Loving Jared: A Mafia Romance Novella Read online

  When she’d seen Jared in his driveway working on his big beast of a bike, something had driven her toward him. He’d been crouched, wearing dark jeans with holes in the knees, a sleeveless shirt, biker boots and a leather vest. Colourful tattoos covered one of his arms, his hand and his neck. Her heart and her libido had started revving at the sight of him and her feet carried her toward him almost without her consent.

  "What’re you doing, Amy?"

  Sarah's voice cut through the fog of her daydream and Amy opened her eyes. Her gaze landed on her ten-year-old sister who was kneeling on the floor in front of the TV, a sketch pad and pencil crayons spread out in front of her.

  "Taking some pie next-door," Amy said lightly, dropping onto the couch next to her other sister, Millie.

  "You shouldn't give our pie away," eight-year-old Millie said seriously. "You worked hard on that and we need all the food we can get."

  Amy frowned. "What do you mean, we need all the food we can get? There's no shortage of food around here. You two are always eating."

  Millie, a hand talker, shrugged and swung her arm as she spoke, nearly hitting Amy in the head with her Barbie. "Teagan said we’re probably gonna run out of food. He said you don't have a very good job and that you don't make enough money."

  Amy closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose. She let it out slowly through her mouth. Becoming a parent at the age of eighteen hadn't been easy, but Millie and Sarah were amazing kids. They helped her every day. They almost never argued with each other, they listened to their older sister and they were doing well in school.

  Teagan, on the other hand, was a whole other story. At seventeen, he was rebellious and resentful. He didn't want to be told what to do, especially by an older sister. Amy tried her best to include him in all family decisions, treating him like an adult, but their relationship had been deteriorating as the months went by.

  Amy reached out and plucked the Barbie doll from Millie's hand, then tugged her little sister against her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She ruffled Millie's hair. "Yes, I have a sort of crappy job, and it doesn't pay well. But I promise you, sweetie, we will never run out of food."

  Amy hoped she was saying the right things to her sisters. Sarah was now twisted around and looking at her with curiosity. Amy tried to always tell them the truth, even if the truth was difficult. She just wished Teagan was a bit more careful when talking to his younger sisters.

  "How do you know we won't run out of food if you don't make very much money?" Sarah asked, laying a yellow pencil crayon next to her drawing.

  "Because I'm smart and I know how to shop intelligently. I also know how to cook and how to make food stretch. These things help us save money every month. And if it got really dire, we would go to the food bank, or borrow money from the government. There are always options."

  Amy waited in tense silence as the girls processed what she'd said. Finally, Millie shrugged, snatched her Barbie back from Amy and said, "I knew Teagan was wrong. He's always wrong. He's a boy."

  Amy smothered a laugh. "Yes, he is a boy, but that doesn't make him wrong all the time. Teagan has his own opinions, which is perfectly fine. But if he says something that worries you, then come to me and we'll talk about it."

  Sarah chimed in from the floor, "Teagan said you’d leave us as soon as a man comes along that you want to marry."

  Amy's mouth fell open as anger rushed through her. She could understand that Teagan might be concerned about their future, but she couldn't allow him to say just anything to Millie and Sarah, scaring them with his own concerns.

  "First of all, I'm not looking for a man to be in my life right now. I have my hands full with the three of you," Amy smiled to take the sting from her words. "But if I do happen to meet a man, I would never leave you. I would choose someone who loves you just as much as I do."

  Millie wrinkled her nose. "No offence, but your taste in boys is terrible. I don't think we need any more boys around here. Teagan is enough."

  Amy silently agreed. Teagan was enough. Speaking of Teagan, Amy glanced at the clock, realizing she had no idea where he was. She tried texting him but gave up hoping for a response after fifteen minutes passed.

  "Time to get ready for bed." She sent the girls off to their bedrooms to put their pajamas on and brush their teeth. Amy would go upstairs in a few minutes and kiss them goodnight. A ritual she started the night her mother was killed, and one she would continue until each of her siblings moved out.

