“Aldo had gone to ground. O’Mara has already wrecked half my territory trying to find him, so I knew he must be at the little apartment Stefania owned in the art district. She kept it for sentiment’s sake even after I convinced her to do her familial duty to cement the truce by marrying Vadim.”
Mia could barely process his words due to her aching head, but they reminded her of an apartment Stefania had mentioned fondly a few times. She had lived there after her first husband died, despite her father’s disapproval of the size and neighborhood. A tiny bubble of laughter welled in her as she remembered Stefania once hinting that it had been the love nest she shared with Arvin Lovelle, though her stepmother had never outright confessed to continuing the relationship during her marriage to Vadim.
“But why did you rescue me? You don’t give a fuck about me.” She glared at her father as she spoke, though her words were meant for all of them—even the stranger with the hazel eyes.
“We couldn’t let O’Mara continue his rampage.”
“Now, Sal, Aldo wasn’t the soul of discretion either,” said the other man, and Mia finally recognized his voice from the two brief conversations they’d had via Shane’s cell phone.
“Aldo was on the defensive, Patrick.”
“He’s a crazy bastard,” rasped Mia, her throat raw.
Sal glowered at her. “You are the cause of all this mess, and you should shut up before you make it worse for yourself.”
Mia blinked as her vision blurred before coming back into focus. “There’s nothing worse than being at Aldo’s mercy.” She turned her head to Patrick Murphy, nausea rising in her stomach with the movement. “Where is Shane? Is he okay?”
He nodded. “He’s on his way.”
Relief swept through her, but she couldn’t let herself get too excited. Just because she was out of Aldo’s clutches, and Shane was safe, didn’t mean the situation would stay static. “Do me a favor, Mr. Murphy?”
He lifted a shoulder. “If I can.”
“If the decision comes down to handing me over to Aldo, please kill me instead.”
The other man flinched, but didn’t reply.
Silence settled for a moment before a clattering broke it. Mia swore she could feel Shane’s presence the moment he entered the room, though it was more likely the sound of his cursing reached her first. Her head lolled back when she tried to turn to see him approaching, but she managed a small smile for her lover when he was suddenly standing over her. “Hi.”
His eyes were soft when he looked down at her, but she saw his expression harden when he turned to face the three men sitting on a sofa a few feet away. “Why is she tied up, Mr. Murphy?”
Patrick held up a hand. “Not my idea. Sal thought it might be a necessary precaution.”
He snorted. “She’s not going anywhere. Look at her.”
Mia caught the glint of a knife as Shane took it from his belt, but she didn’t have any fear. Seconds later, the plastic binding her wrists broke with a small tug, and her arms flopped at her sides. She wanted to lift them to hug him, but she couldn’t manage that feat yet.
“I’m taking her home.”
“Not so fast,” said Sal Peretti. “You’ve insulted Aldo’s honor, and he won’t like you taking his woman. You have no standing compared to him.”
“Shane has a great deal of standing with me, Sal,” said Patrick in a smooth voice, but with a hint of warning underneath. “It’s obvious the girl wants to be with him, so why are we interfering in romantic matters?”
“It isn’t obvious to me,” said Aldo as the door slammed open again, the reverberation echoing around the cavernous room. “He’s taken her and brainwashed her. I’m trying to save her.”
Mia started to laugh, but her ribs hurt too much, and she winced instead. “Who’ll save me from you?”
“See?” He walked over to stand on her other side, jabbing a finger in her direction. “Vadim just gave her to this fucking Mick as payment for a debt. Who knows what he’s done to her?” Aldo cupped her chin, forcing her head his way. “Has he been giving you drugs, honey?”
She jerked her head, not succeeding in freeing herself until Shane pried his hand off her. “Don’t touch me.”
“She doesn’t want him to touch her,” crowed Aldo with triumph.
“Not him, you.” Her throat was so raw it hurt to push out the words. “He’s not the one who hurts me. I want nothing to do with you.”
