Taken by Vincenzo

by Katrina S Karter

  Salvatore rubbed his beard. “I was looking forward to you begging for your life. You think to deny me that, but I won’t let you.”

  He pointed the gun at my head. “We brought her, but my price has doubled. My brother Leon is dead because she resisted.”

  I turned my back on him. In my opinion, I did the world a favor.

  Salvatore nodded. “It has.” He lifted his gun and shot the men standing where they were. He snapped his fingers and his men picked up their dead bodies and moved them out of the way.

  Salvatore’s men grabbed me and brought me over to a chair in the middle of the room. It was like the electric chair they had made and killed Larry in, but there was no water. I struggled, but they strapped me in the chair with ease. The leather binds were strapped over my chest, hands, and feet.

  I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Gritting my teeth, I heard the men taking bets like they had when Larry was murdered.

  Why should I give them what they want?

  Slap. Salvatore backhanded me. My eyes flew open to stare hatred into his. I felt the blood from my lip trickle down my face. He bent down and caught my blood on his tongue.

  Squirming, I tried to get away from him. He repulsed me. I stared at Sergi sitting at the table leisurely drinking wine. Tears gathered in my eyes, and I hated him. Hell, I hated myself for showing them what they had done to me.

  Sergi broke me. He had ripped my heart out with a spoon. My tears were like acid as they ran down my cheeks stinging my skin in their wake. I coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and spat it on Salvatore’s shoe.

  “Do your worst, you low life bastard.” I closed my eyes and braced myself for his hand or the bullet that was coming next.

  “Oh, how I want to break you. I have never met a woman who had the guts to stand up to me.”

  Salvatore spoke. His voice was husky and velvety. Glancing at him, I noticed his lips were parted and his hand was in his pants. He was pleasuring himself to my hatred and tears.

  My shoulders slumped and I looked at the floor. I looked at the gun on Salvatore’s waist nestled in the holster. Wiggling my hands, I tried to get loose, but the knots were too tight.

  I can’t win. It doesn’t matter what I do, or how strong I am. In the end, they are determined to get pleasure at my expense.

  “My sister was always stupid. I’m surprised she managed to live this long.” Sergi grabbed the wine bottle and poured himself another glass.

  Sergi never takes responsibility, but that is ok. I want Salvatore and these men to know just who he really is. My neck and face felt hot.

  “Mom and Dad always thought you were going to be something. I am glad they are dead and cannot see what you are. Dad swore that you would continue his legacy but all you did was shame his name. Dad was honored, respected, and loved. In your twenty-something years on this planet, you tore his legacy down to nothing. You may take my life, but I will be with Mom and Dad. You are going to hell and dwell in the eternal flames forever.

  My jaw ached from clenching and grinding my teeth.

  Sergi shot to his feet and pulled his gun. He aimed it at my head and smiled. Closing my eyes, I waited for the pain and death coming.

  Pow. Pain shot through my right shoulder. I fell back against the chair with force, that my neck muscles cracked.

  “You aren’t afraid to die. Let me see if I can change your mind.” Sergi tossed the gun on the table. He prowled over to me and ushered Salvador aside.

  Sergi reached into his pocket. “Do you know what this is? It’s a poison the Russians called Dark Night.” It is a poison that only has a few antidotes available in the world. He jabbed the syringe in my neck.

  Salvatore took two steps back. “Damn, that is some cold-hearted shit. A bullet to the face would’ve been better.”

  Sergi yanked the needle out and tossed it on the ground. “She didn’t deserve better, so she got what she deserved.”

  My head fell back against the seat. A sense of muscle fatigue swam over me. I narrowed my eyes at Sergi.

  “You won’t be so brave when your orders are liquified into nothing and you go into multiple organ failure and die.”

  My heart started slowing and my vision blurred. The sound of Sergi’s laughter made my temper soar. I jerked hard against my bonds and the chair toppled to the floor.

  “I will always be brave, and you will always be a coward.”

  Sergi punched me in the face. I saw stars before I slipped into unconsciousness.

