Braden: A Dark Mafia Romance (11 page)

“You’re lying!”  Angela’s voice suddenly cut through the tension and my eyes got wide as I turned to look at her.

“Angela!”  I screamed.  “I told you to wait in the car!”

“You brought her with you.”  Don Abrami stood up.  “Well that is certainly—convenient.”  His hand slipped behind his back and into his jacket.

“What the fuck?”  My hand went to my gun as soon as he withdrew his.

“Braden, you know she can’t live.”  He pointed his gun at her and I leveled mine on him.

“Don’t do it.  Don Abrami, I love you as much I loved my own father, but I will not let you kill her.”  I steadied my hand.

“Of course…”  Don Abrami laughed.  “That is why she’s still alive.  You fell in love again…”

“Don Abrami, with all due respect, please take your gun off of her.”  I begged.

“You don’t give me orders, boy; you are a soldier.  Don’t worry.  I’m not going to kill her.”  He let his gun drop.  “You are…”

“What?”  Angela’s eyes looked between the two of us.

“Braden, you know what has to be done.  You want to sit at my table?  Kill her and tomorrow, that becomes reality.  You will be one step away from taking my spot as the head of this family.”  Don Abrami held his hands out.  “You’ve given this Family everything; I’m just asking for one more thing.”

I lowered my gun and looked over at Angela.  “I…”

“Braden!”  Angela said in a hurried tone.  “You said you loved me.”

“Love?”  Don Abrami laughed.  “What is love anyway?  I’m offering you power, respect, and the chance to rise higher in this Family than your father ever did.”

“Why do you sound so desperate?”  I stared Don Abrami down.  “You’re going to give me a seat at your table for killing her?”  I motioned to Angela.  “Why?”

“I’m trying to help you, Braden.”  Don Abrami looked confused by my question.

Suddenly, I heard screeching tires outside.  I ran to the window and pulled the curtain to the side.  “Eight-Ballers!  Don Abrami, we have to get out of here!”

“Oh we’re not going anywhere.”  I turned to find his gun leveled on me.

Multiple shots rang out in loud hurried squeals that poured from the end of his silencer.  At first, I just felt the impact of the bullets.  They were enough to knock me down, and once I collapsed to the ground, I felt pain rip through my body.  I heard Angela scream as the room filled with people.  In the kaleidoscope of pain and confusion, clarity began to emerge.  Don Abrami was working with the Eight-Ballers.  He had betrayed me and all Five Families.  The only thing that I didn’t understand was why.  He was the Don.  He had no reason to hunger for more power.  The Eight-Ballers were our sworn enemy, and they had killed so many of our people over the years, including my father.  I heard footsteps walking towards me and as I gazed up through my murky vision, I saw Don Abrami standing over me.

“You’re still alive.  You really are a tough son of a bitch.”  He said with a laugh.  “You could have had everything, Braden.  You could have been smarter than your father and avoided his fate.”

“Why?”  I asked through choked breaths.

“Why do you think? I had to secure my empire.  Five years ago the Families were all feuding with each other.  We were unorganized and we lacked leadership.  We needed a common enemy, someone who would draw us together.”  He shook his head.  “I’m sorry that you had to be just another casualty for the cause.”

“You…”  I grimaced and tried to force my words out.  “You betrayed us…”

“No, I didn’t betray anyone.  I united the Five Families.  Your father understood that.  He took a bullet to help unite the Five Families.  Unfortunately he had a change of heart, and well…”  He shook his head.  “I did what I had to do.”

So much blood, so many bodies, and so many years of war—all so Don Abrami could become our Godfather.  I reached for my gun, hoping to do one last good deed before I felt my own life slip away, but his foot stepped on my hand and kicked my gun away.  Mary was dead because of him, as was my father, and Angela would be next.  Each time my heart beat, more blood was lost. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold on much longer.  Everything I had believed and fought for had been a lie.  Don Abrami had been using the Eight-Ballers as his pawns to keep his empire together.  Having them kill District Attorney Madison would have taken the focus away from the Mafia and put it on them.  It was a betrayal of our code.  I felt his foot lift off of my hand and I reached out, but I didn’t find anything within my grasp.  The walls were closing in and the darkness was going to swallow me.

