Her Mafia Boss: A Dark Romance (Romano Mafia Brothers Book 2)

by Bianca Cole

  Bruce continues up the stairs, forcing me ahead of him. The temptation to try to pull him down them with me is strong, but he’s holding the chains too tightly for me to make any sudden moves.

  The cold metal cutting into the already deep, infected wounds. He yanks me to a stop with them, making me yelp in pain. “Open the door,” he says.

  I reach for it and open the door, revealing a bathroom. Bruce forces me inside and then shuts the door, locking it. He steps forward and grabs hold of the restraints on my wrists, placing a key in one of them. “I will unlock you so you can wash, but no funny business.” He glares at me.

  I shudder at the thought of getting undressed in front of Bruce. “Strip,” he commands.

  The warning in his eyes is clear, and I’ve had enough pain for now. My shoulders slump as I unbutton the bloody, tattered dress barely clothing me. I wince as I peel it from my bloody skin, hating what this man has done to me.

  The bloody clothes fall to a heap on the floor, and Bruce steps forward, running his fingers across the open, infected cuts on my body. His eyes light up with a sick hunger, and I know he’s turned on. It makes me want to throw-up.

  He steps toward the bath and runs the taps, leaving me shivering in my filth. I must smell awful, but I’m so used to it I can’t tell. The way he has forced me to live for however long it has been horrendous, beyond anything I could have imagined.

  “Get in,” he commands.

  I step toward the bath, swallowing hard as I wonder if it’s warm or cold. He’s such a sick son of a bitch it will be too hot and scold my skin or so cold I’ll go into shock. I dip my toe in first and I’m surprised to find it’s warm. There’s something off about it though. Bruce always likes to inflict pain, and I expect it whenever he is involved.

  “I said, get in,” he repeats.

  Slowly, I lower myself into the water, wincing as it covers my stinging wounds. Despite the pain, my muscles relax in the heat. A sensation I haven’t felt ever since Bruce took me. I flinch as Bruce’s hands land on my shoulders, squeezing tightly.

  Damn it.

  The fact my body reacts with fear to him annoys me. I know he loves the control he has over me and the way I’m scared of him. He grabs hold of a bottle of shampoo and squeezes it out into his palm. The fact he intends to wash my hair makes me sick. Everything this man does makes me sick.

  “I can do it,” I say, trying to grab the bottle from his hand.

  He pulls away and grabs a knife from his pocket, setting it on the side of the bath. “Don’t defy me, Ellie.”

  I swallow hard, recognizing the knife he has been using on me ever since he captured me. He grabs a bucket of water and pours it onto my hair, before working his fingers into my scalp. Tears prickle at my eyes as he slowly lathers up my hair with shampoo. The gentleness of his touch only makes my skin crawl more.

  Despite not wanting to cry, the tears fall down my cheeks as he lathers my hair. There’s no use fighting him. All that I get is pain when I fight, but I won’t let him break me down completely. I can’t let him wear me down as I’ll be nothing but broken.

  He washes me slowly, torturing me with every caress of his hands. Finally, he finishes and steps back, allowing me a moment to breathe. “Get out,” he barks.

  I find the edge with my hands and hoist myself out, wincing as it hurts even more to move now. Bruce holds out a towel and passes it to me. I dry myself without instruction and he walks out, returning a few moments later with a new plain black dress.

  “Put this on quickly,” he says, passing it to me.

  I step into the dress and pull it on, wincing as it rubs against my sore wounds. Bruce grabs my wrist the moment it’s on and drags me out of the bathroom, heading down the stairs. This is the first time he’s washed me since he captured me.

  What the hell is going on?

  He doesn’t stop at the basement, pulling me toward the front door of the run-down house, instead. Before he opens the door, he turns around and grabs a dark black bag out of his pocket, shoving it over my head.

  “What the hell?”

  He slaps me hard. “I told you to keep your mouth shut and do as I say.” With that, he pulls me out of the house. A strong, but warm breeze hits my skin, making me shudder. A car door opens, and he shoves me inside, shutting the door behind me.

