The Sting of Love: A Mafia Romance (Gangsters and Dolls Book 5)

by Khardine Gray

“Good, well, he’s calmed, then.”

  I nod. When I spoke to Claudius last night, he was furious that I hadn’t checked in and alerted him and the other guys of the situation. That was me again slipping up because my mind was on Willow. He was mad that he had to hear what was happening from Gibbs and not me. He was also mad because I didn’t call for backup. Gibbs was worried because I just took off.

  “This is all shit, Alex. I never thought a little over a week on the job would land me in shit so deep I can’t see my way out,” I say, gazing out to the shoreline. The sun is bright in the sky, casting a glow over the marina. The weather and the perfection of the day conflicts with the inner turmoil that rages within me.

  “That’s the way of the job, Donny,” Alex replies.

  I don’t think he would be so quick to associate my situation with the job if he knew everything. I study his expression. I know he’s curious. He’s been curious since yesterday when we first saw each other, and he’s waiting for me to elaborate and tell him more.

  I should tell him because there’s so much going on in my mind I can’t think straight. That’s what happens when you don’t know what to do and when you have no leverage. I’m being hunted, and I’m just left out in the open waiting for an attack.

  “I didn’t expect things to go so wrong so quickly. And it’s like it’s everything,” I state.

  “It is everything because people were taking advantage of the whole outfit here. Mario and friends. The problem was trusting the wrong guys. You’ll do better. It’s… always complicated too when women get involved.” I look at him, and the curiosity is more evident. “You gonna tell me anything more about this woman called Willow?” he adds.

  I’m on edge, and the worst time to talk about my feelings is when I’m in a state of flux.

  Apart from the fact that I got her involved and told her things she shouldn’t know, I don’t want to talk about her at all. I’m trying to unravel what I feel for her, and it’s not happening. Aside from Pa clearly seeing how I feel about her, talking about her to Alex will jar me.

  “Do we have to talk about her?” I ask. Alex is one of my closest friends, so he’ll know straightaway the mood I’m in is not the kind to push. But because he can be a real prick sometimes, especially when he’s curious, he’s gonna push. I can see it in his eyes, and I just made it worse with my secrecy.

  “Who is she? What is she to you?” he prods.

  I sigh. “A woman I met in the club the night we spoke to Mario,” I answer. “The doll by the bar with the body of a goddess.”

  Damn it. I remember saying those words. I didn’t know her then, didn’t even know her name.

  “And you got involved with her?” He raises a brow.

  “Yeah… I did.”

  “Not like you to get involved. She must be something special.”

  “She was. She is. She’s one of those women you watch from afar and you know you should resist, but you can’t resist the temptation to be with them.”

  He bites back a smile. “I have one like that, Donny. My girl was a fed, remember?”

  I remember, but it was different for him. His wife knew who he was long ago and accepted who he was. They were on and off for nine years. She chose him, and he chose her. It’s not the same for me.

  “I know… but I think my situation is a little different. My girl didn’t have a clue what I was. We… were never supposed to be anything more than a fling,” I explain. Those were my thoughts when I first saw her. I just wanted her one time—until I touched her, and that was it for me. Alex listens with interest. “She’s an artist. She loves landscapes and everything beautiful. She should be with a guy who can at least give her the normal vanilla life.”

  Even her prick of an ex was better than me. What I did was worse than how he treated her. He never put a target on her back. All he did was break her heart. I put her life at risk, and most likely her aunt’s. If I really thought Lurlene was safe and out of the woods, I wouldn’t have sent Lois and Saul to watch her like hawks. They won’t let anything happen to her— even if the wind blows the wrong way, they’ll let me know.

  “You sound like you’re really into her,” Alex observes.

  “I am, but that doesn’t matter… I think to be in charge of business like this and live the way we do, we have to know when to let certain people go if you …” My voice trails off. I can’t say it. Not that word. I fell for her and didn’t even realize I’d fallen and hit the fucking ground.

  I run a hand over my chin and my two-day stubble prickles my fingers.

  Now he tenses because he knows where I’m going with this conversation.

  “I guess I’m beginning to see why Amadeo made a threat like that. He hits where it hurts most,” Alex surmises.

  I give that bastard credit—he must have seen the look of love on me long before I realized it. “Yes. That motherfucker got me good, and he’s serious as fuck.”

  “How did all this happen? I only left last week.”

  “I didn’t know I was being watched. I think he sent his goons to watch me after the meeting I had with him.” I release a ragged sigh. “Alex, I slipped up. The first thing I knew when I realized Amadeo was screwing with us was that he wasn’t going to be happy about being cut loose, especially from a guy like me. He didn’t like it, and I guess the only way to get to me no matter the cost to him is to go after her. There were a lot of mistakes I made when I was with her. I was completely oblivious to everything around me and allowed enemies to see my weakness.”

  I allowed them to see her.

  I figured that the only time Amadeo or his men could have seen me properly and made any assumption about me and Willow was the day I took her to the beach. It was the second day of her staying with me. I thought we were on the beach alone. We kissed a lot, and I think that was the only time I showed affection for her where anyone could have truly seen me.

