Never Say Never (Vitale Brothers Book 4)

Chapter 17

Irritation,uncertainty, rage.

So much fucking anger weighed down on my chest making it hard to breathe. I was angry at myself for slipping up and allowing my emotions to get involved with my boss. I was pissed off at York because why in the hell was he down that alleyway? But above all else, I was furious with my life. I was over pretending to be someone I wasn”t.

Pressure built inside of me with every passing second. The turmoil of my emotions didn”t calm down. I was gonna combust out of my flesh at this point. I was left stranded in the misery of my own destruction.

B: Need to pull the plug?

My stomach was in permanent knots. I was no closer to answering Benito than I”d been three weeks ago. I was in an endless loop of uncertainty that all stemmed from one man. One asshole who hadn”t reached out to me a single time while he was on leave. One man who I couldn”t get out of my head no matter what I did.

I grabbed my phone and York”s number was pulled up. His questioning earlier only cemented that he now looked at me like a suspect. It shouldn”t hurt when it was the truth, but it did. It felt like I had a knife sticking out of the middle of my chest.

Vibrations pulled me out of the vicious cycle that were my thoughts. One glance at my phone, and I knew it was the burner I turned on yesterday. With shit hitting the fan faster everyday, I had to keep a new one on me, changing it out every few days. I made sure only two people had my number. I couldn”t have a repeat of last time. Tony shooting York was a worst case scenario. If he”d killed York…

I sat mine down and grabbed the burner just as it stopped ringing. Either Benito or my father needed something. The former was currently texting me on my regular phone, asking me if I was ready to call it quits. I should be. There was nothing left for me to do. The more time I spent in the FBI, the closer I got to being caught.

Every time I thought about walking away, washing my hands and taking out the contacts, I thought about York. We would never see each other again.

Call me weak but I still wasn”t ready yet.

The phone vibrated once more and I picked it up.

”Hello—”

”When I call, you answer,” Dad said. His voice was always the same thick, rough timbre from all the years he smoked cigars and spoke bullshit.

”Benito—”

”Don”t start about your brother. He”s letting shit slide right now. Back in my day, we took care of anyone who dared disrespect us.”

”He”s also brought in three times the amount of revenue since taking over. He knows what he”s doing, Pop.”

Dad spat, the sound vulgar and moist in my ear. ”He”s soft.”

Benito, soft? I”d laugh, but I knew it would piss him off. My brother was far from soft. He was smart. He played his cards right. Letting his crazy side out to play wasn”t a smart move. People were constantly watching him, he took on things our father couldn”t achieve, even though he”d tried.

”What can I help you with, Dad?” I made my way over to my kitchen, rummaging through, knowing there was nothing in any of the cabinets or fridge. I could cook but I didn”t like to do it here. I only went to the store for the bare minimum, and even then, I didn”t get much.

”I need you to take care of something for me.”

Shaking my head no, I already knew the route this was going. ”I can”t blow my cover.”

”If you”re good at what you do, you won”t.”

Fixing myself a glass of water, I thought about how to turn Dad down. He never took no for an answer. He had a way of making people, mainly his sons, feel like pathetic, mindless shits unless we did what he said.

”You”re a Vitale at the end of the day. Don”t tell me you forgot while playing a fed.”

”No.”

”You sure they didn”t brainwash you? There wasn”t much there to start off with.”

I bit my tongue, keeping any smart remark to myself. At the end of the day he was still my father, even if the shit that came out of his mouth made me want to take a bat to his head. Blood trickled over my taste buds, the small inkling of pain not enough to take the edge off.

”What do you need done, Pop?”

”You sure you’re up for it?”

I slammed the full glass of water in the sink. Fuck, was it everyone”s goal to push every last button I had? It wasn”t enough I was going through shit with York, but add my dad”s bullshit and I was ready to say fuck it all.

”I have things to do. Either tell me or I”m getting off.”

”Now look who started their period. Told your mother plenty of times not to coddle you two. Turned you into a bunch of sissies.”

”Dad,” I growled.

He couldn”t be serious right now. I couldn”t take this.

”Calm down and take the panties out of your ass. I have a few men coming over from Italy. I need you to make sure they get through just fine. I also have someone for you to take care of.”

I paused, why was he getting me involved? ”Benito know about this?”

”Am I talking to Benito?” Before I could answer, my father kept talking. ”No, I”m saying what needs to be done.”

But he wasn”t in charge anymore. I was unsure how Benito was handling our father being on his turf, but if he didn”t nip it in the bud soon, he was going to have a former Don trying to strip him of power.

”Paolo, are we going to have an issue? If you can”t handle this, I”ll call the other one and have him do it.”

Gin and Dad were a volatile mixture. One I was certain Benito didn’t want happening.

