The Rossi Crime Family: The Complete Five Book Mafia Series

by J. L. Beck

  The announcer motions for us to come to the center of the ring and then he gives the signal for us to start fighting. The other guy starts coming for me immediately, swinging at my face.

  I didn’t expect him to be so quick, to attack without getting a feel of me first. Even with me not having trained in the last two weeks, my reflexes are still on point. I easily dodge every punch he throws at me, and I even get a few good punches in on him, but that lasts only for a short time.

  Then slowly things change. Something happens that's never happened to me before…I start to feel the onset of fatigue.

  Usually I let the other guy tire himself out while I wait bouncing around the ring while toying with him, and then, and only then do I go in for the kill. Today however, I’m the one being worn out.

  I can feel my muscles strain, a deep ache radiating throughout my body, slowing me down. My reflexes are getting slower and my punches are losing power, and effectiveness.

  Shit. I didn't realize how much extra energy the double dose of pills gave me before each fight.

  My train of thought is interrupted by a right hook to the jaw. My teeth rattle inside my head and stars appear over my vision.

  Pain explodes across my jaw and up my face. There's a deep ache behind my eyes and I throw my hands up to protect my face and head until I regain my bearings. My opponent of course takes that opportunity to dish out some well placed kidney shots. I can barely suck in an entire breath without wheezing. Dizziness washes over me, and I'm afraid that I'll fall to the ground at any second.

  I take another punch to the side of the head, and it briefly knocks some sense into me. I give the guy some good jabs to the gut and one hard punch to the face. I all but groan when the fucker gives it back to me a moment later.

  Another wave of pain followed by dizziness overcomes me when his bare knuckles connect with the skin above my right eye.

  My head snaps back and for a moment I drop my hands, giving him free rein to keep hitting my head…and that’s exactly what he does.

  One punch after the other, my jaw, my cheek, my nose, anything he can hit…he hits, and I let him. The pain is a welcoming feeling for once.

  By the time I get my hands back up I can feel the blood running down my face. Its hurts to breathe, to keep my eyes open, to simply live and I'm about to just drop my arms all together and let him kill me, but before I do, he hits me in the gut so hard that I double over.

  Another punch to the back of my head brings me to my knees and I know that’s it. There is no way I’m getting back up.

  I’m too weak, I have no fight left in me.

  I open my eyes, blinking as blood runs into my left eye. I don’t even hear the buzzing noise of the crowd anymore.

  Now there is nothing...only silence surrounds me. I look out into the crowd…I'm about to close my eyes for the final time, to give up completely when I see her. I blink, and I feel like I might just be seeing shit, but when I look again, she's still there right in the middle of the sea of people surrounding me she stands.

  Sophie. My Sophie. My beacon of light.

  So out of place, like a blooming rose in a field of wilted weeds. Everything is in black and white except her. She is the brightest most beautiful thing in the room. Her eyes are wide and full of fear and her mouth is moving as if she is trying to tell me something, but I can’t hear her beautiful angelic voice in this deafening silence

  Pain erupts across the back of my skull and I sink even lower, having to hold myself up with my hands now. My eyelids are so heavy, but I don’t want to stop looking at her. I force my eyes to stay open even when my entire body wants to shut down.

  Sophie is trying to come closer, to get through the crowd, but people around her are going crazy. Some guys push her out of the way, and she stumbles into another who pushes her to the other side, almost making her fall.

  Something inside me churns…it's like a fire has been lit deep in my belly. Nobody fucks with what is mine. Anger floods my system, fueling every single cell in my body to wake up.

  In an instant, the fog surrounding my head is lifted, all my senses return to me. Adrenaline courses through my veins like lava spewing from a volcano. My muscles ache and are tight with tension but I grit my teeth, somehow finding the strength to stand.

  I glance at Sophie's angelic face one last time before I spring into motion. I can't let her down. I can't let her watch me die.