  “I’m sorry. Where is she, Donny?” he asks, and I focus on his intense gaze.

  “She’s safe.”

  He studies me. “Safe… where is safe? You haven’t mentioned a safe house. You haven’t talked about her reaction to what’s happened, or anything like that.”

  Fuck… I’m going to have to tell him the truth, although I think he’s already guessed from the suspicion that’s now forming in his eyes.

  “I have her locked away… safe.”

  “Locked… away? Donny.” He straightens and grits his teeth. “You mean locked up?”

  “It’s not like that,” I say quickly, even though it kind of is. Taking women isn’t our way, but sometimes needs must. “She doesn’t understand the danger, Alex”

  “So, you took her?” he hisses but keeps his voice low. “You’re holding her captive?”

  “My father is watching her.”

  “Jesus… Donny…” He glares at me. “That’s a whole other shit of trouble we don’t need. What if she goes to the cops, Donny? Have you thought about that? We can’t have that worry either.”

  “I just hope I can sort this all out before it gets that far. I’ll make sure she doesn’t say anything.” I know that’s not in my power. Willow could go to the cops. Then I don’t know what will happen if she does. We have police associates here who can make certain problems go away, but management of a problem all depends on what happens.

  “And if she does?” He raises his brows, and I don’t have to guess what he’s thinking. If we were worse men, the conversation would be about eliminating any kind of threat she may cause. Essentially eliminating her. That’s not a conversation I’m having with anybody.

  “Alex…” Panic grips me, and it laces through my voice. “I don’t know what else to do. I made sure I told her she needs to stay put until this blows over. Then I’ll let her go. She knows that. She knows I’m holding her captive to keep her safe. It’s not ideal, and I’m ashamed that it came to this, but you know as well as I do that when push comes to shove, you have to do what’s necessary. I’d rather do this than a
llow Amadeo to kill her. You know he will.”

  He sighs, but his expression softens as understanding fills his eyes. “Fuck. This is shit. I get it. I’m not happy about it, but I get it. Let’s just keep that part under wraps between us and hope we can sort out this shit sooner rather than later.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.” I dip my head in gratitude.

  “I hope something turns up soon.”

  “Me too. Alex, I have to… go see her. I won’t stay long. I’m thinking of going early in the morning and coming back later in the night tomorrow. I just need her to see me.” Today would be the second day of her being with Pa. I’m probably the last guy she wants to see, but I need to show my presence there to assure her that I don’t mean any harm.

  “Okay. Then we’ll really try and get what we can done today.”

  My phone buzzes in my jacket pocket, and I answer it when I see it’s Gibbs.

  “Hey, Donny, I got something you need to check out. Can you guys come to Mario’s office?”

  Mario’s office? I’m already standing. “Of course. We’re on our way.” I hang up, and Alex stands too. “Gibbs found something in Mario’s office.”

  “Let’s go.” Alex inclines his head to the side, and we head over to the office.

  Gibbs is sitting in front of the computer. He lifts his head when we walk inside.

  “What have you found?” I ask him.

  “A whole load of shit. I do believe this is what Mario returned to get the other day,” Gibbs replies. “In my search through his stuff, I found a document referring to a file. This is the file. It was encrypted but I got through it.”

  Alex and I walk over to the computer and look at the screen. On it is a list of names on a table. There are contact details beside each name and then on the last column the payment agreements.

  My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I realize what this list is.

  It’s a client list.

  Shit, I recognize some names.

  Some are notable people like government or military, international and national. The other names I recognize are crime family members across Italy. A lot are those we would class as hardcore enemies. They all have serious money though. Everybody I recognize here can manage to pull an easy million.

  I grab the mouse and scroll down, my blood boiling as I see the list goes on for thirty pages with up to fifty names on each page. I even find Amadeo and Leo’s names.

  My blood boils and I actually feel sick to my stomach when I reach the end and find a listing of the girls who are worth the most money. Virgins between the ages of fourteen to twenty-five. Full bodied women. There are instructions on the hotels to use to keep them while in transit, and where to take them from.

  I can’t believe we didn’t know this was happening.

  Fuck. Fucking hell. I tighten my grip on the mouse so tight Gibbs places his hand over mine and taps the back of my hand. I release the mouse and straighten up.

  “Motherfucker,” I snarl. “This was what Mario was up to.”

  Alex straightens up too and shakes his head. “No, this is what we were up to. It’s not gonna be him who goes down if this shit blows up. It’s us. It’s going to look like we did this.”

  I look at Gibbs, who isn’t saying anything, then I glance back to the screen and scan over it. I’m mad as fuck, but an idea forms in my mind as I take hold of the mouse again and track back to Amadeo’s details. There was a hyperlink on his name. If this list is top secret, then maybe it leads to top secret information. Amadeo’s usual address was listed next to his name, and we’ve already hit up all his hangouts. This asshole isn’t going to be anywhere we know him to be. He’s going to be in the fuck hole he’s hiding in.

  Gibbs and Alex watch me as I scroll up and click on Amadeo’s name. Fuck, am I ever glad to see a link which takes me to another page with two addresses listed for him. They’re both in Syracuse. Perfect. That’s near, and we can get to those places easily.

