Untamed (Omertà Book 2)

by Anna Widzisz

Before, she hadn’t bothered looking around the room. It was modern and bright with creme walls. A king-sized bed was situated up against the wall and overlooked the windows. The sheets were neatly done and the girl didn’t realize she’d made her bed before she’d left at night. It was bright but thankfully she found a switch right beside her bed that pulled down dark curtains. She plugged her phone to charge, took off her clothes and rested them on the black leg rest that was by the windows. Yawning, she laid down, covering her body as she was in her underwear only and sleep took her in as soon as she closed her eyes.

  § § §

  A loud thud on the floor sounded for the fortieth time and Inéz got pinned down. Getting her ass handed to her, she began counting the times her body had been thrown to the ground. She growled trying to get herself out of Nicodemo’s clutch, but he didn’t budge at all. Their physical abilities were on completely different levels. His grey eyes watched her with amusement, as she felt his hand travel down her leg. It made her shiver.

  "You exposed yourself to the attacker as if it was your solemn purpose," he said staying in the same position. "Figure out your strengths and use them."

  She rolled her eyes. It was easy for the man to say because he had his body’s strength working to his advantage, so there was nothing he couldn’t handle. While Inéz was fragile when it came to fighting off anyone. There were no strengths she could think of. Only weaknesses.

  The bruises forming on her body were almost palpable.

  Nicodemo pushed himself to his feet and extended his hand for the girl. She hesitated but accepted it and got up with his help.

  They had already been training for two hours locked in the cage for MMA fights popular among the Famiglia, and not only. It had made Inéz shiver upon seeing it for the first time. Even more when she realized that she would be locked inside with a man that she didn’t even know. With no one else around.

  But it was the last thing on her mind by now, since the Enforcer was practically wiping the floor with her. She couldn’t hold her own for more than a minute. Nicodemo was too strong and experienced when it came to it. She still didn’t know why Noah chose him to teach her anything. As if the boss himself wouldn’t be enough. And Drew as well as Isaac could train with her so that she would have a slight chance at defending herself. They might be stronger; especially Ryder, but the rules of the fight Famiglia had, were completely different from the ones the outside world has. Here, no holds barred.

  The man took the towel from the cage’s wall and threw it to the girl to dry up. She was sweaty and tired, while Nico didn’t even have one drop of sweat on him. It was probably the easiest fight he’d ever partaken in.

  "Why did Noah choose you to show me how to defend myself?" she asked taking a sip of her water. She hadn’t fully recovered after the night and would gladly return to sleep.

  Nicodemo regarded her. He wasn’t used to telling any woman details of his job, and probably wondered whether Noah wanted him to answer such question or would prefer to keep it to himself. Had Inéz even asked him? Or just assumed that he was an easier and more approachable target? But the Capo wasn’t there and he could hardly ignore the girl until they were done.

  "Because I know about his plan to take down Conte, and he trusts me enough to help you," he answered, withholding the remaining part of the answer.

  Inéz knew that it wasn’t all there was but didn’t push farther. She wasn’t entirely sure that the Enforcer didn’t terrify her. His job spoke for it itself; he was a man to be scared of. Most people probably were, since he liked paying them visits and reminding as to why he was the Famiglia’s hitman. The bloody, dirty job was his to get done.

  She nodded. "How long are we supposed to be here? I’m really tired."

  "You haven’t stopped one of my attacks. Until you do, we are stuck here."

  "As if it were that easy. I would have problems stopping a normal man’s attack and you’re in the bloody mafia, so sue me for not being able to defend myself," she was too tired to care about the things she said. Normally, there would be more self-restraint in her.

  "I will take it from here, Nico." Noah’s voice rang from across the room.

  The Enforcer nodded slightly getting out of the cage and disappeared behind closed doors soon after, taking his gym bag with him.

  Noah took a few steps towards her and shook his head when he saw Inéz was about to get out of the cage. He took a pair of shorts from the chair nearby and changed in front of the girl, not bothering to warn her beforehand. Then he got into the cage, making her even more nervous than she’d been with Nicodemo. Surprisingly. At this point, Inéz wouldn’t mind fighting the soldier again. As long as she could avoid showing the Capo that she hadn’t learnt anything useful yet. Too busy being pinned down to the hard floor over and over.

  He took off his t-shirt and holster, setting them aside.

  His lip curled. "What can you do?" he asked standing in front of her.

  She didn’t understand him. "If I was to attack you what would you do to stop me?" He explained further but Inéz still wasn’t sure what to say. With Nicodemo, she was just put in the position of having to fight him off. No matter how poorly honed her skills were.

  The only thing that came to her mind was to say that she learnt how not to fight off anyone. Also, the floor of the cage was actually pretty damn uncomfortable.

  Suddenly, the man gripped her arm and whirled her around. He now was behind her clutching both of her arms behind her back. "That was too long. You need to know what you can do to fight me off."

  "You asked me, but gave no chance to answer," she grunted.

  Noah shook his head. "Because you were supposed to say immediately that you would go for the balls, cara. That’s what every woman thinks is a man’s biggest weakness. And it actually is," he whispered in her ear and released her taking a step away from her.

