Blacklisted (3 page)

"I don't know. I thought it would be easier than this. Easier to think of you as a means to an end."

I frowned, looking away from him, not wanting to have this conversation with him anymore. He reached up and grabbed my chin, turning me back towards him.

"I know you understand, cara mia. You may not approve of the fact that I'm doing it to you, but if it were your parents, would your antics not become... immoral?" he asked quietly, as if he was asking for my approval. I sighed and nodded, looking down.

"I'm just scared. I know you've suffered—but your plan, it just seems like there's so much risk. Maybe at this point you feel like you have nothing to lose, but would you really want me to be left the same way?" I knew I was treading on dangerous grounds, but I was getting really tired of him talking to me like I was irrelevant.

"Do you honestly think I'm that terrible of a person? That I would put you in the same place that I am? I'm not like that monster, Brie. I don't have any fucking intention of getting you or your family hurt. I would say I need you to trust me, but honestly I don't care if you do. This is happening either way—but you'll get through it easier if you recognize that your pain is not what I'm after." He moved away from me and turned back to the stove, turning the burner off.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," I said quietly, confused by the fact that I cared about how I made him feel.

He sighed and turned around, reaching up to slide his fingers across his cheek.

"Listen to you, apologizing to your own kidnapper. You're something else you know that? Perhaps if I explained a little more you would understand. Testa and Monte, the men I spoke of earlier… Testa is Genovese’s… advisor, and Monte, well you can think of him as an understudy.  Their business, Brie, it’s serious.  There’s a lot of money flowing through those hands and they’re all greedy men.  Genovese lately… he’s losing it.  Spending all of this money over one girl? I promise you—no one is going to come after you if Genovese ends up missing, if anything they’ll probably be more than thankful. So relax, beautiful.  Once this is done, it’s done."

I blushed and looked away, realizing just how ignorant I was when it came to this whole situation.

"Don't look away from me, bambina," he said, before turning my face back to his. Before I could defend my ridiculous need to apologize to him, I felt his lips on mine. However, this time there was no malice, no need to control me, no aggression. I quickly responded, my arms wrapping around his neck as if to keep him from suddenly changing his mind and pulling away. I slid my tongue across his lips, coaxing him to continue. He chuckled against my mouth and nipped at me playfully, pushing his body between my legs. His hands rested on my hips, and my thighs hugged him close to me.

"Fuck. I can't do this anymore," he whispered before he picked me up, wrapping my legs fully around his waist. He carried me to the couch and laid me underneath him, his body pressed to mine, and suddenly I realized this situation had become far more complicated than either of us had hoped.

Hours. We had literally spent hours exploring each other. Every touch had felt new, exciting, and had thoroughly pushed us deeper into this bliss we had found in each other.  When we finally came out of our haze I laid beneath him, my skin flush with a light sheen of sweat covering my form.

"Stay like that for a moment," he said softly. Within a minute I could hear the snap of my picture, my eyes sliding shut as I tried to ignore that he just did that. I knew he was right; I knew Genovese wouldn't show them to anyone. I knew they were only part of this elaborate scheme, and now that I knew the full back-story I understood why he was so passionate about seeing Genovese suffer. But couldn't he let me have this one moment?

I stretched before standing up slowly, deciding it wasn't worth thinking about anymore.

"Brie?" He tilted his head, reaching for me. I shook my head and walked towards the bathroom, hoping that a shower would make this sickening feeling go away.

I scrubbed at my skin roughly, as if killing the top layer would cleanse me of these feelings. How could I be so easy? How could I give into him without hesitation? It wasn't enough that he had stalked me, broken into my house, kidnapped me, and trapped me here? I had to let him have my body as well?

"Fuck." I whimpered as the tears started to roll down my face. How could I have been so stupid? How could I let him completely take over? What would be left of me at this point?

I spent the next half an hour mentally insulting myself until my skin felt raw from my scrubbing. I shut the water and climbed out carefully, instantly being met with a flash in my eyes.

"That's perfect. The way the water is clinging to your skin is tantalizing." Michael smirked, clicking a few more.

I stood there, stunned, my mouth hanging open. Was he fucking kidding? Was it not evident that now really wasn't the time for his bullshit? He tucked the phone into his pocket and leaned in to kiss me. I quickly turned my head, evading his advances. I grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around myself. After making sure it was secured I turned to him, my voice low and hoarse from crying.

"Don't touch me. Don't try to make me feel like you give a fuck. Just do what you need to do and get your plan finished. I don't care what happens at this point; I just want to get away from you," I spit out, my eyes glaring daggers into his.

His face was fixed with a very careful expression, his eyes almost void.

"I will do as I please with you," he said quietly before turning on his heel, leaving the room.

I stood there a moment more before making my way across the hall to the bedroom. I shut the door behind me and pulled my body onto the bed. I crawled under the thick comforter and curled into myself, praying that this nightmare would be over soon.

My eyes opened slowly, peering around the room. I was no longer wrapped in my towel but wearing my silk black nightgown. My pillows were placed carefully under me, and an extra blanket was now on top of me. He tucked me in?

I shook my head and turned to look at the clock, surprised that a few hours had passed. I stood up slowly and made my way out of the room, walking towards the main area. He was sitting at his desk, deeply focused on the screen of his laptop. I walked towards him, my bare feet padding across the glossy cement floor. He lifted his head and smiled at me, rolling away from his desk to pat his lap. "Come here, Brie."

I shrugged and walked over, sitting in his lap, turning towards the laptop.

"What's this?" I asked quietly, confused by all of the different windows he had open.

"It's a few different things. It runs the security system, as well as a few cameras I have placed around town strategically. It's also the only safe way for me to contact Genovese without him figuring out who I am. The guy’s got a lot of soldiers, but not too much brain on his side. They get so selfish, so money hungry that they forget about anything else."

