Ricardo

by Marita A. Hansen

  She slipped into the backseat. “I hadn’t slept much, plus makeup makes the world of difference.”

  Nodding, he closed her door and got behind the wheel, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

  She smiled at him. “You want to take a picture?”

  He scowled at her, then fired up the engine, driving her off the property. She changed cars, getting into her own as the soldier returned to the house. Twenty minutes later, she arrived at her destination—a rundown barn in the middle of the countryside. Looking forward to seeing her sisters, she parked next to the cars and motorbikes, which were hiding behind the building. Although she didn’t mind going solo, she definitely preferred the company that came with teamwork.

  She entered the barn, which smelt of hay and dirt, the place just a meeting point. A few sleeping bags were lying next to a stack of hay, some of the Vipers not having found lodgings yet, their arrival on the island only recent. There was also a large table in the center of the room. Eleven Vipers were sitting around it, all of their eyes now on her. Ivy’s older sister pushed out of her chair. Unlike the others, who were only sisters due to their calling, Menna was blood. Her sister was twenty-seven, two years older than her, and the leader of the Black Vipers. She had straight brown hair, which she wore loose around her shoulders. Ivy preferred hers pulled back, so it didn’t get in the way when she fought. Still, she would let it down for that hunk of a man Ricardo. Her pussy clenched at the memory of his cock inside of her. She knew she’d fucked up misreading him, but she would find a way back into his good graces, because he was definitely worth the ride.

  “You look pleased with yourself,” Menna said, her brown eyes assessing her.

  “I got a taste of the Don,” Ivy replied, “and he tasted divine.”

  Menna grinned. “You’re a true gem, sister. Only you could get a man no other can touch.”

  “I haven’t won him yet. He’s a lion who refuses to relinquish control, but he’ll fall like all the others.”

  “Good, because we need those brothers.”

  “In more ways than one.” Ivy made a growling sound, then snapped her teeth.

  Menna laughed. “Get sex off your mind, we have work to do.” She turned to the other women. They were all stunning, which was why the Black Russian had chosen them as Vipers. He only surrounded himself with beautiful people, the man a collector of art in the human form.

  Menna addressed the sisterhood: “Head out to the coordinates I’ve given you,” she paused, her gaze moving over each of the Vipers, “and smile, because today we will be one step closer to our goal: killing the Black Russian.”

  The Vipers cheered. They were a mixture of blondes, redheads, brunettes, and raven-haired beauties, even one blue-haired punk. All of them were deadly and willing to die for the sisterhood, regardless of what part of the world they came from. They pushed out of their chairs and headed for the door, the information Ivy had acquired from tapping Ricardo’s phones telling them where they needed to go. She wanted to make sure nothing happened to Ricardo and Alessandro, the two now worth something to them. They also needed to kill the Donatelli, Pedro having hired their sniper and spotter for the task.

  Ivy grabbed her sister’s arm as Menna went to follow. “Where are you going?”

  “To the task at hand.”

  “You can’t go into battle, you’re our leader now.”

  “All the more reason why I should be there.”

  “Sister, if you fall I don’t think I can complete our task. I need you more than you need me.”

  Menna placed a hand on Ivy’s cheek. “I’ll be perfectly safe; we’re shooting from afar.”

  Ivy frowned. “Every assignment has risks, and I can’t lose another sister.” The memory of seeing their oldest sister lying at the Black Russian’s feet returned. Farah had tried to kill the monster after she’d learned he was responsible for their mother’s death. But she’d gotten caught. The Black Russian had slit her throat in front of all the Vipers, using Farah as an example. It had led to a revolt, the Vipers going crazy upon seeing their commander slaughtered. Unfortunately, the Black Russian’s guards had outnumbered them. Fourteen Vipers fell that day, the rest lucky to have escaped with their lives.

  Which was why they needed the Santini. If the Vipers made an alliance with them, they could lead an army against the Black Russian—as well as the Landi, something they would do in return for the brothers’ help.

  Menna lowered her hand to Ivy’s arm. “Honestly, I’ll be fine, it’s a minimal risk assignment, plus it’ll be good for all the Vipers to be together. We need to start working as a unit again.”

