I wanted to take a minute to show appreciation to everyone for all of their kind reviews. As far as things I've written goes, I think that this is absolutely one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy and keep the reviews coming!
Marco ended up at Fritzy's club as planned. Sales were down and everyone was taking it poorly. Fritzy told Marco to take a seat across from him at his desk.
The Viper leader leaned back in the chair, linking his hands over his chest as he watched the Mafioso speak candidly. "Have you heard what's going on?" Fritzy asked.
"No, boss. Why don't you tell me?"
"Last month, there was a huge bust in Manhattan. Cops are getting more and more strict with this shit. Hurting business." Fritzy explained. "I've received word that there's another guy cooking and dealing in the area."
"I'll take care of it." Marco muttered.
"Yeah, you better. What's bad for business for you directly affects my money. If I don't get any money from you, you're no longer useful. You know what I'll do if you're no longer useful, right Marco? I don't have to elaborate?"
"No, Fritz. You've made things crystal clear." Marco said, getting up and letting himself out. He grabbed Jimmy around the neck and pulled him close to his chest once they left the club. "Fritzy says there are more dealers on the streets. Find them for me."
If there was one thing Jimmy was good at, it was doing drugs. If there was a second thing Jimmy was good at, it was finding the drugs.
Veronica knew she shouldn't be intrigued by a beast like Marco Vendetti. He went against everything her father ever taught her was good and righteous. She was fairly certain he was a drug dealer and multiple other things that only made matters worse. Her father died trying to get drugs off the street and now she was very close to falling for the very thing that killed him.
She needed to clear her mind. The best way for her to do that was to dance. She couldn't exactly do that in this tiny little apartment. She decided to sneak down to the shop.
She rearranged the tables and kept the lights off as not to draw attention to herself and lost herself in music that she found in her head. She was pulled from her ministrations by a knock on the window.
He had just been casually walking by, on his way to his club from Fritzy's when he happened to see her. He imagined she didn't want to be seen since she had the lights off. She probably wouldn't have been spotted if it was for the fact that he liked to keep an eye on things on his side of the neighborhood.
She was every bit as graceful and magnificent as he had imagined. Twirling and tumbling and jumping. He didn't want to disturb her, which was strange. He did, however, want to speak to her.
She stopped abruptly, startled by the noise, turning to the window and staring at him with wild eyes. It took her a moment to react, walking to the front door and unlocking it. "Marco?"
"Veronica." He sighed.
"You're supposed to be busy."
"And you're supposed to be home." He countered, shutting the door behind him as he slipped in. "I just finished up tending to some business. I need to go attend to something else. Come with me."
"I was just about to go."
"I'll take you home. I just have to go talk to a few people first." He wanted to show her off to his guys, show everyone that she was his and not to be touched. He wanted to claim her before everyone. "It wont take long."
It seemed innocent enough, and she had been thinking about seeing him again. She hated to admit it to herself, but she wanted to go if only to be near him. "Alright, let's make it quick." She smiled, grabbing the key to the pizza shop and ushering him out before locking the door behind them.
"The Club", as Marco called it, was nothing more than a pool hall with a rusty juke box and a ripped up pool table. There was a bar in the corner, which was probably the only redeeming quality.
"Vinnie!" Marco hollered to this tall, dark man playing pool. He kept his hand around her waist protectively as he spoke. "Doll face, you remember Vinnie, right?" She vaguely remembered his face, but didn't know him by name. She nodded anyway. "I've got business to attend to in the back. I'll be right back. Keep her entertained, huh?"
Vinnie nodded as Marco let go of his grasp on her and walked to the other side of the room and entered a door she probably wouldn't notice otherwise.
"It's Veronica, right?" Vinnie asked, leaning on his pool cue.
"Yes." She replied, trying to pretend she was somewhere else.
"You drink?"
"No." She shook her head.
"I'll get you something you'll like, hold on." He smiled, seeming friendly enough.
He left her alone for no longer than five minutes, which happened to be more than enough time for one of the Velvets to walk over and confront her. The blonde with short curls was wearing too much makeup, and not enough fabric. Veronica watched her closely as she sauntered over, seemingly a little tipsy. Veronica wasn't sure from what yet. "Sweetheart, you don't belong here. You're too pure to be in a place like this."
"I'm sorry?" Veronica asked, a little taken aback. "Why do you care?"
"You walk in with Marco wrapped around your little finger, you don't even know? Around here, Marco is top prize for a game you can't even compete in. Go home and play with your dolls, little girl."
