Desired Too (42 page)

“Are you going to miss me while I’m gone?” Raquel asked me as she tightened her grip around my waist.

“
Mi amore
, I miss you already, and you’re not even on the boat.”

It had been a crazy and emotional filled two months, so I figured sending the women in my life on a cruise for a few days would help a little. Mama and grandma Bella were all for getting away for a few days. Lincoln and I had to talk Georgia and Raquel into the idea before they reluctantly agreed.

“
Ti amo
, Leo.”

I leaned down and kissed her. “I love you too, baby. Please, baby, try and relax on this trip. You’ve been running yourself ragged. It’s time to take care of you. Get a few massages, facials, lay out in the sun and try to enjoy yourself.”

She looked at me sideways. “Yeah, and while I’m out enjoying myself, what will you be doing?”

I inhaled and kissed the top of her nose. “Counting the days until your return.”

She gave me a skeptical look and kissed me again before she backed away. “Come on, ladies. It’s time to board,” Raquel called out.

Georgia started tearing up and Raquel practically had to peel her away from Lincoln.

“I love you, baby,” she called out as she rubbed her belly. “Take care of Junior for me.”

“You know I will, baby. We’ll be right here when you come back.”

Raquel rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze to Maxine. Raquel and Max had continued to establish a bond that started to include Georgia, my mother, and grandmother. Having those five opinionated, strong-willed, mouthy women in one room was torture every second that went by. I loved it, though. It was working for my mother. Losing my father was devastating on Mama. I saw nearly all of her die that day, and I doubted she would ever be the same again. If it wasn’t for Raquel bringing everyone together, I don’t know how my mother would be right now, which was another thing I love about my woman.

Anyway, once Max heard the ladies were going on a cruise, she joined the team.

Max kissed her husband. “You be good and play nice with the other boys.”

“I won’t make any promises,” Mason replied before kissing his wife again.

All three of us stood there, smiling like idiots and waving as they boarded the boat.

Raquel kept looking back at me, and I swear it was as if she knew something was up with me.

She was right of course, but she would never ask. For the past month, I’d been heavily into the family business. I’d been to countless meetings, solidifying our family name, letting others know that in no way had things changed, and destroying families here and on the west coast.

It was bittersweet for some to see that Lincoln was back, and he definitely made his name felt through our little community.

And now, Raquel finally understood what it truly meant to be with me, and so far, she hadn’t run for the hills.

Raquel blew a final kiss at me and waved before she was completely on board, and I waved back.

I heard Mason say the moment the women disappeared from sight, “I never thought in a million years they would let you out of the wild and back into civilization.”

Confused, I looked at him and wondered who in the hell he was talking to. Mason kept his eyes forward, smiled, and waved at no one in particular.

Lincoln replied, “I thought fish couldn’t survive without water.”

Mason and Lincoln faced each other and stayed like that for a second before they actually embraced.

What the…

The confusion was evident on my face as Lincoln said, smiling. “This son of a bitch and I used to work together.”

Still confused, I asked Mason, “I thought you were in the Navy.”

Mason smiled. “Yeah, I was a Navy Seal.” He looked over at Lincoln, then thrust a thumb in his direction. “The CIA and the Seals were on a few missions together in sand land. He and I worked countless times together.”

Mason then grew solemn. “Yeah, I heard what the company did to you. I actually got out about the time that shit went down with you. It was fucked up, but I know you made them pay though.”

Lincoln nodded. “You know I did. That shit was something I wasn’t expecting, but I should’ve known it was bound to happen. You know how much I was liked in the agency.”

Mason placed a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder. “Well, if you ever get bored babysitting, I can hook you up with some action.”

Lincoln’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

“Yeah, I have a buddy that’s into the Private Sector. He’s always heading overseas on a case. I’m sure he has room for a man of your skills and talents.”

Lincoln removed his fedora and wiped a rag over his baldhead. “That sounds like something I would enjoy doing.”

Mason then moved closer. “Yeah, just don’t tell the wife where you heard it from.”

Lincoln moved closer to Mason. “Why? You’ll get some heat?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, for fuck sake, are you two finished with the sorority homecoming? Can you two pretend like you have some balls, instead of your wives having them?”

Mason and Lincoln both looked at me, but they didn’t reply. I asked Mason, “Did you find that prick, Eddie, or what?”

Mason looked at Lincoln and frowned.

Lincoln replied, shaking his head, “I deal with this shit all the time. Always questioning me like I’m new to this shit.”

Mason stabbed his thumb in my direction. “Yeah, I got a taste of that questioning bullshit too. He acts like we aren’t professionals and know what we’re doing.”

