Forbidden Temptations (Tempted Series Book 2) Read online

  “Word on the street is that he lost his shit after Val died. After Val took those bullets that were meant for him they say he changed, and I don’t mean he changed how he ran things but he changed as a whole.” He probed then paused for a beat. “I didn’t do much business with him and Val back then but it was Val who made the partnership between the Pastore family and Satan’s Knights possible. The few encounters I did have with him made it easy to determine how valuable he was to Vic, that man was a fucking legend in the streets.”

  “Yeah, Val was no slouch,” I agreed, thinking fondly of the man who was my mentor at one point.

  “Makes you almost feel bad for Vic that he lost a guy like that, only to have him replaced by a schmuck like Jimmy.”

  “Jimmy’s eccentric, but make no mistake about it that man has devoted his life to the mob,” I responded, believing wholeheartedly that Jimmy didn’t second guess his choices.

  “Devoted to the mob yes but devoted to Victor are two different things, I doubt he’d stand in front of a loaded gun aimed at his boss,” Jack challenged, his voice full of certainty.

  If Jimmy had to choose between himself and someone else, I didn’t doubt he’d save his own ass first.

  “You on the other hand, wouldn’t think twice about giving your own life,” he declared, turning to look at me again. “You’ve sacrificed a lot being one of Vic’s henchmen which makes me wonder if there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for him.”

  I glanced at Jack out of the corner of my eye pondering his words for a moment. “I don’t know if that’s true.” After all, I was technically going against him at that moment knowing he expected the Fed to be a casualty when in reality we were only going to silence him.

  “So if Victor told you to choose between the love you have for his daughter and the oath you took to be his soldier would you choose your oath again?”

  “No,” I huffed automatically. I assumed that since I didn’t have to think about my answer it spoke volumes about me and the soldier I had become.

  “Why didn’t you choose her?”

  “Because I didn’t I believe I had a choice,” I grumbled.

  “You did your homework huh?” I questioned.

  “There was a lot of talk when you went away,” he probed before waiting a beat to continue. “You still love her?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all,” he shook his head as he continued to stare out the window. We both remained silent for a moment and I suppose Jack took my words as a hint to end the discussion.

  “Yeah,” I whispered. “I’ll never stop.”

  “So that’s it? You live your life loving her but don’t do a damn thing about it? Seems wrong to me, no?”

  “Never pegged a biker to be a matchmaker.”

  A grin worked its way across Jack’s face. “Ah, come on now, didn’t you hear that I’ve been called the biker with the soft heart?”

  “That’s almost comical,” I replied, my lips twitching threatening to form a smile. Jack Parrish was okay in my book. “So tell me more about this brother of yours.”

  “He fucking hates me for one,” he snarled, running the back of his hand along the scruff that lined his jaw.

  “Even after all you did for him after your parent’s passed?”

  “You have to remember my parents wouldn’t have died that night if I hadn’t of been the fuck up they needed to bail out,” he grimaced while rolling his shoulders. “He blamed my criminal tendencies on all that was wrong in his life. A part of me believes he became a Fed to fuck me in the ass,” he laughed, cupping the back of his neck. “You know how it goes Bianci I’m sure you sister wanted a better life for you too.”

  “Probably,” I agreed, even though Lauren never busted my balls I’m sure she didn’t like that I worked for the mob. My mother hated it and Adrianna fucking despised the fact so yeah, I understood what Jack was saying.

  The rest of the way we drove in a comfortable silence, neither of us speaking until we veered off the exit and closer to our destination. The GPS sounded telling me where to turn and I could tell Jack was becoming anxious as we approached the end of the route.

  “I haven’t seen him in three years,” he whispered.

  “What makes you so sure he’s going to go along with what you have planned?” I asked cautiously.

  “Nobody wants to be murdered do they?” He said solemnly.

