“It’s not like that, Olivia,” Bruno says, devouring my neck. “You know it’s not. This isn’t just sex.” He yanks my top over my head, then moves on to the tops of my breasts, caressing my skin with buttery kisses.
I don’t acknowledge what Bruno’s saying, that this isn’t just sex, because the concept makes me too sad. I’m here now, submitting to him. But in the future, I don’t know if I can get past this. How could I ever trust him?
I arch my back against the wall, grinding my pelvis against his. His cock springs up, hard and ready, against my inner thighs.
“I’m yours,” I whisper against his ear, my edging sarcasm gone. For a moment, I actually believe that.
Bruno unhooks my bra, and cups my breasts. My knees buckle when he tweaks my nipple.
“That’s right,” he says, his hot, wet breath beating against my neck. He slips his hand down the waistband of my jeans, and presses two fingers against my engorged flesh. “All mine.”
He wedges me against the wall with his shoulders while roughly unbuttoning my pants. I slide out of them willingly. When I’m naked, he takes a step back, studying my body. I see myself reflected in his expression; a beautiful, powerful being brimming with life. Is that how he sees me? Is that who I am?
I reach for him. He stays out of my grasp, and drops to his knees, grabbing hold of my hips. He plunges his face between my legs and feasts on me, tasting every wet inch. I plant my hands against the wall behind me, and grind against his tongue. The dark pleasure calms and excites me as it rises up my spine. It culminates in an exquisite orgasm that leaves me shuddering.
While I’m still catching my breath, Bruno grabs me around the waist, hoists me up, and throws me on the bed. I’m on my stomach, gasping into the sheets. The mattress groans as Bruno climbs on top of me. He slips two fingers inside of me from behind. My body seizes. I’m extremely sensitive to his touch. His cock lies against my ass, thick and heavy. He leans forward, wedging his strong arms around me as he kisses the back of my neck.
He pulls his hips back, sliding his cock down the slope of my ass, then presses forward, entering me. I moan as my flesh spreads deliciously. His hardness reaches every pleasure point, setting off shockwaves inside of me.
I’m trapped under his heavy body as he fucks me with abandon. There’s no escaping the overwhelming waves of pleasure that drag me further under his spell. I give myself to the tumultuous sensations, melting beneath him as orgasms turn my muscles to jelly.
Bruno’s breath comes faster against my ear. I know he’s close. At the last second, he pulls out, and finishes on my lower back. I’m glad for that. In our haste, we’d forgotten a condom.
With the sexual pressure relieved, my rational mind comes creeping back in. I listen to both of us breathe in this dark room. The tension that hangs in the air is stifling and oppressive. Bruno leaves and comes back with a towel to clean me up. When he returns, I’m crying.
He climbs on the bed and gathers me in his arms. I’m so confused, but snuggling against his warm chest feels right, so I go with that. He quietly strokes my hair, letting me cry for bit, before breaking the silence.
“Are you ready to talk?” he asks.
I pull away from him, drying my eyes as I gaze at the ceiling. Am I?
Bruno sits up, giving me a serious look that chills me to the bone. He holds my hand, and takes a deep breath.
“Olivia,” he says, tenderly. “Your father’s not dead. Vince Lombardi is your father.”
“No,” I say, immediately. I feel the rage growing again, and the need for violence, but something tells me to listen to him.
“Your mother, Minnie, left him when you were young. She’s lied to you all this time.”
“No,” I say again. I sit up straight, shaking my head. This can’t be. He’s got it all wrong.
Bruno squeezes my hand. “It’s true. Your name’s not Olivia. It’s Emma Lombardi.”
I open my mouth to say “no” again, when it hits me. Emma Lombardi. Mom wasn’t calling me M, as in M&M’s. She was calling me Em. And that’s why she’s always so paranoid. She’s in hiding. That means, Bruno doesn’t have the wrong person. It all clicks into place, just like the three locks on the bedroom door. I can hear them now. One, two, three.
The room goes black. I don’t know what happens. I open my eyes to Bruno hovering over me. He’s calling my name and patting my cheeks.
