Much later in the morning my need for caffeine overruled my desires to hide in my blanket fort. Avoiding being an adult sounded so much better than facing the life I had ahead of me. Mr. Dorfman was open this time of the morning, and I hoped he would have a pot brewing. After a shower and dressing, I snatched up my keys and some cash before heading down the stairs. The shop was exactly as I had left it, but the truck was now gone.
Turning off the alarm and locking the door behind me, I took in the early morning stillness. I had an unhindered view of the blue water of the ocean, far off the edge of the Island while I made my way down to Mr. Dorfman’s store. The air was crisp for a May morning, but the freshness was welcomed. Sure enough, Dorfman’s was open; I watched five people walk into the store. Mr. Dorfman was in a heated conversation with one of the guys who had walked in before me.
My nose led me toward the distinctive aroma of fresh brewed coffee. Mr. Dorfman was a purest, brewing the standard black coffee, no fussy flavors. His store had those concave mirrors at each corner of the room. While listening to the voices increase, my eyes automatically shifted to the mirror on my right. The image which awaited me spurred an immediate reaction. With the coffee pot still in my hand I stomped my way back to the front of the store. If they could steal from this nice old man, they would steal from me in a heartbeat.
I made it to the end of the aisle and found Mr. Dorfman face down on the counter, the dark-haired guy from the bank and downtown New York, holding his arm behind his back, blood gushing from his nose onto the counter. To my left was a tall woman busy tapping her fingers on her cell phone.
“Tony, hurry up. Angie wants to go out for breakfast, she’s leaving the club in fifteen.” Her hair was bright red with a rhinestone clip securing a curl to the side. Her large sunglasses covered the majority of her face. She wore thigh high boots, much like the pair Marissa had worn to Dominick’s party. Satin ribbons, of what could be a garter belt, disappeared under the tops of her boots and what I hoped to be a skirt.
“Hang on, baby, I’ll be done with this in a—” His sentence cut short when he noticed me and an evil smile spread across his sinister face. He gave Mr. Dorfman’s face a final shove into the wood of the counter forcing blood to splatter onto the floor and candy resting on the lower shelf.
Mr. Dorfman’s fearful red face was inches from the mountain of a man, whose dark hair had patches of almost white under the fluorescent lights. His arm muscles flexed from his hold on his victim. With a hard shove, Mr. Dorfman was released and tossed against the tobacco behind him. Several packages fell to the floor, like a rain shower over his head.
Tony turned around, shrugging his shoulders to right his coat, while his hand adjusted his black tie. My focus found the gold ring on the middle finger of his right hand. Considering the massive size of his hand, the ring appeared proportionate to his fingers. Still, the aged gold surface engulfed his finger from knuckle to just shy of his first joint. It wasn’t the size or the color which shattered my defenses, but the letter G in the center with a spider on the tail of the letter. I’d seen that image before… branded on Corey’s shoulder.
“What do we have here? Her majesty, the queen.” His words were vile and menacing. He grasped my chin in his cold and calloused fingers. “Or, as I like to call you,” he brought his lips to my ear, “…the next ass I plan to fuck.” His cold fingers traced down my face and to my collarbone.
I flinched away, shoving his hand back toward him.
“You won’t be the first one we’ve shared, but you will be the first Untouchable.”
I’d heard that term in movies and books. Though I didn’t have a clue what it meant, something told me it was to my advantage.
“You think you’re too good for this, don’t you? Too good for me?” His face was so close to mine I could see the tiny red vessels in the whites of his eyes. “You’re nothing special. He has girls just like you in his bed every night. I know,” his hand returned to my chin with the last part of his words, “…because I put them there.” He shoved me back slightly, only to pull me forward and place his palm on my breast. It was when he pinched my right nipple, hard, that everything changed.
