Men of Mayhem

by Anthology

  My father answered on the second ring, and began questioning what was happening and where I was, completely unaware that I had called. When he gave me a chance to speak, it only brought more questions which I didn’t have time for. I had to finish this and then somehow save Devon.

  “Dad, just listen, please,” I begged. My father fell silent, signaling that he was listening to me, ready to receive the bad news I had coming. “I’m safe, Jay made sure of that. We had to call because we couldn’t wait to get back to you with the news. It may already be too late.” I took a moment to compose myself. I didn’t want to cry over the phone to my father about what I had been through and what was to come. It wouldn’t help the situation, it would only make it harder.

  “The Riccis have a plan to wipe out the Moretti family. Tell everyone to scatter throughout the territory, maybe even into Ricci territory, and order them to lay low. They plan on then taking over our territory once they think we are wiped out. Maybe that’s when we can fight back, but for now it should be to go into hiding so there’s a chance a few of us can survive.” I heard him let out a sigh before agreeing. I was about to hang up when he called for me.

  “Be safe, Faith. Come home as soon as you can.”

  I felt the lump form in my throat as I choked back my emotions. I needed to be strong for the both of them, and our family. “I will. I’ll see you soon. Please be safe yourself. I’m not sure exactly what they are planning, but they seem certain it would be the end of us.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” was all he said before hanging up.

  I stared at the phone for a moment to collect myself, but soon one of the men Jay had brought with him came to find them. He was breathing heavily, and there was a panic set deep in his eyes, which caused me to instantly fear the worst.

  “We found him,” the man huffed out. “If you want to save him then you need to come quickly.”

  I nodded my head and followed after the soldier with Jay right behind me. The man led us down a few hallways, and it wasn’t long until an argument split through the air. The soldier turned and pressed his index finger to his lips telling us to remain silent. I nodded, and soon the man let me through to see what was going on.

  Devon was on his knees with his hands behind his head. He was facing toward me, but he didn’t react so I assumed that he didn’t see me. He was too busy keeping an eye on Riccardo and the gun held tightly in his hand.

  “How could you do this, Devon?” Riccardo questioned. “You’ve betrayed your own family by letting that girl escape.”

  Devon didn’t reply; he remained still and unmoving as Riccardo continued.

  “You’re the reason we’ll lose now. You’ll be responsible for everyone’s deaths. Their blood is on your hands!” Riccardo cried. He turned to take a few paces away from Devon. There were two other men with Riccardo and Devon. They must be who alerted Riccardo to my vanishing act. “But I won’t let you ruin this any further.” Riccardo turned back to Devon and raised the gun.

  Without thinking, I sprang forward from my hiding spot and raced toward Riccardo and Devon. I heard Jay curse behind me, but I don’t think he moved. Jay tended to think ahead, and would most likely only reveal himself when it was absolutely needed. I knew he’d talk to me about it later, but for now he just had to hope I didn’t get myself killed.

  I let a soft smile curve onto my lips as I rushed forward. I knew this was stupid. No one would understand why I put myself at risk, hell, I barely did, but it had happened and there was no turning back now.

  I reached out to take hold of the gun, planning to take it from Riccardo as my father had taught me to do, but Riccardo turned toward me and stopped me in my tracks. “Look who showed up,” Riccardo spat. “This is all your fault. You’re the reason he’s betrayed his family.”

  I didn’t react. I couldn’t; the slightest move would most likely get me killed. Riccardo seemed dead set on killing me where I stood.

  “If you hadn’t gotten to him, then he would still be dedicated to getting rid of your family and ending this war. He wouldn’t have given you the chance to get out, and he wouldn’t have called in men from the Moretti mafia to save you. When I find those men, they’ll die first,” Riccardo promised. “After you, of course.” Riccardo smiled before moving his finger toward the trigger.

  I tensed, unable to react, but at the same moment Devon leapt from his position to force Riccardo’s gun into the air, causing Riccardo to narrowly miss killing me and hit the roof above us. Devon and Riccardo started fighting for control of the weapon. Devon was still in the line of fire, but seemed to be holding off Riccardo well enough. I was going to help when I heard the other two men react. There was the soft but recognizable click of a gun going off safety just before two shots rang out, and the Ricci men fell to the ground. I turned to thank Jay, but he quickly moved away from me to block the door.

  “Finish this, and soon,” he ordered as the other men he had brought with him flooded into the room. They each took a position at the door and began to look for more Ricci men. For once I prayed that no one would come to break up the fight, it would only lead to more bloodshed.

  I turned my attention back to Riccardo and Devon as a few stray shots went off. Devon pulled his arm back and landed a punch to Riccardo, though it had little effect. I held the knife I had used in my fight with Nick tightly in my grasp as I stepped forward, and Riccardo hit Devon with the butt of the gun. The metal pounded against Devon’s skull, making me cringe even though he did his best not to react. Even though Riccardo was fighting dirty, Devon didn’t give up his grip on the gun. He fought with Riccardo until I leapt forward and pierced my blade into Riccardo’s back, right between the shoulder blades.

