Mafia Wars: His Sweet Angel

Forbidden alliance

Nico is behind me as we walk out of the building.

The chauffeur is already waiting, and he opens the car door. Nico and I slide into the first car, while the handful of men I'd picked to come with me to the auction get into the other cars.

Minutes later, we arrive at the auction venue. It’s taking place in one of the underground buildings that belong to the Torrecillis.

I get down from the car, heading inside, ignoring all eyes on me and all the saccharine gushes from horny bitches. I get into the hall only to realize the auction is almost over.

Good. I'd hate to be here for long.

One of Torrecilli’s men lead me towards my seat. I stop in my tracks as I realize my seat is reserved right next to Don Torrecilli.

"I can't sit next to that old sack of bones.” I hiss under my breath. But just enough for Nico to hear.

"Be calm, Vicious," Nico whispers, patting my shoulder. “There are other empty seats.”

Much better.

We turn away and head for the empty seats somewhere in the hall. The whole building is under a mad frenzy.

They are auctioning teenage girls, which I'm definitely not interested in. All I care about is getting the girl out of here.

Marcelo should be doing that right now.

She's not in this hall — I just did a quick scrutiny. That means Ferguson has her locked up somewhere. I hope they find her quickly.

He's supposed to send me a text when he finds her.

A few minutes and still nothing. It feels like forever. I tap my foot impatiently, trying so hard not to throw my fist into someone or something.

"How much time do we have left?" I ask Nico impatiently.

"Calm your nerves,” he responds.

I grit my teeth, shoving up my hand and glancing at my wristwatch again.

What's taking Marcelo so long?

"Can't you try to hide that irritated look on your face? In the next thirty minutes, we should be out of here. Try to keep your cool till then," Nico cautions, but wears an expressionless face so he won't attract any attention to us.

I almost hiss again, but I swallow it instead. Nico’s right. I should try to stay calm. Marcelo has never flopped a mission, and he's not about to start now.

I should have a little faith in him. I just hate that it's taking so long.

Thirty minutes later, the auction ended. I was on my way out when one of Torrecilli's men came over.

"Don Torrecilli asks to see you," he says, bowing. The urge to lash out at the man dies as I spot Don Torrecilli casually discussing with his men while casting me a side glance.

Nico casually pats my arm, warning me to stay cool.

I head in Torrecilli's direction, wearing a poker face. It'd be crazy to show him my distressed side.

He's a burly man, a little older than 60, roughly 5’7, but every inch a monster. The main boss. One that I loathe with every f*****g breath in me.

He's puffing on his blunt and grins as he sees me approaching.

"Vicious, I see you came."

"Of course," I reply briskly.

"Perfect. Would you like to have a drink with me in the main building?" he says, getting up from his seat.

"I'm sorry, but I think I'll pass. I need to leave. I have somewhere to be tonight." I say, trying to evade any chance of intimacy with him. We're not close enough to drink together. We'll never be.

"C'mon, I insist. Pedri will be joining us too."

My brows crease.

Pedri? Don Pedri De-Rosa? That's the Don of the second-ranked family…the De-Rosa family.

Having a drink with both Don Torrecilli and Don De-Rosa isn't just gonna be casual. Something's up. I can feel it in my bones.

Again, I'm disturbed by Marcelo's silence. Does he have the girl yet or not? I need to know. I'm way too agitated over it.

Don Torrecilli is waiting for a reply to his invitation.

Turning him down is the only logical reaction, as well as impossible. So I nod, adjusting the unflattering smile on my face.

“Sure. Why not?”

He laughs and leads the way to his main building. He leads us to one of his most luxurious rooms, strictly for relaxation. Nico waits outside the door, while Don Torrecilli and I go into the room.

I sit on a single couch. Don Torrecilli sits on another single couch. A soft knock lands on the door seconds later.

“Come inside.” Don Torrecilli tells whoever it is. The door opens, and Don De-Rosa makes his entry. He's a little younger than Don Torrecilli but older than me. They're all older than me. But who the f**k cares? I'm still gonna put a bullet in their skulls soon.

Behind him is the one person I didn't wanna see. Ferguson Carianno.

I glance at Don Torrecilli, and he's trying hard to act neutral. But I know he planned this. He lured me here so Ferguson would confront me over his boss/uncle's death.

Ferguson and Don De-Rosa share the double couch. He barely sits before his eyes wander to me. There's burning animosity and anger in them.

He's not trying to hide what he feels. I return his glare, doubling every bit of animosity he's staring at me with. We stare at each other for seconds, refusing to back off.

