Mafia Mugs and Sexy Hugs

by Kitty Parker

  Reaching the stairs my first thought was to go down and run out the front door, escape. Somehow I found my eyes wandering towards the third floor. I still remembered how mad Jett had been when he found me up there. What was up there that would get him so mad? My curiosity got the best of me and I climbed the stairs to discover the unknown secrets of the third floor.

  Stepping onto the landing I checked and made sure that this hallway was empty like the other had been. After confirming that it too was deserted I began my exploration. There were several doors, all identical to the one next to them. The first one I tried was locked, so was the second, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Whatever was up here, they didn't want anyone to know about it.

  Ready to give up, I halfheartedly tried the seventh door, expecting the same rejection. It opened. I didn't know what to do, they had forgotten to lock this door. I stepped inside of the dark room. I groped the wall until I found a light switch and flicked it on. The light illuminated the room to reveal that it was small and cramped. The walls were lined with file cabinets, making it almost impossible to move.

  I moved to the first cabinet and forced open the top drawer. It was filled with files, ranging from what was labeled Avery to Barons. Nothing caught my attention. These had to be people that worked for them. However it could have also been a record of all their victims. With this thought in my mind I made my way over to the cabinet that contained the T files.

  Wrenching open the top drawer I scanned through the file headings. Tab, Talon, Tappet, Tavor. There it was my file. I pulled it out from the cabinet, noting that it was much larger than the rest of the files. I opened the worn cover of the manila folder and began reading.

  1/13/89

  David is beginning to show rebellious behavior towards the group. His wife Sheryl is five months pregnant with their child.

  2/7/89

  David has gone against the group. He betrayed us and almost exposed us to the FBI if it hadn't of been for him also being part of the assignment then he would have.

  2/9/89

  David escaped with his six-month pregnant wife. There is no word on their whereabouts.

  6/21/90

  David and his wife Sheryl have been found along with their one-year-old daughter Emma. It was discovered that he and a large group of people had been working inside of the group for him in his own group.

  4/15/91

  An assassination attempt against David failed. His group was larger than expected.

  11/12/93

  Second assassination attempt was made, it also failed.

  12/1/95

  David's group has increased greatly in numbers and now rivals my own in close power.

  3/8/98

  After disappearing from our sights he has resurfaced in Beverly Hills California.

  5/17/01

  A third assassination was attempted, failed.

  2/12/04

  Today my son was officially inducted into the family business. He has been assigned to work on a special case concerning the only heir to the Tavor Mafia, Emma Tavor.

  4/26/05

  One of my best men was killed today by David. He captured and tortured Greg Harrison, older brother of Jett Harrison, in attempt to gain information. He was unsuccessful in attaining information and killed Greg Harrison.

  1/24/06

  With the information that my son and others have gathered we are planning on kidnapping the daughter of David and Sheryl Tavor, Emma Tavor.

  6/3/07

  The kidnapping attempt was successful, she pretends to know nothing about her father's Mafia.

  6/4/07

  It has been confirmed that she knows nothing about her father's past. A request for ransom has been issued.

  6/6/07

  David has denied Ransom request. Emma remains here.

  I couldn't believe what I had read. If all this was true then it meant that my father had been part of this Mafia, but betrayed them and formed his own. He had killed Jett's older brother, which would explain his resentment towards me. The worst thing of all was that Andrew had been watching me, planning what he had done, for three years. These people knew more about my family and me than I knew.

  I couldn't breathe. This was too much and the room was too small. I shoved the folder back into its place and stumbled out the door. To my disbelief and horror the hall was no longer empty. Jett was walking down the hall, headed right towards me. He saw me and his eyes narrowed and his pace quickened.

  "I thought I told you to stay off of this floor." He growled at me.

  I didn't know what to say. How could I? My father had killed this man's brother.

  "Were you in that room?" He asked through clenched teeth.

  "I'm sorry." I whispered my voice choked with tears that I hadn't noticed was spilling over.

  "Go back to your room! NOW!" He shouted.

  I didn't move. "I'm sorry." I repeated.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I didn't know."

  "I told you to stay off the third floor you knew!"

  "No. About Y..Your brother." It came out s a choked sob.

  His faced was contorted in pain and anger. I was crying over a person I had never seen and never known. Why? My dad had not only killed this man's brother but he had tortured him. Why? I had lived with a killer for the past seventeen years of my life and never even thought about it, I had no reason to.

  "Don't talk about stuff you don't understand." Came his steely reply.

  "I'm sorry." I whispered before walking down the stairs and back to my room, leaving Jett behind me fists clenched to his sides.

  I didn't bother trying to escape. I no longer wanted to, I couldn't go back to a home where a cold blooded, heartless man, whom I had once called my father lived. How could I not have known that my father had ruthlessly killed people? It had all gone on right under my nose and I was too ignorant to notice.

  Right then I did something I never thought I would. I locked myself into my room. The room that I had been kept in since the day I arrived, my cause of boredom, my prison cell, and right now my place where I felt the safest. The last thing on my mind was the kiss.

