Unknown Territory: Mafioso Series Book 3

Home > Other > Unknown Territory: Mafioso Series Book 3 > Page 37
Unknown Territory: Mafioso Series Book 3 Page 37

by Serena Light


  "Salvatore," She spoke softly, rubbing circles onto his chest with her fingertips, her husband humming in question and looked down at her. "I-" She began to say, going to admit to the fact that she loved him, but instead jumped in surprise when someone started banging on their door.

  "What?" Her husband called out from his place, Marco's voice responding.

  "We have to go! Where the hell are you?" He yelled through the door, Salvatore sighing and rolling his eyes at his brother.

  "Give me 10 minutes!" The Mafia boss stated, pulling away from his wife and stepped out of the covers.

  "Where are you going?" Nicole asked as he pulled away.

  "I have a lunch to attend with a few Mafia Bosses,"

  "When will you be back?"

  "Hopefully soon," He called back before disappearing behind the washroom.

  He returned after a while dressed in a two-piece charcoal grey double-breasted suit with a black button-up underneath, his coat and gloves in hand with an intricately designed red silk tie draped around his neck. He found Nicole seated on the bed in his blue button-up - which he had been wearing before - as she looked at him with flushed cheeks and her eyes roamed over him.

  "Why do you have to look so good?" She groaned from her place, burying half her face into her arms.

  "Just so I can fluster you," He chuckled and fixed the tie around his neck, watching her get up from her place and making her way to him, adjusting the crookedness of his tie.

  "Well, you've succeeded brilliantly at that, Mr. Regnante,"

  "Anything for you, Mrs. Regnante," He ran his thumb over her bottom lip as she looked up at him with glazed eyes. "What were you saying?"

  "What?

  "Before Marco, you were saying something. What was it?"

  "Oh, nothing important," I love you. "It can wait until you get back,"

  "You sure?"

  "Yeah," She chuckled at him as he placed a kiss on her forehead and walked out of the room, leaving Nicole to heave a deep breath and fall back onto the bed with a bounce, a foreboding settling in the pit of her stomach.

  Salvatore spent most of the evening out and dealing with various businesses, a few of the Mafia Bosses asking him how he planned to retaliate to Jayson's attack on his parents as he simply informed him that was his concern and not theirs. Marco was with him throughout – being his protégé - the boy was expected to learn how to handle every situation thrown his way in the capacity of a boss.

  It wasn't until 7 p.m. did he return home, but even then, he went straight to his bedroom, having remembered an item he had placed there which was meant to be given forward.

  Taking the steps two at a time, he pulled off his coat and glove, draping them over the couch before making his way to the walk-in closet. Stepping into his wife's closet, he crouched before the bottom drawers, pulling one open and taking out the contents which housed it: majorly some pouches, and put them to the side. Pushing on the wooden floor, it came popping up as Salvatore removed the false bottom and picked up the black velvet box hidden beneath it.

  Putting the bottom back into place, he started putting the things in their rightful place before an orange bottle in an open pouch caught his attention.

  Scrunching his eyebrows, Salvatore reached inside and took it out, the bottle hiding into his palm as he looked it over, realizing it was a prescription bottle. His confusion rising when he noticed it was prescribed to him. Standing up, he looked at the name before taking out his phone and typing it into the search, the results having his throat run dry and his stomach churned when he realized it was almost empty and then his heart dropped to his feet when he realized there was another empty bottle in that pouch.

  Having heard that her husband was back from his errands, Nicole made her way up the stairs and kissed Irene when she came before her. With a broad grin on her face, she made her way into their bedroom, finding it vacant of his presence, but noted the coat and gloves on the couch. Walking towards the closets, she looked into his before turning to look towards her own, finding him to be standing there and reading a text on his phone.

  "Hey," She grinned, beginning to make her way towards him.

  "I hope to God this is what you wanted to tell me," Her husband spoke up quietly, Nicole freezing in the doorway and looking at him in confusion.

  "What?"

