“I can’t wait for those bastards to show up,” Mom says, sipping her wine.
I look out on the darkened street. When will they come? Tonight? Tomorrow night?
“Me either,” I say.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bruno
Snake and I have had each other’s backs since we were kids slinging dope for the Mariano’s on street corners. We watched out for each other when we were both just associates, not made, and not considered untouchable. Snake’s more than a friend, he’s family. My father destroyed the lives of my mother and me. Snake’s parents overdosed when he was a baby, leaving him to grow up in a boy’s home, so all we have is each other.
That should mean something, shouldn’t it?
I ask myself that as I drive to the concrete shop. Just because Snake’s made, a capo even, doesn’t mean that he’s loyal to the Mariano’s over me, right? I grip the steering wheel, reassuring myself that Snake won’t fuck me over.
He looks annoyed, and worried, when I walk into his office.
“You’re early,” he says, looking me over. “And you look like shit. When’s the last time you slept?”
I don’t tell him that I spent the night pacing the apartment, thinking of her, missing her, and grappling with the fact that I’ll never see her again. Hopefully Olivia took my advice, and she and her mom are on their way to somewhere far off. I sit in the chair across from Snake’s desk, looking down at my hands in my lap.
“What?” Snake asks, his eyes growing dark.
I can’t look him in the eyes. “She’s gone.”
The silence is thick for a few moments. I still can’t look at him, but I can sense him, feel him, growing angrier. Snake grabs a paperweight, hurls it across the room where it smashes a hole in the wall. He points an accusing finger at me.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” The lie slips easily off my tongue. I’ve never deceived Snake before, but if I tell him where Olivia is, he’d drive down there right this second.
Snake leans back, drumming his fingers on the desk, studying me. “I trusted you, Beast. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. You positioned yourself perfectly to be made. You had everything you wanted in the palm of your hand. The truth is, Franco never would’ve put your name in the books without Olivia. You blew your only shot.”
I taste bile in the back of my throat. After all my years of loyalty, Franco wasn’t even considering making me a soldier. He’s been using me all this time. Will was right. I am their pet gorilla, caged, trained, made to do tasks in exchange for pellets of food. And I played right into their hand. Why? Because I had something to prove. I wanted to show that I wasn’t like my father to the very people that executed him. I’ve beaten people nearly to death for the Mariano’s. I’ve put myself in the fighting ring, time and time again, for them.
I ruined Olivia’s life for them.
But none of that matters right now. Snake is staring at me, hard, like he can see inside of my skull and read my thoughts.
“And now Anthony will die,” Snake says. “All because you want to keep your fuck toy to yourself.”
I take a deep breath to calm myself down. Snake better be glad that I haven’t forgotten our blood bond, when on my fifteenth birthday, we’d sliced our palms and pressed them together, promising we’d always look out for each other.
“Where is she?” Snake asks again. “If you tell me, and we find her, then maybe I won’t tell Franco about this.”
Hopefully she’s crossed an international border by now, I think.
“I told you. I don’t know. She got out last night. Broke a window-“
“You can’t break those windows,” Snake says, incredulous. “That’s shatterproof glass.”
“She pried it open,” I say, quickly. “There’s a fire escape leading to the street right underneath it.”
“Pried it open? With what?”
“I think she found something in the bathroom,” I say. “That’s the only place she went where I wasn’t watching her.” The lies taste bitter on my tongue. I’m sure I’m not being very convincing. I don’t have a lot of experience in deceit.
Snake nods, laughing numbly himself. He walks around the desk, then leans back on it, his arms crossed at his chest. He’s silent for a few moments, studying me, then reaches inside of his suit pocket and puts his hand on something. His gun.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Snake says. “Where is she?”
Is this how it’s going to be? He’s going to shoot me if I don’t do what he says? I decide to call his bluff.
“I don’t know,” I say, through gritted teeth. “We’ll have to figure something else out. Find another trade for Vince.”