He chuckled and leaned around me, clicking a few things.

A few new camera shots popped up, one of them being Alec's club. There, in the dim light I could easily make out Genovese's figure. He was holding a cellphone in one hand, his other hand gripping the table.

"What's going on?" I tilted my head, watching him grow angrier by the second.

"He just received the pictures of you from earlier. I know you don't fully understand, but you have an unexplainable effect on him. Here, listen.”

He adjusted a few things and now there was sound filtering through small speakers next to the laptop. We could clearly hear Genovese scolding someone in Italian. My Italian was decent but I was nowhere near fluent. I furrowed my brows, trying to pick up a few words, before turning to Michael.

"What is he saying?"

"He's ordering them to find you, alive. He's put a reward out for $50,000 to the person that brings you back to him." Michael couldn't hide how pleased he seemed, the smile radiating from not only his lips but his eyes.

"$50,000?! What is wrong with this guy? Why doesn't he just pick another girl?"

"It could be a lot of things. His pride I'd say is the biggest one. He had thought his plan to squeeze you out of work until you came crawling to him was foolproof. He wasn't prepared to lose you. A person like him… power is what keeps him in his place. Without power, what would he be?"

"Just another mamaluke lookin' to rip somebody off?" I muttered, crossing my arms. Michael laughed, a deep rich sound erupting from his chest.

"Exactly. So not getting what he wants doesn't look good. But honestly, I don’t think he realizes just how crazy he’s starting to look to all of his guys. They’ll humor this for a while—but if he gets too distracted…"

He shrugged a little, letting me fill in the blank for myself.

"I guess I sort of get it. What's your next move?"

"Well. I need to eliminate some of his guys; he has too much manpower. It'll be too difficult to do what needs to be done with all of the soldiers he has lurking around all the time."

"Uh, eliminate? Are you the fucking terminator? What do you mean eliminate?"

"Kill, Gabriella. Don't look at me like that; they're all inhumane pieces of shit who have done despicable things their whole adult lives," he growled, pointing towards the screen.

"See him? That's Donnie Rossi. He was actually a friend of my parents—he's the one that started the fire. And prior to the restaurant? He burned down Lucco's Deli. Killed not only Lucco, but his two daughters, and the family dog. Do you really care if he lives?" He stared at me, the anger surrounding him.

"No… I suppose he deserves it," I said quietly, remembering the fire he was talking about. Lucco was also a friend of my parents, his daughters were no older than 14.

"I get it, Brie. This world didn't exist to you a short while ago. But it's always been around, its filth seeping into the lives of good people. Is it so terrible that I want to stop them? So horrible that I want small, good families around here to be able to run their businesses without fear? That I want people to be able to make an honest living without worrying that some asshole will come barreling through their door and take it from them?"

"No. It's not terrible. But wont there always be someone to replace him? You can’t completely stop them Michael," I murmured, sighing quietly. Here he was, trying to be Batman and I was fretting over what? A few nude pictures and my feelings getting hurt? If this was going to infinitely make our town safer, even if only for a while… if people didn't have to live in this fear anymore… couldn't I put up with a few uncomfortable moments?

It was then that it finally dawned on me; I trusted him. Regardless of how his actions made me feel, his actions were for the greater good. And now that I could see that, I was ready to help however I could.

"I'm sorry for being so moody," I started, swallowing hard, trying to gain any courage I could. "I want to help. I want to see them pay for what they did to your family, and all the other families. I want to make him pay for what he's done to me."

Michael's face was illuminated with what almost resembled pride.

"I'm glad you finally can see this the way I do, Brie. I'd much rather include you then have you feel like you're a prisoner."

He smiled a little and leaned in to touch my cheek, his hand sweeping across my skin.

"You are beautiful. You know that right? It kills me to let him see your body." His eyes darkened, his voice growing tight.

"I know it doesn't make much sense to you, because you've only known me for a few days. But as I've mentioned—I've known you for over a month now. I know what you like, and what you don’t. I know that you're independent and that sometimes when you're alone in the kitchen at night you put on music and sing to yourself. I know that you're motivated—you kept getting fired, but you didn't falter once. You just went back out for a new job. Even though I got the information in a rather… questionable way, I still know you. And honestly, what happened between us yesterday? That came after a month of me wanting you. God, you don't know just how badly, Brie. The way light illuminates your skin," his fingers trailed from my face to my shoulders, making me tremble.

"The way your body curves, the way your hair frames your face. You're irresistible."

He let out a slow breath, his eyes meeting mine. "And now I know, the way the sweat glistens on your skin, the way you moan when I touch you… it's unlike anything, tesoro."

He leaned in and kissed me slowly, meeting no hesitation.

He had me hook, line and sinker. Regardless of how degraded I had felt, regardless of the kidnapping, I was dangerously hooked in the mystery that was Michael Russo.

We had a quiet lunch and he left shortly after—I could only assume it was to commence his "terminating" project. I had parked myself at the couch and watched movie after movie, which eventually only served to make me bored.  The more I drifted away from what was happening on the screen, the more my mind wandered.

I was in no relationship with Michael. I was his prisoner, and if I wanted to stay on his good side I couldn't fight back—right? It was then that I started to realize how pathetic I had become. I had been fending for myself since my parents moved. I had put more than one guy in his place while I worked at the gentleman's club—but here I was, letting some guy take degrading pictures of me, fuck me, and yell at me whenever I so much as looked at him wrong? I began to boil with anger. How could I have been so naïve? How could I let him destroy my spirit this way? A strangled cry escaped my lips as the full reality was setting in. I was no better than him.