Taken by Vincenzo

by Katrina S Karter

  “What did Sergi do to you, that you’d kill him before getting all of the usefulness from him?” asked Luigi.

  Lucas glanced at the man in his arms. “He killed Antonio.”

  Luigi shook his head. “No, he didn’t. When your brother was gunned down, Sergi was meeting with Nikolai Mikhailov the underboss. I know because I spied on their meeting to double cross Khadem Yousef.”

  The Russians have always been greedy bastards, and I am not surprised that they are trying to fuck over the Abdul Hafiz but them pairing up with the Ukrainian Syndicate and targeting here was a problem. This is the Mancini turf. We run this place like a well-oiled machine, and it will stay that way.

  “Those bastards are stupid to think they can fuck with the Mancini mafia.”

  Luigi looked at the security cameras. “There are four cars barreling this way.” He picked up his AK 47 and got into position. He snapped his fingers and four men each took a silver box out of their pocket and held it in their hands. They each looked at Luigi, and when he nodded his head, they pressed the buttons.

  A second later, several explosions erupted outside. I glanced at the security cameras. Two of the four cars had blown up. The other two cars managed to avoid getting hit. They came out front and skidded to a halt. Twenty men jumped out and split up.

  Bullets shattered the front window. I ducked behind a table taking cover, angling my gun over the side. Luigi’s men opened fire. When the gunfire ceased, and four men jumped through the window, I aimed at their heads and shot. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Their bodies dropped to the ground, and I scrambled to get their guns as I continued to fire at the men coming into the window.

  Glancing behind me, I heard Lucas curse. Sergi had stabbed Lucas in the shoulder and was running down the hall. I took off behind him, just as Luca pulled the knife free and tossed it at Sergi. It caught him in the right shin, but the bastard kept limping down the hall.

  A bullet whizzed past my head. I ducked my head and braced myself against the wall moving and firing at the man hiding behind the bar. He dropped to the ground and I turned to rush down the hall after Sergi. I spotted Lucas turning to the right and I turned to the left.

  A man popped out from behind the wall, and I fired two shots to his head. He dropped like dead weight, and I hopped over his body, pausing along the wall in front of the first door. Glass shattered, and I rushed inside the bedroom, firing two shots. Sergi fell out the window.

  Running to the window, I saw Sergi crawling toward a man. I emptied the clip at Sergi. The bastard rolled in between the huge dumpster and a car parallel parked on the side of the building. The man heaved a rocket launcher over his shoulder. I sprinted from the room and down the hall.

  “Lucas, incoming rocket launcher.” I saw him skid down the hall towards me. A shadow formed on the wall and then a man jumped behind Lucas pointing a gun. I lifted my gun and fired several shots at his head.

  Lucas ducked and rolled sideways. His upper torso jerked, and his shirt filled with blood. He grabbed his right shoulder as he ran behind me.

  Boom. The whole building shook and the ceiling caved in. Running toward the bar, I spotted Luigi and his men behind it taking cover. Lucas ran and ducked low under the window, along the back wall. Stopping at the entrance to the office I slipped inside using the door as cover. Picking up a piece of shattered glass, I angled it low outside the door. Jimmy and Paciano “the butcher” Villano and Tristano Cetrella “the enforcer” from the Trafficante crime family.

  I knew Nazaro Trafficante wanted to expand his turf and take over mine. Jimmy didn’t have the balls to pull off what he did.

  “Fucking Trafficante family. I knew it.” I lifted my gun, ready to kill those greedy bastards and torture Jimmy.

  Lucas turned to me. “Ten more cars pulled up, and it is not the Trafficante family. It’s the Russian mafia, I spotted Safronov Aleskeevich.”

  I can’t let Sergi get away. We need him. The Russians were protecting their asset.

  “Get Jimmy but don’t kill him. His life belongs to me.”

  Lucas burst from the room. Both of his guns in each hand, firing his way toward the bar area.

  I ran to the window, and I fired six shots at the men running up to the house. There were too many of them. We were outnumbered and outgunned. Bullets flew in the window shattering the glass. Ducking, I waited until the return fire had ceased. Popping back up, I fired several more rounds. I saw four men carrying Sergi to the car.

