Her Mafia Boss

by Bianca Cole

  His eyes widen and his jaw goes slack for a moment. “What the fuck was that for?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, before his heavy fist plants right in the center of my face.

  Pain stings through my nose and blood cascades down my face, trickling onto my lip. It is good. The pain grounds me, removing the rage that has spiraled me out of control.

  “Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ll explain everything.”

  Rick gives me one nod, eyes dark and angry. He leads the way down the stairs and I follow.

  He opens the door to his office, and I step inside. I stand in the center of the room, as he sits behind his desk and stares at me, waiting for an explanation.

  Where the fuck do I start?

  “Long story short, I fucked a thief who tried to steal from us because I couldn’t bring myself to kill her.” I run a hand through my hair. “A week ago, I saved her from two drug dealers in the street, and she had nowhere to go.” I shrug. “I bought her here.” I can’t bring myself to look my brother in the eye, instead, I keep my eyes focused on the ground. “She was locked in my room and someone has taken her.”

  Rick is silent for a while, and I still can’t bring myself to look at him. “Fuck,” he says. He doesn’t sound angry just exasperated.

  When I look up, his eyes are filled with disappointment. It’s worse than him being angry. I hate disappointing my older brother.

  “Who knew she was here?” he asks.

  My brow furrows as I try to work out the answer to that question. I hadn’t told anyone. The only people who had seen me with Ellie were the two drug dealers I beat to a pulp. “The only people who saw me take Ellie were the two drug dealers.”

  Rick scrubs a hand across his jaw. “Were they ours?”

  I nod my head. “I recognized both of them as guys who deal our drugs.”

  Rick sighs heavily. “Do you care about this girl?”

  It’s an important question that I know the answer to, even if I’m scared to say it out loud. I don’t care about anyone but my brothers, and somehow, I care about her more than I can understand. “Yeah, I have to get her back.”

  “Fuck, what is it with you guys lately? First Kane, and now you.” He shakes his head.

  I shrug in response, since I can’t explain it. The moment I set eyes on her, I knew she was the woman for me. It’s the only reason I couldn’t kill her. If it had been someone else, they'd be dead. I know how fucked up that is, but that is me. I am fucked up.

  Part II

  15

  Leo

  Two months later…

  The clock on the wall of my bedroom ticks away, goading me. It feels like it’s telling me you can’t find her repeatedly. It’s been two months to the day since she was taken from me.

  I’m fucking exhausted, barely able to sleep or eat since she was taken. I can’t find her and neither can my men. The drug dealers I put in hospital on the night I saved her have fled town, along with others. No one knows where they’ve gone, or if they do, they’re not speaking.

  We’ve been searching for them and have come up blank. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re involved, and so is her piece of shit ex-boyfriend. They’ve taken her away from me.

  A knock at my bedroom door has me shifting upright. I jump to my feet and walk toward the door, opening it to find Austin on the other side. Our spy whose job is to report on anything rival families might be planning. He has a knack for gathering information.

  Austin has a sly smirk on his face, as he holds up a file in his hand. Kane hates Austin and always has, and I can’t deny I’m not crazy about the guy. However, if anyone can locate my Ellie, it’s him.

  “I think I’ve found them, and I’ve got a feeling they have her,” he says, nodding for me to walk with him.

  My heart rate accelerates and a flood of hope enters me. I step out of my room, not caring that I’m only wearing a pair of pants. “Where are they?”

  “The border of Mexico, El Paso. One of my men tipped me off that the guys from up here have fled down there and gave me their location.” He digs his phone out of his pocket, pulling up an image of one of the guys I put in the hospital over two months ago. “I sent him this picture, and he confirmed they are there.” He passes me the file. “They said they’re keeping a girl locked up.”

  My fists ball and I can feel the rage heating me. “Bastards.”

  Austin eyes me carefully. “What’s your plan of action?”

  Kill every single one of them for touching my woman.

