Monster Inside Me: Volume II (A Dark Mafia Romance Book 2)

by Faye Byrd

She starts to protest, but I shush her. “I’m not having it. I promised I’d be here at least once a week, and I mean it, but you have to sleep when you’re tired.”

  She pulls her hands back and huffs. “Fine,” she grumbles. “Kids these days think they run the show.”

  Joseph’s chuckle meets my ears, and I turn, not sure if he’s been there the whole time or not. He relaxes on the other side of Anna. “Sweetheart, I told ya that this morning.”

  She hmphs. “That’s because you men are going soft on them. If I were still able, they’d know their place.”

  I lean close and place a kiss on her cheek. “I know my place, Anna. I love you. Both of you.” My eyes flick to Joseph and back to her. “The truth is, I’m going to be running the whole show one day. It’s well past time to loosen the reins.”

  She brushes my cheek. “You’re always going to be one of my babies, and that makes letting go really hard.”

  I grip her hand and hold it tighter against my face. “Don’t let go, Anna. Fight. Stay here with us.”

  “As long as I can,” she says, her voice cracking under the heaviness of her own mortality. “But I’m done with the treatments and done with a hundred pills a day. When the pain becomes unbearable, I have to let go.”

  My eyes get a little misty, but I keep them on her as I give her a nod so she knows I understand and accept her decision. “I wouldn’t ask for anything more.” I kiss her palm and drop our hands, my eyes falling with them. “I’ll never forget what you’ve been to me all my life. Never.” My eyes are fierce as they snap to hers.

  “I know you won’t, son. I love you,” she says as she relaxes back against the pillows Joseph has already rearranged for her.

  I take a deep breath and blow it out, standing and slipping my hands into my pockets. I’m torn. Not wanting to leave but desperately needing some fresh air. As I turn, her voice meets my ears. “Nice suit, by the way.” I smirk and keep walking until she speaks once more. “Bring her next time.”

  My feet falter, but I don’t respond or turn back for fear of her seeing the lie in my eyes. “There is no her, Anna,” I throw over my shoulder as I walk out the door.

  The mood is heavy as I let myself out and make my way to the Porsche, but the fresh air helps to clear my head. So much so that once I get moving, I turn off the air and roll down the windows, hitting the Interstate and reveling in the wind as it reinvigorates my weary heart.

  A ding from the dash brings my eyes downward to the fuel gauge. Almost empty. “Cazzo!” I slip through three lanes of traffic to take an abrupt right onto the closest exit, setting my sights on the Chevron sign in the distance.

  It annoys the fuck out of me to have to stop at a station. Lorenzo usually makes sure my cars are well-equipped, but I guess he didn’t expect me to be driving the Porsche anytime soon. I can understand that. This once.

  As I step from the car, eyes are on me, but they always fucking are in situations such as this. Their senses are telling them to be wary—they’re fucking right. I’m a danger to every person in sight. It follows me, and even right now, an enemy could have me in their crosshairs.

  I glare until the motherfuckers get back to their own lives, and then I slip my wallet from my pocket, swiping my card through the slot at the pump. It doesn’t take but seconds before I’m approved and lift the nozzle. Locking the handle to automatically fill, I cross my arms and scrutinize the people coming and going from the store.

  When the handle clicks, I remove it from the car and reattach it to the pump. I take one more glance around the area before I slip back into the Porsche. As I rev the engine and grip the gear shifter, an arm reaches in the passenger window and opens the door. A body occupies the seat so fast I’m unable to grip my gun before a barrel is pushed against my temple.

  “Drive,” the man orders, and I almost snarl when I realize who it is.

  I slam the car in first and burn fucking rubber as I leave the station, taking a right in order to move away from the congested area of the exit. Within a minute, the buildings have thinned and there are fewer cars on the roadway.

  “What the fuck are you doing in my car, Special Agent Tate?” I growl, not taking my eyes from the road. He isn’t fucking important enough to spare a glance. He won’t kill me. He doesn’t have the fucking balls.

  “I told you to stay away from Piper,” he says, his voice even, and so is the hand that holds the gun to my head.

