Love and War 2 (6 page)

“Stay with him,” she told Giovanni. The trio walked out the door.

She spent the rest of the day on the phone with suppliers, negotiating prices on building materials. She was determined to cut the cost of construction as much as possible in order to make the inside as beautiful as possible. A knock on the trailer door interrupted her day. When she looked at her phone, it was a little after six. She looked out the window and saw that the construction crews had already gone for the day. She was alone.

“Who’s out there?” she called.

She didn’t hear an answer so she walked over to the door and repeated he question.

“It’s me.”

Caprice swung the door open and stared at Diesel. She hadn’t heard a word from him since the night he hopped out of the taxi. He hadn’t answered a single phone call in two weeks. Yet, here he was, standing outside her door.

The September sun was still a bit high in the sky and glistened of Diesel’s freshly shaven bald head. He had abandoned his signature black on black for cool light gray slacks and a white button down shirt. Caprice wanted to be mad and hurl angry words at him, but damn, he looked good. She couldn’t ignore the throbbing between her legs.

“Look happy to see me, why don’t you?” he said.

Caprice played it cool. She motioned for him to step inside the trailer and went back to her desk. Diesel took a seat in front of her and watched while she gathered her papers into files and organized them neatly in her desk drawers. When she was finished, she decided to talk.

“Two weeks,” she said. “Two fuckin’ weeks.”

“And that is exactly how long it took to bury Aries, get them niggas thinkin’ that some out of town niggas popped him, put Ra in charge, and quietly leave town. What’s your point?”

“You couldn’t call? Not one time, just to fill me in?”

“Not all BDM business is Bonatelli business,” Diesel replied with little emotion. “I got your messages. I’m here.”

Caprice leaned forward on her desk and ran her hands through her hair. Something was different. Diesel was different. She couldn’t help but wonder if what they had together was over. Her feelings for him were still strong. She loved the way he touched her, the way he held her, the way he listened to her. She couldn’t say for sure that Diesel still felt the same.

After all, she had murdered his best friend.

Caprice walked around her desk and perched on the edge. She crossed her legs and stared at her man.

“Very Sharon Stone of you,” Diesel said. He fingered the hem of Caprice’s skirt. “This look suits you.”

“Likewise.”

“New city, new job, new look, right?”

“Seems that way.”

For a moment, Diesel and Caprice stared at each other. Their gazes were deeply intense but neither wanted to be the first to look away. Their uncomfortable silence was filled with unspoken words. Diesel’s eyes held a disappointment and anger that caused Caprice’s eyes to fill with tears.

He knew. He knew that she’d pulled the trigger.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “The way it happened-”

“Don’t.” The word left Diesel’s mouth sharp like a razor. “It’s done.”

“Who told you?”

“Paolo. After the funeral. He and Nico showed up. After what you did, with his mom and sister there, Nico and Paolo strolled up in that muthafucka like they belonged!”

“I didn’t know they were going!” Caprice hollered right back. “I’m sure they had their reasons.”

Diesel’s glare was icy. “You and I both know what their reason was.”

“Then why are you mad at me?”

Diesel grunted with frustration and began pacing the trailer. “I can’t believe you asked me that.”

Caprice wiped her eyes and watched Diesel walk off his anger. She wasn’t sorry that Aries was dead. He deserved it.

She was sorry that Diesel had to lose his friend. She was sorry that he was sad, but that was all. She had no regrets about Aries, and if Diesel had done his job properly, the Bonatelli’s were back to making a quarter of a million dollars a month from the Black Diamond Mafia. She needed every dime of that money if she was going to build a casino that could compete with the Borgata or the Reveler.

Caprice was building an empire and Diesel was damn lucky that she chose him to be a part of it. She could have let Nico and Rocco kill him and Aries. He should be fucking grateful. She was sticking out her neck for him. She bought his family a house. She was keeping their relationship a secret from her family! And he had the nerve to be mad?

That shit wasn’t going to fly with her.

Caprice slid off the desk and stood in front of Diesel. She wasn’t going to run down the list of shit she had done and was doing so they could have a semi-normal life together. He already knew.

“I called. You’re here,” she said. “I just need to know that you can get past everything that happened and do your job.”

“Can you?”

“I already have. Aries was your friend, not mine. I’m here doing the job I’m supposed to be doing. Make a decision, Diesel. I love you and want you here but...” her voice trailed off when Diesel stopped pacing and stood two inches in front of her face.

“I’ve made my decision, but don’t think for one minute I did it only for you. My family is just as important to me as yours is to you. I’d sell my soul to the devil if it meant that they were okay.”

His statement hit her hard, like a gut punch.

“I’m the devil, now?”

“Don’t do that, Caprice.”

“Whatever,” Caprice said, trying to mask the hurt she was feeling. He really didn’t care about her anymore.

“Let’s get you settled in then.” She fumbled around on the desk, pushing papers aside until she found the manila envelope Mahogany’s real estate agent drop off a week ago.

“What are you looking for?”

“The keys to your house. Four bedrooms, two baths, good school district outside the city. Perfect for you and your family.”

“Four bedrooms, huh? We only need three.”

“I’m glad I went with the four. Can’t have you living with the devil. Bad enough you have to work for her.”

Diesel came up behind Caprice and put his hands on her waist.

“I said you weren’t the only reason.”

Diesel pressed against her and pushed her hair to the side. He gently kissed the nape of her neck. He breathed in the scent of her Love Spell body spray.

