Ransom: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Dark Desires Book 1)

by Amy Starling

  “Em?” I knocked. “That you?”

  She sniffled and emerged, her face stained with tears and mascara streaming down her cheeks. I offered her a wet towel to clean up with and waited for some sort of explanation.

  But she offered none, just dabbed at her eyes as she looked at herself in the mirror.

  “What the heck happened to you?” I asked, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. I'd known Emily for several years and hadn't ever seen her like this.

  “I'm pregnant, Ceci,” she muttered, not looking at me.

  “What? Pregnant?”

  “I found out earlier today. That's part of the reason I wanted to come here tonight, y'know? To try and forget about how messed up my life's about to be.”

  I wasn't so sure binge drinking with a baby in her tummy was smart, but didn't bother saying so. Wasn't like she'd listen to me anyway.

  “Who's the dad?”

  “Don't know. Or rather, I'm not totally sure.” She laughed. “Given that I just missed my period this month, it was recent. There's probably three guys it could've been.”

  I hugged her until her cries subsided. Then she pulled away with a heavy sigh.

  “There was this woman at the bar just now. She talked about how she and her husband don't go anywhere nowadays because of their baby. Not unless they get a sitter. I started thinking about how shitty that's got to be. Like your life is over. Ruled by a kid – and one I didn't even want in the first place.”

  “You going to keep it?”

  “I haven't figured it out yet.” She dug into her purse for fresh mascara. “I could afford it, but is that what I really want?”

  Outside, male voices shouted over the music, followed by glass breaking. A fight? Emily and I exchanged curious looks and went to go see.

  Soon as we stepped out, there was Alec. He stood in some guy's face at the bar, a young man who didn't even look old enough to drink here. The guy was pale, sweating, and plainly terrified.

  “You piece of shit,” Alec hissed, grabbing him by the shirt. “You think I didn't see that? You come to my club and dare to put drugs in girls' drinks?”

  “Hey, man, it wasn't what it looked like. Get off me.”

  One of the bouncers held the man down while Alec dug through his pockets. He finally produced a small packet of white pills.

  “Care to explain this, then?”

  He stammered for an excuse. Alec swung at him, his fist connecting with his face so hard that blood sprayed across the carpet.

  “Holy crap,” Emily whispered. “Did he say he owns this club?”

  Right now, I was more concerned with Alec beating the shit out of that man. If indeed he had tried drugging a woman, I sort of understood his anger, but this...

  The look on his face was utterly scary. In the time I had left him alone, he'd transformed from a sweet, charming man – one who I was about to climb into bed with – to this cold, violent monster.

  Maybe he had that gun on his hip for reasons I didn't want to know about.

  “Take him out back,” he ordered another man. “He needs to be taught a lesson so he never tries this again.”

  “N-no, please,” the guy begged as the bouncer hauled him out the emergency exit. “It was a mistake. Don't hurt me. I'm just a stupid kid.”

  “Too late. You're about to learn not to fuck with the Ciarello family.”

  Ciarello... That was Alec's last name, right? The bouncer had called him that earlier. I watched him, confused, as he strode out the door after the others.

  Emily's brow creased with concern. “I know that name,” she said softly. “The Ciarellos are one of the biggest mafia families in the state, and probably beyond. My dad's a cop, and he's told me stories about some of the things they do.”

  No, it couldn't be. Because if Emily was right, then that meant... It meant that Alec was in the mafia?

  It seemed so ridiculous, like something out of a movie. Hell, I didn't even know the mafia existed around here. And if it did, I sure didn't want to believe Alec was part of it.

  With the brawl taken outside, things got back to normal at the bar quickly. The bartender returned to slinging drinks. A new song began to play. The only person still out of sorts was...

  “Oh crap, that's Brenda and Jackie!”

  Brenda was trembling, leaning against the bar with a distant look in her eyes, while Jackie tried to console her. Emily and I went to their side.

