“You had to put a gun to her head?” I ask Snake.
“Yes, I did. They were armed. They weren’t coming willingly.”
I crack my knuckles. The rage festering in my belly turns its attention to Snake. He threatened to kill me, even though he didn’t have the balls to do it. He acts like he’s so fucking loyal to the Mariano’s, but he’s full of shit. He would’ve fucked over every one of them if he had to for his wife.
I turn to him. “What if Jess was in that car?”
Snake grips the steering wheel, his jaw clenched. Do it, I dare him silently. Say something to piss me off. Give me a reason to punch you. But he drops the bad guy expression, and looks at me with a sigh.
“We have to get Anthony back. My hands are tied here. If we let the Lombardi’s get away with this, they’ll just do it again.”
The anger inside of me ebbs, just a bit. I can’t pretend I don’t understand Snake’s dilemma. He wants Anthony back. I do too, but I can’t sacrifice Olivia for him. There has to be a way for both of us to get what we want.
I shake my hands, wringing out the tension in the muscles. “They will do it again,” I say. “They’re trying to edge us out. Vince didn’t get what he wanted this time around. Who’s he going to snatch next time? Another soldier? Me? You? Jess?”
Snake presses his lips together with concern. “I’ll talk to Franco. We’ll figure something out for the future. Right now, I’m focused on getting us out of this shit storm.”
I glance out of the windshield. I can see Olivia and her mom in the backseat of Sal’s car, embracing each other. Minnie Lombardi got the courage to flee from Vince all those years ago, and now she’s being delivered to him, along with the daughter she’s tried to protect. Vince is the cause of this ‘shit storm.’ He has to go.
“Fuck Franco,” I say, turning to Snake. “Why wait to take Vince out? Let’s do it now.”
“That’s not how things work. We can’t take out a boss without our boss’ permission. Going around Franco’s authority is a suicide mission.”
I pause, choosing my words carefully. “Maybe for you. I’m not made. I’m not a Mariano. Listen, as far as I’m concerned, you have nothing to do with this. And I’ll tell Franco the same. You had no idea. I acted completely on my own.”
Snake squints, considering this. I know what he’s thinking. By killing Vince, I’ll be solving a huge problem for him. He’ll never have to worry about Vince kidnapping one of ours again. And it wouldn’t be any skin off of his back. Sure, Franco would probably eventually put a hit on Vince, but he’d be careful, methodical, coldly putting the steps into place. How long would that take? And how much damage will Vince do in the meantime? Franco doesn’t care. He has capos and soldiers to clean up messes for him.
Snake shakes his head. “You’ll blow your only chance of ever being made. Or worse. Whatever you’re thinking, fucking forget it. Franco doesn’t like people interfering in his business, especially you, with your family history and all.”
The anger rises up in my throat again. “I don’t give a fuck what Franco thinks, or any other Mariano. I don’t care about being made.” It feels good to say that. My shoulders feel lighter. “Look, you’ll get Anthony back, okay? Whatever happens after that isn’t your concern.”
Snake narrows his eyes. He’s realizing that there’s no talking me out of this.
“You’re willing to get yourself killed for this girl?” he asks.
I look at Sal’s car. I wish Olivia would turn around so I could see her face.
“It’s what I deserve,” I say. “You know, she was about to become a doctor. In anthropology or some shit. She’s smart, really smart. She had a future. She was going to do great things, I’m sure. And I took everything from her.”
“You did what you had to do.”
I scoff. “For a family who doesn’t give a fuck about me. My wonderful father made sure of that. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to accept it.” When I think of my father, a fire burns inside of me. I punch the dashboard. “That fucking asshole. I wish he wasn’t dead so I could kill him.” I breathe heavily, stewing in my rage. My hand hurts like hell. I cradle it in my lap.
Snake glances over at me. The look in his eyes catches my attention. There’s something he’s not telling me.
“What?” I growl.
Snake shrugs, and then runs his fingers through his hair. “Since becoming capo, I’ve learned some information that might interest you.”
