“Are you sure it was her?” Desires. Obsessions. Those can be the driving forces that send anyone to do the craziest things. It can make someone lose their mind and their morals. They will do anything to quench that desire. To indulge in that obsession.
It’s consuming.
“Yeah, positive, she went into the casino in just some shirt, went up to some guy’s room, and left in different clothes.” As an informant, Sly Cusimano has seen a lot and he knows the Stone mafia anywhere. They’re nobody to mess with, then again his client isn’t either.
The resounding crack of the glass sounds around the blood-stained office. Cleaning up is not on the agenda of someone pursuing their urges of having what was once believed to be theirs. Sleep is wasteful, food is worrisome, money is empty, all that matters is quenching this abundant overpowering longing.
“That’s not even the kicker, the guy she was with ended up dead. Police were crawling all over the place, crazy shit.” They’ve tainted her. She was supposed to be destroyed by one person and one person alone.
The shattering of glass and the oozing of blood does nothing to trigger a reaction of pain. The cut and sliced flesh on the palm goes unnoticed as fury and obsession collide, creating a volatile mix that is more fragile than an eggshell.
“Well, uh, she went back with those rich people, that was all.” Leaving a little out to keep the bomb from exploding is never harmful. There’s no reason to mention Winter Dixon and the rich pretty boy. They were going at it but it all looked like foreplay, Sly has seen it all before. He knows the signs and Winter Dixon is pretty cozy over there in the mafia. Word travels fast in the streets, when word of Winter being sold spread like wildfire throughout the city, there were some mixed reviews. But one thing everyone could agree on, they missed seeing the young hustler around.
Winter is different than all these young fools out here, expecting some sort of handout. Instead Winter worked her ass off night and day for this shit. She was born in the streets and raised by them too. She was born to be who she is and nobody dared mess with her. Well not until those 2, Kyle and Travis, probably their biggest mistake yet.
Sly knows better than to speak his opinions out loud, he just waits for his cash. He’s made his living by lurking in the shadows, having eyes everywhere and staying neutral. His work goes to the highest bidder, money is all that matters.
“I’m getting back what’s mine and I’m not waiting around anymore. I’ll give you double if you get everything on this list.” The offer is always tempting, but Sly knows better.
“I don’t work for doubles or triples. You need a job, you pay me for that job and I get that job done, nothing more, nothing less.” The bag of money is tossed harshly at his feet but he doesn’t take the hostility personally. He never mixes personal feelings with his business.
“Fine, get everything on that list and help me take back what’s mine, and I’ll pay you twice as much as last time.” Sly knows better than to trust the empty promises of pleasure from a hungry snake. He can smell a setup better than most and he knows better than to step on the toes of Winter Dixon and the Stone mafia. Sly looks over the list and his thoughts are confirmed, he needs to protect his ass before the storm hits.
“I can get what you want for the normal price, but nothing more.” His refusal strokes the flame, but Sly does not compromise for anyone. He lives by his own morals and nothing can persuade him. Not even the fury rolling towards him like a fierce storm.
“Fine, get the shit and hurry up. I’m not waiting any longer to take back what’s mine.” Sly takes his money and leaves, not daring to look back at the raging storm destroying the room behind him. He leaves the dark house, walking in what looks like a random direction, until he gets to his car.
“I’ve really stepped into some shit this time.” Sly makes the call to get everything for his client as he drives away, hiding is inner turmoil. It’s not often that Sly gets conflicted or goes behind the back on a client, but this is the mafia he’s dealing with. He’s always going to make sure his ass is protected, this is why he works for himself and nobody else. He’s not loyal or upstanding, he’s just a hustler. With that final thought, he makes a call.
❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎
I follow Roman silently down the stairs once again, except this time we go towards a wall that looks like a dead end. He presses a brick and a panel reveals, he punches in the code and the wall slowly slides open. We walk down the dark narrow hallway, taking different turns I make sure to memorize until we get to another steel door.
Another code later and we’re in a dungeon, or better yet the hell I was expecting.
The smell of death is pungent and invasive. The screams and pleas are horrifying, men and women begging for death only to receive torturous pain. The smell, the sounds, the atmosphere, it’s suffocating and sickening. The instinct to puke is strong but I ignore it, fully stepping into the room and looking around. Aside from the doors and drains, the room is bare, nothing but an empty room with various old wooden doors that scream horror dungeon.