  "Mirtazapine," He began reading from his phone as his wife tensed and felt needles prickling her skin as her face paled. "Among others is an atypical antidepressant which is used primarily in the treatment of depression." Salvatore chuckled humorlessly as he read the information. Nicole felt bile rising in her throat as he continued and she noticed the black pouch lying open at his feet with the drawer pulled out.

  "In addition to its antidepressant properties, mirtazapine has sedative, antiemetic, antiallergenic, and appetite stimulant effects and is sometimes used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, insomnia, nausea, sleep deprivation and vomiting, and to produce weight gain when desirable," He finished, finally turning towards her with bloodshot eyes, the prescriptions bottles held in his other hand.

  "I-" Nicole stammered, the guilt settling not on her chest but inside her brain. What she had done she could not un-do, and she knew that. "I can explain,"

  "Then explain," Salvatore demanded with anger burning and held up the prescriptions bottles for her to see.

  "I..." She choked on her words, not sure what to say and how to say it. "I-"

  "-Explain!" His voice ricocheted off the walls, forcing her to jump back and clamp her mouth shut to keep from crying out in fright.

  "I'm sorry," Nicole found herself whimpering quietly, lowering his gaze as she felt the guilt like gasoline in her guts; her insides dying slowly in the toxicity, needing no more than a spark to set it ablaze.

  "I don't want to hear a fucking apology, I want an explanation!" He hurtled the prescriptions bottles, forcing them to slam against the wall before rolling onto the wooden floor, stopping next to Nicole's feet. "Give me a fucking explanation!"

  One second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds passed.

  Guilt was eating and pestering her. A fire burned in her mind and throat. Remorse hit her like a sledgehammer. She could feel Salvatore's eyes aiming daggers at her from across the room. Her husband was now walking towards her, his jaw set and his eyes burning. Nicole's heartbeat seemed to echo in the closet. Salvatore demanded an explanation from her but she did not hear a single word. Instead, stared into the eyes of the man she claimed to love and had betrayed. It was not too late, she knew. Not too late to be honest. Not too late to tell the truth...

  As Salvatore stared down at his wife, looking at the guilt-ridden expression across her faces, he suddenly noticed the tears brimming in her eyes, and the way she bit her lip to keep it from trembling, and fidgeted with her shaking fingers, any other time he would have seen her like this, he would have hugged her close. But not right now. At this very moment, his anger was far too great for his love to conquer the rage. It was far too hot to be cool, and he wanted an explanation, he wanted to know what she had done and why, but he didn't want to believe until it came out of her own mouth. He didn't want to believe it.

  "The..." Her voice shook and cracked as her eyes shone with unshed tears. "The milk..."

  The realization hit him like a truck and knocked the air out of his already fragile lungs. If he were any other man, the surprise would have been evident on his face, but he wasn't any other man. He was the Boss of the world's most respected and feared Mafia, and if there was one thing he was a master at, it was hiding his emotions.

  "That "Greek remedy which Yaya gave you"," He quoted her in a monotone, noticing how her shoulders trembled and she wouldn't meet his gaze. "You have been drugging me." He stepped back from her, feeling repulsed.

  "You have been fucking drugging me with antidepressants which I said "no" to," Salvatore shook his head, feeling his anger get replaced by hurt. Nausea swirled unrestrained in his empty stomach and his head swam
with half-formed thought. His heart felt as if his blood had become tar and it struggled to keep a steady beat; as he struggled to maintain composure and turned his back to her, standing with his body numb and his mind reeling and heart shriveling inside his chest. He could almost feel an asthma attack forming in his chest, but he couldn't suffer one, not right now.

  "And you have the fucking audacity to ask me why I never trust people," He spoke in a low and firm voice, his wife looking up at his back. "Have you gotten your answer now?"

  He didn't wait for a response before continuing.

  "I said "no", and that was the end of it, yet you still went and fucking drugged me?" He scoffed, not being able to turn around or look at her, afraid he might break. "The one person, I fucking trusted, goes and does this to me?" He spoke slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

  The words stabbed her heart like a shard of ice, having her struggle to breathe as she felt light-headed.

