Dark Redeemer by Raven Scott

9

Massimo

Iping my brothers on the messenger apps we use. Then ten minutes later I gather up Luciano and we head down to the media room, and wait for my other brothers to connect. Enrico, Stefano, and Roberto show up within ten seconds of each other.

“So, what’s with the late night meeting?” Enrico says, rubbing his eyes. “I was just having the best sex of my life, so this better be good.”

“Another whore from the strip clubs, huh?” Roberto taunts.

“Not a whore, but a patron,” Enrico tells him.

“It takes a special class of degenerate to fuck one’s own patrons,” Stefano quips.

I remain quiet, as does Luciano, and the others quickly turn serious.

“Why the long faces?” Roberto says. “Has she died or something?”

“No,” I say. “But she’s seen my face.”

Roberto shrugs. “Not something a bullet to the head can’t fix. We can call this operation off right now if you want. We end her life, bury her, and move on. All the money in the world isn’t worth shit if we’re not around to spend it.”

“No, we keep going,” I say. “Her father’s dead anyway. And the rest of her family. It doesn’t matter that she’s seen my face. Besides, whoever we finally end up selling her to won’t care.”

“You’re assuming that the only families interested in bidding on her are enemies of the Amatos,” Enrico comments.

“I am assuming this, yes,” I agree. “That would include half the mafia families in Palermo…”

“Actually,” Stefano says. “It’s not just their enemies that are interested. I’ve got quite a few allies who’ve registered for the auction as well. You’d be surprised at how many want to buy her, if only to curry favor with the Amatos.”

“I doubt those families will be bidding very high, if at all, if it’s favor seeking they’re after,” I say. “The Amatos won’t take too kindly to their daughter’s price being artificially driven up.”

My brothers are silent at that.

“Still, it’s a shitty thing that you let her see your face,” Stefano comments. “How could you fuck that up? You forgot to wear the mask when you went to her room or something?”

“Nothing so amateur,” I reply. “She pulled my mask off when I lowered my guard for a moment.”

Stefano crosses his arms. “Sounds amateur to me.”

“So, about the families who’ve already registered for the auction,” Luciano says, changing the subject. “Does this include the Amatos themselves? And the Rizzos?”

“They’ve both registered, yes,” Stefano tells us. “They were among the first, actually. And according to my eyes and ears on the streets, the Amatos still don’t know we’ve taken her. Which is good.”

Luciano nods. “It is good.”

“And get this,” Stefano continues. “Giovanni Amato responded to my burner message directly, already offering one million Euros for her return.”

“You didn’t answer I hope,” I tell him.

“Of course not,” Stefano says. “We’re going to stick with the plan. Why do you think I didn’t notify the rest of you already? Maybe if he offered five million Euros, I would have called a meeting so we could discuss it.”

“I want at least ten million Euros for her,” I say.

Enrico nods. “That’s two million each. Works for me.”

“Have we decided on a date and time for the auction yet?” Roberto asks.

“We could wait a few days, give the remaining families who haven’t yet responded time to register,” Stefano replies.

I shake my head. “No point in delaying. Representatives for all the families would have seen the message by now. Those who are interested would have already registered. Let them know the online auction will be held tomorrow at six. Bidding starts at three million.”

“I’ll get the message out as soon as this call is over,” Stefano says.

“Any other issues we need to be aware of?” Roberto asks. His question is meant for all of us.

But I’m the only one who speaks. “A cop came snooping around earlier tonight.”

“A cop, at the villa?” Roberta says incredulously.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I continue. “I bribed him off for now, but we’re going to have to move our captive. The cop won’t be able to keep our location safe for much longer, not with the spies the Amatos have in the police department.”

“Why did the cop suspect you in the first place?” Roberto asks suspiciously.

“Apparently some tourists were still around when we hit the hidden cove,” I say. “I don’t know where they were, probably camping somewhere in the bushes, but they witnessed two masked men escorting a woman with a bag over her head. They also saw the white Fiat, which the cop recognized from doing business with me.”

“Stefano…” Robert growls. “We trusted you to secure that beach.”

“It’s not my fault,” Stefano says, lifting his hands defensively. “There are a lot of places to hide on that beach. I did tell you to switch cars after leaving the cove, but would you listen to me?”

“I’m the one who argued against it,” Enrico chimes in. “So don’t be blaming Massimo here. Do you remember what I said then? ‘It doesn’t matter if the Amatos track us down. Giovanni won’t come in here guns blazing, not if there’s a chance he’ll hurt his precious daughter. He’ll want to negotiate first, and do the killing later after he gets her back.’ Something to that effect. And it still holds.”