  I swallow hard, knowing this can’t be good. Bruce is taking me somewhere, but God knows why. I sit back and wait, hating that I’m so clueless.

  The car comes to a stop and Bruce yanks the fabric off my head. I blink at the blinding light flooding my irises, pain shooting through my retina. My body hurts despite being in the softest seat I’ve been in since I was dragged out Leo’s bedroom.

  This is the first time I’ve been outside of a basement in two months and my eyes are sensitive as fuck. It takes longer than I’ve ever known for my vision to adjust.

  We’re parked up outside an old abandoned warehouse. Bruce is outside, leaving me alone and untied for a moment. The prospect of trying to escape floods me with adrenaline. I reach out for the back door and tug on it, to find the child lock is on.

  Fuck.

  I had hoped Bruce was stupid enough to overlook that detail, but I underestimated his intelligence. Voices chatter away outside.

  Are they intending to sell me for trafficking? It’s the only reason I can think of them bringing me somewhere like this.

  The door swings open and Bruce drags me out of my seat, making me stumble to the pavement. My knees scrape on the concrete beneath me as he drags me, not allowing me a moment to get to my feet. Out of sheer will, I force my feet to the pavement and stand up, despite being dragged across the hard floor.

  He steps into the building and we walk down a corridor with blood stained floors—it is even on the walls. The sight of the blood makes me shiver. There are loads of guys milling about, some I’ve seen before.

  Jimmy and Ryan, the assholes who Leo beat up, are both whispering to each other and smirking at me–fucking assholes.I’m not sure what they’re smirking at considering the last time I saw them they had their asses handed to them by Leo.

  Bruce drags me to the center of the room. “What the fuck are you doing to me?” I spit, trying pathetically to writhe out of his grip.

  Normally, I can put up a decent fight against Bruce. He’s not exactly the strongest man ever, but I’ve got no damn energy and my whole body hurts too much. “Shut it, sweet cheeks,” he says, gripping my cut wrists tightly and making me wince.

  He forces me down onto the chair in the center and then fastens the bindings around my ankles and wrists. They’re so tight that the infected wounds bleed, dripping blood onto the floor. I can’t find it in me to care, though.

  He fastens a rope around my waist, confining me tightly to the chair. All I want to know is what the fuck is happening. Honest to God, if I get my hands around Bruce’s throat, I will squeeze the life out of him.

  I’ve got a terrible feeling deep in my gut about what is happening here—this is different to the past two months. I’ve got a feeling a plan far bigger than myself is at foot, which sends shivers down my spine.

  “Tell me why the fuck I’m here,” I spit, leering at the man who I hate more with every passing hour.

  God, I’m embarrassed how long I stayed under his control, letting him treat me like shit. The guy was trouble from the start and I knew it.

  Why am I attracted to the wrong guys?

  Leo is the wrong guy too, even if he’s nothing like Bruce. He’s a murderer, and that’s a fact that I know for certain. He may not have been convicted, since he’s protected by their name, but it doesn’t make him any less guilty. Sure, I’m a thief, but his crimes are far more brutal.

  “I told you to shut your mouth,” Bruce says, bringing the back of his hand down hard against my cheek.

  I spit in his face, wishing I could kill this guy more than anything. I’m no murderer, but there’s only so much abuse from a person you can take before you turn in
to one. He brings his arm back again to strike, but Ryan stops him, eyes wide.

  “Fucking hell, Bruce, did you forget what the boss said?”

  He shakes head. “Fuck the boss, she deserved it.”

  Ryan forces him away, clutching his arm hard. “He isn’t someone to fuck with.”

  Bruce sneers at him. “Don’t be a fucking wuss, Ryan, he’ll never know.” He shakes his head. “The guy isn’t even in Texas for fuck’s sake.”

  Texas.

