Brutal & Raw: Mafia Romance & Psychological Thriller (Beneventi Family Book 1)

by Sonya Jesus

  “If you’re going to kill me, at least tell me where my girls are. Give an old woman peace.”

  Romolo steps back, giving me access to the woman. I saunter over to her and squat at eye level. She can’t see me, but I need to know what she knows. “I’m not going to kill you.”

  Stone shuts his eyes and turns his back to me, blocking the window.

  “You value honesty?” She throws my words back at me. “So do I. Do not lie to me, boy. I know I’m not going to be walking out of here alive, and I don’t care, but I want to know why you sent a girl to spy on my home.”

  Romolo approaches me. “She’s not wired, Boss.”

  “He’s right.” The disappointment in her tone hints at the truth.

  I answer her, “This has nothing to do with you. You picked up a stray, and I’m simply reclaiming what is mine.”

  “She’s not a possession.”

  I sigh softly and rub my palms on my thighs. “I’m not here to argue with you. What is your name? And before you tell me something I don’t want to hear, know I don’t like to repeat myself. I don’t often do it.”

  “Addie. I run a center for people who are trying to get away from men like you.”

  A chuckle erupts from me. “Addie, people don’t run from me.”

  “Right, because you assert your power by taking that ability from them?” She struggles against her restraints. “By tying them up, blindfolding them, and silencing them?”

  “You’re absolutely right.” I gently remove the blindfold from around her eyes and leave it on the floor beside me. “Does this make it easier?”

  “Make what easier?” Distaste and hatred emanate from her glare with every blink. “Blindfolding me is only to make it easier for you, so you don’t have to look me in the eyes. It’s different, right? When you think it’s someone who isn’t involved in your world or who can’t bring you money?”

  I smile faintly and shake my head, allowing the woman to continue and divulge her truths.

  “I knew your father, Bartolomeu.” She notices the narrowing of my eyes and smiles. “You have his cheekbones and strong chin.”

  Stone steps toward me, anticipating my next move. “Romolo, can you go get this woman some tea? I think it’s going to be a long night.”

  Romolo nods his head, but his eyes ask for my confirmation. “Addie, would you like some chamomile?”

  “Yes,” she says strongly, and looks at Romolo, “but heat the agua ardente and drop the bag in there.”

  Maybe she did know my father. The name did sound familiar.

  We all wait until he leaves the room.

  “Now that we’re alone, can we talk about your father?” She turns her head toward Stone and smiles knowingly. “Not yours, Silvano.”

  “What are you implying?” Stone asks, dragging a chair over toward us.

  “I did not know Mercy was part of your world from the beginning, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been to this house.”

  She has our attention.

  “Your adoptive father and I were acquaintances in my early years. The first time I met you, Bartolomeu, you were ten and walked in on your father and me in his office… You caught us in a particular position you found quite interesting.”

  The memory surfaces, but it’s slightly blurred. I remember catching my father cheating on my mother, and then my father locked me in a closet and forced me to see what a mobster boss does. It didn’t involve sex, though I would’ve preferred it. He made me sit in the closet where he had four dead bodies, some hacked up in pieces. Someone got me out eventually, but all I remember was blood. It was all over me and took four washes to get out.

  “I was also the one who told your real father where to find you.”

  “Careful,” I warn the old woman.

  “There’s no one around to tell on you.” She contorts her neck to try and catch a glimpse of 327, but the pain from the movement halts her progression. “You have two women in here who are living their last hours, am I right?” She waits for a moment and clucks her tongue. “You young boys, always thinking you’re unconquerable. If you think ending my life is going to keep my mouth shut, you have another thing coming.”

  “Well, last I checked, the dead can’t speak.” I stand.

  “This is the world of information. You think I don’t have people holding on to things for me, in case something happens to me?”

  Now it’s my turn to click my tongue. “Addie,” I say calmly, not buying a single word. “You haven’t been in the mafia scene for years. You’re irrelevant.”

  “Secrets never hold a statute of limitations.”

  I vaguely remember hearing about Costa’s whore in my youth. “You bought your way out, and no one has bothered you. Shit, you’re all but forgotten in our world.”

  “But the Mafia Whore isn’t.”

  “The blog?” Stone interrupts. “That’s how Hayden found out.”

  Great. I take a deep breath and say, “You think a blog is what’s going to keep you alive? No one knows you, and frankly, no one cares about your website.” I cue Stone to back me up.

  “It had seventy-two visitors in two years,” she intervenes.

  “You think you’re important?” I chuckle. “You sitting here and pretending like you are is demeaning. Then again, you used to spread your legs for Stone’s father, I don’t know what kind of person that makes you.”

  The woman’s face hardens, as does Stone’s, and her facial muscles suck themselves in. As she gears up to spit on me, I slap my hand on her mouth and prevent it.

  “Now, Addie, I’m being as cordial as possible, and you’re here, in my home, spitting on me.”

  The slime of her teeth brushes against my cupped hand as she tries to latch on to skin and tear my flesh off, her eyes ripe with fury as her fuming breaths land on the side of my hand. She mumbles something I’m glad I can’t make out, because she’s already getting under my skin.

