Hard Knight: Dark Mafia Romance

by Faye Pierce

  “There’s a special place in hell for people like you. I hope you burn for eternity. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I’m doing this to appease you. We both know what you did in the past was wrong. Crossing that line brought my business to a standstill for several months while I unraveled the mess you made. Profits don’t outweigh having a conscience,” I mention when I realized there is only a dial tone.

  “Don’t tell me you are seriously considering this insanity. He already told you he’s going to kill her first before he turns his attention to you. Going there is stupid.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, but I have to do this,” I say with hands shaking.

  It doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to talk you out of this madness. Tell me what you’re going to do. This is not up for debate,’ Leo says.

  “I don’t have to tell you anything. I call the shots around here,” I say.

  Where is this meeting taking place?” Leo inquires when he suddenly finds himself staring down the barrel of my gun.

  “Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I can’t have you interfering.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Leo replies, his hand inching toward the holster under his arm.

  “I don’t have to explain myself. I’m the boss. This is no joke. Keep your hands where I can see them at all times,” I say while searching around my desk.

  I’m looking for something particular until I have my hand on it.

  I keep it out of sight, keeping the gun pointing at him with my finger on the trigger. I hate myself for treating him like the enemy. But, there is no other way.

  I stand behind him, watching for any movement but he remains fixated on my desk.

  “We can do this together. I can come up with a plan. Nobody has to be killed on my watch. We both know sentiment doesn’t have a place in business. You can still stop this before you go too far,” Leo persists.

  “This isn’t a democracy. I can’t have you making things worse. Everything depends on following his directions to the letter. I’ll leave you instructions after you wake up with a nasty headache,” I reply as the cold and unforgiving handle comes down on the back of his neck.

  His head falls forward with his chin touching his chest. I lift him by the hair to ensure he’s not playing possum to get the upper hand. There’s no sign of any deception.

  I handcuff him for good measure.

  He won’t be out of commission for long. I have to move fast. I might have all the power, but his word goes a long way with the guards. I won’t get very far if he decides to take action to keep me safe. It’s what I pay him for. He’s also my friend.

  Armed with the gun, I leave the house.

  The guards don’t even hesitate to open the gates to wave me through. The only person who questions my authority is presently unconscious, but he won’t remain that way for long. I press my foot pressed down on the accelerator.

  It isn’t long before I arrive at a dirt road with a barricade in place. A man waits for me with his gun drawn, motioning for me to come closer. He easily finds the gun. The one he holds nudges my back with the barrel pressing in deep enough to make me gasp.

  I walk toward the lodge with my hands in the air when I see Hugo smiling like an idiot at the door. His hair is cut short, with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up. He has a salt and pepper beard. Jail hasn’t been kind.

  Giving myself up is the only option. I just have to string him along by using words instead of my fists.

  “I would say it was nice to see you again, but I’d be biting my tongue the entire time. It’s interesting to see how the mighty has fallen. Right this way, old friend,” he insists.

  Valeria

  I have this nagging suspicion the ambush is meant to draw out Caspian from hiding in his fortress.

  Waking up with a huge bump, on the top of my head is hard to make sense of. Being a little dizzy comes with the territory of the trauma inflicted.

  “It looks like the reunion is complete. Caspian is here to save the day. But, don’t kid yourself. He’s not mounting any kind of rescue. My name is Hugo. We have a long and storied history, but I won’t bore you with the details,” the strange man in front of me says.

  Caspian enters tethered to a rope and is then hung from a hook on the ceiling until he can barely touch the floor.

  “Don’t worry about anything. I won’t let Hugo hurt you,” he calls out from a few feet away.

  “You shouldn’t have surrendered for me. That’s exactly what he wants,” I answer with my mouth dry and my tongue sticking to my lips.

  “She does make a good point. I’ve been thinking about it. I can’t in good conscience kill her. She’s going to die but not right away,” Hugo says with this huge grin on his face.

  Caspian sighs with relief. “I’m sure we can work this out. I can pay you whatever you want to disappear to parts unknown. You can live out the rest of your life someplace tropical where the temperature doesn’t dip any further than 12° in the evening.”

  “It is a tempting offer, but it’s not like you can really fulfill your promise. When the two of you are dead, I will take over your business, and nobody will question me. I don’t think you understand what I meant but let me try to clear things up for you,” Hugo says while advancing toward me until he’s cracking his knuckles and holding me by the hair.

  “What’s with the bruises and cuts on her head and arms? I thought we had an understanding,” Caspian shoots back.

