by Soraya Naomi
The fabric of my shirt clings to my side while my skin pulls tight, and I hiss from the ache. Stopping in my tracks, I look back over my shoulder and hold up my hand to the soldiers following me. I bring my finger to my lips, then point to my ear, instructing them to be absolutely quiet and listen. Damian’s one of the two men that’s backing me.
Faint noises drift from the end of the hallway, and I gesture forward, running ahead and yelling into my earpiece, “James, when you have Fat Sal, tell me. It’s best if I walk into the fight club with him.”
Just as I turn the corner, a shadow disappears at the other end of the hall.
Christ! We’re going in circles.
Another round of shooting somewhere in another area trembles the foundation of the building.
I hurry ahead again. “CAM.”
Of course, I’m in another hallway that splits into two directions. I look left then right, nothing.
“Adriano!” The sound is originating from the left, and Cam comes into sight with Santino behind her and then racing past her, effectively obstructing her from me.
My piece is targeted on his forehead, and he slows but keeps a predatory pace toward me.
Cam tugs him back by his arm. “No, Santino. He’s with me.”
I told her not to touch other men.
“Come to me, Cam,” I order while my two soldiers also direct their weapons at Santino, who finally gets the point when he’s just a few feet in front of me.
Cam peruses me and touches my side, her expression horrified when she sees that her fingers are covered in my blood. “Are you shot?”
An acute sense of control and serenity returns to my system now that she’s with me again – alive and well. “No.” With one hand, I palm her cheek and check her for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head.
James announces in my ear, “We have Fat Sal.”
It’s party time.
“Take Santino to the fight club,” I instruct one soldier and tuck Cam into my side.
Kissing her hair, I don’t let Santino’s eyes skitter away. “Cuff him.”
Cam becomes rigid but doesn’t make a peep, and he’s confounded by our closeness.
Santino’s wrists are tied behind his back, and he’s shoved away, toward the fight club.
Damian, Cam, and I are alone – at last.
I unhurriedly release Cam, knowing what’s to follow, and tilt her chin up so that she’s looking into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she replies reservedly.
“Do I not deserve”—I jam the butt of my gun into Damian’s nose and smack his firearm out of his hand. Then I sink my fingers into his bull-like neck, closing off his windpipe, my Smith & Wesson pointed at his temple—“retaliation for his disobeying my orders?”
“What the fuck?!” Damian spits with lines of blood running from his nostrils. “She also came on to me!”
Cam’s upset look is replaced by disdain. “I did not.” She edges closer with cautious steps. “We don’t have time for this now.”
I have timed this to perfection. Even with her little desertion of my operation, for which she will be punished later, we still have time. Disregarding her, I bury my fist into Damian’s ribs and then deliver a solid blow to his stomach.
“That’s for touching my Cam.”
“Jesus Christ, Adriano,” Cam scolds and goes down onto her knees beside Damian.
“Don’t you fucking dare touch him!” I drag her up by her collar and say into my earpiece, “James?”
“Yes.”
“Is everyone on all floors contained?”
“Affirmative,” he answers.
“Bring Fat Sal to me at the main entryway of the fight club. Henry, lead me there.”
I snap my fingers to Damian. “Come with us. Walk.” With my piece pointed at Damian’s back, I push him forward as Henry guides me to the destination. “Follow me, Cam.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she mutters.
CHAPTER 40
Camilla
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask, my voice laced with anxiety. Nervous sweat rains down my nape.
And I also let Adriano take Santino. What’s he planning to do with him? The trust we built over the last two weeks, trust that appeared secure, is tainted within these few seconds, and doubt pricks my skin.
Memories flash by as I’m being led through a familiar passageway that ends in the fight club. Two soldiers appear with Fat Sal, who’s been cuffed and beaten. Sal sneers with scarlet rage when he sees me. Adriano ignores him and whispers back and forth to his men while Damian objects. Then Adriano beckons them forward while he forces Fat Sal to walk, and I follow dutifully. The dank place reeks of burned flesh and gore. Adriano moves with distinct ease as our soldiers hold people under the threat of gunfire. There are bodies piled around in the circle surrounding the slightly elevated center stage where I was sold naked often, but thankfully, my memories aren’t vivid.
