by Addison Jane
He clenched his fists into tight balls of fury. “Tell us where we can find Tobia.”
“No—”
And before Scar had a chance to say anything else, Gio’s fist flew through the air, hard, fast and full of force as he slammed his fist into Scar’s jaw. His head snapped to the side, blood spurting from his mouth as he fell to one knee trying to catch his breath while spitting out a line of blood. Gio moved in with no hesitation bringing his knee up and into Scar’s nose, the sound of bones cracking echoed through the club making my blood pump harder, my breathing quicken and my adrenaline race. The smell of the blood in the air was thick, and it fueled my need for vengeance even more.
Scar fell onto his back rolling in pain as blood seeped from his nose and mouth. Gio paced around the cage. His chest heaved, puffing up and down like he was only just getting started.
“Are you ready to talk?” Gio called out not even looking at Scar.
Scar rolled to his side and spat out more blood as he moved to his knees and looked like he was going to try to stand up. I raised my brows and nodded slightly in surprise. I know how hard Gio hits, and if he was getting back up, I was right. Scar was no stranger to pain. This was going to be an interesting night.
“Go to hell.”
Gio turned and glared at Scar, his eyes turning black, his nostrils flared as his muscles tensed like he was reliving something. “I’m already there,” he said turning and running toward the back of the cage. I wondered what he was doing as Scar and I both followed him. He jumped on the cage, then his legs swung out. The kick to Scar’s head was so forceful that he went flying across the ring into the corner. He screamed out in agony as his body was impaled with the three-inch spikes lining each corner of the ring. The spikes stuck out through his arm, leg, and side penetrating his muscle and bone. Blood oozed and wept from every inch of him.
I sat back in my chair, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a cigar, lighting and putting it to my mouth. I drew the deep heavy smoke into my lungs. He would break soon, and I could get back home to Emerson.
It’d been a long time since I’d wanted this kind of thing to end, so I could rush away. Usually, there was nothing for me to escape to, no one waiting for me to return to them, so I’d just allowed myself to get lost in the entertainment that the violence delivered.
I’d left Emerson with Andre, knowing I could trust him to protect her, and that he was the single one of my men that she felt the most comfortable with. They’d forged somewhat of a connection, and she seemed to have brought out a more relaxed, normal side to him that I hadn’t seen a lot of. Usually, he was so focused on the work I gave him and the jobs he needed to do, that he was always serious and focused. While I always preferred to have my men with their head in the game, if it made Emerson happy and more comfortable to have him there with her, then so be it.
Gio stormed up to Scar as he screamed out, still stuck against the spikes. Gio leaned in laying another heavy punch into his face for good measure. “So… now, are you ready to talk? Or do you want me to impale your other side as well?”
Scar panted as his eyes looked heavy, he was fading, and I wasn’t sure how much more he could take, but I knew Gio would have a way of getting the information out of him.
“I’ll die before I will talk.”
Fuck!
“I can arrange that,” Gio sneered, and I stood up, my pulse racing fast and hard watching as Gio pulled Scar off the spikes. He screamed out as Gio pushed his weak body down to the ground, his back falling hard to the mat. Scar thrashed about, even with his hands still bound behind his back while my heart raced hard in my chest.
“We’ll start small,” Gio said, grabbing hold of Scar’s foot and with one swift movement, snapping it to the side. The crunch was deafening, the sound still echoing in the room as the broken man roared in pain.
He threw his body around, trying to shake Gio off, but the young DePalma had a death grip on his leg. “Still nothing? Okay.”
His hands moved to Scar’s knee, and even I felt a dark shudder run through me as Gio placed one foot on Scar’s thigh for leverage and tugged the lower part of his leg to the side. The bones crunched, and Scar’s voice had now become a mixture of a sob and a painful cry. When Gio stepped away, I could see the offending limb just hanging there, at an angle that was no way natural, bone sticking out the side.
Scar groaned and cried like a small child who had just skinned his knee, and I let out a heavy breath sitting back in my chair taking another long draw on my cigar. Fucking hell, I knew Gio was a monster, I just didn’t know how badly the devil had possessed him.
I guess that was what happened when you reached the point where you would do anything—fucking anything—to protect and serve your family and your family name.
“You ready to talk now?” Gio asked. “‘Cause, believe it or not, there’s still much worse I can do.”
Scar groaned, panting heavily as he cleared his throat with a gargling noise. “Dom is meant to be meeting with Tobia… Thursday night… Dinos in Harlem.”
“What time,” I snapped, getting up and walking closer to the cage.
“10.00 p.m.,” he spat, his voice shaking, no doubt with the amount of pain and blood loss.
I looked to Gio surprised. At least the fucker told us what we needed to hear. I knew the place, we were done here.
Gio looked at me, his eyes darkening like he was in need. He was in a dark place, and only one thing could bring him back to where he needed to be. We could end this with a single bullet, a quick end. But Gio was in a place where that would not satisfy him.
I would give him this. The release he needed.
I simply nodded, and he let out a heavy breath closing his eyes like he was relieved.
