The Killer's New Obsession: A Possessive Mafia Romance

by Hamel, B. B.

  “Most,” she said. “The ones I recognize are good people. The others, I can’t speak for.”

  “Fair enough,” I said and let out a breath. I had slight nerves, but I pushed them aside, and approached Anna and the two girls with her.

  Anna stood up, beaming. “I wondered if you’d come,” she said.

  Sasha ran ahead and hugged her. “I thought maybe you got yourself killed.”

  “Oh, no, not me,” Anna said. “I’m a survivor, remember?” She let go of Sasha and gave me a look. “Although your men haven’t exactly been gentlemen.”

  I cocked my head. “Anyone touch you?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “No, of course not. But they drink too much and gamble all night. Keeps me awake.”

  “I’ll talk to them,” I said, relaxing a bit. I didn’t think Linc or the others would be stupid enough to try something on this girl, but you could never be sure when it came to mafioso.

  Irene stood next to me, stiff and uncomfortable. She glanced at Anna and Sasha, then at the other girls, scanning across the park toward the other groups. Anna followed her gaze and her grin got bigger.

  “I brought more than you expected, I bet,” she said. “I tried to keep it small, but more girls kept wanting to get involved.”

  “How many are there now?” Irene asked.

  “Twenty,” Anna said.

  I let out a sharp laugh. “Twenty?” I asked. “You’re kidding?”

  “Not kidding,” Anna said.

  Sasha beamed proudly. “Told you, these bitches are powerful,” she said, and punched Anna in the arm.

  Anna grunted, rubbing at the spot. “More like angry,” she said, and gestured for the two girls to join her. One was blonde with very dark eyebrows, and the other was a brunette with her hair up in a tight braid. Both were pretty in an almost severe way with tight outfits, high heels, and scowls like they wanted to burn the place down. “This is Vera and Lara,” she said, gesturing at them. “They’ve been a lot of help.”

  “You’re the big strong mafia guy, huh?” The blonde girl, Vera, stepped up to me, arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her lips. “Anna says you want to help us kill the Healy pigs.”

  “Easy,” Anna said. “He’s on our side.”

  “None of them are on our side,” Lara said, nudging up against Vera. “Unless he gives us guns. Then he’s okay.”

  “Guns are coming,” Sasha said. “I promise you that.”

  Vera seemed skeptical and she draped an arm over Lara’s shoulders. “Me and my sister, we want big guns. Very, very big funs.”

  I grimaced slightly. Sisters, fucking hell. Forced to sleep with men for money together. I could only imagine how messed up that was and truly didn’t want to know the details of whatever sick shit the Healys forced on them. Irene tensed at my side and I guessed she had the same thought.

  “You’ll get guns,” I said. “But first I need to make sure you can use them.”

  “Point and shoot,” Vera said, making a barrel with her finger. “Bang, bang. Not so hard.”

  “There’s more to it than that,” Anna said softly.

  “We’ll teach you,” I said, approaching the sisters. Both girls glared at me defiantly. “We’ll have to start with these outfits though.”

  “What, you don’t like this?” Lara gestured at herself. “I look hot. Healy boys love it.”

  I pushed her shoulder. Not hard, but enough to make her stumble in those stupidly high heels. “You need practical shoes,” I said.

  “Dick,” Lara said, and both sisters glared death at me.

  I looked out at the other skinny, exhausted, scared-looking girls and wondered if I was making a massive mistake. Giving them weapons and sending them off to die fighting real mafia guys wasn’t going to accomplish anything, and would only get them hurt. These girls couldn’t fight even if they wanted to.

  Anna stepped up next to me. “They’re ready,” she said firmly, face set. “I swear. I talked to them, and they’re serious.”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  Sasha came next. “I’ll beat the fucking shit out of you if you try to back down now,” she said, glaring at me.

  “Big man’s getting cold feet, huh?” Vera asked, grinning wickedly. “Of course, big strong mafia man, scared of some girls in short skirts and high heels.”

  “Typical man,” Lara said.

  I ignored the sisters. “Willing to fight is one thing, able to fight is another. Half these girls look strung out.”

