Billionaire Devils Club-Palm Beach

by Ashley Woods

  Antonia moved closer to her, “I can tell Tony is mad at you about something.”

  Kristen moved back a bit and looked at her from the mirror saying, “Everything is great. No concerns.”

  Antonia pushed on, “You haven’t been seeing him very long. I can tell you about him if you want. I don’t think you really know him.”

  Kristen was perturbed and turned to her, “I don’t think I need to talk to you about him. I know him just fine.”

  Antonia kept on, “We were very much in love, and he still loves me. I was his childhood sweetheart!”

  Kristen challenged her, “Then why didn’t he ever talk about you to me? It doesn’t look like he liked you that much. I heard from someone that you even died. What did you do?”

  She said flat out, “I slept with Marco a few months before the wedding, and then I was dead to him. He couldn’t forgive me.” She continued, “But now he has and I have been spending a lot of time in New York with him this month. He’s getting cold feet about you. He just told me tonight that you have been sleeping around on him. He wants me back! We…”

  Kristen interrupted, and tried to get by her.

  “I don’t want to hear any of this. You don’t know what you are talking about!”

  Antonia blocked her way and leaned on the door. She seemed amused, “I know for sure that you don’t know who he really is. Do you? If you did, you wouldn’t still be here. You would be as far from him as you could.”

  Antonia looked nervous, “Don’t you know the Fiores still run part of New York?”

  Kristen scoffed it off, “I know his Father and Grandfather were in the Mafia, but they’re gone now. Anthony is a businessman.”

  Antonia laughed, “Antonio’s main business will always be family business. He’s the Boss! Don’t let the Yale or Harvard connections fool you. The apple fell straight down the trunk with this one, and his brothers are right there in the dirt rotting with him.”

  She began whispering, “They all lay low and Tony tried to pull out, but they are still making him plan everything. Why do you think he has been up north so much lately? Don’t you read the papers? You know about the Bandini shootings, don’t you?”

  Kristen was confused, she remembered what Marco told her about his older brother not being the same as them and couldn’t believe that Anthony was any part of it. He wasn’t the type. If he was real Mafioso, it meant he was a killer, and that couldn’t be true.

  Kristen insinuated, “You mean he hasn’t been going up there to sleep with you?”

  Antonia looked like she was lying, as she tried to assure her, “No, No, Anthony hangs out with me, but he is still too mad at me and Marco. He’ll never touch me again.”

  At that moment, Kristen came to the believable conclusion that Anthony thought she was cheating on him with Michael, and that there was a slight possibility that he might be out for revenge-slamming with Antonia. It was a remote chance, and it wouldn’t make sense, since he still wanted to marry Kristen, and not her. Either way, she would get the scoop from Suzie later.

  Kristen also surmised, that Antonia was lying to her about everything else, because she wanted to break up their wedding, and like Michael, she only had a few hours left to do it.

  Kristen adamantly believed that Anthony was not capable of being a mobster. He was too established, and too well-known. She had never heard an inkling about the Fiore family being involved in anything these days. All these random thoughts now spun around in her head.

  “Antonia, get out of my way and stay out of our life!” She brushed past her and walked out the door.

  Antonia called after her, “You’re in denial. Your kids will be just like him, exactly like him. And he’ll sell their souls to the Devil too, just like his father, and his father before him!”

  Anthony was standing in the hallway, when Kristen left the ladies’ room. He looked at Antonia, following red-faced behind his fiancée, and gave her a suspicious look.

  He called to his bride-to be, “Kristen, I’ve been trying to find you, I think you need to get some rest. I’ll have the driver take you back to the hotel now.”

  Anthony came up to her and kissed her warmly. She held back and wondered why he was back to normal again.

  Kristen declared, “That Witch is not welcome at our wedding!”

  He agreed, “Don’t worry, she’s a troublemaker. Don’t ever believe what she says. She can’t get over me.”

