Hidden

[AngelofDeath]

Dani raised an eyebrow seeing how Jake dealt with the any boyfriend. Yeah that was so not a country boy move. She sipped her refreshed drink and simply said, "Apparently so." After two more shut down the pair of them decided to call it a night. "Well you may have not gotten laid, but you at least got out for a bit." Considering they had both had their share of drinks, Dani took it easy on the drive back home.

Parked in her driveway she smirked at Jake, "Its just one night, so don't take it too hard ok? Personally I think you should have managed to get at least one number tonight."

 

[musicankane]

Jake shrugged and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Hey I never said I wasn't gonna strike out. I just wanted to try, honestly the house was getting me stir crazy and I needed to get out." He looked at her, "Thanks for showing me the town tonight Dani." He gave her a wink and got out of the car.

As he walked back to his house he happened to glance up, and he thought he saw Carlo's car disappear around the corner. He couldn't be sure and he was tired so he ignored it. It could have been any car moving around the corner and he wasn't in the mood to chance after something that he wasn't sure of.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"You're welcome Jake. Goodnight." Dani headed inside with a grin on her lips. Tonight really had been fun. As she laid down Dani sighed, things were starting to look up. What she didn't know however is that Carlo still had one card up his sleeve and fully intended to play it before fleeing L.A. and if he was smart the country because there would be no hiding from Vincenzo after this.

The next morning Dani woke to not only her home phone ringing off the hook, but her cell phone as well. Her head didn't leave the pillow as she reached blindly for the phone.

"mm hello?" Dani mumbled into the mouth piece.

"Dani? Its Terry you need to get down to the shop now. Oh my god, Dani its horrible."

"What?" Suddenly very awake Dani sat up, "Terry what's going on?" She could hear what sounded like a fire engine pulling up in the background.

"Its the shop Dani. Its on fire."

The next few minutes passed in a blur. From getting dressed to peeling out of her driveway to the point she left skidmarks. By the time Dani got to her cafe it was engulfed in flames. The fire department was working to put the fire out, and off to the side the local news crew was already getting ready. It should have bothered her, but it didn't. Her shop was gone.

Terry and Jan, her weekend openers came rushing over. "What happened?"

"We don't know. The building was already smoking when we got here." Dani nodded softly.

 

[musicankane]

Jake was on his way to work when he saw the smoke from over the roofs of shops. He was just going to pass it by, until his mind went to Dani and he remembered that her shop was over there. The smoke was looking like it was rising right from her place. He jerked his parking brake and fish-tailed the truck and sped down the street.

His stomach dropped into his lap went he saw the people gathered around, Dani's building was gone, nothing more than flaming wrackage. He stopped the car and climbed out, running over to where Dani was holding her arms around herself in anguish.

HE said nothing, only grabbed her and turned her to him. He threw his arms around her and held her against him while his eyes looked out coldly over the ruins of her beloved shop. His throat was tight as he rocked her back and forth gently. "I'm so sorry." HE whispered.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani didn't say anything to Jake as he held her. Gods how could this have happened? Eventually the flames were put out and all that was left was the charred skeleton of what had been her life's work. When she had been driving, part of her hand hopped for something small, something that would only require repairs and overhauls. This went beyond that. The cafe was a total wash. There was nothing left to save.

Wiping her face she pulled away from Jake slightly to look at Terry and Jan. "You guys can go home. I'm pretty sure the fire investigator is going to have multiple talks with us. I'll call everyone else, assuming they haven't seen the news report already."

"Dani are you sure?" Jan reached out and took her hand. Jan had been working at the cafe longer than the rest and loved the place as much as Dani did.

"I'm sure, you guys just go." The two nodded, both looking back at what was once their job and walked towards their cars.

"Its all gone Jake. All of it. So much time and money and work, just gone." Her hands were curled into fists. Dani didn't know whether to be sad or angry at the moment. That was probably due to the fact she didn't know what the cause of the fire was.

