Taken by her Prince

by Hamel, B. B.

Luca sat in the seat next to me, wearing a clean dark blue button-down shirt and a pair of black pants. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows and he wore a shiny gold watch, probably spent half a fortune on the thing. I didn’t bother with watches or diamonds, that sort of stuff could be stolen too easily.

  I invested my money in my businesses, in my clubs and my laundromats. Some of them were fronts and some of them were real businesses, and I wanted to turn all of it into real cash-generating enterprises in the next few years. Making money with the mafia was lucrative, but it was risky and violent. If I could always have some legitimate fallbacks, I’d be set for life, assuming I lived very long.

  Luca stifled a yawn as I turned into Old City, heading toward the Don’s house.

  “How late did you get back?” I asked.

  “Late,” he said. “Went the long way, kept anyone off our trail.”

  “Good,” I said. “You hear any chatter yet?”

  “The Club isn’t happy,” he said. “Killed three of their good soldiers.” He grinned a little and shrugged. “I’m guessing they’ll try and hit back tonight.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “Let them come.”

  Luca laughed and glanced in the rearview. I saw him looking at Colleen, and I knew what he was thinking.

  The girl was beautiful. She cleaned up well, and although her hair was still wet, she had these perfect pouty lips and pale skin that drove me wild. She wore a pair of jeans with a gray t-shirt and a green zip up sweatshirt that I borrowed from my neighbor who had a teenage girl around Colleen’s size. The clothes were surprisingly flattering, and the jeans made her ass look fantastic.

  I wasn’t going to give Luca shit for looking, but he’d better be careful. If it turned into anything more than that, I’d have a talk with him.

  Luca was loyal and smart, but he had a temper, and self-control wasn’t his best quality. I had to be careful with him sometimes, or else he was liable to fly off the handle and make a hard situation even worse.

  But he would do anything for the family, and in the last couple of years he’d proven himself as a capable Lieutenant.

  I pulled up to the Don’s sprawling mansion house. Though it looked like any other simple rowhouse in Old City with a brick facade, a red door, and red shutters, I knew that the inside was a different story. In fact, while the block looked like it was full of houses, I knew that the Don owned them all, and had knocked down walls and created one single monstrosity on the inside.

  Roberto, the Don’s person security guard, stood on the stoop in a black suit, his hands clasped in front of him. He was an older man with a bald head and a pissed-off expression on his face at all times. I’d never seen Roberto smile, not in all the years I’d known the man.

  I looked back at Colleen and she glared at me.

  “Behave,” I said. “You won’t speak unless spoken to. If you break this rule, you won’t like the punishment you get when we get back to my place. Do you understand?”

  She nodded once.

  I glared at her and sighed. I rubbed my eyes and looked at Luca. “Get out,” I said. “Go talk to Roberto. Be charming.”

  Luca grinned. “Always am,” he said. He opened the door and got out then walked over to Roberto with his arms spread. “Roberto, my main man, how’s it hanging?” he said to the security guard.

  I groaned a little bit and shook my head, then looked back at Colleen. She was still glaring at me as Luca’s muffled conversation with Roberto filtered in through his closed door.

  “Listen,” I said. “I’m not trying to be hard on you. It’s just that this meeting is important for both of us. If things go well, the Don will make sure you’re taken care of.”

  “You mean, killed?” she asked, still glaring at me.

  “No,” I said, softening my tone. “I mean, kept safe and returned home when things calm down.”

  She snorted. “I doubt that,” she said.

  “You really think I want to kill you?” I asked.

  “I think you’ll use me however you want and get rid of me as soon as I’m not worth anything to you,” she said.

  I looked at her for a moment. I couldn’t blame her for thinking that. The girl didn’t know me, only knew that I intended on using her against the Club.

  But I’d never hurt her. I couldn’t leave her on the ground back in that bodega because I’m not the kind of man that would let a woman suffer.

  So long as she was mine, she’d stay safe.