  “I’ll head down there and get her,” I say through gritted teeth.

  Austin tilts his head to the side. “Rick won’t allow it, not with the news I’ve just given him this morning.” He shakes his head.

  I raise a questioning eyebrow.

  Austin holds his hands up in the air. “Ask him about it, as it’s not my place to tell you.”

  I sigh heavily. “I’ll go alone, and I won’t tell Rick.”

  A whisper of a smirk plays at Austin’s lips. “I thought you might say that, but it will be dangerous.”

  I crack my knuckles. “Who do you think you are talking to?”

  He nods. “Fair enough, maybe ask Kane to go along with you. He will help out, I’m sure.”

  I nod. “Yeah, I’ll run it by him. Thanks Austin, I appreciate this.” I clap him on the back.

  “No problem.” He gives me a short nod, before heading down the corridor and out of sight.

  I gaze down at the file in my hand, thankful that Austin has found her. All those guys will wish they were never born when I get my hands on them. First, I need to get some breakfast. Suddenly, there’s a light at the end of this tunnel of darkness I’ve spiraled into.

  Rick is sitting at the table, holding a cup of coffee. His shoulders are hunched and tense.

  “Morning, Rick, what has your panties in a twist?” I say, jesting at him.

  He looks up at me for a moment and then back down at his coffee. “Morning,” he mutters.

  Okay, something is up with him. My brother takes so much stress in his position, never once wishing for the power he has been lumped with. Kane never wanted it, and I know it would go to my head if I was in his position. He was always the perfect candidate to take control when our father was murdered.

  “Seriously, what the hell is up with you?” I ask, sitting down across from him.

  He looks up and shakes his head. “Nick Juliano has crossed us,” he mutters, taking a sip from his coffee.

  Shit.

  “Are you serious? What did he do?”

  Rick shrugs. “Austin found out his mob have been undercutting us on gun sales here in our own fucking territory.”

  I rub my hand across the back of my neck, feeling sick to the stomach. Eight years since my father died, and we’ve had no problems. This is the first proper challenge to our power since then. It makes sense why Austin was certain Rick wouldn’t let me go down to Texas to save Ellie.

  If we’re on the brink of war with the Juliano Mafia, then I shouldn’t go. They run the county and will kill any Romano that steps foot into their territory, especially the underboss. “Shit, what are we going to do?”

  He takes a sip of his coffee. “I’ve already put the plan in place with Austin, but I don’t like it.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What is the plan?”

  “Blackmail.” Rick shakes his head. “It was that or an all-out mafia war.”

  There’s no way this will go down well. I have to go to Texas, but I know I can’t tell him. “What are you going to blackmail him with?”

  Rick’s jaw clenches. “His daughter.”

  “Fuck,” I say, knowing how much my journey down there could screw up everything.

  “When are they taking her?” I ask, rapping my fingers on the kitchen table.

  “Austin has a team ready to snatch her, they’re waiting until nightfall to take her. I hate snatching relatives, but it’s our best option.”

  I nod my head,
trying to work out how I will get around this. The timing couldn’t be fucking worse. A long silence stretches between us as I search my brain, trying to come up with a plan. “I will be gone for a few days,” I say, glancing down at the table.

  “Where are you going?”

  I shrug. “A potential lead on Ellie up north.” I hate lying to my brother, but I know it’s my only choice. There’s no chance in hell he would let me go down to Texas, not with the fall out with the Juliano Mafia.

  “You should take some guys with you,” Rick says, absentmindedly.

  It’s clear from the look in his eyes, he’s somewhere else right now. “I thought I might ask Kane if he could come along.”

  Rick glances up and nods. “Perhaps, I should come too?”

  Oh shit. “That’s not really a good idea considering, is it? You need to be here when the guys return with Juliano’s daughter.”

