by V Domino
What. The. Fuck.
Who the hell would do this to them? Wait, them?
“You said us. Who else was with you and your aunt, Luca?”
He finishes his second glass of wine and goes to pour more but I know from experience that wine and memories can loosen lips when they're mixed so I put my hand on the rim of his glass.
“Parlami, piccola.” Talk to me, baby. “Then we can get fucked up.” I give him a smile as I put his glass next to mine.
He heaves a breath and leans his head back so that I can see the tattoo on his neck, Sia, only now I notice the two little hands reaching out towards one another like the famous painting Creation Of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. They're under the letters and they look like the hands of children.
“My sister, Sia. She was only a baby and she was sentenced to a life of never knowing her family. My aunt climbed through a window and ran with us through the dark neighborhood. She took us to a church and spoke to the Father who helped her change my name and birth certificate.”
“Why did she do that and where is Sia?” I'm angry on his behalf. I'm eternally grateful to this woman but why did she change his name?
“I'm not sure who or what my father was involved with but she said she had to change my name so that I'd never be found. Sia and I got separated. I got sent to California but I was too little to know that I wasn't in New York anymore so when I never saw Sia in the children's homes or foster homes I kept running away. I needed to find her and protect her like my ma wanted me to. To keep me from running away they locked me away in juvie and I spent my childhood in a cell block from age twelve to eighteen.”
I'm at a loss of words. That's seriously fucked up. He lost his entire family at such a young age and then he had to spend every birthday in a cell. What kind of fucked up beast does that to a child? The fucking system is bullshit and should be torn down like the wall in Germany.
I'm so pissed and I didn't even live his life. Hearing his story made me feel like I lived it, now can you even comprehend how he feels?
He lived it. He saw it. He went to sleep without his mama every night and he lived everyday without his father's guidance.
“You'll never be alone again, Luca.”
He stares deeply into my eyes like he's searching for deceit. He won't find any. I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I don't mince words and I don't toss them around, making them worthless and empty.
“For a second I thought you said 'bleed alone.'“ He gives me a cheeky smile, trying to show me that he's fine and doesn't need pity.
“That too.” I smile and wink because, yeah, I'd bleed for him too.
I know he doesn't want to talk about his past anymore and I won't push him. It's why I kept the wine from him. I wouldn't want him to regret telling me things he wouldn't have said had he been sober.
“Come on, let's get out of here. I want to take you to my apartment.”
I motion to the server but Gino comes running through the door with his gun drawn.
“Get down!”
Immediately the front floor-to-ceiling windows burst sending shards of glass everywhere and I'm knocked to the ground as gunfire ensues. Screams bombard us as I cover my ears and curl into Twitch's chest. I'm so damn scared but I can't lay here and hide, not while Gino and Pauly could be bleeding out.
“I need to get to Paul. I need to make sure he's okay.” I scream above the loud ringing and I'm not entirely sure that it’s not in my head. Twitch runs his hands over my body trying to find wounds but when I look up at him I see he's got a gash on the right side of his head to his cheekbone and he's bleeding badly. Fuck this. I grab the nearest table napkin to put it on his face but he pushes my hands away and lifts me from the bloody floor.
We're standing in a crouch when I see my purse spilled open showing my 9mm handgun that Gino gave me this morning at Barbarity after seeing the break-in.
I grab the gun and cock it. We can still hear faint gun fire but tires are squealing, trying to escape no doubt. I see blood from the front entrance and down the sidewalk. I point it out to Twitch and use two fingers to point to my eyes and the street. He nods and pulls out a set of butterfly knives, flipping them open before peeking out the door. My heart races and my palms sweat but seeing how he moves with ease make my core tighten. God, I'm a twisted bitch.
“All’s clear but I don't see Gino. This has to be his blood. Let’s go but keep your eyes on the street, Sil. We don't know if anyone is hiding.”