  Glaring at him, she tightened her hands into fists. She was getting angry. "Good," he said as he saw her movement. "It’s alright to use your anger as long as you won’t let it rule your moves. Think too."

  He didn’t have to say it twice and Inéz was already rushing forward. She raised her hand ramming it into his side. Noah didn’t move at all. The girl used as much strength as she could afford and hit him from different positions, aiming for different parts of his body every time. There was no pain on the Capo’s face which made her even angrier. Just pure amusement. After a minute of giving her plenty of opportunities to hurt him, he blocked her punch gripping her wrist and turned her to the wall of the cage ramming her into it. He hadn’t done it hard, but strong enough for Inéz to growl at him. Noah’s smile widened. "Not bad. I knew you had strong hands judging from that pole dancing act on your birthday," he said.

  She twisted as to make him let go of her but his hold was firm. "You can do better than that."

  Inéz kicked hard aiming for his groin, but his hand caught her knee before it could do any damage. She started to twist again in his grip but with no change. Noah laughed at the girl. She was willing to fight him but wasn’t prepared for it.

  "I told you to use your head too, cara. To stop your knee, I took one of my hands from your body. You could have used it. A lot of people don’t think and they loosen their grip only to replace it with another. Those are the chances you should take. I did you a favor here. It would be wise to adapt."

  "As if you hadn’t had other moves in your mind if I even thought of it."

  "True, but no one has proven himself against me yet. So it’s not just you. My own father was never man enough to fight me. And I won’t attack you unless you give me a reason to, and I don’t suggest it," he warned, cutting her loose. "Again," he ordered.

  The girl was completely out of it so she thought of the only way out of this cage sooner rather than later. Determination on her face. She reached out for Noah and gripped his shorts pulling herself towards him. Her body crashed in his strong chest. His hands rested on her back as she was about to fall over due to t
he impact. His eyes rested on her lips, and she smiled sweetly licking them slightly.

  She felt his fingers making their way up to her high ponytail. It was a little loose as it had been over two hours of struggling and trying to break free. The hairband slipped out when Noah pulled it down releasing her hair. She shivered but this time there was excitement in her. Not fear or anger. She was supposed to distract him, but instead, she was the one thrown off.

  He looked her in the eyes with strong confidence. Their lips were less than an inch apart. "Nice try, cara. But you would need more than that to distract me," he said.

  He knew exactly what Inéz’s goal was, but it fascinated him even more. She let go and turned around to leave the cage before the thought of training any more could cross his mind. Just as she was able to push down the handle, she felt Noah’s hand on her arm, and as the cage door opened, he pushed her closing them at once. Leaning down he reduced the small gap there was between them, crushing his lips on hers. His kiss was rough against her shocked lips. But she gave in a second later drowning into his skillful mouth. Deepening the kiss, she rose on her toes, excitement shooting through her as his hands went down to her hips. She clung to his shoulders to keep herself standing.

  After a while, she stepped back from the man, embarrassed by her reaction. She wasn’t supposed to do that. Her plan had been completely different, but he’d figured her out and used it against her without any problem. Reminding her once again how good he was at playing games, and how much she wished he wasn’t playing with her as well.

  CHAPTER 11

  "Why have you chosen Nicodemo to train me?"

  Her curiosity was too unbearable for Inéz not to ask. Ever since she came back from the training session, she felt like something was missing. However, Nicodemo was too loyal to Noah to give her a straight answer without his boss’ permission. So, she had no other choice but to turn to the source itself to satisfy her curiosity.

  Her eyes met Noah’s for the first time since the incident in the gym. They didn't bring it up after that. None of them thought it necessary. But the awkwardness was still there whether they acknowledged it or not. Thankfully, no-one else noticed the slight change and tension between them. At least on Inéz’s part.

  "Because."

  That was everything the man said, focusing once again on the basketball game playing in TV.

  Flavio snorted, considering it normal that his brother wouldn’t give the girl her desired answer, just for fun. That was the first time he’d showed any interest in either of them. Most of all Inéz.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, seeing as he could be her way of extracting the needed information. Clearly, he didn’t care enough to withhold it.

  "Nicodemo is the best at dealing with women. He knows everything there is about the way they fight and see the danger," he said as Noah growled at him.

  She panted looking more terrified than she’d thought possible. She knew at once that Noah hadn’t wanted her to know because it would be harder for his Enforcer to teach her anything useful now. Inéz would be scared of fighting him from now on and even she was certain of it.

  But what exactly did it mean that Nicodemo was the best at dealing with women? Should she even ask? Did she even want to know? The answer to all of the questions was ’no’ but her head was a rather dangerous place now, spinning with the unsettling news she’d just heard.

  The younger Falcone looked at his Capo. "What? She would find out sooner or later. At least now she knows that she’s learning from the best."

  Noah shook his head with disapproval but didn’t say a word about it. He reached for another slice of pizza, not bothering to explain himself. Inéz had every right to know who she was dealing with before she was forced into the situation. But the boss didn’t think the same. He hardly ever gave anyone a choice.