  My stomach sinks and I realize how bad that is. Philly is over a thirty hour’s drive from here, at least. Leo is so far away. America isn’t exactly a small country. If by some small chance he was searching for me, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

  I feel the despair grown inside of me like moss on glass, blocking out the light. The tiny ounce of hope I cringed onto no longer there. It’s been snuffed out. Deep down, I’d held onto the shred of hope that Leo might be looking for me and might still find me. But, this is real life and in real life there're no unicorns, fairies, or happy endings.

  Ryan glares at Bruce for a few moments, before walking away. I watch him walk over to Jimmy and whisper to him, glancing at me. Those guys are joined at the hip. Bruce leaves me tied to the chair and heads back out the way we came in.

  I scan the room, trying to look for signs of what is coming. One man is lingering to the side, eyes fixed on me. I’ve never seen him before, but he seems fixated on me, watching me like a hawk. Then, I notice Enzo, the giant of a man that got in my way when I was trying to make off with the money.

  If he hadn’t stopped me, I’d be away by now. Leo never would have caught me and I’d be living the life with a new identity, probably somewhere in South America.

  Instead, everything went to shit. Other than the week I spent with Leo, a week of perfect bliss that makes all of this feel so much more terrible. It makes me long for what I can never have.

  The tears prickle in my eyes again and I blink frantically, making sure they don’t fall. I can’t let Bruce see how much all of this has got to me. It will only give him satisfaction, knowing he broke me. That’s the last thing I want.

  I dig my fingers into my palms, forcing myself to claw them back. It works and before long I can feel the pain of reminiscence fading. I force myself not to think about Leo and focus on the now.

  My heart skips a beat as I notice Bruce drag two other women behind him, forcing them passed the room I’m in. Maybe my first inkling was right, and this is a sale. He didn’t exactly treat me well if he wants to sell me—I probably look like I’ve been dragged through a damn pig sty. Maybe that’s what these sick bastards are into, women that have been beaten up.

  Bruce returns, eyes falling on me. He walks straight toward me with a menacing grin on his face. I keep my chin up, hiding my fear of this man.

  “Why am I here, Bruce?” I ask, as he walks around the back of my chair and fiddles with the restraints on my wrists and around my waist. I struggle to breathe, as he tightens them even more.

  “It’s sir to you, bitch. Don’t forget your manners now,” he spits, yanking a fistful of my hair. “And, all will be revealed in time. No more fucking questions or I’ll take my belt to you right here in front of everyone.”

  An involuntary shiver runs down my spine at the mention of his belt. It’s his old fucking trick to get me to behave, beating me with a belt. The thought of him stripping me in front of all these men and doing it, is enough to shut me up. That’s saying something, considering I rarely shut up.

  I keep my attention on my lap, as he tightens the restraints even more before tying them. This man will never tire of causing me pain, even more since I tried to leave him. He won’t rest until he breaks me, but I’m a stubborn woman.

  If he’s selling me, I’ll fucking relish it. Anything to get away from my ex-boyfriend forever, even if my life won’t be worth living—it can’t be worse than this.

  17

  Leo

  The heaviness of what I’m doing makes me feel sick, as I wait for Kane. The engine of the SUV is running and my mind is in chaos.

  How is Kane going to take the truth?

  My eldest brother hates going against Rick’s orders or going behind his back. Believe me, I don’t like it either, but I’ve got no choice.

  Movement at the front door catches my attention, and Kane is heading toward the car. He has a small carryall over his shoulder.

  I rev the engine as he jumps into the passenger’s seat, huffing as he does. He doesn’t waste a second, before he asks the dreaded question. “Where are we off to then?”

  I slip the car into drive and pull down our driveway toward the gates. “Texas.”

  Kane sighs heavily. “Fuck, that’s a long drive.” He runs a hand over his shaved head. “What town?”

  “El Paso,” I say, wondering how to bring up the fact Rick thinks we’re heading north.

  He shakes his head, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing a text. I can’t help but smirk at how attached he is to Jasmine. Kane never struck me as the kind of guy to fall like he has for Jasmine. “We’ll be gone for a few days then…” he mutters.

