Mafia Protection (Tomassi Series Book 1)

by AA Lee

  “Ms. Collins,” she said. Ella did not like the sound of her former name as the employee continued to speak. “I’m glad I found you. A woman left this message with the front desk earlier and wanted us to give it to you. She said it was urgent.”

  “What did she look like?” Ella asked.

  The woman shook her head. “I don’t know. I wasn’t the one who received the message, and my coworker works the night shift, so she already left for the day.”

  “Okay.” Ella nodded.

  Ella opened the door to the restroom and looked at the folded white note. Something was not right. She hurried in the stall and then washed her hands; then she looked at the note again. She was afraid of the message but opened it anyway. What she saw was not a message at all. It was the number of a room on the thirtieth floor of the Royal Flush. Ella looked off to the side and thought about all the reasons that someone left her the number of a room. Only one reason stuck in her mind. Angelo.

  Ella pushed the door to the restroom back open and looked around for Thomas and Sammy. They had to go see what this note was about, except they were not there anymore. Ella immediately walked to the counter and looked at the receptionist who had talked to them.

  “Where did those two men go?” she asked.

  “Someone came to talk to them and they practically ran as they followed the man to the elevator.”

  “They left?” Ella could not believe it. After all the times that she did not want Angelo’s members with her, she did want them now. She needed them now, and they left.

  “Okay,” Ella said. “Thank you.”

  Ella took out her phone. She dialed Angelo’s number and waited. When no one answered, she hung up and dialed again. She was not the type to give up when he did not answer any of the times she called. She hoped that Rafa would answer and dialed his. Again, there was nothing.

  She took a breath and looked at the ceiling as if an answer would fall down on her. The decision was hers to make. She was alone and could get a hold of nobody. She had to go to the room. As suspicious as she was, she could not ignore the note. She had to find out what it meant.

  Ella walked back to the counter and looked at the woman behind it. That was all she could think to do. “I need you to call Mr. Paolini,” she started when the receptionist immediately interrupted.

  “He told us never to call him unless it was an emergency.”

  Ella breathed in and let it back out. This was not the time to get angry at stupidity. If the woman had considered her eyes, she would have known that this was an emergency.

  “I’m going to finish what I was saying before, and you will not interrupt me.” Ella nodded at the woman to enforce what she was saying. “Okay, you are going to call Mr. Paolini, and you are not going to stop until he answers, because this is an emergency.” Ella nodded again. “When he answers, you are going to tell him to come to the hotel, and then you are going to give him this note. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” the woman nodded. She finally sensed the urgency in Ella’s voice.

  “Good,” Ella confirmed and ran to the elevator.

  When the elevator stopped, Ella stepped into the quiet hallway of the thirtieth floor. She did not make a sound and followed the numbered plaques beside the doors to the correct room. She was cautious with every sound she heard as she hoped there was no real issue to find. She tried to convince herself that it was nothing, but the bad feeling lingered in her chest. She knew better than to ignore her inner voice. She would not like what she found.

  There was only one more room left to pass before she stood next to a door at the end. It was slightly opened. She could feel a cold draft with the faint voice she heard. The voice came from a woman.

  Ella was hesitant to look through the door. She took several breaths before facing what she already knew. She pushed. The door made no sound and opened, barely exposing what Ella hoped not to see. Angelo sat in the recliner with his pants unzipped and opened. A woman with short, messy light brown hair kneeled on the floor between his legs. Her head moved up and down where his pants parted as he clenched both sides of the chair.

  Ella had a feeling about what she would find, but she could not prepare herself enough for what she saw. She closed her eyes and took a step back. Angelo did not know she was there. She felt ill. The strength of her legs started to fail. Her head became faint as she held her breath for longer than she should. That other woman had no right putting her lips around what was hers.

  Ella wiped the tears from her eyes as the anger started to build in her mind. She pushed the door open wide. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but the woman wanted her to enter. The woman would get what she wished.