“Are you okay?” he asks. His voice sounds hollow.
My mind is blank. I can’t think. I’m unable to process this. Bruno looks at me with relief.
“You passed out for a second,” Bruno explains. “I can’t blame you for that.”
My mouth is very dry. There’s a throbbing at the base of my skull. I rub my temples, willing my brain to work.
“I’m… I’m not…” I stutter, struggling to have a coherent thought.
Bruno takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “It’s okay,” he soothes. “Nothing makes sense right now, but it will.” He brings a glass of water to my lips. He must’ve gotten it while I was out. “Drink this.”
I close my eyes and drink. The water is cold. It soothes my throat, and I can feel it emptying into my stomach. It brings some life back into me. I look up at Bruno.
“Why?” I ask him.
Bruno becomes very serious. He lets go of my hand. I sit up, not sure if I want to hear this, but I have to. He tells me everything. He’s a member of the mafia, on track to becoming made. Vince Lombardi, my dad, kidnapped one of his crew members. They want to trade him for me. Bruno didn’t know who I was when he took me. He didn’t know my mother fled when I was three. He didn’t know how vulnerable I am. He apologizes profusely for what he’s done to me.
I listen intently, my mouth gaping. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I feel like Bruno’s spinning a work of fiction. This is not real life. And especially not my life. When Bruno stops talking, I give up on trying to understand, and try to find a way forward.
I chug more water, hoping it will wake me up, then wipe my mouth on my forearm.
I grab Bruno’s hand. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
His face falls. “No, we can’t.”
“We have to. There’s no other choice. You can’t hand me over to that psycho. What if he finds my mom? He’ll kill her.” My voice trembles on those last words. I start to shake. My shoulders heave with sobs. I think of my mom, living all alone. All this time, she’s been afraid.
He slips a comforting arm around my shoulders. “I wish it were that simple. If we run, Vince will kill Anthony. And then the Mariano’s will come looking for me. When they find me, I’m done.”
Done. The word reverberates in my head, bringing home the grisly nature of the world that Bruno inhabits, a world where life is expendable, laws don’t matter, and people can be captured and traded like property. It’s in my blood, apparently, but it’s still alien to me.
When I look at Bruno, I see someone who’s afraid. He’s afraid for himself, and for me. When I think of what the mafia would do to him, my chest tightens with despair. I don’t want him to die. I don’t want to leave him.
I sidle up to Bruno, wrapping my arms around his waist and breathing in his scent. He responds by burying his face into my hair.
“I need to time to think,” he says. “I’ll figure something out. I promise, Olivia.”
I nod against him, biting back tears. I want to believe him. I want to believe that he’ll take care of me, that he’ll save me from this. But I can’t afford to. If he’s not going to let me go, I’ll have to find a way out myself.
What other choice do I have?
Chapter Eighteen
Bruno
I stay in Olivia’s bed that night. She has trouble going to sleep. She tosses and turns in my arms for hours. I wish I could think of what to say. Her entire world has been torn apart, just like mine was, all those years ago.
It’s your fault she’s going through this. She never had to know the truth, until you t
ook her.
No, it would’ve come to a head sooner or later. Vince would’ve found her and her mother eventually. But knowing this doesn’t stop me from tearing myself apart.
The sun is just coming up when Olivia is finally still. I watch her sleep in the pale morning light. She doesn’t look peaceful. Her face is scrunched in worry. Her hands are balled into tight fists. And she’s so beautiful. I kiss her softly on the back of her neck, careful not to wake her up. When I took her, I became responsible for her. I feel that more than ever now. I wish we could run away together, that I could take her away from all this and protect her. But it’s not that easy. With the Mariano’s, nothing ever is.
A sharp knock at the front door shatters the peaceful silence. Olivia turns over with a sigh, but she doesn’t wake up. I slip out of bed, quietly close the bedroom door, then open the front door to Snake.
He doesn’t even say hello. He barges inside, his dark eyes scanning the apartment, and looking at me suspiciously.
“Where is she?” he says.
I point down the hallway. “She’s sleeping.”