  “There. I’ll bet that son of a bitch is at one of those places. We don’t have any listings of those addresses for him,” I state.

  Alex nods. “I’ll get some men together, and we can make a plan. We don’t want them getting any sort of chance to flee.”

  I agree. The last thing we want is for them to scatter like the vermin they are. “We can check out the buildings today,” I state.

  “Good plan. I like that. Let’s get this fucker and go on to help the others with the bigger problem of Mario.”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely, because judging from this list and from what we’ve seen, it looks as if he’s been working with The Triad all along.” It was Xiou who picked him up that day on the boat. This list looks like Mario definitely curated the clients and acted as the middleman to organize the sale of the girls.

  He was doing all this under Pablo’s nose. This isn’t a recent thing. It has an older feel to it, like he’s been doing it for a while under wraps. Time to fix this. I feel like I regained some control now that we have a lead.

  Gibbs sighs. “And what about this? They have an operation, and it needs to be shut down.”

  I remember what Gibbs said to me about his friend’s daughter, and it looks like this discovery has struck a nerve. I can be a bastard when I want to be, but I’m not evil. I know when to do the right thing.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I say. “I think we found a way to make the feds happy, don’t you, Alex?”

  Alex chuckles. “Hot shot. Yeah, I agree. Business first though.”

  “Most definitely.” We can hand over the intel once we know we don’t have any trace of the problem left. I just hope we get that far. We’ve crossed one hurdle, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. We still need to find both Amadeo and Mario. As long as they’re missing, we can’t do shit.

  Gibbs pulls a memory stick from his pocket, places it in the drive on the side of the computer, and taps at the keyboard.

  “What are you doing, Gibbs?” I ask.

  “Taking and cleaning,” he answers. I watch him carefully as he uploads the file to the stick then deletes the file from the computer. He pulls the stick out, holds it up, and points it to Alex first then to me. “Who’s the boss here?” He looks at Alex, then they both look at me.

  “Me,” I say, and Alex looks proud.

  “Then this is yours, boss.” He hands it to me, and I take it.

  Looks like I have much to report back to Claudius later. Good. It will make me feel less tense heading back to the beach house.

  It’s only slightly less, however, because I know what awaits me there. Willow. I wish I could go back to last week when she felt like mine.

  That will only be a feeling that exists in my dreams now.

  She was never mine.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Willow

  Day three…

  Today is the start of my third day in this house.

  It’s early. I don’t know the time specifically, but I’m guessing it’s probably around nine. I woke with the sun, barely able to sleep as it was because of my plans for today.

  I’m going to try and escape.

  I only have half a plan, and from the looks of outside, I think it’s going to be hard. The sea looks more troubled, clashing fiercely against the rocks, and the gray clouds in the sky forecast rain.

  I swallow past the lump in my throat and go over everything in my mind.

  The first part of the plan is to go downstairs and eat breakfast. Armand has been checking on me to make sure I eat. Yesterday morning was the only time we spoke.

  After he told me that I basically wouldn’t be going anywhere, things became difficult. I stopped talking, and he stopped trying to make the situation seem any different to what it is.

  I appreciate the explanation he gave, but I’m a grown woman, and I need to take stock of my life. My escape to Italy wasn’t supposed to end like this.

  Icy winds blow through the window and lift the curtains. The chill washes over my skin, reminding
me of the next part of the plan. The craziest part. The escape itself.

  That’s where I’m going… through that window.

  It’s the only way out. I may be able to leave this room, go into the kitchen and a few other rooms but the doors to leave the house are all locked up tight. As are the windows downstairs. All are locked from front to back. I checked when Armand wasn’t watching. Some of the rooms downstairs are locked too. My guess is they’re locked because they have some sort of exit.

  So… that window there across from me is my only hope.

  Yesterday I analyzed everything. The balcony has a sturdier grip, and I could climb across it, but if I fall, I’ll be landing straight in the sea, and I don’t know how deep the drop is. The water is dark blue like the wide expanse, so I think it’s reasonable to assume it’s quite deep. Through the window, however, leads down to a little section of the beach, but…there are all these jagged rock formations coming out of the sea. If I fall, I could die, but if I make it, they’ll help me get over to the beach, and then I’ll be able to head for whatever road we used to get here.

  It sounds like death, but I can’t allow Lurlene to suffer for something she has no part of. I need to get this done. That’s how I need to think. Positive. Like I really can do this.

  When I was a kid, I used to climb trees all the time, much to Mom’s displeasure. I also was the only one of the girls who snuck out of the house and never once got caught.

  I did it for years from when I was fifteen and straight up until college, my parents were none the wiser. I’m relying on my previous expertise to help me today, although I’m well aware that sneaking out of a house with a ten-foot drop is not the same as sneaking out of this mansion with what I’m guessing is a twenty-foot drop. Like my previous endeavors, I’ll be using the curtains at the windows to assist me.

  I get off the bed and put on my shoes. I’m wearing a T-shirt and a pair of joggers that were part of the clothes that had been left out for me the other day. The weather is colder than it has been since I’ve been in Italy. It’s just my luck that the cold would get me today.