My team has arrived. As unassuming as they may be, they are a deadly crew and will not let me down. My hotel room is luxurious, a fact not wasted on my now wife.
“You know if I am going to leave my son to come here, then this trip better not be wasted,” she says, walking out in front of me in a revealing, and oh so tempting, piece of lingerie.
“The only way to make that better is for you to get your ass over here right now.” I, with an erection so large I am sure it can clearly be seen, reach out for her and anxiously accept her soft hand. There is access through a ribbon to untie, but instead, I force my hand between her smooth skin and the delicate lace that barely covers her. Her mouth releases a gentle moan against my lips when my hand reaches its destination. I watch as her eyes fall closed and her hands grip my shirt tight. Her fancy little tied-together tank falls off her shoulders, revealing her abundant breasts and giving me ample reason to unleash my hungry member from its rapidly tightening prison. My desire falls out in front of her and bounces only once before she catches it in her hands. Austin is sitting on the bed, rubbing me, when I protrude deep into her mouth and get to enjoy watching her lips suck me clean. She rips my pants further down, feeling over my ass and pushing my hips forward so she can get a better taste. I let her enjoy it for only a little while longer before I have to lay her back and wrap her beautiful legs around my waist. I love watching her reaction as my now lipstick-stained desire touches just inside of her. She wants it all so bad, she whimpers my name. Her pussy is so tight that I enjoy toying with it, getting it wet and making it easy for me to slide right in. She envelopes me as if I am made to be inside of her. My body moves against hers to the beat of the rhythmic sounds from the night band below our oceanfront balcony. The gentle breeze soars through the room around us, being captured within the bed’s white draperies. I lift Austin up into the draperies, letting the silky fabric dance around us. Her lively smile brings this moment to the top of my list of favorites. I begin to wonder as I look into her eyes. “What do you think, Austin? Is this baby number two in the making?” I pump my hips forward as she lifts her arms up into the air as if she is opening herself up to the idea. Yeah, this is the perfect moment, I think while releasing the best I have into her.
The night comes to a close with sweet fruit, a gorgeous night sky, and a beautiful, naked woman draped along my body with an even better smile. “I love you,” she says to me.
I lean down and kiss her lips with a groaning, “I love you too.”
“Do you love me enough to tell me why you are allowing me to be here to help with this job?”
“I didn’t know I had a choice. Would you have stayed home if I had asked you to?”
“No,” she admits freely.
“Hm, about what I thought. So I guess you answered your own question.”
“Not really. Whether I had come against your wishes or not, you still would be on edge, wishing like hell I would find a way to be in the background and not in the middle of this fight.”
“A fight? We are getting into a fight? When?”
“Dace!” she snaps.
“Okay, I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, and I have no doubt that we will all be okay going in and coming out and going home again. Make sure you pack some of those candies the hotel sells. I am quickly becoming addicted to those things.”
“Dace!”
“What, Honey?”
“What aren’t you telling me? Why are you so calm and so assured about this? And why have you been taking odd business trips out of town? Hell, out of the country because I know damn well you called me last time from somewhere in Italy?” I should have known the cop in her would never just let the unknown be okay.
“I have been meeting with some relatives, a part of the family I never knew. They know some people that can help us, and so they have, and so they will.” Even though the words are easily coming out of my mouth, it’s still difficult to not tell her everything.
“What are their names and who are they? What do they do?”
“I can’t tell you,” I say, getting up and searching for a note I wrote out for her awhile back and made sure to give her before we got married. She’s read it many times; I know because she has questioned me about it every time. I hand the note to her, to remind her once again.
“Again with this?”
“I told you that note explains everything I can tell you and can’t tell you.” She looks it over, glancing at me suspiciously as she searches for something to question me about again. She eventually folds it up and slides it into her bag by the bed. I roll my eyes, knowing she is staring at me as if she is trying to penetrate my brain and search it for answers. “Okay?”
“No, I am your wife. I want to know everything you are doing and why.”
“Too bad.”