Snake barrels past me, and swings open the bedroom door. Olivia’s eyes blink open, and she stares numbly at Snake. He takes her in for a moment, nods, then closes the door, turning to me.
“Was that your shirt I saw balled up in the corner?” Snake asks.
I look away, rubbing the back of my neck. There’s no need to answer. He knows the truth. Snake lowers his forehead, narrowing his dark eyes.
“You’re fucking her,” he says, matter of factly. He raises a finger, and jabs it into my chest. “It better be just sex.”
“It is,” I say, quickly.
Snake nods, his mood brightening. “Good. I’ve set up a time and place for the trade. It’s going down in two nights.” He rubs his temples, closing his eyes for a moment, then plants his hand on my shoulder. “I’m so ready for this shit to be over. I’m sure you are too. You’ve done good, Beast. You’ve done good by the Mariano’s, and by Anthony too. The family won’t forget this.”
“I know they won’t,” I say.
Snake pats my back. “We’re almost there, man. I told you I’d get you made.” He leans closer to me, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Make sure you don’t blow it.”
As soon as Snake leaves, I go straight to Olivia’s room. She’s sitting up, her feet dangling off of the bed, fiddling with the hem of the sheets.
“Who is that?” she asks.
“A business associate.”
Her lips fall open. “He’s a member of-“ She blinks up at me, her face pale. “The mafia.”
I sit next to her on the bed, stroking her arm. She’s cold to the touch. “Snake, I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s a good guy. He’s got a lot on his shoulders.”
Olivia doesn’t seem to be hearing any of this. She stares dreamily into the distance. “In two nights, you’re going to trade me.”
Fuck. It occurs to me that she heard our entire conversation. “Listen, what I said about this just being sex, that’s not true. I couldn’t tell Snake about us-“ Her cell phone chimes from the other room, distracting me.
Olivia turns to me, her eyes red and fierce. “Don’t give me to him. Bruno, please.”
“Calm down,” I say, pulling her against me. “It’s okay. I just need to think of a plan.”
She trembles against me, shaking her head. The cell phone chimes again, and again. And again. The sound grates against my ears.
“Who the fuck is that?” I say, standing to go fetch her phone. Of course, it’s Olivia’s mother. I hand her the phone. “It’s your mom. Get her off your back, and then we can talk.”
Olivia takes the phone from me. She scans the messages, then starts to text. I pace the room. I feel like there’s ants under my skin, crawling over me, biting, and the only way to get rid of them is to take a knife to my flesh. I lean against the wall, breathing heavily, trying to calm down. When I turn back to Olivia, she’s staring at me, clutching the phone in both hands.
“All done?” I ask.
She nods. It occurs to me that I didn’t approve her text before she sent it. I grab the phone from her and read what she wrote.
I’m back from San Francisco. I’ll come see you this afternoon.
The blood drains from my head. I stumble backwards, catching myself on the wall.
“What the fuck is this?” I ask.
Olivia gulps. Her face is strangely calm.
I drop the phone to my feet, shaking my head. “Why would you do this? You fucked everything up.”
“My mom’s crazy paranoid,” Olivia says. “If I don’t go today, she’ll call the cops.”
The cops. Those are the last people who need to get involved. There are too many Lombardi and Mariano shills on the force. The mob will be tipped off right away. The phone chimes again, distracting me. Olivia stands slowly, planting her feet on the ground, challenging me.
“You have to let me go,” she says. “It’s over, Bruno.” Her lower lip trembles as she begins to cry. “It’s over,” she whispers.
This is far from over. No matter how much I want to keep Olivia safe, I can’t let Anthony die. I bend down, picking up the phone. Olivia’s mom is incredibly excited for her daughter’s visit. She sends texts loaded with hearts and smiley face emojis. I can find a way out of this. I can do this.
“No, Olivia,” I say with certainty. “It’s not over.”
Chapter Nineteen
Olivia
I don’t know what I was thinking when I texted Mom that I’d visit her this afternoon. I wasn’t thinking. With my phone in my hand, and Bruno’s back turned to me, I saw an opportunity, so I took it.
