Title: Swapped To The Mobster
Dominic
I am the guy they call when there’s a problem that needs to be solved because no one else can do what I do. I will go to any lengths to protect and help the family. I have already gone to great lengths to do so. Many people think I’m nothing more of me than a heartless killer, but I simply have a particular set of skills, and those skills yield results-results my family need.
So, when Frankie called me to tell me I’d be escorting someone related to the enemy we’re currently fighting to a meeting with another enemy family. I did what I was told. Andres is related to Jose Catalan, who wants my brother dead. I don’t trust Andres, but I do what I’m told.
We’re meeting with Facuno Lopez, a family from Argentina that Jose controls. But not by choice. I could be walking into a trap, though I’d be more worried for them if that’s the case. I wait outside the airport for Andres to arrive, my sunglasses hiding my blue-gray eyes. I have received a photo of him, so I know who I’m looking for. I doubt he knows who I am.
He walks out of the arrivals gate and stops, looking around carefully. I walk toward him.
“Andres?” I ask, standing straight.
“Who are you?” he asks suspiciously.
“Dominic Sorvino, the lamb to the slaughter,” I say, using the security phrase I’d sent to him earlier. He relaxes visibly.
“Thank you, what time are we meeting them?”
“Immediately,” I say. I don’t offer to take his bag. I’m a go-between, not a personal valet. I lead him toward the armored car waiting outside. The driver opens the door for me, and I climb in, shifting along so Andres can get in as well. “We’ll be there soon.”
“If all goes well, I’ll be in Argentina soon, and your brother will be free to return to New York,” Andres says with a smile that I do not return. “Best you make it happen. We don’t take betrayal lightly,” I say.
“Especially when it’s us getting betrayed.”
“I have no fight with the Sorvinos, only with Jose,” Andres says, looking out the window.
Traffic is surprisingly light, it is still early, and we arrive at the large beach house on Long Island. The guards wave us through, and my driver parks just to the side of the house. I climb out and wait for Andres. “Leave your luggage. If they agree, we can get it later.”
“If they don’t?” Andres asks though he doesn’t seem nervous.
“Then you better come up with another plan, and you probably won’t need your luggage,” I say, leading him up to the door of the house.
A young woman in a black and white maid’s outfit opens the door and curtsies. “Mr. Lopez is expecting you out on the deck.”
She leads us through the house. It’s grand, but I’ve never been one for expensively decorated homes. It serves a function, and I don’t see the point in making it pretty.
“A Sorvino and a Catalan walk into my house, and I don’t shoot them. It is an amazing day,” an elder-looking man laughs, clapping his hands together, a cigar clenched between his teeth.
“Sit, sit,” he waves to some chairs around a table to his left. “Do you want a drink? A cigar? They come from Cuba.”
I shake my head and sit down, leaning back. Andres takes a cigar and sits down. Facuno lights it, and Andres inhales.
I watch the exchange carefully, keeping my senses tuned to any movement or approaching guards. Facuno sits opposite us and spreads his arms wide. “So, you’ve made it clear you want to overthrow Jose Catalan, someone we both dislike. That’s a dangerous game, Andres. He has many families that support him.”
“They support him out of fear,” Andres says quickly. “But if we can garner their support, and turn them against him, then we stand a chance of replacing him with a more agreeable Don.”
“Such as?” Facuno asks. “There are many who would take that seat.”
“I would take that seat,” Andres says. “I would be fair, keeping trade open and profitable for all families.”
Facuno laughs. “You have big dreams, and now the Sorvino family provides the muscle.”
“I’m no one’s muscle,” I say, crossing my legs. “But he has our family’s backing.”
Facuno stares me out. I can tell he’s sizing me up, but what he says next surprises me.
“I can’t help you. Unfortunately, something has come up that prevents me from going against Jose,” Facuno sighs. “I would have done it, though, please believe me. And he won’t hear of this betrayal from me.” “What’s come up?” I ask before Andres can speak.
