by Eden Rose
“What do you mean? I need to know exactly what happened.”
I’m sitting up in bed with the luscious white goose feathered comforter wrapped around my body. My back is railroad straight as I try to work out what could have happened to Felipe.
I’m not stupid. I know exactly what kind of business my father runs. He trafficks a lot of guns, drugs, and now art across the borders and makes high profits from them. He has been working with the Italian mafia to garner more income. Of course, he took Felipe and the rest of the Baros Family with him.
Including me.
During the transition of the new products being trafficked, I spent a lot of time with Felipe. He took me to school, dance practice, and wherever else I wanted to go. The man had the patience of a saint. I purposely made it difficult sometimes.
“Are you alone?”
I roll my eyes. Of course, that would be his worry right now. It wouldn’t be the fact that my favorite member of the family is missing.
“Yes!” I hiss.
“According to my sources, The Andino Family inherited The Mount Olympus Ski Lodge last night from those dumb asses and Octavious is planning to turn it around. I want in on the plan.”
Did he just say Octavious? I’m pretty positive he said the name of the man who rocked my world last night. Am I hearing things? I must be hearing things. There is no way he said Octavious.
“Vera! Are you listening?”
I swallow around the huge mass in my throat of nerves. I fucked that Octavious? There is no way in hell I did that. I would have known if he was in the life, wouldn’t I have? I’m not that stupid. Right?
“I’m here.”
“Then answer me when I’m talking to you!”
“Look, dad, I’m kind of busy. Can you just tell me what you wanted to tell me?”
“I sent Felipe to the lodge to do some recon and take all of the financial information. This morning, I received an ear in the mail with a picture of Felipe.”
A lot of fathers in the mafia don’t share this much information with their daughters. Mine shares this much because he has always wanted me to be the one to take over the family after he retires. No matter how often I tell him I don’t want it, he insists.
“What would you like me to do?” I question and then immediately regret it. Whatever he wants me to do can’t be good. He’s probably going to have me do some crazy sting.
If I truly just slept with Octavious, I have to forget about him. If our families found out we slept together, people are going to die. My father would kill him and then kill me like he did with Servos.
I don’t want that kind of stress on my shoulders.
“Vera, I need you to go to the lode and see if you can see Felipe.”
“Dad, I don’t want to be in this…” I try to reason with him. He would kill me if he found out I just slept with his arch rival.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I have heard my father complaining about Octavious and The Andino Family.
“I also want you to get some intel on Octavious. He has to have something I can use to take him down.”
“Dad, I’m not going to tell you again. I don’t want to be involved with this.”
My body is suddenly very cold. I just realized what my father is wanting me to be used as. “You want me to be used as bait?”
My body shivers from the amount of anger coursing through my bones. I have never been this insulted in my life before. I’m worth more than bait.
“You don’t understand. We have to get Felipe back.”
I scoff. “So in the meantime, they can kidnap me and then cut off my ear!”
He takes a deep breath. “You aren’t listening to me…”
I hang up on him before he could say anything more. The sound of his voice is pissing me off. The last thing I want to hear is how I owe the family or whatever bull shit my dad is going to be spewing.
Did Octavious know who I was when he picked me up at the bar? Is that why he approached me?
With all of these unanswered questions, I throw the blanket off of me and clamber out of bed to get dressed. I need answers.
I pull out a fresh pair of underwear, a fresh pair of leggings, my bra and a fresh tank top to wear down to the main lodge area.
I know exactly who my father thinks he is. I know exactly how controlling he has been my whole life and no matter what I do he is going to be this controlling. The more I pull away from him and the Baros legacy, the more he tries to pull me back.
My mind is focused on finding Iago. I need to talk to him about what happened last night and the conversation I just had with my dad. He understands this life and will know how to calm me down.
Right now, I feel used. Did Octavious know who I was and wanted to stick it to my father? If that is the case, I must be really sick because I still very much enjoyed last night. No man has ever made me come like that. No man has come close to fucking me to the brink of insanity.
Stop! I scold myself and concentrate on getting coffee and finding Iago.
With the coffee cart in sight, I almost sprint to it. My tired body and soul need caffeine too much.
“Vera!” Iago yells from across the main area.
“Hey,” I mutter.
He shakes his head. “I hate how cranky you are in the mornings.”
It is my turn next at the coffee counter. My mind is needing a doppio shot of espresso right now to work through what I did last night.
“Doppio, please,” I ask the barista behind the counter.
“Did you hear what happened last night?” Iago whispers harshly in my ear.
I look over at him with tired eyes. My eyes are barely open and I stifle a yawn. “You didn’t change your clothes?” I suggest as I look him up and down. He is literally wearing the same thing I last saw him in. “If I’m not mistaken, it looks like you’re limping,” I taunt.
I didn’t detect a limp from Iago. To be fair, I didn’t really pay attention to his walking with my brain set on coffee.
My overly flamboyant friend waves from his wrist at me. “Girl, please. You aren’t the only one who got fucked stupid.”