  After she tucked the girls into bed, Amy busied herself straightening up the house. She was elbow deep in a sink filled with dishes when the front door slammed shut. She jumped, then realized it must be her brother.

  "Teagan?" she called.

  A few seconds later he strolled into the kitchen, a familiar scowl on his face, his dark hair artfully spiked. "What?"

  "How was your night?" Amy asked casually.

  She glanced sideways at the time on the oven, noting it was after ten o’clock. He was coming in later and later each night.

  "Don't you mean, where was I?" he asked sarcastically.

  Teagan was spoiling for a fight. Amy wasn't in the mood, but she couldn't allow him to speak to her disrespectfully. He was setting a bad example for his younger siblings.

  Amy wiped her hands on a dishtowel and turned to look at her brother. "Fine, where were you?"

  "None of your business." He turned to leave the kitchen.

  "Teagan, I think we need to talk." It was the last thing Amy wanted to do. She wanted to finish the dishes, take a bath and go to bed. She had to start work at 5:00 am and at the rate she was going, she was only going to get a few hours of sleep before she had to get up and catch the bus to the factory.

  Teagan rounded on her, glaring as he threw himself into a chair. "Fine, say what you want to say. You're going to anyway."

  "What does that mean?" Amy demanded.

  "It means, you act like some kind of dictator around here. Telling us what to do, where to go, how to behave. I'm sick of it."

  "Teagan, except for the dictator part, you’re describing what parents do," Amy said gently, sinking into a chair across from him. "I'm not trying to boss you around. I'm trying my best to replace our parents."

  "But you're not our parents!" Teagan shouted. Amy froze, hoping the girls didn't wake up. "You suck at being them. You never do anything right. You barely make enough money at your stupid job for us to live. I'm tired of things sucking so bad all the time. I never get anything extra and I have to listen to someone who’s only a few years older than me. Why? Because some stupid social services workers said I have to?"

  Amy tried to blink the tears away. Teagan had a point. Life wasn't easy for them. She'd hoped that their love for each other would be enough to get them through the tough times, but she knew that there were many things she was failing at. She couldn't make birthdays or Christmases spectacular, the way they'd been when their parents were together in the house. She couldn't buy extras. No fancy foods, no meals out, no friends over.

  "I'm sorry you feel that way." She tried to sound mature, tried to give him what she hoped he needed, but inside she was a boiling pit of guilt, anger and sadness. Her parents had done this to them. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't dig the family out of poverty. All they had was each other and the house. "I'm willing to talk to you about changing things. You don't need to abide by the same rules as our sisters. You're almost a legal adult. We can talk about loosening some of the restrictions."

  In reality, Teagan had very few restrictions already, a result of his rebellious nature and Amy's inability to lay down the law with him. Still, her words didn't diffuse his anger.

  "It's too late, I'm done. I'm done with this house, done with you and the girls." His voice cracked a little on the last word. Teagan really did love his sisters, even if he was angry at the world.

  "What does that mean?" Amy asked. "What do you mean by you’re done?"

  He shoved hi
s chair back and stood. "I mean I'm done living here. I hate it. I hate living in the same house where Dad…" He didn't finish the sentence, instead changing the subject. "I'm gonna go live with a friend for a while. Then I'll figure something out."

  Amy stood too, alarm crossing her features. "Absolutely not! You can't go live somewhere else. You're still seventeen. You still have to reside under my care."

  He glared at her. "Fuck off. I'm leaving."

  The tears escaped Amy's eyes as her brother swore at her. It wasn't the first time, but it didn't get any easier to take each time it happened. He snatched his backpack off the floor and stormed down to his bedroom. Minutes later he came back upstairs with his backpack and another bag, probably filled with clothes. Without a backward glance or a goodbye, he slammed out of the house.

  Amy sank back into her seat and let the tears fall.

  Four

  "Enrico called, said the Ghosts got our message. They sent a message back. They say the death of Buffalo makes us even."

