Biting my tongue, I turned and watched as Larry’s tongue was pulled out of his mouth and severed with a sharp blade. Blood was everywhere, and he whimpered. I kept my gaze on Larry and moved down his bloody mutilated body to his shoe. The image of Larry as he sat now muted and bleeding would never leave my mind. Saliva pooled in my mouth as the blood scented the air.
A man looked at the security footage. “He’s here.”
Who’s here? Salvatore’s moods switched minute to minute and I was not sure how long he intended to keep me alive. As soon as he discovered, I was not going to sleep with him, I am dead.
Salvatore smiled. “He’s early.”
Five minutes passed before Sergi walked in surrounded by Salvatore’s men. He looked like he had been tortured. Both of his eyes were black, his lips were busted, and he looked like shit.
I love Sergi, but I do not trust him. I am not sure I have ever known him. He smiled and embraced Salvatore.
“You look like shit Sergi.” Salvatore frowned looking at Sergi’s face and his hands.
His men laughed but immediately stopped when Salvador looked at them.
“You should see their bodies.” Sergi pulled out a cigar from his jacket pocket and slid it in his mouth.
How do you spend your whole life with someone and never really know them?
“Thanks for keeping my sister safe.”
“I’ve found a use or two for her, why don’t you pick her up in a month. I’ll keep her safe.”
“Salvatore, the only reason I allowed her to live, was because she’s going to be our eyes and ears in the agency. The government wants me bad, but now that Vincenzo has become besotted with her, she is valuable to the agency.”
My mouth fell open, and I took two steps back. The room started spinning, and my vision blurred. Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore my racing heart.
Sergi did not give a damn about me. I love him, and he was telling Salvatore that my life meant nothing to him unless I could betray my country for them.
“They say I’m cruel, but even I wouldn’t kill my own sister.”
“If I left her here a week with you, you’d be forced to kill her in seventy-two hours.”
I have got to get out of here.
When Sergi takes me with him, I will act like I trust him and escape. I will do like him and live a lie until I am safely away from him.
He licked his lips. “I’ll take my chances. Pick her up in a month. If she does not last, I will move to plan b.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me away with him.
Blinking rapidly, I turned to look at Sergi. He didn’t make a move to stop us. He was going to let Salvatore rape me. I held my scream in my throat. My tears clung to the corners of my eyes as he led me through the house. Salvatore whistled as he stopped to bark orders to his men scattered throughout the house.
He didn’t bother to turn on lights, and the house was dark the further we went into it. I was not sure I could navigate to the door. We reached the top floor and passed several closed doors. There were over four dozen men on this floor armed for world war. He opened the last door on the left and shoved me inside. I tripped and fell on my hands and knees.
Lifting my head, I saw the king-size poster bed and my stomach rocked.
Salvatore kicked the bedroom door closed. “Don’t bother getting up. On your knees is fine.”
Scrambling to my feet, I turned to face him. He stalked toward me like a lion hunts a gazelle. Balling up my fist, I held my ground. There was only one way in or out of this room, and it was the door behind him. There were not any windows.
“I’m glad you like it rough because I am a sadist. I live for your tears.” He cracked his neck muscles and took off his jacket. He had two shoulder gun holsters. He took the holster off and let it drop to the floor. He walked over to a safe and placed his hand on the scanner. A beam of red light came and click, the door opened. He placed the two guns inside.
Bam. The house shook. Swaying on my feet, I looked at Salvatore. Five men rushed inside the room.
“Boss are you alright. Our security feeds are down; we need to get you to safety.”
“Fuck no. No one attacks me at my home. They will all die.” He rushed to the safe, opened it and grabbed the two guns. Checking both guns for ammunition, he strapped them in the holster, and held out his hand for the man to give him the machine gun. They ran out the room.
