Five Wrong Moves Read online

  The nightmare won’t stop. It won’t let me sleep. I was terrified. Terrified to dream.

  Andy had suggested I take melatonin to help with the situation, but I refused.

  What if I got locked into a nightmare and couldn’t wake up?

  On top of the nightmares, I was still royally hurt over what had happened with Bo. After he abandoned me in all the chaos, he came sauntering into the shop like nothing had happened. I was still wrapped in Andy’s arms with tears running down my face because the shock had worn off.

  Bo walked right up to us and asked if I was okay, but I didn’t want to talk to him. He left me when he promised he would come back for me. He left me and was too busy with the waitress to make sure I was okay. To me, that was worse than forgetting about me. To me, that meant Trish was more important than me.

  As Andy drove me home, I decided to be officially done with Bo Donavan. There was something off about his behavior anyways. That menacing look in his eye, the way he handled a gun like it was natural for him, his so-called “friends” that are always by his side.

  All of it could go to hell and stay there.

  Then there was the weird way Eric reacted to Bo. He had walked into the shop to question me about what had happened at The Mustard Seed, but he took one look at Bo, and through clenched teeth, asked him to step outside. After about ten minutes, Eric returned sans Bo. He then turned to Andy to let him know he wouldn’t need to be asking me anything before leaving.

  It was so odd, but I didn’t bother to ask Andy anything about their behavior. Honestly, I knew Andy wasn’t going to tell me anything, and I just wanted to go home. I needed to shower off all the horror and climb securely into my bed to hide from the world.

  It was where I stayed for the past four days, not sleeping, of course. On rare occasions, I’d wander around my apartment while ignoring my ringing cell phone. Other times, I would pick at the food Andy kept hand-delivering while he watched me like a hawk.

  I hadn’t left the apartment once until this evening when I decided I had spent more than enough time feeling scared of the world.

  I threw on some skinny jeans, a royal blue one-shoulder blouse that gathered at the waist, and my favorite red kitten heels. Grabbing my clutch, I made my way to the Italian bistro down the street to have dinner and a glass of chianti. Carbs and alcohol would help me sleep.

  Imagine my surprise when the hostess was seating me, and I ran smack into Bo and Trish.

  I looked at them; they looked at me. Bo frowned, and I got pissed.

  There I was traumatized and hidden for days. In addition to the shooting, the man had abandoned me, and he carried on with his life as if I didn’t matter at all. Not once had he checked on me nor called to make sure I was okay. He was too busy fucking Trish.

  I took another look at them, then turned and left.

  Screw dinner. I should have just stayed in the apartment.

  As I walked back to my apartment, Bo called my name, but I just kept moving. Fuck him and his stupid waitress.

  Groaning in frustration, I walked into my kitchen. I pulled open the refrigerator door when loud pounding came from the living room.

  “Adeleigh, open the door!” Bo barked from the other side of the front door.

  What the hell was he doing here? I chewed on my top lip while I thought for a moment. I could let him break the door down, or I could be an adult about the situation and open the door to have a mature conversation about why he was such an ass.

  When Bo pounded on the door some more, I decided to go with ignoring him. He’d eventually realize I wasn’t going to let him in and go away. He was good at that part.

  I turned to walk back into the kitchen when I heard a key turn in the lock. Spinning around, I watched as Bo let himself in and slammed the door behind him.

  “Hey….” Was all I got out before he walked right into me and wrapped one arm around my waist, lifting me straight up off the ground. He continued walking, letting my feet dangle until my back hit a wall.

  “You always lock the deadbolt when you are in this apartment alone. Do you understand?” he gritted out between clenched teeth.

  Angry, I opened my mouth to tell him I could take care of myself. Before I could get out any words out, his mouth covered mine.

  At first, I didn’t react. I had been so completely caught off guard, I couldn’t. But as the tip of his tongue stroked along my bottom lip and slid gently into my mouth, my body reacted.

