“They’re playing with us,” Luc filled in. I could feel his rage toward Dad rippling off him.
“They’re fucking with us, son,” Dad stated boldly. He looked more like himself now. “We need to turn this town upside down. With the level of control I have over this city, I’m surprised we haven’t found them yet. It’s more than odd. It suggest they have help.”
“The Salvatores and the Manellos,” Claudius offered.
I didn’t know who anyone was.
“No, not the Salvatores,” Marcus intoned. “Tag killed their consigliere. They would never link up with him after that.”
“But they might with Victor. He’s a powerful man to keep,” Dad continued.
A buzzing sound interrupted his next words. It was my phone.
I pulled it out to turn it off, but I stopped when I saw the unknown number notification come up.
Luc looked too and tensed.
“What if?” What if it was them?
“Let me answer it.”
“No, maybe it’s Gigi.” My heart told me it wasn’t.
I answered the phone, and everyone looked to me.
“Hello.” I couldn’t control the tremor in my voice.
“Amelia, long time no see.”
Chills ran down my spine. It was Victor. It was foolish to wonder how he’d gotten my number.
“What do you want?” I tried to sound firm, like this man didn’t faze me, but again I couldn’t help it. Just thinking of all the evil he’d done turned my stomach.
“You have a visitor. Make him feel welcomed. I advise you all to hold fire.” He hung up, and the line went dead.
“That was Victor. Someone’s here,” I spoke, looking at everyone.
The guys all stood up and reached for their guns.
The doorbell rang, and we all looked at each other.
My heart was pounding in my chest. I reached for Luc’s hand on instinct, and he took it, gripping me tight.
“He said to hold fire,” I spoke out to no one in particular.
Dad boldly started moving toward the door. I went to stop him, but Luc held me back.
It was Dante who stepped in front of Dad and held his hand up.
“No, boss, no. I’ll go.”
He left us, and thank God Dad listened. A few seconds later, Millicent emerged with tears streaming down her cheeks. There was a collar around her neck with a red flashing light in the center.
“Millicent.” Again, I tried to move, but Luc held me back.
“Good, good, keep a leash on that one, Lucian,” boomed a voice from the corridor. A man walked in. He looked to be the same age as Dad and Marcus, but unlike Dad, he stepped strong. Strong and proud. His dark Italian features were striking, as were his silver eyes. They matched the silver streaks in his hair.
Behind him was Dante with his gun trained on him. The trigger was pulled back, nigh on release.
As I studied the man’s face, I realized I’d seen him before. I knew his face; it was the eyes I recognized.
Dad had kept me and Mom out of business, and the only person I remembered seeing outright was Marcus. I guess because he was Dad’s most trusted friend, but this man…
As I looked at him, I instantly took a dislike to him outside of the situation, and the feeling felt familiar.
Images of him and Mom flickered in my mind. I must have been about seven or eight. I couldn’t quite recall, but I remembered seeing them together.
They were in the kitchen, and I came back from… ballet early. Millicent must have gotten me from practice. I ran into the kitchen, and he had his hands on Mom.
He’d looked at me as I dashed in.
This was Tag… God, I knew him. I knew him.
He looked at me now and smiled.
“Eloise, you could be her, Amelia.”
The way he looked me over, it felt like he was staring right into my soul.
Marcus moved and stood next to Dad, drawing Tag’s attention to them.
“Hello, old friends, look at us back together again. The infamous three. Raphael, Marcus, and Tag. You two went soft on me. One of you betrayed me. It wasn’t you, Marcus. You would never do what Raphael did. Like me, you have sons you love. I see they’re both here. I wonder what mine would have looked like today if they’d lived.”
“Get off my property,” Dad barked. “I will kill you right here.”
“You can, but if you kill me, your beloved Millicent will explode. Simple. That collar around her neck isn’t a necklace you know. Or some fashionable accessory. It’s a bomb.”
Poor Millicent. She started to shake and tremble. My heart went out to her.
“What do you want?” Dad asked.
Tag laughed. “For those of you who just joined in or need to be brought up to speed, my name is Taglioni Donachie. This man,” he pointed to Dad. “Your boss, ratted me out to the feds on a heist we were supposed to work on together. He did that because his wife chose me over him. His wife chose me, and jealousy made him foolish and selfish. He ratted me out to the feds, and the stint cost me my three sons and his beloved wife. The love of my life, who came to warn me of the great Raphael’s plan to ruin me. Then the evil man he is didn’t stop there. He stole the very diamonds we were supposed to take together and got me out of town under the pretense that he was helping me. What a fool I was. So, here I am, armed with the truth, which I had to work out for myself, and this is what I want.”
He walked right up to me. Luc jumped in the way, but Claudius grabbed him and held him back.
“Blood for blood,” he taunted.
I swore my poor heart stopped beating right there in the walls of my chest.
“The daughter for my sons’ and her mother’s lives. And I want the diamonds.”
He stared me down, but I stood firm and strong, immovable. My heart felt like it would leap straight out of my chest when it started beating again, but I calmed myself enough to stand up to him.
