Free Packing Heat: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance (Barone Crime Family) by B. B. Hamel

but I definitely wasn’t happy with what they had done to me.
    Now they wanted to protect me, but how could I know if this was for real? The only person to actually do anything for me so far was Rafa. The Spiders may have been on the right side, but Rafa was actually coming to me and trying to protect me. The Spiders were only sending me some random, creepy message through my laptop.
    I couldn’t trust them. I knew that deep down, as much as I wanted to trust them. I couldn’t believe in anyone right now, except for maybe Rafa, but even he was questionable.
    “I can’t,” I said.
    “We must go. They’re watching you, Cassidy. If you change your mind, tie a red bandana to the fence at the corner of South Wales and Arch streets. Goodbye.”
    And then my computer returned to normal like nothing had happened.
    I quickly closed my tabs and slammed the lid shut, my heart pounding.
    I could leave them a message now if I needed to. I wasn’t going to do anything about it right away, but it was a slight relief knowing that I had the real option.
    They had kept saying I was being watched, over and over again. Of everything, that scared me the most.
    Because I didn’t know what they meant. Was the mafia watching, or were they?
    And which one was worse?
    That message only made things more complicated. They hadn’t fixed a single thing by sending me those messages. Now I was more stressed and confused than I had been before, and I didn’t even think that was possible.
    Not only did the mafia want to kill me, but now I was actively being watched by the Spiders as well. They could easily take over my computer, so who knew what else they could do.
    They were dangerous. I was sure of that.
    My life was at stake here, and I had nowhere to turn. Rafa’s wicked grin came back to me, and I wished all over again that he hadn’t left me alone.

12

Rafa
    “ H ow’s the girl ?”
    I grunted as I sat down at my desk, kicking my feet up. “She’s fine.”
    “Where have you been all day?”
    “Tailing her mostly. Staked out her place and watched over her.”
    “Stalking her, you mean.”
    I grinned at Vince. I felt tense as hell, but he could usually bring some lightness to a tough situation. He was a good boss, a quality capo in the mafia, one of the best by far. I wouldn’t have worked for any other fucking guy.
    It was late, getting past one in the morning. I was exhausted, but I knew Ernesto was probably trying to convince Arturo to turn against the girl every second he could.
    Vince stood up and brought over a glass of whisky. I took it gratefully and drank. He leaned up against the desk, sighing.
    “Some shit,” he said.
    “You’re not kidding. When do we get to see the old man?”
    “Soon. I sent word out to Lucas. We’re going to take care of this.”
    “You mean I’m going to.”
    “Whatever. Just don’t do something stupid.”
    “I do what I have to do.”
    He shook his head. “That’s your problem, Rafa. You’re too headstrong, too fucking stubborn. You can’t just break everything you don’t like. Sometimes you have to be political.”
    “I’m not the political type,” I said.
    “You’re coming up in this organization, Rafa. We all know you’re next in line for a fucking territory of your own. So you better learn to be political, or else.”
    I shook my head and shot back my drink. I could work guys over, make threats where threats were needed. Hell, I could outthink most mafia assholes. But when it came to kissing ass and playing the game, I just didn’t know how.
    It wasn’t in my blood.
    Just then, there was a knock at the door.
    “Come in,” Vince called out, giving me a look.
    Fat Jimmy poked his round head in. “Guys,” he said, “Arturo and Ernesto want to talk.”
    “The fuck they send you for?” I asked him.
    “I was just around, so I got sent. That’s all I got to say.”
    “Fine,” Vince said, standing up. “Come on, Rafa.”
    I followed them out of the room, annoyed. I