by Merikan,Miss
“The boss is dead. And you are a nobody.” He approached me in two quick strides, and managed to grab me and pick me up with no effort.
I could hardly compute what was happening, and whatever it was, it was happening too fast.
“If your own Don never taught you respect, my father will,” I screamed and kicked him with my knee, trying to grab at his ear. “Put me down! Now!”
He turned around swiftly, making my head spin, and I realized I was facing my wardrobe. “Grab a shirt and let’s go.”
“I will not!” I yelled at him and tried to kick him again.
He gave me a slap on the ass, which pushed me right into that strange headspace where my body froze, as if my soul had been knocked out of my body. “Fine by me. I’ll get you one at the airport, unless you want to go through security like this.”
For a second I regretted my actions, but then got angry all over again, realizing this was exactly what he wanted. To put me down so that he could feel important. But…airport? Where was he taking me? With the Villani Don dead, anything could be happening. If it was even true. For all I knew Carlo could be lying in order to kidnap me for ransom.
Where was Santo now? After his big promises of keeping me safe and away from Vincenzo, he wasn’t there when he was most needed.
I tried to gather my thoughts. If I walked into the airport like this, someone would notice. Maybe I could hide something made of metal inside my bra or panties, so that I could be searched and ask for help?
“Where do you want to take me? I need to pack,” I said, slowly calming down. If Carlo wanted to hurt me, he already would have. I could do it. Maybe, by being taken like this, I could break free from my chains with the help of the police?
But he was already carrying me into the corridor as if I was a sack of flour. I wanted to smack his stupid bald head, but I didn’t dare. Clearly, the usual things that should have kept him from laying a hand on me weren’t working.
“You’ll find out when you get there. This is really not the time for you to be asking questions.”
“How about you let me walk on my own?” I asked, annoyed by the way my breasts rubbed against his clothes. This was unbelievable. Where was everyone? Why was the house so silent?
My veins burned with heat as I looked around for any opening, any opportunity I could use against Carlo.
“Will you actually walk on your own?” He rushed down the stairs and I wondered if he was getting off on this. His boss would not have been happy to hear that.
“I have two legs,” I said, but with my whole body shaking from the continuous impact as he ran to the ground floor, my head was starting to spin. “Put me down!” I screamed again, hoping that maybe here someone would come to my aid. But all the rooms were deserted, as if the whole family had left on vacation.
There was a shadow on the floor, and my hopes rose until it disappeared, as if whoever it was ran away instead of trying to help me. The cold marble floors and the empty entrance hall made me feel more alone than ever. I should have learned to do karate like Mona. I could have protected myself then.
“Stop screaming, or I will gag you!” But he slapped my ass so hard I screamed out.
“You disgusting pig! I told you to put me down. Are you deaf?” I asked even louder, with a voice so shrill my throat ached. I was starting to be afraid in earnest. All-pretense at control was slipping through my fingers and left me defenceless in Carlo’s hands.
This couldn’t possibly be happening. The son of a bitch was carrying me outside and down the steps. I didn’t even know where he wanted to take me. Was I supposed to just trust him? Or did he expect that because he was stronger and frightening, I would have no choice?
“Why would I even believe you? Do you have any proof you aren’t lying?” Now that I thought about it, this seemed like a way to make me disappear while nobody was home. Otherwise, he’d have explained what was demanded of me, and let me pack all necessities.
My world spun when he tossed me into the back seat of a car, and for the first time in my life I wished I had a gun on me. Something to use in case he was simply kidnapping me. I could then drive all the way home in this car.
“What the hell is going on here?” asked a voice I knew by heart, and I looked through the window at Santo approaching with a stern expression on his face. He must have just arrived, because his car stood sideways in front of the steps.
I would be lying if I said it hadn’t made butterflies toss around in my stomach. Even if he was still angry with me, his sole presence made me feel like everything would be all right.
