The #2 GUY: A SALVATORE SYNDICATE NOVELLA

by Jax Hart

  The Number Two Guy

  Jax Hart

  Contents

  PROLOGUE JOHNNY

  PROLOGUE CHRISTINE

  1. Johnny

  2. Johnny

  3. Christine

  4. Johnny

  5. Christine

  6. Johnny

  7. Christine

  8. Johnny

  9. Christine

  10. Johnny

  11. Christine

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  PROLOGUE JOHNNY

  The two of them make me sick. I wanna puke at the stars I see in Roque’s gaze. He is the deadliest Don there ever was. Before he met her, there was nothing but death in the black irises of his eyes. But now all he sees is her. Feeling the ugliness churn in my gut, I turn away from Roque and Romina.

  “You hate her, don’t you?”

  I feel Chloe’s eyes on me. The little shit is young but old. She’s seen too much for a girl of her age. “Nah, I don’t hate Blue. But she is annoying as fuck.”

  Chloe laughs. “Sometimes she is. I’m so lucky to have them.”

  I turn to the girl. “You are.”

  “So, what’s your story? I’ve read theirs’s…” Her chin nods over to the couple lost in their own world. Roque and Romina, a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story. At least that’s what Hollywood’s dubbed them. But if you missed their story, this is the wrong book. You need to rewind to Savage Poet…

  I shrug. “Mine’s better. I can’t believe he’s a bestseller when my story has more angst, more drama, more utter heartbreak. Not to mention the sex is off the hook,” I wiggle my brows.

  “Ugh, gross. TMI, Uncle Johnny.”

  “Good. Stay away from boys. They’re nothing but bad news. Keep your head in the books, the ones that will teach you shit.” I snap a flower from the garden, shredding the petals then reach inside the pocket of my suit jacket for my smokes.

  She rolls her eyes. “That shit will kill you.”

  I shrug, “So will a broken heart.” The words tumble from my lips before I can stop them. There’s something spooky about the girl, no wonder Roque spilled all his secrets to her. Her wide innocent eyes make you want to just blurt your shit out loud, as if somehow, someway this slip of a girl could help you. My eyes scan the edges of the garden looking for threats, finding none. How did I miss the biggest threat was her? Christine? My eyes squeeze shut. Just saying her name in my mind is enough to feel a slash to my soul. “I thought Roque had her eliminated. But he saved her for me.”

  “Where is she? This woman who hurt my Uncle Johnny. Maybe Romina and I will have a go at her?”

  I snort, looking down at the sun shining down at the top of her golden head. “I have first dibs.”

  “Are you telling me this tale of angsty, juicy heartbreak or what?” Roque and Romina are still lost in each other, necking under an arbor of roses.

  “Sure. Walk down to the beach with me? I can’t stand still for long. If I do, my body starts twitching. I wouldn’t want to freak you out.”

  “It’s okay, Johnny. I’ve always known you were kind of a freak…,” she grins, putting her arm through the crook of my elbow. We stroll through the garden until we reach stone steps leading down to the beach. It’s not the med but the Atlantic side of the Hamptons is nothing to sneeze at. Roque still has a safehouse out here but these days he and Romina have converted it to a beach home, complete with its own artillery room.

  “Don’t ever fall in love, Chloe. It sucks balls.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Was it love at first sight?”

  “No. But it sure was lust. We were at a club in New York. Roque, me and Rafe. We were in our usual VIP area above the fray. The hostess let in about five girls a cut above the rest. One was straddling me, already DTF. My hands were all over the broad when suddenly she was ripped off my lap and replaced. The woman was spiting sparks and her mouth was bold and sassy just like the eyeliner and smoky eye she was sporting. Her hair smelled like wildflowers after a spring rain and her skin was smooth to the touch. I wanted her on sight. She wrapped her hands around the back of my head and kissed me. It was hard. Thorough. We made out in the club, drank pink champagne as we grinded on the dance floor. I took her home. She rocked my world and trust me—I thought it couldn’t be rocked any harder. We went all night. She was insatiable. So was I. When I woke up, I thought she had gone. The bed was cold, but the sheets still smelled of her. Of us. I took a shower and padded out to my kitchen, following the smell of frying bacon and coffee. She was cooking, naked. I took her hard. Right then. Right there. Fuck. Sorry. Sometimes I forget you’re still young and I probably shouldn’t say this shit to you.”

