“…I don’t know how you were raised, but I don’t take lip from women.” I was doing my best not to yell, and I had to force myself to pry my hand away from her jaw. She was getting the best of me right now and I had to relax. She had every right to be upset, angry, and scared. My flipping out on her wasn’t going to change that, I had to make her happy to be here. Shit—was she crying now? I turned on the charm and lowered my voice, my eyes seeking hers.
“Do you want to watch a movie or something? You’re going to be miserable if you spend the whole time like this. Think of it this way, you’re getting a free vacation, you don’t have to pay for anything, and your company could be worse.” I winked at her, and madonn, the smile she rewarded me with was worth a million bucks. This girl could wrap me around her little finger and I don’t think I’d stop her. I had to get my head right, I had to remember the plan.
I was pretty amazed she chose a horror movie, but she said it’d take her mind off the situation. The poor thing spent two hours jumping and covering her eyes and gasping—I could barely contain my laughter.
“Chai Latte and blueberry muffin tomorrow morning, right?” I asked, though my eyes stayed on the TV. I knew if I looked at her I wouldn’t be able to avoid looking smug. I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my head, as if asking me for an explanation.
“Following you, remember? I know I come off as fairly normal but that’s just to keep you from screaming and trying to escape. Make no mistake; I was definitely stalking you for the past few weeks.” I looked at her for a moment then went back to my beer, smiling a little as I decided to push a little further.
“You like pepperoni and mushroom pizza, I’m pretty sure the only friend you have is that girl that lives in the same building as you, I’m sure you noticed that I know your sizes for just about everything, and I must say I’m slightly impressed you’re a 22 year old girl with no cellphone.” Her jaw dropped, and she stuttered as she tried to find something to say. I loved having this effect on her, and couldn’t help the urge to really drive it home.
“And that yoga class you’re in? Impressive, I’d say you’re almost as good as your teacher.”
“Hey Michael? Your creepy is starting to show,” she snapped at me, sliding away to give herself some distance. We went back and forth, bickering a little as I teased her, but for some reason when I brought up her pads she lost it. It’s always been weird to me that girls are so sensitive about that shit—obviously as a grown man I’m aware that she gets periods, so why she suddenly got so mad is beyond me. But the second that girl raised her voice to me again, I was seeing red. I was in front of her, my fingers gripping her hips—I was almost positive I was hurting her but I could barely keep myself pulled together.
“Remember what I said about the attitude, sweetheart?” The sarcasm was dripping from my voice, and the way she was glaring at me was driving me nuts. Before I knew what I was doing my lips were on hers again and I was grabbing her too hard. My hands were on her skin, and I was kissing her with everything I had but I could feel how scared she was. Breathe, Russo. You have to stop.
“Do not make me do something that’ll hurt you, Brie.” I pulled away from her and sat down again, smirking a little when I realized she looked a little disappointed that I stopped. The next few hours went by pretty uneventfully, we watched another movie, and I could tell she was getting tired. I found myself caught off guard when she suddenly asked me how long she’d be here. What could I do? I had to tell her what was going on; she had a right to know.
“Well. I plan on using you to make Genovese spend as much time, money, and manpower as possible…” I went on to explain what I had figured out so far about Genovese’s antics towards her. I could see how horrified she was by his manipulating of her. But when I got to the end, explaining that I was going to use her as bait and kill him when I had the chance, she started yelling again.
“…YOU ARE NOT TYING ME TO A MURDER YOU LUNATIC.” She was full blown screaming, but I tried to keep my cool. I explained again, wishing she could see how fool proof my plan was. I just had to make him want her more than anything he had ever had—that was the point of the pictures. He’d get sloppy, and when the time came I would kill him. In my head it seemed so simple, I couldn’t figure out why she was losing it. She was talking again, explaining why she didn’t like the idea but I could tell the wheels were turning. She was fast, but not fast enough. The second she got up to run for the door I was on her, my arms wrapping around her waist. I pulled her against me, pushing my fingers into her hair, gripping it. The girl didn’t learn, nothing I fucking said was getting through and I was getting sick and tired of repeating myself.