”No, I have some free time.”

”Good, have it done tonight. I”ll have the locations sent over to you.” Dad hung up without so much as a goodbye, not that I ever expected one from him.

I checked my phone again, like I”d done so many other times while York was out of the office. Still nothing. At some point, my expectations were going to be shattered, and I wouldn”t hold out anymore.

Fuck it. I changed my clothes, going for a more Gianpaolo style; all black with a bit of skin showing. I grabbed both phones and headed out the moment I was ready. I needed something to take my mind off of York. I thought about him while I ate, as I slept, and every waking moment. There wasn’t a second of rest, even in my own head.

I was supposed to head straight to the docks in Manhattan, instead I found myself at the one place I shouldn”t be. I swore to myself I wouldn”t come back, that yesterday was my last time. But like an addict, I needed to get my fix, even if it was at a distance. I parked my car and rode the elevator all the way to the top floor of the building. I”d purchased one of the other penthouses under an alias.

Not smart, but this whole thing with my boss wasn”t exactly my finest hour in the first place.

I let myself in, walking across the empty space. I hadn”t bothered to furnish it. The only thing in the room was a fold-up chair, a telescope, and a TV dinner table to hold my laptop. Hacking into the security cameras at York”s high rise building shouldn”t be so easy when they paid so much money.

Adjusting the telescope, I sought out the one man who couldn”t so much as send me a damn message. One night, he had his dick down my throat, the next, I couldn’t get a text back. Granted he started acting strange after getting shot, but my bedroom skills had to excuse some of it. Why couldn”t he be more like me and keep work and what we had going on separate? I knew we were enemies, but I didn”t treat him any differently.

”You better not be working late.” I checked my other phone. I told Hunter to text me if he left work and York was still in the office. Playing it under the guise of being worried about the boss they all bought it.

Paul: Boss man still working?

Summer: No, he left a little after you.

He did?

Hunter: Looked a little panicked

Jamie: Pretty sure his arm hurt.

Hunter: Told him he shouldn”t have returned so fast.

Kim: You know how he is.

My phone continued to go off, but I ignored them. I grabbed the telescope and closed one eye as I looked through it. I knew the places by heart now where I”d see York and the girls. I held my breath, searching. The light in the living room was on. The couch was empty but that wasn”t unheard of.

Curls bounced in my line of sight, and I went still. Nyra twisted around in what looked like some interesting dance move. Navy came running from the other side, going down on her knees in what looked like an epic guitar solo.

Seeing the girls dissipated some of the anger that rattled in the middle of my chest. It came flaring back along with something else the moment York stepped into the living room. He was smiling at the girls before they went over toward him and started jumping around.

I could be right there.

How many times had I thought that? I wanted something that would never be a reality for me. I watched them for another hour before York put the girls to bed. Like many nights, he grabbed his laptop, plopped on the couch, and started working.

The man needed sleep and proper rest but I doubt he knew what it meant. Three weeks of leave and he hadn”t done much but pace around the penthouse. Someone like York needed to be in the office.

”Pick your phone up and call me.”

Was my boss going to call me? Fuck no. Was I mad about it? Yes! As I watched, Shelly came into view and sat across from him, talking as he nodded along.

The burner in my pocket buzzed and I fished it out. I reluctantly looked away from York to see what was up. My father”s message was cryptic but I got the gist of it. I fixed the bad wig on my head and put on some sunglasses. I took one last look at York before heading out.

Paul: Say it

I didn”t expect a text back, and honestly I wasn”t going to check for one. But the moment my phone chimed, I had it out. Other cars on the road be damned.

York: Say what?

Paul: You know what. The reason you”re acting weird.

The dancing dots were going to drive me insane. They appeared and then disappeared in the next second. As minutes went by, the realization that York wasn”t going to text back settled in.

I pulled to a stop a few blocks from the docks. My anger was at a new level. I slammed the door, not caring who heard or if anyone was watching. He couldn”t just tell me he suspected me? I”d be able to make a clean break and go back to my family, the one thing I”d wanted since having to split from my twin.

The dank air barely registered as I made my way over to the location. I read over the numbers, having to double back a few times. I was that angry. I blew out a breath, tasting the salt in the air.

Cargo 6685342HGBP.

”Fucking finally.” I kept my head down as I glanced around, just in case. I opened the door and stopped in my tracks. In the middle of the damn shipping container was one of Qiang”s son”s, Ai. The only reason I knew was because he was on the FBI most wanted list along with a few others in the Triads.

The war was getting bad; there were hits in the middle of New York. What used to be neutral territory was now every man for themselves, and the fucking news didn”t shut up about it. In turn, it made my job on both sides that much harder.

