Alexis
The ancient carpeting underneath me smelled like must and rubbed against the skin of my legs. The duct tape on my hands and wrists bound me tightly. The only saving grace was that they hadn’t gagged me. In the corner of what looked to be an old office, I couldn’t get comfortable.
Not that my captors expected me to, or even cared. Ever since I had come to, they had spent their time trying to decide what they could get away with.
“What do you think, Tony? They said she was a stripper. You ever seen her out at any clubs?” This one was short, with piggy little eyes that roved up and down my body.
Tony shrugged. His shaggy, brown hair hung down to his shoulders. He wasn’t as clean-cut as most of the capos I’d met while with Lorenzo. “I don’t know, Rex. Maybe. She’s got the body. Hey, why don’t you show me your tits? I wanna see if they look familiar.” He laughed as though he’d made a hilarious joke and moved toward me.
“Hey, now.” Rex grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. “The boss said we can’t touch her. He wants her for himself.”
“He ain’t the boss yet,” Tony reminded him, still eyeing me hungrily.
Rex shook his head. “He might as well be. As soon as the old man decides to retire, Piero is it. We’re lucky we’ve gotten in so good with him already. We’ll be in the top of the ranks as soon as the crown changes hands.”
“But it isn’t much fun to be put on guard here when we can’t even do anything.” Tony shook his head in disappointment. “Maybe Piero doesn’t like us as much as we think.”
“You idiot.” Rex crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes. “Would you rather have been part of the team that had to take down Lorenzo?”
Tony’s eyes widened slightly at the thought. “No, I guess not. I wonder if they made it.”
“Shut up. Of course they did. There were three of them and one of him.” Rex hunched his shoulders up around his neck. “But still, it’s Lorenzo. Somebody came out of that a little worse for wear.” He grabbed a nearby office chair, the upholstery ragged and stained, and sat down backwards.
Lorenzo. My heart surged at the mere mention of his name, even though it came from the lips of this dumb buffoon. I reached out to him in my mind, wishing I had some way of knowing if he was all right. If I could, I would have told him to run for his life. There was no getting away from all the enemies we had made between us, and I had long ago resigned myself to a miserable life. Lorenzo had the street smarts to start all over again and be successful. I would always be trouble for him.
“You think Matteo gave him the contract he wanted?” Tony mused. “Piero has wanted to kill him for a long time, but up until recently, I never would have thought the boss would allow it. But if everything Piero said is true …” He trailed off while gesturing toward me.
I felt so guilty. It hadn’t really been my fault, but I hadn’t helped matters any. I’d been caught up in a tangled web of crime and intrigue, and no matter how much I struggled, I could never find my way out. I could only hope that Lorenzo did.
“Sure he did,” Rex assured him as he checked his watch. “I bet Lorenzo is dead already. Piero will be here soon, and all we have to do is step out of the room while he, uh, conducts his business with the girl.”
I bit my lip and ignored the rest of their conversation. If Piero really meant to have his way with me, then he had another thing coming. I would fight him until I died. I only wished that I’d had more time to prepare for all of this. As soon as I had realized I was mixed up with the mafia, I should have insisted that Lorenzo teach me more about guns and fighting. I hadn’t stood a chance when Piero’s men entered the apartment. There hadn’t been a moment to reach for the gun hidden in the bookshelf or the one in the top drawer of the dresser. They’d burst in and taken me down like a sack of flour, and I was done for.
Leaning my head back against the wall, I stared up at the water-stained ceiling and thought of Lorenzo. He had been my captor, but he was so much more than that now. He was my protector and my lover. My love. If I ever got the chance, I would have to tell him that. He meant more to me than anyone had before. The best part was that I knew he would never take advantage of it.
As though I had summoned him, Lorenzo’s face appeared in a doorway on the other side of the room. I blinked, sure that I was beginning to hallucinate. But he was still there. He put a finger to his lips.
My heart thundered. I had to make sure the thugs didn’t turn around and see him. “You know, you guys are a couple of pussies.”
Rex and Tony snapped their attention back to me. They had stopped talking about my upcoming rape as though it was nothing more than a business transaction and had moved on to what bar had the hottest waitresses, but they stopped talking altogether when they heard me.
“Excuse you?” Rex got out of his chair and took a step toward me.
“You heard what I said. You’re pussies. I mean, you’re sitting here trying to be good little boys for Piero, but do you even know what you’re going to get for it? Did he ever agree to give you a certain amount of money or a specific position in the family? I don’t know him very well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s just using you.”
“Shut up!” Tony barked. “You don’t know anything about our business.”
In the doorway, I could see Lorenzo grinning. I focused on the other two men again to keep from giving his position away. “Don’t I? Seems to me like you’re just a bunch of schmucks groveling for whatever scraps the Morettis are willing to give you. Losers.”
“She needs to shut up.” Tony’s voice was low and menacing now. He grabbed the crotch of his trousers. “I think I know just how to do it.”
“Sorry, gentlemen. Not tonight.” Lorenzo stepped out of the shadows. My heart leaped toward him. The gun in his hand wasn’t his, and his fingers were bloody and bruised, but he held his arm straight and steady. “I’ll take over from here, if you don’t mind.” He fired two shots in quick succession.
Tony’s eyes widened in surprise before he slumped to the floor, his blood spattered on one of the old cubicle walls. Rex had lurched toward the newcomer, but he only made it a couple of steps before he crumbled.
Lorenzo was next to me as they hit the ground. He whipped a large folding knife out of his pocket and slashed at my bonds. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
Though I’d managed to stay brave during my captivity, the walls I had put up around me fell instantly now that Lorenzo was by my side again. “You came for me.”
He looked at me intensely. “Of course I did. You didn’t really think I would just leave you, did you? Come on. We’ve got to get out of here.”