Killing Me Softly: A Chicago Mafia Syndicate (Castaletta Book 3) Read online

  "Don't touch my girl again. No matter what she says or doesn't say. She belongs to me. Period." I stood up and put my gun back into the back of my pants.

  "How did you get through the metal detectors?" He walked around me and opened the door, his pale white face splotchy with ugly red blotches. How Izzy let him put his hands on her was beyond me. The things that woman did for our family.

  It was shocking at times. Pride welled inside of me.

  "I have my ways."

  "If Izabella comes to me, I'm not turning her away." He glanced over his shoulder as we turned to walk toward the back of the station. "You're outta your fucking mind."

  "It's not a request, cowboy. She got you in our court because nothing else would seem to work. You're there now and unfortunately stuck. Like a fly in a spider web. The more you fight against us, the worse it will get."

  "Fuck you. Fuck her too." He pushed open a door at the end of the hall angrily.

  "Show me the tape and I'll get out of your hair until we need you again."

  "I'm not helping you. I'm one of the good guys." He knelt down and grabbed a tape, popping it into the TV and moving back to dim the lights. "This is my last time to do anything for you fuckers. After this, I'm going to take you down. Plain and simple."

  "Kiss your momma next time you see her, Johnny-boy. Might be the last time." I dropped down in the seat and pressed play, watching the video closely. Four big guys took turns at Vivian, but that's not what grabbed my attention. There was someone in the corner of the video, thin, sleek. Very out of place.

  "You don't scare me, Demetri. I became a cop to-"

  "Zoom in right there and shut the fuck up." I leaned forward and studied the figure. You couldn't see a face, but the body type was all too familiar?

  Thomas Kallup? Adam Cooper? Marco Castaletta?

  It could have been any of them, which was less than helpful.

  I needed answers. Now.

  Chapter 19

  Audrey

  The text I got from Marcus was more than welcomed. He and Zak were headed over to visit a drug Lord from Jersey that was still waiting on his load to arrive. I couldn't help but wonder if it was one of the loads that Freddy diverted to the Kallups.

  "I need to go. We'll work on the apartment thing later." I grabbed my backpack from the floor and gave Edward the sweetest smile I could muster.

  "Get rid of the tapes if you have them." The stern look on his handsome face was a little out of place. "I'm serious. I've learned one thing over the last ten years of working for Joe. You don't get involved in anything you're not invited to get involved in, and you walk away from anything that feels sticky. This feels sticky. Walk away from it. Let D and Izzy deal with it. Got it?"

  I nodded. "You're right. I'll give them to D."

  "Before you listen to them." He paled slightly, as if he realized that I actually had the tapes we were discussing. He was right about handing them over, but there was no way in hell I was doing that until I listened to them, and even copied them if I had time.

  "Got it." I nodded and walked toward the door. "Can you give me a ride to the warehouse? Seems like we have a meeting this afternoon."

  "Yeah, or do you want me to take you back to Sandra's so you can grab your car?"

  If I got my car, then I wouldn't be forced to have Marcus take me back to the house on his bike later that night. It was stupid, but the idea of wrapping my arms around his thick chest and pressing my cheek to his back caused my stomach to tighten. I needed to get laid. Stat.

  "No, just drop me off over there. Someone else can give me a ride back to the whore house later tonight when we're all done." I ran my fingers through my hair before walking out into the chilly spring afternoon. I'd never been on a drug run or anything too nefarious in my years with the FBI, but I was still pretty young in my career. If I could take down the Castaletta's, I had no doubt that the sky would be the limit.

  "Why are you interested in finding out who killed Freddy? It's D and Izzy's problem." Eddy glanced over at me as we got in his car.

  "We're supposed to be a family, which means if something happens to you, then it basically happens to me, right?" I shrugged and pulled my seatbelt on. "Do you think I need something dressier to wear to this meeting today?"

  He glanced over, his eyes moving down my body. "I think you look great, but that'll be up to Marcus. If he requires you to wear something else, then make his ass take you shopping."

  I nodded. "I like the sound of that."

