Taken: A Dark Mafia Romance

by Piper Stone

  Unknown caller.

  No. Something wasn’t right. I held my breath and slid my finger across the screen, remaining quiet.

  There were no sounds at first. Then I heard a heavy sigh. When the caller spoke, the words were tinny, obviously disguised.

  And they sent a shiver down my spine.

  “This is your last warning. She belongs to another. Marry her and the sect will be destroyed, every dirty little secret exposed, including yours.”

  “Fuck you,” I hissed, realizing my mistake almost immediately.

  The utter silence was terrifying, but the laugh was one I’d remember well into every shift of darkness.

  “How does it feel to be nothing more than a toy, little girl?”

  I refused to back down to some spineless fuck. “How does it feel to be a useless piece of flesh?” I countered, sensing Matteo’s rage a split second before the phone was ripped from my hand, light flooding the small room.

  “Your time is finished, asshole. You will never threaten either the sect or anyone in my family again. I’m coming for you,” Matteo barked into the phone, a snarl pushing past his lips.

  One second passed.

  Three.

  Five.

  “Fuck you.” Matteo’s hand shook as he pulled the phone away from his ear.

  I backed away, watching the myriad emotions crossing his face.

  “What did he say to you?” he demanded, taking several deep breaths. When I didn’t answer right away, he snapped his head in my direction. “We’re not playing games, Winter. I need to know what the motherfucker said to you.”

  “He asked me how I felt to be a toy. He said that I was promised to someone else. I take it that meant the mafia.”

  He held the phone to his head, closing his eyes. “Why did you get the phone? You disobeyed me.”

  “I thought there might be a problem. I’m sorry.”

  I was shocked as he jerked into motion, crowding my space and shoving me against the wall, smashing one hand against it. “You have no idea what kind of men you’re dealing with.”

  “I understand what crime syndicates can do, Matteo. I’m been around the block more than once.”

  He laughed softly as he tilted his head. “The Taglionis use violence to get what they want and while they are dangerous, they can be handled. Their weakness is greed. What the sect is facing is much worse.”

  “He said something else, Matteo. He said that every dirty little secret will be exposed, including yours. What haven’t you told me?”

  I wasn’t surprised that he had no reaction, his stare as dark as the ones I’d seen before, filled with such venom.

  “Talk to me.”

  His gaze drifting away, he walked out of the room.

  Exhaling, I grabbed a robe off the back of the door, struggling to put it on as I hurried into the bedroom. He’d disappeared. Damn it. This time, I refused to back down. I found him leaning against the doorjamb in the living room, staring at the tumultuous sky.

  He was aware of my presence, his head tilting as I neared. I cringed as several flashes of lightning crackled down in the water, the vibrant colors of electric blue and neon purple as unsettling as the night itself.

  “I’m not who you think I am,” he said quietly.

  “Then who are you?”

  His shoulders slumped and when he began talking, the remorse and guilt in his voice was gut-wrenching. “I was raised in the Capodanno family, the second-born son.”

  “Yes. I know that.”

  “But Nicolas Capodanno is not my father.”

  I had no idea what to say at first, but I could easily tell this was the powerful burden that he’d been carrying with him for all these years. “Who is?” Even before he said the dreaded words, I had a terrible premonition of what he was going to say.

  “Father McGivney.”

  The weight of his words wasn’t lost on me. Even though I wasn’t privy to the various levels of power within the sect, I was well aware that there were some who thought the father had truly been the man in charge. For Matteo to be his son; the news would rock the entire community to the very core, certainly dethroning Christian’s position on the Council. “Are you certain?”

  “He told me himself with his dying breaths.”

  I inched closer. “Do you have proof?”

  “I wasn’t prepared to destroy my mother.”

  “How did this come about? Why would he tell you something like that?”

  He laughed softly as he stared at the sky. “Because he’d attempted to arrange for his son to come into power. The Box Christian’s wife opened all those months ago was supposed to include my name, not Christian’s. As you know, only the firstborn son of the first families can ascend to the throne, but he was certain my lineage would supersede the rules. Of course, he’d already extorted money from the sect and gained his own influential followers.”

  “This is the secret the jerk on the phone mentioned.”

  He nodded, a haunting look crossing his face. “That means that the dirty secret was leaked.”

  “By whom?”

  When he shifted in my direction, I could see nothing but sadness. “By my brother or his wife.”

  “Christian? Why would your brother betray you? I don’t understand.”

  “Every family has ugly secrets hiding in their closets. I cared about Stephanie a long time ago and Father McGivney exploited that. As you might imagine, that didn’t set well with my brother.”

  I touched his arm, half expecting him to jerk away. When he didn’t, I inched even closer. “The woman you could never get over.”

  “The truth is I had, although seeing the two of them together was difficult at first. However, they were meant to be together. I don’t begrudge them their happiness.”

  “But you believe Christian doesn’t have the same feelings.”