The crowd consists of sparsely clad girls and men in various forms of undress – patrons caught in the crossfire – and dozens and dozens of Fat Sal’s guards and our soldiers.
I swallow through a dry throat and search for Santino, but I can’t spot him.
At the bloodied steps of the podium, James and Luca are waiting for Adriano. All three high ranking men are stained with blood and have venomous expressions, so different from each of their day-to-day clean and entrepreneurial looks. This is them in action, exercising their supremacy, and it’s intriguing, yet chilling, to witness how they command an entire room.
Adriano coerces Fat Sal’s obese body to its knees. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We’re the Chicago Syndicate—”
“We are the Chicago Syndicate!” someone interjects, yelling.
Adriano smiles cruelly and traces the slide of his gun down Sal’s jaw, causing Sal to jerk away. “See, that’s the crux. You are not part of the Chicago Syndicate. Your self-appointed Capo crimine has never negotiated with us to become part of our organization. And your boss has been interfering with our business.” Then he forces Fat Sal to acknowledge my presence. “Do you see my Cam, Sal? She has a score to settle with you.”
James wordlessly orders me closer to the front of the stage with a wave as he walks to Sal. “You’ve hurt one of mine. And she will decide your fate.”
With moisture trailing down his temples, Sal refuses to look at James or Adriano and just hisses at me.
I take three steps forward, grab the second handgun from my belt, and target my weapon. Seeing nothing humane left in Sal’s eyes, I decide that a quick death is too easy – the brutality he’s inflicted on others should be exacted on him – so I lower my aim. “No, I want him to suffer.”
“How, Camilla?” James asks while Adriano is studying my every move.
I don’t know.
“Any way you see fit,” I blurt, surprising even myself.
Adriano bends down, gets a knife from his ankle holster, and offers it to James over the head of Sal, who’s still kneeling between them. “Do you want the honors, or shall I?”
James grins and seizes it, simultaneously grabbing Sal’s hair and plunging the knife into his eye, making him cry out in pain as the blood pours down his cheek.
I grimace – Adriano observes it – and decide I don’t want to actually witness this. “I don’t want to see this.”
James stops and pushes Sal to his back as Adriano signals two soldiers over. “Lock him up in one of the rooms. He’s not to be killed yet.”
With pieces of his eyeball hanging out, Sal’s dragged offstage by his shoulders.
The audience is astoundedly silent and riveted to Adriano, who continues his speech, “This fight club is now closed. More than half of the men are already dead. Every floor and every corridor of Club 7 is now officially the property of the Chicago Syndicate.”
However, Adriano’s next statement has my jaw dropping to the floor.
“Well, let me
be more clear. This little fight and sex club now belongs to my organization. And I am the Capo crimine of this Syndicate; therefore, I am your Capo crimine as of now.” He throws a challenging scowl around the room, and then it softens when he lands on me with an impenetrable stare.
Did he just state Capo crimine instead of Capo? He’s no longer a Capo, a captain, but now the Capo crimine, the boss? Of the Chicago Syndicate? What about James? How do I fit in? Do I fit in? What about our plans to run?
My eyes blur as they meet his, and his brows wrinkle for just a second, disrupting his confident performance, while I stand there in a mindless state of complete confusion.
James explains further, “I’ll be resigning from my position but will remain active as a Consigliere within the Montesi Chicago Syndicate. Adriano will lead the organization.”
“Luca will still function as underboss,” Adriano adds.
And James roars, “Do you pledge allegiance?!”
“Si,” most of the soldiers, and even some of Sal’s guards, answer eagerly.
James orders, “Bow to your new Capo crimine!”
And everyone except the Capi, who are still holding their guns in shooting position, bows. “Capo crimine Adriano.”
