Guard Me: A Mafia Romance (The Rossi Crime Family Book 4)

by J. L. Beck

  Prologue

  Violet

  The music pounds loudly in my ears. It's so loud I can’t hear myself think let alone, hear whatever it is my best friend is trying to say to me. I don’t know why I was so excited about coming here for my birthday. It seemed like such a good idea when my friend’s suggested it.

  However, now that I am here everything seems so much less appealing. My ears hurt from the loud music, and my throat is scratchy from the smoke that clings to the air. The skin tight dress and black high heels I’m wearing are getting more uncomfortable with each passing minute. All in all coming here was a shit idea.

  Sweat beads against my forehead, as I survey the crowd. Everyone here seems to be way older than me. I’m only eighteen but this club allows people under twenty-one to come in as long as you let them stamp both of your hands.

  Some older guys offered to buy me a drink a couple minutes ago and I’m starting to wonder if maybe I should have let him. I really don’t want to get drunk in here and lose my wits, but it's so hot, and I can’t help but wonder if I’d loosen up with a little alcohol in my system.

  I grip onto my cell phone tightly in my hands deciding there won't be any drinking for me tonight. I’ll just call Ella and have her pick me up. She’s going to be pissed at me for not telling her what I was doing but she’ll get over it, she always does. I unlock my phone and start scrolling through my messages when a man appears at my side.

  “Here.” He says shoving a glass at me. It has some red colored liquid in it and I know better than to take some drink from a random stranger. I shake my head and hold up my hand to motion to him that I am not interested but he just shoves the glass closer to my face.

  Annoyance boils deep inside me. I take the glass, hoping it will make the asshole leave. I don’t take a sip, neither do I plan to.

  “Want to dance?” The guy leans into me and slurs right next to my ear. He smells of smoke, and sweat and I almost gag at the mixture of scents.

  “No, thank you.” I decline politely.

  “But I just bought you a drink, the least you can do is dance with me.” He gives me a creepy smile, and I shudder attempting to take a step backward. The entire place is packed, bodies rubbing against each other, making it hard to escape this asshole.

  Thinking smart I know I need to find another way to get away from him. My eyes glance over a neon restroom sign off in the distance.

  “You right, I’m just going to the bathroom really quick and then I’ll dance with you.” I give him a wide smile and set the drink on the table a few feet away from us.

  “Alright, I’ll be waiting right here for you baby.” He slurs, as I start to walk away.

  Walking in the direction of the bathroom, I weave between people, pushing and shoving just to get a step ahead. Once I reach the restrooms I turn and start walking back towards the entrance of the club. Music vibrates through me, and I find it harder and harder to breathe with all the bodies around me. I’ll just go outside and call Ella, that way maybe I can tell her I wanted to go to the club but changed my mind. Her shift at the diner will be over in a few minutes, so she’ll be able to swing by here on her way back to the apartment.

  Then we can forget like tonight never happened.

  I make it through the crowd and walk into the hallway leading outside. There are only a few people lingering near the exit. Nobody seems to be paying me an ounce of attention, all except one man. He is leaning against the far wall, his entire body encased in the shadows, but I can see his eyes scanning me up and down. He’s staring at my body in a way that makes me feel exposed and I don’t like it, not one bit. I make my feet walk faster as I hurry past him, his gaze remaining on me the whole time. As I pass him the hair on the back of my neck stands up, and a bad feeling fills my gut. This guy is pure evil… it oozes out of him, like a bad smell. I can feel it, see it.

  The moment I step outside and fresh air fills my lungs I feel a little better. I peer up into the night sky, pressing against the brick exterior wall of the club. I flip my phone around in my sweaty hand to call my sister, but when I scroll down to her name and hit send I realize that I have no signal.

  Shit.

  I start walking down the sidewalk holding the phone up in front of me hoping to find a spot where I get at least one bar. I take little steps, watching the phone screen more than my surroundings.

  “Shit,” I mumble to myself, knowing I’m going to get my ass chewed whenever I do get ahold of Ella.

  “Need a lift?” A unfamiliar voice calls out, making me jump. I quickly turn around dropping my phone in the process. It’s the creepy guy from the hallway, and now he is standing a few inches away from me.

  My voice is stuck in my throat, and all I can do is shake my head no. The man gives me a sinister smile that has my stomach coiling with nervous knots. Looking past his shoulders I realize that I’ve wandered away a good bit from the front of the club and, that now I’m completely alone with this unknown man. My heart rate spikes as fear surge through my veins. I don’t know how, or why but I just know something bad is about to happen.

  I take a step back, desperately trying to get some distance between him and I. I feel paranoid like I’m losing my mind. I think he is going to grab me but he makes no move to do so. I take another step back and he smiles at me, his eyes darken as if he is enjoying this little cat and mouse game.

  I take one small step backward realizing then why he didn’t try and grab me. A set of strong arms wrap around me from behind. Fear and panic creeps in when a large hand covers my mouth stopping the scream burning to escape from my lips. I start kicking and flailing my arms, attempting to hit any appendage I can.

  Time seems to stand still when I feel a prick in the side of my neck.