  “I don’t know what to believe except I have no doubt that’s what the caller alluded to. How would this asshole realize I had any idea what he was talking about?”

  “Matteo, think this through. Is it possible that was just a bluff? You’ve told me that every sect member has an ugly secret. I think whoever is responsible is playing one against the other, hoping that you and Christian will have a falling out, a split in power.”

  He seemed to think about what I was saying. “An interesting thought. There is only one way to find out.”

  “You’re going to confront Christian.”

  Nodding, he brushed damp hair from my eyes before gently rubbing his thumb back and forth across my cheek.

  “How did Father McGivney die?”

  “I shot him.” He allowed the words to hang. “He’d kidnapped Stephanie and Christian and I found him. However, Christian issued the kill shot.”

  I gripped his arm, shaking my head. “That wasn’t in the news. Does anyone know this?”

  “A few select members, but I assure you that the other Council members are just as pissed at what he did.”

  “But this could be the secret, not that you might or might not be the father’s son. You need to find that out. If you don’t, it will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

  Matteo leaned over, kissing my forehead. “How did you get so smart?”

  “I’m not as close to this. I can see different things. Plus, I care about you more than I can understand.”

  He pulled me gently into his arm, holding me as if his life depending on it. “I want to give you the world on a silver platter.”

  “I already told you,” I whispered. “I only need you.”

  The kiss was sweet, a lover’s kiss. While the passion was ready to erupt, we both needed the comfort.

  And the love.

  When he pulled away, he exhaled, the sound exaggerated. “I refuse to have you in the middle of this. I think you need to stay here until this blows over. It’s obvious that an announcement of the wedding has been made, which is why the call came tonight. The threat just confirmed my belief that the Taglionis
are also a pawn in this treacherous game. Get rid of the two powerful entities. I doubt Franco Taglioni has any intention of harming you.”

  “There are too many questions with this. What else did this asshole say to you? I know there was more.”

  “That the world will begin to know the truth about the sect tomorrow.”

  I sucked in my breath. “The news. It’s going to be plastered all over the news.” The pieces weren’t coming together, at least in my mind. “I’m already a part of this and I’m not staying here. I will be by your side.”

  “I have a feeling there won’t be a wedding. I’m afraid it will turn into a raid or worse.”

  I rose onto my tiptoes, enabling me to look into his eyes. Suddenly the raging storm no longer terrified me. “Do you trust me?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “With my life.”

  “Then I have an idea.” I whispered my thoughts, curious as to his reaction.

  When he eased back, a smile had crossed his face. “You’re certain?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He grinned, the shimmer in his eyes that of a little boy.

  As I pressed my head against his chest, I could hear the hard hammering of his heart.

  Secrets and lies...

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matteo

  Betrayal.

  I’d known that was a possibility for perhaps all my life. Who hadn’t been betrayed at some point in their lives? By a friend, a business colleague. The worst possible kind was by family. I didn’t want to believe that Christian had used the damning information for some kind of political gain. In truth, I’d yet to figure out what benefit it would give him, other than internally. Even then, the father was hated by the remaining Council members. What point would there be in having them believe I was cut from the same cloth as the father?

  I had to know the truth from Christian’s mouth. What I knew for certain is that whoever was behind the recent threats had made good on the one from the night before.

  The headlines that were splashed across every major newspaper on the East Coast were damning as fuck.

  The Sacred Sect—Powerful Families or a Criminal Cult?

  I hissed as I thought about the article. While there was no actual evidence, merely questions raised, it would add credence to the senator’s investigation as well as bring every law enforcement agency and the IRS to our doors. What hadn’t been mentioned was anything about my connection to Father McGivney. Perhaps the asshole was holding his ace of clubs for another round of revenge.

  Whatever powerful play was going on had to stop now or every single family within the sect would be ruined. I’d gambled on making a phone call while still on the island, and I prayed to God I wasn’t going to regret it. Christian needed to be a part of it in order for my plan to work and at this point, there were too many questions, my gut churning.

  I stood outside Christian’s front door, still conflicted about what I would say. It was certainly plausible that Father McGivney had mentioned my existence to someone else, but I had my doubts. He’d kept everything he’d done close to the vest while building what he hoped would be his empire. I doubted he would risk informing the rest of the Council, especially Nicolas Capodanno.

  When Christian opened the door, he looked haggard. “I thought you might pay a visit. You’ve seen the news.”

  “Yeah, but that’s not why I’m here.”

  He narrowed his eyes before opening the door wider. “Come on in. We’ll go to my office. Stephanie is resting.”

  “How is she?”

  “The doctors are concerned about her high blood pressure.”

  I could hear the fear in his voice, much like I would have if anything happened to Winter. “I’m very sorry. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  “You might find this hard to believe, brother, but if you have any belief in a God above, pray for her.” He walked me into his office, moving immediately toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

  Whatever was wrong with Stephanie was much worse than he wanted to tell me.

