Witness: A Dark Mafia Romance (Romano Brothers Book 2)

by Samantha Cade

  Lily

  ————————

  The blood has stopped flowing from the wound on my neck, but it’s starting to ache. The bourbon did little to numb the pain, and the fear. I’m still strapped to the chair, guarded by three men. Paul Salvatore sits in a leather armchair, his legs crossed at the knees. We’ve been waiting for over an hour for Sal and Mateo to arrive with the flash drive. I doubt that will ever happen. I never heard Mateo mention anything about being in possession of a very important flash drive. I’m sure he has something up his sleeve. At least, I hope he does.

  It’s been so long that Paul has taken to idly talking, having a one-sided conversation. So far, he’s given me the history of the businesses that have occupied the building across the street. Now, he’s on to the heyday of the downtown, when a booming factory industry put plenty of money into the townspeople’s pockets.

  Paul interlaces his fingers and rests them on his knee. “And then, of course, there was the tailor two blocks over. A real artisan. He made the most exquisite suits.” He points at me. “You can’t find quality like that anymore. Not at the Suits Warehouse, or whatever it’s called. I have my nephew order my suits straight from Italy. He uses the internet, you see.”

  Sometimes I forget my dismal situation, and find myself nodding politely, like I’m having a conversation with one of my grandparents. I’m tired, and sore all over from sitting in this chair. I close my eyes to get a bit of rest, hoping Paul Salvatore doesn’t decide to kill me in my sleep.

  Paul is having a discussion with himself over who’d had the best bratwursts in town, when we hear what sounds like muffled explosions. My eyes fly open, and my exhausted brain realizes it’s gunshots.

  “What the hell is that?” Paul yells, jumping to his feet. He turns to me with a sneer. “I hope, for your sake, your greasy boyfriend isn’t trying something stupid.”

  “Shit,” I curse under my breath. What if it’s Vince and Leo coming to get me? What would that mean for Jenna and Tyler?

  “All of you, get out there,” Paul says to his men.

  They march out in military fashion, guns raised. Paul rushes over to me, and tries to slide the chair I’m strapped to across the floor. Secretly, I tense the muscles in my thighs, tilting my body forward. This makes it nearly impossible for him to move me.

  “Damn,” Paul pants. He looks around, and I see he regrets sending away his men. He exhales with a huff, then quickly unties me. Once he’s done, he presses a gun into my temple. “Stand up,” he commands.

  I feel the knife digging into my skin under my breast. My hands are free now. If I get lucky, I’ll have a chance to use it. Paul roughly grabs my arm, and drags me to the back of the room. Hidden in the wood paneled wall is a door. Paul presses the gun harder into my head as he searches his pockets for the key. He unlocks the door, and we go inside.

  It’s so tiny, it’s less a room, and more a compartment. The walls are covered in thick steal. There’s a phone, landline, of course, hanging on the wall. In the corner is a large safe that takes up nearly half of the square footage. Paul holds his forearm around my throat, and the gun to my head. We hear even more shooting in the hallway. Paul tenses with each shot.

  “One of those bullets killed your Mateo,” Paul whispers wetly. His tongue darts out, flicking my earlobe. “That means there’s no one left on earth to save you.”

  Footsteps clang through the room outside. Paul goes quiet, listening. I hear muffled, male voices, one fierce and strong, the other full of terror. The footsteps walk right up to the hidden door. After a few moments, a key turns the lock.

  Paul exhales, assuming it’s one of his men since they have a key. The door is pushed open so violently, it slams against the steal wall, probably denting it. I close my eyes, too scared to look. Then, I hear him say my name.

  “Lily.”

  I open my eyes and see Mateo holding a gun on one of Paul’s men. I’m so relieved I start to shake. Mateo’s eyes intensify on me. I nearly forget everything that’s holding us back and run and jump into his arms. But I can’t. Not now.

  Mateo turns to Paul. “We’ll lower our guns at the same time, and we both walk away, no more blood shed.”

  Paul’s lip spread into a sneering smile. He laughs loudly, right into my ear. “Should’ve found someone more valuable. This guy’s a drone. He’s easily replaced.” He taps the barrel of the gun against my temple. The metal reverberates my skull, and I can feel it in my teeth. “Lily, here, isn’t.”

