by Brook Wilder
“We go to the next mother fucking club and burn it down, and the next, and the next, until we find her.”
“Yes sir,” his associate said, tapping on the window them and the driver.
The car pulled away from the curb and Vittorio didn’t even bother to look back as the building went up in flames.
If this didn’t send a message to that old bastard, he didn’t know what would.
Chapter 4
Vittorio
Vittorio grabbed the man by the hair and dragged him across the room, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
Teddy was his name and he was one of the men in Anafesto’s upper ranks, a man with power.
Teddy barely made a sound as Vittorio dropped him near the door, crouching down in front of his bloodied face. They had found him walking down the street, grabbing him and stuffing him into the vehicle before he had time to react. Vittorio and two of his men had taken him to the warehouse near the water, and systematically beat the shit out of him for a solid hour for information.
There was none to give, as Teddy had expressed over and over again when he could speak. Now the man gazed at Vittorio through a slitted eye.
“If Rocco took your girl, it would serve you right, you bastard.”
“I’m no more of a bastard than he is,” Vittorio replied. “I will only ask you one more time, Teddy, before I let my men take over. You know what that means.”
The big man didn’t even flinch.
“I knew I was dead the moment you stuffed me in that car, Contarini. I’m not scared to die.”
One of Vittorio’s men kicked him in the leg.
“That’s ‘sir’, coming from trash like you.”
Vittorio held up his hand, stilling the beating.
“It takes a man to admit he’s gonna die. Let him talk. He knows it will be all he ever says once I step out of this place.”
Teddy spat next to him, blood dribbling from his mouth. By the looks of it, Teddy wouldn’t have long to live anyways. The beating had turned his insides to mush. It would be a blessing when they put a bullet in his brain.
“You want the truth?” he continued, every word more difficult to pronounce.
Vittorio nodded, keeping his expression neutral. It had been two days since Sharon had gone missing, two days of him tearing this fucking city apart to find her. There had been no trace and Vittorio was tired of killing people, tired of burning down Rocco’s establishments just to come up empty. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t concentrate on anything except seeing her again.
Teddy’s bloody grin caught Vittorio off guard.
“I was there that day you know. The day that your sweetheart died.”
Vittorio’s heart stuttered in his chest.
“Lara?”
Teddy nodded.
“She was a sweet thing. Boss hated the way you looked at her you know, like she was gonna be your savior. He wanted you to hurt and she was the answer.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Vittorio snarled.
“She wasn’t supposed to die,” Teddy continued anyway, a gleam in his eyes that he had rattled the cage. “She was supposed to just get wounded, same as you, but she jumped in front of you, to protect you. I bet you didn’t see that.”
Vittorio nearly lost his balance as Teddy’s words roared into him. His mind went back to that day, how fucking perfect everything had been up until that moment. The weather had been gorgeous, so nice that Lara had insisted they walk instead of drive. He could never say no to her. She had been on the outside of him, nearest to the traffic, so that he could speak to her father about some business venture he wanted to tap into. The attack had happened so fast.
“You’re lying.”
Teddy shrugged, wincing in pain.
“I was there. I handed out the hit. I should know what my orders were.”
Vittorio pushed to his feet, staring down at the man that had taken his happiness away with Lara and potentially was standing in the way of his happiness with Sharon.
“Death will be too kind to you.”
Teddy laughed, more blood dribbling down his chin.
“Fucking hell, just get it over with already, will ya? I don’t know shit about this new chick since you ran to upstate. She ain’t with Rocco, alright?”
Vittorio didn’t know whether to believe him or not. He waved his hand at the man to his right.
“Make sure he don’t float.”
“Yes sir,” he said as Vittorio walked out of the warehouse
Vittorio took in lungfuls of sea air. He had found Lara’s killer. She had died saving his life. The pain had never truly gone away, but he had buried it long ago. Now maybe she could rest in peace.
Running a hand through his thick hair, Vittorio looked over the water. Where the hell was Sharon? Though he trusted Teddy as much as he trusted Rocco, he would imagine that the man would have gloated over having Sharon. After everything Vittorio had done to the clan over the last two days, someone would have been taunting him, someone would be wanting to show him that they held the power over him.
But there had been no word. No matter how many he killed, how many businesses he burned to the ground, no one was talking.
Vittorio fucking hated it.
He could not lose another one. Was he cursed to never experience love in his lifetime? Twice he’d had it, only to let it slip through his fingers. He was desperate to at least see her again, to apologize for his actions the last time they had been together and to just make sure she was okay.