  I fucking scoff, because how would this fucker have any clue whether I’ve seen Piper or not? “Excuse me?” I say, making sure to sound offended.

  “Don’t play games, Simone,” he says, his voice ticking up a notch. “One of my men saw her enter your parking garage on foot yesterday.”

  “So?” I shrug. “I was out of the country until late afternoon.”

  “Cut the shit, boy. She wasn’t seen again until this morning, walking down the sidewalk toward her apartment building.”

  I briefly want to kick my own ass for allowing her to walk home. What the fuck was I thinking? Oh yeah, those fucks I call family had me sidetracked. At least I can be grateful it was daylight, and I’ve already taken care of all future walks.

  “That doesn’t mean I’ve seen her,” I say, brushing nonexistent lint from the sleeve of my suit.

  “She was still in yesterday’s clothes!” he snaps, pushing the gun harder against my temple.

  I’ve fucking had it. I turn my face so the barrel lands right between my eyes and grip it tightly with my right hand as my left controls the wheel. “If you’re going to shoot me, then fucking do it! Otherwise, what Piper and I do is none of your goddamn business!”

  He pushes against the gun, wanting so desperately to use it, but he doesn’t. He knows what it would cost him. “You’ve already endangered her once! I’ll be damned if I let you do it again!” His hand relaxes and the gun lowers. His anger is brimming, but there’s also defeat.

  My eyes turn back to the road. “I’ve never endangered her. I fucking saved her life.”

  He snorts. “What? Against some alley punks?”

  I glance his way, and the incredulity of his expression is baffling. “Sure. There’s no telling what would’ve happened if I hadn’t shown up.”

  “She would’ve kicked their asses and gone home. As it is now, she’s courting a much more dangerous man than a couple of alley punks. One so dangerous he’s almost cost her life before.”

  I fucking slam on the brakes, and he braces himself as the car skids to a stop on the shoulder. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Stefano really hasn’t told you?” he asks, studying me carefully.

  “Told. Me. What?” My patience with this man is already non-fucking-existent, but he’s pushing way past those boundaries and into monster territory now.

  “Fuck!” Agent Tate says, turning to look out the window. I give him time, and it pays off because when he faces me again, he starts talking in a detached voice. “Twenty-two years ago this summer, Piper was almost kidnapped. She was only three years old.” His eyes turn to mine, and they’re filled with hatred. “If another little shit would’ve minded, maybe it’d never happened. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to give up my wife and daughter to keep them safe.”

  My eyes narrow as I replay his words in my mind. Had I not just rehashed the incident, it probably wouldn’t be my first thought, but as it is, I can almost guarantee it’s what he’s referring to. The little girl’s screams echo in my ears, but I can’t for the life of me picture her face. All I remember is seeing my little brother and being afraid that the man was going to hurt him.

  “You remember, I see,” Agent Tate says, breaking into my thoughts.

  “I fucking saved her that day, too,” I snarl, angry that my father has failed to inform me about this little piece of information before today.

  Agent Tate sticks his fat finger over, his whole body leaning in, and almost jabs me in the fucking chest. “You’re the reason she was there in the first place!”

/>   My hands clench into fists to keep from knocking his fucking head off. “I was fucking five. A little fucking kid!” I rage, leaning my face closer to his. “That’s what kids do. Normal kids misbehave.”

  “Do normal kids stab grown men in the eye with a knife?” he asks in a snide tone, but he also leans back away from me like a smart motherfucker should. “But that’s the point,” he continues as he looks out the windshield. “I gave her … them up after that to keep them away from the life I’d chosen for myself, and I distanced myself from Stefano after they were gone, all in the hope that she would live a Simone-free life.” He turns back to me with pleading eyes. “Can’t you just respect that? Can’t you just leave my daughter alone?”

  “I could,” I respond, thinking through his words, “but it’s not only my decision. Piper and I have an attraction that we’ve been unable to act on. I won’t turn her away for her own good. If she’s ready to be done, I’ll accept it, but it’ll only be because you tell her everything and she makes the choice.”

