Chapter Nine

~ Anthony ~

"It's beautiful here."

Having never left New York, I'd only ever seen places like this in magazines and on TV. The view from every side of the car was simply stunning.

"Wait until we get to Genoa and then you'll really see real beauty," Vito stated. "It's part of the Italian Riviera. Between the sea, the mountains, the valleys, and the lowlands, there's every type of view you could imagine."

I couldn't wait. Just this drive alone was like a dream come true.

"Your villa has beach access to the most beautiful blue water you've ever seen in your life."

I gasped as I turned to look at Vito. "Beach access?"

Vito leaned closer to me and murmured, "Remember that whole deep water thing?"

"Yeah."

"The water is so crystal clear, you can see all the way to the bottom."

Oh, major plus.

"If you ever want to go out on the water, one of your yachts is moored at the marina."

"One of my yachts?" I asked. "How many do I have?"

I really needed to sit down with Vito at some point and try and get the full scope of all my holdings.

"You have two, a smaller one for personal use and a larger one that is more for family use and social functions."

My eye twitched. "I'm not sure I understand the difference."

A yacht was a yacht, wasn't it?

"Your personal yacht fits about fifteen people. The bigger yacht can fit over a hundred."

"Got it."

Maybe.

"Don D'Angelo used the smaller yacht for when he just wanted to get away. He used the bigger one for family or when he wanted to hold some sort of social event out on the water."

That made a little more sense.

"And where is this bigger yacht?" I asked. "Is it moored at the marina, too?"

"No, it's basically in boat storage at the moment. Since Don D'Angelo didn't tend to use if very often, it made more sense to store it. If you ever want to use it, just let me know. It'll take at least a day to get it ready."

"Never been on a boat."

Vito's eyebrows lifted. "Never?"

I shrugged. "While New York City is basically an island, I never had the chance to go out on the water surrounding it."

Besides having no time due to all the jobs I was working, I couldn't think of a single yacht club that would let me in. My only other option was to go down by the docks, and I liked breathing, thank you very much. Cement shoes were not a good look on me.

Vito patted my shoulder. "Once you get settled, I'll take you out on your personal yacht for a couple of days. We can go visit Naples or something."

"Oh, can we go see the Coliseum?"

I'd always wanted to visit that historic sight.

"That's in Rome."

I frowned, somewhat insulted. Just because I was from New York didn't mean I was an idiot. "I know that."

"Then by all means, if you want to see the Coliseum, we'll plan a trip to Rome." Tony smiled at me. "We can plan a trip to wherever you want to go, but we need to get you settled first and brought up to speed on running the organization."

"Hey, Boss?" Boris called out. "I think we're being followed."

I twisted around in my seat so I could see out the back window. They were tinted and it was nighttime, but I could still see headlights quickly approaching.

"Could it just be someone else on the road?" I asked.

It was a highway after all.

"I've been watching them for awhile," Boris replied. "They left the airport the same time we did. I didn't think anything of it at first, but I've changed lanes several times and they've always done the same, never coming closer than two cars lengths and never falling back."

"Try and lose them," Vito said. "Take a different road if you have to."

I grunted when I was suddenly thrown back in my seat as the car accelerated. I wanted to close my eyes, but I was too terrified of how fast we were going.

Boris was driving like a maniac, weaving in and out of traffic at a rate of speed that should never be taken on any road, let alone one that had winding curves like this one.

I grabbed onto my seatbelt to keep from being thrown around the back of the car. I didn't care if the damn seatbelt was buckled and supposed to do that for me.

I didn't want to die.

"Damn it!" Vito snapped. "They are following us."

"What do you want me to do, Boss?" Boris asked.

Keep your eyes on the road? That would be my order.

"Pull off at Tortona," Vito said. "The streets are pretty narrow and winding. Maybe we can lose them there."

"Yes, Boss."

I started to turn to look out the back window again, but Vito diving past me pushed me back in my seat.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted. " Porca troia !" When he dropped back into his seat, he had a cell phone in his hand. He quickly powered it off. "Our phones are supposed to be off."

"Boss," Mateo began, "I didn't—"

" Idiota !"

"Boss—"

"How do you think they found us? Huh?" Vito held up the cell phone before tossing it back at Mateo. "If they kill Don D'Angelo, it'll be your fault."

Wait...kill?

"I was just updating Carmine," Mateo insisted.

"Did I tell you to do that?" Vito asked. "Did Don D'Angelo tell you to do that?"

"No, but..."

"But what?" Vito snarled. "And you'd better have a really good answer or I'm going to put a bullet in your brain. You're obviously not using it so why do you need it?"

"Carmine is the consigliere ."

"Yes, Carmine is the consigliere, " Vito replied. "He is not the boss."

Mateo squinted for a moment, the frown on his face wrinkling the skin between his eyebrows. "I thought this was all for show. I thought Carmine was really in charge."

"You—" Vito rubbed his hand down over his face. " Figlio di Troia !"

I wasn't sure what was going on here, but I was getting more confused by the second. "Didn't you tell me that the consigliere position was an advisory one?"

"It is," Vito stated. "Technically, he'd be third in hierarchy underneath you and me. The consigliere can give advice, but they can't issue orders."