  “I’m not exactly sure what my father saw in you,” I continue, pushing her to the edge. Women always talk when they get angry. “I remember you from years ago, and I admit you weren’t bad to look at, but you weren’t tight. Costa had a thing for virgins, right, Stone?”

  Stone doesn’t approve of my tactics, but since she’s looking at him, he answers honestly, “He liked to tear them apart.”

  “No,” I say and chuckle softly before correcting him. “Franco likes to tear them apart!” I let the words sink in and ask, “Costa didn’t kill them, that wasn’t his style, but he did like to crack them a bit, but you know that, don’t you?”

  “He wasn’t gentle,” Stone chimes in, still thinking I’m going to let her go. I can hear it in the gentleness of his tone and the way he’s keeping eye contact, trying to reassure her.

  “No, especially not with whores.” The more I call her a whore, the angrier she gets. “Have you ever heard of The Butcher, MafiaWhore.com?” I lower my hand and wipe the saliva on my pant leg.

  “No, but I’m guessing he works for you.”

  “He does,” I confidently admit and stand erect, poised, and dominating the room. “And I’m going to give you a choice.”

  Old people look ridiculous rolling their eyes. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this.”

  Stone turns his head to hide the stupid smirk on his face, while I glare and warn the woman. “Don’t test me.” I’ve had enough of women’s tests for one day.

  “I’m not testing you. If you had half the intelligence Costa had, you’d know I’m threatening you.”

  I’m not sure which pisses me off the most, but reacting is only going to show she got under my skin, so I maintain my stance and nod slowly, as if I approve of her tactics. “Threatening me?”

  She fixes her gaze on me and ticks her head to the side, gaining an attitude fit for a woman who knows the skeletons of our world. “Not negotiating. Not bargaining.” She pauses for emphasis and delivers her last blow. “You need a reason not to kill me.”

  “No.” I shake m
y head twice, and on the third time, I roll my neck toward my brother, as if bored by the situation. “Reasons are unimportant to me, especially when your fate has been decided for you. You’re in my house, looking me straight in the eyes and threatening me—though I haven’t heard the threat yet—and you honestly think you’re going to walk out of here?”

  “I don’t want to walk out of here.” The cold tone earns my respect.

  For a second, I’m intrigued by the Mafia Whore’s tactics.

  “Do I have your attention now?”

  A solemn nod is my answer.

  “I’m an old woman, but I’m not a stupid woman, Mr. Beneventi. I’m fully aware of the implications of being dragged into a boss’s house. Hell, even people who willingly walk in here, don’t always walk back out. So, I’m pretty certain of my fate, as you call it, but let’s not sugarcoat. I’m not an outsider who needs a sugar pill to pretend like everything is going to be all right. I’m going to die tonight, you’ve decided that, but you haven’t decided her fate.”

  “Technically, it’s morning,” I say, only because my chest is tightening, and I have to expel the air and words from inside. 327 can’t survive this, but I don’t like what a world without her looks like.

  “Am I right?”

  “Not really, but enlighten me. Why do you think I haven’t decided about her?”

  “Because I’ve been the one who has helped her try to forget you.”

  My hand jolts in the air, stopping her. “I’m not interested in your unsuccessful stories. All of us in this room know I’m unforgettable.” People don’t often forget meeting me. I’m either the best they’ve ever had or the worst thing that’s ever happened to them. Very few fall in between.

  “No?” she mocks me. “Then why are we here and not dead in my home? Your men had us. They could’ve slit our throats and made it look like a break-in, yet here we are, still alive and talking. And before you say it’s because we have information you need, we both know that’s bullshit. You forget I’ve been with this girl for months. I’ve wiped her tears and listened to her heart. I’ve watched her think so much that she trembled in the dark. She didn’t sleep for three days when she got to me, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she feared the person who hurt her or because she hurt due to his absence.”

  Shut up!

  “I’ve hated you since the day she stepped foot in my home, looking like a scared animal who barely escaped being hunted, and I didn’t even know it was you. Since my daughter, Mercy’s not the first person who walked in feeling worthless and unsure of what to do with the second chance life gave her, but she was the first person who I didn’t think would make it.”

  “She wasn’t supposed to make it.” I bite back the bitterness.

  “Yes, she was.” Addie watches me like a hawk, but she’s not going to find anything. I’ve practiced hiding myself my whole life. “How many other girls have you let go?”

  “The Butcher can’t work if he doesn’t have meat.”

  “How many of those girls escaped?”

  My head involuntarily jerks toward 327. “One.”

  “You think it’s a coincidence?”

  “No, I think it was a fucking mistake.” Devoting all my attention to Addie, I lower my shield and tell her the truth. “If she had died, my life would be so much easier.”

  Stone pipes up at my confession, “And is it going to be easier once she’s gone?” He’s not talking about Magdalena, or The Butcher, or the rising rebellion in my ranks, or the cops I know she didn’t tell, he’s asking about me. About how I’m going to feel when 327’s no longer on earth.

  Devastated.

  But I’ll get over it. “Everything is easy if you have a plan. Addie, you’re not part of my plan, and you’ve already taken up quite a bit of my time. Finish threatening me, so I can kill you.”

