Episode Eleven
T here have been numerous times throughout my life where I wished for a brother. Thought how much easier things would be if I had a brother instead of a sister. Right now is one of those times.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the fucking shit out of my sister. There isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for her. Which is why when some asshole thought they’d target her for their own sick fantasies, I’m first in line to find the fucker and end him.
I just got back from Vancouver an hour ago, with my sister’s list of men she’s dated in my hand. Five fucking assholes whose heads I’d like to put holes through. Pops says I can’t do that. I need to focus on finding the one who still has a hard-on for her and leave shit be.
“You can cross this one off the list,” Pops says from the passenger seat of my car.
I might be first to line up to hunt this fucker, but that line starts behind our father. No one messes with his family, especially when it comes to my sister and me.
“Why?” I ask him, looking at the name he’s pointing to.
“Because the kid pissed his pants when I pointed a gun at his head and told him to forget Liliana existed.” Pops laughs. “He couldn’t run fast enough.”
“Does Lil know you did that?”
“She was there.”
“No wonder she hid her boyfriends from you,” I grumble under my breath.
“Anyone worthy of your sister wouldn’t run scared. They’d stick around and fight for her,” Pops says. “Would you run from Cassidy if someone threatened you?”
“Fuck no. I’d eradicate the fucking threat,” I tell him.
“Exactly. Anyone who won’t stand and fight doesn’t deserve to be with your sister.”
“So Travis deserves her, then?” I smirk, knowing my father isn’t O’Neil’s number one fan.
“Fuck no. The little fucker just won’t go away.”
“Because he’s not scared of you.” I laugh.
“He’s scared. He’s just a stubborn little shit,” Pops grunts. The idea of someone not being afraid of him doesn’t sit well with my father. “Plus, your sister seems to like him.”
“Enough to want to marry him.”
“Mhmm. Let’s get on with this list,” Pops says, pointing to the second name on the list. “This guy. Start with him.”
I punch the address into the navigation system and pull out into traffic. “How about you let me take the lead when we get there?” I suggest.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you have a habit of shooting first and never asking questions. We need to talk to him. Find out if he’s the one behind the threats to Lil,” I explain.
“Believe it or not, Alessandro, I do have some self-control when it’s needed,” my father says while plucking at an invisible piece of lint on his coat.
I look across at him. “Sure you do, Pops.”
“Just fucking drive,” he grunts.
Fifteen minutes later, I pull to a stop in front of a townhouse. “Remember… we need to talk first,” I tell my father as we walk up the stairs.
I press the doorbell and take a step back. It’s late. The whole place is dark and whoever’s inside is likely asleep. We want to catch them unaware, which is why we’ve chosen this time of night to make our rounds.
A light flicks on, and a few seconds later, the door opens. “Can I help you?” A guy who has to be reaching his mid-thirties stands on the other side of the door.
“Callum Burns?” I ask.
“Yeah. Who’s asking?” he counters.
“Alessandro Valentino. I believe you know my sister. Liliana,” I tell him.
His eyes widen and the fear is evident on his face. “I haven’t seen or heard from Liliana in two years.”
“Mind if we come in?” Pops says, already pushing his way into the townhouse.
“You live here alone?” I ask Callum while following my father.
“Yes,” he answers as he closes the front door. “What’s this about?”
“How long were you involved with my daughter?” Pops asks Callum.
“A few months,” he says. “Is she okay?”
“I need you to write something for me,” I tell him, pulling out a notepad and pen. The creeper who broke into Lil’s apartment was stupid enough to leave a handwritten note.
“W-what?” Callum asks, his voice breaking. Fear has a way of doing that to people.
“Write my sister’s name.” I hand him the pen, and watch his hand shake as he scribbles out her name. I take out the original and hold it against his writing. “It’s not him,” I tell Pops.
“I want you to forget my daughter exists. Got me.” Pop pins Callum with a glare. “If I so much as hear a whisper in the breeze that you’re thinking of her, I’ll be back,” he adds before walking out the door.
“We’re down to two names,” I say more to myself than my father. “This next one lives in a penthouse on the Upper East Side.” It’s not as simple as pressing a doorbell and waiting for the fucks to open it when they live in a building with security.
“I’ll have Zio Romeo get us in,” Pops says.
