“Yeah.”
“Don’t tell me where.”
“I wasn’t going to. I have to go.”
“Check in with me. Please. And if you need me—”
“I won’t. Go be with your family.”
“I love you, brother.”
Fuck. How could those words impact me now? Seven years later?
“I have to go.” I disconnected the call before I said something stupid. Before I had to eat the words I’d fed Gia and stand the fool.
First thing I needed to do was get Gia out of there.
I had no delusions about what that would mean for me. I was stealing from Victor Scava. Possibly from his uncle, Angus, the head of the Scava family. Either would kill me for what I was about to do.
But according to what Gia told me, Victor at least knew where we were. He’d sent us here to this cabin. I’d used it before. Eight times, to be precise. So he’d been the one who’d hired me all those times. But did he know I was once Dominic Benedetti? If he did, would he have sent Gia to me with our brand marking her body? Or was it just that? Had he sent her, intending for me to find it?
For a moment I entertained the idea of taking her to Franco. Of reminding him of his pledge to keep her and her family safe. But then, I live in the real world. Family comes before any pledge and ultimately, Roman was family. He was his brother-in-law. Gia was the daughter of a dead foot soldier and the sister of a snitch.
Either Victor Scava branded and killed Mateo Castellano and left it to look like Roman’s work, or he’d taken the order from Roman to kill him. Would Victor take an order from Roman? No. No fucking way. And no way Roman would tell him to brand his fucking name on the dead man. He was much too clever for that.
The two families didn’t deal with each other. There wasn’t a rivalry; they didn’t share territory. But was there some sort of allegiance? A secret pact? And had something gone wrong for Victor to want Roman out badly enough he’d send a message that could make Roman’s own family turn on him?
Ultimately, Roman wasn’t head of the Benedetti family. How could he be if he wasn’t even a Benedetti? When I’d found out Salvatore had handed the entire operation over to him, I’d felt so angry. The Benedetti throne did not belong to him. Hell, it belonged less to him than me. He was the usurper.
Then what the hell was I if he was that? I was cut from the same cloth. It’d be good for me to remember that. The Benedetti name did not belong to me either. And ultimately, I’d bring it down. I wanted to end the Benedetti crime family. End their rule. Shove their noses into the dirt.
But I had to admit, it still burned. The thought that he, my uncle, was head of the family I’d so wanted to rule. It fucking burned.
After packing my few things into a duffel bag, I chose a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants for Gia to wear on the drive. She’d swim in the clothes, but it was better than being naked. I’d get her something that fit as soon as I could. Right now, we had to move. I didn’t know if Scava would come for her early. Take her to auction himself. Hell, fucking put a bullet in her head for all I knew. Victor Scava was a son of a bitch.
I entered her room and found her standing by the window, trying to peer out from between the slats.
She turned to face me, pressing her back against the wall when she did so, panic widening her eyes like it did every time I walked in. I studied her, trying to keep my attention on her face, not wanting to remember the things I’d done to her. Trying instead to focus on her eyes, her defiant, beautiful, sad, terrified eyes.
“Get dressed.” I tossed the clothes on the bed. “We’re leaving.”
It took her a minute to comprehend what I’d said.
“Where are we going?”
“Away from here. Hurry up.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“I…is it time? Is the two weeks up?”
I was confused for a moment, then realized she thought it was time to go to auction. “No. We’re leaving this place. I’m not taking you to the auction.”
“Then where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe.”
She studied me, uncertain.
“Let’s go. Unless you want to stay here and wait for someone to come find you. It could be today or a few days from now when you don’t show up at auction, but they will come, and I don’t want to be here when they do. Now I don’t mind you naked—in fact, I prefer it—but you might be more comfortable wearing clothes, seeing as how it’s freezing out there.”
“Why would you help me?”
She moved toward the clothes on the bed. I met her there and uncuffed her wrists, taking the restraints. She pulled the hoodie over her head. I watched it fall almost to her knees.
“Because you’re going to help me. I don’t like Victor Scava, and I think he’s playing games.” I left out the part about the games being played against my family. I did that for two reasons. First, I didn’t want her to know who I was, and second, I couldn’t figure out why I still considered the Benedetti family as my own.
Gia put the pants on and pulled them up. She had to bunch them up and hold them in place so they wouldn’t slide off. She then stood there, looking at me, waiting.
“These will be too big, but it’s just until we get to the truck.”
She slid into the pair of boots I set on the floor. She looked a little ridiculous, but I liked her in my clothes.
I stepped aside and gestured for her to follow.
She moved, uncertainly at first, then more assuredly, in a hurry to get out of the room. Just as she passed me, I grabbed her arm and made her stop.
“Just one thing. You do as you’re told or else. You need me to survive right now. I’m the only person who can keep you safe from Scava. Don’t fuck with me. We clear?”
“I don’t like you, Dominic, and I trust you even less, but I do know you hold the key to my freedom, so I promise not to fuck with you, okay?” she said, trying to free herself.