Sal leaned forward to reach for a white demitasse cup on the coffee table strategically positioned near the sofa. The whole area looked like it had been thrown together to offer a semblance of hospitality, complete with an expensive aubussan rug underneath the sofa and table. The civil pretense was a stark contrast to the blood stains on the cement floor visible at the edges where the rug didn’t cover.
Mia blinked, torn from her surreal appraisal of the décor by Sal’s words after he took a sip of espresso. “To be blunt, gentlemen, I care not what the girl wants. Aldo is my priority and one of my successors, along with Gio. He will lead the Peretti family one day, and all this friction will not be good for cooperation. Give him the girl and avoid the risk of an insult he won’t forgive or forget.”
“I think that would be a mistake,” said Patrick in a mild voice. “It’s clear she doesn’t want to be with him. If you try to force her to go where she doesn’t want, she’ll be escaping and running back to Shane. It will simply prolong the friction,” he put a mocking inflection on the word, “To allow this conflict to continue. Your grandson will follow your decision, so if you tell him to end this, he will.”
“I assume your man will do the same?” Sal could have been asking about the weather for all the interest he seemed to hold in the answer, but there was a note of challenge in his eyes visible even to Mia’s blurred vision.
Patrick inclined his head. “Of course. Vadim, what do you say? You speak for Mr. Varnakov as his representative here, and she’s your daughter.”
Mia stared impassively at her father.
“Let them fight for her. Whoever lives keeps her.” He reached for his cup and sipped as though the matter up for discussion wasn’t anything to him either way. It clearly wasn’t.
Sal’s civilized veneer started to crumble. “I will not risk losing my cherished grandson to a pussy fight. Gio can’t lead alone. The girl must be Aldo’s, or our truce is over.”
Mia jumped at his words, her heart racing with fear. The name teased her brain, and desperation spurred her to make connections her addled mind might not have otherwise. “Gio and Aldo are planning to oust you, Sal.”
The old man scowled. “What nonsense is this?”
“Aldo told me earlier that he was going to get rid of you. He wanted to get rid of Stefania too and regretted not having a chance to kill her.” Struggling to hide her fear and the weakness crashing over her, she made herself maintain eye contact. “She helped me escape him, so he wanted her dead for that. Surely you loved Stefania, and that upsets you?”
“I did love my darling daughter.” Sal frowned before shrugging. “You have no proof of your claims.”
Mia wrinkled her brow, straining mentally as her thoughts threatened to splinter and disintegrate. “He said…” What was it Aldo had said? She’d been too busy hurting to pay much attention then, but there had to be something… “A cartel. He said Gio would do his part with the cartel.”
Sal froze in the process of lifting his cup, and his dark gaze switched to Aldo, drilling into him as though he had x-ray vision. “What else did he say?”
Helplessly, she shook her head and wished she hadn’t when stars exploded behind her eyes, and her brain felt like it sloshed around in her skull. “I think that was it.”
“It’s all lies, Nonno.” Aldo sounded confident, but Mia thought his voice shook a bit.
Sal’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps, but how does she know anything about our business with the cartel?”
Peripherally, she saw him shrug. “I don’t know. Perhaps she
eavesdropped, or maybe O’Mara said something.”
“O’Mara would have no information about our very discreet negotiations with Alcartes breaking off due to lack of agreement, Aldo.” Sal went quiet, as though analyzing something the way a computer would. When he spoke again, his voice was cold. “A fight to the death.”
Mia gasped, her gaze finding Shane’s before raking over him. He was pale and seemed unsteady. A new bloodstain marred his shirt, and his arm was still in the cast to keep his chest immobilized for healing. He couldn’t have recovered enough from his gunshot wound, let alone the newest injury, to face Aldo. In top form, her stepbrother would probably not be a match for Shane, but with her lover so weakened, she didn’t think he could beat the other man.
“Nonno, you can’t be serious.” There was an edge of panic to Aldo’s voice.
Sal lifted a shoulder. “I have questions about your loyalty now. Kill the Mick to get your whore, and we will speak no more about this. Die at his hands, and it solves the quandary as well.” He seemed not to care which way the scenario played out for Aldo.
Patrick cleared his throat. “If you prefer not to fight, Aldo, we could all walk away from this.”