  “Fuck. Sergi’s getting away.” I sprinted from the window. Running into the main room I saw that Lucas had captured Jimmy. There were dead bodies everywhere.

  I looked at Luigi. “Quick Sergi’s getting away. I need heavy firepower.” I ran through the opening not waiting for Luigi or his men. The car was driving off down the road. A man let the window down and flipped me the bird.

  I hated the Russian mafia.

  Running my hands through my hair, I kicked the tire. There were dead bodies on the ground everywhere. This was going to be a hell of a mess to clean up. Glancing at my watch, I gritted my teeth. We had fifteen minutes to get our asses out of here. A man coughed behind me. Gripping my gun, I ran over to him. He was lying next to the bullet-riddled Cadillac.

  Picking him up by his lapel, I drug him inside. Kicking dead bodies out my way, I dropped him near the wall.

  “Who are you and what do you know?” Grabbing his jaw, I yanked it open, and placed the Glock in his mouth.

  Luigi snapped his fingers. His men started carrying out the dead bodies. He bent down and yanked a fistful of the man’s hair toward him, dragging the man’s face close to his. “You defile my place with your presence.”

  His eyes darted from Luigi to me. He was talking but it all sounded muffled. I pulled the gun back an inch, so I could understand him.

  “My name is Elvino. I’m with the Trafficante crime family.”

  I shoved the gun back in his mouth. “I don’t care. What the fuck are you doing with Ivan Yahontov’s men. When did the Trafficante family get in bed with the Russian mafia?”

  Lucas shook his head. “That’s Elvino Tino. He probably doesn’t know shit.”

  “We aren’t in bed with the Russian mafia they just showed up and we thought what the hell, we shared a common enemy.”

  I shrugged. “Bad move.” I pulled the trigger. Blood and parts of Elvino’s brain matter splattered in my face. Taking the handkerchief from my pocket, I wiped my face. The man’s phone rang.

  I took it out the man’s pocket and answered it. I grunted in acknowledgement.

  “We are following the Russians now. We are down on Ronald Higgins Blvd, and at Wilke Fish Market. Guess what, Livino Daino is meeting with Sabitov Aleksandr. I’ll text you the address we’re just following them now, awaiting orders from the boss,” he said.

  What is Valentino Ciccarelli thinking. The Ciccarelli family has always wanted to gain the upper hand but working with the Russian mafia was insane. The fucking Russians can’t be trusted.

  “We got to move. We have got to take the back route now. Police will be here soon.” I smiled as I saw Jimmy’s eyes flare as he trembled.

  “Jimmy you and I are going to have such fun tonight. I have waited so long to see you, that one night won’t be enough. If your heart gives out, I’ll resuscitate you. You don’t get to die until I give you permission.”

  Luigi followed his men toward the door. He bellowed for his son. “Emmanuel time to go.”

  Every time shit becomes real, Emmanuel disappeared. I am beginning to wonder if he has ever fired a gun. Being the son, of a mafia boss you were bound to be tried and killed if you are not proficient. Bianca Moretti was harder than he was.

  Emmanuel was a pussy, but that was his problem, not mine. I didn’t respect him like I did Luigi and his days may be numbered.

  “Meet me at Mistic Gables on Sunset Club Drive. I’ll have the answers on Ivan’s plans.”

  “Good.” I walked out the door behind Luigi.

 
Lucas drove out. He made a sharp right onto the back road and gunned the car pedal. I heard the police sirens as he sped down the street on the main road. Pocketing Elvino’s phone, I disabled the location services on the phone and tossed it in the cubby.

  My phone vibrated in my pants. Frowning, I looked at the phone then pressed my hand to my lips as I looked at Lucas. The caller identification said unknown. I didn’t get unknown calls.

  I answered but I did not talk.

  “Vincenzo, you have one hour to bring me the list and my daughter Bianca, or Tatiana dies.”

  “Salvatore, I don’t have your daughter, go see Nazaro Trafficante, if you want to see her alive.”