Running to the door, I listened a few minutes then cracked the door open. Salvatore and his army ran down the steps and out of view. Running the opposite way, I ran down the hall trying every door. The third door on the right was unlocked. Entering the room, I locked the door. This room was big, but not as big as the Salvatore’s room. Opening the dresser drawers, I searched for a gun, knife, anything that could be used as a weapon. Gunfire rang out and shouts erupted downstairs.
Abandoning the search, I ran into the bathroom. The window was large enough for me to get through. Shutting the door, I thrust open the window. It was dark but I could see the faint lines of a dumpster directly below. Men’s voices were getting closer. They were not speaking English or Italian. It might be Russian.
Climbing out the window, I angled my body in line with the dumpster, closed my eyes and jumped. I landed inside the dumpster, on something hard. The breath was knocked out of me, and I closed my eyes as sharp pain radiated in my chest. I sat up and felt something furry crawling up my leg. Twitching, I grabbed the mouse and threw it off me.
I heard footsteps beside the dumpster, and I held my breath. The smell of cigarettes drifted to my nose as I inhaled molding trash.
“The southside is clear. Salvatore and his men escaped. He probably took her with him.”
“I wanted to find her and have a little fun with her before he gave me my reward.”
“Ben, do you always think with your dick?”
When the footsteps faded, I breathed. Whoever attacked Salvatore was trying to get their hands on me. I did not want to find out who it was. Salvatore was gone, which meant majority of his men were still here defending his home and allowing Salvatore to escape.
Climbing out the dumpster, I ran toward the driveway. When I got to the corner, I peeped around, and all I saw were dead bodies on the ground. There was a silver convertible roaster in the driveway that wasn’t there before. Larry’s rental car was gone. It would not have done me any good since Larry had the keys on him.
Shaking my head, I said a silent prayer and ran toward the car. Sliding inside the car, the keys were in the cubby hole. Pressing the start button, I drove down the driveway. I pushed the button and put the top up. I came to the gate, and after a minute it slowly opened. I heard shots and saw men running toward the car. Wham. The front windshield shattered as they opened fire. I peeled out the gate clipping the back of the car on the way out.
Swerving I made a right into oncoming traffic, almost running into a truck, but I jerked the wheel missing it. Keeping my head down, I weaved in and out of traffic until I got to the highway. Checking the rearview mirror, I didn’t see anything unusual, but it was dark and there were too many cars on the road.
Jumping into the left lane, I gunned it, jumping behind a Porsche. I followed his tail until he got off the highway. Looking down I noticed that the car was almost out of gas. Getting off on the next exit I stopped for gas and hotel. The car sputtered as I rolled into the gas station parking lot before running out of gas. I bent over and opened the glove compartment. It was evident that this car was a rental. There was a hundred-dollar bill in the cubby. Pocketing the money, I searched for anything else that might help me. A hundred American dollars was not going to get me a room here in Sicily. I needed to stay low key and under the radar.
A truck driver pulled into the parking lot and parked on the side. Two men got out. The driver looked like a caveman with a long beard and bald head. His friend had tattoos all up his neck and arms. There were huge tree logs on the back. When he went inside the gas station, I ran and hid between the tree logs.
Shortly, I heard the men talking as they slammed the doors. He started the engine and drove off. The tree logs were heavy and did not provide any places to hide. The truck was picking up speed.
Relaxing, I closed my eyes to think of my next move. Then the truck came to a stop. Wiping the drool from the side of my mouth, I held my breath as both car doors slammed. When the footsteps trailed off, I sat up. Crawling over the top of the logs, I jumped down.
There was a cornfield behind the truck and a small cabin across the street. There was a silver fence in the back. Walking I headed toward the cornfield. A pit bull jumped against the fence and started barking. The outside light on the cabin porch came on, and I ran into the cornfield.
16
Vincenzo
I bit my tongue. My pulse leapt in my wrist as I tried to calm down and think of my next move. “Valentino Ciccarello and Nazaro Trafficante joined forces behind my back in a play to take my turf.” I glanced at Jimmy who was bound in the backseat. One wrong move and his balls would be severed. He was back there sweating and staring at the blade strapped to his dick angled to impale him.
