The Mobster And The Cowboy (A Cowboy Romance) (31 page)

Ralphie looked at him. He slowly smiled. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that.” He pulled back on the road and drove.

“Micha
el got down here two nights ago and went straight to her place. He’s been waiting for her to come back to the house and passed his time by snorting. He’s so fucking numb right now, you put a bullet or two in him, he ain’t gonna feel it.”

Logan nodded his head. “Who else is in the house?”

“Just one of my guys.”

“You said he had his men all over here. What does he know?”

“He knows you have a crazy ex wife named Linda.”

Logan didn’t even bother correcting him.

Ralphie took his eyes off the road to look at Logan then fixed his eyes back on the road. “He knows about your kid.”

“Fuck, he’s watching my kid? I’ll kill the motherfucker.” Logan was antsy.

“We already took out the man he had watching. Your son is now being watched by one of my men.”

“That makes me feel better?” Logan bit out.

“It should.” Ralphie looked back to Logan. “No harm will come to him.” He turned his head back to the road. “Melanie will kill me if anything happens to that kid.”

“What? Melanie knows?” Logan’s
heart began to sink.

“No. But I know Melanie. I know Melanie a long time. She’s good people. The sweetest woman you’ll ever meet. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for that woman,” he s
aid as he ran a hand through his wavy, dark brown hair. “When I got a look at her down here, away from Michael, I saw something I hadn’t seen in over two years, from her. She looks great, healthy, always smiling. She looks happy and content. That’s the Melanie I know and love.” He said the last part as he turned back to look at Logan.

Was that a challenge?

Ralphie sensed what Logan was thinking and shook his head. He looked back to the road. “I love her and I know she loves me, but the difference is I’m in love with her. I’ve been in love with her since junior high school. She loves me like a brother, and she will always love me like a brother.

“
You know, I introduced her to Michael. It killed me that she hooked up with him because I know the scum that he is.”

“Why didn’t you warn her?”

“I tried, but you ever try to convince someone who thinks they’re in love, that the one they’re in love with is no good?”

Logan didn’t say anything.

“She accused me of trying to mess up her relationship because I wanted her for myself.” He paused. Logan still didn’t say anything. “She wouldn’t talk to me for months. It killed me. When she finally understood what I was trying to tell her, she came to me and apologized. But she was in too deep to just pick up and leave. When she did finally have enough nerve to leave, I was pleased she did. I also knew that I had no right to try to claim her. I could give her no better life than Michael did, except, I would never have abused her in any way.

“
My resume isn’t exactly clean. The life I lead is a hard life. Not something I could put Melanie through. You know, she was the only one who came to visit me in jail the two times I was picked up. She was so angry at me when I first got involved with the mob. She tried to talk me out of this life, but she never acted like she didn’t know me. I don’t associate with anyone who isn’t a friend of mine.” He paused to look at Logan, “if you know what I mean, except for her.” Ralphie turned his attention back to the road.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

Ralphie took in a deep breath. “I need you to know that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. If you ever hurt her-” He paused and turned his head to stare into his eyes, “-I will kill you.”

Logan just held his gaze. He wasn’t intimidated by this man. Ralphie
turned his head back to the road in front of him.

“Here’s how’s it’s gonna go down. When we get to the house, I’m going in. You wait by the front door. I’ll pass her out to you.”

Logan waited for him to say more. He didn’t. “That’s it? That’s your plan?”

“That’s all you need to know. The less you and she are involved the better. You have a child custody case to win.”

Logan sighed. They did know everything.

****

Melanie did go into the bedroom, but not to pack. She needed to think. She needed to get to her purse on the couch and retrieve her cell phone. She needed to call Logan. She needed to warn him of Ralphie.
Please Ralphie, don’t kill him, please.
The tears rolled down her face.

After a few moments, she gathered her wits and lightly padded to the door. She slowly opened it.
She looked around and didn’t see anyone so she gingerly opened the door a little wider and tiptoed out. As she made her way to the couch, Michael walked into the living room from the kitchen.

“
You already packed?”

She jumped and turned to him with a guilty look on her face.

“What’s the matter, Mel?”

“Um, I
…uh….I’m almost packed. I was just getting my purse.” She grabbed it and turned to walk back into the bedroom. A little hope in her heart.

That was until she felt Michael grab her by the arm
. He crushed her to him.

“Did I tell you how much I missed you?”

“Yes,” she said, feeling winded from his bear hug grip on her. She looked anywhere but at his face.

He brought a hand up and gripped her chin. He turned her face to his. “Beautiful. You are so beautiful.” He bent down to kiss her lips.

Michael felt her recoil and was not pleased. He gripped her chin harder and she winced. He forced a kiss on her lips and she picked up her arms and shoved him back. He wasn’t expecting that.

That’s it. No more mister nice guy. He came at her and brought a hand up behind her back and yanked her hair.

“Oww.” She struggled to get out of his grip without success as he backed her up against the wall.

With his knee
, he shoved her legs apart and pressed his thigh into her pussy. He moved his leg up and down. Then he stepped into it and she felt his arousal. She wanted to throw up.

He whispered in her ear. “Remember how you used to like it rough?”

“No, Michael. You liked it rough. You always hurt me,” she spat out but he didn’t even acknowledge her words as his hand began to roam her body.