Something clicked in Veronica's head and she stepped forward, close to the girls face. "Maybe you didn't realize because you're too drugged up and drunk to use all of your senses properly, but it was me coming in that door over there with Marco around my waist."
"Seems to me that that makes her belong here more than you do, Betty." Vinnie said, stepping in. "Is there a problem here, ladies?" The Betty girl humphed and walked away. "Don't let them get to you. They don't mean anything around here more than a piece of ass, anyways." He watched as Betty gathered up her friends and they march out the door. "No big loss. You know, I haven't seen the boss ever keep anyone around as long as you." She nodded at the acknowledgement, not sure if she was supposed to reply. She had already suspected that was the case.
Vinnie had come back with a small plastic cup full of red liquid. "It's called a Brooklyn, you'll like it. Taste's like cherries."
She took a sip and found she liked it. It had a strong after taste, but wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. "Can you play?" He asked, nodding to the table.
"I'm better at poker."
"You wanna play?" He raised his brow.
"Yeah, okay."
"Saddle up, boys! Got a poker game going." Vinnie announced, clearing the balls off the table and finding a deck of cards behind the bar.
"Around here we play for money, but since you're new here, we'll just play for fun." This guy who was introduced as Anthony said.
"I'm sure Marco can front her." Another man, Chris, said.
"Let's just make this a friendly game, boys. Go easy on the little lady." Vinnie interjected.
Marco walked out of his meeting with some of Jimmy's contacts and was surprised at what he found. Veronica was not only drinking, but in the middle of a very heated game of poker with a pile of dollars in front of her.
"Boss, you brought a regular card shark in here! Turned her tips into big bucks!" Vinnie laughed. He had folded a few hands ago and let Veronica duel it out with Anthony and Chris.
He walked to the bar and snapped his fingers before being handed a cold beer and walked over to the table to get a better look. He stood behind her at the table and watched her closely.
"Raise. Ten." Anthony said, throwing out another bill.
"Call." Said Chris.
"I'll raise five." Veronica tossed out another bill.
"Call." Said Anthony.
"I fold." Chris threw his cards out.
"Stand."
Anthony flipped over his cards revealing a king and a two. "Two pair."
Veronica smirked and picked up her cards, flipping them over as the boys all groaned. She had two kings, giving her the upper hand with three of a kind.
Vinnie laughed, grabbing up the cash and handing it all to Veronica.
"Beginner's luck." Anthony muttered.
"Bullshit, Tony, don't be bitter." Vinnie laughed. "You should come play more often, Ronnie. We could play teams and take 'em for all they're worth."
"Vinnie cheats, don't play with him." Marco laughed as Veronica got up from the table, stuffing her new found cash in her clutch. "You ready to go home yet, beautiful?"
"Can I get one more of these?" She said, holding up her empty glass.
Marco took the glass and sniffed it. "How many of these you give her?" He asked Vinnie.
"That's my second." She pouted.
"More like third." Vinnie laughed and Veronica began to giggle. "She never drank before. Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"I think we better get you home, then." Marco frowned, downing the rest of his beer and taking Veronica by the hand to lead her out of the club.
"They respect you a lot." Veronica noted her observation.
"They fucking better." Marco said sternly.
"What exactly do you do?"
"I dabble in lots of things."
"You sell drugs."
"Mostly. Is that a problem?"
"I don't think so." She thought aloud. She didn't think that was the worst thing Marco Vendetti had done in his life. Probably not by a long shot. "I'm not like the Velvets." She sighed. "Is that a problem?" She asked, looking up at him.
"The Velvets don't interest me. They're too easy to play with. I've moved on to more interesting toys." He said, stopping on the corner of the block and placing his other arm on her hip, pulling her into his chest. He tilted her head up, looming in closer to her lips, determined to not have her pull away this time.
She anticipated the kiss, even welcomed it, leaning up into it before he had a chance to clear the distance between them. There was a melding of cigarettes and cherries as their tongues twirled around each others. Veronica was graceful and skilled at everything she did, and kissing was no exception. Marco was dominating and rough, much like she expected. As soon as it began, it was over. They needed a few moments to catch their breath.
"Marco?" She whispered.
"Yeah, babe?"
"Does this make me your girl?"
That was a big commitment for Marco. He didn't do just one dame at a time, he kept a few on the side, but Veronica wasn't like the rest of the Velvets, that was true. He wanted to keep her around, at least until he got what he wanted and he was willing to do whatever it took to get there. "Yes."