  The poor fuck Mateo’s holding hostage goes ghost white. Mateo clenches his teeth, his face burning red with anger. I think to the knife in my bra. It’s my only chance. I focus on Mateo’s eyes, then nod slightly. He seems to understand. Mateo lets go of the goon.

  “Give him your gun,” Paul instructs.

  Mateo snarls as he hands the gun over.

  “By the way, Charlie, I wasn’t going to let that asshole kill you,” Paul says. “You know what to do.”

  Charlie types in the combination on the safe, and pulls out a pair of handcuffs. Mateo breathes with fury, but lets the goon cuff his hands behind his back. Paul cranes his head back, laughing up at the ceiling.

  “Now this is better than video chat,” Paul says. “That’s what your generation doesn’t understand. You can’t fully experience something through a screen.” Paul yanks me forward, dragging me away from the wall. “You get a front row seat, Romano.”

  While Charlie holds a gun on Mateo, Paul starts to leave sickening kisses on the side of my neck. He even licks over the dried blood where he’d cut me with the knife. It’s disgusting, having Paul’s hands and mouth all over me. As much as I want to mentally leave my body, I stay alert, focusing on Mateo. Paul slopes his hand over my chest, then pauses when he feels the knife.

  “What’s that?” he growls.

  Without waiting for an invitation, Paul plunges his hand in my bra. My instinct tells me this is as good a time as any. I don’t think. I just react. Right when Paul pulls out the knife, I elbow him as hard as I can, right in the sternum. He doubles over, gasping. I quickly grab the gun from his hand and turn it on him.

  Charlie gulps. “What should I do, boss?”

  After a lot of coughing and wheezing, Paul says, “Kill the bitch.”

  Charlie blinks at the gun in my hand, and where it’s pointing. “What if she shoots you when I pull the trigger, boss?”

  Paul turns his head to look at me. “She doesn’t have the guts. Call her bluff.”

  Charlie nods, then takes a step forward. But he steps too close to Mateo, which in this small space is impossible to avoid. Mateo throws his upper body forward, crashing his forehead into the back of Charlie’s head. Charlie’s eyes roll back before he collapses on the ground.

  “Yes,” I scream, inadvertently hitting Paul in the jaw with the gun.

  Paul huffs. He’s still winded from my elbow. He turns slowly towards me.

  “I still don’t think you have the guts-“

  Pow.

  There’s a sharp ringing in my ears, but I barely notice it. All I can focus on is the light fading from Paul’s eyes. His lifeless body crumples at my feet. I release the trigger, and realize just how hard I was clenching the gun. Blood oozes from Paul’s head, soaking the floor. It’s the same blood that’s splattered on the walls, on my face, and on my hands.

  “Lily,” Mateo calls, breaking through the fog in my head, and the ringing in my ears.

  I take a deep, shuddering breath, then leap over Paul’s body. I collapse against Mateo’s torso, feeling the intense beating of his heart. Mateo hungrily kisses my mouth, neck, and chest.

  “Find the keys,” Mateo whispers hoarsely. “I have to get my hands on you.”

  I stand on my tiptoes, and nibble at his bottom lip. His cock stirs against me.

  “I kind of like you like this,” I say.

  Mateo smiles with a low growl. “Maybe we should take these with us. But I get to use them on you first.”

&nbs
p; I search Charlie’s pockets. I find several keys, but none the right size to fit the handcuffs. The safe is still open. In there, I find several small keys. I try them in the handcuffs until one of them works.

  As soon as his hands are free, Mateo wraps me in his arms. I melt against him. He smells terrible, but it doesn’t quell my desire for him. Hot adrenaline runs through my veins, and I kiss Mateo hungrily. I realize it’s the rush of the kill producing my crackling excitement, but not that alone. I put down someone who fucking deserved it.

  “Tyler and Jenna?” I ask, suddenly coming to my senses.

  “They’re okay. We got them.”

  ————————

  I ride in the back of Mateo’s car between my two friends. Tyler is gripping my hand tightly. Jenna rests her head on my shoulder. They’ve barely spoken, or moved, since we left the hardware store.

