38

Lexi
I sit at a table in a small room facing two FBI agents who picked me up from the airport when I landed in Newark. My stomach’s in knots. My mouth dry.
“We’d like information on Bobby Manghini,” Agent Sully says.
I break out in a cold sweat. This is what Bobby was trying to protect me from when he told me not to call him at his home or office. Stupid me, I made myself a target.
Goosebumps raise on my arms as I think about all the warnings Bobby gave me about ensuring my safety. Was he worried about the Feds getting to me, or what his family members might do if they think I know something and might talk? Either way, this isn’t good.
“Sorry, but we broke up.”
“Yes, we know. That’s why we believe you may be of some assistance to us,” McGalister says.
I shake my head.
“You can start by telling us everything you know about his contracts with the city,” she says.
“I don’t know anything about his business-he always kept things separate.”
Sully chortles. “I find that hard to believe. You lived in an apartment provided by Mr. Manghini, did you not?”
“So?”
“Surely you heard something.”
“No. I never heard a thing. Like I said, he didn’t talk business with me.”
“Can you tell us about your relationship with Mr. Manghini?”
“No.”
“Are you afraid of Mr. Manghini?”
“No.”
Sully leans over the desk, putting his nose in my face. “You are in a lot of trouble here. You’d better figure out how to get us something, or you’ll end up in jail.”
“I want a lawyer.”
“Look,” McGalicaster wheedles, suddenly turning saccharine sweet on me. “We want to help you. We know you have medical bills you haven’t been able to pay off. In addition to clearing your record of all tax fraud and eliminating your tax liability, the government is also willing to pay off your medical bills.”
“Oh really?” I say sarcastically. “And all I have to do is-what? Turn informer on a member of the mafia? Sure, that sounds like a great exchange!”
“So you do know about Bobby’s business?”
Fuck. I roll my eyes. “Of course I don’t!”
“Did you know that your boyfriend bribed the mayor to receive certain city contracts?”
I stare at them. Is that the worst they have on him? I feared revelations of murders, drug rings, prostitution, gambling. But bribing the mayor to get a contract? I could care less. “So?”
“So, that’s illegal.”
“For the mayor, maybe. Listen, if this is all you have to say, I’m through. Let me out of here.”
“You’ll leave when we’re through!” McGalicaster snapped.
“I want an attorney,” I repeat. I’ve watched enough crime television to know that anything I say after demanding a lawyer would be inadmissible in court. I’m also pretty sure they can’t hold me very long without charges. I fold my arms across my chest and decide to pull my best silent treatment.
Three hours later, McGalicaster and Sully finally let me go. I’m hungry and pissed off and more than a little nervous.
All I can think about is how many times Bobby freaked out over me seeing or overhearing anything.
It’s for your safety and mine.
Of course I don’t know anything, and even if I did, I wouldn’t talk, but will he know that? And the better question might bewill his boss know that?
I walk outside the building and pull out my phone to call an Uber, but I’m stopped when three young men surround me.
“Lexi,” one of them says. I recognize him as one of the guys who moved my things into Bobby’s. Tommy, I think. And Junior is the other one.
Fuck. This is bad.
Very, very bad.
“We need you to come with us.”
Bobby
I’m sitting in my car outside my house while the Feds search it.
Yeah. Didn’t appreciate the five a. m. arrival. Neither did the girls, who are completely terrified I’m going to end up in jail. I sent them to their mom’s house until things blow over.
I’m not gonna end up in jail. The Feds won’t find a damn thing.
Still, I’m sweating it a little, hoping I haven’t missed anything.
I don’t give a fuck about any of it, though. That’s not the reason I’m tearing my hair out. I still haven’t found or spoken to Lexi.
According to Gina, Lexi didn’t make it back from Vegas today and isn’t answering her phone. Not believing her, I already tried going to the apartment she shares with Leo to try to find Lexi. They invited me in, and I looked around, but unless she was hiding in a closet or the bathroom, she wasn’t there.
I’m in too much of a mind-fuck right now to even know whether she’s still hiding from me or something has gone terribly wrong.
My phone rings. Seeing it’s the don, I answer.
“What the fuck is going on over there, Bobby?”
I blow out my breath. “The Feds are searching my place at the moment. I guess they’re also talking to Greta. It’s fine. She knows nothing. She has nothing. Even if she did, she’s family. She’d never talk.”
“And what about the stripper?”
I scramble to catch up. “What about her?”
“She’s been in with the Feds today, too.”
“Fuck.”
Stacy is a wild card. And the last time I saw her, I stupidly laid hands on her. This could come back and bite me in the ass. Then again, she knows nothing about my business. And I don’t think she’s crazy enough to turn informer. If she is…then she made her own bed. Al can have at her, if he wants.
Then I’m struck by a thought. Lexi.