He stepped back and laughed. “When I get all those, I’ll kill you, Raphael, before that cancer gets you. Death like that is too good for you. The real games are about to begin. I hope you’re all ready,” he sneered as he walked by Dad and Marcus and continued down the corridor.
It wasn’t until I heard the front door open and close shut that I released the breath I’d been holding on to.
Millicent broke down, and I ran to her aid to comfort her.
I looked at the device around her neck, which snapped open a few seconds later.
“Go after him. See if you can follow him,” Luc ordered Dante and Gio, who were already moving.
“We need to get rid of that thing.” Claudius moved in and took the collar.
I looked to Luc wondering what the hell to do now. One thing was for damn certain. I couldn’t leave.
I couldn’t leave and leave my father again.
Chapter 8
Amelia
I sat with Dad for the longest time while everyone else got to work.
We were in the sunroom. We stayed in there for hours not really doing anything, not really talking.
I didn’t know what to say to him, and I guess he didn’t know what to say to me.
He read—or what seemed to be reading—a copy of Scientific American.
Occasionally, he’d comment. Nothing in relation to what happened earlier, just random things like talking about the vegetable drink Millicent had given him and the lunch. He said he’d become a vegetarian because it was healthier for him. The meals Millicent prepared contained anti-cancer properties.
By the time it started to get dark outside, I’d had enough of the small talk and shit, and I hadn’t seen Luc all day.
Dad and I were like sitting ducks waiting for the real games to begin.
“I saw him with Mom,” I spoke, cutting through the thick silence that made the room heavy with tension.
Dad lowered the magazine and stared at me with wide eyes. “What did you say?”
“I saw him with Mom. I was may
be eight, I think, and they were here in the kitchen. I got back from ballet early. I rushed into the kitchen, and he was there holding her. I think he was about to kiss her when I barged in.”
Dad closed his eyes. The revelation highlighted that Mom’s affair had gone on for a lot longer than he’d thought. It must have stemmed over many years.
“I’m sorry, my girl. I’m sorry you had to see her like that, and I’m sorry I was no much better and my actions put everyone in danger.”
“Luc wants to take me away,” I spoke in a hushed voice, just above a whisper. Aware that someone could still be listening in.
“It’s a good idea.”
Of course, he would say that.
“I shouldn’t leave you. Again.”
“The focus is you. I thought you’d be safer here with people who could protect you, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. Tag was the most ruthless man I’d ever come across in my life. What I did to him probably made him insane. I’m still, however, trying to figure out how he put the pieces together. It’s still a mystery to me. No rat would have been able to tell him what happened because no one else knew what I’d done. To everyone, it looked like I was getting revenge on Eloise and trying to get Tag out of the feds’ reach. I played along well.” He ran his hand over the stubble on his chin and looked drained.
“Dad, you need to go rest. Go and lie down.”
“I’ve been lying down for days.”
“It’s where you should be. Come, let me help you upstairs.” I moved to him and took his arm.
He smiled and stood up, towering over me with his height. “This is more than I deserve, my daughter.”
“Dad, please stop saying that.”
I got him upstairs and made sure he had a mug of hot cocoa, then I went back downstairs to check if Luc had come back. I needed to speak to him.
I found Claudius instead. He was in the living room sitting by himself. Still looking over the collar that had been on Millicent’s neck. I felt so bad for her, and for the fact that she was caught up in all this shit. We’d sent her home after that whole fiasco, escorted, of course, to make sure she and her family were safe. She’d told us how they’d grabbed her from her house. Her husband was away running some errands for their grandkids, so she’d been by herself.
“It’s funny. This really was just a necklace,” Claudius said as I approached.
“Not a bomb?” I pressed my lips together.
“They fooled us big time. It’s just a wireless controlled device with a flashing light.” He tossed it on the table.
“Could they listen in with it?” I sat opposite him in the loveseat.
“Nah, it’s not that sophisticated. It really is just a worthless piece of shit.” He motioned his head to me. “So, you and Luc decide what you’re doing? I thought you would have headed for the hills by now.”
“He told you?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t have to. We almost have the same mind. Let me guess. He wants to take you away from here.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t think it’s a good idea?”
“Do you?”
He swallowed hard. “I’m biased, so I can’t answer that question.”
“How?” I wasn’t sure what he meant.
“Well, it’s because I would do the same thing if I were him. I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Luc had said that too, to him, last night. They’d been talking about someone. “Would you?”
“I tried to… for my wife.” He looked down, then back to me, and his eyes spoke a wealth of sadness.
“You were married?” Luc never mentioned that, but I guess maybe the story behind that was one he’d rather not tell.