  I couldn’t tell her that, not right now. I needed her to be afraid of me during this, at least until I could gauge how the Don wanted to proceed in this war. After that, I could be more open about my intentions.

  “Get out of the car,” I said.

  She snorted and pushed open her door. I opened my own and shut it behind me as I walked toward her and took her by the arm. She made a face at me but didn’t try to rip her arm away.

  “You gotta work out, man,” Luca was saying to Roberto as we came around the back of the car and stepped onto the sidewalk. “I mean, look at those guns.”

  “Leave him alone, Luca,” I said. “Nice to see you, Roberto.”

  “You’re just in time, Steven,” he said then looked at Luca. “Your Lieutenant was about to see my real guns.”

  “Oh wow, and he’s funny too,” Luca said. “You’re a real treat, you know that, Roberto?”

  The security guard ignored him, turned to the door, and opened it. Luca followed him first and I came last with Colleen in between us. We stepped into an entryway with a high ceiling and dark hardwood floors. There was a parlor on the right with couches, a thick, expensive rug, and a modern, sleek coffee table. Oil paintings of fruit bowls and other still lifes hung on the walls, and Roberto strode past it all, leading us beneath a beautiful crystal chandelier.

  Colleen stared at the wealth all around her. I would be willing to bet that a single painting from the walls would be worth more than she ever made in a year, although I didn’t know what she did for a living. We moved past a staircase and down a side hall to the left that cut across the other homes on the block.

  I caught glimpses of other rooms, but I was too busy watching Colleen for any sudden moves. The girl was staring around like she just walked into Disneyland. We passed gold statues on ornate plinths, exotic plants in huge floor standing vases, modernist and cubist paintings, and doors with expensive and elaborate carvings in the wood. She stared at it all with wide eyes until we reached a large ornate wooden door at the end of the hall.

  Roberto knocked once then pushed his way inside. We followed and stepped into a large office, with a big window on the left and bookshelves lining the walls. Lights dangled from an impossibly high ceiling, and there were rich couches on the right surrounding a fireplace with old and beautiful handmade tilework around its edge depicting lions, bears, and horses.

  The Don sat behind a desk at the far end of the room. The desk was huge and mahogany with lions carved into the front. Roberto gestured for us to approach, then lingered near the door, hands in front of him. The Don stood and smiled, spreading one arm out and leaning on a can with the other.

  He looked like a kind old grandfather with wrinkles around his eyes and a large, crooked nose. He had dark eyes and dark, tanned leathery skin. He wore a cream colored suit and a white shirt, his gray hair slicked back.

  “Steven,” he said. “My favorite Capo. What did you bring me today?” The Don tilted his head, staring at Colleen.

  “Don Leone, this is Colleen Colley,” I said. “I found her last night.”

  The Don frowned. “Colleen Colley?” he asked. “I know that name.”

  “Her uncle is Mathis Colley,” I said.

  “Ah.” The Don stared at her for a long moment. “Is that so? Very interesting, Steven, very interesting.”

  “I thought you might want to meet her, Don.”

  “You were right to bring her. Please, sit down.” He gestured at four chairs in front of his desk. I took the one on the far right and
Luca sat in the one on the far left. Colleen hesitated then chose the chair right next to mine.

  The Don sat with a sigh and leaned forward.

  “You were busy last night,” he said. “You brought home a prize as well as striking a blow to our new enemies.”

  I inclined my head. “Yes, sir. It was just a small hit, but I think it made our intentions clear.”

  “You did well,” the Don said. “I’ve already received some very angry messages from the Celtic Club. They’re very curious about why we decided to murder three of their soldiers with no provocation.”

  I smiled and tilted my head. “I can’t blame them, Don,” I said. “It’s an audacious move.”

  “All thanks to you, young Steven,” he said. “Now that the Russians are busy cleaning up their own messes and are weakened from their failure two years ago, we have some latitude in the city.”

  “And the Celtic Club is a prize,” I said. “Their territory brings in good money. They move almost as much as all of Eastwick, and they’re half the size.”

