MOAN: The Cantonneli Mafia

by Sophia Gray

  “A little hard for you to stomach, honey?” He laughed again, louder this time, and a hatred like nothing I’d ever felt before went shooting through my veins like the world’s most powerful heroin.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Cade

  As soon as Rudy told me the news about Vanessa, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I couldn’t believe that the Demon Catchers had taken her.

  Well, actually, I could. Deep down, I’d known those guys were the worst kinds of assholes around. They didn’t respect anything that wasn’t theirs, and they used brute force even when it wasn’t necessary. I shuddered thinking of Vanessa in their care. How would they treat her? What would they do to her, my poor, precious Vanessa? I knew she always thought she was a tough girl, but in reality, Vanessa was one of the most sheltered people I’d ever met in my life. She’d barely even been on her own for two months. I couldn’t imagine how shocked and horrified she was feeling.

  Rudy was still pacing around the room. I could tell he was feeling helpless and trapped, but he would have rather died than tell me that. Rudy had always been a real tough son of a bitch, and this situation was no exception. When he’d first told me not to do anything rash, I’d been pissed. But now I was starting to understand that he was just looking out for the well-being of his men, for the well-being of the Bleeding Prophets.

  The nurse bustled in just as I was trying to sit up in bed and yank the wretched IV from my arm.

  “Mr. Mitchell!” The nurse gave me a shocked expression and skittered over to the bed, pushing her hand against my chest and shoving me down hard. “Mr. Mitchell! What are you doing? You can’t possibly be thinking of leaving right now!”

  I tried to crack a grin. “You read my mind, lady,” I told her casually. “I need to get the hell out of this popsicle stand. Someone’s waiting for me.”

  The nurse crossed her arms and glared. “Mr. Mitchell, I don’t appreciate you joking right now.” She sidled up to the bed and handed me a paper cup full of apple juice and another cup full of pills. “You need your rest. And these.” She pointed down towards the pills that she’d now handed to me.

  I winked at her. “Let’s make a deal,” I said. “I’ll take these pills and then you let me blow this joint. Whaddya say?”

  The nurse frowned. “I can’t believe you’re making jokes at a time like this.” She shook her head. “And no, I can’t agree to that. I don’t have the authority to make decisions like that.” She rolled her eyes. “But if I had anything to say about it, you’re gonna be here for at least two more days.”

  I cringed. Two more days? Vanessa could be dead by then! I shook my head, suddenly knowing that I was going to have to lie my ass off, once again, for this girl.

  I knew what I felt for Vanessa was crazy. Prophets weren’t supposed to fall in love, and when they did fall in love, it was supposed to be with the type of girl that Rudy would approve of. The loose kind of girl with too much lipstick, the kind of girl who’d show up to her wedding day wearing fishnet tights.

  But all the same, I couldn’t turn those feelings off. And knowing that the Demon Catchers had her…it was enough to make me want to scream. They weren’t the kind of guys to fuck around or play a harmless trick. If they had Vanessa, her life was surely in danger.

  The nurse stood there and watched me swallow the pills. I was holding my breath and silently begging her to leave. It was like she could read my mind, like she knew that I was waiting for her to go. I don’t give a fuck what any shithead doctor thinks, I thought to myself as the nurse raised her eyebrows at me. I got a girl to save, and no one’s gonna stand in my fucking way.

  Finally, she left. I sat up in bed again, trying my hardest to ignore the strong dizzy spell that came over me as I sat level. Rudy kept his eyes on me.

  “Mitchell, what’re you doing?”

  I gritted my teeth and yanked the IV out of my arm. A stinging pain went through my body and blood spurted from the open wound. I reached over to the small bedside table and grabbed a wad of cotton that the nurse had left behind. Pressing the cotton to my arm, I began looking around the room.

  “Where the hell are my clothes?”

  Rudy stared. “I don’t know. Look, Cade, maybe you’d better let us handle this.”

  “No!” I cried out. “No.” I shook my head and stood up from the bed. Another wave of nausea and dizziness washed over me and I had to take a deep breath so I wouldn’t pass out. “I can’t let you take responsibility for the things that I should be doing. I’ve fucked up, and I’m the reason why we’re in this mess.”

  Rudy shook his head. He raked a hand through his hair and let out a humorless chuckle. “Mitchell, you’re a fucking nut,” he said. “You’re a good guy, you know that?”

  I stared at him. “You still think so?”

  Cade shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” he said. He walked over to a chest of drawers and pulled out a plastic bag containing my personal effects. I groaned when I saw that my shirt was stained with blood and dirt. “You’re doing what you believe is right, and that’s what counts right now.”

  I sighed. “I just…” I trailed off, looking around. The dim afternoon light was coming in through the hospital windows and I felt both drowsy and hungry. “I need to quit the MC, Rudy. I can’t do this. I have to quit, and know that I tried to save Vanessa. I’d rather die trying to save her than stay in the Prophets and know that I caused her death.”

  When I finally looked up at Rudy, I saw that his lips were pressed into a fine line. “Stop,” Rudy said firmly. “Look, we’ll talk outside, okay?” He tossed me the plastic bag of clothes and I almost stumbled trying to catch it. “Just get dressed and meet me in the parking lot.”