  “I don't believe it,” Brenda muttered. “He was trying to drug me? But he seemed so sweet. We danced. He said I was beautiful.”

  “My God, Brenda.” Em hugged her. “That's why you don't take drinks from strangers.”

  “You're so lucky the owner was there to save you,” added Jackie.

  Screams came from the side alley, barely audible over the racket. Part of me wanted to run away and go home. But the other part had to know the truth.

  Because if Alec was really who Emily thought, I could never give myself to a man like him.

  I quietly pulled open the heavy steel door and poked my head out. Two big bouncers partially blocked my view, but I didn't need to see much to figure it out.

  “You realize who you're messing with?” Alec growled and kicked the guy to the pavement. “People like you are nothing but trash. What, you think it's cool to go around taking advantage of girls?”

  The man spat up blood, and it looked like some teeth along with that. Streaks of red dribbled from his nose and lip. Already, Alec had done a number on him.

  “I wasn't trying to take advantage,” he said weakly, and held up his hands as if to shield himself. “Stop, please. I'll leave, I swear.”

  “Yeah, you'll leave – in a body bag.” Alec socked the guy in the head again. “You're gonna hurt women, then you don't deserve to live.”

  I'd seen things like this in movies and heard about them on the news, but to see it for myself... Alec was a wicked beast of a man, his rage boiling out of control.

  The sharp, familiar smell of blood filled the alley. The sound of his fist striking flesh and bone, the guy's cries of agony, it all just seemed so surreal, like this couldn't possibly be happening.

  He beat the man until he stopped moving. His body slumped to the concrete, his clothes torn and streaked with crimson. Somehow, the guy was still breathing, if barely.

  Alec spat on the man's unconscious form and glared at him with disgust. “Get this sack of shit out of my sight,” he ordered his bouncers as he shook the blood droplets from his knuckles.

  Without a word, they picked up the lifeless body and disappeared around the corner with him. Alec let out a long sigh and turned back toward the club.

  I should have fled, but I stood frozen in place, like a deer about to meet the front-end of a speeding car. When he saw me there, the fury faded from his eyes almost instantly.

  “Ceci.” His voice cracked. “You... You saw that?”

  I backed away from him, afraid. Tears began to fall; I couldn't hope to stop them.

  “Who are you really, Alec? I want the truth.”

  He reached for me as if to comfort me. “You shouldn't have seen that. That man did something awful. He had to be taught a lesson.”

  “And you're the one to teach it? Why didn't you just call the police?”

  He laughed bitterly. “You kidding? The cops around here are useless. They'd let that fool back on the street come morning. I, on the other hand, made sure he'll never pull that stunt again.”

  “You're not a normal person, are you? Not like everyone else.” I lifted my eyes to his. “Your last name is Ciarello. You're in the mafia.”

  “I suppose that's not something I can hide forever.”

  Run, my instincts said. Get yourself far away from him and forget how stupid you were. Forget you were minutes away from letting him have you in his bed.

  “How long were you going to keep it from me?”

  “Obviously, I only let certain people know. That includes most, uh, girls.” He ran a hand through
his hair. “You, however... I didn't know how to handle you.”

  “How to handle me?”

  He didn't explain it, instead pacing the length of the alley, hands behind his back, as if waiting for me to make the next move.

  “It makes sense now,” I said. “The gun you're always holding. The way you came to the hospital demanding treatment from only a certain doctor. It was because you were involved in something illegal and you knew the OR would report it to the police.”

  He did not deny it. Crap, what about Dr. Gray? How long had he been knowingly in league with the mob? What if he was one of them too?

  Alec tried to take me in his arms, but I wouldn't allow it. The thought of him holding me after what he'd done to that guy freaked me out.

  “I think we could have had something special,” he said, almost angry now. “You're going to turn that down just because of my family?”

  I had to laugh. “Your family isn't like most. Yours is a bunch of criminals that go around beating people up, stealing, drug trafficking, and God knows what else. So yeah, I think the smart thing to do would be run for my life.”

