by Via Mari
Undercover
Book 2
Via Mari
Copyright © 2019 by Via Mari
This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for the adult readers ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you are in. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.
This book is rated: For substantial explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.
This book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Portions of this work have been previously published in interconnecting novels. The work, in whole, has not been previously published and is not in the public domain.
All rights reserved to the author. No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from the author.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Creative Consultant: Suzannah Safi
Book Cover Designer: www.suziedesigns.net
First Edition
v. 1.0.1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Marenah
Matt
Excerpt from Shattered
About the Author
A Note From the Author
Books by Via Mari
Acknowledgments
I will always be grateful to the following people for their dedication and the support they have provided along the way:
Wayne, my husband, thank you for believing in me, supporting my passions and helping me make my crazy dream come true.
Karla, my dear friend, thank you for your unconditional support through all the insanity! Who read the first book first and encouraged me to keep going. Who also recommended getting other beta readers, because “You can only read a book for the first time once.”
Debbie, thank you for your encouragement and willingness to tour Chicago and New York with me while researching for the story!
Debbie, thank you for putting hours and hours into these books, carefully poring over them to ensure the reader has a great experience.
Suzannah, my graphic artist who made the images of my covers come to life.
Tonia, Roslynn, Carryl, and Deb, our mastermind group, thank you, for the endless hours of comradery, beta reading, feedback, thoughtful reflection, and dedication to each of our goals. I would not be here without you!
Marenah
The need to unearth the dirty secrets of my father drives me more than it should. A mafia kingpin that has shunned and denied his offspring for years. A man apparently in love with our mother, but who couldn’t trade the life of luxury his wife’s trust fund afforded him and his control over the city of Chicago for the love of my mother and the twin daughters he brought into the world.
This is only part of what fuels my anger, the other is the suspicion that he is part of an underground network helping to pluck innocent women and children from their homes and sell them to the highest bidder. It is that belief that has me hanging out in one of the most notorious bars in the city with my best friend Liza, who doesn’t have a clue why we’re here. I just want to snoop, check it out and gain more insight into the bastard’s life and I take in all the comings and goings in the bar while we chat and have a couple mixed drinks.
A couple hours later, I’ve decided we’ll go when I come out of the restroom and see two men dragging another man down a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway. The door hinge squeaks and the big burly guy glances up and I slink into the wall, hoping he didn’t see me. They don’t come after me, instead go about their business and close the door, but I know that if they saw me, they will.
It gives me a short window of time to get back to Liza, hand her my phone and give her instructions while I push the button on my necklace to call for backup. I’m seated at the bar when the bodyguards stalk toward me and I glare at Liza to do as I’ve instructed. She hesitates for a moment, and I know she’s scared to leave me, but when finally she walks out of the bar I can breath a little easier knowing that she can get a message to my sister.
The two men grab my hands and their touch makes my skin crawl but I pretend to be friendly, smiling at each of them while they make a show of accusing me of hustling drugs in their establishment. The one shows me the gun he has drawn, hidden to everyone but me and it sends a shiver of apprehension down my spine, but I’ll be damned if these pricks see it.
I watch for any opportunity to escape, but it is nonexistent with the way they’re restraining my hands, holding them behind my back, so high that my shoulders ache with their hold. I know how to handle myself but one misplaced kick could cause an innocent bystander to get shot in the cross fire if the dumbass decides to shoot.
“One word and this gets a lot worse,” the burly guy says as they guide me past the backs of people at the bar who are talking with the bartender and paying no attention whatsoever to anything going on around them as they march me toward the back of the bar and through the door that leads downstairs. The tall lean guy closes it behind us, staying upstairs and as soon as he does the burly guy puts his gun away, grabs my hair and wraps it around his hand to drag me down the rest of the stairs.
He shouldn’t have left my feet and arms free at the same time that he put his weapon away, though. I grab hold of his hand, the one on my hair as we get to the bottom and he turns. I use his arm to keep my balance as I drive my knee straight into his groin, and before he can even react, slam it right back into him again, this time harder than the last and push him roughly as he keels in half with the pain of the blow.
I shoot up the stairs, taking them two at a time and as I reach for the door, ready to sprint through the bar and out to freedom it opens and the lean guy points his gun right in my face. “Down you go, doll,” he says, seemingly in no hurry at all as I walk backward trying to catch my breath. He watches my chest heave up and down with angst. I hold onto the long wooden banister tightly as I carefully try to gain my footing before taking a step backward, one step at a time until we reach the very bottom.
