I have nothing to lose as I look for the girls and my BFF. I’ve lost my father, my mother to her long-lost lover from high school, and my brothers are with my despised enemies. My brothers, who are clones of Dad, and a bit psychotic, didn’t have their rivals killed off fast enough is my guess.
What a pussy for not taking his rightful place where Dad sat.
I can’t love family that I have no respect for and there is no one in the world I love more than Gran and Sofia. I love Alessandro but he didn’t want to be a part of my heritage and I can’t hold that against him.
Sofia is my only connection to my life right now. I need to find her and set the others free.
I have nothing to left to lose as I direct my gaze to the handsome Sal. Hmm. I purse my lips together. He’s tall with a slim frame; toned, agile. His tux fits him like a second skin.
He is devilishly sexy as he moves like a sleek cat, making his way to his mother, Mrs. Micheli, where he showers her with attention. He’s quite the charmer and she lets out a light laugh just before a bell rings. It’s time for everyone to take their places.
Only, I can’t risk being seen so I hide near the long, heavy curtains used to divide rooms for smaller functions. I raise my right hand and lightly touch my mask, making sure it’s in place. I would have painted it on had it not made me look different from everyone else. I cannot risk someone remembering me after Sal’s murder.
The beating of my heart pounds in my ears as anxiety swells in my chest. Fuck, this needs to move faster, the first rule is a quick in and a faster out when doing a job. It’s one of the many things I’ve learned over the years while listening to the men talking in the war room near my father’s office.
Despite my father’s ruthless and disturbing reputation, I’m not my dad, and I have doubts as to taking a life. To be on the brink of a kill, yes. But I’d only kill out of necessity, a forgone conclusion that I must in order to live another day. With one exception. Sal.
But first, I have to get Sofia’s location from him.
The endorphins of being in a real battle take over and will be a hell of rush if I come out the victor.
I’m not in denial that Dad was . . . unbalanced, void of empathy and emotion. I try to relax and smile politely as a few women in heavily beaded gowns walk by, making their way to the ladies’ room or outside to smoke.
On the stage, introductions are made, followed by one boring speech after another. Only people who know the speakers care. I tap my right foot, anxious for the next part of this pomp and circumstance rodeo to end. Rome has the same fancy events.
Italy is a place where outdoor concerts are held inside what was once home to Roman soldiers. They lived inside fortresses. Our piazzas hold holiday concerts all over the country as we are very much into our opera and pop music. A country dedicated to art, culture, music and . . . mafia wars.
That’s the double standard with organized crime families. It’s all so . . . formal. There is respect and loyalty, but often it is given based on one incredible feat or a moment, and it may not be authentically earned.
For instance, Daddy got it through fear and intimidation. Violence originally occurred years before the unfettered fear factor. In his final years, intimidation brought about the results he was after without violence. . . most of the time.
A real leader gains respect due to a special skill set such as strengths beyond that of the others in the pack. To be successful, one must be surrounded by loyal and skilled people, otherwise, the don won’t last long. Dante is young however, I believe he’s proven himself in the dark world in which we operate.
I refuse to be afraid as my eyes detect Sal heading toward the men’s room down a hallway and I figure now is as good a time as any. Sorry to all the people who made large contributions just to have their night ruined by a little murder.
Sal is alone and unsuspecting as he casually swings the bathroom door open and slips inside, none-the-wiser.
I pause outside the door to give him time to pull his dick out for much needed relief after an hour of drinking cocktails. I push the door open with my shoulder, slowly and without a sound.
It’s reflex that he will glance in the bathroom mirror in front of him and it’s now or never as I leap like a panther, landing on his back and clamping my strong thighs around him. My heart is pumping fast enough to cause a heart attack, I’m sure of it.
He swings around in an attempt to fling me off, but my grip is too strong, and I stick to him like my life depends on it. And it does.
Instinctively, he knows this is a hit and pulls at my hands that are clinched around his throat as he realizes this is redundant. Even if it’s not one that was ordered from above me and I’m not a man, he knows this is a real.
I’ve always been a bit of a rebel. Some habits are hard to break.
6
Sal
Out of the corner of my eye my brain gets a fast glimpse of a gorgeous woman moving with the swiftness of a cheetah and she’s on my back before I can blink.
By the time I jiggle off my dick, she’s on me before I can blink, her arms have the strength of a giant for someone so small. Her hands are more like an octopus wrapped around my neck for such petite hands, but they are strong enough to strangle me.
I turn quickly, this way and that. I can’t shake her, but my oxygen is restricted by her choke hold.
Oddio!