Chapter Twenty-Seven
Alfie POV
“Take it like a good girl,” I said seated on a love seat pulling on the blond hair so that my dick left her mouth and I could cum all over her face.
“Alfie! I told you no more cum shots on my face,” Grace hissed attempting to find something to wipe the thick white liquid off her face.
“And I told you no more slutting yourself out to me.”
Grace hated when I used a cocky tone but no matter how rude I was to her, she kept coming back for more. I think she got off on being with a younger man, and who am I to deny her fantasies. She was into just about everything – her favorite being trauma play.
With a devious smile, she replied, “Follow me handsome.”
I followed her to an open area with a stage set up and a few people gathered around. A man walked onto the stage and asked the crowd, “Which lovely lady would like to be our muse for tonight?”
Grace wanted to come to this exclusive sex party that catered to her favorite sexual desire.
I was willing to try anything once but made it clear once things got weird, I was gone.
This game they would play tended to be over the top for my liking.
The rules were simple. The crowd dictated your moves.
They tell you what position, where to touch, and how much to inflict on the other person.
Grace stepped forward in her see through lace bra and underwear. The man smiled and invited her on the stage. Her nipples were poking through the sheer fabric as you heard the AC turn up.
A man addressed the crowd, “What kind of play should our beautiful muse here endure for the evening?”
I became uncomfortable as people in the crowd began shouting out answers.
“Orgy.”
“Woman on woman.”
“Rape.”
The man on the stage nodded his head in approval.
That was my cue to leave. As I made my way through the growing crowd, I found my clothes and threw them on.
Grace found her way here, she could find her way back.
It was cold and the wind hit my face like slashes of a whip.
Quickly getting into my car, I felt an immediate shift in tension as I knew I wasn’t the only one in the car by the sound of the gun click and the metal barrel against my head.
“Drive.”
I glanced at my rearview and met a pair of brown eyes. “Do you know who I am?”
“Very well.” The man’s voice held a threat. “Now like I said, drive. And no funny business.”
Starting the car, I left the parking spot and took his direction driving down the winding road.
“Who are you?”
“I believe you call me ghost.”
My body tensed. Immediately I knew what he was referring to. He had been the ghost we had been looking for unsuccessfully. It sent chills down my spine knowing this person was in my backseat unapologetically.
“For a second I thought I may have had a stalker although I would have preferred a female – they have sites for that you know. Hurts less to know you’d get swiped left.”
“Humorous,” the man commented, “Tell me, does Aria still have those haunting dreams of me?”
“You’ve been long forgotten,” I lied.
This was the man who left burn marks on Aria’s back. We have been looking for him since without any luck.
“Alfie, is short for Alfred I assume. Is that a family name?”
Glancing between my rearview and the road, I replied, “You can ask the priest who found me.”
“An orphan.”
My hands gripped the steering wheel and the uneasy feeling was starting to bottom up a negative emotion.
I had long stopped calling myself an orphan – the DeCarlo family took me in and cared for me in more ways than any foster family had.
I didn’t have it rough growing up like other kids, but I never got the close familial bond until I encountered the DeCarlos.
“Is that what you want to talk about?” I mocked. “Usually, people don’t need to sneak into my car with a gun for that.”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“Bite me,” I replied.
“Emilio wouldn’t be so quick to turn something down without getting all the details.”
“I’m not Emilio.”
“Of course not, he’s free from the shackles of the DeCarlo family. Shackles that you now wear.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh, “Men would kill to have my place.”
“Oh, I’m sure. If you don’t believe people are already plotting it then you’re a fool. I know you’re loyal to Luca, but loyalty can blind you. Open your eyes."
“Exactly what should I be opening them to.”
“You’re the right heir to the DeCarlo family.”
I let out a hefty laugh, “You’re out of your mind.”
“Maybe a little. But I’d never kill my own brother to take his place.”
“How Luca got into his position isn’t a concern to me.”
“It should be if it’s your father that he killed.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and charged. I stepped on the brakes so that the car’s tires screeched and the smell of rubber filled the car. Annoyed and feeling not exactly sure what, I turned my torso so that I was looking at ghost right in the face.
My jaw tightened as I sneered, "You have some balls making that statement. I was left at the Church, abandoned by my mother and father. The DeCarlo family would never do that to their own.”
The man was older, middle aged, salt and pepper color hair with a beauty mark under his left lower lip.
“Family ties mean nothing to someone like Luca. You’re just a means to an end, a way to keep his empire standing. He doesn't see you as family; you're just a tool."
The man was relentless.
“Prove it.”
Lowering his gun, ghost nodded his head, “Figured you’d say that.” There was a manila folder beside him that he lifted and handed to me. “Go ahead, it’s all there.”
Taking the folder from him, I placed it onto the center console, opening it to see what was inside.
There was a news article with a picture of a man, woman, and child under a headline that stated, MOB RIVAL STRIKES YOUNG FAMILY.
Under the photo listed their names: Marco, Bettina, and Paolo DeCarlo.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t deny the resemblance between Marco and myself.
It could just be a coincidence, right? I pulled out a birth certificate that apparently belonged to Paolo.
