The Rossi Crime Family: The Complete Five Book Mafia Series

by J. L. Beck

  With my throat just as dry as my eyes, I answer the phone. My voice sounds like its coming from an eighty-year-old chain smoker. “Hello?”

  “Um, hey…Hero?” A timid voice filters through the phone.

  “Yeah?” I look at the screen. It’s a number I don’t recognize. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Tasha.”

  Tasha? Why the hell is she calling me?

  “I was just wondering if you know where Elyse is. She was supposed to meet me for coffee yesterday and she never showed. I called her phone a million times, but it went to voicemail. I want to make sure she’s okay.”

  In less than a second, I am wide awake, my head as clear as ever.

  “When…? When did she call and what time were you supposed to meet?” I need all the information I can get. I’m already up and putting my shoes on, trying to find my keys. Shit! My car is still at the club.

  I run down the hallway to Damon’s bedroom, not bothering to knock before I storm in. “Damon, get up! I need you to drive me to my car…now!”

  He sits up in the bed, staring at me like I’ve just lost my mind. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m not fucking with you, get the fuck up and dressed. Elyse is missing.”

  He grunts in annoyance, but gets up and throws on some clothes.

  I don’t have the patience to stand around and wait, so I rush outside, nearly running over the girl from last night in the hallway. I don’t pay her an ounce of attention. I can’t, not when my thoughts are on finding Elyse.

  I can’t fucking believe I left her alone...that I let her have her way out of anger. I clench my fists, wanting to punch myself in the face.

  We hop in the car, and Damon speeds off down his driveway. His phone rings shortly after we’re on the road. “What?” he growls before he goes silent for a moment, listening to the person on the other end. “Shit! Meet me at the club, right now!” He hangs up and floors it.

  My body slams back into the seat at the force.

  “That was one of my bookies. He was supposed to pick up cash this morning, but the guy couldn't pay. They were about to break some bones when the guy told them he could pay us back double of what he owed in the next few days…” He pauses like he doesn't want to tell me the next part.

  I know it’s going to be bad. I brace myself for the worst. Deep down, I know it has to do with Elyse. “Spit it out, Damon.” I don’t even recognize my voice. I feel myself disconnecting from the world, my thoughts on one singular thing: getting Elyse back.

  “He said he kidnapped a girl last night and he was going to get ransom money for her soon. Didn’t say who he kidnapped, but I’m sure you can put the pieces together.”

  I can’t breathe. Preparing myself and actually hearing him say it are two very different things. This is real, and it’s all my fucking fault.

  “Listen, Hero, this is good. You might not see it this way now, but he wants money, so he won’t hurt her, and we know who he is. We’ll find her...”

  I hear the words, but they’re just jumbled up words with no meaning. But the one thing Damon says does ring out inside my head. We will find her. When we do, I’ll take the bastard’s life for touching what is mine.

  Damon breaks every speed limit on the way to the club, but we’re still not going fast enough. The thought of Elyse scared and hurt somewhere guts me, ripping my insides apart. If something happens to her, I will never forgive myself.

  When we finally pull up to the club, someone is waiting at the back entrance. I pray to god it’s the guy who has information for us. I throw open the door and get out before Damon even puts the car in park. “What do you know? Tell me everything! Where the fuck is she?” I shout, grabbing two fistfuls of the unknown man’s shirt. I slam him against the brick exterior wall. I don’t care about anyone but Elyse. If I have to, I’ll kill the fucker in front of me to get the information I need out of him.

  “Calm down, man!” He shakes me off.

  I don’t let him up. I keep him pressed against the wall.

  “I’ll tell you everything I know. Just let me up…”

  Damon appears beside us, nodding at the guy. “Did he tell you anything else about the girl and where he took her? What’s the guy’s name?”

  I shove the guy against the wall and take a step back. My thoughts are muddled, my body filled to the brim with tension. I have to find her—I have to. I clench my jaw and slam my fist into the brick wall, over and over again, until warm blood drips down my hand.

