Sick Bastard, page 29
I give a light tap to the very last door at the end. “Entra,” A familiar deep voice booms back through the heavy wood door so I push right in. I have my eyes down, kicking my shoes off at the door when I fiddle with my purse, slinging it higher on my shoulder. The rules for the house carry on over to the office. The crazy man insists that shoes be removed.
I never thought today would be the day my heart would die. I never expected it to be trampled on and obliterated into nothing but dust. I never thought I’d see Dante sitting calmly at my grandfather’s desk with the eyes of a complete stranger staring at me.
Everything spirals into a slow torturous crawl. My head spins and my thoughts twirl. “Il mio bambino, vieni a sederti,” My grandfather’s loud voice insists I sit, but I can’t. I can’t move. I can hardly breathe.
Why is he here? What’s happening? “London, Sit. Sit.” I swallow hard and nod. I take a seat and look directly at my grandfather, waiting for some explanation. “London, I’ve called you over to inform you of a few things that have changed with the company and I wanted to inform you before you jump right in.” I nod my response and wait.
Looking over at Dante, my grandfather nods. “Dante Marcello, this is my granddaughter, London DeLacourt.” My Grandfather looks over and smiles at me proudly. “London, this is Dante Marcello.” What the fuck is Dante doing? And Marcello?
Dante reaches his hand out to me like it’s the first time we’ve met, like I haven’t spent countless hours with those hands all over my body. I feel sick. “Nice to meet you, Miss DeLacourt.” He says like I’m a stranger. I look at my grandfather for answers, anything, but he only smiles encouragingly at me. Twisting in my seat, I look at Dante.
“Dante,” I implore. “Dante Marcello?”
“Yes, that’s right.” He nods and smiles. I don’t give him my hand. I drop my stare from his. Something in the far depths of my heart knows what’s going on. I knew his secrets would eat me alive, just not like this. His lies run so deep that I’ve been buried alive by the weight of them. I swallow back the painful knot of uncertainty in my throat and wring my sweaty hands.
“W-what did you want to talk about?” I need something, anything to help clear up this mess I’m drowning in. Like a fucking idiot, I ask for the answers I already know.
Hot tears sting the corners of my eyes and a sob tears at my throat. My heart physically aches with a raw burn when both stare at me like I’m the crazy one. I’m on pure survival mode while I sit here and watch everything crumble at my feet. I give my full attention back to my grandfather.
“Anyway, as you know, London, with the tanking economy, things have been rough. I brought in Mr. Marcello to help bring our profits back up, which is his specialty. He signed on for fifty-one percent and you’ll hold forty-nine. You’ll work together to bring the company back and by next year, things will go back as planned with you at the head. Once the year is over, Mr. Marcello will move on to other things.”
No! Dante will ruin this company, just like he ruins everything. Grandfather gave it to this man―this lying, deceitful, cruel monster? Dante knew. I told him about how important this was to me and he took it. He swooped in and stole it all away. It was his plan from the beginning and I’ve been so blind to see that I’ve been used, again. My father’s shit wasn’t enough, so Dante had to bring it home. That’s all I’ve been to anyone in my life―an easy in. Get the little girl out of the way, use her, whatever angle needed and boom, they have Grandfather’s life’s work in their hands.
Digging into my bag, I tear my cell phone out. I have to get out of here now. “I need to make a call to Matt. He had an issue this morning so if we’re finished, I’d like to get back to him.” I blurt out, clambering up and out of my seat. I throw myself at the door to get away.
“Is everything okay?” My grandfather asks, sounding concerned.
“I’m sure he will be. It’s stupid man trouble. Men are real pricks, ya know?” I say quietly as I rush out the door.
I stumble on weak knees to the elevator. Why would he? How could he?
I know he’s coming. In a blind panic, I run through the lobby and I know he’s coming. I can hear his feet on the brushed concrete floors. My chest heaves as I push through the front doors and onto the sidewalk, but his hand catches my elbow, jerking me to a stop. “London, you have to let me explain.”