If Rocco didn’t have her, who did and why? Who else would dare pull a stunt like that? He expected Rocco to do some stupid shit like that, after the intruder had failed to kill its mark, but anyone else…?
The rest of the mafias around New York were small time, most paying Vittorio to stay in the business. None of them would be brave enough to take on someone as powerful as he was.
Stepping away from the water, Vittorio walked toward the waiting sedan, his jaw clenched tightly. He had to figure this shit out for Sharon’s sake.
But it wasn’t gonna stop him from torturing his biggest rival.
That shit was kind of fun.
Chapter 5
Sharon
“So, you are telling me you have no idea who kidnapped you?”
Sharon squirmed in her seat, shaking her head wearily. She had been at the police station for hours, stuck in a little room with a table and chair like she was a criminal. The detective before her hadn’t relented, apparently not believing that she had no idea who had taken her off the streets.
She hadn’t known who those two goons were. Sure, she knew all the facts from the time she’d ended up half-naked in that club, parading around the stage before Vittorio had rescued her.
But what she hadn’t interjected was Vittorio himself.
“I do not know,” Sharon said once more, her voice steady. “They threw hoods over our heads and kept us in a room with no windows. I-I was just fortunate enough to escape when they attempted to move us.”
The detective arched a brow in disbelief.
“You escaped.”
“I already told you this,” she said, knowing he did not believe her story.
But what could he do about it? It was her story, her version of events and, short of hooking her up to a lie detector, he had no way to prove that she was lying.
“I slipped past the man who had come to get us and ran like hell. It took me quite some time to get here. I-I am just grateful that I was able to flag down a car to bring me home.”
The man exhaled a breath and pushed away from the table, standing with his notepad.
“Wait here.”
Sharon watched him go, waiting until the door was shut before she let out her breath with a shudder. She knew they were watching her, so she didn’t even attempt to make any sudden movements, Instead, she hunched her shoulders so she kept the wounded girl look a bit longer.
On the inside, she was wounded, horribly so. It had be
en two days since she had escaped Vittorio, two days since she had careened from upstate New York in his prized Mercedes. She had driven through the night, scared that he would wake up any second and find her missing. Finally, when Sharon thought she was far enough away, she had slept in the car and then drove the rest of the way to her apartment, ditching the car in a nearby parking lot.
Her roommates had been excited and relieved to see her, though Sharon didn’t give them much information before collapsing on her bed for a decent night’s rest.
But Vittorio had claimed her dreams, with the tenderness she had seen in his eyes during their last session, the way he had told her he loved her. Sharon had woken with tears in her eyes and a hole in her heart. Why couldn’t he have been her Prince Charming? Why did he had to be so… so ruthless, so unfeeling when he had killed that man in front of her? She had loved him.
The detective returned, and Sharon straightened.
“You can go,” he stated, looking none too pleased with it. “But if you think of anything, call me.”
“I-I will,” Sharon responded, standing. “Thank you. I’m just happy to be home.”
He said nothing but escorted her out the police station, giving her his card on her way out.
Sharon thanked him as she moved down the sidewalk, feeling her chest loosen the farther away she got. She hadn’t anticipated her roommates filling out a missing persons report. Of course, she was touched that they had been worried about her, but now she had to be careful about what she did for a few days, especially since that detective didn’t believe her.
Who was she kidding? Sharon knew she was going back to her real life, her life before Vittorio. Her life would become dull once again, just the way it should have always been.
Besides, it wasn’t as if anyone would believe her story. She could have told the detective the truth and he would have probably committed her to the psych ward. She wasn’t the type of girl whom a mob boss would fall head over heels in love with.
“Ugh!” she said aloud, not caring who was around her.
She had to forget Vittorio. Their worlds were never meant to cross, and she was never meant to fall in love with such a brute.
She was better off, no matter how much it hurt. As much as she wanted to say that her feelings weren’t real, the hours that ticked by while she was separated from Vittorio were painful. She could literally still smell him on her skin, feel his lips on hers as he took her over and over again. He had poured his love out to her.
And she had walked away.
Sharon straightened her shoulders as she turned the corner, her apartment building coming in sight. She sure as hell had walked away. He was brutal, uncaring toward others and, while she felt that he had feelings for her, those feelings could not be love. She had asked him to stop and he had ignored her, yelled at her like it was her fault that he had killed that intruder. That could not possibly be love.
