From Past To Present (Vicci Crime Family Series Book 2) Read online

  I’d been lucky over the years since then. Nothing life-altering had come from being at Sopo’s ever again, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to say the same in an hour. I prayed that Angelo’s plan went down without a hitch.

  There were no cars around when we pulled up to the curb in front of the restaurant, but that didn’t mean Carmine wasn’t somewhere close by, waiting for his moment to take retribution on Francis. Angelo and I didn’t have long to wait before Francis’s black Escalade pulled in behind us. Bobby Diamonds exited from the driver’s side, and Francis soon followed. Bobby was now Francis’s driver, not to mention the number-one fence in Brooklyn.

  Angelo reached for the door handle. “It’s now or never. God be with us.”

  Francis reached out, pulling Angelo into a hug, placing a kiss on each of his cheeks as Diamonds and I stood back and watched the interaction between the two men. When they stepped apart, a Cadillac coming down the street slowed to almost a stop as a spray of bullets rang out. I watched as Diamonds staggered backward from the force of the shots that riddled his body. Francis was next to drop to the ground; pieces of his brain spattered the sidewalk beside him. I lunged at Angelo, pushing him forward, forcing him to stumble and land on the pavement, but not fast enough; a single bullet had grazed his shoulder in the process.

  “I fucking knew I couldn’t trust Carmine,” Angelo spoke as he began to rise from the ground. “I owe you my life, Gabriel.”

  Angelo

  Three Weeks Later

  I owed Gabriel my life, and now today, I was giving him orders that I knew would destroy him. It took me a little time to confirm the information Nicco had provided me. Three names of three firstborn children to the Capos of the Mancini family. Two would be no problem for him, and I knew he’d relish the opportunity to take out Carmine as well. But it was the third name that would gut him. That name I hadn’t expected, which is why it pained me to request it of him.

  I was sitting behind my desk, three manila folders in front of me, when Gabriel walked in and took a seat. Reaching for the folders, I offered one up for him to take. The label read Emanuel Bufalino. When he opened the folder, the fact sheet was the first thing he saw.

  NAME: Emanuel Bufalino - Firstborn

  FATHER: Jimmy Bufalino – Capo Mancini Family

  POSITION: Soldier – Mancini Family

  LOCATION: E 173rd and Boynton

  BACKGROUND: Emanuel runs drugs for the family. He is known to recruit street kids as runners and has no issues selling drugs to underage youth in the Bronx. The kids recruited are not paid in cash. Instead, he supplies them with their personal use. As they become addicted, he uses that to his advantage, requiring them to fill his pedophile needs in return. Once they serve no purpose to him, they become another overdose statistic in the city.

  I watched as he read over the dossier. The further he got into the fact sheet, the darker his eyes grew, and the wrinkles between his brows became deeper. When he finished, he shut the folder and slammed it down on my desk.

  “This shit for real, ‘cause that is some fucked up stuff?”

  “Oh, it gets better,” I said as I handed him the second folder labeled Anthony Chiri, Jr.

  NAME: Anthony Chiri Jr. - Firstborn

  FATHER: Anthony Chiri – Capo Mancini Family

  POSITION: Soldier – Mancini Family

  LOCATION: Cruger Ave and Sagamore St. Little Yemen

  BACKGROUND: Little Tony facilitates the trafficking of underage girls from Little Yemen to buyers throughout the US and Europe. You can find him loitering in Times Square, offering refuge to runaway girls. He works in partnership with Bufalino, getting them hooked on drugs. He then sells them at private auctions around town that his father facilitates and splits part of the profits with Bufalino. He recently acquired a Los Angeles contact, who sends him young girls between the age of thirteen and seventeen who have run away from congregate care facilities. Those girls are immediately placed on a black website and sold quickly. The younger they are, the more money they bring.

  Side note: Has been known to own two Italian Bull Mastiffs.

  “I think I’ll make Little Tony my first,” Gabriel said vehemently.

