Knox Brotherhood

by Knox, Elizabeth

  My phone rang, signaling that my men were ready. I had called some of my best for the task. We were going to roll up to that shithole Jonas had my princess in and blow it up. I was more than just muscle, and I suspected Jonas must have greatly underestimated my abilities when he decided he could just take whatever he wanted; including what was mine. Looking back now, I had just barely taken over my clan when it happened, but I learned quickly. I was known as the most ruthless, feared, brutal, and smart clan leader in the United States. Hell, I was much more frightening than those damn Germans or the English, and Jonas was about to fucking find out.

  I busted out of my loft, ready to see some heads roll. It would be a long drive there, though, plenty of time to sit on that anger of mine and make it sizzle. I hopped into the back of the armored car with my best men, packed in like sausages with each other and our guns to keep us company as the wheels rolled north, towards my destiny.

  As we went along, I began to think back to the day I got my purpose. At two years old, I was told a little girl was born. She was born on October 22nd, just weeks before my third birthday. My father explained to me that she was going to be my wife one day. He told me that her name was Mariana. I didn’t understand much about it, but both my life and Mariana’s life had changed drastically and been set in stone that very day. I had only met her a few times after that, but I could remember her so strongly because of her spirit.

  The fact that it was Jonas, that vile creature I had already loathed, had Mariana all these years, made me wonder what he could have done to her, whether that spirit of hers had resisted at all after eight long years. I shook my head in disgust and disbelief at the memory of something he did when I was just a teenager; one of those big messes that he made us clean up.

  Jonas had been in Russia, trying to forge more ties with the mob in some way, messing around with the Albu clan. Rhys Albu had only entertained him because he thought he could use a guy like Jonas to his advantage. It had all gone wrong when they had crossed paths with some of the prime minister’s family. The prime minister’s daughter had a taste for bad boys and latched onto Jonas and his big words Words he could never back up with anything of substance. Even with all his swindling the man had shit to his name. He had decided it would be a fun game and make himself look like a bad ass to Albu, who runs the Romanian mob clan in Russia if he killed somebody in the government. With the prime minister’s daughter, naked and in his bed, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  Her death turned the spotlight immediately onto the Albu clan. By that point, Jonas was long gone, onto the next terrible idea. So, the Albu’s had to sacrifice one of their own to make sure no more attention came their way. The mob did not like the spotlight, in fact, we avoided it at all costs, and the Albu’s were still the black sheep to this day. When my father told me all these things Jonas was doing, I used to wonder if Jonas was clinically insane. At the least, he was a liability. Yet again, I come to ask myself how this loose end has been allowed to live all these years? He should’ve been eradicated years ago. The clans would probably bow down to me just for getting him out of their hair.

  My thoughts returned to Mariana, and I cursed the car ride for allowing my brain to wander like that. I knew there was a distinct possibility that I would walk in and find an empty void in place of the woman that was supposed to be the heir to the Vasile throne and by my side. I had heard what torture and abuse could do to a person, and a part of me that I kept locked away most of the time, felt bad for her. It wasn’t something I would wish on someone, anyway. But in truth, it did not matter at all what state she was in, as long as she was alive and still capable of producing heirs. That makes me sound cold, and I am. My ruthlessness is no joke; I don’t joke. I make promises. I hope that she is alright, that Jonas hasn’t destroyed every single thread of the girl I knew all those years ago, but until we get to his shitty compound, I won’t know.

  My father taught me to be ambitious and ruthless, and there was no room for sympathy there. If I was to finally take my rightful place as the king of the mob and bring the clans back together, I had to focus on what needed to be done. I would save Mariana and end Jonas and his men for good. Then, she would be all mine to marry and produce heirs with; heirs that would solidify that it was my lineage that continued to rule all the clans. That was the purpose of the arrangement. I could use her blood and her body regardless of what was left of her spirit.

  I could not care.

  I did not care.