“I was. I made a deal with the devil, and things went south,” Claudius began explaining. “I was supposed to secure a deal. A million-dollar deal for the Manellos, but it didn’t work out. I work as a bookie in the business, and I thought I’d make a little extra on the side by throwing games and other shit. On this occasion I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. They linked up with a psycho who wanted to steal one of those sophisticated chips that could hack any system. My part fell through and lost them their chance. I took my wife away because I sensed something would happen, but it seemed that I had a rat too because they found her and killed her. I don’t want to guess what they must have done to her first before death came. Where she was staying was supposed to be a top-secret safe house.” His gaze fell to the floor then climbed back up to meet mine.
My heart was full. There were so many bad stories floating around this house.
“I’m so sorry. I… I can’t imagine what you must have gone through.”
“Thank you. So, hey, I’d run too if I were Luc. This cross is for her. The men in my team have the same for the ones they lost. For me, it was my wife. Dante, his sister. Gio, his father. Jude and Alex are brothers. They wear the cross for their older brother.”
I stared at him, not quite knowing what to say. “There’s all so much.”
“What do you want to do?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think running is the answer. I did it before for different reasons, and I hated it. I can’t do it again, and my father needs me.”
“You’d be safer away from here.” He pointed out and lifted his shoulders into a shrug.
“Would I? They found me in LA. There’s nothing to stop them from finding me wherever I go in this world. And how long would I be gone for? Running and hiding. I don’t want to live like that. I want to stay and fight.”
He smirked. “I figured you’d say that.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I guessed from the way you stared down Tag. I knew then that you weren’t going anywhere.”
“Blood for blood, right?” I offered.
“Blood for blood.”
Luc
I felt bad that I’d basically flipped out over the last few days.
My sense of calm was shot, and I was on the verge of losing my mind.
Yesterday, after Tag made his appearance, I went with the boys to hunt for him.
We came up with nothing, but I suspected they knew that would happen.
I was starting to believe that one of the other crime families was definitely helping them out. Same way we had our alliances.
They had bigger friends than us though, most likely people who wanted to take Raphael’s power.
It was probably perfect for them. Cut the head and work your way down, then dive in for the taking with what’s left behind.
I just couldn’t believe that we couldn’t even get a glimpse of them, except for when they wanted us to see them. That was it, part of the fucking game again.
We’d only see them when it was time to play.
I got back in the early hours of the morning and slept in the chair next to Amelia. I didn’t get in the bed because I didn’t want to wake her. She needed her sleep. She needed to rest, and she’d definitely looked exhausted yesterday.
I hated that Tag got up in her face the way he did, and I hated the things he said to her. But she took it. She stood bold and faced him.
I was proud of her.
I woke up before her and walked over to her dressing table, where I noticed she’d taken out some of her stuff from the past and set them on the top. There was a pair of ballet shoes. Satin pink Bloch pointe shoes with pink ribbons attached to them. Next to that was a button that said Made at Julliard. It was one of those quirky little buttons people collected.
My heart sank when my gaze landed on a few pictures of her. She couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen, but damn, she looked like she was made to dance. The picture was of her dressed in a white tutu with diamantes on the bodice inserted into the pattern and a headband made with white feathers. I think this must have been her in Swan Lake. She’d told me about this. I remembered how her face had lit up as she spoke.
She looked so different. Beautiful, very beautiful, and I could immediately see that if we�
��d known each other back then, I would have been in trouble because I would have pursued her and gotten my head blown off if Raphael had caught me.
It was such a shame that she never got to live her dream. So much talent gone to waste, but maybe I could salvage that somehow. If it was possible, I would do it.
I would do it in a heartbeat.
I picked up the ballet shoes again and smiled, imagining her wearing them.
“I don’t think those would fit you. You could try them though.” Her voice pierced through the silence that had settled over the room.
I turned to see her sitting up in bed. Her hair was braided to the side in one of those complicated patterns, and she wore one of those camisole tops that drove me insane.
“I won’t damage them.” I chuckled, setting the shoes back. I moved to her and looked her in her eyes.
Warm honey came to my mind, but the troubled look that lurked in them gave me the answer to my question from yesterday. I knew she wouldn’t want to run away with me.
Thinking back now, it was foolish of me to suggest it because we weren’t dealing with people who didn’t know what they were doing.
We were dealing with people with the know-how to do anything and get dirt on you, you thought was shelved.
Meeting Tag, I more than ever wanted to know how he’d found out about what Raphael had done. It took me back to my theory that it was by accident. I’d always thought it was an accident somehow, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“I was looking through some stuff last night. You were gone for so long.”
“I’m sorry, and I’m sorry I flipped out. I shouldn’t have lost it like that the other night, and I’ve been this irrational bastard ever since.”
“It’s okay. Luc…” She brought her hands together, and I knew she was gearing up to tell me she wanted to stay.
I reached out to take her delicate hands and held them up to my lips to kiss her knuckles. “I know, goddess. You don’t want to run.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to run away with you. It sounds so romantic. But we don’t know how long this will take. We don’t know if running may make things worse, and I doubt we could just do that. You guys seem really good at what you do, but I noticed that Tag and his people seem to appear when they want us to see them.”
Mafia Love (The Accidental Mafia Queen Book 3) Page 7