“You know the warehouse in the shipping district where we had our first kill together?” Dante asked.
“Yeah,” I responded.
“I need you come immediately. I came down here to deal with some insurgents, and it’s going south, I need backup,” he said.
“I’m on my way,” I replied and the line went dead a second after.
“What’s wrong?” Sadie asked, wide-eyed.
“Nothing, he just needs some assistance.” I looked at Sadie and saw how truly worried she was and realized that it wasn’t just the boss who’d fallen. “Don’t worry,” I told her, kissing her gently. “We’ll both be back soon.”
Sadie nodded, and I didn’t wait another moment. I hopped out of bed, got dressed, and quickly made my way through the streets of Chicago to the place in question. I saw Dante’s car there and swore at him for daring to come alone. I couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t just bring me with him. As I was trying to figure it out, I heard the piercing sound of a gunshot fill the sky and went running into the warehouse. I got inside, and the place was a massacre. There were several dead bodies scattered about, and Dante was covered in their blood. On his knees in front of Dante, was the last living person, with Dante’s gun shoved down his throat.
“What the fuck?” I hissed.
Dante looked at me plain-faced. “I told you things were going south.”
“Why’d you keep him?” I asked.
“I had questions, but he isn’t interested in answering them, so I’m just going to dust--” Before Dante could finish his sentence, a shot rocketed out from behind a pile of oil barrels against the far wall. Another guy that Dante hadn’t seen was hidden behind.
Dante fired his gun on instinct, taking out the guy in front of him, while I pulled Dante back and out of harm’s way. I rushed into the warehouse and jumped behind the oil barrels, kicked the guy behind in the face, so he collapsed to the ground and his gun flew from his hand. I picked it up, pointed it down at him, and shot him square between the eyes. For the next few minutes, I did a thorough sweep of the warehouse and when I was confident there were no remaining insurgents, I made my way back to where I’d left Dante. Rage filled my body as I reached the spot. There was a trail of blood leading to where his car was parked, but it was gone.
“That fucking idiot,” I growled. He was off driving with a bullet in his arm. Great. I pulled out my phone and dialed Kane’s number.
“What’s wrong?” Kane answered, knowing I would only call at such an hour with an emergency.
“I’m going to text you an address. Dante made a mess that needs cleaning up,” I explained. “He drove off and I think he’s hurt. I have to go find him.”
“He’s probably going to Sadie. Go, I’ll take care of it,” Kane said.
I hung up without another word and left to go find the one-armed mobster.
Sadie
My body was still tingling all over from the night (and morning) I’d had. It seemed slightly unfair that five men found each other who all share a desire to share women and were atomic bombs in bed. I chuckled thinking about Dante calling me a sex monster. I really was. I wondered what the limits were of their sexual prowess, or if they even had them. I wanted to experience the full gamut of what they each had in their arsenals. I wanted to be that sex monster.
I’d made my way into the kitchen and was nursing a cup of coffee, wondering when Dante and Brix would be back. I didn’t like that I had no way to contact them. Even though I had my phone, I still didn’t have anyone’s numbers. I just had to sit and wait for whenever they decided to roll back in. It was annoying. I suppose I could forgive them, but I may have to demand something in return…
Before I could get too lost in my lewd thoughts, the front door flew open and Dante came storming in. He was covered in blood, and one spot on his arm in particular was thick and dark. Fear rocked my body and I lost grip on the mug in my hand, as it dropped to the ground, shattering and spilling the contents all over.
“What? What happened?” I screeched. I reached out and pulled his jacket off of his torso, causing him to wince in pain. When it was off, I could plainly see through the white button up underneath; there was a huge, dark red spot around his right bicep. “Oh my god, you were shot. Oh my god. We have to get you to a hosp--” I didn’t get the rest of phrase out before Dante wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me into a deep, passionate kiss. It was filled with fear and relief and love. I didn’t know what to make of it. He pulled away and I guided him down into a chair. “Dante, we have to get you to a hospital.”