“Who are you? Explain this shit to me right now!” He’s played me, used me, and did nothing but lie to me since day one, and he’s never stopped. I look at him, and I mean really look at him. “Is your name even Dante?” I feel sick with the idea. This man, a man I thought I loved may not even be who I thought he was. The name I’ve called him for months may not even be real.
He actually looks offended by my question. Crossing his arms defensively he scoffs, “Of course it is.”
“Don’t fucking stand there and act like my question is fucking crazy. Your last name isn’t even Marx. You’ve lied about that. So again, who are you?” Who the hell have I been sleeping with night after night.
“You’re right. My last name isn’t Marx, it’s Marcello.” He sighs tiredly. “And I lied about it to protect my business, myself, and you.”
I don’t know him at all. “Why have you been lying to me?” A sick realization grips my heart and tears at it. Tears fall that I just can’t stop because he knew. He’s always known who I am. “You knew who I was from the beginning.” His eyes give me all the conformation I need. Running an agitated hand through his hair, he instantly goes to work on his watch.
Looking down at the sidewalk he swallows hard before he answers, “Yes.” I see no regret for the lies, only regret for being caught. God, I feel so fucking broken. “Why do you want his company? My future?” His eyes close briefly before he opens them and nothing but those mean, ruthless eyes stare back at me. He doesn’t care at all. He never did.
“Why not you? You were a way to get close, but then I fell and I was already in too deep. I’m a man of my word, London, and I had to uphold my end and you just happened to get caught in the middle. Your grandfather is competition to me and mine, London. I, my company, we do exactly what he does. He’s in my goddamn way, holding a contract I need and you were just collateral damage.” He says the last part quietly. I was collateral damage.
“I buy into this company. I get majority share and make changes. I take the contract. I take him out of the equation in the process of building up my empire. It’s all very simple.”
“You’re not even in the same business.” I scream at him. Jesus Christ, all he fucking cares about is himself. He doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he wins in the end.
Throwing his hands out to the side, he snorts a dry, humorless laugh. “Fuck. Do you not see it? Are you that goddamn naïve?” He sneers at me. “I’m the mob. I’m a boss in the goddamn motherfucking mob. You, your grandfather, your fucking father, and me. Organized crime. What the fuck do you think we do?” He yells, smacking at his chest.
Everything starts to spin slowly as the words sink in. I can’t breathe. The mob? Organized crime? I’d always knew my father was into some bad shit, but never my grandfather. Never. “No, not my grandfather.” I tell him with determination. My father, yes, but never him.
“No, he’s not in the mob, but he has worked for us for a long time now. He’s made a lot of money working with the mob, and he’s very involved. He’s in this game like the rest of us. He’s the middle man who knows a lot of shit and has done a lot of shit for us.”
“How the fuck can I ever believe anything you say? Nothing you’ve told me has been the truth.”
“Wake the fuck up, will ya! I may be a liar, but you know I’m telling you the truth about this. Things got tough for a while so we came to him and made a deal. That deal helped provide you with a driver who was about to lose his job, an apartment that you should never have been in. He made a lot of money, living a certain lifestyle, and when the money was running out, he needed us. So because of us, you got to stay in your fancy schools, you had your lavish lifestyle in London. We’re the ones who provided for you through your grandfather. He knew what he was doing. It’s a fucking import and export business, London, dealing in skin, narcotics, money, stolen goods. Fuck, anything that’s worth street value has been run through your company. That makes you a part of it now.”
“I have no part of that.” I croak out. My tears fall freely. Standing here on this sidewalk, I start to question everything I ever wanted and everything I’ve ever known. “N-not me,” I whisper around broken sob. It’s happened. I’ve been deceived by everyone, including my grandfather. I’ve lost everything.
“The fuck you don’t. The second you signed on that dotted line, baby, you became a player. You’re now the goddamn boss of this company, right alongside me. You’re now knowingly running a fucking company with ties to a crime family alongside the boss of that family. Not only am I your partner, I’m also going to be your biggest fucking competitor.” I don’t want that. I don’t want to be a part of any of it. Not him, not my father, not my grandfather, not any of them.