He wanted to hike up her skirt, bend her over, and fuck her right on her desk. Two weeks was shorter than the four months they spent apart after the fight, but it was still two weeks.

The taste of her still lingered on his tongue. He could still hear her breathless moans as he hit her spot; could still feel her hands digging into his muscles as she came.

Caprice turned around, sat on the desk and allowed Diesel to step between her legs. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He sealed his lips to hers and explored the softness of her mouth with his tongue. Her grip tightened as they kissed with the fervor of reunited lovers.

The trailer door swinging open interrupted their reunion before it could get any more intense.

“Oh my,” Pamela laughed. “I wasn’t expecting this. Your interviewing skills are way better than mine, Caprice.”

Caprice pulled away and straightened her clothes. She wasn’t embarrassed, just a little irritated that they’d been interrupted.

“I thought our meeting was tomorrow,” Caprice said with a hint of annoyance.

“It is, but I was driving past the site and wanted to check on the progress. I haven’t been down here since construction restarted.”

“It’s going well. The foreman says we’ll be able to start showing the spaces we’ll be leasing in about six to eight months. I have an email out to the Starbucks people.”

“A Bonatelli Starbucks, huh? I’m not sure your father ever thought about getting into coffee.”

“There are a lot of things my father never thought about. The Bonatelli name doesn’t have to be synonymous with drugs, strippers, and dirty money. I’m going to build an empire. Watch.”

“I believe you,” Pamela replied absently.

Her eyes roamed over Diesel’s broad chest and bald head. He was one of the finest black men she had seen in a long time.

“Hello stranger,” she purred.

“Pamela, this is-” Caprice started to say but Diesel interrupted her.

“Duane Harris,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.”

Caprice looked surprised.
Duane
? Never did she think that “Diesel” was a nickname. With his stocky build and the way he and Aries had strong armed their way through Queens to be the top dogs, Diesel suited him perfectly.

“I take it that this isn’t an interview,” Pamela said. “But I can definitely see why Ms. Bonatelli would want you on board.”

“I’ll tell you about that later,” Caprice said in a rush. “I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow.”

Pamela took the hint and put her hand on the doorknob.

“Did you work things out with Sergio?”

“We’ll know in a few hours, won’t we?”

“Good girl. I’ll lock the door behind me.”

When the door closed, Caprice checked the time on the wall clock. She knew that Sergio would come through with her money at the very last minute. She had a couple hours before the twins came to pick her up so she leaned back on the desk on her elbows and turned her lips up into a seductive grin.

“You wanna finish what you started,
Duane
?”

“You know you never asked me what my real name was, Boss,” Diesel replied and began unbuttoning her shirt.

“Boss? I don’t remember saying you’re hired.”

Diesel leaned over Caprice and slid his hand up her skirt and pushed her thong aside.

“Yes you did,” he said in her ear.

Caprice closed her eyes and savored the jolt of pleasure that passed through her body as Diesel pulled his fingers out of her and licked them clean. She lifted her skirt, not giving a damn that the $300 skirt was bunched around her waist and likely to get ruined if she didn’t take it off.

She lay back on the desk and closed her eyes. Diesel lowered his slacks and positioned himself against her. He put his hand behind Caprice’s head and kissed her roughly while sliding his long thick dick inside her in one smooth stroke.

Caprice gripped the edges of the desk tightly when her man hit his stride and pounded her with one deep stroke after another. Caprice threw her head back and thrust her hips as she came every time he hit her spot.

As their moans grew louder, Caprice was grateful that everyone had left the construction site. She let out a loud cry of intense pleasure when Diesel stiffened and released his orgasm deep inside her. He rested on top of her and continued to move slowly inside of her. The weight of his body on hers made her thighs quiver as he stroked her already sensitive clit.

“Stop...stop,” she whimpered when her body couldn’t handle the sensation any longer.

With a satisfied grin, Diesel backed off of her and pulled up his pants.

“You’re such a lightweight,” he teased.

He looked in the trailer’s mini fridge and took out a bottle of cold water. He swallowed about half of the water, and then handed the bottle to Caprice. She rubbed the cool bottle over her warm forehead before finishing off the contents.

“I’m not a lightweight,” she said as she fixed her skirt and buttoned her blouse. “I’m out of practice. And now I need a shower.”

She tossed the manila envelope containing the deed and house keys to Diesel.

“My cousins will be here soon to pick me up and you can’t be here. Go check out your new house and I’ll meet you at my place in two hours.”

“Where’s that?”

“I’ll text you the address.”

“Alright then, Boss.”

Caprice waited until Diesel was in his car before collapsing into her desk chair.

“Goddamn,” she sighed as she rested her head on the desk. “That man...”

Nico was the only person sitting in the conference room at Poleski and Associates when Caprice walked in. She wasn’t happy about Paolo’s request to call an urgent meeting. She was busy in Atlantic City. She’d made some major moves and met with some incredible people in the few months she’d been in Jersey. Pamela had even taken her to Las Vegas to see the casinos she’d opened there.

Caprice’s presence in Vegas was well received and she was fascinated by the glitz and glamour of the city. There was only one thing that surprised her about Las Vegas and it wasn’t the astronomical amount of money that was spent there every day.

The mafia still ran the city. Old mafia families had built the greatest casinos in the city. Caprice was impressed and inspired. She returned to Atlantic ready to get The Capri running but she left her heart on the Vegas strip.

“Where is everyone?” Caprice asked.

“They’re on the way. We need to talk,” Nico said.