The Breakup (24 page)

“I know,” Aja mouthed at her.

“Italian sausage, indeed,” Mia whispered.

“What’s that?” Olly asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Aja’s eyes twinkled at Mia.

Julianna washed her hands. “Dinner ready. Come.” She led them to the big table in the dining room. She hadn’t opened for the evening yet, so they had the room to themselves.

“Pietro, come meet my brother.”

Pietro joined them at the table with a flash of his beautiful teeth and Aja introduced him to Olly, leaving Mia for the last. Aja didn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on Mia, nor the way her friend blushed and looked down at her plate.

“Are you working tomorrow?” Aja asked Pietro.

“I have taxi. Are you need something?”

“Yes, I want to take Mia shopping tomorrow. Can you drive us?”

“
Sí
. Of course,” Pietro agreed with another flash of teeth.

“Want I take you to butcher shop for Italian sausage?” He winked at Aja and Mia went bright red and choked on her food.

“No, I think we have plenty right here, but thanks,” Aja said with a grin.

“Julianna, where’s Bella?” Aja asked.

“She at my friend house for night.”

Aja wanted to introduce Bella to Mia. Mia loved kids and she knew they would hit it off.

After dinner, they decided they would go out dancing. Marco was to join them as well.
 

The three women crowded into Julianna’s tiny bathroom, elbows poking each other as they applied their makeup and did their hair. There was much laughing and teasing.
 

“Looks like you won’t be pining long, Mia,” Aja teased.
 

“Pining?” Julianna asked, “What means pining?”

“It means she won’t be sad about her old boyfriend.”

“You had old man for boyfriend?” Julianna’s eyebrows nearly reached her dark hair.

Mia and Aja laughed.

“No,” Mia said. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore, so we call him old.”

Julianna shook her head. “That not nice.”

Mia shrugged. “He cheated on me.”

“
Bastardo
! You should had cut off his
pene
. Like Aja do.”

Mia laughed and collapsed against the sink. “Your new friend is wonderful, Aja.” She hugged Julianna and smiled at Aja over her shoulder. “I wish I could take you home with me, Juli.”

Julianna clearly understood only about a third of the conversation, but she grasped Mia’s meaning and she smiled back. “I like you,” she said and patted Mia’s cheek.

“What do you think of my brother, Juli?” Aja asked.

Julianna’s cheeks got red and she sputtered, “He nice. Nice brother.”

Aja gave her a little push. “I think he likes you and I think you like him too.”

Julianna tossed her hair. “I no know him. He hafa wait and see.”

Suddenly there was a flood of impatient Italian hurled up the stairs at them. Julianna jumped away from the wall and flung her arms around, “Hurry, hurry. The mens wait.”

Aja raised a brow at Mia and they both pressed their lips together to keep from laughing. She’d called Mia’s boyfriend “Bastardo”, and yet, the men were still the dominant ones in Julianna’s life.

After a short interval, they trooped down the stairs, ready for a night out. Pietro made a huffing sound and looked at his watch. Aja blew him a kiss and went to the door. Mia hung back and soon Pietro was at her side, offering his arm as she tottered around in her high heels.

“You look like need steady arm,” he flashed perfect white teeth at her.

Mia took his arm. Even with her heels she still only came up to his shoulder.

Orlando took up residence beside Julianna. Aja could see her cheeks heating up as he took her hand and tucked it around his arm.

Aja opened the door just as Marco was raising his fist to knock. He lowered his hand in ultra-slow motion as he looked her over from head to toe. He leaned closer, sniffed and closed his eyes, a huge smile lighting up his face. “Can we go back to my house instead?” he whispered.
 

She felt hot all over and wished it were only possible. “Later,” she whispered back. “Definitely later.” Aja winked at him and then took his arm.

Chapter 28

Stephen sat at a table in the back of the dark restaurant and waited, his foot jiggling up and down. He looked at his watch for the third time when a pair of large shoes appeared in front of him.

He expected someone sizeable, but his eyes stopped at just over five feet. The man in front of him looked like an angry child.

“You Stephen?” The small man asked in a voice to match.

“Who’re you?” Stephen leaned back in his chair and studied him. “Why did you call to set up this meeting?”

“A man by the name of Henderson contacted me and said you might need a hand dealing with someone.”

“What do I call you?”

“Carlos. My friends call me ‘The Jackal’.

Stephen glared at the man. He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “How far will you go? Tell me, what are your limits?”

Carlos sat in the chair opposite Stephen, his feet not reaching the floor. His hairy arms resting on the table and his bushy eyebrows didn’t match his stature. “What exactly are you looking for?”

“I want someone quieted. You said you could handle anything.”

A waiter approached their table and Stephen turned with a snarl, “Fuck off.”

The waiter jerked to a stop and moved away, his hands raised in alarm. “
Mi dispiace, signore
.”

Carlos didn’t miss a beat, “Who do you want me to take care of?”

“Her name is Aja Rain. I’ve followed her and found out she’s staying at a winery not too far from town. It’s called
Cielo Bello
.”

“I know the one.”

“Good. I want her quieted.”

“You want her teeth knocked out?”

Stephen leaned in, his face only inches from Carlos, “I want her quieted for good.”

Carlos nodded, his eyes narrowed. “It’s going to cost you. Big.”

Stephen leaned back, waved his hand. “I can pay.”

“Now.”

“How much?”

Carlos named a sum that made Stephen gasp.

