Taken: A Dark Italian Mafia Romance (Men of Mayhem Book 3)

by Kristen Luciani

  She rolls her eyes. “Sitting ducks,” she mumbles. “What about the kids? We can’t just wait here!”

  “Tali, it’s being handled. Calm down,” Cristian mutters.

  “Calm down? Really?” she says in a loud whisper. “It wasn’t that long ago that Alek went up against Sofia Rojas and almost died! He’s out there with the other guys right now walking into God only knows what! And we’re here waiting for the other shoe to drop!” She flips her long blonde hair over her shoulder, turning away in a huff.

  Cristian looks at me and gives a half-shrug. I’m standing a little off to the side, but close enough to have heard every heated word. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks over to me. “My wife isn’t the type to sit around and wait. She’s more the type to shoot first and ask questions later. And they call me the loose cannon.”

  Despite the knot of panic in my gut, I smile. “She sounds like my kind of woman.”

  He nods. “Loyal to a fault. She’ll do anything for the people she loves. And she’s hell-bent on eliminating anything that threatens them.”

  The knot of panic rises into my throat. “I get that.”

  “I know you do. And I get why you did what you did. There’s nothing about this life that’s easy. Choices are never simple. There are always consequences. The trick is to make sure those consequences don’t end up killing you or the people you’re trying to protect.” He pauses. “Have you called your mother?”

  My chest tightens. “No,” I whisper. “I’m afraid to. Salazar took a picture of the outside of the house when he snatched me the other day. It was the only reason I went with him in the first place. If his guys are out there, what’ll happen if they try to run? My mother is in a wheelchair. How far do you think they’d even get? I don’t want to make them panic. And if she asked about Gio…” I trail off, pressing a hand to my forehead. “I really fucked things up for everyone, didn’t I? I tried to play both sides, thinking I could outsmart whatever he had in store. And I failed. Horribly.”

  “Sometimes the only decisions are bad ones,” Cristian murmurs. “What I can tell you is that your mom isn’t Juan’s target. He’s not the type to bother with unnecessary collateral damage. He goes for the big bang, and that big bang, unfortunately, is Tommy.”

  “Do you think he was waiting for Tommy to show up at that warehouse?” I whisper.

  “I can’t think of another reason why he’d have dumped that bod—”

  “Hey,” Vince says, giving Cristian a warning look before he could finish his thought.

  “Dumped what?” I ask.

  “Nothing,” Vince says in a terse voice. “Listen, we need to gather everyone and get them down to the basement. I’ll stay up here. Paolo Villani is on his way. He’s only a few minutes out.”

  Cristian shakes his head. “You can’t stay up here alone. What if Villani is playing you? I’ll stay too.”

  “Villani has plenty to lose, trust me. And he’s an old friend of Pop’s. He’s not going to fuck with us. He’s got as much reason as we do to get rid of Salazar and the cartel,” Vince hisses. “Besides, someone needs to stay down there with the rest of the group to keep an eye on things.”

  Cristian snorts. “Like Tali can’t hold off anything Salazar has to throw at us?”

  Vince narrows his eyes and gives a quick nod. “I can’t argue there. Make sure she has what she needs.” He looks at me as Cristian goes to find his wife. “She was a ninja in a former life, I’m convinced.”

  I force a smile. “What can I do to help? I know I caused this, so—”

  Vince puts a hand on my shoulder and guides me away from the dining room and out of earshot of everyone else who already heard one Marcone tear me down today. “Look, before all hell breaks loose, there are a few things you need to hear. First, Tommy loves you. He has for years and I knew it was going to be his downfall if I let it happen. I needed him to step up and take control for the sake of our family and you just…” He lets out a frustrated sigh. “You complicated things for him. Made him lose focus.” He holds up a hand when he sees my jaw drop. “Don’t say it. I know it’s nothing you did. It’s just the way he is. And you should know it wasn’t easy for him to leave. It caused a lot of problems and he resented me for making him do it. He still does, but that’s my job. I don’t have time to coddle anyone, and I don’t like pulling dead weight.”