  CHAPTER 4

  Mariana

  I was reading to Bianca, something we did every day. I hadn’t been afforded much for her, but she had a collection of ten books now, scraps that had been found here and there and a couple I had convinced Jonas to have his men get for Bianca on one of his good days. She couldn’t just do nothing.

  My hand was running mindlessly through her silky blonde hair, as I watched the fibers pull through my fingers. I jumped as the door burst open to reveal Jonas, sweating bullets and in a panic as I had never seen him before. He wasn’t exactly a coward. In fact, he was the total opposite. More reckless, If something had him running scared, then I was scared too. “You need to come with me right now. Do not ask any questions. Grab the child, and follow me,” he ordered again, panting in his shaky state. I somehow knew not to ask questions, to not put up a fight, so I just followed his instructions.

  I grabbed Bianca, scooping her up into my arms, and followed him as he led us to the stairwell of the building We followed him through a heavy metal door which shut with a loud clang once we cleared the frame. Some of Jonas’ men were running down the stairs ahead of us. I could see that they were afraid of something, or someone. Had one of Jonas’ schemes finally caught up with him? It would figure that one day he would piss off the wrong guy. I always thought that would happen. If only it had happened sooner, I could have escaped this place and his grasp earlier.

  I ran as fast as I could after him, Bianca clutched tightly around my neck and waist. It was getting hard to hold her, and I felt relief as we came to the bottom of the stairwell where everyone stopped. It was like they were waiting for an order form Jonas. Then, as he took his gun out of his pocket and began muttering, I started to worry. I kept staring at his gun; I’d been in situations with Jonas where he’d pulled his gun on me before but not with Bianca near. Not in the same room. Not in the same room with all of his men. They all had guns. Why did he need to have his drawn?

  Jonas turned his dark eyes on me, staring right at me. I knew there was a reason for my eerie feeling, and that look was it. Bianca’s hand was squeezing mine tightly, and I thought about all those times I had wished for death since being taken by Jonas. He had killed my entire family and taken me away from all I knew when I was only sixteen. He had wasted no time raping me and making me his broken toy. It had been a lot to take. I didn’t have a purpose, and as I didn’t get saved or let go, I felt like my life was over. But this was the first time since I had met Jonas, looking at his red face and cold, dark eyes, that I really thought my death might be close. If it was just me I would beg him for it; I would beg him to release that bullet between my eyes finally and put me out of my life of misery. But it’s not. I have her. I never thought I would be a mother. Truth be told I never thought I had what it took. Now I look back at the younger version of me, the one who couldn’t be a mother – or didn’t think she would be a mother and I shake my head. I want to tell her that when you have a child, your entire life changes, it’s not just about you – it’s about your child and you will do everything and anything to protect them, even if that means being cut, burned, hit, and raped.

  He began pacing back and forth at the bottom of that stairwell like a caged animal. He was indecisive at the moment, but I didn’t know what would win out. Bianca kept tugging at my shirt, but I didn’t dare look away from Jonas. I wasn’t going to miss whatever move he decided to make next. My instincts came over me. I would watch and assess, doing whatever I could to make sure both Bia
nca and I were safe in whatever this situation was. His gaze was terrifying in a way he had never been before. I was afraid of being tortured, of being raped when I got here, but I had never been utterly frightened this way before.

  One of his men tugged at his sleeve. “You need to make your decision and go. I am getting the cars ready. The estimate is 20 men he is bringing with him. Many cars. He will obliterate us,” the man whispered into Jonas’ ear. Who was coming with so many men? Was someone finally coming for me? I never imagined Jonas would be so good at keeping a secret with all the messes he made previously. Maybe for the last eight years, just maybe, he had. If we were going to make it out of there, I had to be strong and protect Bianca. It was the only shot we had. This was the first opening I had seen since I had been taken.