  Riccardo dropped the gun, and I reacted to buckle Riccardo’s legs out so he’d collapse to the ground. My knee landed perfectly into the back of his knee and caused him to fall over. He landed in a heap at Devon’s feet and was now at his mercy.

  “I’m taking over now, Riccardo,” he said, his voice cold as it had once been with me, but more intimidating. His posture was relaxed, as was his hand as he held the gun we aimed at Riccardo’s chest. He had come to terms with killing the leader of his mafia, and relished in the moment. “Your reign of terror is over. The Ricci mafia will be no more.” Devon didn’t allow Riccardo to beg for his life; he killed him without remorse.

  Devon looked at the ground, presumably trying to take in what had just happened as I retrieved my knife from Riccardo’s back. There was uncertainty hanging over my head as I stepped toward Devon, who immediately came to meet me. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I instantly relaxed into his chest. His presence comforted me and I melted into his hold easily.

  “I’m sorry for what I had to say to you,” Devon said, interrupting the silence. “I needed to make sure Riccardo believed me so that you could have a chance to get out, but to do that I had to call your family. I’m sorry for what you went through. I honestly had no idea they were going to take you.”

  I felt tears well up in my eyes as I clung to him. He had risked his life to save mine, and now he had committed the ultimate act of betrayal to his own mafia—killing their leader. He had shown that he meant every promise he had ever made to me, even when he said he didn’t know they were going to take me. “If I had known, I would have made sure that you were protected, far away from them and somewhere safe. I felt like my heart was ripped out when I saw you were gone.”

  “I know you did what you had to do,” I stated as I looked up into his eyes. He had tears threatening to rush over his eyelashes, but he refused to let them fall. “You saved me, and now it’s my turn to save you. We have to get out of here before someone comes looking for Riccardo. They’ll know you killed him to take over. We have to leave.”

  Devon simply shook his head. “I’m going to stay here and take control for the mafia. I have an idea on how to spin this for everyone’s benefit, but it will take some convincing for those most devoted to Riccardo,” Devon
said as he reluctantly put space between us and handed me over to Jay. “Please wait in our apartment and I will come for you once we are safe. They won’t be expecting to find you there, and you’ll be able to contact your father to collect your family again.”

  Devon leaned down and kissed me again. The second his lips touched mine I became instantly relieved to have him close to me again. I felt at home, protected, and loved all in that moment. Even as his tongue lightly danced along my bottom lip, letting the emotions from the last heated kiss we shared to linger a little longer. He pulled away reluctantly as someone started screaming for him in the hallway. I silently prayed that his plan would work or I’d never see him again.

  “I have to go. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” I replied as Jay’s men came toward me and ushered me out of the room.

  I gave myself one glance back and saw Devon staring after me. I noticed a pain in his features as he watched us leave, but it was soon wiped away as his men came into the room and demanded to know what happened to Riccardo. Once I was safely out of the building I knew Devon busied himself by spinning a tale of deceit and murder, making sure Riccardo was knocked off the pedestal so many of the men had put him on. By later tonight, if everyone believed the lie, I would be reunited with him and maybe the war would be over.

  Devon

  One Year Later

  “Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Rizzo.” I lightly tapped my glass on Faith’s before taking a sip of the dark red wine for our toast to ourselves.

  As she had done in the coffee shop two years ago, almost to date, she offered me an alluring smile that still took my breath away to this day. She wore a fitted dress that had caught my attention instantly, and I was suddenly glad that she had offered to cook for our anniversary. Mostly because I wanted to get her out of the dress as quickly as possible, but especially after the last anniversary had a rough patch. Faith being kidnapped, and me killing the leader of my mafia would do that to us.

  I didn’t mind though. We had both made it out alive, and honestly, that’s all that mattered to me. I could have been happy knowing I had saved Faith, but when I heard her barge in to save me, I knew she figured out my plan and forgave me. If that hadn’t been enough proof to say we would be okay, the kiss right after relieving Riccardo of his position would have been.

  Since then, we had married. The wedding had been beautiful and intimate, involving family and a few friends picked up over the years. Though the main focus for me was waiting for the love of my life, Faith, to meet me at the end of the aisle. So we celebrated the day of our wedding, and planned to celebrate the day we met every year. It had been my idea, which shocked Faith, especially when I told her I wanted to do it because I never wanted to forget the moment when our relationship started, and not just because it was a ploy for the other mafia. I fell for her that day, and I knew she fell for me as well.

  After our wedding, we had taken over the reins of our respective cartels. Faith became the first female leader in the mafia’s history, and I boldly admitted that I had killed Riccardo to save her. No one shed a tear for the fallen leader, but they applauded me for protecting what was mine. The men who had taken her, and the ones who had harmed her had been disposed of early in my leadership. There was no room for them in the Ricci mafia anymore, and there would never be room for them in the Rizzo mafia.