“Don’t say that to me.” She sits up on her knees, facing me at the edge of the bed and trying to intimidate me, but only succeeding in getting me horny all over again. “Don’t you dare smile. I am not going to have sex with you until you tell me what I want to know.”
“Withholding sex? That’s not fair, and we both promised never to do anything to hurt each other. I need sex. I love having sex with you, and it would hurt me if we couldn’t.” I give her the look I know she loves, but it only succeeds in frustrating her more this time.
“Dace, you cannot be married to me and not tell me what you are doing, how you are making a living for us even?”
“I told you that I had saved quite a bit when I was working with the crew, and I inherited a lot of money from both the Colletto family fund and my father. As far as work, I am exploring my options right now. First, I have to get my family duties taken care of, and unfortunately, Sweetheart, for the sake of your safety, our son’s, and future offspring’s, I can’t tell you anymore than I have. There are a lot of family secrets, and not one of them am I allowed to tell you or anyone else, and that includes Antony.” She cocks her head to one side. “That’s right. Antony doesn’t even know.”
“Why? He’s family right?”
“Yes, but he isn’t in the know. I have explained that to him, and he’s good with it.”
“No he isn’t.” I nod in rebuttal. “Why would he be so okay with not knowing something about his own family? Unless it’s illegal and he doesn’t want to get involved?”
“Austin, I am only going to say this once more. My family has a strong history, with a lot of important people, and none of them can be revealed without causing issues for you or the rest of my immediate family. You can question me to the day I die if you wish, but I cannot and will not ever tell you anything more than I already have. You will simply have to trust me that I am not telling you for your own good and let it drop. I promise you, if there is any reason at any time to give you information, you will have it. In fact, I have made arrangements if something happens to me to do just that—tell you everything and allow you to make the decision I had to make while I watched you fight for your life and the life of our child. I made a decision in that moment that I don’t regret for one second, but because of that decision, I have to keep a secret from you and everyone else in the world. You have two choices Austin. One, you can trust me, your husband, and believe I am doing everything I can to protect you and the rest of our family in the best way I can. Or option two, you can divorce me and leave me for someone who lives an ordinary life without secrets. I will not deny you either option, but I will stay in my son’s life … and keep the dirty pictures we took together.” I raise my eyebrows at her while taking her hands in mine. “So … what will it be? Or do you need some time to consider?” I know she won’t leave me, but I also know she will never give up trying to find out my secrets, which excites us both. The cop versus the criminal, neither of us will ever change who we are, but it is who we are that sparks our passion and love for each other.
“I love you. I don’t like that you are keeping secrets from me, and I am not going to lie, it bothers me.” I roll my eyes
, because it bothering her has not been made clear already. “Stop rolling your eyes at me.” She breathes in and calms her attitude. “I do trust you though, so I guess I will take option one…for now.”
“Good.” I kiss her and crawl into bed with her, watching as she falls asleep. I know, however, the moment she thinks my eyes are closed, hers will open, determined to know my secret. She will never give up trying to know, and that will be my punishment for keeping the family secret.
Rowen, Michael’s lead killer was found by some friends of mine. He decided to take a fact finding trip away from Michael’s protection. He was lured away by some information that I might be nearby and he could get a chance to kill me with ease. I was there alright, there was four of us there actually, waiting to watch his expression when he realized he had been setup. Revenge is a sweet word when you get to witness it firsthand. The four of us sat drinking as we watched the show. Rowen, was brutally beaten and made to suffer. He begged for his life until his last breath, unfortunately for him we didn’t feel any mercy for him. He had killed our mothers and we have never forgotten that fact. His body disappeared and was never found. I can only imagine what Michael might think if he had heard. He’s not going to get a chance to worry about his old friend though. We are here and we are coming for him next.