  “What do you expect?” Anna asked. “Half these girls are strung out. And they’ll stay strung out if they don’t fight.”

  “Cam.” I looked back at Irene, who stood a few feet away, hands clasped behind her back. She stared at me with a fire in her eyes. “We’re doing this. Don’t back out now.”

  I sucked in a breath and let it out. “All right,” I said and looked down at Anna. “You have to teach them. I’ll get you equipment, and you figure out how to teach these girls how to shoot without tipping the Healy family off.”

  “I don’t know how the hell we’ll do that,” she said.

  “Bring them to the mansion,” Sasha said, waving a hand in the air. “They’ll love it! Sit by the pool, take a little dip, shoot some guns. It’s great.”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Anna said, shrugging. “Nowhere to shoot in the city, not while hiding from the Healys.”

  “And how are they going to get out there, assuming the Don allows this?” I asked.

  “They get time off to go into town,” Anna said. “Not a lot, but they do. They’ll grab an Uber, act like they’re going into Center City to do some shopping, then grab a cab and take it back out to the mansion. The Healy family doesn’t follow them. The girls know what happens if they don’t come back.”

  “Shit,” I said, and looked up at the sky. “I’m going to have to ask Don Valentino if I can train a bunch of hookers how to shoot in his back yard.”

  Sasha patted me on the back. “Cheer up. At least they’re hot.”

  I shook my head. “For some reason, that doesn’t help.” I turned away and walked back to Irene. “Make the plans,” I said.

  “Will do, captain,” Anna said. “Should we start tomorrow?”

  I nodded and waved. Sasha caught up with me as I rejoined Irene, and the three of us walked slowly back through the crowds toward my car. “This is never going to work,” I said.

  Sasha glared at me. “You set this in motion,” she said. “And now you want to stop it?”

  “I don’t want to stop it,” I said, “but you saw those girls back there. Half of them won’t be able to hold a damn gun, let alone kill a man. And now I’m supposed to sneak them out to the Don’s mansion for training.” I shook my head and looked at Irene. “I’m sorry, but we’ve got to find another way.”

  Sasha grabbed my arm and held it hard. A group of runners had to split up to get around us. We stood near a tunnel that cut through a hill, and people walked all around, strolling with loved ones, blissfully unaware of the war that was simmering in the city.

  “Listen to me,” she said, staring up into my eyes like she wasn’t some little tiny thing. “I’m saying this once. We’re not backing down. You got those girls out here, which means you got their hopes up. You have no clue what that means for them.”

  “I know what it’s like to lose hope,” I said, staring back at her.

  “No, you don’t,” Irene said, and we both looked at her.

  She stared down at the ground for a long moment, fidgeting with her shirt, before meeting my eyes. She looked exhausted and terrified, but her jaw was set, and she took a step closer to me.

  “I lost hope out there,” she said. “When I was living day to day, hoping for my next meal, I lost hope. And I’ll tell you right now, I still haven’t gotten it back yet, and I think I’d kill to believe in something, even a little bit.”

  “You sure that’s worth putting them through all this?” I asked. “One slip-up, one
unlucky mistake, and it’s finished.”

  “It’s worth it,” Irene said. “I wasn’t sure at first, but seeing them here today convinced me. They look so much like people I knew out there.” She looked toward the city, up at the massive buildings looming over the relative calm of the river trail. “Everyone on the street’s a little bit lost, and everyone out there’s looking for some hope. If those girls believe this can work, we have to let them try.”

  I let that sink in. I took it for granted that Irene was safe and with me now, but hearing her experience again made me understand that this was about more than the Valentinos and the Healys. This was about a bunch of girls that were tricked into leaving their homes and sold into sex work, forced to stay there through threats, coercion, and drugs. It was about giving them something to believe in.

  “We’ll try one group,” I said finally. “One group comes out and I teach them, but no more than one. After that, it’s up to Anna to figure it out.”

  “Fine,” Sasha said quickly, and Irene stared at me with fear in her eyes, but she seemed determined to move forward.