“Burn this place down.”  Don Abrami said.

“What about the girl?”  I heard a voice ask.  I didn’t recognize it, but I assumed it had to be an Eight-Baller.

“I’ll take her.  She’s still got some value and she’s kind of pretty.”  His footsteps moved towards her.

“No!”  I could hear her trying to put up a fight, but after a few screams, I heard a thud and then silence.

“Angela…”  I said with my last breath.  “I’m sorry…”

I slipped in and out of consciousness.  Something was being poured around the room and through the house.  Flashes of purple and green, the color of the Eight-Ballers, dotted my vision.  A few minutes later, I heard a rushing sound and then I felt the heat.  I prayed for the bullet wounds to take me before the flames did.  I focused my thoughts on Angela, hoping that by some miracle, she was able to escape.  I knew the chances of that were slim.  I wondered if I could have prevented everything that happened by simply putting a bullet through her father’s head.  I had gotten swallowed up in my vengeance and it had been my ultimate undoing.  The ripple effect would be felt across countless lives and bodies would be piled up in order for Don Abrami to erase everything that happened.  His empire would continue to grow, fueled by the city’s anger for the Eight-Ballers.  For me, the war was over.  I had failed.

Chapter 15:  Angela

Everything happened so fast.  One second there were was a car outside and the next, Don Abrami was putting bullets in Braden.  Braden would die a hero in my eyes, even if he was the one who brought death to my doorstep.  I didn’t understand their world, but I understood that what Don Abrami did was the ultimate betrayal.  He was the man responsible for Braden losing his father and the attack on mine—he was also the one responsible for Ronald’s death.  He was an actual monster and he was the face of absolute evil.  I had no idea if he was ever a good man, but if he was, greed had twisted him into something else.  The last image I saw before I lost consciousness from a punch to the side of my head was Braden dying on the floor as Don Abrami ordered the Eight-Ballers to burn the house to the ground.  I don’t know how much time passed before I woke up, but I woke up in the backseat of his car with my hands bound behind my back.

“Where are you taking me?”  I tried to sit up, but my head was pounding and my restraints made it impossible.

“The end of the road…”  He said in an ominous tone. 

The car came to a stop and I could see some sort of warehouse over the top of the seats.  He opened the back door and pulled me out by my feet.  I tried to kick at him, but with my feet tied together, all I could do was flail around.  Instead of landing on them, it caused me to land with a thud on my side.  He reached down and hauled me to my feet.  I writhed around to try and escape, but he easily picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.  He walked to the warehouse and pulled open the door.  It was dark inside, but he flipped a switch and illuminated it.  There were boxes everywhere and crates piled to the ceiling.  He walked through the maze to a room in the back which had a mattress and a chair.  My eyes were drawn to a thick chain that was buried in the wall with an iron collar on the end.  He dropped me on the mattress with a thud and then clamped the collar around my neck.  A padlock was slid into the side of it and then I heard it click.

“There.”  He pulled the chair away from my reach and sat down, lighting a cigar as he stared at me.  “I can see why Braden liked you so much.  You are very pretty.  I would have struggled with killing you as well.”

“You’re a son of a bitch!”  I spat at him, but he easily dodged it.

“Don’t hate me.  I’m just doing what is necessary.  This is all on Braden.”  He puffed his cigar and stared at me.

“What are you going to do with me?”  I demanded.  “If you’re going to kill me, just do it.”

“Oh you’re too valuable alive now.  The Eight-Ballers didn’t kill your father.  He’s all over the news, doing a press conference from his hospital bed.  He’s got every resource the city could muster searching for his daughter and her best friend’s killer.  Luckily, all of his attention is focused on the Eight-Ballers.”  Don Abrami smiled.

“Just like you planned…”  I shook my head.

“Well not exactly like I planned, but sometimes you have to improvise.”  He exhaled smoke and stared at me.

“So you’re just going to keep me chained to the fucking wall for the rest of my life?”  I tugged on the chain, but it was embedded in the concrete and there was no way I would ever budge it.

“You will wish your life was that luxurious.  There are men that pay good money for nice blonde American girls.  I don’t know where you’ll spend your good years—that will be up to the highest bidder.”  He lifted his cigar to his lips and smiled.