  “Okay.” My blood was pounding in my ears and I felt sick. Rudy shuffled towards the door.

  “Oh, Mitchell?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Be careful.” I watched as Rudy walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

  With my blood rushing, I quickly stripped out of the hospital gown that showed my ass and pulled on my boxers, jeans, and bloodied shirt. I balled up the papery gown and tossed it onto the bed. My heart was in my throat as I inched closer to the door. My hospital room was right across from a nurses’ station, and the last thing I wanted was to be caught as I was trying to sneak away.

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and strode out of the room. Thankfully, I’d somehow still had my sunglasses in my pocket when I’d been admitted to the hospital and I pulled them out and slid them up my nose. Sunglasses always made me feel more anonymous, and I thought they’d do a lot to hide the bruises on my face.

  I held my breath as I passed all of the nurses. They were all bustling together, like hens, their heads down over a bunch of paperwork. Thankfully, none of them looked at me as I walked down the hall. Punching the button for the elevator, I tried to look casual as I waited for the lift to arrive.

  By the time I got out of the hospital, I was a nervous wreck. I knew they couldn’t have kept me, but part of me wished that I wasn’t so broke up. My back was killing me and I couldn’t walk nearly as fast as usual. The broken rib and vertebrae sent pain shooting through my body every time I took a breath, and I had to inch across the parking lot where Rudy, Boulder, and Tyler were all waiting for me.

  Tyler reached out to pull me into a hug but I gave a tight little shake of my head. “I’m too banged up,” I complained. “Not now. I can’t risk hurting myself any further right now.”

  Instead, Tyler reached out and clapped his hand down on my shoulder. It hurt for a moment, but I grinned and stood up as straight as I could. “Rudy said you’re leaving us, Mitchell.”

  “I got to,” I said simply. “I got to go get Vanessa. I have to find her, guys. She’s important, and those guys…” I trailed off, shuddering at the thought of the Catchers hurting my girl. “Those guys are bad news,” I finished gruffly. “And I gotta get her out of their clutches.”

&nb
sp; Tyler shook his head. “You really fucked Isaac up, man.” He let out a low whistle. “He’s real banged up. I bet he’s guarding her.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Boulder said. He stepped forward and looped his thumbs through his belt loops. “We’re in this as a pack, Cade.”

  I shook my head. “No,” I said firmly. “I ain’t letting you guys get hurt. I’m not fucking up anymore, I can’t let anyone get hurt because of some stupid mistake that I made. I’m the one who did this. I made my bed, and I have to lie in it now.”

  Boulder and Tyler shook their heads. “I’m not letting you leave, man,” Tyler said. He gently punched me in the arm. “We’re a fucking family, and families do things together.”

  Tears came to my eyes and I blinked so the other guys wouldn’t see. I felt a strange feeling overtaking my body, something between adrenaline and relief. I couldn’t believe that the guys were willing to stand behind me like this, when I’d fucked up so egregiously. I felt more emotional than I’d felt in days, and I had to stare at the ground so I didn’t get choked up.

  “Where is she?”

  I shrugged. “I wish I knew,” I said. “I think they probably have her tucked away in their hideout.”

  Rudy nodded. “Yeah, let’s all roll up and start asking questions.” He pushed up his sleeves and flexed his powerful, muscular arms. “And if they don’t answer, we’ll keep asking.”

  I shook my head. “No,” I said. “We can’t do that. We should plan to sneak in.”

  “Cade, are you fucking nuts?” Boulder stepped forward, his face tense and his lips pressed together. “We can’t just waltz in there and demand her.”

  “I know,” I said calmly. “That’s why I’m thinking we’ll all go. You guys distract them, and I’ll sneak in and grab her. We can deal with the fallout later.”

  Rudy held up his hand in the air. “No,” he said firmly. “Then what happens to us if you duck out and they see you? We’re fucking dead meat. We gotta make our presence known from the beginning,” he added. “If there’s even a chance she’s hurt, I want them answering for it right from the get go.”

  I stared. “You’re really willing to do that? For me?” I looked into his hard eyes. “Even when I got us into this fuck of a mess?”

  Rudy clapped his hand down on my shoulder. “Cade, you’re one of the Prophets,” he said. “We act as a family. And right now, this family needs to go save your girl.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Vanessa

  My hands were starting to feel like they were just blocks of meat crudely attached to my arms. I’d long since stopped panicking. I knew the loss of blood was dangerous, but being upset wouldn’t do anything but make me feel more dehydrated. As miserable as I was right now, I knew that I had to keep holding on.

  I didn’t have any delusions about Cade saving me. While I hadn’t wanted to believe the Demon Catchers lieutenant, I was losing hope by the minute. Cade was dead. They’d hurt Cade, and it was all my fault.

  I sighed loudly and tried scooting back against the wall. I was sitting on something hard and cold, like stone or concrete, and the circulation in my ass had long since stopped. My whole body hurt. I ached from the alcohol I’d drank before those assholes had kidnapped me, and the bonds against my wrists were more painful than I ever could have imagined. At the same time, I was wide awake. The pain kept me from being too relaxed, and even though I was starving, I knew I had more to focus on than eating.