“There was a girl right?” There was a girl in the file that Alan gave us. I’m curious to see what her state of mind is. How would a normal girl be in this place? Then again if she’s mixed in with the mafia, she’s likely similar to me…very far from normal.
“Yes” Roman walks over to a door that’s silent on the other side. Unlike most of the other doors where shouts of terror can be heard, this one is quiet. I open the door, switching on the light bulb attached to the high brick ceiling. You’d need more than a ladder to get up that high, something you wouldn’t expect being so deep down in the mansion. Much like outside the room, it’s sparse and bare inside, nothing but a drain, a chair hidden in the corner, and a girl silently crying chained to the wall.
“Are you here to taunt me some more? Torture me? Just kill me already. I’m dead regardless.” Her voice cracks and it’s clear she hasn’t had water in days since it’s so rough and cracked. Aside from some bruises and a beat up face, the girl looks untouched. I assume they’re taking the psychological approach with her. It all seems like a waste of time to me. I couldn’t be the one trying to get answers, that’s for sure.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“No, I’m not here for any of that, I just got curious” I suppose I’m different from other girls. During my brief time in school I realized that I was different from the other kids. What seemed to bother them or gross them out, didn’t bother me. If I got hurt I didn’t cry or ask for my parents, I simply tried to patch it up myself or ignored it. I never understood why kids cried at drop-off, or whined to go home.
I just could never relate. Even now with this girl, I’m sure I can’t relate.
The girl lets out a bitter laugh, as she lifts her head. She looks a little surprised to see a female but I ignore it stepping closer to her. Beneath her beat up state I can tell that she used to be pretty. So unfortunate when pretty girls make dumb ass decisions.
“Oh yeah, you’re curious? That’s fucking rich, I haven’t heard that one before.” Her humor is dry and empty, she sounds like she’s completely given up. I wonder why they haven’t killed her yet.
“Why haven’t they killed you yet?” I walk until I’m in front of her and she stares for a moment before looking away.
“I don’t know, ask the pretty boy over there. He’s been in here a few times, he hasn’t killed me yet.” I look back at Roman who has a blank expression. Wow, so cold and empty. He always looks serious but this is different than usual. I would love to play poker against him, I bet he’s amazing at bluffing. His face gives nothing away at all. At most he looks calculating.
“She hasn’t given us all the information that we require.” I nod at Roman’s blank statement, this guy doesn’t sugar-coat anything at all does he. I hum as I turn her face to look me in the eye.
“Are you scared here?” My question seems to throw her off and she looks taken aback. I told her I was curious.
“Of course I am, who wouldn’t be scared being held captive and surrounded by endless torture 24/7?”
“This place bothers you, doesn’t it? Like every instinct in your body is telling you to run and get the hell out of here.”
“Yeah well…” she shakes her chained wrist and legs as the tears continue falling down her face. “I can’t really follow my instincts at the moment.”
“And if you could?”
“I’d leave. I’d get the hell out of this damn state and never look back.” Her tears fall harder down her face so I step back.
I guess I’m more comfortable being in this mafia than I first thought. Maybe that’s why I feel so relaxed, even down here surrounded by nothing but death. My instincts aren’t telling me to turn tail and get the hell out of here. They’re telling me to go explore.
I’m curious and every day my curiosity and comfortability grows. Dare I say this place is starting to feel like it could be a home one day. I’ve gained so much here already. That job alone tripled what I made with Travis and Kyle in 2 months. The money is amazing, I have my first friend and met an incredibly patient and understanding guy in Roman. Those 2 new additions have become a special place in my life, tucked right next to the things I can’t live without.
“I guess the only way out is saying what they want to know. Until then, your legs will stay chained.”
“I’ve already told them everything I fucking know! I’m sorry the person I fell in love with is their precious enemy. It has nothing to do with us! We were leaving! He fucking promised we were leaving…” she begins to sob and I look at Roman. My bad, I didn’t mean to make her have a breakdown.
He waves it off so I do the same, sighing and turning to leave the room.
“If you’ve run out of answers, why not tell a story?”
