by Coco Miller
“Good, and you should tell him to fire you. Scary-ass henchmen went out in the nineties.”
He steps closer. “Keep your mouth shut or I’ll shut it for you.”
Let me get one thing straight. I’m terrified but for some reason I can’t stop egging this guy on.
“How’re you gonna do that?”
“I’ll kill that boyfriend of yours.”
I stop talking, my eyes growing wide as he stares at me. I don’t even blink as he stares straight through me. I want to go home, but I won’t back down from him. Before anything more can happen, the door opens and I swear all the air is sucked from the room.
The man who enters would scare even the biggest monster. This can not be my father. There’s no way I could ever be made from such evil. He stalks closer, staking his claim over me with one wicked stare.
“Leave us, Hugo.”
Hugo glances at me once more with a snare, then walks out of the door.
I try to straighten my posture, pretending I’m not afraid. But, I am. I want Giovanni here with me.
“Let me get a good look at you.” He steps closer, holding out a hand for me to grab.
I do and stand on shaky legs as the man, my father, looks me over.
“Are you my father?” I ask him.
He smiles, barely. “My name is Henry Montanari. I am not your father.”
“But, you told Giovanni I was your daughter.”
Henry steps back, having assessed me enough. “I’ve told Giovanni many things. The truth is is I know your father.”
“Let me guess. He’s your enemy.”
“You’re very perceptive.” He moves throughout the room like he has a grand story to tell. “Your father and I were best friends. We grew up together. I remember the day you were born. But, afterward he wanted to stay in New York. Raise a family with your whore of a mother.”
I cringe at his word choice. “She is not a whore.”
“We grew up old school, and he was supposed to marry and have children with someone handpicked for him by our Don, not your mother.”
“That doesn’t make her a whore.”
“Anyway,” he says, dismissing me. “Your father Vincent and I had many things we had planned. We were going to take over the world.”
I roll my eyes. “And what happened?”
“Well, I convinced your father to leave you and your mother and for a time shit was good. We grew our business into something untouchable. We were indestructible. We were rising high in the Andolini syndicate.”
I listen.
“But then, your father grew to resent me…”
I cut in, “He should.”
Henry doesn’t appreciate me speaking up and continues, “Guess it was driving him crazy that someone else might be fucking his exotic pussy and he wanted to go back to your mother. To you.” He laughs before he says, “But, she wanted nothing to do with him.”
“Good.” I say resolutely. “And then what happened?”
“He left. He took all the money and split.”
“How long ago?”
Was this like last week? Many years ago? When?
“Last year. I’ve been tracking him down. I’ve been tracking you down. And plotting my own revenge.”
“Why don’t you just let him go?” I ask.
He laughs, his eyes turning a different shade of black. “Because he stole from me.”
“If the house I’ve been in is any indication, you seem to be doing just fine.”
“That’s what you think.”
“Why bring me into this?”
“You know why. I want what’s mine returned to me, and your father is going to have to be strong armed into giving it back. I know him well.”
“I just don’t see why you can’t leave well enough alone.”
“My business is fragile. Giovanni is leading the family in my absence but it’s all crumbling down.”
I lift my chin. “He’ll find me.”
“Your father has no clue I have you or he’d be here.”
“No, not my father. Giovanni.”
His eyes widen when he makes the realization. He laughs, a deep belly laugh and takes a minute to regain his composure.
“You think Giovanni gives two shits about you?”
I narrow my eyes. His words sting for a moment.
“Yes. He’ll rescue me.”
Henry laughs harder and then leans in close. “I’ve known Giovanni since he was a snot-nosed kid who couldn’t even hold a gun let alone use it.” His voice raises. “I made him the man he is now. He does not take risks for pussy. Not unless I tell him to.”
“He’ll be here.”
Henry scoffs. “He’s not coming for you. No one is.”
I want Giovanni to prove Henry wrong with all my heart, but the realization that maybe no one is coming for me hits me hard in the chest, and causes the tears to leak from my eyes. I didn’t want to cry in front of this man, but I can’t help myself.
“Let me go,” I plead to the man who’s holding me prisoner. I hate this man. “I need to see my mother.”
“Soon.”
Yeah, right. This man is an evil made from sin and hate. There’s nothing good this man could ever say to make me believe a word he says.
How can you ask a man to abandon the woman he loves with the baby they made out of that love? But then again, how could my father agree to that?
Hope is a dangerous thing. And for someone like me, I can’t hold on to the promise that Giovanni will rescue me. I have to find my own way.
I have to be strong, even though I don’t feel anything but weak.
Henry’s flunkee brings me a plate of some sort of weird looking hash. I’ve been stuck in this prison of their making for at least a full day and night and my stomach is rumbling. It’s gross, but I decide it’s more important to live than worry about the origins of the strange food.
It’s not until about five bites later that I realize the hash has been laced with a sedative. I try to fight it but sleep wins. The only good thing is that I dream of Giovanni.
