Taylor's Pov
The drive over to Sonny's place in Long Island was a pain in the ass. I hated coming out this way. I felt like all eyes were on me as I drove through the life styles of the rich and famous. The honest citizens of Suffolk County did everything but duck for cover when they saw me and my van cruise through. They probably were wondering what the hell I was doing here. 'If only they knew.' A few blocks later and I was pulling up to the iron gates. A man in an all black suit approached me and I immediately noticed the gun on his waist.
"Can I help you?" He said checking out the inside of the van.
"I'm here to see Mr. Moretti, he's expecting me." I replied sizing the guy up. He spoke something in his walkie-talkie and then pressed some buttons opening the gate to wave me through. As I rolled through the barrier I spotted about six more guys with pieces. The security was so tight you would have thought they were guarding the president. When I got out of the car an old fat guy met me at the front door to pat me down, I guess it's a good thing I left my gun the car.
When I got inside the place practically swallowed me. To say it was huge would be an insult. It was definitely different from his old neighborhood in Brooklyn. I was told to have seat on a bench in the hall outside of Moretti's office. While I sat there waiting to be called in, I couldn't help but overhear the shouting going down on the other side of the wall. I couldn't make out what was being said, but I knew one thing, someone was pissed.
All of a sudden everything became quite. Then office door was opened and Vinnie poked his head out. "Taylor, glad you could make it kid. Come on in." He said with an easy smile as if nothing happened on the other side of that door.
I got up and walked in the office. Moretti was sitting behind his desk with an unreadable expression on his face. After everything that happened and knowing that he was already pissed off, I had no choice but to go in there with my guard up. When I approached the desk I stuck my arm out to shake his hand. He sat there looking pass my hand staring me dead in the eyes. I didn't know what the hell he was thinking, but I didn't back down. After a second or two he stood and reached his hand out to meet mine. The grip was tight, I wasn't expecting anything less. Moretti fixed his suit jacket and sat back down.
"Have a seat kid." He said and pointed to the chair in front of him. I sat down not liking the fact that my back was to the door, but at this point what could I do? "So I take it you know why I called you here?"
"I have a pretty good idea." I said making sure I keep myself on full alert until I found out where he was taking this.
"Despite what you may have heard, I'm a business man Taylor and I like to run things as such. When you have a steady operation like mine you have no choice but to. If someone gets hurt or killed, there's a reason for it. Now what I would like to know is what was your reason for hammering my guy?"
"It was a personal matter sir." I replied, hoping he would leave it at that.
Sonny nodded his head and folded his hands on top of his desk. My eyes couldn't help but to shift over to the Smith & Wesson that was only a couple of inches away from his grasp. "I understand… boys will be boys, but when you go around beating up one of my guys in public that causes a problem for me. It makes my crew look weak and I can't have that." Moretti replied.
"I understand, but believe me; Ray had every bit of that beating coming to him." I spoke looking Sonny straight in the eyes.
"I've been telling you for years that Ray's a hothead, and that's a liability." Vinnie's voice cut in speaking for the first time since we've been in the room.
Moretti looked over at Vinnie who sat there on the couch with a smirk on his face and then over at me. "You got balls kid, I'll give you that. So tell me about this girl?" He asked making me a bit confused. "There was a girl involved right?" he asked once more.
"I don't see what she has to do with this." I didn't know why Moretti was asking about her, but the last thing I wanted was to mix Gia up with these guys.
"Relax, I mean her no harm, I'm just curious that's all. It's the girl from your club right? Uh what was her name again…"
"Gia." I replied still skeptical of his intentions.
"Yeah, that's it… so are you two serious?" he asked and then looked over at Vinnie leaving me lost for a second.
"Uh, yeah, something like that." I didn't know what was up with the twenty questions, but suddenly Moretti's expression changed as his face tensed.
His fingers tapped on the desk until he stopped to run his hand down his face. "You know Taylor in our line of business, things get really dangerous, sometimes our business lives spills over into our personal lives and innocent people get hurt, don't let her be one of them." He warned. I wasn't sure if it was a threat or advice, but I nodded my head because there was no way I was letting Gia get hurt.
