Tempted By The Mafia Boss

Nick

I thought I’d come to the hospital today to touch base.

The weekend seemed too far away.

Sherine was at Tommy’s side when I got here and she left to give me some time with him.

I sit next to him for a while and watch, noting how peaceful he looks.

He doesn’t look like Tommy anymore.

He’s lost weight and his face is gaunt. His features are almost skeletal but there’s a peacefulness on his face that reminds me of the day he got married.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I was his best man and I was the worst of the bunch on the bachelor party trip to Vegas.

I ended up sleeping with three strippers and woke up in a barn in the middle of nowhere.

He said to me when we next met up that one day I’d find a woman to tame me. I never believed him because I’d already lost Vanessa. I just thought he was talking some loved up shit.

“You were right.” I say out loud, like we’re talking and continuing the conversation from years ago. “Her name’s Mia. You wouldn’t believe how we met. I was an asshole to her.”

Suddenly I find myself telling him about the angel and I can’t believe I’m talking like we used to. It feels strange that he’s not answering back but I talk anyway.

“I found the girl Tommy and I’m not letting go.”

Out the corner of my eye I notice the twitch of his finger. It’s brief but I notice it and I jump. It’s the first movement he’s made in the two months he’s been here.

“Tommy!” I gasp.

Hope fills my heart. I just want him to wake up.

God, I just want him to wake up.

Hope soars through me when I see the twitch again, but hope fades away in the same moment when the machines go crazy.

The heart monitor starts beeping and I don’t know what that means because it doesn’t make sense.

The monitor looks like he’s flatlining and the alarm goes off. The door bursts open and a team of doctors rush in. Sherine is right there. One of them holds her back as she screams and cries.

I’m pushed out of the way while they do their work.

Work…

Defibrillators come down hard on his chest and there’s so many people around him. The monitor is what I’m looking at though. It’s still a flat line. No beeping. His heart isn’t beating…

Tommy was always the one with heart.

He has a wife and child. He loves them both. He told me so, he wanted more kids. He loves Sherine with all his heart. He told me that too and I couldn’t believe he’d turned soft on me.

Why isn’t his heart beating? He has so much to live for.

He has a wife and child. A child who needs him. He has to see his little boy grow up.

The sounds around me all scramble into one. There’s too much going on.

Sherine is screaming louder.

Four minutes pass.

The line doesn’t move and the doctors have stopped trying to get his heart to beat again.

They shake their heads and it’s Sherine’s soulful wail of pain that grabs me and snaps me back to reality.

Someone is holding her up.

That’s my job.

Instinct moves me to her and I hold her as she cries from the depth of her soul.

“We’re sorry.” Someone says.

I don’t know who it is.

All I know is reality.

Tommy just died.

I just watched my best friend die.

I look at his face and the peaceful look is still there.

It hasn’t changed, but everything else has.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

I stayed with Sherine until her parents came.

I only left when I thought she needed her space and time to breathe.

After Frankie’s death I realized that different people offered different kinds of support.

I would always be there for her and there when she needed me but her family was who would give her strength.

As for me…

I was just tamping down my rage and trying to keep myself cool while I was around the people at the hospital.

Eight fucking weeks and nothing.

No one could tell me this was acceptable. Pa could talk out of his ass for all I cared, and Vincent could kill me but no one couldn’t tell me that when I took things in hand we saw more action.

No one could refute it because it was true.

I may have been wrapped up in Mia but I wasn’t fucking sleeping to the situation. I had a name weeks ago and nothing came of it.

I wouldn’t even bother to go to Pa. I was going on the street again to see what I could find out about Hector Ramirez. To do that, I needed my serious weapons.

I made my way to the accountancy office. We had a room in the back with ammo. It’s late so I don’t expect anybody to be there. Christian and Georgiou work sporadic late hours but they’re supposed to be both away on business.

Gabe and Salvatore are meant to be at the club. So who the fuck is inside?