  “Me?” he asks, his eyes widening.

  “Yes, you,” I say, jabbing my finger in his direction. “Piper’s temperamental on her best day. I’m not about to rock the boat with some bullshit story. The least you can do is man up and face her with the truth. Well, your truth. What the fuck ever.”

  His fucking mustache twitches as he stares at me. I can’t quite tell what’s going through his mind, but he better keep it to himself if it’s bad. This impromptu meeting has already taken enough of my time. What a fucking pussy. Who goes through all this trouble to threaten a mobster when he could simply speak with his daughter? A little chuckle escapes as that thought slips through my mind.

  We are talking about Piper.

  When he doesn’t say anything, I snap, “Are we fucking done here?”

  He heaves a heavy sigh and rubs his hand down his mustache. “Sure, I’ll talk to her.”

  I smirk. “You do that.” I reach over and pull on the door handle. “Now get the fuck out.”

  “W-what?”

  I tilt my head toward the grassy shoulder. “You heard me. Get out!”

  “Fucking punk,” he mumbles as he climbs out to stand by the car.

  My laughter rumbles through the air as I slap the Porsche in gear and spin the wheel to the left so hard the wind pushes the passenger door closed. The car does a U-Turn in the roadway as I speed back toward the city.

  I chuckle to myself as I catch sight of him in the rearview mirror.

  FOUR

  DREAM COME TRUE

  My ride home is spent deep in thought, searching my memory, trying to bring forth even a glimmer of the little girl’s face. But it isn’t happening. I don’t even have recognition of Henry as one of the arguing adults. The whole scene is just small flashes and sound bites congregating to only show me a basic overall picture.

  Realizing it’s Piper who could’ve been taken that day is a rough fucking blow, but the monster kicks in and assures me that even at five, he was a bad motherfucker. I chuckle at the fucking irony, but it’s not a happy chuckle. It’s one that acknowledges the same motherfucker that saved her will be the one to lose her in the end.

  Deeper thoughts begin to plague me—ones I’ve never considered before. As a kid, I was just happy the man didn’t have my brother, but as an adult, with the situation impacting my life, even in such a small way, I have to know if he was ever found. Did he pay with his life? Who was he?

  I dial the appropriate number, and Pop’s voice sounds through the Porsche’s speaker system. “Can I help you, son?”

  “Yeah,” I say with a snort. “You can tell me why I didn’t know the little girl I saved in Denver was Piper, and who the fuck was the man that attempted to kidnap her?”

  “You’ve spoken with Henry, then?” he asks, and he’s as cool as a fucking cucumber, not a care in the goddamn world. “And how did that go?”

  I glance in the review mirror, even though he’s at least twenty miles away by now, and smirk at myself. “Not as well as he’d have liked. I’m still alive.”

  “Stop taunting the man, Dante. Just fuck the girl and move on. I don’t like the strain it’s putting on my relationship with him,” Pop says. There’s even a little hint of a whine in there.

  “Look, the ball’s in his court. If Piper never wishes to see me again after he spills his guts, then so be it,” I say, and my collar suddenly feels like it’s choking me. Grabbing at my tie, I loosen it so I can breathe better. “But I made it clear, and he accepted. It’s all up to Piper.”

  “Up to Piper?” my father repeats, anger seeping into his tone. “Since when does some piece of ass run the fucking show around here?”

  “She’s not running anything,” I snap, my voice hiking up a notch also, “but neither is Agent Tate. I will have my fill of her if she allows it. This isn’t about him or you or even the Outfit. This is about two fucking adults who just want to decide what the fuck they’re going to do and when. Got me?”

  The line is silent for a measurable amount of time before a quiet sigh filters through the speakers. “Fine,” he says. “As long as you and Henry will stop with your shit, I can breathe easier. I don’t like wondering if I’ll have to whack my long-time friend for murdering my son.”

  I roll my fucking eyes. “It’s safe to say that won’t be happening,” I inform him as I turn down my street. “Now about the man, who was he?”

