Tempted By The Mafia Boss

Mia

“No, please no!” I scream. I try to rush into the room as if that will help but someone grabs me.

I look around to see Antonio, one of Hector’s thugs.

I hate him as much as I do Hector. He always does something to hurt me. They haven’t had cause to come here in months.

Why are they here now?

There’s four of them in the room along with Hector and Antonio.

Hector pulls the trigger back on the gun he’s pointing at Dad and smiles wide at me.

“Please no,” I wail.

Fucking hell. Both Dad and Beth are crying.

“No?” Hector screams back at me. He rushes forward and gets right up in my face. Antonio tightens his grip around my body and I can barely breathe.

I feel like I’m going to faint, he’s squeezing so tight.

I scream out from the pain.

“Yes, bitch scream. That’s what you’ll be doing all day when all of us take a turn to fuck you.” Hector laughs in my face and the others join in.

Tears roll down my cheeks too. I could actually imagine that happening to me. I would just die. Then again I’m sure they would kill me after they’d finished with me.

What the hell happened?

Why are they here?

And, what the fuck pissed them off like this?

I need to be calm. I need to be calm. It’s only by being calm that I can talk to this guy. He doesn’t like anyone thinking they have the upper hand on him.

Even if you do something simple like answer in the wrong tone he’ll snap. I learned that the hard way a few months back when he answered me with a punch to my face.

“What happened?” I ask.

“What happened, chica?” He snarls. Hector has a tattoo of a snake going down the side of his face. It runs from the corner of his eye down to the edge of his jaw. It moves when he shouts, contorting with fangs when he yells. I’m sure it was done like that on purpose, to make him look more nightmarish.

All of them look like that, and I just want them gone from my house.

“I don’t know what happened.” I catch my breath and try to stay calm.

“Okay, Princesca, I’ll tell you. Your fucking father dearest owes me money.”

My gaze snaps to Dad. That’s impossible, we’ve been paying. I’ve been giving him the money to make the payments. I know the payments have been made, so this must be some mistake.

The look on his face though suggests otherwise. We had the money, where would it have gone?

What happened to it?

What could have happened to it?

Dad looks down, his gaze falls to the hardwood floor and he puts an arm around Beth. I know in that moment what happened to the money. One word… one name.

Carter.

Dad must have given him the money for something.

I start crying because I can’t believe he’d do that again. I’ve sacrificed so much. So much and Dad’s still giving Carter money?

“How much is owed?” I stutter.

“Two months Princesca, with interest. Your father made the mistake of thinking I would show him some compassion.” Hector stalks back to Dad, hits him with the back of the gun and Dad falls back against the floor howling with pain.

“Stop it!” Beth screams. She’s screaming and crying. But Hector starts kicking Dad over and over again.

“Please no, I have the money!” I scream on top of my lungs. It’s only then that he stops and comes back to me.

“I have the money,” I repeat. The money Chloe gave me. I have that. That is what I have.

Oh God. I can’t believe I have it.

“You have it?” he asks.

“I have it. In my purse there’s a check for five grand,” I nod vigorously.

He yanks my purse from me. Right off my shoulder. He digs around until he gets to my wallet with my cards and the check. A maddening smile crosses his face when he looks back at me. He waves the check in front of my face and smiles wider.

“Payment received, but guess what, seeing as how it’s late I need compensation and interest. Ten grand more for the trouble.”

Ten grand!

Jesus Christ, what an asshole.

“I don’t have anymore,” I gasp in horror. How can he be so cruel? How?

He grabs my face and squeezes me hard. I’m sure there are fingernail marks in my skin and possibly he’s dug in so hard, he’s cut me.

“Awww. You don’t have it?” he says in a sing song voice.

“That’s a shame, chica.” He twists around and aims the gun at Dad.

Hector pulls the trigger back again. Click- clack. That sound ripples through my being and sounds like doom. He steps closer to Dad ready to release the trigger and kill him.

“No, please!” I bawl out. “I don’t have any more. Please can you just give me a chance to get it.”

From where?

Oh God in heaven, my brain’s already computing for me. Already jumping ahead and giving answers.

The job at the club. I can get ten grand. I can. If the job’s still mine I can get that money and give it to Hector.

“Please give me a few days. Please,” I beg.

Hector looks around to me and laughs. “Three days chica, or your Papi gets it in his head, we sell the little girl, and… you…” He moves closer and sickens me when he fills his palms with my breasts. This is not like Nick touching me. That was different. “You come with me, and we will all fuck you until you beg for death.”

As if his words and touching me wasn’t enough to jar me, he has to move to my face and lick the side of my cheek.

I shuffle away but he steps back anyway and Antonio releases me.

I crumble to my knees and crawl over to Dad and Beth while the men leave.

They walk out with self-satisfying confidence because they know they own us.

I can’t take the time to be disgusted. Dad looks really hurt. Blood runs down the side of his face and trickles from his nose. He’s crying and I know it’s from a different kind of pain.

I don’t waste time talking or asking him why. Hector kicked him so many times and he’s already weak. I need to get him to the hospital.