  “Nothing ever happened between us,” I say. “He took the blame for my father’s death and never tried to contact me again.”

  “I know that, too. It was smart. A clean break.” He sweeps a hand through his hair and leans back against the wall. “Except nothing is ever that easy. He carried a lot of guilt with him after that hit happened. He felt responsible for it all, and the guilt ate away at him every day afterward. It’s why we’re in this situation right now.”

  “I don’t understand.” I bite down on my lower lip, feeling like I’m missing a big chunk of the story.

  “He was hard on you before, yeah. But deep down, he knows you did what you thought was the right thing and that your hands were tied.” Vince folds his arms and stares out the front window of the restaurant, one that’s partially hidden by a thick curtain. “I think he was taking out his own frustration on you. See, the reason why Juan came to you in the first place was because Tommy went off the deep end and killed two of his guys.”

  “Why would he do that?” I ask. “Did they do something?”

  “They were guilty by association,” Vince says. “Tommy found out Juan had been stealing from us, and he took it upon himself to let him know that he can’t fuck with our family. Since he left you, he’s been doing that a lot, trying to right wrongs and making a lot of enemies in the process. But this enemy was the wrong one to take on by himself. And the Guerra Cartel is brutal. They won’t stop until they feel like they’ve settled up. That’s why they came for you.”

  “Well, actually…” I clear my throat. “Gio is why they came for me. He’d been working with them before he got sent to prison, and when he got out, Salazar grabbed him as punishment for stealing on the job. My brother has debts…gambling debts…” Tears spring to my eyes. “My God, how the fuck do you people live like this?”

  “You lived like this, too, Gemma,” Vince says. “You just didn’t know what was happening behind the scenes. Now you do. It’s dangerous and deadly and you need to be ten steps ahead and ruthless as hell to win.”

  “How many steps ahead are you?” I ask in a breathless voice. “Enough to be able to save Tommy and my family?”

  “Before today, I’d have told you that your family isn’t my problem.” He levels me with a hard stare. “But things are different now. Tommy chose you. He loves you. And I can see you love him, too. That connects us, so today? Yeah, you and your family are my problem. I already have guys on their way to your aunt’s house.”

  I furrow my brow. “How did you even know—?”

  “Tommy told me where your aunt lives. That’s all I needed. I don’t know if you’ve heard about this great little tool called the Internet?” he asks with a smirk.

  I manage a quivery smile. “Thank you, Vince. I don’t hate you anymore, either.”

  “I feel very privileged,” he responds in a sarcastic voice. “Now do me a favor and get the hell in the basement with everyone else. It’s my job to take care of my family.” He lifts an eyebrow. “So don’t interfere with my work. Capice?”

  I nod quickly. “Yeah.”

  A buzzing sound jolts me and I look at Vince, my eyes wide. He glances at the screen and immediately at me. “What happened?” he barks into his phone.

  The silence that follows ices my insides.

  Who’s on the phone?

  And what are they telling Vince?

  My skin prickles as the seconds tick by and Vince just holds my gaze.

  Until…

  “So he’s alive.”

  “Who?” I hiss, tugging at my hair.

  He holds up a hand. “I’ve got it covered.
My guys are headed there now just to be safe. Yeah…yeah. Okay.” He clicks off the phone. “They found Gio.”

  I clap a hand over my mouth. “Is he—?” I can’t even squeak out the next words.

  “He’s alive. Pretty busted up, but he helped Tommy and Diego torch the place before they got him out.”

  “Thank God! So, everyone is okay, then?”

  “Yeah, and unfortunately, that includes Salazar.” Vince looks past me and motions to Cristian.

  He comes running over and Vince gives him the update.

  A loud knock on the front door makes me jump. “Oh my God! Who is that?”

  “Get everyone downstairs now,” he orders, grabbing me by the arm. “Including her.”

  We all rush toward Tommy’s office and Vince presses a button on the wall, revealing a hidden elevator. “This goes to the basement. There’s a hidden exit down there, locked from the inside. You’ll be safe down there. No windows, no way in from the outside. Just sit tight.”

