Quiet Wealth, page 24
As he left, I sank deeper into the tub and drifted below the waterline, tuning out the world while my mind sorted through the truth of what really happened that day.
I wasn’t sure how long I lay there, but when the water turned cool, I peeled myself out of the tub and found the hotel room empty.
“Elio?” I held a hand to my stomach that begged for food, but everything in the place was either pre-wrapped healthy or just healthy. I picked up my phone and tapped on his name and waited for it to connect, but I was sent to voice mail.
“Damn.” I tried a different number instead.
“I just fell asleep,” Wyatt groaned.
“Elio disappeared. Is Vinni there with you?”
“Don’t know.” He yawned. “Why?”
I looked around the dark, quiet room and suddenly felt alone and raw from my emotions.
“You want me to come and keep you company?”
I smiled briefly, loving that he would do that for me.
“No,” I lied, “I’m just going to head to bed.”
“You know how to reach me if you change your mind.”
“Thanks.” I hung up and pulled my knees to my chest. When I flopped my head back, it hit something that crinkled. I picked up the glossy magazine I’d seen on the back table about the hotel. I turned to page four and scanned to the Rooftop bar ad and saw it was open twenty-four hours. After a moment of thought, I reached for my phone and decided to order room service since it was safer than going out or starving.
After I ordered a large pizza, a garden salad, and a cheesecake, I turned on the fireplace and flipped through the channels on the huge TV. I settled on a show called Schitt’s Creek. Wyatt seemed to like it, and with the closed captioning I had an easier time making out the conversations.
After about five minutes, I lost track of the show and found myself looking outside at the stormy night. My mind drifted back to that awful day.
Pain burst through my chest as I picked up a picture frame from the floor and brushed my finger over the broken glass. I tucked the photo in my bag and bolted for the woods. I lost all sense of direction, but I didn’t care. I just needed to run.
As the branches thinned out, I gained speed. Colors and sounds blurred together, and just when I thought my lungs would burst and my legs became Jell-O, I came to a screaming halt in the nick of time.
“Whoa!” I screamed and dug my heels into the dirt. I should’ve backed up, moved far away from the edge of the cliff, away from the jagged rocks below that foamed at the mouth like a wild beast. But I didn’t. Instead, I flirted with death, let him hold me by the hand and let him decide. Just as I felt myself begin to tip forward, I caught a movement on the other ridge and froze. A baby roe deer was staring at me. He looked just as alone as I was, and dangerously close to the edge, too. In all the years of living here, I had never seen a deer, let alone one so close. It was almost like he was saying, “You jump, I jump.” A suicide pact.
He was so young, and I was sure his parents were close by, thinking he was just playing in the tall grass.
“Fine,” I huffed. Feeling like his death would be my fault, I pushed back and bent down, letting go an Earth-shattering scream that tore through me. I screamed until there was nothing left inside me. I panted and struggled to drag some oxygen back inside over my raw throat.
When I looked back over, I saw the deer hadn’t been frightened off. He stood on the edge of the forest, and just before he disappeared, he glanced over his shoulder as if to make sure I was all right.
I needed a new plan, one that would get me out of there now.
A knock at the door had me on my feet and rushing across the hotel room. Lack of food and a wild, emotional night had me in its hold when I threw open the door.
“Please come in.” I welcomed the bellman, but when I went to close the door behind him, someone’s shoe blocked it from closing.
“Sit.” Jacob Raine ordered the bellman to sit on the couch as he pointed a gun at me. I squelched a scream and held up my hands. “Don’t even think of making a move.” Jacob waited for two of his men to join us, blocking the doorway.
“I don’t know who you really are, Anna.” He gently touched the swollen cheek that Elio had hit earlier in the night. “But something tells me you’re important to Elio.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m really not.”
“See, here’s the thing, I think you are, and you are going to get him to sign this damn contract.”
“No,” fell out of my mouth like a damned idiot.
“You should know I don’t do well with that word.” He slipped on a pair of gloves and came closer to me, and my bones rattled with fear. “So, let’s try this again.” He shoved the contract in my hand.
“I don’t think I can get him to sign it.” I knew I was testing my luck, but I was revved up from my memory, and once again I was flirting with death.
He nodded calmly then grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked me backward. I was tossed on the couch and pinned to the seat. His leg covered mine so I couldn’t kick out. Again, that horrible nightclub smell lingered on his clothes, reminding me his men were probably not that far away.
“Just because your boyfriend sucker punched me doesn’t mean I don’t know how to inflict pain myself. You either get him to sign the contract or I will find another way to get it.” His free hand moved inside my robe and massaged my breast.
My skin shivered as a wave of anger tore through me.
“Don’t touch me.” I spat in his face, and his eyes went wild. He reached back grabbed the whiskey glass and smashed it on the table. I yelped at the loud noise. My nerves were pretty much splattered all over the room at this point. He held the jagged edge to my arm and smiled like the crazy man he was.
“As sexy as your sass is, Anna, I don’t like to be disrespected.”