“You really don’t learn do you? How do I convince you that at this point—you are mine. You will do what I need you to do and you will stop fucking sassing me. You aren’t going to escape here. Even if you managed to get out the door, the elevator is the only way up and it requires a passcode. The doors upstairs lock from the inside and also require a code. Did you honestly think I planned all of this, and didn’t make sure this building was inescapable?” I was fuming; my skin was warm from how angry I was. The mixture of my anger and the feeling of her body up against mine were pushing me over the edge quick. I was kissing her again, delighted in the way the little minx whimpered. I knew I was being rough but she got me here so quickly. I wanted all of her; I didn’t want to share her with anyone. I didn’t want that scumbag to see her, and I was realizing how much I already hated this plan. The second I realized she was kissing me back I gripped her harder, needing her more than I wanted to admit. The moan is what did me in, hearing that breathy little sound killed me. I pulled away from her, my breath ragged.
“Gabriella, do not play with fire.” I had to get away from her; I had to be in a space where she couldn’t invade my senses. I went to my room and shut the door, hoping that was a clear enough message to stay out.
I lay back on my bed, rubbing at my temple as I considered everything that was playing out. Genovese deserved what I was doing, of that I had no doubt—but did Brie? Did I bring her into this because I had to or because I wanted to be close to her? I knew how selfish this was, and I knew I could’ve created a plan that didn’t involve her, but I didn’t. I had to be better to her, I had to try and control my temper.
three
The next morning when I woke up I could hear her crying, and the sound broke my heart in two. I was a piece of shit. What was I doing to her? I quickly made my way to her room and dropped down on the bed behind her, offering a quiet apology. I tried to sympathize but I knew I was hitting deaf ears, what I had to say wouldn’t matter.
“…You still have yet to tell me how you’re going to prevent his pisanos from coming after me when you get your vengeance.” She was angry again, go figure. ”Or how about how are you going to protect my parents? Huh, Michael? You thought that far? Or does it not matter because yours are already gone.”
The words cut me like a knife digging right into my skin. How could she say that about them? She didn’t fucking know them, she had no fucking right to speak of them.
“Perhaps I’ve been too nice to you, Gabriella. You seem to be under the impression that you can still talk to me however you please. I don’t care if I have to break you over and over again, you WILL behave.” I was kissing her again, pinning her body beneath mine and forcing myself on her. The caution lights were going off in my head, telling me to stop but I couldn’t. I had no control of myself around her, and it was getting worse by the minute. My hands were sliding up her night gown, wanting to feel every inch of that soft skin that it covered. She was whimpering but I didn’t care; right now I didn’t care about anything.
My fingers were dancing along the edge of her panties, my brain starting to take a hold of itself again. I could feel her kissing me back, but it felt desperate—she seemed scared. I pulled away from her lips for a moment, my fingers reaching up to push the hair from her face. I would never get over how beautiful
this girl was. The second I touched her face I could see her visibly relax, and suddenly her breath was quick, her eyes were half-lidded and everything seemed so fucking perfect that I had to take the shot. I quickly pulled my cellphone from my pocket, snapping a few pictures of her. I tried not to think of what I was doing with them, tried not to remember who they were for. I had to get out of this room. I had to get away from this girl.
I quickly let her know I had all of her shower shit setup for her in the bathroom. I had wanted her to feel comfortable here, and tried to replicate as many of her routines as I could. She didn’t answer, and I didn’t bother to say anything else. I needed to relax and I knew what would help. I made my way into the kitchen and straight for the fridge, pulling out a few things. Next I pulled a few cans of San Marzano tomatoes from the cupboard. I hooked my phone up to the small Bluetooth speaker that sat on a small shelf I installed above the sink and put on a little Sinatra to ease my nerves.
When I heard her coming up behind me I vaguely noticed I had no idea how much time had passed. The sauce was simmering and my mood was infinitely better. I grabbed her and pulled her to me, swaying around the kitchen as I sang “Fly me to the Moon” to her, as my father always had to my mother. I smiled at her, loving how carefree she looked for the moment. Had things not been in these circumstances, I’d like to think she’d always look this way.
