by Cassie May
Kneeling down next to them I look the leader in the eye. “I actually have a few questions. Who told you where to find me the day before yesterday? Why did you drug that girl with me? Who made you think it would be a good idea to come here into our territory? And last but not least, where do you get your money and information from?”
The leader starts laughing and shakes his head. “You won’t get anything from me. I’ll die before I tell you anything.”
Grischa steps forward again. “That is easily arranged.” With that he stabs his knife in the soft flesh of the biceps and the Mexican asshole starts screaming. His shouts of pain continue while we put all three of them down and bind them to three chairs in the middle of one of the industrial sized freezers.
Smirking I finally pull the knife out of his arm and hand it over to Grischa. “Will you shut up or should I make you shut up?” My voice is calm so that he doesn’t even notice that I asked him a question. I wave over to my men and they gag him with a dirty cloth. As soon as it Is quiet again I turn to one of his idiots. “You see, we are not very patient. Your friend here is not going to die. Yet. If you don’t want to get the same knife stuck somewhere on your body you should talk.”
Before he can talk I get pushed aside and a smiling Grischa stands in front of me. “You know what? I don’t care if they talk. This is already taking too much time. I’ll just start cutting off their fingers while you try to ask your questions.” He takes the still bloody knife out of its sheath and walks around the guy so that he can see his hands. “This will only hurt shortly. I promise.”
Panic rises in the eyes of both guys when one of the Russians steps behind him and grabs his hands. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Smirking Grischa steps back while the leader glares at his goons. “Well, that was fast.” I sit back down on the chair I was straddling earlier. “Now tell me, has somebody told you where to find me the day before yesterday?”
He shakes his head. “No. I mean, I don’t know. I have no idea what you are talking about. I came in the city a few days ago, because my cousin told me he has a job for me.” He nods over to the leader and I can’t hide my grin. Obviously his life is more important to him than the family ties.
“Okay, and what did he tell you was your job?”
“I have no idea. He wanted to tell me after we had the whores. He said we would fuck them and then take them with us, but he didn’t tell me where.”
Shaking my head I see Grischa sliding his finger over his throat, indicating that he wants to kill this guy. Nodding I step back. I don’t want blood coming on my suit. With an efficient gesture Grischa slits the throat of the guy and lets him fall to the side.
I turn back to the leader who looks at us with wide eyes. Fortunately he has stopped screaming and I can take the gag out of his mouth. “Are you ready to talk now?”
He nods. “Don’t kill me, please!”
“That depends on you my friend. If you answer all my questions I might refrain from killing you. So who gives you money and information?”
“I don’t know for sure. I swear. My boss told me to bring Carlos to the club and pick him up again. I don't know what he did there I only know that he is dead now. I don’t know who killed him, but word on the streets is it was the Russians.” He tries to turn his head to look a Grischa, but since he is directly behind him he fails.
“I don’t care who killed the asshole. Talk. Where does your boss get his information and where do I find him?”
He shakes his head again. “I don’t know. I know that he is all secretive about his informant. He only meets him alone and on different places. I tried to follow him one time, but he noticed me and threatened to cut off my dick if he would see me following him again. He lives in hotels. Mostly on the Upper East Side and changes them repeatedly so you wouldn’t find him. The last time I saw him he lived in that small one directly across the MOMA. Please, that is all I know.”
Raising one eyebrow I try to decide whether he is telling me the truth or not. He recognizes my skepticism and panics. “Please, that really is everything I know.”
I nod. “Good, than we don’t need you anymore. It was nice to meet you.”
He almost topples over in his chair when he feels Grischa approaching from behind. “No, no, wait! There is something else!” Slowly I turn around and smile at him. His fate is set. He is going to die, but he might have something useful. “The person my boss gets his information from is an Italian!” I freeze. This is unbelievable.
“So now you are lying? I told you what would come out of this!” I can barely stay calm and hear my voice shaking.
“No! I swear! It’s the truth. I heard the boss muttering after we got the information that you would be in the club. He said something like hopefully this time the spaghetti is right. That is everything that I know!” I motion to Grischa and he makes a quick end to the begging and crying of the two men.
“Clean everything up here. I have to make a call.” I leave the warehouse my phone in my hand, but I can’t make this call. I don’t know how I should tell my brother that we are having a snitch. A snitch who tattles to the fucking Mexicans.
“How do the Americans say I don’t want to be in your socks right now?” Grischa’s heavy accent makes me frown.
“Shoes. You wouldn’t like to be in my shoes, Grischa.”
He shrugs. “Same, same but different, nyet?”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s a shitty situation. How would you tell your father that you are having a snitch that sells information to your enemy? And not only to someone who at least follows our shitty morals, but someone who doesn’t care who’s living and dying in this city.” He nods.
“I had to make that call a few years ago. A close consultant sold information to the feds. Thankfully he didn’t get his hands on the good stuff and my father took care of it before the feds knew what hit them. It was touch and go for a while, but we figured everything out.” Damn. I didn’t know that. And that he is now telling me all that means that he actually trusts me.