  “You admit to having the list?” asked Salvatore.

  “Let’s not play games. I got the list, but you are crazy if you think I’m parting with it for a hostage that you took. That’s not good enough.”

  “Do you want to know who killed Antonio? Bring me the list and you will have your answer.”

  “Where?”

  “Sicily.”

  15

  Tatiana

  Today was the day that I was going to die. I gazed out the window and let the sea breeze flow over my face as we entered the Sicilian seaside town of Bagheria. Larry drove like this was a trip to Disneyworld. I had done everything that I could to escape aside from taking my own life. Larry was crazy, and he lived in his own delusional world.

  We passed the beautiful water and drove down toward the villa. The villa was a gigantic mansion that would put the Hollywood stars homes to shame. There were twenty mature Saigo Palm trees in the front making this place look like a palace. The driveway was paved. A shiver ran down my spine. How could something so beautiful belong to a monster?

  The driveway was long, and we drove ten minutes before we reached a black iron gate. Larry hung his left hand out the window and punched in the number. A guttural voice barked back, and a minute later the gate was opening. When the house came into view, I saw large lion statues along the side of the villa. In the middle of the driveway, there was a circular water fountain. Larry started whistling, and I gritted my teeth.

  He smiled and turned the car off. “Don’t look so sad; trust me this will all be over in a few hours.”

  “The FBI can’t pay you that much money. You had a chance to walk away from this. What do you think you’re going to get out of it?”

  He leaned over and grabbed my cheeks. “I gave them seven years, and guess what I got to show for it?

  Ripping his fingers off my face, I jerked away from him. He would not kill me in Salvatore’s driveway. He would not risk it.

  “I got a divorce and a son named Chad, who doesn’t even call me Dad anymore. A twenty-two-thousand-dollar retirement fund that is less than welfare.”

  “You chose to work for the federal government. It is not like you were afflicted with a disease or something was out of your control. You chose to stay there knowing that you didn’t make any money.” I opened the car door and slammed it shut.

  “Also, you lost your family on your own. There are plenty of people that are married and work for the government.”

  “I was promised a raise year after year and never got it. Then when I got it four years later, I was served with divorce papers. If I had made good money Karen wouldn’t have left me.”

  He either had a low opinion of women or thought money made up for everything. I guess some people never learn.

  Money is the root of all evil, and it causes more problems than it solves.

  Larry just didn’t get it. I guess he was one of those men that never accepted responsibility for his actions. I’m glad his wife took Chad and ran before he could ruin her life too.

  The front door opened, and six men with machine guns walked toward us. Each of them looked like a bodybuilder on steroids. Their muscles bulged and protruded from their backs and arms. I swallowed as I looked at each one of them. Larry moved toward me and grabbed my arm. Salvatore had sent out a small army for a man and woman.

  Larry dug his nails in my arm. Jerking at the needle sensation on my upper arm, I struggled in his grasp. “Let me go. You’re hurting me.”

  “Bitch, I’m about to do more than that.” He raised his hand, and I held my arms over my face trying to block the blow.

  He raised his gun at Larry. “The boss doesn’t want her hurt. Let her go.”

  What the hell. There’s no way Salvatore was going to let me live. Whatever he had planned for me a quick death was not one of them.

  “I’m not going to kill her. She needs discipline and a firm hand.”

  “That decision or discipline won’t come from you. Let her go.” He kept the gun trained on Larry. The men behind him stepped around leveling their weapons at him as well.

  “Fine. Relax. I’m not your enemy.” Larry dropped his hand from me, and I stepped away from him rubbing my arm.

  “Walk in front of me. If you try anything you die. If you try to run, then you die. You look at me wrong, you die.” Nodding my head, I followed behind Larry.

  A shiver ran down my spine as I stepped inside the grand foyer. The floors were a beautiful marble with a pink vein running through it, but it was the six bodies that had plastic wrap of their heads that caught my attention. There were three men, two women, and two kids. Squinting, I spotted something else…. fingers and noses. They had cut off the kids noses and fingers and jammed them in their mouths.

  Oh lord have mercy.

