Mafia Obsession

Alicia

The SUV pulls to a stop a few meters away from the meeting point. A rundown and out of use dockyard. The kind of place where anything could go wrong.

“Sir, we will go ahead and scope out the area,” Dan says.

Rick gives him a nod, and he gets out of the vehicle, leaving us alone. I glance back to see the other SUV with Kane and Leo parked behind us.

“Are you okay?” Rick asks.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

I glance at him and give him a weak smile, despite my stomach being in total knots. “I’m not sure.”

His lips quirk into a beautiful smile. “On the plane, you were the one telling me everything will be okay.”

I shake my head. “Yeah, but now we’re actually here and I…” He grabs my hand and squeezes. “What is it?”

“It will be hard to explain what this is to my father…” I pause a moment, contemplating what to say. “He’s always been very protective of me with boys.”

He chuckles. “Well, I’m not a boy, am I?”

“No, definitely not.” I swallow hard. “I think that will make it worse.” I shut my eyes, resting my head on the headrest.

We sit in silence together. The tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.

A gunshot rings out, and my heart leaps into my throat. Rick turns to ice and drops my hand, getting out of the vehicle. I watch as he walks to the driver’s side, gets in, and starts the SUV. “Something is wrong,” he mutters.

Kane and Leo have left the vehicle behind, guns drawn. They amble toward our car, before opening the doors and getting inside. “What the fuck is going on?”

Rick shakes his head. “Dan and John have gone on ahead to check everything out. Where are the crew on the road?”

Kane checks his phone. “Last I heard they were about two hours away from here.”

“Damn,” Rick says, shaking his head. “They were supposed to be here when we met Juliano.”

Kane nods. “Yeah, they got held up.”

My heart is in my throat as I wonder if my father is okay. Has he been stupid enough to attempt to take the Romano brothers out on neutral territory?

Suddenly, Dan appears on the street with bloody hands, holding his side and rushing toward us. “Motherfuckers, we can’t let this go unanswered,” Rick growls, opening the door to the car and starting toward the building.

I jump out and rush after him, grabbing his arm. “What are you going to do?”

His eyes are filled with rage, as his two brothers also leave the vehicle with their guns drawn. I swallow hard, realizing what he means by not letting it go unanswered. If they were to flee this meeting, after their men had been attacked, they’d be seen as weak.

I hate this world and the way it works. It is kill or be killed. “We’re going in. Stay here with Dan and John.”

I set my hands on my hips, glaring at him. “No fucking chance.”

Rick’s eyes narrow, and he steps closer, looming over me. “Get in the car, Alicia.”

I shake my head. “No.”

His fists ball by his sides. “It’s too dangerous. Do you even know how to shoot a gun?”

I grab the gun from his hand and aim toward a sign hanging one hundred feet away on a dilapidated building. “I’ll shoot the O,” I say.

Rick follows my gaze, and I pull the trigger, landing the bullet right in the center. I may be a brat, but my father always forced me to go to target practice. He taught me to shoot when I was eleven years old.

Leo whistles. “Damn, she’s a good fucking shot.”

Kane clears his throat. “We could use the extra help.”

Rick spins and glares at him. “What would you do if it was Jasmine?” he growls.

“If Jasmine could shoot like that, I’d let her do what the fuck she wants.”

Rick mutters something under his breath before nodding. “Fine. Let’s get these sons of bitches.”

Leo chucks something at him, and he catches it. “Smoke bombs always work a charm.” It’s a mask.

Leo passes me a mask. “Let’s see how good you shoot with zero visibility.” He then gives me a pistol.

“Thanks,” I mutter.

We all walk toward the building with our guns in our hands. “Dan, what happened?” Leo asks as he gets nearer to us.

He shakes his head. “Whoever is in the shipyard wouldn’t show themselves. They shot both of us.” He winces, his hand is painted in blood.

Rick sets a hand on his shoulder. “The medical kit is in the glove compartment. I need you to patch each other up while we deal with these fuckers.”

Dan gives him a nod, before staggering past us. John is still limping a little way off. They’re both lucky to be alive.

My heart is pounding so hard it feels like I might throw up. The adrenaline pulsing through my veins is higher than anything I’ve ever experienced.

I notice one of my father’s vehicles parked in a spot and grab Rick’s arm. “My dad is here.” I nod my head toward the car. “Maybe you should enter holding a gun to my throat. That might keep up the ruse and ensure no one shoots us?”

Rick stares at me for a moment. “That is not a bad idea.”

He grabs the gun from my hand and flips on the safety, tucking it into the back of my jeans. “Grab it if things go south and get the hell out, do you understand me?” he whispers into my ear.

I nod my head.

“Good girl, now keep close to me.”

I let his warm hard body press against me as we walk into the vast old shipyard. The windows are boarded up, and it is so fucking dark. The dingy lighting illuminates the place and the glistening sea water in the bays where they would have built boats gleams.

“Where ever the fuck you are, we’ve got Alicia Juliano. We will shoot her.”

Someone laughs a menacing cackle, one that doesn’t belong to my father. “I don’t give a shit about that whore.”

Rick stiffens and pushes me behind him. He blocks me with his body like a shield.

Kane steps to the side of Rick. “I told you it was Austin behind all this.”

Rick shoots him a glare. “What the fuck do you want, Austin?”

I wonder where the fuck this guy is. “I want your blood running from this building,” he replies.

Rick gives Kane a nod, and he pulls the cord on the smoke bomb, throwing it into the old shipyard building. A shot goes off, and then coughing and spluttering as Rick, Leo, and Kane put their masks on.

Rick grabs mine out of my hand and shoves it onto my face quickly. Thick white smoke disperses through the corridor, and I can barely see a thing.

Rick’s hand laces with mine, and he moves forward, pressing further into the rundown old building. His touch grounds me and calms me. My mind is going wild over who this Austin is and where my father is. He’s definitely here, as his car is parked outside.

A shot rings out, and my heart leaps into my throat. Rick pulls me closer to him as we walk deeper into the smoke-filled building. I’ve never felt so on edge. Even when I was kidnapped once before, it was nothing compared to this.

Rick’s presence calms my nerves as we walk deeper into the old dock warehouse. My mask is snuggly fitted to my face, making it possible to look through the smoke.

“I’m not sure what good you think your smoke will do for you,” Austin shouts.

Rick ignores him, walking forward and into the unknown. My dad’s car is outside, but there is no sign of him.

Has this man hurt him?

Whoever this guy is, he’s unhinged. Taking on the Romano family is a suicide mission. I always knew my dad wasn’t stupid enough to go against Rick and his family. It all makes sense now. This whole situation was manipulated by one man.

I stumble over something discarded on the floor and almost go headfirst into the water beside me. The shipyard hasn’t been used for years, and there is debris everywhere.

Thankfully, Rick catches me before I can tumble into the water. “Careful, princess,” he mutters.

There’s an edge to his voice. For the first time since we met, he isn’t in control. It scares me more than anything. I squeeze his hand tightly, trying to ground myself.

Rick’s hand slips from mine, and he steadies his gun, squinting through the smoke.

He pulls the trigger and shoots a guy in the heart, killing him dead with one shot.

I gasp, unable to mask my shock. Rick’s eyes meet mine. There’s guilt burning deep in them. I wonder what he feels more guilty about, killing a man, or me witnessing it.

My heart almost stops as I notice another guy pointing a gun right at me through the smoke. Both of us were distracted for a moment, and he is in close range.

The man’s eyes widen as he sees me. I do the only thing I can do and drop to the floor. The bang of the gunshot is so loud it feels like my eardrums burst, as I hit the floor.

That was too fucking close.