  She stood up, done with the company of the men. It was too much for her. She went up the stairs, intending to go to bed as she hadn’t had the chance to go to sleep after the workout. But passing the bar area she caught a breathtaking view of the Las Vegas nightlife. Flashing lights, big buildings, fountains, cars and people. The overall effect made her stop and open the doors to the patio. The fresh air hit her hard, making her shiver, but it woke her up all the same.

  A big smile formed on her lips. It was the first time in a while that she could breathe. Fully breathe. But understanding would come soon and hit her hard.

  Steps sounded behind her. Drew was standing in the doorway watching her attentively. His lips formed a smile as he approached her, leaning over the bannister to admire the city in its full glory. It was already dark outside but the lights made it seem brighter than ever.

  "I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I told you to be careful with Noah," he said. She glared at him. "Are you seriously going to pull the talk we had four years ago?"

  "No, Inéz. I just want you to remember that even if we are a part of this life now, he still has the worst role possible. Don’t make him out to be anyone else. He’s dangerous and does as he pleases. He is a killer, don’t forget it."

  "What does that have to do with my situation?" she asked, getting angry.

  "Because you expect him to be straight-forward with you as if it is something he would do. He has hidden reasons behind all he does, and to be honest, I believe we are better off not knowing them."

  He sounded almost respectful as he said it, which Inéz couldn’t imagine. Drew made it perfectly clear from the start that he was doing it all for Lynette and only her. And now, even if he didn’t approve of the way the organization worked in its entirety, he wasn’t judgmental towards it.

  "What changed? I thought you don’t like the mafia."

  "I don’t. I still think of Made Men as dangerous, deadly and, quite frankly, mental. But the underworld looks so much different from the inside than it does when you have only read and listened about it. They kill, maim and feel good about it, but even if they don’t have a valid reason sometimes, most of the times they do it with strong justification. They just don’t care enough to allow outsiders to know what it is exactly. Every Made Man has a sense of pride and honor. Mafia might come out of it the wrong way, but so does every other person who wants to change or gain something."

  She was even more surprised at this point. "What happened today in the gym?"

  What Drew said had come completely out of the blue. Was he beaten so badly that he lost his mind? Because Inéz hadn’t thought she would ever hear him say such things. Without Lynette, the man would have most likely followed in his father’s righteous footsteps. He was more of a good guy than a bad one. Always had been.

  Especially when Lynette explained her life to him. The only good thing he could say was that all mafioso were dedicated to their life. That they were able to create this society, had rules which they stuck to no matter what. And, interestingly, it freaking worked.

  He sighed turning his eyes on her. "Nothing major. We trained with a few soldiers. But you should see the way they acted with Noah when we came in. It was almost admirable. They respect and expect him to lead them to greatness. They obey his orders, and I can’t imagine it was easy to change their minds after his father’s doings with the Famiglia. He built something new on the ruins of past decisions," he paused. "Look, I am not saying that I am glad to be a part of it all, but I can see the appeal."

  "I thought that after what Lynette told you about her life, you would never change your opinion."

  He sighed, hearing the name. "Lynette felt trapped because she wasn’t able to do what she wanted. Her father kept her under strict supervision, and it made her fight against it as hard as she could. However, there wasn’t a time when she would blatantly disrespect the values or Severo. My father thought that someone could make her testify against the mafia, but she didn’t even count it as an option."

  "But she broke the omertà by telling you all of this," she stated.

  "No person can deal with such things by themselves. I
t always blows up in your face at some point. She just had no one but me to listen to her. And it was already too late anyway."

  Inéz smiled seeing her friend remember the girl vividly. She could see the love in his eyes. It was so pure and earnest that she almost wished to one day have the same. But Drew still struggled with being apart from Lynette. They hadn’t done anything to find her yet, and it was getting harder on him. There was no doubt about it.

  "We will find her and she will come home," she whispered, getting closer to the man.

  She laid her head on his shoulder trying to make him believe her words. She wasn’t totally certain that it was the truth, but Drew didn’t have to know that. In her eyes, he deserved the best. He was always dutiful, full of hope and confidence. And it was even magnified when he met Lynette. It was exquisite, the future he held on to so dearly. If only he could manage not to let it slip away.

  § § §

  As Drew got back into the living room, the men were sitting at the table talking business. Isaac as always was on the laptop offering his input from time to time. When Drew came closer he could see that they were working on the surveillance tapes from the restaurant, which his friend had been supposed to recover due to it being destroyed at the time of the attack.

  Their heads turned towards Drew at once. "Where’s Inéz?" asked Isaac, worried about her.

  Drew checked the time. It was past midnight. "We talked and she went to sleep," he paused. "What’s with the tape?"

  Flavio rose from the chair as his phone started ringing and answered it.

  "Someone messed with it recently. There are parts cut out completely, and I am not able to do anything to recover them."

  "So it was done by another computer specialist?"

  Isaac nodded. The idea that there was someone else just as good didn’t sit well with him.

  "What now, then? Actually, why did you even want to see the tape, Noah? Your people took care of everything."

  Falcone shook his head. "As I found out, one of the New York Capos, Filippo Bazzoli, hired an assassin and they fled. I need to find out who that was and what they know." He growled clenching his fists. Things weren’t going his way.