For the first time since I know the Russians I don’t know what to say in front of him. Finally I just nod. “Thank you, Grischa. I think I have to make a call.”
He nods. “I’ll make sure everything’s clean in there and then we are leaving.”
I send him a quick grin. “I don’t have to tell you that you have to forget that you have ever been here.”
He tosses his head back laughing. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I have been in the city the whole day. Bought some presents for the misses.” He winks and disappears in the warehouse while I finally press call.
“Talk to me brother.”
“We have a snitch.”
The colorful curses that leave my brother’s mouth don’t surprise me. “Who?”
“I don’t know, yet. We met three of our friends and had a little chat. They didn’t know more.”
“Are they going to be a problem in the future?”
“I don’t think so. We suggested them to go back to where they came from and they happily obliged. They won’t pose a threat anymore.”
“Do you have another lead?”
Shrugging I get in my car. “I might. I sent a few people out to keep eyes and ears open. People I trust. That’s all you have to know so far. I don’t want to jinx it. We have to check your office and our phones for bugs before we can talk freely again.”
Starting the car I hear Rico sigh on his side of the call. “I already checked my office and phone. They are clean. I am going to check them twice a day from now on till we have that fucking traitor.”
“I am on my way home right now. I’ll check there as well, even though I doubt I’ll find something. I am never home and my security is really good.” While telling him that I drive my car in the underground park garage of my condo after waving to the security officer manning the entrance.
“Check anyways. I’ll try to talk to my wife without killing her this even
ing. Maybe she’ll tell me something.” I swear I hear him mutter some colorful names for his wife before ending the call. Exiting my car I press the code for calling the elevator in the small numpad and drive in the lobby.
The clerk manning the reception desk motions for me that I have post, so I make a detour to him before taking the elevator up to my penthouse. He hands me some letters and a bakery box that I immediately recognize. I can’t stop the smile spreading over my face. “Who has brought these?”
“It was one of your friends, Mr. Luciano. I believe his name is Sandro.” Nodding I take everything and make my way over to the elevators. The quiet ride up is only disrupted by the people who get out on their floors. Smiling at me and the big box of baked goods I am carrying. Chuckling I think how they would look if they knew where I have been only half an hour before. Not so polite, of that I am sure.
Entering my apartment I put everything down before opening the box. Dear Matteo, unfortunately there was no panettone left this evening. I hope the cupcakes are as good. XX Val. Smiling I pick up my phone and make the call I wanted to do the whole day.
Chapter 17
Valerie
Domenico tries to look innocent but fails miserably when his lips curl up in a satisfied smirk. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Oh yeah, as if I would believe you that. Jess might not be the easiest person, but she always keeps it together when we have visitors. For her being so hell bent on throwing you out means for me you did something to make her really uncomfortable and I don’t like that.”
He begins to laugh and shakes his head. “Yeah, that is one way to say that. Valerie, the only thing I did to your friend is that I told her to back off. Not because I don’t want her, but because if I have sex with her it will be on my terms and she has to learn that she won’t play me as easily as the other men out there. I don’t have anything against a self-confident woman, but you know as good as me that Jess is not that self-confident. That brash behavior is her shield against reality and I won’t let her keep this shield up. Do you understand me?” Slowly I nod. How can he be so perceptive? He has seen her two times now and one time she was drugged for most of the time.
“If you hurt her, I will hurt you. Are we clear?” I try to appear intimidating but from the looks Luca and Dom exchange I fail miserably.
Nevertheless Dom nods solemnly. “I have no intention of hurting her, Valerie. I think she needs someone like me to discover what she really wants. It will take some time, but I am sure she’ll get there.” I think I am missing something here, but the way he looks in the direction of the kitchen I don’t think he wants to hurt Jess, or toss her aside after one time. Jess might get more out of him than she bargained for.
Standing up I make my way over to the kitchen again, but Dom grabs my hand and holds me back. “I will tone it down, if Jess tones it down as well. I want her to relax in my vicinity not stress more, okay?” Nodding I disentangle myself from him and leave the two men alone in the living room.
As soon as I enter the kitchen Jess looks at me. “Is he leaving?”
Shaking my head I step next to her and help cutting the other stuff for dinner. “No, but he has promised to tone it down and not make you uncomfortable as long as you tone it down as well. Don’t try to seduce him. It won’t work.” She presses her lips together and throws some onions in a pan with more force than necessary making it spill all over the stove.
Grumbling she picks up the onions and murmurs then. “I have already figured that out. Thank you very much.”
“Jess, if you really want him to leave, I’ll tell him so. I am sure he’ll follow your wishes, but I have the impression you don’t know what you really want, okay? I think you want him to take charge and force you out of that sex shell you built around you.” Now she grinds her teeth with so much force I wait for them to break. When Jess doesn’t bother answering my statement I know that I am at least partially right. Not wanting to send her deeper in her shell I try to change the topic.
“Tell me about your day, bestie. How was it at university? Did Sandro get a lot of attention?”
