Russo: His Untold Story (Blacklisted Book 3)

by Maria Delaurentis

  I stayed there for over an hour before I accepted that he wasn’t here. The idea that he was with her terrified me. I still hadn’t heard back from Charlie and I had no idea where else to start looking.

  I spent the next few hours going to every single spot I knew he associated with. My faith was dwindling; I wasn’t finding either of them. It was growing dark out and I knew the longer this took, the more of a possibility that something had happened to her. She could say no as many times as she wanted, and I’m sure my girl would put up a fight—but in the end… Fuck I wouldn’t even think of it.

  I was parked on the side of the road, my fingers clutching my hair as I fought to come with any other ideas when finally my phone rang.

  “CHARLIE?!” I yelled into it, my breath spastic.

  “Hey, sorry it took so long. I got somethin’ for ya—new loft under that Piccini guy. It’s downtown.” He spent the next few minutes getting me the address and verifying the money I’d be giving him. People were all the same, good or bad they were just looking to get paid. I raced over to the other side of town, parking out back of a swanky loft building that seemed more than perfect for him. I felt my heart beat a little faster when I recognized the plates on the back of an SUV parked a few spots away. This had to be it. I pulled my gun from the glove box, making sure my silencer was secure. The idea of killing for her wasn’t even remotely questionable for me. I’d plow down every fucking body that stood between me and getting her out of here.

  Getting inside the security door in back was easier than it should’ve been, but I was a little bothered by going into this blind. I had no idea how many guys were upstairs, but that wasn’t going to stop me. When I reached the right floor I peered through the narrow glass window, noting the single guard that stood outside of a door about halfway down the hall. It’d be difficult to get that far without him noticing, which meant I’d have to take him head on and hope that we could keep it quiet. Brie’s eyes kept flashing in my head, along with her laugh, her inexplicable ability to piss me off, and the way she trusted me. She deserved so much more than this.

  I pushed the door open slowly, amazed that the large steel door could be so silent. I held the handle as it shut, careful to keep the noise at a minimum. I made it about five feet towards him before he looked up, a smirk on his face as he suddenly started to move towards me. I moved quickly and silently, my hand gripping my knife before I was within a foot of him. He went to grab his gun but I was too quick. I was digging my knife into his gut, my hand pushing against his mouth as I lowered him carefully to the floor. I twisted my knife, dragging it up until the blood that pooled beneath him moved towards my feet. He had stopped struggling; his body limp when I moved my hand. I knew I’d have to come back and move him but getting to Brie came first. I could hear his voice inside, I could tell he was talking to her. I half considered throwing my body through the door but on a second scan of it realized it was a little too heavy duty for that. I went back to the guards body and began searching his pockets, knowing Genovese would’ve given him a “just in case” key. I was rewarded with a silver key stuck inside his shirt pocket.

  I wish I could say that I could clearly remember everything that played out within the next few minutes. I barely registered my own movements as I found myself burying my knife into what I figured to be the heart of an unexpected second guard. We had struggled, and caught Genovese’s attention. I could see Gabriella, and I was too distracted. My knife went flying and suddenly I was on the floor and losing my ability to breathe quickly. Everything was going in and out, but I remember seeing Gabriella looking at me. Was she moving closer? No Brie, run while you have the chance. He was talking to me but the words sounded like I was listening while my head was underwater. He was screaming, and suddenly she was on the floor. The pressure was gone, I could breathe again. Was he bleeding? My gun, where is my gun. I reached back slowly, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal that waited patiently tucked into my jeans. I pulled it out quickly and aimed, taking a quick shot for his stomach. I didn’t want him dead yet, I just wanted her to be safe.

  I watched as he collapsed onto his stomach, his hand blindly clutching at his fresh wound. I eyed Brie, and she knew to move away from him. I used my foot to flip him onto his back, smirking at the hideous groan that came out of him.