  We drove in silence out to the docks, the soft hum of the air conditioner the only sound filling the space around me. My thoughts were scattered all over the place. For the first time in my life, I was unsure of where I was headed, of who I wanted to be at the end of the day.

  The thought of being the good guy and taking down the big bad mafia was more than appealing, especially seeing that in dragging them down, I would repay them in full for killing my brother. But were they all at fault?

  Was Sandra at fault for Parker's death? Marcus? Zak?

  "Here we are. Keep your nose clean, and if you need me, call, unless it's about those fucking tapes, then leave me out of it." Eddy smiled and nodded toward the warehouse. "Marcus seems like a good guy even though he wears the mask of a thug."

  I opened the door and got out. "Thanks again, Eddy."

  Zak was walking around the edge of the building as I walked up. He paused and glanced over toward me, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. "You look a little too casual for where we're headed, unless you're not going with us?"

  "I'm going. I was just looking for a new place to live most of the morning. I can run back home and get something a little bit fancier if needed." I adjusted my backpack and glanced toward the open door. "Marcus here yet?"

  "Yeah, he's in there. Have him take you and get you something new to wear." Zak winked as I glanced back over at him. "He loves shopping with a woman."

  "Why do I feel like you're sending me into the lion's den with a steak strapped to my chest?" I chuckled and walked into the warehouse.

  "Audrey. Come over here and meet Catherine and Selma." Marcus waved me over.

  I swallowed the naughty thoughts racing through my mind as I approached. He looked like sin incarnate with his tight black jeans and t-shirt that had to be a size too small. His thick arm muscles pressed against the thin material, and the outline of his eight pack was easy to make out.

  My nipples budded and skin grew flush. I was in so much trouble. Hopefully he would think of me as young and annoying, unwilling to really go through with anything beyond our professional relationship.

  "Nice to meet you both. I'm Audrey." I extended my hand and shook both of the ladies' hands. It was a little unnerving being face to face with Catherine after watching her take Marco from behind for half an hour the day before, but no one knew that but me.

  "Did you bring something else to wear?" Marcus lifted his eyebrow as his eyes moved down the length of my body. Just having him study me left my stomach tight, my body wet and aching for something I knew without a doubt that he could provide.

  "I didn't know we were going to the ball, Prince Charming." I smirked as Selma and Catherine laughed.

  "I have a few things in my office for times like this. I'm a little taller than you, but let's see if I have something that might fit." Catherine glanced between me and Marcus as if waiting for approval.

  "That sounds great." I followed behind her, wondering how long she and Marco had been together. I didn't have the nerve to ask. It was none of my business, and Eddy was right.

  If something felt sticky... run from it.

  Catherine and Marco felt really sticky. In more ways than one.

  *

  "That went well." Marcus glanced over at me as we drove back to his apartment. "We'll stop by my place for a drink and then I'll take you home."

  "Drop me off at the warehouse, please. Not that you noticed I was back here." Zak chuckled, leaning in between us and shaking his he
ad. "I need to get through a few more things before I hit the sack tonight."

  "You sure?" Marcus adjusted the rearview mirror. "You can come in for a drink too, dick. I wouldn't exclude you."

  "No, I'm good. Besides, I think Audrey deserves a drink. She did a great job tonight." Zak turned and winked at me before disappearing to the back seat.

  "He's right." Marcus glanced my way.

  "Thanks," I mumbled and turned to face him a little more. I wanted so badly to reach over and touch him, which was weird. I didn't know him in the slightest and though he was my type of man, he was as bad for me as all the rest had been. I needed to run screaming the other way from him.

  "You take acting classes when you were younger, or are you an undercover rat from another syndicate?" A smirk played on the side of his sexy mouth.

  "Neither?" I tugged at my seatbelt as we pulled up to the warehouse. He and Zak got out of the car and talked for a minute, giving me the chance to check out his ass in his jeans.

  How the man was not strapped down to a good woman was beyond me. Maybe after a glass or two of whiskey I could get him to tell me what happened. Something did, and I not only wanted to know what, but I wanted to make it right. Some part of his brokenness called to me. Like fixing him might help in fixing me.