He pushed the glass into the skin of my arm, slicing through the top layer like a painful papercut. I gritted my teeth, afraid I would jump, and it would dig in deeper. Fear raced through me. What else would he do if I didn’t agree?
“Listen to me.” He pushed down and sliced deeper, and I cried out, seeing the bellman’s face go pale. He looked like he might be sick. “Shhh.” He kissed my temple, and I shook harder. “Will you do as I ask?”
“Yes,” I whispered through my trembling lips.
He glanced down at the blood that oozed and slid the sharp edge across again, cutting even deeper as I struggled.
“Good girl.” He inspected his handiwork, then I shrieked as he sliced again but harder. He tossed the glass aside and grabbed my face and kissed my cheek hard. I closed my eyes, holding back my stomach, and when I finally heard him leave, I waited, frozen in position.
“Miss?” The bellman’s voice broke through my fear. He looked horrified. “Should I call the police?”
“No.” I trembled through more tears. “No, just go.”
I scrambled to grab my phone as he ran out, and I rushed toward the door to close it, tripping along the way.
“Ouch!” I held my burning, bloody arm as someone slammed into it, forcing it open again. “No!” I batted at a set of hands, but when I heard his voice I stopped.
“Jesus!” Vinni looked down at me, horrified. “What the hell happened?”
I threw myself into his arms, so thankful to see him.
“Help me,” I cried.
“Elio!” he called, and a moment later I felt his strong arms wrap around me.
“Whose blood is that?” His voice was haunting.
“Hers,” Vinni whispered.
They sat me in a chair and then closed and locked the door. Elio grabbed a towel and put pressure on my arm for a moment as he held me.
“Who did this?” he finally asked as his eyes drilled into me, but before I could reply, he removed the towel, and they both looked down at the deep cut.
“Is that a…” Vinni studied my arm, and for the first time, I took a look at it. A crude, jagged J was cut into my flesh.
“He marked her!” Elio growled, and if I thought he was wound up before, I was sadly mistaken.
“He wanted you to sign the contract,” I whispered, feeling the need to speak.
“Is that so?” he boomed as he stood. “Vinni, watch her.” He went for the door, but I jumped to my feet, feeling like I might be sick if he left.
“Elio,” I cried against his chest, “please don’t leave me.”
“This won’t take long, I promise.”
“No.” I sobbed, desperately wanting him to see what I needed from him. “I need you, please.”
I held his wild gaze with my terrified one, and after a moment, I knew he heard me. He buried his face into my neck and held me tight.
“Vinni.” He lifted his head after a few beats. “Don’t leave Wyatt alone tonight, but get Niccola…”
“You got it, boss.” Vinni gave me a pat on the shoulder as he left us alone.
Elio helped me to bed. He gently tucked the covers high up around my chin then paused as though he wanted to say something. He didn’t. I watched as he removed his suit jacket and bloodstained shirt then disappeared into the bathroom where I soon heard the shower running. I moved my attention to the electric fireplace and became mesmerized by the flames as they slowly flickered up over the artificial log. It gave me a chance to turn off my thoughts, if only for a few moments. I tuned in to the tenderness of the cut on my arm as I rolled over. Elio had wrapped it up after cleaning it when we were finally left alone. He also insisted I took a pain killer. I was glad I did; it hurt a lot now.
Thunder shook the windows, and I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. As much as I loved a good storm, it was a constant reminder of my time alone on the streets.
“Stop,” I whispered, wanting to keep my mind from racing wildly through everything that had happened then and today, to force myself to focus on what was next.
“There’s one more thing.” His voice suddenly broke through my thoughts. I opened my eyes to see him and blinked hard to focus. He leaned against the mantel. A fresh pair of slacks rested low on his hips, and as he reached up with both hands to slick back his wet hair, he let go a long breath.
I pushed myself up to rest my back on the pillowed headboard, curious to know what he had to say. At the same time, I wondered if my head could take any more tonight.
I looked up at him with a question in my eyes. He seemed to gather his thoughts and sat. “I like to call it quiet wealth.” He sat down on a chair by the bed, keeping his eyes on mine. “There’s a reason our family got to where we are today, why we have so many eyes and ears keeping watch for us, why we have so many staff members, and why loyalty runs so deep…” He paused again, and I wondered where he was going with this, then he shook his head as if to get back on track. He stood and walked to the floor-length window and rested his arm on the glass. His reflection mirrored the storm outside.
“Fear, when used correctly, is one of the most powerful weapons.” His voice was almost chilling. “When someone joins our syndicate, whether they are a staff member or a family friend, we arrange it so they become a witness to a crime. We also make sure that they know the killer saw their face.” I swallowed hard, thinking immediately of the murder I had witnessed. “It sounds sick, I know, but it ensures that they keep quiet, and in return for their silence, we provide them with protection and money to feed their families. It’s like an initiation to our world.”
“And if they want out?” The words barely slipped past my lips.
“They don’t.” He kept his back to me.
“And if they speak up?”
“They are dealt with.”