  “That was unavoidable. She’s a bit of a fighter. I wasn’t expecting that kind of resistance. I can see why you fell hopelessly in love with her. That’s the reason why I can’t just kill her without having a little bit of fun first. You’re going to witness the heinous and despicable things I’m going to do to her body,” Hugo breaths into my face as he kneels at my feet.

  Two men stand at the door, ready to intervene.

  I only wish that I had a gun. Then they wouldn’t have been able to take me that easily. Some still carry the scars of the attack with my fingers digging into their flesh.

  Hugo unties me. He spreads my legs with the dress riding high. His fingers creep closer, and I can see Caspian fuming mad, practically foaming at the mouth. He wants to scream, but one of the men holds his hand over his mouth, preventing him from doing so.

  “I want you to scream as loud as you can,” Hugo sputters with his finger touching my panties, his face a picture of lust.

  He licks his lips and stands to attention with a sizable lump in his pants. He unbuckles his belt and unzips until I see the briefs. He will rape me in front of my husband to twist the knife further into his stomach.

  “I’m appalled and sickened by the whole thing. I want to spit in his face.

  “This is going to hurt you a lot more than it’s going to hurt me,” he sneers.

  “I wouldn’t bet on that,” I say.

  He looks back at his men with a knowing stare.

  Two of them approach the hanging form of Caspian brandishing brass knuckles. They proceed to pummel him while Hugo is using my husband’s grunts to fuel his libido.

  He lifts my legs until my body is suspended around his waist, with his cock slowly unfurling down his leg. He reaches in and extracts the weapon he will use to put the final nail in my husband’s coffin.

  My hands are still restrained, but the ropes have loosened considerably as he pulls me about. The head of his member nudges at my panties in frustration. He’s trying to angle it in just the right way, but he only manages to bunch up the material making it impossible to breach.

  Hugo’s too fixed on having his way with me to notice my hands are free. I need to make my move. The ropes break free, and my legs lock at the ankles, bringing him down toward me with my head making direct contact with the bridge of his nose. There’s a loud cracking noise, and he rolls off of me, cursing and bleeding profusely, the blood spilling in abundance through his fingers.

  I look around – I need some kind of weapon. A fire poker lays le
ss than a couple of feet away from me. Using all my strength, I reach forward and grab it – then turn, swinging it in a wide arc. It catches the left side of his face and knocks him backward, cutting into his skin and leaving a permanent reminder of his attempt to take me by force.

  Caspian bites the hand covering his mouth and uses his feet to push against the man holding him into an exposed beam hard enough to crack his spine. I watch him as he thrashes around, loosening the ropes on his wrists.

  Hugo is too distracted and dazed by his broken nose and blow to the head to offer up any kind of resistance.

  I rush toward Caspian, but the ropes give before I get there. He wrestles with one of the men, and I hold my breath as a gun is fired.

  I look up – Hugo’s man is injured with the bullet taking half his ear. He screams in agony while trying to apply pressure to stop the flow of blood.

  I use this moment to race over to Caspian. He pulls me quickly to the ground and rolls us over until his body is shielding me.

  There’s an almighty crack, and I peer through Caspian’s arm to see glass shattering in three different directions. It’s like a scene from a big-budget movie – but this time, it’s for real.

  I see smoke - the room is suddenly filled with tear gas as Leo storms in wearing a gas mask and holding a gun with several of his men following. They hand us masks before turning their attention to Hugo and his men.

  A few shots, and it’s over - bodies dropping with sickening thuds. My eyes are burning from the tear gas. It could’ve been worse.

  Hugo and the rest of his men are quickly captured and detained for the authorities.

  It’s a surprisingly quick and interesting turn of events.

  “We’ll talk about what you did back at the house later. I’m just glad you’re in one piece. Let’s get you out of here. Do you require medical assistance?” Leo asks.

  “I’m fine. I’m not going to apologize. How did you find me? Caspian asks.

  “I have trackers on all the vehicles. Let’s get the two of you out of here,” Leo says.

  “I do have one piece of business before we leave.”

  Caspian walks over to where two of the guards are holding Hugo. “I don’t blame you for coming after me. I can’t condone coming after my wife. That demands some kind of retribution.”

  He punches him in the stomach three times and then levels a right cross that knocks one of his teeth out. I don’t know why but it excites me to see this pugilistic display.

  Hugo grunts his response but doesn’t say anything during the exchange. They both share a deep-seated hatred for each other.

  I can see the fire settling in his eyes as he walks back toward me.” I’m glad you’re okay. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if something happened to you.”

  “I was so scared, but I knew you were here with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he says.