  Angelo immediately closed his eyes as the woman lifted her head and turned around. All Ella could feel was hate as the woman started to speak. “You have a sexy boyfriend,” she said as her tongue swirled across her lips. “I think I’ll ride him when I’m finished with him here.”

  Ella stayed silent as the woman stared at her. She waited for Angelo to open his eyes back up. She wondered what he had to say.

  “Leave, Ella.” His voice was soft, remorseful. It should be with the glistening erection the woman caused as her wet lips wrapped around him again. She made sure that Ella got a clear view of what she did.

  Ella glanced to the floor on the left. She wondered how many men were in the room and where they were hiding. Her throat felt dry as the tears stung the corners of her eyes. It broke her heart to see him subjected to the woman’s assault. They set him up and let her see. She knew what she saw was not real. At the same time, it was.

  “Don’t you ever fucking listen?” Angelo yelled. “I said leave, damn it! Just leave!” Angelo could not look at her anymore and closed his eyes again. He could not help what the woman made his body feel, but it made no difference to Ella. She hated what she saw the same.

  “Take your ring back, Angelo, and take this watch I bought for you too.” She dropped them both to the floor and watched them bounce in two different directions. “They don’t mean anything to me now.” Her act of being scorned should convince anyone that she despised Angelo and wanted nothing else to do with him, except Ella was not entirely sure that she was acting.

  She looked at Angelo one more time as a tear fell down her cheek. She was angrier than she ever remembered. They would all get what they deserved for putting her though this pain.

  She immediately ran out of the room and down the hallway until she came to the bend in the middle. She stopped to devise her next plan. Those men would think she left. They would come out of hiding, and she would catch them then. She hated them – Bonadio and his men. She would never get over what she saw. She would never feel pity for even one. She would not feel vindicated until every one of them was dead.

  CHAPTER 58

  Arms suddenly wrapped around her. Somebody grabbed her from behind and locked their hands at her chest. That was the entire point of setting up Angelo. To make her hate him and run. They wanted to capture her. A small part of her mind wanted to let him take her. There was probably a car waiting for her outside of the hotel. She should go back with them. Go to Bonadio and seduce him…kill him in his sleep.

  Ella did not struggle with the man. She hung her head forward and let her body grow limp. The man felt her give up her control and loosened his grip. Ella stayed still for a moment. Her breathing steadied but her heartbeat pounded against her chest. In a swift attempt to free her body, her head sailed backwards and rammed the man in the nose. He stumbled back, giving her less than a second to react. She grabbed her gun and shot.

  “No,” she said as his large body jerked against the floor. A few seconds later, he was dead.

  She looked to the left and then to the right. Did they only send one man to capture her? Did they not know about her skills? She crouched to the floor and held her head. As hard as it was, she had to go back to the room. She had to put all other thoughts out of her mind. She could not think about the woman. She
needed to rescue Angelo.

  “Ella,” someone whispered her name. She looked up as Rafa dropped down. He had Jim and Ray behind him. “I got your message.”

  Ella threw her arms around him and tried to catch her breath. She was so happy to see him there after what she had found. Everything about the situation hurt. She just wanted it to disappear.

  “They have him. A woman was with him, but I know they set him up. The others were hiding. I couldn’t do anything. They might have killed him. I didn’t know how many there were. I was about to go back.” Ella sobbed in his shirt, but he did not seem to care.

  “It’s okay, love,” he said. “You did the right thing. I see they were waiting for you to leave.” He pointed at the body.

  “Yes, they tried, but Angelo’s still in there with more. We have to save him.” Ella lowered her head to wipe her eyes. She did not care about how she sat on the floor in her dress. Nobody cared right now anyway.

  “Ella, wait for us here,” he said. “Angelo won’t want you to go back there.”

  “Let me help you, Rafa, please. They won’t know I’m with you. They think I believed what I saw, and they will think their man caught me. I can keep watch outside of the door. I want to come.”

