Mobster's Mistress (A Caparelli Family Romance Book 1) Read online

  Mobster’s Mistress

  A Caparelli Family Romance

  Lara St. James

  MOBSTER’S MISTRESS

  A Caparelli Family Romance

  By: Lara St. James

  www.LaraStJames.com

  All Rights Reserved © 2018 by Lara St. James

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

  Mobster’s Mistress is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  For all the lovers on both sides of the law.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Afterword

  Introduction

  Welcome to the first of many stories I’m going to tell you about the Caparelli Family. Say what you will about whether or not their organization is legal or not, they are a family of lovers. These stories are inspired by true events, but all of them are completely reborn in my imagination. I hope I have written them well enough to seem very real, but they are in fact, fiction.

  If you love this story, will you be so kind as to share it with someone? And if you want to read more, please be sure to join my mailing list at: www.LaraStJames.com.

  Sincerely,

  1

  I’ll never forget seeing the old man’s face for the first time. It was lined with wrinkles and many years of both joy and sadness. His body while perhaps being more impressive in a solid black suit and tie sagged in the hospital bed and I could tell that he was struggling to find the will for his heart to keep beating. It was no secret that he was one of the biggest kingpins in the city, but my job as a doctor isn’t to judge, it’s to heal, so that’s what I was trying to do. I was studying his chart and diligently reading the lines on the EKG when Tony pushed into the room, bringing with him a flurry of activity and drama. The poor home health care nurses didn’t stand a chance against the hotheaded man. I suppose when looking back at that day, my own heart didn’t stand a chance against Tony’s passion either. He was simply the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

  Tony flung open the door with a scowl on his face, “I don’t care what kinda schedule is happening… I need to see my Gramps and you’re not gonna stop me!” The younger man’s eyes were full of fire when he spotted his grandfather lying prone in the bed. “Gramps! Who did this to you? I swear to fucking God when I find the son of a bitch--!”

  “Tony… calm down.” The aging man reached up and placed a calming hand on Tony’s arm. “Listen… listen. Calm down. No one did this to me, except Krispy Kreme, now unless you wanna go blow up a doughnut factory, I suggest you sit down and let’s listen to what this nice lady has to say.”

  I watched as Tony sighed in exasperation and ran his hands through his short dark hair. His blue eyes sparkled and he scratched at the stubble that was left on his face. I imagined it was a nervous tick, but at the same time, I also thought about how nice it would be to feel those cheeks. It was uncharacteristic for me, but wow. I could dream couldn’t I? Tony then turned those blue eyes to me and smiled almost shyly. “I’m sorry Miss. I’m just upset… I don’t know what I’d do if I lost ol Gramps here. He keeps me on the up and up, ya feel me?”

  “Mhm. I understand.” I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat and instead of focusing on lack of a wedding ring on the man’s finger; I instead lowered my eyes to the paperwork in front of me. “Ahem. Well in looking over his chart, I can assure you for the moment Gramps is going to be just fine. Now he did suffer a slight cardiac incident, probably brought upon by stress and we do need to start him on some medication to try to get his blood pressure under control to prevent a more serious event in the future. Also… I hate to tell ya this Amato, but your diet, it simply must change if you wanna see your grandkids graduate.”

  The older man frowned and looked at his hands, still hooked up to the IV that provided fluids to him. “Fine. I’ll work on the diet thing, but you gotta give me a guide or chart or something doc. I may even need a padlock. It’s easy to eat when you’re unsupervised at 3am. Also thanks to this putz here, I ain’t got no grandkids yet. He seems to fuck up every relationship he gets in.”

  “Now Gramps… I told you that Missy she was a psycho bitch!”

  “All she did was express an interest in yoga.”

  “No gramps… she was fucking her yoga instructor on the downlow and I’m not investing in a bitch that’s gonna betray me. I don’t do that freaky what it is, polygamy shit. I’m a one woman man.”

  “I’m starting to think you’re a one man woman… you gotta admit it’s been a while Tony.”

  Amato then turned to me and gave me a good-natured wink, knowing just how to draw out his grandson’s frustrations. “He has commitment issues ya see… but you’re not that kinda doctor are you? Hey Tony… you should see if she can get you a therapist ya know I hear they work wonders.”

  “Gramps I don’t need—.”

  “Really… I don’t know any therapists. I’m not really into that field.”

  “Hmm. I see…well if you’re at one of your doctor conferences and find one let us know.”

  “Okay. Well, I think you’ve had enough excitement for now, Amato. I’m gonna suggest quite bed rest for the rest tonight and I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon to see how you’re improving. I’ll be certain the nurses get an update on your diet plan and they’ll bring you dinner soon. I know you’re hungry after all the liquid only orders.”

  “You got that right, beautiful. Hey Tony… isn’t she beautiful?”

  “Please Gramps… let the woman work.”