What can I say, I’m a sick fuck and I know it?
“The Trafficante crime family and Ciccarello crime family had made an alliance. If they joined forces, they could take the Mancini turf.”
Lucas turned down Roosevelt Lane. He stopped at the red light and glanced at me. “The question is where is Malcom Bambino at with all of this. Our alliance will allow us to fight the Ciccarello and Trafficante families, and the Russian mob, but the Bambino family is an unknown.”
We arrived at Mistic Gables in record time. I punched Jimmy in the face. Blood squirted everywhere, as a resounding crackling noise erupted. I think I broke the bastard’s nose. Rolling my eyes, I dragged him from the back seat. Walking through the front door, I nodded to Simon and headed back to the private rooms.
Spotting Bianca and Emmanuel sitting at the table next to Luigi, they turned to look at me. Bianca looked at the blood on my shirt and shook her head. I tossed Jimmy to the floor.
“Can you watch him for a while?” I pulled out the chair and sat down.
“What have you decided to do about my father? If he gets his hands on me, he’ll kill me.” She ran her hands through her hair.
Emmanuel narrowed his eyes at me. “He hasn’t thought about your father. He only cares about himself.”
The more Emmanuel talked the more I was convinced he needed to die. He needed to do himself a favor and shut the fuck up.
“I just got off the phone with Salvatore. I’m meeting him in a few hours.”
Lucas stood at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. I could feel him at my back. As was his habit, he always watched my back, and I watched our fronts.
She squirmed out of Emmanuel’s embrace and stood up leaning over the table. “Don’t tell me you made a deal with him.”
“The only thing you need to concern yourself with is that I didn’t agree to haul your ass back to him.”
Luigi looked at her. “Calm yourself down. It’s not good for the baby.”
He looked at Emmanuel. “Take her in the kitchen and fix her some Tiramisu.”
When they were out the room, I looked at Luigi. “Salvatore has something that belongs to me. I’m meeting him in Sicily.”
Luigi shook his head. “He doesn’t intend for you to leave Italy alive. Where does he think Bianca is now?”
“I told him Nazaro Trafficante had her.” I leaned back. I wanted to see Luigi’s reaction. If he knew those bastards had plotted against me, I would kill him. My money was on him not knowing.
Luigi stood and walked over to the wet bar. He pulled out two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. “Nazaro has always wanted your head and your turf. He’s not stupid enough to think he can take you out alone, so he must have joined forces with someone. I’m thinking he joined forces with Valentino Ciccarello.”
“What does Salvatore want?” He handed me a shot glass.
“He wants the list. Sergi has a list of all the U.S undercover agents everywhere. Salvatore wants the list, so he can get rid of anyone that might stand in his way.” I played with the glass lost in thought.
How did things get so fucked up? Reacting wasn’t doing me any good except bringing me one step closer to death.
Luigi rubbed his head. “There must be something else he wants. What about giving him a fake list.”
Tapping my fingers on the table, I sighed. “Don’t worry, Sergi didn’t give me the list, and if he had there was no way in hell, I’d ever give it to Salvatore.”
Downing the shot in one gulp, I slammed the glass down on the table. Pushing it away from me I leaned back. “There’s more. Livino is meeting with Sabitor Aleksandr.”
Luigi’s face when slack and he shrugged halfheartedly. “Valentino Ciccarello never has allies. After he is done with you, he wipes you off the face of the earth. Nazaro is stupid to think he’d honor an alliance with him.”
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. At least for the time being. Malcom was a thinker, and I liked that about him. He was not a greedy bastard.
I stood up. “I’m heading to Wilke Fish Market, where they are meeting. I don’t plan to come back empty-handed.”
“What’s your plan? When do you leave for Italy?”
“Tomorrow.” Walking to the door, I stopped and looked at Luigi. Time was running on. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Salvatore was going to die, but I had to be smart about it. Sergi might be working with him, and if so, that might mean going up against the Russians. There were too many unknowns in this situation.
