Page 25 of Together Again with the Don

“Dad isn’t in charge anymore,” Frankie said. “He would’ve sent her into the lion’s den and let her fall. I’m in charge now, and I can assure you that won’t happen.”

“There’s nothing you can do if they hurt her.”

I glanced over at him, and his eyes blazed in a way that told me he entirely disagrees. “As long as she’s with you, she’s with us. And nobody touches my family without repercussions. I don’t care who threatens her or tries to hurt her, I won’t let them. Not as long as you care for her.” He paused, and we watched as she took the small device from Tommy and examined it. “Is she a part of our family now?” he asked.

I didn’t hesitate before responding. I knew the answer without thinking, and it left my lips immediately. “Yes,” I told him. “She is.”

18

SIERRA

The last thing I expected was for Bella to come to my doorstep at eight o’clock on a Saturday night and insist we go to the bar together, especially when the thought of planting the bug on Virgil Lucchese’s computer was the only thing I could think about. She threw around the word “sisters” a handful of times as I cradled my mug of tea to my chest and looked over my far-from-suitable outfit. I’d been looking forward to staying in and watching an episode of trash TV tonight, and I hadn’t been to a club since…well, I simply didn’t go to clubs anymore.

“A bar. One. Andnota club,” I told her, holding up one finger and watching as she squealed from excitement. I knew how drastically different the scenes were, and as long as I didn’t leave her side for the evening—as long as we didn’t go to the place where I’d been taken—I’d be fine.

An hour later, we strode into a small bar a block from my apartment, and my shoulders sagged as I saw how different this bar was from the nightclub I still avoided like a plague. I followed as Bella strode perkily toward the bartender and asked her for two fruity drinks. When she whipped back toward me, smiling widely, I couldn’t help but mimic the smile.

“Okay, spill,” I told her. “Why would you insist on bringing me out tonight?”

Her smile faded just a bit for a moment before she leaned into the bar and shrugged. “It seems like you’re around to stay, and I wanted to get to know you,” she said. “Is that a crime?”

“Dinner and staying in would’ve done that just fine,” I replied in a teasing tone.

“Alcohol loosens the tongue, and it’s the best way to get to know someone’s true intentions.”

I was entirely sure Bella wasn’t the ditsy blonde she acted like, especially with a philosophy like that. “I’ll make you a deal,” I told her, mimicking her stance at the bar. I knew that mimicking someone’s stance and expression was a surefire way to help them open up about themselves. “I’ll tell you more about myself if you drop the act.”

I swore, for just a brief moment, fear flashed in her eyes. It was replaced quickly with feigned obliviousness, and she jerked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I know you’re not like this,” I said, gesturing to her. “I’ve seen the way you act, and you’re not stupid. You found me at the hardware store, you figured out my address this evening, and you know that alcohol helps loosen tongues. If you were as ditsy as you act, you wouldn’t have thought of any of those things. If we’re going to enjoy the night, I want to enjoy it with the real Bella, not an act.”

Her shoulders sagged for just a moment before she huffed and nodded. “Okay. To be honest, the men I’ve been with always prefer me this way, and it’s become an automatic front. But you’re right. I’m not stupid, and I want a friend I can be real with. I guess I was hoping that could be you.”

“Even though you tried to scare me away?” I asked with a growing smile.

She shrugged as the bartender delivered our drinks. “I’m going to keep trying,” she said, taking a swig of her cocktail and nodding in approval. “But since you seemed so unfazed the first time, I’m beginning to think you already know what you’re getting into.”

I held back my grimace. “I guess I just know what I want.” The words would have burned the back of my throat a month ago, but as I spoke them this time, they felt truthful. How did I get to the point where I was beinghonestabout wanting Carlo?

I brushed off the questions and took a drink. I’d need to ask Bella what precisely she’d ordered, as this would be my new go-to cocktail. If she was confident enough to order for me, it meant she could read me well enough to know what kinds of drinks I preferred. I had a feeling that Bella and I would get alongreallywell if she was as cunning as she seemed.

“Listen, you’re the first friend I’ve had for years,” she admitted. “Being with Frankie makes friendships hard, but I’d really like it if you stayed Earthside. So I’m going to keep warning you away. Unless, of course, you’re already involved in all the mob stuff and can’t get away from it. You can be honest with me, you know.”

I considered. Frankie told me not to tell Bella anything, as he seemed to believe she was no better than a gossip, but I wondered if that was entirely true. Maybe Bella would do well to know I was involved over my head, and that I knew precisely what I was dealing with and couldn’t change it.

I opened my mouth, not entirely sure what I planned to say, when the door to the bar flung open and banged into the wall behind it. I flinched, hearing the engines rev from outside the door. They cut off one by one, and people spilled into the bar. “Shit,” Bella whispered, grabbing my arm with a bruising grip.

I glanced back toward her. “What?” I asked, looking between her and the men. “Do you know them?”

“You remember what I told you on the first day we met about the motorcycle gangs?”

My mind reeled. I’d been so focused on the Lucchese family that I could hardly remember. I did remember her mentioning them, but what had she said? Were they worse than the Luccheses? I found that hard to believe.

“Another Italian family, the Genoveses, control them. They’re bad news, continually moving from one side of the country to the other and leaving bodies in their wake. They get away with whatever they want because Alonzo is the Commission’s chairman.” I stared blankly at her. “They’re bad news, and they can’t see us.”

“They won’t recognize me,” I told her, shaking my head.

“Sierra, we need to go.Please.” The pleading in her voice made me take a double-take and check to ensure she was okay. Her face had paled and she turned it downward, almost as if trying to hide it from the motorcycle gang who had just entered. It took me a moment to realize that she was likelyveryrecognizable, being Frankie’s wife. “We have to go out the back. Too many things have happened, and I can’t relive them tonight. Sierra, we have to go.”

---