  “I’m sorry for my Gramps… he’s just keyed up.”

  “It’s fine, I think it’s sweet, there’s nothing wrong with a compliment from a nice guy.”

  “See Tony… you should take lessons.”

  Tony sighed once more and leaned over giving him a quick peck on the forehead. “I love ya Gramps. I just wanted to check on ya. I’ll be here again tomorrow. I got a busy night. We have some paperwork to get finished.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I understand. I’ll see ya tomorrow kid.”

  Tony turned to walk out and paused for a moment before looking serious saying, “Hey doc… can I walk ya out?”

  “That’d be great, let me just finish making a few more notes for the nurses.”

  I finished transcribing my notes for the home health nurses, then looked down and couldn’t hide the bit of a blush as Tony offered me his elbow. I’d never really had a man escort me to the door before, the old school chivalry was a nice touch. After all, I suppose even the toughest crime lords still knew how to woo a woman. When we reached the door, Tony opened it for me. The man definitely knew how to wear a suit. It was dark grey with two buttons and a black tie. It did nothing but to make his eye
s sparkle even more in the light of dusk. He cleared his throat as we reached my car and said, “Hey listen… I know that maybe working for us is a little well unorthodox, but I really appreciate what you’re doing for my Gramps. He means more to me than you can imagine. There’s still things I need to learn from him ya feel me? So thanks, doc for taking our offer. So what’s your story anyway? How’s a girl like you end up in a place like this?”

  “Actually, I think you have a very nice place here. You’ll have to ask your grandfather how he got me here after he’s made a full recovery. It’s important now that he manages his stress levels right now.”

  “I see. Well thanks again. I hope we’ll be seeing you again soon.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll be back here again tomorrow evening I do have a day job ya know.”

  “Oh yeah, that I understand. I do too and you’re more than welcome to visit whenever you’d like.”

  “You have a day job? It’s no secret that you’re in the family. In fact it’s common knowledge that your family has its roots deeply embedded in criminal activity since the prohibition.”

  “Yeah…well that was the past and things change. They’ve changed for me at least. I have a little coffee shop on the East End I run. I love the stuff and figured why not.”

  “Haha. You’re not serious. What’s it a front for? You can tell me, I don’t have any ties with the local authorities.”

  “Unless you’re fucking the health inspector I’ve got no use for you. It’s a legit business.”

  “I’ll have to check it out sometime then. I couldn’t function without at least three cups in the morning. Your espresso better be strong and your bagel game better be on point.”

  “Oh trust you’ve never had a softer one. Hah! Strong and soft. You like combinations don’t you?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  He looked at me then with a questioning gaze and I couldn’t do anything but look down again and clear my throat as I lowered myself into the car. Was he flirting with me? I couldn’t tell, all I knew was that I had some kind of fucking schoolgirl butterflies. It was absolutely ridiculous. I chided myself the entire drive home, scanning the radio stations for songs that didn’t somehow bring back the image of his chiseled good looks or enigmatic smile. After the drive to my house in the suburbs I got out of the car and locked it, throwing my heavy medical bag over my shoulder and rubbed my eyes with my hand, smearing my mascara. Now good mascara, that’s something that’s hard to find. I checked the mail on the way in only to find a stack of bills that apparently hadn’t been paid yet. Richard hadn’t bothered to check it. That fact didn’t surprise me one bit. Ever since he lost his last case he’d been in a funk. He was a smart man and he knew it too. I told him he shouldn’t have gotten cocky and did his due diligence. Needless to say that only led to one hell of a fight and about a week’s worth of lost sleep. In the beginning Richard was the kind of man I thought I should be with. After all, I had been raised in a fairly stable home I suppose on the edge of the city and even in my youth I had a certain natural curiosity about science, which my parents encouraged. My father was a stern accountant and my mom well she was a typical housewife. She ironed her husband’s suits and mended his socks and didn’t complain. They had a regularly scheduled date night every Saturday night and would go to dinner alone together or simply go for drinks with some of his friends from the office. It was a boring childhood filled with routine and ritual. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I realized that sometimes though, things only looked perfect on the surface. Despite putting on a brave front I realized as I grew older my mother wasn’t happy any longer as the man she married had changed. He would come home and hide the lipstick stains on his collars and would smell like his secretary’s perfume. My mother bought a bottle for herself one year. It was sad though, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Even with those obstacles my parents were devout Christians and believed in the sanctity of marriage. I wasn’t so sure if I could live up to those standards. Richard was trying my patience. He’d already stolen my virtue so why not take my patience and time too?

