by Lux Miller
Biting down on my bottom lip, I slip one hand between my legs and let myself fall over the edge of glory. It’s fast, it’s animalistic, and it’s efficient. I’m sure the whole house, whoever may be around, probably heard it, but that’s not my problem. I didn’t ask to be here.
I quickly wash and condition my hair, then step out of the shower and wrap one of the fluffy towels around myself. I dig around under the sink and locate a half-used tube of toothpaste. I’m not about to use some random toothbrush, though. It could have been used to clean the toilet for all I know. I squirt some of the toothpaste onto my finger and brush my teeth the best I can, then shrug. Minty-fresh dragon breath is better than depths-of-hell dragon breath.
Humming to myself, I waltz out of the bathroom. I step back into the bedroom, flicking off the bathroom light on my way out. I’m oblivious to what’s going on around me until a strained, uncomfortable voice pierces my revelry. “I see you’ve, uh… made yourself at home.”
Gasping, my hands flies to my towel, gripping it white-knuckled. Standing before me is the second man who was with Barresi at Piacere. Nervously, I take a step back from him, pressing my back against the wall. He smirks coyly and closes the space between himself and me, but he doesn’t touch me.
He just smirks down at me, his green eyes sparkling in the incandescent lighting of the bedroom. “If I’d known it feels THAT good in there, I might have tried that shower out sooner.”
Groaning, I roll my eyes at him. His face is full of mirth, but it’s so similar to the one that haunted my dreams that my body is guarded against him. I swallow and try to stabilize my voice before inquiring, “Who are you? And why are you in my room?”
The man howls with laughter, throwing his head back as his entire body shakes. I feel my temper rising up into my throat and I can’t stop my big mouth from smarting off, “What the fuck is so funny here? I’m certainly not amused…”
The man stops laughing and levels his gaze at me. He leans his face down to mine. He’s so close to me that our noses are touching and I can smell his breath as he speaks quietly, “Not a damn thing is funny here. I came up here to see why the hell a feral cat was yowling in the bathroom.”
I can’t control the tone of indignation that colors my voice as I growl at him, “I do not sound like a feral cat yowling! If I wasn’t cooped up here like a prisoner...”
I don’t even get to finish my sentence before the man slams his hands on either side of my head, caging me in as I tremble against the wall. His jade-colored eyes flash with anger. Gone is the joking demeanor that surrounded him just moments ago. His voice is low and his tone dark as he interrupts me, “...you’d be dead. Would you rather that be the case? I’m sure we can find a way to make it happen.”
My heart flip-flops in my chest at his dangerous tone. Swallowing nervously, I shake my head quickly. The man nods and pushes off the wall, leaving his hands there but taking his face out of mine. “I suggest you put some clothes on, tone down the attitude, and don’t try anything stupid. The fact that you’re even breathing right now means that he’s in a lot of trouble. He has a boss too and he's not going to be happy to know Luca didn't pull the trigger when he had a chance to tie up loose ends. Don’t make him regret saving you.”
FOUR
After the tense altercation with Barresi’s presumed right-hand man, I quickly dressed in the provided clothes. I'm thankful they actually somewhat fit. I wouldn’t be caught dead in public in the too-short shorts and t-shirt that leaves little to the imagination. But they are better than my grimy, filth-covered clothes or a towel.
Once I gather my senses about me, I tiptoe across the room. I reach for the doorknob, but it turns in my hand before I can engage the locking mechanism. Groaning, I take a step back from the door and wince as it swings open, revealing the man who just stormed out of the room. He’s looking at the floor as he begins talking, “And another thing…”
As he looks up at me, his voice trails off. He rakes his gaze over me, clearly interested in what he sees. If he’s thinking any lewd thoughts, he exercises enough control not to say anything. He clears his throat and rubs one hand along the back of his neck, his cheeks flushing slightly. He stares at the floor as he mutters, “I, um… your presence is requested… downstairs…”
Eyeing him curiously, I cross my arms over my chest, popping one hip out to the side, “And if I say no?” He pulls his gaze up from the floor and arches one eyebrow. He shakes his head with a chuckle. “While it wouldn’t be wise and I highly advise against it, you’d likely piss him off even more than he already is. You never want to piss him off, miss…”
Clearing my throat, I state, “Emily…” He cocks his head to the side as one corner of his mouth ticks up. “Come again?”
Tapping my bare foot nervously on the carpet, I swallow down the lump that is still bobbing in my throat from earlier. “My name… is Emily.”
The man’s uncomfortable grin settles into an easy smile, “Such a common name for someone so… feisty. I had you pegged for a Candy or a Bunny...”
I scoff indignantly, clearly offended. “You had me pegged as a cheap stripper? What kind of business do you think Andre was running there?”
