Unspoken Betrayal (Casino King)

17. Vitorio

Isee Nicki being thrown into the trunk of the closest car, and I sprint harder, needing to reach her. Luca turns to stare at me with a deep coldness in his eyes. Then he turns away and quickly climbs into the car, saying something to the other vehicle which I am not able to hear.

I scream as the car holding Nicki takes off. I hear Danny shouting behind me.

The men from the other car stand out in the open, facing us.

With all the rage boiling inside of me, I run straight into them. Spreading my arms and body slamming two of them to the ground. Within seconds I see out of the corner of my eye, Danny doing exactly the same thing.

There is grunting, shouting, and the sounds of a struggle as fists fly and I let my rage out on my brother's bodyguards.

I hear someone's nose snap as I slam my knuckles into his face. I am about to throw another punch when the sound of a gun cocking behind me draws my attention.

I freeze and release the collar of the man I was gripping in my fist.

"Vitorio, your brother said we couldn't kill you, but he didn't say we couldn't shoot you."

I close my eyes, letting out a frustrated breath.

I turn to face the gunman.

"You and your friend - walk."

He tilts his head towards the trees. "Walk and don't look back."

"Where is she?" I demand.

"I don't think you are in a position to ask questions right now, seeing as I am the one with the gun."

"What game is Luca playing?" I snap.

"I said walk. This is your last chance."

"We can't help her if we are dead," Danny mutters.

My nostrils flare in agitation. "Walk," I say to Danny and start taking steps away from the car.

Behind us, we hear the engine starting, and doors closing, and when we turn around, they are already driving away, two men hanging out of the windows - their guns still pointed towards us.

"Fuck! What the fuck!" I scream in anger.

"Come on, let's get back to our car. We have to figure out where he took Nicki." Danny starts running and I follow quickly behind him, my head swarming with worry and fear for her life.

We climb into Danny's car, and he hands me one of the burner phones. "It's Nicki's. They tossed it."

"Yes, I saw that. Fuck man."

What the fuck was Luca doing here? How did he know about the meeting?

How is he involved?

The next two hours are a waste of time, as we drive from warehouse to warehouse, in all the locations I know my brother has offices. He is nowhere to be found.

Inside my pocket, the burner phone vibrates and instantly Danny shoots me a look.

We both freeze, hardly breathing. Nicki is the only other person with that phone number.

In a wild scramble, I pull the phone out and stare at the message I have received.

"A location." A mumble staring intently at the message.

"From an unrecognized number," Danny says quietly.

"It could be a trap?"

"How though, if no one knows the number? Do you think Nicki would have given it up?"

"I don't think so, no." My jaw muscles clench.

Finally, I click on the link, and the map opens up, showing me an address deep in a territory I would never step foot in on a normal day.

But this is not a normal day.

"That's Romano territory." Danny takes a sharp breath in.

"Deep in Romano territory. What the fuck is my brother doing taking Nicki there?"

"If it is Nicki."

"It's Nicki."

"Alright. Let's go."

"No, Danny. You can't come with me. It's far too dangerous. The minute they sniff out the fact that you are law, they won't hesitate to take you out. And I need you alive. I will go and meet with my brother and get Nicki back."

Danny doesn't argue. He knows how my world treats people from his world.

He drops me back at my own car, and I tell him I will stay in touch on the burner phone.

Then I make my way deep into the heart of my enemy's territory, with a sick, tight feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I follow the location plotted on the map and find myself outside a warehouse.

I park my car out of sight, and sneak closer on foot, staying low and out of sight.

My brother's car is parked in the gravel lot. I am in the right place.

My jaw muscles clench and unclench.

I step into the warehouse, deciding stealth is no longer the best way to go about this. I need to get to her, as quickly as possible, and I don't have time to waste.

"Luca," I shout into the open space, and my voice echoes through it.

"Vito. Did you stop by for a drink? Come to say hello?"

"Where the fuck is she?" I spin towards my brother's voice.

"She's cooling down." He chuckles. The sound of his laughter grates against my nerves as my fists clench.

