, man, joke, joke.”

“Don’t let Paige hear you say that,” Donnie said. “She
won’t let me see her naked anymore, and I can’t wait until she gives birth so
she’ll stop moaning about her weight. She’s sexy as fuck.”

“Does Paige know you talk about her like this?” Zara
asked.

All four men turned to her.

“Keep quiet about it. I love Paige with my whole heart,
and I will not see her sad,” Donnie said. “The pregnancy is already zapping her
energy.”

“Does she know everything that is going on?” Jake
asked.

“No. I want her to believe we’ve not got a problem.
She doesn’t need to be stressed right now. I’ve spoken to the doctor, and he
advised that I keep her happy, relaxed. No stress.”

Zara found the sudden transformation rather sweet.

He clearly cared about Paige.

In that moment, she really wished there was a guy like
him out there for her. The whole idea was stupid. Her future wasn’t looking
great with what happened last night with Lucien. For now, she just wanted to
stay alive. She’d worry about being alone later.

Chapter Five

Zara’s mother looked so fucking old and frail. She
looked worse than when they had left her last night. Standing in the corner,
Tonio watched as she sat drinking tea. Her hands were shaking so hard that the
cups were rattling.

“I don’t know why you’re all here,” she said.

“Mom, Tonio and his friends have some questions.”

“You can answer them. You know I’m not good with that
business stuff.” Her mother fanned her hand out as if it wasn’t something of
interest for her.

He didn’t like that. She was hiding something.

Zara had been stressing like fuck about what her
father had done, and this woman was treating it as if it wasn’t that fucking
bad. His anger was starting to get the better of him.

“Actually, what I want to know goes before Zara took
over from your husband.” Donnie dragged a chair from the table toward the middle
of the room. He spun the chair and straddled it, staring at the mother.

“Donnie?” Zara said, and his friend held his hand up,
silencing her.

“I went over all the papers that Zara gave me, from
the house, to the pizza shop. I also went through all of your expenditures. No
wonder Zara was scrambling her brain at the figures. They don’t fucking match
up. The money your good husband paid on refurbishment cost five measly little
grand, but it states he owed over fifty. Tell me, Mrs. Summers, what the fuck
is going on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Donnie laughed. “Mrs. Summers, I’m not a fucking
idiot. Your daughter may be loyal to you, but I killed my own father for
crossing me. I don’t have any such loyalty. I suggest you start talking.”

She put the cup down and shook her head. “I have no
idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Martinez.”

Even Zara pulled away from her mother, looking
confused.

“What is it?” her mother asked.

“I never said their names, or who they were, Mom. How
did you know that?” Zara asked.

“No, you said their names.”

“I said Donnie, Luiz, Tonio, and Jake. Nothing else.
How did you know his last name?”

Tonio was suspicious and knew without a doubt the
woman was hiding something.

“He’s famous.”

“Not close to you, Mrs. Summers,” Donnie said. “I
suggest you start talking, as otherwise this is not going to go well for you.”

Tonio stepped close, putting his hand on Zara’s
shoulder, offering her support.

She placed her hand over his.

Tonio didn’t get it. He didn’t understand it.

His feelings for her confused him.

Whenever he was near her, he had this urge to protect
her, to make sure no one ever hurt her. Not only did he feel the need to
protect, he didn’t want there to be any secrets between them.

What the fuck was that all about?

There were so many secrets from his past that he
didn’t want known, but they were.

“I know who you are.”

“How did your husband die?” Donnie asked.

“It was a heart attack.”

“Was it?”

“My husband handled everything with Mr. West. I just,
I cook pizza, and I stayed out of it.”

“Mom?”

Mrs. Summers turned to her daughter. “I’m sorry, Zara.
We failed you.”

“Why don’t we take this from the top, without lies and
without the bullshit?”

“Over five years ago, my husband and I, we were
struggling. Pizza wasn’t selling, and the mortgage on our house needed to be
paid. One night, he went next door to the local massage parlor, and that is
where he met your father, Mr. Martinez, Anthony, and Lucien West.”