Ice sluices through my veins. Suddenly, her missing whereabouts make sense.
“Who else do they have?” I choke out.
Al goes silent. “What?”
“Fuck. I think they picked up Lexi, too.”
“Your new girl?”
Ex-girl, but I’m not about to tell the don that. I can’t have him fucking with Lexi. I’m already sweating bullets because I know her life is in danger just by the fact she’s in there right now. “Yeah.”
“I’ll find outI’ve got Carlo down there watching the building.” Al ends the call before I can protest.
Carlo.
Fuck!
I rush to call Carlo, hoping I’ll reach him before the don does. While it rings, I screech into traffic, driving as fast as I can to the FBI headquarters.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Bobby.”
Thank fuckCarlo answers.
“I have your girl”
I shout into the phone, “If you lay one hand on her, I’m going to tear your motherfucking head-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hands are off. Nobody’s touching her, cugino.”
“If you scared her”
“I might have scared her a little. Are you scared, Lexi? I’m sorry. She’s all right. Take it easy, cousin.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re in my Range Rover in front of the FBI building.”
“Stay there. Don’t fucking move. Don’t fucking touch her.”
“Easy. Take it easy.”
I don’t trust Carlo’s placation. The guy can be ruthless. He could have a gun on her right now. They might have a hood over her head.
The thought of her being roughed up or frightened by those guys has me pressing the pedal to the floorboard.
“We’re not touching your girl,” Carlo continues to soothe me. “She’s sitting in the car with us having a friendly conversation.”
“I will motherfucking kill you.”
“Bobby’s upset. Tell him you’re okay.”
“Bobby?” Lexi’s voice sounds strangled. I want to put my fist through the dash of the car. “I didn’t say anything. You know that, right?”
“Of course I do, baby. I’m almost there, and I’m going to rip my cousin’s head from his fucking shoulders for touching you.”
“I’m okay, Bobby.”
I’m able to exhale for the first time since I hung up with the don. “I need to get eyes on you, sweetheart. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
“Okay, cugino. I have to hang up,” Carlo interrupts. “The don is calling.”
The call ends, and my heart flops around in my heart. I have to get there before Al gives Carlo any orders about Lexi.
Lexi
“Bobby wants us all dead now,” the young man with an Italian accent says with a grin, like it’s funny to have his life threatened. He’s sitting behind the wheel of the Range Rover while I’m sandwiched in the backseat between Tommy and Junior.
Hearing Bobby’s voice, hearing him shouting through the airwaves to defend me, makes my eyes sting with moisture.
The guy in the front seat takes another call but speaks Italian, so I can’t understand what he’s saying, even though I’m sure it’s about me because he keeps glancing over his shoulder at me.
“Maybe you guys should just let me go,” I suggest when he’s off the phone.
These guys scared the crap out of me, and for a solid fifteen minutes, I wasn’t sure if I was going to die or not, but now there’s an apologetic air to them. It’s true that I’m not hurt, just shaken up. They grilled me about what happened in there, and I told them everything, repeating it three times until they finally seemed satisfied.
I think one thing that made this go better than it could have is that they don’t seem to know I broke up with Bobby. I didn’t clue them in, either.
“No, no. Stay in the car. Bobby will come to us. He will need to see you are unharmed before he calms down.”
Suddenly, the backseat door nearly flies off its hinges. Bobby stands there like a gladiator, prepared to kill.
“Get out, you stronzo.” He fists Tommy’s shirt, throws him out of the car.
“Whoa, take it easy, boss. She’s okay.” Junior nudges me toward my rescuer and away from him.
I tumble out of the SUV and into Bobby’s arms.
Apparently, I don’t want him to let me go because I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, clinging to him like a koala bear hugs its mama. “Bobby,” I choke.
“Lexi, sweetheart. Aw, baby, I’ve missed you so much. Are you okay?” He’s already walking away from the SUV and his associates, ignoring them as they call after him. He carries me to his car where he eases my feet to the ground.
“Babygirl, I’m so sorry.” He strokes my hair back from my face. “I never meant for this shit to touch you. It shouldn’t have.”
I hardly care about any of it. The horrible day spent with the FBI. The fright I had at the hands of his Family members. All I know is how wonderful it is to be in his arms again. To hear his voice. To be the focus of his warm gaze, the familiar kindness seeping through the trauma of the last week. Of breaking my own heart by leaving him.
“It’s not your fault.”
He shakes his head. “It’s definitely my fault. All of it, baby.” He cups my face, caressing both my cheeks with his thumbs. “You mean so much to me, and I made you feel second rate. I want to punch my own face in, baby. And now this.” He casts a black look at the FBI building.