  Jonas stared at me, harder than he had before. It was like he had a laser focused right on me. I saw something click; a decision had been made. “Bianca, I need you to come to your father, please,” he said in the calmest voice I had heard him use in this eight years I had been his sick little doll. What the hell was he thinking, calling Bianca to him like that? He had never had any interest in her before, and though she was four, she was very bright. She had obviously picked up on his hatred and disinterest in her. I could feel her cling to my arm tighter, instead of following his order.

  I had to be dreaming. I had half a mind to pinch myself really hard so that I would wake up in that dingy room where I had spent the last four years with Bianca and chalk it all up to a stressful nightmare. But it was all too real. I understood at that moment what Jonas wanted. He was never going to kill her, even if he wanted to so badly. She was another link to the Vasile blood line. She was a child he could use in just the same way he had wanted to use me. She was a pawn in his game of chess.

  Did he plan to take Bianca and kill me? The thought left a sour feeling in my stomach. I was not so afraid of death, but I was afraid of what would happen to my precious daughter if I left her alone in the world with no one but Jonas to care for her. Even if someone was coming for me, no one would know Bianca existed. Jonas had clearly told no one. She would be lost until Jonas decided she was old enough to make arrangements for her; arrangements that would put him or someone else he trusted in power over the clans.

  Jonas would surely draw up a marriage contract just the way my father had done for me. Only, I knew my father had done it for my security as well as the security of the stability of the mafia clans. I could remember the family of the man I was supposed to marry. I remembered meeting the man when I was very young. They were not abusive people. They were people my father trusted to care for the clans and for me.

  If Jonas set up such an arrangement for Bianca, it would have nothing to do with her. It would be for his own personal gain. She would be another pawn in the game he was playing in order to gain more power in the organized crime world. Over my damn dead body would I let my daughter, the most important person in the world to me, become a chess piece for Jonas to play. Even then, I would find a way to come back and haunt his every waking nightmare until he let Bianca go.

  Raising his voice this time, Jonas attempted to get Bianca to comply once more. “Bianca, I said come here!” His voice scared her, and Bianca turned her back to him with a loud wail and tugged at my shirt again, looking up at me with her tearful eyes. She wanted me to tell her it was all going to be alright, that she didn’t have to do what Jonas told her to.

  I wanted more than anything to tell her it was going to be okay, but I couldn’t lie to her. I had no clue if everything was going to be okay.

  I ran my fingers through her hair and tried to remain strong as I turned her body towards me, she was hugging onto me as tightly as she could. If anyone came near me, they’d have to tear my arms away from my little girl. Jonas’ man came back in with another desperate plea that they needed to leave now before it was too late. I hoped the delay would mean he would just take us both with him and save my punishment for later. In another venue, with his gun put away, I knew I could save us both from the ultimate harm.

  “Get out of the way,” Jonas ordered. His nostrils flaring and spit showering my direction. I wasn’t going to budge. He wasn’t getting his grubby hands on her unless he got through me first. Regardless of my past weaknesses with him and my lack of a weapon, I would fight to the death to keep Bianca away from him.

  “I will not let you use Bianca the way you have used me. You’ll have to rip her from my arms!” I snapped, my feet planted firmly at the bottom of the stairwell.

  Jonas took a deep breath in what I had hoped was a sign of him giving in for now. His gun lowered with the sigh, and I dared to relax. That was when he picked it back up lightning fast, aimed, and shot. I felt the pinch of the bullet landing on my left side and the blood that instantly began to run down my shirt. I fell helplessly to the floor as my breathing was restricted. Bianca let go of me as I fell back to the floor, she knelt down next to me, tugging at my shirt, crying. I couldn’t be sure what he had hit, but I expected it had affected my lung or diaphragm in some way. My body was rendered useless by that one shot. It wasn’t a kill shot. It was something he had done on purpose; allowing it to take time as I bled out all over the white floor.

  Bianca was crying endlessly; she knew I had been hurt. A panicked, “Momma!” rang from her lips over and over as I struggled to catch a good breath and find a way to get through this. I grabbed her hand, trying to use my other arm to support myself up but it was no use – I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Grab Bianca!” Jonas’ order to his men sounded far away.

