Page 11 of The Dominator

“Tommy Ferrano,” he said. “Nice to officially meet you.” He extended his hand.

I snickered and folded my arms. He gave me a little smile and pulled his hand back without reacting, then proceeded to circle me. Circle me! Fear prickled my scalp because I suddenly felt like prey; felt like a piece of meat. That’s exactly how he circled me.

“So, I’m told you’re missing a party right now, one that’s important to you,” he said, meeting my eyes with his and stopping directly in front of me. Close to me. Too close. In my personal space, really.

I nodded slightly, feeling my skin heat up under his appraisal. Damn, he was tall, broad, and authoritative. I felt like I was at a huge disadvantage.

I was. Of course, I was; I was standing here in his space. Not just his space, his bedroom.

“Come; I’ll drive you.”

He stepped back and opened the door with a sweep of his hand, motioning for me to go on ahead of him. Confused, I walked out. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw my purse on a table beside a big brass bowl with multiple sets of keys in it. He grabbed a set of keys and passed me my purse. He reached into his front pants pocket and pulled out my phone and passed it to me, his finger brushing my hand as he did. He gave me a little smile, eyes sparkling with what looked like mischief. I swallowed hard.

Once outside, he hit a button on his keychain and one of four garage doors opened. He put his hand on the small of my back and led me toward it. I flinched at the contact, but let him lead me there. He opened the passenger door to a black convertible sports car for me and closed it after I was in and then got into the driver’s seat and proceeded to back out of the garage, turning around and then driving forward down the driveway, through the now opened gate.

Talk about uncomfortable! He was so nonchalant, and I knew this wasn’t a situation that called for nonchalance. The brother had locked me up, took my phone, treated me like a prisoner. The father had threatened me. I’d been surrounded by burly goons up until now. But Ice Cream Parlor Hottie, err Tommy, was being the exact opposite. Even still, I was more uncomfortable than even before because this was him. This was the guy who’s going to decide my fate. And he was going to mess with my head; I knew it. He’d already come into my work and flirted with me, which was obviously no coincidence, and now he was here, with all the power, and dropping me off at my house with my phone, like it was nothing, like it was no big deal.

I just sat, frozen, with my hands in my lap, absorbing the fact that control over my own life had been snatched away from me. He was inches away from me, of course, and I could smell his cologne, which smelled leathery, spicy, a bit musky. He smelled good, not like the guys I knew who practically bathed in Axe. This man wore just enough. He had this presence, this masculinity and authority I couldn’t even put into words. I had no idea what to say, where to even start. So, I just sat there.

Around fifteen minutes later, when we were in front of Rose and Cal’s, he finally broke the silence.

“Say nothing about any of this to the Crenshaws or anyone else,” he said, leaning over close, uncomfortably close, looking in my eyes. “I’ll pick you up here in three hours. And so you know, Tia, obedience is rewarded; defiance is punished. Remember that.” He winked at me and flashed his watch at me, showing me the time.

I’m sure I must’ve looked at him like he’d lost his mind. I didn’t know what to say, so I got out of the car, feeling like something slowly crawled up my spine. I felt his eyes on me, watching me, until I entered the house. I looked back before entering and the way he was staring at me made my blood run cold. Gorgeous or not, he was obviously a very dangerous man, and I had no frame of reference for this situation. I needed to think.

How would I get a chance to think, though? I had three hours in a house bustling with activity, people everywhere. Kids that live here, graduating kids, their family members, Rose, Cal, the grandparents. I heard Ruby shouting my name. I couldn’t tell any of them what was going on with me, no way.

“Where were you?” she cried out, running to me, her dark ringlets bouncing. Rose was behind her, looking expectantly and cautiously at me.

“I’m sorry, I…” I didn’t know how to finish; I almost started to cry.

Rose rushed over and threw her arms around me. “It’s okay darling, come; let’s get something to eat.” She directed me to the dining room table, which was covered with dishes of food, people swarming it. She probably just assumed my father had disappointed me. She didn’t push for answers.

God, but I loved this family. I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea what awaited me in three hours’ time, but I knew one thing for sure – fear. I was afraid.

Mia bounded over to us. “Did you find your hottie and take off on us for a romp?”

She and Bethany laughed but Ruby was eyeing me suspiciously. If they only knew.

Tommy Ferrano had come into my work and had checked me out, made himself known to me, had flirted with me, even. How long had this been planned for? Where was my dad now? I didn’t even have a phone number to call and ask him what was going on. The look on his face as I pulled away was of defeat but then two seconds later it was as if nothing happened. Drinking coffee, talking on the phone, not looking devastated. Was it all for show? And Mr. Ferrano had acted like the whole marker thing was just a ploy by Dad. What was the real story here? Who was I dealing with, really?

I excused myself to the bathroom and sent Dad a Facebook message from my phone, demanding he call or text me immediately.

Dad! What on earth? These guys say I have to marry the mafia guy’s son to clear your debt. MARRY! And if I don’t do it, we could be what? Dead? And if he doesn’t like me, I still don’t get to go home, they have ‘other’ options. WTF? Please tell me this is a prank, Dad. Write ASAP, come to the house (I’ll be here 3 hrs.), or call my cell! After that I guess I’m back at Tommy Ferrano’s house (but they may take my phone again). It’s on the corner of Jane St. and River Rd.

I knew, after Mom died, that Dad had dealings with less than desirables. Maybe he did before, too.

I remembered people coming to the door for money after Mom died. I remembered hiding in my room during the poker games in our apartment when things would sometimes get loud and out of control. More than once I’d seen Dad with bruises on his face and blackened eyes. I vividly recalled his jaw being wired shut after a night when he’d left me alone the whole night and came back in the morning, unable to talk. I’d also had guys bust in behind me when coming home from school one day and beat Dad up right in front of me, calling him a lowlife deadbeat. What was I in for here?

Dad had always been fascinated with the mob world. Like, crazy-fascinated. He and I used to watch mob movies and he’d give me a running commentary with facts throughout, about real-life mobsters, about parallels, about code of conduct, hierarchies, and so forth. He watched mob movies, mob documentaries, and the mafia came up in conversation all the time. I never got the fascination but remember my mother getting pissed about him letting me watch The Godfather when I was about six. I was here, but not enjoying my graduation party. Despite the laughter and the fun everyone else was having, I was in my own head, but couldn’t delve deep enough to ponder my fate because the reality might be too difficult to face. I just felt numb and disjointed.

I kept staring at the clock and time was flying. I knew he’d be back for me and didn’t know what’d be in store for me tonight. How would I tell everyone I wasn’t going to the dance? Tomorrow was the day I was supposed to be moving into Nono and Nona’s. My room here was already almost totally packed.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Cal put his arm around me as Rose served everyone generous slices of the large, beautiful cake with our three smiling faces on it. Susie was smiling at me with a sad look on her face. She probably figured Dad had disappointed me, too.

“Mm hm.” I tried not to choke up.

“We are so proud of you. You’re always a part of our family, okay?” He kissed my temple and moved away.

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