King's Baby: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance Read online

  “I hear that you are here after Jarren Rossi. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, it is.” I looked up at him with another smile. There was really only one way that I knew to be around him and that was my club persona. If that was what it was going to take, then so be it.

  Standing up again, I sat down on the edge of his desk, crossing my legs slowly and deliberately, and arching my back as I turned to look at him again.

  “He’s stolen my money and set up a robbery at his own club, one that King interrupted.”

  “Has he now?”

  Romano leaned back in his chair, and I took that as my cue to ramp up my efforts. Sliding off my side of the desk, I sauntered over to his side, squeezing between his chair and the desk, so that my ass was planted at the very edge. I leaned forward a fraction, so my breasts were mostly visible to him and bit my lip innocently.

  “He has. And I really needed someone to help me—to believe me. I asked around, and everyone pointed me to you. So, can you help me?” I batted my eye lashes at him, and slid a hand absently over the tops of my thighs, ‘accidentally’ drawing my skirt up a little indecently. I had no idea what I was asking him, or what I expected him to do. If King was here, then maybe he would’ve had a plan, but I was just winging it and resorting to the only skills I had.

  “What proof do you have?”

  I almost frowned at the tone of his voice. It sounded… uninterested?

  “Well, I don’t really have anything concrete,” I began.

  “I can’t help you until you do,” he said flatly, rolling his chair back, so that I slipped forward off the desk.

  On the inside, I began to panic. This wasn’t working how I wanted it to at all. Maybe I needed to step up my game a little.

  “Andres,” I said, my voice soft and seductive. I reached over and placed a hand on his knee, trailing it up slightly. “Please help me, Andres. You’re the only option I have.”

  Despite me turning on the seduction to full blast, Romano seemed completely disinterested in me. He rolled back his chair again, so that my hand fell off of his knee, and gave me an impassive look.

  “Christy, we’re not at the club. This is my business here, and I don’t work without proof.”

  Fuck. What the hell was I meant to do now? We’d come all this way, gone through what we did downstairs, and he wouldn’t even help us out? How could he be so unaffected by my charms? I thought he would be wrapped around my finger, but, so far, all I’d managed to succeed in was making a fool of myself.

  “But how do I do that?” I asked.

  “You’re a resourceful girl, Christy. I’m sure you’ll think of something. Come back when you’ve got something of use to me.”

  He looked down back at the papers on his desk, and I recognized my dismissal.

  That was it?

  “All right. King and I will be back soon,” I said, then turned to make my exit.

  “Oh, Christy?” he called out, stopping me in my tracks and causing me to spin to face him. “I’m afraid Mr. DeLeon won’t be leaving just yet.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked anxiously.

  “Send him up when you get down, will you? Him and I need to have a bit of a talk.”

  My heart went into overdrive as I left his office and went back into the lift. What did Romano want with King? Was he planning on doing anything to him? Maybe he wanted to teach him a lesson about the prospect. Maybe he was going to threaten him, or try and recruit him, or make him do something.

  The possibilities were endless, and I had no trouble overreacting and thinking of every possible scenario as I descended in the lift.

  It’s okay, I told myself, in an attempt to calm myself down. King knew what he was doing. He could handle a little talk with Romano, if that was all that was going to happen. He’d probably get more out of it than I did during my chat, not that that would be hard to do.

  I made my way back to the courtyard and saw the men standing exactly how they were before. King rushed over as soon as he spotted me.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  “Romano wants to see you,” I blurted out.

  I saw a multitude of thoughts flash over his face before he settled on calm and accepting.

  “All right. It’ll be okay. These men won’t hurt you. Just stay here, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Okay?”

  I nodded apprehensively, and King gave me a reassuring smile, though I knew it was just a front.

  “I’ll be back before you know it,” he said again, turning around and making his way quickly inside the building.

  It didn’t really matter what he said to comfort me. I wouldn’t calm down until he returned. Turning slightly to eye the men behind me, I felt a sliver of fear run down my spine. I hoped to God that he’d be back soon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  King

  When Christy had left me alone with the mafia men, I was surprised that they didn’t try to say or do anything. In fact, it had felt like a standoff, me on one side of the courtyard, and them on the other. We stared each other down, but did not go near each other. The entire vibe of the place was extremely intense and uncomfortable, and I wanted nothing more than to leave. I hoped to God that Christy would come back soon, so we could get the hell out of there.

  Who knew what Romano would be up to when she met with him? I didn’t know his motivation, or what he might ask from her. For all I knew, she would never come down.

  I should’ve argued, or fought, when they said only one of us could go up. What had I been thinking, letting Christy go up alone? I should’ve stayed with her and protected her. If they still refused to let me go up, then we should’ve just left. Now that we were here, I sincerely doubted that anything good that could come of our visit. Would Romano really be able to help us? Or was this just a thorough waste of our time? I wouldn’t know until Christy came back down, but that didn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.