I jerked my chin from his grasp and turned my face to the side just in time to see the tall redhead switch hands with her phone. A glistening diamond caught my eye, one I hadn’t seen since leaving Louisiana. Vines held the diamond in place, jeweled chips giving shimmer to each of the four leaves. It was the tackiest ring I’d ever seen. There was only one way she could have it, the same reason his ring touched the neck of Corey. Terror pulsed through me as memories, like a slide show, blinded my rational thoughts. I didn’t know how they’d found me, but I would die before I went back. They could have the money, but I knew they wouldn’t just take what was theirs. They would leave no witnesses, no trace of where I’d disappeared. My fight or flight instincts kicked in as I swung my right hand to hit him. My desire to live was far greater than my memory of the nearly full carafe of coffee still in my hand. Hot liquid splashed on my arm but the pain didn’t register as adrenalin filled my bloodstream, acting like nitrous oxide in a racecar, as I repeatedly hit the suit-wearing target before me.
However, Tony reacted in a way I never expected. Drawing his gun from his jacket, he hit me across the face.
Female screams and scurrying feet accompanied the blinding pain centered across my face. My view of the store was now on its side, the floor in place of the redheaded girl. Her black boots danced like an Arabian horse while the screams turned into shouts of vulgar curse words. There was a burning pain in my chest and my breath was gone from my lungs while a shiny dress shoe kicked my center over and over. Bags of chips and candy bars littered the floor around me, lying haphazardly like me. Something dug into my hip; with the carnage around me, a wire display must have caved under my weight?
A shoe stomped on the side of my head. It hurt like a bitch, but wasn’t enough to cause any real damage. The girl’s screams were silenced when Mr. Dorfman pulled out what looked like a shotgun and began firing, missing everyone in the store, but sending the five of them running out.
The pain in my face and side of my head was blinding.
Mr. Dorfman came rushing over, his cell phone to his ear, talking a mile a minute. He kept repeating over and over, “Anthony did it. Anthony did it.”
I didn’t know who this Anthony guy was, but it was clear he was associated with Dominick. If he’d been the one to give her the ring, and I could only speculate he had, then this had taken on an entirely new twist.
Mr. Dorfman gave me a bag of ice for my face. Soon, Sophia came running into the store like her ass was on fire. She had her cell to her ear within seconds of laying eyes on me. I tried to block out what was being said, but between Mr. Dorfman’s constant apologies and Sophia’s Italian my headache was getting bigger and worse. Everyone and everything went silent at the sound of screeching car tires.
“YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE, YOU know that? I painted you as this man who had some semblance of a soul, but now I wonder after you fed her to the fucking wolves without an ounce of warning. Do you know they spoke of Miranda being your fucking goomah? How you gonna cover this shit up? I defended you to her, said you would do the right thing. But like always, you do what you want and fuck everything else!”
My sister was never one to mince words. She had no issue telling me how she felt about the way I had decided to pursue Ari. “She doesn’t know anything, Dominick. She’s a good person, far too good for your nasty ass.”
I knew this; I had battled with myself about this issue. Ari was a good girl who deserved an honest man, not having to worry about what kind of future he could give her. Sophia reminded me no man taking a breath today could guarantee the girl he desired a safe future.
“Karla, what do you want me to do? Tell her all our family secrets? Buy her another shop; stuff her away in some Park Avenue apartment, drugged out of her mind? ‘Cause when she figures out what this is all really about, she’
s as good as gone.”
Her body shifted and she placed her index finger in my face. “You should have thought about that before you let her near the other women in the Family. Don’t think for a second they aren’t giving her a proper welcome by talking loud enough for her to hear all about your sexual deviances. It was bad enough to watch her keeping a smile on her face while her eyes screamed for help. As if that weren’t bad enough, then she had to hear those bitches auctioning off their daughters to warm your fucking bed. You’ll be lucky if she still talks to you in the morning.”
She was right, and even though I tried to argue back and make excuses, I knew I was fighting an uphill battle. However, I’d never taken no for an answer, and I wasn’t going to start with Ari Taylor.
