by Baker, S. L.
“I do, but in the confines of Salvatore Disney Land with the goon squad on high alert, I wasn’t worried and neither should you. No-one can get to us here. You know that, Victor.”
“I’m not so sure about that anymore,” he said.
“I needed the time to think,” I said, my tone solemn.
Victor pushed away and grabbed my face in between those massive hands.
“What’s going on with you?” he asked his eye searching mine for any hint.
“We need to talk,” I said.
A look of terror washed over his face and my heart broke.
“Don’t worry. I’m not leaving you or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said.
Victor exhaled and kissed me. “I never thought you would, but for a second I thought maybe all of this was too much for you to handle.”
“It is, Victor, but I would never leave you. You are my life and every decision, good or bad, I make is to protect you,” I said. “One of those decisions is what I need to talk to you about. But I need to go change into something warm. Pour me a glass of wine and meet me in your room.”
Scarlett was in the corner flip charting my options on the best way to spin what I needed to ask Victor to do so he would agree.
Victor was standing in the doorway holding two glasses of wine and my sweet spot whistled at how hot he looked. My sweet spot needed a time out for the moment. I had to fess up to the deal I’d made with the Feds before I lost my nerve.
Victor handed me my glass of wine and sat next to me on the bed and put his hand on my thigh. My sweet spot perked up again like I threw water in her face. I shifted my position hoping to quiet her down.
I grabbed Victor’s hand and looked into those gorgeous brown eyes.
“I love you,” I said my voice cracking. Scarlett slapped me across the face. Hold it together don’t cry.
“I love you too, babe,” he said, suspicion filling his eyes.
“You know I will do anything to keep you and my family safe,” I began.
“Of course I do, and you know I’d do the same.”
“I took a deep breath. Do you remember when I ran out of gas a few weeks ago?” My ass twinge at the memory. Scar folded her arms and tapped her foot.
“Yeah.”
“My tank was full. I had just filled up on the way to work the day before. My car was sabotaged.”
“By who?”
“The Feds. They surrounded my car, threw me into a SUV and drove me to their secret headquarters where I was interrogated and threatened with prison.”
Victor’s body stiffened and rage filled his eye. “Those bastards. What did you tell them?”
“Nothing about the book, or that I’m the Mob’s most wanted. Nelson had given me a list of high value targets that are corrupt. He got the names from his covert informant. I used the list as bait with the Feds to distract them from us. Nelson has no clue that I’m wearing a wire for the Feds to incriminate these targets. So far it has pacified the two agents.”
“Fuck, Angelina! Why didn’t you tell me?” He was pissed.
“Because I’m trying to keep you off their radar. They threatened to throw you in jail if I told you, and I can’t let that happen. Especially knowing I can stop it. They told me I’m facing prison as well because of my relationship with you.”
“That’s fuckin’ bull shit and the Feds know it. It’s what they fuckin’ do. They manipulate the truth to intimidate and scare people into doing what they want. You should have called me.”
“It all happened so fast and they confiscated my purse and phone. I was their prisoner.”
Victor was on his feet, pacing trying to hold his rage in check.
“I had a contract drawn up, exonerating us both in exchange for helping them,” I said with desperation.
“Where is it?”
“It’s at the cottage in the top drawer of my dresser.”
“I want that contract. It’s going to my attorney. He is going to shove injunctions and motions right up their asses. It wasn’t smart to sign that contract without legal counsel.”
“I know, but this was a limited time offer. It was then or never.”
“What did you agree to?” Victor seethed.
“Wearing a wire for the targets on the list and…” I took a deep breath. “The non-negotiable one of this deal is I have to set up a meeting with your father, while wearing a wire.”
“Jesus H! Angelina. Absolutely not. That is a fuckin’ death wish. I’d rather let my attorney handle the Feds!” Victor yelled.
Scarlett came running with two shots of tequila.
“Did you agree to this?” he asked shaking with rage.
“Yes,” I whispered. I had never seen Victor this angry and it scared the shit out of me.
“God Damnit!” he snapped and walked out of the bedroom leaving me sitting speechless on the edge of the bed.
It felt like a decade had passed before Victor came back in the bedroom. He was in control and had simmered down a tad.
“Get dressed. We need to go get that contract you signed. I just spoke to my attorney and he wants to see it immediately.”
I nodded in agreement and silently disappeared inside the closet to change. Walking out of the closet, Victor was sitting on the edge of the bed his hands on his knees.
“Come over here.” His tone was strained.
I froze.
“Please, Angelina.”
I inched my way to the bed. Victor stopped me before I sat down. He pulled me to him and held me. I could feel the tension in his body, his breathing hitched.
“I’m pissed at you for agreeing to put yourself in danger without asking me first. But I understand you had to make an immediate decision. I’m angrier with the Feds manipulating and preying on your fear to get you to do their dirty work. They have been trying to take my father down for years without success. They want to use you for bait. I want my attorney to see if there is a way out of this.”
“There’s not. They told me not to tell anyone and if I did the contact was void. That they’d haul you off to jail in a big public spectacle.”