  Suddenly, I hear Jenna stir.

  “I thought I knew this place,” she says softly.

  I wrap my arm around her, shushing her.

  “There’s so much that goes on here that we don’t know about,” she says. “People dying.”

  “It’s like-“ Tyler starts, then turns towards the window. “It’s like the world’s spinning without us.”

  I smile to myself, wondering if this experience will inspire my friends to move out of their parents’ house.

  “Lily,” Tyler whispers. He crooks his finger, signaling for me to lean in closer. “Are we witnesses now?” His eyes dart towards Mateo in the driver’s seat.

  “Shit,” I say, laughing with the realization. “I don’t think you have to worry. We know you’ve learned your lesson about snitching.”

  “Yeah, I think we have,” Tyler says resolutely.

  After we drop Jenna and Tyler off at their respective houses, I slide into the passenger seat, and exhale. Mateo’s eyes are locked on me. He slips his hand behind my neck, and pulls me for a kiss.

  “So?” Mateo says, gripping the steering wheel. “Where to?”

  I stare out of the windshield. For the first time, I don’t know exactly where I’m going. It’s a strange, and exhilarating feeling.

  “I don’t care where we go,” I say with a laugh. “As long as it’s with you.”

  Mateo puts the car in drive. “Then Key West it is.” He slips his hands between my thighs, grabbing my flesh. “I want to fuck your brains out on the beach.”

  I lean towards him, rubbing my breasts against his arm, and lightly nip at his neck.

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Epilogue

  I press my fingers to my temples, scowling at the computer screen. For some reason, I’m having trouble concentrating, and keeping the tabs I have opened straight. I keep x-ing out pages I still need, leaving up ones I don’t. I have a major client proposal due at the end of the day, so I have to get it together.

  The herbal tea sitting on my desk, that I’ve completely forgotten about, has gone cold. My office window faces the street, and every little noise outside is a huge distraction. It’s taken me six months to build my business into something profitable, and with Mateo and his brother’s providing the seed money, I’m pressured to make this a success.

  My consulting business hasn’t grown to the point where I can hire a new employee, so everything is on me. So far, I’ve been capable of shouldering it all, even through twelve hour workdays and extremely rare days off.

  Maybe I’ve burned myself out, I think. Maybe this is as far as I can go.

  I hear Mateo walk in the front door. Figuring I need a break, I close my laptop, and go see him. I find Mateo in the kitchen, rifling through the fridge.

  “Hey, darling,” he says, closing the fridge door.

  He walks over and slings his arms low around my waist. Dark flutters erupt in my chest as I press myself against him. I’m surprised at how quickly blood flows to my nether regions. I hungrily nibble at Mateo’s neck, then suddenly realize there’s something else that can satisfy my urge.

  Mateo stares at me in confusion as I pry myself away from him and open the fridge.

  “Ahhh,” I sigh, grabbing the milk. I pour myself a big glass and drink it down. “What?” I say, when I find Mateo staring at me.

  “Nothing,” he says. “I’ve just never seen you drink milk out of a glass before.”

  I shrug, refilling the glass halfway, and drinking it down. “I just saw it, and it looked good.”

  Mateo cocks his head at me, eyeing me skeptically. “Everything okay?”

  I shake my head, wiping the milk from my upper lip. “I don’t know what it is. I feel…off.”

  Mateo rubs the back of my neck, all the way down to my lower back. His hand is so warm, and I sigh beneath his touch. He presses his nose into my hair.

  “You’re working too hard,” he says. “Take a break. Have you had lunch today?”

  I suddenly feel alive at the mention of lunch. Mateo and I walk down the block to my favorite pizza spot. While we wait for our food, I’m on the edge of my seat, eager for that magical combination of cheese, meat, and carbs. But when the friendly waitress plops my slice on the table in front of me, something strange happens. I can’t help but fixate on the golden grease pooling inside the rings of pepperoni. That, and the ugly flecks of black pepper, turns my stomach. I try to eat it anyway. I take a bite, and my stomach roils in protest.