  I didn’t even know what to say to him so I didn’t say anything. I made a right turn as the navigation instructed only to slam on my breaks before I crashed into the car in front of me. The police roped off the street; the five cars that had tried turning onto the street just like I had, remained at a standstill. Sirens and lights flashed as far as I could see down the block and to the right a house stood engulfed by flames where firefighters were trying to tame it.

  “No, no, no,” Jack said frantically, slamming the palm of his hand against the dashboard before I could ask him what was going on. He reached for the handle of the door and hurried out of my truck. I turned the car off and jumped out to follow him, a sickening feeling churned in the pit of my stomach. I watched his motorcycle boots skid to a halt against the pavement in front of the police officer that barricaded him from going towards the burning house.

  “Get the fuck off of me!” He screamed while pushing his weight against the cop and trying to charge passed him.

  “Jack!” I hollered, hooking my arms through his and pulling him off the cop.

  “Danny’s in there!” He shouted.

  “You don’t know that, maybe he’s not home,” I tried to reason, blinded by the flames that would soon be flashes of ember.

  “That’s his car!” He pointed to the sedan in the driveway.

  “That don’t mean a thing,” I yelled, glancing at the cop. “Boss, do you know if there was anyone inside the house when the fire started?”

  “There are two people trapped inside,” he said, looking over his shoulder as a fireman shouted something before parts of the house began to crumble.

  Jack kneeled to the ground taking me with him as he leaned back on his haunches covering his face with his hands.

  “Danny!” He cried out in agony.

  I lifted my eyes to the burning home as two firemen emerged from the front door carrying out a body, which they placed upon a stretcher before they ran back into the flames. The paramedics ran with the stretcher towards the ambulance and as they passed us by, I held my breath. A hand dropped off the side of the stretcher and I dropped my gaze to the dainty fingers covered in ash.

  A woman had been rescued.

  “It’s going to blow! Everybody clear out!” Shouted the chief.

  Jack dropped his hands from his face as he stared wide-eyed at his brother’s home. The firemen evacuated; running across the front lawn to save their asses as a blast sounded. The windows blew out, shards of glass flying, the flames climbing higher into the black cloud of smoke that hoovered over the house. Another pop and then the house came crashing down, all three stories crumbling down to the earth.

  The flashes of light, the destruction before me, left me mesmerized. I didn’t even notice Jack’s reaction at first but his screams echoed through me, eventually pulling me out of my daze. I needed to get him out of here but that was probably going to be impossible. I reached into my pocket for my phone deciding that I’d get in touch with his club. If anyone was going to get through to him it would be his brothers not me.

  Jack stared at me, his facial expression hardening, his eyes narrowed as he started to get up. I held out my hand to him but he was up in a flash, slamming me against the side of a firetruck.

  “You son of a bitch! You gave me your fucking word!” He growled, cupping my neck with his hand, his fingers digging into my flesh in his attempt to choke me. He reached behind him and I saw a flash of something shiny before the sharp blade tickled my throat. I didn’t want to do it but he left me no choice I lifted my knee and connected with his groin.
His face fell, and I took advantage, flipping the knife onto him. I threw him back against the truck mimicking the way he had held the blade to my neck.

  “How the fuck am I responsible if I’ve been with you this whole time? Think about what the fuck you’re doing Jack! Now I’m sorry about your brother, I am real fucking sorry but you need to get a grip!”

  Jack was a badass motherfucker they didn’t come tougher than him, so when tears fell from his eyes my heart bled for the guy.

  “I didn’t do it,” I said looking him in the eye.

  “Someone did,” he said through gritted teeth. He viciously poked my chest with his index finger. “Someone on Victor’s end did this,” his eyes narrowed. “So help me God when I find out who it is.”

  I stared at him dropping the blade from his neck as I took a step back wondering if he was right. Had Victor known all along that the Fed was Jack’s brother? If he did, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, just as there wasn’t a doubt in Jack’s that the Pastore family took care of their problem by killing Danny Parrish.

