Never Say Never (Vitale Brothers Book 4)

Chapter 33

No forceon this Earth could stop me from extinguishing every single person who”d touched my family. Anger wasn”t the emotion rolling in the pits of my stomach. No, that was too soft to describe the visceral indignation that sliced through my veins. If the world thought I was a monster before, they hadn”t seen me when my family was being harmed.

The twins” light whimpers made my heart ache. It was one thing to drag me out to be killed, but my kids too?

”Stop with the crying.” A thump followed.

I jerked around, trying to figure out exactly where it had come from. I knew the girls were behind us in the van, but after they placed the blindfold on us, I was left lacking. Navy and Nyra let out a scared yelp but shut their mouths. I tugged at the duct tape to no avail.

”They”re just kids,” York said.

He must have gotten the duct tape off.

The sound of flesh colliding rang in my ears. I whipped my head around, pissed at the darkness that greeted me. York”s shoulder pressed against mine as he groaned.

I ripped mine off. ”Are you okay?” I asked.

They”re all dead.

Something heavy slammed into the back of my head, making me dizzy for a second. Still, I worried about York and the girls. As long as they were okay, I could handle anything.

”York?”

”Stop talking,” one of the men said. I stopped caring who. They were nothing more than dead bodies I needed to dispose of.

”Fine, Paolo.” York grunted before righting himself. He kept touching me. It was the only thing besides the girls in the van that kept me from flying off the handle.

Wherever we were going would be the final resting place. I swore I”d get York and the girls out and then I”d make sure every single person who dared threaten what was mine would meet their end. My resolve was unwavering.

The car slowed down, and I blew out an easy breath. ”Don”t say or do anything to attract their attention,” I whispered to York. They were my only concern. ”Let me handle it.”

”Paolo—”

”Please. Voi tre siete la mia famiglia, il mio mondo.”

”Stop talking.” Another hit to the temple had me temporarily disoriented.

I sucked in a breath as the throbbing set in. The warm trickle of blood down my forehead was unmistakable.

”We”re here. Get out now.” They shoved at my shoulders, forcing me out of the van.

For a brief second, York”s back pressed into my front. It was a small comfort but it was one I knew to take. The opportunities weren”t likely to present themselves again. Rocks and fuck knows what else cut into the soles of my feet as I got out of the van. The brisk air slapped me, shoving away the concussion I no doubt had.

”Move it.” The cool metal of a gun pressed between my shoulder blades. ”One wrong move and the kids are dead.”

”Keep threatening my girls and you won’t get the chance to use that gun, pussy,” I shot back.

Laughter chorused around us but it was tight, almost forced. They knew I wasn”t joking. I meant every word.

”Shut the fuck up. Vitales are nothing more than talk.”

Now that was laughable. I chuckled. The multitude of dead bodies we”d left behind said otherwise. Both the Triads and Aceto”s were on the defensive now because of us.

”We aren”t the ones who had to result in kidnapping kids like a bunch of bitches.”

I expected the crack of the gun. It whipped across the back of my head. I stumbled forward, lost my footing, and slammed chest first onto the cold, unforgiving ground. Glass and rocks bit into my flesh.

”Get him the hell up. Ignore him.” The Triad guy was close, yanking me off the ground. The blindfold covering my eyes came off and he stared into my gaze with empty soulless pits. ”He”s at our mercy.” He pulled his gun out and aimed it at Nyra, all while never breaking eye contact. ”This Vitale is a bitch. Isn”t that right?”

Nyra trembled from head to toe. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She stared at me, pleading with her eyes. She didn”t have to, I”d carve out my organs for her, for the both of them.

The Triad clicked off the safety and his finger rested on the trigger. It only took the slightest bit of pressure and she”d be taken away from me. Pride was beaten into us. It was a part of every Vitale but for them, I”d swallow mine down.

”Right,” I said.

The piece of shit smiled and tapped my cheek with the gun. As long as it wasn”t pointed Nyra”s way anymore, I didn”t give a damn.

”Glad we have an understanding. No more talking.” He nodded at the others before we started moving again.

I didn”t recognize where we were. It was an old-style-looking factory. The windows were boarded up with graffiti tagged all over the building. My back stiffened as we were pushed inside. It wasn”t just a handful of guys there, it was a goddamn army. Aceto”s and Triads alike. There were a few other small gangs amongst them that I recognized. None of them were even in the same league, but it was more bodies on the ground.

The pope himself could have been on their side. I”d still put them all in a shallow fucking grave.

Eyes stayed glued on every movement we made. A multitude of men watched with hands on their guns. This wasn”t going to be easy but it wasn’t impossible. There was no doubt in my mind my brothers would be hunting us down.