  Chapter11

  Andrew's P.O.V

  Her lips were so soft. It felt like kissing cotton candy. DAMN! What is this girl doing to me? I mean come on! What man describes girls lips like cotton candy? I'm not supposed to feel this way! I had to get my mind off of Emma, not just Emma but that kiss.

  I walked up the stair to the third floor, ready to dive into some paper work to keep my mind off of her. Jett was standing in front of the door that led to the file room. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides and he looked like he was going to explode.

  "Jett?" I asked stopping in front of him.

  "What?" He snarled.

  "Did you read the file again?" I asked knowing this is how he got whenever he read what happened to his brother again.

  "No."

  "Then why are you like this?"

  "She read it." He said through clenched teeth.

  "WHAT!"

  This was not good! She had read the file. Had she read all of it? Had she found the file that was for her and her alone? God I hope not. Where was she now? If she had gotten away then we were all done for. She would go straight to the police.

  "Where is she?"

  "I don't know I guess her room." He said his fist beginning to unclench.

  "You didn't TAKE her back?"

  "No."

  "Damnit Jett! She could be on her way to the police right now!"

  This seemed to wake him up from his state. We both took off running down the hall. We thundered down the steps and onto the second floor landing, sprinting for her bedroom door. I reached the door first with Jett a mere step behind. I grabbed the handle and turned. It was locked.

  "EMMA!" I yelled banging on the door.

  No response.

  "EMMA OPEN THE DOOR!"

  Silence.

  She couldn't b
e gone. I needed her here. Not just to stay out of jail but nothing would be right without her sarcastic remarks or bold behavior. She couldn't be gone. I needed her.

  Jett pushed me aside and rammed his shoulder into the door. It burst open with a loud crack, causing the wood to split down the middle. I rushed past him and into her room. I frantically looked around. I didn't see her. Then my eyes fell on a form sitting on the window seat.

  She had her knees pulled up against her chest and her head was resting on them. Her face was covered in trails left by tears that had dried and were becoming wet with new tears. She wasn't looking at Jett or myself; she was just staring out of the window.

  Emma's P.O.V

  Why? Why was my life like this? Why was I the one to go through this hell? Why couldn't I just be a normal teenage girl? Why was I not told anything about my life? Why had Andrew kissed me? I had been sitting on the window seat staring out at the horizon for over an hour, these very thoughts running through my mind.

  I heard Andrew yelling for me. I ignored him. I heard him banging on the door. I ignored it. I heard the door crack as it was forced open. I ignored it all. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't get up, I couldn't look away from the window, and I couldn't stop my life from falling deeper into this dark abyss.

  "Why didn't you open the door?" Andrew asked reaching me.

  I ignored him.

  "Damnit Emma! Answer me!" He yelled.

  I ignored him.

  "EMMA!" He yelled shaking me by my shoulders.

  My eyes drifted up to meet his. His beautiful green eyes. The first thing I had ever saw of him. They were different now. Before they had been filled with anger, cockiness, and no compassion what so ever. Now they were soft, worried and caring.

  Jett's P.O.V

  I rammed my shoulder into the door causing it to split and crack open. Andrew rushed past me and into the room, searching it frantically. He finally spotted her sitting on the window ledge. He approached her and she ignored him. Even when he was yelling at her. She only looked up when he began to shake her.

  I had never seen him like this. He was worried, he wanted her to be okay, and he wanted her to still be here. What had happened to him? I can still remember the first day he started to work for his father and when he had been assigned to her case.

  He had strutted around this placed like he owned it, which he did, saying how he was going to kidnap the daughter of David Tavor. He had been watching her and gathering information on her, with the help of others, for three years. How had he become so attached to her?

  One look at her right then told me how. He wanted to take care of her, protect her. She was tough on the outside but when you got down to it she was just as vulnerable as everyone else was. She was just a normal teenage girl that had been born into this cruel twisted fate.

  Andrew's P.O.V

  Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes were rimmed with red from her tears. I stopped shaking her and looked into her eyes. All I wanted was to protect her; to make sure nothing would ever hurt her in any way. My heart was aching; I could see her pain, her anguish, and her sadness. I wrapped my arms around her, not wanting to ever let her go. She was safe in my arms; she was safe with me. I would make sure of it.

  Emma's P.O.V

  I found myself wrapped in his warm embrace. My frail body held tightly against his large frame, shielding from the rest of the world.

  "I promise I won't let anything hurt you." He whispered in my ear still hugging me.

  At that moment I knew he wasn't lying. I knew that that kiss had been real. It had meant something to him like it had meant something to me. This was real, real affection. This was more than I had ever received from my parents, this was a person that truly cared about me, and I truly cared about him. He pulled away and softly brushed his lips against mine, in a comforting, calming gesture. This time I returned the gesture and pressed my lips against his.

  Andrew's P.O.V

  I made her a promise and I intended to keep that promise no matter what. I kissed her gently sealing my promise and finally letting my feeling be known. This was real, she meant something to me and by the way she returned the kiss, I meant something to her. We meant something to each other. I don't know what that something is but I know that I was not about to let that something or her go.