"Now that, that's settled how about we get down to it…" Vinnie got up from the couch and sat down in the chair beside me.
"There's a pick up arranged for tomorrow night. I arranged a loan for your boss on behalf a myself and I want everything to go smoothly. As of now you're the only one of Benny's guys that I trust. I think your boss has a problem that he doesn't know about. Anyway, this thing is going down on my name so I don't want any screw ups. Can you handle it, kid?" Loretta asked, as if I had a choice. It was either make this run or take a bullet for the beat down I gave Ray.
"When and where?" I responded.
"Benny already knows. He said a car will pick you up at 2:15 A.M. on the dot so be ready." Vinnie leaned on the desk jotting something down on the back of a business card. "When you get there, ask for Bobby Beans and give him this." He slid the card over to me and I stuffed it in my pocket.
Gia
Back At The Club
It was getting late and I still haven't heard from Taylor. Every time I called I got nothing but his voicemail. I must've asked the guys twenty times throughout the course of the night if they had spoken to him, but each time it was the same answer… no. The only thing I could do now was hope that my talk with uncle Vinnie earlier did some good. To take my mind off of things I dove head first into my keeping the Halloween party running smoothly. The entire staff was in costumes just as I asked, and to my surprise so was Chris and Marbles. Chris was dress as the Phantom of the Opera and Marbles came as… well I don't really know what the hell he was supposed to be, but I was glad he made the effort. Matty did the Joe DiMaggio thing just as he said he would and Adrian decided on a Marilyn Monroe getup, blonde wig and all. I looked at everyone as they all sat around the usual table laughing as Marbles told a story that I tuned out. I tilted Chris's wrist to the side getting a glimpse at the time on his watch. It was now ten o'clock and there was still no sign of Taylor.
Matty must've noticed my jittery behavior because he placed his hand on top of mine to put a stop to my fingers that were tapping on the table. "Relax, Taylor's fine. He's just running a little late."
"Yeah, or maybe he just got into an accident or something." Marbles spoke and rested his hand on my shoulder as if he was comforting me… real big help he was, that just made me worry more. I brushed his hand away and got up from the table.
"You're an asshole you know that." Said Chris and I heard the familiar sound of him hitting Marbles on the head. I then felt a hand on my mine, and turned around to see Chris standing there. "Hey, Johnny doesn't know what he's talking about. Taylor will be here. I've known the guy all my life, he's as tough as nails, nothing can keep him down; besides, he'd be pissed if he missed getting a look at you in this costume."
For some reason Chris's charming smile put me at ease. "I'm fine really; I'm just going to go make my rounds." Work was always a great distraction for me and with managing a nightclub, there was always work to be done. Even with all hands on deck tonight the wait staff was still running a bit slow. It wasn't their fault; the place was just beyond packed tonight. I decided to help with the tables and behind the bar. Marcy and Carla had the drinks flowing and were constantly sending trays out. I made my fourth trip up to the bar with an empty tray and yet another order.
"Alright ladies, I need four patron shots, a strawberry daiquiri, dirty martini, a tequila sunrise, and one sex on the beach." I slapped the order slip down on the counter and Marcy gave it a quick once over.
"Hmm, that last one doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Please tell me these are for a group of chicks?" Marcy asked as she began to fill the orders.
"Girls night out." I said referring to the group of women I just left in the V.I.P. Carla came over to the register, joining in on our conversation.
"I miss those days of just going out and getting hammered without a care in the world, but then I look at my Joey and none of that matters anymore." said Carla. I loved hearing her gush about her son who's her pride and joy. At times Carla reminded me of my mother. Both single moms working jobs with tough hours to make ends meet. That's why I hated having her work closing shifts. Most of the time I would cut her loose a few extra hours early but still pay her for the day. The only reason why she was closing tonight is because she insisted that she stay.
"I really hate this job!" said Rachel. She appeared out of nowhere slamming her empty tray on the table as she leaned against the bar.
"What's wrong?" I asked, clearly seeing her in some sort of distress.