I nod and follow his lead, grateful he isn't treating me like a fragile flower and demanding I stay back. I wouldn't anyway.
We get to the alley where the blood trail turns. I pull the gun up and ahead of me before turning the corner. I see Gino on the ground clutching his chest while a young guy stands over him. Gun in hand and finger on the trigger. I don't hesitate I let the bullets fly. The guy goes down with three shots, two in the body and one in the neck.
“Gino!” I run straight to him, never pulling my aim off the piece of shit who grasps at his throat with a gurgling sound coming from him. His last breaths.
“I'm okay, bambina. Nice shot.” Gino is struggling to breathe and his pallor is ghostly white. Twitch rips Gino’s shirt open exposing the multiple holes in his chest. It's a miracle he's even still alive. I put pressure on his wounds as Twitch calls 911 but I know it's futile.
I kiss Gino on the forehead and whisper, “Andare con Dio. Mi assicurerò che paghino.” Go with God. I'll make sure they pay.
I tap my chest twice, “I'll take care of your wife. She'll never want for anything. You have my word.”
I sit with Gino, holding his heavy hand while he lets go. I cry when I see his eyes empty of the light he always shared.
He ran inside to protect me. He wasted precious seconds to warn me when he could have ducked behind a parked car.
For me.
I'll make them pay. I swear it.
Twitch sits with me on the ground and when we make eye contact I see it in him too. We won't let this crime go unpunished.
The sting of the needle sliding through my scalp doesn't bother me one bit but seeing Silver cry earlier practically killed me. Each tear has a motherfucker's name tied to it. Whoever did this will suffer for her pain.
“Bag up the body and have it delivered to the Renzetti morgue,” Silver's demand to the CSI brings my attention back to the present. Looks like the city morgue is in the famous family's pockets as well. Silver looks ready to kill—and believe me when I say, I know exactly what she's feeling.
Telling her a bit of my story has helped me more than she knows. I never realized how hard it was to never share my story. Even Lopez doesn't know it. She knows I have a sister I want to find but that's all.
I've lived these years alone in my memories, but today, Silver reached over and picked up some of the weight and threw it onto her back. Yeah, this girl is mine.
I never thought I'd say this but I'll never let her go. This girl has a power over me that should have my spine straight and my agitation high, but it doesn't. Ties to someone can be your downfall, yes, but they can also be what pushes you to stand taller and broader daring the world, fucking try it! Silver makes me the latter. She makes me better than yesterday and stronger tomorrow.
She's rare and she's mine.
When Gino came running in, I didn't hesitate to take her down and shield her. I can't begin to express how devastated I would have been had that bullet hit it's mark, her face. I'd take a thousand bullets for this woman.
No question.
A lot of people throw those words around but I don't. There's only three people I'd die for, Sia, Lopez and Silver. Now, I'll help her carry her load. She hides it well but there's no hiding the darkness of one's past from another who has suffered a similar fate. The tune of pain chimes loudly to me when I look into her eyes and as long as I have breath in my lungs, Silver will never have to bear it's dreadful melody alone.
When
the EMT is done stitching me up, I hop off the ambulance and walk over to my girl.
“Sil, call Bones and get that fucking meeting going. I want to know who was behind this.” For all I know, this could be the same bastards that killed my family. Despite the years, I won't overlook anyone. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent, just like the system.
“I will but I know it was the Russians. Whether they were gunning for me or just looking to destroy the Renzetti owned restaurant, I don't know, but I do know it was them.”
“How do you know?”
Instead of answering she walks over to the black body bag and crouches down to unzip it, revealing the piece of shit that killed Gino. Once the zipper is down she pulls the guy's right hand out and shows me the tattoos on his hand. A set of eight point stars in an arch over some Russian words.
“This is a Mafiya member's tattoos. They have them on their necks and hands.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I make it my business to know anything and everything I can about enemies. If someone goes against La Famiglia, I make sure to know everything about them and the Russians have been the enemy for years despite the Don's attempts at a truce. That's the difference between mobsters and bosses. You make choice with patience for the sake of your people.”