  Kristen sat in the limo, and Anthony gave her another kiss. “I will see you tomorrow honey. We’re doing this! Right?”

  He closed the door. Kristen looked at him through the window and faked a faint smile. She was very worried about moving forward.

  When she arrived back in her Breakers hotel room, Kristen pulled her laptop out of her suitcase. She instantly browsed for the words, “Bandini, and Shootings,” and carefully read each entry that popped up.

  The mob hits had taken place at various times in the last few months. Kristen paid special attention to the dates and began to have a sinking feeling. She then pulled up her calendar on the screen and noticed that they all correlated with the days that Anthony had abruptly left for his New York trips.

  “Oh, please don’t let this be. This can’t be happening. Not Anthony. I cannot believe that he is connected.”

  Her phone rang. Kristen saw that it was Anthony calling her, and she was afraid at first to answer.

  Anthony’s voice sounded apologetic, “Kristen, I am so sorry how I treated you tonight. I was stressed out and drunk, and so very jealous about hearing about your old boyfriend.”

  Kristen instantly took the defense, “Anthony, I told you that he is not a boyfriend. He is a family friend. I grew up next door to him, and it has never been a big deal.”

  Once again, Anthony responded angrily, “Listen Kristen, I know about you and the beach. How can you lie to me and say nothing happened with him? You were seen going down there together!”

  Kristen yelled back, “And, how do you think you know these things? Are you spying on me? Do you have cameras planted on me?”

  Anthony calmly answered, “All you need to know is that I have witnesses who called me up and told me.”

  Kristen said with contempt in her voice, “You mean you have someone following me. Why won’t you admit that Anthony? I think it has been going on since I met you.”

  She changed the subject, “So, Anthony. What do you know about the Bandini shootings in New York?”

  She was met by total silence on the other end.

  “Antonia says you and your brothers are bad. She says that I need to be very careful around you. She said I shouldn’t marry you.”

  Anthony laughed nervously, “I told you, Antonia is jealous. She wants to ruin it for us. It’s the only way she knows how.”

  Kristen broke in again, “Who is the Bandini family? Do you know them?”

  “What are you talking about? Bandini? All I know is there is some car dealer with that name that has really awful television commercials. He hires hookers to be in them, and they are hysterical. Everyone in all of New York and New Jersey knows about them.” Kristen was not satisfied with his answer.

  Anthony sounded exasperated now, “Listen honey, you are sounding super crazy. You really need to get some sleep. It is a very big day for us tomorrow.”

  Kristen begged, “Please Anthony, tell me you aren’t in the Mafia. I am so confused.”

  Anthony responded, “I am going to call up Antonia right now and tell her what a liar she is. Then, I am going to have her call you and tell you the truth. How can I be in the Mafia? I barely have time to run my own company. You are absolutely pathetic to believe such lies, and I am really starting to worry about you. Maybe you should see a shrink if it will help. Seriously, Kristen just go to bed and forget about all this.”

  Kristen had no energy left in her to continue fighting with him, and she didn’t want to. She was hoping she could now believe him. She wanted to so badly. It did make total sense
that Antonia was obviously lying, and it would be an easy solution.

  “So, Anthony. Are we still getting married tomorrow?”

  “Of course, we are Dream Girl, and as I always tell you, we are going to live happily ever after. I can promise you that. And it will be in our ocean mansion. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I love Palm Beach and I love you more. Now get ready for bed. I am going to have Antonia call you in a few minutes. Good night.”

  Kristen sounded hopeful, “OK Anthony. I will wait up for her call. See you tomorrow.”

  Kristen put her bathrobe on and curled up on the sofa. She watched television and waited for the phone call. It never came. Now, fighting off drowsiness, she climbed into the soft and inviting bed. Soon her head sunk into the pillows, and she nodded off into a very deep sleep.

  The dream of men in black robes chasing her, returned once again to disturb her slumber. She restlessly kicked up at her sheets, as she ran through a maze of smoky hallways, only to be met by locked doors at each turn.

