Alana

As soon as the plane landed, I felt so lonely that I wanted to die. I managed to stay at the airport until it was time to check into a hotel. It wasn’t the best, but they gave me a weekly rate, so it was a little better than full price. I still had enough, but I needed to get a job. And it happened within the first day; a bar and grill down the street from my place was hiring, and the owner hired me on the spot.

Every day, I’d go into work, then go home and cry my heart out. As much as I missed Tony, I hated myself for it. He was a thug who threw me away, but then I reminded myself that he considered what I did a betrayal and he’d be right.

It’d been a week since I saw Tony. I felt so stupid that my heart was broken. He was nothing but a thug and the love of my life. How was it possible? It went against everything I had always stood for. My father was gunned down by a man like Tony, and here I was ready to run back. I needed to be strong. There had to be a way to move on. Most of my life in Washington was erased. Simms tried to contact me, but I tossed that phone and picked up one of those disposable ones.

My shift was almost over and I felt a sense of peace wash over me. They gave me a uniform, which was a blessing because I didn’t take any of the clothes Tony bought for me. It was luck that they gave me the job despite the fact I came with a basic, thin, plaid top and jeans. I did pick up a pair of strappy sandals to give the outfit a little facelift.

Maybe I could hide out here for a time and then earn enough money to give back to Vinny and move somewhere no one knew me. Yesterday, I called my cousin to see how things were and told him I was in town. Of course, he offered for me to stay with him when he got back from a vacation with his wife. At least that would help me get on my feet faster, but I’ll probably stick to my plan and do it on my own. I’d hate for something to happen to him if Tony’s men were watching me.

My boss, who was a man in his early forties, handsome, and well-dressed, came up to me with a smile on his face as I finished cleaning the back tables. “Alana, you’re a doll. You’ve done a great job for your first week.” The door chimed as he gave my hand a squeeze. “Oh, it looks like we still have one more customer.” For a moment, I was grateful for the interruption. I had a serious feeling that my boss was interested in more than my skills as a waitress. We closed in fifteen minutes, so we still had to serve the guest. Most in the town knew that the food wasn’t running at this time, but maybe they were looking for a last-minute drink. That we had in great supply and ready to go.

“Alana will be with you in just one moment, sir,” Doug said, leaning over the wall that divided us from the customer’s view. He gave me a smirk and a wink before walking away. It was almost as if he was letting the guy waiting know that I was his. It was fucked up, and it seemed I was going to be looking for another job and calling my cousin. I wouldn’t tell him why because he wasn’t the tolerant kind of man. My boss would need a feeding tube.

I set down the towel and turned around to greet the guest. “Welco…” I gasped, staring at me was Tony. He looked as bad as I felt. His eyes were on me for only a second before moving to my boss. He was staring like he was going to kill him. Knowing who Tony was, I didn’t doubt that my boss would come up missing.

The evil glare was enough to give me some hope that he wasn’t here to hurt me.

“I’ll have a cup of coffee, Alana.” His words were calm and dismissive. He took a seat in the booth I just cleaned, refusing to look at me. Why was he here? My nerves were like little ants, climbing all over me as I went to go get his coffee. I was torn between my love for him and the fear that he was out for revenge and I’d end up like his ex-girlfriend. Taking a deep breath, I set it down in front of him without shaking. He didn’t need to know that I was heartbroken.

“Sit down, Alana,” he said, his hand pointing to the seat in front of him.

“I have to clean up,” I countered, turning to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist.

“Alana, sit the fuck down right now.” The words came from a closed mouth with a venomous stare. I sat down with my pencil skirt as best as I could.

“You fucked up big time, Alana.” His words were menacing, but his eyes screamed broken. I’d broken both of us.

“Tony, what are you doing here?” I asked. “Came to finish me off like the broad that left you?”