  It took Jared a moment to re-adjust his thinking, away from his curvy black-haired neighbour to his boss. Vincent, the guy Jared would happily follow into death. The guy who had his back no matter what. They'd grown up together, part of a local biker club, the Ghosts.

  The club that had betrayed them in a drug hand-off gone wrong and nearly gotten them both killed. In retaliation, Jared and Vince had taken out a good portion of the club. They'd been at war ever since, for well over a decade now.

  Jared snorted. "There's no such thing as even for those guys."

  Vince's eyes glowed with an unholy light. "You don't want to stop our vendetta?"

  For some reason, Jared's thoughts flitted to his cute next-door neighbour. Amy shouldn't affect this decision. Hell, he was just getting acquainted with her. But, for some reason, his heart and his head were telling him that she would affect all of his future decisions.

  "Gotta say," Jared drawled, "as much as I hate those guys, it's tempting to leave things alone. We’ve been after them for a long time. They're not even the same club anymore."

  Vince nodded slowly. "True, man, kind of agree with you there. Especially now that I've got the wife and kids. Don't need to give those guys an excuse to come after my family."

  Jared thought about Amy again, thought about her siblings and their tragic background. "Yeah, agreed. Whatever it takes to keep Jenna and the kids safe."

  "So we stop? Send them a message of truce?"

  Jared wanted to agree. End the constant fighting once and for all. But they weren't the only ones involved. Others had gotten hurt when the Ghosts betrayed them. "What about on Enrico? Have you talked to him about a truce?"

  Enrico Garcia was the one member of the Ghosts biker club who stepped up for his little brothers. He’d warned Jared and Vince that they were going to be betrayed, and he had their backs when they decimated the club. He hadn't lost as much as his brothers, but he was just as angry as they were.

  Vince nodded his agreement. "I'll talk to him, make sure he’s good with settling the matter."

  Jared and Vince talked business for a while longer. Though Vince was his boss, Jared had just as much stake in the company. He worked under Vince because he had no interest in being anyone's boss. He preferred to work security, to be the muscle behind the crown. Together, they owned a good chunk of the city. Vince ran things while Jared kept everything in line. It was a good partnership, one that had served them well over the years.

  Thankfully, they were talking the legitimate side of the business when Jenna breezed through the door of Vince's trailer office. She swept the room with a glance, her grin encompassing both Jared and Vince. She bent over and plopped a powdery smelling baby on Jared's lap before swinging around the side of the desk and dropping onto her husband. Vince’s arms came up to wrap protectively around the curvy redhead.

  Jared ignored the two and focused on the baby. Vincent Junior was going to be the spitting image of his father. A fair trade, since Jenna's daughter, Lola, looked just like her mother. Especially now that her hair was going from strawberry blond to a fiery red.

  The three of them talked for a while before Vince was called out of the office by one of his contractors who had an issue on the third floor of the apartment complex they were building. Before Jenna could follow her husband out the door and leave the site, Jared called her back.

  "Was wondering if I could talk to you about something?"

  She gave him a warm smile and sat on the sofa next to him. It was one of those really ugly 70’s couches, upholstered in a hideous orange flower pattern that would survive to the end of time. But the couch was functional and tough, and Vince liked having furniture in his office for visitors.

  "Of course," she said cheerfully, snuggling Vince Junior where he promptly fell asleep with his face smashed between her breasts.

  "It's about my neighbour," Jared told her. "Think she might be in some kind of trouble."

  A frown marred Jenna's brow and her voice was concerned when she said, "What kind of trouble?"

  Jared knew his boss's kindhearted wife would be interested in Amy’s story. The former health nurse had a big heart that encompassed everyone around her, including the inmates at the prison where she used to work.

  "Well, she's not exactly in trouble now. It happened two years ago…" Jared told her the story as he knew it, then outlined his interactions with Amy.