My uncle Romeo is our family’s tech guru. There isn’t anything he can’t get into. And sure enough, by the time we get to the building, he has overridden the elevator system, allowing us access to the penthouse. When we enter the reception area, the night guard stands as if to stop us. He takes one look at who we are before he sits back down as if we aren’t even in the building.
Smart man.
“This guy, David Paul, is a high-profile investment banker,” I tell Pops.
“And?”
“And nothing, just saying. This guy is loaded. Why the fuck would he risk everything by going after Lil?”
“Because people are dumb fucks, Alessandro. There’s no point trying to understand the mind of an idiot,” Pops says.
The second the doors to the penthouse open, I draw my piece. “Looks like we found our guy,” I tell Pops as we step into the open-plan apartment. It’s completely devoid of furniture. There’s plastic taped to the floor. “It’s like he knew we’d be coming for him. He got the place ready for us.” My eyes focus on the walls lined with images of my sister. “Sick fuck,” I hiss.
“You take upstairs. I’ll cover down here,” Pops says.
“Remember to shoot last, Pops,” I remind him as I head up the stairs.
There’s a small landing that leads to four closed doors. I open the first one, finding it empty. The second has me almost losing the contents of my stomach. It takes a lot for me to be sick, but the scene I just walked into… it’s some fucking twisted shit. There’s a bed, made up with pink sheets that match the ones in my sister’s apartment. And there’s a blow-up doll tied to the bed wearing a dress I can only assume came from Lil’s closet. I’ve seen her wear it before.
The third door opens into an empty bathroom so I head to the next one. Right as I turn the knob, a gun fires and I hear the whizz of a bullet graze right past me. I return fire and hit the fucker’s hand. The gun he was holding falls to the ground, and he screams out as blood pours from the middle of his palm.
I close the distance and my boot connects with the side of his head. “That was a fucking stupid move, motherfucker. If you’re going to shoot at a Valentino, make sure you can fucking aim,” I tell him. “If not, you’ll have two seconds to run.”
“Fuck you!” he spits out.
My father runs into the room with his own weapon raised. “I got this,” I tell him. He takes his time looking me over, probably searching for bullet holes before he lowers his arm.
“Get him downstairs,” Pops says.
Gripping up the back of David’s shirt, I drag the fucker behind me as I escort him from the room. He’s a fucking heavy fuck too. God damn it. When I get to the top of the stairs, I wait until my father has stepped aside before I toss David down after him. The fucker’s body stops halfway, so I walk down and kick him, forcing him to roll the rest of the way until he hits the bottom landing.
“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Pops smirks.
“He’s a heavy fucker. I’m not doing my back in carrying his ass,” I grunt.
“So you thought it’d be a good idea to threaten a Valentino? And not just any Valentino, but my daughter.” Pops squats down on his haunches before picking the fucker’s head up by his hair.
“I wouldn’t hurt Liliana. I-I love her!”
“Well, you have a funny way of showing it, David,” Pops says. “I don’t take kindly to people who threaten my family.”
“I-I didn’t. She loves me. Ask her. She’s coming here. We’re getting married. We’re going to have a baby,” he says.
I shake my head while my glare flicks around the room. “Why the plastic?” I ask him.
David stills and his lips slam shut.
“What exactly were you planning on doing with my sister?” I ask him.
“N-n-nothing. I swear!” he screams.
“What’d you think, Pops? You believe him?”
I watch as my father takes out the knife that’s strapped to his ankle. “I’ll ask again. What were you planning on doing with my daughter?” he hisses while pressing the knife into David’s cheek, slowly slicing down towards his mouth.
“Argh. Ow, fuck… I was just going to make her see sense. She loves me!” he cries out.
“How?” I hold his legs still when he starts trying to get out of my father’s hold.
David shakes his head. “I don’t know. Just let me go. I won’t do anything.”
I raise my gun to his temple. “You see the problem I have with that is you seem to have an unhealthy infatuation with my sister. Which means you’re a danger to her. I don’t let things live that can harm her,” I tell him right before I pull the trigger.
“What happened to not shooting first?” Pops asks while pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his face clean.
“Guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree after all.” I shrug.
He stands up and looks around. “Your sister doesn’t find out about this. Call the cleaners and get this shit cleaned up.”
“On it,” I tell him, already retrieving my phone from my pocket.