  “Dante—”

  “No! I may have been a kid then, but I’m not now. Did you find him? Is he dead?” My shoulders tense as I await his reply.

  It finally comes as I’m turning into the garage. “I don’t know, Dante. We never found him.”

  I grip the shifter and slam it into second, barking the back tires before flooring the gas and burning rubber all the way down the concrete tunnel. My anger is alive inside me as I brake and slide sideways, fitting perfectly into the parking space. I breathe deeply for a few seconds before my fingers loosen and switch off the engine.

  “Do you feel better now?” Pop’s voice echoes inside the quiet car, which incidentally still has power only because I haven’t opened a door.

  “Not fucking really,” I snap, then sigh. “Fuck, Pop, how could you let him get away?” My head thumps back against the seat as my fingers grip onto my hair.

  “I didn’t let him do anything. We were on vacation and security was minimal. We always felt safe there, but that incident changed everything. In more ways than one,” he adds with a sarcastic chuckle. “Our families always had that one place we could go and … just be. Hang out and not pretend to be enemies. That summer ruined it all. Worst of all for Henry. He had to let go of everything. Don’t ya think I did everything I could to find out who it was? Believe me, son, I’d have put a bullet between his eyes personally if I could’ve.”

  I shake my head as I answer. “That’s not good enough, Boss. He has to be found. Dead or alive, I have to know.”

  “Son,” he says, “it was so long ago.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” I respond, opening the door, which automatically ends our call. Shiny black shoes fill my line of sight as I stand and focus toward the rear of the car. My eyes trail up, a fucking glare already in place. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Lorenzo asked me to inform you that Mr. Parks is awaiting you in the lobby, sir.” The suit’s voice is strong, but he can’t hide the slight tremble of his fingers.

  I smirk and approach him. “You’ll call me Boss or not address me at all. Got me?”

  “Y-yes, sss”—he stops and shakes his head—“Boss.”

  “Good,” I say, giving him a hard slap on the shoulder on my way past him.

  Lorenzo gives me an admonishing look, but I only let a loud chuckle escape. The suit has a lot to learn, but I’m the best man he could ask for as a teacher. After me, he’ll know exactly how to treat all future clients.

  I step into the elevator, taking it up to the lobby. When the doors open with a ding, I step out and
scan the room. In a plush chair nearby waits Mr. Parks. I clear my throat to get his fucking attention. He jerks around and hastily joins me.

  “It’s about fucking time,” I say as the doors close.

  “Don’t I know it,” he responds, making a point to look at his watch.

  Six fifteen.

  I tilt my head. “I apologize. I was … sidetracked. You won’t be displeased with this meeting, though. I’ll make it worth your time.”

  “Very well.”

  The rest of the ride is silent, the tension mounting as I consider the seriousness of the assignment I’m about to bestow upon him. When the elevator opens with a ding, relief fills me as I find the penthouse empty—for fucking once.

  “Have a seat while I make us a drink.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Boss,” he says, waving me off. “I like to keep a clear head when hearing details of a new assignment.”

  I finish pouring two glasses of Glenfiddich and walk toward Parks, taking a seat in my chair. One glass gets killed off immediately while the other rests atop the coaster on my side table. “I have two separate requests for you today,” I say as I sit forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “One of them might be a challenge, as I don’t have much information, and the other is of utmost secrecy.”

  “I consider all of our matters to be a secret, Mr. Simone,” Parks says, producing a pad and pencil. “This time will be no different.”

  “Very well.” I clasp my hands together and meet his eyes. “I want a complete profile of the Miami division.” I lift a brow so he understands my meaning. “From soldiers to associates to top members, I want every detail of their organization. All the way down to their business enterprises. I want details on everything they have going on and everyone involved.”

  As I speak, his fingers stop moving and his eyes widen. “Boss,” he starts, but I don’t let him continue.

  “This is non-negotiable!” I snap, sitting upright. “I’d normally ask Ivan, but his resources are being used elsewhere. I’ll give you two weeks.”

  He’s quiet for a moment before offering a small nod. “I may need to bring on an additional consultant.”