His stares scream of his hunger to kill me. Mine screams of a deeper craving to blow his brains out.

I wanna give him a messy death. Painful and messy. For sharing a space with my girl. For tricking her into thinking he's just some random, hardworking guy. For making her work in one of the nastiest and most dangerous Carianno nightclubs.

She's way too innocent to be exposed to such a damned environment!

And they even dared to send her up to Hunt Carianno’s private quarters as his plaything.

Bastards!! Psychos!

I don't know what else he's done to her. I'm not sure what their relationship is like, but the fact that they're close enough to take a walk together has me twitching in anger.

"Now that we're all here, I'll get down to business.” Don Torrecilli begins, glancing at all three of us. “As we all know, Hunt was killed yesterday. With him gone, the Carianno family automatically loses their spot in third place. Congratulations, Vicious and your DeLuca family. For becoming third in our little, big world.”

He raises a glass of whiskey, offering a toast. Everyone, including me, grabs a glass from the table and drinks.

Setting down our glasses, we await the next thing he has to say. Because he clearly isn't done.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to officially induct you into the third rank yet.” He drops the bomb. His hawk eyes watch me for a reaction.

But I'm still. Not even a twitch in my eyes. I refuse to give him any kinda reaction. He'll feast on it.

“The Carianno family has refused to step down, believing Don Hunt was murdered, and till the whole heat dies down, we will have to wait.” He says.

I'm not the least shocked. The Cariannos are a stubborn family. They'll never accept defeat easily. Especially this ass-hat sitting here – Ferguson.

“Is there something you'd like to say, Vicious?” Don Torrecilli asks. They all have their gazes pinned on me. “Do you have an issue about not being inducted?”

I run my fingers casually through my trimmed beard. “None. I understand how they feel. And I'm sure they need a little more time to come to terms with the reality that they're no longer in third rank.”

Don Torrecilli leans back into his sofa. He takes out a cigarette, and Ferguson offers him a lighter. A simple act but it seems Ferguson is sucking up to him.

Are they a team now?

“Tell me, Vicious,” Don Torrecilli blows out a ring of smoke. “Why did Hunt sign off his major assets to you?”

“We did business…”

“What kinda business would make a man give up almost all his family's wealth?” Don Torrecilli cuts me off.

“It's a bit of a secret. I'm entitled to have secrets, right?” I ask with a grim smile.

Don Torrecilli forces a chuckle. “Of course. I'm just too curious, though. I mean, it doesn't make sense…”

“Well, I did find it crazy at first. Then I realized maybe the man didn't trust his brothers to handle his wealth appropriately, or maybe he saw his end coming, and it prompted him to make the decision. I don't know. Again, it was business.”

“That's bullshit!” Ferguson seethes. “My Uncle never had any business deal with you. And he would never hand over his wealth to a sly devil like you.”

“Oh, but he did. ” I retort. “If you don't believe me, then go ask him. Just a bullet into your thick skull, and you'll be standing face to face with him and having the conversation.”

“That's enough, Vicious.” Don Torrecilli warns.

Ferguson's harboring a rage that can burn down mountains. It's amusing and satisfying to see him so pained.

He turns to Don Torrecilli. “I think I deserve a chance to prove my Uncle didn't willingly hand his properties to Vicious. And also that he was murdered. Please, give me a chance.”

Don Torrecilli quietly stares at him. He's pretending to be deep in thought. But I'm not a fool. It's clear he had already made his decision before he arranged this meeting.

Ferguson has already appealed and sucked up to him enough behind the scenes. He already got Don Torrecilli on his side against me. And with the subtle smirk on De-Rosa’s face, it's safe to say he's on this with them. They're going 3 against 1 now. This meeting is just a formal sham to seal the start of their forbidden alliance.

This war just got even more intense. 3 -1. The odds are greatly against me. But I'm not fazed.

“Sure.” Don Torrecilli agrees. “But do you already have a plan on how to go about it?”

“Yes. I have a lead. Someone who can prove that my Uncle was murdered. And hopefully can also prove that he was forced to sign his properties away.”

My throat goes dry instantly. My face pales. My heart drums dangerously.

“My men captured her,” Ferguson says.

I twitch in my seat, finding it harder to stay f*****g calm.

“Sure. Bring her in.” Don Torrecilli orders.

Ferguson nods and leaves the room. I wanna go after him so badly and stop him from bringing the girl in here.

Just then, my phone beeps. A message. From Marcelo.