  My hand flew to my mouth as hot acid traveled up my throat. Closing my eyes, didn’t help as the coppery smell of blood and flesh filled my lungs. A mental image of the two kids’ hands and their severed limbs jammed in their mouths floated in my mouth. I vomited unable to keep it down.

  He poked the barrel of the machine gun in my back. “If the sight of blood and gore disturbs you, you won’t last long in this house.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw two men walking toward me.

  Maybe I will get lucky, and he’ll shoot me here. There was a difference between death and tortured to death. Two men lifted me up by my underarms and dragged me through the hallway. I sagged in relief, glad to be away from the dead bodies. When one man, stopped at a doorway that led to the basement, I stiffened in their embrace.

  They led us down the stairs and through another passage. The deeper we walked the more I looked around. I needed to be ready for the moment when I could escape. When they came to a stone chamber with the electric chair in the floor, I gulped.

  The two men let go and I stumbled forward. It was dark, damp, and cool down here. Two men grabbed Larry and threw him down in the electric chair. I swallowed hard. If there was a drug bust or something, there was a good chance that authorities would not find this torture chamber.

  “What the fuck are you doing? Salvatore will hear about this.” Larry bellowed threat after threat as he thrashed around in the electric chair.

  A flame appeared as a Cuban cigar was lit. The man leaned over and turned the light on. He was sitting in the corner far enough to not get blood on his clothes.

  He took a sip of his red wine and closed his eyes for a second. “Who do you think gave the order?”

  This was Salvatore Moretti. He was breathtaking with an intense stare; it was easy to get lost in the amber glow of his hazel eyes. His nose was straight and perfect, and his mustache and beard were perfectly manicured. He did not look like a murderer, but more like a GQ model. His looks alone would have opened doors for him. I guess becoming a mafia boss isn’t a decision but an inevitable future.

  I closed my mouth. His glossy jet-black hair flowed in soft waves back toward his ear. On his left wrist, he had a white diamond tennis bracelet. His right-hand had silver skull rings and a blue oblong ring on his index finger. It reminded me of an ancient mood ring. The charcoal gray double-breasted suit had a purple handkerchief in the right pocket. The lavender silk shirt he wore matched the lavender cuff links.

  Larry stopped thrashing. His mouth hung open as he
stared at Salvatore. “I’m not your enemy.”

  “Don’t bother lying. I had your communications tapped. I know your true plan was to get rid of Christian and me.”

  The men laughed. They looked to their leader. The man who was about to shoot Larry earlier still had the machine gun in his hand, but he walked over to the table and laid it down near Salvatore.

  Salvatore held up a pair of pliers. “Carponio he’s all yours but don’t kill him too quick. He needs to suffer. Teach him what we do to traitors.”

  Carponio grabbed the pliers, and kissed Salvatore’s ring. “We have a bet going that you won’t last thirty minutes before you beg for death,” he said.

  “Fuck you.” Larry balled up his fist. He glared at Salvatore refusing to acknowledge Carponio.

  “I prefer the wet cunt of a woman.” He grabbed a fist full of Larry’s hair and slowly moved the pliers toward his eye.

  A few minutes later, Larry started screaming. The chair scraped against the concrete floor. The men behind me laughed and started taking more bets. My stomach rocketed and I swallowed hard trying to focus on breathing. Larry’s screams turn to dull whimpers, and I opened my eyes. His right eyeball was on the floor. His bloody eye socket had tissue and membrane hanging from it. I fell to my knees retching.

  Closing my eyes, I placed my hands over my ears. Strong arms wrapped around me, and I was lifted off the ground. A spicy musky scent filled my nose and I opened my eyes. Salvatore was holding me.

  He trailed his fingers down my face. “You keep looking at me like that, and I won’t be responsible. I’ll admit you are an incredibly beautiful woman.”

  My body stiffened in his embrace. I found him attractive, but I wasn’t ruled by my body. I knew what he was. He was a monster. He was someone who had too much power and destroyed lives in a blink of an eye.

  “Thank you.” I stepped away from him.

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “Keep your eyes open or I will get something to force them open.”