“I didn’t squeal. They wanted me to get back together with you and wear a wire. They said they will prosecute me for tax fraud because I didn’t report tips. But I wouldn’t do it.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s bullshit, and I will take care of it. Whatever tax problem they invented, I will make it go away. I won’t let them use you to get to me.” He lowers his face to mine, until our eyes are level. “I am so sorry. I never wanted you involved in any of my troubles.”
“It’s probably my own fault-for calling you at home that night.”
“Shh. No. It’s my fault. And I’ll fix it. Regardless of whether you take me back or not, okay?” He rubs my arms. “I love you, and I wouldn’t leave you hanging out to dry. You don’t have to sleep with me or be my girl. I’ll take care of it for you.”
I blink at him, my breath stalled in my throat. “You…what?”
He cradles my face. “I’ll take care of it.”
“No, back it up a little more. Before that.”
Bobby’s smile holds a world of regret. “I love you, Lex. I’m sorry I had my head up my ass. I should have told you that you were more than an arrangement. I just…” He shakes his head.
“I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m…a little bent when it comes to relationships. I like to be in charge in the bedroom, so it got me off to feel like I own you. And I know that is inherently disrespectful, but I truly meant you no disrespect by it. This last week without you has made me realize that what you and I had-what we have-is something special. It goes way beyond some arrangement we made for you to stay in my apartment. And it would be there even without any kind of power structure. You get me. And I get you. And we like knowing how to tweak each other.
“And I’m sorry if it seemed like I didn’t deem you worthy enough to be a girlfriend or a wife. That’s not the case. I would marry you tonight, if you would have me. I want you back, Lex, any way you’ll take me. On your terms.”
A couple tears spill down my cheeks, but my heart lightens, as if the bands constricting it over the past week snapped, and it can expand to fill my whole chest. “I love you, too,” I whisper.
He snatches me up, clutching me against his chest so tightly I can’t breathe.
“Will you take me back?”
“Yes,” I rasp.
He hustles me into the car and gets behind the wheel.
“Where are we going?”
“Where do you want to go?” he counters.
“If I say I want to be your wife, you’ll marry me right now?” I test.
He nods. “We’ll probably have to fly back to Vegas because it’s too late here, but yeah. Absolutely.”
I smile. “I don’t think that’s what I want. I was just checking.”
He catches my hand and brings my fingers to his lips. “All right. So what do you want?”
“I could move into your house? Do your daughters live with you?”
He nods. “Yeah. Is that what you want? They would be delighted if you would move in with us.”
“How about you?”
“I want you, baby. However it shows up.”
“Are you still going to be the boss?”
His face remains perfectly blank. “They’re your terms.”
“I’m not moving in with you.”
Bobby goes still, his gaze pinned to my face. “No?” If I didn’t know better, I would say he’s worried, as if he fears I’ve changed my mind about taking him back.
I shake my head. “I want my apartment back. I need a sugar daddy.”
His lips twist into a grin. “Yeah?” I catch the excitement in his tone. “I just so happen to be in the market for a sugar baby.”
“Is there…some kind of audition?” I purr.
“Not for you, sweetheart. You’ve already proven yourself more than qualified. But there will be stipulations.” He flicks his dark brows.
“I’m okay with That. I like being owned. Bossed around a little. Respectfully disrespected.”
Bobby grasps my nape and pulls me toward him for a possessive and rough kiss. “Sounds like we might have a deal.”
“I have a few stipulations of my own.”
He spreads his hands. “Please tell me.”
“I need to know I’m wedding-worthy.”
“Baby, you’re more than wedding-worthy. You’re so wedding worthy, I might drag you off to Vegas tonight whether you want me to or not.”
I laugh. “I meant as your date.”
His expression turns regretful. “I know. Of course. You’re my date to anything and everything you want. You’re my partner.” He tips his head toward the FBI building. “Just know that there are things I try to keep separate for your own protection.”
The stress of the day returns, my stomach knotting up. “Are you in trouble, Bobby?”
“No. I’m airtight, sweetheart. They won’t find anything they can pin on me. They wouldn’t have shaken you down if they had anything.”
“So…you’re safe? You’re not going to jail or to trial or anything?”
“I’m safe. Don’t worry. The worst they might have on me would be if Stacy told them I got rough with her. But I don’t think she’ll talk.”
Another band around my heart breaks free. “Thank God.”
“I have another stipulation.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“You can’t walk out on me again.”
I smile seductively. “Does that mean I’ll be your prisoner?”
“That’s right,” he says. “I’m never letting you go.”
“I can live with that.” I beam at him. I’m willing to be owned by Bobby Manghini. To play his game. Not out of financial desperation this time but because I choose it.
Bobby starts the car. “Let’s get you back to your apartment,” he says. “I’m pretty desperate to make things up to you in a way that will make you forget everything that was wrong about this day.”
I smile. “I’m pretty desperate for that, too.”