Cautious (Sequel to Disastrous) (26 page)

“Ah, I must have a talk with Marky. I mean if I had a beautiful
woman like you I would never leave your side.”

Rolling my eyes, I cocked my head aside and stared at him for a
few seconds before replying. “Marcus is a busy man. That’s all.”

His eyes slightly squinted as if confused by my response. “Busy
doing what exactly?”

“On jobs. What else?”

Laughing once, he took a long pull of his beer then placed the
bottle on the bar. “Is that what he’s been telling you? Marcus hasn’t handled a
job in the last four weeks. Vinnie and I have been taking care of them.”

Staring at Gio in disbelief, my throat closed and instantly felt
very dry. All the excuses Marcus had given me sprinted through my mind: he was
busy; he couldn’t make it; he was sorry, but he needed to work on a few things.

Why would he lie about it all? He promised that he wouldn’t keep
anything from me. Suddenly, I felt more detached from him than I’d ever felt.
“Excuse me, but I have to go.” I muttered while grabbing my clutch from the
bar. I tried to stand, but Gio put his hands on my shoulders and forced me to
sit back down.

Angrily, I snapped my head and glared at him. “What are you
doing?” Just because I was a bit comfortable around him, didn’t mean he knew me
well enough to put his hands on me.

“Look. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you. Maybe he was
given a separate job to handle.”

“Bullshit. Don’t try and cover his ass now.” I crossed my arms
while tapping my foot along the leg of the metal barstool in front of me. What
was Marcus doing on those nights if he wasn’t on a job? Jealous thoughts began
to take over, causing my blood pressure to rise.

“Look at you! You’re working yourself up over something that’s
not even an issue. Come on. Let me grab you another drink.” Raising a brow, he
flashed a wide grin. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was overreacting. He ordered
us another round of drinks after I let out a deep breath and nodded.

“You gotta live a little, Mia.” He exclaimed as he ruffled a hand
through my hair.

“Hey!” I jabbed his shoulder. His mocking wide-eyed expression
made us both laugh.

My laughter immediately stopped when I saw Gio stare over my
shoulder. He straightened his position as his facial features went from
humorous to stern in a nanosecond. Confused by his instant change in demeanor,
I turned to see what had caused it. My heart dropped at the sight of Marcus
storming across the dance floor. The look on his face caused my body to
slightly tremble with fear. I’d never seen him that angry—the grimness in his
eyes, the tightening in his jaw, the thin line of his lips, and the command in
his stride. With every step he took, my heart pounded just as quickly.

Gio grabbed his beer and leaned back onto the counter smoothly,
as if Marcus’s behavior didn’t intimidate him. I twirled in the barstool to
fully face Marcus as he approached. Once he was in front of us, his eyes never
left Gio. “Marky.” Gio said while lifting the beer bottle in salute and then
chugging the rest down. Marcus didn’t respond, not even a nod in acknowledgment.
He continued to grimace at Gio. Then Marcus slowly tilted his head and looked
down at me. My chest heaved in and out from the angry stare-down. Why was he
making me feel as if I had done something wrong?

To lighten the mood, I breathed out a smile, stood, and wrapped
my arms around his neck. “Hey baby, I’ve missed you. How was your night?” I
tried to sound upbeat and excited, but his continued glare left me uneasy.

He didn’t respond; instead, he wrapped his hands around my wrist
and pulled my arms away from his neck. Still with a tight grip, Marcus turned
and hauled me through a swarm of dancing drunks. He was walking so quickly,
winding through the crowd that I had to practically run to keep up. Megan waved
at me as we passed her. I didn’t have time to wave back as he pulled me up the
stairs and toward the second level. The music died down the moment the door
closed behind us.

Once we reached the hallway, he let go of my wrist but continued
his way down the hall and into the VIP room. Following him, I shut the door
behind me. Marcus paced back and forth in the room while staring at the wooden
floors the entire time. I didn’t know what to do or say, so I leaned against
the wall and waited.

Finally, he stopped by the table. Tightly gripping the back of
the chair, he shut his eyes as his breathing became heavier. “Why didn’t you
tell me you were going out?” His voice was in a low cruel tone.

My lips slightly trembled as I let out a shaky break. What
brought on this hostility? “It was a sudden decision. I didn’t realize I had to
keep you posted on my whereabouts.”

