Mobster's Vendetta

By Amy Rachiele

My soul was drawn to him. It isn’t about the danger or his dark beauty, it’s the connection I feel – the feeling of home I have with him even though I am miles away from it.

Megan, Mobster’s Vendetta

The mob underworld never changes. It hides itself deep in the cities. The rules, people, and danger are identical no matter where you go. Sometimes I wish things were different, but they're not.

Antonio, Mobster’s Vendetta

Antonio and Megan have had to overcome severe challenges in the short time they have been together. Things just happen that way sometimes. Circumstance has kept them apart, but their biggest challenge is yet to come.
Power, greed, and malice can crush a person from the inside out.

Antonio and Megan are in Chicago. Antonio needs to take care of business.
Business that includes taking down his Uncle - for good.

*MATURE YA sexual content, strong language and violence. This is book three of the Mobster series.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Rachiele
• Release date: Feb 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301939985

Book preview

AMY RACHIELE

Mobster’s Vendetta

Amy Rachiele

Copyright © 2013 www.amyrachiele.com

Edited by Summer Marston

Cover art by Pamela Bergantino www.pamelabergantino.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or deceased, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords edition.

There are three sides to every story. Mine, yours, and the truth.

Joe Massino, Mob Boss

Chapter 1

Capo: Captain of boss’s enforcers

Megan:

If anyone asked me I’d tell them I’ve known Antonio my whole life –intimately. This isn’t because we have spent every waking moment with each other since birth. In fact, we never spent any time together until recently.

But, my soul was drawn to him even when my mind didn’t want to be. It isn’t about the danger or his dark beauty. It’s the connection I feel. He makes me feel at home even though I am miles away from it.

We have been apart now for three weeks. I have been caged in this gilded prison for three weeks. Fancy meals, workout room, pool, repeat.

This separation is painful. If you get something, something powerful, then lose it, desolation takes over. It’s both unhealthy and right all at the same time.

Meg! my sister, Erin, calls weakly.

Coming!

I just finished working out. I use the gym here every day. I have never worked out before, but boredom took over. Well, boredom and my run-in with Uncle Tutti, Antonio’s uncle. Near strangulation is a great motivator. It inspires me to become stronger.

The only time that I leave the family floor of the casino is during the slow times. A bodyguard takes Clarissa and me downstairs to get ice cream from the small Ben and Jerry’s stand in the midst of the high-priced shops that line up and down the main lobby hallway. I always look forward to this escape. Sure, it’s a diversion from the top floor of Mancuso Mafia Penitentiary, otherwise known as La Bella Regale Casino, but it is something I have to get me through.

The bodyguards are relatively nice. Joey is typically the one on duty when we get our treat. It still surprises me that Clarissa has been living like this her whole life. I don’t know how she does it. I, on the other hand, feel like an animal in a cage, even if it’s a comfortable one.

I typically bring Erin a huge sundae. Chunky Monkey is her favorite. I think she is well enough to come downstairs with us, but she chooses to stay upstairs.

Meg! Joey’s here.

I’m coming!

I walk towards the front of the suite. It’s not a short walk. Think studio-style with palace-like, heavy gold furniture...an old-world palace in a modern-day sky scraper.

Hey, Joey, I greet him.

He grins at me. Joey is a good looking guy...well no, he's gorgeous. He fits right in here with his black, floppy hair scattered around his forehead, but his eyes seem to set him apart from everyone...they are a pale green. I can see why Clarissa and my sister, Erin, giggle every time he's around. He is quite charming. When he smiles, two dimples appear on each side of his mouth. It's sweet and endearing. But, all the same, I probably wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

Clarissa is sitting on the couch next to my sister. Her short-cut bob of rich brown hair swings when she turns to me flashing a warm smile. Our stay has been a treat for her.

Erin and Clarissa have their heads together, snickering. I roll my eyes at their immaturity, but it also fills me with happiness to see my sister entertained. They have become very close during our seclusion. Clarissa truly has been a lifesaver by pulling Erin back from the darkness of recent traumas.

The traumas run deep. Connor, her ex-boyfriend...what an ass! He cheated on her. There isn’t a minute that goes by when I think of his betrayal that my blood doesn’t boil. And the truth about Dad’s work, being bound to a chair in our kitchen with a gun pointed at her head...these events revealed my sister’s insecurities and vulnerabilities.