“I think,” I cleared my throat trying to find my voice, “I think when we get back to Italy, I need to go home for a while, clear my head.”
He turned to face me.
“Sienna,” his expression was unreadable, “you just aren’t getting it. Things are complicated now. After what you have seen, whether you like it or not, you are not going to be able to go back to the life you had. You need to give me time to figure this out, then you can leave if you wish.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t my hit,” he finally admitted, and I suddenly grew cold. “There’s a lot going on, but whoever that was at the dockyard, it wasn’t us. I don’t know who did it.”
“Which means you can’t speak to him,” I said more to myself, just needing to hear it.
Thunder rattled the glass, and lightning lit up the room. If he were anyone else, I would have run out of there so fast, but he wasn’t. He was still my Elio, but with secrets rooted deep within him. A darker side of the man I fell in love with many moons ago.
“You’re a target now, and when the word gets out that I have feelings for you,” he stepped closer, and I felt a tear slip out, “the wolves will come out and play.”
When he moved to come closer, I held up a hand, unsure of my own actions. I needed space.
“I just…” I held back, trying to process all he had said, “need a little time.”
He nodded and checked the time on his phone.
“The plane leaves in five hours. You should try to get some sleep.”
I watched her fall under a trance caused by the shock of what happened. My coin flipped through my fingers as I tried to think of all the ways I could deal with Jacob and his men. We lived in a ruthless world cloaked in power and money. The fight to stay on top came with a price, and many sacrifices had to be made, but this one went too far. My phone lit up and showed only a number. It was the room number next to ours. Slipping on my suit jacket, I found Vinni at the door. His nod reassured me he wouldn’t leave her side.
Plastic sheeting was a staple in our world. You never knew when a soul would be bought, or blood would be shed. The furniture had been pushed aside, and in the center of the room was one of Jacob’s men tied to a chair, his face sweaty and pale. I recognized him as one of the bodyguards. I stepped on the plastic that covered the floor and made my way over to the chair facing him. I made a show as I slowly unbuttoned my jacket and eased myself onto the chair.
“Typically, I would have ordered my men to dispose of you like the trash you are.” I plucked a piece of lint from the sleeve of my jacket. Each movement I made was deliberate, making him sweat what was coming. “But you have something I want.”
“Which is?” he snarled at me.
“Information.”
“I know nothing.”
“On the contrary, you do.” I changed my tone, hating that Sienna lay next door without me. “I know you knew the contract was dirty. I know that Jacob is working with someone, and you’re going to tell me who.”
“The hell I am, you asshole fool.”
I winced and glanced at Niccola, who shook his head at the idiot in front of me. Words were powerful in our business. They were a representation of how we were perceived and how we expected to be treated in return. These men were dirty, foul-mouthed businessmen. Their lack of class was painfully obvious.
“Well,” I held out my hand, and Niccola handed me a steak knife, “my men tell me you are a fan of playing football. It would be a shame to see you have to take the season off.” His gaze shot down to the knife.
“I’m no snitch.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but…” In a quick jolt forward, I jammed the knife into the side of his knee and leaned back as he screamed and bucked against the ropes that held him in the chair. “This situation can very easily be avoided,” I used my handkerchief to remove the blood from the blade, “with a simple answer. Who is Jacob working for?”
Sweat rolled down his forehead, and his face turned a dangerous shade of red.
“No doubt your heart is now pumping overtime, therefore sending massive amounts of blood to your wound.” I pointed to one of my men who was holding a roll of gauze. “We always have options in life, so choose yours now.”
“Screw you.”
I shook my head, unimpressed with his decision, and reached toward the man on my right. He immediately stepped forward with a pair of shears in his hand. He grabbed hold of two of the bodyguard’s fingers, ready to cut.
“No, no, no!” He bucked, and I held up a finger to pause my man momentarily.
“I’m listening.”
He screamed. He knew I wasn’t messing around. “I don’t know everything,” he tried to catch his breath through his pain, “but what I do know is that he had a meeting with someone three weeks ago and came back saying there was a change in plans. He needed to change the contract because we were working with another side.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know!” His chest heaved, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he began to lose consciousness. My man slapped his face, bringing him back to us.
“Again,” I repeated, “what does that mean?”
“Ah…” He blinked like he was trying to clear his thoughts.
I grew annoyed and tried a different angle. “Was it Stefano Coppola?”
“Who?” He seemed generally confused, and that instantly made me wonder what in the hell was brewing behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of.
“Enough of this.” I stood and buttoned my jacket. “Carve an E in his chest, film it, and dump him where he can be found.”
I headed back to my room, my mind in turmoil. I needed sleep.
To say I was on edge would be an understatement, and I knew Sienna had keyed in to my mood on the way down to the car in the morning. I must have touched the handle of my gun at least sixty times on the way from the hotel to JFK where my private plane awaited us. Normally, I’d stay in New York and finish off Jacob, but Papa felt strongly that we should return. It wasn’t until we were in the air that I was able to take a full breath and relax a little.