I’m in the shower, with Giovanni begging to watch me get myself off. He licks his lips, watching as I trail my hand down my stomach. Hate and longing battle inside me. Why do I want him? Soap swirls around my feet as I inch my hand closer to where he was not even days ago. The hiss of the shower muffles the choked back sob threatening to escape. Screw my hand. He really wants to watch me get off? I reach up and remove the shower head.
“Just need to rinse,” I tell him, lifting a leg onto the tiled bench seat and positioning the pulsing streams of water over my clit. Big mistake. A moan escapes me, and my head falls back.
“Fuck, Kelly,” he grits out, stepping into the shower.
The water soaks his clothes as he pulls me to him, crashing his lips to mine. My internal battle in this war I'm losing is forgotten in a tangle of tongues full of lust and hunger. I'm weak. Might as well wave the white shirt he quickly discards in a wet lump at my feet in surrender.
But, I’m not backing down. No, I won’t let him win. I won’t be his to control. Even though my body wants him so badly.
A yearning for this man grows deep inside me as he deepens the kiss. There’s nothing gentle about the way he kisses. Hard and rough.
A want more powerful than I’ve ever known washes over me. And it’s hotter than the water rushing over my skin, it’s a white hot heat that swirls through my veins.
I want him. But, I’m at war with my emotions.
I wish he was here to save me. But, that’s a fool’s wish now. He won’t come for me. No one is.
He keeps kissing me as I pull him closer.
It almost feels real.
Chapter Thirteen
Giovanni
“We’ve got her. Henry and his new henchman, Hugo have her in some warehouse on the edge of town.”
Justin moves quick through the house, trying his best to keep up with me. I’m going after him and no one will be able to s
top me.
“You’ll need backup,” Justin says.
“Get the security team together. Is Leo here yet?”
“He’ll be here within the hour.”
I stop walking, turning to face Justin. “Wait for him and then meet me at the warehouse.”
Justin doesn’t try to stop me, knowing full well it’ll be fucking useless. I’m going to save my girl. Plain and fucking simple.
I rush to my Escalade in the driveway, and hop inside, starting the engine as quickly as possible.
I grab my phone, hitting Leo, and making the call. I apologize for doubting his loyalties for a moment, and then I get him all caught up as he says he is only minutes away from the estate.
I hang up and focus all my attention on the road. My dreams last night when I slept were all of Kelly. She’s the woman I want, and I won’t let Henry and whatever assholes he’s hired hurt her.
How could a father hurt his own child? Henry had called me to protect her. Shows how little you know someone. Shows you how money changes people. He rather spend his energies robbing from his own familia than actually giving a shit about his blood.
I believed Henry.
Always have.
He was like a father to me. Teaching me all the ways of the mafia world. Even promoting me once I became a made man. I was his right-hand man, and now he left us. He left us like we were nothing.
The family has not been happy about it either. I just can’t understand what he’s thinking. And why he is bringing a daughter he abandoned many years ago into it all.
I step on the accelerator, trying to speed up to get to Kelly. She doesn’t know, but I called the hospital this morning, and her mother is worried. She’s moving forward with her treatments, but is worried sick about her daughter and I don’t blame her. I am too.
Speak of the devil.
My phone rings, it’s Kelly’s mother again. I haven’t told her she’s kidnapped, no reason to get the authorities involved. Not yet.
“Go for Giovanni.”
“Is that how you always answer the phone?” she asks.
I laugh. “Yes, it is. Sorry, Barbara. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, ain’t nothing wrong with me. I just finished my chemo and was wondering if I could talk to my daughter. I’m used to her being here with me.”
I think about leveling with Kelly’s mother and telling her what’s going on, but I decide to go with a half-truth.
“She’s with her father, Barbara. She’s with Henry.”
“Henry,” she says, her breathing escalating.
“I’m on my way to get her, don’t you worry, Barbara.”
“No, no.” She takes a deep breath in. “Henry is not her father.”
What. The. Fuck.
“Barbara,” I try to say calmly. “What do you mean?”
“Her father is a man named Vincent Marino. I loved him so much. Henry was the monster who tore us apart.”
I know Vincent.
This is such a clusterfuck.
“I didn’t know.”
“You have to get her away from him. Please, Giovanni.”
“I’m on it.” I hang up after saying goodbye, and step on the gas harder.
The roads are empty, the closer I get to the edge of town, and I spot the building where Kelly is being held off in the distance. I turn off my headlights, pulling into a spot near the back of the building. I don’t want to alert anyone to my presence.
I step out of the car, checking to make sure my gun safety is off. “Let’s get this mother fucker,” I whisper to myself.
I make my way to the side of the building, checking around for any possible men standing guard. I know Henry has Hugo with him, and Hugo’s a beast. I plan on taking him out first and quickly.
I peek my head into the side door of the building and am met with silence.
Another step, and I’m safely inside without anyone knowing I’m here.
Leo and the rest of the guys will be here soon, so I decide to search for Kelly until they get here.
Maybe kill Henry myself before they show up.
There’s a hallway off to my right, and I decide to go down it first. There’s hardly any light coming from the moon so high in the sky.