  I keyed myself in to find Richard in his usual spot in the armchair in front of the television looking at a late night Red Sox game. I made a note of the score, and silently prayed they caught up by the last inning otherwise I was certain Richard would be in a foul mood and we’d probably be out a few grand. I really couldn’t say much, after all sometimes he did win and we’d be able to catch up a few bills. The trouble is he was accustomed to having things a certain way and grew up in a wealthy household. I understood that he had some kind of need for nice things in his life, but who the fuck cares, ya know? No one is gonna care when you’re in the casket if you’re wearing a Rolex or a Timex. The Grim Reaper surely doesn’t ask, hey by the way, is that Armani? I looked at Richard who only blinked at me when I asked him how his day was. He seemed only interested in the game. I was actually thankful for this distraction. As long as he didn’t start hitting the bottle too early, I might have been able to catch a few hours of sleep before he started in on about the bills, waking me from a peaceful slumber.

  2

  I swear on my mother’s grave I was right. It didn’t take long. I had just changed out of my navy colored dress and lab coat when I heard him screaming from the other room. “Hey Rach… I thought you said you were working today?”

  I padded back into the living room wearing my comfy sweatpants and a long sleeve tee shirt I sometimes slept in. From previous experience, I still had on my sneakers as I often wore them way up until the morning hours until I kicked them off in my sleep. I saw Richard frowning at the television set. The game was over it and appeared that he had lost the bet. He was red faced and almost out of his Jack and Coke. He slurred at me as I rounded the corner, “I thought you worked today?”

  “Jesus fuck Richard! I did, don’t you remember me coming in earlier? How much have you had anyway?”

  “I don’t think that’s any of your damned business. I need to know how much we got coming in at the end of the week.”

  He stared at me with that cold glint in his eye and I knew that I had to make up some astronomical number, so I’d get a semi-peaceful evening. “I’d say about five grand.”

  “Hmm. Okay then. That should do the trick.”

  “Just so you know, I picked up a private client on top of the hospital thing.”

  “Oh yeah? Anyone I’d know?”

  He glared at me once again and narrowed his eyes. I involuntarily clenched my fists at my side somehow knowing that no matter what I said there was going to be a fight. It was just that kind of night. It was the kind of night that left bruises in places no one could see and left you freezing even on the hottest summer day. I stammered a bit and cleared my throat before saying, “No. You wouldn’t know him at all.”

  “Oh. So it’s a guy you’re seeing. I’m sure that’s all you’re doing is playing doctor, you fucking slut.” Before I had a chance to move, he leapt up and grabbed my arm before I had a chance to run. I heard the sound of the pop before I felt the pain. I gasped for a few minutes trying to catch my breath before I heard him say to himself. “Fuck. What am I doing? Fuck this shit!” I still thank whatever’s up there looking down on me that he was suddenly possessed to grab his jacket and leave the house. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt he would have kept on that night until he did some serious internal damage. Hell the bastard would have probably killed me. I’m glad not to know what else may have happened. After he left the house, I did the best I could to straighten it up and make it presentable for when he returned. I really didn’t have anywhere else to go unless I checked into a hotel. That was out of the question though. Richard was a drunk, but he also was a smart man with lots of connections. He’d track me down, he had pull at almost every business due to his legal career. All I could do was try to formulate a plan and a good defense if he returned and started beating on me again. No one would believe me though. After all, why would an upstand
ing citizen who donated to every parish and soup kitchen in the city be beating his upper-class, educated cardiac surgeon of a wife. No one would believe that story. Hell I wouldn’t. Those headlines just don’t add up. People who are educated and have money don’t have problems. That’s what I always believed at least. People who truly love each other meet when they’re still in graduate school, build a life together, get married and have at least two kids and a dog. They have their dream home off to itself in suburbs located far away from the drugs and violence of the inner city. I always believed this. That night when I thought about all the things that I believed about Richard I cried myself to sleep finally when the blackness finally overtook the pain and I passed out.

  The following morning Richard still hadn’t returned and I was actually glad to see it, though that didn’t stop me from getting ready for my day quickly and making a bee line straight for the hospital where I worked. On the way I scanned through the stations listening to the morning talk shows when the gas light came on. Knowing it was the middle of rush hour and not wanting to chance getting stranded in a line of cars on the freeway I decided to stop at the local Sunoco to fill up and get a cup of coffee to keep me awake through my shift. I pulled in and pulled down the visor mirror. I looked like pure shit. Hammered shit at that. I had dark circles under my eyes and there was no touching up my makeup for an improvement. I was fucked and I looked like I’d been fucked up, or as the case may have been fucked over. I exhaled and forcefully slammed the visor back up. I walked into the station checking my watch. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to be late, but I had a great triage team, I only hoped they managed to keep my patients alive until I could arrive with further instructions. With heart conditions, sometimes seconds could either mean a quick demise or even a simple surgery versus a more complicated one. I walked into the store and handed the young clerk my credit card. “Fill up on number five please.” After swiping the card a few seconds passed and he looked at me earnestly and said, “I’m sorry ma’am this card’s been declined.”