  I move without thought. I’m on my opponent in a second flat throwing my clenched fist at his face. I’m a bull in a china shop, one red flag away from losing complete control.

  I hit his jaw, watching as his head snaps back. He gives me a bewildered look before my other fist makes contact with his face. My punches are furious, precise and powerful. My intentions are to kill, and I'll be damned if I don't follow through.

  He stumbles back and crosses his arms over his head. I punch him in the gut, and he crouches in front of me, his body absorbing the hit. I don’t have fucking time for this. I’m done playing with my food. I’m going to make an example out of this prick.

  I step around him before he can straighten up again. I take his head into my hand and grab his jaw from behind, then I twist as hard as I can.

  I can’t hear it, but I can feel his neck break underneath my hands. The sounds vibrating through my body. I release my hold on him and his heavy lifeless body falls to the floor in front of me. My entire body is burning with aggression and adrenaline, I could kill a hundred more people right now without a second thought. But I have a more important mission now... I need to find Sophie, to make sure she is okay.

  I curse Ivan to hell as I scan the room, looking in the spot where I saw her last. The crowd erupts around me, making it hard to see. People are screaming, shouting, and pushing each other. Fights break out within the crowd all the time and it’s the last thing I need when I have no idea where she is.

  As I scan the crowd again, I see Mac and Devin making their way over to me, pushing through the sea of people. My eyes move over every person before me and then I see her…her small body being pushed around by the crowd. Panic and fear consume her features. She is completely helpless and far too weak to fight all these people off or get through on her own.

  Knowing this I jump over the ropes and into the crowd. I can feel the blood dripping down my face, the aching and fatigue in my muscles but I push forward. I have to save her...like she saved me.

  I punch out two guys before the rest of the crowd parts, moving the fuck out of my way...and then they do, everybody runs away from me…one look at me and they back up.

  As soon as enough people have stepped away to make room, she runs to me. Her arms fly around my torso and she buries her face into my sweaty chest.

  I wrap my arms around her and hold her as tight as I can without squishing her. Lowering my head, I press my face into her hair and breathe her in. Her sweet floral scent fills my nostrils making me forget everything and everyone around me. Silence surrounds me. I feel nothing but the warmth of her body seeping into mine.

  The raging storm I’ve been battling the last two weeks calms and I feel like for once I can breathe again.

  “Are you okay?” Her sweet voice reaches my ear.

  “I am now.” I loosen my grip on her just enough so she can look up and I can see her face. “What are you doing here? How did you even get here?”

  “I heard Ivan talking to you on the phone and then he jumped up and told me he was coming here so I made him take me.” I follow her gaze as she looks around and only then do I notice that Mac, Dev, and Ivan are standing beside us.

  I don’t know how long we’ve been standing in the center of the room like this, but I notice that a lot of people have cleared out of the basement already so I’m assuming it’s been a few minutes.

  Ivan is staring daggers of ice through me, with his arms folded over his chest and a furious scowl on his face.

  “I’m sorry.” Ivan’s eyebrows shoot up at my apology.

 
; “You are?” He asks, obviously dumbfounded. I don’t know what exactly he was expecting...a snotty remark, an inappropriate joke or maybe just a cold shoulder. Any one of those would have been more likely than an apology if I’m being honest.

  “Yes, I’m sorry…and not just for tonight.”

  Then Ivan does something that shocks me just as much as I’ve must just shocked him. He closes the distance between us and throws his arms around me, engulfing me in a bear hug…well, engulfing us in a bear hug. There is no way I’m letting Sophie out of my arms so I hold her to my body with one arm and hug my brother back with the other.

  “Don’t do shit like that again,” he warns me before releasing us.

  “Come on, let me check you out in the locker room,” Mac tells me. “I’m pretty sure you’ll need some stitches.”

  “I’m fine, I just want to get out of here.” Sophie’s arms tighten around my waist at my words.

