Barresi: Emily Trilogy: A New Orleans Mafia Romance

by Lux Miller

  THIRTEEN

  Hours crawl by as I huddle in the middle of the room. It’s been at least a day since I was abducted, because I’ve seen the sun set, rise, and set again. I’ve been left here for who knows how long by Parker’s goons, but I couldn’t escape if I had a chance. Because of my defiance, Parker has me chained to the floor. The massive chain that wraps around my waist is so heavy, that it’s almost painful to stand for any given amount of time. I’ve been reduced to sitting on the floor like the prisoner that I am.

  After dealing my punishment for my attempts to defy him, Parker left the room and left Marco in charge. Despite his size, there’s little I fear about Marco. Sure, he’s a brute, and he can get angry, but Parker seems to have him by the balls. I know that Marco was very much put out by Parker’s orders that none of his men were allowed to touch me. It’s a relief to know that I won’t be assaulted by the hungry-looking pair of men who guard the door and only exit.

  Marco sits behind me on the air conditioning unit. What strikes me as odd is the utter lack of furniture in this room. It’s large, easily twice the size of any regular hotel room I’ve ever seen, but there’s no beds, no dated dressers, and from what I can see, no bathroom. Which sucks because I really have to pee again. I’ve had to pee for a while now. The bottle I relieved myself in clumsily earlier is long gone. And now I have to go again, but I’m not going to piss on the floor like an animal, despite being chained like one.

  Marco narrows his eyes at me as I squirm around on the floor, shifting positions from my butt to my knees and back again. He narrows his eyes at me. “Quit fussing around. Shit. What’s wrong with you?”

  My face snaps up, and I glare at him. “Well, for starters I’m chained to the fucking floor of a hotel room in God-knows-what hotel, with three morons watching me like they expect me to do some kind of peep show. News flash… it ain’t gonna happen.”

  Marco growls and approaches me, raising his hand like he’s going to hit me. I flinch slightly, then turn my fiery gaze on him. “Go ahead, hit me you sorry excuse for a man. But Parker said to keep your nasty hands to yourself…”

  Marco’s entire body shifts so fast that I don’t realize what’s happened until there’s a gun pointed in my face. “Shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you, bitch…”

  I know I shouldn’t egg him on. I’ve seen Marco angry, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of his fury, but he isn’t the only one pissed off here. The man’s a pig, and he’s been staring at my barely-clothed body for the last hour like I’m a fucking piece of meat. Plus, it isn’t in my nature to censor myself.

  “No wonder Luca put you on house-watch. He didn’t trust you. And with good reason. You’re a lying, no-good, two-timing, backstabbing, son of a—”

  My words are cut off as something cold, hard, and metal rams into the side my face. I groan and slump down onto my knees. Thankfully, Parker at least unbound my hands once I was chained to the floor. I’m able to bring one up to my face to cradle it where Marco just slammed the butt of his gun across my cheek. I gasp when my fingers brush over the raised, angry skin where the impact occurred.

  I glare at Marco and spit at him, narrowly missing his shoe, “That was stupid. Parker’s going to be pissed that you touched me.” Both Marco and I stare at the wet spot on the floor for a heartbeat before he looks up at me. I pull my hand over my mouth and shudder when I see that there’s blood smeared across my skin.

  Marco chuckles as the door handle jiggles. He stands up and walks over to the door, peering through the peephole. He stands up straight and glances over his shoulder with a smirk, “Oh, I think Parker is going to have something quite different on his mind. Besides, he said to keep my hands off you. I didn’t lay a single one of my fingers on you, so technically, there’s nothing for him to punish. Unlike some, I know when to respect authority.”

  He leans his elbow down on the handle, and the door pops open. Parker is the first one through the door, a smug look on his face. He reaches back through the doorway and yanks someone into the room. He slings the man across the room, tripping him so that the man falls to the floor, landing on his face since his hands are bound behind his back much like mine were. The man growls as he hits the floor and twists his body so that he’s able to shift up onto his knees.