  “Is this a camaraderie thing?” Ivy asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you go on this occasion.”

  Menna raised her eyebrows. “You’ll let me? Well, thank you for your permission, my liege.”

  “No need for sarcasm.” Ivy ran a hand over Menna’s stomach. “You have a future in there you must protect.”

  Menna’s face soured. “Not a future I want.”

  “Children are precious, no matter who their fathers are.”

  “I still don’t want his child—or anything to do with him.”

  Ivy understood perfectly. Menna had fallen for the Black Russian, her sister having believed the pretense he’d spun for her. The man was honey-tongued when he wanted to be, but after seeing him murder their sister, Menna’s love had turned to hate.

  “This is not the Black Russian’s child,” Ivy said, putting force into her voice. “It’s yours.”

  “But he—”

  “Is a liar and a monster, which is why you’ll settle down with Salvatore Santini. You still have time, your bump isn’t showing, and he’s got blue eyes too.”

  Menna frowned. “But he’s married, and even if he wasn’t, I can’t deceive him into thinking it’s his child, that’s if he even sleeps with me.”

  “Of course he will, and he won’t be married for much longer.” Ivy smiled. “Apparently he’s going to be a widower soon.”

  Menna’s face fell. “No, Ivy, don’t you dare kill his wife. I couldn’t go with him knowing I was the reason for her death. I’ll just choose one of the unattached brothers.”

  “But, Salvatore’s perfect for you. He’s got a quiet nature, like you, and he comes across as the most caring of the brothers. He’s strong, stands up for people, and is very good-looking; he’s also the second in command.”

  “That means nothing. He won’t want to be with anyone if his wife dies. He’ll be in mourning.”

  “And you’ll be a shoulder to cry on.”

  Menna scowled at her. “Not only are you being heartless, the Santini will kill you if you get caught.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ve got the perfect scapegoat to take the blame.”

  “You’ll still be killing an innocent.”

  Ivy made a derisive sound. “They’re all mobsters, the women included. So don’t feel guilt, and once you climb that man you’ll thank me.”

  “It’s still unnecessary. As I said, I can just choose one of the others.”

  “You won’t like the twins, they’re mafia trash, while Luciano looks weak and the other one’s a priest. Oh, yeah, there’s one more, but I don’t think you’ll want a porn star, that’s if he’s still alive. Hence, Salvatore is it.” She ran a finger over Menna’s forehead, smoothing out her frown lines. “And the plan’s already set in motion, so there’s no stopping it.”

  “You forgot about Brando. I’ll have him.”

  “He’s a D’Angelo. The mother had an affair.”

  “Then I’ll definitely have him, the D’Angelo men are beautiful.”

  “I wouldn’t bed a D’Angelo if my life depended upon it. Those bastards may be works of art, but they’re filled with so much venom that even a viper can’t compete.”

  Menna smiled. “Such a wordsmith.”

  “Well, I am the intelligent one, after all.”

  “Ha!”


  Ivy laughed. “Anyway, enough talking, it’s time for action.” She put an arm around Menna’s shoulders, steering her out to her car.

  “I’m still taking Brando,” Menna said, moving to the passenger side.

  Ivy slipped into the driver’s seat. “You always did prefer the evil ones.”

  Menna grumbled something.

  Ignoring her, Ivy fired up the engine, her sister’s wishes not changing a thing. Salvatore was made for Menna, and no one was going to tell her otherwise.

  14

  Ricardo and his soldiers approached Devil’s Pass cautiously. Although their vehicles were bulletproof, rocket-propelled grenades could still take them out, which was why he’d sent a few vehicles to survey the mountain ranges. The rocky cliffs were half a mile away on their right, unfortunately within an RPG’s range as well as other types of weapons, something he knew due to selling them. He just hoped his own weapons weren’t used against them.

  His car, and the other two, stopped in the middle of the pass, the meeting point for the exchange. Everyone remained in the vehicles, waiting for the Donatelli to arrive.

  A few minutes later, a dust storm billowed in the distance, coming from the other access road to Devil’s Pass. The Donatelli had arrived; they just better have brought his brother back unharmed.