“Fucking really?” I exclaimed, feeling my temper starting to rise.

“Oh, look, he’s getting pissed,” Mason cajoled.

Lincoln laughed and warned, “You better watch it. He’s scrappy.”

Mason’s eyebrows rose and he looked at me. “Oh, a fighter, eh? Care to step into the ring sometime?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Anytime you want, but I swear we won’t make it to anybody’s ring. Do you have the info or not?”

The quick banter stopped, and Mason pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to me. “Yes, I found him. He’s on some secluded island on the outskirts of Italy, and he’s not alone.”

Both Lincoln and I looked up from the paper that Mason gave us. “Oh, yeah, he finagled some ass?” Lincoln asked.

Mason folded his arms in front of him, “Oh, he didn’t just finagle any ass; he got some Ducci’s ass.”

My eyes grew. “He has Lucy with him?”

Mason nodded. “Yup, word, of course, got around that you were taking out anyone associated with the family and you’ve been true to your word. Lucy felt it would benefit her in the end to go with her best chance of survival.”

“What about that pale-faced fucker that Angel said was with Basile?” Lincoln asked.

“I got some news on him too. They call him The Ghost. He’s a slippery bastard. Gun for hire. He works for Basile, but he also takes contracts for anyone that is willing to meet his price. Basile didn’t know about the additional hit on Raquel that his man was working. Eddie worked that out separately, but when he saw Lincoln was hanging around, Ghost told Eddie to do the job himself.”

“Can you find him?” I asked, remembering my promise to him.

Mason smiled. “Of course I can. It may take some time because he’s always on a job, but I’ll locate him and let you know.

“Please do,” I told him, then shook his hand and held up the sheet in my hand. “Thanks for this info.”

“You’re welcome. Do you need any help bringing Eddie back into the states?”

“I may. I’ll let you know, but right now, Lincoln and I have a plane to catch.”

“Bitch, where is the sunscreen?” Eddie barked while he rummaged through the bathroom drawers. “You know I burn easily.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, but she didn’t answer. She didn’t care if the fucker burned to death. She was in complete hell.

She got up from the bed and crept her way out of the bedroom. When she got downstairs to the living room, she heard her cell buzzing.

She looked at it and the caller ID read “unknown.” She started not to answer it, but she figured it was probably someone from the states calling to tell her the update on Angel.

Angel had been on a warpath. People had been disappearing left and right, and word had it that Angel had been cleaning house. Anyone that had associated themselves with her father or Eddie was eliminated. Besides her and her father, their family only consisted of a few male cousins and uncles, and they all had disappeared at the hands of Angel.

Angel was true to his word, so she had to stay away.

She picked up the phone, answering, “Is there any news on Angel?”

There was silence on the other end before she heard his voice and almost passed out.

“Where’s Eddie?” was all that Angel said, but he might as well had said, “Put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger.”

“He’s …um… upstairs.” She felt she needed to add, to show that she was cooperating, “He’s looking for sunscreen.”

There was a pause on the other line before Angel said, “You have one play in this situation, and I think you know what it is. Fuck with me and you’ll never leave this island. There're plenty of sharks in the infested waters that would love to feast on your traitorous ass.”

Lucy started nodding her head as if he was standing right before her. “I understand, and I will do anything you ask. Just please don’t kill me.”

“It’s simple then. Do what I say, and I’ll let you live. Don’t and you die.”

Lucy looked up the steps as if she was waiting for Eddie to come down at any minute. She whispered in her phone, “What do I need me to do?”

Eddie felt someone smack him in the face a few times before his eyes fluttered open.

Where in the hell am I?
he asked himself, then tried to looked around, but found he was unable to move. He could move his eyes, however. He could hear himself breathing over a thunderous roaring that seemed to be all around him. What he couldn’t move were his arms or legs. He felt paralyzed.

But how can that be?

He recalled the last memory he had, and it was of him and Lucy sitting down at the table for lunch.

I was pissed at her for hiding the sunscreen, and I hit he
r.

He played that memory in his head and felt it was accurate. After that, it was a blur.

He tried again to move his head, his legs and arms, his fingers and toes and was unsuccessful. He started to panic.

If this bitch poisoned me…

Suddenly, he saw movement in his peripheral and waited for the person to come into focus. When the person came into view, his eyes grew.

The man smiled.

“Hey there, bro,” Angel said, his smile never reaching his eyes. “I hope you’re comfortable. We are going to take a little trip, so buckle up.”

Angel reached over his body and then Eddie heard a click.