“None of your business, boy,” Carlo growled at Santo and shoved me farther into the car when I tried to peek out.
But Santo was close enough to see me, and his nostrils flared. “Why the fuck is she half-naked?” He grabbed at Carlo’s collar despite the man being at least twice Santo’s age, and he shoved Carlo against the car.
“She wouldn’t come with me. Vincenzo wants her with him now. We’re already fucking late to the airport,” snarled Carlo, pushing Santo back.
I clenched my teeth and peeked out of the car, so that Santo could see more of me. This was my chance, and I’d grab it, even if I needed to humiliate myself in order to be saved. “As if! You barged into my room uninvited and slapped me on the ass, you lecher!”
Santo reached under his jacket, flashing me with a glint of steel. The shot was so sudden I hadn’t even realized I screamed out until I had.
But Carlo did too. The bullet went into his foot, and blood splattered all over the gravel when he dropped to the ground.
“Fuck you! Fuck you!” he yelled, but he didn’t reach for his gun despite me being sure he must have had one.
I curled up my knees to my chest, as if I were ashamed of being in the bra, which could as well have been a skimpy crop top, and I looked up at Santo. “What happened? He said Dino Villani is dead!”
Carlo heaved on the ground, but still spat back at me, gritting his teeth like a rabid dog. “Yes he is, you stupid bitch. And your husband is dead too, so you better watch w—”
Santo smacked him over the head with the butt of his gun. “You are speaking to the widow of a Villani man, you shitwipe!”
I leaned against the backrest, not caring that the leather stuck to my skin and pulled on it when numbness overcame my limbs. I wanted Seth out of my life, but not like this. “You should just die. You’re vermin, you hear me?” I shouted, and if I‘d had enough strength, I would’ve slammed the door against Carlo’s head like they did in the movies.
Santo kicked Carlo for good measure when he tried to get up. “Go to the house, sort yourself out, and get the fuck out of my sight.”
I couldn’t help it. There was something about Santo taking charge of the situation this way that made my blood flow quicker and my thighs clench on their own. I once again saw just how dangerous he was, and yet, if he was on my side, I couldn’t possibly be safer.
“But Vincenzo told me to bring her on the first flight!” Carlo said through gritted teeth when he got up. I couldn’t deny the sense of satisfaction I felt at the way his shoulders curled in pain. He was favoring one leg, but I didn’t want to see the injury itself, so I looked away.
“I will talk to him, and take her myself if it’s necessary,” Santo hissed, and when that satisfied Carlo enough for the bastard to limp away, Santo took off his jacket, revealing the gun holster he wore underneath.
He passed me the suit jacket without a word, still tense and slightly flushed.
I put it around me, drowning in its folds. Santo’s arms were so wide, and the garment smelled of him so intensely I felt a stir between my thighs. He might have been in on the attack on Seth, but when it mattered, he’d come to help me out, after all.
“I will do whatever is required of me as long as I’m not treated like a doll you can toss around. I’m sure that is not what Vincenzo meant,” I said, stepping out into the sunlight. That was all a lie. I was fairly certain Vincenzo woul
d find my humiliation hilarious, but with Carlo within earshot I had a role to play.
The man grumbled something, but didn’t even look over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs, leaving a dark trail of bloody footprints. I noticed a face in one of the windows, but it was quickly gone.
Bastards. No one had even attempted to help me after pretending I was a part of the family for the past few weeks.
Santo’s gaze on me was cool and calculating. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
At least there was a bit of a request in there, not an order, and I nodded, wrapping the jacket tighter around me. I wanted him to trust me. If I had any chance of getting out of this safely, it was with Santo. Could it be that he came here for me once he found out his Father’s plan has been set into motion?
But there was no way to ask. Santo was already on the phone. “What’s going on there? The fuck you need Lucrezia for?” He clenched his fist on the hood of the car, and I didn’t like his deepening frown one bit.
