Over the Middle: A Sports Romance (35 page)

It took us a minute to find each other, both because I looked so different than normal and because Daniel wasn't driving his BMW. Instead, he pulled up in a used white Ford, wearing loose sweatpants, a button down shirt and a ball cap. “Get in.”

As soon as I was in the passenger seat, Daniel hit the accelerator, the Ford groaning as he asked the engine to do things it wasn't used to. He made a right turn, and once he was certain we weren't being followed, he looked over at me. “I missed you.”

I grimaced. I couldn't help it. Daniel looked like he'd gone ten rounds with one of the Klitschko brothers with his arms tied behind his back. His face was still puffy, the areas under his eyes were black, and he had a bandage across his nose, where it looked like it had been set after being broken. “You look like hell. But I missed you too. Where'd you get the car?”

“You'll see. Let's just say this is a very strange setup I've got right now. We'll be at the house in ten minutes. Try to relax. This is a world you've never really seen before.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, confused and elated at the same time.

Daniel reached over and put his hand on my thigh, his hand warm and comforting. “Adriana, this car, the house . . . well, to put it simply, I'm living with a stripper.”

T
here was
, of course, some natural suspicion and discomfort at first when Adriana and Carmen met each other. It wasn't that Carmen and I had anything going on, but I literally had no one to turn to. The Bertoli family and the business was the only life that I'd known. I was lucky Carmen agreed to help me out after I’d pulled a gun on her.

“Hello. I'm Carmen Esperanza,” she said, her voice only slightly stiff as she offered her hand to Adriana. I was struck by just how tiny the girl was, as Adriana almost towered over her, and Ade was only five foot eight. “Welcome.”

“Thank you,” Adriana replied, looking around. Carmen's place was, quite frankly, a dump, but a well cared-for dump. Situated fewer than three hundred yards from the edge of the airport's property, it was in the sort of neighborhood where even Don Bertoli's men didn't come unless they had to. “I appreciate your hospitality.”

Carmen's place was a little jewel in the midst of the decaying, high-crime area that she lived. Of course, even a high crime area in Seattle is better off than a lot of neighborhoods in Los Angeles, New York, or other big cities. Still, Carmen saved her money and decorated her little apartment tastefully. Along the windowsill in the kitchen, little flowers potted in cut down milk cartons nestled next to herbs given the same treatment, lending the whole place a pleasant aroma. She'd also decorated the windows with yellow curtains made from old bed sheets, brightening the whole affair.

Carmen gave Adriana a hesitant smile and stepped back. “Daniel asked for my help—I couldn't say no.”

“And just what did Daniel ask you to help him with?” Adriana asked with a small smile, cutting her eyes to the side. “Do I need to kick his ass?”

Her joke broke the tension, and Carmen laughed. “Honey, you should see his torso. That skin of his is still darker than mine in most places.”

Adriana eyes widened, and she turned to me. I thought she'd be angry that Carmen had seen me with my shirt off—she'd helped me wrap my ribs after I spent the first eighteen hours after getting to her place unconscious on her sofa—but instead, she pointed at my shirt. “Let me see.”

“Well, that's foreplay for you,” I joked, but neither of them laughed. Carmen knew the pain I was in. Adriana didn't, but she was concerned. When my joke fell flat, I sighed and started unbuttoning my shirt. When it was fully undone, I looked at them. “A little help?”

Carmen knew what I wanted, and instead of helping me off with my long-sleeved shirt, she took the two tails and tucked them up into the collar, a rather strange configuration but one that allowed Adriana to see the mottled flesh of my chest and back, which I thought had mellowed quite a bit in the five days since the beating in the garage. “My God, and I thought your face looked like hell.”

“I think he kind of looks like he's a walking camo pattern myself,” Carmen said. “But I'm glad that you're here. You can help him with the Epsom salt baths. My
abuela
always said that when it comes to bruising, nothing is better than Epsom salts. I guess we should get this out of the way too—he even soaks in the bathtub wearing swim trunks.”

Adriana nodded thankfully to her, then stepped up to me, taking my face in her hands. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed me, carefully avoiding making contact with my nose. Still, her lips were as soft and wonderful as ever, perhaps even more so since it had been five long, torturous days since I'd felt them. “You wonderful, wonderful man,” she whispered. “I wish I could've been here sooner.”