 

[musicankane]

Jake just held her and let her get her grief out. "It's all right everything will be fine Dani, I promise." He assured her. After all she couldn't run a business without insurance and they would cover a very large chunk of the cost, everything else could be rebuilt. Dani had a successful business and she was popular in the local community. Any bank in town could grant her a loan for the rest of what it would cost to rebuild the place.

That thought sparked something in Jake's mind. The Fed's owed him, and maybe he could pull a few strings to work this out. He gently let Dani go so she could talk with a couple of the firemen who were getting ready to pack things up. Then he pulled out a cell phone first to call hid FBI contact, then to call his boss at the construction site.

He explained everything to both parties and explained what he wanted to happen. After a few minutes on the phone he hung up and walked over to Dani. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I've got some bulldozers and a dump truck coming by to clean up the debris." He smiled and said, "Then Monday morning my crew and I are going to start rebuilding your cafe."

 

[AngelofDeath]

"What? How? Jake how is that possible? I mean they haven't even started fully investigating yet?" Dani looked at him, torn between wanting answers and to throw herself at him. Jake had managed the pull the kind of strings only a man like her father could manage. "Jake you barely know me, why...why would you go to this much trouble?"

Dani didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but years of living around wiseguys and mobsters had taught her that rarely were big things ever free. Everything and everyone had a price. Generous strangers were people to be wary of. "Sorry that probably sounded rude."

 

[musicankane]

Jake smiled and spread his hands wide, "Hey we're neighbors and neighbors help each other. Besides you cook way too good for me to lose my favorite place for breakfast." He told her with a smile. He explained to her that a few people owed him favors and he simply called those favors in.

"You don't owe me anything except free breakfast once you are back up and running okay?" He asked her with a smile.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Free breakfast? Jake you can have three free meals a day for all I care," Dani hugged him despite her instincts telling her that this was not simple favors being returned to him. After some arm twisting, Dani convinced Jake to go to work, with the promise she would call him when she got back home. The fire marshall came to speak with Dani after Jake pulled away. He was suspecting arson. The bottom fell from her stomach a second time. Who would purposely set her place on fire? The answer was on her lips before the thought had even fully formed.

Carlo.

This time when Dani called her father, she let loose her anger upon him and Vincenzo had the good grace to be apologetic. Dani hung up knowing her father was likely going to send some of his guys, possibly her brothers to look for Carlo. Back at home Dani called the rest of her employees, letting them know what had happened and letting them know they would still get paid in the downtime.

She did two things after that. First a shower to get rid of the smell of smoke and second loaded her gun. If Carlo was stupid enough to come near her now, Dani was going to introduce him to the Beretta 92A1 laying on the coffee table. She spent the rest of the day fielding phone calls.

 

[musicankane]

Jake put in extra hours at work that day, wanting to help the team get ahead on their housing projects to make room for rebuilding Dani's place. Dani was the talk of the site the entire day as well, everyone wanted to help her out and when Jake mentioned his project starting on Monday a bunch of the crew signed up to help out. They pushed ahead far enough that taking Monday off wouldn't be a big deal,, that way the week or so it would take to rebuild Dani's place the track wouldn't fall behind schedule.

Jake didn't pull into his driveway until almost ten pm and his stomach was practically eating itself. He had thought about driving through a place on the way home, but he fought the urge to eat at a McDonald's or Carl's or someplace that would only trade his empty stomach pains for acid reflux.

He clicked the truck locked and walked to his front door.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani had left Jake a note on his door, "If you want dinner, you're welcome to join me."

Next door Dani was half way through a bottle of wine and reclining on her couch. It had been a long and tiring day. Talking to insurance companies was never fun, especially with the idea of arson hanging over her head. She knew she would be cleared since her shop had been doing too good for her to have done this herself. That thought was only a small comfort. She was pouring herself another glass when there was a knock on her door.

 

[musicankane]

Jake smiled when he saw the note, he opened his front door and stepped inside. Before he could go next door he needed a shower to clean up after work. Before heading upstairs he glanced out his window to see if Dani was even still awake. Her living room lights were on so he hurried upstairs to shower and change.