Leaning against the side of the vehicle, I focused all my attention on the buzzing coming from the phone. Once he found out what was up, would he even tell me? I hoped he would. Even if he never considered me anything more than a secret lover, he listened to me, as if I was a person, not just a pretty blonde.
“Okay, see you there,” Santo said in the end and finished the call. He looked back at me slowly, but his face was like a mask. I could read nothing out of it, and I didn’t like that one bit.
“What?”
“Your husband’s not dead. His bodyguard kept loyal to him, and they… vanished.” Santo chose his words carefully, and I could see the cogs turning in his mind like spin tops.
I exhaled as hope pumped through my bloodstream. As long as Seth was alive, Vincenzo couldn’t marry me, so that was a relief. “What happens now?” I asked, trying to read every twitch on his handsome face.
“We go to the US. He wants to use you as bait. I won’t be telling him what a stupid idea that is. He doesn’t need to know your relations with Seth have never been fiery.” He stepped closer. “I want you to come. I need to go there as well, and I feel you’ll be safer there with me around.”
I leaned in, stopping myself only when I remembered the face I’d seen in the window earlier. We were being watched, and despite my relationship with Santo being stormy at best, I now had faith in his good intentions. Maybe he’d just tried to outsmart his father by pretending he didn’t care about me. I felt ashamed for never asking, but then again, if my worries were true, then I’d have gotten rid of what little leverage I had by telling him.
The naughty part of my mind whispered to me about stolen kisses on the plane, something I didn’t want to consider, even though now that Seth was on the run and with the whole family turned against him, being loyal to him didn’t mean much anymore.
It scared me that, once again, my good intentions had provoked a situation that turned against me.
“I will go with you,” I said, making sure he understood that it didn’t mean that I would willingly follow anyone.
Santo nodded as our gazes locked. “Dino Villani is dead though. Things will change with my father and Vincenzo taking over.”
“I understand. Will you help me through it?” I asked, savoring the warmth of his jacket. It was almost as if he was embracing me in public.
“I will do everything I can. Get only the most basic things, and please, be quick.” Despite him being so protective, there was a barrier between us since that night weeks ago when I’d tried to run away. I had such tender feelings for him that I needed to force myself to remember how he’d grabbed me, that no matter how much he liked me, he was also part of the machine that was crushing me.
But when I turned around to go, he was right behind me.
“I’ll go with you. Fuck knows what Carlo is up to.”
I looked back at him and nodded, feeling better already. Now that the house was as dead as Dino Villani, it felt so good to have someone like him at my back. “Thank you for the jacket. He pulled me out of my room without even explaining what was going on.”
“Everything is on thin ice right now. He needed a lesson about the consequences of misusing his status as a friend of Vincenzo’s. My cousin can only do the shit he does because of his position within the organization.”
I saw Santo behind me in a mirror as we walked down the corridors that I knew by heart now. Tall, strong, elegant in the white shirt, and yet the gun holster was visible—a projection of how deadly he could be. He was so much better than Federico Villani, Seth, or Vincenzo for that matter.
He had the strength, endurance, and cool to lead, not like those clowns. So why was he dancing to his father’s tune? I didn’t know Federico Villani well, but if his decisions were so hurtful to Santo, then why was he blindly following when he had such poise about him. I saw it from the start.
“Is a weak leader not the start of a downfall?”
“Huh?” I must have pulled him out of his thoughts, but he followed me into my room, and I was embarrassed about the mess, even though it should have been the last thing for me to worry about.
I cleared my throat, pretending all the clothes were not arranged into an outfit, as if I were styling a mannequin. “If he is a weak leader, how long can Vincenzo last in the position he wants. Why him?”
Annoyance crossed Santo’s face. “It’s really none of your concern. He will improve with the right help. I need you to pack quick.”
I turned toward him and pulled off his jacket, remaining in my bra and short flared skirt. Of course it wasn’t my concern. I was just there to look pretty. Well, I wanted to let him see what he wasn’t getting, if that was his attitude. “Thank you for the jacket.”