  I gently licked against his mouth, tasting him. And what I tasted made every nerve I owned incinerate.

  He groaned as he pressed against me harder. My thighs opened and wrapped around his waist, and my tongue met his with every stroke. I was dazed. Completely and utterly dazed. Kissing had never, ever been like this before.

  I wasn’t sure how long we kissed like that; it seemed like hours and seconds at the same time before we were moving again. This time, toward the bedroom.

  Bo set me down and whispered, “Baby, raise your arms.”

  I blinked a few times, trying to understand what he meant.

  His lips met mine again. “Adeleigh, I want you. I have wanted you from the first time I saw you outside that elevator,” he whispered in between teasing my lips with his. “Tell me, Adeleigh. Tell me I can have you.”

  I pulled back from his mouth and searched his eyes.

  There were hundreds of questions hidden in their depths. Along with uncertainty. He was hiding things. Serious things. I felt it as I stared at him. I could see it on his face.

  The problem was, I wanted him more than I wanted my next breath.

  I raised my arms up; he immediately pulled my blouse over my head, dropping it to the floor. He bent down and fastened his mouth over the lace cup of my bra. He sucked through the material, pulling my already hardened nipple into his mouth.

  A moan escaped my lips, and when he bit down, my hands flew into his hair and pulled.

  He laughed a bit as I pulled. His hands brushed across my abdomen before pulling apart the button of my jeans. He kissed down my body as he pulled both my jeans and panties to my ankles, dropping to his knees in front of me so he could remove them.

  He only glanced at me for a second before covering the apex of my thighs with his mouth.

  My fingers threaded in his hair. I wanted him closer. “More, Bo. Please, more,” I begged, splitting my legs wider.

  Bo pulled back and stood. “Fuck, Adeleigh. You taste like everything I want, need, and would kill for.” He pushed me back onto my bed.

  I watched as he removed his dress shirt, then his black pants, and exposed all that wonderful ink.

  “You’re beautiful.” I sat up to get a better look, but Bo wasn’t having it.

  He smiled as he moved on top of me, pressing my back to the sheets as the heat of his skin warmed mine. Leaning down, he took my mouth again. Fingertips ran softly through the folds between my thighs, rubbing small circles over my clit before a finger slid deep into me.

  “Oh, God…” I breathed. “Bo, please don’t stop.”

  Bo pulled his mouth back from mine a fraction as he inserted another two fingers, stretching me. “You are so wet.” Bo looked down at me. “Tight, but wet.”

  I raised my hips to meet his hand. Then his fingers were gone.

  “Wait!” I cried out.

  I wanted to cum. Every muscle in my body was tight, ready for a release. I didn’t have to wait long. Bo slid into me with just a bit of resistance. My eyes went wide as I stared into his above mine and gasped. He paused briefly, just holding himself deep inside me as he stared at me.

  “Oh baby, promise me you will always look at me like that every time I slide into you,” he said, his eyes filled with fire.

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Like I own every piece of your soul,” he replied. Leaning down, he pushed deeper and took my mouth again.

  13

  Bo

  From the nightstand next to my head, I saw the screen to my cell
phone light up. Looking to my right, all I saw was a river of hair that ran down the pale smooth skin of her back.

  She was stunning, even in her sleep.

  I had been inside her for hours. Buried there. Happy in her warmth.

  I could have kept going. I wanted to. But when the exhaustion that had already been in her eyes completely took over her face, I knew I needed to let her sleep. She hadn’t been doing well at all since the shooting. Andy had told me at my request. But I hadn’t really needed him to keep me updated.

  I had been watching her from a distance. Santiago and Phillip traded off being stationed outside her door. She hadn’t left the apartment once, but that hadn’t stopped me.

  Without her knowing, I had a camera system installed in her living room and hallway. Most would call it an invasion of privacy, in my family, it was called safety.

  I had to make sure she was okay. And at the time, she wasn’t about to let me anywhere near her. Not after I had left her in that restaurant. I didn’t think she was ever going to forgive me.