  I nod as we all rush into the elevator. I hang back with Tali as she shoves everyone inside and grabs Cristian to give him a near R-rated kiss before grabbing a gun from his outstretched hand and jumping inside.

  “Come on, love,” she says, reaching out to grab me.

  Crash!

  “Ahh!” I scream, recoiling as glass shatters in the distance. The elevator doors start to close before I can jump inside and Vince dives on top of me, shouting to Tali to let the elevator go. Cristian stabs the button to hide the elevator before dropping next to us.

  “What’s happening?” I screech, covering my ears as gunshots blare in the distance.

  “Fuck,” Vince grunts, pulling a gun from the waistband of his jeans. “C, get her into the office and under the desk. I’m going out there.”

  “I’m right behind you,” Cristian mutters, shooting the lock on Tommy’s office door and kicking it open with his foot. He looks over at me and nods toward the space. “Get in there and hide under the desk. Don’t move. Don’t breathe. You got it?”

  “Yes,” I rasp, slithering inside.

  Bang! Pop!

  I yell into my hand to muffle the sound as Vince darts back toward us. “What the hell is going on?” My heart is hammering with such force, I feel like it’s about to explode out of my chest.

  “We’ve got guests,” he says. “And it’s only a matter of time before they—”

  “Vince!” A loud male voice yells. “Open the fucking door, quick!”

  “Shit,” he grumbles, rolling to his feet.

  “You’re just gonna open it without knowing who’s out there?” Cristian hisses. “Are you fucking nuts?”

  “I know who it is.”

  “And what happens if—”

  More gunshots erupt into the air, and I cry out. “Just open the fucking door! If it was Salazar, he wouldn’t be knocking!”

  Cristian stares at me for a second and purses his lips. “Okay. Ya sold me.”

  Vince rolls his eyes, and with his gun pointed straight ahead, he opens the door a crack before he lets whoever was knocking inside.

  Cristian expels an exasperated sigh. “Paolo, what the fuck, man? If you rained this shit storm down on us, I’m gonna stuff you into that fucking oven and roast your ass until you’re a pile of ash!”

  Paolo, the man who just entered the back door, smirks at Cristian and holds out a hand to pull him up. “Good to see you, too, kid. It’s been a long time.” He nods his head toward the front of the restaurant. “Salazar and his guys are here.”

  Vince rolls his eyes. “No shit.”

  “Where’s Tommy?”

  “On his way.” Vince narrows his eyes at one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen as she steps into the restaurant after Paolo. “Where are your men? Is she gonna be able to keep up?” he asks Paolo, his focus not moving from the woman who is dressed head to toe in black right down to the six-inch stilettos on her feet. She’s tall, model-thin, and looks fierce as hell.

  I’m even afraid of her.

  Paolo smirks, pulling out his gun. “I don’t need them. I’ve got my niece.”

  Vince’s jaw tightens as his gaze ices over. His eyes spit pure disgust in her direction, whoever the hell she is.

  “Aria is more of a badass than all of your brothers put together,” Paolo says to Vince, creeping toward the front of the restaurant.

  Vince snorts as Aria flashes a nasty smile at him. “Are you going to stuff me in a closet so you can steal the show as usual, Vince?” she hisses under her breath. It seems like she meant it for his ears alone, but I still heard it.

  And it makes me damn curious, if I’m being honest.

  “Maybe. Depends on whether or not I need to save your ass again,” he grunts, gritting his teeth as she sails past him.

  Huh. I wonder what that means.

  I follow his eyes as they watch Aria’s hips gently swing with each step she takes, her heels clicking along the tile floor. I can’t even keep my eyes off of her, despite the fact that the place that’s supposed to be celebrating its huge and very well-publicized opening tonight is currently being leveled by a vindictive cartel leader.

  “You wish you could get that close to it,” she purrs at him, flipping him off with a long, blood-red-painted fingernail.

  “Can I just ask where the fuck the cops are?” I say to Cristian as Vince follows toward the dining room destruction.

  He shakes his head. “They tend to stay away until we need them.”

  “And you don’t think that’s now?”

  “Nah,” he says, reloading a clip. “Not at all. This is our war. We need to win without the cops.”