He laughed with no sound of humor echoing the room. “Here I am busting
my fuckin’ ass to keep you safe, and I have no right to know your whereabouts?
Fuckin’ perfect. As I try to better our future, you’re over here flirting with
him!”

What did he mean keep me safe? When I was going to question him
on it, I remembered his last harsh statement. “You cannot be serious about me flirting
with Gio?”

“I’m. Completely. Fucking. Serious.” He ran a hand over his face
in frustration.

“Marcus, I was not flirting with him. Not in the least.” I moved
toward him until we were a foot away. “He was comforting me.”

His head snapped up at me with dark eyes. “Comforting you? Why
would he be comforting
my
girl?”

Marcus sarcastic and harsh tone left me uneasy. “He was
comforting me because I was extremely angry when I found out
my
boyfriend had been lying to me for the past few weeks.” I crossed my arms and
dropped a hip, waiting for his response as his mouth slightly opened.

Then his eyes grew angry as his jaw clenched together. “You have
no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No? So you weren’t lying to me for the past few weeks? You were,
in fact, on jobs for Lou? Or were you so busy at the firm that you had to stay
extra
late hours with Stephanie, I wonder?” I raised my hands in question with a
mocking tone.

“You need to stop right there.” Marcus sneered as he turned his
back on me and walked over to the bar area of the room. Grabbing a glass and a
bottle of whisky, he poured a glass.

Anger rushed through me. Storming over toward him, I pulled the
drink from his hand and dumped the liquor into the sink.

“What the fuck, Mia!”

I inched in and pointed my finger at his shoulder. “We have not
seen each other in two weeks, Marcus. Two whole weeks! We were doing
so
well. Are we back to arguing and not discussing our issues? I know that you’re
hiding something from me. I can feel it.” I reached my hand up to touch his
beautiful face and stared into those damaged eyes. With a lower tone I went on,
“Why are you not telling me? I don’t understand. Are we back to that now?”

He exhaled at my touch and shut his eyes, contemplating, and then
he lifted his eyelids open. “Do you trust me?”

With all my heart, I trusted him, but he obviously didn’t trust
me. “Do you trust me?” I shot back.

His eyes focused on mine as if the question was difficult to
answer. I couldn’t believe him. I’d never for one second given him a reason not
to trust me. I’d stuck by him through all of his decisions, good or bad. I’d
accepted his lifestyle, because I knew deep down it wasn’t what made him who he
was. Whether he believed it or not, he was a good man.

My eyes blurred as he continued to stare at me but didn’t answer
my question. Removing my hands from his face, I studied his features. “Wow.” I
couldn’t believe it. He didn’t utter a word, but, judging from his actions, it
was clear that he did not trust me.

“Mia, listen.” He reached out to grab my arm.

I pulled away, stepping back. “No. I get it.”

“Mia, no, you don’t.”

“I’ve done everything in my power, Marcus, to show you what you
mean to me—that I love you more than I care to breathe. It hurts me, and I mean
a terrible heartrending pain, for you to stand there, look me in the eyes, and
basically admit that you don’t trust me.” Sniffing back, I couldn’t keep the
hot tears from streaming down my face. His expression broke at my words. “What
do you want from me? What else can I give you?”

He leaned into me and stared down. We were so close I could feel
the heat from his body against mine. With his unsteady breathing, his tortured
eyes danced along my face. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to crack,
but then he contained himself, took in one deep breath, and shut his eyes. “I
need you to trust me when I say it’s important for you to grab Megan and go
home.” His eyelids opened, and my heart swelled in pain at his words. He
reached up and grazed my cheek with the back of his fingers. I was beyond angry.
He was pushing me away when he should’ve been able to confide in me. Before the
warmth of his touch seeped through my skin, I tore my face away and stepped
back again.

“Mia.” He tenderly whispered.

“Whatever you say, Marcus. I’ll just go home with Megan and sit
around and wait for whenever I get to have
my
Marcus back. Because the
one in front me at this very moment . . . I have no idea who he is. I want
my
Marcus: the loving, caring, and passionate one.” His face was broken, but I
needed to say how I felt. “Let me know when he’s back.”

With my back turned to him, I stormed out the door, dragged a
highly intoxicated Megan off the dance floor, and grabbed a cab.