Bruno tells me to get dressed. He paces around the apartment while I put on the unfamiliar clothes he bought me; a pair of black leggings and a long blue T-shirt that feel like they belong to someone else. Bruno barely looks at me. He’s distant, lost in himself. I start to regret what I did. I don’t want him to think that I want to leave him. Even after all that’s happened, I can somewhat understand the position he’s in, and the danger.
Bruno emerges from his room, slipping a worn gray T-shirt over his head. I’m standing in the middle of the living room waiting for him to tell me what to do next.
“I’m coming with you,” Bruno explains. “We’ll tell your mom that we go to school together. We’ll stay for a while, then we’re coming back here.”
I’m surprised Bruno isn’t angry at me. If he is, he’s hiding it. He acts like this is a problem to solve, a roadblock that he’s determined to get past.
Soon, we’re in his car, driving away from the city. Bruno leans over the steering wheel, his face dripping with determination. I don’t tell him that my mom will probably freak out at the sight of him. She never trusted any boy I took home, and she especially won’t trust someone who looks like him. The long drive is a silent one. Bruno doesn’t even turn on the radio. I realize that after this, it’s possible I’ll never see him again. He might even end up dead.
I reach for him, and lightly touch his arm. “Bruno.”
He flinches at my touch, then shakes his head, like he’s just realizing I’m there.
“What?” he snaps.
I bite my lip. “You said you understood what I was going through. What did you mean?”
He glances at me, then back at the road. I can see the darkness stewing in his eyes, the pain.
“My father, he’s-“ Bruno stops himself, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “He was a Mariano. A capo.”
“Capo?”
“The head of a crew.” He sees the confusion in my face, and explains further. “A crew is made up of twenty to thirty soldiers. We have several crews, and they all answer to the boss.”
I nod with understanding. “You said he was a Mariano. Is he-“
“Dead.” The word hangs in the air, lording over both of us. “Killed by the Mariano’s.”
I bring my hands to my mouth, gasping. “They ki
lled him? Why are you loyal to them?”
Bruno turns to me, his eyes burning. “Because he was a traitor, my father. He blabbed to the feds, got a bunch of capos locked up. Some of them are still rotting in prison because of him. He got what was coming to him.”
I inch away from Bruno, suddenly scared of him. “How can you say that?”
“Because when he went down, he took my mom and me with him. When I was a kid, I had everything. A nice place to live, a nanny, a cook. I got whatever I wanted, new toys, new clothes, anything. I just had to ask. And then it all changed. I remember one night, I was listening to my parents talk in their bedroom. They were worried. Something was wrong. My mother kept saying, ‘they’ll come for us. The Mariano’s will come for us. They’ll kill us all.’ I thought men with guns were going to burst into our house. I thought I was going to die that night.”
My heart softens when I picture Bruno, a little boy, scared in his bed. “But they didn’t come for you. They came for him. That’s all.”
“Because my mother and I denounced him, which wasn’t hard for me. I started working for the Mariano’s as a teen, and haven’t looked back.”
“Where’s your mother now?”
Bruno shrugs. “She married another mobster not long after that. We don’t talk much. Sometimes she starts waxing poetic about my dad, like he didn’t deserve to get shot like an animal.”
He’s silent again, lost in his own personal pain. Finally, he reaches over and gently grabs my knee.
“We’re the unlucky fucks who have to pay for our fathers’ sins, and in this business, that’s a hefty price tag,” Bruno says. “I understand why you did it, Olivia, why you texted that to your mom. But I can’t let you go, not yet. I don’t want to end up like him.”
I study him as he drives. Does he really understand what I’m going through? Does he know the storm of confusion and pain that’s ravaging my insides? I shake my head. I can’t imagine feeling this as a child. It would be enough to destroy me.
Maybe he’s right, I should go back with him, if only to save his life. Then, we can figure a way out of this together. But I don’t think there’s any way back. Once Mom sees me, she won’t let me go, not with him.
Beware the Beast (Mafia Soldiers Book 2) Page 11