Aaron, Jessica, Antony, and Austin are all here with me, waiting for the moment to move in. Le has done her job and got the family contact Michael’s compound layout. She is waiting at her post as she would usually do. She’s putting her life in danger, and I warned her of that. I can’t stop the onslaught once it starts, and she will be seen as someone in the way and not as an ally. Le shrugged her shoulders at me and told me she wouldn’t leave her crew for anything. She is determined to lead them out safely. I promised her if she was able to do that I would make sure they had a fresh start. Hell, I’ve been looking for a new business to invest in anyway. Maybe the old crew would be a good place to start. I turn to everyone. “Now, I want to make sure you all understand how this is supposed to go. We only have so much time to get in, find him, and kill him, and then we have to get to the boat and get the hell out of here. We will not be able to stick around after. The local police will be after our heads, and there is nothing my connections can do for us if we are captured, so get the hell out of here. In fact, we will have twenty minutes to do what we need to do, whether we get to Michael or not. Everyone understand?” They all nod, but I grab Austin’s hand and look down at her as she sits, looking anxious. “You, especially. When the time is up, get the hell out of here. I don’t care whether you get to do what you want to or not.”
“Now that’s the Dace I have been waiting to see,” she says with a tense smile.
Squeezing her hand, I begin to become anxious and nervous myself. Why it is taking so long to hear from anyone? By the time I begin to pace and Antony is ready to call it off, I get a message to move in. “Let’s go. And remember, twenty minutes from now. Set your watches.” They all do as I ask, and we move out. We ride onto the compound in the midst of battle. The front gates are busted through, and the place is surrounded by masked men. And out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Le and some others following her out. She does her signature wave before they steal a truck and head out. She manages to pick up a few others who appear to know to put their hands up and surrender immediately. The woman is smart, and knows who she could trust. I breathe a small sigh of relief knowing I will have less old friends to go against in the future. We jump out and rush into the home, exploding through its already busted down doors. Aaron and Jessica go right, Austin and Antony go left, and I go straight ahead, knowing Michael better than anyone. The first team in is already on their way out, which means we are down to the bare minimum of potential issues. I hear gunfire to my right, and I have to stop myself from running to Austin and Antony. The moment I spot a masked man in the distance, he nods and motions to me that all is still good. I move forward finding a back room that leads to a stairway and down into a tunnel. I stop and push my body into a tight corner when I get a bad feeling. I was right. One of Michael’s men comes running at me, shooting wildly. The smoke blinds me and makes it impossible for me to get a clear shot, but someone else has no problem. I look up to another masked man as he motions towards me that I am good to move forward. My doubts begin to diminish, and I move forward, taking care of one obstacle after the next until I step up to another set of stairs leading up this time. I move slowly and cautiously towards the shadow that awaits me.
“Go back, Ghost. Go back and let this be done where it is,” Peter warns me.
“Oh, so now you protect the guilty and support them in their evil deeds?”
“You’re not listening! You can’t win. People will only continue to get hurt. What does it matter who lives or dies? There will always be someone doing what only the devil would do.”
I race up the stairs and stare right into Peter’s eyes, facing him gun to gun. “You look pale, Peter. Betrayal doesn’t suit you.”
“I never meant anything to happen to you, your brother, or Austin even.”
“No, you never meant for the love of my life or unborn child be subjected to a killer who wanted nothing more than to do his worst to them.” Peter looks shocked. “Yeah, she was pregnant at the time, Peter. But I guess the devil wouldn’t care.”
“The child?” he asks surprisingly.
“He survived. He had some issues at first, but he seems to be doing quite well thanks to doctors who quickly put his mother in a coma to help them both survive the trauma she endured without stress. But you don’t care, right? He could have died, an innocent baby, because all you care about is your bets and money.”
“No, I care about more. I only lost my way and hoped for the best for you. I thought I was helping you, I swear.”
“And now, you help him?” I ask, and he closes his eyes and lowers his gun.
“No,” he says, shockingly giving up. “By the way, your motorcycle is in the garage out back. He kept it as a trophy and motivation to kill you one day,” he says as he spots something over my shoulder. He raises his gun at me, and he is instantly shot in the head and killed.
“You can’t aim towards me and live anymore, Peter. It’s nothing personal. It’s a family thing.” I don’t have time to mourn my old teacher. I have my brother to deal with. I make it into another building where Michael is not only sending out help signals but warming a small plane. “Michael!” I yell, stopping him in the middle of whatever call he is trying to make.