“I can’t believe this,” Zara said. “You lied.”

“Your father made an agreement to clean money, and in
return, we got to keep our shop, free of charge.”

Zara pulled away, pacing up and down. “All this time,
the debts, what the fuck was that about?”

She looked ready to kill her own mother. It was rather
strange to see the look of murder on someone else.

“Wait? If there wasn’t supposed to be debts, than what
the fuck have I been doing?” Zara asked. She ran her fingers through her hair,
and Tonio couldn’t look away. She looked so sexy in a disheveled kind of way.

“Something went wrong, didn’t it?” Donnie asked.

Mrs. Summers nodded. “Yes. Something went wrong,
really wrong.”

Tonio watched her shudder.

“What happened?” Zara asked.

“One night, my husband was serving pizza, and Anthony
comes with Lucien. They carry through the shop three people.”

“They were alive?” Luiz asked.

“They were alive, and, erm, they were covered in
blood. They made us close up shop.”

“Where was I?”

“On a field trip with the school. You weren’t there.
Thank God.”

“What happened?” Jake asked.

“We closed up the shop, and there were two guys and a
girl, a whore, they said. I don’t know why they were at the shop, or what they
had done. Betrayal, theft, or something, I don’t know. All I know was that the
pizza shop had to be completely cleaned by a professional team. The murders
affected my husband so that it drove him mad. He wanted out of cleaning money,
of being a goon as he called it. One visit from Lucien West, a doctor, and my
husband was in the hospital from a heart attack. I was told to keep my mouth
shut otherwise they would kill me, and then come for my daughter. Only Zara
wouldn’t be killed. One day, Lucien came into the shop not long after my
husband passed, and told me I owed him money. He gave me the paperwork that you
have seen, and said I was to start making weekly installments. I tried to argue
with him that we didn’t owe him anything. He threatened to kill the both of us.
That’s how the debt began. He just took, and took, and there was nothing I
could do. He called in the old debt that my husband had taken out. We hadn’t
been paying on it while we were cleaning money, but we apparently weren’t clear
of it. And I needed more money since I couldn’t do all the work by myself, so I
had no choice but to keep on borrowing.”

Donnie stared at her. “What does Lucien do?”

“He comes in, and he takes the money, and he leaves.”

“Last night he didn’t,” Tonio said, recalling the way
Lucien was forcing himself onto Zara. He wanted to hurt the bastard all over
again. Something told him that Lucien had been planning for this all along.

“Last night was the first time that he ever did that.
Lucien is never alone with my daughter.”

“I can’t believe this. I didn’t go to college because
of this.”

“I wasn’t allowed to send you to college. You don’t
understand, Zara. Your father, he organized everything, I was just doing as I
was told. They would have killed you.”

“Doing as you were told? I almost got raped last
night. My entire future was wrapped up in fucking pizza, and your only excuse
is that it was Dad’s fault?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck you!”

“Tonio, take her out. I want to keep on talking.”

He moved forward, ready to leave himself.

“No, you don’t get to move me from this. You’re a
fucking coward, Mom.”

Banding his arm around her waist, Tonio stopped her
from causing a scene by tugging her outside of the apartment.

“Let me go. This is not fair. None of this is fair.”

Luiz closed the door behind him, and Tonio pressed her
up against the wall. She was clearly struggling with everything that was
happening. “Let me go. I want to find out everything.”

“Some shit you don’t need to know.”

“She lied to me, Tonio. They all lied to me, and I
just can’t—”

“You can’t what? Let it go? You’ve got no choice.”

“They took that choice away from me. Look at where we
are now. You had no choice but to save me because of her.”

Tonio shook his head. “I didn’t
have
to save you, Zara. Anthony Martinez. I used to work for him.
Lucien was just another goon, but something tells me someone is trying to run a
different show. You’re not from The Family, so you don’t know what this all
means. Going at your mother, it’s not the answer.” Tears were falling down her
cheeks. “Calm down, baby.”