There’s light coming from Tommy’s office and the sight pisses me off beyond measure.

I kick the door in and it flies open crashing into the wall.

I go in but stop fucking short when I see Joey Fontaine sitting on the edge of Tommy’s desk.

Fucking hell.

Fuck…

I feel like shit just got real.

So here is the answer to which Fontaine was involved.

“Nick Giordano,” Joey booms.

We’ve never spoken before. We’ve never met. Someone of his level would not come and speak to me. He’s a boss like his three brothers. Of the three, Joey is the youngest. Badass, and in thick on the drug scene.

It’s him.

He hired the hit on Tommy.

Why the fuck is he here?

“Joey Fontaine, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask in a nonchalant manner.

He laughs and raises his brows. “You think it’s a pleasure seeing me?”

His eyes crinkle in the corners revealing crows feet. He’s twenty years older than me but carries himself like he’s the same age as me. He’s one of those tough guys who don’t age.

I can take him down easy though. I know I can but even in my angered grief stricken state I know not to be hot headed and stupid.

“What can I do for you?” That is the right question.

He smiles a cool lazy smile and runs a hand through his silver streaked hair. “I think you’ll appreciate me cutting to the chase out of the interest of time.”

“Yes I would.”

“Great. I love getting to the point. You and your little family been busy,” he taunts.

Motherfucker… listen to him belittling us. Little family.

“No more than usual,” I answer in the same casual manner. It’s so different to the war raging inside me.

He laughs crude and cold. “You know what people say… don’t underestimate the little guys. They’re right. I made that mistake and it created one big mess. Your fucktard friend Tommy had one simple job. One. Simple. Job. He couldn’t even do that. His stupidity cost me big time and let’s just say I’m mad as fuck. His slip up with the feds was shit. But…” he holds my gaze and stands. “Snade… you and your brothers made a big mistake killing my link to one of the biggest investors I’ve ever had. Delays cost money. Delays mean certain people get alerted. Delays mean loss. The shit that you and yours have put me in means loss for me and I haven’t been able to fix the mess. All these long weeks, months and I haven’t been able to fix the mess. Nothing panning out the way I want. Know why?”

“Why?” I ask, humoring him.

“The little guys have what I want. The little guys have always had what I want. Simple. Oh so damn simple. You have the fucking means to smuggle anything you want with your little shipping company. You can smuggle anything from shit to bodies. Simples. The little guys have the means to what I want and at the price I want. So I’m right back at square one.”

“That’s a real shame.” I grit my teeth and glare at him.

“Boy, don’t fuck with me,” he shouts. “Don’t fucking do it. Here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to pay up.”

“Pay up?” If he was someone else he’d be very dead by now. Very dead telling me to pay up for shit.

“Pay up. You will arrange my shipment to China. You’re going to do this today.” The power in his tone infuriates me. “You’re going to arrange it today.”

I don’t know how the fuck I manage to remain so calm.

This is because the Giordanos have been playing nice for far too long.

We only think we’re badass. Guys like this motherfucker sees straight through the shit and think we’ll take orders from him. He thinks I’ll roll over like a little bitch and do as he says.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing ordering me around?” I lose it and I’m ready to pop a bullet between his eyes.

He smirks and looks me over with disdain. Pulling out his phone he taps the screen and holds out an image to me. White blond hair captures my attention straight away.

Fuck!

No.

No…

Noooo. It can’t be. It’s not true.

It can’t be her.

My Mia?

The blood drains from my body and into the ether when I get a closer look and confirm it’s Mia.

I’m such an idiot. Why else would he show me if it wasn’t her?

They have my girl. My Mia and she’s battered and bruised.

She’s chained to a post and sitting on the floor.

Her face is black and blue, blood is all over the white cardigan I bought her yesterday when we decided to go out after that talk of ours. That’s all she’s wearing and her panties. Blood covers her legs too.

What did they do to her?

They have my girl.

My angel.