"Luca." the threat in my voice is thick with darkness. My brother crossed the line today. I have always given him the benefit of the doubt. I have always backed him when people spoke badly of him. But now - standing in the middle of our enemy's warehouse, after watching him kidnap the woman I love - I can't defend him anymore.

He tilts his head towards me, his hands in his pockets, a look on his face that makes me believe he doesn't give a fuck about anything. Except that isn't true. If you look past the mask of his expression, you can see the ways his pupils dilate and the slight tightness of his mouth. His shoulders are tense, rigid, and uncomfortable.

His hands in his pockets might look casual, but I can see his fists are clenched too.

I know my brother well enough to see how angry he is.

"You took everything from me, Vitorio." He whispers darkly.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I spit.

"Our father loved you the most; it was so disgustingly obvious. He always favored you."

"How can you say that? Dad loved both of us the same." I shake my head.

"Bullshit." He screams. "You stole his love from me, and now you've stolen the love of the woman I have been in love with for years. Years. You meet her once and without batting a fucking eye you rip her away from me." Luca's face is red with anger. His breathing is tight and heavy.

"Nicki?" I ask, stunned. "You are in love with Nicki?"

"Hah." He laughs a loud bitter sound. "Don't act like you didn't know."

I shake my head, my brows knotting together. "If you love her, then she is unharmed, right? Where is she? Is she safe?"

"What has her safety got to do with me loving her?" He asks, confused.

"Because you would never hurt someone you say you are in love with," I reply, as though it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"If I can't have her, Vitorio, then no one can," Luca says with a soft, gentle tone.

My sense of awareness flares into overdrive. "What the fuck did you do to her?" I run at him, my shoulder slamming into his chest as he flies backward, landing heavily on his back with me on top of him.

I swing my fist, but he punches me first, hitting me in the jaw. I don't even feel it.

I punch twice in response, two quick blows right after each other.

Chaos erupts around us, and men start dragging me off Luca.

Luca sits up, wiping the blood from his mouth.

He chuckles. "You can let him go. If he wants to know where she is he can't actually hurt me."

The men release me, I resist the urge to grab my gun from beneath my jacket and shoot Luca in the face.

For some reason, up until this point, I kept telling myself - he is my brother - I don't need the gun. He is my brother.

But I don't know this man standing in front of me.

I step towards him and just as he leans forward about to stand up, I kick him straight in the head.

He slumps backward, unconscious. I hear the men moving behind me and I spin quickly with my gun drawn.

I grab the one who is closest to me and press the barrel of my Glock into his temple with heavy force.

"Where. Is. She." I say the words crisp and clear, leaving no room for error or discussion.

"The freezer." He stammers, quickly.

"Take me there." My throat is tight around my words.

Bodies are stored in freezers, not living people.

If I can't have her, Vitorio, then no one can.

I push the thought aside and follow the man as he walks tensely towards a room on the side of the warehouse.

"Open it," I demand, standing in front of a massive freezer unit.

He pulls the deadbolt aside, and with a huff, he yanks the heavy door open.

Nicki is huddled against the wall, amongst shelves of dead bodies, shivering and coated in a thin powdered layer of ice. Her head is resting on her knees and her arms are wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

My heart pulls so tightly in my chest that I can barely breathe.

I pull the trigger, and the gun pressed against the man's temple jolts as the bullet smashes through his skull.

I don't take my eyes off Nicki as I release his lifeless form from my grip and his body drops to the floor.

She glances up, with wide, dazed eyes.

"Vitorio." She whispers, trying to stand up, but her legs fail her.

I rush into the freezer, lifting her into my arms.

"I'm sorry," I say, throwing her over my shoulder, because I have no choice, and holding my gun out in front of me. "I'm getting you out of here."

"Move," I scream at the men who try to block my path.

"That's Luca's brother." Someone snaps.

"What the fuck do we do?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Fucking move or die." I snarl.

No one moves, so I pull the trigger and another body slumps lifelessly to the ground.

Suddenly my path is clear, and I run towards the exit.

I burst out of the warehouse, into the parking lot, and Nicki squeals in pain.

"Put me down. Put me down."

I stop, glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone is following us - but they are all hiding inside, not sure if Luca would want them to shoot his own brother or not - and not wanting to be in the line of fire from my Glock.