Ricardo

by Marita A. Hansen

  Ricardo grimaced. “Only for Jagger’s father, so unless you want your dirty laundry aired with the D’Angelos, back down. And if you choose to stay in this house, keep out of my way, because I might forget to take my medication and mistake you for a traitor.”

  Brando’s eyes widened. “You dare threaten your own brother?”

  “You bet.” Ricardo surged forward, making Brando back up. With a wicked smile, he strode past him, battered and bloodied, but looking very pleased with himself. “Dominic!” he hollered. “Meet me out front!”

  Dominic shot out of the passage with a troop of soldiers, the men disappearing through the archway. Vinnie took off after his twin, yelling at Dominic to tell him what was happening.

  Brando turned to Bianca, the man grimacing in pain. Ricardo may not have felt Brando’s strikes, but his brother sure as hell looked like he felt all of Ricardo’s.

  Brando headed up the stairs, stopping in front of her. “I heard what your husband did to you. So a word of warning: don’t make the same mistake with Ricardo.” He continued past her, leaving Bianca standing there, knowing he was right.

  10

  The strip joint was a dive, like many of the Rossos’ establishments. Although their families were intermarried, Ricardo held no respect for the Rossos. They dirtied the landscape with cheap hookers and broken neon signs, the family having no shame.

  Ricardo walked up to the guard at the door. The big man appeared frightened, no doubt because Ricardo was surrounded by soldiers; with the twins flanking him. Still, he didn’t need an entourage to install fear into anyone—he could do that all on his own.

  “Don Santini,” the man said, bowing to him. “How may I help you?”

  “Give me Tito Donatelli and his scum friend Malik, and I won’t destroy your premises.”

  The guard’s eyes widened. “We have no Donatelli here.”

  Ricardo cocked his head to the side. “You better be certain of that, because if I go in there and find Tito, I’ll kill you for daring to lie to me.”

  The guard blanched. “Honestly, Tito isn’t here, but his friend is. I can get him for you.”

  “I can do that myself.” Ricardo glanced back at his men. “Vinnie and Dominic will come with me, while the rest of you cover the front and back entrances. No one’s to leave until I do.” He turned back to the guard. “And if this one thinks about using a phone, shoot him.” Ricardo pushed the guard aside, entering the club with his brothers.

  People turned to look at them, their eyes widening upon recognition, many with fear. A few close by got up and went for the door. Ignoring them, Ricardo’s gaze moved to the stage, where a woman was dancing around a pole in red stilettos and nothing else, aside from the stars dangling from her nipples. She stopped twirling them and looked across at him. Like everyone else, fear drained the color from her face.

  Another woman, who was giving a fat man a lap dance, turned to look at them. Her expression went from frightened to excited within seconds. She pushed off the man and weaved around the tables to get to them, her fake tits not moving an inch. She was wearing a sparkly red thong, sky-high stilettos, and a ton of makeup.

  She launched herself at Dominic. “I love you!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve been to all your concerti.”

  Dominic grinned at Ricardo, looking highly amused.

  She lowered her hands to his ass. “I’ll give you a free lap dance,” she said, rubbing herself against him, “and much, much more if you want.”

  Vinnie stepped out from behind Ricardo, making a coughing noise, his expression a mixture of disgust and impatience.

  The woman’s gaze shot to him, her eyes widening even more. “Dio mio! I’d give anything to have you two boys at the same time.”

  Dominic pulled away from her. “We’re not here for pleasure, love. Though, I’ll give you a kiss if you tell us where someone called Malik is.”

  “I’ll take you to him.” She glanced at Vinnie. “You owe me a kiss too.”

  Vinnie grimaced as the woman grabbed Dominic’s hand, yanking him forward. “Fuck, he has no standards,” he mumbled. “I wouldn’t even stick my cazzo in her protected. It’ll probably drop off just at the smell of her pussy.”

  Laughing, Ricardo pushed him forward, following Dominic and his groupie. People scurried out of their way. The patrons were middle class and deadbeat losers, the majority of them cardboard cutouts of desperate men.