  “Now, old man. As I promised; I’d like to make you pay for what you’ve done. Especially to Brie.” I rose my eyes to her again, knowing I didn’t want her around for this.

  “Brie, go to the bedroom and close the door. Put the TV on.” I can’t imagine what my expression must have looked like because she was gone in seconds. I tucked my gun back into my jeans and pulled him up into a sitting position. I pulled his tie from around his neck and force the wide part of it into his mouth, tying it tightly behind his head. It felt surreal to finally be at this point; to know that my serenity waited for me on the other side of this nightmare.

  I never thought I’d find such delight in torturing a man; but there is evil in everyone. I reveled in the muffled screams that escaped him as I slammed one of my knives straight through his thigh. With the other I took my sweet time, carving gashes into his face, his arms, his chest—his eyes drooped, he wouldn’t be around for much more of this. With a final prayer to the Madonna herself, I plunged the blade through his chest. I couldn’t believe he was gone.

  I took the time to drag the two bodies into the kitchen, not wanting Brie to see what I had done. I left them in a pile against the fridge, dreading the knowledge that I’d have to come back and get them later tonight.

  I pushed open the door of the bedroom a few moments later, my body shaking as I looked over her frame.

  “Brie.” Before I could say another word she was throwing herself on me, her arms wrapped around my blood stained frame.

  “Can we go back to your place, please?” she asked, while the tears slipped down her face. I’d never fucking forgive myself for putting her through this. I slipped my arms under her knees and hoisted her up, holding her close to my body. As we made our way through the apartment she looked around, curiosity written all over her face.

  “In the kitchen. After I take you home I have to come back here. I have to make this look like a business arrangement gone wrong.” I didn’t give her any more detail than that, and she didn’t pry. I carried her down each flight of stairs, and to my SUV. I secured her in her seat, and was glad to see her fall asleep only minutes after. When we made it to the warehouse I carefully scooped her back up and took her inside. She began to stir by the time we reached the bathroom, so I placed her down on the sink. I wanted to take care of her—I wanted to avoid the inevitable. I turned on the bath and let the water run before I turned back to her and began to remove the clothes that clung to her frame.

  With each new inch of exposed skin, I grew angrier with myself. She was covered in bruises and scratches, fresh and glaring right at me.

  “Oh, Brie.” I couldn’t hold it together. I could barely look at her. ”What did he do to you?”

  “He didn’t rape me, if that’s what you’re asking.” I could still hear the attitude in her voice, but it wasn’t the same. She sounded smaller; there wasn’t as much vibrato to her voice.

  “Brie, I’m so so sorry.” I pulled her to me, not wanting to look at her eyes anymore. How could I tell her the truth? How could I explain it?

  “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known he would do this.” Fuck. There was no way out of this.

  “Brie…I…”

  “You didn’t know this would happen, right? Michael?” Her voice was teetering on the edge of insanity, and picking up speed fast. She was putting two and two together, and there was nothing I could do.

  “Gabriella, I told you I’d do whatever it takes…” Fucking cop out. I’m a shit head, there wasn’t a fucking excuse in the world that could change that. She was screaming now, and every word that came out of my mouth sounded more pathetic than the last. She had every right to hate me. I tried to
hold her to me, but she was pulling away.

  “No. Don’t fucking touch me. I’m going to clean up and you are going to take me home. I want you out of my life, for good.” There it was. The one thing I had dreaded. She wanted me gone, and who the fuck could blame her.

  “I bet your parents are turning in their graves at how disgusting a son they have.” She was saying it to hurt me, but I knew she was probably right. My parents would’ve never condoned this shit. What had I done? I didn’t care that the fucker was dead, I kill him ten times over without a drop of remorse—but what I had done to her… fuck I was no better than him. I left the bathroom and closed the door behind me, knowing there was no point in arguing the truth.

  six

  I had to let her go. I had to let her live a life outside of what I had given her. I let my body perform on autopilot again as I pulled a black duffel from my closet. I packed jeans for her, sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies—I had been hanging onto them for when I hoped we would start our new carefree life… but that wouldn’t be happening. Back when she had first “moved in” I knew that Genovese was tracking her through her bank account, so I had made her a new one. I had always meant to tell her but there was never much point while she was with me. It only seemed fair now that I make sure she has everything she needs. I needed her to be able to live a life better than the one she had—I needed her to be happy.