He brought his
hand up to the center of her chest and pulled her blouse apart, exposing her bra.

“Mmmm, I love your creamy, soft tits.”

Melanie was breathing heavy trying to loosen his grip on her. She managed to scream just when he squeezed a nipple.

Frankie Fose watched
the whole scene in front of him. Ralphie told him to shoot if Michael hurt Melanie.
Oh, geez Michael, don’t make me shoot you.

Melanie continued to struggle and scream as Michael pawed her breasts.

“Michael! Let her go.”

Michael turned around to see Frankie pointing a gun at him. He did
a double take. “What the fuck, Fose? What? You want a piece of the action?” he said laughing, trying to buy time.

“Just get away from her,
” Frankie said.

But
Frankie procrastinated, he looked uneasy. He didn’t want to shoot him but he didn’t want to be disloyal to Ralphie.

“Easy there
, Fose. Come on. Let’s all calm down here,” Michael said as he stepped a little away from Melanie then quickly, for he practiced this maneuver over and over in the mirror at home, brought his right hand to his back and whipped out his gun and shot Frankie.

Frankie went down and Melanie screamed again.

Michael
turned to her and smacked her hard. She went down too.

****

T
hey rolled to a stop a few houses away from hers and got out of the car.

Ralphie put his hand on his gun but didn’t take it out.

They looked around and cautiously moved closer to the house.

When they got to the first step they heard
a muffled gunshot from inside the house and then heard Melanie scream.

Ralphie took his gun out and flew up the stairs and burst through the door.

Logan was right there with him, his gun was drawn too.

Logan quickly scanned for Melanie. He saw the back of a big man kneeling on the floor next to her, a gun on the floor by his side. He noted Melanie had a hand print on her cheek and she was crying.

Her blo
use was ripped, exposing her cream colored satin bra.

The idea of anyone putting their hands on Melanie enraged Logan.
He scanned the room to see two other men on the floor, not moving.

Michael, upon hearing the door burst open, turned around and saw Ralphie. He started to smile but when he saw Logan behind him with a gun drawn he knew he was betrayed. He stretched to pick up his gun but he wasn’t fast enough.

Logan
charged in and rammed Michael in the middle of Michael’s back just as he was picking up the gun. The gun went flying. Logan dropped his gun and was able to kick it away from them.

Melanie quic
kly moved out of the way as Logan brought Michael down right where she was not a moment before.

Logan threw jabs and uppercuts. Michael
’s face quickly bruised but all Michael was doing was laughing. Logan knew he was so numb he wasn’t feeling anything.

Michael
brought his leg up and kneed Logan in the groin.

Logan momentarily faltered and Michael
seized the opportunity and was able to reverse positions. Logan was down and Michael was pummeling him.

“Micha
el, Stop it!” Melanie shrieked.

Michael took h
is eyes off of Logan to see her, and Logan, breathing heavy, shoved Michael off him.

Logan and Ralphie looked to her
too. She had a wild look in her eyes as she held a gun, pointed at Michael. They all froze.

Logan silently begged her not to pull the trigger.

“Mel, sweetheart. Hand me my gun, baby,” Michael said.

She didn’t
, of course.

She saw Ralphie move toward
her. “Stay where you are!” she yelled at him. He looked to Logan. She looked to Logan. She saw blood on his cheek. She was heaving and not sure what to do.

“Mel? I said hand me my gun,” Michael said
, in a deadly tone.

Melanie shook her head.

“What, you gonna protect your cowboy bumpkin here?” He turned to Logan who was picking himself and his gun up off the floor while never taking his eyes off Michael. “She’s good, huh. Do you like the way she sucks cock? I taught her.” He said with a smug grin.

Logan brought h
is fist down to Michael’s mouth and Michael’s head snapped back, but he laughed.

“You like the way she fucks?”

“Shut up,” Melanie said.

Michael turned back to her and she saw Ralphie moving from the corner of her eye.

When she took her eyes off of M
ichael, he sprung up to grab the gun but Ralphie anticipated Michael’s move and strode quickly to Michael and cold-cocked him with the butt of his own gun. Michael fell to the floor. He was out.

Melanie dro
pped the gun and ran to Logan. She threw her arms around him and clung tight.

“It’s ok
ay, baby. It’s okay,” he repeated over and over.

“Melanie, you ok
ay?” Ralphie asked.

She turned around with a frantic look. She placed her body in front of Logan. “Please don’t kill him. Please
, Ralphie.”

He looked sympathetically at her. “I was never going to kill him
, Mel.”

She looked from him
then to Logan who shook his head.

“No?” she asked Logan.

“No, baby.”

Then her knees gave out and
Logan quickly caught her and lifted her. She sobbed into his chest as he brought her over to the couch and placed her down and sat beside her.

Ralphie walked over to her just as Frankie was moaning. They all looked at him. Yeah
, there was blood on his shirt but the bullet just grazed him. He’d be okay.

They looked toward
the front door as two guys walked in.

Melanie panicked and Logan
quickly rose, took his gun out, and aimed.

“They’re with me,” Ralphie said.

Logan looked to him and Ralphie nodded. Logan put the gun away.

“Melanie, I gotta get out of here. I’m taking Michael with me. He won’t bother you ever again.”

“What will happen to him?”