“Even so, I plan on moving Ang… the captive, later tonight,” I tell my brothers. “To a new Incognito.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Stefano agrees. “I can meet you at the Incognito, take over her supervision if you want.”

“No,” I say. “The less contact she has with the rest of you, the better.”

Stefano shrugs. “We’re all incriminated anyway. Guilty by association. You know how these families work. One person sins, they wipe out not just that person but the entire family.”

“I’ll handle it,” I growl. I already know what his idea of supervision is… I remember quite well how he used to look at Angela back in the day. The thought of him alone with her fills me with a rage I can’t quite describe… it’s not jealousy of course. Never that. No, it’s just I don’t want him touching what’s mine.

But isn’t that the very definition of jealousy?

No, no.

“Fine,” Stefano says. “Try to get her to eat something, though, would you?”

“I’m working on it,” I tell him between gritted teeth.

“The rest of us should switch to backup villas as well,” Roberto says. “I’ve been using my location to conduct business, but I think it’s finally time to move my operation underground. I know, Enrico, you don’t think it matters if the Amatos find us, but personally I’d rather not take the chance.”

Enrico shrugs. “I’m already off the grid anyway.”

“I’m not, but I will be by this time tomorrow,” Stefano chimes in.

After a few moments of silence, Enrico asks: “Well is that everything? My lady friend awaits.”

“That’s it for now,” I tell them. “We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Good times,” Roberto says. “See ya, you beautiful bastards.”

He and the others disconnect.

Luciano glances at me. “Well that was fun.”

I don’t answer. I’m still fuming over Stefano’s suggestion to take over her “supervision.”

“How are you feeling?” Luciano presses, bringing me from my thoughts.

“Tense,” I reply, though he doesn’t know just how multifaceted my answer is. “Worried.”

“We’ll see this through without any more hitches,” Luciano says. “For Matteo.”

My face darkens. We never say his name. We never talk about him. It hurts too much.

I turn away.

“We’ll get this done,” I agree gruffly.

“You know, the one million Euro offer from Giovanni isn’t all that bad,” Luciano insists. “We can accept it now, pull a bullet in his head, then hers, and get this over with. No need to get greedy.”

I shake my head, again suppressing a surge of anger. No bullets in her head. “We stick to the plan.”

“You’re not getting attached to her, are you?” Luciano asks. “I thought you said she was a teenage crush, nothing more? You’ve been with hundreds of women since.”

And I haven’t loved a single one of them.

“Of course not I’m not getting attached,” I tell him. “She means nothing to me. Why do you think I started this whole operation?”

Luciano nods. “Good. Because the way you answered Stefano there when he asked if you wanted him to take over her supervision seemed a bit rough.” He pats me on the shoulder. “Anyway, have a good night, brother.”

“You too.” I watch him leave, and when he’s gone I slump in my seat.

Maybe I should’ve accepted the one million Euro offer. Why didn’t I? Greed, or something more?

Yes, greed is partly the answer. It always is. But also, I’m not ready to give her up just yet.

I’ve always wanted her. She belonged to me eight years ago. She should belong to me now.

I want to keep her. Yet, am I really going to go against my brothers, who helped me set up this operation? I can’t fuck them out of their share of the ransom.

I can’t keep her.

I get up and make my way to the kitchen. I grab a bottle of bourbon from the bar and fill up a glass, setting it down on a coaster.

Rosa joins me.

“What up?” I ask her, fist bumping.

“Can’t sleep,” she says.

“You and me both,” I agree.

Rosa fetches a glass from the china cabinet and opens the bottom cupboard of the fridge to retrieve a square piece of ice wrapped in tin foil. She drops it into her glass and pours herself some bourbon.

She sits down on the barstool next to me.

“You know, I still don’t know how you make those.” I nod at the perfectly clear ice cube that sits in her glass. “When I make ice, it’s always cloudy. You use distilled water?”

“Nope,” she says. “I told you at one point, I have a special container I use to freeze them.”

“You told me?”

She nods patiently, and takes a sip. “Uh huh. Basically it’s an ice tray sitting on top of an insulated bowl. The ice freezes from the top down, from the tray toward the bowl. There are holes in the bottom of the tray that let the ice push the water into the bowl, and before it freezes completely, I take it out of the freezer. The ice crystals shove the impurities down into the water underneath, so when I pry out the cubes, they’re crystal clear.”

“Nice.” I clang glasses with her.

We sip in silence for a moment, enjoying our drinks.

“How is she?” Rosa asks.

I shrug. “Same as earlier.” If a bit confused. Like me.

“Hasn’t eaten yet?” Rosa presses.

“Nope.”

She studies me a moment. “And how are you?”

“I’ve seen better days,” I admit.

She shrugs, not pressing the matter. That’s what I always liked about my sister, she doesn’t pry.