I arrange for Beth to spend the night with our next door neighbors. The Patterson’s have always been nice to us. Their daughter is the same age as Beth and sometimes they have sleepovers. Never at our house though, which is fine.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable. It’s not safe for anybody to come to our place.

It’s not even safe for us to be there.

Dad goes into hospital and the doctors check him over.

He has a broken rib. We lie and tell them he slipped and fell down the stairs.

He has to stay in for a few days which is shit for me because it means I have to get a babysitter for Beth.

Although I’ve been with Dad for the last few hours, we haven’t really spoken about what happened. He gives me looks of embarrassment and guilt here and there, that’s all.

Now we’re alone and he’s looking at me.

“I think you should go home,” he says.

I blow out a breath and shake my head. “Go home Dad? That’s what you have to say to me?”

I’m actually so mad at him I shouldn’t speak. He’s the one in hospital, not me. But, I don’t understand why he’d put us in danger the way he has.

Again, and for Carter.

“Mia, Carter needed the money. He was going to lose his home. That’s what he said. He was behind in rent by a couple of months and I just thought I’d help and hope that Hector would understand.” He stops to draw in a shallow breath. “Carter said he would give it back. He promised.”

I bite back tears. “But you knew he wouldn’t Dad.” I say that far too harshly and the flash of pain in his eyes makes me feel bad. It highlights the nasty bruise that formed on the side of his face.

“I did. I just hoped, Mia. I’m guessing Chloe helped you with the five grand. She’s an angel and she saved us. But I won’t make you find ten grand from wherever it is you plan to find it. This is on me and I must suffer the consequences.”

My heart stills and stops beating in my chest. He’s talking about…

God, the only consequence he means is death. He’s given up. I shake my head and tears spill down my cheeks.

“Dad, are you crazy?”

“Mia, take Beth and leave. Take her and go. There’s no good ending to this madness.” His skin looks paler against his dark blond hair, and his green eyes that are usually brighter in appearance are tired and weary.

“Hector will kill you Dad,” I point it out even though I know that’s his intention. “Hector will kill you.”

“I know…” he reaches for my hand and covers it with his. “Mia, I feel so ashamed for what happened tonight. You won’t understand why I do certain things until you have your own children someday. It’s difficult to just turn your back on your own child. I know Carter is a bad person. I know he’s dangerous and he doesn’t care, I know all those things but I can’t be that father who stops being a father to my son. I promised your mother I would love both of you and take care of you.”

Mom died when I was three. She had leukemia. I don’t remember much about her, but I remember enough. I remember her face and her smiles, and her love. That is what I remember about her and I think it’s what she’d want me to remember. Especially how much she loved us.

I get it. I get what Dad’s saying. It doesn’t help me much though and I can’t just leave. I close my eyes and will the tears away.

I will them away because I can’t break now.

I have to think because I can’t turn my back on him either.

He’s my father and I can’t allow someone to kill him. I know they’ll do it. There is no question about that. I know Hector won’t hesitate to kill Dad. He’ll do it in a heartbeat. Maybe less than that.

I have three days to get the money. I have three days and I can’t fuck this up.

I stand up knowing what I have to do.

It must be verging on eleven.

It’s late but awareness of the time as in night and day is for people who aren’t desperate. My awareness of time is a countdown on what I can get done with the time I have left.

“What are you doing?” Dad asks.

“Don’t worry Dad. I’ll get the money.”

“You shouldn’t have to. Don’t ask Chloe, it’s not fair.”

“I’m not asking her.” He was right it wasn’t fair, not when Chloe had given me the means to get myself out of this shit. She said she would work at The Dark Odyssey and she wouldn’t say no to Nick. Who was I to?

Tonight was the second night I could have been working and I’d been a foolish woman trying to hold on to her dignity.

“There’s a job, I’m going to try and get it. I can ask for an advance if I get it. It means I can sort everything out.”

A hundred grand… I can’t tell him that part. Dad’s not stupid. He’s fully clued up and a quick study. He’ll know straight away what sort of work I’ll be doing if I say more than that.

“A job?” He narrows his eyes.

“Yeah. It’s not at a law firm but the pay is good. I’m going to go sort that out,” I nod.

“What kind of job is it Mia?” He keeps his gaze on me. Although there is bruising around his eye I can see the wealth of worry.

“It’s helping out some people who own a shipping company.” That was what I’d read nights ago about the Giordano family. They’re into the exporting and importing business. It’s their primary source of income and seems like a family run business. I guess it’s one of the things they do.

Dad doesn’t look entirely convinced but he nods. “Mia, at the first sign of trouble you take Beth and leave. You hear me?”

I sniffle and ball my fists to keep in the emotion. “You’re seriously asking me to let you die?”

“Yes, because just as I can’t turn my back on Carter, I can’t allow you to suffer for our mistakes. Not you and not Beth.”

I can’t listen to any more of this. Time is going. Wasting. I don’t answer, I just walk out and leave. I jump in my car and head straight back to the club.