I eyed the clock and remembered I wanted to run a few quick errands. I left her instructions on how to tend to the sauce, just to see her get a little mad. I knew she could handle it but I liked the way her eyes sparked when she was angry.
I was back within an hour, dropping the bags near my desk when I came in. I watched Brie stir the sauce, her eyes finding mine as she offered me that breathtaking smile. Right then and there I had to convince myself that it was illogical to ask her to marry me. But just seeing her like that, in my kitchen, stirrin’ the sauce I made—I don’t know, it was doing something to me.
I found myself picking her up and putting her on the counter, anything to be able to touch her for a second. I took a spoonful of sauce and held it to her pouty lips, mumbling “taste”. Her tongue lashed out at the spoon and I nearly dropped it.
“Bene,” she whispered, her eyes seeking mine. We spoke then, I told her everything I could think to fill her in on. She was passionate, her words filled with every feeling that shown through those big doe like fuckin’ eyes. I couldn’t take it. I wanted her. I wanted her more than anything and I would be damned if I couldn’t have her. I was on her, kissing her, picking her up, carrying her. I had her in my room in record speed. Having her underneath me felt just as perfect as I thought it would, and the second I saw her skin I knew I was a goner. We must’ve been in my room for hours, but every second of it felt like pure fucking heaven.
I found myself looking down at her, loving the way the sweat glistened off her skin. As much as it hurt to do it, I knew it was the perfect shot. I snapped the picture quickly, swallowing down the bile that rose as I thought of Genovese looking at it. The idea of him seeing my girl this way… God, it made me want to kill him. But his time would come. She got up quickly after that. I reached for her, but she moved away. I couldn’t tell if she was upset or just wanted some space—but I left her alone. Within minutes I heard the shower on and figured she was probably alright for now. The shower—that’ll be perfect too.
I tried to get myself in the right mindset, putting on a pair of boxers and a pair of jeans. When a little time had passed I heard the water shut off. I made my way into the bathroom and took a quick picture of her, smirking a little as my eyes followed the curves of her body that I had just explored so thoroughly.
“That’s perfect. The way the water is clinging to your skin is tantalizing,” I mumbled, before getting a good look at her face. She was upset. I tucked the phone into my back pocket and went to kiss her, trying to comfort her, but she pulled away from me.
“Don’t touch me. Don’t try to make me feel like you give a fuck. Just do what you need to do and get your plan finished. I don’t care what happens at this point; I just want to get away from you.”
Pure venom. I couldn’t explain it any other way, and fuck did it hurt. I did give a fuck, little did she know. Before I said something I could regret I took a deep breath and stared at her, my voice quiet.
“I will do as I please with you.” And with that I made my way out of the bathroom, knowing to leave her alone at this point. I heard her go into her room, and silence followed. After an hour I went in and found her asleep, her body still wrapped in a damp towel. I sighed and pulled it away from her, careful not to wake her. I quickly slipped her nightgown over her body and tucked her back under the comforter, my fingers sliding over her delicate features.
“What will I do with you...”
A few hours later she emerged from the bedroom, her bare feet padding across the floors. I beckoned her, pulling her into my lap as she got close enough. I had been parked in front of my laptop for a while, scanning the footage from the cameras I had been able to place at some of Genovese’s spots. I had reluctantly sent him the most recent pictures, knowing it was necessary if I ever wanted this to be done. I briefly explained to her what we were looking at, pointing out the footage of Alec’s club. I watched my handiwork play out, Genovese checking his phone, his anger radiating off of him even over the camera. I zeroed in on that footage and turned the speakers on so we could pick up on what was being said. He was quickly and quietly scolding one of his guys, using Italian as he did when he didn’t want to be overheard. I watched Gabriella try to focus, and figured she probably wasn’t fluent. My parents had always stressed the importance of knowing both languages, and now I could thankfully say I understood just how beneficial it was.
“What’s he saying?” she finally asked, her eyes following him on the screen.