I shot a quick look to the front seat where Mateo was sitting. "Then why would he be in charge?"

"He wouldn't." When Vito glanced toward the front seat, the angry glare on his face clear to see. " Mateo knows that, which is why I am so confused as to why he thinks Carmine is in charge."

"Carmine has been giving orders since Don D'Angelo died," Mateo insisted. "Why would that change now?"

I was going to strangle this guy. I'd be doing the world a service.

"Carmine was never supposed to be giving orders and you know it. Until we found Don D'Angelo, I was in charge. If something happened to both me and Don D'Angelo, then Carmine would be in charge, but not until then. Do you get that? You take orders from Don D'Angelo, then me, and then Carmine. Not the other way around."

I didn't know if I had this power, but... "From this moment on, you don't take any orders from anyone but me or Vito. Is that understood?"

Mateo shot me wide, rounded eyes, swallowing hard. "Yes, sir."

"Get rid of your phone," I ordered. "Toss it out the window right now or I'll toss you out the window."

His eyes still wide, Mateo rolled the window down and tossed his phone out.

I snorted and sat back in my seat, crossing my arms. "You need to send out a memo to everyone about who is really in charge here."

Vito gave me a curt nod. "I'll take care of it, Don D'Angelo."

Only Vito saw me roll my eyes.

When we pulled off the highway, I glanced out the back window again. "They're still there and they are getting closer." A lot closer. "Boris, you need to go faster."

I was slammed back against the seat as the car shot forward, but our increased speed didn't seem to make any difference. The other car was still catching up with us.

When we rounded a sharp corner, the other vehicle clipped our bumper. I didn't even have time to scream as our car spun around before hitting the edge of a ravine and tumbling down it, coming to rest at the bottom upside down.

I hit my head on something—I think it was the window—and the world around me dimmed. I heard two loud shots and then the door was pulled open.

I tried to fight off whoever grabbed me and yanked my out of the backseat, but they were stronger than me and there were more of them. It was dark out so I couldn't really make out their features, but I did know I'd never seen these men before in my life.

I heard a lot of yelling and the sounds of flesh hitting flesh.

Then everything went dark.

When the world came back to me, it wasn't a gradual thing with me slowly becoming aware of my surroundings. It was instantaneous. One second I was unconscious, the next second I was simply awake.

I was also restrained.

Well, that wouldn't do. I liked being tied up as much as the next guy, but I preferred to do it in bed with someone I liked. Not some strangers in some dark, dank room that smelled of mold and...fish?

Yeah, that was gross.

I wiggled around until I could bring my bound hands down below my feet and then in front of me. Guess all that Parkour was paying off for me. I was limber as shit.

I stared at the ropes tying my hands together. Whoever had tied them obviously didn't know what they were doing. It was an easy knot to undue. I used my teeth to tug at the knot until it loosened enough for me to pull my hands free.

I tossed the rope to the floor and then looked around the room I was. There literally was nothing in here excerpt me. The walls were stained and the paint peeling.

That actually made me feel a little better. If this had been a state-of-the-art facility, I might not have a chance at escaping.

I climbed off the floor and walked over to the door. I wasn't surprised in the least when I found the door locked. I had expected it.

Too bad the people behind this hadn't expected me.

I pulled a small black case out of my boot and squatted down next to the door. I opened the case and pulled two silver tools out. I smirked when I had the door unlocked in less than a minute.

Took a little longer to pick the lock than I was used to, but I blamed the ache in my head for that.

I put my lock pick tools away and then pressed my ear to the door, listening for any noise. When I didn't hear anything, I cautiously opened the door and peeked out.

It was a simple hallway.

Empty, thank god.

I slid out into the hallway, locked the door again, and then started walking. I walked slowly, listening to anything that would either tell me where I was or who had taken me.

When I heard footsteps, I reached for the doorknob of the closest door. When it turned easily in my hand, I opened the door and stepped into the dark room, shutting the door behind me.

I held my breath as the footsteps got louder, passed the door I was hiding behind, and then headed down the hallway. I really hoped they weren't heading to the room I'd woken up in. Once they saw I was missing, I had no doubt they'd be searching for me.

I didn't have a lot of time to get out of here.

My breath caught in my throat when I heard a low groan behind me. The room was dark, but when I turned I could still see a human form on the floor next to the wall.

I swallowed tightly and slowly, cautiously walked over. It wasn't until I was right in front of the person and squatted down that I realized it was Vito.

At least, I think it was Vito. Whoever this guy was, his face looked like he'd been beat with a meat cleaver.

"Hey," I whispered.

When I didn't get a response, I reached over and pressed a finger to the pulse at the base of his neck. Thankfully, I found one and his was steady.

I wasn't sure how to wake him. I couldn't exactly slap him on the face to wake him up. It looked like he'd been slapped plenty already.

I grabbed his shoulder and gave him a good shake. "Hey, wake up."

The man groaned, his head lifting and flopping about before he steadied it. His eyelids fluttered and lifted.

"Tony?"

So, it was Vito.

"Can you move?" I asked.

"I'm not sure."

"We really need to get out of here." I knew eventually, someone would come. I didn't think we wanted to be here when they did.

"Where are we?"

"I haven't got a clue."

I just knew I didn't want to be here.