He moved back over to Scar, kneeling one knee each side as Scar watched on like his body was frozen. “What… what are you doing?” Scar murmured through a broken voice.
“Killing you,” Gio announced, then grabbed Scar’s head and forced it back firmly on the mat. His head slammed so hard I heard the cracking of his skull.
Scar groaned in pain, but it soon shifted to gurgles as Gio repeatedly bashed his head up and down on the mat. His scalp opened up and splattered blood all over the floor.
While ending a life for me was not something that caused me pain or guilt or any emotions really, Gio enjoyed the kill a little too much. I took a deep breath watching Gio relish in it. His muscles tensed, his breathing heavy and labored.
He was losing control.
“Gio, abbastanza,” I called out to him, and instantly he let go of Scar’s mangled head and released a long breath. He stood up looking down at the chaos and destruction he had caused. “Get out of here, I’ll get this shit cleaned up.”
His eyes moved to me, but they were blank, there was nothing inside him.
Without acknowledging my words, he turned and walked to the cage door, throwing it open with force and leaping out onto the ground. He stood there for a moment and then turned to me again. This time, I could see a glimpse of the boy I remembered growing up with. Just a millisecond and he was normal again, a young boy wondering what the hell he’d just done. But within the blink of an eye, it was gone.
“Let me know the details for Thursday,” he said, his voice gruff and annoyed, as per usual when he spoke to anyone but his father, like he hated having to talk at all. “I’ll be there.”
“Noted,” I replied simply, Gio turning and walking away even as I spoke.
I had to wonder whether one day, I might have to watch him self-destruct, or whether eventually, he would find the peace he needed to make sure that didn’t happen.
“I need you to come up and watch over Emerson,” Angelo said into the phone, his eyes trained on me. I sat on the sofa, my foot tapping against the floor. We still weren’t back in Angelo’s apartment, and I wasn’t sure if we would ever be. He was talking about moving somewhere else, knowing that the memories of what had happened there made me nervous.
He was right, it scared the crap out of me thinking about going back there and facing the place where Angelo and I had fought for our lives. I knew I’d be waiting, on edge every second, expecting people to start jumping off the roof of the building and onto our balcony, ready to hurt us.
Another part of me told me it was time to face my fears. I wasn’t running from things anymore, I was standing up for who I was, and standing behind the man who had chosen me. I let these monsters break me down once, I wasn’t going to let them do it again.
Angelo hung up the phone and stalked over to where I sat on the bed. I knew his body must have been hurting, but with a fresh pressed suit on and the mess of the last few days washed away, he held his composure like you would never know he’d just about been killed.
Andre had been at my side the whole time, he was the only person that Angelo trusted to leave me with now, and with him still trying to piece together the puzzle that was Tobia, he needed to be focused and not worried about where I was or if I was safe.
Angelo sat on the coffee table, his knees spread and mine fitting perfectly in between them. “You’ll get yours, I promise,” he told me, twisting my gut a little more.
The information Angelo had gathered from Tobia’s man had told him that the brothers were planned to meet tonight. This was where it needed to end, and as far as the DePalmas were concerned, it wasn’t going to be quick and painless. Tobia and Dom were going to feel every single ounce of pain they caused this family, and they were going to feel it all the way down deep in their bones.
I knew Angelo was feeling skeptical now about whether this was something I should be involved in. He wanted to protect me, allow me to keep a little bit of my innocence. But this world had already hardened me, and I was beginning to feel like I wouldn’t be satisfied until I got the absolution I needed for Sophie.
We managed to compromise, he would go without me tonight, instead taking Gio and his crew and Anthony with him, and he would give me five minutes with them later.
I could feel the blood lust that was already circling around him, I knew he was aching to get going, to bring this whole crazy thing to an end so we could both finally move on—together.
I nodded, chewing on my lip. “You promised.”
“I did, and it’s one I will keep.” His hand reached out, brushing back my hair from my face and cupping my jaw.
The hotel room door opened and Andre strolled in, looking a little wary. “Something going on?” he asked as he came through to the living room.
“Yes and no,” Angelo answered cryptically, his eyes still watching me. Maybe he expected me to start freaking out any moment. There had been nightmares, and I was still very much on edge waiting for the second where someone would jump out and say, “Hey, you just got Punked!” They weren’t going to, though, I really had walked into a world that was run by the mafia, and where people really fucking died.
There was no joke.
“I’ve got a lead to go on,” Angelo explained. “I need to know that she’s safe, or my head won’t be in the right place.”
Andre raised an eyebrow, leaning against the wall opposite to where I was sitting and staring at the back of Angelo’s head. “I’ll keep her safe.”
“I know, that’s why I’m leaving her with you,” Angelo said, leaning forward and brushing his lips across mine. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain that deep animalistic feeling you get when you feel your man’s beard scratch at your face or body. It just seemed so raw and primal.
My body tingled, and I leaned into him, wishing I could pull him toward the bedroom and not let him walk right out the door. He was being so gentle with me, and gentle wasn’t what I wanted.
“Go, before I change my mind and come with you,” I told him, pushing him away.
He smirked, but followed the instructions and pulled back. “You can come with me later,” he threw back as he stood to his feet and pecked me on the head.