I carefully hugged Adriana back, conscious of the pain still in my chest and back, and our kiss deepened until Carmen coughed discreetly. “Excuse me, guys, but we have a lot to talk about, don't you think? Besides, I don't think Daniel is ready for what you two are obviously heading toward.”

Adriana stepped back, blushing. “Is it that obvious?”

“Honey, I know all about seduction,” Carmen said with a laugh.

We found seats around the living area, Adriana helping me to sit down on the sofa. She took the other end of the sofa while Carmen grabbed a chair from her dining area and sat down.

“First off, Adriana, no offense, but what is a Mafia princess doing in this part of town anyway?” Carmen asked, not aggressively but still concerned. “Am I going to have some of your uncle's men kicking in the door any time soon?”

“Maybe,” Adriana said. “I'm not here wearing this discount store crap with his blessing. I ditched my bodyguard and ran like hell.”

“So what's with the clothes though?” Carmen asked, curious. “I mean, Daniel's gone on and on about you, and he said you weren't stuck up, but that stuff is right off the shelf. You missed a tag on the jeans, by the way.”

Adriana looked down, noticing the little tag on the cuff of the jeans, and pulled it off. “I didn't know if Carlo had put any sort of GPS tracker in my stuff. The only things I still have are my laptop and my cellphone, and I pulled the battery from both of those until I figure out what to do with them.”

I gave Adriana a surprised look, which she returned with a raised eyebrow. “What? I've grown up in a Mafia family my entire life. While I may have been somewhat insulated from all of the icky details, I did learn a few things. Just like I know that you and I can't stay here forever, regardless of how nice Carmen is being. And Carmen, thank you. Dan's a handful, even when he isn't being beaten up.”

“He is, but he's promised to make things right,” Carmen answered.

“I've been trying to analyze the data from Adam's computer when I'm awake,” I said, pointing to my laptop. “Thankfully, I copied the whole damn bunch of files onto my computer before we got caught.”

Adriana reached out and touched my leg, her eyes swimming with tears. “Even when you were thrown out, I knew you'd stay to protect me. I don't know why, but I just knew it.”

“Well, regardless of what you knew, it's time for Daniel's medicine, and then a nap,” Carmen said, standing up and brushing off her pants. “And before you give me any more of that macho shit, remember that the doctor at the clinic I dragged you to told me you should be in a hospital. How you even got off the sofa to drive to pick Adriana up, and then made it up the stairs without screaming, I'll never know.”

* * *

I
was
in and out of consciousness for the next twenty-four hours as they insisted that I finish up the last of the pain pills that the doctor had given me. I was pretty out of it when Adriana helped me to the bathtub for my soak, the warm water, aftereffects of the drugs, and my still exhausted state leaving me only semi-conscious.

“How'd you stay awake long enough to come get me?” Adriana asked me as she helped lower me into the water. “Seriously.”

“You caught me at just the right time,” I mumbled, sighing as the water started to work its magic. I don't know if the myth about the Epsom salts is true, but I was more comfortable in the water than out. Probably because it took at least some of the weight off my aching body. “I was about fifteen minutes from my next pill when you called.”

“I'm glad I did,” Adriana said, helping me lie back. She rolled up a hand towel and placed it behind my head, the extra comfort helping. “Think you can stay awake enough that you don't drown?”

“I'm good,” I said, waving. “But why don't you want to stay?”

“Dan, you still look like a poster child for getting your ass beat, and I know you're in pain, but it's been five days since I last touched you. I don't want to hurt you.”

“Mmm, later then,” I replied with a little smile. “A little TLC would help all my aches go away. Besides, I need to start stretching things out. I lay around much longer, and Carmen's going to start vacuuming me like part of the rug.”

Adriana smiled and kissed my hand, then got up, leaving the bathroom but leaving the door open in case I needed help. I lay back, trying to clear my thoughts, when I heard the two of them talking.

“So you're an art student?”

“Yeah, it's a lot of fun. And you're a dancer at the Starlight Club, right?”

Carmen's reply sounded like she was a little ashamed, which I didn't understand. Like Terry said, she didn't have any hang-ups, and she was good at what she did.
“I . . . I've been doing it for two years now.”

“Why turn red? You put money on your table, you've got a nice place, and you look like a girl who's not planning on doing it forever.”