“He has taken Sofia, one of my daughters, to bear him children. He wants to seal our ties to him, a wise move on his behalf, a tragedy for our family.”
“Where are they now?” I ask, reaching for my phone.
“Westhampton Beach,” Facuno eyes me out again. “But not for long, as they will take her to New Mexico to be with Jose.”
“Excuse me,” I stand and walk a bit away, dialing Alessandro, who answers, “How’s it going?”
“Jose’s men have taken Facuno’s daughter. If I can get her back, we might stand a chance.”
Alessandro pauses and sighs. “Do what you must. Try not to get killed.”
I hang up and go back to the chair. “If I get Sofia back to you, would you consider the allegiance?”
“If you get Sofia back for me, it will mean I openly declare war against Jose. It won’t be easy.”
“I won’t be bringing her straight back here,” I say. “We’ll move around the boroughs for a few days. Then when it’s safe, I’ll bring her here,” I stand up. “Do you have a photo of her?”
“Yes,” Facuno snaps his fingers, and I smirk. He knew I’d do this. He was prepared. A guard brings me a photo of a beautiful woman. She has dark, shoulder-length black hair and bright brown eyes. She will be easy to spot at a compound full of thugs.
I look at Andres. “You stay here until I come back. Make your plans with Don Lopez, and make your arrangements. If you need something, contact my cousin Michael. I’ll send you his number. I won’t have my phone on me until we’re back.”
Andres nods. “Are you sure you’re able to do this?”
I snort. “Save a princess from some thugs, easier than most of my jobs.”
I turn as an older man shuffles out of the house. Facuno smiles. “This is Bruno, my second in command. If you need anything, just ask him.”
I shake my head. “I have my own resources, thank you, Don, but I will have to leave now. We don’t know when she will be moved, and I don’t want to miss her. I will be in touch as soon as I can be.”
“Thank you,” Facuno nods. “Andres, Bruno will show you to your rooms.”
I walk out without an escort though I can feel the guards’ eyes on me. I walk down the stairs quickly, Andres behind me. He takes his luggage and touches my arm. “If you can’t do this, they’ll probably kill me.”
“Then it’s best you let me do my job,” I say, climbing into the car.
Sofia
I knew I was done when they pulled me out of my father’s beach house. Catalans didn’t just take you for no reason. My fate was sealed.
They drive me through New York. I’ve been here for a few weeks, but I haven’t quite got my bearings, so I look for signs along the way. From what I can tell, we’re in Westhampton Beach.
The car pulls into a large estate and parks in front of a beautiful house. That’s all that is beautiful about this place. As they walk me inside, it’s like a fortress, cold and sterile. I can hear voices off to one room and the shuffling of things being moved about. This must be a front for a smuggling operation. I’m not so naive that I don’t know what the families do to earn their money.
They open a door and take me downstairs. It’s a strange basement. The walls look like they’re made from steel, like a bunker. We go around a corner, down a hallway, and turn right. I try to remember the turns we take. You never know if you’ll need that sort of information.
“Please, why am I here?” I ask again, pleading with the burly man with a vice-like grip on my arm.
“Because Jose wants you,” he finally says, opening a door and pushing me inside. “Now, if you’re a good girl, you might leave here in one peace.”
“If Jose wants me, you won’t be allowed to touch me,” I snap, looking up at him defiantly.
He grabs my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “I’ll take you if I want you, every which way until Sunday because if Jose found out, he’d kill me then you because you’re sullied.”
I swallow hard and try to pull away, but he digs his fingers into my jawline. “Do you understand, little princess?”
“I’m no one’s princess,” I snarl, but my voice is quieter.
He releases me and walks out of the room, shutting and locking the door. I rush to it and hear him speaking to someone outside.
“Keep an eye on her. She’s feisty,” my kidnapper says before I hear his footsteps retreating.