I square my body towards him. “What are you talking about?”
“This is highly confidential information.”
My mouth goes dry. My heart starts to thump. “Is it about my dad?”
“The feds were after your dad for years. They couldn’t get him to talk, no matter what they threatened him with.” Snake looks at me with his dark eyes. “He was prepared to do his time and not say a word. But then the cops got smart. They figured out his weakness. His wife.”
I close my eyes, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Do I really want to hear this? Snake keeps talking.
“Your dad was laundering money using a laundromat in his wife’s name. So the feds threatened to come after her. Due to her priors, she’d get at least fifty years of hard time. That’s why he talked. He ratted, knowing he’d be killed for it. He did it for her.”
I look at my hands in my lap. My knuckles are starting to bruise from hitting the dashboard.
“Shit,” is all I can manage to say. I’ve been wrong about my father all this time. This hatred I’ve nurtured has been misdirected. Everything I’ve ever known, ever thought or felt about him is unraveling in my hands. I feel like I’m unraveling along with it.
“Why didn’t my mom tell me this?” I ask.
“My guess is, she didn’t know. She probably wouldn’t let him go through with it.”
I squeeze my hands into fists. “And Franco kept it from me too? He let me hate my father, all these years. I blamed him for everything.”
Snake shrugs. “I figure Franco wanted you to hate your dad. That way, you wouldn’t come after him.”
I always thought my dad was a coward, a traitor. Now, I realize he decided his loyalty lay with my mom, me, and not the Mariano family. I guess I can relate to that.
“Vince has to go,” I utter. My voice is hollow, like it’s not really mine. I turn to Snake. “You get Anthony back. I’ll take care of the rest.”
*
We get to the concrete shop. I jump out of Snake’s car, and rush to Sal’s parked in front of us. Sal opens the back door, and roughly grabs Minnie’s arm. She and Olivia both scream. I grab Sal by his collar, and throw him back against the car.
“Easy on the ladies,” I warn him.
Sal smirks at me, then looks at Snake. “You’re such a fucking coward, Snake. Couldn’t kill your friend, could you? How sweet.”
“We’ll take it from here,” Snake says.
Sal pries my fingers away from his collar. I decide to let him go, but I don’t move. I stay right on top of him. He’s not touching Minnie or Olivia again. Sal straightens his suit.
“I’m not leaving you two fuck ups on your own,” Sal says.
Snake takes a step towards him. “You better go, before another Mariano soldier sees you. I’m sure they won’t hesitate to turn you into Franco.” Snake reaches into the backseat and helps Minnie out. “It’s okay,” he tells her. “I won’t hurt you or your daughter.”
Olivia gets out next. Snake pulls a knife from his boot and cuts the zip ties binding the women’s hands. I usher them to the curb. Olivia looks terrified. She barely looks at me. I wish I could take her in my arms, and promise her that everything will be okay, that I’m going to take care of this. But I don’t make promises if I’m not sure if I can keep them.
Snake approaches Sal, staring at him coldly.
“The soldiers will be here soon,” Snake tells him. “You better get going.”
Despite his coolness, I see a flash of fear on Sal’s face. Be
fore getting in his car, he points at Snake, then me. “I’ll be watching,” he warns.
We watch Sal speed away. Olivia grabs my hand, clinging to me desperately.
“Bruno, please, help us,” she says.
I can’t help myself. I wrap my arms around her, and pull her against my chest.
“I’m going to try, Olivia,” I promise her. I cup her cheeks in both hands, then plant my lips against hers. The feeling of her soft skin calms the storm inside of me. She clutches my waist, kissing me back. If I die during this, this will be the last time I’ll ever see her, the last time I’ll ever hold her against me.
While Olivia and I embrace, I can feel Minnie’s stare, burning a hole in my back. I guess abducting someone’s daughter doesn’t make for the best first impression.
Snake comes up, interrupting us. “That’s enough,” he tells me. “You don’t want anyone to see.” Snake puts his hand on my upper back, and leads me a few feet away from Olivia and her mom. “I figure there’s nothing I can do to talk you out of this?”