I swallow hard and ball my fists at my sides, trying to keep it all in.

My gaze flicks back up to him. He’s smiling and the backs of my eyes sting with wrath and tears.

They have my girl.

Joey gets closer, right up in my face, well past my personal space. “Nickoli Giordano, you lost one friend today.” His voice is so cool and calm. The declaration of Tommy’s death is to highlight that we’re being watched. “I think this girl will show you how serious I am. Very beautiful. If you cross me, I’ll make sure I pass her around to all the boys and when we’re done I’ll send you her head in a box. That’s just the start. I’ll come for your family next. Your mother, your weakling of a father, everybody. And your businesses. That little sex club you take such pride in will be no more…” he laughs and taps my shoulder. “Eight o’clock tonight. That’s when you’ll come to me. The girl for the arrangement. Come to the old factory.”

His gaze darkens then he walks away leaving me.

I stand there long after he goes through the door, just looking ahead of me , wide eyed and shitting myself.

I was a fool.

I came here to get my guns to go on the street. This just got above me. It became well above me.

Tommy is dead.

I can’t bring him back.

Mia though… my actions dictate what happens next to her.

I’m not a patient man, I hate relying on people, but worse of all I hate being taken for a fool.

So I do the only thing I can. The most sensible thing I can think of because I know this means war. It means war but I can’t fight a war by myself.

Half an hour later sees me standing before my parents and Vincent.

They were meeting together. Deep in discussion when I walked into the hall.

I know not to disturb them when they’re talking like this, but this is an emergency.

Pa takes one look at me and knows the shit has hit the fucking fan.

I just hope he’ll do more than he has over the last two months.

I have their attention now.

They’re all looking at me. The three of them.

The clock behind them is big and bold, showing it’s five p. m., and like an hour glass it holds the time I have left.

Joey is not stupid. He knows I’ll do one of two things, or both.

He must know I’ll do this. I can make the arrangements with the shipping company to do what needs to be done for him with or without Pa’s consent. He knows the ropes. But we’re enemies and you don’t go to a Giordano and make a threat like the one he just gave and not expect the boss to find out.

So he expects me to go to Pa. He also knows what Mia means to me, which means I’ve been watched a lot more than I think I have. Most likely at the club.

It’s why he came to me.

“It’s Joey Fontaine,” I declare. My voice sounds hoarse with emotion. “It’s him. He’s the guy you want. He has my girl and Tommy is dead. I can’t do anything about Tommy. But I can’t let him kill my girl.”

A fucking tear runs down my cheek. “He wants me to arrange the shipment for him, or she dies but not before they fuck her up first. That is the situation.”

Ma’s face hardens, Vincent looks pale, Pa is the only one who looks the same as he did when I first entered.

I continue to fill them in on all Joey said. All his threats because he threatened all of us.

The words flow from me fueled with rage.

I hope they realize this is happening because of the fucked up slow as shit way that we do things.

Pa stands and he approaches me. His face hardens before he gets to me and darkness flashes in his eyes.

“What time?” he asks gritting his teeth. I’m looking at him and it’s like I’m staring at the mirror with an older version of myself. I just hope the older version of myself knows when to change things up.

“Eight o’clock, Sir,” I answer.

“Where?”

“The old factory.”

He bears his teeth and a low rumble stirs from him. He glances over to Vincent.

“Vincent, contact Claudius and tell him we need back up,” Pa calls over his shoulder. I actually feel heat flush through my body at the mention of Claudius’ name. Pa’s serious as fuck. We’ve never called on Claudius Morientz before. Not like this. I know what it means.

“Doing it now.” Vincent grabs his phone.

“War has begun,” Pa declares. “The fucking Fontaines think they can piss all over us and make demands like we work for them. Fuck them, all of them. Time to show them who we are.”

For the first time in weeks I feel invigorated.

I just hope I’m not too late.

They have my girl.

My angel.

I should have kept her with me.

They have my girl.