  Soon the faces of the figures took on identity, and she recognized them as the three men. They continuously replicated around her until she shrunk down into a helpless heap on the floor and cried.

  In front of her, Karl walked through a flaming door and reached out to take her hand. He pulled her to her feet, and then gave her a long embrace.

  His head rested into her shoulder, and his body slightly shook, as Kristen could feel the cold tears from his face against her neck. He looked lovingly into her eyes.

  “Have you come for me Karl?”

  Karl sadly answered, “I have waited for you Kristen, longer than you would ever believe. And now, I know that you will never open up and let me in. The choice was only yours to make, and I needed to believe for myself that you were following your heart.

  Kristen smiled at Karl, and she gave him a light kiss on his cheek. He closed his eyes and turned his head from her.

  As he began walking down the hallway, Kristen called after him. She desperately needed someone to help her resolve her fears.

  “Karl, is Anthony someone that I can trust?”

  “Oh, Kristen, my dear. I am sorry to let you down, but there are some answers that I cannot give you. Just remember, that you are still young, and you will know when it is time to make your decision…

  Karl then faded away.

  24 THE DEVIL’S INTENDED

  Daylight came to Palm Beach, and found Michael lying halfway in the bushes in the Publix parking lot. It was a block away from Cucina, the island’s hottest night spot. He had been trying to drink away his sorrows and whooped it up until closing time.

  A trickle of blood flowed from his mouth and tiny geckos scurried over his body. He groaned, and rolled over on the hard pavement, covering his eyes from the sun.

  “Ouch! What happened?”

  He slowly lifted himself and sat up. All he could remember was that he was dancing, and two short men wearing flashy suits came up to him. They held guns in each side and made him quietly go with them, throwing him in the back seat of a stretch limo.

  “Maybe, those guys were Tony’s brothers? This isn’t good. What did I do?”

  Michael wasn’t sure where he was now, but he could see the sun’s location in the sky, so he stood up and headed east. Once he reached County Road, he knew the Breakers hotel was not far from there. It was well hidden behind very tall hedges.

  Michael peered through the bushes, “I know you are in their somewhere.” His cell phone was cracked and everything was gone from his pockets. He painfully limped on a swollen ankle.

  When he arrived at the hotel, he stopped by the outside fountain and splashed water on his face to wash the blood off. The men at the valet desk stared, as he straightened up to walk by them and into the hotel lobby.

  In another part of the hotel, Kristen began preparing for her ceremony, and did not remember her dream about Karl.

  She groaned, “Oh, I feel awful. Why couldn’t I have slept better? Why didn’t Antonia call me? All I am going to do is start worrying about Anthony all over again.”

  She searched for her bathrobe and slippers, “Why hasn’t he called me yet? Doesn’t he want to know what Antonia said?”

  As she began brushing her teeth, she was overcome with angst, “I really need to talk to Michael. He needs to tell me how much he cares for me, and that I shouldn’t marry Anthony. Anthony was so horrible to me. I don’t think I can forgive him.”

  Kristen now struggled with convincing herself, that she wanted to be with Anthony. Her impassioned moment with Michael wouldn’t let her. She drummed her fingers nervously on the wooden coffee table, as she waited for her stylist.

  A few minutes later, she heard a knock. The hairdresser and the stylist were both standing there. Kristen now devoted herself to getting ready but felt like she was just going through the motions, because her heart was not into it.

  On the floor above her, Michael lay on his hotel bed and felt like a kicked dog. He was depressed that Kristen was almost his yesterday, and then he lost her to cold reality. He moaned in pain as he rolled off the bed and headed to the closet.

  “My ribs really feel like they’re broken. I don’t know if I can make it to the wedding.” He looked at the clock and gasped, “Only an hour away? I don’t know if she still wants me to even go. She acted so cold when I dropped her off.”

  He looked toward the ceiling, “I just don’t think I can watch her marry that jerk! But, she needs my blessing. I guess I’ll go.”