  I fight for another five seconds before my limbs get heavy and my eyes close without permission. I’m vaguely aware of a car pulling up next to us and my body being thrown into it like a rag doll. I want to fight, scream, and cry, but my body is completely useless and not following any of my commands. I feel my mind drifting away as panic settles deep inside of me. My last thought before the darkness completely claims me is if I will ever wake up again.

  Chapter One

  Violet

  I groan into the air, my eyelids feeling as if they have been replaced with sandpaper. My head is pounding making it hard for me to think...I shiver as a coldness sweeps over my exposed skin. Exhaling I pry my eyes open and find that I’m lying in a bed looking at a white ceiling.

  For a moment, I think I’m at the hospital.

  Was I in an accident?

  I turn my head expecting to find an IV sticking out of my arm, or some type of medical equipment. What I see instead has my heart stopping mid-beat. A deep panic settles into my bones sinking deep into my core. I’m in a concrete box. There are no windows, in fact, all four walls are white, with no paintings or decor.

  It is a completely empty room minus the mattress beneath me. I scurry into a sitting position, pressing my back against the wall. It’s cold, and I stifle a whimper by biting my lip. My eyes move over the room once more.

  The mattress beneath me is stained and doesn't even have a sheet on it. There is no blanket or pillow. Nothing about this room says I’ll be staying for a while, and that terrifies me. If whoever has me doesn’t plan on keeping me for a while then that means… I can’t even finish the thought without feeling like I might pass out.

  I look down at myself. I’m wearing nothing but a damn skin tight dress, and my shoes are long gone. Looking at my attire jogs a memory from my mind. I remember…my b
irthday…the club…that creepy, scary guy. Everything comes rushing back to me all at once.

  Oh god no, where am I? What happened to me?

  My gaze swings around the room again. I have to find a way out. There seems to be only one exit and entrance out of the room and it’s through the large metal door on the far side of the room. I eye the thing, knowing there is no way I’ll be able to break it down or get it open. There is a small door in the center of it that reminds me of a food slot of a prison cell door.

  Next to the door is a large mirror set inside the wall. I eye it with apprehension. I can't help but wonder if it’s just a mirror or one-way mirrors, where people can watch you from the other side. There is another room off to the right of the room, that leads into a small bathroom. I slowly stand on wobbly likes to take a closer look inside of it.

  “Shit,” I grumble when my bare feet touch the cold cement floor. It’s impossibly cold in this room and I’ve never craved for a blanket more in my life then I do right now.

  Inside the tiny bathroom are a toilet and a sink. There is no toilet paper, soap, or any of the things that a normal person would have in their own bathroom at home. I back out of the tiny room, feeling more unsure then I did before I stepped foot inside of it. I scurry over to the mattress, crawling across it, before sitting down in the furthest corner, pulling my legs up to my chest. I’m cold, so cold.

  Times seems to blend together. I don’t know how long I sit like this, could be hours, or minutes, maybe even days. There is no real way of telling time here...my eyes start to droop closed again when I hear something happening in front of my door.

  I jump up and run to it. I hear the rattling of keys followed by a lock opening. I want to scream, beg, plead...but apart of me is terrified to find out what is on the other side of that door.

  Disappointment fills my veins when instead of the large metal door opening, the small flap to the little door inside of the door opens and a plate is shoved inside the room.

  “Hello?” I call out, my voice coming out scratchy and raw. “Please, you don’t have to help me, but please tell me why am I here? Tell me who took me,” I beg and get down on my knees hoping to catch a glimpse of the outside world through the tiny opening.

  My pleas go unanswered and the door quickly slams shut, nearly knocking the paper plate onto the floor. I eye the sandwich and the bottle of water that’s now all the floor in front of the door. Tears build up in my eyes and threaten to spill over as I make my way back to the mattress leaving the plate of food. Stomach tightens nervously, there is no way I could keep anything down right now.

  ***

  I don’t know how many days pass, all I know that I am on the verge of insanity. If I’m not sleeping, I’m crying and when I’m not doing either of those things I’m driving myself insane while trying to figure out why I am where I am.

  Every time a meal is brought I try and talk to the person on the other side of the door, but as always they don’t respond. I’ve stopped eating the food they bring in hopes that someone will be forced to come in and talk to me. My eyes often go to the mirror that overlooks the room. Sometimes I get the feeling that I’m being watched and I most likely am since I’m almost certain the damn thing is not just a mirror. I remain on the mattress, just as I always do, attempting to get warm. I’m so cold, I’m not sure I remember what it feels like to be warm anymore. The little thin dress I’m wearing gives me little to no protection, or warmth and I shiver uncontrollably.

  Between being cold and the constant fear of the unknown I get little to no sleep. I’m in a constant state of panic, my body is so stiff and exhausted that even tiny movements cause my muscles to ache. I wonder if my sister is looking for me, searching for me? I wonder where I am? Who took me? There are a million questions running through my mind, and no answers to turn too. I shiver against the mattress, my head perks up at a noise outside my door.

  My last meal of the day was brought a few hours ago...and this has never happened before. I hear the jingling of keys and deep husky laughter...laughter that belongs to men.