  “Yeah…” I pause a moment, indecision plaguing me. Kane hasn’t heard about the moves the Juliano Mafia has made against us. He doesn’t know they’ve been selling guns into our territory. It means I could keep him blind about the whole thing. I shake my head, knowing I couldn’t keep it up the entire time. The guilt would eat me alive. “Also, Rick thinks we’re heading north.” I glance over at him.

  He visibly tenses beside me. “Why the fuck does he think that?”

  I indicate left at the end of our drive and pull onto the main road. Initially, I’m silent, working out the best way to approach this. “He just found out that the Juliano Mafia crossed us, selling guns into our territory.” I pause for a moment, dreading his reaction. “He’s got a team going to snatch his Nick Juliano’s daughter as we speak.”

  “Fuck.” Kane’s voice turns up a notch. “We can’t drive into enemy territory, once those guys have stolen his daughter. We’ll be fucking bait ready for picking.”

  I grit my teeth together, knowing how dangerous this is. “I will go alone.”

  “No way am I letting you go alone.” He shakes his head. “No one should be going.”

  My heart pounds faster at the prospect of Kane derailing this totally. “What would you do if it was Jasmine down there?” I know it’s a low blow, but he has to see this from my perspective. Ellie is as important to me as Jasmine is to him. He can’t understand how it has been for the past two months without her—pure fucking torture.

  He growls lowly. “I’d drive in there and kill anyone who stood in between me and her,” he says.

  “Exactly, you’ve got to know that I’ve got no choice in this,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “Ellie is everything to me and I’ll do anything to get her back. Fucking anything.”

  Kane’s hand lands on my arm, drawing my attention to him. “I’m with you, little brother.” He sighs. “Even if Rick will kill us for this.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with him over this. “Thanks, Kane.”

  We fall into a tense silence, as I turn onto the highway. We leave our home and our brother leaving behind, knowing for the first time we’re betraying him.

  A long journey ahead of us, which I know will feel longer because I’m itching to see her. It doesn’t sit well with me and definitely won’t with Kane. The danger is real and more acute than anything we’ve experienced before, but Ellie is worth it. I know without a doubt as I speed down the highway I’d die trying to save her.

  The roar of the engine purrs as Kane takes his turn to drive the last leg of the long journey. I’ve been in and out of sleep, but the sun is setting and staining the sky a deep red. As I stare out of the window, it feels like a warning of what is coming this evening. There will be blood running like a river tonight—I can feel it in my
veins. We’re speeding toward a danger we’ve never encountered before.

  One unspoken but unbreakable rule is to keep mob business out of other mafia family’s territories, but this is different. For one, it sounds like the Juliano Mafia have already fucking broke that rule, and for two, Ellie has been taken out of our territory—I have to get her back.

  It’s been a long fucking drive. Each of us taking turns for a few hours. We’ve only had a few hours’ sleep in over thirty hours. Rick will kill both of us when he realizes what we’ve done, but he doesn’t understand. He couldn’t. Only Kane can understand what I’m going through right now. He went through the same shit with Jasmine, but lucky for him he got her back far quicker.

  His hands are tight on the steering wheel and his jaw clenched. I know he hates going behind Rick’s back like this, but what other choice do we have? Not to mention, he had to leave Jasmine. Ever since she was kidnapped, he doesn’t like leaving her for long periods of time.

  Ellie might not even be alive when we get there. Her ex-boyfriend might have killed her for leaving him and that thought makes the pain grow in my chest. She has to be alive. It’s the only thing that is keeping me going. Either way, her ex will die a painful and brutal death.

  The music on the stereo is all that falls between the two of us. We’ve both had little to say the entire trip, and even less the closer we got to our destination.

  “I’m taking the next turning,” Kane says, breaking the silence.

  I clock the sign for El Paso. “We’re getting close, aren’t we?”

  “Yeah, we’re almost there. Rick will have our asses for this.” Kane sighs heavily. “But, we didn’t have a choice.”

  I nod my head. “I really appreciate this, Kane,” I say, making sure he knows how serious I am. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t worry about it, little bro.” He shoves me in the shoulder playfully.