Unforgivable Ties

Chapter 10

Vincenzo

“ T hat’s everything then?” I asked Cesare.

We had another batch of organs packed up and ready to be sent to a man known as “The Surgeon.” His identity was so secret, even I was unaware of who he actually was. Cesare didn’t know either, and he had worked with The Surgeon for years.

“Yes,” Cesare said, signing off on the last load of cargo.

The organs had code names. We didn’t just write “two livers” on the outside of each box. Instead, the boxes were labeled with innocuous nicknames. “Two livers” became “double aces,” and so forth.

“We should’ve taken up their offer and provided live bodies after Leone died,” Cesare complained. “Do you know how much money that would make us?”

There had been five prominent families in the mafia underworld. Leone Alto was by far the biggest name, his business dealings reached far and wide. One of his most lucrative was kidnapping people and giving them to The Surgeon for organ extraction—it was always better to have a fresh body intact than piecemealing from a recently deceased mangled one.

“Even we have to draw the line somewhere,” I responded. “The Bratva can have the gig.”

Leone died, and Ettore had married his daughter, effectively ending the Alto name. He had then taken over Leone’s business ventures, but steered clear of the more inhumane dealings like human trafficking.

“And you’d have more work,” I added. “You’ve been trying to cut down on that, right?”

“I’d just teach Stephanie how to do it. She’s very capable—I’ve taught her things people halfway through their residency are learning.”

“You will mention nothing about the organs to Stephanie,” I said firmly.

He waved his hand at me. “Go get shot again and find another med student for me, then. This time, one you’re not soft for.”

“I am not soft for—” I started, but a nondescript black van pulled into our loading zone. “They’re here.”

We fell silent, directing our gaze towards the vehicle. Two men dressed in identical black suits opened the doors and made their way towards us. After confirming a code phrase with them, I helped them load the refrigerated boxes in the back of their truck. When we were finished, they’d give us a briefcase full of cash and be on their way. There was never any small talk between us and the van drivers; they came, took our shipments and left without uttering a word.

As the van disappeared down the road, Cesare turned to me, lighting up a cigar. “They’re always easy to do business with.”

“Uh huh,” I said, glancing at my watch. “It looks like Stephanie should be off.”

“Not soft for her, huh?” he commented, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

I glared at Cesare before walking out of the loading docks. I made my way through the harshly lit hallways to our medical suite, the one place that stuck out in this warehouse. It was spotless and sterile, nothing like the grungy exterior that housed it.

As I approached the door, I heard a man laughing. What? Men who worked for us weren’t prone to laughter—they grumbled, spat curses, and glared. Except for one man.

I shoved the door open, and sure enough, Dino Barbato stood in the examination room. Or was is Dino Barboso? I could never remember. The two Dino’s that worked for us had near identical last names.

I felt a surge of jealousy at how close in proximity they were to each other, and how Stephanie was laughing at something he had just said. Stephanie never laughed at anything I said. Granted, I wasn’t exactly a funny guy, but I wanted her to laugh for me. It sounded like music—a light, airy symphony that danced on the wind of this otherwise grim world we inhabited.

“Dino,” I said sternly.

“Hey Vincenzo,” he said, stepping away from Stephanie. Dino could talk up a storm, but he knew I hated that shit. “I’ll leave you two alone, then.”

“Bye, Tall Dino!” Stephanie said, and he responded with his own goodbyes.

Tall Dino? She already had a nickname for him? The flame of jealousy I had burned even brighter, and I clenched my fists at my sides.

“Tall Dino?” I asked, not able to keep my thoughts to myself.

She shrugged. “Apparently there are two Dino’s. He said I could call him Tall Dino.”

I watched her strip off her medical gloves and toss them into the bin before turning back to me, a soft smile lighting up her face.

“Why? Do you want a nickname, too?” she teased.

“Tch. Obviously not,” I responded, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Hm, how about Vin? Or do you like Zo better?” Stephanie asked, ignoring my response.

“Neither,” I responded gruffly, unwilling to indulge her playful banter.

I was secretly pleased that she was offering. However, I kept my face stoic, maintaining the hard exterior that had become my trademark.