  His shoulders slump and I feel guilty for dissuading him, but Rick trying to tag along would ruin everything. Ellie means the world to me, even if that means lying to my brother. I stand from the table and grab a box of cereals and a bowl, pouring myself some. “Do you want any?” I ask, holding the box of Lucky Charms up in the air.

  “No, thanks. I already ate and I’m not ten years old.”

  I shoot him a stern look and laugh. “You don’t have to be ten years old to enjoy food that tastes good, Rick.” I glance back at the box and my chest aches.

  Ellie loves these too, and hopefully I will find her soon. I carry the bowl over to the table and sit down.

  El Paso is at least a thirty-hour drive from Philly. If Kane agrees to go with me, we can keep going through the night taking turns driving. It would be easier to fly, but that would require clearance from Rick. I shovel my cereal into my mouth mindlessly, eating in silence.

  Rick gets up from the table, running a hand through his hair. “I’m going to make preparations for our guest.” He winces at the word, as he knows she's not going to be a guest.

  I give him a nod.

  “Be careful when you go up north and make sure you get Kane to go with you,” he says.

  “I will do.” I keep my attention on my bowl rather than him. If I look at him, I know my eyes will betray me. I’ve always looked up to Rick and lying to him doesn’t sit well with me.

  He walks out and leaves me in peace, but I’ve still got to get Kane to help me. My mind is running wild with so many thoughts. What has Ellie been though during her time captive? I hope none of them were stupid enough to have hurt her, but I’ve got a feeling that’s wishful thinking. The guys that took her are the lowest of the low.

  I stand from the table and put my bowl in the sink, heading back upstairs toward Kane’s room. Hopefully, he will help me with this, as I’ve got no other choice. As I near his room, loud moans echo down the corridor.

  I can’t help but smirk as I remember him interrupting me two months ago. Then, a sadness sets in as that was the last time I saw Ellie. It is time I repay the favor.

  I knock the door hard three times.

  “What the fuck?” Kane growls, I hear him walk toward the door. He flings it open and glares at me. “What is it, Leo?”

  “Emergency, Ellie has been located, and I need you to come with me.”

  Kane looks irritated, as he glances back into his room. “Fine, give me five minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs.” He slams the door shut before I can reply.

  Oh, and Kane, I’ve lied to Rick about where she is because she’s in Texas. We’re about to kidnap the daughter of the mob boss that runs Texas because they have crossed us.

  Those details I will have to run by him in the car on the way there. At least then he can’t back out, or perhaps he can.

  Fuck.

  I glance down and realize I haven’t even put on a shirt yet. The prospect of finding Ellie has obliterated everything else from my mind. The pure desperation to see her and hold her driving me wild.

  I head down the corridor to my room to grab a shirt. I’d started to lose hope over ever seeing Ellie again. Suddenly, I feel the glimmer of hope returning like a ray of sunshine breaking through the dense clouds of despair that have filled me for two months.

  16

  Ellie

  I wake on the cold, hard ground. When I shift, the chains cut into my wrists and ankles, opening the already infected wounds. My clothes are tattered and stink so bad I think I’ve got used to the smell.

  At first, it made me vomit until I became desensitized to it. God knows how long I’ve been here. I groan as my brain pounds in my skull, feeling too big for the space it’s in.

  Dehydration and hunger are getting to me and my body is wracked with exhaustion.

  I’ve been kept captive by Bruce in this basement ever since we left the Romano mansion. Being away from Leo has hurt more than I can explain, more than being cut and tortured, and worse.

  Bruce has done unspeakable and disgusting things to me, but none of them hurt me more than being away from the man I’ve inexplicably fallen for.

  The bloody wounds on my body will leave more scars than I already had, but I can’t find it in me to care anymore. All I can think about during the long hours trapped here is Leo.

  I hold onto the image of his perfect, beautiful face in my mind, longing to see him again. I know he’ll never find me, and I know he probably wouldn’t want to either.

  I was his plaything to punish. He has probably long forgotten all about me and that hurts more than I can explain. They’ve taken me away from him—far away.