“A story? What the hell are you talking about?” The girl sniffles and gags as she gets a big whiff of the stench around her. I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten used to it by now, I have.
“You said you’ve answered all the questions. Well, pretty boy is a good listener so if you tell a story, you might find yourself free.”
“Free?! You’re never free from these people. Don’t you know who the Stone mafia is? Once you’re brought here there is no getting out.”
“By free I mean dead” I clarify, making her go silent and I shrug. “Or, you can stay chained to the wall, held captive and surrounded by torture 24/7.” She has a bit of an attitude for someone who’s supposedly so scared. I’ve been scared before and my reactions weren’t like that.
She doesn’t say anything else until I open the door.
“Who are you?”
“You can call me Snow” I leave the cell with Roman as the sounds of torture continue. They must have people who only interrogate their captives. I stretch and throw Roman a smile, time to get this job over with. That way I can ask Noé what the hell happened with her and Emily.
“Well, let’s go pretty boy.”
“Please don’t call me that” Roman mumbles as he begins leading us out again and I snicker, checking out his perfect back and ass in his suit pants. Front, back, up, down, the man is fine from head to toe.
“Why not? I think it’s fitting.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Roman stops, turning to look at me in the narrow passageway and I smirk, giving him a clear once over.
“I think you’re the finest man I’ve ever seen, pretty boy” I pat his chest as I walk past, going to the panel and inputting the code. Judging from his silence I either caught him off-guard or offended him in some type of way. He’s so damn hard to read. Neither of us speak until we go back to our bags waiting near the top of the stairs.
“I’m going to talk to Noé before we leave.” I take my bag and call Noé who tells me she’s outside with Emily. I decide to wait until they’re done since Emily is clearly upset about me and Noé fucking last night. I lean against the wall by the back door. Ryland comes rushing past me, calling for Roman, not noticing me posted against the wall.
“I think he’s upstairs, we’re about to leave for the job, remember.”
“I need to speak to him right now.” Ryland rushes off more seriously than I’ve ever seen him before. The goofy, playful guy is gone and replaced by the mafia assistant he is.
I don’t pay it any mind as Emily storms through the door, glancing at me before rushing out of the front, probably to school. Noé comes in a minute later stressed as I’ve ever seen her, however, she doesn’t say anything about it. She looks at my bag and motions for me to start walking with her.
“So, what’s the job?”
“I already told Reuben I’d do it. It’s just a sniper job, Roman’s coming with me.”
“Ah, you’re done avoiding him.”
“It wasn’t really my choice at first, but we talked it out and I was being a bit childish.” Noe laughs, shaking her head as we go outside where Roman and Ryland are talking.
“A bit? Girl you avoided that man like a plague.”
“It seemed like a better solution. It’s so hard not to hit on him.” Noé gives me a contemplative look as she smiles.
“You’ve changed since I first met you 4 months ago.” I think back to my reserved state when I first met Noé. I was very distrustful, I didn’t speak to anyone except her and only about training. I used to contemplate how I was going to get the hell out of there, when I remembered I didn’t have anywhere to go. There was no point in going back to the people who betrayed me just to live on the streets and abandoned houses. I had a bed, heat, food, Noé even made sure to get me clothes. It’s obvious I was a lot better off…am better off now than before.
“Isn’t that why you trained me to be adaptable.” She laughs as we keep walking towards the car.
“It’s more than that. It’s like you’re comfortable here. When most people get sold to the mafia they panic, cry, beg to be let free, but you didn’t. It’s like you’ve finally found your home here. Even if you weren’t Reuben’s kid, I think it’d be the same either way.”
“I am comfortable here, which is surprising since I’ve never been comfortable anywhere. It was always just me and my mom, then after she died it was just me. I got used to being alone, it wasn’t until I met you that I realized how lonely I was. I found someone I want to keep as a friend for nothing more than companionship and care. It’s different, but I like it.” Noé stops and stares at me for a moment before tackling me into a hug. I stumble back, laughing, and wrapping my arms around her fit frame. I’m so jealous of her body, it’s literally perfection.
“You know, I’m starting to love your ass.” I laugh as we continue walking to the car.
“I’ve never said I love you to anyone before, but I’m starting to love your ass too”.