The barista is handing me my drink with her eyes widened. She is staring at Iago’s crazy ass with a slack jaw. “It’s on the house,” she whispers and walks away.
I reach into my pocket and fish out a couple of bills to throw on the counter. After my debt has been paid, I chug my coffee in seconds.
“What did you want to tell me?”
“The guy I fucked last night told me he is part of the sting to take over this ski lodge.”
My heart pounds in my chest. What would he say if I told him I potentially broke one of the rules we have been forced to follow all along? Never let the enemy in. He would disown me. Would he?
“If I tell you something, you promise not to tell anyone?” I whisper harshly to him and tilt my head to the side to signal I want to get out of the main area.
He places his hand over his heart in mock honesty. “Of course, I do. I would never betray your trust!”
I nod. “I think I slept with one of the members, too. My dad called me this morning and told me about how Felipe is missing and mentioned a name. It was the same name as the man I slept with. Do you think it could be the same guy?”
“What was his name?” Iago asks with complete interest. He’s not an asshole, but he loses focus quickly if the story isn’t that good.
“Octavious.”
There is a gasp behind us and a crash of something.
Chapter Thirteen
Octavious
“Has my package been delivered?” I ask Alek while staring down at the stupid idiot in front of me.
He still hasn’t broken. He still hasn’t said a damn word about why he is here and who he is working for. Normally, I can get it out of them quickly, but this one is tough.
I have figured it out, though. Who would be the number one person who wanted in on my operation? The Baros Family. Alki has been dying to
wipe my family off the playing field to keep his high ranking status.
Alki has been under a lot of investigations in the past but has gotten away with plenty of crimes. The man is impossible to convict because of the games he plays. I’m all for bribing court officials, but he has this act played out. Alki has the whole country thinking he’s a saint because he funds all of these charities.
The Baros Family has won awards for this shit.
“Uh, boss,” Miklos calls out from the corner of the room.
Miklos is my Hungarian stow away. I ran into him when I was busy smuggling my fenced in jewels into Hungary and he helped me bring them in with no problems. Since then, he has worked for my administration with no problems. I like the fact he is loyal to me and not his country. It makes having him around a lot easier.
Greek mafia families have connections with all sorts of crime families in different countries, but the one that has proven to be profitable to me is the one in Hungary.
It also helps the fact that he is a computer genius.
“What?” I call back with my eyes on my prisoner.
“I just pulled up the cameras in the lobby and I see Baros in the lobby with his hands on this girl.”
I chuckle. Baros is stupid. I check out the sandwich in front of me and decide not to eat it. I don’t trust just about anyone to make my food. I don’t know what kind of shit they would be putting on it.
I don’t need to have an allergic reaction and die from it surrounded by my men. I don’t need to worry about it.
“Seriously, boss. You need to look at this.”
I grumble under my breath to look at the camera feed. I see the flashing, yet shiny, hair that looks familiar. Then I see the sexy lips of the woman I fucked last night being pushed around by Baros.
“What are they saying?” I question.
Why would Vera be with Baros? How would they even know who the other person is?
Then it hits me. That bitch tried to infiltrate us along with this dick sucker tired to my chair. Was she fucking me to keep me interested in her and not in this asshole trying to steal the information?
My mind tilts and I grab my gun that is laying next to me on the desk. I always have it locked and loaded in case something like this happens and right now is not an exception.
“I’m going to talk to Baros,” I inform Miklos.
Miklos notices the gun in my hand and the anger in my eyes. He’s up with me in a matter of seconds to back my play. This is why I appreciate having Miklos around. A lot of people wouldn’t have taken him in because they are worried about his loyalty.
We’re rounding the corner as Baros’s hand wraps around Vera’s arm to pull her outside of the lodge. The look on the woman’s face is all I needed to come charging. She looks to be in pain and doesn’t want to be with the other mafia boss.
How the hell do they know each other?
I approach them and Baros glares at me. Vera’s eyes are wide with fear and seeking some sort of asylum with me.
“You have two seconds to tell me why you are on my property and then tell me what the fuck is going on,” I greet them.
Baros bares his teeth at me as if that would scare me. The man pretends to be crazy and he does it quite well. However, I’m not one to bow down to his tricks. I know his game.
“Octavious! I hear congratulations are in order for taking over this shit hole!”
“You’ve got a lot of balls to come here. What the fuck are you doing here?” I look at Vera’s worrisome eyes.
“You know why I’m here.”
We’re in the middle of the lobby where a lot of people are interested in what we are saying. I don’t need the bad publicity and neither does Alki. “Should we take this in my office? I know you know where that is.”
Alki’s interest is there, but he knows who I have in the warehouse. Most mafia families know how each other acts. “I would rather go to the outbuilding.”
I look him up and down to see if he has any men around him. The man is stupid for coming here by himself. He knows what we’re capable of. I wouldn’t be caught dead entering enemy territory without at least a couple of my men.