“He’s ordering them to find you, alive. He’s put a reward out for $50,000 to anyone that brings you back to him.” She looked amazed that anyone would put up that kind of money to have her, but I wasn’t surprised. She was beautiful, passionate, and didn’t take any shit. Besides, a mamaluke like Genovese couldn’t stand not getting his way. It made him look like a schmuck to all of his guys in his eyes. But honestly, him going through all of this for one girl? I’m sure his guys were already questioning some of his antics. I could see it all coming together in her head, she understood it and for some reason, I felt fucking proud.
“So what’s the next step?”
I can’t say I was surprised by her reaction to me saying I was going to kill a few guys, but I needed to make her understand more. These were scumbags that had destroyed other peoples’ lives, businesses, and families—all without a care in the fucking world. I pointed them out, one by one, detailing the crimes they had yet to pay for. She was horrified, as she should be. They were disgusting, despicable humans that deserved nothing less than what I would do to them. She seemed to calm down slowly, her body leaning into mine. Madonn, it felt so fucking good to have her on my side.
“…But won’t there always be someone to replace him? You can’t completely stop them, Michael.” She wasn’t saying it, but I could tell her resolve was breaking—she just couldn’t find a reason to reject the idea. She was seeing it all in my perspective and it was like music to my fucking ears.
“I want to help. I want to see them pay for what they did to your family, and all the other families. I want to make him pay for what he’s done to me.” I could literally feel my pants tighten when those words came out of her mouth. This fucking girl was made for me, God had literally put her on this earth just for me.
“You are beautiful. You know that right? It kills me to let him see you.” I didn’t know what made me feel the need to tell her, but in that moment I knew I had never felt closer to anyone. She had to know. She had to know every single thought that went through my deluded, fucked up brain when I was near her. I needed her to understand every part of me.
“I know it doesn
’t make much sense to you, because you’ve only known me for a few days. As I’ve mentioned before, I‘ve known you for over a month now. I know what you like and what you don’t. I know that you’re independent and that sometimes when you’re alone in the kitchen at night you put on music and sing to yourself. I know that you’re motivated—you kept getting fired, but you didn’t falter once. You just went back out for a new job. Even though I got the information in a rather…questionable way, I still know you. And honestly, what happened between us yesterday? That came after a month of me wanting you. God, you don’t know just how badly, Brie. The way light illuminates your skin…the way your body curves, the way your hair frames your face. You’re fucking irresistible to me, bambina.” I took a deep breath, my arms tight around her.
“And now I know the way the sweat glistens on your skin, the way you moan when I touch you… it’s unlike anything, tesora.” I kissed her with everything in me then. I had to seal the sentiment; I needed her to know it was all real.
We had a quiet lunch after that, but I kept my hand on her. I always wanted to touch her, I didn’t know what that was about but I was past trying to understand the things she did to me. I knew that I’d be leaving soon, and I didn’t have a good day ahead of me. This part of the plan was the hardest. I knew what I was doing was justice, in its own light—but taking a life is never simple. I made my way out of the apartment, with a promise to return soon.
Getting into town was a simple drive and I already knew where to be looking. The goons would be doing their routine check-ups at this hour. Slithering through back alleys and shaking down businesses like the scum bags that they were. Donnie would wait in the truck, while the other two would head in the back door of a shop, rough up the owner, take their cut and be on to the next one. Today, that would all stop. I’d make sure of it.
I wasn’t surprised to find them over by the butcher once I got into town; they often started in the same spot. I parked far off, mixing in with the other cars that littered the side of the street. I had to admit I felt a little ridiculous creeping down the sidewalk, with gloves on my hands, stealthily slipping from doorway to doorway. Once I spotted the side door of the butcher’s I watched them quietly, waiting for one of them to step inside. The second the first guy was out of sight I ran up behind the other, my arm quickly slipping around his neck. He went to kick me but he was losing consciousness way too fast to focus. I had to fight the urge to stop, to spare him. They had done so much damage, he didn’t deserve to live.
Russo: His Untold Story (Blacklisted Book 3) Page 2
