Chapter Sixteen
One week after Digger and Jimmy had left for Brooklyn, Marie was woken by someone shaking her. At first, she thought Jimmy had returned, but when she sat up, it was still dark and Rai was next to her bed.
“There’s been news. Donny is here. Come downstairs.”
“Oh my God. Is Jimmy … I mean Vassago all right?”
Rai smiled. “Yes. He and Digger are fine.”
Thank God! “What time is it?” she asked, pulling on jeans and a sweatshirt.
“Five in the morning.”
God. Don’t these men ever sleep?
Marie followed Rai into the dining room, where roughly forty people were already gathered. Donny was at the head of the table, laughing and talking with Tannin and Rahab as if this was a party.
Gorgon walked around the perimeter, counting heads as more people came in. Marie took a seat between two men whose names she didn’t remember. She wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat. She only wanted to know if Jimmy and Digger had been successful, and when they were coming home. Surely they’d done what they’d gone there to do if Donny was here in the middle of the night, and so animated.
Once everyone was in the room, Gorgon banged his fist on the table. “Settle down! Donny got a call from Vassago about three hours ago.”
Three hours? It had taken them that long to get everyone together? Was that good news or bad?
Donny stood and eyed everyone in the room quickly. His gaze stopped briefly when it met hers, and she swore his expression softened. Marie let out the breath she’d been holding. Everything was all right.
“Vassago and Digger were successful.” Loud cheering stopped his progress for a few moments. “Roberto di Stefano took a fatal fall in the bathtub, at an address on the Upper West Side, around nine in the evening, two nights ago.”
Why had it taken so long to give Donny the news? Gorgon had to bang his fist on the table several times to quiet everyone down.
“Coincidentally, the woman he’d been cheating on his wife with for two years also took a fall in the same tub.”
This time, Donny and Gorgon both let the laughter and uproar die down on its own.
“Vassago and Digger waited until they were able to procure the official ME reports before calling me, to make sure the police didn’t rule it a double homicide.”
That explained the gap in time.
“Police found large amounts of bath oil in the tub, which led to their fatal falls. The edge of the tub was lined with marble, and it appears both di Stefano and his unfortunate lady friend slipped due to the oil.”
Wow. How in the hell had they had time to set that up?
“Two of di Stefano’s bodyguards eventually broke into the building, prompting an anonymous call to the police. When the cops got there, the guards explained who di Stefano was, and that they had been circling the block while he was inside with his girlfriend. When they didn’t hear from him past the usual amount of time he spent inside, they tried to call, but he didn’t answer his phone.”
Once more, Gorgon had to quiet down the room.
“A fire alarm had gone off shortly before they fell, but police can’t say whether that was a contributing factor. The source of the alarm appears to be a system malfunction, as the alarm stopped a few minutes later. Shortly before it did, the guards received a text from di Stefano’s phone, telling them not to come up because the alarm was false.”
Holy shit. So di Stefano had been cheating on his wife, and now they’re both dead. And obviously no one saw Jimmy or Digger. They were pros. They wouldn’t have left any trace, and there would be no signs of forced entry into that woman’s apartment, before the guards had to force their way in.
“Digger and Vassago are on their way back to Ohio.”
That’s all Marie needed to hear. While everyone else began talking again, she slipped out and went back up to her room. Was it safe to call him now? Donny said they were on their way back. Maybe she should send a text first? Something innocuous just in case?
Her entire body trembled, and she was cold. As she wrapped herself up in the bed covers, her phone rang. She startled at first, before snatching it off the nightstand and answering the call. “Jimmy? Are you okay?”
“Hey there, I’m fine. It’s good to hear your voice.”
Marie sniffed back tears. “It’s good to hear yours, too.”
“We’ll be there in about four hours.”
“Wow. Okay. Donny is here. They gathered everyone and he told us you and Digger were successful.”
“Yeah. It was golden. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.”
“I can’t wait to hear.”
Marie curled up on her side and wiped away the tears. Now, she could sleep. He was okay, and on his way home. She would tell him how she felt, and damn the consequences.
****
Vassago embraced Donny, who had waited at the club for his and Digger’s return. “It’s over, mio cugino preferito.”
“You did good, Jimmy. You and Digger both.”
Digger had told Donny the details and the aftermath, including that the local cops had decided there was no reason to suspect foul play.
“I did it for you. For the hit that bastard put out on you. I did it for my Brothers and for this club. And for Howler’s followers.”
“And you made it look like a household accident. Fucking genius.”
“I can’t take credit for that. That part was Digger’s idea.”
“You shamed him at the same time by doing it that way. If the police ever suspect it wasn’t an accident, they’ll go with that angle. A scorned wife. A vengeful ex-girlfriend. Nice work, both of you. I’m eternally grateful.”
“You’re safe now. No one will take over for di Stefano here because they suspect you had a hand in this.”
Donny waved his hand as if he was swatting a fly. “From what I hear, the rogue MC is already in shambles. No one will bother with it now. We’re free of this shit.”
Vassago mentally breathed a sigh of relief. He and Digger had accomplished what they’d set out to do. Now, it was time to tell the woman he loved that he wanted her in his life forever.
****
For the second time that morning, someone shook Marie awake. But this time it was Jimmy, and she cried out as he gathered her into his arms and kissed her. She asked him questions, but he put a hand over her mouth. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not until I’ve fucked you again.”
Her emotions were so raw that she didn’t protest. Instead, she kissed him, molding her body against his. Jimmy’s hands brushed over her hair and down her back, up again, finally moving between their bodies to grasp at her clothes.