  "The one person I thought I could trust," Salvatore spoke barely above a whisper, the hurt returning like a fresh tidal wave. "The one person I thought I could trust goes and does this," He rubbed at his aching chest, feeling the tears welling in his eyes and shook his head at himself.

  "I should have known."

  "Salvatore," Nicole choked out between her tears. "I know what I did was wrong, I know I betrayed you, but I was desperate! You didn't leave me with a choice-"

  "-I didn't leave you with a choice?" He repeated incredulously, whirling around at her in disbelief. "I forced you to do this? Is that what you're saying? That this is my doing?" With every word he took a threatening step towards her, Nicole backing away from him and the fury in his eyes.

  "Don't you see how better you've gotten since you started the medicine?"

  "I don't care about that! What I care about is the fact that my own wife, fucking betrayed me!" He yelled as she cowered away from him. "And then you have the audacity to claim that I forced you to do this?"

  "No! You didn't force me-" Nicole choked out as the tears blurred her vision.

  "-That's what you're saying-"

  "-I was desperate!" She sobbed, collapsing to her knees before him. "I couldn't stand seeing you...deteriorating in front of my eyes! I knew you were depressed and needed help but you were just so goddamn stubborn about it that I went and got a prescription for you-!"

  "-Don't you fucking dare try and pin this on me! I'm not the one who broke your trust!" Salvatore retaliated. "I told you loud and clear why I didn't want antidepressants, why I didn't have an hour to spare, why I can't afford to go into depression and you go and drug me behind my back? I have been doing everything to keep you and everyone I love fucking safe, and you drug me with antidepressants, you could have just as well poisoned me!"

  "I would never-!"

  "-For all I know you're still in love with Jayson and working in leagues with him!" Her husband stepped away as she clambered to her feet, looking at him incredulously and wondering how he could think that of her. "You know, I was confused about my parent's attack, because it would have required someone from my household to have informed Jayson what route they were taking and when they would have left the estate, and I had been spending weeks on end trying to figure that out; whereas that traitor had been sleeping with me, isn't that right, Nicole?"

  Just as those words left his mouth, she whipped her palm against his cheek, forcing it to flare up as Salvatore looked at her with a set jaw, Nicole glaring at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

  "You have every right to be mad at me for the antidepressants because I know what I did was wrong," She seethed. "But don't you dare try and insinuate that I am working with Jayson,"

  "I didn't insinuate anything, Nicole," Salvatore stepped away from her. "I said it as clearly as humanly possible,"

  "You are wrong!"

  "As are you!"

  "And I'm not denying it!" His wife retaliated, clutching at her hair in frustration as the tears streamed down. "I'm not saying I was right in going behind your back, but I was desperate, can't you see that?" She begged of him, looking at him pleading eyes as Salvatore swallowed thickly and turning away from her.

  Tilting his head back, he let out a shaky breath, needing to compose himself, but knowing he couldn't do that with her here. Catching sight of the thing before him, he reached up to pull it out.

  Placing the suitcase on the floor, Salvatore looked up at his wife with bloodshot eyes and clenched teeth.

  "Pack your things and go to your parent's,"

  "What-" Nicole stammered, stepping away from him. "No,"

  "I am not giving you a fucking choice!" He screamed at her. "You disregarded my "no", now you suffer the consequences of your actions,"

  "I'm not going to my parents," Her voice was thick with grief as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking at her husband pleadingly.

  "It's either you leave or I leave,"

  "Is caring for your wellbeing a crime?!" She demanded from him in a broken sob. "Is worrying about you a crime?"

  "You drugged me!"

  "For your own benefit, Salvatore! Please, try to understand!"

  "No, I am not going to understand anything as long as you're here." He stated and began walking away. "I want you gone from my house," He spoke over his shoulder as Nicole covered her mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to spill.

  "For how long?" She choked out.