  Gradually, Jenna’s expression melted from concern to understanding. She saw right through him and his attraction to his lovely neighbour. "What exactly is the problem, Jared?" she asked kindly. "Sounds like your neighbour is a girl who really has her shit together. Especially if she’s baking apple pies and taking care of three children. I can tell you from experience, it’s not easy to bake a pie from scratch."

  Jared shoved a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "That's exactly it. How can a woman her age possibly take care of three children? She must be exhausted."

  Jenna looked at him shrewdly. "At twenty, she's probably more than capable of taking care of her siblings. She knows them best. After everything that went down, living in that house, staying with their sister, was probably the safest place for them at the time. Can you imagine losing both of your parents on the same day? If they'd been separated from their older sister, things could've turned out much worse for them."

  "I guess," Jared grumbled, still not convinced.

  Jenna touched his arm. "I'm not saying it would be easy for her. In fact, I'm sure it takes a lot to do what she's doing for her siblings. Maybe she is struggling. But whatever’s happening in that house, it's her choice."

  Jared grumbled again. He didn't agree. How could a 20-year-old woman, not even drinking age yet, be mature enough to take care of three children? In his opinion, it was impossible.

  "I have an easy way for you to find out if she needs your help." Jenna shifted Vince Junior who was now sound asleep. "Go ask her."

  Yeah, he’d known talking to Jenna would be the right thing to do. He’d spent a day agonizing over the issue and hadn’t once come up with the idea of simply going next door and checking on Amy.

  "Thanks for the help."

  She grinned at him and stood, hiking the baby up and heading for the door. "Anytime. Let me know how it turns out."

  Five

  Jared checked his watch. 2:15 pm. He looked around the job site, hands on his hips. Everything was running smooth. He checked in with security earlier and they were in good shape too. Jared decided to knock off early, go home, sit on his deck, and have a beer.

  He told himself that his decision to leave early had absolutely nothing to do with his hot next-door neighbour. He worked long hours and never took time off for himself. Now, he was going to take a much-needed break.

  He pulled his bike over at the liquor store on his way home and grabbed a six pack. He’d barbecue himself a burger and have a couple of beers. It would be just like relaxing, something he didn't do often.

  He forced himself not
to look at the house next door as he climbed off his bike and made his way up the driveway and into his house. He shoved the six pack in the fridge, taking one out and putting it in the freezer. Then he ran up the stairs to the second floor, stripped off his clothes and took a hot shower.

  Grinning he shook his head, sending water droplets flying everywhere. It felt good playing hooky for a few hours.

  He pulled on a pair of loose gym shorts and then went back downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. It was a gorgeous day out, warm and sunny with a slight breeze to stop it from being too hot. The perfect day for some alone time in his yard.

  Jared grabbed the beer from his freezer, now ice cold. He popped the top, grabbed his phone and headed out to the deck. The beer made it about halfway to his lips when his gaze strayed over to the neighbouring backyard.

  He froze.

  Sprawled out on her stomach on a lawn chair was Amy Funk. The perfectly rounded globes of her ass visible in the teeny tiny rainbow-coloured bikini bottoms she was wearing. The smooth skin of her back was glistening with lotion, the ties to her bikini top were undone and trailing down the sides of the lawn chair. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head. Even from the distance he was standing, he could tell that her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and even. She appeared to be asleep. He frowned. She could get sunburnt.

  It wasn't his job to make sure she didn't get a sunburn. He paced his deck, watching her, waiting for any signs of life. Should he go over and insist she cover up and get inside? How long had she been out there roasting in the sun? Didn’t she know that skin cancer was one of the most prevalent silent killers? Okay, Jared didn’t actually know if that was true, but he wasn’t willing for Amy to risk it.

  After ten more minutes of no movement, Jared decided he better investigate. He downed half of his beer in one long gulp, set it on the table, wiped his mouth with his hand and strode down the steps to his lawn. The grass was spongy and soft beneath his feet. It felt good stepping on the cool blades. Another thing he hadn't done in a long time.