Untamed (Omertà Book 2)

by Anna Widzisz

  "Shut up," Noah groaned. "Let me remind you that I am the one that could get you married right now," he added.

  "As if." He snorted, knowing when to act serious, and when his Capo wasn’t actually threatening him. "Soon Guerra is going to realize that you’re less than interested and he will start pushing the girl onto Flavio, I bet."

  No one would put it past the Capodecina to do just that. Second best to his daughter marrying the Capo dei capi, was having her married to the Underboss. And he could already hear the objections coming out of Flavio’s mouth. He might be the more restrained brother, but wouldn’t ever do something against his own will.

  "Then he will be met with yet another disappointment," Noah snarled and the men both went into the office.

  CHAPTER 38

  When it came to mafia actions Made Men never played by the rules. Attacking enemies when they least expected it. There was no honor behind that even though they loved being perceived as Men of Honor. But when dealing with a certain threat they used force and violence as if it was their last resort. Invading the Bratva hideout in the dark, armed to their teeth with guns and knives; a united group that could count on each other. It was always better to have a backup, but still have the freedom to fight as they wished, even if it meant dying.

  They were ready. Having gathered all the weapons, they drove to the building situated on the outskirts of Las Vegas. It had been permanently closed which added to its safety. Figuring out why the Russians had chosen it as their hideout wasn’t hard. There were no unwanted witnesses; no one would think of coming anywhere close.

  The plan was rather simple. They were to separate into two groups. Noah and Flavio were taking charge, as usual, attacking from different sides. Among them were Nicodemo, Cristian and Drew who along with Elio were under Noah’s command, while two of Flavio’s contract killers and three of Coluccio Guerra’s men would be charging through the back entrance by the Underboss’ side. Meanwhile, Isaac was to stay back in the car with a laptop in case something unexpected popped up. Noah had decided to only take the best soldiers even though it meant not outnumbering the Bratva. Still, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be able to kill them all the same.

  The Capo didn’t trust any others to actually get the job done right. Especially since there was a possibility of finding Lynette inside, and he couldn’t make it public knowledge that it was partially the reason for attacking. The Made Men believed that it was because of his encounter with a few Bratva soldiers. It was to stay that way until it became completely necessary to reveal the real reasoning behind it all.

  Flavio looked at his older brother again, seeking any kind of hesitation. There was none.

  He felt that things could go badly, having Elio and Drew in on the invasion. The first one couldn’t be fully trusted yet having just joined the main structure of the Famiglia and also coming out of the crooked family, while the latter was a flight risk. It was Drew’s first action, and it wasn’t an easy one either. Noah clearly had more faith in the man’s newly gained skills. The only advantage he had above other Made Men was his priority of saving Lynette.

  The Capo was going to lead his part of the crew through the main entrance, after having one of Flavio’s killers take down a sniper on the rooftop beforehand. Then he would enter together with Nicodemo, Drew, Elio and Cristian and separate once they were inside. Noah had to be the one to take on the basement since Lynette was more likely to be there, and he was to be followed by Drew.

  They went on to get into positions, waiting for the signal to attack. However, it was taking longer than supposed to. Noah should have been inside already, yet they hadn’t heard a word from either Flavio or his people.

  "Should I go check on them, boss?" asked Elio, feeling the tension that was slowly mounting.

  Noah was on the verge of agreeing to change things up, but at that moment they saw Flavio advancing to them, gun lowered. "Get inside the building," he said.

  His face was of frozen anger, even though he was fighting to bring out the emotionless mask. It was rather surprising that he didn’t feel like having his weapon drawn out. He walked towards the door of the station and pushed it open. Noah followed him, keeping his guard just in case he had misread his brother’s actions.

  Stepping into the old building was like stepping into a pit. The air inside was different. An unbearable smell of something rotten invaded their nostrils almost immediately. The inside was lit with backup reflectors all over the place. It was empty, but for a few obsolete pieces of rusted factory equipment. Noah moved further into the main area and what he saw was like the restaurant killing-spree all over again.

  The bodies of the dead Russians covered the floor, dried blood coating most of it. It was obvious without coming closer that it had already been a while since their death, as the familiar odor had already spread a little, mixing with something poisonous that had been hanging in the air. These were barbaric murders, however, the men still had their heads. Unlike the people from the Japanese restaurant. It still didn’t make much difference since their throats had been slashed, faces cut and their arms appeared almost ripped out of their bodies if not for the muscles keeping them attached.

  "My man spotted it as he went to kill the sniper. He was already dead as well," said Flavio.

  A few minutes later the other soldiers went into the room in the basement.

  "The girls are not here, not even their bodies." said one of them.

  Drew shrugged. "Maybe they escaped, or were let go," he suggested.

  "Right, because whoever did this had the mercy to let the women go. Sure," mocked Flavio, turning one of the Russians’ faces towards the light to examine his wounds.

  They didn’t even get the chance to live long enough to ask anyone’s help. Not that the Famiglia soldiers would have done anything in order to save their lives. However, even though whoever had done this had helped them get the job done, it was a scary feeling that they had meddled in the mafia’s business. It looked as if they might want to eventually take over.

