Mafia Obsession

Rick

Alicia drops to the floor on instinct. The bullet flies over her head right where she was standing. Pride rises inside of me, watching her act off of instinct.

I grab the bastard who shot at her by the collar, making him yelp like the coward he is.

I’m about to punch him hard in the face when I recognize him. Only from photos, but he’s the man Leo has been trying to track since he got Ellie back. Bruce Hernandez, a lowlife drug dealer, and her ex-boyfriend. The same man that held her captive for two months straight.

I knock him out cold, dragging his body to one side. Leo will want to get his hands on him, and I’m not letting him escape. If someone snatched Alicia from me and put her through hell, I’d damn well want to murder the man who did it slowly and painfully myself.

I pull a cable tie out of my pocket and fasten it around his wrists. There’s no way I’m letting that asshole escape. Alicia is still on the floor, holding her hands over her head. Austin has picked a load of fucking idiots to support him in his attempt to overthrow us. The question is whether Alicia’s father is working with him or not.

It will put me in an impossible situation if her dad is working against us. All I can hope is that’s not the case. I get to my knees and crawl toward her. She flinches at my touch, before relaxing when she sees that it’s me. “Come on, we’ve got to keep moving,” I say.

She nods, gripping the pistol in her hand so tight her knuckles are white. I didn’t want her to be in this kind of danger, but her damn stubborn attitude had her insisting. It makes the stakes even higher. Everyone I care about in this godforsaken world is in this shipyard.

I go first, keeping her behind my back. I’m her only shield, and I will shield her from anything. There’s no doubt in my heart that I’d sacrifice my life for this woman.

“Rick, let’s talk about this,” Austin shouts.

He doesn’t get to call the shots, especially not after he told me he is here for my blood. The man is dead. There are no two ways about it. No one tries to take down the Romano family and survives.

He knows that we’ve got him. A damn coward. Kane is the one to find him first, as I hear the shrill scream of Austin up ahead. “I’ve got him.”

Alicia glances up at me through her protective mask. I give her waist a reassuring squeeze. We step toward my brother’s voice, nearly barging straight into Leo.

“Careful,” he quips, letting me and Alicia walk passed him.

I set eyes on Austin and my body tenses. “Why did you betray us?” I ask.

He smirks at me. “You and your brothers are too damn weak.” He yelps as Kane punches him in the gut.

“Who the fuck is weak now?” Kane growls.

He straightens and glances at me. “Sure, you all act strong and vicious, but I’ve seen first hand how much you care.” He shakes his head. “Your dad had it right. He was a true leader. I saw an opportunity to overthrow you, and I took it.”

Somehow, this all feels too easy. Austin is clever, and this couldn’t have been his plan. We’re the only living Romanos left, and he has been working for our family since before we were in charge.

I shift my weight from one foot to the other, trying to work out his game plan. The guy isn’t this fucking dumb. “This isn’t right.”

Alicia steps toward him. “Where’s my father?” Austin sneers at her. “He’ll be here any minute.”

That’s when it hits me. This was Austin’s plan all along, trying to trap us in here and suggest we attacked first. If Juliano is working with Austin, then he will be in on it. But, if he’s not, then he will see this as us breaking the peace pact on neutral territory.

I grab Alicia’s arm and pull her toward me, holding her close to my chest. “He has set us up,” I announce.

The sound of a safety being taken off a gun behind me has me spinning so fast. Nick is standing there with three other men, and his gun is aimed at me. Leo and Kane have their guns trained on him in a second.

If I go for my gun, I’ve got to let go of Alicia.

Alicia tries to get out of my grip, but I keep hold of her firmly. “Nick, this is one big misunderstanding, orchestrated by the man standing behind me.”

His eyes narrow. “He said you might say something like that.” Nick takes a step forward.

Within seconds, I’ve got my gun against Alicia’s throat. The best thing here is to play it her way. If her father thinks she’s in danger, he won’t shoot. Otherwise, this could turn into a good old-fashioned shoot out before either of us can blink.

His eyes widen, and the fear in them is as clear as day. “Not one more step,” I say.

Alicia clears her throat. “Dad, please listen to him. He’s telling the truth.”

Nick takes another step forward, and I cock the gun, pressing it against Alicia’s throat. It feels wrong having this gun anywhere near her, but he has to comply. Otherwise, we could all end up dead.

