Deadly Ink: A Dark Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 3)

by Roxy Sinclaire

  “What do we do?” she cried, holding tight onto my hands.

  I kissed her on the top of her head. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for years.”

  Never The Plan

  Sierra

  To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. Sitting in Apollo’s car, I wondered how it was possible that I was so blind to things I should have seen my entire life. I’d heard whispers from my dad’s employees but never looked into it any deeper. They spoke in code, and I was always too afraid to try to crack it.

  Even if I knew exactly what was going on, what difference would it make? My dad ran the mob, not some public office. I couldn’t persuade him to completely give up his life of crime for me. I wasn’t powerful like he was.

  I loved him, but I couldn’t look at my father the same way anymore. Not when the people I cared about were being hurt by him.

  The thought of my father hurting my mother made me feel so sick. They had been together for so long, and I always thought they were the perfect example of what it meant to take wedding vows seriously. They fought on occasion, but they were always fine once supper time rolled around. All of my friends’ parents were divorced. I always thought it was so great that mine were still together. Now I wished they weren’t.

  “We need a plan,” I said, wiping my tears from my face. Apollo lifted his head from mine.

  “I had a plan,” he said slowly. “I have a feeling you’re not going to like it, though.”

  “I’m afraid to ask what it is,” I said, turning to face him.

  “To be perfectly honest, I was planning on getting rid of him for good.”

  “Killing him, you mean,” I said flatly. I knew the words I was saying, but they seemed so meaningless to me.

  “Yes.”

  I thought about this proposal for a second. It would solve Apollo’s problem, but it wasn’t something I could have any part of. As much as I hated my dad at this very moment in time, I didn’t want him dead. I just wanted Apollo, my mother, my unborn child, and me to be safe from him. That was all.

  “There’s got to be another way,” I pleaded. “You don’t have to kill him.”

  “What do you suggest, then. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but for him, I’d make that exception.”

  “What if we get him arrested like he did to your dad? He’ll go to prison and then we’ll be free to go on with our lives. I’m sure he’ll be away for a long time, so we could leave and not have any contact with him again.”

  The look he gave me immediately told me that my plan was naïve and full of problems. I felt embarrassed that I even suggested it.

  “I don’t mean we,” I corrected. “You’re free to do whatever you want. But everyone who has been hurt by my dad needs to be protected from him.”

  “I agree,” he said, “but I’m afraid an arrest won’t stop him. Even if he manages to be convicted and go to prison, he has people on the outside that can come after us. It’s a big risk.”

  “If you kill him,” I countered, “you’ve got the same people coming after you. But, with this option, you don’t have blood on your hands and I’d be willing to help you.”

  He thought for a moment, starting the car again. I could tell that he needed some time to clear his head, so I waited patiently, hoping that he would come around to my suggestion. If he decided he would still try to kill my dad, I wasn’t sure if I could stay out of his way. I knew my father was a bad man, but he raised me. I knew him for all twenty-two years of my life. I only knew Apollo for less than two months and most of the time; we were completely out of contact.

  By the time we got back to my apartment, he was ready to speak again. He parked the car and turned to me, taking my hand in his. It sent butterflies through my body.

  “I think you’re right about needing a different plan,” he said seriously. “But, I’m going to need your help, and we’ll need your mom’s help, too. We have to be careful because there’s so much at stake. Are you in?”

  I took a deep breath. I would have to destroy my relationship with my father, but if I didn’t, more lives would be in danger. It was the hardest decision I’d ever have to make.

  “I’m in,” I said carefully. “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  I left Apollo in the car with a quick kiss goodbye. If I wanted to do this right, I would need to start working on my plan immediately.

  Blind Eye

  Sierra

  After my shift at the hospital, I texted my mom to tell her that I was stopping by the house. I knew that my dad had gone back to Las Vegas for a few days, so she would be there alone. It would be the perfect time to start testing the waters with her about leaving my father.

  Almost immediately, she responded, telling me that she wasn’t feeling well and that I should come back another day. As a nurse, she should have known better to think that a claim of illness would keep me away. She was hiding something.

  I pretended to ignore her text and marched inside the house anyway, calling to her from the front door. Her car was in the driveway. She couldn’t hide her secret from me much longer.

  Upon hearing my voice, I heard scampering sounds upstairs, so I ran to her room to see what she was doing. In the bathroom, she was quickly trying to apply concealer to a badly bruised and swollen eye.

  “Mom!” I exclaimed upon seeing her face. I wasn’t trying to have a dramatic reaction, but even I was startled by how bad it was.

  “Calm down, Sierra,” she said, shushing me. “I just had a little accident, nothing to get worked up about.”

  “Is Dad hitting you what you call a little accident?” I said coldly.

  She turned to me, a look of horror on her face.

  “How—”

  “It doesn’t matter how I know,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She went over to her bed and sat down. I joined her, feeling sick.

