Page 16 of Unruly Defender
Maybe it’s because I’ve always been around other types of women because they don’t hold a candle to the woman who’s sitting across from me.And it’s not just about the food either.The way she gives it to me straight, her beauty, her delightful character, it’s the whole package.Besides, my body never reacted the way it did when my hands were on this damn fine woman.
“Aren’t you hungry?”Gracy asks as she grabs a napkin and wipes her mouth clean.
Or at least she tries to, but the red sauce made her mouth slightly orange.I grab my fork and scoop some pasta into my mouth but finish it the way she’s been doing and it earns me a blast of giggles that makes my dick twitch.
“How did it go with your friend Yates?Everything okay?”she asks and picks up her fork and spoon.
“It’s more complicated than I thought.It’s also the reason I reached out to Clemente.Well, I was under the assumption I reached out to the person in charge, Clemente’s uncle.Who we’d normally approach, and since I have been gone for a while I had no clue Clemente took over.”
I don’t want to drag her into my mess but she helped me out with Yates, this is the best answer I could give her with less information and yet enough to end it.
“His uncle used to be in charge but handed it over to his brother when Clemente and his father moved back to the US.Clemente took over because his father had a heart attack the day my mother died.Clemente said he hasn’t been the same ever since.That’s the reason my brother took over.Gosh, it’s weird to say brother.I’ve known him for a while and we always got along great, though I haven’t seen him since my mother’s funeral and now all of a sudden he’s...family.”She puts down the spoon and fork and picks up her napkin to mindlessly twiddle with it.
I reach out and cover her hand with mine.“I know what it’s like to have your world shake on its foundation.There’s no rush at all to get back on your feet after you’ve been knocked over, you know that, right?Take your time and you’ll find your strength to set things right again.”
“Aren’t you Mr.Positive.”She snorts and then her face turns serious.“I’ve also told Clemente I won’t stop seeing you.Not that I’m seeing you, but...well, the two of you were having this heated discussion about you pulling me into the mess you’re wrapped in, and then you mentioning how Clemente is judging you and ignores the fact he’s the boss of—” She falls silent and whispers to herself, “The boss of what?That sentence was never finished because Clemente cut you off.Familia.Arranged marriage.His father took over as head of the Familia.Oh.My.God.Clemente is like...like...the mob?Is he a godfather or something?This can’t be happening.My ass landed into a bad movie.Okay, guys, you can come out with the cameras now.I know this insanity can’t be real.Oh, shit.This can’t be real, right?Tell me I’m imagining things, Henley.I have a very vivid imagination that’s gone haywire.Come on, say something.”
Fuck.Why did that asshole give her information and not mention anything about his family?“Clemente didn’t tell you anything?”
“Would I be asking you this if he told me?”she hisses in anger.
“Hey, don’t be angry at me,” I shoot back and shove my plate away from me as I grab a napkin to wipe my mouth.
She takes her head in her hands and mutters, “We agreed to be friends, Henley.Please, as my friend, tell me if I’m the half-sister of a mafia guy.”
“Not just any mafia guy, Gracelynn.”I lean back and give it to her straight.“Clemente is head of the biggest mafia family and practically runs the underworld of California.”
“Well, I guess if you’re going to do something, you’d better give it your all, right?Holy shit.Really?The head?The biggest?Great.Well, I already had the big name of wealth and high-class connected to my ass, I might as well add the underworld to it too, right?Shit.My life is such a mess.”
“Eating spaghetti is a mess, darlin’,” I chuckle and reach out to wipe the corner of her mouth with my thumb.“From what my Ma told me, you’re a strong one who can handle everything.”
Her eyes go down and a faint blush slides across over her cheeks.“Running the estate and cutting my father out of my life isn’t really a show of strength, Henley.”
“About your father,” I grumble.“And I really hate bringing it up, but I see no other way around it because not telling you feels wrong somehow.”
“Well, don’t you think with the big news bang of hearing I have a half-brother, and with it my father wasn’t actually my father, is kinda hard to top?So, cut the whole ‘hate bringing it up’ and just get it out already.Wait.Is this about my father as in the biological one or the non-biological one?Shit.This is so frustrating.”
“I’m talking about Spencer.”
“Ah, the one who married my mother for money, the fake, asshole father, gotcha,” she grumbles.
“When I mentioned your name to Yates he said I couldn’t trust you.”
“What?”she gasps.“Are you kidding me?Not trust me?He doesn’t even know me.I should have punched him in the gut harder than I already did.What an ass.”
She starts to curse and I hold up my hand to stop her.“Let me explain.”She huffs and it makes her even more adorable.“It was your last name that set him off.Yates found out that Rush has been having secret meetings with Spencer for quite some time now.”
Shit.I shouldn’t have added that part.She doesn’t need to know every detail, and yet maybe she does.“If I tell you something it needs to stay between us, understood?”
“Understood.”The fierceness in her voice is something I respect.
“Rush wants to pull my MC into dealing drugs as a major money income.Drugs that need to be transported and he needs an investor, among other things, to set things in motion.A partner so to say.”
“That’s bad.That’s very bad,” she muses.Her eyes suddenly narrow as they lock on mine.“This MC of yours, are you into shady business like Rush?I’ve seen movies, watched TV, and read books.Bikers aren’t all sweet and nice, and ride on the right side of the law.They dabble in weapons, prostitution, drugs, assassins, all that stuff that leads to a rap sheet for miles on end.Wait...why were you in prison?”
“Are you judging a man who just got out of jail?”I can’t hide the smile she brings out of me as she’s sitting across from me with a determined look on her face to get to the bottom of this.
“I’m not judging, Henley.I’m trying to make sense of it all.You know.Me, a woman who thought her life was slightly dysfunctional with my parents not getting along, while there were clearly other things going on.Then there’s you, and your problems, and you suddenly mention drug deals, and Spencer having meetings because of it.Oh, and let’s add Clemente into it too.You know, my mafia boss brother.Ugh.And we’re back to you, walking out of prison and wanting your MC back.”