  “I want to come home with you,” she says in a pleading voice, as if there was a chance in the world I would have any rejection to that. I gaze down at her. Her big blue eyes are just as beautiful as always. Guilt and regret slam into me.

  While I’m thrilled to see her and hold her in my arms, I'm reminded of the way I hurt her. In my mind I can still see the fear I struck in her. I can still see myself shaking her tiny body.

  “Come on, let's get you stitched up.” Mac ushers us toward the locker room and I release Sophie and instead curve an arm around her, pulling her into my side.

  “I’ll hold your hand if you’re scared of the needle,” Sophie murmurs, barely able to contain her giggling. Fuck, I’ve missed that so much.

  Her laugh, her smile, the way she looks as she falls apart on my cock...I’ve missed every single little detail about her down to the way she simply fits perfectly into all my broken pieces.

  “How about we all go to my place. Mac you can check me out at the house, okay?” I need to get out of here especially with Sophie being here now. I don’t want her to have to be exposed to this kind of violence again.

  “Alright then, let’s go,” Mac agrees, and we head toward the main doors. My head hurts like hell, my muscles ache and I’m just overall, exhausted. And yet, this is the happiest I have been in a long time. Not only am I finally free from the pills but I have my Sophie back at my side.

  As we walk out of the building, I cling onto her, just as hard as she is clinging on to me and I can’t believe I ever let her walk away. She belongs to me...in my arms, in my life, in my bed. She is mine and I won’t ever do anything to risk losing her again.

  I fucked up before. I risked it all for money, for fighting, but I won’t risk anything over Sophie again. From here on out I’m going to make her damn proud...

  Chapter Twelve

  Sophie

  I can’t believe how close I came to losing him today. Seeing him on his knees in that ring, bloodied and beaten killed me. It brought tears to my eyes knowing he was so close to giving up. I could see it on his face, he was done, done trying, done crying. A part of me wants to slap him for being so careless while the other part of me wants to hug him until I piece all of his broken parts back together again. As we walk out of the warehouse, the cool night time air hits my face.

  I suck in a greedy breath of air...thankful to be out of that smelly, stuffy basement. Roman has his arm around me, keeping me tightly to his side as we walk.

  “I’m heading back home, I don’t like Violet being home alone,” Ivan tells us before looking at me. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?”

  I know Ivan isn’t asking to be mean to Roman. He just wants to make sure I’m okay...not only physically but emotionally, since he knows just how hard the last two weeks have been for me.

  “Yes, I want to go with Roman.” Two weeks. That’s how long I’ve waited to see this man and there is no way I’m going with Ivan now that I know it’s safe to be with Roman again.

  “I figured as much, but I wanted to double check with you before leaving.” Ivan walks away from us toward his car, while Roman walks me to his car with Devin and Mac following close behind us.

  There are still a few people lingering in the parking lot when we reach Roman’s car. Most of them are getting into their cars or are already in their cars. I’m so happy to have Roman back that I really don’t pay anyone or anything much attention.

  I smile up at him feeling awestruck when something catches my eye…

  “Disgrace. That’s what you are Sophie. A disgrace to this family…” My father's voice filters into my mind and for a moment I can’t breathe, my body tenses, every muscle freezes, and fear grips onto me sinking its black claws into my skin. I grip onto Roman’s shirt and lean into him seeking his protection. I know he will protect me, but I still can’t force my heart to beat at a normal rhythm.

  “What’s wrong?” Roman stops sensing my fear. He looks at me with concern etched into his bloody features. Then as if he knows exactly what I need he pulls me in closer, the warmth of his skin calms me, but it can’t make me stop feeling like I’m being watched like he’s here.

  “What is it baby? Are you okay?” Roman’s voice is so gentle, so kind, it caresses me from the inside out touching the deepest parts of my soul.

  “I...I...saw…” I can’t get the words out, my mouth feels like cottons been shoved in it, and my tongue simply refuses to work. I’m able to raise my hand and point at a nearby car that just passed us. I saw him, he was right there...in the driver seat...smiling at me, or at least I think he was.

