Made Man Dante Read online

  “Terry!” I called out.

  He turned towards me and smiled before disappearing into a building. Asshole, I thought. Even though every part of me said to turn around and head home to Dante, the piece of me that missed my family won and I followed my brother.

  The neighborhood quickly changed. Closer to the subway stop, it was just like any other area in the city with its tall, well-kept high rises and bustling with people. Only a block away and the sidewalk was broken and uneven, the buildings looked abandoned and tired, and I was alone.

  Every instinct in my body told me to turn back and get to where I knew I was safer, but I convinced myself my brother wouldn’t put me in harm’s way. He just needed some help.

  Hands reached out and grabbed me. As I screamed, a hand covered my mouth and I was dragged into a nearby alleyway. It was Terry. He let me go and I shoved him hard, making him trip over torn garbage bags.

  “You fucking jerk!” I said, surprised by my language. “You drag me out here to the slums?”

  “Excuse me,” he said. “I didn’t realize the princess would mind.”

  “What are you talking about? Princess? What’s your problem?”

  “Look at you. If Momma could only see her sweet innocent girl now. A whore for the Gambinos.”

  I slapped him hard. “Don’t you dare! You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

  “I don’t? I don’t know about your knight in shining armor who rescued you? Or how he destroyed our home?”

  “The home you tricked Momma into refinancing? The one you didn’t make payments on? You really have some nerve, Terry. No wonder no one wants to help you. Lord only knows what would’ve happened if Dante didn’t save me that night. You left me! You knew they’d show up at the house looking for you.”

  “Then if I’m so bad, why are you here?”

  “Because despite how many stupid things you do, you’re still my brother. Nothing will change that. We’re family. And family needs to support each other. Especially when someone is down.”

  Terry was quiet as he turned away from me and leaned against a filthy brick wall. He was thinner than the last time I saw him and his eyes were sunken. He was also in desperate need of a shower.

  “I need money, Gia. I have to get away from here,” he said quietly, his body beginning to shake.

  “That’s why you called me? I’ve been worried sick about you, expecting to hear you got killed by that gang–”

  “I’m more afraid your boyfriend is going to do me in,” he mumbled.

  “You’re so selfish. You really only care about yourself,” I said, finally done with his antics. “Is money all you want? Here!” I yanked out the few dollar bills I had in my purse and threw them at him.

  He dropped to his knees and grabbed at the money before they could blow away. “Thank you, Gia. You have no idea how desperate I am.” Clutching the money in his hands, he ran out of the alley towards the street. “I’m sorry, Gia. I did what I had to do.”

  Wiping some tears from my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. I was so disappointed in Terry. It hurt to see how bad things had gotten for him and I wished there was something I could do, but he needed to figure this out on his own.

  Carefully stepping through the alley back to the street, I looked back and forth trying to remember which direction the subway was. A group of large men appeared out of nowhere and headed towards me. They wore the same leather and denim vests as the men who attacked me. I had no doubt they were the Lords of Vengeance. Remembering Terry’s apology as he left, I knew why they were there.

  My instinct was to run. Turning around, I was ready to bolt when four other intimidating men in the same vests came from the other direction. I was surrounded.

  I looked around for an escape as the men closed in on me, but there was none. I was trapped. And there was no one who could save me. I was horrible to Dante before I left and even if he forgave me, he didn’t know where I was.

  A long black car screeched around the corner, making some of the men turn. I took it as my chance to run. As I turned, I saw my hero. Walking determinedly towards us was Dante.

  He was dressed all in black - black button-down shirt, black slacks. His eyes darkened and his face held no expression. I was glad he was protecting me because I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of that angel of death.

  Two of the men closest to Dante pulled guns out of their shoulder holsters. Dante raised his right hand, the gun I saw that first night an extension of his hand. Faster than I could blink, two shots went off and the men collapsed to the ground.

  A loud sound came from behind me and I ducked before quickly moving closer to a building. My legs shook underneath me as I tried to melt into the rough brick wall for safety.

  I was too scared to watch, but fear wouldn’t let me close my eyes. I covered my ears and stared down at the sidewalk, hoping it would end soon and Dante would be okay.

  I gasped in fear as a strong hand lifted me up by my upper arm. Pushing against him, I realized it was Dante and wrapped my arms tightly around his shoulders.

  “Come,” he said.

  Moving quickly, I followed the pace he set as we ran across the wide sidewalk. Numerous gang members streamed out of the building Terry entered earlier. Each one looked more frightening than the next. Dante positioned us between two cars, rose up, and fired a couple of shots. I didn’t need to look to know they hit their target.

  A car squealed around the corner. Dante directed me towards the street as the long, black car from before slammed its brakes and stopped.

  “Get in,” Dante said.

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. Dante slid into the back of the car as he fired a few more shots. As the car sped away, the back door slammed shut. I ducked down into the smooth leather seat as several shots hit the back window.

  My heart raced and my mind spun as I thought again about my brother. I wanted to cry, but I was too numb. Dante pulled me close against him and I squeezed him tight, happy to feel safe again.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, thinking about how much trouble Dante had been in since we met.