  “I made some phone calls as we discussed on the phone. It would appear that the senator’s investigation hasn’t been going on long enough to warrant the kind of information he alluded to in the article.” Christian snickered. “He may not be behind this after all.”

  “Oh, I’m fairly certain he is directly behind the threats, including the one I received last night.”

  He turned to face me, his eyes narrowing. “What did he say?”

  “That he was going to expose my secret as well as information regarding the entire sect. Imagine my surprise that this particular asshole would have any idea about the dark secret only three people knew.”

  It took only a few seconds before Christian understood what I was getting at. “You think I told someone about Father McGivney’s dying words?”

  “I think it’s possible depending on what you were promised.”

  He took long strides in my direction, lifting his fist. I refused to back down or budge in any way. “How dare you. Why would you ever think I would want to hurt you or our family in any way?”

  “That’s the question I haven’t been able to answer. Why.”

  He glared at me for a full minute before hissing, “No one knows what the father told us. Not even the Council members.”

  “Then tell me what Donovan O’Brien said to you and the other Council members to persuade you to accept such a ridiculous offer since the Taglionis were already promised Winter.”

  Christian faltered, his face falling. For all the strength I’d seen in him through the years, the arrogance that was his signature, he seemed almost broken. “I wasn’t at the meeting. Bobby and Frank talked with him alone.”

  “Breaking Council protocol. Isn’t that correct? You’re still so damn power hungry that I’m surprised.”

  “Don’t judge me, Matteo. You’ve wanted nothing to do with the Council. The only reason that you agreed to being the controller for the sect is because there was no other choice.” His voice broke and he looked away.

  “Fair enough. What’s going on?”

  He laughed bitterly. “Donovan refused to provide any clear details except that he had no intention of allowing the Taglionis to have anything to do with his daughter. From what I was told, the man seemed desperate. He made an offer to have Winter included, begged that she would be married to one of the sect members.”

  “He sold his soul to our enemy and you welcomed him with open arms,” I huffed. “Even offering him a Council seat.”

  “That is not correct. We did no such thing. In turn, he was told he would not be tossed out of the sect altogether.”

  “Tossed out or eliminated?”

  Christian gave me a wry smile. “Those old ways are dead.”

  “Like the Box,” I snapped.

  He raised his fist again then ran both hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I thought the situation wouldn’t get out of hand.”

  “Well, you thought wrong, brother. The question is why would Donovan risk everything by making such a ridiculous offer to the Taglionis unless they had something on him?”

  “That’s what I’ve inquired about.”

  “And?”

  “The answer lies with Carmine Taglioni.”

  “No, the answer lies with Donovan. I suggest we pay him a visit. I have a feeling that he can shed some light as to why his thirty-year friendship with Senator Bellows fell apart, oddly enough, right around the time that the senator began an active investigation into the sect. That’s the question that’s troubled me. Why would Donovan’s very good friend put his buddy in harm’s way?” I thought about the deal I’d placed on the table with the phone call I’d made, the one that was only accepted an hour before. I was uncertain I’d done the right thing.

  “Only if there was a damn good reason to do so.”

  I lifted my head, thinking about everything that Winter had told me. “Like the fact the sen
ator has already put into motion plans for running for president of the United States?”

  Christian shot me a look, giving me a slight smile. “He certainly couldn’t have ties to the Taglioni family, or he’d never made it past the primaries.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You never did tell me where you received the tip on Senator Bellows about his second family.”

  “That’s because I didn’t have any idea. Until now.” I chuckled as the pieces started to fall together.

  “You know, brother, perhaps it’s time we develop outside allies of our own.” Christian gave me a curious look.

  “I’m already ahead of you. I made a phone call. We have just enough time to make a visit to our good friend Donovan before we meet with them.”

  Christian’s face fell. He glanced at his watch then toward his office door. “I’m not sure I can go anywhere. You need to handle this.”

  “This is important, Christian. This has to be a joint effort. Whatever Donovan tells us will be vital. I have no authority to do this alone. We have limited time before our offices are going to be raided. This must be done today.”

  When he continued to stall, I knew something was terribly wrong.

  “Tell me what is going on, Christian. I’m your brother.”

  He rubbed his eyes before answering. “I’ll meet you at the car. Just give me a few minutes.”

  “All right.” I watched as he walked out, his face riddled with pain. Whatever was going on with Stephanie was significant.

  If anything happened to her, it would crush him.

  * * *

  We found Donovan O’Brien in his office alone when we walked in. My eyes were immediately drawn to the weapon placed on the middle of his desk.

  “Donovan,” Christian said in an even voice.

  He jerked up, tugging the gun into his hand. “Don’t. Just get out of here, both of you.”

  I closed the door walking closer. “You don’t want to do that. We’re just here to talk.” I shot a glance toward Christian, who’d managed to plaster a smile on his face.

  “We’re your family, Donovan. We want to help you, nothing more.”