Something deep down within me knew that Marcus was involved in something
deeper than he had disclosed. It left me nervous and unsettled. Guilt began to
seep through me as I thought of the way we had left things. I should have
kissed him and held him tightly against me. My deepest regret that night was
that I didn’t pull him in and hold him, even if it was just for a few seconds.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MARCUS

“Marcus. Marcus. Yo, Marcus!” I broke out of my daze as
Jimmie hovered over my desk, snapping his fingers. “What the hell? I’ve been
trying to get your attention for the past five minutes.” His brows bunched
together, concerned. “You alright, Bro?”

Having had no sleep, I blinked my dry eyes and ran a hand over my
face. There was nothing that could rid me of the exhaustion I felt. When Mia
left the club the night before, I wanted to tell her everything that was going
on, but it was better to keep it from her for now. It was the only way I could keep
her away from the Club and the only way I knew to protect her. It was the day
of the bust, and I would be fucking lying if I wasn’t running all the possible
scenarios of what could go wrong through my mind: the thought of possibly not
coming out alive, never having a chance to express the love I had for Mia, to
show her that it was always true, and that my reason for everything was her.

Then I thought of my niece and mother as I looked into Jimmie’s
same fearful eyes. “Sorry, Jimmie. When will Vinnie be here?”

He slumped back in the seat of my home office. “Soon. I told Mom
that you and I were dealing with inventory at the Club today. She took Elle out
for breakfast and then a trip to park since it’s nice out.” He quickly glanced
at his watch. “It’s still early, only nine. Vinnie said the bust will happen at
two this afternoon.” He nervously ran his hands along the thighs of his jeans.
“Marcus, I need to ask you something.” Jimmie looked up at me. “If anything
happens to me, I need you to take—”

“Don’t talk like that!” I slammed my hand against the desk in frustration.
The last thing I wanted to hear was my brother being weak. “We are going to get
out of this. You’ll be home with Elle, and I’ll be home with Mia. It’ll all be
okay. We are going to be okay.” It felt as if I was trying to convince myself
more than him.

His eyes clouded over as he cleared his throat. “You’re right.”

“Listen, Jimmie, I want you to stay here, okay? There’s no need
for both of us to be there.”

“No.” Jimmie shook his head adamantly.

“Jimmie, just stay here.”

“I said, ‘no.’ We got in this together. We’re going to leave it
together.”

“You’re a stubborn fuck, you know that?”

“Yeah? Well, it’s a trait I picked up from my little brother.” He
gently laughed and sniffed. Then he stood from his chair as he turned his back
to me. He didn’t want me to see the emotion prickling his features. “I have to
go to the bathroom.”

Jimmie walked over to the door of my office. He froze with his
hand on the knob. “Marcus?”

“Yeah, Jimmie?”

He bowed his head as he opened the door. “I love you, Bro.” He
whispered and left the room.

“I love you too.” I whispered into an empty room. I let out a
heavy breath and sank against the chair.

***

Half an hour later, I had my brother, Vinnie, and his
two men in my office. Jimmie stood by the door listening for Elle and our mom.
Vinnie’s two men, Eric and Liam, sat on the chairs in front of my desk. Vinnie
stood beside me hovering over the desk and pointing his finger on a plan that
showed the entire layout of Club21.

“Okay, so you see this entrance right here?” He pointed to the
left side of the building. I nodded and he continued, “This is where Lou is
planning on bringing the shipment in a few hours. Since there are double doors,
they open flush against the brick wall outside. Lou plans to have his men back
the truck in as close as possible and unload the drugs here.” He pointed to the
wall inside next to the door. “Once his men unload everything, the truck will
leave, and they’ll await Salvatore Lombardi and his men.”

“When are they expected?” I asked, hovering over the club’s
layout plan.

“An hour after Lou arrives. He wants to make sure everything is
set and ready. Lou will have his men surrounding the building.” He pointed two
fingers at the entrance. “He’ll have Buddy and Rich at the main entrance, fully
armed.” His fingers traced down the back of the building where the parking lot
was. “This is where two of Lou’s guys and I will be. My men here,” he nudged
his head at both Liam and Eric in front of us, “will handle those two; they’ll
be in custody before the bust begins.”