DeLuca (Mafia Romance)

Mia

I’d spent three years of college sneaking around Angelo, it was almost comical how easy it was to ditch the guy. Not that I did it often but sometimes a girl needs a little alone time.

When we arrived in Chicago we checked into a hotel. I’d told Carlo I couldn’t find flights in and out of Chicago that would give us enough time to hash out the details with Mouse and still get us home that night. He wasn’t happy about it but he accepted my excuse without argument.

After we’d settled into our rooms I asked Angelo to run out and get me some of the chocolate gelato I loved from this little deli across town. Since it was something I asked him to do often when we were living here he didn’t think twice before heading out. I didn’t waste any time hopping in a cab and heading over to the university.

…

I knocked on the dorm room door and waited, praying that he was home and not in class. I hadn’t told him I was coming. There was rustling and a thud before the door flew open.

“Mia?”

“Hey, Mouse,” I said with a small smile.

He stood there, frozen in the doorway blinking at me like he couldn’t comprehend seeing me at his front door.

“You going to let me in?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

That seemed to snap him out of his stupor, “Uh, yeah of course, come in,” he said gesturing me in.

The room was cramped with a small twin bed shoved into one corner. Dirty clothes and books were scattered everywhere, exactly what you would expect from a college guy. The big difference between Mouse’s dorm room and most guys’ were the three giant monitors mounted to the wall in the corner with about a million cords hooked up to computer towers, modems and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn’t even begin to understand.

Mouse walked further into the room and offered me the desk chair while he took a seat on the bed. “I heard about Gina, God I’m so sorry Mia,” he said staring at his hands.

“Yeah me too,” I said softly.

There was a long pause, Mouse was the first to break the silence, “Whatever you need Mia, you’ve got it. Just say the word.”

I smiled. You couldn’t bullshit Mouse, he was way too smart. The guy had been accepted to practically every Ivy League school in the country. His IQ was off the charts even if his social skills were a little lacking.

I heaved a sigh, “I need your help, but if you help me you have to be careful. This could be dangerous if you’re not cautious, and I can’t bear to lose another friend.”

It was Mouse’s turn to sigh, “Gina didn’t die in a car accident did she?”

I looked down at my hands, “No.”

“What do you need?”

“I need you to find three people for me, but you have to do it in a way that no one will be able to trace it back to you. I think they might have gone semi-legitimate so you may have luck with public records. The thing is, I don’t know where in the country they are, and I don’t even know how to begin to search through all that information.”

“Okay, what info do you have on them?” he asked, pulling his eyebrows together in contemplation. I could practically see the gears turning behind his brown eyes.

I cringed, “Names and approximate age. I know it’s not a lot to go off of. The good thing is their surname is fairly unique, hopefully that will help.”

“It won’t hurt, but with the limited information it may take me a couple days to pull anything.” He gestured for me to get up from the desk chair. Moving into the seat he pulled up several windows on the monitors and within seconds his fingers were flying over the keyboard. “Names?”

“Vitaly, Ivan and Boris Kashnikov,” I said through gritted teeth. Even saying their names out loud made my heart race. “Vitaly should be mid to late-fifties and the other two are late twenties, Ivan possibly early thirties.”

“These the guys that killed Gina?” he asked.

I took a deep breath before I answered, “Yes.”

“Let me guess, Russian mob?”

My head snapped up, “What would make you say that?”

He just shook his head, “I’m not stupid, Mia. Normal college girls don’t have round the clock security. He may have been discreet but I notice more than the average person. I’ve done my research, I know who your brother is.”

I heaved a heavy sigh of relief, “Well that makes my next proposition a hell of a lot easier.”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you feel about transferring to MIT next year?”

He blinked at me, “I don’t understand.”

“I know you didn’t go to MIT for your undergrad work because it was too expensive, I also know that your parents business is struggling. I have a solution.”

I left Mouse’s dorm feeling confident. He assured me he would get whatever he could on the Kashnikov’s and that his parents would probably do just about anything at this point to keep their heads above water. Everything was falling into place, and my hands were itching for the carnage to begin.

…

I was met with a supremely pissed Angelo when I returned to the hotel. He was pacing in front of my bed but his head snapped up when I entered the room.

“What the fuck, Mia?” The anger in his voice was coated in worry.

“Calm down, I’m fine. I just had to talk to Mouse alone. I didn’t want you there intimidating him.”

“That’s the whole point of having me here. Intimidation works. People tend not to do stupid shit like talk when the threat of physical pain is looming.”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand. Mouse is my friend, and he’s smart enough to keep his damn mouth shut. I don’t need to force loyalty by using scare tactics.”

Angelo shook his head in frustration. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Nothing. I’m just taking an active role in the family business.”

“That’s bullshit. I know you better than that, Mia. You’re planning something.”

Fear of being discovered washed over me but I schooled my features and glared at him. “I’m planning my future. This is my life. I tried running away from it once and it just kept coming back at me. I can’t escape my destiny, I’ve accepted that. So instead of sitting back and letting shit happen to me I’m getting in front of it. Hopefully, next time I’ll see it coming.”

“Mia-” Angelo started, his tone full of pity.

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. In fact, I just want to be alone. Goodnight, Angelo.”

He stared at me for a moment before his shoulders sagged and he nodded, leaving the room. My explanation may have been meant as a diversion but it was true. I’d told Carlo the same thing. The old Mia was gone, that was a fact. What terrified me was that I didn’t know who I’d be when I’d finally tasted my revenge. When there was no more anger to drive me forward. When the empty hole in my heart returned and the only thing left were memories stained with sadness and despair.