  The lieutenant had fallen asleep, and he jerked awake with a grunt. He stretched and then immediately cried out in pain, hugging his arm to his torso. I stared at him with narrowed eyes.

  “What?” He glared at me. “What the fuck you lookin’ at, little girly girl? You ain’t never seen a man with a broke arm before?”

  “Oh, I’ve seen plenty of people with broken bones,” I said softly. “I’m a med student, you know? I’ve even set bones.”

  A flicker of interest passed over the lieutenant’s face, but he didn’t say anything. I felt satisfied, though—I could tell that the spark had been planted deep inside of his brain.

  “Oh yeah?” He turned to face me, locking his jaw and hiding all traces of pain. “So you’re a real valuable little lady, aren’t you?”

  I licked my lips. They were cracked and dry and the gesture was painful. I winced. “You might say that,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Look, I’m not dangerous. You know that you can let me go.” I raised my eyebrows. “In fact, I could even help set your arm so it won’t hurt so much.” I glanced over the lieutenant’s frame. In the darkness of the room, I could still tell that his arm had been badly broken just above the elbow. The skin was swollen and turning a dark, ominous color that often indicated blood poisoning.

  The lieutenant winced and drew himself up high in the chair. “I don’t think so,” he said with a chuckle. “I ain’t lettin’ you go. I ain’t that stupid.”

  I pouted. “Oh, come on,” I said. “What could I possibly do?” I raised my shoulders up and tried to shrug. It was painful, but I tried not to show it. “I’m little. It’s not like anyone taught me how to fight or anything.” I rolled my eyes. “In fact, before I met Cade, I’d only been living away from my parents for a few days.”

  He laughed harshly. “Honey, I don’t give a good goddamn. You could be a motherfucking Madonna and I wouldn’t care.”

  I sank back against the wall, feeling defeated. “Fine,” I mumbled. “But you need to get to a hospital pretty soon. If someone doesn’t set that arm, you’re gonna get an infection.”

  The man laughed. “I can deal with infections,” he said roughly. “I’ve had that shit before. Always clears up in a few days.” He raised his eyebrows at me and for the moment, I thought he was done talking. Then he said, “You know, we used to have a medic. A real valuable guy to have. But he done got killed in a crash weeks ago.” The man shook his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that asshole, Cade, was behind all of it.”

  I bit my lip. The idea that the Demon Catchers didn’t have anyone around to patch them up after confrontations was interesting to me—that showed that perhaps, they weren’t as skilled at planning as they would have led me to believe. I frowned.

  “What’re you lookin’ so down for?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, I don’t know,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe about the fact that I was kidnapped and now I’m tied so tightly that I can’t even feel my hands.” I tried lower my tone. “That’s not going to be so good for me when I go back to school. If I can’t operate, I don’t know how I’ll be able to work as a doctor.”

  The man stared at me. “So, you weren’t pullin’ my leg?”

  “About what?”

  “Being a med student.” The man let out a loud sigh and for the first time, I saw how much pain he was really in. His chest was swollen and I could tell he had a couple of broken ribs, too. “You weren’t kiddin’?”

  “Hell no,” I said, trying to sound confident. “I’m at the top of my class and everything. All of my professors keep saying that they think I’ll do really well, probably wind up at a top hospital.”

  The lieutenant stared at me. I could tell he didn’t quite believe me yet, but that he was desperate for what I was saying to be the truth. “Show me,” the man said. “Tell me something only a doctor would know.”

  I twisted against my bonds. “Can you let me go?”

  The man laughed. “Nice fuckin’ try, sweetheart. Tell me about the bones in my arm.” He shook his uninjured arm in the air. “What are they called?”

  “Your radius and ulna are below the elbow,” I said automatically. “And the humerus connects your elbow to your shoulder.”

  The man stared again. “You really ain’t kidding, are you?”

  “No,” I said softly. “I’m dead serious.”

  The man sighed. He got up from the chair with a heavy grunt. “Wait here,” he said with a smirk on his face. “I’ll be right back.”

  I shivered
as I watched his heavy frame mount the stairs and climb out of the basement. When he got to the top, I fully expected him to leave me alone in the dark. Instead, he pushed open the door and yelled loudly for someone to come. Shit! If he calls someone else, I won’t be able to escape! Fuck!

  A younger guy, very Italian looking, trotted over. “Yo, Isaac, what’s up?”

  “Untie that little bitch,” Isaac said. “I have plans for her.”

  A chill ran down my spine as the younger guy jogged down the stairs. He had a menacing gleam in his eye and I shuddered as he stepped close to me, then grabbed my shoulders and dragged me painfully away from the wall. I let out a cry of pain as my legs scraped against the ground.

  “Quit whining,” the younger guy said. He spun me around and started working on the ropes that were binding my hands. I could barely feel anything, but my arms sagged free once the ropes were loosed. “There,” he said. “What else, Isaac?”