  The moments passed sluggishly, and I was glad there wasn’t a clock around, for I was sure to have gone crazy watching it and waiting for Christy’s return. I was getting uncharacteristically impatient, when Christy finally appeared, walking out with worried eyes and slumped shoulders. I didn’t need to be a genius to realize that something was definitely wrong. Maybe he didn’t want to help. If that were the case, then I’d be almost relieved.

  When Christy announced that Romano wanted to see me, I had mixed emotions. I wouldn’t have minded getting out of there that very moment, but the opportunity to meet up with Romano was one that I couldn’t refuse. How could I say no, when we’d come all the way here to try and get his help? Trying to assure Christy that I would be back soon, though there would be no way to know for sure, it was my turn to make my way into the depths of the Mafia building, hoping I came back out unscathed. Even more, I hoped that Christy would be okay until I returned. The men had kept their distance from me, and I could only hope they did the same to her.

  The same man that had escorted Christy away, took me up in the lift to Romano’s floor. Of course, it was the top floor, a large open area that seemed very fitting. I didn’t even hesitate to make my way over to the lit office, knowing that I couldn’t waste any time while Christy was alone downstairs.

  “Romano,” I said upon my arrival, eyeing him carefully, as if he was about to bite. I couldn’t be too careful around him.

  “King,” he returned. “Take a seat.” I hesitated but decided to accept, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot. I sat there, waiting. He was the one who wanted to speak to me, so I would sit there waiting until he did so. Thankfully, he seemed to read my mind and wasted no time in opening his mouth.

  “I suppose you’re wondering why I asked to meet with you, yes?” I nodded mutely, and he continued. “I’m very interested in men like you, King. Men with your special set of skills.” Romano was leaning forward in his chair, elbows on his desk and hands clasped together. I wasn’t sure where he was headed, but I felt decidedly uncomfortabl
e with the whole situation.

  “Oh, yeah?” I almost scoffed. “And what skills are they? I’m just a bouncer.” I wasn’t going to come forth and spill my life story on a platter for him. Until he said something concrete, I was content to deny anything he knew of my past.

  “You and I both know you are much more than a bouncer, King.”

  I took care not to display my apprehension on the outside, though, internally, I had stiffened up like a statue. There was something about his tone that implied he already knew everything about my life, and my confirmation was unnecessary. Did he really know as much about me as he was implying? It probably wasn’t hard for a man like him to do some digging on my background and find out what I’d done earlier on in my life, but it was still incredibly disconcerting.

  “Let’s talk about your childhood, shall we?” He said cryptically.

  “What about it?”

  “Born poor, had to work your way up from practically nothing. Turned to a dangerous crowd. Sound familiar?” The way he rattled off the information was beginning to worry me.

  “I’m not ashamed of my childhood,” I said, unemotionally. I didn’t know where he was going with this, but I didn’t like it.

  “No, of course not. Nothing to be ashamed of. You supported your mother. Petty theft and small crimes here and there.”

  “I was young. It was a phase.”

  I didn’t need a rich son of a bitch like Romano combing through every detail of my life. He’d probably been born without a care in the world, and had never worked a day in his life, until he took over the family business. Isn’t that how it worked?

  “A very long phase, don’t you think? And then, you moved on to breaking and entering and formed a crew with your street gang. You were successful, too. Surprisingly successful.”

  “I don’t see where you’re going with this, Romano.”

  “I’m just establishing that I know about your skills, and I admire the way you acquired them.”

  “Well, I’m not in that business anymore. I told you. I’m just a bouncer.”

  Romano let out a little smirk and leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands out.

  “Just a bouncer, huh? So, where do your loyalties lie, then, King? To Jarren Rossi? Or maybe to your old crew.”

  I let out a dry laugh at that. “They’re unreliable, and they’ll betray you. They only work together.”

  “Yes, betrayal can be very… unfortunate. Working together, however? That comes as a surprise to me.”

  “I’m almost certain it doesn’t. You seem to already know all of this. What do you want from me?”

  I was sick of Romano’s games. All I wanted was a straight answer so I could leave and deal with Rossi, instead of whatever bullshit Romano had for me.

  “What I want from you, King, is quite simple. I have a proposition, of sorts, that I think might catch your interest.”

  “A proposition?” I asked. No way would anything he said be of any interest to me. I could predict what he would ask me anyway. He would want me to join him, and then he would help Skype. Or he would help me get revenge. Either way, I would say no. How could I willingly make a deal with the devil? Especially when the devil wasn’t even in disguise. The entire situation made me want to leave, even from the start. No, I wasn’t an idiot. He could take his proposition and shove it up his ass.