Adriano zeroes in on Damian, who’s on my left now, and malicious intent consumes his stance. “I think we have a rogue.”
Luca takes position next to Adriano and asks Damian calmly, “And you? Do you pledge?”
“Fuck you. I’m a dead man anyway,” Damian fires back, and both men display a sinister smile.
Faces covered in dried up blood streaks, they’re in full, spine chilling mafia mode, and I want to look away, yet I’m incapable of doing so.
I swallow back rising fear and glare at Damian, who’s glowering at Adriano, provoking him.
Adriano jumps off the stage with flair and lands steadily in front of Damian, whose hands are secured at his back, locking his attention solely on me while uttering to him, “That you are. You’ve been a dead man walking since the day you fucked my Cam.” He walks in a half circle around him, stopping at his back, and grips his chin from behind as Damian howls in protest.
Then it occurs: the moment when I finally grasp the brutality of the organization I’m part of now. And I’m living it as if I’m watching a movie. An array of emotions, all of them familiar to me since I’ve been in the Syndicate, barrage my brain.
Adriano’s capturing his new role as boss. He’s in charge. Uncontrollable. Alarming. Thrilling. And still, alluring. This is the Adriano that I never knew from before. This is the Capo, now the Capo crimine, so I get to see the extent of his mercilessness. And I realize the extent of the savagery in the underworld. Just like everything else from the last few days, it happens in a flash.
Adriano speaks to the spectators, “Don’t think that my sparing Sal will extend to anyone else. Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. If you’re with me, I’ll protect you with my life. But if you’re against me – man, woman, or child – I will destroy you without hesitation.” Then his jealous fury is let loose, and he twists Damian’s neck, cracking it and killing him with one dominant snap.
I’m stupefied and cringe when I hear his neck breaking, but I shut my eyes and swallow back an objection as the lessons that have been drilled into me for the last two weeks manage to hold me together. I’ve learned not to question Adriano in front of anyone else.
Adriano takes two steps aside, facing me now, and holds out his hand for me to join him. “Cam.” A hint of a tremble sneaks into his voice as his other hand braces my shoulder. “Stop overthinking this.”
Overthinking? I haven’t even had a fraction of a second to deal with any of this.
“You just, without discussing it with me, killed Damian,” I retort with almost no sound, but he hears it since we’re just an inch apart now.
And his tone softens for the first, and only, time of this entire evening. “Why are you so upset? Because you still consider him to be a friend? Was he? He was ready to throw you to the wolves the second I hit him. Never be loyal to people who aren’t loyal to you.”
I don’t consider him a friend, and I did notice how easily he was willing to rat me out, but still, sadness clouds my mind.
“This is what I mean by saying you’re too attached, attached to unimportant people, Cam.”
Maybe I am, but apart from Damian, there’s more. “You lied to me?” I ask in a voice that doesn’t sound like me.
“Lies, truth, it’s all irrelevant when lives are at stake. Only the tough and the ruthless survive in this world. What’s important is us. I found a way for us. I couldn’t tell you because it all happened so fast, and you needed to focus on one thing, or else it would’ve been even more dangerous for you down here.” His eyes warn me in a firm manner that shoots any protests to the back of my mind without delay, and he whispers, “Cam, wipe the shock off your face. Don’t undermine me in front of everyone. I will explain, I promise.”
His words that seem to originate from a sincere place appease me – a little. “Is James really stepping down?”
James shifts to us. “Camilla—”
The three of us stand huddled together so that no one can hear our conversation.
“You’re okay with this?” I ask, unsure whether I’m questioning him about Adriano’s and my personal connection or the fact that Adriano just became Capo crimine.