“You’re welcome,” Santo said with no change in intonation, but his nostrils flared, and he followed my every move.
I opened my closet and put on a simple top with beads along the neckline before quickly packing several of my standard favorite outfits. There was just one problem. Seth was in New York, it was winter, and I didn’t have the right coat. Maybe I could buy one at one of the airports. “I really hope things become more stable soon. Being caught up in all this is nerve-wrecking.”
“I know. You didn’t choose this.” He watched me as if he was touching me all over already. His phantom fingers felt too good, and I was quick to put my clothes into the travel case. My gaze swept over the floor, and I noticed his foot shifting, almost nervously. My face flushed with heat, and I opened my bedside drawer, pulling out the little grey box that contained the vibrator he gave me.
I couldn’t tell why exactly I wanted to show him that I was using it, but it wasn’t only to tease him. I couldn’t be with him, but I wanted him to know that I did think of him sometimes.
All he did was straighten up and close his suit jacket. “Is that something you need?”
I stifled a moan and quickly covered the box with my thickest cardigan. “It won’t hurt to have it with me,” I said, without looking back. I was packing while trying to pretend he wasn’t there, watching me with those eyes like a burning jungle, but no matter how long I ignored his presence, I could even smell him in the air.
Chapter 11
The soft clinking of cutlery and glass wove itself seamlessly into the fabric of voices and the classical tune played by the pianist on the other end of the restaurant. From our table by the large window, a vast sea of bright lamps and illuminated buildings stretched all the way to the dark horizon. The subdued light inside was in perfect harmony with the cream and gold hues of the decor, and the vases of white roses peppered around the room gave it an air of elegance.
Santo watched me from above his plate, looking so sophisticated in his immaculate suit and with the glass of red wine in hand I could fall for him all over again.
“We can go shopping for winter clothes in New York, if it’s necessary,” he said as if this was a dinner date and I wasn’t being taken hostage.
I laughed, playing with the straw in
my cocktail. The last time I’d been to a place that had snow, I hadn’t had breasts yet, so there was nothing in my wardrobe that could possibly protect me from cold temperatures. “I think that will be necessary, unless you want me to freeze.”
“Maybe we can get something at the airport.” He took his time cutting into his steak.
We were stuck in Rome for the night, since we didn’t make it for the flight to New York that evening, so there was no need to rush. I wondered though what was really happening on the other side of the ocean. Did people die trying to entrap Seth? Was he wounded? Running away through dark alleys somewhere when I was in a luxurious hotel with an expensive cut of beef on my plate?
My main was quite exquisite. Just like the starter had been, and everything else.
“Do you travel to the US often?” I asked, hoping I could get some more information out of Santo.
“Not really. Only when I accompany my father. I go to Asia much more often. Have you been?”
I leaned in, already jealous of his freedom to go wherever he pleased. Of course, he didn’t need to be escorted anywhere. If he wished to, he could disappear. It wasn’t his fault that he had this advantage over me, but it irked me to no end. “No. What’s your favorite place there?”
“Shanghai,” Santo said without hesitation, and a little smile crossed his lips. “It’s massive, it’s varied, colorful, and a little crazy, but I go there every now and then and always come across something new.”
I sighed, watching the meat on my fork. “It must be nice...to melt into the crowd.”
“It is. But I’d have to wear a disguise to blend in there. I’m too tall. What about you? You have a favorite place?”
I smiled, and my mind rushed back to our first kiss, when I stretched along his tall frame, reaching his lips only when I got to my toes and he leaned down. “There is this tiny village close to my home. It’s on a tall hill, not immediately by the sea, but it’s high enough you can see the shore very well. It has been abandoned since the last person who lived there died. Whenever I was there, I felt like the world around me stopped. I could walk around without anyone watching me. I’d sometimes spend whole days there, just reading.”