“They always investigate shit like this. I can take care of it myself. I need painkiller from the bathroom, a knife, a bottle of brandy from my bar, and some bandages and antibacterial cream. They’re in all the bathrooms,” he said.
I knew where it was going, and I didn’t like it, but he was right, he couldn’t rightfully walk into a hospital like he was. I rushed around the house collecting the items he asked me for and brought them back to him. I helped unbutton his shirt and then he got to work. He took four of the painkillers, and then opened the bottle of brandy and dumped half the bottle over his wound. He grunted in pain, but stifled what I was sure was going to be a full scream. He grabbed a towel from the table, and put it in his mouth and bit down on it as he dug the tip of the knife into the wound on his arm. I yelped with secondhand pain, and watched as he fished the bullet out, his eyes watering as he did so.
When the small, metal casing clattered to the floor, he spit out the towel and motioned his head towards the cream and bandages. I grabbed the cream and rubbed a large glob of it over the wound, and then wrapped the bandages around until the blood was no longer bleeding through. I was shaking in the wake of the moment, but Dante grabbed me and dragged me down to sit on his lap.
He laid his head against my chest. “I’ll be fine. Few days of rest, and I’m back at it.”
I didn’t like the sound of that much better, but I didn’t respond. I helped him get upstairs, changed into a pair of his favorite black, silk pajamas and put him to bed. I rubbed his head until he fell asleep, giving Brix a thumbs up when he suddenly appeared in the bedroom. He scribbled his phone number on a piece of paper and set it on the table near the door and then left. It wasn’t quite the way I wanted to solve that problem, but it would do.
In the days following, I fawned over Dante as much as I could. I didn’t want him moving an inch. If there was anything I could do for him, I did it, even over Brix, Kane, Apollo, and Asher who all stayed pretty accessible after the incident as well. I was trying to convince him to stay in bed and rest instead of getting up to do some work when he flipped out.
“I’m not a child,” he barked.
“I know that,” I replied, annoyed. “You were shot. You need rest.”
“I’m fine,” he growled. He looked over at Kane. “Please, take her out.”
“You can’t kidnap me and then just fucking get rid of me because you’re annoyed. I’m going to take care of you and you’re gonna just have to deal with it,” I snapped back, earning me looks of shock and minor amusement. People didn’t typically talk to him like that.
His expression softened and he wrapped his arm around my waist. “I know you’re just concerned, I’m sorry.” A light gasp filled the room. I kissed him and he used his good hand to rub my cheek. “I just need a little bit of space. I promise, just some light computer work, then I’m back in bed.” I glared at him and he smiled. “Trust me. There’s plenty for you to enjoy here in Chicago. I hate that I haven’t been able to take you to do any of it. Go, let the guys show you a good time, and I swear I won’t overdo it.”
I relented, not wanting to frustrate him any more than I knew he already was. I kissed him and then turned to face the guys who were all staring at me like Jesus Christ returned to earth.
“So?” I asked. “Where are we going?”
Each of the guys decided to take me on their own ‘dates’ of sorts. Apollo decided to take m
e to an opera in downtown Chicago where we talked about how our moms both loved musical theater and annoying the hell out of us. He told me that he felt bad that my parents were so worried when Dante first took me, but I assured him things were okay now. He promised to stay in Dante’s ear about pulling back on the ‘captor/captive’ dynamic, and start getting into more of the ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’ place, which I appreciated. He was happy to hear some movement had been made in that department already. I thanked him for his support with a gentle kiss. Apollo wasn’t as brash as his cohorts, his sweet side was much more prominent than his salty one.