  “That doesn't mean I'm not a good man.”

  “Those qualities are not what I'd call 'good' by any means.”

  Yet even now, I felt this inexplicable pull toward him. My primal mind knew well the pleasure he offered, and how much more he had to give should I accept it.

  Again, I spotted the pistol on his belt. His hands were covered in blood, none of it his own.

  “You scare me, Alec.”

  “Don't be scared. I wouldn't hurt you. I only go after the ones who deserve it.”

  “And what does 'deserve' mean to you and your family, I wonder.”

  I couldn't be with this man, not even for a night. Who knew what he'd do after? What if he robbed me or I pissed him off and he dumped my body in the river? I couldn't trust him, not ever.

  Still, there was one more question I had to ask.

  “Have you... ever killed anyone?”

  He did not look at me. The frigid distance in his stare said all I needed to know.

  I turn and ran for the parking lot, not bothering to cut through the club inside. Alec shouted for me to stop, and I thought he would give chase, but he didn't.

  “Ceci, please,” he yelled. “I felt something when I met you that night, damn it, and I know you did too. Don't you dare try and deny it.”

  His words gave me pause but I kept running. Just because he was hot, because we had some kind of unreal connection, that didn't mean a thing when Alec was a freaking murderer.

  I hopped into my car and sped away. Alec was still shouting at me by the time I reached the road, but his words were muffled and I no longer cared what he had to say anyway.

  Hot tears fell from my eyes, tears of confusion and fear and a dozen other emotions I couldn't hope to figure out. Why was I crying? I had only just met Alec, and it turned out he was a crazy criminal.

  So why did I feel so wrong for turning my back on him? Maybe I was the crazy one.

  When I finally made it home, all the lights were off. Neither mom's nor dad's car was in the driveway. I knew dad had gone out earlier, but mom? Weird and not at all like her. I hoped she was okay.

  Still, I couldn't lie and say I was upset the house was empty. After what I'd just experienced, I wanted to be alone for a while.

  I went to my room. The moment I flicked on the light, a yellow sheet of paper caught my eye. It was a note, hastily written in dad's hand and thrown atop my bed.

  “Pied Piper lost,” it said in shaky handwriting. “They're going to come after me now. I have to get away from you two because if I don't I'm afraid they'll hurt you too. Tell your mom I am okay for now, but I won't be coming back until this blows over.”

  Huh?

  What had dad gotten himself into? Who were “they?” Who was going to hurt us?

  “Oh, dad,” I said, folding the note. “I told you to stop with the horses. The racing. So did mom. You didn't listen, and now... Now what?”

  Worn out from all of it, I fell into bed and cried until the pillow was soaked.

  Chapter 5 - Alec

  It never mattered much what a girl thought of me before. Why would some woman's opinion matter when our relationship never went further than one night, if that?

  But what happened yesterday with Ceci did bother me – a whole lot.

  When she caught me beating the piss out of that fool in the alley, the look on her face was full of disappointment. I shouldn't have cared. I owed her nothing. Besides, that jackass did something that was, in my book, unforgivable.

  I hurt her, though.

  And then when she found out who I was, that I'd killed people, of course she wanted nothing to do with me.

  I went by the hospital this morning, but she wasn't there. Why hadn't I thought to ask her number last night, before all of this went down?

  'Cause I thought I was gonna get a piece of her, that's why. Thought I had all the time in the world. Now she'd probably never talk to me again even if I could track her down.

  And I could do that, because I was very good at tracking people down who didn't want to be found. Figured she wouldn't much appreciate it, though.

  “Look at him, Joey. That's the look of a man fallen head over heels.”

  A foam soccer ball bounced across my desk and smacked me in the face. Usually, I had no patience for shit like that. This time, I couldn't even muster a glare at Lucas, who'd thrown it.

  “Don't you guys got something better to do than hang around here?” I gestured to the empty dance floor. “The hot chicks won't be filing in until later tonight.”