The man steps closer to me and I take a step back toward the wall. He follows me step for step until my back presses against the wall again. This time, he doesn’t growl at me and pin me to the wall, so it’s progress at least. He narrows his eyes at me though, so I guess he doesn’t believe me. “Andre Norris was the lowest of low on the Most Wanted Scum of New Orleans list. That man didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as another human. He was a worthless piece of trash that took advantage of girls like you…”
Ice rips through my veins at his words. “Excuse me? Girls like me? What do you think I was? His personal whore?” Feeling emboldened, I press one finger against his chest, my tone sharp like a razor’s edge. “I’ll have you know Mr. Mafia Guy… Andre Norris was NOT getting his rocks off between these legs, so don’t pretend like you know me…”
I wince and close my eyes. Then I turn my face away from his and brace for his demeanor to change like it did before. After a moment, I peek one eye open at him and to my surprise, he appears to be speechless. He’s just standing there, staring at me. Did I break him? He was full of brimstone and hellfire earlier. Now he’s just… standing there, looking at me like I just kicked his puppy.
“Hey… um, are you okay?” I rest one hand against his chest and wave the other in front of his face. He blinks rapidly and glares at me, catching my wrist in his grip as he lowers his voice, “My name is Dante. Don’t ever call me Mr. Mafia Guy again…”
I swallow and nod quickly. He clears his throat and lets go of my wrist, wiping his hands off on his linen pants. It’s September in the South in the middle of a heat wave that has pushed temperatures into the triple digits. And that’s before you count the suffocating humidity that makes New Orleans feel like the surface of the sun. Who the hell wears linen pants in September?
Dante nods and folds his hands together, “Like I said, your presence is requested downstairs by my boss. He won’t take no for an answer, so I don’t recommend trying to find a way out of it. He wishes to discuss an... arrangement. A form of repayment for your debt to the Barresi family for sparing your life.”
Swallowing, I take a step back from him, shaking my head. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
He shrugs as he walks toward the door. “Everybody has a choice, Emily. You just may not like the other option. Luca doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. Life is business and business is life for him. You are a complication he wasn’t prepared to deal with. As such, he has to find a creative reason for keeping you alive. In spite of the clear edict of the family to leave no witnesses behind.”
I quietly follow him to the doorway, but stop short as I weigh my options. I could make a run for it, though I probably wouldn’t make it far. So far, the hospitality here has been better than at Piacere, even if the company
is a bit dry. There’s a roof over my head and hopefully soon, food on my plate.
My stomach rumbles loudly as I think about food. I gasp, gripping my belly in an attempt to hide the incriminating noise. Dante stops when he hears the sound and turns around to look at me. He glances down where my arms are hugging my belly and chuckles. “Did I mention there’s food involved if you willingly come downstairs?”
That does it. Even if I wasn’t already considering doing as asked, I now don’t have a choice. If I do anything besides follow Dante downstairs, my stomach will revolt against me. Grumbling, I shuffle along behind him, staring at the floor as I walk. When we reach the stairs, he muses, “Better watch where you’re going or you’ll be eating a face full of pine for dinner. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. Even the beavers won’t touch pine.”
I snort as my foot glides onto the top step, trying to desperately hold in my amusement. So Dante has a sense of humor. With the way he was waving that gun around in Piacere and pinning me to the wall before, I never would have guessed that he'd have jokes up his sleeves. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I pry for information. “So Luca… he’s your Boss?”
Dante shrugs as he leads me through room after room of opulence. As we reach an arch that leads into yet another room laid with cherry wood floors, he turns to me with a serious expression on his face. “Something like that.” I inhale a deep breath and step closer to him, putting one hand on his shoulder.
He tenses at my touch, but doesn’t pull away. Instead, he turns to look at me. “Why do you care?”
I shrug half-heartedly, but the truth is I want to know more about the monsters holding me captive. Playing it off as simple small talk, I reach up and twist a damp strand of hair around my index finger. “You mean there’s someone meaner than him?”
Dante nods almost immediately. “Absolutely. Luca’s in charge in this house and ninety percent of the mob bends a knee to him, but he is not the absolute authority.”
I cringe, understanding what Dante is trying to say without words. “So you… you’re a wise guy too?” Dante raises an eyebrow at me at my use of the slang term for an initiated mafia member made famous by Hollywood. He shakes his head and motions for me to follow him.
“To answer your question, no. I’m not. I go with him to take care of business, but I’m not official. He doesn’t really want me to become official either it seems.”
I narrow my eyes at his sudden chattiness. I’m not sure this is something I should be discussing with him. Knowledge can be incriminating in the underworld. The more knowledge I have, the less likely they’ll ever let me go. But my morbid curiosity gets the best of me. “Why not? You seemed pretty capable at Piacere. You damn near scared the shit out of me upstairs. You certainly seem to have a knack for being mean.”
Dante stops in his tracks and whirls around so fast I almost crash into him. He grabs me by the arms and lowers his face to mine, “Don’t joke about shit like that. That’s the fastest way to get yourself killed. This isn't a movie that ends when the credits roll. Nothing about what we do is anything like what Hollywood portrays. We’re not good guys doing bad things. That’s a vigilante and they have a moral ground to stand on. I assure you that we are not vigilantes. We are bad men doing bad things. Never to good people, but a sin is a sin.”