“No,” said Sal decisively before his grandson could answer. “This must be settled tonight.”
Mia was certain he didn’t give a fuck about what happened to her, or who won her. Sal simply wanted Aldo to either prove his loyalty in some confusing honor-code way that made no sense to her, or get himself killed and take care of any coups in the planning stage.
Aldo looked nervous, but nodded. He still wore the white scrubs, now adorned with traces of her blood. “Fine, if that’s your preference, Nonno, I shall do as you ask.” His icy gaze chilled her when he looked down at her. “You will belong to me for the rest of your life in a few minutes, dear sister.” Speaking only so she and Shane could hear, he added, “It will be a short and pain-filled life at that. I practiced on Spare last night while waiting for you to wake up, and her final screams of agony were music, but yours will be a concerto.”
Sickened, Mia looked away from him. Her eyes burned as she imagined the suffering that poor girl had undergone at Aldo’s hands throughout the time he had “owned” her. Had she still been giving him that look of slavish love when he’d killed her?
Shane growled, but didn’t respond to Aldo. Instead, he leaned down slightly to speak against Mia’s ear. “Cormac and Bruno are going to get you out of here no matter what. They’re both watching, and they won’t let Aldo take you.”
“I’d rather die first,” she whispered, “But you can’t do this. You’re too weak.” She glanced at the wound stuffed with something lacy that was probably once white. “What happened?”
“Aunt Sofia is a psycho bitch. I’ll tell you all about it after I kill him.”
She lifted one of her heavy arms to grasp his hand. “He’s going to kill you. I can’t let that happen.”
Shane touched her cheek. “You have no choice. No more interference, baby girl. This is how it has to play out. I promise you I won’t let that fucker beat me, and I know how you feel about promises. I won’t make one I can’t keep. Okay?”
Tentatively, she nodded. Mia didn’t really believe he could defeat Aldo in his current state, but she knew her lack of confidence wouldn’t help matters. “I’ll hold your sling,” she said, trying to sound strong.
“Maybe you should wear it. When this is over, I think we should spend our honeymoon in the hospital.”
She took the sling as he eased it off and handed it to her. Freezing, she stared at him. “Wait? Did you just give me the most fucked up marriage proposal ever?”
Shane gave her a familiar cocky grin. “Nah, I just told you we’re getting married. I’m not giving you a chance to say no.”
Mia rolled her eyes, managing a small smile. “Why would that be any different than anything else with you, love?” Casting a quick glance at Aldo, who was glaring daggers at their cozy position, she said, “Kill him, and I’ll marry you anytime, anywhere.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “You know how to motivate a man to win, babe.” And then he was walking away, knife in hand.
She angled her chair to see them as they squared off in a spot of the room that had no trappings of civilization. Just concrete to meet any falling bodies. She curled her hands into fists and had to force herself to breathe.
The men circled each other for a short time, as though gauging the other’s strengths—or weaknesses in Shane’s case, with his injuries. Aldo seemed to hang back, poised as though to flee at any moment, so it was a surprise when he suddenly lunged forward and slashed at Shane with his knife.
She cried out, further wounding her sore throat, when the knife encountered his arm, and blood flowed from the cut. Mia clamped her lips together, not wanting to distract him with her sounds of distress.
Aldo moved again, slamming his fist into Shane’s face when her lover blocked the knife he also stabbed toward his chest. His grunt, and the sickening sound of flesh against flesh, made Mia’s stomach churn.
As Aldo kicked at Shane’s knee, the other man got the upper hand, dropping down with a surprisingly lithe motion in his currently weakened state to grasp his ankle. Her stepbrother screamed when Shane twisted as hard as he could. A snapping sound was barely audible over his expression of agony.
Shane took advantage of his vulnerability to jerk him to the ground. Unfortunately, Aldo didn’t smash his head on the concrete, and he was still reacting quickly enough to drag Shane down with him. They exchanged blows and curses before Aldo managed to free his knife hand and slash Shane across the forehead.