  From the app on my phone, I watched her. But the most difficult part was watching her cry. Deep sobs shook her body as she lay curled up on the sofa.

  I wanted to let myself in and wrap her in my arms. Promise her no one was going to hurt her, ever. And it killed me that I couldn’t.

  She was deeply asleep now. The nightmares she was suffering from had left her alone, so far.

  My phone screen lit up again, pulling my attention away for her. I pushed the sheet away from my legs, got out of bed, and picked it up before heading to the living room.

  Shit. I had seven text messages. I was normally a light sleeper, but it appeared, I too slept better with her next to me. The thought created some stress, but I pushed it away as I read through my messages. As I read through the last one, I walked to the apartment door and opened it, letting Phillip, who had been on duty, inside.

  “Boss?” he questioned, glancing at my underwear with a knowing look before making eye contact again.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” I told him.

  Both Santiago and Phillip had grown fond of Adeleigh and Andy. After the shooting, they had expressed to me their concern about the family’s safety. They wondered if we should back away from them and find another way to carry out our mission, but I couldn’t. I was in too deep. I was too attached.

  I crossed my arms and looked at Phillip. “What is this about?”

  “We got a text from Isabella Santini.”

  “Isabella?” I asked Phillip with a raised an eyebrow.

  He nodded. “She wants to confirm protection at the hanger. She said she can wire us a million dollars but we need to get there right away.”

  I started to shake my head no. I had my own issues. The last thing I needed was to get involved with a larger cell, especially one that was that dangerous.

  “No.”

  “Boss, she is in danger just sitting out there. We can’t leave here there.”

  “I know she is in danger, but fuck. Not only do we not have enough men, but we can’t risk it. By going to help, it will alert everyone as to who we are, and we don’t have enough men to protect her or us. It’s committing suicide.”

  “About that,” Phillip said, looking down for a minute. “Santiago was able to recruit a couple of more men. Ruben is on board, so is Weston.”

  I rolled my eyes before pressing a hand to my forehead.

  Of course, they went after the one member of Kristof’s Mafia circle I didn’t want because he is too immature. And Weston? Weston was older than my grandfather had been.

  “Two more men aren’t enough. This is a Santini. Beppe is dead. He was killed by Steele on Thursday after he interfered and kidnapped his girl in Chicago. The news is everywhere.”

  “Yeah, we know. That’s why Santiago is talking to a couple of more men to see if they will help.” When Phillip didn’t mention any names, I frowned. He was hiding something.

  “Who is he talking to?” I asked.

  He looked behind me toward the bedroom door before answering.

  “I’m not sure. Santiago didn’t say.”

  Looking up toward the ceiling, I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. Phillip was right. I couldn’t leave Isabella out there. It had nothing to do with the money. I didn’t need the fucking money.

  It had everything to do with me not wanting any involvement in this lifestyle, and suddenly, I was drowning in what I had said I never would be a part of.

  I closed my eyes and came to a decision.

  “Fuck it. Fine. Let Isabella know I will meet her at Stephenson Airfield. I need to swing by the penthouse to change. I don’t want to chance going back into the bedroom and waking Adeleigh up.” I turned to glance toward the bedroom.

  “Will do, boss.” Phillip opened the apartment door.

  I sighed again. “Phillip, make sure the cameras are on at all times so I can check in on her from the hanger. If no one is stationed at the door, I want to be able to see her every move. I want her safe.”

  Phillip nodded once.

  How could I swear to keep her safe?

  How could I promise her that no one would hurt her when I was the one who was going to destroy her?

  And now that I had her, there was no turning back.

  14

  Adeleigh

  “Fuck it. Fine. Let Isabella know I will meet her at Stephenson Airfield….”

  With my ear pressed against the bedroom door, I could barely make out what Bo was saying. He had been speaking so softly. However, I was able to decipher a few of his words.

  Isabella Santini.

  I heard her name loud and clear. And with it, my heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach.