He puts his hands in the air and glances back at his men. “Guns down.” A few of the men hesitate. “Now,” he yells as he drops his gun to the floor.

They all give up their guns. “Fools,” Austin says. Juliano narrows his eyes at me. “Explain.”

Alicia trembles in my arms, as I keep the gun pressed to her throat. Every part of my being is screaming at me to lower the gun, but I have to keep up pretenses for a little longer. “Austin is the reason all of this happened,” I say, glancing at the asshole who betrayed us. “Just over three weeks ago, he came to me and told me he’d found out you were selling into our territory.”

“That’s bullshit,” Nick states.

I nod my head. “I believe that since it was all a ploy to bring our family down. In fact, he was the one who came to me and suggested we snatch Alicia to get you to back off.”

Nick’s eyes narrow at Austin. “So, you’ve been playing two families off against each other?”

Austin gawps. “You don’t believe this idiot, do you?”

He nods his head. “I damn well am believing him.” He steps toward Austin, and I watch warily. “It made no sense why, after eight years of peace, Rick would break it for no reason.”

Austin is trembling with rage, eyes searching for something. He hasn’t got a way out of here, and he sure as hell isn’t leaving this warehouse alive. Nick turns his attention to me. “Rick, I get this was a misunderstanding,

but you snatched my daughter. My flesh and blood.” His eyes narrow. “Give her back now, and no one needs to get hurt.”

I lick my bottom lip, wondering how this will go down. “There’s a slight complication.”

Alicia interrupts, “Let me tell him.”

I remove my gun from her throat and let her go, but she remains close to me.

“Dad, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to go home.” His brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

She backs up closer to me, pressing herself against my body. “I’m in love with Rick.”

His nostrils flare. “What?” He growls.

“Daddy, please understand.” She holds her hands up. “It just happened.”

His eyes fix on me. “You snatch my daughter and then take advantage of her?” he asks.

I shake my head, snaking an arm around Alicia’s waist protectively. “No, I fell in love with her because she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

My part only seems to add fuel to the fire. Nick’s face darkens, and his eyes widen. “You kidnapped her and then groomed her,” he shouts, bringing his gun back up and preparing to shoot.

Alicia stands tall and puts her arms up, trying to shield me despite being much smaller. “You can’t shoot him, I won’t let you.”

“Alicia, get out of the way.”

She shakes her head, grabbing my hand and squeezing. “No, I know you’re not happy-”

“Happy? Why the fuck would I be happy that you are insisting you are in love with a man who snatched you from our home?”

I knew this would be tough, and I can understand the way this looks. It looks bad. Neither of us planned for this. I could never have expected the powerful connection between us the moment I set eyes on her.

“None of this was planned, Mr. Juliano.” I shake my head. “Surely, you can see the positive side of this.”

“Positive side?” he spits. His face is turning redder by the second.

“Yes, a joining of our families would strengthen both our positions and stabilize North America with an even more powerful crime unit.”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Alicia squeezes my hand more tightly. “Exactly. We’re very serious about this.” She shakes her head. “Please, don’t try to part us.”

Nick swallows hard, glancing between the two of us. He runs a hand through his hair, lowering his gun. I watch as he paces the room. “We can discuss this somewhere more private without a damn audience.”

Alicia steps away from me. It pains me to let her go to him. “Dad, please listen to me.” She holds out her hand and reaches for him, stopping him mid-stride. “I want to be with Rick.”

He gazes at his daughter, the woman I love, with such adoration. I can understand exactly why he’s so protective of her. It may be a very different bond, but that fierce protectiveness lives inside of me too.

There’s a moment where I believe he might listen to her. Instead, he grabs hold of her and aims the gun right at me. She screams and tries to knock the gun from his hand, which only sets it off. The bullet ricochets off the walls of the building.

Leo and Kane cock their guns, aiming it at Nick. “Not one more fucking move,” Kane says.

A gun being cocked behind me draws my attention, and Alicia gets free of her father’s grip. Everything happens so fast, as Alicia’s small, delicate body jumps in front of me. The gunshot rings out, and blood splatters the air.

I try to catch her in my arms, but she hits the water behind. Her blood stains the water a light red. I dive in after her, swimming after her limp body.

My heart is in my throat as I tighten my arms around her waist, trying to swim her back toward the surface.

This can’t be happening. I’m supposed to be the one to protect Alicia, not the other way around.