"I have a table of idiots upstairs who won't stop grabbing at me." She yelled over the music. Rachel was still young, only a few months into her twenty-one years and was only waitressing to pay her way through college. This whole club atmosphere was still new to her so she didn't quite know how to handle unruly customers… but I did.
"Don't worry about it, we'll swap tables I have a hen party in the V.I.P. table three. They shouldn't be much of a bother."
There was a sigh of relief on her face. "Thanks Gia, I really appreciate that." Rachel picked up my tray that Marcy had slid over to her and gladly walked away.
I picked up her order slip and looked it over and couldn't help but roll my eyes. Beers all around, I would bet my salary that I was about to walk into a group of drunken frat jerks. Since Carla and Marcy was busy mixing drinks, I went behind the bar and grabbed six Corona's loading them up on the tray. As I made my way up the stairs and to their table I could already hear their loud obnoxious laughter even over the music. From the looks of it they were already drunk. 'Just great!' I thought to myself. Putting on my fake smile I approached the table and sat the beers down one by one.
"Okay boys, that'll be $36.00 even." I sat the bill down in the middle waiting for one of them to start reaching for their wallets.
"Hey, where'd the blonde go? We were just beginning to have some fun." said one of the guys at the table. I'm guessing he's the leader of this pack of idiots who just cackled as he spoke.
"She's on her break, I'll be taking over for her." I replied.
Now I don't mind men looking at my body, it's in their nature, but this asshole was blatantly ogling me like I was a piece of meat on a platter. "That's fine by me. I think we'd rather have you service us anyway." he said as his eyes stayed glued to my breasts.
"Your bill came up to $36.00." I repeated so this jerk could hurry up and pay me.
"I know, I know, $36.00 even." He stood and just like that I was overshadowed by his body that towered over my frame. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a fifty dollar bill. I watched as he slowly raised it to my eyes, before lowering the paper to stuff it into my top. My fingers clenched the empty tray, but I kept my composure. Meanwhile, he smiled and looked over at his friends before turning back to me. "How about you give me your number so I can call you sometime?"
"Sure." I replied. "It's 212-496-0 chance in hell." I picked up one of the beer bottles on the table and pour the contents down his pants and then sat the empty bottle on the table. "Enjoy your night." I said as I walked away.
"You bitch!" I heard his voice shout and begin to charge at me, but before he could get close he was suddenly snatched back and thrown into a wall.
I looked to see Taylor holding this guy off the floor by his throat. The guy's buddy's rushed towards him, but came to a screeching halt when Taylor lifted his shirt exposing the gun on his waist. They paid heed to his warning and backed up. I couldn't hear what Taylor was saying to this guy, but suddenly his face turned a ghostly white. As soon as he was released the guy, he took off and his pals were right behind him.
I looked at Taylor and when he looked at me he had this longing stare in his eyes that made me feel naked. Taylor walked over to me and took my hand to lead me to the back. We entered his office and as soon as the door was closed my back was pressed against it and his lips came crashing down on mine in a bruising kiss. My hands gripped at his white shirt wanting to pull him closer to me, but his hands grabbed my wrists locking them at the sides of my head. Taylor tore his lips from mine breathing heavily as he stared down at me.
"That was a stupid thing you did back there." He chided with his eyes narrowed down on me. I rolled mine knowing he was about to go into overprotective mode.
"I couldn't help it, that guy was being an asshole, besides I can take care of myself."
"I know that, but next time go get Marco or one of the other guys, alright?"
The genuine concern on his face did something to me. I stared into his brown eyes and felt my defenses melting down right then and there. I had fallen for him and didn't even know it. "Alright Taylor." I said with a smile.
Pleased that I didn't put up a fight as usual, Taylor leaned down to kiss me, but suddenly stopped himself. "What the hell are you wearing?" He glanced down at my somewhat revealing outfit, and then back up at me.
"It's a costume Taylor and by the way, where is yours?"I asked, remembering the promise he made to dress up, but wasn't wearing anything outside of his normal jeans and white shirt.
"I came as the coolest guy in the world." Taylor responded.