“I … can’t.”

“We’ve got no choice. Breathe.”

“I stopped everything for my parents. I stopped
college, and my future.”

 
He stroked her
cheek. His heart was breaking for what she had lost, and wishing he could
change that. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I
promise. Come on, let’s get you back to my room.”

Wrapping his arm around her waist, he helped her walk
toward his apartment door. “I’m so scared.”

“You don’t need to be scared.”

“I worked in a place that had people killed. That is
so sick and twisted. I hate it.”

He wasn’t about to say anything.

“I can’t believe I’m living with a guy who works for
the mafia.”

“I don’t work for them. I
am
one of them. Donnie, Luiz, me, and Jake, we took over a few
months ago.”

“How do you take over?”

“You kill the people who are in charge, and anyone who
threatens to overthrow them, you kill them, too.”

“Wow, you seemed like such a nice guy who copied from
me. All this time, you’ve been a killer.”

“It’s what I’ve been trained to do.” He kissed the top
of her head. He couldn’t help it.

“God, what the hell am I going to do?” she asked.

“You can stay with me. I don’t mind.”

“I can’t stay with you forever.”

“Why not? I’ve not got anyone sharing my space.
There’s more than enough room for you.” They stopped outside of his apartment.
“I’m not going to pressure you to leave.”

“Going back to the pizza shop is not an option. They
tortured and murdered people there.”

“You’re not cooking in their mess though. It was
cleaned up.”

“It doesn’t make me feel better. I can’t believe she
lied to me. I’ve been working my ass off since my father died, and he told me
to take care of my mom. Now look what is happening.” She shook her head.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t moan.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got to head back. We’ll
talk later?”

“Sure.”

He opened the door and watched her enter. Just as he
was about to close the door, she called his name.

“Tonio?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, babe.”

****

“Donnie told me what happened. I’m really sorry,”
Paige said.

Zara nodded, searching the cupboards. After everything
she had just been told, she needed a strong drink, a stiff one.

“What are you looking for?” Charlene asked.

“Alcohol. Anything that will numb this … feeling.” She
was shaking, and her mind was all over the place going from crazy to worse.

“There’s beer in the fridge,” Paige said.

Just as she was about to concede on the whole beer
front, at the back of the cupboard she found a bottle of scotch.

“Ahha.” She grabbed the bottle and a glass, which
she’d already scored. “Does anyone want a glass?”

“I’m pregnant,” Paige said.

Charlene shook her head. “It’s the morning.”

“It sure is. Can you believe I was making pancakes a
few hours ago? Probably not even that.” She looked toward the clock, and saw it
was indeed only a couple of hours ago. It wasn’t even lunch time, and she was
hitting the stuff hard. She poured out a generous shot and downed that quickly.

Zara coughed, spluttered, and went in for a little
more. “Wow, that stuff is strong.”

“Do you think you should be doing this?” Paige asked.

“I’ve just learned that my parents lied to me. My
father was killed because of some bad shit that he was involved in. Right now,
the only way for me to deal with everything that I’ve found out is to drink.
I’ve got to drink.” She poured a great deal more into the glass, and swallowed
it back. “Damn, that is good.”

“Is she usually like this?” Charlene asked.

“I don’t know. We were never really close growing up.”

“No, we weren’t. I was just the loser kid that Tonio
copied from. No one ever gave me the time of day, but that’s okay. I’m used to
being passed over. I’m not pretty. I’ve got the smarts, but that’s about it. No
one wants in my pants either. I’m too fucking ugly. You’d have to actually wear
a bag over my head.” Another drink swallowed, she gave a whoop, and did
another. “Fuck me, I need a stiff one.”

“Zara, that’s a lot of alcohol.”

“Well, guess what, it’s just the start. I’ve always
been the good girl. The good daughter. I always thought that by being good,
meant I was going to do okay in life. Guess what? It’s a fucking lie. There’s
no point in being good. Someone will fuck with you regardless, and you’re left
with this pile of shit that is stinking up the place.”