“That’s right,” I say.
Snake reaches into his coat pocket. “Take my gun.”
I hold my hands out, refusing. “You know I don’t do guns. Besides, if the Lombardi’s hear a gunshot out here, it’ll all be over.”
Snake nods, removing his hand from his gun, and slipping it into his pocket. He pulls out a key. “Here’s the key to the roof access. At least grab a bulletproof vest before you go up there.”
“I will.”
Snake rubs the back of his neck and laughs. “You’re taking on an entire crime family by yourself. I really hope you don’t get yourself killed.”
“Me too,” I say, looking into his eyes. We don’t say goodbye, that would be bad luck. But we look at each other with the shared understanding that this could be it.
Snake turns from me, back to Olivia and Minnie. “Come on inside, ladies.”
He starts to usher them inside the building. I grab Snake’s arm, making him look at me.
“You take care of them,” I order him. “Don’t let anything happen to them.”
Snake lays his hand on my shoulder. “I won’t.”
I know I can trust him. I look at Olivia one last time before they go inside. She’s not looking at me. She’s fretting over her mother, putting her arm around her, and whispering in her ear. Her eyes rise to mine right before the door swings closed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Olivia
Snake leads us through a massive warehouse towards the back. He doesn’t have his gun out, but I know it’s there, which is why I stay quiet. Mom is quiet too. She’d spent the drive over here quietly deriding me for stopping her from shooting Bruno, while Sal snapped at us from the driver’s seat to “shut the fuck up.”
I’m glad Sal left. Snake’s not my favorite person in the world, but he’s better than him. Sal seems unpredictable, like he could snap at any moment. To think of him makes me shiver.
Where has Bruno gone? Before entering this building, Bruno had told me that he was going to try. At least, that’s what I think he said. I’d been so terrified in the moment, my attention scattered in a million different places. I regret not kissing him again. Not saying goodbye.
What’s he going to try? It seems like business as normal. Snake is prodding us along like cattle marching to slaughter. He seems fully intent on trading us in exchange for his mafia buddy.
Does Bruno have a plan? And is he going to get himself killed in the process? What if there’s a bloody shoot out, and Mom and I are stuck in the middle? My mind spins with the different scenarios in which I could die. A happy ending seems the least likely, statistically.
Snake leads us to a storage closet in the back. He opens the door, flicks on the light, and gestures for us to go in. There are two folding chairs inside. He’s been expecting us.
“Stay quiet,” Snake snaps as we walk inside. If I thought I’d get any compassion from him, I would’ve been wrong. “I need you two to do as you’re told. We need your full cooperation. That gives everyone the best chance of getting out of here alive. Understood?”
I want to ask him where Bruno is, what he has planned. Instead, I meekly nod. I’ll do everything he says. What other choice do I have? Snake closes the door, and locks it from the outside. I sit in one of the chairs, bury my face in my hands, and begin to cry.
Mom rushes over to me, and puts a comforting hand on my back. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m going to kill your father the first chance I get.”
I want to ask her, how? How are you going to do that? You don’t have your guns. We’re just weak, helpless women. But I can’t stop sobbing to get the words out. Mom slips a finger under my chin, and tilts my head up so I look at her.
“You’re crying for him,” she says, her eyes soft with compassion.
“You don’t understand. He took me, yes, but it’s not like that. He thought I was someone else. He didn’t know about Vince, what had happened to you. He was just trying to save his friend.” I stop talking to catch my breath. I dry my eyes on my sleeve. “You must think I’m crazy. And I probably am. You married a mobster, and look how that turned out.”
Mom looks down and sighs. “I’ve been around mobsters most of my life, and I can tell you, your father is a very special breed of monster. Not all of them were like that. I understand how these men work. Everything they do is life or death. Sometimes it drives them to do cruel things. But most of them never try to drown their wife in the bathtub. And if Bruno kept you for that long, and didn’t hurt you, then I can tell you, he’s nothing like your father, the sadistic fuck.”