  When I finished packing the duffel I left it on my bed and closed the door behind me. Unfortunately for me I still had plenty of work to do. This part of the plan had been had been the easiest part—I just had to deliver the bodies. Probably the only good thing about Genovese’s…”affiliates”; they would cover this all up for me. None of them would want the word out that their boss was murdered, let along with two guys protecting him. This would somehow get turned into a heart attack, an accident… something that didn’t raise questions. All it took was a medical examiner that needed a pay bump, and a funeral home that didn’t ask questions. I just had to get the bodies to the vehicle, clean up the apartment and let the chips fall on their own from there.

  As I drove from the warehouse back to the loft I tried to keep my head on straight, though Brie’s anger resided strongly in the forefront. I would get back and it would be the last time I saw her. She was going to remove herself from my life as quickly as she got into it.

  I backed my truck up to the security door in back of the building. I moved quickly to the back and opened the hatch. I pulled a thick sheet of plastic from the duffel and laid it across everything, not wanting to find any drops of blood unexpectedly later on. Once I was satisfied I used the keys I stole out of the guards pocket earlier and let myself in.

  The bodies were in the same pile I left them in—I don’t know why I was expecting something else. Apparently I was losing my mind. Before I worked on them I decided to clean up the other rooms, removing any evidence that a woman had ever stepped foot in here. I bagged up everything he had gotten for Brie, but left the few clothes that he had put in the closet—they wouldn’t be my problem. Chances were his guys would come clear it out anyway. They would think Genovese never got this far, and that Brie was still in the wind. They wouldn’t bother her—they didn’t need to implicate themselves.

  Once I felt confident that there wasn’t any blood in any room other than the kitchen and all of the traces of a female being here were gone I made my way to the kitchen. With their hearts no longer pumping the bodies didn’t continue to bleed so I didn’t have to worry about them bleeding all over the hall. A speck here and there wouldn’t be something for me to worry about; no one would pay it any mind if they didn’t know what to be looking for.

  I pulled Genovese’s body up slowly, standing him against the fridge as I gave him a once over. His shirt was covered in blood; I couldn’t carry him around like this. I searched the room until I found an overcoat, then took the next ten minutes getting it onto his body and buttoning it. I cleaned the little bit of blood that had gotten on his face, then tucked a pair of sunglasses I had snagged from my truck onto his eyes. Once I felt satisfied I pulled his arm around my shoulder and walked him to the door. It was incredibly difficult to carry someone this way, similar to carrying a tall, 200-LB sack of potatoes with the side of your body. I pulled the door open and peeked out, glad to see no one around. I pulled him as quickly as I could to the staircase, his feet dragging across the plush carpet of the hall. Once we made it into the stairs I pulled him down each flight. From the back door into the truck was a quick maneuver and within half an hour all three of them were loaded. I closed the hatch and ran back upstairs to get the kitchen back in order.

  After twenty minutes of tidying I did a once over on the apartment and considered it clean enough. I double checked for any last minute items and locked up the apartment. If I had let myself consider what was going on I might of realized just how fucked this whole situation was. I just spent the last hour cleaning up an apartment covered in blood and dragging bodies to my SUV. Who was I? I had spent so much of my life hating these thugs that took advantage of others, and murdered people—but how was I any different from them? I had gotten so far away from everything that mattered. I hadn’t seen any of my family since my parents’ death and I was sure they were ready to kill me. The one good woman that had somehow ended up in my life was ready to hightail it out as fast as she could. I’d go back to having nothing—and none of the things I did brought my parents back. They were just as dead now as they were before I did all of this. My restaurant was still gone… why couldn’t I see past it all?