  They entered a red corridor, stopping outside the end room. The woman placed her hands on Dominic’s chest. “He’s in there, but you have to give me a kiss to get in.”

  Dominic grabbed her head, pulling her to his lips. Vinnie made a retching sound. Ricardo forced himself not to laugh at Vinnie’s disgusted look. The woman might’ve been attractive once, but life had scrubbed it away, leaving behind a worn-out shell. Regardless, Dominic never cared about looks, saying it was the eyes that held true beauty. And Ricardo believed him after seeing his brother turn down a gorgeous model, choosing her ugly friend instead.

  Dominic finally stopped kissing her. He moved his lips to her ear, whispering something. She nodded, looking as though she was about to come.

  “You should leave now, sweetheart,” Dominic said louder. “You don’t want to see what’s about to happen.”

  “I’ll see you later, then.” She gave him one last kiss, then tottered off on her high heels, disappearing through the door.

  “Fuck, you’re disgusting,” Vinnie said. “She was repulsive.”

  Dominic grinned. “The ugly ones always try harder. I bet she’ll do anything I want.” He cupped his hands over his crotch and started moving it back and forth, making it look like he was getting a blowjob. “Deep Throat the Italian edition, staring Dominic-has-a-bigger-cock-than-Vinnie.”

  “Mine’s bigger,” Vinnie snapped.

  “Only with a magnifying glass.”

  “You both have small cocks,” Ricardo said, pushing them apart. Although Dominic could say the most thought-provoking things, it was usually lost amongst the sea of shit that came out of his mouth.

  Ricardo removed his guns from his holster and kicked open the door. A naked woman screamed and scrambled off a round bed, pulling the sheet with her. The man turned to grab a gun off the bedside table. Ricardo shot at him, the man crying out as the bullet went through his hand. The idiot went for his gun with his other hand, getting that one shot too.

  Dominic strode towards the screaming woman, while Vinnie covered the door. Ricardo went to the naked man’s side, pointing his guns at the ugly brute’s face. Bianca’s attacker was big, with craggy features and yellowed teeth, no doubt from smoking ten packs a day, the man reeking of cigarettes. Ricardo struck him across the face with one of his guns, fury blinding him for a moment, his medication unable to hold him back.

  “Where’s Tito?” he yelled.

  “Fuck you!” Malik spat out blood, his face twisted in agony.

  Ricardo pointed the gun at Malik’s knee, firing off a shot. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream. The woman started thrashing about in Dominic’s hold, crying hysterically. He covered her mouth and turned her towards the wall, telling her not to look.

  “Where’s Tito?” Ricardo repeated.

  “Not here,” Malik replied, his voice agonized.

  “I can see that, so tell me where he is.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Wrong answer.” Ricardo shot the other knee.

  Malik screamed again, his voice breaking near the end.

  “Last chance: where’s Tito? And don’t lie to me again.” He moved the barrel of the gun to the man’s cock.

  “G-Gone to-to see Ch-Christo Donatelli.”

  “When will he be back?”

  “He won’t,” Malik started crying, “he-he’s now staying with them.”

  “I’ve been told you two are inseparable. So, tell me why he’s with them and not you, or I’ll shoot your fucking cock off,” Ricardo sneered, “and you know I mean it.”<
br />
  “All of the Donatelli are being called together.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know; I honestly don’t. Please don’t kill me, I’ll do anything, I’ll even hand Tito over.”

  Ricardo stared at him, the man appearing to be telling the truth. He’d tortured enough people to tell whether someone was lying. He leaned down to the man, who was breathing heavily, his face a mask of agony. “Hold your right hand up.”

  The man blinked.

  “Hold it up!”

  He did as instructed. Ricardo scrutinized the hand, knowing without a doubt it had been Malik who’d grabbed Bianca’s breasts. Tito didn’t have large hands like this motherfucker; he was a scrawny sleazebag who needed other men to fight his battles.

