Mafia Protection (Tomassi Series Book 1)

by AA Lee

  “I’m one of Gregorio’s members.” Ella peeked out of the window. The man was hardly recognizable. She could barely tell he was a person. It was hard to know that Angelo was capable of doing such a thing. Why did he not just shoot him as he told her once? He gave into the hatred just as she had that night.

  She looked in his eyes. Angelo felt no pity and unbuckled his belt. He wrenched the leather strap from the loops on his pants. She was about to look away again. She definitely would not be able to handle this, but Angelo jerked the man’s hands behind his back and restrained them with the belt.

  “You are a fucking traitor, and I’m in charge of Gregorio’s ranks now.” He dragged the man by the arms away from the vehicle when a Porsche came skidding down the road. It left a trail of dust as it stopped behind the Mercedes. Angelo panicked and looked at the car, but Ella felt the vibrations and crawled underneath before it stopped. Angelo was searching for her but had no idea where she went.

  She saw three sets of boots stepping on the gravel from where she hid underneath the car. All four doors opened and then shut again. The men never thought to check underneath, before they walked past to where Angelo stood.

  “Where is Ella?” one of the men asked.

  She scraped her back as she pushed her body underneath to the front of the car. While Angelo aimed his gun at the men, all three men pointed one at him. It was a standoff—her or him. She had no doubt they would take him anyway. She could not let that happen and moved faster no matter how much the rocks scratched her head.

  Angelo looked straight at her but quickly averted his attention back to them. He tried to buy her some time as she squeezed her body forward. So far, she had no room to raise her arm. Her body had barely fit underneath the car.

  “Who are you talking about?” Angelo asked.

  “As if you didn’t know,” the man said.

  “As if she would be with me,” Angelo scoffed.

  “Put down your gun, Tomassi, or I will shoot you.”

  “I think you would rather bring me back with you instead.”

  The men walked closer to him and never looked back. Ella managed to scoot out a few more inches and free her arm enough to raise her gun. It was trickier than being on her stomach. She had only shot from laying on her back once.

  She carefully aimed at one of the men. Her shots had to be fast and precise. If she missed, it could mean Angelo’s life.

  One of the men fell and then the other fell too. Ella pulled the trigger as she aimed at the third. Nothing came out. She fired again and frantically kept pulling the trigger. The gun would not shoot. The misfire threw her off, but she also gained the man’s attention. Angelo did not miss a step and knocked the man to the ground.

  “You are a dumb son of bitch to think I would ever tell you where she was.” Then he shouted over to her as she squeezed out from under the car. “Bring me the rope from the back seat, Ella.”

  She felt disoriented as she grabbed the rope and slammed the back door. She ran over to Angelo. The man was already bleeding when he tied the rope around his wrists. Then he left the man alone. Angelo talked on his phone as he guided her back to the car.

  They sat on the ground, against the wrecked Mercedes as they waited for help. Angelo looked over at her, but she could not look back. She was not sure how to feel. Angelo tried to touch her arm, but she flinched. Her body stiffened with the show of affection. She had a hard time separating him from what she had seen him do. No wonder he did not want to involve her in group affairs.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Sure,” she mumbled. She could give no better answer than that.

  “Let me see your gun,” he said and held out his hand. Ella handed it to him. He aimed and tried to shoot just as she had. The gun would not fire for him either. “Faulty shit,” he huffed. “Here, I want you to take this. It’s my extra.” He handed over the one in his hand.

  She stared at the two restrained men and looked up at him. He looked frustrated and rested his head in his hand. She wanted to tell him it was okay, but the two men kept reminding her of what had happened.

  “I’m sorry, Ella. I never wanted you to be a part of any of this. I don’t know what to tell you.”

  Ella looked down and let out a long, steady breath. “I know,” she replied and laid her hand on his arm. “I know that it couldn’t be helped.”