  When I opened my eyes, every muscle in my body ached. My body temperature was sky-high. The clothes on me were soaked and clung to me. I was still in the basement but Sergi and Salvatore were not down here anymore. My teeth clenched as I thought about them leaving me here to die.

  Boom. The house shook and the ceiling split open right above me. I rocked in my chair until it fell backwards. The ceiling caved in as I pushed the chair, with my feet, out of the way.

  The door upstairs flew open. I heard several pairs of shoes pounding the stairs. Sergi was the first person I saw. Salvatore’s men had followed him down here. He lifted me up and stayed the chair upright. There was screaming and shouting above. Bullets were flying up there.

  Sergi bent down, his lips brushing against my ear. “Do you think that you can escape your destiny? Say hello to Mom and die.”

  Four men armed with assault rifles and machine guns opened fire. One man jumped down the hole. Sergi rolled back behind a cargo box in the middle of the floor. The man kicked me from underneath the hole in the ceiling and fired on Sergi and his men. Another man jumped down into the hole and rolled away firing at the guards.

  His men covered him as he came toward me. I rocked in my chair and the chair tipped backwards. He pulled the black mask from his face, and I saw him through the gun smoke. It was Vincenzo.

  Looking past him, I saw all of Salvatore’s men dropping like flies. Vincenzo dropped his gun and reached for his blade. He was cutting the ropes off my feet when he jerked me up.

  I did not see Sergi anymore, but there were additional men that rushed into the room. He had freed my right hand when I picked up his gun and fired on the men at the foot of the steps. I pushed Vincenzo down and rolled near a chair. The dead guy’s gun was near my foot and I reached for it and slid it to Vincenzo.

  I fired at the man rushing toward me. The bullet hit him between his legs, and he dropped to his knees. I shot him in the face.

  Vincenzo ran toward me and yelled to his men. “Get her out of here.” He grabbed my arm and flung me into the arms of one of the black-masked men. They attached a black cable to me and him, and he pulled us up to the second floor. I looked down and saw a dozen men converging on Vincenzo.

  I tried to unhook the cable from around my waist, but the man snatched my hands away. He pulled us up and fired on the man in front of us. He unstrapped himself and pulled me up. Looking behind him, I saw a man with his gun aimed at my rescuer’s back. Grabbing the guys gun, I shot at the man. I was not quick enough and the man pulling me leaned to the right to dodge the bullet and lost his grip on the rope. I fell backwards. My fall was partially broken by a dead body. I rolled off the body and was yanked to my feet by my hair.

  Sergi placed the gun to my temple. “Why are you so determined to live? The poison isn’t curable you’re a dead woman walking. So, do me one last favor and tell your boyfriend to drop his weapon.”

  I bared my teeth at him, but he pressed the gun deeper into my skull. Sergi looked past me. I knew I did not want to see what he was looking at, but I couldn’t help myself. I turned around and my heart skipped a beat.

  Vincenzo had his gun in Salvatore’s mouth. He barely looked at me.

  “Tell him, sister. Tell him that I will kill you in front of him. If you love him spare him that heartache. If he drops his weapon and lets Salvatore go, I will not kill you in front of him.”

  “Sergi gave me a Russian poison called Dark Night, I’m dying. Kill him and get the hell out of here.”
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br />   “He did give it to her.” I did not want her dead, not yet, and not like that. If you let me go, I will get the antidote,” said Salvatore.

  I shook my head. “He’s lying. He does not have the antidote. Kill him.”

  “Wow, Mom would be so proud. You fell in love with Vincenzo Mancini, and you talked about how they would be disappointed in me. Priceless. You always thought there were different rules for you and me.” He placed his finger on the trigger and started slowly pressing it.

  “Wait. I have a list of every government operative in the world; I will trade you. Release Tatiana and I will give Salvatore the list.”

  “No. Kill him.” I balled my fist at my side. I tried to search his eyes and show him this was a mistake. This was the end.

  “Shut up,” said Sergi and Salvatore at the same time. Sergi hit me in the head with the gun.