Angel came back into focus, saying, “There’s no beverage on this flight, but I doubt you will need it.”

Eddie tried to speak, and Angel moved closer seemingly confused. “I’m sorry, what did you say? I can barely understand the gibberish that’s coming out of your mouth, but I bet you're wondering what in the hell is going on, right? Well, let me tell you.” Angel then leaned in further and whispered, “It’s payback time. You tried to kill me… twice. You tried to kill Lincoln… twice. And you killed my father.” Angel hovered over Eddie’s face. “
Tu pezzo di merda;
an eye for an eye.”

Angel pulled back slightly and smiled a wicked smile. “You know until this moment I’ve been thinking about what I would do to you when I caught you. I thought about just shooting you in the gut or the chest, and watch you suffocate on your own blood. I thought about setting your ass on fire, or gutting you like the fucking pig you are and watching as you try to figure out how to put your guts back into your body… All types of shit. Then suddenly, bam! It hit me. I remember something that I read in a book. This guy named Carmellini, I think… Anyway, he was caught by some really bad guys, and they gave him some drug that temporarily paralyzed him. They put cement shoes on him, literally, and had plans to push him out of the plane into the ocean. Of course, with the cement shoes, he would just sink to the bottom and drown. Very simple, right?”

“What kind of shit is that?” Eddie heard another voice ask that, at first, he didn’t recognize.

Angel smiled at the new person and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. That brought him into view and Eddie’s eyes grew again… Lincoln.

“It’s a book, but that’s not the point of the story,” Angel argued emphatically.

“Yeah, well, get to the point. I’m ready to get this shit over with and get back to my wife and kids.”

Angel shook his head and looked at Eddie. “He’s so impatient. Anyway, I remember that the shit they gave Carmellini wore off and he miraculously got free and killed his kidnappers with just his fingers. It was gruesome too, the way he did it. He dug his fingers in the eye sockets of these men until he got to their brains. Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen with you. There’s no way you’re surviving past this night. Anyway, after reading that book, I thought that method was fool proof. I mean, if they had just paid attention to Carmellini, then they would have been successful. Here’s my point-”

“Thank fuck you have a point!” Lincoln spat.

“I located a drug that would put you in a paralyzing state for as long as I needed you to be. It’s some nerve agent made in the Philippines, but I digress. The agent works quickly to subdue a person and that’s what I gave you. Now, what I plan for you is something entirely different.  It’s overkill, really, but, shit, who gives a fuck, right?”

Angel then snapped his finger and looked back at Eddie. “Oh, where’s my manners? I figured you wouldn’t want to die alone. No one would, right? So being the loving brother that I am, I found someone that was dying to share in this experience with you.”

Lincoln next appeared in Eddie’s vision. He placed his hands on the sides of Eddie’s head and turned his head to the right. Eddie found himself surprised yet again when his eyes landed on Agusto. Eddie and Agusto just watched each other helplessly. The expression on their faces mirrored each other, down to the deep fear in their eyes.

They were fucked.

Angel looked at Lincoln. “Are we ready?”

Lincoln disappeared from Eddie’s view, but came back a few seconds later.

“Yup, let’s get this show on the road.” Lincoln moved forward, removed Eddie’s seatbelt and placed a life jacket around Eddie’s torso. Eddie was confused at first, wondering what was happening. He wondered,
If they are throwing us out of the plane, why put life jackets on?
He tried again to move a part of his body, and this time he was successful.

It worked, yes!

He turned his head right, then left, and saw Lincoln putting a life jacket on Augusto.

It was then that the roaring sound, which he’d heard earlier, suddenly grew in volume, and he could smell the salt water in the air. He turned sharply to his brother.

Angel, seeing the confusion etched in Eddie features, moved close to Eddie’s ear and said, “This shit is fucking with you isn’t it? The not knowing? Well, let me help you understand what’s happening. What I gave you was just something temporary, so I could move you without fussing. It’s going to wear off in about… uhhh… thirty seconds or so.  After that, you will feel everything. You will feel the coldness of the air. You will feel the helplessness, despair, and, most of all you, will feel the sharks when they take bits and pieces. I don’t want you to drown. No, I want you to feel every bite, every rip of your extremities until there’s nothing left. That’s what you did to this family when you killed my father. And now… an eye for a fucking eye. Oh and one more thing… Mom sends her love.”

Angel quickly snatched Eddie from his seat and dragged him by the lifejacket to the front of the plane. Eddie tried his best to will his mind to fight, especially when he saw Darrell and Hugo standing next to the plane’s opened door, but it was no use.  Darrell and Hugo lifted Eddie with one hand while they held on to the grip bars located on the side of the open door. 

