The Real Italian Alphas Read online

  “I quite agree with that sentiment,” she said, and then she was gone.

  Gabriel dished up some ice cream and brought the two bowls back into the bedroom with him.

  “Did I just hear voices?” Betsy wanted to know.

  “Lucretia sneaked in here to give back my wallet,” he said in disgust. “That’s another thing I’m not too pleased with about this whole situation. We can’t even tell that stupid woman that she isn’t allowed to come into our home without an invitation. I’m sick of this.”

  “Calm down, Gabriel,” Betsy said. “At least she isn’t trying to kill us in our bed while she’s at it.”

  “Yet,” Gabriel pointed out.

  “Yet,” Betsy agreed. The two of them ate their ice cream in silence, then collapsed into each other’s arms, totally spent.

  #

  “So Lupo told you that he’s got this bank in his pocket?” Gabriel clarified.

  “Yeah, he says it will be okay to deposit a couple hundred in there every few days without worrying about it being monitored,” Betsy explained. “He says he’ll give me the money in cash, and I’m supposed to just take it over there and deposit it into the bank. I guess some of it is counterfeit and some is from different extortion jobs or something. He just wants to be able to make use of it as untraceable petty cash.”

  “I’m just worried about you walking right into that place, getting your face on tape, and depositing cash that could get you arrested and interrogated,” Gabriel complained. “Whatever you do, you can’t be nervous in there. You have to go in there with an attitude like you have every right to be there and you’re not doing anything wrong. You know this?”

  Betsy sighed, “Of course I know, Gabriel. I’ve been doing this for almost a year now. This is just another day in paradise. You can’t keep worrying about me like this, I’ll be fine.”

  “Just be careful,” he insisted. “I don’t want you having our baby in some prison.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Betsy insisted. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed with a sigh. He leaned down and kissed his wife soundly before he let her go.

  Betsy was very nervous as she drove her car to the bank, contrary to what she had told Gabriel. She was well aware that there were always risks in this sort of activity. Just because she’d already been to four other banks doing the same thing didn’t mean things would go just as smoothly this time. Some of the bills she was carrying into the bank were counterfeit, after all. They could easily be traced back to her.

  With that in mind, Lupo had given her a different identity to use on this occasion. It was not one she particularly liked, and she most certainly wasn’t going to tell Gabriel about it. As she sat waiting for the clerk to help her, she found it difficult not to fidget at the mere thought. She handed the completed paper work to the man, and he walked away with it to give to another man.

  “Mrs. Lupo?” said the banker, as he walked over to the desk where they were working on opening her account.

  “Yes?” she answered with a smile, trying not to look uncomfortable with the name.

  “Everything appears to be in perfect order,” he told her with a smile as he sat down across from her. “Thanks for choosing our establishment. Oh, and do give your husband our regards.”

  “Yes, of course,” she said, smiling even more. When she went home she intended to scrub her ears out with soap just to wash away the sound of someone suggesting Lupo was her husband. That was never going to happen. “Well then, I guess I’ll be going.”

  “Your funds should be accessible within the hour,” the man added. “Have a great day.”

  “You too,” she answered, and she headed for the exit.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Gabriel was not happy to be called out to the shipyard yet again to help with something Lucretia and her Alphas should have been able to do for themselves. The woman glared at him as well, clearly growing tired of his forced interference in her daily routine.

  “So he gives you a job to do, and then he doesn’t even let you go out and do it?” she muttered irritably. “I swear the man must be trying to make you fail. I don’t think he likes you very much.”

  “I wondered that myself,” Rico chimed in from his other side.

  “My concern over whether or not Lupo the Wolf likes me is legendary, you both know this,” Gabriel commented dryly as the three of them continued to walk. “How about if somebody tells me why I’ve been sent for this time? I wasn’t even briefed in the matter.”

  Lucretia sighed. “My brothers need some help to settle a dispute.”

  “And Lupo thinks I’m the man to solve their problem?” Gabriel scoffed.

  “So it would seem,” she said. “They are fighting over how much of the proceeds from yesterday’s heist should be given to your crew. You and your men did help do the job, so clearly you should get something for it, but neither of them thinks each of your men deserves a full share.”

  “Well then perhaps next time I should not have Rico disable the alarms?” Gabriel suggested. “After all, if he only deserves half the pay, they only deserve half the work.”

  Lucretia smirked. “I see you have not lost your touch where discipline is concerned. Good. I’ll leave it to you, then.”

  “Where are you going?” asked Gabriel as she turned away.

  “I’m going to catch up on some beauty sleep,” she told him. “With all these late nights, and with the full moon coming up again soon, I could use it.”

  Gabriel nodded as he watched her go. He couldn’t help but think no amount of beauty sleep was going to improve Lucretia’s disposition. His lips twisted into a smirk as he continued on his way.

  #

  Gabriel wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or suspicious when Lupo chose not to send Betsy back to Switzerland the following week. He was fairly certain the old wolf was up to no good, but he never expected to hear what his wife told him when she returned home a few hours after he’d expected her.

  “I have absolutely had it with that man,” Betsy fumed as she stormed into the apartment and tossed her sweater onto the couch.

