When The Sun Goes Down - A Midnight Mafia Novel

Chapter Thirty

Alessio had kept true to his word. In the three weeks since the bridge he, I mean Pietro, did not disappear. Alessio had brought me back to his house that night and we slept together in a completely G rated way. There was no hanky-panky, no heated make out sessions, not so much as a goodnight kiss. But it didn't bother me. The way he pulled my back into him and inhaled my scent deeply before letting all of his muscles relax and falling into sleep was all that I could handle anyway.

And it was like this almost every night since. Minus the killer games of monopoly and the scaling the bridge part. Just simply the coming back to his place, slipping his shirt over my body with only panties beneath it and going to sleep with our legs tangled together and our body heat syncing as one large radiator.

Every morning I woke up to Alessio being gone. A few times he was simply just in the shower but I grew accustomed to Pietro showing me out and Benji, Alessio's personal driver, driving me to work and also picking me up.

We usually enjoyed a nice dinner together but Alessio often didn't come home until later. I asked him once, only a few days into this...thing, whatever it may be, where he always went. The very next night he'd handed me a fancy red dress dashed from neckline to hemline in sequins and told me he would show me.

He took me to a casino. I knew from the moment we walked through the storage shed of a nursing home that where ever we were going wasn't going to be legal. I can't say as I was totally surprised when he pulled open a trap door, nor can I say I was surprised to find a secret door within the door, or even the man who only agreed to opening the big steel door after sliding a small rectangular peep hole open and examining us. Once inside we were in a casino, even inside it reeked of illegal activity (if you catch my drift).

The very first person I met under there, aside from the frightening six-plus foot door guard, offered me a line of coke and the second person asked me if they could borrow my pantyhose 'real quick.' Needless to say, I was horrified.

"Are you on drugs?" I'd gasped as I turned to face Alessio.

The sound of slot machines dinging and consistent disappointed groans clouded my mind. He'd laughed. "Of course not, and my workers are not either."

"So who they hell is that if he's not a worker!" I motioned towards the man who desperately needed to wipe the evidence away from his nostril.

"Client." He said simply. "Friend. Family. Compulsive gambler. It really doesn't matter."

I'd watched the room with horror but had agreed to come back the following night. And a few other times since. One of the fellows down there, I learned his name to be Oscar, had taught me how to deal cards. It was actually a good deal of fun.

As I observed the room more and more I noticed the same workers always there, the girls who dealt wore short black shorts and white button up shirts with black suspenders. The girls who sang always wore short red dresses with sparkling tassles on them or other flamboyant outfits, and the girls behind the bar usually wore bustiers.

"This is another one isn't it?" I'd asked him one night. He had said they had several locations, I had assumed they were all like the one I was in but it made so much sense. Where I was at was a place for business, a private area to discuss matters, pay bills, etc. This was a place for pleasure. There was much pleasure where I had walked in as well, but that's not how it had started out. Even though he made a profit from here as well, bucket loads I'm sure, this was different from where I had met Alessio. I saw very few men of higher status down here.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He'd chuckled.

The women were under contract and thus always here. The men who worked here were his men. Probably low level and working their way up.