  “Tell her,” I said, and began walking again. Sasha turned and ran back to the dog park.

  Irene caught up with me. She slipped her hand into mine and leaned her head against my shoulder.

  “You’re not a monster,” she said. “And maybe you do some things for free.”

  “Only for you,” I said, squinting at the path ahead of us. “These girls are going to pay for this chance in blood. You know that, right? Are you ready for it?”

  “I’m ready,” she said, and squeezed my hand hard.

  We walked back together and waited for Sasha at the car, then the three of us drove out to the mansion to plan.

  20

  Irene

  The Healy safe house was tucked away down a quiet West Philly street on the edge of the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. It looked like any other college house, except the front was clean and there weren’t any beer cans next to the curb out front.

  “We’re waiting on Anna’s signal,” Cam said, squinting into the rearview mirror. Behind us, a couple more cars pulled up and parked in empty spots.

  The last week was a rush of activity. The Don wasn’t happy about letting the girls use his back yard, but he accepted that it was a worthwhile risk. Bea seemed delighted though, and when the gaggle of awkward-looking and supremely uncomfortable young ladies appeared in a series of cabs, Bea brought them all inside, made them all tea, and fed them lunch.

  Then Cam took them out back and spent the entire day teaching them to shoot.

  They were better than he expected, or at least I thought so. The girls could aim down field and some of them hit the target. But the fact that they showed up at all, risking their lives to do so, was the most impressive thing.

  Sasha didn’t want to wait long before we made a move, but Cam wasn’t ready to commit the whole group yet.

  Which was why we sat outside of a single Healy safe house in the middle of the night.

  Lights flashed down the block. A car turned on its high beams then turned them off.

  “That’s it,” Cam said and put a hand on my leg. “You should stay here.”

  “No,” I said. “I have a gift for Ronan. And anyway, if they’re going, I’m going.”

  He wanted to argue, I knew he did, but shadows moved along the sidewalk and there was no time. He stepped out and joined them, and I jumped out the passenger side and fell in next to Sasha in the back of the group.

  Cam led the way. Anna came next, then Linc, then the sisters, Lara and Vera, then Sasha and me. I had a bag slung over my arm, and my heart felt like it might explode out of my chest. My mouth was dry, and my skin crawled, and all I wanted to do was run back to the car, but I was committed to this. If these girls could risk their lives, then I could too.

  Although I was going to stay in the back.

  Cam jumped up the front stoop and smashed in the front window with the butt of his gun. Anna took a long cannister from the pouch of her black hoodie, ripped off a tab, and threw it inside.

  Something popped and hissed, and smoke began to curl back out through the broken window.

  Someone shouted inside. There was confusion, more shouting. “Fire!” someone said, and someone else yelled, “Smoke! Where’s the fucking fire?”

  Cam pressed himself next to the peeling black door and pulled out his gun. The others did the same and he held a hand up for them to wait.

  Sasha had a manic grin on her face.

  “Fuck the smoke’s everywhere,” someone said right in front of the window. He coughed and gagged. “Get the front door open. What the hell is happening? Is this fucking window broken?”

  The door unlocked and opened a crack. “I don’t know, boss, might’ve been—”

  Cam kicked it as hard as he could and the edge smashed into someone’s face. The guy dropped backwards into the dark safe house, and Cam went in gun up. Shots fired off and I ducked down, covering my head, as Sasha barreled forward followed by Linc and Anna. The sisters went in last.

  More gunshots burst out. The flashes of their muzzles were like camera bulbs, but their roar was like the explosion of fireworks right next to my face. I stayed out front, too afraid to go inside during the fighting, but I heard the yells—pained screams, all male voices, and one angry female cursing up a storm like a wild banshee.

  Then the shooting stopped as abruptly as it started.

  I stood up breathing hard, gasping to get air in my lungs. I stepped inside and right into a pool of blood. I groaned, wiping my shoe on the scuffed hardwood floor, and walked over the body.

  The house was in bad shape. The walls were scuffed black and marked all over, the white paint flaking off in patches. Water stains covered the ceiling. The furniture was mismatched, a combination of rotten, trash-picked couches and ancient chairs missing their stuffing. Bullet holes riddled the walls, and the place smelled like burning logs and sulfur.

