If I try to seduce ‘no-name,’ he’ll know I’m up to something. I need him to come to me. I need him to feel like he has the upper hand and that I’m too weak to retaliate.
I whimper softly in the corner, holding my head. I look up at him. “Dominic will kill all of you. Just wait and see. The Sorvinos are the toughest and most organized family in New York.”
“That’s what you think,” he says. “Don Catalan is going to take over New York, and things are going to change around here. No more stupid rules to follow. We will make this city ours, and no one, not even the Sorvinos, will be able to take it back from us.”
I let out a snort, despite it hurting. “Please, Jose doesn’t have the balls to defeat Alessandro. The man is a genius. He will lead a war against the Catalan family and slaughter them all. I can’t wait to watch it.”
“You talk big for a woman,” he says, smirking. “Your big mouth is going to get you into trouble if you don’t watch out.”
I pretend to struggle to my feet. Some of my strength has come back, fueled by the adrenaline rush I’m feeling. “Jose is nothing but a tiny dick in a huge world. He probably doesn’t even know what to do with a woman.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” ‘no-name’ says. “Maybe I should put you in your place first, just to remind you that there is only one thing women are good for.”
I spit on the floor. “Funny. I thought you were a woman.”
He glares at me. He holsters his gun but doesn’t clip the holster shut. He walks casually over to me. “You’re going to regret that, little girl.”
He pushes me back against the wall hard, and I raise my hands to his shoulders, pretending to fight him off. “You don’t want to do this.”
He leans in. “Don’t I? Scared now?”
“No.” I sound more confident than I feel. I thrust my head forward, and my forehead connects with his nose. I feel dazed, but I tense my shoulders on his hands and hold tight as I bring my leg up to his crotch. An old but reliable trick for any woman to use, and it’s gotten me out of one mobster family situation already. ‘No-name’ keels over, and I ram my knee into his head. I feel like I’ve broken my knee, but he keels backward, groaning again. I rush forward and grab his gun.
He tries to stop me, but he’s too dazed. I hit him in the head with the gun. I don’t want to fire it in case everyone hears. I just need to hide somewhere safe until Dominic comes to get me.
I hit ‘no-name’ again and again until he’s out cold. He could be dead. I don’t know, and I don’t care.
I get up unsteadily and limp toward the door, wincing every time I put pressure on my right knee.
I slowly open the door and glance down the corridor. There’s no one there, but I hear voices nearby.
I slip into the hallway and move away from the voices as quietly but as quickly as possible, constantly checking my surroundings in case someone tries to sneak up on me. I reach a dead end and have to turn around; my heart is hammering in my chest.
I make my way to the first door and press my ear against it. There’s no sound behind it, but that doesn’t there isn’t anyone in there.
I hold the gun unsteadily. Dominic was right about needing a smaller weapon, so I don’t shake so much. I slowly open the door and peer inside. It’s just an empty room with boxes.
I get inside and shut the door. I move around the boxes until I find a hiding place in the back. Once Dominic comes, I’ll make my way out of the room and find him. Then we can go home and put this behind us, I think optimistically.
I settle down, holding the gun with both hands in case someone comes in. I try to take slow, quiet breaths. Tense, I wait for my Dominic.
Chapter 31 - Dominic
Sofia’s phone last pinged near the industrial area in East New York. I know there’s a warehouse owned by the Catalan family there. A branch of sorts, and I know it’s heavily guarded.
I’m a man with a plan, though, and sometimes it’s best just to walk straight through the front door. It’s the least expected way to go.
I drive through the streets of New York calmly, which is probably the most dangerous state for me to be in.
Calm.
Like the time I was calm in High School when some punk tried to hit Frankie, and I broke both his kneecaps and got suspended.
Calm, like when Arianna’s first love broke her heart, so I broke his nose and his arm.
Calm is how I’ve killed many men and lived to tell the tale.
As I’m approaching the fenced-off warehouse, I breathe serenely, even, and a smirk crosses my face. These fuckers don’t know who they’re dealing with. Alessandro can be reasoned with. Frankie can negotiate.