Clarissa is good for Erin. She is a tough cookie. She gives my sister coping skills that she desperately needs. Being immersed in the Mafia lifestyle, even though she’s trapped at the casino, makes Clarissa a force to be reckoned with. She has learned, like Antonio, to handle and deal with tough situations.

Joey is the son of Ennio’s right hand man, Julio. Julio is head of security and an enforcer...I’ve heard him also referred to as Capo. Joey is in the beginning of his training, at the very early stages. Being a bodyguard for us is one of the things he has to do. He is pretty close-lipped about it, but I still ask a ton of questions and he typically caves. As much as what goes on scares me, it also fascinates me. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m in love with a mobster or if it’s because I’ve been born into this life, albeit ignorant of it.

You ready? Joey asks.

Yeah. You coming, Clarissa? I ask, grabbing a sweatshirt.

I think I’ll stay with Erin.

You don’t have to, Erin interjects.

It’s okay. Make that two Chunky Monkeys today, Meg.

Got it. We’ll be back.

Joey and I leave the suite and head for the family elevator. The red and gold carpeted hallway gleams all the time. I have mused to myself that little elves come in the middle of the night to scrub it.

Joey pushes in a security code and we wait.

How are things going today? he asks.

Ugh. Same ol’, I shrug.

A door opens at the end of the hall. We both turn to look. Alex, another enforcer, sticks his head out. My face automatically moves to offer a greeting, but, when he sees Joey and I, he quickly pulls his head back in and shuts the door. No hello. Alex is another one of the people I’ve met here that I really like. He seems genuine and has been extremely helpful with anything that Erin and I have needed, so this behavior is a little odd.

What was that about? I ask quizzically.

Who knows, Joey responds.

The elevator dings, and we step in. Mirrors line all of the walls. I know behind those mirrors are cameras. There are cameras everywhere.

I think I’m going to take my ice cream upstairs too. I’ll eat with Erin, I tell Joey.

Nah, eat downstairs. It’s your big adventure to the casino floor, he coaxes.

I’d rather eat in the suite with Erin and Clarissa. Erin’s birthday is tomorrow, and it’s not too early to start celebrating. Besides, I always feel guilty when I leave with you.

Joey raises his eyebrows at me.

Why? Do you have a thing for me, Miss O’Neill? You’re a beauty, but I don’t need my face knocked in by Tonio, he jokes, his dimples deepen when he laughs.

Ha ha, I deadpan.

Everyone knows that Antonio and I are in love. I miss him so much. But I am struck by what Joey said. Joey is in his twenties, much older than us...and he’s afraid of Antonio.

Joey’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he shifts his coat to the side, his gun and holster poking out, as he takes his phone out and answers it.

Yeah...(pause)...No...(pause)...I can do that...(pause)...Okay.

Joey hangs up and presses a new floor button - B.

Are we are going to the basement? I ask skeptically.

Yup. We’re going on a field trip. He scrubs his hands together maniacally. He is joking, but an eerie feeling overcomes me. Mice and gross things are usually in basements. Is there a special mob morgue down there? My mind is running away from me. I have been cooped up too long.

Joey grins at me. What’s wrong with you?

Nothing. I shiver. I’m just not a big fan of basements.

Joey shakes his head and laughs at me. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.

Says the mobster - Sure, no problem!

The elevator dings. The doors slide open.

Chapter 2

Enforcer: Mafia henchman, who enforce the rules

Megan:

A half-dozen enforcers are lounging around on leather couches. All faces turn to us. All conversation stops.

Hey! Joey calls out to no one in particular.

This place never ceases to amaze me. The basement is like a whole other world. The conversations resume. The doors slide shut behind us as I scan the room.

The first thing I see, because you can’t miss it when you step out of the elevator, is a huge screen television. It swallows the whole back wall of the basement. A football game is on. The players are enormous like in a movie theater. In the corner is a kitchenette. Mini stainless steel appliances, complete with a Keurig coffee pot. The granite counters are covered with open chip bags and salsa, metal food trays, and plastic dishes.

Hey, Meg, Ty yells over when he sees Joey and me.

He is another enforcer/bodyguard that I see a lot. I wave as I continue to examine the fortress. A poker table for eight sits against another wall. Over to the left is a massive steel door with a huge glass window next to it.