  Noah wasn’t sure what to make of it. The brutal picture was both a mesmerizing and dangerous sight. And he couldn’t put his finger on whether he would congratulate the person responsible for it, or put them down before they completely spiraled out of control. If they had any control left in them. Because judging by the corpses’ state, it was a big possibility that it was all gone.

  "Boss," said Nicodemo from the behind of the main area.

  All men automatically moved in the direction of the voice and were welcomed by another horrific sight. It was a man, and that was the only thing that was certain.

  Crimson threads ran through the whole length of his bruised body. From his face and neck all the way to his feet. Even though the man was clearly not older than fifty, pronounced wrinkles covered his face’s blue skin. At first glance, the cause of death was already known to Noah. He had seen it before, and so had all the gathered men. There were fresh cuts all over his face, one going from one ear, through his mouth to the other ear. A bloody and sadistic picture that was supposed to send a message. He was missing a hand; yet, the cut was as clean and precise as if a surgeon had done it. He was wearing a suit but it was soaked in blood and grime, looking as if a wild animal had ripped it apart. He was sprawled on his back, emanating that sickly-strong odor of chemicals.

  It took Noah a few minutes to actually recognize him as his Capodecina in charge of the Summerlin part of Las Vegas. He was one of the only men that had not been removed from his position after Marco’s death. His loyalty appeared to remain intact when it came to the Falcone name, however, he had kept his distance from the brutal acts of the mafia, and preferred not to take part in any of them. He was rather a businessman than a killer, and it had made Noah think twice before ordering his murder. A fresh outlook was always welcomed, and as long as he didn’t cause any trouble, he could stay.

  However, judging by what was left of the Capodecina, his pacific nature hadn’t helped him this tim
e around. It might have even made him easier prey to the attacker. Whoever that was.

  Burning rage hissed through Noah’s body, wanting to be let out in the form of a violent act. White knuckles from clenching his fists on the gun and pursed lips framed into a thin line were his last resort meant to keep him from letting his fury loose.

  This had been a declaration of war.

  Killing off his people had hardly been a smart move, and yet they still had no idea who had their minds set on taking down the Las Vegas Famiglia.

  Noah heard a phone ringing and turned back to face his brother. He was about to answer, but seeing his Capo’s expression, he put the call on the speaker. Isaac’s name flashed on the screen.

  "What is it, Isaac?" Flavio asked.

  "Have you found another body?" the voice on the other side was low and quiet. If not for the stunned silence reigning in the building, they wouldn’t have been able to hear him at all.

  Flavio frowned, gripping the phone tighter. "How do you know?" there was a long pause, filled with heavy breathing.

  "Come outside."

  They didn’t waste time and did as asked, leaving the Russians’ dead bodies to be dealt with later by other soldiers. It was pitch dark and the only light was given by the moon. Isaac’s figure was visible a few feet away from the group, standing beside the car. As he saw them, he got in the driver’s seat, turning on the headlights, blinding the Made Men.

  "Look behind you," said Isaac, approaching them.

  With bright white paint, there were three words written on the building’s wall.

  I warned you.

  CHAPTER 39

  Noah was used to maintaining a cool detachment from his targets. Mostly he preferred not to think of them, but when he did it was as if they were already dead. The only time death had ever got to him was when he’d seen his younger sister’s body lying on the cold concrete of that warehouse. But even though he didn’t care about his Capodecina more than he did his other soldiers, there was a spark of rage that stirred inside him when it was one of his men being slaughtered, and not on his command. Imagining them just being happy and oblivious one second and gone the next was all that ran through his head the rest of the night. Not to mention that the murder hadn’t been painless with the poison and noxious chemicals mixed together. It could hardly be an easy way to go. And Noah couldn’t stop thinking about it. More importantly, he couldn’t stop thinking about who would do something like this.

  The message had been crystal clear. He shouldn’t have continued searching for Lynette, but his stubbornness still refused to let it go. He could only hope that he would find out who the killer was before it was too late. The news about the Capodecina’s death would spread quickly, therefore he had to come up with a viable plan. His soldiers were bound to get anxious if they didn’t hear from their Capo soon.

  He had been sitting with Isaac in his apartment till morning to somehow manage to finally track down Lynette through some of the Russians they had identified from the massacre, hoping that it was actually her that Ivan had referred to. Besides, it was the only lead they had. Also, they were trying to figure out how to identify the killer, which was proving even more difficult.

  "It’s useless," said Isaac, resting his back against the chair. "Maybe we should ask Drew to try and get some information from his father? The FBI certainly knows about the Bratva," he suggested.

  Noah shook his head. "It’s way too early for Ryder to be discovered as a Made Man. I won’t let him ask his father; not when he could get suspicious and trace everything back to us. And they definitely don’t know enough to be of any use. Their main focus has recently been the Seattle Famiglia, and I would prefer for it to stay that way. We don’t need additional problems."