Asher brought me to a really upscale club where we actually caught a glimpse of some huge celebrities and socialites. I was shocked to learn that a few of them actually recognized me from some of my walks and one of them told me they were planning to contact my agency about booking me when they started their new line next year. It was the first time I’d thought about work since I first came into Dante’s world, and Asher was able to sense that I missed it. While we were dancing, he encouraged me to look into returning to work, assuring me that, as long as I had no plans to leave Dante, he wouldn’t have a problem with it. The idea made me happy, and as we moved together on the dancefloor, we found ourselves lip-locked.
Kane and I bonded over our shared love of coffee. After doing some light shopping, he brought me to a gorgeous shop located at the top of a Chicago skyrise where we could look out at the sunset over the city. It was stunning, almost as much as Kane himself. We didn’t just have coffee in common, but we were both mixed-race, and we found ourselves comparing notes. My dad was white and my mom was black, and his parents were the opposite. There were many similarities between our parents, and it was fun reminiscing about growing up with him. We exchanged more than one flirty peck as we chatted, Kane was just a kissable kind of guy.
Lastly, Brix took me to an amusement park, which was odd, because from what I’d learned about him, he didn’t like junk food, crowds, or thrill rides. As we walked around, we talked about our close relationships with our sisters. Brix had broken his back doing everything he could to make sure she had a great life, and it reminded me of Jada. He told me that Dante always wanted siblings, but was an only child. It made so much sense to hear it in that context and why he was so family-oriented. We concluded the night on the largest roller coaster in the park, which made Brix very queasy. I laughed at him as he bent over a garbage can, laughing himself, in between gags. In the end, he admitted he only brought me because he thought I would enjoy it, and I kissed him on the cheek for the sweet gesture.
I had so much fun spending the week with the guys and letting Dante recover. I learned more about them and realized that I fit more into their little family than I originally realized. I was glad that Dante pushed me to go out with them, almost as glad as I was to snuggle up in bed with him at the end of it all, and drift off to sleep with him sweetly caressing my back.
“Thank you,” Dante’s voice whispered into my ear as I was on my way out.
I kissed his pec beneath my face. “For what?”
“For teaching me that sometimes it’s okay to let people take care of me,” Dante replied.
“I’ll do it for as long as you let me,” I said.
Dante’s hand gently squeezed my hip, and he didn’t need to give me any response. His emotions flowed from his fingertips into my skin. He may not have been ready to admit that he was thinking about the future, but I could feel in his touch that he was, and seeing as I had only just started to come to terms with thinking about it myself, that was plenty for me for now.
Apollo
I was starting to get annoyed as hell. It felt like everywhere I went, people were giving me odd looks and whispering the second my back was turned. I walked into our Chicago offices and all of the employees were treating me the same way. If I looked at any of them, they would quickly avert their gazes, leaving me confused and steaming.
“Sir?” I looked over my shoulder and my P.A. was standing there with a look of fear and concern on her face. “Have you looked at the tribune today?”
I scoffed. “No? Why?”
She was shifting her eyes everywhere but right at me. “Maybe you should just look.” She scuttled away before I could probe her for more info.
I pulled out my phone and navigated to the website and my stomach flipped over. The headlining article was titled ‘Marcello’s Whore’ and had pictures of Sadie with Brix, Kane, myself and brother, and even Dante, locked in passionate kisses with Sadie. I dropped my head in defeat. We’d been so dumb. We all took her out and all kissed her and didn’t keep eyes out for paparazzi at all?
“Fuck,” I hissed.
I made my way back out of the building, grabbing someone’s copy of the newspaper as I went and rushed to Dante’s. I was hoping to make it before Sadie saw anything, but when I entered, I could see Dante sitting in his family room with her sitting on the couch sobbing next to him. I was too late. She had her phone in her hand and was scrolling through Twitter.
“It’s been relentless,” Dante said sadly.
“I’m a slut, I’m a whore,” she looked up at me, her eyes puffy and red, “I make prostitution look good!”