  There were two dead guys in the living room and smoke was everywhere. “Cam?” I said. “Where are you?”

  Then a figure emerged from a door up ahead. I raised my hands—but it was Sasha. “Come on,” Sasha said, grabbing my arm. She was grinning like she just won the lottery. She seemed to glow with a wild, manic inner joy. She had on tight jeans and a tight shirt, and looked like a warrior with her hair slicked back. “I killed a guy!” she said like she was announcing her love for a pop star.

  “Good for you,” I said, dizzy. She led me into a kitchen smeared with blood. Pots and pans filled the sink and one cabinet hung loose by a single hinge. The floor was tile and cracked in places, and the countertop looked like it had a perpetual film of slime over the top.

  The sisters stood over a guy that was groaning on the floor, both of them pointing their guns. Cam and Linc were in some other room.

  “What should we do with this one?” Lara asked.

  “Kill him, I think,” Vera said.

  “Please don’t,” the guy said. He was young, smooth face, big gold crucifix around his neck. He was shirtless and wore a pair of baggy jeans. His leg bled from a hole in his thigh. “Please, I’m sorry.”

  “Doesn’t seem sorry,” Lara said.

  “Not sorry at all.” Vera pressed her gun against his head.

  “Enough fucking around,” Cam said, storming into the room.

  Vera pulled the trigger. The guy’s head snapped back as he crumpled back to the floor.

  “Cam,” I said, relief flooding me. I went to him and threw my arms around his body. I felt something sticky—blood on his clothes. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “Not my blood,” he said and gently moved me back. “You got the sticks?”

  I dropped the bag I’d brought with me down on the cheap, peeling linoleum table, and dumped it over. Several USB sticks clattered out. “Now he’ll know,” I said and looked at Cam. “And he won’t be happy.”

  “Good,” Cam said. “Fuck him. Everyone ready?” He lo
oked around. “Where’s Linc?”

  “Upstairs.” Anna’s voice from the hallway. “Stealing money.”

  “Good for him,” Cam said. “Come on, ladies, let’s go.”

  Sasha grabbed my arm like a teenager at a dance and tugged me along. The sisters followed, laughing with each other. I felt surreal, and the blood and bodies did nothing to make me more grounded. These girls were acting like they just watched some fun movie and wanted to chat about it, instead of having just broken into a mafia safe house and murdered a bunch of men.

  Linc came down the steps and joined Anna with a big bag slung over a shoulder. “Bonus,” he said, grinning.

  The whole group stepped out into the night. Linc and the others hurried down the sidewalk, back to their respective cars, and Cam jumped behind the wheel of his. I hesitated, looking back at the house.

  “Irene,” Cam said. “We’ve gotta go.”

  “They seemed so happy,” I said, glancing back at him. “You saw them, right? They were excited to kill those guys.”

  “I know,” he said. “But imagine how they feel. Now come on, get in.”

  The sound of sirens in the distance snapped me out of it. Gunshots probably didn’t go off this close to campus very often and someone must’ve called the cops right away. I jumped into the car and Cam sped off.

  I turned around and watched the house disappear. Two other cars pulled out and turned in different directions: the others scattering across the city. I sat back down and chewed on my lip, thinking back to the blood, the bodies, and Sasha’s giddy smile.

  “Was that what you wanted?” I asked softly and my voice sounded like it came from somewhere else.

  “Exactly what I wanted,” he admitted. He glanced at me, but didn’t comment on what he saw. “We had to test them. You understand that, right?”

  “I know,” I said, not looking at him. I didn’t hold it against him and didn’t even blame him. Sasha was eager to go fight and Anna said the others were ready, and she was right—the sisters did their job and nobody got hurt. Except for the Healy men, at least.

  But it still felt all wrong, the death, the blood. I hated that the world had to be this way, that these girls had to kill for their freedom. If I could take them from their chains and give them a fresh start, I would do it without hesitating, but I knew that wasn’t my decision to make. I knew I didn’t have that power.