  As agreed, three vehicles came to a halt several meters from Ricardo’s convoy. The middle one’s door opened, Alessandro falling out of it a second later. His hands and feet were tied, while his mouth was gagged. He was only wearing pants, his upper body bare. He was covered in tattoos and piercings, much more so than Dominic, Alessandro a tattooist’s canvas.

  Ricardo pushed his door open and got out, along with his soldiers. He wanted to go to his brother, but knew he couldn’t rush in. A foot emerged from the car that Alessandro had fallen out of. Matteo Donatelli appeared, followed by his soldiers. The blond bastardo smiled across at Ricardo, Matteo’s grin filled with amusement. Ricardo was surprised that the man had been given such a high position—the second only to the Donatelli Don. Not only was Matteo too young, twenty-seven at the oldest, he was also an insolent stronzo who held no respect for authority.

  Matteo pointed a gun at Alessandro’s head. “If you want your brother back minus a bullet, bring me the ransom!” he yelled out, his accent American. He’d grown up in the US with his mother, only being brought back into the Donatelli fold recently.

  Ricardo barked at his soldiers to get the ransom. Four of his men removed the containers from the vehicles, carrying them across the divide. They laid the ransom a few meters away from Matteo’s feet, then returned to Ricardo’s side.

  “Everything’s there, including the bomb you wanted,” Ricardo called out, “which my men will shoot, destroying the ransom if you try anything funny.”

  “I’m always funny, I’m a hilarious guy.”

  “Don’t wear out my patience, Matteo, you know what I mean.”

  “Then come and get your brother.”

  “No, untie him and send him to me.”

  “But I like him tied up.” Matteo grinned. “So did the priest. Oh, he liked Alessandro a lot.”

  Anger shot through Ricardo, the Donatelli priest a known sex offender of boys and men. “If you or that sick priest did anything to my brother, I will make you suffer a painful death!”

  Matteo grinned wider. “I was pulling your chain, Don. I didn’t touch him, nor did the priest. My aunty stood guard over Alessandro with a knife, threatening us if we came near him.” He started laughing. “She even stabbed the Padre in the leg when he tried to get past her. That was so funny; I almost pissed myself laughing—”

  Female screaming came from the middle car, cutting Matteo off. Next thing, a woman shot out of the opened door, followed by a Donatelli soldier. She was one of the Donatelli sisters, Andriena from memory. She wrapped her arms around Alessandro, yelling that she wanted to go with him. The soldier ripped her away from Ricardo’s brother, dragging her back into the car. Alessandro struggled to his feet, yelling at the soldier to let her go. Matteo kicked him to the ground.

  “Get your foot off him!” Ricardo yelled. “Or I’ll shoot you!”

  Matteo’s gaze flicked back to Ricardo. “Not unless you want to die.”

  “Just give me my brother.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I don’t really give a fuck.” Matteo pulled out a knife from his pocket and bent down to cut Alessandro’s foot restraints, not touching the rope around his wrists. He then rose and pointed his gun at Alessandro’s head. “Get to your feet, lover boy.”

  Alessandro pushed up, looking like he wanted to attack Matteo.

  Matteo moved behind him. “Start walking.”

  Alessandro remained still.

  “Now!”

  He went to move forward, then lurched back, going for Matteo. Matteo dropped to the ground and whipped his leg around, sweeping Alessandro’s legs out from under him, the man a known martial artist.

  Both sides raised their guns. Ricardo yelled at his soldiers not to shoot, knowing that if Matteo wanted Alessandro dead, he would’ve already done it.

  Looking angry, Matteo straightened and again pointed his gun at Alessandro’s head. “Get up and walk to your brother, and don’t do anything stupid this time, or I’ll shoot you.”

  Alessandro pushed to his feet, his face vicious, but instead of attacking Matteo again, he started walking towards Ricardo, hesitating as the Donatelli woman screamed out his name.

  “Ignore her, Alessandro,” Ricardo called out. “They won’t hurt her. She’s one of them.”

  “Not at heart,” Alessandro called back, “and she wants to come with me.”

  “That’s not your choice to make.” His mind went to Ghita. “The last time we tried to help a Donatelli woman, she was murdered. So, leave her, she’ll be safer with her own famiglia.”

