Only I was aiming for the back of his head. I feel the gun crash into his forehead. It’s a good hit, but only enough to make him mad, not knock him out. Sal is stunned for a minute. A wound opens up on the top of his head, blood pouring into his eyes.
“You motherfucker,” he yells, blood and spit splattering from his lips.
His eyes are closed, blinded by the blood. He lurches forward, grabbing for me. I step aside, letting gravity do its job. Sal topples to his hands and knees. I jump behind him, and swing the gun down, this time smashing into the base of his skull. He takes a sharp, gasping breath, before falling forward, face down.
I take his pulse. He’s alive, but he’s out cold. I stand up straight, rolling up my sleeves. Now, I have to somehow move this heavy motherfucker.
Chapter Fourteen
————————
Mateo
Sal only stays out long enough for me to prop his big ass into a chair, and tie his hands behind his back. I’m crouched in front of him, knotting the rope around his ankles, when he starts to come to. His head lulls to the side, and he lets out this weird, giggly laugh. This is one tough motherfucker. I didn’t hold back on that blow to the head. Most guys would’ve barely survived that.
I hurry up, tightening the rope around his left ankle. When I start to tie his feet together, Sal instantly wakes up. He kicks out like a mule, hitting me in the chest. I fall back, the wind knocked out of me. Sal still isn’t sure of what’s going on, but he has his full strength. He stands to his feet, taking the chair he’s tied to with him. He looks around in confusion, then loses his balance. The chair legs slam into the floor, catching his fall. I jump up and grab his shoulders to keep him from tilting over.
Sal blinks a few times, then looks at my face. I see the realization wash over him. His eyes narrow, and looks at me with pure, evil hatred. I smile and shrug, which makes him even angrier.
“You snake,” Sal says, spitting out the words. “We should’ve taken you and your shit head brothers out a long time ago.”
“Yeah, you probably should have.” I check the knots, making sure they’re nice and tight. Once I’m sure Sal’s not going anywhere, I search his pockets until I find his phone.
“You into petty crime now, too? How bad has your father run the business into the ground?” Sal asks.
“He’s been sick. I’ll tell him you wish him well,” I say, swiping open the screen. Luckily, Sal doesn’t have a passcode, so I can get right in. I open the camera, and point it at him. “Say ‘cheese.’” I snap the picture, capturing Sal mid-scowl, right before he lets out a string of curses.
“Let me guess. There’s no flash drive?” Sal says. I answer him with silence. “Eh,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “Paul was going to kill me anyway, so this won’t be so bad. I doubt a smarmy brat like you could bring me too much pain.”
I’m tempted to backhand him across the face, but I decide to keep my cool. I scroll through Sal’s contacts until I get to Paul Salvatore’s number. He’s named ‘The Boss’ in Sal’s phone. After making sure the location tracker is turned off, I text Paul the photo of his made man tied to a chair. Soon after the message is sent, I see a the read receipt from Sal’s end, but no answer. He’s probably figuring out what to do. I slip Sal’s phone into my pocket, and wait.
It’s a good ten minutes before the phone rings. During that time, Sal won’t shut the fuck up. He goes from cursing me out, to complaining about being starving. I find a packet of peanuts in my jacket pocket. I rip it open and pour some in his mouth to shut him up.
Finally, the phone rings. I answer it, and wait for Paul Salvatore to talk. There’s a deep, wet breath on the other end before he says anything. His voice is slow and quiet. Something about it hits me the wrong way, like nails on a chalkboard. My whole body cringes.
“Lily Barnes must not be as innocent as she looks.”
Hearing Lily’s name in that creepy voice sets me off. “What the fuck did you say?” I press the phone tighter to my ear.
Paul sucks in through his teeth. “She must be a dirty girl in the sheets. Her pussy’s soft and wet, huh? I know how you Romano boys get around. She must be something special. Maybe I’ll try her out to see what the all the fuss is about.”
Rage rushes through my veins, making me clench my fists. I want to punch Sal across the face, just to get my aggression out.
“I have your man,” I say coldly. “And I don’t mind slitting his throat.”