“You know, you need to take your ice tray out of the fridge,” she says out of left field.

“Excuse me?” I ask her.

“Your ice tray,” she explains patiently. “You’ve grown this frigid exterior to inure yourself to the mafia world, so you can wear the mask of a proper gangster. So you’re ‘respected’ by the other families. But in the process you’ve forced the good deep down inside, so deep there’s a chance it’s going to freeze there forever. Take your tray out of the fridge before the good is gone permanently.”

I shake my head. “Rosa. You always did like your metaphors. But whether there’s any good left inside me is debatable.”

“I don’t believe that,” she says. “I see the way you treat me. Your brothers. You’re not all bad.”

“That’s because you’re family,” I tell her. “Family always comes first. Everything I’ve ever done, every crime I’ve ever committed, has been for you guys. You know that.”

“Has it?” she asks. “Look, all I’m saying is your heart doesn’t have to be stone anymore. Maybe try letting someone in once in a while. You might be surprised by what happens. Who knows, you might actually be happy someday.”

“If you’re talking about Angela, she hates me,” I tell her. “For what I’ve done. And I don’t blame her.”

“Does she?” Rosa presses. “You know, back in the day, when I used to see you and Angela together, before her father tried to kill you, I always thought you two made a cute couple.”

“We were different people then.” I gaze off into the distance. “I should have never went to her that night. Never snuck away with her. It set all of this in motion. For what? A kiss?”

“Sometimes a kiss can shake the world,” Rosa says.

I take a long sip of bourbon and exhale sadly. “I went to her earlier tonight to cut the cable ties I’d used to secure her, and she was sleeping. She looked so peaceful. All the trials and hardships of the day forgotten. A distant memory.”

I pause, studying the cloudy ice in my glass.

“It was like I was seeing her again for the first time,” I continue, “past the hate-filled cloud her father put in front of my eyes. I’d forgotten how beautiful she was. Forgotten what she meant to me. I wanted to pick her up and take her from all this. I wanted to run away with her, the same thing I wanted eight years ago. But then I remembered my responsibilities. I can’t just run away and abandon you all.”

Rosa is quiet for a moment. I could never confide in my other brothers like this. Only Rosa, because she wasn’t part of the business, and she’d never reveal my misgivings to my brothers.

“You could, you know,” Rosa finally says.

“What?” I ask her.

“Run away,” she tells me. “The two of you. Her father would never find out what happened. And the rest of us would never tell a soul. You could live your life alone, in peace.”

I look at her and feel a surge of anger. How dare she presume. “You forget I want my vengeance.”

“You didn’t sound so sure about that a moment ago,” Rosa says quietly. When I don’t answer, she adds: “It’s not too late to turn back. It’s never too late.”

“I already told you, I’m not letting my brothers down.” I hold her gaze. “I don’t want to let you down. Besides, as I mentioned, she hates me, so I highly doubt she’d choose to run away with me.”

Rosa smiles wanly. “You never let me down. Never have, never will. If you decide not to go through with this, I’ll support you. We all will. We’re family, and like you said, family always comes first with us. And even if you don’t want to run away, you can still let her go.”

I rest my glass on the coaster. “Actually, I can’t. Angela has seen my face. I have to go through with this now. If I let her go, she’ll tell her father everything and we’ll have a war on our hands. I’ll have to kill her father and her brothers anyway in the end. If I don’t, they’ll come after us. So you see, I’m doomed no matter what I do. I have to see this through.”

Rosa finishes her bourbon, then turns her glass upside-down to let the ice cube fall to the floor. It hits with a solid THUD but doesn’t break. Doesn’t even chip.

“You see that?” Rosa asks. “This ice is us. The Moretti family. Unbreakable. Resilient. We take whatever the world throws at us. We’ve been taking it since we were children, and we’ll continue to take it. If you let her go, and her family chooses to hunt us, then so be it. Even I will be a part of that fight. But at least we’ll have done the right thing.”

I purse my lips, then smile sadly. “See, Rosa, that’s where you and I are different. You’re always looking at everything as right versus wrong, whereas I approach things from a cost-benefit angle. I park my emotions at the door. I have to be cold, analytic in this business. What is the cost of an undertaking, versus the value of the resulting benefits? We’ve already kidnapped Angela. There’s no benefit in letting her go if the cost is we’re going to have to fight the Amatos anyway. We might as well extract as much money as we can from her family in the process. Otherwise, their deaths provide no value, and are for nothing.”

Rosa retrieves her ice cube from the floor. “You’ve made your choice, then. I hope you’ll be able to live with yourself after taking this vengeance of yours.”

“So do I,” I mutter softly after she’s gone.