  Jack took a step toward me. “You swear you didn’t know anything about this!”

  I lifted my eyes to his. “I didn’t know a goddamn thing.”

  “Find out who the fuck is responsible Bianci. Get me a fucking name, proof, whatever, but if you fail to deliver I’m holding you responsible.” He glared at me through his bloodshot eyes.

  Grief was a fucked up thing, it turned good people into bad and bad people into terrorists. Jack Parrish wouldn’t let this one slide he wasn’t going to stop until his own hand tortured his brother’s assassin. He’d make whoever did this pay, or he’d do as he promised hours ago and he’d fucking rip apart anyone who ever meant anything to anyone involved in the Pastore crime family.

  Adrianna’s face flashed before my eyes and that was all the drive I needed. I turned around and grabbed the back of Jack’s cut, spinning him to face me.

  “I’m going to find out who killed your brother, Jack,” I vowed.

  He stared at me vengefully not saying a word. I didn’t know if he believed that I’d find out who killed Danny, but by the look in his eyes, he didn’t care either way. He was going to avenge his brother’s murder and there wasn’t a man powerful enough to stop him. The case the Feds were building on Victor may have gone up in smoke that night but the Pastore family had much bigger problems now. We were all fucked.

  Chapter Eighteen: 2014

  I blinked away the sweat that dripped into my eye as I mercilessly pounded the leather on the heavy bag seeking the clarity I always found when my mind was racing. After the fire Jack lost his mind, like the way Vic lost his when Val died. Both men consumed by the guilt that came from not being able to protect their brothers. It didn’t matter that Val wasn’t Vic’s blood brother or that Jack hadn’t been real close with Danny, they both felt the loss all the same. I was torn between my position in Vic’s organization and my promise to Jack that I would find out who killed his brother.

  After I brought Jack back to his compound that night of the fire, I met up with Victor and told him the Fed would no longer be a problem. I met him at the building he had just leased and planned to turn into New York’s hottest nightclub. He was with Jimmy and a few associates’ playing cards, their laughter echoed off the bare walls and my presence was ignored until I cleared my throat. Victor and I stepped off the side much to Jimmy’s dismay. I was vague with Victor telling him the Fed’s house went up in flames. Leaving out the fact that he was Jack’s brother or that Jack believed Victor was responsible for the fire to begin with. Victor didn’t like that I hadn’t seen Danny’s body with my own eyes. He pressed on, how I could be sure that Danny was dead along with the investigation. I assured him he was in fact dead and that I saw a family member I.D. his body.

  For lack of better words, I was playing with fire by allowing Victor to think Jack and the MC were responsible for the house fire. If Victor was the one behind it then he knew that I was staring him in the eye lying through my teeth.

  I gave the bag one last jab watching as it swung from the chain before taking a step back and taking a deep breath. I cracked my neck from side to side and pulled off one glove with my teeth before pulling the other off with my freed hand. I walked into the locker room, unwrapped my hands before throwing my shit into my gym bag, and grabbed my sweatshirt. I pulled it over my head, pushing my arms through the sleeves and slid the hood over my head, tugging the drawstrings tightly. I slung my bag over my shoulder and slipped my phone from the pocket of my sweatshirt noticing the alert of a text message. I swiped my finger across the screen and viewed the message from Jack.

  Forensic report is back. Call me

  I bit the inside of my cheek, as I stared at the phone not sure, why I didn’t want to know the results. A part of me wanted the results to prove Victor was responsible so I felt less guilty that I wasn’t being honest with him. The other part of me wanted to know he had a hand in it and that he wasn’t just out to hurt me but anyone who stood in his way.

  I headed out of the locker room, breezing passed the people who looked at me as if I was some boxing phenomenon. I went straight out the front door of the gym, the blast of cold air felt good against my sweaty body. There was a man dressed as Santa Claus ringing a bell looking for donations to the Salvation Army reminding me it was Christmas Eve. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a hundred dollar bill, and dropped it into the red bucket.