"Oh yeah, and who's that?" I folded my arms across my chest waiting for his answer.
"Taylor Vincent Reese." He proudly boasted with a smirk on his face.
I shook my head as I turned around and opened the door, but Taylor's large hand pushed it shut again and turned the lock. His hands gripped my hips pressing his groin into my backside as he kissed and nibbled on my neck. "You look so fuckin sexy tonight." He mumbled into my flesh.
I bit down on my lip hearing that growl like voice of his and feeling his growing excitement press against me. "Taylor you promised me a date and I plan on collecting in full." I reminded him while fighting the urge to give in.
He sighed and took a step back giving me a chance to turn around. "You'll have to go change first… or you can just stay like that, either way is fine with me."
"Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you downstairs." I left his office and went across the hall to mine to get ready for my date with Taylor Vincent Reese.
Taylor's Pov
We left the club heading to our destination that was still unknown to Gia. She must've asked me where I was taking her at least twenty times since she's been in the van, but my lips were sealed. I just told her to dress casual because that's all she needed to know. Gia changed out of her catwoman costume and into black jeans a grey sweater like top and a pair of black boots with a leather jacket. This was a new look for her, but I liked it. She was definitely my kind of girl.
"You know I don't think I've ever seen you in jeans. I didn't think you owned anything denim."
"I work in a night club Taylor, it's not exactly apart of the dress code."
"Nah, just skin tight dresses, am I right?"
"Well it got your attention." She looked over at me and smiled.
I turned my eyes back to the road with a smile of my own. "That it did." I mumbled under my breath and kept on driving. We were only driving for about 20 minutes but I could tell that Gia was getting antsy. She couldn't sit still if her life depended on it.
"Okay, will you just tell me where we're going. It feels like we've been driving in circles. We haven't even left Brooklyn yet." Gia blurted out. I just looked over at her not saying a word and then turned back to the road. That must've pissed her off because she sat back in her seat pouting.
Less than ten minutes later we were pulling up in front of a brownstone. Gia was too busy scoping the neighborhood that she hadn't even realized that I had gotten out of the van and was walking over to the passenger side.
I opened the door and she looked at me skeptically before stepping out. "Taylor, where are we? This doesn't look like-"
I leaned forward, pressing my lips against hers to shut her up. When I pulled back she was speechless. "Follow me, and no more questions." I said as I took her by the hand, leading her to the alley next to the building.
We stopped in front of the fire escape and I jumped up to pull the ladder down for us. I looked over at Gia and held my hand out for her. "You ready..."
Gia's face was blank, but I knew she was freaking the he'll out. Her lips parted looking like she was about to argue with me, but "Fine, but you better not be bringing me up here to kill me."
"If I wanted to do that , I'd at least get laid first." I gave her a smack on the ass, laughing when she cut her eyes at me.
I climbed the fire escape and Gia was right behind me. We made it to the top, and I stepped onto the roof. I turned around and held out my hand for Gia to take as I helped her up onto the rooftop. Her eyes curiously scanned the area waiting to find out what was going on.
"Alright Taylor, you got me up here. Now-" Her words got caught in her throat when she saw the rose petals leading to the blanket and picnic basket.
I took Gia by the hand and lead her over to the blanket. "Are you surprised?"
"Very. I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this." Said Gia as she knelt down on the blanket. She lift the lid to one of the plastic containers I borrowed from my mom. A smile spread across her lips when she peeked inside at the lasagna and then looked up at me. "Did you cook?"
"I'm a man of many talents." I said as shrugged off my jacket and sat down beside her. Gia just stared at me and for the first time since I met this girl, she was speechless. I think I deserve a gold medal for that accomplishment.