  The Morettis had combined with the disbanded Ricci mafia due to our marriage. We took the Rizzo name, and built the new reputation with the Ricci and Moretti remains. Faith and I had quickly taken over, falling into step with running one big mafia, and were on the way to expanding further than either mafia had planned before. It was only possible because the war had ended, and the separate mafias had been able to make amends to work together now. While they were mostly still separate, they were all pleased to accept one another in exchange for less bloodshed.

  Now they could turn focus on business instead of killing each other.

  Though, Faith and I hadn’t changed much other than taking over their new leadership positions. Faith left most of it up to me, with her father’s blessing, since I knew more about how to run it. It gave Faith more time to consider what to do when I came home. Today it had seemed like dinner to celebrate the anniversary of our first meeting, but she had made sure to keep our game going and tonight was no different.

  When I got up to get dessert from the fridge, I quickly learned Faith had hidden it to give herself a little extra time because she had to get ready for the real surprise of the night. I could hear her moving while I dug through the fridge for the cake she had bought earlier. I finally found it and took the plastic covering off before returning to the table. The cake never made it to the table.

  As I rounded the corner I caught sight of Faith’s dress, which she had pooled around her high heels. Though she remained covered by the coat I had left on the back of my seat when I had come home. Suddenly, I understood why she had insisted on a store bought cake because the second I saw her, I dropped the cake and let it splatter all over the hardwood floor. If she had taken the time to make it, she would have been a little annoyed that I had dropped her hard work on the floor.

  “Are you going to kiss me or just stand there?” Faith questioned with a coy smile at the edges of her lips as she looked me over, but my stare was fixed on the underwear she had on under my coat.

  I was itching to take it off of her.

  “Or…” I replied as I stepped over the cake and made my way to her. I quickly grabbed her by the hand, eager to get to the part we have enjoyed since day one, and never had to fake for our deception. She eagerly followed me as I led her to our bedroom to complete the final aspect of our game, and to christen the anniversary for the special day it was.

  The End

  About the Author

  My name is Sara, I’m 19 years old, and I was born and raised in Alexandria Virginia. I have always been interested in writing, even started a book in elementary school, but it didn’t get very far. But it wasn’t until high school that my friend, and writing partner, more or less forced me to join an amateur writing site. After some convincing from her, I plucked up the courage and posted one of my stories. While it wasn’t popular at first, I was shocked and overwhelmed by the support of readers on Wattpad, and they gave me the support and confidence to get where I am today. I continued to write religiously for the next three years I was on the website, starting countless stories. I wasn’t worried that they weren’t popular because I had once heard that you shouldn’t be afraid to write crap, because it will make great fertilizer. I can’t wait to start sharing more works and Ideas with you guys!

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  https://twitter.com/SaraNSchoen

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  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/36172080-sara-schoen

  How We Came To Be

  Ashlee Taylor

  Can’t Walk Away Prequel

  A Thomas Family Chronicle Novella

  Christianna

  I glanced over myself, analyzing my appearance yet again. Alex was taking me into the city tonight and I knew I had to play the part. This wasn’t how I normally dressed. Alex had walked into my apartment and handed me this shimmery white dress that I had seen several times in our mother’s studio. She just gave me a look that urged me to agree without complaint, and I relented. It wasn’t really hard to give in when she did things like this. I knew she was right. I needed to go out and start living like the twenty-three-year-old I was.

  Alex told me I didn’t have to focus on getting a boyfriend, that I really needed to focus on getting laid. She claimed this had to happen quickly because my attitude was a buzzkill.

  Who knew my sex life or lack thereof had become so important to my sister? I wondered if I’d been giving off a needy vibe. I hope I didn’t exude the air of desperation, because that would be pathetic.

  I appraised my hair, making s
ure it looked halfway decent before adding another swipe of mascara and dabbing the lip gloss on my bottom lip before rubbing the two together. I stepped back and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. I didn’t look half bad. Hopefully Alex would be pleased with my effort.

  Slipping my feet into the four-inch silver stilettos she’d left for me, I took a deep breath before turning the doorknob.

  Alex looked up from whatever she was doing on her phone and smiled. “I knew you had it in you. You’re gorgeous, Chris. I don’t know why you don’t show yourself off more.”

  “I don’t show myself off because I want a guy to want me for me, not because of the fancy clothes or my painted face. Just the me who loves t-shirts and jeans and a makeup-free complexion.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s all well and good for some people, but you’re a Thomas, darling. And we always go out looking like gems.”

  “Which is another reason why I don’t go out. I don’t like the fuss or the trouble.”

  “I hope to change your mind one of these days. I will continue to try.” She laughed, and I shook my head.

  “Where are we going, anyway?” I asked, trying hard to prepare myself.

  “A club downtown called Prima Vista. It’s been around for a few months but it’s always been so hard to get into. Tonight is ladies’ night, hot ladies’ night, so it should be no problem to get in.”

  “Do you have an alternative plan if they don’t think we’re hot enough?”

  “Don’t worry, I got this.”

  Alex had called a car service we used on occasion. A driver I had seen several times before smiled at us both as he opened the door. No words were spoken as he slid into the car and took off. He navigated the busy roads of downtown D.C. with ease, making almost every light, and we arrived at Prima Vista in no time.