I look around the room. There’s a window, but there are bars over it, so I can’t climb to safety. It’s high, but I push the bed against the wall and open it anyway. I can’t see past the garden. It’s well kept, obviously, to keep up appearances. I can’t see anything further, but I can smell seawater and hear the ocean’s waves crashing against an unseen shore. I wonder if there’s a way I can get out and get to the beach, there’ll be people there who could help me.
I sit back on the bed. This wouldn’t have happened if my father wasn’t who he was. I rue the fact that we can’t be a normal family who does ordinary things. Even the other children I grew up with are involved in this sort of life, some moved to New York to start afresh, but I know they will always have ties to the mafia. There’s no escaping the family.
I wanted to come to New York to study, so when my father said I could go on a trip here, I was excited. I was even more excited when he told me a few days ago that he was coming up for a meeting. He may be a mobster, but he’s still my father, and I love him, my mother, and my siblings dearly.
I think about all the life lessons my father has taught me about what to do in situations like this, and I can’t help but try and formulate some sort of escape plan. I know my father will send someone to find me. He won’t let Jose just take me even though he practically owns our family.
My great-grandmother married Jose’s Great Uncle, and we were tied to the Catalans through that marriage. I know my father is resentful of it. He always says we could be a more remarkable family if we didn’t have to follow Jose’s orders.
I don’t care. I want out of this mobster life. I want my own future, to make my own choices. That’s exactly what I’m going to do now.
I get up and stride to the door, knocking. “Excuse me?”
The door unlocks, and I step back as it opens. “Hi, sorry to bother you, but I need the bathroom.”
“Don’t try anything stupid,” he says, patting the gun in his holster on his side.
I shake my head. “I’m not stupid.”
He takes my arms and guides me down the hallway to a room a few yards away. He opens the door and lets me in. “Be quick.”
I shut the door and looked around. It’s disgusting here. The toilet obviously stopped flushing years ago, and the sink is moldy and dirty.
There is no window, so there’s no way to escape. The guard has a gun, so I can’t exactly walk out and then run away.
I grimace and open the door. “Well, that was disgusting.”
“It’s not your royal palace,” the guard says, taking my arm again.
“I know, it’s just…I’m going off to Jose, and I’ll never be able to do anything I want to again.” I sigh dramatically. “Like I’m still a virgin. I don’t want to lose my virginity to him.”
The guard eyes me out. I can see he isn’t sure whether he believes me or not, and I slap his arm. “Are you questioning my honor?”
The guard looks admonished. “No, it’s… Just get back in the room.”
“If you come with me, if you promise to be gentle, you could make my last free day a memorable one,” I say seductively, stroking his chest.
He shoves me back into the room and shuts the door. I sit down on the bed, disappointed. I try to think of another way out when the door opens again, and he hurries in, shutting it behind him. “We do this quick. If the boss finds out, I’m dead.”
I smile and get up, sauntering over to him. “He’ll never know.”
I put my arms on his shoulder, and steeling myself, I kiss him deeply, moaning softly as I press my body against his, angling it just right. He groans softly back, but before he can even wrap his arms around me, I bring my knee up with as much force as I can muster, using my hands on his shoulders to pull my leg up hard. It connects with his groin, and he cries out, cupping his balls instinctively. I quickly pull his gun out of the holster. It’s heavier than the ones I’ve held before, and I use both hands to swing it at his head.
He goes down, groaning. He’s not out, but he’ll be incapacitated long enough for me to get out.
I hurry through the door, locking it behind me. I hold onto the gun tightly and quickly go down the hallway. I pause at the end and peek around the corner. A guard is walking with his back to me. I doubt I could take him out.
He then turns down another hallway, and I creep down after him, crossing that hallway quickly and making a beeline for the exit.
As an explosion rocks the world above me, I quickly hide in a closet near the stairs. There are shouts and the sound of gunfire upstairs. I hear footsteps running past the door, and I wait with baited breaths.
My father must have sent someone to get me, and they mean business.