  “He didn’t say where he took her. We tried to follow him, but he got away. I don’t know the guy’s full name, but he goes by the nickname of Rocky.”

  Something inside me snaps. It awakens that feeling of death and floods my veins. “No fucking way!” I can’t believe my ears. It can’t be him.

  “You know the guy he’s talking about?” Damon eyes me curiously. He seems slightly afraid of me, and that only sets me off more.

  “Oh yeah, I fucking know him all right.”

  I’m seething—hanging right on the edge of insanity, ready to fucking jump off into the deep end.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Elyse

  As soon as I come to, I know something is very wrong. My head throbs, my stomach churns, and my vision is blurry. I try to organize my thoughts, make sense of everything, but nothing fits like it’s supposed to.

  With a stiff neck, I turn my head to take in my surroundings.

  I’m in some kind of basement. Different smells assault me, but I can’t place them. The room smells like mildew and dirt.

  I try to move my arms, quickly realizing I can’t. Panic grips me like a hand closing in around my throat. My ass throbs as if I’ve been sitting for hours. I try to push from my sitting position, but can’t. My eyes slip down over my body to see a thin rope wrapped around my ankles and calves. I realize my hands are tied as well as I try and flex them.

  “Hello?” I barely recognize the raspy voice coming out of me. My throat is so unbelievably dry, and my lips are painfully cracked.

  The door at the top of the stairs creaks open, throwing rays of sunshine down the steps. Heavy footsteps follow, and every single one makes my stomach twist a little bit more. I’m so scared, my whole body is tremor in fear.

  I try to remember how I got here, but my thoughts are fuzzy, as if I’ve been drugged. The man who kidnapped me comes into view. My heart beats so hard, I’m worried I may have a heart attack.

  My eyes take in my attacker. He is a big guy with broad shoulders and midnight black hair. As he comes closer, I see a sickening smile on his face.

  “I’m so glad you are finally up, princess.” His voice is cruel and as dark as his features.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I ask, my voice so jittery, I’m surprised the words come out at all.

  “I’ve been trying to get my hands on you for a while now.” He reaches a meaty hand up to my face.

  I cringe, not wanting him to touch me. I try to pull away, but there’s no room for me to move.

  The look in his dark gaze is filled with excitement, longing. He drags his rough knuckle down my cheek. “I’d say you are worth the wait. So pretty…pure. I understand why Jonathan is so caught up in you.”

  Jonathan? I never heard anyone call Hero by his actual name. Confused, I look into my captor’s eyes. Eyes that are somehow familiar, though I’m positive I’ve never met the man in front of me. Or have I? I take in the rest of his features. Black hair, strong jawline, and dark eyes.

  Oh my god. Could he be…?

  “A-Are y-you…” I stutter, my body quaking.

  He must see recognition written all over my face because he finishes the sentence for me. “Jonathan's father?”

  His smile widens, and I know I’m going to be sick.

  “Why yes, I am dear old dad.”

  “Why are you doing this?” I croak. I don’t understand. Why would he want to take me? Hurt me, hurt Hero? None of it makes sense. He has nothing to do with He
ro and hasn’t for years.

  “I took you so my son would give me what belongs to me. His whore of a mother left everything to him. All the money, her car, the house we bought together. All of those things should have been mine, not his.” His words flow from his mouth like venom, full of hate and resentment. “Then your parents came to me. I met them at that cute little church you all go to each Sunday. I saw the perfect opportunity and your stupid fucking parents played right into it.” He laughs a humorless laugh. “The fucking dumbasses paid me to kidnap you. Now, I’ve got their money and I’m going to get a ransom for you on top of that.”

  My parents?

  His words sink in, slow and painful. My parents hired him to kidnap me? This can’t be happening. This must all be a bad dream I’m about to wake up from any minute now. I’ll wake up and Hero will be lying next to me in the bed, telling me to calm down because it was nothing but a nightmare.