I tugged harder and leaned in close, close enough that the scruff on my jaw brushed against her soft cheek as I inhaled, then cupped her face so we stood nose to nose. “You’ve got a smart mouth, but I like it better put to other uses.”
She jerked her face from my hand.
“Don’t mistake me for a pussy, Gia,” I said, shaking her once. “I’m doing this for me, not for you.”
I grabbed the duffel bag with my clothes and computer, and we walked out of the cabin.
10
Gia
Dominic drove the SUV with its black-tinted windows through a narrow opening out of the woods, leaving the cabin behind us. I looked back at it as we bounced along, shuddering at the feeling it gave me, like a decrepit, abandoned, haunted place. Maybe it was haunted. Maybe the ghosts of the girls who’d gone before me lingered in that terrible cabin.
I physically shook. Dominic glanced at me, his expression looking as if he were deep in thought, so deep my involuntary movement seemed to surprise him.
“The heating will kick in soon,” he said, returning his attention to the dirt road.
He thought I shook with cold. No. It was terror that still gripped me with its long, icy fingers.
“What’s changed?” I asked. What had happened between yesterday and today? And was he stealing from Victor now by taking me away from the cabin? What did that mean for him? For me? What use could he possibly have for me?
“What do you mean?”
“Why are we leaving? Why are you helping me?”
“I’m not. I’m helping myself.”
“What game is Victor playing with you?”
“I don’t know just yet.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand. You just need to be grateful.”
“Where are we going?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“If you answer one, maybe I’ll stop asking.”
“Smart-ass.”
“Bully.”
“And he’ll find out when I don’t show up at auction?”
He nodded and turned the SUV onto a lonely paved road. I saw a sign for a highway twenty-six miles away.
“Franco Benedetti promised my father he would protect Mateo and I when my father died.”
“Did he?”
Dominic didn’t sound surprised. “Maybe I should go to him.”
“Because he did a bang-up job protecting your brother?”
“You have a point.” I was silent for a moment. “How many days until I would have gone to auction?”
“Eight.”
“What’s the date?” I didn’t even know that.
“Eleventh of January.”
“They killed Mateo the day after Christmas.” They’d come for me that same morning. That meant I’d been held captive for more than two weeks.
Dominic didn’t respond. We rode in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts, until we merged onto the highway. It was still early morning, and there were only a few other cars on the road besides us. A sign told me there was a McDonald’s at the next rest stop.
“I’m really hungry,” I said. “Can we get some food?”
He glanced at me like food was the last thing on his mind.
“Please?”
He put on his blinker, and we took the exit. He rode slowly up to the drive-through window.
“If you try anything, Gia—”
“I won’t. I already told you at the cabin. I want Victor Scava. I’m not fool enough to believe I can get to him on my own.” It was true. I had to be realistic. Dominic’s hatred of Victor meant we had a common enemy. He was taking me away from Victor. I didn’t fool myself into thinking Dominic was good, not by any means, but as long as our goals lined up, Dominic was the lesser of two evils.
He nodded. “What do you want?” he asked when we got to the menu board.
“Everything.” I felt greedy as I scanned the options. “But I’ll settle for a sausage egg McMuffin and a big cup of coffee.”
Dominic ordered, taking a sandwich and a coffee for himself as well. He gave me one more warning glance as we drove to the drive-through pick-up window.
I just held up my two hands and shook my head. I wouldn’t do anything. Getting away from him may have been smart—getting to the police even smarter—but if I wanted revenge for Mateo’s death, I needed to stick this out. I needed Dominic.
I watched the girl in the window when she saw him. Saw how her eyes widened and her smile grew, and for reasons I could not understand, I felt a jealousy in my core. An anger at her boldness. But when Dominic then began to flirt with her that anger boiled. I roughly grabbed the bags from him, and he made a joke to the girl as she handed him our coffees.
“I don’t mess with her when she’s hungry.”
He winked at her as she gave me a sideways glance.
“She has sharp teeth and a sharper tongue.”
The girl giggled like a fool. I only glared at him. Finally, we drove off.
“Why did you flirt with her?”
He bit into his sandwich. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t. I just don’t like being made fun of.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “This is good. I haven’t had McDonald’s since I was a kid. My mother only allowed it when we went on vacations.”
I glanced at him. It was hard to imagine him as a kid with a mother. The SUV bounced over a dip in the road just as I brought the cup to my mouth. The scalding liquid burned my tongue. Damn.
“How many girls have you sent to auction?”
He only glanced my way but didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his attention back to the road.
“Let me ask you something else. This isn’t Victor’s first time hiring you, is it?”
He shook his head.
“Does his uncle know?”
“I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t like him much.” He didn’t. Angus Scava could hardly stand Victor, but he had to put up with him. There was no one else to take over the family reins. “He’d been readying James to take over the family. But then James was killed.”