There were a bunch of papers in the folder, but the one that stuck out was a DNA test that showed results linking me directly to the DeCarlo family.
Seeing the disbelief etched on my face, the man answered what I couldn’t muster to ask. “You can ask Luca yourself.”
My heart raced, torn between the loyalty I felt toward Luca and the unsettling truth that was beginning to take root in my mind.
There was no reason for Luca to take me under his wing or make me his stand in right hand man for the time being.
Nicoletta DeCarlo, known to be cold to anyone who wasn’t her child or grandchild, was always warm and kind to me.
Recalling one time she made me soup when I fell ill.
Bethany always took the role of the older sister.
Even Emilio, at some point, easing his reigns on me.
"Why should I trust you?" I finally said with a trembling voice. "What do you stand to gain from this?"
"I want to end Luca’s reign," ghost replied, his eyes piercing into mine. "I want to expose him for who he truly is. But I can’t do it alone. I need someone on the inside, someone who understands his methods. Someone like you."
My mind raced. The pieces of the puzzle were shifting, forming a picture I had never wanted to see. "If what you’re saying is true… if Luca really did kill Marco, my father…" my voice trailed off, confusion and anger swirling within me.
"You owe it to your father to avenge him.” ghost’s voice was low, but it resonated with a fierce conviction that struck a chord deep within me.
“I take it you already have a plan in mind.”
“Il codice will be meeting in a month and it’s Luca’s turn to chose a location. I just need to know where. Simple as that.”
I took one last look at the man, “Nothing is ever that simple.”
He shot me a smile, “Keep driving. The more information you can give me the more effective this plan will be.”
The dim light of the private room in the lounge flickered intermittently, casting shadows that danced across the walls.
The smell of cigar smoke hung heavily in the air, mingling with the scent of aged whiskey that filled the glass tumblers on the table.
Luca leaned back in his chair, looking calm, collected, and in control as he contemplated the enemy they didn’t know was lurking in their city.
I sat across from him with restless energy as I tapped my fingers against the polished wood surface.
“Luca,” I began, breaking the silence that had thickened over the last few minutes. “A large shipment was seized by authorities this morning.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing slightly. “So when do they take me in?”
“Should happen later today. I called Cohen and made him aware, he will meet you at the station.”
Cohen was one of Luca’s attorneys - he was keen, sharp, and ready with a defense to get Luca out.
He poured himself another glass of whiskey, the amber liquid swirling in the glass as he contemplated the challenge ahead. “Have you picked a location for the meeting tomorrow?”
“Field museum.”
“If I’m not out in time, Aria will go in my place.”
“Aria?” Letting out an exasperated sigh and running a hand through my thick hair.
Since the Emilio incident, he hadn’t trusted anyone except his wife Aria.
Typically, a boss would designate at least two underbosses should anything happen, but Luca refused to do such a thing.
The bond of trust with Aria was strong and sending her in wouldn’t cause much of a stir.
She was Lorenzo’s sister and her ties with the Baricelli family made her a trustworthy candidate between the trio.
The issue was that ghost wanted to get all three don families at once.
This was the only way he would be able to succeed.
As we sat there, two detectives came in.
“Mr. DeCarlo,” one of them said, “You’re going to have to come with us.”
Both of them were on our payroll and by their body language this was an uncomfortable task for them. Luca stood up, gracefully putting on his jacket and complying.
“There are a bunch of reporters outside,” the other detective said, “We can go out the back if you want.”
“It’s fine,” Luca replied as though this wasn’t the ruin of him.
Getting to my feet, we all walked out together. The moment the door opened there were flashing lights blinding me from every angle and reporters shouting out questions eagerly trying to be the first to get the scoop.
I nodded to Luca letting him know that I got it from here. My palms were sweaty as I answered my buzzing phone and I saw it was a text.
Flying down the city streets in my Ducati 1260, I parked behind the Church where I was able to enter through a side door just in time before it began to rain.
The dimly lit church, the faint scent of incense mingling with the chill of the evening air, and the faint sounds of rain pattering against the stained glass outside added to the atmosphere of secrecy.
It was quiet without a person in sight. Walking around to the front of the alter, I looked up at the gigantic cross sculpture with a man nailed to it.
The Bible said the man died for our sins saving us from damnation.
I’d never been a religious fanatic – being a made man I found it hypocritical to be religious in this life of work.
Footsteps behind me made me turn around.
“We have a problem,” I stated.
Walking toward me with ease, we stood face to face. “I know. Luca’s been taken in.”
“He wants Aria to take his place. I can have someone take the shipment out of authorities’ possession that way Luca will be there tonight.”
Ghost sucked his teeth debating whether to proceed with his original plan. “Might as well make it a family affair. Make sure Aria and Luca are there.” Pulling out a phone to make a call, the muscles in his face went rigid. “Once he does the deed, kill the girl.” I watched as he hung up.
Something in his tone made me worried. “Something go wrong?”
“Getting the party started early,” he replied. “First DeCarlo down is Bethany”
We knew Bethany was with Emilio. Luca thought it would have been best she stayed with him until things settled down but now things took a turn. Emilio was working for ghost?
I could only hope tonight went as planned.