  “I’ll need you to add Carmine to this list after that stunt he pulled in front of Scopo.”

  “Consider it done. Now lay the next folder on me. Not sure what will top the last one, but I’m positive it’s worse since you’ve held it for last.”

  Little did Gabriel know just how bad the next one was. But not for the reasons he was thinking. No, the next one would consume his soul. I held the folder out in front of him but didn’t loosen my grip when he grabbed for it. Our eyes met, and I held his gaze briefly before closing mine and releasing the folder.

  NAME: Victoria Devecchio - Firstborn

  FATHER: Rosario Curfari – Capo Mancini Family

  POSITION: Not affiliated

  LOCATION: Brooklyn Ave and Snyder Ave

  BACKGROUND: Illegitimate daughter of Rosario Curfari and Gina Devecchio. Listed as the birth father for Victoria Devecchio, it is clear that he has not been a part of her life, and the mother has not shared with her daughter who her father is. Sources said when Gina told Rosario of her pregnant state, he beat her and advised her to abort the child. Gina left her then residence in Queens and moved to New Jersey until her daughter was born. Gina moved herself and her daughter back to Brooklyn when Victoria was twelve after her grandmother passed away. There has been no contact between Rosario or Gina since the time before Victoria’s birth.

  Gabriel flung the manilla folder across the room. “Fuck you, Angelo, I won’t do it.”

  He pushed up out of the chair and stormed around my desk. I quickly rose, bracing myself for whatever would come.

  “How could you fucking think that I would do anything to hurt Victoria? Have you lost your mind?” Gabriel hung his head, his voice barely audible when he spoke. “Don’t ask me to do this; you’d be condemning my soul to hell for eternity. Please, I beg of you.”

  I knew what I was asking of him, but I had no option. You do not promise to do something and then not follow through completely. It would be a sign of weakness. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, Gabriel.” I knew he would understand the quote by Shakespeare.

  “Damn it, Ang, you know I’ll take on any responsibility you ask of me without question. I’ll carry any burden solely, but let me ask you this. If Francis had come to you and told you to take Bethany’s life, would you have been able to do it? And don’t kid yourself. Be honest.”

  I sat back down in my chair and placed my head in my hands. Would I have been able to? I tossed the question around in my head, knowing full well the answer would have been no. So, how would I have gotten away with not following through, and was there another option for Gabriel? I lowered my hands to my desk and turned my head to face my friend. “Find me a solution, then. One that saves Victoria’s life and doesn’t make the family look weak. Because if Tony or Jimmy know she’s Rosario’s firstborn, they will come after her with a vengeance as restitution for losing their firsts.”

  “Who else knows that Rosario is her father?” Gabriel questioned.

  “I don’t know, but Nicco found out just by searching for birth certificates holding the name of the Capos as a father of record.”

  Gabriel turned and walked away, stopping just shy of the closed door. “By tomorrow night, Carmine will be dead. Emanuel and Little Tony by the end of the week. By then, I will have a solution.”

  “I hope so, my friend. I hope so.”

  5

  Gabriel

  Carmine’s death was easy to plan. He relied on the same dirty cops we did. The only difference being, the Vicci family owned the captains at the 41st Precinct in the Bronx. I placed one call, and my plan was in motion. The cops weren’t going to care if one more wiseguy was dead and off the streets. There’d be no investigation into the badly beaten body that fell from the 26th floor of an apartment building in the Mott Haven nei
ghborhood, and that was what happened. The news called it a gangland killing in which someone was sending a message to the Mancini family.

  I had four days left to take the two firstborns’ lives and find an alternative to save Victoria. Planning to take a life was easy, especially when the victims were the scum of the earth. But figuring out how to betray the family and still live long enough to keep the one true love of your life alive was something else. I sat alone in my home that evening, recalling the day I shattered her heart and locked mine away.