Mia wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t look away as her stepbrother twisted and pinned her lover to the floor. His arm was heavy against Shane’s throat as he leaned on him with all his strength.
“She’s mine, O’Mara, and has been since she was twelve. You tainted her, but I fixed that. I’m going to fuck her to death with your blood on my hands.” His cold laugh made her shiver. “Maybe you’ll both be together soon, if there’s an afterlife.”
His face was bright red, and Shane was obviously struggling to stay conscious. Mia couldn’t hold in her cry of alarm when Aldo let up on his throat only to grasp a handful of his hair and slam his head onto the concrete. A second blow was more than she could stand, and tears scalded her cheeks as Shane lay limply.
With a mad cackle of delight, Aldo got to his feet, clearly favoring his broken ankle. “Are you satisfied now, Nonno? I’ve killed this piece of shit.” He drew back his injured foot as though to kick Shane, and then screamed when the other man grabbed him suddenly and flipped him back onto the floor. This time, Aldo’s head made a satisfying sound as it collided with the concrete.
Shane didn’t waste time with words. He let his fists do all the speaking as they pummeled the other man over and over. He was the personification of wrath and should have been terrifying with his dark expression and lethal intentions.
Mia suddenly wanted to straddle him and rut like a wild animal.
Aldo slumped to the floor, moaning loudly, as Shane struggled to his feet. He swayed for a moment, looking like he wouldn’t achieve his goal of standing. Then his equilibrium stabilized, and he loomed over his opponent.
As he lifted his foot, his intent to stomp Aldo’s face obvious, Mia called out, “Stop.”
Shane immediately froze, but shot her a look full of confusion. “What? Why?”
“Don’t kill him.”
He groaned, frustration lacing the sound. “Fuck’s sake, Mia, now is not the time for pity or mercy. If I let this fucker live, he’ll keep coming after you.”
“I know.” Mia summoned strength she wasn’t sure she’d still had to get slowly to her feet. Her lower back and left side throbbed painfully as soon as she stood, and she had to grip the back of the chair. “Help me, Shane.”
Still looking bewildered, he lowered his foot and walked toward her.
Sal was
grumbling in the background. “It must be finished. To leave him like this is an unbearable humiliation.”
She ignored the don, as did her man. He curved his arm around her waist, and they shuffled together toward Aldo. Mia honestly didn’t know who was holding up whom, they were both in such bad shape.
When she stood over Aldo, cold satisfaction welled in her.
One of his eyes was swollen shut, but the other one locked on her. “Sweet sister, ever merciful.” His tone was somewhere between pleading and mocking.
“Do you remember what I told you, Aldo?”
He gingerly shook his head, clearly in pain. “What did you say, my love?”
She shuddered. “I’m not your love, your sister, or anything else. What I am is your killer.” Holding out her hand, she turned slightly to Shane. “Where’s your knife?”
He half-shrugged. “I lost it somewhere.”
A second later, Mia blinked and looked down at the elegant pearl-handled switchblade that appeared in her hand. Her fuzzy vision coalesced as she lifted her head to find Patrick Murphy standing near them. His providing the weapon she intended to use to kill Aldo probably wasn’t good for the truce with Peretti, but he didn’t seem to care.
Mia started to ease herself down to the floor, leaning heavily on Shane. They both collapsed to their knees in a less-than-dignified position, but she could now reach Aldo. Half-expecting Sal to protest, or have his goons intercede, she pressed the button to extend the wickedly sharp blade, honed to a deadly edge.
“I told you I would kill you, Aldo.”
He stared at her, obviously trying to intimidate her, but the fear in his eyes interfered with his intentions. “You aren’t going to kill me. You don’t have it in you.”
“Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have had it in me.” Casting a small glance at Shane before returning her gaze to the blade, she said, “Even a month ago, I was still in denial of my own darker nature, Aldo, but not anymore.”
A bead of perspiration appeared on his brow, rolling down his temple to disappear into his dark hair. “You aren’t fooling anyone with your tough talk.” Anxiety showed through his bravado. “You aren’t going to let this happen, are you, Nonno?”
MAFIA: Dark Romance Collection Page 20