Snake swings his head down, rubbing the back of his neck. “Of all people, Bruno, I never thought you’d betray me.” He slides his arm out of his coat, holding the gun.
Just the act of him pointing the gun at me feels like he shot me in the chest. Of all people, Snake, I never thought you’d betray me.
“What are you going to do?” I say, daring him. “Shoot me. Fucking kill me, right here?”
“Maybe you don’t understand, Bruno, so I’ll explain it to you. I have a responsibility to this family. I’m made, a capo. Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean you come before that.”
“Really?” My mouth spreads into a smile. “Didn’t you kill your own capo because of Jess? She came before the family, didn’t she?”
“That’s different, and you know it. Monty was a rat.”
“You didn’t know that when you were protecting her, hiding her from the family.”
“I wasn’t a soldier then.”
“And neither am I.”
Snake brings the gun up so it’s level to my face. I stare into the barrel, to the bullet lodged inside. Snake’s finger is on the trigger. One slight movement, and that bullet’s lodged in my brain.
“Looks like we’re at a stalemate here,” Snake says. “The reality of the situation is that you have something I need.”
I consider throwing my shoulder against Snake’s solar plex, knocking him backwards, and the wind out of him all at the same time. But he could easily pull the trigger before I have time to get out of my seat. Snake took an oath of loyalty to the Mariano’s. Maybe that does mean more to him than his loyalty to me. He just might kill me. But I don’t care, as long as Olivia is safe.
Snake’s curls his upper lip. “Don’t make me do it, Bruno.”
I stare defiantly into his eyes, then lean forward until the barrel of the gun is pressing coldly into my forehead.
“I’m not making you do anything,” I say.
I close my eyes, hoping the blast kills me before I feel too much pain. It’s time to put the pet gorilla down.
But before the bullet comes, I hear the door open. Who the fuck is that? No one else is here. Behind me, I hear a lighter flick open, and smell cigarette smoke immediately after. Snake pulls the gun away from my head.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Snake asks.
I turn and see Sal, leaning casually in the doorway, taking a drag off of his cigarette. Sal gestures to me, an annoyed look on his face.
“You haven’t killed him yet?” Sal asks. “What kind of capo are you?”
“You’ve got no business here, Sal,” Snake says. “Leave, before Franco finds out you’re here.”
Sal walks further into the room, his hand shoved in his suit pocket, and a cigarette dangling from his fingers. “You’re not going to tell Franco I’m here, because I have something you want.”
“You don’t have anything I want,” Snake hisses.
Sal looks at Snake with pure hatred in his eyes. “I’m proposing a temporary truce. We share a common goal, Snakey-boy. You want Anthony back in one piece, and so do I.”
Snake lowers the gun. “What have you got?”
Fuck. My chest feels with panic. I know Sal’s a sneaky asshole. Has he been watching me this entire time?
Does he know I took Olivia to her mom’s house?
“I know where she is,” Sal says.
“Where?” Snake demands.
Sal throws his cigarette on the floor, and puts it out with his shoe. “My car’s parked outside. Follow me.” He turns his cold gaze on me. “Take care of him first,” he says, before leaving.
Sal’s left the room colder than it was before, and Snake even angrier.
“What should I do with you?” Snake asks, tightening his grip on the handle of the gun.
“Take me with you,” I blurt out.
Snake laughs. “I don’t think so.”
I have to think fast. I can’t let Snake and Sal find Olivia without being there to protect her. I clench my jaw, and muster up a sincere expression.
“Let me redeem myself,” I say. “I don’t want to go against the family. I want to be made.”
“It’s too late for that.”
“It’s either that, or you have to kill me, right? If Franco finds out I let Olivia go, and you let me live, he might question your loyalty.” My eyes dart to the gun in his hand. “So, what’s it going to be?” I raise my hand, showing Snake my scarred palm.