  Gabriel took one look at her face, and knew for certain which man she as referring to. Coming over and wrapping her into his arms, he asked, “What did Lupo do this time, mi amore?”

  “What did he do?” she repeated. “What did he do? I’ll tell you what he did. He made a pass at me, that’s what he did.”

  “Made a—what do you mean, made a pass at you?” asked Gabriel, gritting his teeth to keep from cursing the very ground Lupo walked on since it was certain they were probably being recorded. “Are you sure he meant it like that?” he asked instead.

  “Of course he meant it like that,” she fumed. “There’s no other way to interpret what he said.”

  “Okay, calm down,” said Gabriel. “Sit down with me, and tell me the whole story.”

  Betsy wrapped herself around her husband as he sat down on their couch. She laid her head on his chest and sighed. “Okay, so I came back from doing another bank job and reported straight to Lupo like he wants me to. I was already plenty annoyed to begin with because he has been making me open these accounts as Elizabeth Lupo, since I don’t really like either of the two names, but especially not together in relation to myself.”

  “I understand this,” Gabriel said, kissing the top of her head. “But I am not pleased that you never mentioned this before.”

  “I didn’t want you to be upset,” she said.

  “Continue.”

  “Anyway, I get down there and all of the sudden Lupo sends everyone outside so he can talk to me alone. Tells me that when he first met me he had no idea what you saw in me, but now that he’s gotten to know me a little better, and has seen how well I do my job, that he wants to have me for his wife. When I pointed out that I already had a husband, he said there were ways of fixing that problem, and then he actually tried to kiss me. Said he wanted to just kill you and your whole
team, and then he’d have me touch the amulet and move down there to be with him.”

  “He mentioned the amulet specifically?” Gabriel clarified.

  “Yeah, he did,” she grumbled.

  “And what did you say to him about it?”

  “I pretended I had no idea what he was talking about, and let him explain it to me,” Betsy said. “I figured he may have been trying to find out what I might know, and was using the whole wife thing to find out. I mean, he’s never expressed any sort of interest in me before, and it’s been almost a year. That seemed kind of suspicious.”

  “So, what did you do about him trying to kiss you?” asked Gabriel with a tinge of jealousy in his tone.

  “I pushed him away and said that I don’t take my marriage vows lightly,” she explained. “So that’s when he mentioned the amulet. After he explained what it was he tried again, and I slapped his face and stormed out. I was sure he’d have me killed before I ever reached the surface, but here I am.”

  Gabriel’s hands had been running along her arms and back soothingly, trying to calm her down. But somewhere during this little speech the nature of those movements shifted subtly from comforting to possessing. He didn’t like the thought of another man trying to kiss his Betsy.

  “Perhaps I should remind you of what it is that makes you want me instead of him,” he said against her ear. His hands slid upwards, one cupping her face and turning it up to receive his kiss, while the other toyed at the hem of her sweater, seeking the bottom of it so he could slide inside.

  “I already know why I choose you,” she answered in a husky whisper.

  “No, do not be so hasty to say so, ma bella,” he teased her. “Surely you would like me to—um—show you again?”

  Betsy giggled, and all traces of her ire vanished as she turned in his arms and settled herself on his lap. His erection was exquisitely tantalizing as she rubbed herself against it, and Gabriel let out a little groan at her tender torture.

  “I don’t know, Gabriel, you might have to try extremely hard,” she told him, trying not to laugh again as she said it.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Most definitely,” she said on a purr. “In fact, maybe even more than once. Just to be good and convincing.”

  “Then maybe we should go into the bedroom,” he suggested.

  “No, I think I’d rather stay right here,” she said, stopping him from getting up.

  Gabriel grinned as his hands went down to undo his fly. He continued to grin as he pulled his boxers out of the way and pulled his cock out through the opening.

  Betsy’s hand came down to play with him. Their tongues tangled together as he worked her pants and panties down over her hips. She got up just long enough to get them out of the way, then settled back on top of him. She put his cock inside her, and they both sighed with pleasure.

  “I thought I was supposed to be the one who was doing the showing,” Gabriel teased as she began to move, enjoying the feel of him.

  “Don’t worry, my husband, you’re reminding me very much why I want you right now,” she reassured him as she increased the tempo of her movements. Gabriel moaned and clasped an arm around her back, holding her still against him. Then he thrust up into her again and again, making her moan with every impact. The sound of their flesh pounding together filled the room, and it felt so good that their voices joined in as well.

  After they’d finished, the two of them stayed curled against each other, for quite some time. Finally, Gabriel carried his wife back to bed, where they ended up making love a second time before settling beneath the covers, ready to go to sleep.

  “Gabriel?” Betsy whispered softly. “What are we going to do about Lupo? I’m sure he must be very angry that I rejected his advances today.”

  “I don’t care about Lupo,” he grumbled tiredly. “We can deal with him tomorrow. Tonight is just for us.”

  “I hope he decides to leave us alone till then,” Betsy commented dryly.

  “He’s probably sleeping right now as well,” Gabriel said with a yawn. “You should be, too.”