I nod quickly, my eyes widening to the size of saucers. He releases my arms and takes a step back from me, wiping his hands on his trousers again. “I do what I gotta do and one day, I will be at his side. He may fight it tooth and nail, but Heaven and Earth be damned, I will find a way to make my bones. He thinks I’m too good for this lifestyle, but he’s wrong. I’m more like him than he wants to believe.”
Watching him pace nervously, I ask the question that’s been burning in my mind. “Why are you so convinced that you’re condemned to follow in his footsteps? Don’t you have a choice in the matter?”
Dante shakes his head, “Luca may not want me as a part of the family empire, but the Don does. The Don makes Luca look like a saint. He will stop at nothing to ensure that I am bound to this empire for the rest of my mortal life. One heir protects the empire. Two ensures it. Luca will understand someday that he can’t protect me forever. I’m not the naive little boy I once was. The same blood that courses through his veins flows through mine. If he is a demon, so am I.”
I tilt my head slightly, not understanding his meaning. He turns me to face the doorway and nudges me inside, his hand on my lower back firmly to prevent me from walking away. He leans his lips to my ear again, whispering just loud enough that I can hear his bone-chilling words. “He is my brother in arms, but he is also my brother by blood.”
I stare over my shoulder at him blankly for several moments before I gather my wits about me. The Mob Enforcer has a brother? I tilt my head to the side and ask, “If you’re his brother, why have I never heard anything about you?”
Dante bounces a shoulder, “I’m the dirty little secret that can’t stay out of trouble. I spent my youth stealing beer and seducing older women. He’s too good for petty crime. He won’t tell you, but he’s ashamed of my past because I dipped into endeavors he deems beneath my station. Luca, on the other hand, is legendary. There may be more blood on his hands than in a vampire's refrigerator, but his nose is clean. He was third in line to inherit the dynasty at an age when most people are still worried about pimples on their face and learning how to masturbate properly…”
I interrupt him there, interjecting, “Wait… you can masturbate wrong?” Dante blinks at me, clearly caught off-guard by my complete lack of propriety. I give him a shrug and bat my eyes at him innocently. “What? Didn’t realize you had to learn how to do it… figured it just came naturally…”
Clearing his throat, he continues, “Like I was saying. He got in early and he checked his conscience at the door. He turned off his emotions over a decade ago. Save the people I can count on one hand, he doesn’t care about the fate of anyone unless they’ve sworn an oath of fidelity to him. He’s ruthless, cold and vicious…”
Leaning closer to Dante, I whisper, “And you’re not? You waved that gun around and got in my face like this was your last day on Earth to make your mark. I don’t think you’re different from him at all. I just think you’re afraid to embrace your true nature. You’re worried you’ll fall short of the legend he has created for himself.”
He flinches and takes a step back from me, shaking his head. “Hardly. I’m a damn angel compared to him. For now. One day, my name will strike fear into the hearts of any who dare cross my path. For now, he is the Barresi that other criminals fear. And the only Barresi who matters in the eyes of our father. One day, I will earn the right to sit upon the throne, but until then… he is the heir and I am the spare.”
A tight, unamused voice cuts Dante off, “What the fuck is going on here?!?”
Immediately, Dante’s entire body goes rigid. He turns to stand beside me and lowers his gaze to the floor. His back is ramrod straight and his shoulders are pushed back in a tight posture. His entire body is frozen in a show of reverence. “The… uh, the girl, Sir. I have brought her to you as you asked. Her name is Emily.”
Instinctively, my own gaze drops to the floor at the sound of intimidation in the booming voice that cuts to my core. In more ways than one, but I’ll die before I admit that the absolute authority sends little jolts of electricity between my thighs.
A hand slides under my chin and tilts my face up. As I open my eyes, I find my gaze locked with the cold, stony stare that now haunts me every time I close my eyes. He clicks his tongue as he tightens his grip on my chin. He turns my face first to one side and then to the other. He nods as his eyes peruse my body slowly and uncomfortably. Finally, he lets go of my chin and I immediately bring one hand up to rub my jaw where it aches from his touch.
“She certainly doesn’t look like the kind of woman I would normally bring home, but I guess we can make it work.”
Dante clears his throat, his voice ti
ght as he mutters under his breath, “That’s because the women you bring home are whores. You can dress a turd in Gucci and Louboutin, but at the end of the day… it’s still a turd.”
I gasp at Dante’s insolence and brace for Luca to explode. I’ve seen enough of his temper already to know that he is a ticking time bomb. The smallest provocation can set him off. Despite my brain screaming at me to keep my mouth shut, I dare to bring my eyes back up to Luca’s. Fury blazes across my face as Luca continues to drag his eyes over my body, like he’s sizing me up. “Excuse me? I’m not a piece of property you can use to show off to your people. I want nothing to do with you. I wouldn’t be seen with you if you were the last man on Earth…”
Luca snarls as my defiance pours off me. I stare him down, hatred glowing in my eyes. Irritation burns in his. We stare each other down. Finally, he breaks the eye contact and shoves a hand through his hair, “I don’t like it, Dante. Boss says it’s the only way, but it just doesn’t feel right. Her hatred for me seeps out of every pore in her body. Nobody is ever going to buy it. If it isn’t believable, what’s the point?”