  He looked in her eyes for a split second and asked her fast. “Does your gun have plenty of ammo?” She nodded and held it up for him to see. “Come on.” He held out his hand. “Stay behind us and listen for anyone coming off the elevator. We had the receptionist call all the occupied rooms on this floor. Those guests have been ordered not to leave their rooms, and we left Brett on watch in the stairway.” Ella nodded again and grabbed his hand. Still on the thirtieth floor, she waited behind the three men as Rafa peeked around the bend and then retreated.

  “There’s a man outside of the door now,” he whispered. He took a breath and then motioned for them to follow. The man slowly held up his hands and did not make a sound. Jim grabbed the gun he held as Rafa fired his. Then Ray caught the man’s body before it ever hit the floor.

  Ella was surprised that the door was still open. Two men pointed guns at Angelo as another assaulted him with a thick metal bar. Blood trickled from a large gash on the left side of his face and there was a cut on his chin. His pants were still unzipped.

  Rafa looked at Jim and Ray and held up three fingers. Then he closed his hand tight and lifted one finger at a time. When he showed all three fingers again, he kicked the door open wide and all three of them fired shots. The floor shook as one body fell and then another. The third man hit the edge of the recliner and crashed against the wall. The bar in his hand echoed as it bounced and landed at Angelo’s feet, but Angelo still did not move. Neither did the other three.

  Ella had no idea what had happened. She looked behind her but no one was there. Then she slid her feet forward. The door was opened just wide enough to see through the opening where the hinges met the wall. She saw them. Two more men were in the room; both aimed their guns at Angelo.

  She had no time to think. They started to pull the trigger as she matched the rear sight with the front on her gun. It was hard with how her hands shook. She finally just made herself concentrate and hold the gun still. She thought about nothing else but the two bullets flying through the air.

  Everything else went silent in that split second. She saw the bodies go down, but she was waiting for more. She wanted to be sure. She was tired of surprises. She did not want her men dead. Then she saw the woman who started it all—the one with her lips where they did not belong. Ella looked at her. The image of her at the recliner replayed in Ella’s head. What made her think she could do such a thing? The woman was going to die.

  “You have some fucking nerve to touch me.” Angelo snarled the words and slapped the woman across the face. His vicious tone would have scared a grown man. Angelo was holding the woman against the wall by her throat. “Who are you?” he asked. The woman did not say a word. Angelo’s face twisted with her silence and forced her body to the floor by the back of her neck. “Who the fuck cares who you are,” he snapped and yanked a gun from the floor. “You fucked around with my personal life, and you made sure that my woman saw.” He clicked the hammer as the woman started to speak.

  “I’m Bonadio’s girlfriend,” she muttered.

  “No, you are nothing but his puppet.” Angelo jerked her up by the hair. “Bonadio wants me dead so he can marry Gregorio’s daughter for money. You didn’t think Bonadio was serious about you, did you?”

  “Please don’t kill me,” she begged when he started to pull the trigger again.

  Angelo glared at her. “Did you really think that playing the fucking leader of a rival group would work out in your favor?” he growled and then shoved the woman at Jim. “See what we can get out of this pathetic whore.”

  “No,” Ella calmly said and walked inside the room. The woman did not deserve to be alive any more than the men did. She looked straight at the woman and kept her gun raised. “What you meant to say earlier was that I have a sexy husband,” she emphasized.

  “I had to,” the woman defended as a tear slid down her cheek. Ella looked at her tear and remembered her own. She felt strangely relaxed about the situation now as she walked directly in front of the woman.

  “You played with my emotions,” Ella said.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was your husband.”

  “So it was okay when you thought he was my boyfriend?” Ella narrowed her eyes with confusion. Was the woman dumb enough to say what she said?

  “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  Ella smiled at her. It was almost endearing but definitely false. “I knew you and Bonadio set him up. I expected it as soon as I saw the note. You aren’t smart enough to fool me or this group.” Ella touched the woman’s head with her gun.