“You’re crazy!  My father will not rest until he finds me!”  I glared angrily at him.

“I know that.  You’ll be a nice distraction for him; the eternal search for his daughter.  I’ll send him a photograph every now and then, showing you in a pretty dress with a copy of the latest New York Times in your hands.  That will just be a mirage.  The truth is you won’t be his daughter anymore.  I know a rather cruel man in Indonesia who loves to torture little rich girls.  Frankly, the things he does make me sick, but he pays well.  You’ve got a fire in you he would enjoy snuffing out.  As much trouble as you’ve caused me, I think I might just stay to watch him break you.”  Don Abrami puffed his cigar and leaned closer to me.  “I might just have a taste of you myself.”

“Stay away from me, you sick fucker.”  I gritted my teeth and backed away.

“You’ll soon learn, Ms. Madison.”  He stood up and walked to the door.  “There are people in this world a lot sicker than me.”

The door slammed and the room went dark.  The only emotion I had was grief.  My felt the tears welling up in my eyes and then they poured out as sobs lifted out of my throat.  I would have given anything just to have my father burst through the door and save me; I would have gladly sat in the living room and listened to him scold me for not going to college or doing something with my life.  I imagined what he must be going through at that point, and what my family was dealing with.  They had no idea if I was alive or dead.  My sister was likely pulled away from her studies—oh Danielle—I sobbed even more when I thought of her.  I would never see her achieve her dreams.  I would never see the joyous look in her eyes when she graduated college and followed in my father’s footsteps.  I wondered if losing the man she had a crush on and her sister would change her.  She would have been such a good match for Ronald.  If he could have gotten over his feelings for me, she would have made him so happy.  She would never have that chance.

“I’m sorry Ronald…”  I said as I tried to blink away tears.  “I couldn’t even honor your memory by staying away from the man who got you killed.”

I tried to make sense of the things that had happened as I lay there in my misery.  Don Abrami had manipulated everyone from the very beginning.  He had set the events in motion that drew Braden into the Mafia and then used Braden as a weapon against my family.  Braden certainly wasn’t innocent, but at least he found the right source for his hatred before he drew his last breath.  If what Don Abrami said was true, my last breath was far from being drawn.  I would suffer until God had mercy on me and let me die.  I would never be the beautiful bride my mother hoped I would be.  She would have to settle for whatever suitor managed to peel away Danielle’s barrier and finally take her down the aisle to get the perfect family wedding.  I hoped he would be a good man with Ronald’s heart and my father’s strength—and maybe a little bit of Braden mixed in so she wouldn’t be completely bored.  My body finally gave way to exhaustion and the darkness pulled me into some semblance of sleep, but it felt more like being swallowed.

***

“She’s in here.”  A voice said as I heard the door being opened.

I did the best I could to sit up as light penetrated the darkness.  For a brief moment, I thought it was going to be a rescue.  I imagined police officers swarming the room, releasing me, and my father waiting on the other side of the door.  Instead, I saw Don Abrami’s menacing stare as the light came on.  An older man was with him, one I didn’t recognize at all.  He walked in and his eyes drifted from my face to my feet.  I knew he had to be the man that Don Abrami said he planned to sell me to.  His eyes were hollow and looked like some sort of devil rested behind them.  Part of me wanted to lash out and try to fight with the limited mobility I had, but I was sure that would only excite him.  He nodded approvingly and it turned my stomach.  His tongue moved across his lips and he pulled out a cigarette.  He lit it up and sat down in the chair, looking over at Don Abrami.

“You know exactly what I like, Diego.  How much is this one going to set me back?”  He took a long drag from his cigarette and looked back at me.

“Well of course there are other interested parties, but I’ll keep you updated.”  He smiled and nodded.  “Her father is the District Attorney of New York City.”

“Wow…”  The man whistled through his teeth.  “That is rather intriguing.”

“She is a fighter too.  One of my own men fell head over heels for her.”  Don Abrami clasped the older man on the shoulder.  “She must have a magic pussy.”

“Usually I don’t pay good money when they aren’t virgins, but I could probably make an exception for her.  Let me know when you’re tired of listening to the poor people bid on that magic pussy and I’ll send you a bag of money.”  He stood up and looked me over again before blowing me a kiss. “Soon, my dear…”