I hear Paul say something under his breath, then a soft thud, like he kicked something. In response, a female voice rises up, weak and full of tears. I walk forcefully across the room and punch the wall, sparing Sal’s face.
“Is that Lily?” I growl. “Where are you? I’ll fucking tear you apart.”
Paul laughs. “Easy, there. Man, are you pussy whipped?” His voice sounds far away as he pulls the phone from his face. “Tell him who you are, sweetheart.”
A choked, gasping voice enters my ear. “Mateo? It’s Jenna. They have me and Tyler. They tied us up. They took our phones.”
A part of me is relieved that it’s them, and not Lily. But I know this isn’t good. Jenna screams, and Paul gets back on the phone.
“I know it was you. John, and his expertise, were very profitable for us. You have to pay.”
“Then come get me.”
Paul sighs. “I could do that, send a few guys to take you down. But where’s the satisfaction in that? I hear your sweet Lily thinks she’s tough. I know all about your trips to the gun range. One of my guys hacked the security cameras. I’ve seen the footage. You two did a lot more than shooting.”
I hear Tyler shouting in the background. There’s a slap, and he shuts up.
“Let’s come to some sort of agreement, okay?” I say. “Let Jenna and Tyler go, and I won’t kill Sal.”
“It’s not going to be that easy, sport.” He draws out the last word condescendingly. “These spoiled brats are going to lead Lily right to me. And trust me, Sal can take care of himself.”
Click.
The line goes silent. I stare at the screen in a panic. If Lily finds out where her friends are, she’ll try to do something about it. I know her. She’ll walk right into that trap. I had to get in contact with my brothers. I close my eyes, trying to remember Vince’s number, when I hear the chair scuff against the floor.
I jerk my head towards Sal. His face is red and dripping with sweat. He stands up, no longer tied to the chair. There are deep red rope burns around his wrists. The knots around his ankles are loose and dangling. He’s forced himself out of the ropes through sheer, brute will.
Sal pounces towards me. I go for my gun, but I’m not fast enough. Sal gets his fat hands around my neck, and squeezes. I punch at him, but he holds me far enough away that I can’t reach. I fight like hell to get out of his grasp, but the room is starting to spin, and dark spots are clouding my vision. The last thing I remember is his ugly mug sneering at me before everything goes black.
Lily
———————
Vince and Leo are as silent and still as stones as we barrel down the highway. Vince drives nearly as fast as Mateo does, but he seems more careless. He swerves around cars, never lowering his speed. I fasten my seatbelt, and clutch the seat for dear life.
They never exactly agreed to let me come with them. They just realized I wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer. The police scanner on the dashboard crackles to life from time to time. It’s a woman’s voice, sending out calls for house fires, domestic violence, gang shootings. There’s so much that goes on, so much trauma and pain. Pampered suburbanites, like me, have no idea what some people go through. It’s startling when you get a glimpse behind the veil.
“We should check the warehouse on Third first,” Leo says.
“That’s out of the way from everything,” Vince says. “Let’s start with the closest spot, and work our way towards there.”
Leo shakes his head. “We don’t have time
to be so methodical.”
I wonder where Mateo is right now, what he’s doing, and I start to shake. I hope we can get to him in time.
My phone starts to ring. It’s the last noise I expect to hear, and it makes me yelp. Leo turns around, his eyes all over me.
“Who the fuck is that?” Leo asks.
“Jenna,” I say, glancing at the screen. “She wants to video chat.”
Leo’s face is still. He and Vince look at each other. After a moment, they both nod at the same time.
“Answer it,” Leo says. “Act normal. Do not tell her who you’re with.”
“Got it,” I say, then swipe open the screen.
The picture is jumbled while our devices connect. Before I can see Jenna, I hear her. It sounds strange, like she’s moaning. I wonder if she’s with a guy and dialed me on accident. It’s exactly the kind of thing she would do.
The pixels finally align, and I can make sense of what I’m seeing. I draw in a sharp breath, causing Leo to watch me even more closely. Jenna is in a dark room somewhere, tied to a chair, her mouth gagged. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying. She can’t talk, so she just makes these horrible moans.