  Chapter 12

  Emma's P.O.V

  He was still there. He hadn't left my side all night. He was still sitting in the chair that he had pulled up beside my bed, after he had instructed me to go to sleep. I had awoken almost every hour, afraid that he would be gone and that I would be alone. Each time I was reassured that he was still there, only to wake an hour later worried that he had left. Can we say paranoid?

  He was slumped over in his chair. His broad shoulders hunched, his head resting heavily on his hands. He was telling me that I needed sleep? Psh, look at him. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days.

  "Andrew?" I quietly called.

  "Hm..?" He grunted slowly pulling his head up to look at me.

  "Go to bed. You need sleep."

  "No. I'm fine."

  "No you're not. You look exhausted."

  "I'm staying here."

  "I'll be fine. Go get some sleep."

  "I'm not leaving you alone."

  "I promise I won't run away, kill myself, or try to suffocate myself in the carpet." I said lightly hoping to brighten his mood.

  "Suffocate yourself in the carpet?"

  "Nothing." I said brushing it off with a smile.

  "You are the weirdest person I have ever met, you know that?"

  "Same to you. Now go get some sleep."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes."

  "Okay." He said standing and leaning down to place a soft kiss on my forehead.

  A smile spread across my lips. This boy was good; he could evoke any emotion from me. A fete most people failed miserably at. But then again Andrew wasn't like most people I had ever met. Hell he wasn't like anyone I had ever met and for that I was thankful.

  He left my room closing the door quietly behind him as my eyes too closed and I fell into a peaceful sleep.

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

  Andrew's P.O.V

  She was so beautiful, especially when she was asleep. She woke up almost every hour. Like she expected to see an empty chair were I had been sitting. Not a chance in hell. I was not leaving her side.

  Damn I was tired though. I had been up all night, watching her, protecting her. My head was lying heavily on my hands, my eyes continuously dropping, begging to sleep.

  "Andrew?" I heard her soft, gentle, voice call.

  "Hm..?" I responded too tired for words.

  "Go to bed. You need sleep." Damn that sounded like a good idea.

  "No. I'm fine." I lied keeping my eyes as wide open as possible.

  "No you're not. You look exhausted."

  "I'm staying here." I stated determinedly.

  "I'll be fine. Go get some sleep."

  "I'm not leaving you alone."

  "I promise I won't run away, kill myself, or try to suffocate myself in the carpet."

  What? Who suffocates themselves in the carpet?

  "Suffocate yourself in the carpet?"

  "Nothing." She said giving me a small smile that made my entire body heat up.

  "You are the weirdest person I have ever met, you know that?"

  "Same to you. Now go get some sleep."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes."

  "Okay." I stood up and placed a light kiss on her forehead. He skin was soft and smooth like porcelain. Another temperature rising smile.

  I walked out of her room, closing the door as quietly as possible and headed down the hall for my room. Almost there, just a few more steps and hello sleep. I was not five steps away from my door when I saw a figure walking towards me. I squinted to try and get a closer look. All I could see was platinum blonde hair, Mason.


  "What are you doing up so late?" He asked stopping in front of me.

  "I was just about to go to bed." I said motioning towards my door. "What about you?"

  "Couldn't sleep." He said shrugging his shoulders.

  "Well good luck with that. I'm going to bed."

  "Alright."

  I walked in and closed my door enveloping myself in darkness. I found my way over to my bed and collapsed out of pure exhaustion. I had no clue what time it was and I didn't bother to change out of my clothes and into something to sleep in. I was too tired/ I closed my eyes and drifted off.

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

  Emma's P.O.V

  Sleep is awesome! I swear if you get the right amount of it you feel new and refreshed and you seem to forget that anything bad has ever happened. That's how I felt when I woke up. I glanced over at the chair that Andrew had been sitting in and expected to see it empty. It wasn't.

  "Andrew I told you to go get some sleep." I said annoyed.

  "What?" A voice that I didn't recognize called from the darkness.

  "Andrew?"

  "No. He went to get some sleep. It's Mason."

  "Oh, why are you in here?"

  "Don't know. Couldn't sleep. I came in here to make sure you were okay."

  "Okay." I said a little freaked.

  Seriously how long had he been here? Was he watching me sleep? The one time Andrew doesn't lock the door, this guy gets in here. Could you get any more ironic?

  "Do you want me to leave?" He questioned beginning to stand up.

  "No. You can stay, I don't mind."

  Did that just come out of my mouth? I was just thinking how freaky this is and now I'm inviting him to stay! Way to go Emma! At least now I have someone to talk to, seeing as Andrew would probably be out cold for awhile.

  "Are you sure?" He asked sitting back down in the chair.

  "Yeah I want someone to talk to."

  "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

  "What do you do?"

  "I work."

  "What kind of work?"

  "This and that." He said shortly.

  "You're not going to tell me are you?"

  "Nope." He said with a small smile.

  "Why are you here?" I asked pulling my knees up to my chest under the covers.