“I’m so sorry, Sadie,” I murmured. I sat down on the other side of her and rubbed her back, but no amount of comforting I nor Dante seemed to do was helping. Her phone rang and ‘Mom’ popped up on the screen and Sadie’s breathing hastened. “Oh my god.”
“Breathe,” Dante said.
Sadie kept trying to catch her breath, but it wasn’t coming easy. I pulled her phone from her hand, set it aside, and then knelt on the floor in front of her. I put my hands on either side of her face and massaged her temple.
She looked at me teary-eyed. “I can’t talk to her.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to right now. It’s okay.”
“She’s probably freaking out,” she replied.
“So let her freak out a little. It’ll be okay. You can talk to her a little later when things calm down,” I assured. It was breaking my heart to see her in such a state. I knew I wasn’t alone in having started to develop feelings for her, and I never wanted her to be hurt.
She stood up suddenly, nearly knocking me over, but I regained my balance.
“Where are you going?” Dante asked.
“To my room. I just need some time alone,” she responded.
She walked away and both Dante and I stood staring after her, the defeat washing over us as we knew we’d put her in that horrible situation. We didn’t even say anything to each other as we started individually calling anyone we knew with some pull to start working on getting the story shut down. Most of them told us what we already knew, the scandal would just have to run its course. Feeling like we’d lost a very important battle, we quietly prepared dinner, waited for Asher, Kane, and Brix to arrive and then coaxed Sadie out of her room to come eat.
The meal was intense and silent, all up until Sadie’s phone rang. She didn’t spare a moment before answering it. “Hello?” Her tone was formal, not like how she’d talk to her mother or sister. “Yes, I understand. Thank you for the opportunity. I apologize for any problems I caused.”
She hung up her phone and set it down on the table. We watched as tears filled her eyes. She stared down at her plate in silence and the tension in the air was palpable.
Dante finally reached over and put a hand on top of hers. “Sadie?”
She looked up, her normally bright, brown eyes were dull and glistening with moisture. “I… I was just fired.”
It was another tough pill for the table to swallow.
“What?” Brix asked. “Just because of something they saw in the news? Can they do that?”
Sadie nodded. Her neck tensed and it was evident she was holding back her emotions. “They can do what they want. All my contract says is that they can’t fire me
“One call and you’ll be back,” Dante said. “When I’m through with them--”
/> “No,” Sadie cut him off. “I don’t want work that way. I’ll figure something out.” We resumed eating, but Sadie didn’t touch much else. Eventually, she stood up from the table, looking down at Dante. “Can we go to bed?”
Dante nodded. “Of course.”
Once they were gone from the room, the rest of us quietly cleaned up the meal and even listened in a bit as Sadie moaned gently; Dante was trying his best to comfort her any way he could. None of us left Dante’s that night. We had a silent pact between us to stay and comfort Sadie as much as she needed, and the next day, it was definitely needed. The news had gone national and was being played on every channel and website that showed current events. All of her personal business about her life, career, and family, was splashed on every screen, and journalists were spouting baseless theories about Dante pimping his girlfriend out to his friends, or her being a secret dominatrix.
She battled with everything from fleeing the country, to going home and facing her family, but she was self-conscious and afraid and in the end she couldn’t even bring herself to leave her room.
Sadie
I listened to the trilling of the phone, excited to talk to someone who may actually be able to help me deal with the situation I’d found myself in. When the other line clicked live, I felt a surge of excitement.
“Well if it isn’t the television star?” My friend, Jordan, answered the phone, her husky voice was so oddly comforting to me. “Tell me, what’s it like having an absolute smorgasbord at your disposal?”
I sighed. “It’s so much more than that, J. I mean this is serious. My name is everywhere. My parents think I’m a mobster’s whore.”
“....uh, are you?” Jordan asked.
“What? No!” I yelped, I expected her of all people to understand. “It’s not like I’m just fucking these guys. I have real feelings for all of them, and the more time I spend with them, the deeper they get.”
Five Mafia Captors’ Virgin: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 9