  CHAPTER 55

  Ella tossed the blue dress she had worn in the trash. The rocks and dirt from underneath the car ruined the only dress she ever knew Angelo liked. The day was a disaster, and she felt sick. She had killed two men with Angelo beating another until she could not recognize him as a person at all. She kept seeing his bloodied body on the ground and felt nauseous all over again. She had seen Angelo at his best, but there was also something deadly inside of him, absent of feeling. He turned into a completely different man than what she knew.

  She almost forgot that Rafa was at home with her as she walked in the kitchen and saw him sitting at the table. Angelo had made him bring her home. Rafa probably had better things to do than sit with her, but Angelo trusted Rafa more than he trusted anyone else.

  Ella tossed the towel from her hair onto the counter and walked to the coffeemaker. She looked at Rafa and took out two cups. Then she waited a minute for his cup to fill.

  “Here.” She set a cup in front of him. She remembered that he did not have cream or sugar the other day and went to prepare her own.

  “Thank you,” Rafa replied and picked it up. “Who taught you how to drive like that?” he asked and set down his phone. Ella did not understand since he was not in the car, wondering for a second until he spoke. “Car camera,” he said and took a sip.

  “Oh.” Ella picked up her cup and walked to the table. She should have known they had a camera in Angelo’s car. “Mr. Sullivan did,” she answered.

  “Did he teach you how to get out of restraints and how to shoot too?” Ella nodded. “And you thought that was normal?” His brows lifted with the question.

  Ella shrugged. “It was normal when I didn’t know anything else. I don’t know why I never questioned it. I guess I had no one to compare my life to.”

  Rafa nodded. “Fair enough. Sullivan was a good teacher. You are very good.”

  Ella shook her head. “I’m not as good as he is. Mr. Sullivan can still make shots that I can’t make.”

  “Maybe we should have taken him to audition for the show. the test that Angelo set up at the warehouse,” he added.

  “Oh. Well, he is a gifted man,” she said and looked off to the side.

  “What’s the matter, Ella?” Rafa leaned his arms on the table and looked at her.

  “Angelo,” she mumbled. “Today…He was not himself.”

  “He gets like that when he’s scared. That’s how we react when someone threatens our life.”

  “There was so much blood. That was hard to see.” She looked up.

  “He grew up with that. He’s immune, but you should have never been there for that. He doesn’t want to expose you to that part of him. He doesn’t want you to be afraid of him.”

  “That’s just it.” Ella pointed. “He can’t keep me from it. I am going to see it whether he likes it or not. We didn’t plan what happened today, but it still happened.” She stopped. Why was she wasting her time with trying to explain her position?

  “Go on,” he said and leaned forward. He stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

  Angelo always had a vicious streak. She could see the anger in his eyes, but seeing it firsthand made it real. She could either despise him for it or accept it. Maybe that was what had happened to her mother. She never accepted her father’s involvement with the mafia, and it turned out bad for them both. Ella did not want to end up like them.

  Rafa inhaled. “Okay, you are going to run into some trouble, but that doesn’t mean he will deliberately put you in danger. He has plenty of men who are with him. He needs someone who isn’t directly involved. He doesn�
�t want you to get used to it. That would make you no different than us.”

  “I have to get used to it, Rafa, or I’m going to hate him for it. Just like my mother did towards my father. Angelo’s life isn’t only his anymore. It’s my life, too. I don’t have a choice if I’m going to be the support he needs. He can’t have both.”

  Ella grabbed her forehead with her hand. Why was she talking to Rafa about this? She should be talking to Angelo, but Angelo was likely to brush off the issue.

  “Ella, I understand what you’re saying, but having someone else to think about and protect is new to Angelo. He will come around. As his wife, you are just going to have to bear with him until he does. All you can do for now is accept him for who he is.”

  “Wife,” she mumbled. “I am a wife that nobody knows about because it is too dangerous to tell anyone.”

  “Love, Angelo has wanted to get married for a long time. I doubt he is happy about the secret.”

