Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(6)

“Man, you had your fucking turn. C’mere pussycat,” the guy next to me shouted. I let go of Lauren’s hand and snapped my head in his direction and glared at the stupid fuck, shrinking him back down to his size. Napoleon complex bullshit.

“Fuck off,” I growled, before turning back to Lauren. But she was gone. My eyes roamed around the bar looking for her but came up empty. Poof! Vanished.

Yep, it was official. I hated everyone with the last name Bianci.





Chapter Two





Last call was an hour ago and tips were split amongst all the pussycats. I hated that fucking name almost as much as I hated dancing half naked on a bar. Unfortunately, when you decide that you don’t really want to be a nurse but have a shitload of bills…you have to do something. And running home to mommy isn’t an option, at least not for me. Not because my mother wouldn’t welcome me home with open arms. She’d do it and try to hide the disappointment in her eyes as she did so.

My mom was a single mom who sacrificed much of herself to give me and my brother a good life. We didn’t want for anything and there was always food on the table because she busted her ass to make sure there was. When my brother got older he tried to man up and take the place of my dad and fell into the wrong crowd doing so. My brother broke our mother’s heart when he became a made man. That’s right, made, as in the mob. Anthony is an enforcer for Victor Pastore, a title that landed him in a jail cell for three years.

The day Anthony went to prison was the day everything changed for our little family or at least for me. I hated seeing how upset my mother was, how disappointed in him she was and most of all how she blamed herself for Anthony’s lifestyle. It was me though, who finally got my mother to smile again, to believe she hadn’t failed as a mother. All I had to do was show her my acceptance letter into one of the most prestigious nursing programs in New York State. The icing on the cake was the full scholarship I was gifted because of my good grades throughout high school.

So, while one child served time for a crime he didn’t commit, Maria Bianci’s other child busted her ass to maintain her scholarship.

Anthony was released a year or so ago, and despite my mother and his girl Adrianna’s pleas, he fell back into his old life. And me? Well, I gave up. Gave up on being a nurse, threw away the scholarship, and gave up on being the prodigal child…gave up on everything. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life but I was sure that changing bedpans wasn’t for me. It was pretty silly to think the girl who hated the sight of blood was really contemplating becoming a nurse anyway. I gave up and kept that shit to myself. That’s right, my mom and brother think everything is just dandy. Good little Lauren is hitting the books, making the grades, on her way to becoming the first person in the Bianci family to graduate college and make something of herself.

Lies. Big fat lies.

I shoved my slutty outfit, albeit it earned me a lot of tips, into my duffel bag and finished dressing back into my sweats. I walked toward the sink and stared at the girl reflected in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, I removed my glasses and washed all the make-up from my face.

Society was bullshit. I wonder, if I served drinks at The Pink Pussycat without a stitch of make-up on and a turtleneck, if I’d make a dollar.

Probably not.

Probably wouldn’t even make enough to cover my cellphone bill let alone my rent.

I twisted my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and perched my glasses back on my nose. I was finally able to look like myself again, the good girl who just wanted to please everyone.

I slipped the strap of my bag over my shoulder and made my way back into the main room of the bar where everyone was getting ready to leave. I was hoping to catch a ride from Big Lou, the bouncer. My Toyota was out of commission and I didn’t have the money to fix it yet. It’s not even like it needed a lot of work but the brakes were shot and the tires were balled. Oh, and there was that little problem—it started whenever it felt like. See? Not much, easy job. A piece of cake…right?

“Hey Lou…” I started, but was interrupted by my phone ringing at the bottom of my bag.

“What are you still doing here?” Lou asked me, confusing me. Where the hell was I supposed to go?

I grabbed my phone and my eyes widened when I saw it was my mother calling. My stomach dropped as I accepted the call nervously. It’s never good news when the phone rings at four in the morning, and when your brother is a mobster? Well you get the point.

Please don’t let him be hurt.

Please don’t let him be in trouble.

“Mom?”

“Well, it’s about time! Thank you Saint Anthony,” she shouted into the phone, causing me to hold the phone away from my ear. “I’ve been calling you for almost two hours. Is that hooligan there? He didn’t embarrass you or cause you any trouble at the hospital did he? Let me know, and so help me God I will smack him silly.”

What in God’s name was she talking about?

“What hooligan? Mom slow down…my shift just ended.” I flinched as the lie came out of my mouth so easily.

“The biker boy!”

Yep, she’s lost it. Although, I will not lie, I wish there was truth to this little story—motorcycles are hot!

Trying to concentrate on the phone call and my surroundings, I could hear a commotion going on at the door, and Lou yelling at someone.