by Cala Riley
“Here you go, hun. Anything else? For your girlfriend?” she says the word as if it's distasteful.
“She’s not my girlfriend. Come sit in my lap. I need some distractions tonight.”
She does as he asks without another word. At this point, I feel the tears behind my eyes. Part of them want to fall for the pain he has caused, the depression I’m sure to fall into once I get home. I can’t let it win though. Right now, I’m furious. I’m angry that he toyed with my emotions. He offered me the world then stepped back as if I mean nothing.
I stand as victory flashes in Scarlett’s beady eyes. They won’t stay like that for long. I step forward and rear my hand back. I smack Lo right across the face and end up scratching her in the process. She gasps, but I don’t stop. I grab the fresh glass of whiskey and toss it in his face.
“Fuck you, Lorenzo Esposito. You’re a worthless piece of shit. I hope you get everything you fucking deserve. You are scum. You hear me? Scum. Don’t come to me when someone finally puts a bullet in you, because I won’t save you.”
I turn on my heel and march out of the bar.
The stares don’t escape my notice. Everyone is frozen. Waiting for him to react. Waiting for him to kill me, I’m sure.
I know, Lo though. He won’t hurt me. Not because he cares about me. No. He made that clear. He won’t hurt me because I’m the new family doctor. He won’t hurt me because Sofia would kill him, and Bash would let her.
I push open the door of the bar and find Giovanni and Izzy arguing as our guards lean against their cars. Izzy’s eyes widen at my appearance. I don’t know what I look like, but it must not be good.
“Mia, what happened?”
Giovanni turns and looks at me, and I shoot him a glare.
“Lorenzo is a dead fucking man. You tell that fucker if he ever speaks to me, looks at me—hell, if I ever cross his mind again, I will fucking chop his balls off and feed them to him. Then I will slit his throat as he chokes on his own balls. And you, Giovanni, you better never fucking talk to Izzy again. She doesn’t fucking like you. You’re just as much of a piece of shit as that bastard in there. The same applies for you. When it comes to me and Izzy. We no longer exist to either of you.”
The look of surprise on his face satisfies me. I know he isn’t the reason for my anger, but I cannot help myself. I smile at his surprise.
“Let’s go, Izzy. We’re done here. Let’s go home.”
∞∞∞
Lorenzo
“What a bitch.”
As soon as the waitress speaks, I push her off my lap.
“Go get me a towel and new drink,” I bark out.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” She winks at me.
I growl as she walks away. I don’t even really know her name. I called her Scarlett because it was the first name that jumped into my head. I wasn’t at all surprised when she went with it. This waitress has been on my dick since she started working here.
I look down at the table and clench my fists as I think of the look on Mia’s face. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to hurt her at all. Unfortunately, I did what I had to do. I needed to get her away from me. I always knew I would hurt her, but I didn’t realize how bad I would feel when I did.
“What the fuck did you do, bro?”
Giovanni slides into the seat across from me. I just grunt. I have never been a big talker, so I don’t know why he thinks I will talk now.
“Wow. Okay. Great talk.” He slaps his hand on the table.
“It’s what’s best for her.”
“I’m sure she loved that. You know how much women love you making decisions without consulting them. Dude, she flipped the fuck out. She even yelled at me. Whatever you did, I think it might have broken her.”
“It’s none of your business, Gio. Drop it.”
Just then the waitress comes back. “Here’s a towel and a drink.”
Gio looks from her to me. “I see. Did you get a little wet, Lo?”
The amusement in his eyes irritates me.
“That fucking bitch threw his whiskey at us. She’s lucky I was in his lap.” The waitress places her hands on her hips.
“Or what?” Gio smiles up at her.
“Or I would have kicked her ass. She’s lucky she’s still breathing.”
I react without thinking. One moment I’m sitting in my chair drying my chest off, then next I have the waitress up against the wall. My hand tightens around her throat as I look into her frightened eyes.
“Lo. Lo, stop.” I make out Gio’s voice, but I’m not in a place to process his words.
I press my face into the waitress as she struggles to breathe. “You will never speak of Mia again. You will never think about her. You will never so much as breathe in her presence. You reek of desperation. You’re nothing but a two-bit whore panting after any dick you think will pull you out of this miserable life you lead. Here’s a tip. Not one dick in here will do that for you. They will treat you as the person you really are. Nothing but a piece of pussy. Not even fresh by the looks of it. You will never be even a quarter of what Mia is. Do you understand me?”
She tries to speak but can’t. Her face is turning red, and my inner beast begins to get excited.
“You will leave her alone. Do you understand?”
This time I loosen my hold on her throat. She coughs and sputters before breathing out a yes.
“You content? Can you let her go?” I look over my shoulder and find Gio leaning against the table as he watches.
I take my hand off her throat and turn back to the table, grabbing my drink. “You’re dismissed.”
She stumbles off into the crowd. Most are avoiding looking in our direction. In a normal place, there would have been a crowd and the police called. Not at the Brooklyn Lounge, where the seediest people gather. We all avoid getting involved in anyone else’s business.
I sit back down and take a swig from my drink.