  Anger rushed through Ricardo’s body, taking a hold of him. His eyes blurred, then everything went red. Screams started up, causing a shot of feeling to surge through him, his anger jumpstarting his fucked up nervous system. Yelling came next—Vinnie shouting at him to stop. Then someone shouted louder, their voice panicked. He didn’t know where it was coming from. He only saw distorted and blurred faces, a nightmare tinged in red. Something knocked into him, shoving him to the side. He stumbled into the wall, confusion now taking a hold of his mind. He brought a hand up to wipe his eyes, clearing his blurry vision. As he lowered his hand, fear gripped his heart. His gaze shot to the bed, the bloodied mess on it unmoving. Malik was unrecognizable, his face beaten to a pulp and his body broken. Ricardo turned to a furious-looking Dominic, who was standing in front of his twin. Vinnie was curled up on the floor, moaning in pain. Ricardo looked down at his body, seeing blood all over him. He looked back up at Dominic, the full gravity of what he’d done hitting him. He went for Vinnie. Dominic met him halfway, yelling at him to back off.

  “Let me see Vinnie,” Ricardo said.

  “No!” Dominic yelled. “You fucking attacked him.”

  Ricardo shook his head, although he knew it was true.

  “You did! You wouldn’t stop beating Malik, so he tried to pull you off him, and you turned on him. You turned on your own fucking brother!”

  “No,” Ricardo croaked out.

  Vinnie groaned behind Dominic. “Let’s just go,” he said, struggling to his feet.

  Ricardo went to step around Dominic, needing to make sure Vinnie wasn’t badly hurt.

  Dominic mirrored him. “Don’t you fucking go near him, or I’ll fuck you over.”

  Ricardo stopped. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “That’s always your excuse. So, stay back.” Dominic turned to his twin and placed an arm around Vinnie’s waist, directing him out the door.

  Ricardo stared after them, knowing nothing could save him from Hell now.

  ***

  Exhaustion ran through Ricardo’s veins as he climbed the steps to his house. Blood colored his hands, death painted his mind, while guilt silenced him. His medication hadn’t worked. His rage had been too strong, his need to hurt taking over all rational thought. The man he’d pulverized back at the strip joint was unrecognizable. His face had been caved in while his fingers had been twisted and broken, the same fingers that had touched Bianca. And blood had covered his crotch. Ricardo didn’t remember shooting him there, didn’t remember any of it—most of all hurting Vinnie.

  As he reached the front door, Dominic yelled at him to stop. He turned to his brother, who was striding up the steps, looking like he could kill him.

  “What?” All Ricardo wanted was to wash the blood off himself, then take so many drugs he couldn’t think.

  Dominic reached for the door handle. “I want to check there are no kids around.”

  Ricardo allowed Dominic to enter. Although he’d phoned ahead, warning Anna to keep everyone in their bedrooms, it was better to be safe than sorry, especially with the amount of blood covering him. He looked like he’d stepped out of a slaughterhouse—a walking horror show.

  “I’m truly sorry, Vinnie,” he said, turning to face his other brother. “I had no idea I was hurting you.”

  Vinnie was leaning against one of the black armored vehicles, with his arms around his ribs and his head hanging down, obscuring his face. Two large soldiers flanked him, looking like they’d been ordered to protect Vinnie, no doubt by Dominic. Ricardo knew he could order them to step aside, but he wanted Vinnie to feel safe as well as to respect Dominic’s need to protect his twin. The twins had returned in a different car from him, Dominic refusing to let him go near Vinnie.

  “Forget it, I’ll heal,” Vinnie said, looking up, making Ricardo feel even worse. He had a split lip, badly bruised cheek and nose, while his left eye was swollen shut. Despite all that, what worried him most was how Vinnie was clutching his ribs, giving the impression he’d broken at least one of them.

  Several seconds later, Dominic returned, indicating for him to enter. Ricardo headed past his brother, striding across the foyer and lounge fast. He took to the staircase even faster, just needing to get to his room. Once inside, he stripped off his bloodied shirt and entered the bathroom. The tub was filled with steamy water, something he’d also phoned ahead for.

  He removed his shoes and the rest of his clothes, then stepped into the tub. Closing his eyes, he sunk under the water, submerging himself completely. He could partially sense the heat through his hands and feet, though it was considerably dulled down. Once he’d burnt himself, not having realized the water had been too hot. From then onwards, he’d gotten a maid to fill the tub.