I watched her while my father made toasts to new beginnings, both his and mine. He welcomed Ari into the family, giving everyone who was listening the official word that she was part of the inner circle. My angle on the night was so different from my sisters. Where she saw fear in Ari’s eyes, I saw fire; a flame I had assumed was beginning to burn for me. I kept my eyes on her as she held her face stoic as ever. How many years has it taken her to perfect that look? What secrets did she hold behind those big green eyes of hers?
After dropping off Gabby and Ari, I had more questions than answers. My sister had added to the confusion in my mind and I needed to shut my brain off. One thing could provide me the clarity I so desperately needed. She always welcomed me no questions asked, no shit about not coming around or never calling. She allowed me to take without expecting anything in return.
As I pulled up to the curb, the thumping bass guided my feet. The street was wet with the late night rain, which had fallen earlier. Several people were huddled around a trash can housing a burning fire, even in the midst of warmer weather. Fire seemed essential to survival on the streets. I understood the need, my Family was my fire.
Miranda was wrapped around another girl when I walked in. Her eyes meeting mine, she smiled, nodding her head toward the back room while she pulled the redhead who had her hands and mouth all over her pussy up. She would make the worries go away, letting my mind rest.
Closing the door behind me, I shed my jacket. Miranda and the redhead knelt on the floor before me, hands exploring each other, fingers wet with their juices. I watched them continue to explore each other. Kissing, sucking, and cries of pleasure with commands to press harder, pump faster filled the room. Toys of various sizes and colors lay at their sides, used to increase the pleasure—theirs and mine—then discarded after their use was no longer needed. I loved watching Miranda and all the other girls she had around. I never had to ask her to do anything; she always knew what I needed. I hated watching porn from a DVD placed in a black box that filled my television screen with rehearsed, fake fucking. I needed to be surrounded by it, to be able to smell the musk of a woman. I told the participants what to do next, where to touch, what to use. I made the decisions and not some pimple faced film major. My world would disappear as I lost myself in the pleasure of it.
The door squeaked behind me and the music grew louder as two more girls entered, both naked, smiles on their lips and eyes glassed over from chemicals recently consumed. My attention turned back to Miranda and the redhead, who were now enjoying a long double-sided dildo, each girl rocking back and forth on it with cries of “More,” and, “Fuck yeah.”
Wordlessly the two new girls knelt below me, unbuckling my belt with smiles and want on their faces. This was my passion, my ultimate pleasure. I craved having women on their knees in front of me, allowing my cock in their mouths, fighting over it, begging me to shove it into whatever part of their body I wished.
From the first naked set of tits I’d held in my hands, I’d craved more. Hell, my dick got hard just thinking about a bitch on her knees.
A warm, wet hand took hold of my cock, turning my focus to the owner of the hand while she licked the pussy of her partner. Miranda came around to bend on her knees behind the standing girl, her tongue licking the rim of the girl’s ass, a hand rubbing her own pussy fast and furious. Her girls knew I didn’t want fake dialog, only echoes of pure pleasure. The girl with my dick in her hand removed her face from the snatch she’d been devouring and I caught her eye as she opened her mouth to suck my cock. Deep, haunting green eyes, combined with her dark hair send me to a place where Ari might find this upsetting, where my actions might hurt a relationship I’m trying to build. I’ve never allowed a woman to dictate what I do when it comes to most everything, including fucking, but this all feels wrong to me; unnatural and dirty. These feelings frightened me. I wasn’t a man who could afford fear, or for rumors to get out about me. I pushed the girl’s hands away and pretended to answer a call.
Without a word to anyone I rose from the chair, tucked myself back in my pants, and left the room with my cell to my ear. Miranda would continue what she’d started and invite the two new girls into it, and everyone would have a happy ending. With the rev of my engine, I pulled onto the street and headed to the place I really needed to be.
I imagined she slept like the angel she was. Her dreams full of promises and desires. Did I make it into her dreams, or did she save me for her nightmares? I pulled up to the curb down the block from her shop and watched as some late night partier laughed and stumbled down the street. Once they were a safe distance away, I started my engine again and headed home. Ari was tucked into a warm bed, a bed I hoped to be invited into soon.