  “Um… I’ve read Roque’s diaries, remember? He was quite detailed on how and when he lost his V-Card…”

  I smirk, “TMI, Chloe. Besides, men don’t have V- Cards.” I ruffle the top of her head. Her face turns red as our feet touch sand. I bend down to remove my socks and shoes. She does the same as we make our way down to the surf.

  “What made her so different? What was it about Christine that made her stick to your soul?”

  My eyes cut to the thunder of the pounding surf. “A million different things, many you can’t physically see. Who knows why your soul cries for some and not others? Maybe there is something to that destiny shit. Anyway, she crawled into my heart and made a home. It was more than the sex. We cooked together. Worked out together. She was all woman but had crazy jitsu moves. That should’ve been my first clue she was law. We had the same taste in TV shows… classic cars… but now I don’t know. Maybe it was all a lie. Maybe we had no common interests, and she was just acting—playing me so she could worm her way in and gather intel. Anyway, I’ve known since before the trial that she lives. Like a fuckin’ chickenshit, I’ve left her where Roque has her stashed away. I want her but I hate her. Truthfully, I’m scared shitless I’ll see her and realize I loved a fake persona… the longer I stay away, it allows me to love the girl I thought she was… I’m a dumb fuck. Right?”

  “I don’t know, Uncle Johnny. But I do know the only way you’ll get closure is by asking her. Go get her and get the truth out of her by any means necessary. It’s the only way you’ll ever have peace.”

  My eyes meet hers. “You are a little minx, eh? Any means necessary?”

  Her cheeks turn as red as a Maine Lobster. “It’s what Roque would do.”

  I pick up a rock, hurtling it sideways, watching as it skips over the waves until it drops. “Yep. It’s exactly what he would do…”

  PROLOGUE CHRISTINE

  Days turn to nights and I don’t even know the difference. Locked up in a storage room for months or years; I have no clue what is going on above me. I’m buried alive. Living in a cellar. My captor is kind at least. I half hope he’ll take me in his arms and tell me it’ll be alright… that someday he’ll set me free.

  He wears a ring but clams up whenever I bring it up. I hate the fact that I am totally crushing on the gentle giant with his full beard and shaggy hair streaked with silver. He’s husky and big. Wears flannel shirts and jeans. He’s gentle and yet I see his edge. But all my years of training in the FBI could never prepare me for this life of endless solitude, spent living underground.

  Sighing, my fingers trace over the rough edges of stone making up the wall next to my bed. Why did he keep me alive? Does he hate me? I hated him. No, loathed him with every fiber of my being. Until I didn’t. Until somehow the feel of his hands on me was all I cared about. I don’t even know if he got out alive or if the mob put a bullet in that thick skull of his. Guilt eats at me. I loved him, I loved him not. Definitely lusted. There’s no doubt Joh
nny and I could let the world burn while we were in bed. Sometimes I wake up covered in sweat, slick with need between my thighs after dreaming about my ex-lover. Forced, to touch myself to sate the throbbing need that never seems to dissipate.

  I’m awake but have no idea if it’s morning yet. My captor does his best to keep me awake during the day and tells me when to sleep at night. He says it’s to keep my circadian rhythm in line…. Says it’s “good for my heart.”

  My heart.

  My heart is a mysterious place. Sometimes even a stranger to me. Did I love him or hate him? I wish it would answer. Alone in the dark, the only movie I see is the one in my mind…playing all over again. Like the memory of my brother, Jack, taking me back to how this all started.