“Feel better now?” Gio asks.
“She threatened Mia. I will protect her at all costs.”
He laughs. “Bro, you’re so far gone that you can’t even see the way back.”
“Do you need some tampons, Gio?”
He gives me a quizzical look.
“My bad. I thought you were on the rag seeing as you somehow think I want to talk about my personal shit.”
He chuckles. “Gone. So far gone, Lo.”
He stands up and heads toward the bar as I finish my drink. I don’t wait for him. I turn and leave. I’m no longer in the mood for company.
∞∞∞
“Please. Don’t hurt me. I will tell you whatever you want to know.”
I can smell the piss on his pants. This kid would have never made a good member of the family. I don’t know why Fillipo even recruited him.
Sure, you do. He’s being shady. Taking what he can, my inner beast growls at me.
He isn’t wrong. Fillipo has been up to something ever since Tommaso went to prison. He fought to be his proxy. When he failed, it seems he sat back and bided his time.
I stare down at this man now. A boy really. He barely seems eighteen. He’s tied to a chair and looking much worse for wear.
“How long have you been working with Fillipo?”
“Six years.”
I quirk my eyebrow. He must be older than I thought. “How old are you?”
He looks relieved by my questions. These must be easy for him. He doesn’t know what’s coming through. “Twenty.”
Fuck. This kid had been recruited when he was only fourteen years old?
“What does he have you doing?”
He looks a little more nervous now. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Sure, you can, bud.” I slap his shoulder like we’re old friends. Inside, I’m boiling.
“He will kill me. I can’t.”
I let out a sinister laugh. “Oh, kid, what do you think I will do if you don’t tell me?”
He starts to shake. “Kill
me then.” He acts brave.
“I’m not going to kill you.” I look at his chest. There are already several marks I have made there. Burns. Cuts. Bruises. I walk over to my table of tools. “What should I use next?” I pick up a scalpel from the first aid kit Dr. Fields gave me.
Mia
Shit. Every time I think I’ve forgotten her, something makes me think of her. This kit reminds me of Dr. Fields, which makes me think of the gorgeous angel working with her. Working to take her place.
I shake my head to rid myself of thoughts of her. Now’s not the time to become distracted. I walk back to Leo. He eyes me warily as he sees the scalpel in my hand.
“Please. I can’t. He threatened my family.”
I let an evil smile fill my face. His family. That’s what motivates him. He has a mother and a younger brother. Let’s see how much he loves them.
“Don’t worry, kid. They will be safe. As long as you answer my questions. Now, did you know men have no real use for their nipples? Not like women. We can’t feed our young with them. I’ve always wondered what one would look like without them.” I walk closer to him and run the back of the scalpel down his shoulder to his nipple. He shudders before struggling to get away.
“Please! I beg you.”
A rancid smell fills the air.
“Did you just shit yourself? Really? Disgusting. You disgust me.”
I press on the middle of his chest as I use the scalpel to slice into his nipple. It doesn’t come off as easily as I hoped. He screams out in pain, tears easily falling from his eyes. Once I finally get the nipple off, I let him go. Blood pours from the wound.
“No worries. I’ll stop the bleeding. Can’t have you bleeding out and dying on me, can we?”
I go to the knife I used earlier. I turn on the blow torch before heating the blade in the flame. I turn it off then head over to him.
“This will only hurt a little bit.”
As I press the hot knife to the wound, he screams and begs for mercy. The amount of joy I feel from his pain should worry me, but this is what I live for. Ever since I was a child, I was bred for this.
Leo makes a gagging sound, and I jump back right before he throws up all over the floor. Once he empties his stomach, he continues to dry heave.
“It’s okay, Leo. You can end all of this pain. Tell me what I want to know.”
“Can’t. Family,” he pants out.
“I wonder if your brother would cry as much as you. He’s what? Fifteen now? Is he in the business too? Do you think he would squeal like a pig if I cut his nipple off? We could always find out.”
He was already pale, but his face turns even more ashen at my words.
“In the beginning, I was an errand boy. Lately, he has been having me follow these women. I don’t know who they are; I just know they are important. One, I can’t get close to. The other two are easy though. Not as heavily guarded.”
My eyes burn with rage. He’s talking about Sofia, Isabella, and my Mia.
“Why does he want you following them?”
“I honestly don’t know. He didn’t tell me. I just have to report back all their movements. I’m not the only one. There are five others all tasked with the same thing. We trade off. Take turns. This way we can remain unseen.”
Not anymore.
I think to myself. We will need to double, no triple, the protection on the girls.
“Where is Fillipo hiding?”
“Hiding? What do you mean?”
The boy is barely awake at this point, his body limp. I grab his head and slap his face.
“Stay with me, Leo. Where does he live?”
“Queens. Out on Douglas Road. Big house with some property. On Little Neck Bay.”
“Anything else useful you know?”
He starts nodding off.
“Hey! Is there anything else I should know?”
“He sent his wife off. He’s preparing for war. That’s all I know.”
“Good job, kid.” I tap his shoulder. If I was a better person, I would feel bad for what I have to do. Instead, I take joy in it.