“He was shot, correct?”
I nodded. “On his way home from a meeting he’d gone to in place of his father.”
Dominic’s eyebrows seemed locked in a permanent furrow, but he seemed to be a man used to shielding his thoughts. The momentary flash of vulnerability I saw in his eyes was gone like it had never been there in the first place.
“The Scava’s are a powerful family. James’ grandfather was killed much the same way as he was. He had a sister who died in a car crash. I know Mrs. Scava had miscarried twice. James was the only direct survivor. Bad luck.”
“Not bad luck. They’re a leading crime family. They have enemies. The more powerful you are the more hated you are.”
“You seem to know a lot about this.”
He glanced my way. “I’ve been around. What about your family?”
“The men have been foot soldiers for as long as I can remember. I don’t think many make it past fifty. So fucking stupid. Such a waste.”
“How did you meet James Scava?”
“At a party being used as cover for a meeting. My father had gone as Mr. Benedetti’s bodyguard. I’d been invited to come along. Mateo hadn’t been there. He’d been at school. He was getting out of the life, making a new start.”
“Go on.” he said.
I realized I’d stopped talking. I didn’t know when I’d stopped missing James. He’d been so good, so caring, so protective of me.
“I’d just turned twenty. His birthday was one day after mine. He was thirty, older than I usually dated, but we hit it off.”
“And you knew who he was, what he did, and still fell for him?”
“He shielded me from that side of things. So had my father. I never saw it. And it’s easy to pretend it’s not happening when it’s someone you love whose hands are bloodied.”
Dominic took a bite of his sandwich. “They never found his killer.”
“How do you know so much?”
“It was in the news.”
“Mr. Scava believed it was a rival family, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Victor had his dirty hands in it.”
“That’s quite the accusation.”
“It’s not an accusation if it’s truth.”
“Be careful, Gia.”
“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”
“Tell me how Mateo got involved with Victor.”
“When my dad was killed, Mateo came back for mom and me. He wanted to be sure we were cared for, protected. He didn’t listen to me when I told him to go back to school, that we’d be fine. And then he started to work for Victor. I wasn’t sure at first. If I’d known what Victor was up to, I would have gone to Mr. Scava, but I didn’t know until it was too late.”
“Are you sure Angus Scava isn’t already involved?”
“I’m telling you, he wouldn’t have done this to me. He would never have let Victor…” I broke off, remembering those nights when Victor tormented me, scared the fuck out of me.
“Your mom, where is she now?”
“She was spending time with her sister near Palermo. I don’t know how much she knows. I need to talk to her.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“But—”
“Not now, Gia. Let me think this through. I’m sure she doesn’t want two dead kids to bury.”
That made me stop. He was right. “Victor was always jealous of James. I’d go so far as to say he hated him.” I drank the last of the now lukewarm coffee and turned to him. “How long is the drive?” I didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
“A few more hours.”
“Then what?”
“Then I’m going to find out what the hell is going on.”
“What about me?”
“You do as you’re told, Gia, and I won’t have to hurt you.”
“Did you know Mateo?” I asked out of the blue, remembering that sense of familiarity, that moment I’d thought I’d met him before.
“No.”
He wouldn’t look at me. Why didn’t I believe him? And why would he lie?
“You won’t hurt me,” I said, not sure why I said it.
“Sharing a common enemy does not make us friends.”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know I’m not taking you to the auction? Don’t you think it’d be easier for me to transport a cooperative slave?”
He gave me a moment to process that before continuing.
“Quiet now. I need to think.”
Fine. I needed to think too. I needed to figure out how I would proceed. As much as I wanted to kill Victor outright, wasn’t it smarter for me to use the evidence Mateo had collected and turn it over to the feds? I still knew where the copy of the recorded conversations were: safe and sound in plain sight. What then, though? Go into witness protection and live in hiding for the rest of my life? Could I trust Mateo’s contact? Should I go to Angus Scava, or was Dominic right? That he could be involved too? That he could have ordered Mateo’s murder, my kidnapping? Was I naive to think he’d stand by me rather than his own family, even if he did hate Victor? What was I to him? Nothing. Not now that James was gone.
I needed to think. To figure out what to do. How to proceed. How to make Victor pay and stay alive in the process.
I needed to figure out how to manage my captor, how to align his goals to mine, and ultimately, I’d need to figure out how to escape him. I had no doubt his hands were as bloody as Victor’s, and I couldn’t forget that, no matter how attracted I was to him.
11
Dominic
Gia fell asleep sometime in the next hour, leaving me in blessed silence as I drove toward Salvatore’s house.
My house.
All my thoughts led to the same place: I needed to figure out the extent of Roman’s involvement, and he was involved. Everything in my gut told me so. Every instinct told me he and Victor were partners in this secret endeavor, at least to some degree.
Dominic: a Dark Mafia Romance (Benedetti Brothers Book 2) Page 9