I turn, and the burly guy who’s upright but in obvious pain crashes his hand against the delicate cheekbone of my face, striking me hard. I try my best not to react, instead, leveling him with a gaze of indifference. This seems to infuriate him even more. He grabs my hair, dragging me over to a set of chains suspended from the
ceiling and connected to the cement floor. He quickly restrains my hands behind my back and attaches them to the chain, leaving me secured but with the ability to move.
The man is leering at me, raking his eyes all the way down my body and then grabs both of my breasts with his meaty hands. He moves in closer, intending to kiss me but my knee drives straight into his groin again. “Fuck! Fuck!” he yells, hauling his hand back and smacking me right across the face again.
“Quit dicking around over there. Boss just called. We need to go, we’ll deal with her later,” the tall, lean man says, leering over at me. “We’ll make her pay when we have a lot more time,” he says to the burly guy still holding his nuts.
“Why don’t you spend some time taking in all of the toys on the wall? Fantasize about how we’re going to take care of you when we get back. Scream all you want, no one will hear you, these walls are completely soundproof for a reason,” the tall guy says as the two of them take off up the stairs.
I shiver because these people are merciless and this bar is owned by their boss, kingpin of the Chicago Mafia who is rumored to be even more so. Frederik Bernatelli, beloved trusted husband, father, and grandfather and upstanding community member to all on the surface, but the most feared mafia kingpin to ever rule the streets of Chicago. The man that has denied my sister and I exist, and the man that will always hold a place in my heart, hatred of the worst kind, my father.
I expect them to come back any minute, but they don’t and they’re right about the sound-proofing. I should be able to hear people walking around in the bar upstairs, but instead, it is eerily quiet. The dim light casts shadows of some of the equipment on the walls; tools of torture, weapons the old world family would have used and instruments they clearly intend for me. I need to focus on a way out, keep my head clear and not let the thought of what could happen get the best of me.
They will come back for me. What I need to figure out is how the hell to get free from these restraints. I need to get one of those weapons, because the moment I do, those bastards won’t live to see another day. Try as I might, hour after hour, it is useless and the realization that they will soon return and my backup is not coming hits me hard. These binds are not going anywhere and now I need to rest if I am going to be ready when they come for me.
I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep when the pain in my wrist wakes me. I twist my cuffs to get a little relief. I do a quick assessment of my fingers, pinching them together. I still have feeling, they haven’t gone completely numb. The bastards probably have something far worse in store for me and want me to feel everything they do to me. I shake my thoughts and try to relieve some of the pain as I contemplate how I can get the drop on them when they come for me.
I hear the door above me open and close, and mentally prepare myself for what comes next. I know these animals, I’ve been studying my father’s empire for the last four years.
The only way to get out of this alive is to get a gun and I know exactly what that means. I need to draw one of them in, make them want to release me from the chain so that my hands are free. The thought makes me shudder and shameful, but it’s the only way I’m going to get free. I’m contemplating my options for seduction when the big burly guy walks down the steps. Excellent! He’s alone, and I play my seduction line over in my mind, but the door opens again and his partner scrambles down the stairs to join him. They walk right by me and enter another door across the room, closing it behind them. In mere moments, they are half-dragging a man into the room. He’s giving them a run for their money, his lean muscles rippling with every twist or turn he makes, but even in the dim light I can tell his face is bruised and battered and that he’s been roughed up pretty badly. They finally manage to restrain him to the chain suspended from the ceiling next to me and they’re both out of breath when they stand back to gloat at their victory.
“Let them hang for a while. We have orders, and need to talk,” the tall, lanky but muscly man says to the burly guy. He rakes my body with his eyes, slow, taking me in, head to toe. “Soon,” he says before he and his partner make their way up the stairs, leaving me alone with the man dangling beside me.
Matt
The heavy bastard with knuckles of steel is back and yanks my head up to face him again. I brace myself for another round of his fists, and whatever else he has in store for me. As this mob’s enforcer years ago, I know what’s happened to this point is mild compared to what the Chicago Mafia can and will do to me now that my cover’s been blown.
Instead of pounding my face some more the man unlocks the chains that hold me from the ceiling, and when he does I pivot, trying to get out from under his hold, but it takes considerable effort to remain on my feet. I might be able to overtake just one, but his partner joins in on the fun and they nearly drag me through the door into a room faintly lit by a lamp sitting on a desk in the far corner of the room. I know what they intend and fight them every step of the way.
