El Capo
He was beside her in a stride, grabbing her small figure as she swayed, her hand at her mouth, the look of shock and terror a reflection of the image she would carry in her mind forever.
The Capo swore roundly; he had not wanted to expose the lovely young woman he was holding in his arms, to the shocking spectacle of a dead man who had obviously been tortured brutally before he died.
Paulo was beside her, his face white and shining with sweat though the night was chilly.
‘ Capo, I could not stop her…’ he said and then,’ F*ck man!’ exclaimed the bodyguard as he saw the dead figure.
The Capo grabbed Ria as she seemed about to collapse.
“The f*ck you don’t obey orders, woman?’ he said through gritted teeth as he held her to him, her face buried in his chest, forcing her to look away from the terrible sight.
“Philippe,’ she cried, weeping softly, shuddering at the sight of the man who had been tortured and left to die, the stench of the blood, the sights embedded in her brain making her sob harder, “Oh, Philippe…’
And suddenly, she was the three-year-old little girl who turned to her friend Philippe when she was in distress. He held her to his body protectively, his face in her sweet-smelling hair, uncaring about what his men would think. All that mattered now was to protect Ria Delano.
‘F*ck!’ grunted the Capo and then, lifting her up in his powerful arms, he carried her to the vehicle. Then he stood, cradling her in his arms till she had quietened down a little, and had stopped trembling uncontrollably.
The road was still deserted and quiet but the sensation of unease only grew stronger. They had to get away from here.
And FAST.
*
His dark gaze shifted to the near-limp body in his arms and he sighed inwardly. She was still crying, sniffling but the shock was dying down.
He pulled out a large white handkerchief, handing it to her silently; Ria used it to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. When she was subdued and more in control, she climbed into the passenger seat of the Hummer, silent and unspeaking, her pretty face drawn and white.
She had known of what her Pappa did; but she had never seen firsthand how the men in his group executed people, and tortured them in such a bestial manner. She closed her eyes and sighed, drawing a shuddering breath, shivering.
Wordlessly, the Capo handed her a soft blanket and she draped it around her shoulders gratefully.
and sat, staring ahead, wearily. She did not have the strength to call her brothers and her mother, as she just sat, staring into space.
*
Paulo had joined them and the Capo was busy on the phone, reporting to the Mafia Don, simultaneously issuing instructions to his crew.
Silently, the grim-faced Paulo produced a small picture that had been found in the room.
‘Capo,’ he said in a low voice,’ You gotta see this.’
Philippe felt his fury grow along with a pounding sound in his head as he stared at the crudely torn photograph in his hands, a few drops of blood on it.
Ria shifted in the seat and sighed and he glanced at her quickly. No, she had not seen it but the urgency, the need to take her away and leave, was imperative now.
His eyes silently conveyed an unspoken message to Paulo who nodded.
No, he would not tell anyone else about this photograph.
*
After he had directed his men to remove any marks they might have left behind, the Capo trod across like a large predatory animal, to the vehicle. The entire operation took just around five minutes.
His eyes were clouded expression grave as he went. Thoughts swirled about in his head as he went, as he realised the danger the girl in the Hummer was in.
*
The man, Paddy’s friend, had been murdered brutally after the maximum amount of pain had been inflicted upon him. It had been more of a message to Lucien’s people; this was the fate ahead of anyone who dared to cross the monk.
For Philippe, who had seen the handiwork of the dreaded Paval before, knew without any shred of suspicion, that this was the work of the one-eyed Dusak and his uncle. Only those two had the ability to be so cruel. Dusak had left something behind too, a small sign that he was onto them; that he would not stop till he had exacted his revenge, taken the one person Lucien Delano cared for, his daughter.
Ria Delano.
For the photograph which was now in his pocket, had been part of a larger one, a print of Ria at her college, smiling happily into the camera with her friends. The other people beaming into the camera and part of the picture had been cut off, just Ria, her blooming body in the bright green bikini she had been wearing , was visible.
The photo had been taken at the beach holiday she had gone on with her friends from college a couple of months ago, in summer. Philippe’s gut clenched.
Dusak, the arrogant ba*tard, was openly challenging them, indicating that it was Ria he was after.
*
Now his eyes went to his passenger, silent as the grave, her lovely face white and strained. And she still was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen , he thought with a wrench in his chest and a feeling of hardness in his loins.
When he fired the engine, she turned to him and said dully,
“Where to, Philippe?’
Her abject misery only made him furious. She had put herself in danger by impulsively following him into the house, ignoring his specific instructions.
“If you had listened to me and stayed in the f*cking vehicle…’ he began roughly and stopped as her lower lip trembling, Ria turned away, dashing the tears from her cheek with her fist.
‘I was worried about you…’ she wanted to say,’ I thought something had happened to you and I could not bear it…’
But she was quiet as she sat, shoulders heaving, the large handkerchief pressed to her face, controlling her tears with an effort.
“Insensitive Brute!’ she thought as she took a shuddering breath and swallowed hard, controlling her anger.
They rode in silence.
*