Angel moved closer to Eddie until they were eye to eye.

“Killing you this way is me showing you leniency. You deserve so much more.” Eddie felt a pinch to both of his sides and suddenly felt warm liquid flowing down his sides and legs.

“For Pops,” Angel gritted just before he pushed Eddie through the open door into the darkness.

Eddie felt like he was falling forever, and he couldn’t see how close he was to the water until he hit it. He felt the gush of water fill his lungs. He thought he’d drown despite the life jacket, but after a few seconds, he could feel the air on his face.

He took a deep breath and coughed up the seawater from his lungs. He looked around and found he was in the middle of the fucking ocean with nothing in sight.

Damn it!

He wasn’t going out like this. No matter what Angel said, he would survive this. He knew how to swim.

He then heard Agusto splash into the water next to him. He waited a few seconds and heard him start to cough. Eddie tried to speak but couldn’t. Instead, he tried to move his limbs again and found he was beginning to get his feeling back.

He was able to move closer to Agusto.

“You okay?” he finally managed to say.

Agusto nodded. “Yeah you?”

“Yeah, as good as you.” Eddie looked around again and tried to listen for any sounds- a plane, a boat, something- but he heard nothing, except the fleeting noise from the plane they’d just fallen out of.

“How are we going to get out of this fucking water?” Agusto asked.

Eddie looked up at the sky and tried to remember his Boy Scout days. “The North Star is there. I think that if we start to swim that way, North, we have to come to some kind of land. No way are we that far away from shore.”

Eddie chuckled. “Angel was careless giving us these life jackets. These are likes boats; they will keep us afloat.”

“Oh yeah?” Agusto scoffed. “And what’s going to keep us safe from the sharks?”

Eddie frowned in the darkness. “What sharks? There are no sharks.”

“Yeah?” Then suddenly Agusto felt something. “What the…” Agusto stammered as he looked frantically around the dark waters. Then he shot a devastated glance at Eddie. “Did you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Eddie asked, showing the contempt for the other man’s anguish in his voice.

Agusto and Eddie stayed perfectly still and just listened. They heard nothing but the surf hitting their bodies as they bobbed.

Agusto blew out a breath. “Maybe it was-”

Eddie suddenly felt a sudden brush against his leg, and his eyes moved to Agusto just in time to see Agusto’s face twist in agony, shock and fear. A world shattering screech escaped his body that seemed to wake every living thing, including the reaper. Eddie stared in abstract terror as Agusto disappeared into the silky wet blackness, only to come back up with fits of screams coming from the pits of his soul. It was as if the sharks were toying with him, with his body.

Eddie couldn’t move. He didn’t breathe. He remained perfectly still as Agusto begged and pleaded for help from God that Eddie knew wouldn’t come. Eddie thought about swimming for it, but he was paralyzed with a grappling fear he had never felt before in his life.

Just like that, everything went silent. When Agusto went under one last time, and he didn’t come back up. Now Eddie was alone.

Eddie could still hear his cries and wondered at first if he was still alive. If maybe there was hope, but something told him it was just his soul being carried away to a hell far worse than death.

Eddie closed his eyes and waited for his turn.

It didn’t come. Minutes passed and nothing. He just floated there. He closed his eyes and prayed himself. He prayed for safety, that someone would find him and safe him. He prayed for the morning, willing and telling himself that he saw daylight kissing the horizon.

Then, he felt the first bite. It was a nip of his thigh, only tearing through muscle, but he felt like he lost his entire leg. The pain was blinding.

He thought about moving and lifting up as high as he could. Maybe the sharks would think he was pieces from Agusto.

Bad idea.

The next feeling he felt was his lower leg being snatched off his body. He screamed as the momentum of the shark carried him a few feet from where he was.

“Oh God!!!… Oh God, please!!!!” he whispered into the night, trying to keep from crying, but the pain was blinding. He felt another bite, this one going into his side, and that’s when he went under.

He held his breath and beat on the shark, fighting, clawing, trying to get to the shark’s black eye. Eddie’s chest was getting tight. He wanted to release the air and just drown, but he was suddenly released. When he hit the surface, his hand shakily went to his side and found most of it torn from his body. He couldn’t comprehend what he felt or what destiny held for him. He kept his hands at his side, trying to keep everything, his intestines, spleen, and everything else, from falling out.

Eddie closed his eyes and shallowly breathed out a prayer. “Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women-” He tried to swallow, and just as he felt death coming for him, whispered into the night, “And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother-”