“Perhaps just ‘scary mafia man?’” she said, giving me a devilish grin.

“Address me as such and you’ll be the one in need of your own medical services,” I replied, a hint of mischief dancing in my otherwise stern gaze.

“Hey!” she said, her lips curling into a cute little pout.

Cute? Ugh.

The two of us sat in a comfortable silence on the way back to my apartment. Stephanie’s fingers furiously tapped at her phone screen as she responded to emails she missed while at work, her brows furrowed in concentration.

I glanced over at her, the soft glow from her phone illuminating her face in the otherwise dark car. For a moment, I was glad she was so engrossed in whatever she was doing—it gave me a chance to really look at her.

She bit her lip when she was deep in thought. And she had a habit of always tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, despite it always escaping again. There was something captivating about that persistent lock of hair; a distraction I indulged in all too often.

Stephanie was perfection in every sense.

Why did I think it was a good idea to let the girl I wanted to fuck move in with me? Ever since we met, I had been honed in on her and had no desire to have sex with any other girl. I was so pent up it physically ached at times, and seeing her in my space day in and day out only made the desire worse.

I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to resist her. My dick twitched in my pants, begging to be set free. I took a deep breath, trying to think of something else to distract myself.

She was too young for me. Stephanie was a college student, and I was in my mid thirties, a man worn by years of danger and violence, a far cry from the vibrant, youthful charm that she exuded. She was the sun, and I was the moon, the contrast between us as stark as night and day. Yet, it seemed as though an invisible force kept drawing us closer, a gravitational pull I was desperately trying to resist.

As we arrived back at my apartment, I was glad for the distraction of physically getting out of the car and feeling the cool night air on my skin. As I tapped the keycard to let us into the apartment, Stephanie slipped her phone into her back pocket, her fingers brushing against mine in a way that felt more intimate than it probably was.

“It’s not quite time for bed yet,” she said, looking at the clock in the living room. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“I guess,” I said gruffly, the image of that loose strand of hair still playing in my mind like a mesmerizing movie on a constant loop.

“Great! Just give me a minute.”

She walked down the hallway and into her bedroom, her hips swaying slightly as she walked away. I followed her down the hallway with my gaze, captivated by the graceful, fluid movements of her body.

We were always so close now that we lived together. I could easily reach out and touch her if I wanted to, but there was a still an invisible barrier that held me back. Although it felt like that barrier was growing weaker and weaker each day.

Stephanie walked back into the living room wearing her pajamas, and I silently cursed her for wearing that set. I had never seen her in such little clothing. The top didn’t even cover her stomach, and the shorts hugged her ass perfectly.

“What do you want to watch?” she asked, bending over to pick up the remote.

I wanted to freeze frame that view and watch it all night.

“Whatever is fine,” I grunted, feeling like my throat was lined with sandpaper.

“Ok.”

She put on Netflix and picked the top movie for the week. It was some action movie that I would normally be interested in watching, but all I could focus on was her. Stephanie’s hair was pulled up in a ponytail, revealing her slender neck and the soft curve of her shoulders.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and her body slumped into mine. So much for it not being time for bed. I stiffened as she nestled into me, her scent filling my nostrils, a sweet floral perfume that was just hers. I didn’t move a muscle as she slept, her eyes closed and lips parted slightly in the most alluring way.

Her hand rested on my thigh, dangerously close to where all of my thoughts seemed to have come from tonight. She shifted in her sleep and it grazed over my cock, which hardened instantly in response.

Ok, it was time to call it a night. I stood up and swooped the sleeping girl in my arms and carried her down the hallway. She weighed almost nothing, a testament to my own strength, or perhaps her small form.

I peeled back the blankets and gently laid Stephanie on the bed, careful not to wake her. I watched her with a kind of fascination that I hadn’t felt before. Her face was peaceful, as if she was dreaming of something pleasant.

I only lingered a few moments before pulling the blankets up to her shoulders and walking out. I flipped the light switch off on my way out and closed the door as quietly as possible before walking to my bedroom.

Fuck. Maybe Cesare was right about me being soft for her.