  “It’s time. We’ve prepped years for this moment, I’m proud of you sis.” My brother, Jack clasped me on both shoulders. He was assigned to the crime unit trying to take down Roque Salvatore and was able to get me on as well. But Although Salvatore was the FBI’s target—Johnny was ours. It was some stroke of twisted luck that the two men were tight in both business and life. I read the file on him and Roque. Rented an apartment in Manhattan and played the part of just another girl living in New York hoping to make it in the city of dreams. Fate has a sick sense of humor because while I was angling how to catch Johnny’s eye somehow, my roommate, Selina caught Rafael Vásquez Edwards eye. Rafe, Roque and Johnny went to Princeton together and forged fucked-up brother hood. The three of them were the princes of Manhattan. But one by one, they would fall.

  Rafe was the first. I’m not sure about Roque but Johnny—he fell but in taking him down, I took myself with him. “Get Them both, Christine. I’m counting on you.” But I didn’t get them. They got me and now I’m lost somehwere. Somewhere in the dark. All sense of space and time has left me. The door creaks open.

  The smell of the food coming off the tray is tomato soup with… grilled cheese?

  “Ah it must be lunch time, then?”

  I sit up, crossing my legs on the bed. He doesn’t comment but offers a small smile instead. “I brought you a new Sudoko and some magazines.” He tosses them on the bed then turns to leave.

  “Wait.” I grab his big hand, holding it. His cheeks turn red. He isn’t rude but he pulls his hand away. “Stay. Please? I’m going insane. Losing my mind. Can I please see the sun? Just for a moment….”

  “No.” He’s firm. I feel myself crack. I’m strong but I let him finally see me cry.

  “There now, girl.” He puts his bulky arms around me. I sob into his chest. His strong, low voice soothes me as he strokes my hair. “It’ll be okay. No one is gonna hurt ya’. I swear to ya’ that.” And he is right. Sometimes another man brings me food and supplies, but none ever lay a hand on me. None ever made me feel the need to defend.

  “Why? Who? Who is keeping me here? Is Johnny dead? In jail?”

  “I can’t answer your questions. But you know what you did and who you betrayed. You’re lucky this is your sentence.”

  “Where do you fit in all this? Who are you?”

  He moves away from me. “Eat. Do your puzzles. I’ll come visit later.”

  “Please don’t leave me alone in the dark. I’d rather die than slowly go insane.”

  He sighs deeply. “I like you. I do. But I can’t betray them.”

  “Who?”

  But he’s gone, leaving me with the memories playing like a movie in my mind again. This time I’m at the club, watching Johnny as another woman gyrates on his lap. Being in his physical presence was a punch to the gut. He was a magnet, sucking me in, drawing me closer. An unexpected surge of jealousy coursed through me when I saw the skank on his lap. I yanked that bitch right off and when I straddled him, my eyes almost rolled back in my head as I felt what he was working with. He smelled good. Like cinnamon cloves and whiskey. His kiss tasted the same. It was too easy to forget who he was. Who I was. And what I had made an oath to do. I had to keep reminding myself he was a ruthless killer and thug. Sometimes when I was feeling weak, after he held me all night, I’d go home and pop the floorboard where I kept my parent’s crime scene photos. The gruesome reminder of the justice that needed serving. I was that justice. Jack was depending on me to get it for my parents. Taking Johnny and Roque down was the plan. But that plan backfired. Somehow, they made me. The last thing I remember was opening my fridge for a bottle of water. Someone grabbed me from behind. The sting of a syringe plunging into my neck as I screamed is all I can recall. When I woke up, I was here. In the blackness. Over the course of days, a blanket appeared, then a bottle of water. Slowly, I earned my keeper’s trust and as I did, more comforts of a home appeared.

  But I still need to escape. I need to get out of here. I spent the rest of what I believe to be afternoon doing Sudoku, yoga and perusing through magazines. It must be sometime near fall if the ads for pumpkin spice drinks are any indication. But then again, part of psychological warfare is to make your captive believe what you wish. It could be spring for all I know. These could be old magazines. Who the fuck knows? My keeper blacks out any mention of dates in print. Keeping me lost in space and time. After I contort my body into as many positions as possible, I do planks, sumo squats and try like hell to remember my old routine, the one I did with my former roommate Selina. I wonder what became of her? Her relationship with Rafe seemed like the real deal. Guilt eats at me. I betrayed her as well. Lied to her about who I was. They might’ve thought that she was in on the sting with me and snapped her neck.