  “We are going to take a little video for your boyfriend so he knows how serious I am about this.” He fishes a phone out of his pocket and fumbles with it for a second before pointing it at my face. “Guess who I’m hanging out with? That’s right, sweet Elyse. It doesn’t look like she is having a good time, though. You might want to come get her real soon.” He pans the phone back to himself, a sinister smile appearing on his face all over again. He looks evil, like he’d kill me without a second thought. “All you have to do to get her back is bring me a hundred grand in cash and I’ll tell you where to pick her up.” He looks past the phone into my eyes. “I need you to beg, Elyse. Beg him to come get you.”

  I’ve never been a violent person, but if my hands were free right now, I would shove that phone straight up his ass. I shake my head in defiance. He isn’t going to get anything from me. I don’t care about him or the money he wants. “He won’t. He won’t give you a dime. Just let me go and I’ll go back to my parents. I won’t tell anyone what happened. I swear,” I plead with him, praying he’s still a human with a heart.

  “Wrong answer!” With his free hand, he slaps me across the face, making my head snap to the side. Pain throbs through my cheek as I hang off the side of the chair. I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I can’t do anything but remain seated.

  Pain-filled tears spring from my eyes. He doesn't give me time to say anything, or even move before he hits me again. This time, even harder than the last, making me cry out in pain.

  “Beg, Elyse. Beg for your precious Hero to come save you.”

  I don't want to give him the satisfaction of winning, of having me beg, but when he strikes me a third time, my eyes shift closed and darkness clings to me. I’m about to pass out—one more slap and I’ll be gone.

  With the last shred of hope I have, I give into his demand, “Please…” I whimper, ashamed of my weakness.

  “There you go, sweetie.” He steps forward and grips my chin roughly.

  My eyes swell. Blood trickles down from my nose. I don’t even want to know the kind of damage that’s been done.

  Forcing me to look at him, he leans in. His breath smells of beer and cigarettes. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He snickers to himself.

  Tilting my head farther back, he angles the camera down to me. “If you don't want me to hurt this pretty face any more than I already have, you better come up with the money quickly. My patience is wearing thin, and I don’t know how much longer I’ll go without touching the more intimate parts of her.” Hero’s father doesn’t even glance at me again.

  He releases me with a shove and turns off the phone, stuffing it back into his pocket.

  At his words, the bile rising in my throat fills my mouth and I bend over, vomiting all over the side of the chair. My hair clings to my sweaty forehead. I force air into my lungs, knowing if I don’t, I will truly pass out. After hearing what the vile man before me just said, that’s the last thing I want to do.

  The evil bastard leans down, resting on the balls of his feet. “Now, why the fuck did you have to go and do that?” His face is a mask of fury.

  Before I can even mutter a response, his clenched fist moves toward my face.

  Moments later, everything goes black as my head rolls to the side.

  ***

  My face throbs and one of my eyes is swollen so badly, I can barely open it. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but the grumbling of my belly signifies it’s been awhile. Not that it would matter if the bastard brought me food. I don't think I could keep any of it down. Something to drink, to moisten the desert in my mouth, would be nice, though.

  I keep drifting in and out of sleep from exhaustion, or maybe it’s the aftermath of whatever drug he gave me. I dream about my mom being here. Her fingers touch my face gently, and I beg her for help, but she just turns around and walks back up the stairs. Sometimes, I’m not even sure if I’m awake or asleep. Maybe I’m trapped somewhere in between.

  I’m about to pass out again when I hear footsteps above me. I strain, trying to hear better.

  Multiple footsteps followed by voices. My heart pounds so hard, I can hear it in my ears. Someone is here—someone is here!

  “Hello!” I try to scream, but only a low, broken voice comes out. It’s so quiet, I can barely hear it myself.

  “Help me!” I cry out. I try again and again, but I can’t get the words to come out loud enough. My throat throbs with the effort. It hurts to mumble, let alone scream.