That does the trick and Jess grins at me again. “Well, at first not. It’s actually impressive how he can melt in the shadows and not be seen, even though he is built like The Hulk.” She chuckles and I have to agree. Sandro really is like The Hulk. Tall and full of muscles. Thankfully he is missing the green skin color. “Well, I decided to have some fun and look what he’ll do when I go on the toilet. I chose the new on the ground floor where all the tourists go because they are stupid and are looking for a public bathroom. Anyways there was this very long line consisting of mostly tourists. I mean no student uses that toilet. And then I turned around and told him I need to pee real hard. You should have seen his face! He was like. Is she shitting me right now? And then I was like. It’s okay, I’ll just wait and he asked me if I am not able to take the stairs and use another bathroom and I told him that it was too urgent and then... It was awesome. He was like… Okay, need to safe this one from embarrassment. He plunged through the line, pulling me after him and almost tackled the people out of our way while I was barely keeping my shit together. Inside the bathroom he forced everyone out while checking for threats and then told me it was safe to go and then I couldn’t keep it together anymore. I burst out laughing and he looked at me in desperation and asked: you don’t have to use the toilet, do you? And I could only shake my head because I was laughing so hard I was almost suffocating. It was awesome. I bought him a cookie and a coffee afterwards, so we are cool again.” The longer she talks the harder it is to keep my shit together. Damn that woman. I hope we don’t change guards, because I really don’t think Luca would be as relaxed with such a prank.
While Jess has told me her story we finished dinner preparations and I call our guests-slash-bodyguards to dinner. Since Sandro is back from his delivery tour I put five plates on the table and we eat in a surprisingly comfortable mood. Jess and Sandro keep bickering each other, but it is obvious that there is no sexual tension between them. I think that obviously sibling like relationship might be the only reason for Domenico to not punch Sandro in the face. Either way he doesn’t seem happy about Jess ignoring him even though he doesn’t say anything. It’s a shaky peace, but I take what I can get. I know that there’s more behind Jess’ behavior than the others think and I suspect that there’s more to Dom’s behavior as well, but that’s not my thing to find out.
I am just starting to clean up the dishes when my phone rings and Dom takes the dirty plates out of my hand. “Let me do that as a thank you for the delicious dinner.”
“Thank you, Dom.” Pulling out my phone I see that Matteo is calling and I feel the smile spreading over my face. I leave the kitchen and sneak upstairs to my room. I want to have a few minutes alone with Matteo. “Hi.”
“Ciao cara, how was your day?” The smile in his voice makes my own smile spread even wider and I lay down on my bed while thinking on everything that happened today.
“It was interesting.”
“Tell me more. Every little thing.” He sounds eager and I wonder what he did today. I suspect it was a little bit more violent than baking sweets.
“Well, let’s see. After you left and I opened the bakery your brother came by and…”
“Wait… What? I think I don’t heard you right. You said my brother came by? He never told me that! What did he want? Are you okay?” He sounds seriously agitated and I hurry to calm him down.
“Don’t worry. It was actually really nice. He apologized for Clara’s behavior and wanted to taste the panettone, because you are always raving about it. He talked a little bit and everything was cool. Luca was always there to keep an eye on me.” Not that it would have helped if the boss decided to harm me, but I am sure Matteo know that, too.
“That was all?” He sounds suspicious, but I won’t tell him about the things his brother said about our relationship. I don’t think Federico wants him to know how much he
actually cares about his brother.
“No. In the end he gave me the number to his personal cell phone and told me I could always call him if I have problems with anything.” After that it is so quiet on the other end that I check twice if we are still connected. “Matteo, are you still there?”
“Yes, yes, I am here. Don’t worry, cara.” His voice is soft and a little stunned. “He did that? I mean... Why should you lie? I mean… Wow. I didn’t expected that. I never expected Rico to be so… Accepting of our relationship, not after everything he went through with Clara. I hope you realize what an honor it is for you to get that number. There are only three people who have this number and are allowed to use it anytime. You, me and Luca as the head of security.”
I nod until I remember that he can’t see me. “I know, Matteo. Luca told me the same and to be honest, I don’t plan on using that number anytime. I hope I won’t ever need it.”
He sighs softly. “I hope that, too, cara, but our life is unpredictable.”
I nod again. “I know, but a girl can hope. Now tell me about your day. What did you do?”
The hesitation from him tells me I probably won’t like what he is telling me now. And I suppose I shouldn’t even ask him that, but I want him to be able to leave his worries with someone if necessary. “Cara, I can’t tell you that. Not over the phone and especially not as long as the cops are able to question you for everything. You should never lie for me and I know you will. Just know that I took a huge step in the direction that is going to bring the Mexicans away from our doorstep.”
He is right of course. I don’t want to lie for him, but I would if I get questioned by the police. That thought makes me realize that I am already in way over my head. I won’t get out of my connections to the mob and I don’t have the desire to do so. It doesn’t scare me anymore because even though I haven’t spent much time with those men, I came to the conclusion that they are following their own moral code. It might seem twisted to some people, but in the end they are earning money and keeping the city relatively clean. Matteo told me that they won’t ever dabble in skin trade. They don’t sell people. Ever. And I can live with that.