“What? I’m going to ignore that bullshit because knowing that you’ve been dealing with people that are out to get me means you’d believe them over me. What the fuck I’m doing here is to take back what’s mine.” The expression in his eyes was bright and fierce.

“I didn’t take anything of yours.” I hadn’t taken anything from the house that I didn’t come with.

He took another sip of the coffee, then set it down with a twenty. He stood up, straightened his suit jacket, and walked out without another word. I just stared as he left, wondering what just happened. I took the money and put it in the till, then pushed the change into the charity bucket next to the register. After cleaning it up, I locked the door, then went in back to make sure everything was good to go. Doug smiled up at me as he finished the books.

“Hey, so is our guest still out there?” he asked.

“No, he left and I closed up.” I hated that he left without saying goodbye. I itched to confront him, then beg for him to forget the past.

“Okay, I need to get home. Do you need a ride home?”

“No, thanks.” I took off my little black apron and grabbed my purse. I left out the back-door, waving goodbye to the boss. I tried to think about what Tony thought I took from him. Everything I had was mine before I met him. I rushed out of there with only my things. I swiped a tear that ran down my cheek as I walked through the small parking lot to the front of the building. I got to the sidewalk and made a left. It wasn’t too long of a walk to the temporary room I rented. It was after midnight, but this was a small town, most of which didn’t even have security cameras.

I was a half a block away from work when I saw Vinny standing outside a black SUV, holding the door open. “Hello, Alana, please get in.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Tony said, stepping from around the other side, effectively trapping me. “Get in, Alana. I just want what belongs to me.”

He took my arm and whispered in my ear. “We could do it the easy way or we could do it the hard way. Get in.” I did what he said. The doors locked as soon as he got in behind me. Vinny took off faster than I expected.

“If I accidentally took something of yours, it would be at my room I rented. If you take me there, I’ll give it to you.”

“We’ve already been there. You’ve checked out of that roach motel.”

“What? You are going to kill me, aren’t you?”

“What part of no did you not understand the first time I said it to you.”

“Then what is it that you want?” He was so close that I could smell his scent that was burned into my memory.

His face was inches from mine. I could feel the heat between us. And with quick reflexes, he was grabbing the back of my ponytail and tugging my face to his. The kiss was hard and possessive, his tongue pushing into my mouth, and I was lost to the feelings. He lifted me off the seat and onto his lap, straddling his thighs. His hands slid up the back of my thighs until he cupped my ass; I could feel the cool air on them. Shit, I almost freaked out when I saw the divider come up between Vinny and us. “This skirt is way too short, Alana. That fucking boss of yours enjoyed it all fucking night. I want to put a bullet in his head for that shit. You belong to me,” he stated.

That woke me up from the Tony haze and I pushed myself away from him. His hold was too strong for me. “Let me go, Tony. I don’t want you touching me. Please let me go, you did it with ease before. You should have left me alone.” I started sobbing. My heart was broken and it was my fault. I fell in love with a criminal.

“Alana, you think that was easy? I was ready to kill one of my men for informing me of your betrayal.”

“I didn’t betray you, Tony.”

“Did you not come to my business to get in good with me for the cops?”

“I did, but…”

“Don’t fucking but me anything. You made me trust you and then you proved that I was a fucking sucker for a pretty face.”

“Then go back to Seattle and find another pretty face.” I was so hurt. Was that all I was? A lust filled craving that he didn’t get enough of? This time I managed to get out of his hold. As soon as we stopped at the light, I reached for the door handle, tugging it nearly open, but Tony was on me, pinning me to the backseat.

“I don’t want anyone else. I can’t say the same for you, but that’s your fucking punishment. You’re mine, and if you think of leaving me, it won’t happen.” He cupped my pussy. “This is mine.” His face was next to mine, so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Has that fucker touched you?”

“I don’t belong to you,” I shouted, my hand flying out and slapping him across the face. He didn’t say a word as I gasped at my own foolish mistake. My hand came to my mouth, afraid of the storm brewing in front of me.