  My heart lurches as the man shakes his hair out of his face, and I see a familiar gaze looking back at me sadly. “Luca! No!”

  Luca sighs, casting his eyes at the floor. “Emily… thank God you’re okay.”

  I shake my head and scramble across the floor. I’m almost to Luca when I’m snatched backwards, landing on my ass. I wince as I push myself to my feet and attempt to get to him again. I feel the chain around my waist tighten, and I close my eyes as I prepare to be forcefully pulled back again.

  Parker’s voice booms through the room, “Marco! Let her… this is but five minutes in the grand scheme of things. Let her have her pitiful reunion.”

  My muscles tighten with anger as I ball my fists at my side, but I inhale a deep breath and instead skitter across the floor until I’m right in front of Luca. I bring both hands up to his cheeks, “Why, Luca?” Before he can answer, I cover his mouth with mine, kissing him desperately. He returns my fervor, groaning softly as I block out everything else and deepen the kiss. I finally pull back, gasping for air, “Why did you come?”

  Luca opens his eyes at me, and they’re such a haunted shade of bluish-gray that I shiver. He licks his lips slowly, never taking his eyes off me. “I love you, Emily. I couldn’t let you suffer at his hands for my transgressions. They’re my mistakes, not yours.”

  I rest my forehead against his, my voice soft and sad. ”But he’s going to kill you.”

  Luca nods, his own voice softening, “I know, but if it’s a choice between me or you, there’s really no choice after all, is there?”

  Parker’s voice is almost playful as it filters through the air above me, “How touching. Pity that it won’t be enough. I do have to say, though, that I must see what all the fuss is about. I need to know how the fuck Luca Barresi can pop a fucking boner when he’s facing his own mortality.”

  He stalks across the room slowly until he’s hovering over us. He wraps his hand into my hair and yanks up roughly, pulling me to my feet by my hair. I cry out and attempt to twist away from him, but my efforts are futile. He jerks me up against him and covers my mouth with his. I struggle against his hold on me, but I can’t get away from him. He slides his tongue along my bottom lip. I gnash my teeth, narrowly missing.

  He finally pulls away and chuckles, visibly adjusting himself. It takes everything in me not to retch on the floor. “Mmm, that is quite a nice set of lips. I do believe I called them dick-sucking lips earlier. Tell me Barresi, does she give good head?”

  Luca growls, lashing out at Parker, but Parker is just out of his reach.

  Parker throws his head back and howls with laughter. “I’m going to take that as a yes. I sure do hope she’s a swallower, because I certainly have something that she can suck on. Let’s find out, shall we? On your knees, bitch…”

  My eyes widen as one hand moves to my shoulders, the other still tangled in my hair. I’m not a weakling, but Parker is far stronger than me. He pushes me down to my knees in front of him and I close my eyes, clamping my mouth shut in anticipation of what I know is inevitable. I hear the unmistakable sound of a zipper being lowered, and Luca roaring. Someone behind me catches my arms in a tight grip and holds them uncomfortably against my back.

  I brace for the coming unpleasantry, but it never comes. Instead, I hear rustling across the room and concerned shouts coming from behind Parker. Parker growls, and I can feel his presence back away from me. When he tears his hand out of my hair, I let out the breath I was holding and peek open my eyes. He leans down over me and smirks. “We’ll finish up this foreplay after I take care of an annoyance. And then we can move on the main event…”

  He trails his index finger from my lips to my chin
, then he follows the curve of my neck down to my collarbone. His eyes are watching me hungrily as his finger dips between my breasts. The loud ping of a phone notification pulls his attention from me, and I heave a heavy sigh of relief. Parker swears in a rapid foreign language as he checks the phone. He stomps out of the room, several of his guys hot on his heels. He pauses at the doorway and points at Marco, “Don’t fuck this up, Carlen.”