“Fuck. Why aren’t you naked?”
She giggled as she sat up and peeled off her sweatshirt. “Because I didn’t think it would be appropriate to go downstairs like that.”
“Damn straight it wouldn’t.”
“And after Donny told us you and Digger were on your way home, I came back up here to get some sleep.”
Jimmy pulled off his t-shirt and slid off the bed to remove his jeans, socks, and boots. “Hurry up. I’m fucking dying here, Marie.”
She eyed his swollen cock as she removed the rest of her clothes. Once they were naked, he gazed at her as if he hadn’t seen her in years, instead of one week. “I have so much to tell you.” The emotion in his voice confused her.
“I have things to tell you, too.”
He nodded, and for a brief second his expression grew desperate, but then the grin returned and they grasped each other, kissing again and falling onto the bed. No foreplay. He simply shoved his dick into her pussy, which was fine with her because she’d been wet and ready for him since the second he left for Brooklyn.
Marie cried out again as Jimmy fucked her slow and deep. It was so sensual this time. Not the usual rough and tumble she’d grown used to. Or maybe she just missed him so much it felt slower. Didn’t matter. She was lost in the familiar sensations, and when she came, it was intense and wonderful.
It didn’t take long for him to follow, and afterward he gathered her into his arms. “Now I can think. One week without fucking you is way too long.”
“I’m just so glad you’re okay. I’m so glad you’re back.”
“I’m fine. Digger is fine. Roberto di Stefano and Bess McFarland, not so fine.”
She giggled, and he sat up, gazing down at her with an expression that was too serious. What was going on? She sat up, too. “Are you all right? It looks like you have something huge on your mind.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Now you’re freaking me out.”
“I don’t mean to.”
“Tell me about the hit. Start there.”
“It wasn’t a hit. I mean, it was, but we made sure it won’t be seen that way.”
“Okay. Tell me how it went down.”
After he bunched up the pillows and settled back against them, he pulled Marie into his arms. “We spent the first evening poring over information Digger’s associates had dug up on di Stefano. His habits, where he went at what time, where his wife went, who drove him around, et cetera.”
She loved the sound of his voice. Always had.
“He lives on a compound outside Queens so we knew there was no way to get to him there. Too much security and too much land to cover. For three days we followed him around, using a different vehicle each day. He was Christmas shopping with his wife.”
“That must have been boring.”
“No, it was good. Gave us a chance to confirm his habits. How many bodyguards were with him, where he ate, how much time he spent glancing around at his surroundings. Stuff like that.”
“So you knew you’d have to get to him when he was out.”
“Exactly. Two nights ago, his wife went out to one of her club meetings. The info we had said she went out twice a week, and we also knew he had a girlfriend. She wasn’t his first. This one, he’d been seeing once a week or so when his wife was out, for about two years.”
“God. I hate men who cheat.”
“Yeah. It’s not right. You marry someone, you don’t fucking step out on them.”
She bit her tongue because she’d been about to say she was glad to hear that.
“So he went out about ten minutes after she did, in his car with only two guards. We followed them onto the Upper West Side. Digger looked up the address, and sure enough, it was his girlfriend’s place. She lived on the top floor of a brownstone. Alley in the back, accessible one way only.”
“How on earth did you pull that off?”
He grinned. “Hang on. I want you to savor this. The car circled the block, slowly. Digger moved the van to the next street, and I hacked into the neighborhood smart system where they monitor alarms, and can see their front doors remotely.”
“Nice. But if they have that system, wouldn’t they see your faces?”
“Not from the alley side, which is how we got in. We walked past the street for a block and then watched the car, timing how long it took for one circle. When it passed the alley entrance, we tripped the fire alarm from Digger’s phone.”
“Oh, good idea!”
He beamed. “That was mine.”
A shiver ran down her spine. He was still good at this. Did he miss it? Is that what he wanted to tell her? That he was going back to being a hired hitman?
“We walked in but didn’t have to wait long before the door opened. People were coming out. We headed up to the third floor and rang her bell.”
“You’re kidding…”
“Didn’t want to force the door, Marie. That would give it away.”
“Who answered?”
“She did, looking panicked, and wearing nothing but a robe. Digger and I stepped inside. It was quick. He knocked her out with pressure under her jaw, and then di Stefano was there, wearing nothing at all. He yelled and lunged for us, but Digger and I both had him.”
“Weren’t his guards on their way inside?”
“We figured so, yes, so that’s why we sent the text, telling them it was false and not to come up. Then we disabled the alarm to buy us time.”
“What would you have done if they’d come up anyway?”
“Not answered the door. Once they got the text, we figured they would never question him.”
“That still sounds risky.” What if they’d been caught? They weren’t. It’s okay. He’s here.
“It’s always a risk, especially when timing is everything. But we’ve done this before. Remember? We put shitloads of oil in the tub and positioned their bodies with their heads on the edge of it. We bashed in their skulls to make it look like it was the fall that killed them. Then we walked out the front door, after making sure the car was on the other street during its circle.”
“Can’t cops tell when bodies have been moved before they die?”
“Sure, but he was there fucking her. The bed was already messed up, and the room smelled like cum. There was no reason for the cops to suspect anything.”
“Did you wait around to see what happened?”
“We waited until the guards broke in through the back door, and then called 911.”
“It’s too bad that woman had to die, too.”
“Collateral damage, Marie. It’s part of the game sometimes.”