“Jenna,” I shout, shaking the phone as if I were throttling the neck of the person holding it. The phone pans to the side, and I see someone else tied up and gagged. “Tyler.” I clasp my hand to my mouth. Tears cloud my vision. It’s my fault that my friends are in this situation. I got them caught up in my mess.
“Hello, Lily,” comes a male voice off camera. “We haven’t met yet, but I’ve been interested in you for a long time.”
Leo unbuckles his seatbelt, and turns backwards in his chair, facing me completely. His nostrils are flared, his hard eyes wide open. I can hear him saying, “Don’t say anything stupid.”
I quickly connect the dots in my mind. This must be Paul Salvatore. He turns the camera on himself. He looks like a normal guy with gray hair and wrinkles around his eyes. He could be anyone’s father, or grandfather.
“Don’t hurt them.” I try to yell, but it comes out as a harsh whisper.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Paul says. “They’re snitches, and snitches deserve a painful death.”
“They didn’t know what they were doing. They were trying to help me.”
“Ah, thanks for helping me get to the point. It’s you I really want, Lily dear. Where are you? In a car?”
I force myself not to look at Vince and Leo.
“I’m in an Uber,” I say, as convincingly as I can.
“Has the driver heard our conversation?”
“No,” I say, quickly. “He’s wearing headphones.”
“Show me.”
Faster than I can think of an excuse, Vince plucks a pair of earbuds from the console, shoves them in his ears, then pulls up his hoodie, making sure the chords are showing. I flash the camera towards him.
“Give your driver this address,” Paul says, then rattles it off. “Since the driver is clueless, as you say, he won’t call any cops, or pull a white knight routine and try to save you. That way, we don’t have to kill him, and I won’t lose any sleep tonight. When you get here, send him on his way. You come to me, and I’ll let your friends go.”
Paul gives me one last glimpse of Jenna and Tyler before hanging up the phone. When the screen goes dark, I can still see their terrified faces. They must be scared out of their minds.
“We have to go there,” I say to Vince.
Leo ignores me, and talks to his brother. “Now we have to save her friends, too?”
“Mateo might be there,” I say.
“Bullshit,” Leo says. “Paul would’ve shown Mateo to you if he had him.”
I dig my fingernails into my palm. I sit forward in the seat despite Vince’s terrifying speed, and make direct eye contact with Leo. “Those friends of mine have lived their entire life in the neighborhood you’re sworn to protect. They’re helpless. They’ve never even been in a fight before. And if I don’t show, Paul Salvatore will kill them. No one can help them but you.”
Leo and Vince lock eyes, doing their telepathy thing. Without looking my way, Leo plugs the address into the GPS. I breathe with relief.
I want to save my friends, but I have another motive. If I sacrifice myself to Paul Salvatore, then he won’t go after Mateo.
The GPS leads us to a hardware store on the outskirts of town that’s been out of business for years.
“Look at this,” Vince says, gesturing towards the storefront. “The Salvatores have so much sway with the police, they don’t even try to look like their running a real business.”
Vince drives to the next block over, and parks on the street.
“I’ll go in alone,” I say. “Paul wants me.”
Vince shakes his head, curtly. “We promised Mateo we’d watch you.”
I open the door and start to get out. “So watch me. But don’t do anything until Jenna and Tyler are free.”
I expect Leo to sneer at me. To my surprise, he looks at me with a mixture of disbelief and admiration. Even more shocking, he nods, and says, “We got you.”
The hardware store is in the middle of a defunct downtown. The blocks are lined with closed businesses, a relic of another era. This used to be where everyone in town did their shopping and eating out. It’s since been replaced by massive shopping centers over towards the highway. I walk quickly against the wind that blows violently in this ghost town.
The only noise comes from the hardware store. Armed men are posted at the entrance, and down the block. I walk confidently towards them. Once they sense my presence, they’re on me in an instant.