“You should go now before the local police get here. They are on their way, and they will not take kindly to you attacking their local celebrity,” Michael brags with a smile on his face.
“Celebrity? Is that what you are?”
“It helps to have money to donate to the right places and people. I am not kidding when I say you should go as soon as you can. They will kill you on the spot.”
“Hmmm …” I glance at my watch and smile. “Pretty sure I have at least eleven minutes left.” Michael looks confused. “I had a plan, Michael. You don’t think I wasn’t prepared for you calling for help? I planned for everything.”
“Everything Dace? I doubt that. You should have stayed in the States with your son and wife and whatever else pretend life you have. Did you make sure it’s your child before taking it in?”
“I’m not you Michael. My woman is satisfied every time she’s with me.” He laughs harshly and then pulls out his own gun as two other men jump out to shoot me. They are both eliminated before their fingers can reach the trigger. Michael is in shock but continues to face me with his gun aimed directly at my heart. “Why Michael? Why were you so threatened by two little boys who had no idea who they were?”
“It didn’t matter what you knew. It only mattered that she betrayed us, and every day that I had to look at you two made me angrier.”
“She didn’t betray you. She betrayed your father, and he even admitted that he deserved it.”
; “He was a loser, a spineless wimp who cried over her body for hours then sat in his room as if the world had come to an end because she was gone. He was pathetic. She was nothing.”
“She was your mother!” I yell at him.
“No she was nothing! There is one thing you should learn, little brother. No one else matters other than yourself. Protect yourself above all else because no one else will.”
“What happened to you, Michael? Someone take your teddy bear and never give it back?”
“No, someone brought in two little babies that everyone adored and couldn’t see past to notice me at all. There were only two of us, and I was the star. Everyone loved me. I was the sure leader, the handsome, young man that everyone doted over and wanted their daughters to date. Then, our mother took me to see her father. He questioned me and questioned me and then decided that I wasn’t worthy of his time. I WASN’T WORTHY OF HIS FAMILY! Who the hell did he think he was to judge me?! I told him what I would do to him, what I would do to his whole family, and that son of a bitch put me out. I woke up days later in my own bed back home. It wasn’t until last year that I found out that he had me cut. That, he made me impotent. His last words to me were that the world would be better off if I had never been born. I thought he only meant I wouldn’t inherit his modest living, but no, he meant he would keep me from having a child altogether. He had me professionally impotent! Do you understand what he did to me?! Why would someone feel they have the right to do that to a twelve year old?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he thought you were an insane little bastard who should be stopped before you multiplied. Sounds reasonable to me.”
Michael runs forward and meets me in the center of the room. “I hate you.” His warm breath grazes my face.
“And I definitely hate you.” My brother’s gun presses hard against my temple as mine presses hard against his, both waiting for the other to blink and end this standoff once and for all. His frozen eyes begin to glaze over, allowing the shadow of death to pass clearly within them. Taking in a single breath, I thank death for showing up and ending this battle once and for all. I only hope he decides to be my ally rather than my brother’s. No matter. I have but a single exhale before I miss my chance to be the first to pull his trigger, and I refuse to miss my opportunity. Death raises up from all corners of the room, making it clear … it’s now or never. I exhale a rugged breath against the rapid gunfire forcing my descent down to the floor, but still, I squeeze the trigger and make sure, in that moment, to never blink until after he does. His body violently shakes and trembles as he shoots in every direction, missing everything. It isn’t until that moment that I realize his gun is full of blanks. I look around as Aaron, Austin, Jessica, and Antony all stand with their smoking guns, watching as Michael chokes on his own blood from the four bullet wounds throughout his body and one single one to his heart. His gun drops from his hand, and he falls to his knees. He has wounds in his chest, his back, his crotch, his ass, and his heart, but still the evil adrenaline flows through him and keeps him swearing to me. I lean towards him and whisper with a smile, “The family says, hello.” His eyes widen as he falls backwards and struggles to find a breath to curse me one last time.