Snake looks away. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Olivia
Mom and I stayed up late last night, waiting for men with guns to arrive. Too late. Though we’re in a tense situation, I actually had fun with her. It’s like she’s a different person. She’s not agitated, twiddling her thumbs so hard she might wear them to the bone. No, she’s calm. I guess the threat she’s anticipated for years is finally here. It must be a relief. Last night, I howled with laughter while she practiced the various lines she’d use on Vince.
“Eat lead, asshole.”
“Welcome to your nightmare.”
“Say goodbye to your head.”
I couldn’t decide which one I liked best. I laughed so hard at her serious face while she clutched the gun I had perpetual tears in my eyes. For a few hours there, I’d forgotten the grim nature of our reality. The wine helped with that too.
I’ve been exhausted all day. I walk around the house like a zombie, helping Mom cook and clean and load her guns. I can’t sit still. When I do, my eyes close on their own accord, I drift off to sleep, and dream of him.
I’ve concluded that the best outcome is if I never see Bruno again. I hope he doesn’t show up with his mafia friends, and my mom blows his head off. I hope his mafia friends don’t blow his head off for helping me escape. They might threaten to kill him if he doesn’t tell them my location. If that’s the case, I hope Bruno gives me up. We’re ready.
But I know he won’t. I can see him now, stoically refusing to talk, even when faced with certain death.
I’m cleaning the dishes left from lunch when Mom comes into the kitchen. She’s just gotten up from a nap, and her eyes squint in the light. She lays a gentle hand on my arm.
“Get some rest. I can finish up here,” she says.
I shake my head vigorously. “No. I got it.”
“You need to rest, Olivia. I can’t have you sleep deprived. We both need to be alert.”
I rest my arms against the edge of the sink, watching the soapy water sprinkle from my fingertips. She’s right, I shouldn’t stay in this depleted state. I have to stay sharp. But I don’t want to fall asleep. Bruno will come to me in my dream. My subconscious won’t let me forget about him.
But how can I tell that to Mom, that I’m nurturing a broken heart over the man who abducted me, held me hostage in his apartment, and was prepared to hand me over to a madman? I know there’s more to it than that, but could she understand? She’s spent her life hiding from an abusive mafia boss. She’d think I’m an idiot, or completely deranged.
“I’ll just go watch some TV,” I say, leaving my post at the sink.
In the living room, I flip on the TV, trying to find the loudest, most distracting show. If I fall asleep with that on in the background, maybe it will keep my mind from turning to Bruno.
I find what I’m looking for in a talk show that’s examining people’s phobias. The guests scream and run when presented with ordinary things like a jar of olives, mustard, and sunflowers. The host tries to appear sympathetic, but he knows what he’s doing; exploiting these people’s disorders for hoots and jeers from the crowd.
Not long after I sit down, my eyes fall closed, and I feel myself drifting off into sleep. Just for a few minutes, I tell myself.
The next thing I know, there’s a loud, assertive knocking at the door, followed by violent kicking. I jerk straight up. I’m still on the couch. The show I was watching is over. Now, a well coifed man is extolling the virtues of a strange looking cooking contraption.
“Open up,” yells a male voice.
I don’t recognize it. It’s not Bruno. Is he with them?
Mom comes barreling into the living room carrying a shot gun and .38 caliber pistol.
“Show time,” she says, tossing the shot gun to me.
I catch it by the barrel, almost dropping it. Is this really happening? Is this a dream? Mom crouches behind a chair, her gun aimed at the door, ready to shoot. Up until now, all of Mom’s grandstanding had seemed like an act, a joke, even. Now, with her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, I see how serious she is. I make myself stand, and go crouch down next to her.
My breath echoes in my ears. The infomercial continues on annoyingly in the background. The man behind the door keeps ordering for it to be opened. Mom and I sit and wait.
There’s a gunshot. The door swings open. They’ve shot off the handle. In the next split second, I get a glimpse of them. It’s Snake, another man I don’t recognize, and behind them, the strong, hulking shoulders of Bruno.