  “They won’t make it easy on you, Steven,” Don Leone said. “You know this will be a fight.”

  I nodded and smiled. “Good,” I said. “I hope so.”

  Don Leone laughed. I could feel Colleen shifting uncomfortably next to me, but I didn’t look at her. I smiled back at the Don, feeling confident and strong for the first time in a while.

  Up until this point, I’d been spending every day consolidating my hold on Gray’s Ferry and building my crew. It wasn’t until the last few months that I felt ready to move on and do some expanding.

  And now it felt good to push into a war, even if I knew violence was going to follow soon.

  Maybe I wanted that violence. I’d been Dante’s Lieutenant for so long, and we went through so much shit. Then two years ago, I was promoted to Capo in my own right, and now it was time to prove my strength without Dante.

  “Now, I suppose we should discuss you, young lady,” Don Leone said, looking at Colleen. “Is your uncle really Mathis Colley?”

  “Yes, Don,” she said, giving him a defiant look.

  “Wonderful,” he said, laughing. “And how did Steven find you?”

  “He shot me,” she said.

  The Don stared at her then laughed again. He looked at me, shaking his head.

  “Is that true?” he asked.

  “She was hit by a stray bullet,” I said. “I took her back to my place and had the good doctor take a look at her wound. She’ll be fine, Don.”

  “Oh, that’s delightful,” Don Leone said. “You couldn’t leave a wounded girl alone there, could you, Steven?”

  “No, Don Leone, I could not,” I said.

  “Even if she might be an enemy now and make your life harder, you couldn’t help yourself,” he said. “But you’re smart enough and loyal enough to know that you had to bring her with you today, so well done.”

  “I wanted to know what you thought I should do with her, Don,” I said.

  “Interesting,” he said. “But I want to ask you that same question. What do you want to do with her?”

  I looked at Colleen and she looked back. I could see the rage in her eyes, and I knew she hated that we were talking about her future like she had no say in it.

  But unfortunately, for right now, she really didn’t. As much as it pissed her off, she was all mine, at least until I decided to let her go.

  “She’s valuable,” I said. “She claims that her father left the Club and that she has no contact with them at all, but I haven’t verified it yet.”

  “Do you think that’s true?” Don Leone asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “I believe her.”

  “Interesting.” Don Leone steepled his fingers in front of him. “And yet you still want to keep her then?”

  “Yes, Don,” I said. “Even if her father left the Club, she’s still Mathis’s niece. He can’t show weakness, not during a war. He won’t be able to let me keep her, even if he wanted to.”

  Don Leone nodded his head slowly and I saw Colleen’s anger deepen.

  “I believe you’re right,” Don Leone said.

  “And more than that, I want to make sure she’s okay,” I said, keeping my voice low. I looked at her as I spoke. “The war is going to get more dangerous, Don Leone, and I couldn’t forgive myself if this girl got hurt even more because of me.”

  Colleen stared at me and gave a confused look. She tilted her head to the side and I kept looking at her, unable to tear my eyes away. She was so beautiful and I was so angry with myself for hurting her, for taking her, for threatening her, for keeping her.

  But I wasn’t going to let her go.

  Not now that I already had her.

  “Very well then,” Don Leone said. He sounded amused and I slowly looked back over at him. “Keep the girl. I’ll have my men ask around about her and I will share what I find.”

  “Thank you, Don,” I said, and inclined my head.

  “You won’t find anything that Steven didn’t already tell you,” she said.

  I glared at her but Don Leone only laughed. “So you do speak then,” he said. “Good. I was wondering if you would actually listen to Steven here.”

  She glanced at me then took a breath. “Don Leone, I beg you to let me go,” she said. “I was caught in the crossfire last night, but I’m not a part of this war. I won’t tell anyone about what I saw or speak with anyone in the Celtic Club. Please, Don Leone, I’m not worth keeping.”