We stopped in the middle of the room, and I came face-to-face with Qiang; the leader of the Triads, and Tasso, the current stand-in for the Aceto’s. Calling him the leader was being nice; he”d jumped into the spot without going through the proper channels. He had to be no more than six foot with a lean build. His light brown hair was gelled back with two wisps falling on his forehead on both sides. Brown eyes stared back at me, a bright smile on his mug.

”Let me guess. Gianpaolo, right?” Tasso snapped his fingers. ”Man, it”s uncanny how similar you look to Giancarlo.”

”Glad to know you stalk my brother. What did he do? Fuck you on the side of the road and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere?” Gin had been known to do it, so I wouldn”t put it past him.

Tasso laughed. ”Oh, you”re ragazzo.” He was in my face in seconds, his breath and spit hitting me all at once. ”Parlate di nuovo a sproposito e consegnerò quei mocciosi al mio socio in affari.” A sneer came over his face before he took a step back and walked over to the twins.

”Don”t touch them,” York shouted.

Three guns aimed his way at once. He was forced down on his knees, and I was left standing with four men keeping me in place.

Navy shook her head back and forth, the gag slipped down her chin, freeing her mouth. ”Daddy. Paolo.”

Tasso picked up a few pieces of Navy”s hair and rolled the curls over his dirty fingers. His eyes were on me, toying with me, daring me to act so he”d have a reason. ”Così bella e così giovane. Si romperanno prima di arrivare a sedici anni.” He grinned. “I already killed their mother. Might as well make sure her girls are well taken care of.” That grin grew. “We’ve known who you were for a long time, Mr. Washington. Andre picked her out specifically. It was my greatest moment taking her out. After that, I was trusted even more. It just paved the way to me being where I am today.”

Bile burned the back of my throat, threatening to come up. My hands itched for his blood, for all of theirs.

”What is he saying?” York growled. He shook his head. “You… you killed Dawn?” He stared at the girls but I knew his question was for me.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him what Tasso said about them.

”Leave them out of this. Intende coinvolgere I bambini?” Morality wasn”t something any of us had a strong sense of, but children were still off-limits for most. Except for maybe Qiang. But what he did with them had nothing to do with war and fighting. A shiver ran down my spine. “Ora avete me. Sono qui. Cosa? Vuoi sapere cosa faremo dopo?”

“English,” Qiang demanded.

Tasso held my gaze for another second before he dropped Navy”s hair and took a step away from the twins. ”Take them to the back office.” He pointed to a few guys. ”Go now.”

”What did I miss? I hope you’re not making decisions on your own, Tasso,” Qiang said.

Tasso shrugged. ”Not at all. They were in the way.”

Qiang cocked a single brow. ”They keep him in line.” He pointed my way as if I was some wild animal.

”It”s nothing to have the kids killed if he does something stupid. Not to mention, this guy is also his weakness.” Tasso shook his head. ”Never understood that about the Vitales. You guys climbed to the top and became the boogie men of New York just for that all to fall away the moment you got weaknesses.”

My mouth stayed shut until the girls were fully out of my sight. Even then, I waited to hear a slam of a door, anything to tell me they were somewhat shielded from everything that was going to happen. I turned to meet both the leaders. Next, I needed their focus to stay on me and off York.

”Don”t say something stupid, like let him go,” Tasso said. “Not going to happen.” He glared at York like he was something to be squashed. ”An FBI agent.” Tasso spat on the floor. ”Come è caduto in basso il grande nome di Vitale. Vanno a letto con i maiali.”

”What do you two want?”

Tasso shook his head. ”Come on, I know you aren”t the brains but you have to have a little something up there.”

I understood why the boss who started it all, Andrew Aceto, turned on us and attacked. His brother was killed. Yeah, he was a dirty rat, but still, blood was important amongst the families. Andrew Aceto had been taken care of. Tasso, however, wasn”t his son or brother.

”You getting revenge for Andrew?”

Tasso laughed. ”Fuck no! That weak minded bastard.” He crossed himself. ”May he rest with the mother.” He said a quick prayer in Italian before leaving me with a snide smile. ”Nothing like that. I just saw an opportunity.”

He wanted to be on top. I laughed. What else was I supposed to do? ”You will never be us.”

Tasso took a step toward York like he was going to hurt him.

”What? You mad ‘cause you needed to get on your knees and suck Qiang’s cock to get this close to the top?”

Tasso stopped in his tracks. He turned, his face impassive, but I knew my words were getting to him. I briefly held York”s gaze before I continued to laugh at Tasso.

”Man, you”re pathetic. How does Qiang”s cock taste?” I looked to the Triad leader. ”His blowjob skills any good?”

Qiang laughed. ”He”s an idiot, isn”t he?”

