by B. B. Hamel
If I couldn’t, nobody would.
“Come on,” he said, taking my hand. “Let’s go see your uncle. Find out if there’s even still a family worth fighting for.”
I nodded and let him guide me out the driver’s side door and onto the sidewalk.
Vincent stood up on the stoop watching us. He turned and knocked on the door as we approached. Nothing happened for a few breaths, and I wondered if we got the wrong place, if Diego was wrong about where the Don would be.
But then the door pulled open and Roberto was there, bald head gleaming. He wore a pair of dark pants and a tucked-in white undershirt. There was blood staining the bottom right, like he’d been shot in the side.
“Took you fucking long enough,” Roberto said. He stepped aside and let us enter, giving me a flat stare that I couldn’t read.
We walked into a modest living room. Plush pea-green carpet, patterned wallpaper, TV from the eighties. It smelled like kitty litter and stale crackers. Uncle Luciano sat on a brown leather recliner next to a blue upholstered couch. His right leg was extended out on an ottoman and a heavy-looking white bandage was wrapped all the way around it and stained slightly with blood. He had a white undershirt on and a pair of gym shorts.
The door slammed shut behind us. Roberto crossed his arms and glared at me.
“There you all are,” Uncle Luciano said.
Vincent walked over to his father, knelt down next to him. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Uncle Luciano said, putting a hand on Vincent’s shoulder.
“You’re hit,” Vincent said.
“Dr. Chen helped me out,” he said. “Roberto too. We’ll survive.”
Vincent nodded, eyes hard. “What happened?”
“I knew that something was coming,” Uncle Luciano said. “I knew the Jalisco were planning something when we found hints about it on that laptop. But I couldn’t know how fast they’d hit, or how hard.”
“I heard they came with serious firepower,” Vincent said.
“Serious, yes, that’s one way of saying it.” Uncle Luciano grimaced. “Assault rifles, hand grenades. They came like it was a war zone, and they tore my home to fucking pieces and killed too many of our men. I barely got out, and would have died if it weren’t for Roberto.”
Vincent looked at the bodyguard and nodded his head. “Thanks, Roberto.”
“Doing my job,” Roberto said.
“I see you’ve joined forces with your cousin,” Uncle Luciano said, looking at me. “I’m glad you made it out, Clair.”
“My mother didn’t,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “The Jalisco have already been in touch.”
“How?” Vincent asked.
“Called Roberto here.” Uncle Luciano laughed. “Called his goddamn cell phone. I don’t know how they got his number.”
“I don’t either,” Roberto said.
“What did they want?” I asked.
“They wanted to sell me your mother.” Uncle Luciano shifted his position and let out a grunt of pain. “They’re trying to ransom her.”
“What are they asking for?” Luca asked.
“Your money, Clair,” he said. “All of it.”
Silence fell over the room, thick and heavy.
“They can’t possibly think she’ll do that,” Vincent said. “Fazio left her… left her a damned fortune.”
“Maybe,” Uncle Luciano said, staring at me, his eyes not moving from mine. “Maybe she wouldn’t.”
“If she gave it to them, that would only make them stronger,” Vincent said. “Too strong to crush, at least for a while. It would prolong this war by years, cost more lives, more pain and suffering.”
“I agree,” Uncle Luciano said.
“Too many people would die,” Vincent said. “We can’t let them have the money.”
“I’ll pay,” I said.
Everyone stared at me. Vincent looked outraged. Uncle Luciano only smiled. And Luca moved closer to me, his hand coming out to rest on my hip like he was trying to claim me as his own, or maybe to protect me, I couldn’t be sure.
“Will you now?” Uncle Luciano asked.
“No,” Vincent said. “Absolutely not. You can’t be serious, Clair. You give that kind of money to the Jalisco, and I promise they’ll make you pay. They’ll make the whole city pay in blood. We can’t do it, not even for family, not for anyone.”