“My attorney is discreet and competent. He will tell me if there is another way than walking into a death trap with my father. If he even suspects you’re wired up, he will kill us both without a second thought.”
“I know that. But if the deal I struck with the Feds holds, then we need to come up with a plan to get what I was promised and come out alive.”
Scarlett was online shopping for some new weapons of mass destructions. She really wished she could buy a military equipped airplane to shock and awe the shit out of Joe Salvatore and wipe out the Mob in one fly over. I wish it was just that easy.
“Let’s hope we can figure out a way to divert the Feds until we can figure out another option.” Victor said, back on his feet pacing the room.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was just trying to protect you.”
“I know,” he said kissing me on my forehead, “and I love you for it. But you’re in way over your head, Angelina. I know more than anyone what my father is capable of and what’s he done. That’s what terrifies me the most of all of this. It is knowing the depth of my father’s brutality and apathy. If you are a threat to him and his business, he will eliminate you without a second thought. He never pulls the trigger or commits the executions himself. He has men whose only purpose is carrying out who gets whacked and when. He doesn’t give a shit that I love you and will die protecting you. He might for a brief second feel remorse having his only child murdered, but then in his twisted, callous mind, he will justify it as a consequence of doing business.”
Scarlett shivered and started researching the Mob. They had to have a weak spot to expose and capitalize on. She would find it and build her tactical plan around it.
“Let’s get that contract,” Victor said, grabbing my hand.
He fired up the Camaro and sped down the driveway wide open. Scarlett had a grin
plastered on her face and was high fiving me.
The house was silent when the front door creaked opened. I carefully eased it closed as not to wake Ella. Curran was asleep on the couch. Victor grabbed my hand and headed to my room. I flicked the light on and opened the top drawer of my dresser. I fished out the neatly folded paper and handed it to Victor. He bolted to my bed and sat on the edge. He unfolded the contract and started reading. The holy shit expression flashed across his face a few times. He hastily folded the contract, put it inside his jacket and grabbed my hand, leading me back out of my room. I stopped, covered Curran up, and kissed him on his head. He mumbled and shifted his position. I tiptoed to the front door.
“Should I stay here tonight, while you figure this out with your lawyer?” I said.
“No, I want you with me.”
“What about Ella? She’s not a fan of me sleeping at your house.”
“I respect that. But you’re a big girl and make your own decisions. If you’re that worried about it, then just be back before she wakes up,” Victor said carefully closing the door behind us.
Scarlett was hanging out the window, her hair blowing in the crisp night air. She yelled Yee haw! as Victor gunned it up the dirt road. She loved this car almost as much as the motorcycle.
Victor headed straight to his office to fax his lawyer the contract. I lingered behind and made my way to his bedroom, a hot bath sounded like heaven. Scarlett rifled through the vanity drawers in the bathroom looking for those suction cup handcuffs Victor used the very first time I took a bath with him. Scar made sure she had a fresh pack of smokes for after.
I slid out of my clothes and stepped into the tub, my body melting in the hot water. My eyes closed and I slowly started to drift off. I felt the water move as Victor slipped into the tub, his lips wasting no time as he kissed my stomach, inching his way up to my lips. My sweet spot erupted and Scarlett was tracing her name in the steam on the bathroom mirror. Victor’s lips engulfed mine with so much more urgency than before. His kiss was desperate, grateful, and passionate all in one potent elixir.
He thrust his hands into the water and grabbing my hips, lifted me onto the side of the tub. Spreading my legs, he devoured my clit and his tongue began its tango. My back arched, grabbing the edge of the tub, my orgasm arrived hard and fast. Victor slid me back into the hot water and the sensation on my sweet spot ramped up for round two. He sat in front of me and I washed that toned, muscular back. He sat silent, succumbing to my tongue licking the water beading up and running down his back.
He turned and lifted me out of the tub, carrying me to the bed. He stood in front of me, his manliness hard and thick, eager to be satisfied. I got on my knees and bent forward. Victor groaned as he thrust inside of me and came almost instantly. He collapsed next to me, both of us panting. Scarlett just lit her second cigarette and was still floating above the tub.
“I so needed that.”
“Me too,” I said. Pulling back the covers, I slipped in between the cool sheets.
Victor joined me and wrapped those big protective arms around me. “My lawyer has the contract. He will be in touch tomorrow.”
“Ok,” I replied. I wanted to tell Victor not to waste his time or money, I already knew the answer. There was no other option. My only way out was to give the Feds what they so desperately wanted. Joe Salvatore.
Chapter 21
The verdict was in and I wasn’t shocked to hear that there was no way out of the contract that didn’t end with one or both of us being tossed in jail. The fact that Victor knew about the deal with the Feds put everything in jeopardy. I’d already breached one of the conditions that no-one could know our secret. I had already carried out the FBI’s covet sting operations putting myself in danger as each target became more high profile and closer to winning the jackpot— Joe Salvatore.