  She frowned. “Can’t you just agree with me, Rafa? Do you have to reason out everything?”

  “Yes, I do. Welcome to Angelo’s world.” He smiled and looked straight at her. His eyes looked sad, maybe sympathetic. Even Rafa knew her situation was not likely to change anytime soon.

  “All right, enough sulking,” he said. “I’ll take you to eat and then I’ll show you around the city. Be ready in five minutes before I realize what a bad idea this is. I could be risking my life by going out with you.”

  Ella gave him an appreciative smile. He probably was talking about Angelo and not Bonadio. Rafa must have faced some tough situations with Angelo as his boss, too.

  ***

  Dinner was uneventful. After a morning like she had, complete with a car chase, Ella could not complain. She was glad that something in that day was normal as he led her outside of the restaurant where they ate. His beautiful silver Lexus waited for them. It was fully loaded with leather seats. She had not cared to admire the car earlier. Now that she was in a better mood, she was excited to sit in the passenger’s seat.

  “I don’t guess you would let me drive,” she asked. She knew he would never let her drive, but his sarcastic remark was worth the question.

  “Nobody drives my car except Brett,” he said. Rafa turned the key and looked over at her. “Your luck today has not been the best. I saw what happened to Angelo’s car. Even if I would’ve let you drive, I’m not the type to tempt fate.”

  Ella smiled as he shifted into drive and turned onto the busy street. It felt strange having him take her anywhere, but he was not half as bad as she originally thought.

  “I’ve been to this department store before,” he said and pulled into a shopping center. “I like to buy all of my suits here. It should have something you like.”

  “Finally,” Ella breathed and stepped out of his car. It was the first time she had been shopping in Miami. She was glad for the change of scenery as he followed her through the entrance.

  The store had everything as he had said. Shelves filled with fragrances and makeup stood in front. They gave her an idea. Ella started walking forward and to the shiny display cases up ahead.

  “Wow,” she said, fascinated by the lines of jewelry. The bright lights made the diamonds seem more spectacular than what they already were. There were chains of every length. She had never seen so many accessories. She continued to walk around when she stopped in front of a glass case lined with the most beautiful watches. Would Angelo wear a watch? He might if she made it special.

  “Excuse me,” she interrupted the woman behind the counter. “Do you engrave?”

  “Of course,” the woman snorted. Her haughty tone caught Ella off guard.

  “Good.” Ella tried to ignore her. Maybe her coffee went cold. “Would you show me that watch there?” Ella pointed. “It’s the one with the black band.”

  The woman looked at the watch’s tag and then at Ella. Her expression never changed. “Are you sure you meant to enter this store and not the shop around the corner?”

  Ella did not know what shop she meant but assumed it carried less expensive brands. “I don’t know. I could have meant the shop around the corner. Is their customer service better than it is here?” she asked and placed her hand on her hip.

  “Do you know how many customers have wasted my time today? I have more important things to do than show merchandise to people who are window-shopping.”

  Ella frowned. “Maybe those customers were planning on coming back. Maybe they were looking for the perfect gift, and they wanted to go home and think it over. Your attitude might lose the sale. I know you work off commission, so let me see the watch.” Ella pointed.

  The clerk did not say another word and turned around for the keys. As she set the watch on a soft piece of cloth, Ella looked back for Rafa. “What do you think?” she asked. “I want to have it inscribed. Do you think Angelo will like it?”

  “How should I know? I’ve never bought Angelo jewelry,” he teased.

  Ella let out an irritated breath. “So funny, but you have known him for long enough to know.”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart. He has had his old watch for a while. I’m sure he’d wear it if you gave it to him.”

  “Then I’m buying it.” Ella looked at the attendant. “I would like it inscribed like I said earlier. Will you hand me a pen and paper?” Ella quickly wrote down the inscription and handed it back.