“I’ll pay,” I said again. “Whatever they want. I don’t care.” I stepped forward, staring down into my uncle’s eyes. I wanted him to know I was serious, that I’d go to any lengths necessary, do anything I had to do, so long as my mother survived, so long as she came back to me.
Vincent looked horrified. He stared at me, looked at his father, then turned to Luca for support. “Come on, Luca,” he said. “You can’t think this is a good idea.”
“I’ll do whatever she wants,” Luca said.
“Is that what you really want to do, Clair?” Uncle Luciano asked.
“Whatever it takes,” I said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to bring her home.”
He nodded, nice and slow. “I have an alternative plan, in that case.”
I took a deep breath then slowly let it out. “Forgive me, uncle, but I don’t trust you,” I said. “I don’t trust you at all.”
He laughed. “That’s fair,” he said. “You have no real reason to think that I have your best interests at heart. But hear me out, and maybe you’ll change your mind.”
I shifted, foot to foot, then gestured at him. “What’s your plan?”
“You’ll be bait,” he said, smiling.
“No,” Luca said, right away.
“How?” I asked.
Luca pressed his hand harder against my hip. “Clair, no,” he said. “You’re not putting yourself in danger for this.”
I pushed his hand away. “How?” I asked again.
“We’ll offer a trade,” Uncle Luciano said. “Your money for your mother. We’ll dangle you out there like a tempting little prize, and I promise you, niece, the Jalisco won’t be able to turn you down.”
“That’ll lure them out,” Vincent said, his voice musing. “It’ll definitely get them out of hiding, wherever they are right now.”
“And what then?” I asked.
“Then we kill them,” Uncle Luciano said. “I’m betting they think we’re hurt, very, very badly hurt, that we’re going to give your money up in exchange for your mother and a truce. They’ll think we’re bleeding, and a truce is the best we can hope for, but when they step out of the shadows— we’ll be there.”
“That’s too dangerous,” Luca said. “It’ll put Clair and her mother right in the crossfire.”
“Yes, it will,” Uncle Luciano said. “And they might both get killed.” He didn’t take his eyes off me, kept staring at me like he wanted to read my expression, like he wanted to see through me and into my deepest, darkest recesses. “It’s an enormous risk, Clair. You might not make it through, or your mother might not make it, or you both might end up splattered on the pavement. But it’ll help avoid a prolonged war, and it might even end things.”
“You can’t,” Luca said.
“I’ll do it,” I said.
“No.” Luca stepped toward me, but I moved away from him, watching my uncle. “Clair, this is stupid. There are other ways. We can—”
“This is the best way,” I said. “It’s the fastest, it’s the cleanest.”
“She’s not wrong,” Vincent said. “We’d probably avoid the worst of the wars this way.”
“It’s wrong,” Luca said. “I’m not going to let you dangle her out like bait. I’m not going to risk losing her.”
“It’s not up to you,” I said, turning to him. I felt myself soften, just a little bit, at the look in his eyes. I could see the anguish, the frustration— and the desire for me. “You tried your best to keep us safe, but they got my mother anyway. And now it’s my turn to do whatever I can to get her back.”
; “Clair,” he said, voice pleading.
“They took my father away,” I said. “I won’t let them take my mother.”
He stared at me and shook his head, his eyes so sad, his body tense and angry.
“Then it’s settled.” Uncle Luciano shifted in his chair. “Roberto, if you’d please.”
Roberto came across the room and helped Uncle Luciano to his feet. Vincent got his father’s cane then helped Roberto get him across the room, toward the door.
“You can stay here,” Uncle Luciano said. “It’s safe, at least for now. We’re moving to a new place, just to be sure, and we won’t stay in one spot for long. If you need me, call my new burner number.” He rattled it off and I watched Luca grunt then pull his phone from his pocket. He typed the number in and nodded.
“I got it,” he said.
“Good.” Uncle Luciano stared at me, leaning for support on Roberto and his son. “We’ll come up with a plan and let you know how it’ll work. I’ll do my best to make sure you and your mother both come back in one piece, but this is going to be a risk.”