  I fell to my knees as pain exploded in my head. My body trembled as my fever escalated. Buckets of sweat pebbles were on my skin and everything that ached turned to sharp pains. I moaned and curled up in a ball.

  “Fine. Get up, Tatiana. You can at least say he loved you. Some women live fifty years and never find love, so count yourself lucky.

  20

  Vincenzo

  I watched as Sergi picked Tatiana up by her hair and flung her toward me. All the while he had his gun trained on her. This was a solution with no happy ending. Tatiana fell to her knees in the middle of the floor and almost gave up. She looked at me, and I willed her with my mind to stand up and walk to me.

  Sergi was a cold-hearted bastard. He had poisoned her. While I bargained for her life, I was watching death stake its claim on her slowly and thoroughly. It was only a matter of time before her heart would stop. I should know, I had the pleasure of being injected with the vile stuff.

  Tatiana fell to her knees in front of Salvatore. Her head in his lap. For a moment, the sight of pleasure on his face quickly disappears, but not before I was able to see it. Jerking her up to her feet, I felt the heat radiating underneath her skin. She does not have long before the poison sends her body into diabetic ketosis acidosis (DKA), and her organs shut down from her blood becoming acidic.

  “I’m reaching in my pocket and handing him the list.” I pushed Tatiana behind me and reached in my pocket for the dummy list. I handed it to Salvatore.

  Salvatore snatched the list. He perused it. “I recognize a few names on here. It’s legit.” He held it up and walked back to Sergi.

  Sergi never took his eyes off Tatiana. She was peeking from behind my back. I shifted from side to side, trying to shield her with my body.

  Salvatore turned to me. “It’s a shame you met her first. If she had met me, she would still be alive, and not dying the worst death humanly possible.” He laughed.

  “Die.” Tatiana stepped from behind me and fired two shots. One missed and the other caught Salvatore in the shoulder. Sergi lifted his gun and fired several shots. I jumped in front of her, and she pushed me away. Pain shot through my body as a bullet caught me in the shoulder and rib.

  I rolled firing everything I had at Sergi and Salvatore. Sergi took three bullets to the chest and one in the shoulder. He jumped up and ran up the stairs. Salvatore took off up the stairs behind Sergi.

  Touching my earpiece. “We’re hit. I need someone down here Tat is hit and poisoned.” I crawled over to her. Her shirt was soaked with blood. Lifting it up, I saw where she had been shot twice but not in the heart. Her breathing was rapid.

  “Why? Why didn’t you kill them?” Tears were traveling down her face and her hands were balled up at her side.

  “I’m dying. Go, please. Go.” She stopped talking and closed her eyes.

  My fingers trembled as they traveled down her cheek. “You aren’t dying. I refuse to allow the angels to take my prize.”

  Six men rushed down the steps. I stood to my feet. They surrounded her and picked her up and carried her out the basement. Five of the men disappeared with Tatianna.

  I stared into his eyes. The person that stood the most to lose was right by my side. Victor and I were closer than blood. He had a child on the way, and I intended to keep him alive to know his son.

  “Take her to the hospital.” I picked up two guns checked the ammo and wrapped the black cord around my waist.

  “You’re not going without me.”

  “Yes, I am.” I swung the butt of my gun against his head, and he dropped. I placed my hand on my earpiece. Come get Black Hawk. Now!”

  Two men came down and picked him up. I watched as they carried him away.

  There was already too much blood on my hands. I refused to have his on there too.

  Victor was a genius. He had a means to track the dummy list because he suspected the corruption in the government went higher than Larry and Greg. Jumping into my Humvee, I raced toward the Catania Fontanarossa Airport. I swerved into the other lane almost losing control of my truck. My head pounded and my body had become numb. The cold stickiness of my own blood served as a reminder that I was losing a lot of blood.

  Lucas and Hank had hidden in my truck, knowing that I was determined to kill Sergi and Salvatore. They revealed themselves. “He won’t get away but you’re losing a lot of blood. Why don’t you let Hank and I handle this?”