About two hours into our date every last spec of food was gone. Gia could eat and I liked that about her. I didn't have to hear her complain about carbs and all that other shit like I do with Vanessa. We ate and talked which was different from what I was used to. Normally I'd tune out whatever crap a chick was going on about, just long enough to get her to the bedroom. I never bothered to pay attention to the women I came across because I never had to, but with Gia it's different. I want to hear about how her day went, I want to know what she likes; what makes her laugh. I even opened up and told her about my life. How my dad used to be an enforcer for Jimmy The Gent back in the day; that was until he caught a bullet in the head summer of '89. I told about all of the street fight I had been which eventually built up my rep of not being one to fuck with. It was only natural that I followed in my father's footsteps getting involved with Benny and Teddy, but for some reason, the news didn't shake her. She had the same unfazed look on her face like the night I was shot. But anyway somewhere along our conversation we ended up talking about our mother's and how if I'm not at a certain 57 year-old Jewish lady's dinner table at least twice a month then there's hell to pay.
Gia's smile stretched from ear to ear "Aw, you and your mother seem really close. She seems like a sweet woman."
"We are... she'd like you." I told her, purposefully leaving out the fact that I had already told my mother about her; don't want her thinking she has me wrapped around her finger.
"Is that an offer to meet your mother?" Her lips spread into a grin as she raised her glass to her lips. Damn, I walked right into that one.
"If you want it to be?" I asked and she looked away. Every time I start to get serious with this girl she shuts it down so I pulled Gia onto my lap to get her attention ignoring that eye roll of hers that gets under my skin. "You're smart, beautiful, and pack a hell of a slap... girls like you don't usually end up with guys like me."
"I could say the same for you." Gia replied crossing her arms in front of her looking me dead in the eyes. Her whole mood switched up at the drop of a dime leaving me confused as fuck.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Taylor how would your mom feel about us dating, or your "associates" for that matter. I can't deny that I have feelings for you at this point, but how exactly is this supposed to end with us?"
"First off, do I look like I give a fuck about someone's opinion? And who said anything about this ending; you tryna get rid of me already?" I asked and she blushed lowering head a little. "And beside my mom's not like that, she could get give two shits what color you are, as long as you give her grandchildren."
Gia's eyes got wide and she threw her head back, busting out laughing almost falling off of my lap in the process. "I'm sorry but did you say grandchildren, as in children coming out of me?"
"What's so funny, you don't like kids or somethin'?"
"I didn't say that. I just don't know if I want to be anyone's mother. I love what I do, and working late hours in a nightclub isn't very motherly." She explained and to be honest, that scared me a little. It may not seem like it, but I'm a family man at heart; I can see myself settling down with the right girl someday, but it don't look like Gia's on the same page.
"So no kids huh?"
"Not now, no." She reached over and grabbed the last strawberry out the container and held it to my lips. I knew she was trying to change the subject so I played her little game and bit down on it. "You know Mr. Reese, I really didn't take you for the romantic type."
"I'm not, so if you tell anybody I'll kill you."
She smiled shaking her head as she worked her way onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. "You know Taylor, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It turns me on when you're rough and demanding, but I could get used to the charming side of you."
"So it turns you on when I'm rough?" I asked, slipping my hands to her ass giving it a squeeze.
"You didn't hear anything else did you?" Gia rolled her eyes trying to push off of my lap, but I grabbed her by the wrist, pinning her underneath me so she couldn't move. I stared at her lips, they were the most beautiful set of lips I'd ever seen; just perfect and waiting to be kissed.
It wasn't long until we were trying to rip each other's clothes off on the rooftop. Just as I was undoing the button on her jeans, a crack of thunder hit our ears.
"Shit." Heavy rain started to pour down on us, the kind you can't even see through. "Come on, follow me." I jumped up and pulled Gia with me, not even ten seconds of this rain and we were already soaked. I lead her back to the fire escape so we could climb our way down, but she stopped in her tracks looking back at the mess we were leaving behind.
"Wait, what about the-"
"Leave it, let's go." I told her. Gia followed down the ladder behind me to get out of the rain. I stopped when we got to the half open window on the third floor. "Come on, let's go through here." I said while opening the window wider so we could climb in.
"Taylor, we can't go in there. This is someone's home." Gia whispered, shivering in the cold rain with her hair clinging to her face.