“I understand,” I said.
He nodded once, turned away. Roberto got the door, Vincent helped him out, and then they were gone.
I was left alone in the living room with Luca.
Silence fell between us, heavy and rough and horrible. I turned to him and wanted to explain, wished I could make him understand. It wasn’t about him, it wasn’t about me, it was about my father and my mother and everything that had been taken away from her.
For so long, she lived a half-life, the rest of her self torn away when the mafia stole my father. Now they wanted to take more from her, wanted to take everything else she had left, and I couldn’t let it happen.
I wouldn’t let it happen.
“This is a bad idea,” he said, his tone dripping with fear and anger, but also a hint of resigned sadness I didn’t expect.
“I know,” I said. “But there’s no other choice.”
He came toward me, and this time, I didn’t back away. I let him pull me close against his body, let him kiss my neck, my cheek, my ear, my lips. I kissed him back, and some voice in the back of my head wondered how many more moments like this we’d get.
“I’m not going to try and talk you out of it right now,” he whispered.
“Good,” I said. “I don’t want you to.”
“For now, I want you to know this.” He tilted my chin up, stared into my eyes. “I want you, Clair. And I’ll die to make sure you walk away from this alive. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you,” I said. “And I believe you.”
He nodded once. “Good.”
Then he kissed me again, and this time, his kiss was full of all the unspoken promises we’d been making to each other, all the unspoken needs and desires that filled up the empty, pregnant pauses between our desperate whispered conversations.
He held me tight and let his touch say it all.
I melted into that embrace, let him lead me to the stairs, let him take me up and into an unfamiliar room.
Let him push me to the bed, climb on top of me, and kiss my neck until my toes curled.
24
Luca
I kissed her like it would be the last time, because I knew it might be. The Don was going to move fast, much faster than she realized.
We had a day at most to feel everything we’d been trying to avoid.
I sat her up, pulled off her shirt. I unhooked her bra and let my eyes take in her gorgeous skin, her smooth body, her round breasts and hard, pink nipples like delicious petite lily pads. I licked them, palmed them, bit her lips and pushed her back down, running my hands down her side, down to her jeans.
She helped me unbutton them, wiggled her hips as I pulled them off. She let out a little moan as I pressed myself between her legs, the weight of my body pushing her into the bed beneath her. I couldn’t help the growl that came to my lips as I moved with her, grinding into her body, needing to feel every single writhing moan that escaped from her throat.
I rolled off, onto my back.
She threw her hair to the side as she got onto her knees and helped me take off my jeans. I took off my shirt next, let her lick my chest, let her stare at my muscles as she moved down to peel off my boxer briefs.
“I think about this every time I see you,” I said as she took my cock between her hands and began to stroke me on her knees. Her hips were gorgeous, and her pink nipples made me rock hard. “Your pretty mouth wrapped around my cock.”
“That’s what you want?” she asked, licking her lips, tongue against her teeth.
“I want it deep down your throat,” I said, growling in pleasure as she leaned forward and licked me top to bottom. “I want you sucking me like you can’t get enough.”
She bobbed down, lips sucking hard around my shaft. I groaned, held her hair tight in my fist, pushed her down deeper. Her lips slid up and down, sucking my cock hard, making me moan with pleasure and desire. I couldn’t help myself, she felt fucking gorgeous, fucking perfect. She sucked deep, slid me into her throat, gagged, pulled back.
I watched her stroke my cock with both hands, her breasts shaking, then pulled her to me. She straddled my hips, moved her ass back to slide her wet panties up and down my shaft. I bit her lip and pulled her hair as I licked her neck and kissed her ear.
“Your smooth skin drives me wild,” I whispered. “Your hard nipples. Your firm breasts. The face you make as you take my cock between your legs. The taste of your cum on my lips.”
“Fuck, Luca,” she whispered. “I need your arms wrapped around me. I need you to hold me down, push me down, take me.”