  “How long has this been going on?” I asked.

  She bit her lip before speaking. “Around the time you moved out to go to nursing school. Things haven’t been great for a long time, but they got a lot worse recently. I never wanted you to think that anything was wrong. You looked up to your father so much.”

  My blood boiled. My whole life, I wanted to believe that my dad was a good person. So much so, that everyone else got in on the cover up. I felt like everything I knew was a lie.

  “You can’t let him do that to you,” I said, knowing that those words were meaningless. I’d seen abused women in the hospital before. Even if they wanted to get out, they still felt safer living with their abuser instead of trying to leave. Only I could help her.

  “I can handle it,” she said. I went to the medicine cabinet and gathered the supplies I needed. I dabbed antibiotic ointment on her cuts and scrapes as I spoke.

  “Is this why you’ve been drinking so much lately?”

  “Yes. I found that if I’m good and drunk before he hits me, it doesn’t hurt as much. A bottle of wine numbs my face just enough to tolerate it.”

  My stomach lurched. “Mom, I’ve just recently found out about some of the things Dad has been doing to his employees over the years. Why didn’t I know about it?”

  She let out a dry chuckle. “Sierra, I don’t even know the half of it. We want to believe that the man we love would never do anything wrong. He runs the fucking mob. I should have never been involved with him. But, when he was young, he was so sweet to me. He wasn’t into that kind of stuff yet. Once I saw his true character, it was too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was young when I had you. Your father was a traditional man and demanded that we get married. Who was I to say no? He had a lot of money and I knew he would take care of the two of us. I was afraid, but I made it work so we could have stable lives.”

  “And you never thought about leaving him?”

  “Oh, I did all the time. Luckily for me, he bought those properties all over the place and went away on b
usiness. If he wasn’t around, then it hardly felt like an issue. I didn’t even care if he slept around while he was away. I liked having a little break from him. When he would return, I was well-rested enough to be able to handle the temper. I really didn’t mind, because once things got bad again, he’d go back to Las Vegas.”

  “You stayed because you could tolerate him?”

  “I guess so. Plus, you know how angry he can get. What do you think he would have done if I would have asked for a divorce?”

  It was a grim thought. She had basically suffered through decades of domestic abuse, mostly for my benefit. I wondered if I would ever be able to shake that guilt.

  “You did this all for me?”

  “You can’t blame yourself,” she said, seeing right through me. “At one point, I thought we’d have more children. I always wanted to give you a brother or sister.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  She took a deep breath and looked at the floor. “I was pregnant, once. You were three and I’d just found out. I hadn’t even told you yet. You were at your grandparents’ house and your father and I got into a big fight. He kicked the shit out of me and I lost the baby.”

  I clamped both hands over my mouth.

  “When he found out what he had done, he was beside himself. The damage was so bad, I could never have kids again. I told the doctors that I had gotten into a car accident, so he wouldn’t get into trouble. I thought that he felt too much remorse to ever lay a finger on me again. It worked for a while, but it didn’t last long.”

  This was the final straw. Any doubt I had about getting my dad locked up was gone. Now, this affected me personally. The sibling that I wanted so badly as a child was brutally murdered by my dad. If that didn’t make matters bad enough, he also prevented my mother from having any more children.

  In the past, whenever I asked her why she only had me, she said that I was all she needed. Now I knew the truth. She wanted more, but she had to make do with what she had. That’s why I had been doted on for my entire life. I was their one chance.

  Feeling the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, I decided that I would tell my mom about Apollo. That way, she would understand what needed to be done. I was scared to invite her into our conspiracy, but I felt like it was the right moment. Seeing her with her battered face, I knew that she wanted out of this life, just as much as Apollo and I did.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t know,” I said, resting my head on her shoulder. “I should have known.”

  “I’m afraid I hid it well,” she said. “But now that you’re old enough, I think it’s time you knew the truth. I’m sorry you didn’t find out about your father sooner.”

  “Mom,” I said, feeling nervous. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  “Anything,” she said, stroking my face. It felt good to be in my mother’s embrace.

  I told her everything, from my one-night stand in Las Vegas to Apollo’s plans. She listened intently, but was never as shocked and surprised as I imagined she’d be. I supposed that after the life she lived, very little surprised her anymore.

  “I talked to Apollo last night,” I said. “We’re all in danger if Dad is still free to do whatever he wants. We need to get away from him.”

  She nodded, looking at my belly. A tear came to her eye, and I wasn’t sure what emotion it resulted from.

  “Do you think you and Apollo have any chance of being happy together? If you’re safe, can you have a good relationship?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I want to, but I don’t know if he does. I don’t think he can think that far ahead when there’s still so much at stake here.”

  “He’d be crazy not to want to be with you,” she said, a crinkled smile appearing on her face. I laid down on the bed, resting my head in my mom’s lap like I did when I was a kid.