“Man thinks he’s God’s fucking gift,” I murmured, annoyed, because that was right on the damn money.
“I’ll keep you informed,” he told Andre as he moved past him and headed for the door. My stomach twisted again as he stepped outside and closed it behind him. I scrubbed at my face, exhaustion setting in. The nightmares had been relentless, even with Angelo’s body wrapped around mine offering protection and safety.
I could see Tobia raising his hand with a gun in it, and pointing it straight at Angelo’s head. Then pulling the trigger. And as the door clicked closed behind Angelo, it was as loud as a gunshot in my head.
“You wanna play a game of cards?” Andre asked with a smile, digging around in his pocket and pulling out a deck.
I raised my eyebrow. “You carry those around with you all the time?” I asked curiously.
He grinned, making his way over and taking a seat beside me on the sofa. Shaking the cards out of the deck, he began to shuffle them, it was like watching one of those card sharks at a table in a casino. He was good, better than good. “My foster dad used to play a lot of poker, he taught me almost everything he knows.”
As he dealt them out at lightning speed, I chewed on my lip. I wanted to ask Andre about himself, who he was, where he’d grown up, and what made him into the man he was. Andre was kind and caring, he had always managed to make me feel comfortable while I was here, even at times where I wondered what the hell I’d gotten myself into.
I knew, though, he wouldn’t be working for a man like Angelo or the DePalma family without having some kind of darkness brewing inside of him. There had to be something that made him choose this life because it wasn’t an easy one.
I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. “You grew up in foster care?”
He stilled for a brief second before continuing the flow of cards across the table. “Sort of. It was more like a family friend. My dad died when I was younger, my mom couldn’t cope.”
My heart hurt for him. Despite the issues with my parents, I would never wish to be without them. My dad had done a lot of great things for us growing up, but I felt like somewhere along the line, his focus was lost, and other things became more important than supporting his children or spending time with us as a family. He was driven to succeed, so he pushed us to do the same.
Maybe he forgot what it was like to have a dream and how to persue it with every part of your heart and soul. Or maybe he thought he was helping us by pointing us in a direction where we wouldn’t have to struggle and fight for a future. He needed to realize that I wanted to make my life my own, and from now on I would make sure that he did.
“What were the new family like?” I questioned as I picked up my cards off the table and started arranging them in suits. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I was determined to keep him talking so I could learn a little more about what made Andre tick.
I saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down, and I knew then that if he did give me an answer, it wasn’t going to be a pretty one.
“He was mean, the mom though, she was beautiful,” he finally answered, taking a deep breath. “He used me to make him money. No one really expects a kid to know about cards or how to use them, so he’d send me out onto the streets to do tricks for people. I’d get a few wrong, they’d think I was just some kid playing around, then I’d offer them double or nothing.”
My eyes widened. “Kind of like a pool shark?”
“Yup,” he replied, nodding as he shuffled his own cards. “Problem with that is, most people realize when they’ve been screwed over, and they don’t appreciate it. I’d run, but sometimes they were faster. I’d had the shit beaten out of me more times than I could count. Not just from the people I screwed over, but then again from my foster dad if I came home with no money.”
Talking about that kind of stuff would make anyone’s chest hurt, but Andre just spit it out, like he was telling someone else’s story, totally disconnected from the fact that it was him getting wailed on every other day.
“My fo
ster mom would patch me up, and then he’d beat the crap out of her too for helping me,” he continued. “I remember being locked in my room and listening to him beating her with his empty beer bottle until it smashed over her head.”
I shuddered, just thinking about the life he’d been raised in. It wasn’t surprising that he had been tainted and didn’t balk at the jobs he had to do for this family.
“How did you meet Angelo?”
I caught a subtle smile, it wasn’t a happy smile, though. It was deviant and dark. “Got sick of being treated like trash. So I killed my foster father.”
Deep down I wasn’t surprised by this admission, but I still stared at him with my mouth hanging open. I knew what he was capable of, it just hadn’t been real until now.
“My foster mom stood up for me, she’d been collecting proof of his abuse for years. When I appeared before a judge, he lowered the sentence to manslaughter, and I did two years in prison,” he explained, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. He wouldn’t look at me, I felt like it was because he thought he might see some kind of judgment in my eyes, or maybe even fear. “I met one of Angelo’s boys in there, and when I got out, he introduced me to Angelo.”
I reached over and placed my hand on his shoulder. “He hurt you, he deserved to pay for what he put you through.”
He finally turned his head to look at me, and his body softened under my touch. “It felt good to finally be free of the pain and bullshit that he put me through, and know that he was never gonna hurt anyone else.”
I nodded in understanding.
“That’s exactly what I want,” I told him, squeezing his shoulder before I pulled away. “I just want to make it so that when this is all over, that Tobia can’t hurt any more people and that he can’t hurt my family again. Sophie didn’t deserve to die in pain… but he does.”
Andre’s eyes suddenly hardened. “No, she didn’t, she deserved to live a long and happy life, free of ever being tainted by this world.”
I took in a deep breath, hearing the words he wasn’t saying.