  “I will protect her.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Matteo yelled. “This isn’t Romeo and Juliet, so fuck off, so I can leave.”

  Alessandro threw Matteo a glare.

  “Just come here, Alessandro,” Ricardo said. “Our madre needs you.”

  Alessandro breathed out, then resumed walking. As he neared Ricardo, the Donatelli soldier next to Matteo fell backwards. In that split second, realization struck Ricardo. A sniper had taken out the Donatelli, because the shot hadn’t come from his men. Not knowing whether it was the Landi or someone else, he shoved Alessandro towards his car, yelling, “Sniper!”

  But it was too late, the Donatelli reaching a different conclusion. One of the Donatelli soldiers started firing on Ricardo’s soldiers. In turn, they fired back, while others ran for cover. The sound of a rocket caught Ricardo’s attention. An RPG flew through the air, hitting the Donatelli vehicle at the rear. Matteo launched himself into the car next to him, which took off a second later, its tires kicking up a storm of dust as it sped away. Ricardo pulled out his gun and fired upon a Donatelli soldier who was shooting at his men. Another RPG shot through the air. Ricardo swore, the flash of the rocket heading for the Donatelli car holding the weapons—which included the bomb.

  Ricardo turned for his car, yelling, “Take cover!”

  The Donatelli car exploded; the bomb and the RPG combined sending the stored bullets spraying everywhere. Ricardo felt two thud into him; one in his shoulder, the other—

  ***

  Ivy peered through the binoculars from the mountain range, yelling out as Ricardo went down. She’d seen the Donatelli put the weaponry box into the car, and damn well knew her sniper had been told. She dropped the binoculars and jumped up, stalking over to the sniper, who was lying on her stomach, holding the rocket launcher—and grinning from ear to ear.

  “You bitch!” Ivy yelled.

  Kennedy turned to Ivy, her smile so wide it looked like the blonde’s head was going to split in two. Beyond furious, Ivy stomped on her, causing Kennedy to cry out. The other Vipers jumped up and went for Ivy as she raised her foot again, two of them grabbing her bef
ore she could stomp on Kennedy a second time. Two more rushed to Kennedy’s aid. The sniper shook them off and rose to her feet. With an angry glare, she lunged for Ivy, her blue eyes blazing. Ivy kicked out, getting Kennedy in the stomach. She ripped free from the women holding her and kicked Kennedy again, sending her flying into D, the two crashing to the ground. Ivy stalked over to Kennedy, sick of the blonde bitch. Kennedy constantly went against orders, doing whatever the hell she wanted.

  “If Ricardo’s dead, I’m going to kill you!” Ivy yelled.

  Kennedy pushed up and went for her again, yelling obscenities at her. Ivy whipped to the side and kicked her in the back of the legs, sending Kennedy crashing onto her front. She was a much better fighter, Kennedy not having a chance.

  Ivy yelled out, taken by surprise as Kennedy swept her feet out from under her. As she hit the ground, Kennedy launched herself on top Ivy, getting her in a neck lock. The sniper was an accomplished wrestler, but still not fucking good enough to beat her.

  Ivy wrapped her legs around Kennedy and rolled her onto her side. She head-butted her chin, making the sniper let go of her neck. Disentangling herself, she pushed up and glared down at Kennedy, who was holding her chin in pain. “The next time you go against me,” Ivy spat. “I won’t take it so easy on you.”

  D grabbed Kennedy’s arms and helped her up. Although Kennedy’s face was bloodied, the woman looked more angry than in pain. She went for Ivy again, the stupid bitch not learning a thing, but lucky for her D yanked her back.

  “Stop it, K!” D snapped, struggling with Kennedy. D was stronger than Kennedy, but she still looked like she was having trouble holding her friend back. The sniper and her spotter were the only two Americans in the group, Kennedy blonde and D Black-American with some Hispanic heritage.

  “Just let me go!” Kennedy hollered.

  “Not until you promise you won’t attack her again.”

  “I promise!”

  D let go of her. Kennedy kept her word, although she looked like she wanted to kill Ivy.

  Ivy crossed her arms over her chest. “Why did you break your orders?”