  "You good with coming over for a little while?" He got back in the car and buckled up.

  "Only if you plan on ravishing me after you tell me all of your secrets."

  "My secrets?" He chuckled low in his chest. "No chance of unpeeling me, doll. I'm locked up tighter than a nun's thighs on a Saturday night."

  I laughed out loud before clamping my hand over my mouth. "You're ridiculous."

  "And you're playing with fire." His tone changed a little. "Demetri called me today, Audrey. Wanna explain what you're doing stealing shit from Marco's office."

  "Fuck," I mumbled and leaned back in my seat. My hope of getting drunk, laid and finding a companion in my new boss was slipping fast. What was I thinking telling Eddy about the tapes? Of course he went to Izabella with the information as soon as I mentioned it.

  "Yeah. And not the kind of fuck either of us might enjoy." He reached over and squeezed my thigh, his hand so big and strong. "Listen to me, kid. This world you're trying to grow up in is fucking scary. These people don't play. Give me the tapes and I'll get them back to D and make up some shit for you. Keep your nose clean, or they'll put a bullet in your head."

  "I'm not a kid." I pulled his hand from my thigh. "Something is fucked up with Marco, and I wanted to prove my worth to Izzy and D by finding something on him." I shrugged. "It's stupid, but it's not about getting my own ring or anything. It's about finding my place in a family. It's about belonging."

  "What's on the tapes?" He turned down a narrow alley and parked the car. "You got them on you?"

  "Yeah." I nodded. "I want to hear what's on them first, Marcus. Someone is a fucking liar in the Castaletta mansion. We need to know who it is and help root them out."

  He nodded. "Fine. Let's get a few drinks in us, listen to them and figure out if this is our shit to step in. You belong to me now, so watch yourself. It's going to be me they send after you if you aren't who you say, little girl."

  "I'm not a child." I got out of the car and slammed it. Why did him calling me a kid make me furious? Right, because I hadn't stopped thinking about fucking him since the first time I met him.

  "Hey. I know you're not a child." He moved in front of me, blocking the path. "But look at me."

  He touched the bottom of my chin, and I glanced up, so fucking unsure of myself. "What?"

  "You're a minnow in a sea of sharks, Audrey. If there's something you need to tell me, tell me now."

  "Let's get drunk and listen to these tapes. If you share some of your secrets, I might share some of mine." I moved back. "Lead the way."

  He stood there a few more minutes, watching me.

  It took everything inside of me not to reach up and trace his teardrop with my fingertips. Drinks and listening to the tapes sounded like a great start to the night, but my hopes laid in what happened next.

  Hopefully it would end with him covered in sweat and me screaming his name.

  Chapter 20

  Marcus Blaine

  "One more?" I lifted the bottle of whisky, the cute little blond not giggling or fidgety, but confident, assured of herself. It would seem I finally got her guard to come down. I like what was beneath it. A lot.

  She almost reminded me of Kate, the way she lounged on my couch, her eyes hooded, her breathing a little off. I was a bastard for getting her liquored up, but I needed to know who I was dealing it. It would seem we all did.

  "One more, but that's it." She reached for the bottle and took a quick swig of it. "My father was a cop. Did I tell you that?" She smiled like a tom cat.

  "No." I offered her my hand. "Come here."

  "Is this the part where you sweep me off my feet?" She took my hand and stood, pulling me toward her and tucking her body against mine. I was raging hard from the liquor and the smell of her perfume.

  "Why were you walking around the Castaletta property the other day when I came to get you? You looked like you were up to something." I reached up and cupped the side of her face as she licked at the side of her mouth. Her pretty pink tongue had my cock throbbing. So many things I could do with her, to her.

  "What if I was up to something?"

  "Does death seem sexy to you?" I leaned down and nipped at her mouth. "You wanna be tied to a wall and raped violently before a big scary mother fucker puts a bullet in your head?"

  Her eyes widened and she tried to move back, but I trapped her against me.