  Don Leone chuckled and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Colleen. But it seems that Steven doesn’t agree with your assessment, and I am going to listen to my Capo instead of some little Irish girl with a wounded wing. Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do.”

  Luca stood first, inclined his head, and walked to the door. I stood next, inclined my head like Luca, then stared down at Colleen.

  She didn’t move.

  “Don Leone,” she said. “Please. I’m just a bystander. I’m just… I’m nothing. Don’t leave me with him.”

  The Don looked up again and his eyes flashed annoyance. I could see that cold killer beneath his kindly exterior, and I quickly reached down to grab her arm. I pulled her to her feet, and fortunately it wasn’t her wounded shoulder, but she still winced from pain.

  “Come,” I said. “I apologize for her outburst, Don.”

  He merely grunted and looked back down at the papers in front of him. I pulled Colleen along and she glared up at me with hate.

  But she has no clue how close she just came to getting hurt. I may not be the kind of man to hurt women, but Don Leone would not hesitate. Roberto would beat her within an inch of her life if Don Leone told him to, or do even worse. She was nothing to the Don, and he wouldn’t hesitate to swat her like a fly if she continued to bother him.

  So I pulled her away, afraid for her safety. But I could tell she was angry and thought I was trying to silence her pleas for my own selfish reasons.

  Roberto opened the door and Luca went first. We followed them and as the office door closed behind us, Colleen struggled and pulled her arm from my grip.

  “Let go,” she said.

  “Stop it,” I said, stepping close. “You need to understand where you are right now.”

  “I’m a captive,” she said. “You’re a monster, you’re—”

  I took her wrist and pulled her against me. Her eyes went wide in surprise as I brought up my other hand to cover her mouth. I pushed her back against the wall and rattled a painting of a horse jumping over a white fence.

  “Be quiet,” I said, staring into her eyes. “Do you have any clue where you are?”

  Her eyes went hard and she struggled, but I held her firm.

  “If you open your mouth again, they will hurt you,” I said, whispering sharp words into her ear. My body pressed up against hers and I felt my heart hammering in my chest. “Don’t you get it? I might not hurt you, but Roberto will break your arm just for spite. You need to be quiet if you want to get ou
t of here in one piece. You’re an enemy soldier as far as they’re concerned, and they won’t hesitate.”

  I leaned back and she stared at me. I stared right back as Roberto took a step toward us.

  “Capo,” he said. “Come along now. You can discipline your little toy back home.”

  I continued to look at her. “Okay?” I asked, looking right into her eyes.

  She nodded once.

  I dropped my hand from her mouth. She took a deep breath but didn’t speak. Her pink lips were red and I could still feel her body as I stepped back and released her wrist.

  “Sorry, Roberto,” I said with the best smile I could manage. “Just teaching her how things work around here.”

  He grunted and shook his head. “Fucking Capos,” he grumbled and continued walking along.

  Luca gave me a strange look then shook his head and followed after the guard. I looked at Colleen and held out my hand.

  She stared at it with surprise. I nodded a little and she reached out. I took her hand in mine and pulled her along behind me. She walked close against my side, and I could tell she was confused, angry and confused, but she stayed close.

  We moved back through the house, reached the front door, and walked down the stoop. Luca waved to Roberto, who lingered in the doorway, staring at us. I opened the car door for Colleen and let her climb inside before I walked around to the driver’s seat. I got behind the wheel, shut the door, and risked a glance at the house.

  Roberto stood there, staring with his arms crossed.

  “What the hell was that back there?” Luca asked. “In the hallway.”

  “You know Roberto,” I said.

  He frowned and tiled his head. “The guy’s a psycho, I know, but I don’t get why you had to cover the girl’s mouth like that.”

  I glanced in the rearview. She was staring at me, her face hard.

  “You know why,” I said.

  Luca sighed. “You’re going to get yourself in some deep shit if you keep that up,” he said, shaking his head. He looked out the window as I pulled into traffic.

  Colleen kept staring at me the whole ride back to my place, not speaking a single word.

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