Sharon’s steps faltered as she got closer to her building. Wasn’t she right, running? Everyone around her would think she was crazy to stay.
But in Vittorio’s arms, under his touch, she had been happy. He had given everything and more.
“You are being ridiculous, Sharon,” she grumbled, pulling open the door.
Of course, this was the right thing for her life. She couldn’t live in his violence filled one, worried about her livelihood at every turn.
It was not for her.
Chapter 6
Sharon
“But weren’t you scared?”
Sharon picked at the fuzz on the blanket over her lap, looking at her roommates. After a hot shower and a good meal, she was seated in their tiny living room/kitchen area, the tv on but no one really watching the show. The two women seated across from her were looking at her like she was going to break at any moment and she really didn’t know what to do. She was grateful that they had reported her missing, but… well, her life just seemed empty. The last time she had been in this apartment, she had been filled with excitement about moving to New York and starting school.
Even those dreams seemed like so long ago.
“Of course, I was scared, but I’m glad it’s over with now.”
“We are just glad you are okay,” Sarah, one of her roommates, said, her eyes wide. “And you didn’t miss many classes either.”
Sharon nodded, glad for that. She would go and explain it to her professors tomorrow, get back in the swing of attending her classes and working toward her degree. She would get back to her life, even if it killed her in the end.
“They didn’t… well, you know,” Amie, their other roommate said, unable to get the exact words to come out.
Sharon had picked these roommates because they were just like her, innocent to the big city life and genuinely nice. She was still one of those girls, wasn’t she? What she had done with Vittorio… No doubt they would both blush furiously as she explained the passion she had experienced with him, the acts that they had done, that she had only heard about before.
And the killings. No, they would be as appalled as she had been, taking a life no matter how evil it was. That was why she had left. She couldn’t take the killing.
“O-of course not. I am perfectly fine. I think I am going to call my parents now.”
“Of course,” Sarah said, giving her a smile as Sharon exited the room, retreating to her bedroom to make the call she had held off on doing.
Thankfully, not quite sure if she was truly missing or not, her roommates hadn’t called her parents and neither had the police. If they had, her parents would have been on the first flight to New York.
Finding her cell phone, Sharon dialed the number, holding the phone up to her ear as it rang. A worker from the soup kitchen had found her bag and turned it over to the police, who had in turn held onto it until her roommates had reported her missing. She was glad that it too had been recovered.
“Hello?”
“Hi mom,” Sharon said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Sharon!” her mom said happily. “We were beginning to wonder if you have forgotten us.”
“Never mom,” Sharon smiled into the phone. “I’m sorry. I-I’ve been busy.”
Her mom laughed, the sound warming Sharon’s heart. She hadn’t realize how much she had missed her mother until just then.
“Okay, out with it. Your father is not here.”
“Out with what?”
“The boy you are seeing,” her mom said, dropping her voice a notch. “That would be one reason you haven’t called us! Who is he? How did you meet?”
Sharon’s smile faded. She couldn’t tell her mom about Vittorio.
“I…”
“You can tell me,” her mom continued, believing Sharon’s hesitation was just because she didn’t want to tell her. “I promise it will stay between us girls, even if he has colored hair and multiple piercings. That’s the rage these days, right?”
“Mom,” Sharon laughed. “That’s not the rage at all.”
“Well I’ve never been to a big city like New York,” her mom stated with a huff. “Humor me, Sharon. Your father is busy with his fishing right now and I am bored.”
“Alright,” Sharon giggled, knowing how much her mom hated her dad’s fishing trips. “He doesn’t have any piercings.”
“Well good. What else?”
Sharon swallowed hard, picturing Vittorio in her mind.
“He has nice eyes and is pretty strong.”
“What’s his major? Did you meet him in class?”
Oh, if she only knew!
“I, we didn’t meet in class, but more like at a dance club.”
“A club,” her mom said slowly. “Well I guess we can’t tell you not to go. You are old enough to make your own choices, Sharon. Just don’t do anything crazy and mind your studies.”
“I-I will,” Sharon answered, closing her eyes against the sudden onslaught of tears. She hadn’t done anything stupid but lose her heart to a man she couldn’t be with.
“He’s nice mom. I-I think you would like him.”
“I hope to meet him then,” she responded. “It looks like your father is pulling up in the yard. Do you want to speak to him for a moment?”
“Later,” Sharon forced out, wiping her cheeks. “I-I have to go mom. I love you.”
“We love you very much, Sharon. Call anytime.”