  The creaking of the basement door opening startles me, and suddenly, I’m more scared than I was the first time I woke up here. What if he invited more bad people? What if they come down here to hurt me?

  I struggle against the rope as it digs into my skin, rubbing at the already sensitive flesh. Tears sting my eyes. It’s no use.

  A pair of familiar boots come down the stairs first, and fear paralyzes me.

  “Oh sweet, sweet Elyse, guess who is here to see you?” he coaxes, his gaze piercing mine, holding me in place.

  Hero. Could it really be?

  He came—he actually came…

  A moment later, two more sets of legs appear behind him. My gaze moves away from him, and it doesn't take me long to realize who the people are. All three walk fully into the basement, stopping directly in front of me.

  “Mom? Dad?” Disbelief drips from my lips. There is a moment where we all just look at each other. I blink slowly.

  They can’t really be here. If they were, they’d be helping me, right? That's what parents do. They help you—they protect you.

  Not my parents, though. They just stand there and stare, like I’m a specter on display.

  “This was not the deal we made,” my father announces, sounding way less concerned than a father should seeing his daughter tied up, bruised, and locked in a basement. He says it more like he ordered a burger without pickles and they put the pickles on it anyway. Annoyance. Impatience. That's all I am to him.

  My mom says nothing at all, which is worse, but not at all surprising.

  “Help me,” I whimper, begging my mother, pleading with her.

  She looks at Hero’s dad. “We’ll take her home now.”

  Relief almost floods me. If they get me out of here, I can run away and back to Hero.

  “No can do. I need your daughter for a little while longer. I told you, you could see her, but you can’t take her. You saw her. You know she is alive. Now, leave.” He gestures for them to head back up the stairs.

  “We want to take her home now,” my mother demands.

  Hero’s dad slips his hand into the back of his pockets and retrieves something, pointing it at my parents.

  A gun, a knife maybe? I can't tell with my one eye.

  My mom gasps, and my dad takes a step back, putting his hands up in the air.

  “I said you can’t take her right now. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. If it comes down to it, I'll fucking kill all of you.” He motions the gun to each of us, pure death shining in his eyes. “Now, get the fuck out of here.”

  “Okay, ok
ay, we are going.” With his hands still in the air, my dad walks backwards toward the stairs. He stumbles over his feet and turns around to face the stairs once he touches them.

  When my mother follows closely behind him, I lose all hope.

  “No, Mom…please. Dad, don’t leave me here. Please!” I cry out, but neither stops walking. Each step they take away from me pierces me straight in the heart.

  The last thing I see is my mom mouthing, “Sorry,” before they disappear upstairs.

  I'll never forgive them for this. Never.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Hero

  I grip my phone so tightly in my hand, I’m close to snapping the damn thing. I will kill him. I will kill my father. I’ve watched the video ten times already. Part of me does it to look for clues that might help figure out where she is. The other reason is to torture myself.

  This is all my fault. Every decision I made from the moment I stole our first kiss has led us here.

  My sweet Elyse is in my father’s clutches.

  And I’m going to kill him for touching her. I don’t care if I go back to prison for the rest of my life. I will kill him.

  I already have the cash in hand, I just need him to call. I’ll bring him the money, show it to him so he’ll let her go, then slash his fucking throat

  I sit on the couch, the same couch we fucked on. Elyse’s scent swirls around me, haunting me. When this is all over…

  I don't get a chance to finish my thought because a knock on my door drags me out of the daydream.

  I get up and walk to the door, already feeling sorry for whoever is on the other side. I pull the door open, my hand fisting the knob so hard, I’m surprised I didn’t rip it from the door itself. My eyes round when I find Elyse’s parents standing there.

  Her mom is crying, holding a tissue at the tip of her nose. Her eyes are bloodshot, and she looks like she’s going to be sick.

  “Can we come in, Hero?” her dad asks, catching me off guard with his tone.

  What the fuck?