AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Three
Maceo
Iknock on the apartment door and wait anxiously for Tiny Tony to answer. I hear him on the other side before I hear the cock of gun I can’t see.
“Tony, it’s me, Atlas,” I say. “Open up, man. My woman is worried sick about you.”
Several deadbolts turn before the door opens. Tony stands there in jeans and a black tee-shirt with a Glock at his side. Aside from expensive suits and the hospital gown I last saw him in, I’ve never seen him dressed casually. He actually could pass for Mercy Raven MC.
Tony ushers for me to enter before tucking his gun in the waistband of his pants.
I come in and lock his door behind me. The apartment is small but neat. On a quick inspection of Tony and his environment, I get the sense he likes order.
Tony scratches his head and lowers himself into one of two recliners. He flips the Colorado Rockies baseball game on before looking back at me. “Sorry about that. You would answer the door with a gun drawn too if you knew Bianchi was pissed at you.”
I recall how I answered the door at the condo today when Josephine’s parents showed up unexpectedly, and I understand him completely. “No worries.”
“How’s Little Jo, and why is she worried about me? I haven’t called her yet today, but she’s usually busy ‘till six at least.”
Tony nearly died protecting Josephine. Because he laid his life on the line, I’ve been cool with their friendship.
Honestly, I’m fine with any of the male relationships she has. My jealously is reserved only for those I find to be a threat to our relationship. Tony isn’t one in my book.
I sink into the other recliner. “We ran into Bianchi today. He made it clear he was not pleased with how her protection detail went down at the bridal store.”
Tony raises his eyebrow at me. “One does not simply run into Lorenzo. Either you go looking for him, or he comes looking for you. I took a baseball bat to the head. What the fuck else could I do?”
“I get it, and Josephine does too. What the fuck happened between you and Bianchi after you left the hospital?”
Tony lithely lifts himself from the chair, which is impressive since the dude is bigger than me,andhe’s recovering from broken ribs and a concussion. “You want a beer?”
I blink. “Yeah, I’ll take a beer. You drink the stuff?”
He laughs as he swiftly walks into the kitchen, his moves mimicking one who has served in the military. He returns with two beers and hands me one. “Why? Because I’m Italian? I can only drink Chianti or some shit?” He laughs and settles back into his recliner.
I take a pull from my beer and frown at him. “Should you be drinking after a concussion?”
Tony snorts before taking a big gulp. “Probably not, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s not my first rodeo. I’m not going to wait a month before having an alcoholic beverage. I did enough abstaining while I was on tour.”
“What branch did you serve?”
“Marines. Eight years. I tried to get away from the…family business. My goal was to be a lifer, but I couldn’t do it anymore. Decided the shit I dealt with in the mob was a hell of a lot less horrific if you can believe it. It would take a million bats to the head to convince me otherwise. I’ve been out for nearly two years.”
“The desert?”
Tony nods. “Syria.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. He doesn’t need to say anymore.
I did one tour in Syria myself, and it was beyond hellish. Those poor people stuck in the crossfires…that was when I began contemplating leaving the SEALs and becoming a mercenary, or ‘foreign volunteer.’ As a SEAL, my hands were tied, but as a hired gun, I can cut through all the red tape.
“Bianchi didn’t wait until I left the hospital to have it out with me. When you guys came to visit me, Lucky Luca apparently saw Jo with me and reported back to Bianchi. The fact Jo showed an attachment is the only reason Lorenzo called off the hit. He said something about not wanting to upset his ‘amore’ by killing me. Instead, I’ve been banished from the family.”
“The fucker better watch himself,” I growl. It’s not like I didn’t know Bianchi had an unhealthy infatuation with Jo, but hearing him call her his ‘love’ today on the road, and learning he refers to her as such in front of his men, makes me boil.
Tony gives me a hard look. “Atlas, I respect you a hell of a lot, and I know you don’t take shit, but you can’t underestimate Bianchi. The man has been obsessed with Jo since he first met her. When all hell was breaking loose a couple of weeks ago, Lorenzo wasn’t only interested in offering his assistance to guard Jo. He wanted intel on her—where she ran, when she slept, who her friends were, everything. All of it had to be reported, regardless of how private. I started to hold shit back because I worried how he was going to use the info against her.”
My eyes narrow. “You’re lucky you’re concussed right now, else I’d be beating the shit out of you.”