A beautiful long-haired blonde with narrowed blue eyes is restrained by her wrists to the chain hanging from the ceiling. Her face is marred with red marks, her lip is split, and she has a trickle of blood that’s run downward to her chin. Everything I know about what this particular family does to women they capture makes my insides tighten as I look at her.
They pull my hands behind my back, restraining me to the vacant chain, leaving me standing beside her. “Let them hang for a while. We have orders, and need to talk,” the man I know as Dirk says to the heavy-fisted bastard.
Dirk sweeps his eyes over the blonde chained next to me slowly, leering at her sleek and sexy body until he finally reaches her eyes. Her lips tighten and entire body tenses, but she says nothing, leveling him with a stare that says what she doesn’t. Fuck you!
“Soon!” he says as if hearing her thoughts, turning on his black boot, and walking out of the room with my handler.
We’re so close that I can feel her body physically shiver as they leave. “What’s your name, Princess?” I ask as the door closes with a resounding thud and click of the lock.
“Marenah,” she says, twisting on her toes to look at me. It is with great resolve that I don’t let my eyes rove over the long, lean, toned body I saw secured there as I entered the room.
Instead, I focus on her eyes, and even in the dim light they are the brightest color of blue that I have ever seen, full of spark and steely resolve.
“This room is inescapable. I’ve looked for every possible route. Absolutely nothing,” Marenah says with obvious disgust, her eyes drifting to the sadistic equipment on the wall. All obviously intended to create mind numbing fear in their captives and then ultimately pain.
“How long have you been here?” I ask, trying to avert her attention, to shift the fear I see in her beautiful sky-blue eyes to something else.
“Only a short while, but long enough,” she says. My chest tightens and fists clench behind me with the need to do them strong bodily harm for touching one hair on this beautiful woman’s head.
“What’s your story?” Marenah asks. The soft melodious tone of her voice is even attractive. Soft and soothing, and her little Russian accent is sexy as fuck.
“My name is Prez. They think I’m a cop,” I say.
“I’m surprised you’re still alive,” she says, swiveling on her square-heeled boots to face me again.
She acts so tough, but then she looks at the wall past me. I twist to take in every tool that she’s looking at and cringe. It’s clear she’s trying to be strong but is absolutely petrified as she takes in all of the devices. She should be scared because I have an intimate knowledge of exactly how each of these implements are used. While that was never my job, I know the characteristics of the men who use them. They like pain and suffering and those tools are their favorites.
“Tell me, did they hurt you?” I coax, because although she acted indifferent to Dirk’s leering, she’s still focused on th
e horrors they could have in store for her. I can tell, her eyes are just taking it in, but her body is rigid and the scent of fear is pouring from her in waves. I have an overwhelming need to protect her from her own thoughts and to get her mind off of everything that’s happened or that causes her fear.
She shakes her lovely blonde head. “No,” she says softly, and my pulse begins to race, while my dick hardens with her defiance and flat out lie.
“If you were mine, you wouldn’t lie to me when I asked you a question, or you’d end up on my bed, getting your little pussy licked until you couldn’t come anymore and told me the truth,” I say.
I watch as her sleek and toned thighs covered in skinny jeans come together with desire, the shadow of her breasts tighten, and her nipples harden underneath the silky button-down shirt she’s wearing. “Look at me Marenah,” I say, convincing her with my voice to do as I ask.
She starts to tell me but doesn’t raise her eyes to meet mine. She’s embarrassed about her situation. “Look at me when you tell me. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Marenah.”
It takes her a minute, but then after contemplating, she finally nods, leveling me with her gaze, fixating on my eyes and mesmerizes me as she speaks with that soft melodious voice and clearly Russian accent. “The big guy slapped me around after I kicked him in the balls, and grabbed a few handfuls, but that was it. They got a call and left in a hurry last night. It could have been much worse,” Marenah says.
She’s right, it could have been a hell of a lot worse, but that doesn’t diminish what happened or change what I intend to do to the person that laid hands on her. I’m sure Jay, is looking high and low for me. If that’s the case, and I’m betting it is, we have to bide our time. The fact that someone put such intimate hands on this woman and she’s trying to act strong, like it didn’t hurt her emotionally, casually shrugging it off infuriates the fuck out of me.
She still hasn’t told me why she’s here, and I don’t know why I feel such an inherent need to know, but I do. “I can get you out of here, but need to ask you a few questions, and you’ll be honest with me,” I say, drawing the breaths to speak in longer sentences with difficulty after the beating to the chest I took.