I pulled her off, rolled her onto her back, pinned her on the bed. I held her wrists down, kissed her chest, licked her nipples and bit them. She squirmed as I released one wrist and slid my hand between her legs. I kissed her lips and teased her slit with the top of my finger, rolling it from top to bottom, getting her clit nice and wet before circling it slow.
She moaned into my mouth. Goddamn, I loved that, the way she moaned as I kissed her, like she couldn’t control it, couldn’t keep it inside, like it had to get out. I kept circling her like that, slowly at first, pressing a bit harder, moving a bit faster, until her hips were moving with my rhythm.
I teased her, bit her, kept her other wrist pinned until I couldn’t handle another second.
I pulled back and rolled her around, turned her over, got that gorgeous ass up in the air. She stared back at me, eyes wide as I took off her panties, got them halfway down between her thighs, couldn’t wait another second.
I shoved her down, her face into the pillows, and slid my cock inside.
She gasped and I swear she bit the comforter, bit it hard, teeth clenching before she let out another groan. I filled her to the brim, thick cock spreading her wide, and slowly pulled back, then pushed back in.
I grabbed her hips hard, gripping her as pleasure flooded me. Her pussy gripped me, tight and warm and wet and perfect. I slid myself in, slid myself back out, leaned over her and felt her body, teased her breasts, tweaked her nipples between my fingers. I bit her shoulder and tasted her skin, heard her moans, pulled her hair, spanked her ass. I fucked her, took her, controlled her body the way I needed to.
She gasped my name, panted it over and over.
“I love the way you say that,” I whispered, leaning forward, lips against her ear. “I love the way you say my name.”
“Luca,” she gasped as I slapped her ass, making her pretty cheek pink with my handprint.
“You say it like you can’t help yourself,” I said. “Like my name’s your favorite thing in the world.”
“Maybe it is,” she said. “Oh, shit, if you keep doing that, it will be.”
I growled and fucked her, making her sweat, making her hips work in delicious circles.
I pulled back and she turned around, throwing herself at me. She kissed me then dropped down, sucked me again, licked her pussy juices off my
shaft before pushing me down onto the bed. I let her straddle me and arch her back, hips moving as she slid me inside again.
I kissed her then watched her ride.
She was gorgeous, sweat dripping down her skin as pleasure blossomed between us. I don’t know how long she worked her body on my hard cock or how many times she said my name or how hard I slapped her ass. None of it mattered, nothing mattered except that bed, that moment, her body on mine. She kept going, hands on my chest, and I knew she was close. Her eyes rolled back as she gasped, panting, moaning, my name coming faster, faster, “Luc-Luc-Lu-Lu,” and oh, fuck, it was glorious, she couldn’t get the word out as the orgasm tore through her.
I felt her come, felt her pussy get soaked, her back arched, her body trembled.
“Luca,” she gasped. “Oh, fuck, Luca.”
I let loose a growl, unable to control it. As she started to come down, a stupid laughing smile on her lips, I pulled her off, turned her around, pushed her down. I pinned her there, held her there, fucked her from behind again, roaring like a lion, letting it out, letting all my aggression roll through me and into her tight pussy.
I came, filling her to the brim. I filled her up, not thinking, not caring, as she writhed her hips like the world was going to end in the morning.
I fell onto the bed beside her and she cuddled up against my chest.
“Good boy,” she said.
I smirked, grabbed her hair, and kissed her.
She laughed when I released her.
“Don’t worry, little Clair,” I said. “There’s more, plenty more. I haven’t gotten my fill of you yet.”
“I hope not,” she said.
I wrapped my big arms around her and pulled her closer. I wished I could hold her closer, bring her inside me, never let her leave, but I knew the future was coming whether I wanted it to or not.
“I need to know something,” I said.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Why are you going to do it?”
She was quiet for a few heartbeats. I counted them, ten in all. I ran my fingers through her hair and let her think.