Twenty minutes later he was at her doorstep and he knocked lightly. He rubbed his hands on his pants and waited. Why was he nervous all of a sudden? He felt like a teenager again about to try to take a girl out of a first date. It was a weird feeling, but he put on his best smile for Dani anyway as she opened the door.

"I heard you might have a little bite to eat." He said holding up her note.

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Something like that and I think you've earned it after today," Dani let him in and then closed the door behind him. She ducked into the living room to grab the bottle of wine and then made her way to the kitchen and dinning room. "Cooking is good for taking one's mind off things. Well at least if you are making things from scratch. You can't let yourself be distracted by simple things or it all goes to shit." She poured Jake a glass of wine before opening the oven and pulling out a large dish of Lasagna. "The salad is in the fridge."

Once they sat down Dani sighed softly and gave Jake a genuine smile. "Thank you."

 

[musicankane]

Jake eyed the plate of food with hungry eyes. He moved into the kitchen behind her and pulled out the salad. He turned to her and smiled when she thanked him. He shrugged and stepped up to her, setting the salad behind her on the counter.

"Dani I like you, and I couldn't let something like that happen to you without doing something to help." He explained, "It's weird I know. You are the first woman I've ever been able to just sit and talk too, hang out have a bite. I've never been able to talk to a woman and not want to simply throw her into the bedroom and bang her senseless then leave to get some sleep. Things are different with you, I mean I still would sleep with you in a texas second, but I also like to do everything else with you." He sighed and took a deep breath, "Wow I feel like I'm tweleve and have just confessed to my crush."

 

[AngelofDeath]

"Nah you're too filled out to be twelve," Dani joked. They got everything to the table and sat down to eat. Dani filled Jake in on the rest of her day leaving out the parts about the arson and her suspicion that Carlo had burnt her cafe down. After dinner they were once again on her couch, another bottle of wine open. Dani had put her gun away in the drawer of the coffee table, so she didn't have to explain it to Jake. something told her that he wouldn't have asked too many questions though.

Dani had her head resting on Jake's shoulder while they relaxed. It felt good having him around. Slowly she lifted her head and brushed her lips over his. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the way the day had turned out. Either way kissing Jake was the best idea she had at the moment.

 

[musicankane]

Dani was closer to him than she had ever been before. She usually didnt sit against him like this, her head on his shoulder. It was nice, and for a change he could picture hinself living like this for the rest of his life. To have a beautiful wife like Dani resting against him every night, that would be paradise.

It occured to him while she sat like this that she had changed a lot about him. The thought of her kept him from outright killing Carlo the other day. The thought of her made him want to see her smile. That was why he was so quick to get her place rebuilt. He hadnt even really thought about that, he simply acted and took care of it because that was what he wanted to do. It hurt him to see Dani so sad and he did what he could to fix it.

Was he in love? No that couldnt be, but made she had opened up the softer side of him that had laid dormant behind a mask of crime and violence.

He felt her shift and he glanced at her only to find her lips against his. He froze for a moment, but only a moment as his hand came up to caress her cheek and kiss her back. Her lips were soft and wonderful against his, kissing her like a long awaited dream.

 

[musicankane]

Dani was closer to him than she had ever been before. She usually didnt sit against him like this, her head on his shoulder. It was nice, and for a change he could picture hinself living like this for the rest of his life. To have a beautiful wife like Dani resting against him every night, that would be paradise.

It occured to him while she sat like this that she had changed a lot about him. The thought of her kept him from outright killing Carlo the other day. The thought of her made him want to see her smile. That was why he was so quick to get her place rebuilt. He hadnt even really thought about that, he simply acted and took care of it because that was what he wanted to do. It hurt him to see Dani so sad and he did what he could to fix it.

Was he in love? No that couldnt be, but made she had opened up the softer side of him that had laid dormant behind a mask of crime and violence.