I remember her stomach churning story about the bathtub. It makes me physically uncomfortable. We’ll be at the mercy of her tormentor very soon.
“I saw the way he kissed you,” Mom says. “And I heard what he said. He’s going to try to save us.”
“If he doesn’t get himself killed in the process.”
Mom takes my hand. It’s all she can do. She can’t promise me that it will all be okay, because none of use really know for sure. We sit in silence for a few minutes. Then, we hear voices echoing through the warehouse. Mom rushes to the door and presses her ear against it, listening. After a few moments, her expression hardens.
“I hear that asshole,” she says, then looks at me. “Vince is here.”
After a few minutes of talking, Snake comes for me first. I give Mom a lingering look while I follow him outside. In the middle of the warehouse, there are two groups of men on either side. It looks like a war is about to start. They are all heavily armed, and alert, ready to act on their first suspicion. Moans rise up to the high ceiling. It’s coming from a man with a bag over his head. He looks worse for the wear. His clothes are shabby, and one of his hands is heavily bandaged.
Standing next to him is another man. With his pockmarked skin and shiny black hair, he looks like the personification of evil. But he’s also familiar. I recognize the shape of his eyes as my own.
My father.
I follow Snake to the middle of the standoff. I can’t look at Vince, but I can feel him staring at me.
“Emma,” he says, with fake, patronizing emotion. “Is that you, darling?”
I don’t anticipate the burst of hope in my chest. This is the father I never knew, who I thought was dead. How could he hurt me?
He’s a monster, I remind myself.
Snake holds tightly to my arm. “Take that bag off of his head,” he says.
Vince sickly licks his lips. “Take it off yourself. Give me my daughter.”
Snake steps forward, leading me with him. “We’ll make the exchange at the same time.”
I glance over the men behind Vince. I see the unmistakable glint of metal. I’m so scared, I can’t breathe. As we walk closer, I can feel Vince staring at me. He reaches for me. When we’re close enough, Vince grabs my arm sharply, making me yelp, while shoving the bagged man towards Snake.
Vince yanks me closer to him. His bony f
ingers dig sharply into my flesh. He looks me up and down, appraising me.
“My darling daughter,” he says. “What a fine young woman you’ve turned out to be.” He runs his fingers up my cheek.
I want to look away, but I force myself to look at him. I need to see for myself the asshole who terrorized my mother for years. Even when he wasn’t around, Mom was tortured with the fear of seeing him again. I stare defiantly into his eyes. They’re deep, black holes, devoid of emotion. He seems to be feeding on my fear.
“Don’t you have a hug for Daddy?” he says, holding out his arms.
No, I scream, internally. I really don’t want to hug this man.
“What the fuck is this?” Snake says, followed by the cacophony of a dozen guns cocking at once.
I turn back to look. Snake has taken the bag off of the man’s head. The man is older, in his fifties, at least, and is missing several teeth. From the look on Snake’s face, I can tell this isn’t Anthony.
“Snake,” Vince says. “Meet Dave. We plucked him off the streets a few hours ago. He promised to help us out in exchange for some smack.”
Snake narrows his eyes. “Where’s Anthony?”
Vince tightens his grip on my arm. I can’t stop staring at the guns on the other side. They’re pointed this way.
“He’s safe and sound, don’t worry,” Vince says. “I was thinking, we could revisit my demands. That is, if you want your man back.”
Snake flicks his hand in the air. In response, one of his guys rushes to the back of the warehouse. The air is tense. I expect the bullets to start flying any second.
“What the fuck are you up to?” Vince growls.
Moments later, the soldier returns with Mom. Vince drops my arm and rushes towards her. Snake’s men raise their guns, threatening him back.
Snake rubs his hands together. “So, do you want territory, or do you want her?”
“Minnie,” Vince says, the word reverberating off of his tongue and down my spine. “I’ve dreamt of this moment, when we’d be reunited.”
Beware the Beast (Mafia Soldiers Book 2) Page 14