  “Yes, a proposition. Before you say no, hear me out. I have been dealing with Rossi for years, and I have to say, I don’t want to. I’d gladly get rid of him myself, but I have come to a better idea. You can kill Rossi, prove your loyalty to me, and take over his business. Your girl will be happy, and she won’t need to start a place of her own because all the work will already be done for her. Rossi will be out of the way, revenge will be complete, and everybody wins. Except for Jarren, of course, but that’s to be expected.”

  “You want me to kill my boss?” I asked, confused.

  “Well he’s not your boss anymore. But if you really insist, Rossi works for me, so I am your boss. And this is my offer. Take him out, and get his business. Simple.”

  I hadn’t expected this scenario at all. Kill Rossi? I wasn’t sure if I was willing to do that. Not that I cared about Rossi at all. He could go rot in hell, for all I cared. But, if I did it, it seemed like I would be having to answer to Romano for the rest of my life, and I wasn’t up for that.

  “So, then I would have to work for you? Is that it?”

  “Not at all. We’d go our separate ways if you wish, with perhaps a brief nod of recognition if we were to ever meet again.”

  No, I wasn’t buying it. It seemed way too good to be true, and I wouldn’t go around killing men, just because the Mafia boss demanded it.

  “And if I refuse?” I asked. What would he do to me? Threaten me? Threaten Christy?

  “Ah, that wouldn’t be the best idea on your part.”

  Of course not. Why would anything ever be as simple as that?

  “Why not?” I ground out, sick of this back and forth we were partaking in.

  “Rossi is— let’s just say that Rossi is unstable. He wants to kill you and, frankly, I don’t really care if he does. I’ve told him not to for the time being, and he won’t go against me. But I will allow him to kill you, if you don’t kill him first. I can’t have both of you alive, after one another. Messy business, you understand. No, one of you needs to go. It’s kill, or be killed.”

  Great, an ultimatum. This was going to be hard to figure out, regardless of how obvious the answer might seem. There weren’t really two options in this scenario, as much as Romano tried to make it seem there were. I was sure I could figure out a plan C, if I had a little time. Most of all, I wanted to talk it out with Christy.

  It wasn’t as if I was going to let myself be killed, but I knew that killing Rossi might lead to worse problems for myself. I was already on the run from the cops, so did I really want to risk this? Guilt probably wouldn’t be a factor, considering what Rossi was like. I guess I was just a heartless bastard, because I knew what Rossi would do to Christy if I wasn’t around to protect her.

  “Can I have some time to think about it?” I said finally.

  “Of course. You know where to find me. Don’t take too long though,” he said.

  I stood and left quickly, not wanting to be around the man for a second longer. I was still undecided on whether coming here was a mistake or not, but I knew for certain that staying here would be.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Christy

  Could this night get any worse? King had been gone for only ten minutes, and I already felt more anxious than I could handle. I wondered if this was how King had felt when I’d ventured inside the building. My eyes were almost transfixed on Romano’s men before me, my mind a flurry of thoughts that didn’t even make complete sense. What was going on up there?

  It wasn’t as if I thought that King couldn’t handle himself. I was more than confident that he could. But Romano was a different breed. He was the kind of man who would convince a nun to do his bidding, just because he seemed to make so much sense. That was my biggest fear—that Romano would convince King to do something that he shouldn’t or wouldn’t normally do. Guys like Romano got into your head, picked it apart, and turned you against your best friend.

  All in all, he was dangerous, though a completely different kind of dangerous to Rossi. Rossi was direct, upfront, and forthright, a mammoth compared to the slippery, snake-like behavior of Romano, silent, lethal, and cunning.

  The longer King spent up in Romano’s tower, the more anxious I became. I longed to pace in the courtyard, to release even the smallest amount of tension, but I didn’t want to show any weakness in front of his men. Call me stubborn, but I would fake it until my last breath, if it could grant me even the slightest upper hand.

  The minutes kept dragging by, and I could feel every second that passed like a weight, pressing further and further onto my shoulders until I would soon collapse. If King didn’t come down s
oon, I was tempted to just go up there myself and drag him down, consequences be damned.

  Luckily for me, King appeared about five minutes later, trudging down into the courtyard and gesturing for me to come to him. I didn’t hesitate, hurrying over without a backward glance.

  “Can we leave now?” I whispered. We’d spent entirely too much time there, and I was more than ready to leave and never come back. What had we been thinking when we decided to do this? A small voice in the back of my brain spoke up and suggested that I would have gone anyway, even if I had known the danger we would be in, but I stifled that voice easily.

  “Yeah, let’s go,” King agreed. I didn’t need to read his mind to know that he was just as eager as I to leave.