  He pushed his head out of the water and opened his eyes, jolting in surprise at the female standing only a few feet away. It was the maid he’d spoken to earlier in the day, the exotic beauty with the black eyes.

  She smiled at him. “Apologies, Don, I didn’t mean to startle you. I forgot to bring a towel,” she said, holding one out.

  “There are towels in the cupboard at the other end of the bathroom,” he said, moving his hands to cover his cock. Normally, he didn’t care about being naked around his maids. They weren’t women to him, they were employees paid to do a job, but this woman was giving off a sexual vibe he wasn’t comfortable with.

  She glanced over her shoulder at the cupboard. “Oh, I didn’t realize. I got this one from the main bathroom.”

  “It’s of no consequence.” His eyes moved to the shaving equipment on the washbasin. “I would like my hair washed first, then you can shave me.”

  She knelt down beside the bath and reached across to get the shampoo, her hand brushing his chest. If he hadn’t been looking down, he wouldn’t have noticed. He wondered whether she’d done it on purpose. He examined the woman’s face as she squeezed shampoo into her other hand. He was still surprised Salvatore had hired her, because she wasn’t just attractive, she was stunning. Her dark eyes were framed with long black lashes, and her lips ... he was sure many men would beg for a kiss. Though, with the exception of Bianca, women didn’t affect him, his libido non-existent. He could be surrounded by beautiful women and have absolutely no desire to bed any of them. What was the point when he couldn’t enjoy sex? It had become a chore, especially when he had to pretend to enjoy it, so he didn’t insult the woman he was with.

  “I’m going to shampoo your hair now,” the maid said.

  She was looking at him with no fear, which was strange considering the color of the bathwater. She smiled, a slight blush staining her cheeks. He frowned. Was she turned on? Because if she was, she was definitely no ordinary maid, the bloodied water proof of that.

  She leaned forward and started shampooing his hair, her tits practically in his face. He closed his eyes, not in the mood to tell her she was doing everything wrong. He wished his old maid was here. Gloria always kept at arm’s length, the woman knowing her job well.

  After a minute, the maid stopped shampooing his hair. “You can rinse now,” she said.

  He slipped under the water, then pushed back up. She patted his eyes with the towel, stopping the shampoo from running into them, something
he was grateful for.

  “What do you want washed next?” she asked, lowering her gaze to his cock.

  “Keep your eyes above my waist,” he snapped.

  She jolted. “I’m sorry, Don,” she said, looking away. “It wasn’t intentional.”

  Not believing her, he picked up the soap and started cleaning his groin. He might not be able to feel what he was doing, but he sure as hell wasn’t allowing a maid to touch him there.

  “Do you want me to shave you now?” she asked.

  “Sì.”

  She retrieved the shaver and cream. “Again, I apologize,” she said, lathering the foam over his face. “At my last job, I was required to wash my charge.”

  He leaned his head against the bathtub. “I’m not an invalid.”

  “Of course, and it won’t happen again,” she said, her professional tone calming him. Maybe he’d misread her intent. He frequently jumped down people’s throats for the slightest thing, his condition often clouding his judgment.

  “What was your famiglia’s name again?” he asked, attempting to be genial. He’d lost a few maids in the past due to his temper, he didn’t want to lose another one.

  “Massari,” she said, rinsing her hand in the bathwater.

  “What nationality is that?”

  “Egyptian.” Her gaze lowered to his neck. “Raise your chin please.”

  He did as instructed.

  She ran the blade down his neck, rinsed it, then ran it back up, gliding the shaver along his jaw, her lips parting as she concentrated. He watched her, curious as to why she was a maid, since she was stunning enough to be a model or an actress.

  She moved the blade over his chin, then carefully removed the hair above his lips, her face so close to his. He closed his eyes, wishing it was Bianca shaving him instead. He imagined her hand caressing his face and her breath on his skin, the woman a temptress, teasing his senses.

  The maid gasped, making Ricardo open his eyes. She was staring at his cock again, drawing his attention to it. It was jutting out of the water, completely hard. He smirked, amused that just thinking about Bianca had caused his arousal.