I stepped in all the way, his gaze zeroed in on me, watching my every step.

”How in the fuck did that old man catch you?”

There was no answer, not with a gag firmly in his mouth. A part of me didn”t care for the answer. Right now, I felt he was the perfect distraction. My phone chimed, and I really should ignore it, but I couldn”t help myself. I was a sucker for punishment.

York: Nothing. I”ll see you at work tomorrow.

Fuck my life. ”What is that supposed to mean? He obviously has figured something out. Is he playing me?”

Could it be possible that York knew who I was and was trying to use me to bring my family down? That wasn”t an impossibility, but then again, if York knew the truth, I doubt he”d be able to stomach looking at me. That thought alone made me feel queasy.

I looked around the container before sighing. ”Be right back. Don”t go anywhere.” I closed it up and jogged back to the car. I popped the trunk, grabbing one of the bats I kept on hand. The wooden one would break too easily, and I felt like I was going to put a lot of power behind my swing. The heavy metal bat was the winner.

Twisting it around a few times, I tested a couple of swings before heading back. I found the shipping container a lot quicker the second time around.

”Oh good, still where I left you.”

Ai”s muffled words behind the gag fell on deaf ears.

”Don”t worry, you and Harmony are going to have a chat while I get all my frustrations out. You see, I”m seeing this guy. Well, it”s really more than that, he”s my boss, but we have good chemistry. His dick was meant for sucking, and not to mention, he”s uptight but funny. The way he laughs is infectious; he doesn”t do it nearly enough.” I sighed, picturing York. I shook my head. ”But things have been fucked lately.” I walked around him, resting the bat across my shoulders. ”There’s something new every fucking day because of you and the Acetos. Work has been stressful. The FBI cracking down on my family only makes matters worse. He got shot but he saw something that he wasn”t supposed to see.” I groaned, swinging the bat in the air. ”It”s a long, complicated fucking story, but I’m sure he isn”t talking to me. I have blue balls because I only want to fuck him right now and I”m getting pulled in two different directions. Anyway, this is why you get to talk to Harmony.” I presented the metal bat to him making sure he got to see her in all her glory.

Ai rocked in his chair, making more noise than I needed him to. I informed Benito already about our dad making moves, not that he needed the extra bullshit on his plate. Heavy is the crown of the man in charge or some bullshit.

I took a step back and slowly swung Harmony, lining her up to his face, making sure I got the best aim. I did it three times to make sure it was perfect. He twisted his head left and right, fighting with the gag in his mouth.

”Wait,” Ai said.

”I don”t really feel like it. Didn”t you hear my woes? Someone has to die, and tonight it”s you. I can”t get laid, might as well do the next best thing.” I paused. “You don’t happen to know where Tasso is, do you?”

”You”re the Vitale on the inside,” he rushed out before he shook his head. “I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

I stopped, Harmony already posted and ready to deliver damage.

”What do you mean?”

He smiled at me. ”Your family swears they are doing something new and inventive. We”ve had people in the FBI and CIA for years.” He laughed as if he”d made the funniest joke. ”This is why my father is going to wipe your family out. Your idiot brother should have just handed the whore over.”

Harmony cut through the air and slammed into Ai’s side. The chair rocked as the force of the blow crashed into him. His laugh turned into a groan of agony. He coughed a few times, trying to suck in a lungful of air.

”I don”t like when people talk about my family.” I lifted his chin with the end of Harmony. ”Who knows I”m a Vitale?”

Blood stained his teeth, his tongue split on the side probably from his teeth slicing into it. ”Everyone.”

Fuck. I”d been worried about York finding out, but I hadn”t thought twice about other gangs.

”Your boss is an idiot if he didn”t realize it. But it won”t matter, he”s next. We”ve given him plenty of warnings.”

My heart started pounding for a different reason. ”What warnings?”

Ai spat at my feet. ”Wouldn”t you like to know?” His knowing smile irked the fuck out of me.

I was rational. I could calm down and think things through. I just needed to take a step back and breathe. Before my mind caught up with my actions, I was already taking another swing.

Vibration from the collision traveled over my hands and up my arms. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Ai should have kept his mouth shut. Mentioning York was a bad move. My irrational brain wasn”t letting up. The idea that there were threats against what was mine sent me into a frenzy.

Ai’s skull made a sickening crack against Harmony and it echoed in the otherwise empty container. A smile crept up on my lips as I did it again and again. The third hit to his skull resulted in a wet, squelching noise. The same sound a pumpkin made when being smashed. I yanked my bat back, hair, blood, and brain matter clung to her once-clean metal.

I flung the bits off and started swinging again. I didn’t give a damn if Ai was alive, dead, or a vegetable. No one, and I meant no one, would hurt York or the girls.