“Before you kill me,” he coughs out. “Can you protect my family? They know nothing. They have nothing to do with this.”
I chuckle. “If you’re right, they will be protected. We don’t harm innocents. Especially women and children. Sorry it has to be this way.”
“Sure you are. Can you just do it quick?”
The kid has resigned himself to his fate. I respect him for it. No need in begging for your life when you’re already dead.
I step behind him and slit his throat using the knife still in my hand. He gurgles and tries to call out but can’t. Within minutes, I watch the light leave his eyes.
Another life taken. Another sin to bear.
I pick up my phone and dial Bash. “We need to double the protection on the girls. I will explain it all when I get there. I also need cleanup at the Manhattan warehouse.” I hang up without waiting for a response. It’s time I find this motherfucker and put an end to all of this.
Chapter Nine
Mia
“What’s going on?”
I haven’t seen anyone from the organization in a week aside from the guards assigned to us. I preferred it this way. I even stopped talking to Angelo. No need to keep up pretenses. Once they settled all this with Fillipo, he will likely be gone.
I almost regret taking this position with the family, but I would be lying to myself if I did. These past two weeks with Dr. Fields has been amazing. She’s been taking on a lot of questionable clients in order to teach me everything she can.
So far, I have treated a stabbing, a gunshot wound, a fork to the eardrum, and even a severed finger. They didn’t all make it, but they were valuable teaching experiences. Dr. Fields even thinks I will be ready to fly solo soon.
It makes me nervous, but not as nervous as what I’m seeing in front of me now.
“Sorry, miss. We were ordered to come get you.”
“Who are you? I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Each man slides up their jacket sleeves and shows me a tattoo. I have seen it before, but never up close. They show me like it’s supposed to mean something. It doesn’t mean anything to me.
“Yeah, that tells me nothing.”
The taller man sighs and dials his phone. He holds it out to me. I huff as I pick it up and speak into it.
“What.” I don’t ask it as a question. It’s a demand.
“Go with the men, Mia.”
My heart stops. I never wanted to hear his voice again. It’s the voice that both haunts my dreams and causes my worst nightmares.
“Fuck you, Lorenzo. I will not go anywhere with them. Don’t call me again.”
I hang up and literally throw the phone at the man. It hits him in the chest with a thunk and falls to the floor. At this point, we have gathered an audience. Dr. Fields walks out of her office and pauses before she comes up to me.
“Is everything all right, Mia?”
“Yep. These men were just leaving.” I give them a pointed look, and they stand and stare back at me.
“Mia, there is a call for you on line one.” The nurse who spoke is standing in the hall holding out a phone.
“Tell Lorenzo the answer is still no.”
She looks slightly frightened, as does everyone around me. They all know who these men are. They all know they are dangerous.
“It’s not Lorenzo. She says her name is Sofia.”
I sigh then. As I go to walk away, Dr. Fields grabs my arm. “Maybe you should go with them.”
I shrug her off. “Thanks for the advice, but I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what the fuck is going on.”
Her eyes look frightened, but she nods as she watches the men warily.
I go and take the phone from the nurse, and she scurries off in the opposite direction from where I came.
“Sof, what’s going on?”
“Mia Pia, thank God. We need you her
e at the house. Go with the men there for you. Please. Trust me.”
“You owe me a huge explanation. Oh, and if Lorenzo’s there, you better keep him far away from me. He’s dead to me.”
She sighs. “Hurry up, Mia.”
The panic sets in as she hangs up the phone. Is someone hurt? Is it Lo?
I scold myself for caring. I should hope he’s hurt. I should hope he’s dead. If I were a stronger woman, I would have killed him myself. Instead, I stand here worried about him. Hoping he’s okay. Praying it’s anyone else who needs me. He sounded okay on the phone, right?
I can’t even remember. I was so upset at him, I never took the time to think that he could be hurt.
I rush to the staff room and grab my things from the office. Then I hurry back to the men and walk right past them. When I get outside, Angelo is sitting in his car across the street.
Why didn’t they ask him to come get me?
I don’t question it. Sofia said to get in the car with these men, that’s what I’ll do. Once in the car, I turn and watch Angelo follow behind us. I let out a breath. At least I know him. These other two are new, and I have never met them until now.
As they drive, my mind gets the best of me. I start thinking of different scenarios. Maybe these men are here to kidnap me. Why else would I go with them and not Angelo? Or maybe he’s the traitor. Is Sofia kidnapped too? Did they make her tell me to get into the car with them? If so, then how is Lo connected? Did he turn on Bash?
My mind runs rampant all the way to Bash’s. Even pulling up out front, I still feel anxious. It isn’t until I’m through the front door and see Sofia standing there that I finally take a breath. I run to her and hug her.
“You’re okay. Thank God,” I whisper to her.
“Of course, I am! Did you think I was hurt?”
“I didn’t know what to think. You order me to get into a car with two strange men who think showing me their matching tattoos means I should trust them. Then Angelo is out front, and I start to worry about why you didn’t have me go with him. My mind has gone over several different ways this could have gone.”
She chuckles. “Oh, Mia, I said trust me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