  “I will be back with you in a few minutes,” the clerk said. Her voice was more subdued now that Rafa stood there.

  “Personally,” Rafa said. “I wouldn’t buy anything from this store after the way she treated you.”

  “Yes, but I might not find what I want somewhere else. The watch is here. I want to get it while I can.”

  Rafa crossed his arms. “I would have walked out.”

  “No, I want the watch, but I won’t come back to this store either.”

  “I’m going to make a call to the manager tomorrow morning. That was ridiculous. The owner needs to know how his employees are treating the customers. I would not excuse that if I were the owner.”

  Ella nodded and looked through her purse. When she pulled out her credit card and license, she breathed out annoyed. “They are going to see my last name,” she said. “She probably doesn’t know who Angelo is anyway.”

  “I’ll pay,” Rafa said and reached for his wallet. “She probably doesn’t have a clue who you are, but we can’t take that chance either.”

  “Wait.” Ella shook her head. “Take me to the bank.”

  “I’ll take you later. I just want to get out of here now.” He took a business card off the counter and looked at the door. “The store is a nice place. I would not mind taking over if the owner would sell.”

  “A clothing store?” Ella almost laughed.

  “It would be another business interest to add to my credentials.”

  “You are always thinking ahead.”

  He nodded as they both waited for the clerk to return. “So. What are you inscribing on the watch?”

  Ella thought about the car chase and Angelo’s reaction to the man. It was hard to think about Angelo that way. She wondered if those things would always bother her like that, or if one day she would get used to it. It did not matter. She already knew she would not like everything she saw. It did not change her heart. She still loved Angelo the same. Ella smiled slightly and looked at Rafa. “It’s a secret,” she replied.

  “Secret?” he grinned. “You are like a child, Ella, but I think Angelo will appreciate the watch.”

  “I hope so.” She smiled.

  “Where did you want to go after the clerk rings you up?”

  Ella shrugged. “There are a lot of stores on this strip. I would be happy just to shop here. There is no reason to drive all over town.”

  “Why not?” he said. “I hope you appreciate what I will face later over this outing. Enjoy it while you can.”

  Ella looked back at him. “Angelo won’t be mad. He is busy anyway. Bes
ides, he trusts you.”

  “Scary, isn’t it. Just wait. You will see.”

  CHAPTER 56

  Angelo walked through the quiet hallway to the recliner in the family room. He thought that Ella would be home by the time he finished his shower but she was nowhere to be seen. Rafa said that he would bring her home by eight and it was almost ten. Where were they?

  Angelo leaned forward and folded his hands together. His head hung with the shame that he felt. Ella probably thought he was heartless. In a way, he was. He felt no remorse for his assaults on that man. The only guilt he felt was exposing Ella to the violence; otherwise, the attacks would not have ended there. He was not proud of who he was, but it was still who he was. She was afraid of him now. He knew. She tried to hide it, but he felt it in the flinch of his touch on her arm. If Rafa took any longer to get her home, she would be more afraid of him still.

  The doorknob turned as Angelo poured a second glass of wine. His watching from the kitchen entrance caught Ella off guard. She was holding several bags in her hands and stumbled when she saw him. Their eyes locked. He did not smile, and he did not speak. His head turned toward the hallway to their bedroom and he gestured to it with his chin. “Go put away your things and shut the door when you do.” She was hesitant for a second until he raised his arm and pointed to the room.

  “Angelo,” she started.

  “I said go,” he ordered and dared her to question his stern tone. He was not in the mood. As soon as she disappeared and shut the door, he balled up his fist and smashed Rafa straight in the jaw. Rafa stumbled. He should have known it was coming. Angelo pitched his fist forward again, but Rafa ducked to the side and deflected the punch.

  “You are getting my wife back a little late, aren’t you?” Angelo seethed.

  His anger did not surprise Rafa. Rafa already had a reply ready for him. “You told me to watch her, and she was tired of being in this damn house. Is there a problem?”