"What are you scared we'll get caught?" I smiled and climbed through the window. When I looked back at Gia, she was still standing on the fire escape in the rain getting soaked. "You're gonna catch a cold out there"
She looked around to see if anyone was watching, and then climbed in. When she did, her eyes slowly began to look around the apartment. While she did that, I grabbed a picture frame from the table and stuffed it under my jacket.
Her eyes drifted around some more until she came to her conclusion. "This is your place, isn't?" She asked, touching one of my leather jackets I had tossed on the back of the couch. I just smiled, not bothering to answer her. "You could've just told me that instead of letting me get wet."
"Where's the fun in that?" I said, making her give me the finger. "I'll get something for you to change into." I went into my bedroom and checked behind me before taking the picture out of my jacket. I didn't need Gia seeing it and ruining our night. He'll, I don't know why I'm even holding on to it, but I just can't bring myself to toss it. I'll just put it on a shelf in the back of my closet. Outta sight outta mind. Gia's, probably out there freezing. I hurried up and changed into my basketball shorts, grabbing one of my shirts from the drawer. "So the best I can do is a t-shirt-" My words were cut short when I saw her standing there wearing nothing but the skin she was born in. "But I don't think you'll be needing that."
"Just shut up and kiss me." She pulled me toward her by the drawstring on my shorts, and I didn't fight her one bit. And she says I'm the aggressive one.
2:00 A.M. rolled around on the clock and I stared at the phone waiting for the call. I put it on vibrate so it wouldn't wake Gia. Gia… where do I begin? I don't know when it happened or how it happened, but this girl has me caught up in more ways than one. Just sitting here watching her sleep had my feeling like so kind of whimp. The last woman I had feelings for made me never want to go down this road again, but then Gia goes and walks into the club that night and here I am. I pulled the blanket up on her naked body so she wouldn't get cold, the heat sucks in this building. Just as I was doing that, the phone buzzed in my hand. I answered and it was Paulie letting me know he's outside. I hung up and grabbed my piece from the nightstand drawer, tucking into my waistband and put my jacket on to cover it.
"Hey, where are you going?" Gia's groggy voice caught me off guard. I looked over my shoulder seeing that her eyes were now open.
"I have something I have to handle, go back to sleep." I brushed it off hoping she would lay back down, but I forget this girl asks more questions than the Fed's.
"At three in the morning?" She asked, sitting all the way up now. I went over to give her a kiss but she dodged it and moved my jacket aside, exposing the gun I had there. "Taylor..."
Seeing her face and hearing her voice when she said my name, I could tell she was scared and worried for me. "Relax Gia, everything's fine." I stole my kiss and walked away before she could ask anymore questions, but she just followed behind me with the blanket wrapped around her.
"Obviously not. Taylor, what's going on?"
"Gia you know I can't tell you that." She folded her arms, giving me that look of hers that I was becoming all too familiar with whenever I had done something to piss her off. What she doesn't know is, I find it sexy. "Come on Gia, don't look at me like that. Get some rest, I'll be back by the time you wake up." The horn honked getting my attention to hurry the fuck up, you never want to be late to these type of things.
"And if you're not back?" Gia asked right as I was about to close the door.
"Then wait for me, but be here when I get back. Preferably dressed like that." Making her smile
"Taylor… I-" Paulie and that fucking horn again was going to wake the entire neighborhood. I looked back at Gia waiting to hear what she had to say, but she just flagged it off. "Nothing, just be safe." I nodded my head and closed the door behind me.
When I got outside, Paulie, an overweight toupee wearing mobster past retirement was sitting in the front seat, and Joey the fuck up was in the back, leaving the front passenger seat for me. I already didn't like this set up, something didn't feel right, but I have to play it out. I got into Paulie's Cadillac that smelled like onions and a turkey sub headed to who knows where in the middle of the night. No one spoke a word, and I liked it that way, gave me a chance to focus on everyone's actions, and I did just that. I watched Joey through the side mirror like a hawk. As we hit the Jersey turnpike, I just thought to myself. Why the he'll would they send me on an important pick up with a guy who's been out of commission for 15 years and can't take 5 steps without oxygen and a kid who hasn't even made his bones yet? Yeah, something is definitely not right with this picture.