  The journey to this place was long—at least eight hours drive. I try to shift back toward the wall, forcing my aching muscles to move against their will. Every part of me hurts more than I can put into words.

  The click of the door opening to the basement makes my stomach twist with sickness. It’s a sound I’ve grown to fear. I push my back harder against the cold stone wall, as if I can disappear into it. The echo of slow steps leading down here make me want to throw up. I know Bruce’s footsteps now, learning to fear them.

  “Morning, sweetheart,” he says, clutching a bottle of water and an energy bar.

  Every morning he brings the same things down. He chucks them at me, making sure the bottle hits me. I don’t have the energy to stop it as it clashes into my throat, making me gasp for breath.

  If I had any energy I’d kick the guy in the nuts. Lately, I’ve been dreaming about strangling him to death whenever I nod off to sleep. I guess that’s what happens when you're abused for so long.

  “You best eat that.” He nods to the energy bar on the floor. “You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest. The energy bars make me feel like shit, and I know he’s drugging them. “No thanks.”

  He kneels down in front of me and grabs the bar off the floor. I writhe, trying to get away from him. It irritates me at how my body reacts on instinct to his touch. I want him to believe I’m not affected by him or what he has done to me, but it’s impossible.

  He unwraps the bar and then grabs hold of my jaw forcefully, opening my mouth. I bite down hard the moment his finger slips into the side of my mouth and he yelps, dropping the bar into my lap.

  “You fucking bitch,” he growls, holding onto his bleeding finger. He slaps me hard across the face again and then grabs hold of my neck forcefully.

  I struggle to draw in a breath, fighting against him.

  “Open your mouth if you want to breathe again,” he snarls.

  I open it reluctantly, desperate to draw breath. He shoves half the bar down my throat, blocking my airways. I can’t breathe and I am choking, as he drops me to the floor.

  Attempting to swallow it doesn’t work, so I try to spit it out, succeeding after a few attempts. My restraints cutting into me more as I try to pull against them.

  “Pathetic little Ellie,” he says, kicking me in the stomach hard.

  It knocks the wind from me and makes it impossible
to breathe, again. This guy better hope I never slip these fucking restraints or I really will strangle him to death. I’ve never killed anyone, and it’s not something I condone, but for Bruce, I’d bend my fucking morals.

  The thought of choking the life out of him fills me with glee. He kicks me again for good measure and then spits on me. The sound of more footsteps descending into the basement makes me freeze. All this time I’ve been here, I’ve only seen Bruce.

  “Bruce, boss just rang to say it is time. Get the girl up and presentable,” a man says, I can’t quite see his face where he lurks in the shadows by the stairs.

  “With pleasure,” Bruce says, moving toward me. He pulls the chains off the hooks up high from the walls and tugs on them hard, forcing me to my feet. My knees wobble and I collapse under the sudden pressure. I’ve been forced to sit or squat ever since I’ve been here, never once allowed to get to my feet. “Get up,” Bruce spits.

  I try to push myself up, despite the pain shooting through my entire body.

  “You will probably have to help her since she hasn’t stood for near on two months, Bruce.”

  Two months.

  That’s how long they’ve kept me in here in worse conditions than an animal. Bruce grabs hold of arm so hard I yelp, as he drags me to my feet. The pain coursing through my legs is ridiculous as he forces me to put weight on them. “Come on.” Bruce drags me toward the stairs and hoists me up them, following the other man.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I yell, trying to break away from him, despite knowing he is literally the only thing holding me up right now.

  “Shut it, or I’ll gag you.”

  He drags me up a flight of stairs into a dilapidated shack that he has been living in. It stinks of weed and is dingy as hell. All the windows are covered with dark black curtains, so there’s no light at all. There’s dirt and mold everywhere, growing out of old food containers left on every available work space. It’s worse than his place back in Philly, which I used to clean constantly.