Tension : A Bad Boy Mafia Romance

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental. All characters are over the age of majority and all sexual acts are completely consensual.

Tension

(Bad Boy Billionaire Dark Mob Romance)

First edition. April 12
th
, 2016.

Copyright © 2016 Rose Cody

Written By Rose Cody

Chapter 1

“I need to clean my windows.” She huffs to herself as she squints her eyes through the glare of the oncoming truck’s passing headlights.

  Olivia wasn’t used to driving at night. She shields her eyes again, sighing as another set of flashing headlights cause her deep brown hair to flash red as they pass by her dark blue 17 year old two door sedan.

“Fuck this.” She whispers to herself, her fingers white knuckling on the steering wheel as her heart races in her chest. “I should have never fucking offered to cover that shift.”

  She scratches her head quickly before gripping the steering wheel tightly again, afraid too much time away will cause her car to swerve off the road.

  At 25 years old, she always figured she’d actually be something by now. An art major. A ski instructor. A ballerina. Anything other than a barista at a local coffee shop making minimum wage and barely getting by. But high school was hard, and college definitely wasn’t on the table. At least not while her father was sick.

  She always promised herself she would do something after his passing, but days lead to weeks and weeks lead to months and months lead to years and before you know it, she’s missed all her chances.

  “Gotta fix this, too.” She says to herself as she glances over to the flashing clock radio, pressing the buttons and turning the dial, listening to the fuzz change tone.

  She wasn’t a mother. She wasn’t even married. In fact, she’s never even really been on a date. Olivia has never actually experienced the comfort of a man’s strong arms wrapped around her. Not that she didn’t want it…

Of course she’d like to think the opportunity just never presented itself, but that wasn’t true and deep down she knows it. Fact is, Olivia just couldn’t leave her comfort zone. Her routine, her stability, was more important than the joys of life. At least for now, she was a kiss-less virgin.

“You have got to be kidding me!” She huffs out gruffly as she listens to a high pitched sputter scream out from somewhere under the hood.

“No! Please not now!” She shouts out as she feels her car begin to slow down.

  She turns the wheel, desperately attempting to park her car on the shoulder of the road before it totally gives out on her.

“Made it… I guess…” She whispers to herself before shifting her car into park and resting her head on the steering wheel.

  She sighs to herself, taking deep breaths in and letting them out slowly as she sniffs back tears.

“I was so fucking close. So fucking close.” She says to herself. “Is this night just never going to end?”

  She unbuckles her seatbelt and tosses the heavy metal buckle over her shoulder before opening the driver’s side door. Olivia pulls herself out of the car before walking around to the front on her tired, aching feet.

“Yup, just my luck.” She says, tossing her hands in the air as she notices the hot steam raising from under her hood.

  She uses her sleeve as a glove, gripping the hood and lifting it. She swats the steam out of her face.

“Who am I kidding, I can’t fix this.” She says to herself, a frog trapping her voice as the lump in her throat builds.

  She rushes back over to the driver’s seat, sliding back inside and shutting the door as she searches for her phone.

“I just had it!” She says, looking under her coat and picking up her purse before rifling through its contents.

  She gasps, squealing in relief as she finally finds her phone. Olivia opens the screen and flicks through her contacts before finally coming across the number for the mechanic shop by her house.

“Hello?” She says, as someone pick up the other line.

  The man’s gruff voice tells her she’s going to have to wait a while.

“At least there’s someone on the way.” She says, clicking the screen off and tossing her phone onto the passenger’s seat.

  She sighs, staring out of her windshield onto the dark road before quickly locking her door.

“You never know.” She whispers to herself  as she reclines her seat.

Chapter 2

  She wiggles her butt uncomfortably in the chair. Could these chairs get any harder?

  Olivia gazes around the small, brightly lit front office. She scrunches her nose at the harsh smell of gasoline that fills the air as she counts the dark smudge marks on the walls. How are there smudges that close to the ceiling?

  A tiny TV plays up in the corner of the room. Could be the weather channel, but it’s far too small to tell for sure. And quiet, too. There’s no way anyone could ever hear anything if they tried, the volume was far too low.

“What are you in for?” The man next to her chuckles.

  She glances over to him quickly, noticing his dark, wool coat before smiling politely.

“I don’t know yet, I’m not a car person.” She says, looking down at her shoes.

“Yeah, probably why you’re here.” He says, sighing.

  She glances back, sending the man a quick glare.

“Yeah, I guess.” She says.

  Olivia leans back into her chair and crosses her arms. Can this dude really not see that she’s not in the mood for conversation?

“I’m not a car person either.” He says. “Why I’m here, too.”

“Yup.” Oliva snarks lowly, nodding her head.

“I uh…” He begins. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I was just saying…”

“No, you didn’t.” She says. “I get it. I’m just kind of frustrated right now.”

  She turns towards him, smiling softly.

“Sorry.” She says. “It was funny, I’m just tired.”

   He nods, his deep brown eyes squinting as he clenches his jaw into a soft smile.

“That’s understandable.” He says.

“Olivia Brooks?” She hears a gruff voice calling to her.