  “Don’t worry, Sierra,” she said, stroking my hair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of her long fingernails raking through my hair. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “Will you help Apollo and me?” I asked hopefully.

  “I’ll do anything to ensure that you have a better life than I did.”

  “Mom,” I said, looking up at her. “You’re still so young. You have time to make a new life for yourself.”

  She sighed and returned to massaging my scalp. “Soon, you’ll discover that when your child is in trouble, your needs hardly exist anymore.”

  “If you won’t help yourself, I’ll help you,” I said defiantly.

  “That’s the sweet girl I know,” she said softly. “Always taking care of others. You’re going to make a fantastic mom. I know it’s not the best timing, but I couldn’t be prouder of you. You deserve the best in life, and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you get it.”

  “Will you help me with the baby? He or she will need their grandma.”

  She playfully crinkled up her nose at the word, and we both burst into laughter. The situation was dire, but it felt good to have a moment alone with my mom. I wanted her to be healthy so we could have more of these moments.

  “I need to go home now,” I said, dreading leaving her alone. “If Dad gets home and something happens, call me immediately. If things get really bad, call the police.”

  Once the words came out of my mouth, I knew that she wouldn’t do either of those things. Still, she agreed.

  “Oh, and no more drinking,” I said. “Throw the bottles away, if you have to. You need to be sharp so we can figure out how to get out of this mess.”

  “Okay,” she said sadly. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

  These words felt like a dagger through my heart. I owed it to my mom to get her out of her abusive home.

  “I’ll be back soon. I love you.”

  As I left my parents’ house, I wondered if I was making a terrible mistake by leaving her alone. I had little choice, though. I had to cover part of a shift at the hospital, and my patients needed me, too. I thrived in these situations, but I hoped that it wouldn’t stretch me past my breaking point. Everyone was counting on me.

  Saving Her

  Apollo

  Giorgio was out of town for a few days, so Sierra and I used the time to work on our escape plan. Her roommates were on the same shift schedule, so she told them she was spending time at her mom’s house when she was with me at the rented apartment.

  It was hard to make life-changing decisions together when all we wanted to do was sleep together. We let our guard down a few times and just did it. The tension was too thick—we were too distracted.

  Once we got that out of our system, we laid together in my bed, shooting ideas back and forth.

  “You were right, by the way,” she said as she rested her head on my chest. “My dad’s been beating the shit out of my mom for years. She finally confessed.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling uncomfortable. “Is that why she said she’d help you?”

  “Yep. I’m just afraid that she’s doing it all for me, and not for herself. I’m really worried that she won’t try to defend herself if my dad comes after her. She would be a prime suspect if he caught on.”

  “Can we send her somewhere while this all goes down?” I suggested. “I remember you saying something about rehab.”

  “No, I don’t think she’d go anywhere willingly. She’d want to protect me.”

  “Is her drinking any better?”

  “I told her to throw away the bottles, but I don’t think she did,” she said glumly.

  That gave me a terrible idea. Sierra would never agree to it, though, but I knew it could work. I would have to go directly to Alice.

  “Are you afraid she’s going to get really sick?” I asked casually. “I don’t even know how much alcohol it would take for someone to need medical attention.”

  “It depends,” Sierra said, going into nurse mode. “There are different signs to watch out for.”

  “Like what?”

  “Obviously, vomiting is never g
ood. Most people don’t realize that’s a sign of alcohol poisoning. Of course, loss of consciousness is bad, too. But what you really have to watch for is when breathing and heart rate get too slow. That’s when it’s really dangerous.”

  “So once they pass out, they might need to go to the hospital?”

  “To be safe, yes. Why are you so interested in this sort of thing?”

  I came up with a bullshit excuse. “I never went to college, remember. I don’t really know how these things work.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Let’s get back to planning,” she said, giving me a playful nibble on my earlobe.

  “Where do we want to go?” I asked.

  “We?”

  I craned my neck to look at her. “Yeah,” I said matter-of-factly. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”

  She blushed. “I didn’t know you wanted to be with me.”

  “Of course I do! If we’re going to flee the country, I’m going to need you by my side. Besides, you can’t raise that baby all alone. So, where are we going to go?”

  She beamed, turning her head so I wouldn’t see her smile. I saw it anyway and it was contagious.

  “I don’t know. Where would you want to go if you were starting over?”

  “Greece,” I said, without needing to think. My grandparents moved back there about ten years ago. They used to send me postcards. I think I’d like to go there.”

  “Then Greece it is! I’m sure my mom would love the sun.”

  “My parents, too,” I agreed. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to come home after a few years of hiding out. If your dad goes away for a long time, the gang will start to dissolve. Someone else might take over, but it won’t be the same. The same grudges just won’t be there.”

  She smiled. “We can buy a little villa and watch the sunset from our balcony. It will be perfect.”