  I shuffle into the shower then crawl back into my mattress of a bed. I drift off to sleep, pretending Johnny’s strong arms wrap around me. I might’ve been playing a role, but in the dark and under the sheets—everything I felt was 100 percent real.

  “Wakeup.” A hand gently shakes me on the shoulder. “Johnny?” I breathe, snuggling deeper under the thin blankets. I roll over, putting my arms around him. But he tenses. Freezes. Of course, because he hates me.

  “Wake up.” The hand shakes me harder. Blinking in the dark, I make out my captor’s handsome face. Well what I can see of it behind his sexy caveman slash lumberjack beard.

  “Put this on.” He hands me a sweatshirt and a pair of womens sneakers. My heart picks up speed. Is he helping me escape? Is this my chance? But my hopes are dashed as I notice the other items he has in his hands.

  “I’m not into that,” I try to tease, nodding to the blindfold, rope, and zip ties in his hands. Maybe he isn’t here to save me but to end me. Nervous, I scoot back not wanting to leave the basement anymore.

  “Relax. I’m taking you outside like you wanted. Fresh air is good for the soul.”

  I hesitate but let him put the blind on me. He gently places my foot in each sneaker and ties the laces. Then he takes my hand in his strong one and finally, I’m led out of the room that’s been my home for months. “Careful now. We are heading up some stairs.”

  In my head I count fifteen to the top. He turns me left, then straight, then right and I almost stumble as a door opens and I’m… outside?

  “Ah.” I breathe in deeply. It must be night. The smell of burning logs, leaves and dew surrounds me. The last time he brought me out the air smelled of cigarettes and summer nights. But he won’t let me take my blind off, instead he tells me we need to walk. I grip his hand tight, afraid again of where we might be going. Finally, he tells me to stop. I feel his hands untying the knot behind my head and then there’s nothing but stars. A million of them. I don’t know where I am, but I’ve never seen a night sky quite like this. The sky is indigo velvet and the stars flawless diamonds lounging in the folds. I’m so overjoyed by the beauty of the moment, tears well in my eyes. “Thank you,” I whisper hoarsely. “Please, could you cut my hands free?”

  He grunts but takes a knife from his boot and slices through the zip ties at my wrists. “Don’t try anything stupid, girl.”

  I rub my wrists. “I almost feel free. Almost. The air is so clean… I’ve never seen so many stars before. We mu
st be far from a city.” I frown, realizing the clearing he brought me to is surrounded by evergreen trees as thick and tall as ones described in a fairy tale. “Where are we?” I breathe, knowing he won’t answer. An owl hoots from somewhere above our heads.

  “I couldn’t take you out during daylight. Your eyes haven’t seen sun in too long. The night is closer to the dim light of the cellar.”

  “Will I have permanent eye damage?”

  “Nah, that’s why I got you that UV light. People in Alaska use it during their dark winter to remind them of summer light.”

  “Summer. I missed that, didn’t I? It’s my favorite season. My brother, Jack, he had a forty-foot sport fishing boat. Sometimes we’d moor offshore of East Hampton Bay. Eat Lobsters and drink beer. Play cards and swim at midnight. I smelled of the ocean and had salt in my hair, but I never cared…”

  I swallow hard, thinking of Jack and summer days that I’d never live again. Not unless somehow, I get free. I turn to him, loving the feel of the night wind in my hair. A few strands blow in front of my face, the dark chocolate strands longer than they’ve ever been. “You’re a good man. I feel it in my bones. Please let me go. My brother’s been mourning me. I’m all he has left. I-I want to feel the sun on my face, have the chance to be a mother… get married…” I paint a picture of a life a woman like me should have the right to live, trying to appeal to him. “Surely you understand, you wear a ring…,”

  His face darkens. “You see what you want to see. What makes you think I’m a good man? I’ve kept you a prisoner here for someone else’s revenge. The world isn’t painted in black and white, little FBI. I live in the gray.”