Omerta (The DeLuca Family #1)

by K. A. Ware

  Her frame was shuddering from the pain and blood loss, but she was still trying to buck me off of her. That wouldn’t do. Moving my right leg off of her now useless left arm, I brought my knife up again and caught her underneath the ribs. I grinned as I heard the wet coughing noises she was making from behind the gag.

  It won’t be long now, the voice in the back of my head whispered.

  Lana was going in and out of consciousness. The blow to the head from earlier coupled with her lung filling with blood was getting to be too much for her body to handle. It was just as well, I had to get down to Carlo.

  “Play time’s over sweetheart,” I said on a sigh. “Time to die.” I swiftly brought my knife back up and slit her throat in one smooth movement. I was getting good at that. I didn’t know whether to be terrified or impressed.

  I quickly wiped my knife on her shirt and got to my feet. Slipping the knife back into my boot, I pulled my gun back out and slowly opened the door to the hallway. It was clear. Making my way down the hall I reached another door that would lead me to the stairs. The lock had already been broken, I assumed by either Antonio or Angelo. As I slipped into the stairwell and slowly began my dissent, I heard angry voices.

  Chapter 55

  Carlo

  A loud noise startled me out of the darkness. It took me a second to get my bearings again. I was alone in the room, still tied to the chair.

  Bang. Bang. CRACK!

  The wooden door to the storage room flew open, shards of the doorframe soaring everywhere. My eyes burned from sweat and unshed tears, and I had to blink a few times to clear my vision. I recognized Antonio and Angelo immediately. Angelo came rushing towards me as Antonio guarded the door.

  “Carlo, shit!”

  “Hurry,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from dehydration. “We don’t have much time. They probably heard that.”

  “Got it, Boss,” he said as he sawed through the ropes that held me captive, “where are you hurt?”

  “Everywhere, don’t worry about that right now, just get me fucking loose,” I said as I felt the bindings on my wrists slacken and blood surge into my arms as I brought them around in front of me. The pain in my shoulders and back was excruciating.

  “There, come on,” Angelo said as he freed my legs.

  He placed one of my arms over his shoulder and moved to help me up, but as soon as I was on my feet my legs gave way and I felt a pop as another of my ribs was displaced by the weight of my body. I let out a moan of pain that caused Antonio to move from his post at the door to come to my aid. It took both of them and all the strength I had left to get me out of that room.

  As soon as we crossed the threshold into the main part of the basement we were greeted with the barrels of two guns and Ivan’s sickening laugh.

  Chapter 56

  Mia

  “Where do you think you’re going? We were just starting to have fun,” Ivan’s cruel voice drifted up the stairs.

  “It’s over Ivan, you lost,” Carlo’s voice sounded strained but it was still strong. Even though I couldn’t see him, the conviction in his voice told me he was okay and gave me the strength I needed. Creeping down the stairs, careful to use just the balls of my feet so the heels of my boots didn’t make noise on the cement stairs, I made my way to the bottom and peered into the room.

  Ivan had his back to the stairwell, and two huge men flanked him. Angelo had an arm around Carlo and looked as if he were holding him up, his other arm was pointing his gun at one of Ivan’s men. Antonio was on the other side of him, also facing off with the second bodyguard. Ivan didn’t appear to be armed, instead his stance was causal as he continued to taunt Carlo.

  “Oh you poor man, too many blows to the head has you confused. There is no way out. You’re on my turf, with my men on you. No one is going to save you now.”

  I crept out of the stairwell, my gun aimed at the back of Ivan’s head. Carlo saw me but quickly averted his eyes and spoke directly to Ivan, giving me time to get in place.

  “Even if you do kill me, it’s not over. My men are loyal. They’ll hunt you down and destroy you.”

  “Oh?” Ivan laughed harshly, “Is your precious cunt whore going to avenge you? Please, that little bitch wouldn’t know the first thing about this game we play.”

  I took my time getting to Ivan, cautious not to give my position away. When I was just a few feet away I nodded to Antonio and Angelo and spoke, “Checkmate, bitch,” I said, my voice causing all three to turn around. I pulled the trigger as soon as Ivan spun to face me, catching him right between the eyes. Antonio and Angelo fired at the same time, taking down Ivan’s men. The echo of gunshots was still ringing through the dank basement as all three men fell at my feet.

  It took me a moment to gather myself. Ivan was dead, but this wasn’t over. I still had to get Carlo out of here. I leapt over Ivan’s still body and rushed to Carlo, his face was swollen and covered in dried sweat and blood. My hands hovered over him, not wanting to hurt him more by touching him. His shirt had been torn open and every inch of his exposed torso was bleeding or bruised. “Baby, are you okay?” I asked, a stupid question but I couldn’t help my worry.

  “Fine, let’s just get out of here. Someone had to have heard.”

  “Right, come on then,” I said, pulling out my phone and dialing Mouse. I started to speak as soon as he answered the phone, not letting him get a word in, “We have him, we’re coming out. Have the men meet us. We don’t know who else is here.”

  “Got it, they’re on their way.”