The fucking wisdom is unreal, no wonder Silver is a boss in her own right. I watch as she pulls open the guy's shirt, exposing his hairy ass chest and a set of eyes tattooed looking back at us. That's creepy as fuck but Silver's gasp has my attention shooting back on the guy's face like the motherfucker came back to life or something. Fuck that, I may be a fighter and killer but I don't fuck with dead bodies. Curses and shit are real, I don't give a fuck what anyone says.
Silver closes up the body bag and pulls out her phone, making me wonder why that tattoo has her ready to run. I mean, I know it was weird but to each their own right?
“Fuck!” she shouts while trying to get her shaking fingers to dial a number.
“Calmati.” Calm down. I take the phone from her and see she's pulled up Johnny so I click his name and put him on speaker.
“Che cos'è?” What is it?
“Bones. Silver is freaking out.” I tell him at the same time Silver says, “He was high ranking.”
Fuck.
“Merda.” Shit. “Twitch, get her the fuck out of there and bring her to the gym. Take Gino's guns with you and don't stop anywhere.”
I hang up and grab Silver's hand. I already have Gino's gun, a badass Desert Eagle, tucked into the waist of my jeans and his keys in my hand.
It's time to get Silver out of here.
I feel a quaking under my skin, like anxiety and adrenaline have come together for some serious fucking. Silver has been in Johnny's office with the Mafia Don and DeLucci telling them everything that happened. I know that she'll be fine but I don't know the Don therefore I don't like her being in the office with him. Call it jealousy or protectiveness, it doesn't matter. I don't like it.
To keep myself from kicking the door in and dragging her out like a fucking caveman I practice my ground and pound techniques on the human shaped dummy. I probably shouldn't be doing this considering I have about thirty stitches along the side of my head, but I can't seem to find a fuck to give.
As if reading my thoughts, Johnny drops his ass on the mat next to me and hands me a towel.
“Fanculo!” Fuck! “Stop dripping your blood on my equipment, Twitch.”
I sit back and carefully push the towel to my head. The pain is slowly making itself known now that the numbing agent is wearing off but the tumble of thoughts running through my mind hasn't really let me focus on the pain.
Silver shouldn't be recounting the loss of Gino without me by her side. I don't know exactly how close they were but she stayed by his side while he breathed his last so they must've been close enough that the pain is enormous.
“How long is she going to be back there?” I know I sound like a fiend who needs his next fix asap but let's be fucking real, Silver is my bump. She's that fix you can't get anywhere else. She's the flame to my spoon. That may sound fucked up but until you know what it's like to fight your demons with drugs then you'll never understand the truth of my thoughts.
Johnny smirks like an asshole but when I give him a glare he tries his best to smother it with his hand.
“She should be out soon. Don't worry, she'll be fine, Twitch. My pop sees her as the daughter he never had.”
“How long have you known her?” I'm not worried at all about Johnny. Sure he and Silver have a history, but to be honest, I'm glad she has him on her side. Facing the world alone, as I have since my parents died, is an unfair fate. One I would never want for Silver.
“Since we were kids. In middle school she saved me from getting a nasty sucker punch from some kid with brass knuckles. I began teaching her to fight after that and how to defend herself against her abusive dad.” Johnny's eyes widen at that slip of information but he can't take it back.
Though my heart has sped up and my vision is turning red, I stay seated and demand more. “Abusive father?” My voice is low and even to my own ears it sounds like cracking glass. Splintering with each pound on my heart. I will kill this bastard.
“Fuck, Twitch. That pezzo di merda,” Piece of shit. “has been dead for years but I can't say any more, this isn't my story to tell and I shouldn't have let that slip but it feels like you've been a part of the group for years now.”
