Chapter Eight
Vito
Her Man
Sent by a DeLuca.
A week later, I still didn’t know what to do with that information. I was back at IVCC Construction, sitting at my desk with my mind blown over the news Enzo dropped on us.
Which DeLuca would be that callous? My mind ran back and forth around this idea, and I had nothing.
Enzo had taken down the shooter, but the real search was for the person who hired the shooter. Someone in our family had ordered the hit on our beloved grandfather. Who in the fuck had the balls to plot to take down Don Ermanno DeLuca, a man in charge of the largest criminal enterprise that stretched to every corner of the world? The only person that ballsy would have to be a DeLuca like the shooter confessed before he died. That DeLuca had pumped the punk with information and gassed him to think he could survive taking out our Don.
I spent every day and night for the past week thinking about it. While in Bari for the funeral, I asked my connections to keep their eyes open for clues. I hadn’t planned to return home until the traitor was found out, but Enzo insisted that I not get pulled back into the savagery of the streets. He said he would handle it. He knew once I got back in deep, there was no coming back to the good side. No one makes it out twice.
Reluctantly, I returned to America to continue fulfilling my promise to my grandfather. I would accelerate those plans now that he was gone. In the meantime, Enzo would let me know if he found anything out about the traitor. If my sources figured it out before he did, I would hit first and let him know later. If he didn't get to them first, it would take nothing for me to board a plane and handle it my way.
With everything on my mind, the day was a bust. I packed up and left the office. I had given my chef the day off, so I went to Subway to pick up dinner. I gave the lady behind the counter my order and waited by the register.
I chose this eatery because it was next door to the grocery store where I met Nicole. She wasn’t there when I showed up at lunchtime, hoping that seeing her face would give me a few minutes of relief from my grief. I didn’t know if I would approach her since she didn’t appear interested in leaving her man. Suffering from the heartbreak of losing my grandfather, I didn’t know if I could add Nicole’s rejection to it, but I wanted to see her.
She never showed up, and the change in her shopping pattern sent my mood to shit for the remainder of the day. She was always at the store at the same time.
“Sir, that will be fifteen eighty-six,” the cashier said.
“Oh, yeah.” I paid for my food, grabbed my turkey sandwich and lemonade, and walked over to sit next to the window. I looked out the window at the beautiful sunny day. The rain outside had cleared, but I still felt gloomy inside.
As I sat and ate, I remembered the good times with my grandfather, his teachings and his encouragement to start my construction business. He saw how far the company could go before I imagined it. I took Don Ermanno DeLuca’s spirit with me everywhere. He was definitely somewhere amid the bright sunshine shining down on me. That brought the tiniest smile to my face.
A familiar figure sauntered from the grocery store next door, pulling me from my thoughts and capturing my full attention. As if walking through the sun’s rays, the sight of my grocery store beauty brightened the day. She was there, only a few feet away.
I would know that shapely body anywhere. Nicole was one part sexy and free and one part melancholy. The sexy and free side of her warmed the blood in my veins.
I tried to suppress the urge to protect her from whatever put the melancholy in her spirit, but I couldn’t hide anything when it came to Nicole. I had planned to find out who was bothering her and put an end to it, but I was called home to attend the Don’s funeral. Now that I was back in the states, with several chips on my shoulder, I would find out if her man was responsible for her pain. If that was the case, I would put an end to it.
When she bent over to place a bag in the trunk, I inwardly groaned. Her bottom rounded off to perfection, and damn, I didn’t think I had any more blood that could travel south before I lost consciousness.
Mama mia.
What kind of fool would hurt her? I’d spend every moment available bending her over just like that if she were mine. She would love my brand of pain. I would love to inflict it.
I tried to shake the urge to rush out and speak to her. The last time we talked, she made it clear her man wouldn’t approve of me approaching her. That was likely why she changed her shopping time to come this evening, rather than her normal time at noon.
“Umph,” I murmured helplessly and unsuccessfully attempted to turn my attention back to my food. I watched her struggle to pick up a case of heavy water and a few bags before saying, “Fuck it.”
I shoved the food aside and walked outside. When I reached the parking lot, Nicole was in her car and backing out. I jogged to my Jeep and hopped inside.
I followed her all the way to a single-family home on Front Avenue. I was about to drive away when she pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road. A late-model black Mercedes coupe sped into the space in front of her. If the car had pulled in a few seconds later, they would have collided with Nicole.
A stocky man about six feet tall with cropped brown hair jumped out of the car, yelling and pounding the pavement as he approached Nicole’s door. He yanked at her door with so much force that he could have pulled it off the hinges. Thankfully, it was locked.
I couldn’t understand what the man said, but his body language exuded bad vibes.
I scowled. “Who the fuck is this motherfucker?”
When Nicole opened her door, I opened mine, ready to reveal myself as the man who had just stalked her by following her home.
The man yanked her up close to him and pushed her back hard against the seat. He leaned into the car, crushing his weight down on hers while gripping her neck. That move had me stalking toward Nicole’s car.