“Fine. I would say follow me, but I’m thinking you know where it is.”
We walk through the winding hallways until we get to the back door for the entrance of the warehouse. Vera is trailing behind us like a lost puppy. I have to find out if this addictive woman is Alki’s woman. If so, he needs to be pleasing her better.
I throw open the door for the warehouse and the man I have tied to the chair is passed out. Balak and Alek are keeping guard of my prisoner.
Finding good men is hard, but I have the best in the industry even though Balak pisses me off a lot.
“What do we have here?” Balak questions with his gun aimed at Baros.
Alki drops his façade of being the lunatic and runs to his lieutenant tied to the chair. “Untie him!”
I look over at Vera’s facial expressions. It is quite obvious she knows the man tied to the chair by the look of hurt on her face.
“Who are you?” I demand of her.
Baros is quick to smile. “That’s my daughter, Vera.”
My gut turns in my stomach. I fucked a Baros? How the hell could I have been so stupid?
“You asshole!” Baros yells at me when he picks up what happened.
Vera’s face twists in pain and agony. She knows who I am now and she knows what I’m capable of doing. This is not a good thing.
I haven’t been back to my room since she and I fucked. I don’t know if she left her number or not, but I’m thinking she didn’t by the fact she is avoiding eye contact with me.
I shrug off Baros’ disdain over my fucking his daughter. I should be disgusted for doing what I did, but I’m not. Vera is amazing in bed.
Chapter Fourteen
Vera
I should have known. I should have been able to see who Octavious was and I should have run from him. I don’t know why I was so stupid. How could I have not known?
I’m busy berating myself to the point where I block out the whole situation. I don’t want to see the interactions between my father and the man I made love to last night.
It is too much for me to fathom right now.
“Did you know who my daughter was before you defiled her?” My father yells standing next to Felipe.
I should be running towards one of my favorite members of the family, but I’m rooted to the floor. My feet feel as if they are encased in cement. I can’t believe I did what I did. I can’t believe I was so stupid!
Octavious is quick to answer. The men that are in the warehouse are quiet as the two mafia dons work through their problems. For the first time in my life, I’m the problem. How did I become this woman? I just wanted to do something fun.
I never expected I would be this woman who would be the Helen of Troy to the two families. I have done my best to keep out of the family functions and their jobs.
“I didn’t know,” I whisper.
Felipe’s head props up a little to look at me. I can see he’s trying to say something but isn’t able to after the beating he experienced.
My head is swimming with what should have been.
Octavious places his big hands around my shoulders and shakes me a little until I look at him in the eyes. His deep, steely eyes are captivating. There is a reason why I allowed him inside of me. There is a reason why I wanted him so much last night.
He is breathtakingly beautiful.
“Are you in on what your father did?” His voice is harsh and stern. Totally different from last night when he was calling me “baby.” I loved it when he called me that.
It made me feel treasured and precious instead of some savage.
“No! I don’t associate very much with the family business.”
My voice and my utter shock are probably what saved me right now. Octavious must see I mean what I’m saying because he doesn’t question me any further.
He lowers his sexy body down a little to look at me in my eyes. I didn’t know I was looking at the floor until I shift my eyes to look into his again. I’m right back into the room with his mouth on me. With his dick inside of me.
The man is mesmerizing.
My father’s voice breaks the moment. “I’m taking Felipe and my daughter out of here right now!”
Octavious jumps into motion and guards Felipe. “This is my prisoner until I get a reason why you tried to come into my business.”
My dad looks at me and shakes his head. He knows I already know more than I should. Our family isn’t like the other families in Greece. I know more than I should.
“You swarmed this deal out from under me!” My dad yells. “You fucked my daughter and now you stole from me.”
I begin shaking from utter embarrassment. My father knew I wasn’t innocent, but I don’t need my sexual prowess broadcasted in front of the two families.
Octavious cocks his gun and points it at Felipe. Felipe’s head falls a little in front of us as he knows what is about to happen. He knows he is about to die.
I wish I could save the man that has been there for me forever, but there is no saving him. This isn’t a Disney movie where I can trade places with my Felipe.
My heart hammers in my chest. All of Octavious’s men are watching the exchange and their eyes are fixated on their leader.
“Get my daughter out of here,” my father grumbles.
Suddenly, I feel Iago’s hands on my arms and he is pulling me out of the room. I begin to shake my head frantically. I have to watch what happens next. I have to know what happens. I have to know if my dad is going to be killed right now. I just have to know.
“Sugar pop, you have to come with me.”
“But!” I try to interject. My word falls on deaf ears.
“When you really try to fuck up your life, you do it very well,” Iago mutters.
“I didn’t know. I truly didn’t know!”
My best friend nods. He knows I wouldn’t do something this messed up on purpose. He knows I’m not that kind of woman who would try to jack up her life.
And then everything hits me. Last night when Octavious told me he was a jewel thief or whatever his terminology was, I should have known. The Andino Family is in charge of smuggling black market jewels out of Africa and have been for years.