  “Pretty generous of you,” I heard the familiar voice say behind the white beard. I squinted as I peered at him until he pulled down the beard and showed his identity.

  “Oh, you’re fucking kidding me right?” I said, as I watched Jack reposition his disguise.

  “Clever right?” He said, as he glanced around shaking his bell.

  “What’s this all about?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.

  “Did you get my text message?”

  “Yeah, I was going to head over to the compound to talk things through with you.”

  “See Santa saved you a trip? Good ‘Ole Saint Nick,” he said as a passerby dropped loose change into his bucket. “God Bless You.”

  I raised an eyebrow thinking this would almost be comical if it wasn’t such a desperate attempt to keep Victor in the dark about our alliance.

  “Report declares the fire accidental, states the cause of the fire was a faulty attic fan.”

  I blew out a sigh of relief. “So Victor wasn’t responsible.”

  “Fuck that, Bianci. You aren’t that much of an ignorant son of a bitch are you? My brother’s house goes up like a fucking firecracker, the same day you’re sent to watch me make him go away. No, I’m not buying it and I thought better of you than to believe this bullshit too.”

  “So you’re saying the forensic report is wrong?” I asked accusingly as I crossed my arms against my chest.

  “I’m saying it easily could’ve been tampered with Anthony,” he replied, glancing across the street suspiciously before fixing his gaze back on me. “Do you have any reason to believe you’re being followed?”

  “By who?” I said, straightening my posture but not turning.

  “There’s a black car parked across the street and whoever is inside is particularly interested in the two of us.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Probably cops.”

  “Or maybe it’s Victor,” He said.

  “Jack…”

  “Look Bianci, I know you don’t want to hear it but it’s too coincidental to ignore. If Victor didn’t kill my brother, someone in his organization did. That man was worried sick the Feds would seize his assets. That’s why he dropped all that money into the night club he’s opening right before this shit went down.”

  “I can’t see Victor bringing anymore heat on himself,” I said, not buying what Jack was trying to sell me.

  “Maybe I’m wrong but did you ever have a gut feeling that nagged and nagged at you? I can’t shake this feeling I have that my brother was just another chess
piece to Vic.” He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “Give me something, anything, the one thing you want more than anything in this world.”

  “What?” I asked trying to figure where he was going with this.

  He snapped his fingers as the light bulb went off in his head. “The daughter.”

  I didn’t like where this was going and for the first time I turned around and stared aimlessly across the street, noticing the black car out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and stared directly into the driver’s tinted window, a moment later the car purred to life and peeled out of the spot.

  “Hear me out, brother. You yourself thought it was odd that Victor was leaving the job to me and not to one of his men. Something doesn’t add up, and you know I’m right. I don’t give a fuck what that report says, my gut tells me Victor wasn’t just going to sit back and let me handle the situation. If he didn’t do it someone within his organization did.”

  I turned around and looked him in the eye.

  “I don’t know what you expect from me Jack.”

  “I expect you to do the right thing and I swear I will make it beneficial for the both of us. Man, all you have to do is name your price. Put yourself in my shoes Bianci, if it was your sister in that house would you sit back when everything inside you screamed foul play?”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” I sighed heavily. “You asked me what I want,” I continued lifting my eyes to meet his. “I want out.”

  “What?” He looked at me blankly.

  “I want out of the organization. I want to live a normal life, to provide security and…”

  “You want to make a life for yourself so that the girl and her kid can be safe with you.” He said speaking my truest desire.

  “Yeah,” I said, gruffly. “So if I agree to do this, we do it my way. I’m not looking to get clipped before I get the fuck out so discretion is key.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “If Victor or someone within his organization had anything to do with Danny’s death I will find out. I’ll dig around until I get the proof we need but until we get it you continue to do business with him and I will be the loyal soldier he thinks I am.”