  Luca is still on his knees, but he looks murderous. If he was released from his bindings right now, I’m pretty sure he would kill this man with his bare hands. I’m not usually a crier, but I can’t stop the tears from springing from my eyes. I swipe at my face as soon as I feel the hot tears streak down my face. I’m a blubbering ball of sobs and snot as Luca looks down at the floor.

  Behind me, Marco scoffs, “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You knew how this was going to play out.”

  Marco’s words strike a chord in me. I look at Luca sadly, “Why would you come? Even if he promised to let me go, you had to have known he’d never let you go. It was suicide for you to come here.”

  Luca sighs, “Emily, I sold my soul to the devil a long time ago. You don’t deserve this. You never did. Besides, I’d have been a dead man a long time ago without you.”

  I scoot over to him and throw my arms around him, barely able to reach to do so. I lean my mouth to his ear and whisper, “I regret nothing, Luca. I’d marry you a thousand times over, even if I knew that it all ended in a dingy hotel room in the middle of New Orleans.”

  Marco laughs maniacally as he pulls me slowly away from Luca, the chain tight around my belly, making it hard to breathe. I reach and grab Luca’s hand, fighting to keep a hold of it. I’m terrified that this will be the last time I ever touch him and I’m not about to give up that easily. Finally, Marco has pulled me so far away from Luca, that I can’t touch him at all.

  I whirl around to face him, staring up at him from the floor, “So what the fuck are you, anyway? Parker’s new guard dog? He had business to take care of, so he left you to bark at intruders?”

  Marco’s cheerful smirk drops off his face, and he narrows his eyes at me. “You sure are a mouthy, little bitch.”

  I roll my eyes and give him the middle finger. I know it’s a childish move, but I’m a bit beyond caring at this point. My gaze shoots up to the door as the doorknob jiggles again. I feel bile rising in my throat at the thought of Parker returning. I know that nothing good will come out of Parker’s presence.

  Marco’s bellowing laughter catches me off guard, and I look over at Luca in alarm. He shakes his head sadly, his shoulders slumping as he murmurs quietly, “No… et tu?”

  Marco steps aside and makes a grand sweeping gesture with his arm. My heart skips a beat as a very familiar face steps into the room from the shadows, his face set in an unreadable expression that kills the last little bit of hope I’d been clinging to. Marco rolls his eyes and brings his elbow down on top of Luca’s head. The force of it knocks Luca face down onto the floor. Marco puts his foot against the back of Luca’s head and sneers. “Be a good boy and stay…”

  Luca growls as he attempts to get up, but Marco shakes his head and presses his foot harder into the back of Luca’s head. “You’re a stubborn, little dog. If Parker didn’t want the pleasure himself, I’d put you down like I should have done when you were ten. So many wasted opportunities in the name of fealty.” He bends down and drags Luca across the room. I can’t see what he’s doing, but when he’s finished, Luca is straining against his bonds, but he isn’t going anywhere. He’s as trapped as I am with a front row seat to whatever is about to go down.

  Marco barks with laughter, stepping over in front of me as he waves his gun around. “It’s time we put that mouth to good use. Parker said your pussy belonged to him. He didn’t say anything about your big ass mouth.”

  I shudder as he snatches my hair in his fist and pulls me closer to him. I struggle against his hold on me, twisting my neck to avoid my face being pushed into Marco’s crotch. It’s a battle for survival at this point, and I’m not going down without a fight. I twist and turn in a desperate attempt to get free of Marco’s grasp.

  My insides churn as Marco thrusts his crotch at me. “Pull it out, little whore.”

  I clench my teeth together, a last defense against what I know is coming. Through my teeth, I snarl, “Fuck you, asshole.”

  “Oh, I can make that happen too if given the chance.” Marco raises his hand to smack me across the face again, but his hand is stopped inches from my face. My gaze snaps up to that of a troubled man.

  I shake my head sadly, “Why, Mike? After everything?”

  Mike looks away from me, refusing to meet my gaze. He slides behind me and kneels down, then reaches around me to grab my wrists. He jerks them behind my body and presses himself against my back.