  “You don’t need to thank me. I vowed to protect you.”

  “But I was an idiot. I didn’t tell you the truth and I said really horrible things.”

  As I spoke, my voice trembled and cracked. It was too much to deal with at once. Losing my mom, losing the home I grew up in, and losing my brother. It all weighed in on me at once and the numbness fell away. Suddenly the tears came in full force.

  “I’m so sorry!” I said. “I didn’t mean what I said. Terry called me, and I knew you wouldn’t let me see him by myself.”

  “What’s done is done, my angel. It’s in the past.”

  “It just happened! I feel horrible about what I said and about leaving. And despite all of that, you still found me. You saved me again.”

  “Gia, just because you get angry or leave doesn’t mean I’m going to stop loving you.”

  I stared at him, but his gaze was directed at the window towards the traffic. He had never told me his feelings before. As the light turned green, he looked at me and I got lost in his calm blue eyes.

  “I do, you know,” he said softly. “I love you more than life itself.”

  “I love you too, Dante.”

  His lips grazed mine and I felt safe once more. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat as I forced myself to forget about Terry and all the trouble he got us in.

  The window separating us from the driver lowered and Sonny looked at us from the rear view mirror.

  “Sir? The family asked for you to join them,” Sonny said.

  “Not now,” Dante said. “I’ll deal with them another time. Take us home.”

  ***

  Later that evening, I decided to go to bed early. I took the frame of my picture of Momma and I and placed it closer to me, on the nightstand. I needed her strength right now.

  After putting on a dar
k green satin nightie from the things Dante had bought me, I lay in bed watching the lights from the city dance across the ceiling. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. My brain was too busy thinking about Terry and what would happen to him. He might think he was safe for handing me over to that gang like chattel, but even if Dante hadn’t come, I knew they weren’t done with him.

  I didn’t know how long I was lying there before Dante came into the bedroom. Every night he came to bed and held me. And every night, I wanted more. He never undressed, he lay on top of the bed linens in his clothing on, but it didn’t matter. When I was lying with him, our bodies molded perfectly together like that, and nothing wrong could happen.

  “I thought you’d be asleep by now,” he said.

  “I can’t sleep,” I said as I sat up. “I can’t stop thinking about everything.”

  He nodded and bent down to kiss my lips. Reaching up, I held him close and he pulled me close to him, pressing my body against his. As his tongue met mine, I let out a happy sigh, but then he pulled away.

  I expected him to leave or pretend nothing had happened, but instead he unbuttoned his shirt. The scar on his chest seemed to glow in the moonlight. As he continued undressing, I held my breath, not wanting the moment to end. Dante was the first man I saw naked, and I knew what I was seeing wouldn’t compare to anyone else.

  The lights from the street highlighted each muscle on his chest, moving along his squared abs and down further as if caressing his perfect body. Like a lion, he moved gracefully. Effortlessly, each of his muscles flexed as he removed all of his clothing. My breath caught just from looking at him.

  Without a word he was on the bed, his lips roughly parting mine as I arched my body into him. While I was soft, his body was firm. As his legs slipped between mine, every worry and thought slipped away. Nothing else mattered except for being with him. And he was all I wanted.

  As he pulled my nightie up and revealed my breasts, his tongue moved over my stiff nipples. My hand moved down to touch his rock hard manhood and as I stroked him, he grinned and claimed my mouth again. Reaching over to the nightstand, I turned the photo of Momma around. I needed my privacy.

  ***

  In the middle of the night, I opened my eyes but everything was hazy. Was I asleep? Was I dreaming? Dante held me like he did every night except for the first time, we were both under the sheets naked.

  The moon outside the window lit the room and I watched Dante sleep, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Not wanting to wake him but unable to resist touching him, my fingers gently followed the outline of his pecs.

  Yawning, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I wasn’t even sure if I was still dreaming.

  “The danger will be over soon, my angel,” he mumbled.

  My eyes flew open. Did I hear that right? Or was I dreaming? Dante was sound asleep and I had fallen back asleep, too. What I heard was just a dream. I nestled into Dante, rested my head on his chest, and fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Gia

  When I woke the next morning, Dante was gone as usual. He was always up before me and had either already left or was sitting in the living room. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to wake up beside him though.

  I wrapped my old blue robe around me and headed towards the kitchen looking for him. On the counter was a folded notecard with my name scribbled on the top.

  Gia,

  I have some business to take care of that can’t wait. I’ll be back in the afternoon. Sonny will be delivering some items later.

  With love,

  Dante

  As I finished reading the note, the intercom buzzer next to the elevator went off. I set the card down and went over to respond to Sonny.

  “Good morning, Sonny.”

  “Good morning, Miss. I wanted to make sure you were up. The first delivery has arrived.”

  “You can bring it up.”

  As the elevator hummed, I started to get curious about these deliveries. Dante had things delivered all the time, but the only time he told me about them was the day he went shopping for me. I tried to control my excitement but as the elevator slowed, I thought that maybe the deliveries were for me.