  Sighing deeply, Betsy knew that he was right. But sleep did not come to her until much later into the night.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Rico told Gabriel the following day that he’d found out what Gabriel wanted to know about the amulet. It was still in the city, or more precisely somewhere beneath it. He’d made good use of a large sum of the money he’d been making to procure a map of the caves where the Alphas lived. Gabriel didn’t want to know who the man had to sleep with to discover the whereabouts of such a map.

  But it was one thing to know the lay of the land, and quite another thing to figure out how to get inside. They couldn’t simply go in through the front door and inquire from the guards as to the whereabouts of their most sacred treasure.

  “We can’t possibly try to do anything about it until later tonight, once we’ve finished the meeting with Lupo at the end of the day,” Betsy pointed out. “I’m just a bit worried about why he wants all of us, including the men in your crew, to meet there this evening.” She and Gabriel had not yet told Rico about her altercation with the man on the night before.

  “Knowing Lupo, it can’t be good,” Rico commented. “At least there’s going to be nine of us there with the guys added in. If he is planning to wipe us out, they’ll at least provide some fighting power before we bite the dust.”

  “Or at least a distraction, so we can get away,” Gabriel pointed out.

  “Wow, boss, this job’s finally made you cold,” Rico said. “You never used to throw anybody under a the bus.”

  “Well, if I don’t do it now the bus may run us all over, and then where will we be?” Gabriel said.

  “I know, I know,” he agreed. “It’s just a side of you I seldom see.”

  “I suppose Vito and Desmond can call the crew and tell them to head to Lupo’s around six. But right now we need to get him some more money,” said Gabriel with a sigh. “I hope this meeting doesn’t have anything to do with him having figured out what we did to get that money, Rico. If he knows how we’ve been paying him off, he’ll consider it an insult. He might even try to take the stash for himself.”

  “Guys, I really don’t want you to leave me alone today,” Betsy said then. “If Lupo is upset with us and planning to retaliate in some manner, I don’t think I could survive an attack without anybody around for backup.”

  “She may be right, Gabriel, I wouldn’t leave her alone,” Rico agreed.

  “Is it safe to take her to the stash?” asked Gabriel uncertainly. “What if Lupo knows where it is and has a couple of goons waiting for you to return?”

  “You two can stay in the car while I go inside,” he suggested. “If I don’t return within ten minutes, you must assume I’ve been taken and get yourselves out of there.”

  “No, Rico, without you to read the map you drew, how are we supposed to find the amulet in the first place?” Betsy pointed out. “We must stick together the whole way. It’s the only solution.”

  “Is she always this stubborn, boss?”

  “You know she is,” Gabriel chuckled. “Let’s go.”

  Rico’s stash was hidden inside a secret passage beyond the janitor’s closet of an old parking garage. Not only cash, but guns and ammunition, jewelry, and drugs were neatly piled on the shelves. He had bags of cocaine that seemed bigger than bags of flour sitting just as casually on one shelf, while tons of marijuana in huge bags were stored just below. Even crates filled with pill bottles lined the wall.

  “Rico, are you trying to start your own pharmacy?” Betsy asked with a smirk as she looked the place over.

  “Recent shipment,” he explained as he steadily packed money into a large bag. “Should be gone in a couple of days.”

  “What’s with the stack of rolled joints?”

  “Well, my boys sometimes like their payment in non-denominations,” he answered with a chuckle. “They must have been making sure the greenery was
good.”

  “Okay, you two, let’s grab some of the denominations and take them to Lupo already,” Gabriel said. “If he’s going to try something, I’d rather know it sooner than later.”

  “What makes you think he’s going to do anything, boss?” Rico wanted to know.

  Gabriel and Betsy exchanged a look, and he nodded to her.

  “He pretty much told me so,” Betsy said. “Apparently he wants to kill Gabriel and his whole crew and keep me for himself. Oh, and have me touch the amulet so we can be together forever. Like I would want to spend one minute in his presence.”

  “He told you about the amulet?” asked Rico worriedly.

  “Yeah, I thought he might have been trying to find out what I know.”

  “Or to find out where your loyalties lie,” Rico pointed out. “He knew you would tell us. But does that mean he’s on to me after I did all that checking to locate the thing? It may not even be where we think it is anymore. Damn it!”

  “Come on, we have no choice but to go to the meeting,” Gabriel sighed. “If we don’t go, he’ll definitely try to have us killed. We won’t need to wonder anymore.”

  “Rico, how come you’ve never taken this money and left?” Betsy asked. “We could easily just load it into some car and get out of here.”

  “Until recently I have been content with my lifestyle,” he explained. “It’s how I acquired all of this money. If I took it and ran for the border, we’d end up spending it all and then actually have to work for a living.”

  “Why? Can’t you still make your transactions from a different location?”

  “If things go south down there, and Lupo does try to kill us, it may be the only option we have left, assuming we could get back here at all,” Rico said. “Boss, if I don’t make it and you two get out, you have my permission to take this stash. I want you to know that. Brothers?”

  “Brothers,” said Gabriel with a nod, sidestepping his extended hand and hugging him briefly instead. Then the three of them wordlessly grabbed the money they had come for and exited the stash, heading quickly back to the car. No one was there to see them leave.