  God no. My entire body clams up, when the door opens, a loud creak vibrating through the room. I look up, paralyzed with fear as two dark-haired men enter the room.

  “My oh my, look what we have here Luca.” The two men walk unsteadily on their feet towards me. I can smell the alcohol on their breath and there still a few feet away from me.

  I’ve wished for the door to open for so long, hating that it kept me trapped in this room, but what I didn’t know was that it protected me, shielded me, because now that it’s open I want it to close, taking the two men before me with it.

  “Look at those full lips, I bet they will look great around my cock,” the other man snickers.

  “How angry do you think Ivan will be if we pop her cherry?” The first man asks. Fear like I’ve never felt before spirals out of control inside of me. They edge closer towards me, and I wish the wall would swallow me whole, making me disappear from this room and out of reach from these assholes.

  “We’re gonna have some fun with you baby...you want that, don’t you?” I shake my head, looking up into a pair of dark eyes. There is no emotion, no caring nature in those eyes, just pure lust, and I know then that the two men before me are monsters.

  I look past the two figures in front of me and realize that they’ve left the door open behind them. Hope blooms inside me. They take another step forward...they’re much too close now, and I know if I want to survive this I need to do something. Fighting the ache in my muscles my body starts to move on its own. I jump up from the mattress trying to run past them, but even drunk the men are faster than I am. I barely make it a couple of feet before one of them grabs me by the arm yanking me backward.

  The Luca man pushes me into the second guy’s arms. Panic swarms me, my chest heaves up and down and still through it all I know that I need to fight them even if my chances of escaping are slim...I’m not going to go out without fighting.

  I might not have the strength I need to overpower them but I have long nails and I use them to my advantage at that moment lashing out with my hand sinking them into his ugly face, well slashing downward. He hisses out in pain, and I relish in that sound.

  Of course, he rewards me by backhanding me across the face, pain radiates across my jaw, the impact of the hit making my head snap back. Tears fill my eyes, and before I can recover my arms are roughly twisted behind my back, making me cry out in pain. I can barely see through the treacherous tears spilling out from my eyes, but from what I can see I know I got the bastard good. Five bloody scratches line his face and I almost smile, almost.

  “You're going to fucking regret doing that you whore.” Another slaps lands on my face, the pain intensifies, and before I can even get my bearings my dress is being ripped down my body in one furious pull, leaving me in nothing but my underwear.

  “Fuck look at that little body...I bet she’s tight.” The Luca man grips me by the chin, his fat fingers digging into skin. I snarl my lip and spit right in his face. He looks at me with murderous rage, and I wonder if this is where I’m going to die.

  He wipes a hand down his face and with that same hand he punches me. Literally punches me. My jaw aches at the impact and the copper taste of blood filling my mouth.

  “Please...please stop…” I cry...I try to wiggle out of their hold but my futile attempts just seem to ag them on. The one behind me is grinding his erection into my backside and the one in front of me starts smiling while he squeezing my boobs painfully. When one of his hands travel down between my legs roughly grabbing me there another rush of anger floods my system giving me just a little bit more strength.

  I grit my teeth and push through the pain. In my final attempt to fight them I throw my head back as hard as I can hitting the guy behind me somewhere in the face. He releases me with a grunt and I use that moment to bring my knee up and kick the guy in front of me between the legs. He falls to the floor, a number of swear words fill the
air. Without looking back I bolt towards the door and out into a well-lit hall. I’m out… I’m outside of the cell. I glance back at the man over my shoulder and see out of the corner of my eyes that I can see through the mirror into my cell like it’s a window.

  They’ve been watching me this whole time...watching me, seeing me struggle, and cry. Adrenaline floods my body, forcing me forward. I start running, without thought to even where I’m going, only that I need to get away from those men. I hear someone following behind me, heavy footsteps, and words in a language I don’t understand.

  Once I reach the end of the hallway I take a sharp turn around the corner ready to pick up speed. Instead, I slam into a wall…or what I think is a wall. When I lift my eyes I discover that it isn’t really a wall, but a wall of muscled chest.

  All the air leaves my lungs at the impact and my knees almost buckle underneath me. Strong arms grip onto me, engulfing me in warmth...in safety. My hands land flatly on his huge chest, and I curl my fingers into his shirt when I hear the two men trying to hurt me approach behind us.

  I look up at the face belonging to the body of the man who is holding me. His eyes are gunmetal gray like the sky before a storm but as he looks into my eyes his gaze softens.

  “Help me, please help me,” I whisper, my voice trembling. I grip onto his shirt tighter willing him to help me, to save me from these horrible men. He doesn’t say a word, he just stares at me, no emotion whatsoever in his eyes. When the heavy footfalls of the two guys chasing me stop behind us, I see his eyes move from mine, and past me to where the two guys are standing.

  I feel their presence without looking, and it terrifies me. I pray he isn’t going to give me back to them, I don’t know what will happen if he does, but I won’t just let them have me. No way. I bury my face into the unknown man’s chest. His scent washes over me, he smells like expensive whiskey, and cinnamon. Looking up at him...I know he is so much bigger and stronger than those two, he could protect me from them.