  Michael pulled his imported Italian suit from the closet.

  “I have no doubt whatsoever, that I will outrank the groom,” he laughed. He laid it out and selected a tie to go with it.

  Michael’s stomach started grumbling. He then remembered where he was.

  “There’s no McDonald’s on this God forsaken island. This day completely sucks! I just want to take out a jet ski and get lost in the ocean.” He reluctantly finished dressing and left his room.

  Michael was very worried about Kristen. She had no clue what she was getting herself into. And, he was afraid to do anything about it, because he would probably get himself killed. Still, Michael couldn’t help thinking that this was something she could not handle by herself.

  Kristen finally finished having her make-up done, and her hair was decorated with small flowers to make her look like a goddess. She waited patiently until her bridesmaids arrived.

  Suzie showed up first, and Kristen gave her a big hug.

  Sheepishly she said, “I am sorry Kristen, I really am.”

  “It’s alright Suzie, I know how tempting Marco can be. You might want to re-consider your engagement plans?”

  Suzie gave her a dirty look, and then smiled, “I am thinking about it. Maybe, you should do the same?”

  Kristen looked worried as she handed her the garment bag containing the wedding dress, “I am.”

  The other women joined them, and then they all cheerfully walked into the hallway. Each woman was carrying an array of accessories to bring to the church, to finish dressing there.

  The bridal party reached the first floor and headed to the white Rolls-Royce awaiting them outside. Unfortunately for Kristen, Michael’s elevator landed just after the girls.

  The women traveled only a few short blocks to reach the church. As the Rolls pulled up, on the street stood a white horse and a Cinderella carriage covered in flowers.

  Kristen jumped out and petted the horse’s nose.

  “Oh, how lovely this is. Anthony was so amazing to arrange this!”

  Kristen was now caught up in the beauty of the day, and all the wedding embellishments. Just the act of getting married now appealed to her.

  The group went into the church and looked around in awe. Sunlight filtered through the magnificent stained-glass windows, and every pew was adorned with orchids.

  Suzie sniffed at the air, “It smells like a tropical garden. It is so fantastic, I hope my groom is as nice as this.”

  Th
e guests were going to be arriving in a few minutes, so they hurried to the dressing room. The bridesmaids laughed and sipped champagne, as they helped Kristen dress. Finally, when she was as perfect as she could look, the maids left to go take their places.

  Kristen sat for a while at the dressing table and studied herself. She looked radiant! But she didn’t look happy. She tried to laugh, when she caught herself looking up at the small window above her. It was the only way out.

  She thought, “Might be a tight fit in this dress.” Her heart was now a hard pit in her stomach. She closed her eyes, and envisioned Michael and her on the rock.

  The water was peaceful. They were now making love.

  She knew she needed to be with him.

  Maybe it was now jitters, but she just wasn’t ready! She had to find out more about Anthony. She now absolutely felt, that the reason that she had always been so unsure about him since the day they met, was the answer to why she always found it so easy to be rescued by Karl and Gregory.

  Or, maybe the strong allure of the other men was caused by something else completely? Something she had no control over? She was so confused.

  Tap, tap…her Godfather cheerfully knocked at the door with his cane and entered. Kristen rose to kiss him.

  He was overjoyed and said softly,

  “Oh, you look so beautiful. I wish your parents could see you!”

  Kristen smiled at him, “Thank you for being here today. I know it was a long drive, and it means a lot to me.”

  He gallantly held out his arm, and she lightly laid her gloved hand on it. They started to walk out together, when Kristen turned and said, “I forgot something, I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

  Inside the church, the guests had all taken their seats. Anthony’s mother was wearing a large flowered bonnet and sobbing in the front row. Her daughters and Vincente, were leaning over and hugging her.

  Anthony and Marco playfully stood at the altar waiting for Kristen’s grand entrance.

  Marco joked, “Think your bride is going to show up?”

  Anthony winced and stiffly answered,