  "What about the New York Famiglia? You make a deal with them to give you all the information they had on the Bratva in exchange for the shipments. Haven’t they delivered yet?"

  "Besides telling us about the Russians’ business in New York, there was nothing useful."

  Isaac frowned. "And what precisely is that?"

  "They are involved in human trafficking and even proposed a common business venture to Bazzoli. He didn’t agree, so from then onwards, they have been trying to bring him down any chance they have," the Capo murmured, annoyed with the mere concept of such business.

  For the first time, he was on the same page as one of the bosses in the New York Famiglia. None of them was to get into human trafficking no matter what. It might be very profitable, but also against all the rules Noah had set for himself and his people. Innocent lives mattered to him.

  "That might be something we could use," said Isaac. "Can you get me any information from New York on how they do it and the places they use? Anything you can find out. If they are actually holding Lynette, maybe she was taken back to the States through one of the routes they use to transport the other women. And I cannot believe that the Russians don’t keep any documents, or at least some messages that could incriminate them, and help us find Lynette."

  That wasn’t a bad assumption. Having Isaac among his Made Men was starting to pay off. Of course, it would have been much easier if the man had actually been able to spot someone driving away from the building before they had disappeared. But he was making up for it with ideas on how to find Lynette. That was what counted right now.

  § § §

  Inéz didn’t move an inch when she heard the door being unlocked and pushed open. Noah had already warned her through a text message that he would be coming over in a few minutes. It was only six in the morning so she could only imagine that he hadn’t slept most of the night, too busy taking care of the business. She had heard from Drew all about the Bratva invasion, and could only imagine how frustrated and angry Noah must be. That was why she decided to be considerate and make coffee. Somehow, she didn’t believe that the man would allow himself to sleep anytime soon.

  Noah entered the studio apartment, immediately finding the brunette in the kitchen. He looked furious, however his features softened as soon as his eyes rested on her figure. She was wearing an oversized shirt, standing barefoot on the wooden floor. With a low grunt, he moved towards the kitchen island, resting on one of the seats. The holster had been moved aside.

  Without asking, she placed a mug brimming with strong black coffee in front of him. He raised his eyebrow at the gesture as if it was unusual of her to be nice. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.

  "Unless you’re going to sleep. In that case, I don’t recommend drinking this," she said quickly.

  The Capo shook his head and took a sip.

  "When do you have training with Nicodemo?" he asked, peering up at the girl who was focused on mixing the pancake batter.

  "He can’t make it today. Something to do with his family or something," Inéz answered, shrugging. As she poured a little bit of concoction in the pan, she turned. "Tell me something about his family. I feel like I’ve been working out with Nicodemo for so long and I barely know anything about him."

  "There’s not much to tell. Besides, Nico is a really private man and doesn’t like anyone getting too interested in his life," Noah commented. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about his Enforcer.

  Flavio’s words flashed in her mind.

  It’s beginning to look like a toxic relationship, Inéz

  Was it? She felt like it could be a possibility, since she offered everything the man in front of her needed, yet got nothing in return. Not even the most basic of information.

  She was sitting in the car with Flavio for over an hour already without talking and was starting to get extremely bored. For the longest of time, she’d considered the job of mafioso as a very eventful one, with countless dangerous actions and not a dull moment in it. However, it turned out that there were also times of doing almost nothing. At least to her, it looked like it. Flavio most likely had other reasons for just staying inside and observing.

  Inéz turned her head to the left, watching
the man instead. His expression was stone cold, focused on the rooftop of the generating station that was quite far from them. He had his hands lightly pressed to the steering wheel, tapping some kind of quiet tune with fingertips.

  At first glance, it didn’t seem so surprising that he was Noah’s brother. With his slightly darker blond hair that seemed to be always left just the way he’d woken up. Not caring about looks anywhere near as much as his Capo. But there was some kind of attractiveness to realizing that Flavio’s behavior always suggested that he cared about nothing and no-one. However, Noah had said it more than once that it was certainly not the case. That Flavio was way too compassionate even if he didn’t show it, and the only exception of this rule was Lynette whom he couldn’t care less about. His dark blue eyes were however totally unlike his brother’s. Noah's remind her of ashes and smoke blowing in the wind that had brought back all the pieces from the fire that had burned everything to the ground. Flavio’s were the ocean, so lively yet so dangerous because it was the kind of blue that the deepest parts of the water boasted about.

  "Why are you looking at me like this?" he asked without meeting her gaze.

  Her cheeks flashed bright red, embarrassed that he caught her staring. She didn’t answer.

  Flavio snorted, annoyed with the lack of an answer. "I seriously wonder how come Noah is so patient with you, yet so quick to punish and kill others," he said.

  Both brothers loved unnerving people with their words. Carefully picked, but threatening at the same time. "To think that awhile ago that would have probably scared me."

  The Underboss regarded her and smiled. "Thank God you got out of the scared mouse phase. Don’t get me wrong, Noah probably loved the submissive act in the beginning, but he would get bored soon enough. Your job had the sole advantage that you were able to escape this innocent bubble."