  “Get her in the car!” he barked.

  I watched in horror as my sight faded, my breathing labored further, while my daughter was torn away from me by these disgusting criminals. She put up a fight, but a four-year old’s kicks were not going to harm such large men. They ignored it, and she disappeared to the other side of the door that led out of that stairwell. I felt the tears pouring out of the corners of my eyes, wanting my daughter, wanting to know that I was going to be okay, that she was going to be okay. I couldn’t know that though, and with her being in Jonas’ care I knew that she wouldn’t be.

  “You made me do that, Mariana. I didn’t want to hurt you, but you left me no choice.” Jonas’ voice sounded like a serpent, and I wanted to wretch, or perhaps that was the pain in my side. He came up close to me, squatting over my bleeding body.

  “You know, for a Vasile, you have always seemed so weak and mediocre, and you aren’t even that beautiful. You look nothing like your mother did. Maybe I should have kept her for my pleasures instead.” He spat on my face, but I couldn’t reach up to wipe it away. I didn’t have the strength.

  His words were hurtful, though I never expected him to like me. I was a tool. I knew that, but he wasn’t usually one for sharing those feelings. He truly expected me to die right there on the bottom step. I probably would.

  “In a strange way, I’ll miss you Mariana.” He said that in an almost whisper.

  With my last bit of strength, I gritted my teeth through the blood and the pain, panting at him angrily. “I will find you, and I will kill you, Jonas Masterson. Nothing can keep me away from my daughter. Just wait and see.” His sickening laughter had echoed throughout the stairwell before he went for the door. I didn’t see whether he walked out or not. My vision went black, and there was just nothing.

  CHAPTER 5

  Ion

  We finally made it there and raided the building, scaring the shit out of all the seedy characters who called the place home. It was a pitiful place. Nowhere like I would expect to find my princess being held or even a place where someone who prided themselves on being such a hustler would call home. Once I arrived at the floor where everyone directed me he lived, I found that he and his men had left in a hurry. They had taken a stairwell behind an armored door down to a secret escape. I followed but stopped when I reached the bottom of the steps finding them covered in blood. Not seeing a body, I headed back to meet
my men and continue my search.

  With my gun pulled, I prayed that by some miracle they had left her behind or they hadn’t all made it out yet. We followed a trail of blood down the hall and busted down the door where it ended. What I saw made my heart stop. There, on the floor of the dingy apartment, was the body of a blonde woman, her body lying in a pool of blood which was clearly her own. I fell to her side in anguish with hatred burning through my veins. My fingers went straight for her neck, trying to find some kind of pulse.

  She can’t die.

  That was all I could think at that moment. Everything I wanted and needed completely depended on Mariana’s survival. Yet, here I was, trying to find a pulse on her lifeless body. The level of blood was more than I had ever seen from a person who had survived a gun shot. I could see where the wound was, still bleeding. There was a chance Jonas and his men had hit something vital from the looks of it, but a sliver of hope was on the horizon as I caught the feeling of her pulse. It was weak, but she was still alive. I just didn’t know for how long.

  “She is alive! One of you, get me something from in here to put over the wound to put pressure on it. We have to take her to the nearest hospital,” I ordered. One of my men went into the bedrooms, grabbing sheets. They would have to work even though they looked like they could have used some washing a long time ago. I took them and helped my men take her down to the SUV, positioning her in the backseat so that her head was on my lap and I could reach the wound.

  It was scary to see that there was no response from her. She was in enough pain or had lost enough blood to have passed out. I was thankful for that, for the fact she didn’t have to experience the tremendous pain that was going through her body. Her breathing was shallow; I could barely tell she was breathing at all. The bullet had affected her respiration, wherever it had planted itself inside of her. We took off, rushing to the nearest hospital on the GPS. I would have to be smart about this; pay off the doctors and the staff for silence, but it wouldn’t be the first time.