I pull out my phone, using it as a light, but not putting the flashlight on. I still keep it dim, just so I can move through the building undetected.
I strain my ears, listening for any sound of Kelly or Henry.
Off in the distance I hear something, and I move a bit quicker in the direction the sound came. I push through a heavy door, and that’s when I see Kelly in a chair on the opposite side of a large room.
I shut my phone off, not wanting the light to give me away or the ringtone. Could you imagine if someone called my phone right now? So I turn it all off just to make sure.
No one is around, and I make my way cautiously toward Kelly.
She sees me and her eyes light up.
I put my finger over my mouth, telling her to be quiet as I cross the room.
“Where is he?” I ask her once I’m close enough.
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure. He’s not my father,” she tells me through her tears.
I kiss the top of her head before untying her wrists from the chair she’s roped to. “I know. I know. I’ve called your mother. She’s fine and she told me.”
“We have to get out of here.”
I untie her and she springs from the chair. I wrap her against my chest, moving her back to the way I came into the room.
We make it back to the hallway, and I pull out my phone once more so we can walk through the darkened halls. We move with speed, but I fear it may not be quick enough. I have a bad feeling deep within my gut, but I get her to the side entrance and we just keep on moving.
Just keep going.
So close.
Almost there.
We are almost fucking to my SUV.
Where’s Henry?
My heart pounds through my chest as I hold Kelly close to me.
We make it to my SUV, and I throw her inside.
“It can’t be this easy,” I say, starting my ignition.
I glance all around as I pull out, and drive like fire out of the parking lot.
“Did that really just happen?” Kelly asks, searching out the windows for any chance Henry may be following us.
“What did he say?”
“He said he’s after my father. That my father stole money from him and that he wants revenge. I’m it.”
“No one’s seen your father for years. So, I’m not sure why kidnapping you will hurt him.” I feel bad saying these words but they’re the truth. Does Vincent even care?
“I know. I’m not sure what he’s planning.”
I feel uneasy, like I walked into a trap somewhere. “Let’s get you home.”
I’m not even sure where home is right now. I call Leo and Justin, to let them know Kelly is safe and to go over the details of her rescue.
“It does sound fishy,” Leo says. “Maybe you were lucky.”
I hope he’s right.
We return back to the estate late at night and take Kelly straight up to my room.
Then I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Chapter Fourteen
Kelly
Giovanni carries me across the creaking floor to the bedroom. To have his arms around me feels like a dream in the nightmare I’ve been living. I didn’t think it was possible to feel again, never mind feel the fire raging inside me. Giovanni is the only man capable of that and now he needs to extinguish it.
He was just inside of me in this room twenty-four hours ago but I feel like a different woman. I’ve changed. I’m not the frightened girl, wondering if this man can ever truly love me. Now, I am owning my feelings. Owning what I want. Taking my power.
Honestly, right now all I should want is a shit, a shower and a sandwich, but all I really need right now is Giovanni. So that’s what I choose.
We slowly st
art to undress each other. He removes my shirt and I remove his. I watch in fascination as his muscles flex and contract as he moves. It’s hot and turns me on even more. Once we get our clothes off, he pulls me to him and crashes his mouth to mine. It takes my breath away.
We stumble onto the bed and begin exploring each others bodies. It’s not fast and frantic. It’s slow and sensual. We’re reacquainting ourselves. Every touch is soft, but sears my skin. His fingers trail down my side and move to my ass, grazing it lightly. It causes my hips to thrust forward, right against his very hard cock. I keep my aching pussy there, rubbing against him. The fabric of my panties is the only thing separating us, but it still feels so good.
“Did they hurt you?” he whispers.
“No.”
“Are you sure, baby?”
“Yes.”
Giovanni kisses down my neck and I angle my head to give him access. As he sucks on my neck, his hands move to unbuckle my bra. He slides it down my arms and when my breasts push against his hot chest, my nipples harden even more. My hands trace the muscles on his arms and back. When he lightly bites on my neck, I push my pussy against him, as I drag my nails down his back.
I feel empowered in the affect I’m having on him. With confidence, I thought was long gone forever, I roll on top of him. I kiss down his chest, his stomach, and to the top of his black boxer briefs. I peek up at him and his eyes slam into mine. The heat I see in them gives me the courage I need.
My fingers slip inside his boxers and I pull them down his legs. I lick up his long shaft and swirl my tongue around the tip. I wrap my lips around him and take him into my mouth. He lets out a growl I’ve never heard from someone before. As I begin moving, he grabs onto my hair. He takes control from there. His hips start to move as he controls my movements. I can feel my panties getting wet as he fucks my mouth.
“It feels so damn good, let me feel some teeth,” he moans out.
I comply and let my teeth scrape against him. He hisses as I take him deeper into my mouth. I try to move my head to go faster, but he doesn’t allow it. He’s in control and I’ll admit I like it. But, just when I cup his balls, he pulls me off of him, and flips us so he’s now on top of me. He reaches down and rips my panties off of me, literally rips them in half.