  I spent the next hour driving back to Genovese’s warehouse and dumping the bodies. I left them right in the middle of the shipping room, knowing it would only be a matter of hours before they were found. His men would think it was a sign, a warning from a rival—something that needed to be covered up. Within the next week the papers would report that Joseph Genovese, husband and entrepreneur had died and the city would mourn. His wife would take over his hotel, and be the model widow—no doubt she’d be wearing black for months. She was just as bad as he was; she knew exactly what her husband did and had even been involved herself a few times. Money laundering had been more her style but once she got that rock on her finger she stood by as a dutiful wife and watched her husband destroy countless lives. I had considered going after her too but perhaps the death of her husband was enough.

  When I returned home I could see her sitting on the couch, her back to me. I hesitated going over to her—the sooner I did the sooner she’d be gone. After a few minutes I finally gave up and walked over, lowering my eyes when I made it close enough.

  “Brie, I…” my words were cut off by a right hook to the chin. The force of her fist sent me back a step, but honestly I barely felt it. I was barely hanging on at this point and if anything I was more hurt that she just had to keep kicking me while I was down.

  “You son of a bitch. I trusted you, just like you told me to. I didn’t put up a fight when you took those degrading pictures; I let you keep me down here. I shared myself with you. I wanted to help you. I wanted to help you out of this situation. I wanted to see you turn back into what I think was your former self. But no. You,” her finger jabbed roughly into my chest. ”You let him take me. You let him beat me, and touch me….” I could see the tears welling in her eyes and the thought of his hand on her was making me wish I was dead. Everything she said was true. I was the sick fuck that put her here.

  “You are no better than him. Do you understand that? You’re just as vile, and terrible. You’re a monster.” Right again my sweet, sweet girl. I was a fucking monster, and she was the continuous victim of two completely vile creatures. I couldn’t handle that she felt this way about me, which she didn’t know I tried to take it back, that everything I did meant nothing.

  I dropped to my knees and clung to her form, unable to stop the tears that fell from my eyes as I sobbed without an ounce of shame.

  “Let go of me.” She was yelling and pushing me, but my
grip was iron.

  “Please. Let me explain, please don’t just leave.” I just wanted her to hear me out, just for a minute. I knew I was squeezing her too tight, I knew I had to let her go but I couldn’t. It wasn’t until I felt her knee against my throat that my arms fell from her body.

  “You’ve lost your right to touch me. Since we’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, obviously I can’t call a cab. And since you’ve kept me here for so damn long I’m sure I have no apartment to go back to. So you’re going to give me your car keys and I’m going to go to my parents.”

  I had known this was coming, and I had prepared for it. Regardless of what she thought of me, I had done everything I could to secure the chance for her to have a good life from here on out.

  “I already filled the tank for you—in case you wouldn’t want to stay.” I went and retrieved the duffel from the room and dropped it over by the door, before plopping back on the floor. ”There’s a cell phone, a bank card and fresh clothes in there—Genovese tossed your apartment a while back… when he realized you weren’t going there. It’s been locked up since then. I deposited $50,000 into the bank account—for your trouble… and help.”

  “Of course he tossed my apartment. So I have absolutely nothing at all. And excuse me, stay? Stay with you?! Are you crazy?” She moved around, her eyes moving from each surface until she spotted the keys.

  “Thanks for the payment. I’ll go get a car, and then you can figure out how you’re going to pick your SUV up—without involving me. I’m sure you have some sort of tracking on it anyway. Good luck with everything.” She was right—I’d be able to track the SUV, but I knew what she was really saying was I’d be able to track her. I watched her hopelessly, wishing something would snap and she’d realize I cared about her.

  “How am I supposed to get out of here?”

  “I disabled everything, just go up the elevator and out the door at the top, its open. But Brie, please just give me a chance to talk to you.” She didn’t even bother to respond. The door closed and I was alone—just as I had been in the beginning.