  I heard Victoria call out my name. I pretended not to hear her and kept walking down Foster Avenue. “Gabriel, wait up,” she called out once more. I listened to the sound of her shoes against the concrete as she ran towards me, but I didn’t stop until I felt her hand grasp my arm. I turned and looked down at her five-foot-three body. Her chest quickly rose and fell as she attempted to catch her breath, and I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her breasts. It was as if they were taunting me. Touch me. You know you want to. Just do it. I wanted to reach out and grasp one in my palm, squeeze it one last time and then run away, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

  “I’ve been calling after you. Didn’t you hear me?”

  “If I’d heard you, I would have stopped.” That was a lie. “What do you want, Victoria?”

  “I want to know what is wrong. You looked upset back at the restaurant. What happened?”

  “It’s none of your business, Vicky.” She hated when I called her that. “Just leave me alone, will you.”

  Both of her arms wrapped around my waist. My heart raced from her touch. Usually, just feeling her body against mine would calm me, but not today. No, today, knowing that my time with her was coming to an end only made me restless. Reaching behind my back to grab her wrists, I pulled her arms open and then stepped out from between them.

  “Go home. I’ve got things to do that don’t concern you. I’ll call you later.” I walked away without turning back, but I could feel her eyes on me as I strode away. With every step, I hated myself more.

  I ignored Victoria’s calls for two days. What was I going to say to her? I’m sorry, but the family doesn’t want me to see you anymore. She’d never fathom the power of the family and doing what was required of you without question. Instead, I chose to push her away. If I continued to reject her calls, she’d get angry and eventually get the message and move on. Only I should have known better. Victoria didn’t know how to hate; she unconditionally offered up her love. It was one of the things that drew me to her. As the week drew to an end, I knew I could no longer avoid seeing her, so when the phone rang that afternoon, and I saw Victoria’s name on the caller ID, I picked up.

  “Hi, babe,” I said hesitantly.

  “Don’t! You do not get to say hello like you haven’t been ignoring me for days and everything is alright. You owe me an explanation. At least have the decency to give me that, and then you can go back to giving me the silent treatment.”

  There it was, the anger I knew she’d feel. But if she thought I’d believe that she’d let me go back to ignoring her after I told her the truth, she was wrong.

  “Look, Victoria, I’ve got a lot going on right now, and I wasn’t intentionally ignoring you.” Liar, the voice in my head screamed at me. “Why don’t we get together tonight, and I’ll explain everything.”

  “Fine.” Her voice was terse. “Mom is working the night shift at Queens General. I’ll order us two calzones from Antonio’s for dinner. Be here at seven, please.”

  “Seven it is. See you then.” Just as I clicked disconnect on my phone, I heard her tiny voice say I Love You.

  I paced back and forth in front of the three-story brick building, unsure of how the night would play out. One thing was for sure—by the time I left, the life I knew with Victoria would soon be a distant memory. Get your shit together before people think you’re casing the place. You’ve been out here long enough. Now, move those feet and get this over with. No matter how much inner coaxing I gave myself, I still found it hard to move. Step by step, I crept my way closer to the front door. Finally, once inside the building, I knocked on door 1E and waited for Victoria to answer. It took a few moments, but then the door swung open, revealing Victoria’s beautiful face. Her shoulder-length brown hair was perfectly styled. The golden flecks in her light brown eyes twinkled with excitement, and her lips glistened with gloss, enticing me to lean in and kiss them. That was my first mistake of the evening.

  We sat on the sofa as we ate our calzones and made small talk. Neither of us wanted to address the elephant in the room—why I was there in the first place. Innocent Victoria had taken our plates to the kitchen, but a sultry Victoria had returned. Everything about her was different. She walked slower, the sway of her hips more pronounced, and when she stopped in front of me, the earlier excitement in her eyes was gone, replaced with a look of determination and desire. When I sat there, just staring into those sensuous pools of brown, she moved closer until her knees brushed mine. Instinctively, I reached out, placing my hands on her hips. Victoria must have assumed I was welcoming her to climb onto my lap because that is what she did. Her body straddled mine. I could feel the heat from her core resting against me, and no matter how hard I tried to fend off my erection, my dick had a mind of its own and grew within my pants, underneath her. Letting me know she felt it too, she began to gyrate her hips, rubbing against my length.