  First Trish, which like an idiot I forgot to even ask him about, and now Isabella.

  It hadn’t been the first time I heard a Santini name. It often circulated the news. One time, years back, I had also heard it mentioned during a conversation between Eric and Andy.

  It was said that Isabella Santini was the daughter of a powerful Chicago crime lord, one of the biggest Mafia families in existence.

  I was fascinated by the entire story. I had eagerly asked Andy and Eric if the Mafia was real? Andy scolded me by responding to quit eavesdropping on their conversations.

  When I got home from work, I asked Edgar if he thought the Mafia really existed. His response was I shouldn’t ask questions that were likely to get me killed.

  After that, I dropped the topic.

  Now apparently, Bo, the man who I had just slept with—the man I was quickly falling hard for—was also sleeping with Isabella Santini. In addition to Trish.

  Why did this keep happening to me? First Edgar… now Bo. Was I ever going to meet a man who wasn’t going to treat me like I was just something to be used?

  I swiped at the stray tear running down my cheek before looking at Bo’s clothes, lying on the antique chair in the corner of my bedroom.

  What really pissed me off was how weak I felt. After all, it was my fault they treated me like a doormat. Was I not a strong, independent woman? When was I going to say enough and stand up for myself?

  Another tear fell.

  Running my hands across my cheeks, an idea hit me.

  I rushed over to the side of the bed, grabbed my clothes from the floor, and pulled them on.

  I was done. With Edgar, with Bo, with ALL men.

  I would go to Stephenson Airfield.

  If Bo thought he was going to have some sort of rendezvous with Isabella, especially after we had just slept together, he was in for another surprise because I was going to show up and tell him to go to hell.

  I asked the Uber driver to let me out of the car a bit of a way down from the huge chain-linked gate at the front of Stephenson Airfield. He gave me a strange look, but when I mentioned I would leave him a huge tip, he nodded once and pulled over.

  I was grateful for the night skies. It was so dark out that I was well hidden as I a
pproached the gate.

  I immediately began to worry about how I was going to get past the guard, but oddly enough, when I reached the entrance, no one was out there.

  Taking a quick look around, I entered the small airfield and jogged over to where the only three hangers were located.

  I spotted who I was looking for immediately. However, he was not alone with Isabella, like I had thought.

  Bo was standing outside the opened huge doors of a hanger with Phillip, Santiago, and a group of four other men. One of the men was much, much older than Bo, while another one looked to be about my age. I had never seen them before in my life. But it was the additional two who made my jaw drop open.

  Shocked to see Andy and Eric standing with the group, I opened my mouth to yell their names when Bo’s angry voice blasted through the air. “What the FUCK are YOU DOING HERE, ANDY!?”

  Santiago stepped forward and placed a hand on Bo’s arm. “Boss, calm down. They wanted to help, and there wasn’t anyone else.”

  Bo jerked away from Santiago’s hand. “Fuck no. NO! I don’t want them here. They need to leave. NOW! We do not need their help guarding Isabella.”

  At the mention of her name, I scanned the area. Then I saw her. Isabella Santini. She was beautiful jet black hair, tall, with a perfect muscular body and wore her jet black hair in waves around her perfectly made-up face, and a pair of sunglasses on the top of her head. She looked thoughtful as she glanced at Bo before turning to look at my brother.

  Bo turned back to Andy. “Andy, leave. Take Eric with you.”

  “No.” Eric pushed in front of Andy with a disgusted expression on his face. “We aren’t going anywhere. Do you even know who that is standing behind you?”

  At his words, Isabella rolled her eyes, before turning and walking back into the hanger.

  “Yes, of course, I know who the hell she is!” Bo yelled.

  “Bo, let us stay. We want to help.” Andy stepped closer to him.

  Bo shook his head. “No, Andy, you need to leave. Go to Adeleigh’s. I left her alone. She was finally sound asleep, and I hate leaving her unprotected. If you want to help, then you and Eric go stay with her. Protect her.”