  “I haven’t forgiven you for disobeying orders, and I still might shoot both of you.” I hung a right and parked the truck behind the construction trailer parked on the side. Securing my Kevlar vest, I grabbed three guns and put them in the holster. Carrying my assault rifle, I ran toward the jet that was idling on the runway.

  Salvatore ran up the steps and sat down. Sergi was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t see Hank, but I knew that he was in position.

  I touched my earpiece. “I don’t see Sergi. Do you have eyes on him?”

  “No boss, but if you want to blow up the plane, you need to do it now,” said Hank.

  Lucas held up two C 4 plastic explosives. “Cover me.” He ran down to the jet and placed the two explosives. When he smiled and stood by me, I nodded and ran toward the airport.

  Sergi was not getting away. He spilled Tatiana’s blood and the price for that was death.

  I still did not know who killed Antonio, but I would find out. It might be time to move like the snakes do. My enemies are evolving, so maybe it is time for me to evolve with them. Creeping into the door, I saw that the airport control room was open.

  Frowning, I crept inside. The entire night crew was dead. Touching their bodies, they were still warm. There was not a need to kill these people unless you don’t want witnesses. Sergi was going to kill Salvatore. Salvatore had played right into his hands, and he was going to pay with his life.

  Walking down the hall, I felt someone coming up behind me and turned. It was Lucas. For the second time tonight, I had almost shot him. He is pushing his damn luck. He took the right side of the hall and I took the left. We rounded the corner and saw Sergi meeting with a man with a hood over his face. He was Japanese. The Japanese turned and fired at us.

  I fired at Sergi, but not before the bullet hit me in the arm.

  “Fucking die already,” yelled Sergi. He fired more shots and burst through the side door.

  “You go after the other guy. I got Sergi.” Lucas did not respond. Turning around, he was on the ground in a puddle of blood. The bullet had hit him in the chest. He had taken off his vest when he placed the plastic explosives.

  Ripping my sleeve off I wrapped it around Lucas’s neck. “Hank, I need you. Come in here now.”

  “I see Sergi. I have a clear shot. Do you want me to take it?” asked Hank.

  “No, Lucas is hit. Get your ass here now.”

  Hank arrived and we carried Lucas toward the car. The plane had left the runway and was in the sky. Its motor soaring loud against the quiet night sky. Gritting my teeth, I moved as fast as I could ignoring the blood pouring from my wounds.

  Something along the wall moved. I reached for my gun. Pop. Pain exploded in my
chest and I collapsed against the pain. I heard gunfire erupt and saw Hank kill the Asian man. Lucas was still unconscious, and I was fading fast. Hank could not get both of us out alive and protect himself.

  Hank bent down to pick me up. “Leave me. You cannot carry us both. Save Lucas, kill Sergi and take care of Tatiana.”

  “No.”

  My eyes closed. My chest was tight, and darkness came too quick.

  My eyes fluttered open. It was almost impossible to focus. I felt like my mind had been tossed in a high-speed blender. My thoughts were scrambled, incoherent and fragmented. We were on another plane. I glanced at Hank, who sat near Lucas, holding his hand pressed to his wound. Hank would do everything that I tell him if I lived through this. I was going to have words with him.

  The stubborn bastard disobeyed a direct order.

  Being shot hurt like a bitch. It is not the first time that I have been shot and probably won’t be the last. It is the first time, my ass willingly jumped in front of a bullet meant for someone else.

  Hank patted my shoulder. “Hold on, we’re landing soon, and Dan will fly us on in. Tatianna is already on the plane.”

  I closed my eyes. My mind replaying the night’s events over and over.

  When Sergi pointed the gun at Tatianna, I just reacted. I did not even think. The alternative was unacceptable to me. This girl is underneath my skin. I have always been a fuck them and leave them kind of guy, but with her everything is different.

  My arms tighten around her slender frame. Her shirt is still ripped from me making a makeshift bandage over her bullet wounds. She is still unconscious, and a part of me was elated. The pain I saw in her eyes when the bullet tore through her shoulder was like an ice pick to the heart.

  I sat straight up into a sitting position ignoring the pain and blood that gushed from the bullet wounds. My body was covered in sweat.