  “So, it is you who is going to pull the trigger?”

  My gaze veers toward Stone, who is caught off guard. He sucks in the air around him and slowly releases it between his teeth.

  “Trigger, knife, bashing your skull in until it cracks opens,” I offer Stone the choices, though I’m speaking to Addison. “Since you know so much about the Mafia, you must know my brother hasn’t made his bones yet. What do you say, Little Brother? She’s not going to put up much fight.”

  His face blanches, and he looks like he’s going to hurl.

  God, Costa was right. Stone’s not cut out for this life. I’m surrounded by moralistic idiots. He knows better than to defy my orders, but his inaction is a plea for pity. “Get out!”

  “What?” Stone’s perplexed expression only serves to hide the irritation. “Why?”

  I raise my brows in his direction and remain completely still. Time is trivial, and yet in seconds of silence, so much can be said.

  Stone’s mouth falls open, and he lowers his head. Wisely, he doesn’t question my decision, nor does he see my command for what it is: pity. Without hesitation, Stone strides to the door and disappears, leaving the women and me alone in my soundproof room.

  “You don’t want him to know you have feelings for Mercy?” Addison is the first to break the silence. “You know she has anxiety attacks because of you, and it’s not good for her. It’s really unhealthy in her state… You don’t care to know the details of her health, do you?”

  “They don’t matter. She’s already dead.”

  “She’s not. She hit her head on the wall when she passed out. Stone checked her vitals, and she is still breathing.”

  That’s not what I meant. I allow myself a moment to stare at 327, carefully looking for the rise and fall of breaths under the loose fit of my shirt.

  “You knew that. You don’t want to wake her up because you don’t want her to see you kill me.”

  “No, she’s going to see me kill,” I remind her. “It’s the last thing she’s going to see.”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  Ah. The threat. “Why?”

  “Because if something happens to me, I have people who will publish everything I know about your family. Details and all. And I know you don’t care because you think no one reads my blog, but I guarantee it only takes one important person to read it. And at least ten of those people are people who can disrupt your world.”

  “Telling the truth and having evidence are two very distinct things.”

  “You remember the time when Costa had his first fight with your mother?”

  How does she know that?

  “If I’m right, your mother had threatened to leave him, which would have looked bad for family politics.”

  A man who can’t control his home, can’t control his business.

  “He hated your nickname, but he allowed it to keep your mother happy, but that day they had a fight. You walked in on him, dragging your mother by her hair. You interfered, and he had his men break your bones in front of your mother.”

  “I remember.” I rather not have the reminder. Mom used to call me her ‘little heartbreaker.’ Eventually, it got shortened to Breaker, and he gave me my second lesson in being part of the mob: only people who don’t have power get their ass kicked. Then he gave me the choice to have it done again, or be the one to have the power. After that, every day after school, instead of doing homework, I learned what it meant to have power.

  “Three ribs and a nose, I think that’s what the medical report said, along with lacerations and hematomas, but the blood work came up clear. I used to work administration at the hospital he brought you to, and you know why he brought me along that day?”

  Medical report? I had only ever been to the hospital once in my life, and I had no idea they did blood work for broken bones, not that it would’ve mattered. We all thought I was Costa’s son, so who cared about blood work.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not on file. I made sure it was all changed, but I have the original reports, and though it may not be a lot, it will add doubt.”

  “Where are they?”

  “The
y’ll be available online if someone doesn’t give my person a code word.”

  “Your person?”

  “327 knows who it is, and she knows where to find the code word. But if you kill us both, the outcome will result in a headline that will give you a lot to think about. So, I’m the one who is going to give you a choice, Breaker Beneventi. Kill me or kill us both.”

  “What if I let you live?”

  “I will tell everyone who you are and what you do. I have no interest in getting out alive. I’ve lived my life, but that young girl hasn’t. If you care for her at all, which I don’t doubt, you’ll let her go.”

  “That’s not going to happen. She knows more than you do.”

  “And she’s also never told a damn person about what really happened to her, but now that we’re here, I know exactly what she’s been through. That’s why I’m giving you the choice to let her live, away from you. I’ve added her to my will. Well, not her per se, but if anything is to happen to me, everything will go to her eventually. The money, the center, and everything else that comes along with it.”

  “Why?”

  “Someone needs to keep that place running. There’s more to this world, and you’re too young to see it. One day, you’ll realize the Mafia is just another prison. Even in power, you’re always going to be worried about something.”

  “What are you worried about?”

  “Nothing because I’m protected, but are you?”

  Protected by who? “I protect myself.”

  “You’re not doing a very good job at it,” she says. “You’ve been so busy worrying about finding her, that you haven’t been looking.”

  “Looking for what?”

  “Costa might have been a lot of things, but he was smart, Bartolomeu. Very smart. He might be six feet underground, but he’s still calling the shots. This is still his family.”

  “Are you giving me advice?”

  “I’m giving the little boy, who saved his mother once, advice. You can choose to take it or not, but look around you, Breaker. Who is in your life that wasn’t supposed to be? Who didn’t Costa put directly in your path?”

  “A lot of people. I’m capable of—”