  “Stop it, Victoria.” I pushed at her hips, lifting them off my length and resting her ass on my legs. “This isn’t right.” However, it felt so right, so real, but so wrong.

  “Why? I want it. You want it.” Victoria paused to look deep into my eyes, assuming what she saw wasn’t what she expected, she questioned. “Don’t you?”

  When I didn’t answer, she leaned forward, placing her soft, plump lips against mine. The desire in her kiss stoked a fire inside me. I claimed her mouth with verocity, nipping and biting at her lips as I took what I wanted. My tongue darted through her open lips and into her mouth, twisting and turning together with hers. The kiss grew more fierce and demanding. I was taking what was mine, throwing caution to the wind.

  Victoria moaned into my mouth, and I responded with a growl. I stood, and her legs wrapped around my waist. Seconds passed, and then I turned, lowering her onto her back on the sofa. I climbed on top of her, allowing the total weight of my body to consume hers. Her hips rose underneath me as her hands slid under my T-shirt. Pulling and tugging, Victoria removed the cotton from my body and dropped it on the floor. I’d never wanted to feel her skin against mine more than I did right now.

  We’d only recently gotten to the point where our make-out sessions entailed skin-to-skin touching. I’d rounded all three bases in the past but never slid into home. She wasn’t the kind of girl who gave it up for just anyone. No, she’d been saving herself, and I respected that. There were many cold showers in my past. I’d entered into an intimate affair with my palm and five fingers, but that was the extent. I was willing to wait for as long as she needed me to because up until this week, Victoria was my future.

  I rose, leaning back on my heels as her body lay between my legs. My hands collided with her hips as I pushed at her shirt, slowly moving it up her body, and I bent and kissed her belly. Her torso twitched beneath my lips, and there was a hitch in her breathing.

  “You like the feel of my tongue on your skin, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” Her answer was barely audible.

  I continued to kiss and lick up her body, stopping when I reached the remaining fabric of her shirt. As I pushed further, Victoria rose, allowing me to pull the pink fabric from her body before she reclined back onto the sofa. Her breasts weren’t huge; instead, they were little firm mounds resting on her rib cage, probably no more than a B-cup but just enough for me to fit in my mouth. My tongue danced with her nipple, teasing it into a hard point standing at attention and waiting for my teeth to tug on it.

  I felt a sting against my back as her nails ran down it
—my need for her was growing out of control. Her tiny hands reached between us, tugging at the button on my jeans and lowering the zipper. Everything inside me said stop, but I wasn’t listening. When her finger grazed the head of my cock, I almost came undone.

  I was no longer thinking; my body was on autopilot. Standing, I lowered my pants and boxers, freeing the beast that was captive inside them. My eyes grew wider as Victoria wiggled out of her pants, but when she tossed her thong up at me, I lost it. My need to consume every part of her took over. Lowering myself onto her, I rested my cock nicely against her core. My hands held her face as I devoured her mouth once again. I felt her wetness as I dragged my member between her folds and over her clit. She mewled in response.

  “Gabriel.” Her voice was soft and breathless.

  “Yes, my love,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Take me. I want this. Please,” she begged.

  Reaching into my jeans, I pulled a condom from my wallet and slid it over my engorged shaft. My hand found her center, and I slid two fingers in. She was tight, tighter than I expected, and I knew she’d struggle with my size. Once her juices drenched my fingers, I slid the tip into her opening. Victoria drew in a hurried breath, forcing me to stop.

  “Does it hurt too much? I’ll stop, just say the word.”

  Her eyes met mine. “It hurts no more than I expected. Please don’t stop.”

  With that, I continued, nipping at her tight points as I slid deeper. When I hit the barrier that separated her from being a girl to becoming a woman, I let my fingers tease her clit and distract her as I pushed further.