  Joey frowned. “I heard there was a real mess here last night. You beat some guy into a bloody pulp; that's what Charlie told me.”

  “Charlie was right. Now stop asking nosy questions or you're gonna be next.”

  “Man, you gotta stop kicking the crap out of people just 'cause they hurt your feelings,” Lucas said with a snort as he inhaled his sub sandwich. “Last thing you want is to bring the law down on this place. Someone sees that, they're gonna call the cops.”

  “No one saw. Besides, you seem to forget who I am. The law can't do shit to the Ciarellos, and they well know it.”

  “I also heard about the girl,” Joey said, smiling slyly.

  “There is no girl.” I punched the filing cabinet, denting the side. “Not anymore.”

  “Scared her off already?”

  These nosy bastards wouldn't back off until they got the scoop from me. Why was I friends with them again?

  “She found me out.”

  Lucas crumpled his wrapper, threw it at the wastebasket, and missed. “She was gonna find out eventually. If she ain't okay with who you are, then you don't need her anyway.”

  “Thought I'd at least get her in bed once before she ran away screaming.”

  Joey shrugged. “What's the big deal? You own a club that's swarmed with beautiful ladies every single night. All you gotta do is snap your fingers and they'll sleep with you – two or three at a time, if you're into it.”

  “I don't want any of them,” I said, and meant it. “I only want Ceci.”

  Too bad I might as well give up on her. The look of disgust she gave me when she found out I'd killed people, well, that pretty much sealed the deal.

  And if she found out just what my role in this family was, that my father ruled it and I was next in line, she would be none too pleased either.

  It pissed me off, because I hated giving up the prize. Once I set my sights on something, I didn't stop until I'd won.

  “You ought to settle down with a nice girl from the family,” Lucas said. “Plenty of those. Only they won't tolerate you running around town with every woman who catches your eye.”

  The phone rang and buzzed angrily on my desk. I was in no mood to answer it.

  “Settling down is not part of my life plan.”

  “Ya won't be young forever, boss.”

 
; His words echoed in my head. Yeah, if I could be honest with myself, I did get lonely on occasion. Sometimes, waking up in an empty bed bothered me in a way I couldn't put my finger on. And my apartment was always so quiet, which I liked, but still...

  “Your phone,” Joey grunted. “Someone really wants to talk to you.”

  I irrationally hoped that it was Ceci, that she'd tracked down my number and was calling to apologize for overreacting.

  Nope. Just dad.

  When he called, it wasn't usually for pleasant reasons. I snatched the phone and went outside onto the balcony.

  “Yeah?”

  “We got a bit of a problem here. Y'know that horse race scheme that was supposed to make us a fortune? Well, things didn't quite work out the way Mr. Trenton said.”

  I scoffed. “What did you think was gonna happen? Can't believe you just handed the guy fifty grand to bet on a stupid horse.”

  “You don't get it, son. Now he'll be paying back that fifty, plus the twenty he already owed from before, plus interest. We got him by the balls now.”

  I leaned over the railing and watched the cars go by. “Yeah, except you'll probably never see a dollar of it. Guy already said he doesn't have it, and I believe him.”

  “That ain't my problem, is it? You don't shake off your debts with me so easily.” He paused. “But the problem is, the piece of shit looks to have skipped town.”

  I had to laugh. Like I didn't see that coming from miles away.

  “Looks like you're screwed, dad. That guy isn't an idiot. In fact, I bet he never put your money on the horse. He probably took it and ran away to Mexico.”

  “Perhaps he did.” The anger steadily rose in his voice. “But that doesn't absolve him of what he owes me. He can hide if he likes, but one way or another, I will get that money back.”

  “Okay, sure. How you gonna do that?”

  He breathed heavily for a moment as he thought. “Son, I got a little job for you.”

  Damn it. I wasn't in the mood for killing someone today. Thinking of Ceci constantly threw me completely off my game.

  “What is it?”

  “I told you he's got a daughter. I want you to go get her.”