He felt her shift and he glanced at her only to find her lips against his. He froze for a moment, but only a moment as his hand came up to caress her cheek and kiss her back. Her lips were soft and wonderful against his, kissing her like a long awaited dream.

 

[AngelofDeath]

The kiss deepened before Dani eventually pulled back and licked her lips slowly. Part bad idea and part very good idea. The rational part of her mind reminded her that Jake was hiding who he was from her, but the emotional part kicked back with the fact she had never once mentioned to Jake she came from a New York crime family and that if he turned into another Carlo he could disappear like that. Dani was practically in his lap at this point.

Details could wait for sunlight and a sober brain, Dani kissed him again without a word. Her tongue finding his.

 

[musicankane]

Jake tasted her, letting his tongue dance around hers. He put his arms around her and scooped her into his lap, pulling her on top of him so he could feel her body against his. His fingers danced through her soft hair as they kissed. Part of him was afraid of this.

What happened if he and Dani became an item? Could he get married? Have kids? The American dream without her knowing his past. IF he married her, what ID would she be marrying? Lou or Jake? Who was he really?

It was thought enough to give him pause. But not enough for him to stop what they were doing here and now. If he slept with Dani tonight, it wouldn't mean any kind of commitment. It was only sex, at least for now.

 

[AngelofDeath]

While Jake was thinking on heavy subjects, Dani was remembering the fact it had been awhile since she had slept with anyone. Thankfully there was no such thing as getting rusty when it came to sex. Because she'd already made the decision she was going to sleep with Jake. It was just sex not hearts flowers and forever. She ran her hands through his short hair as she straddled him properly. His hands slid down her side, cupping her ass and dragging her as close as was possible.

Dani should have been worried about Carlo doing something else, but she wasn't. Not with Jake there.

 

[musicankane]

Dani fit in his lap so incredibly well it stunned him. She shifted and threw her leg over his lap so sit on him properly and it was just like magic. she rested on his crotch which was already mostly excited to begin with and her weight of him was fantastic. Jake put his hands on her waist and just rubbed her hips through her pants happy to just be holsing her. Her lips worked against his, their tongue twirled and danced together.

After a moment Jake broke away from her lips and used the position they were in to take advantage of being able to kiss down her neck. He licked her throat ever so gently. She tasted so soft and sweet and he could lici on her forever. His hips moved down to jer collar bone where he played gentle kisses upon her.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani groaned as Jake's lips slipped down from her own, kissing and licking at he went. "Jake," she let out a small moan as she rolled her hips against him, feeling how hard he was through his jeans. Dani's fingers curled into his shirt lightly as she tried to press as much of her body against him as she could manage. His fingers flexed against her hips as he nipped at her gently.

 

[musicankane]

He felt her curl her fingers under the hem of his shirt and he leaned himself back away from her enough to help her pull his shirt off. His broad muscular chest exposed to her. A body chisled from military action, contract killing, and general hard labor. He had clear and sharp muscle tone, but without the nasty buck from pure weightlifting. Seeing his muscles naked and up close there was no doubt that she would be able to see the power in them, the strength he had used to beat up carlo's face...though she knew nothing about that anyway.

He smirked and her and tugged at the front of her top, "Your turn babe." He told her.

 

[AngelofDeath]

Dani ran her hands over his chest with a grin. When Jake mentioned that it was her turn to loose her top, she just pulled the shirt off. The black lacy bra underneath stood out against her lightly tanned skin. When his eyes dropped she laughed softly, "You only mentioned the shirt not the bra, buddy."

She leaned down to run her tongue over his collar bone slowly. Her fingers stroking his arms. "If you want that off, you're going to have to do the work yourself."

 

[musicankane]

Jake chuckled and slipped hos hands around her back. His finger trailed up and down her spine gently working slowly up to her bra. "How can I refuse such temptations?" He whispered, and swiftly popped her bra clasp open. The bra feel free and Jake quickly buried his face into her chest. His lios kissed around her lushous mounds, using his tongue to flick over her small sweet little nipples.