Chapter 69: Chapter Sixty-Nine

Frankie hissed as she helped him step into the shower. He turned and twisted as he tried to find a position that didn’t hurt when the water hit the sore skin not deemed bad enough to be covered with bandaging. Once he found a comfortable position, his shoulders fell forward and he let out a long sigh. His eyes closed and Gloria took the opportunity to step in with him. She grabbed some soap and rubbed it between her hands until there were ample suds to get to work.

He moaned as she started to work the soap into the muscles of his back not covered by gauze. He leaned forward, bracing his palms against the cool tile so she could dig deeper into the knots beneath his shoulder blades.

“Fuck, Vixen, that feels better than the sex,” Frankie moaned as she hit a certain spot that made his back bow.

She laughed slightly and shook her head. “I’m glad you like it. It’s part of my strategy.”

“Strategy?”

“To get you talking.”

“I see, so you butter me up with sex, then numb me with a massage?”

“Something like that.”

“God, I’ll tell you whatever you want if you just don’t stop,” he said with a moan and a shiver as she ran her fingers down his spine.

“Oh, the possibilities,” she said, humor peeking through her tone. “Why don’t we start with what is going on between you and Mr. Accardi?”

“Don’t call him Mr.,” Frankie grumbled. “It sounds weird.”

“Alright,” she said with a roll of her eyes, knowing full well he was stalling. “Why don’t you tell me what is going on between you and Accardi?”

Frankie sighed and flinched as she worked out a particularly large knot under his right shoulder blade. “He wants to replace me.”

Gloria’s hands stalled on his back and he whined. “Why? Because of what you did?”

“Partly.”

“And the other part?”

“Can’t I just enjoy your magic fingers?”

“No.”

“Fine. He wanted to give me time to finish the business with Sergei.”

“And?”

“Not enough reason for you?”

“I’ve only known you a short time, Frankie, but I know there’s more to it than him asking you to take a couple weeks off. You said he wants to replace you. That sounds permanent. Tell me what’s going on or I stop,” she threatened, using her elbow to get a particularly troublesome knot at the base of his neck.

He sighed long and groaned as the knot started to come loose. “Your contract.”

“What about it?”

“The part that says whoever you marry takes over your father’s empire,” Frankie finally explained. Gloria’s efforts slowed but didn’t stop. “You said you don’t want to give it up, which would mean that responsibility would fall on me. It would mean I’d have to leave Accardi. Leave New York. Permanently. He wants to get ahead of it and train someone before I leave.”

Gloria didn’t know what to say for a moment. She traced her fingertips gently down his back outlining the various tattoos covering his skin, a sharp contrast to what she’d been doing up until that point.

“Are you proposing, Frankie Donati?” she asked.

He chuckled. “No, Vixen.”

“But you’re confident you’ll be the one I marry?” she couldn’t help but ask.

His chuckle was no longer light but filled with an edge of danger that sent a shiver up her own spine. He peeked over his shoulder at her. “Another man will never touch you, Gloria, without experiencing a very slow, painful death. Let alone breathe the same air as you long enough to propose marriage.”

He turned back around and she smiled to herself. It wasn’t a vow of eternal love and devotion, but it was Frankie’s version of it. She used her nails to drag up his butt cheeks and he shivered violently, making her laugh.

“You don’t have to take over,” Gloria supplied.

“I don’t plan to.”

“Then what is your plan?”

“I don’t like being the boss. I’m better as a henchman.”

“So you’d do my bidding?”

“With a fucking skip in my step and a smile on my face, Pakhan. Plus I’d get to fuck the boss. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me.”

“But you’re upset by it,” she reasoned, reading between the lines.

Frankie sighed as her fingers smoothed over the back of his shoulder blades. “I don’t like change. Or Chicago. I’ve worked with Matteo for fifteen years. I owe him my life. I always thought I’d work for him until I died. Most likely in a shoot out where I stepped in front of a bullet for him.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she offered.

“No, I owe you much more than just my life,” he whispered cryptically.

The water raining down on them was the only sound that filled the air for a moment as they both let that information sink in and simmer.

“So where do you plan to start with your Sergei takedown?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Probably along the same lines you were thinking.”

“And I was thinking?” she asked, amused.