My house was silent as a tomb so I tossed my keys on the bar, the click echoed in the room. I rubbed my hands over my face several times, hoping the motion would erase this feeling of shame. Like a stranger watching my life from the outside, I felt out of control. My father had told me many times the right woman could shape you and make you the man you’re supposed to be. I never believed him, choosing to make my own way, like my sister said. I was going to be the person I wanted to be, but in an instant, that thinking was questioned, its validity demolished.
The shrill ringing of my phone woke me and I fumbled to pull it from my jacket pocket. Looking at the screen it was my mother, no doubt calling to find out what my next move would be. She had a plan, she always had a plan. If I were smart, I would listen to her. “Yeah, Mom.”
“Dominick, David called. Those thugs came back and this time they roughed him up.” I tried not to roll my eyes in annoyance; Mr. Dorfman had a tendency to exaggerate.
“There’s more…”
Her voice quivered and the sounds of a sob was enough to get me off my couch and headed toward the door. I didn’t like for my mother to cry; this wasn’t about Mr. Dorfman anymore.
“Ari was there. One of them hurt her.”
I didn’t wait to hear anymore. Whoever had done this had awoken a sleeping dragon. He was a dead man; I would kill him personally. Speed and safety were a non-factor in getting to her. No matter the condition I found her in, I would rain fire on the ones responsible, crucifying them for their cowardly actions of hurting an Untouchable, an angel plucked from heaven above. I didn’t waste time turning off my car, hurrying into Dorfman’s store. All the answers I needed would be found inside.
“Show me the goddamn tapes!” I ordered as I pushed through the door.
David was cleaning up broken glass and crushed potato chips, which were scattered all over the floor. He pointed to the counter; his face badly bruised, and then went back to sweeping, not saying a word.
On the small monitor Anthony and the punks entered the store. The girl from the street videos Demetri had was standing in the center of the action.
Next, I saw Ari entering the store, and my fists clenched as she walked, unsuspecting, to the back of the store. I heard every word Anthony spoke while he shoved David in the back of his head. I watched as he taunted Ari with his words and his actions, then watched in horror as the butt of his gun hit her across her face. She would be lucky if the bone wasn’t broken. He would feel a hundred times more pain than Ari had, though. Marco had to
ld us a few months back he didn’t trust Anthony, said it was too much of a coincidence when the attempt on my father’s life was carried out that he happened to be there. I didn’t want to believe he had betrayed my Family, but with this video as evidence, it was clear he had shifted sides.
“Ari was only trying to help me.”
Mr. Dorfman’s words caused me to look up. Mop in hand, he was now cleaning up the spilt coffee.
“She busted that coffee pot over his head and he just—” His voice cracked as a tear slid across the bruise forming under his eye. Dried blood caked his mustache. “I know she’s just a girl, but she doesn’t bother anybody and keeps the neighborhood looking nice.” His emotions got the better of him as he shook his head, waving a hand in the air.
“She is more than just a girl. I know you always have your eyes open, so you see more than you gossip about.” Tossing all the money I had in my pocket on the counter, I prepared to leave. “If this doesn’t cover the cost, you know where to find me.” My mind is eerily clear, my body humming with rage and desire for revenge. “Dorfman, you have my word, I will do it personally.”
I entered my mother’s shop, well, now Ari’s shop, after sending a copy of the tapes to Demetri. Marco was on his way to meet me and Demetri at the warehouse. My mom was pacing back and forth speaking in Italian to someone on the phone. Our family physician was tending to Ari in the corner of the room. A large bruise was already forming on her perfect face.
“Mr. Santos.” Dr. Raguzzi tipped his head in my direction and Ari’s eyes locked on mine. I knew in that moment, while he applied a dressing to the cut across her cheekbone, I wouldn’t rest until Anthony had paid for this. She winced in pain from the cleaning of her cut and I vowed Anthony would feel so much more pain when I found him.
Stolen Secrets Page 15