  "For as long as I say," Her husband's tone left no room for arguments as he walked away, slamming the bedroom door behind him as Nicole collapsed to her knees and sobbed into her hands.

  Watching everything they spent one and a half year building, come crumbling down around her.

  Chapter XXXV: Retaliation

  Stars illuminated the sky dressed in flowing black and for once; it wasn't covered by grey clouds and crying a fresh wave of snowflakes. The floor was the opposite of the roof above, white against black shining with diamonds. The house had been shining like fire in the setting sun, but now had been reduced to an ebony shadow in the distance, and at this time of the night, majority of the lights had been turned off as well.

  Men hid on tree branches, watching the house and the men patrolling the grounds, knowing they had a small time window, and the job needed to be done quickly. Their Boss was amongst the men hidden between the leaves, his immaculate suit replaced by black camouflage and a device fitted into his ear.

  "Piero," Their boss called into the device, his voice hardly above a whisper, with his mouth covered by a black scarf to keep away the cold. "Are you in position?"

  Piero hid behind a container, the warehouse in front of him, bustling with life as men had been unloading several containers from the back of their trucks and settling them on the dusty floor of the storage room. He watched the last of the few men get back into their vehicles and began to drive off, the canister of gasoline rested by his feet with a gun clutched in hand.

  "In position, boss," He responded, looking around him and at his team of the night. All of them dressed like the other in full black ensemble and scarves covering their mouths.

  "Remember," Salvatore screwed on the suppressor at the top of his gun and looked around at the handful of men who would fall victim to his aim tonight. "No more lives than need be,"

  "Yes, sir,"

  "Ready?" The Mafia boss looked at the men around him, all of them nodding in turn in the darkness.

  Raising his arm, he watched how those nearest to him, pulled up their sniper rifles, each aiming at the men on the ground just as Piero and his men grabbed the canister, looking at the clear coast and waiting for the signal.

  "Go," He stated, no shot having been fired, but the men at the warehouse ran across the desolate stretch of land, making their way towards the storage facility. Four men poured gasoline at the walls and around the enclosure while three more stood at the entrance, one of them prying the lock open and kicking down the door.

  Moving out of the way, three men shot down the entourage inside while t
wo more stood guard, firing whenever a potential threat exposed himself.

  "Move, move, move, move!" Piero hissed silently, everyone with a canister running inside and coating the crates and walls with gasoline. It didn't take more than 3 minutes, and just like that, they were out. The team lead ushered his men to go, two staying behind him with guns outstretched and eyes looking around at the corpses that lay at their feet.

  "Salvatore Regnante sends his regards," Piero's breath fogged up in the cold as he clicked on the lighter, watching the small flame flicker in his hands before he tossed it into the pool of gasoline, the liquid catching fire and following the trail which led inside.

  Turning their backs, the three men ran around the containers, just in time as the warehouse blew up behind them, everyone lowering to the ground with the remnants flying around them.

  "Done, boss," Piero heaved, pushing himself onto his knees and looking around him, hearing the commotion of men in the darkness before they slinked into the shadows, making their way back to where their vehicles stood awaiting.

  "Go on home," Salvatore nodded quietly, all of them silently watching the action inside the house and waited.

  A smirk formed across the Mafia Boss's lips to see the lights turning on inside the house, men shouting and running in and out of the doors. He watched how a portion of the men patrolling the ground rushed inside, the sound of yelling drifting out faintly to where the Regnante Mafia waited for their signal.

  A chuckle came from Salvatore's right, causing him to turn and see Niccolo with a rifle in his hand, peering through the hole and laughing at the confusion ensuing inside.

  "Sono come formiche confuse (They are like confused ants)," The man chuckled quietly, maintaining his aim as the boss shook his head at his antics.

  "Ready," He said, watching how men rushed out the house and into the cars lining the driveway. Grabbing the binoculars from the man behind him, he looked at the faces of the men running out, watching with satisfaction as a disheveled and angry Jayson stepped out, not even giving it a second thought before getting into his car and driving off.

 

‹ Prev