  Mateo raises an eyebrow. “Okay, now I know something’s wrong. You usually finish that slice in under a minute.”

  I take a sip of soda. “I told you, I feel off today.”

  “You sick or something?”

  “Maybe.”

  I push the pizza away from me, unable to even look at it. Mateo studies me for a long time without saying anything, then his eyes slowly widen.

  “What it is?” I say, feeling self-conscious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Mateo gives me a conspiratorial look. “Come with me.”

  He throws our pizzas away, and takes my hand.

  “Where are we going?” I say as he’s dragging me out of the restaurant.

  “It’s not far,” Mateo says.

  We cross the street, and Mateo leads me into a drug store. I figure he wants to buy medicine for me, but we speed right past that aisle, to the one marked ‘Family Planning.’

  I stop dead in my tracks. I know exactly what Mateo is doing. Is he right? Could I be-

  Mateo smiles broadly as he plucks a pink box from the shelves.

  “I can’t be,” I say, suddenly feeling flustered.

  Mateo narrows his eyes. “It’s possible, Lily. We’re not exactly careful.”

  I can’t be, I think. I have a business to run, people counting on me. And we don’t have much room to spare in our apartment.

  I’m in a daze as we walk back up to the apartment. Mateo waits in the hallway as I take the test in the bathroom. I place the cap back on the stick, and leave it on the sink to wait for the results.

  Mateo pounds on the door. “Are you done yet?”

  “I’m waiting for it to process,” I yell.

  “It doesn’t take that long,” Mateo says. “Let me in.”

  I open the door for him, and he rushes inside. I grab the test, and take a deep breath before looking at the window.

  “What does it say?” Mateo asks excitedly.

  I squint at the results. It’s a little plus mark.

  “Where’s that box?” I ask, looking around for it frantically.

  Mateo digs it out of the trash can and hands it to me. I study the test, and the instructions on the box, going back and forth several times. Mateo runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

  “What does it say, Lily? Come on, I’m dying here.”

  I mouth the words, “It’s positive.”

  Mateo’s shoulders relax as this news washes over him. Is he thinking what I’m thinking? That we’ll have to move, and somehow find a bigger place in Manhattan. Our lifestyle will completely change. Everything will be different. I b
ite my lip, waiting for him to voice his concerns.

  Instead, he punches his hands up towards the ceiling, his face transformed by a glittering smile.

  “Yes!” he yells.

  His happiness is palpable, and makes me completely forget my doubts. I laugh as he picks me up and spins me around the room.

  “Oh, Lily,” he says, pulling me in for a warm kiss. “I can’t wait to meet our baby.”

  “Aren’t you nervous?” I ask.

  Mateo shakes his head. “No fucking way. I’m going to kill this parenting thing. I’m going to be the best dad ever.” He strokes the hair away from my face. “And you, you’re going to be an amazing mother.”

  I breathe deeply, letting his words soothe me.

  “Do you know what this means?” he asks. He presses his forehead against mine. “I’m going to have to make an honest woman out of you.”

  I take a sharp breath in, knowing exactly what he means. “Mateo,” I whisper.

  Mateo sinks down to one knee, kissing my belly along the way. “Will you marry me?” he asks, that impossibly handsome Romano smile stretched across his face.

  I clasp my hands to his cheeks. “The answer’s yes, of course.”

  Mateo stands up and wraps me in his arm. He dips me back, kissing me.

  “There’s no rush, you know,” I say. “We can wait until after the baby comes.”

  Mateo shakes his head. “I’m not waiting that long.”

  I scoff at him. “I don’t want to be a whale walking down the aisle.”

  “That’s why we better hurry. Let’s find a judge, get married as soon as possible.”

  My mouth falls open. I blink my eyes rapidly.

  “What?” Mateo asks. “You wanted a big wedding? The whole shebang?”

  I lock my eyes on his. “No, I don’t need that. I only want you.”

  Mateo nuzzles the tip of his nose against mine. “Then it’s settled. The wedding date is set for as soon as possible.”

  Mateo kisses me again. This time, I sense his hunger. I picture our future, our beautiful life together. Excitement bubbles up inside of me, so intense I can hardly contain myself.