  No, no, no…It can’t be true. My eyes must have played a trick on me. He can’t be here. There’s no way he knows where I am. How could he? We are close to Vegas, my family lives hours away from here. There is no way he would be here. He never leaves the community. No, it can’t be him.

  “Sophie please tell me what’s wrong. Why are you shaking? What did you see? Was there someone in that car?” Roman sounds as afraid as I look as he looks around, trying to see what I saw, but the car has already turned the corner and is out of sight.

  “M-my father, I saw him...in the car, but it can’t be him...right? He doesn’t know where I am, does he?” Panic wraps around my insides. I can’t breathe, the thought of him getting his hands on me again, of hurting me, it terrifies me.

  “Sophie, look you’ve been through a lot. It’s completely normal for your mind to make up things,” Mac tries to explain but Roman interrupts him a deep scowl on his face.

  “Shut up Mac, don’t tell her she is making shit up. You don’t know the half of it.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Mac sighs scrubbing a hand down his face. I can sense the tension in the air and the last thing I want is to cause a fight. I’m already exhausted, and anxious from watching Roman fight. All I want is to get back to the house and sink deep into Roman’s bed with his arms wrapped tightly around me.

  “Alright everybody let’s calm down, get in the car and head home. Roman still needs patched up and we can discuss this on the way back,” Devin tries to defuse the situation and it helps a little bit but doesn’t stop the worry from creeping in.

  Mac and Roman nod in agreement and we finally get into the car. Roman slides in the back seat with me and pulls me onto his lap. The drive to his house is quiet, and I rest my head against Roman’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. I close my eyes, trying to forget that I just saw my father...or that I thought I saw him. For a moment I consider that maybe Mac is right. My mind must just be conjuring up these images.

  Still I can’t help but think maybe I did see him…being afraid of him is all I’ve ever known...the fear is something I’m used to. After being free for the last couple of weeks I think I forgot what it was like to worry, to be truly afraid of something or someone that would actually hurt me.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, Sophie. I fucked up. I gave you up for some stupid high but I’m never going to do that to you again. I’m never going to hurt you again, and I’m n
ot going to let anyone else hurt you either. I’ll protect you, with a clear mind from this day forward.” Roman’s voice is filled with guilt, remorse, and maybe even a little pain as he tries to reassure me.

  I know he means every word he says because for the last two weeks all he’s done is detox and sit inside his room. If he didn’t mean them then he would still be taking his pills, and I’d be nothing but a faded memory in his mind. Instead Ivan told me he was refusing to come out of his room, to eat or even to talk to anyone. He pleaded with Mac, begging him to see me so he could apologize and while I desperately wanted to go to him, I knew he needed time to take care of himself.

  Now I feel like enough time has passed and all he needs is me, just as much as I need him.

  We get to the house, and when I walk through the door, I almost feel like I never left. I instantly feel home again. There’s a slight tinge of the memories from that night in my mind, but I’m not afraid, just sad. Roman holds my hand in his, squeezing it tightly as if to say I’m here. I give him a reassuring smile.

  We head into the kitchen where Dev offers everyone a beer. I decline as does Roman, and instead plants himself on the counter. I watch Mac as he pulls out his doctoring bag. The amount of stuff he has in that thing is insane. He doesn’t offer Roman anything for the pain, and instead gets to work cleaning his wounds. Once everything is sterile, he gets out the needle and thread and closes all the deep gashes on his face. Devin makes us something to eat while I sit and hold Roman’s hand since he still refuses to let go of me even for a second.

  As soon as Roman is patched up and we’ve eaten something, Devin and Mac tell us goodbye and leave, leaving us all alone in this giant house. Nervous butterflies fill my belly. It’s not the first time I’ve been alone with Roman, but it’s the first time being alone with him in two weeks. Roman places the entire house on lockdown through the security system.