  Caspian wraps his warm, strong hands around me.

  I wrap his knuckle in a handkerchief I’ve stolen from Leo’s pocket, and we walk away without looking back.

  Epilogue

  Caspian

  The next few days are spent tying up loose ends.

  Those that have aligned with Hugo are in for a rude awakening. Some have the option of making it up to me, but others fail to see what they did was wrong.

  Their bodies will never be seen again. Their families will be left wondering what happened to them, but secretly they’ll know the business has caught up with them. These are not innocent men – they have to pay for their crimes one way or another.

  Leo walks in and smugly lays down a photograph. It’s a bit old-school, but I appreciate the nostalgia of polaroids. It’s better than having something on the Internet.

  This is tangible, and I can easily see the fear in the man’s eyes sitting in the chair.

  “It’s taken a little longer than expected. Finally, we were able to cut off the head of the snake. The rest tried to scurry and protect themselves, but there’s always a paper trail. Our hackers did a fantastic job of following the money. Hugo was good at many things but covering his financial tracks wasn’t one of them,” Leo says while tapping the photograph.

  I’m physically and mentally exhausted. Being housebound isn’t my idea of fun.

  The doctor was adamant that I shouldn’t move for at least five days until my ribs had a chance to heal. It’s taken me away from my wife, but we still see each other at breakfast and dinner when there is a calm moment. It’s nice to be with her.

  Valeria steps into the room and points at the calendar on the wall, specifically a date circled in bold red ink.

  The five days of recuperating are over. We can be together.

  “The fires have been put out. There might be a spark from time to time, but I’ll be there to extinguish them before it escalates,” Leo adds.

  “I’m glad to hear that. One thing I take from all of this is that I need to be a little more flexible. It’s not going to be easy, and I’m going to depend on you a lot more. I think I’m going to retire for the evening. It’s been one of those days,” I reply with my eyes locked on my wife.

  Leo gives me a knowing wink before leaving and closing the door behind him.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you,” she says.

  “I’m glad to see you,” I smile.

  “I hope everything is alright.”

  “I’ve learned something very important during all of this. Don’t say anything until I finish,” I say with a gesture for her to sit down.

  She surprises me when she leans against the desk with her legs spread a little.

  Being a ruthless boss with no wiggle room to hear different opinions has caused me to lose focus on what’s important. Family comes first over everything.

  I was wrong to think of her as a convenient way to bring our families together.

  It’s more than that. She makes me smile. I don’t want to lose her, but I can’t hold on to her in the same way.

  “I’m willing to concede things haven’t been good between us. It’s taken me a long time to realize I need you in my life. I’m not just talking about in my bed. It will be difficult to change, but I’m willing to do it for you. I don’t necessarily agree there’s a better way to do things, but I’m willing to entertain ideas,” I say.

  “Are you sure about this? I’m not going to hold my tongue,” Valeria says.

  “You didn’t sign up for this insanity. The door is right there. I don’t even want to consider this, but I had my lawyer draw up this document. In layman’s terms, it’s divorce papers and only requires your signature,” I say with a deep breath.

  “I thought divorce was what I wanted, but I’m not sure it is anymore. Being with you has been exciting. I need that chaos in my life, but I also need something else. I’ll stay married to you, but it comes with one condition,” Valeria says as she steps around in front of me and places her foot in my lap.

  She’s getting dangerously close to turning up the heat.

  “I’m not sure how I feel about you having a career, but I don’t see anything wrong with that as long as you follow some necessary precautions. It means there’ll always be security nearby, but he’ll try to remain invisible. Who said a girl can’t have everything?” I say with a gasp when she begins massaging my arousal until I can’t think straight.

  “I’m glad to hear you say that,” she says.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? You did point at the calendar when you came in,” I tease.

  “Five days is a long time to wait. We should take advantage of this window while we still can. The serenity and solitude aren’t going to last forever,” she states with her tongue moving around the shape of her mouth.

  I know how to take a hint better than anybody. She’s not exactly subtle about her intention, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. She knows what buttons to push to get me to jump to attention, evident by the throbbing between my
legs.

  She steps back and looks at me, and extends her hand. I lead her upstairs to the threshold of the bedroom, where the magic happens.

  Holding her hands to my chest – I look deeply into her eyes. “This is what you do to me every time I see you. It’s hard for me to imagine a woman like you wanting to be with me. What I’m trying to say is that you’re always going to be in some form of danger being with me. This is your last chance to bow out gracefully. There won’t be any hard feelings,” I say with my heart pumping wildly.

  For a moment, I’m afraid she’s going to take me up on my offer.