I’m about to call to him, when Mom fires her gun. The bullet comes close to taking off the ear of the unknown man, but hits the doorframe instead.
“Is that how you treat guests?” the man says. “Put the gun down.”
Mom pauses for a moment to look them over. Her face falls in disappointment.
“Where’s Vince?” she asks. “Where’s my dirtbag husband?”
The man walks further into the room, followed by Snake and Bruno. Snake holds his own hunk of deadly metal by his side, but he doesn’t aim it at us. Mom has the upper hand here.
The man smiles. It sends a chill down my spine. I realize he looks familiar, like I’ve seen him before, but I can’t place him.
“I’m going to tell you one last time,” he says, calmly. “Put the gun down.”
Mom turns up her nose. “Who are you? Vince’s foot soldiers? Will he be pissed if I kill you? Or will he even notice?”
The man’s smile disappears as his upper lips curls. I shiver again. I look to Bruno. He’s staring right at me. His eyes are deep pools of emotions. It seems like he’s trying to communicate something to me. He’s not armed. Why is he here?
Mom turns her gun right on Bruno. “You first,” she says.
I don’t think. I just react. “No,” I shout, lunging at Mom and grabbing her arm. When she pulls the trigger, the bullet fires into the ceiling. The shotgun I was holding drops to my feet.
“Olivia,” Mom yells, desperately. “What are you doing?”
In the second that she’s distracted, the man rushes over and grabs me, while Snake raises his gun at my mom. She puts her hands up, though she’s still holding the gun.
I’m forced to my feet. The man’s arms are tight around my waist and shoulders. I struggle to get away, but it’s no use. Bruno rushes over to me, his eyes full of venom.
“Don’t fucking hurt her, Sal,” Bruno says, his voice thick with testosterone.
Sal looks at Snake. “I told you to fucking kill him.”
Snake taps Bruno on the shoulder, telling him to get back. Bruno stays where he is, not taking his eyes off of me.
“Put the gun down, lady,” Snake says.
Mom shakes her head. “Let my daughter go.”
Snake thumbs his
nose, then points the gun at my head. My body convulses with terror. It doesn’t seem real. It’s like a movie. Bruno starts for him, but Snake lifts his hand, stopping him.
“I’ll fucking shoot her,” Snake says to Bruno, then looks to my mom with a warning look.
Mom’s expression hardens. She places the pistol on the floor in front of her.
“That’s good,” Snake says. “Now stand up, step away from it.”
Mom does as he says. Snake walks up to her quickly, hooking his arm around her chest, and pressing the gun to her head.
“You’re coming too,” Snake says.
“What the fuck?” I hear Bruno say.
“Extra leverage,” Snake explains. “In case Vince tries to pull something.”
I stop struggling against the man they called Sal, resigned to my fate. They have us, both of us, and they’re going to give us to Vince. Sal and Snake drag us out of the house. Bruno tries to get next to me. I hear him talking to me. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Sal gets fed up, and pulls a gun on him.
“Get him out of here, Snake,” Sal says. “Before I kill him myself.”
I look at Bruno, imploring him with my eyes to do as this man says.
“I’ll give the ladies a ride,” Sal says, gesturing to a black car parked on the curb.
“The fuck you will,” Bruno says.
“Easy, Beast,” Snake says. “We’re all going to the same place. You’re with me.”
Exhaustion overtakes me as our hands are zip tied and we’re shoved inside the back of that man’s car. Sal gets in the driver’s seat, and speeds forward. I get the feeling we’re hurtling towards certain death.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bruno
“So much for redeeming yourself,” Snake says as he starts up the engine.
I’m focused on Sal’s car in front of us. I can’t imagine how terrified Olivia is right now. What does she think of me? Does she think I betrayed her? But that doesn’t matter. What matters is what Vince will do to her and her mom when he gets his hands on them. Anger spreads through my flesh, putting me on edge.
Beware the Beast (Mafia Soldiers Book 2) Page 13