Tasso charged at me with his fist raised. My hands were still taped behind my back, leaving me mostly defenseless. His balled-up fist slammed into my cheek, cutting the skin there with the cheap rings he wore. Pain flared but it only brought me to life. As long as I was the one being hurt, no one else would be. The men around me held me tighter as Tasso laid into me. His hits were heavy, rocking my entire body with each blow.

I grunted, holding back any sound of pain. I smiled at the idiot. ”You hit like a bitch.” A grin stretched my lips. “Kind of like your sister.” I had never met either but it was fun as hell bringing it up regardless.

Tasso stopped, my blood covering his knuckles. ”Che cos”era?”

”Red hair, septum piercing, and talks a mile a minute? She was mediocre at best, but your mom? I can see why so many of your men frequent her place.”

Tasso”s cool facade shattered as his face went red. His rapid-fire Italian only made me laugh louder. I might have been on leave from work, but I still had access to a lot of the files as they came in. It took no time to find out who the new leader of the Aceto”s was and his family ties. He was bottom of the totem pole, and he shouldn”t even have been able to become the leader. But there was such a thing as the right place at the right time. Too bad for Tasso, his shit wasn”t nearly as protected.

His hits started up again. My ribcage was on fire. Each shallow breath was like poking my lungs with a fire poker. I laughed and took everything he had.

”That”s enough. You waste time,” Qiang said.

Tasso”s breathing was labored as he dropped his fists.

I spat a wad of blood on his face just to spite him. ”Yeah, listen to your daddy.”

Tasso turned only to cock his fist back. He swung with his entire body, his fist driving into my face. My head whipped to the side, and dark spots took over my vision, threatening to take me away. My knees caved under me, and I couldn”t tell if I was still upright or lying flat on the ground.

”Paolo!” York called my name again and again.

Fuck, get up.

I blinked a few times, groaned, and turned my head on the dirty ground. The world was blurry as my stomach twisted and turned. Bile slid in the back of my throat and the urge to puke grew stronger with every passing second.

”We warned you to stop investigating us,” Qiang said to York.

I coughed up some blood. It tasted better than the vomit that I had to keep swallowing down. Gotta get them off York.

”You started a war. What do you expect? For law enforcement to turn a blind eye while innocent people die?”

”I expect when we push the Vitales in front of you for you to knock them down a bit so we can erase their existence instead of sleeping with them,” Tasso spat. He stepped toward York, pulling his gun out.

I coughed and pushed myself up, using my forehead and abs. The pain nearly took me back out. I fought through it until I was on my knees again. ”He”s been pulled off the investigation for weeks. Why continue to go after him?”

Qiang glanced my way for a second before focusing back on York. ”Half my imports have been seized. Money has been cut by a quarter because of his interference. Not to mention, my oldest son has gone missing. I have it on good word that the FBI might have picked him up.”

Who the fuck told him that?The only people who knew about Qiang’s son was me, Dad, and Benito. I knew for sure Benito would never come up with such a flimsy lie.

”Spiky black hair, beady little eyes, and a smart mouth?” I asked.

Qiang finally gave me his full, undivided attention.

York”s eyes widened. ”Paolo, what are you doing?”

I ignored him, shifting to sit on my ass. My shoulders burned. Another ache to add to my already damaged body. Sometimes I felt like I was getting too old for this shit.

”What do you know?” Qiang asked.

Tasso took a step back like the bitch boy he was. Yeah, I knew he wasn”t running shit. He could have ambitions all he wanted, but if he didn”t have the balls to go for it he”d always be under someone.

”Maybe I know a lot, maybe I know nothing. It’s unclear.” I rocked from side to side with a grin on my face. ”I”ve been hit in the head so many times, I might have forgotten the koi fish on his right arm and the dragon surrounded by lotus flowers on his left. But who knows?”

”Stand him up,” Qiang said.

The goons snatched me off the floor. The quick change in position left me light-headed.

Hope I”m not bleeding internally.

”Start talking,” Qiang demanded.

I curled my lips in and batted my lashes. Not getting shit out of me, kid diddler. I hope you die first when my brothers get here. I was only upset that I might not make it to see that. I”d hold out as long as possible to make sure York and the girls stayed unharmed.

”Beat him, but leave him alive. I still have questions that demand answers,” Qiang ordered.

”No!” York moved toward me but he was forced down.

Tasso kicked his feet from under him. It took everything in me not to react, but I swore I”d cut Tasso”s fucking legs off before watching him die.

The first hit came to the back of my spine and knocked the air right out of my chest. A barrage of fists and kicks came my way. Pain was quickly becoming the only thing I knew. I could endure it, I could take it all. They could set me on fire and I”d take it so my family didn”t have to.