“No. You’re part of that.” I can’t look at him. I can’t fucking stomach the sight of this fucking piece of shit.
“Yes, I am.” I thought buying and tearing businesses down caused a lot of hatred toward him. This is my fault. I turned a blind eye and stayed because I loved him. Even knowing what I knew, I still loved him and I stayed, so I can’t blame him for that, that’s all on me. But the mob? My company? I didn’t see any of this happening. I never would’ve imagined he would do this to me.
“You’re just gonna take it all from me, aren’t you?” I say through the tears. I know him well enough to know this is it. I can’t believe that Grandfather knew this was his plan, but he put himself in this situation, which in turn, put me in this shit. He had to have known his decision would fall back on me and I can’t believe he could do this to me. Dante is gonna take this company right out from under me. The mob is going to try and take it from me.
My grandfather built this company from the ground up. He nurtured it from nothing to something, making it hugely successful. It belongs to me, my family, not Dante. I’ve spent my life preparing for this. School, summer internships, years of late nights learning and studying was all leading into this. All I ever wanted was to take over where Grandfather left off and make him proud, but he was so careless and gave it all away.
“Yes. London, I’ll take care of you. What does it matter with who owns it? Whether I tear it apart or leave it whole, you’ll never go without. You can still be a part of it. Baby, you can have everything you want, with or without the company.” He can’t be serious. Another piece of my heart dies.
“Fuck you, Dante.” I feel like he’s slapped me. Until this very moment I never understood the idea of loving and hating someone at the same time, but right now, I’ve never hated someone so fucking much. Not even my father or Perry could begin to match this hatred I have for him. I’ll die before letting my company go to him or anyone else. I earned it and it’s mine. He’s gonna have to fight me for it, or kill me.
“I don’t want your fucking help. I don’t need you to run it for me.” I say very calmly.
“Then what do you want. Do you want it all?” He yells at me. I want my company and I want him to disappear. “Do you want millions of dollars? The yachts, the expensive cars, exotic trips, million dollar homes all over the globe? Do you want the keys to a company you clearly don’t know shit about? Baby, I’ll give it all to you. I can fucking give you the world. Fuck that goddamn company.” He screams. “It’s important to me for reasons that’ll never be important to you. You can have anything on the goddamn planet, London, and I can give it all to you.” He says throwing his hands out to his sides.
He doesn’t get it. He can’t see past his own greed and selfishness to see what I need or want. The sick fucking bastard only cares about what’s going to benefit him. The idea crushes me.
“I don’t want shit from you. Nothing. I want you out of my life and my company.” Shaking his head he practically growls at me.
“That’s never gonna happen. I love you, but I love myself and my company just as much, and I’ll never let any of it go.”
I hate him. “You played me. I should’ve walked away from you in the beginning. You used me.”
“Maybe you should have, but you didn’t, and you love me as much as I love you.”
“I don’t love you, Dante. I can never love someone like you.”
His head snaps back. I can see him slipping. “Yes you do.” He counters cautiously. How wrong he is. I couldn’t love him any less than I do right at this moment.
“You’re the one who’s naïve. You’ve ruined whatever we could’ve had, which turns out, was nothing. I don’t love you. I could never love someone like you. If I could, I’d have you wiped clean from this planet and save us all the suffering. You do nothing but shit on everyone and everything you come into contact with. I may be naïve and stupid to you, but you’re a heartless, worthless human being.” Those cruel eyes close with my words.
“You’re mad and I get it, but I know you love me. You’ll get past this and everything will be fine, trust me.” He states firmly, but his voice is uncertain.
“I did love you, but I hate you more. Nothing, and I mean nothing can fix the damage you’ve done. Any love I have for you is already fading. I’ll move on from you, Dante, but you’ll be alone. You’ll have your business to keep you warm at night, and that’s all you’ll ever have.”