“And the bonus clients?”
Carmen asked, causing Adriana to go silent.
“Yeah, that's what I thought. Not too many good men out there want to spend their life with a whore. Not that I do it by choice—some of the men there, you don't say no to, so I pretend to enjoy it.”

I was surprised at the heat I heard in Adriana's reply.
“So you do what you have to do. I'm not one to judge—I grew up in the fucking Mafia. I'm in love with a man who's killed people, my uncle is the Godfather of the whole Sea-Tac area, and my mother is one of his key lieutenants. My entire art school education has been paid for by money made from the family business, which includes who knows how many thousands taken from the Starlight Club over the past ten years. So who needs to apologize to whom? My family made money off your ass. Literally.”

I could hear Carmen thinking about it for a while, then she laughed.
“I guess nobody here is all that innocent.”

Adriana's laughter made me smile, and I was glad to hear the two women start to bond. I let my mind drift, looking at the little yellow ducks that were part of the bathroom tile—a horrendous look, if you ask me—when I heard the two of them laugh again. Carmen took a deep breath, recovering before speaking.
“He did?”

“Yep,”
Adriana replied, laughing.
“Seriously, who carries a pistol into the changing room at Nordstrom's?”

“I'm not surprised. I was actually surprised when he showed up at my doorstep without a gun. He carried that fucking Beretta like it was a teddy bear every time I saw him.”

“I know. By the way, he told me about the time he lost his shit with you. I'm glad you forgave him. By the way, how'd he end up here?”

“I was at the Starlight Club, getting ready to go home after a night of work when he staggered in the door, looking like he'd been hit by a truck and then run over. Terry, the manager, was about to throw him out before he realized who it was, and I came up front.”

“And what made you help him?”

“If it wasn't for him, I would've never met Adam. He treated me like any other girl—something I've longed for. But I'm guessing that's done now, isn't it?”

“It's my fault, Carmen. I'm sorry I brought this monster into all your lives.”

“It's not your fault, Adriana. No one would ever bring someone like that in their life on purpose. I'd like to continue this sometime, but I've got to get ready for work,”
Carmen said, and I heard her getting up.
“You two relax, and I'll see you in the morning.”

After helping me out of the tub and cooking a light dinner, Adriana and I finally had a chance to talk amongst ourselves. “So what now?”

Setting my fork aside, I wiped my mouth and leaned back into the sofa. “That depends on you, Ade.”

“How so?” she asked, setting her fork aside. Neither of us had eaten too much, as her cooking skills weren't really all that great. “Sorry about the sauce. Guess I grew up a little too pampered.”

“Don't worry, I'll teach you if you want,” I replied. “But as for how so, well, you have a choice. On one hand, we can run. I know some people—independent operators who can get us a fake ID for the right price. We take off, get the hell out of here. Other side of the country, Canada, Mexico, wherever. For me, it's no problem. I have IDs already lined up. You try to buy a plane ticket or cross the border as Adriana Bertoli, and we'll find your uncle waiting for us wherever we go. So a fake ID is vital. That's option one.”

“And option two?” Adriana asked, placing her hands on the table.

“We stay,” I said quietly. “Drake made this personal for both of us. I don't have too many friends, Adriana. I had Bertoli men who were coworkers, and that is about it except for Adam. To top it off, he's threatened you. I want this guy's head on a plate. And with the data that I got from Adam's computer, I think I can get him. There are some clues that I can follow up on once I'm healed up, and I get myself another weapon.”

Adriana thought about it, then shook her head in refusal. “Option one, we run. And we spend the rest of our lives running, both from Drake until he gets caught, and from Uncle Carlo. But if we do option two, we run the risk of being caught by either group, as well as placing Carmen at risk. We can't just keep crashing here, as I'm sure you know. If anything, the manager at the Starlight is going to tell the next guy Carlo sends to pick up his money, and they'll ask her. She doesn't need to be caught in a lie to Carlo.”

I nodded. “I know. I was thinking of finding a place we can crash as soon as I'm mobile. Ade, I promised myself as I drove that I'd protect you regardless of the risk.”

She blushed and looked down, then a moment later looked in my eyes, a hunger in there that wouldn't be sated by ramen with burned corn. “Then I choose option three.”