  I chewed my lip as the elevator stopped. Part of me kept thinking about how crushed I was going to be when Sonny exited the elevator with a printer cartridge or something unromantic. But a bigger part of me kept hope.

  Standing in front of the elevator as the door slid open, I saw the delivery before I saw Sonny. It was a huge bouquet of red roses and white calla lilies in a crystal vase. I knew it! Dante was thinking about me.

  Feeling giddy, I tried to keep calm while Sonny carried the flowers in and I pointed to the dining room for him to put them down. I grabbed the card on top and opened it up, anxious to see what Dante wrote.

  For my angel,

  There’s more.

  With love,

  Dante

  More? I wondered. Answering my question, Sonny stepped out of the elevator again with another bouquet. I directed him to the living room with it and he disappeared again to reappear with yet another bouquet. Leading him down the hall, I had Sonny place that one in our bedroom beside the picture of my mom.

  I couldn’t believe all the flowers! Although he hadn’t said anything, it made me feel that last night was as special to him as it was to me.

  Sonny left and as I admired the bouquet in the living room, I noticed another card. This one only had two words printed on it. ‘Get ready’. I laughed, hearing Dante saying the words in my head.

  Dante didn’t mince words, and I loved that. While at first I wished he would open up more, now I realized the man I loved was an open book. I just needed to look.

  I took my time getting ready, soaking in the whirlpool tub and relaxing. Wearing my robe, I looked through the closet at the things Dante had bought for me when I first arrived.

  Not knowing where we were going, I couldn’t decide what to wear. Down the hall, I heard the buzz of the intercom system and walked over to hear the elevator already making its way up. I waited for Sonny, wondering if he had another delivery.

  Sonny stepped out of the elevator with a garment bag and a large square box of Godiva chocolate truffles. On the box was a note:

  Gia,

  I want you to feel comfortable tonight. Wear this.

  With love,

  Dante

  I popped a salted caramel truffle into my mouth, delighted by the sweet and savory mixture, then brought the garment bag into the bedroom. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Dante had already shown me he had great taste so I planned to wear whatever was in the bag.

  I unzipped the bag and laughed when a dark purple cardigan sweater similar to my navy one popped out. Behind it was matching camisole and then a pretty modern print long skirt. He was right, wearing these clothes, I would definitely feel comfortable. Now I just wanted to know where we were going. Hearing the elevator’s hum, I quickly dressed and ran into the hall as I waited for Sonny to appear.

  The elevator door opened and it was Dante. He looked handsome and sexy as usual in a black suit with a white shirt.

  “Thank you so much, Dante,” I said as I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his.

  “I’m not done.”

  In his hand was a small black box. I held my breath, not knowing what to think or what to say. Could that be an…? The unfinished thought hung in the air as I took the box. There was only one way to find out what was inside and every part of my being said that if it was what I thought, I would say yes!

  As I opened the box, it let out a soft creak. Sitting in the velvet opening was an antique emerald ring with diamonds surrounding it. It was beautiful, but part of me was a little let down.

  “That ring belonged to my grandmother. When she was in her early twenties, she left Italy ready to start a new life. She had turned down the man her parents planned for her to marry, so you can imagine how her fam
ily felt. After she arrived in New York, there was a fire in the tenement she was living in, and this ring was the only thing she thought to save because it belonged to her mother.”

  “And you want me to have it? It’s beautiful, but there’s so much history here you should keep it in your family,” I said.

  “I visited Nonna earlier and told her about you. I never knew that story about the ring, but when I told her what happened to you she said it was destino, fate.”

  He held my hands as he looked deep into my eyes. I hung on to every word he said.

  “This ring is a promise I’m making to you,” he said. “I promise I will do anything to make you safe, to protect you, and to make you happy. No matters what happens, I promise to always love you. Whatever happens, just look at this ring and remember my promise to you.”

  I was speechless. My heart raced as I let his words play over in my head. Slipping the ring on my finger I was surprised to see it fit perfectly. Maybe his grandmother was right, maybe it was fate that we met.

  ***

  As Sonny merged onto the Belt Parkway, I realized with all the excitement, I never asked where we were heading. The car was heading towards Long Island, and I thought it was odd we were going so far away.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “It’s time you met my family.”

  “They’re in Long Island? I thought you always said you grew up in the neighborhood.”

  “They moved later.”

  As usual, Dante didn’t say anything else about his family. The closest he came to mentioning them was when he spoke about the Gambinos, the people he worked for.

  Looking down at my hand, I admired the way the ring sparkled in the light. I thought about our relationship and the things I learned about him that he never volunteered. I remembered Marty referring to a silver spoon. And Sal calling him the prodigal son, saying he was being groomed, and how they got special treatment.

  I started piecing together a puzzle in my head. I thought about the day of the funeral and Terry whispering to me, he’s a Gambino. Had I been so busy accepting him as a hit man for the Mafia that I ignored what was staring me in the face?