“You want it done or not?” Carlos made a move to leave and Stephen grabbed for his arm.

Carlos flung his hand off.

“No, no. I can pay it.” He reached inside his coat.

“Not here!” Carlos growled at him. “We’ll meet outside. No one can see us together. I’ll go out the front. You see that door back there?”

Stephen looked where Carlos pointed. “Yeah.”

“Go out there. There’s an alley behind the restaurant. I’ll meet you there and we’ll do the exchange.”

Without another word, Carlos got up and left. Stephen waited at least thirty seconds and then moved to the back door.

He closed the door behind him. Before Stephen could react, his arms were grabbed and pinned to his sides, while someone else tied a blindfold across his eyes. Stephen thrashed and fought, but there must have been four or five people holding him because he could hardly move. Then someone punched him in the head and everything went hazy.

They dragged him through the alley, and didn’t seem to care if he knocked into cans and whatever else was in the way. They didn’t say a word, just hauled him along like a sack of garbage.

With his sight gone, Stephen found his nose picking up everything around him. He could smell rotting vegetables and other refuse. He could smell the sweat of the men hauling him. One of them wore a spicy cologne. They passed something that smelled like three-day-old fish and Stephen fought to control his gag reflex.

The men stopped and shoved Stephen forward. He tripped on a step and slammed into a door. The envelope with the cash fell out. He heard it hit the ground and he lunged, scrabbling around, and trying to find it.

“Had a little too much to drink tonight, did he?” one of them asked.

“Nah, he’s just a scared little boy who got into something over his head.” The voice was beside Stephen and well below him. It was Carlos!
 

“What do we have here?”
 

The money!

“Looks like we get our payoff after all.”

Stephen struggled harder. Nothing pissed him off more than losing his money.

Someone opened a door and dragged him through. They went down a long hallway — Stephen knew this because they kept knocking him around from one side to the other - and then through another door. Someone gave him a rough shove and he landed on his side on what felt like a leather couch.

They sat him up and tied his hands in front of him. “You sit here like a nice boy, while The Jackal prepares to question you.”

“The Jackal!” Stephen shouted. “You asshole! You tricked me.”

A snicker came from the right of his ear and very close. “You’re right, he tricked you. It was like taking candy from a baby.”

The room filled with hoots and rude comments while Stephen sat on the couch and fumed. He started planning the charges he would throw at them as soon as he got free.

A door creaked open, then shut with a solid thunk. Footsteps moved toward him and Stephen felt sweat break out all over his body.

The footsteps stopped in front of him, but the person didn’t say a word. The silence went on until Stephen couldn’t stand it anymore. “What am I doing here?” He tried to sound put upon, but it came out in a whine.

“I think you know.” The voice was high and squeaky and came from about Stephen’s face level. It was Carlos, ‘The Jackal’.

Then a large hand grabbed him around the throat and pulled him forward until he could smell what The Jackal had for lunch. Onions, garlic, tomatoes. Probably spaghetti.
 

“We don’t take kindly to foreigners trying to kill our people.” The squeaky voice was somehow a lot more menacing.

“What?” Stephen gasped.

The hand clenched tighter and Stephen fought to pull air into his rapidly diminishing airway.

“Don’t play coy. We know everything.” He threw Stephen back against the couch and waited while Stephen fought to get his breath back. “We want the names.”

Stephen raised his bound hands and tried to rub off the blindfold. Someone beside him slapped his hands down. “What the hell?” Stephen shouted. “What names? Who are you people?”

“We ask the questions here,” the Jackal snapped. “Give us the names and you might live.”

At his words, Stephen froze. He didn’t know how to respond. Somehow they had him mixed up with someone else. He was sure of it. “What names?” Stephen whined. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Honestly.”

“Strap him!” The Jackal shouted.

Stephen threw himself off the couch and onto the floor, trying desperately to get away, but the men grabbed his feet and pulled him back. One man sat on him when he wouldn’t quit struggling.

“Please, please, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve got the wrong man.”

“Aja,” the Jackal spoke quietly and Stephen stopped struggling. “Ah, the girl you wanted taken out? You ordered a Mafia hit on her, and we want the names of your friends. We don’t allow the Mafia to operate within our borders and we’re certainly not going to let a nobody like you bring them to town.”

“M…M…Mafia?” Stephen gasped. “I don’t have anything to do with the Mafia. Please believe me!”

“Strap him,” came the command again.

The men hauled him upright and Stephen screamed in terror.

Chapter 29

The club was loud and they were all having a great time dancing. Aja laughed when Marco jerked with surprise and slapped at his leg. He didn’t hear his phone going off, but the vibration alerted him. He motioned her outside with him as he yelled into the phone, “Hang on! I need to go where I can hear you.”

They stood in front of the club as Marco spoke to his caller.

“Hey Carlos, how’s things? Oh, really?” Marco laughed and winked at Aja.

“What? What’s he saying?” she asked.

He lifted a finger, “What? Oh, yeah sure. We’ll come. How long until he’s there?” He nodded. “Okay, see you then. I’ll be bringing a few of my friends to see the show.” Marco said goodbye and closed his phone.

“They have Stephen,” he said.

“What? It worked?”

“Yep. They want us to come to the club and watch. They have him blindfolded, so he won’t know we’re there.”

Aja shivered and rubbed her arms. She wanted to see them scare the pants off Stephen, but being anywhere near him scared her. She was glad Marco would be with her.