  “Please don’t,” the woman cried. Her cries were nothing to Ella, only a reminder of what she did.

  “Crying won’t work,” Ella said. “I find it funny how you were glad to see my pain, and now you want me to feel sorry for you.”

  “Just fucking shoot her, Ella,” Angelo gritted. Ella thought about it. Killing someone had bothered her the day before but did not bother her now. She did not know why she felt numb. The woman’s hands on Angelo had hit a nerve in her chest much too deep to feel any pity at all.

  “Leave me alone,” Ella said and pulled the trigger on the gun. As the woman’s body fell forward and hit the floor, Ella gave a satisfied nod and glanced back.

  “Why is she here?” Angelo looked at Rafa for an answer. “She shouldn’t be here.”

  Ella looked over at Angelo and took a step forward. He was not going to pretend that she did not know what went on in the group. He could not keep her from seeing no matter how much he tried. She never wanted to see what had happened today. She never wanted to witness the woman doing that to him, but she still did. In her brief moment of recollection, all the hurt and pain returned.

  “Angelo, why are you treating me as though I did something wrong? You want me to go?” she asked with a nod. “Then I’ll leave,” she said and took a step to the door.

  “Ella,” he called.

  She turned back for just a second and looked at the sad eyes staring in hers. She could not do it. She could not stay. “You don’t need me here. You don’t want me here. I’m not going to sit around and watch them set you up and then have you yell at me for saving you. Do it on your own. That’s what you want.”

  Her heart could not take it anymore. She walked straight up to him and looked at him. She could not reach him. He would never understand how to work as a team. Everything she thought they would be together was lost with his refusal to face the truth. She was a part of his life whether he liked it or not. She had to accept it; so should he. He could not appreciate her, not even with what she had witnessed with that woman and then saving his life. She looked up at him one more time and then started to walk to the door. All she could do was leave.

  CHAPTER 59

 
; Angelo looked at Sullivan, who sat across from him at his desk. Rafa was standing behind him with Jim and Ray at the door. They needed Sullivan. With Sullivan having taught Ella her skills, he immediately called on him to help. Sullivan had acted on behalf of Gregorio many times in the past. He was a perfect key figure for communication…if he accepted Angelo’s offer.

  Sullivan let out a weary sigh and nodded. “If it’s for Ella’s safety, I will do it with conditions.”

  “What are they?” Angelo asked. He was hesitant to hear about stipulations. He did not have time to bargain an agreement. Time was ticking. Bonadio had already caused his wife to leave, and they had not spoken in over a week. Another day was a day too many.

  “I want no more connection with Gregorio, Bonadio, or you. I have done my part. I want a clear way out. My mouth is sealed, as you know. Anything I say would put Ella in danger, and she always has been my only concern. If Bonadio is out, I expect the threats against her to be small. I also want all of it in writing, and I want both of our signatures notarized and on file.”

  Angelo looked at him. If there had been anyone else to call besides Sullivan, he definitely would have called. Sullivan was smart to want their signatures notarized, but Angelo knew why he wanted out. It was hard for him to see Ella and not be able to tell her the truth.

  “All right,” he agreed. “I will have Rafa draw up the contract right away.” He looked back as Rafa nodded. “You can come back and look it over in an hour, sign it. We’ll have Donnie come by and notarize. After that, we’ll talk about what to do next.”

  Sullivan stood and held out his hand. He never smiled. Angelo found it difficult to read his straight-faced gaze. He never had a difficult time reading a man’s thoughts. No wonder Ella’s skills were good.

  The room cleared out a minute later. Angelo folded his arms on the desk and held his head. Ella had not called or messaged him, and he would not call her. There was no point. She was not part of his group. He would never allow her to have group involvement. He refused to let his wife’s heart grow cold. She did not understand that once she got to that point, she would lose her soul. The way she cared for others would change. She would resent him for it. If she were older, she might understand. Ella, though, she always wanted to prove herself. He wanted her the way she was, nothing more.