“London.” He reaches for me. I know deep down inside there’s something good in all that bad. But it’s the black, it’s the dark, and it’s the selfish, terrible man that shines through the brightest and burns the hottest. I won’t live with that. Somewhere deep down he meant well, but the lies killed that small, kind part of him. He’s ripped my world apart, along with his if he truly loves me. I want him to suffer. I want him to pay for the wasted months I gave him, and I want him to pay for fucking with me.
He makes a grab for my hand and I almost crack, but I look into those deceitful eyes and know he’s unfixable. I can’t save him. No one can. He’s shattered into millions of unfixable pieces, destroyed by the lies, the violence, and all the greed that keeps him going. If I give in, he’ll only devastate what little is left of me.
“Leave me alone and stay out of my life. If you ever felt anything for me, you’ll bow out and give me what’s mine. You’ll disappear and never come back. You’ll crawl into a sad, dark hole and die from my world.” The words hurt when they pass my lips.
“No.” He argues.
“Yes.” I say with certainty.
For a long moment he watches me. He doesn’t say anything, but I see the finality sink in. I can feel the acceptance of the mess he’s made. Giving a brief curt nod, he closes his eyes and sucks in a ragged breath. “Okay.” Turning to leave he makes it a few steps before he stops.
Looking back over his shoulder, I watch him swallow hard and compose himself. Smoothing a hand down his exquisite suit jacket, he rights his tie, the tie I picked this morning. Standing in front of me, he’s everything he’s always been, but I’m finally able to truly see him for the man he truly is, and has been all along; a cruel, sick bastard.
It was always there in the depths of those black eyes. All twelve of those terrible personalities flash in those soulless eyes before he schools his features into a mask of composure. I see the end when he stares into my heartbroken green ones. But I also see him.
“Remember, London, no matter where you go or what you do, I’ll be there. I’ll be watching you because I’ll never be able to let you go.”
“And you’ll live a sad life watching me from afar, because I’ll never forgive you for this.”
“But I’ll always love you. I have no intentions of giving up on you, but I will give you time to process and you’ll come to realize that I won’t allow you to love anyone else, be with anyone else, but me. You can’t run from me, London. You’re mine, and you always will be.”
“I don’t belong to anyone, Dante, and you’ve lost any right to be a part of my life. I hope someday you feel exactly the way you’ve made me feel today―destroyed. This feeling will pass and our time together will be a sick, twisted memory that I’ll forever loathe. I won’t let another person use me again. I hope you’re prepared for what’s about to come. I don’t intend to give up this company to you, my father, or anyone who thinks they can take it from me. I’m done being the blind, love sick bitch I’ve been. Don’t count me out, Dante. You’ve not seen what I’m capable of when I want something so remember, when I come for you, and I will, you’ll understand that you’re the one who created the monster I’ll become. You should’ve never underestimated me because when I’m backed into a corner, I will come out swinging, you stupid motherfucker. So let’s finish the game we started, shall we?
About the Author.
I live in a small hick town right on the coast of good Ol’ Washington State, about two hours outside of Seattle. Although I live in a small town, don’t mistake my location for my love of all things country, because I’m a city girl through and through. My heart lives in the fast paced hustle and bustle of the city. I live with or right next door to my tribe, or as most know them, my family. My lovely, but nutty mother lives right next door with my hair brained Grandma. I currently reside in my nut house with my strange, but wonderful fiancé and my wild as hell little monster boy. My biker mouthed, but funny and amazing little sister lives not too far away with my adorable nephew and hick, down to his bones, brother in law. I have an enormous love for music. I love it all. My sister and I go to as many concerts as humanly possible, but my passion is reading and writing. I have a love of all things book-related. If it has words, I’ll read it. I decided one day to write because my poor brain couldn’t take any more of the massive stories I had stored away. I figured hell, I love them, and maybe someone else will too. So I started writing and couldn’t stop. I still can’t stop. It’s now become an obsession―a lovely obsession.<3