  We made it up the stairs and into the main hallway, Angelo and Antonio practically carrying Carlo’s broken body. I was in front, so focused on the back exit door I didn’t notice the large man with a gun pointed right at me until he had already pulled the trigger.

  Chapter 57

  Carlo

  We had to get out of here, I knew of at least one more of Ivan’s men that knew I was down there. If Vlad was in the club and heard the shots we were still in danger. It took both Antonio and Angelo to help me up the stairs. The stab wound in my thigh coupled with my broken ribs made it almost impossible to walk on my own.

  Mia was in front of us as we made our way down the hallway. I saw movement to the right as we approached where the hallway opened up to another corridor. Time slowed as I saw Vlad emerge with his gun held out in front of him, pointed directly at Mia. Terror gripped me and I used the last of my energy to lunge for her, calling out her name in warning as Vlad pulled the trigger. I felt white hot pain sear through my side, and then nothing as the blackness enveloped me once again.

  Chapter 58

  Mia

  It all happened so fast, one second I was staring down the barrel of a gun and the next I was being pushed to the ground. I heard several shots go off before I had a chance to pull myself up. When I flipped over my blood ran cold. Carlo was lying motionless beside me, blood seeping from a wound on his right side just under his arm.

  “CARLO!” I cried and scrambled to him, my knees slipping in the large puddle of blood that was already pooling underneath him. I tried to put pressure on the wound but the blood just kept pumping out between my fingers. “Do something!” I screamed, not knowing who exactly I was talking to.

  “Move,” I heard from above me before I was lifted up and placed a few feet from where I had been kneeling beside Carlo. Enzo’s large frame blocked my view as he began to work on Carlo. In my hysterics I hadn’t even noticed him and Leo come through the back entrance.

  My breathing was erratic. I couldn’t focus on anything but Carlo’s still form.

  No, no, no. This can’t be happening, not after everything we’ve been through. God wouldn’t be this cruel. Please, I prayed, please let him be okay.

  “We need to move fast, he’s lost too much blood. Get him up, Matty is waiting with the car at the entrance to the alley,” Enzo’s voice was harsh and cold as he issued orders to the other men. Without hesitation all four men lifted Carlo and rushed out the back do
or. My body was numb as I stepped over the goon that had shot Carlo and followed woodenly behind them. I watched them load Carlo into the back of the SUV, Enzo climbing up with him. I took my place in the front seat and turned, staring at Carlo’s gray face as we rushed to the hospital.

  …

  Once we pulled up to the emergency room entrance, Antonio leapt from the car and ran inside coming back a moment later with several nurses wheeling a stretcher behind him. The hospital staff moved fast, transferring Carlo to the stretcher and rushing him into the building. I trailed behind them as fast as I could, not willing to let my gaze drift from his face. I was abruptly stopped by a nurse before I could follow them past the double doors.

  “You have to stay here, we’re taking him back into surgery.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but Angelo cut me off, pulling me to his side he spoke to the nurse, “This is his wife. Please let us know as soon as you have any information about his condition.”

  “Of course. Now can one of you please tell me what happened?”

  I turned to Angelo, panic in my eyes. I had no idea how to explain this.

  “If you’d come with me I’ll explain,” Antonio said smoothly from behind me, guiding the nurse away to the corner so he could speak to her privately.

  “What are we going to do if they call the cops? Don’t they have to report it if someone comes in with a gunshot wound?” I asked Angelo frantically.

  “Relax, Antonio will handle it. We have a few cops in the area that are on our payroll, they’ll make sure there’s no official report. Now come sit down.

  …

  We waited for hours without any word on Carlo’s condition. My mind raced and the tears fell down my face in a constant stream for hours. Frankie came to sit beside me, wrapping one of her small arms around my shoulders as she spoke softly into my ear. “He’s going to be okay, I can feel it in my gut. Carlo is way too stubborn to die,” I gasped at her words, a sob ripping through my chest followed by a fresh wave of tears. I buried my head in her shoulder and wept.

  A soft voice filtered in over the sound of my sobs, “I’m looking for the family of Carlo DeLuca?”

  I stood up so suddenly I had to brace myself on Frankie’s shoulder to avoid falling over, “That’s me,” I croaked.

  The woman walked over to me slowly, as if I was a wounded animal she didn’t want to spook. She wore green scrubs and her white sneakers squeaked across the linoleum as she approached. “I’m Dr. Marshall, the lead surgeon working on your husband. We did everything we could, he’d lost a lot of blood…” A whooshing sound filled my ears, effectively blocking out the doctors words. This couldn’t be happening, my head grew hazy and dots formed in my line of vision. “Coma, only time will tell…” her words filtering through.

  “What?” I asked, snapping back into reality.

  “He’s in a medically induced coma. We did everything we could to repair the damage, but we won’t know the extent of his injuries or recovery time until he wakes up. We had to remove his spleen because it was ruptured by the bullet. Thankfully no major arteries were damaged. One of his lungs was punctured but we were able to stop the bleeding. We’re going to keep him unconscious for a few days to give his body time to heal from the trauma before we take him off sedation. They’re getting him settled into a room now, I’ll have a nurse come out in a little bit to bring you to him. Only one visitor at a time though, since he’s in the ICU.”