Luigi did not care that he has Tatiana, but I did. There wasn’t time to analyze the soul-deep emotion that I felt for her. She had to live. She did not deserve to be tortured and killed by Salvatore. Knowing him, he would probably rape her until she begged for death. Thoughts of his hands on her, made my heart slam into my rib cage. Clenching my jaw, I walked faster.
Tatiana had been a virgin. No other man would ever touch her but me. What if she was carrying my child?
I never fucked raw. It was reckless, personal, and deep. It was a connection that transcended deeper than flesh pounding into flesh. So why her?
I tasted Tatianna’s essence and I have not been right since. We did not fuck we made love. We touched each other’s soul. However, the next time, I will wear a rubber. Maybe I can undo what we have done.
Bianca and her baby deserved to be protected. Too bad, she did not choose a better man to get her pregnant. I looked at Luigi, and he looked conflicted. “Bianca should be moved immediately, and preferably separated from Emmanuel. They can use her to get him killed.”
“I plan to send her away tonight. By the time I tell him, she’ll be out of his reach.”
“Make sure you get someone that you trust who won’t tell him where she is. This isn’t the time to go running off halfcocked and alone.”
Lucas snorted. He turned his back on us and stared down the hallway.
I glared at him, and Luigi narrowed his eyes.
I would be surprised if Emmanuel had the balls to go anywhere alone. He was not a leader. He was led by emotions and his hard head might get severed one day because of it.
“I’m handling it myself. I’m not losing my first grandchild or my son.”
We arrived at Wilke Fish Market. I pulled up a block down the street next to my six cars. My men were ready and waiting on me.
I called Calvin and got voicemail. I wanted to check on Hank. There was not a doubt in my mind, that he would pull through. He had been through much worse and came out alive.
“Fucking Calvin.” I slid my phone in my pocket. Opening my door, I walked to the trunk.
There were several additional cars that pulled up. My men hopped out of them armed and ready to go.
Lucas got out the car and walked to the trunk. “I’m sure Hanks alright. He’s a tough bastard.”
I grabbed a Kevlar vest and strappe
d it on. I watched as Lucas grabbed his CMMG Banshee. He checked the magazine and smiled.
I picked up my blue Tarantis X AR, I called her Blue Lightning, because once she struck you, the light would die in your eyes. Checking the magazine and strapping several additional magazines on me, I turned to my men.
A lone black Yukon pulled up driving way too fast. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere as it came to a stop a few inches from hitting the parked car in front. My men lifted their weapons, but I knew that truck and I knew the maniac who drove it.
“Shit. Is that who I think it is?” asked Lucas.
“Yup.” Smiling I took two steps toward the truck. When Marcario Zarello jumped out the driver’s seat, I sighed. Terenzio Gaccione opened the passenger door and slid out.
Marcario was Hanks best friend. He was a crazy bastard. He probably brought his Martinetti cousins with him. This was not a stealth mission now, and this fish market would soon be bathed in blood.
“Please tell me Cherubino Martinetti and Lazzaro Martinetti aren’t here.”
“You know they are always together.” Turning away, I walked over to my men. They had assembled quickly, and we were ready. I was not expecting too much trouble, but you never know. I wanted the numbers on my side.
“We need to get in and out. I need information, so try to not kill them until we have the information.”
“Got it boss.” My men spoke in unison. Nodding to each of them, I turned to Lucas, who was smiling. Looking behind me, I saw Hank saunter from the back seat of the car. He looked like he usually did, but his movements were stiffer and slower.
“Hank, glad to see you, but I need you to sit this one out.”
“I’m fine.” He walked over to stand near Lucas. He showed his gun, holding his assault rifle. When Lucas did not make a snarky comment, Hank turned to me.
“Fine. I need you to take four men and protect Ginevra.” I breathed deep and relaxed my shoulders.
Hank frowned. “Who is Ginevra?”
“You can’t mean Ginevra Esposito. Wow she has the finest ass in the city,” said Cherubino.
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