  She turns her head, watching the mechanic walk toward her in a dark blue overall as he wipes the back grease on his hand onto a stained cloth.

“That’s me.” She says to him, standing up to meet the man halfway.

“So, about your car.” He says, smacking his gum.

  She lifts her shoulders, holding her breath as she nervously waits for the diagnosis.

“It’s done for.” The mechanic says, shaking his head. “The transmission is shot and I’m going to have to order another one.”

“Well, gosh.” She says, her heart sinking. “How much is that going to cost me?”

“I can’t even think about ordering it until we’re paid for the tow and diagnostics… Got a boss breathing down my neck you know…” He starts. “But all together with parts and labor… I’d probably call it a good forty-five hundred.”

“Forty-five hundred?” She asks, he color draining from her face. “As in four thousand and five hundred dollars?”

  She watches in disbelief as the mechanic nods his head.

“It costs what it costs.” He says. “I could probably work out a discount on labor, but the part is an expensive part…”

“I could go out and buy a car for the price you want to fix that old piece of shit!” She says. “And if I could afford that, I would have already done that!”

“Look, lady, I get it.” He starts sympathetically. “If you want, I can tow it back to your house, but that’s also gunna cost you.”

“How much?” She asks, walking back to her purse before picking it up and opening it.

  She pulls out her wallet, pushing on the folded leather to unclick the magnetic clasp.

“Well, the tow here, the diagnostics and then the tow back…” He starts puffing his cheeks as he does his quick math. “I can do it at five hundred.”

“Five hundred dollars?” She asks, fumbling through her wallet. “I only have forty dollars cash and then maybe two hundred in my bank account…”

  The mechanic shrugs his shoulders.

“Look, I understand…” He starts. “I can keep the car until you can pay…”

“If you keep the car, I lose my job!” She says, feeling her eyes well with tears as the lump in her throat grows.

“I’ll take care of it.” She hears as she feels a warm hand rest on her shoulder.

  She turns to the man she was once sitting beside, a tear falling down her cheek as she lifts her hand to wipe it away.

“No, I can’t.” She says, shaking her head. “I don’t even know you, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” He says, walking back over to his seat to pick up his black wool coat.

  He turns back toward Olivia, smiling softly at her before walking back over to them.

“Let’s get this paid for.” He says to the mechanic as he gently folds his coat over his arm.

“Right away, Mr. Condello.” The mechanic says, motioning towards the secretary to get the transaction started.

“Olivia, right?” He asks her, watching her nod her head. “I’ll get it taken care of.”

“Thank you!” She says, at a loss for words. “Thank you so much! Really, I have no idea what to say…”

“Don’t even worry about it.” He says, pointing out the window at a car the mechanic’s assistant is parking in front of the shop. “That’s my car. If you want to wait by it, I can give you a ride home.”

“Thank you. Thank you.” She says to him as she walks toward the door. “You really have no idea how much you’re helping me out.”

She stands beside the passenger door of the black BMW, holding her purse close to her stomach as she watches the stranger pay for her repair work. Her gaze turns from the mechanic shop windows to the black tinted windows of his car. Squinting, she makes out the shape of a pair of tan leather seats.

“Where can I take you.” She hears, jumping as the man leans into her ear.

“You have a really nice car…” She says, blushing.

“Thank you.” He says, lifting the handle of the passenger side door before opening it up for her.

  She slides herself into the vehicle, nodding politely at him as he closes the door behind her.

  She leans back into the plush seats, letting out a sigh as her eyes catch the electronic screen on the dash. Her hand brushes over the metal trimmed wood grained accents. She never even knew cars this nice existed.

  She quickly clicks on her seat belt as the stranger opens his driver side door and slides himself in, before pressing a button and starting the engine.

“I actually don’t live that far away…” She starts. “Maybe ten minutes if you stick to main roads.”

“No problem.” He says, backing out of the spot. “I don’t mind a little drive.”

“And again.” She says, glancing over to his chiselled jawline as he turns his head to look behind him. “Thank you so much. If you tell me a way to repay you… I just can’t all at once, but I can give you a little at a time… My job just really isn’t paying well right now and…”

“Olivia, don’t even worry about it.” He says to her, chuckling. “Really. I don’t need repayment.”

“Even if you do have a lot of money,” She says, brushing her fingers over the fine stitches on the upholstery. “I don’t want to just take stuff from you. I don’t even know you and that just wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fair-shmair.” He says, slowing the car down as he watches the yellow light turn red. “Let me get my good deed in for the day.”

  She smiles, sighing as she lets her head fall back against the head rest.

“I didn’t even ask you for your name.” She says, gazing out the windshield. “How am I going to tell my future grandchildren about the hero that saved the day?”

“Ha!” He laughs, gently pressing on the gas as the light turns green. “Vincent. Vincent Condello.”

“Well, thank you, Vincent.” She says, leaning her head over to look at him.

“But why would our grandchildren not know my name?” He smirks, glancing deviously at her as he pulls onto her street.

  She giggles, blushing profusely as she points to her house.

“I’m not that kind of girl, Mr. Condello…” She says as he pulls into her driveway.

  She opens the car door, stepping outside before reaching back in for her purse.

“…But let me give you my number anyway.”