  “That’s fine, thank you,” Angelo said beside me. I hadn’t noticed him come up while the doctor was speaking.

  The doctor nodded and made her way back through the double doors.

  “He’s alive,” I said to no one in particular. I was still in shock. I had thought for sure she was telling me he was dead. My head hurt, the exhaustion of the day taking its toll on my body as I sagged against Angelo.

  “He’s alive,” he repeated, wrapping his arms around me and supporting my weight. “He’s going to be okay.”

  …

  True to her word a little while later a nurse came and led me to Carlo’s room.

  “Now honey, I need to prepare you, he’s pretty banged up and since he’s sedated there’s a breathing tube down in throat. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  I nodded numbly and followed her into the room. I didn’t know what I expected since she had just explained what condition he was in but the sight of him lying prone on the hospital bed with wires and tubes hooked up to him caused me to let out a tortured cry. I slowly approached his bed, my hand over my mouth, muffling my sobs.

  “They say they can hear you when they’re under like that, might help to talk to him a bit. Let him know you’re here. I’ll give you some privacy, just press the red button if you need something,” she said and left the room quietly.

  I pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down, reaching for his hand, careful not to disturb the IV. “Hey baby,” I said, my voice wobbly with tears. “I don’t know if you can hear me but if you can I want you to know how much I love you. I need you to pull through, we have a wedding to plan,” I laughed, because it sounded ridiculous and trivial but I wanted it, “And once you’re better, I’m going to kick your ass for scaring the shit out of me.” I laid my head on the bed next to him and continued to talk, describing our future and repeating the words ‘I love you’ over and over again

  …

  I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was being woken up by the same nurse that had brought me to Carlo.

  “Hey honey,” she said quietly, “I need you to hop up for a minute so I can check his vitals.”

  I stood up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and letting her get the readings she needed.

  She turned to me when she was done, “Visiting hours are long over and my shift is almost up but I pulled a few strings and as long as you don’t cause a fuss or get in the way, they’re going to let you stay with him, okay?”

  “Thank you,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. I felt like all I’d done since Carlo had been shot was cry but I couldn’t help it, my emotions were all over the place. “That means so much to me, thank you,” I said again.

  She patted my shoulder and walked out of the room without saying another word.

  Chapter 59

  Carlo

  I could hear voices, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying, like I was under water and people were speaking above the surface. I tried to take a breath and coughed, something was in my throat. I tried to grab at it but my arms were pulled back. I heard yelling and movement, but when I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on I was blinded by a bright light. There was a tingling sensation in my arm that traveled up and through my body as my muscles relaxed and floated off into nothingness again

  The next time I came back through the darkness I was able to breathe. I felt something squeeze my hand. “Carlo?” I heard, I would know that voice anywhere. Mia. I had no idea where I was but Mia was with me so it had to be okay, she was safe. The last thing I remembered was pushing her out of the way of Vlad’s gun.

  I tried to speak but my throat was on fire. “Shh, don’t talk, I called the nurse. Just relax. Everything is going to be okay,” she soothed. I tried to open my eyes again, the light was still blinding but I was able to squint and after a while, my eyes adjusted. Turning my head to where her voice had come from I saw her. Tears in her red rimmed eyes spilled over when she smiled at me. “Hi.”

  “Where?” I tried to speak again but the burning was too much. It felt like I had swallowed sandpaper.

  “Don’t try to talk,” she said sternly, “You’re in the hospital. They took you off the drugs that were keeping you out a while ago. The nurse said you’d feel groggy, don’t worry, its normal.”

  Just then a nurse walked in, “Ah Mr. DeLuca, glad to see you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals and the doctor will be in to examine on you in a minute.”

  She moved around the room to the opposite side of the bed Mi
a was occupying and looked at the machines I was hooked up to. “Everything looks good considering, your blood pressure is on the low end of normal but that’s to be expected with the heavy sedation you were under. I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Don’t try to speak, just nod or shake your head. Got it?” she waited for me to nod before continuing, “Okay, is your vision normal?”

  I nodded.

  Walking around to the foot of the bed she lifted the blanket exposing my feet, “Can you feel this?” she asked running the end of her pen up the length of my foot. I jerked my foot away and nodded.

  “Good, can you move your arms for me?”

  I lifted my arms one at a time and set them back on the bed. I was starting to get irritated. She was treating me like a fucking invalid. Mia seemed to sense my frustration because she spoke quietly into my ear, “You’ve been out for four fucking days, she’s just doing her job. Don’t be an asshole.”

  I looked at her in shock. Four days? What the fuck happened to cause me to be unconscious for four fucking days?

  “Now, Mr. DeLuca, do you have any head or neck pain?” The nurse asked. I nodded, my head was pounding. The rest of my body was sore too but it was my head that was killing me.

  “That’s normal with the sedation. As soon as the doctor checks you out I’ll give you something for the pain.”

  “How long until he can go home?” Mia asked.

  “That’ll be up to the doctor, honey. I know you’re eager to have him home but right now the best place for him is here where we can keep him under observation.”