Roll For Initiative

57. Lucian

W e spent all morning trying to come up with a plan. Jayme convinced the doctor to give me an abundance of pain meds so we could leave the hospital. Apparently, Mr. Snider has an on-call doctor, so if my stitches bust open, we can go to him. When we pulled up to my apartment, the doorman was unhappy to see me.

"There is a rather large package outside your door. A man brought it up an hour ago. Did you order smelly cheese or something because it is causing the whole floor to stink?" He says. Jayme and I exchange a look. I hope to God it isn’t what I think it is. But as we step off the elevator, we are hit with the pungent smell of rot.

"I’m calling Snider and Odette. We need a cleanup crew. Now. Do you know who might be inside it? He said he would send the other girl he was playing with. Open the door." I do as he says and open the door wide. He has to push the box in on his own. I can’t risk popping a stitch already.

"Oh fuck." Dread hits the bottom of my stomach. "It’s probably Allie."

"Who the hell is Allie?"

"She was his other sub. She and Cassie were in a poly relationship with him. I know it’s bad, but I hope it’s her and not Cassie in that box." It’s horrible to say, but it’s true. If it is Cassie, I’m going to die.

"I’ll check. What did Allie look like?"

"Blonde, blue eyes. Short. She has a very innocent-looking face." Jayme opens the box.

"Well, what’s left of her face is kind of what you described. Fuck, dude, he did a number on her. Thankfully, it’s not Cassie."

I glance at the box. Her face is destroyed. Bruises and cuts are everywhere. Her eyes are dull and lifeless, not the beautiful bright blue they were. She’s been dead for a few days—poor girl. Judging from the angle of her body, he also broke her neck.

"Yeah, that’s Allie. Shit. What do we do now?"

"Snider is sending some men over now."

"Ok. Fuck this isn’t good." I sit on the couch and try to catch my breath.

"No shit."

The room feels cold and empty. I haven’t been here since the morning after the auction. Something catches my eye from under the couch. I sit down and bend to grab it. It’s Cassie’s bracelet. The matching friendship ones she made when we were younger. I take out my keys, and mine is still there. It must have fallen off the night she was here.

God, I miss her. Her laugh, her smile. I already am craving her kisses again. I need to hold her again in my arms. Confess how much I love her and need her in my life. When I get her back, she isn’t getting a choice. We are moving to California. She can’t be anywhere near that fucker if we don’t end up killing him. He is too psychotic. I jump at the loud knock at the door. Mr. Snider walks in with three big guys behind him.

"Hello, boys. My, my, what happened, Lucian." He gestures to my bandages.

"Shot by the asshole who stole my woman."

"Ahh, the little brunette? What’s her name again? Kelsie?"

"Cassie." I correct him.

"Yes, Cassie. She is quite a number. So beautiful. She has such a wonderful aura around her. You're a lucky man, Sir. Don't worry; we are going to get her back. Then we can have some fun. I already have a warehouse set near the docks on 8th Street. Big blue doors, you can’t miss it. Bring Theo there once you secure Cassie. Let me know because I don’t want to miss it. Jayme is one of the best.”

"One of the best, what?” I glanced over at him, and he is blushing, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh stop. You know, I learned all I know from my uncle. He is the best."

"Yea, yea. But I’ve heard you have a knack for it. A natural. And you have a certain "technique" that will have any grown man crying." He laughs a deep belly laugh. His men finish gathering up Allie and all evidence. "All right, boys, keep in touch!"

"We will. Thanks again, Mr. Snider.” Jayme says, shaking the man’s hand.

"Boy, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tim."

"Maybe a couple more." Jayme jokes back. Tim's cool; I would never have guessed he was in the mafia. The dude seems like someone who owns a used car lot, in all honesty.

"Oh, also, I have about 30 men standing by at the ready. You call, and they will be there and armed." He says as he is walking out the door.

"Damn, he is a pretty cool dude," I say, glancing at Jayme. "Would never peg him as mafia, though."

"That’s the best of them; you would never take a second look at him in a lineup."

“What did he mean when he said you were one of the best? Best what?” I ask.

“At interrogation. My uncle is the one who taught me everything I know. There isn’t a man he has come up against who hasn’t broken underneath his... methods of questioning.”

I internally grimace at the thought. How can this be real?

"All right, so what’s the plan?" I ask. I’m eager to get going. I honestly don’t know if I’m prepared for what we are about to walk into or what we might find.

"Well, I called my dad earlier. He is having men flown in to lock down some of Blackmore’s warehouses. We are going to take him down and his entire army. No one fucks with my family and gets away with it. Plus, my uncle has been wanting to get some ports over here under his control, so he sees this as a triple win. Kill a rival, take his ports, and help save an innocent."

"Can I still be a bit freaked out about the whole mafia thing without you judging me?" I ask. It’s just weird that this whole life was hidden from me for nine months. Never once did I suspect anything.

"Of course. It’ll take some getting used to. I hope you are still planning on returning to Santa Monica when all this is said and done."

"1000% yes. And I’m pretty sure it won’t be hard to convince her to come too."

"Good. It will be nice having both of you. Oh, by the way, I meant to tell you thanks, " he says.

"Thanks? For what?"

"Sharing her. I know that was hard for you. I really enjoyed it."

"Thank you for helping me win her that night and everything else. Shit, honestly, thanks for everything since I met you. My life has changed so much because of it. I never would have become who I am without you."

"Awe, are we having a moment?" He says sarcastically and laughs. Fucker. I know he is only joking.

"Alright. Let’s get started. We are going to kill that fucker." He says, slamming his fist on the table. God, I hope I don't get shot again. Twice in one week wouldn’t be good.