  “Why did the shots stop?” I whisper. “Is he gone? Was it just a drive-by?”

  Just as Cristian is about to answer, a loud explosion shatters the glass chandelier hanging in the foyer. It jerks left and right before crashing to the floor in a million shards.

  We have a clear line of sight to the front entrance, and time crawls as the door is kicked in.

  “Fuuuuck,” Cristian mutters, shoving me into the office. “Get out of sight!”

  But I am stunned into silence and frozen to my spot on the floor as I watch Juan Salazar shove Tommy into his restaurant with a gun pointed straight to the back of his head.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tommaso

  “So I think it’s pretty clear that a dead sous chef ain’t the biggest problem you’re going to have on our opening night,” Salazar hisses as he pushes me forward. I trip over the shards of glass scattered around the foyer.

  He waves his guys inside and Gio, Alek, Diego, and Ant get shoved in next to me.

  He used Gio as bait and pounced on us as soon as we figured out his plan.

  So now we’ve got Gio, and Salazar’s got all of us.

  Fucking fabulous.

  I scout the front of the restaurant but it looks empty. I let out a breath. At least Vince got everyone to the basement. That was good. I sneak a glimpse as Diego lands next to me, his hands hitting the tile. I grit my teeth. I don’t even know how many of his guys have their guns on us. All I know is that two large black SUVs ramrodded us outside the restaurant, boxing us in, and before we could get out our guns, they were surrounding us.

  And in this area of the city, people know to stay behind closed doors.

  We’re on our own now.

  Juan fists my hair, yanking my head backward to look at me. “I bet this wasn’t on the menu for tonight, huh? Greasy fucking Italian meatballs who think they know more than me.”

  “My meatballs are never greasy, asshole,” I growl as Ant groans on the floor next to me.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he mumbles.

  “Shut the hell up!” Salazar yells, pointing his gun at my brother. The he turns around and yanks my hair harder, smacking his gun against my jaw for good measure. The sharp pain sears my flesh as it torpedoes through to the top of my skull.

  “So what are you gonna do?” I grunt, wincing as he tugs h
arder. “Kill us all? I called you out. Why not just kill me and be done with it?”

  “Tommy, Tommy. Don’t you know me by now? Always be unexpected! Never show your hand until you’re ready to go in for the kill!” He snickers. “Funny, yeah?”

  “Not really, dick,” I mutter.

  He pulls me up and throws me at the wall. “Lemme tell you what’s gonna happen here since you’re too thick to realize it yourself.” He lumbers toward me, his massive body five times the width of mine. “You see all of this?” he asks, waving a hand around. “I gave this to you, all of it! We were simpatico, yeah?” He narrows his eyes and leans forward. “But then you got stupid. Careless. Ungrateful for everything I gave you.”

  “You were fucking bleeding us dry!” I yell.

  He smirks, holding the gun to my temple. “That’s not how I see it. I see it like this. I gave you something and you threw it back in my face. You broke trust. And then you killed my guys. You killed Carlos,” he hisses. “My second-in-command. You went after my family. So now it’s only fair that I do the same.”

  My blood boils, raging through my veins as he unveils his master plan against us.

  Against me.

  “You’re not the first one who tried to fuck me over, Tommy. You won’t be the first one to beat me, either. Nobody can. I always win! And after today, everyone will know it!” A dry chuckle slips from his lips. “You’re gonna lose, and it’s gonna fucking hurt like the worst pain you’ve ever felt!” he seethes.

  A glimmer of light catches the corners of my eye from the dining room, but I don’t dare move my gaze from Juan’s pock-marked face. The light glows brighter as the sharp tip of a hunting knife comes into view just behind the bullet-peppered wall that separates the foyer from the main dining room.

  “So,” Juan continues, tapping the side of the gun into my head. “Who should I kill first? You choose. You’re gonna watch it all before I blow your fucking head off, so tell me. Which of these clowns is your least favorite? Or is it Vince, the boss who can’t control his own family?” An evil smile lifts his lips. “What’s it gonna be, Tommy? Make the goddamn call or I’ll just start fucking shooting!”