  Marco chuckles sadistically. “Even your faithful servant is smart enough to see that the tide is changing. The era of Barresi is over.”

  Marco unzips his pants and flops his dick out. To my horror, the skin on it is wrinkled and saggy, despite his erection. I try to pull my wrists free from Mike’s grasp to cover my mouth. I know I have a stricken look on my face as Marco’s cock bobs in front of me.

  Mike pushes against me again, but this time, he forcefully takes my hand in his and pushes it against himself. At first, my heart breaks when I think that Mike is planning to double-team me with his brother, but then my hand slides onto the cold, familiar smoothness of steel. I glance up at Mike in alarm, and he nods almost imperceptibly. He wraps my fingers around the gun that’s perched in his waistband.

  Marco does a little shimmy of celebration, then turns to stare down at Luca. “Oh, come on Barresi. Enjoy watching your girlfriend suck my dick. It’s going to be one of the last things you ever see…”

  I grip the gun tightly in my hand as I pull it from Mike’s waistband and bring it around in front of me. I pull back on the hammer to make sure it’s ready to fire and look up at Marco with hatred in my eyes. “First of all, you sick fuck… I’d rather bite your dick off and choke on it than ever give you pleasure.”

  Marco’s eyes widen as Mike helps me to my feet. Mike then twists out from behind me. For an older guy, he’s surprisingly agile. He swings his leg around at Marco and kicks Marco’s weapon out of his hands, where it clatters across the floor. Marco’s expression changes from one of surprise to one of pure hatred as he stares Mike down. “What the fuck?!? What ever happened to family?”

  Mike winces as he closes his eyes. He has a look of both defeat and determination on his face, “I should ask you the same. I’ve never betrayed mine...”

  Marco bellows as he raises his fist in the air over me. Before he can bring it down on my head, I declare, “And second of all, I’m not Luca’s girlfriend or his plaything or something he shares with anyone. “ My voice gets shrill as I pull the trigger, “I’m his fucking wife…”

  FOURTEEN

  The gun recoils in my hand, causing me to lose my balance, but my aim was true. A feral growl pours out of Marco as he crumples to the ground, both of his hands grasping at his crotch. I can’t tell what kind of damage the shot inflicted, but Marco’s hands are turning crimson as viscous fluid seeps between his fingers.

  My hands are shaking as I haphazardly aim the gun in Marco’s direction. He’s writhing on the ground as he moans incoherently. Mike leaps over Marco, landing fluidly like a cat near the gun he kicked out of Marco’s hands. He reaches down and picks it up, checking that it’s loaded before training it on Marco.

  “Emily, get back!”

  I stumble backwards, away from Marco, instinct fueling my decisions. I can’t go far, though. My bare feet shuffle across the worn carpet until I’m as far away from the howling man as I can get. Mike keeps his attention locked on Marco. He’s watching him so intently that he doesn’t even look up when the door rattles roughly on its hinges.

  The door groans as something thumps against it loudly. Several more heavy whomps echo t
hrough the room. Someone is trying to break down the door! My pulse quickens as I scrunch down on the floor. With a deafening crack, the door pops open, splinters of wood raining down onto the dingy floor.

  Marco growls as he gets to his feet, stumbling slightly as he barrels toward me, his voice screaming with rage. I back up as far as the length of chain will allow, but the hulking man barreling towards me has me frozen in fear. He outweighs me by over a hundred pounds. If he collides with me, I’m going to be seriously injured, but there’s nowhere to go. I’m literally at the end of my rope! One that’s pinching into my bare skin with sharp pain as I struggle against it.

  Out of desperation, I fling myself to the floor and curl into a ball, silently praying that Marco will trip over me and go down without causing too much damage to me. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and brace for an impact that never comes.

  Instead, I hear Luca’s voice yelling something in Italian, and I feel a sense of relief wash over me that he’s okay, or at least alive. There’s anger, panic, and relief all rolled into his tone, but I’m too afraid to uncurl from my protective ball on the floor.