Owning the Mafia Don

Lucien Delano’s underground prison, the one that was rumoured to be at the bottom of the Club was actually situated at a location that not many people knew of. At the bottom of a disused factory located in the vast empty spaces somewhere close to the Mexican border, it was a holding area as secure and anonymous as they come.

***

Paul Worthington had woken up at a little after midnight to find strange men in his bedroom. He had wisely enough, taken refuge in a tiny motel on the highway and was confident that no one would trace him down to this sleazy place.

He was wrong.

Now he sat up, as the darkness around him shifted. Men-silent men with guns-surrounded him.

” Hiya Boys, what’s going on?’ he said in his squeaky voice, although a cold feeling of dread was unfurling in his stomach.

The men had not replied. They had hauled him away silently, still in his nightshirt, and whisked him off to an undisclosed location.

When he was thrown into a tiny cell with no lights, he began to scream. There was no one to hear him.

He had been securely imprisoned in one of Lucien Delano’s holding cells in the middle of the Mexican desert.

***

Lucien

He was in his study, talking to Beston, when Schwartz came in.

Lucien had showered but had not bothered to shave, and the grey stubble on his face made him look like a killer, the cold grey eyes shadowed by exhaustion, still as intense as ever.

He had not eaten anything; he could not. Instead, he had had several cups of black coffee before he turned to whiskey to dull the ache in his chest.

“Any news?’ asked Schwartz, hopeful as a little puppy, although he knew they had no such thing.

It was as though Dmitri Rudenko had vanished off the face of the earth after snatching Proserpina.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Beston and his men who were in the room, hurried to their positions, ready to tap the call. Machines and gadgets, wires, and hardware of all sorts filled the room, spilling onto the floor.

Only Dmitri rang up on this phone. It was as though he was challenging them to try and trace his call. When Lucien raised his cold grey eyes and met Beston’s, the man nodded and raised his thumb to signify that he was ready to trace the call.

Lucien did not think it would be possible; the wily Dmitri Rudenko had given him the slip on two occasions before.

But he needed to know that he was doing everything possible.

Taking a deep breath, Lucien grabbed the receiver.

“Delano,’ he said in a clipped tone.

“Ah, Lucien Delano, my friend!’ came the hateful voice, taunting him mercilessly.

‘ Such a pretty thing, your wife. You must be missing her, eh? No one to warm your bed now, eh? So I have sent you a small video.’

‘To keep you happy, my friend.’

And the phone went dead.

***

Sophie

She whimpered forlornly.

Unbeknownst to her, Lucien had had her nephew moved to his own house. The child was safe. He knew that that was what Proserpina would have implored him to do. Besides, now that he had his own twins, he could not bear the thought of hurting or harming children. The social services, in all their goodness, would not be able to control the types of houses where the child would be sent.

And he had no wish to deliberately set up a child as helpless and vulnerable as Sophie’s nephew to become a victim of sexual exploitation.

Shark had turned into a monster after years of pitiless sexual brutality that had begun when he was a child. Lucien would not stand by and watch such a thing happen to any child.

Paddy was safe, but Sophie had no idea about that.

Now she sobbed. She was confined in a small room. It had no furniture, but there was a soft mattress. She guessed that it was part of the Club, which meant she was still in the Club. She sobbed again.

The door was suddenly flung open. Danielle strode in, a platter of food and a bottle of water in her hands. She scowled threateningly at the redhead, who quickly got to her feet. The aroma of sandwiches was tempting.

‘I would have starved you. But the Boss…’ said Danielle coldly.

As Sophie eyed the sandwich greedily, Danielle looked at her in active dislike.

‘Why did you do it, Sophie?’ She said, her voice soft, ‘Why? Proserpina never did a thing to you. She had insisted on paying for your mother’s treatment. She regarded you as a f*cking friend!’

While saying that, the woman’s voice rose in frustration.

“And she has been captured by Dmitri Rudenko. YOU aided that, you bi*ch.’

It was as though it was too much for Danielle.

And Danielle stalked out, carrying the food with her. As she flung open the door before her, she said, turning to Sophie, who stood, her mouth hanging open, her stomach rumbling.

‘Boss wants you to be fed. But I think you do not deserve it.’

And she added, her eyes glinting fiercely,

“F*ck know what hell poor Proserpina must be in!” she went on furiously.

‘And she’s pregnant with twins, damn it! Do you even KNOW what that poor kid must be going through? She needs her husband, she needs her family with her and you, you f*cking bi*ch, you set her up, you f*cking DELIVERED her into the hands of the biggest monster around!’

She looked at Sophie, hate in her eyes, as she said in a hard tone,

“You deserve to DIE. But a REAL SLOW, PAINFUL death, bae.’

And with that parting jab, she slammed the door.

Sophie sank to her knees, her mouth working, as the enormity of what she had done hit her. She stared at the bottle of water Danielle had left behind for her and began to weep.