He scrutinizes Adriano’s hand on me. “As a leader, I could’ve never agreed to you and Adriano. There’s an established hierarchy that centers this world, that grounds this world and gives it a sense of order, and rank is significant. Yes, I was upset when he first came to me. But as a man who grew up in the mafia, I admire Adriano’s leadership and problem solving abilities. I’m getting older, Camilla. I don’t want to rule this empire anymore. And I knew that Luca no longer wanted to be promoted to the Capo crimine position, because he has a wife outside the mafia, so I stayed longer than anticipated. Adriano was also never planning on becoming boss, even though he was next in line to become Capo crimine after Luca. But he has stepped up now, Cam, and I have faith in him. He’ll be a good leader. You two have my blessing.” And he walks away, giving Adriano and me privacy.
Thoughts crash in my mind, and it’s impossible to organize them. The breath I’ve been holding for too long breaks out, and there’s such an overriding part of me that’s been waiting to be with Adriano that I accept being handled this way. For years, I’ve wanted him, and I still can’t deny him. I don’t even want to – even though a few minutes ago it appalled me to see how enticingly powerful he is, desire wins out. Desire that’s been engrained in me for so long that not even ending Damian’s life this way can destroy it, apparently, because Adriano manages to divert me before the bewilderment conquers me.
But I need to be careful. I didn’t risk my life to help Santino just to let him die.
I take Adriano’s offered palm, and he furtively exhales a breath of relief. We grip each other, and that familiar current still ties us together.
Just as he’s about to turn, I tug his hand once to regain his attention. “Promise me that you’ll not hurt Santino in any way. No more surprises now.”
His nostrils flare, but a grin pulls at his lips – as if he’s secretly proud of me. “I promise.” He cranes his neck to Luca. “Ensure that Santino isn’t hurt. No one touches him.”
He became boss to be with me? We can be together? With my family? Here in the Loop?
And it dawns on me how much under Adriano’s influence I actually am.
CHAPTER 41
Adriano
She’s retreating into herself, as always, so I choose to get Cam out of here; what’s about to happen might be a little much for her.
“I’ll be right back,” I say to Cam and release her hand to go to Luca. “We’re leaving.” And I lean in close to his ear. “Kill everyone from Sal’s team that’s still alive, except Santino. I trust no one from Sal’s club, and the patrons have witnessed too much. T
hen let a crew clean up and lock this floor.”
Luca rewards me with a pleased expression and nods. It’s going to take a while to get used to our new positions.
And I stroll out the same way I came in, only with Cam beside me in a quiet, dazed state. People clear our path, and our soldiers bow slightly on each side while we proceed to the exit with an entirely different prospective future than when we came in.
As we wait in the hallway for the elevator, I’m impatient to find out what happened during those minutes she was away from me. “Cam, why did I lose you when the lights went out? What exactly happened?” I’m holding her hand in a tight clutch.
“I got knocked into the wall and was completely disoriented. When gunfire lit up the area, Santino saw me and dragged me to another hall. The earpiece was gone from my pocket, so we just tried to find the fight club.”
“Why was your bracelet off?”
She raises her wrist to inspect it and then lowers her arm. “I guess I lost it. I didn’t even notice during the chaos.”
That’s careless, but I don’t reprimand her now.
***
Once we’re alone in the car that’s waiting for us outside, Cam fires the questions at me at rapid speed.
“You really became Capo crimine to be with me?” she asks, staring at me with wide eyes.
I became Capo crimine only to be with her. “Yes.”
“Since when have you been planning this?”
The streets are deserted as I drive us to the Astoria Tower. “Since Wednesday night.”
“Was this Luca’s plan? Did you know Luca didn’t want to become Capo crimine?”
“Yes, Luca initiated this plan. I knew Luca was resistant about being promoted. However, I didn’t know he had already informed James that he would never accept the role of boss. After I told Luca about us, he advised me to rethink declining the highest ranking position – Luca was always supposed to become Capo crimine. I never wanted that job. It’s an immense responsibility. Luca then discussed his plan with James. When James came to take you to stay with him, it was actually a test, but not for you, for me. James wanted to know if I would risk my life for you and come to him or if I would let you down. I passed the test, and only four of us knew about it.”