One guard lifts my arms, planting my hands against the back of my head, while the other one searches me. He finds the guns on my ankle and waist, and pockets them. He misses the knife tucked deep into the thick padding of my bra, though he has a good feel of my tits.
“Search the block,” one of them calls. Several guards scatter into the street.
I’m led, or rather, dragged, into the entrance of the hardware store. It looks like an actual business with aisles stocked with merchandise. We go through a door at the back. In that dank hallway, it feels like I’ve entered another world. It’s full of life, with men milling about, most carrying scary looking firearms. We pass by rooms. I glimpse inside, seeing guys playing cards, lying on cots, and drinking coffee. Some of the doors are closed. I wonder which one Jenna and Tyler are behind.
We stop at a door at the end of the hall. One of the guards pounds on it loudly. A voice comes from inside. I recognize it immediately. It gives me chills. The guard throws the door open, and marches me inside.
I look around, taking in my surroundings. This isn’t the room from the video chat, where Jenna and Tyler are tied up. This is much nicer. There’s soft, Italian opera floating through the air. Custom made bookshelves of deep, warm wood line the walls. There’s a massive oak desk in the middle, and plush leather couches. The antique sconces on the wall filter the light, giving everything a soft glow.
Then there’s Paul, lounging on a leather couch, and dressed impeccably in a black suit and tie. He holds a tumbler filled with a dark liquor, and swirls the liquid around while he studies me. His hair is gray around the temples and forehead, and the rest is jet black. If I didn’t know what a despicable person he is, I’d find him an attractive silver fox.
“Lily,” he says, standing. The fine fabric he wears falls perfectly into place without needing adjustment. He approaches me, and takes my hand, kissing my knuckles like a perfect gentleman. “A pleasure.”
I desperately want to tear my hand away from his grasp. His skin is soft and smooth, no callouses like Mateo’s. It’s clear that in his position, he doesn’t often get his hands dirty.
“You can leave us,” Paul says to the guards.
The men nod to him, and leave us alone. Paul gestures to a couch. There’s a bottle of bourbon and another glass sitting on the coffee table.
“Please, sit. Have a drink with
me,” he says.
I keep my eyes on him as I sit down. I realize my knees are shaking. I grasp them to hold them steady. Paul pours the bourbon into the glass and offers it to me. I eye it suspiciously. Paul chuckles, then takes a sip from the glass.
“See? Perfectly safe.” He grabs my hand and wraps my fingers around the drink. “I wouldn’t poison you, Lily. When I kill you, you’ll know it’s coming. These eyes will be the last you see as you take your final breaths.” Paul nods, resolutely. “There’s dignity in that, for the killer and the killed. It’s much more respectful than a bullet in the back of the head.” His upper lip curls, revealing his unusually pointy eyetooth.
I’m scared shitless, but I refuse to show it. If Leo and Vince can’t save me, I have a horrible death ahead of me. The thought makes my heart beat rapidly, but it also makes me not give a fuck.
“Where are my friends?” I ask. “I’m here, just like you wanted. If you’re so dignified, you’ll hold up your end of the deal and let them go.”
Paul raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you in a hurry? Don’t worry, I’ll release your friends, just like we discussed.” He pauses to take a sip of bourbon. “Though I think the world would be better off if I slit them from gut to throat. It’s spoiled, pampered brats like those two that are turning this neighborhood to shit.”
I narrow my eyes into slits. “Sure. And you’ve been such an upstanding citizen. Corrupting the local police force, manufacturing dangerous drugs. Kids have died. That blood’s on your hands.”
“Call it a culling,” Paul says. “An effort to exterminate your type. Always chasing comfort and pleasure, unable and unwilling to work.”
I smile brilliantly, imitating Mateo when he’s trying to get something he wants.
“You have me now,” I say. “You can take out your aggression over aging on me. Let my friends go.”
“I intend to,” Paul says. He drains his glass, and places it on the coffee table. “You haven’t taken a sip of your bourbon. I thought you’d want a little anesthesia before what’s about to happen.”
Witness: A Dark Mafia Romance (Romano Brothers Book 2) Page 13