I drop my head and try to breathe through the haze of murderous rage. A father should never raise a hand to their child but especially a daughter. Not because girls are weaker than boys but simply because a daughter should be the apple of a father's eye.
If I ever have children, my daughter will be taught to fight back. She'll know everything there is to know about bringing a man down. She'll walk this earth knowing that her papa taught her how to survive with her crown sitting straight on her head.
“Listen, Twitch. Silver is like my kid sister. I've been looking out for her since she was a ball of tangled silver hair and scraped knees. I can see you mean something to her that she's never felt for anyone else and it makes me happy.” Johnny looks me straight in the eyes, no hesitation or fear as he warns me, “So if you break her heart, I'll make sure to break every bone in your chest before killing you, got me?” My respect for the guy has just been topped. Blood or not, this is Silver's brother and I can get behind the unhindered protectiveness he has for her.
“I'd expect nothing less. Let that be the last threat you ever give me because I will cut your tongue out and feed it to you.” I continue staring at him waiting for him to say something but then we hear the office door creak open. We're on our feet immediately waiting for Silver to emerge. The first man out is DeLucci who is practically a copy of Johnny only older and dressed in a three piece suit with a smile scar across his face. Literally one of the most wicked scars I've ever seen on a person. It looks like someone tried slitting his throat but cut him across the face instead.
The next person out is the Don. This man looks oddly familiar but I can't say why. I want to confront the man and ask him personally if he can help me find Sia but DeLucci said no one speaks to him without his invitation and I don't want to fuck up my chances to actually have that opportunity so I'll bide my time. He's a tall man with broad shoulders like he works out as well. He's dressed in a suit with a long leather blazer that shows his wealth and status but it's his black-as-night eyes... They're calculating and they're staring straight at me, making me extremely uncomfortable.
I've never in my life been nervous of anyone but this Boss of Bosses is fucking intimidating especially with his steps leading towards me. Just when I think he's going to address Johnny, he stops in front of me and looks between my eyes.
Fucking hell. Here's my chance but my aunt's words repeat in my head.
Don't tell anyone your real name.
“What's your name, figlio?” S
on.
I bristle a little at the word. I've always hated a man calling me what only my parents had rights to.
“Lucian ‘Twitch’ DeLuca, Boss.”
His brow quirks and he tilts his head a little, studying me. “DeLuca? Who is your father?”
I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I tell him and risk everything my aunt did or do I trust him and find Sia? I feel so fucking close to answers looking at this man but if I'm wrong and this is the man, a mafia boss no less, who killed my family then I could put Silver at risk along with myself. I can't do that.
“I was an orphan, Don. I do not know my parents and I'm an only child.” I lie and hope to God that Silver keeps that smart mouth closed. I see her shift beside me but I don't look at her. The boss stares at me a moment like he can see the lie in my eyes but I keep my face impassive. I won’t give anyone leverage over me. He nods his head before turning to the exit, tossing one more glance at me before passing through the threshold.
I let my breath go and turn to see the questions in Silver’s eyes.
Time to tell her everything.
Twitch and I lie in bed in the early morning. It’s been three years since the attack that took Gino from me.
Since then the Renzetti’s have been to war with the Russians. Throughout the war, alliances were made and the streets once again ran red with the blood of foes.
Last year the Russians drew a line in the sand within their own Mafyia and appointed a new boss, Dimitri Sokolov. Ruslan and his people have been exiled from their own Bratva and a bounty has been put on their heads. No one has seen them but their parting gift to us was the bombing of Twitch’s car. He was devastated to say the least. It came from a woman who I never got to personally meet, Cindy Lopez. She passed away five months ago and the car was the last gift she’d ever given him.
At least that’s what he thinks.
In her last few months alive, Lopez called me and gave me all of the information for her bank accounts. She signed over everything to Twitch and her life insurance has him as the beneficiary. Everything was notarized and legal but I’ve been trying to find the best way to tell him.