  "Of course not," she whispered as her eyes searched my face. "I was trying to help. Nothing else."

  "You can help by telling me your story, Audrey. I take care of those that belong to me, no matter what that looks like. If you're going to be part of the drug ring, then you belong to me. I'd take a bullet for Zak, Selma or Catherine. Open up and let me know what I need to know so we can move past this."

  "I can't," she whispered and slid her hands up my chest before pressing her breasts against me. The softness of her body against mine was divine. Almost too much. "No more talking."

  I snorted. Was she really thinking she was going to seduce me? It was almost comical, and yet it was happening.

  Gripping her shoulders, I leaned in for a long, hot kiss, working my way deep into her mouth as she groaned long and low in her chest. She was needy... she wasn't the only one.

  "Just sex," she whimpered against my lips and slipped her hands under my shirt, running her fingernails up my back, scoring me.

  "It's always just sex with me, sweetness." I moved back as she went in for another kiss and spun her around, putting her back to me. "Tell me you like it rough, Audrey, right?"

  She let out a soft sigh and let her head drop as I reached out and pulled the black dress Cat had let her borrow over her head, tossing it across the room.

  "Call me Julie tonight?" She reached back to work on her black bra, and I swatted her hands away and undid it myself before leaning in and licking up the back of her neck.

  "Julie. I like that. Fits you a little better." I ran my hands up her sides and squeezed her tits while sucking on the skin below her ear. "Are you a good girl, Julie or a bad girl?"

  "Both?" She reached back, gripping my thighs as she rolled her hips. "I think I've had too much to drink."

  "We both have." I reached up and cupped her chin, lifting her face toward me so I could suck on her lips a little as my free hand moved down her smooth stomach and into her panties. "You're so wet. I'd say you're a naughty girl just by how turned on you already are."

  "It's been too long." She gripped my hand over her panties and pressed her fingers to mine, forcing the tip of my fingers into her heat. The moan that left her had me aching for a long night of abusing her pretty body against the wall.

  I pumped my fingers into her and pressed my mou
th beside her ear as she panted loudly, sagging against me. "You're going to make a mess pretty soon. Who's gonna clean that up for us?"

  "You are," she moaned and clenched, her sweet body opening up as she thrusted her hips and rode my fingers like a good girl. Maybe I was wrong about her.

  I sucked the bottom of her ear into my mouth and continued to work her through the orgasm. She wasn't shy at all about working herself toward another one, but I had a better idea.

  "Were you really a whore for Sandra?" I kissed her ear and moved back, pulling my fingers from her sloppy wet panties and licked them as I walked toward the bedroom. "Or is that a story you tell all the boys to turn them on?" I chuckled as she let out a short laugh.

  "I'm tired, Marcus."

  I pulled my shirt over my head and reached for the pack of condoms I had in my nightstand. "Tired of what, specifically?" I worked my jeans over my legs and dropped down on the bed to slide the condom on my swollen shaft. "Come here and talk to me while you pay me back for that high in the living room.

  "Tired of living a lie. Tired of being alone." She stopped in front of me, her body beautiful, her expression echoing her words.

  "You're not alone anymore. You belong to me now." I reached for her and turned her again, not quite ready to fuck someone from the front. Kate still played at the edge of my thoughts. It was too much, but it was what it was. There was no changing it unless I carried my happy ass back to New Orleans and put a bullet in Jon's head. The thought was appealing until Audrey turned and moved down to sit in my lap.

  I leaned back and gripped her pretty ass, helping to guide her onto my cock. "That's it, baby. Nice and slow."

  She groaned and arched her back. "You feel so good. I want more."

  "Good." I ran my thumb up her ass, playing with her as she moaned a few more times and lifted up. "There’s about three inches that you're leaving out of the party right now."

  "Force it in me." She leaned forward, giving me a beautiful view.

  "That's my girl." I gripped her hips and lifted, pushing the rest of the way into her sweet pussy. I groaned and lifted her with my hold on her, forcing her to work me much faster than she was. "There. Hard and fast, baby. Wax it for me."