So, Meg, this is where we hang out. Joey gestures around the room.

I have never met most of these guys before, and feel their eyes follow us as we make our way through the room. Ennio, Clarissa’s father, owner and boss, is very strict about who is allowed on the family level.

Joey walks me over to the steel door and opens it. Lined floor to ceiling are television screens. Levers and switches cover a desk. Every inch of the building appears to have a camera trained on it. I knew this, but seeing it freaks me out. Not that I have never thought of it before, but seeing the actual place where they come together is unsettling.

Here is the command center where we can keep our eye on everything. Joey winks at me.

Tables, entrances, and slot machines are all on the screens surrounding the room. Joey shuffles me in front of him. This is Gilly. He sits a lot.

Gilly punches Joey in the arm. The man appears to like his doughnuts and coffee. Two empty boxes sit next to him, piled on top of each other, and a bunch of coffee cups overflow the trash can. Gilly has a sweet face with a stomach the size of a basketball.

Don’t listen to him, Megan. I hit the floor too.

I have never met Gilly, but he knows my name. He has probably seen me through the cameras. I hope there isn’t one in the suite. I scan the frames trying to find my room, but don’t have time to finish searching because Joey takes me through another door.

Come on. I have to grab a couple of things, he says, waving for me to follow him.

Inside the door is a huge bowling alley style room, but it’s not for bowling. Large targets are at one end - huge black pinned up outlines of people with circles on their chests hang from the ceiling.

A firing range.

Makes sense. They must need to practice shooting. I have seen first-hand that Mafia is a tough business.

What do you think? Joey asks pulling me from my thoughts. He is rifling through some boxes and putting some equipment together.

Umm. It’s nice. Very high-tech. I wonder to myself if the police have anything so spectacular.

Guns and ammunition hang on the walls. Steel boxes are piled in a corner. There are five firing lanes with goggles and headsets positioned at every station.

I walk over to the first lane. A small handgun rests on the counter, seemingly innocent and arbitrary. I pick it up. It’s cold and heavy in my hand. But it’s not as weighty as the one the guy had trained on my sister only weeks ago.

I take aim, wistfully. The gun is a natural fit to my hand. My eye’s predisposition draws to the center of the target. I’ve done this before. The feeling conflicts my memories, ghostly recollections of the past.

Joey startles me. He is behind me while I observe the target.

You wanna give it a try?

What? Me? I ask, shocked. He wants me to fire a gun in here?

Let’s see what you got, O’Neill! he eggs me on.

Joey grabs the hand gun from my hand and slips the clip out, replacing it with another he grabs from the metal boxes. It clicks in place. He turns the butt of the gun to me, expecting me to take it.

Uh...I don’t know about this. Why don’t you take some shots, and I’ll watch?

I’m very uncomfortable about this. The last time I held a gun it was over the guy that broke into my house. I do my best to not touch any of Antonio’s weapons, even though they are around all the time. I’m not sure why I picked this up.

We’ll fire together, he suggests. He gestures for me to take the gun by waving it at me slightly.

An image flashes in my mind.

Shadows.

Danger.

There are tall shadows, and I’m so low and small.

I shudder.

Come on. It’ll be fun, he encourages. The gun still

Reviews for Mobster's Vendetta

[srfeike · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the third book of the Mobster series, the saga continues as Antonio tries to take care of family business while trying to leaving Megan out of it, to keep her safe. Unfortunately, Megan is already in too deep into the mob world and won't be left behind, not when she can help. There are so many things I love about these books. First is Antonio and Megan's relationship and how it evolves over the course of the books. He is deep into the mob, the son of a Mafia boss looking to take over the family business when the time comes. In the first book, Megan is innocent to the things going on around her. By the third book, she is aware and accepting of what Antonio does and even willing to help do whatever she can to keep him safe. She's grown up a lot through the pages and that shows through their relationship and her relationships with others. Second is just the story itself. I admit I do not really know anything about mobsters, their code of ethics, or their language, but the author does such a great job immersing the story in details that she make it completely believable. Third is Vito. He is the kind of friend everyone needs. He sees what needs to be done and does it, no questions asked. He's always got Antonio's back, no matter the cost. I am glad we got to see more of him and get to know him better in this book, and I look forward to his story coming soon.