Page 35 of Sinful Bargains

I slid into the driver seat, but I heard him say. “See you on the road,sweetheart! Oh, andyou’re welcome!” I clenched the steering wheel, heat rising in my cheeks, and drove out of the lot, leaving his smug grin in my rearview mirror.

After picking up Antonio, I pulled up to the carport, only to see a parked car already there. I parked on the street, my eyes narrowing as I recognized the driver. Renee stepped out, slamming her door and heading straight for us.

“What’s she doing here, Ma?” Antonio asked, glancing at me.

“Go inside,” I told him as we exited the car. My chest tightened as I approached her. “Renee? What?—”

She cut me off. “Oh, don’t even start. We need to talk.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. This was about Joey and the damn car.

“What’s going on?” she repeated with a bitter laugh. “That’s what I came to ask you. Why did Joey buy you a brand-new car?” My heart thudded painfully in my chest, but I kept myexpression calm. “Anddon’tlie to me,” she snapped, her tone sharp as she stepped closer. “I know he’s been here day after day. I know Paul, his little lapdog, delivered it. What I want to know iswhy.”

“Renee, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that. Joey—he just?—”

“Joey, just what?” she interrupted again. “Bought you a shiny new car out of the kindness of his heart? Joey doesn’t do things like that for no reason. He never didanythinglike that for me. You know who Joey really is, Adriana. He's not some saint, and you know it.”

I felt my pulse quicken. Renee’s words rang in my ears, but my mind was already spiraling out of control.

I thought back to that day at the grocery store, when I’d seen the newspaper headline at the checkout counter—Staten Island Riddled with Mafia Dealings. I had ignored it because, perhaps if I ignored it, then somehow it couldn’t be true. But then there was the day I had seen that bag of cash in Joey’s car. Stacks of bills. I’d told myself it wasn’t my business, that maybe there was some logical explanation. He was a successful businessman, after all.

But now, as Renee stared at me, waiting for an answer, everything snapped into place.

Joey’s money. Joey’s power. The way people looked at him when they passed by, with recognition—respect. How he never really talked about what he did all day, only that he was “handling things.” The expensive car. The expensive suits. My stomach twisted as I met Renee’s eyes. The real question was—who had I gotten myself involved with?

“Are you sleeping with him?” Renee asked.

The question hit me like a slap. My eyes widened in shock. “What? No! Renee, it’s nothing like that! This is about me and my son. I—I needed help. Joey was just?—”

“Helping you?Please,” she scoffed, her disbelief cutting deep. “Joey doesn’thelppeople. He rules this town with fear and manipulation. He doesn’t helpanyonebut himself.”

I stood straighter, refusing to let her push me into a corner. “Renee, I’m not interested in Joey. I wouldneverget involved with a man who’s in a relationship. He’s just been kind. To me and Antonio.That’s it.”

“Kind?” She laughed. “Oh, spare me the act! You think I don’t know Joey? You think I don’t see what’s happening? You show up out of nowhere, and Joey’s bending over backward for you?”

“Don’t put this on me, Renee,” I shot back. “I didn’t ask for any of this. Joey offered, and I didn’t know what else to do. But it’s not what you think. I swear.”

She stared at me, her eyes blazing with anger. “Do you really think I’m buying this?” She shook her head, a bitter smile twisting her lips. “Joey doesn’t change, Adriana. He’ll get bored with you like he gets bored with everything. And when he does, you’ll end up just like me.”

Renee didn’t wait for a response. She turned, her heels clicking against the pavement as she got into her car and slammed the door.

I stood there, hands clenched at my sides, my breath unsteady. Her words echoed in my head. I needed to distance myself from Joey—for my sake and Antonio’s. But I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to resist him.

JOEY

Isat on the couch, the weight of the day pressing down on me. Saying it had been a long day was an understatement. It was so late by the time I got home, that Renee had already gone to bed. The house was still, and there was peace for what felt like the first time all day. But it didn’t last. It never lasted.

Renee’s bedroom door opened, and she appeared in the living room, her bathrobe loosely wrapped around her curvy frame. Her face darkened with anger the moment she saw me.

“Oh, you finally decided to come home?” she said.

I raised an eyebrow, too exhausted for games. “I live here. Last I checked, that’s what people do, Renee.”

“Live here?” she scoffed. “That’s something coming from you. You sleep here for a few hours, eat here if I’m lucky enough to catch you, and drop your laundry off. But actually live here? That’s a stretch, Joey.”

She wasn’t wrong. It didn’t feel like living. It felt like another prison sentence, just with different walls.

“Renee,” I said, exhaling sharply. “I really can’t do this with you tonight.”

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