“You’re cute. I heard Bridget confirm her partner was Ivan. Then you take Juniper back to her apartment? I can only assume it was to interrogate her about where his hideouts are. Were you successful?” he asked, shifting so that he faced her now and the water could wash the soap off his back. Her hands started to roam his chest as if they couldn’t help but touch every inch of him on display.

She smirked up at him. “Of course I was.”

“Good girl,” he whispered, bending so he could take her lips.

Her hands ran up to wrap around his neck while his own hands skimmed up from her stomach to cup her breasts. He pulled away and reached over her to grab the soap. He started massaging his sudsy hands over her skin, paying particular attention to her breasts and nipples. She leaned her head back and allowed him to do what he would. His lips traced down her neck and over her shoulders while his fingers trailed down her sides and around to cup her ass.

Frankie lifted her up and pressed her back against the tile. She gripped his shoulders as his finger dipped between the lips of her heat. While he whispered in her ear about how dirty she was and how hot it made him, she noticed his legs start to tremble. Frankie cursed and, in the next moment, they both slipped. Frankie’s knees hit the shower floor a moment before her bare ass smacked against the tile.

“Ow.” “Fuck.”

Frankie looked at her and started to laugh and then winced. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, shaking his wet hair before running his fingers through it to get it out of his face.

“What happened?” she asked, rubbing her sore butt. She noticed his face turning red and she gaped at the display. She’d never seen Frankie Donati embarrassed.

“I’m afraid I’m a bit…” He sighed. “Weak,” he confessed, not meeting her eyes.

Gloria laughed and cupped his cheeks so she could bring his mouth to hers. “Might be for the best. I’m not sure my vagina can handle your libido at full level.”

“There’s nothing weak about my libido, Vixen,” Frankie assured her, his trademark smirk back in place.

“Maybe not, but with you like this, I at least stand a chance in fighting you off,” she argued with a laugh. “Come on, let’s get out of this death trap.”

Gloria stood and held a hand down to help him up. Outside of the shower, they toweled off. Then Gloria forced Frankie to sit on the counter so she could change out his ruined bandages. She unwrapped the bandage from his chest and felt her eyes watering at the sight of the skin where her name used to be. She gently touched her fingertips to the scarred area. He caught her wrist and brought her palm up to kiss.

“Don’t worry, Vixen. Once it’s healed, I can get it redone,” he reassured her. She looked up at him with a raised brow of doubt. He shrugged. “Or I can leave it as is and get it done on the other side,” he said, moving her hand to his other collarbone.

She bit her lip to fight off her smile. She moved her fingers up to his neck. “Or maybe you can have it wrapped around your neck,” she offered.

He smiled. “That sounds pretty bad ass,” he agreed before pulling her to him and kissing her with a heat that threatened to send them back to the shower to cool off.

Gloria managed to pull away before things got out of hand and got back to work.

“So the plan is to go after my dad?” she absently asked as she tightened the new bandage around his right shoulder.

“Yup. With everything going on, he’ll be in constant contact with Sergei. He’ll know where the fucker is hiding or, at the very least, be able to draw him out.”

“When?” she asked, her eyes set and determined, making his own eyes crinkle with humor.

“Two days. I need to get a few things in order first. Test out a couple new weapons,” he told her with a grin that said he had some devious plans in mind.

“New weapons?” she asked.

“Mhmm, speaking of which,” he said, pushing her a step back so he could hop down from the counter.

“Uhh, I wasn’t finished,” she said, holding up a loose bandage in illustration.

After a minute of no reply, she huffed and followed after him. She found him in his walk-in closet. He reached his hand into a drawer and she heard a click. He looked over to her and winked. She crossed her arms and stepped up as the wall beside the dresser started to shift. The walls shuttered, turned, flipped and opened to reveal a hidden room.

Frankie placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her forward into the room. She gawked at the ten-foot by ten-foot room with backlit walls and drawers that reached waist height. The walls were filled with guns of every imaginable size and caliber. She opened a drawer to find the exact same thing.

“Holy crap,” Gloria breathed, slowly spinning to take it all in.

Frankie chuckled at her wide-eyed expression. He stepped up behind her and kissed her neck. “Pick one.”

Gloria laughed. “Just one?”

Frankie barked out a laugh and his hands ran up her back, his thumbs digging into either side of her spine. “I fucking love you.”