The Feds were growing impatient and wanted the meeting with Joe to be soon. Scar needed to dig deep and pull out every trick and weapon she had. This would be the ultimate showdown and my chance of survival was slim. My odds plunged to zero if the wire was found and Victor’s death warrant would be signed on the spot by his father. This wire needed be discreet and un-detectable, or I was as good as dead. We both knew this. The precarious situations I found myself in with Nelson would be minuscule compared to sitting down with my biggest nemesis.
Setting up a sit down meeting with the head of the Mob wasn’t as simple as calling his secretary and scheduling it. It would be a covert mission that required precision planning on our part to make sure I survived.
Victor wanted to blindside his father and reduced the risk. Joe Salvatore was a creature of habit. Vito’s was his father’s favorite restaurant and base of most of his operation. Every Thursday night he went there for dinner. It wasn’t as public as Victor wanted, but Joe Salvatore was not the type of guy you could hook up at the mall with for a sit down. This plan reduced the chance of my ending up in a shallow grave or being hauled out of the Passaic.
“Walk me though how you communicate with the Feds,” Victor commanded, sitting down next to me.
“Text messages and we meet in the back of the station or under the Masonic Bridge.”
Victor’s gaze was intense as his eyes locked onto mine. Scarlett handed me two shots one for each hand.
“I’m given my target off the list I handed over to them and they give me the incriminating questions I have to ask. One of the agents unbuttons my blouse to attach the wire.”
Victor’s eyes exploded with anger. He jumped up and kicked the edge of the couch. “Fuckin’ bastards.”
“I’m assuming that protocol will be changed up as your father is the trophy they had in their site for a long time. I don’t know yet how this is going to play out. I meet with both agents this morning under the Masonic Bridge.”
“We need to keep the book a secret at all costs. Those son of bitches can’t know or all of this was for nothing. They will throw you in jail for refusing to hand over the book and you will be dead within the hour. They can’t protect any of us from my father, and they know that. Those assholes don’t give a damn about you as long as they get their high profile arrest and all the fame that goes with bringing down my father.”
“I understand,” I said. Scarlett was pacing, mumbling to herself. She wanted to go with her plan, but Victor had other ideas.
“If you get in front of my father. The first question he will ask is where the book is. Then the Feds will know. So you lead the Feds on make them believe that you’re following their orders. Walk into the restaurant and head for my father, he always sits in the private room in the back. To the left of the door is a small hallway leading to the bathroom. I want you to head in the direction of the door, keeping in mind there will be two guards standing outside watching the door for intruders. Don’t make eye contact and head to ladies room. Lock the door and go into the farthest stall away from the door. We will create a diversion that will cause my father to be ushered out the back of the kitchen to a waiting car. When the dust settles, you leave as fast as you can. Walk down to the end of the street and your car will be parked. Get in and head home.”
“Okay,” I said listening to his instructions carefully. Scar whipped out her phone, taping in Victor’s orders, she was ready to put all those weapons she had to good use. Joe Salvatore didn’t scare her, but he terrified the hell out of me.
Scarlett was so excited. She was going to get the chance to kick some gangster booty tonight. I was terrified. Shit was going to get real. I was overcome with so many emotions all mixed together it was overwhelming. I was walking into a death trap and the odds of someone not dying was slim. I just prayed it wasn’t Victor, Hawke or me. Scarlett rubbed my shoulder like a manager does to his boxer before he headed back into the ring to get the shit beat out of him. I didn’t want to go into the ring with Joe Salvatore because I would be the one lying face down in a pool of my own blood.
Victor and Hawke both stared at me intently.
“Y
ou got this? Any-thing not crystal clear? We don’t have the luxury of screwing this up.”
“Yes. I understand,” I said, fear oozing from my tone. “Is there a high likelihood of causalities tonight?”
“Yes. But just follow the plan. Do what I told you and don’t deviate. No matter what you hear, you don’t fucking come out of the bathroom until I text you that it’s all clear. You walk out, get in your car and drive home. We will meet you here.”
“You promise me, Victor! Hawke. You promise me you will be here.”
Both Victor and Hawke exchanged glances.
“Yes. We’ll be fine,” he said kissing me on the forehead, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Let do this. Hawke and I will be out of site from those assholes, but we will have eyes on you at all times. This is why I hire ex-military Special Forces. You need to tell the agents that you will be meeting my father at Vito’s at eight.”
***
Agents Parker and Davis were waiting when I pulled up. Victor and Hawke pulled off on a side road a mile back. Both agents immediately got out of their vehicle and flanked mine. Agent Parker ushered me out of the SUV and into the back seat of their sedan. Both agents scanned the surroundings making sure the coast was clear. Scarlett had her favorite blinged out ammo belt strapped to her hips and was taking up the rear behind both agents. She stayed outside the vehicle to keep watch, searching the area to see if she could catch a glimpse of Victor and Hawke. Damn those boys are good, she mumbled to herself.
Is it set up?” Agent Parker asked.
“I’m fine thanks for asking,” I snapped.
“Miss. Ellington, screw the formalities. This is serious. Is the face to face with Joe Salvatore secured or not?”
“Yes. Tonight at Vito’s eight o’clock.”
Scarlett was pounding on the car window. A black panel van was approaching. My eyes darted to the van, Both Agents glanced out, but were unfazed.
