Chapter 33TaraIt had been hours since Damon took off to find Gio leaving me trapped alone in the strange windowless room. I had checked everywhere for a way out but there wasn’t any, outside of the large steel bolted door he used to leave. I could not shake the continuous fear that I was going to die here it paralyzed me with fear to think that this was how I died. After everything had been through everything, I fought for this was the end for me. But why upset me was the fact that I would never see my friends or family ever again. Never get to joke and laugh with Evet and AJ again never get to see Lourdes again.Worst of all I would never get to hold my baby girl, and neither would Gio. I was so pissed at him for being suspicious of Damon, for doubting me How could I have been so stupid. Gio had warned me about him he had tried to keep me away from him and he was right. To think I wasted all this time fighting him on this when all he was trying to do was protect me, I even blamed
EpilogueFour Months LaterTara shifts in her sleep kicking and screaming fighting off, what I can only imagine is the nightmare of my cousin and Uncle. It makes my heart sink watching her struggle with the invisible attackers desperately. Frankie told me what she said about her being drugged and too afraid to eat or sleep for two days because she was scared. The look on my brother’s face when he told me about her requesting a rape kit because she was terrified, he had taken advantage of her. While he recounted her story of the first day alone with him to me. It was enough to make me want to dig their asses back up and torture the bastards all over again. It had been four months since we found her in the tunnels half-naked and covered in dirt, her feet bloody and bruised from her running barefoot in those tunnels alone. She was a survivor, my girl, she hadn’t given up once. Not even when she was staring down the barrel of my uncle’s thirty-eight.When I heard the shot ring out in th
Chapter 1TaraI never thought of myself as the type of girl that was amazingly attractive not conventionally that is. I guess you could say I was the type of girl who didn’t care to be. I mean, why would I want to be.?My mother, on the other hand, said that beauty was pain all my life as she combed, braided, hot combed, flat ironed, and permed my hair to perfection. At least it was her idea of perfection anyway. It was one of the few memories I had left of her before she passed from severe liver cancer. She would always say. ‘Baby girl you are beautiful a young black queen in the making and the world is your kingdom to rule as you see fit. But a queen cannot possess just a heart of gold, the courage of a warrior, or tranquility of the ocean alone. She must also look the part to command the respect she deserves so that she may heal and nurture her kingdom.’Back then I always thought of it as my mother’s way of trying to trick dressing up and being more ladylike to fit the perfect l
Chapter 2Gio“Gio, over here over here!” I hear camera flashes in the background as crowds of people behind red velvet rope vi for my attention like hungry vultures swooping down on their poor unsuspecting weary prey crawling desperately away from their inevitable doom. Waiting to swoop down and tear them to shreds. Given the chance, he was sure that would be exactly what they would do. These damn paparazzi were always like this especially when he or any one of the Berlusconi family was concerned.Especially now that we were a very deeply rooted Mafia family worth billions and untouchable in the greater Chicago area. Sure, the family wasn’t exactly out there making Godfather moves anymore but it also wasn’t too far off from how we ran things just more quietly and corporately instead. Multi-million-dollar conglomerates malls, shopping centers, groceries, strip clubs, bars, clothing store chains you name it the Berlusconi family had a hand
“I’m sorry about James and Stella bugging you back there. Sometimes they can be a bit…” she says interrupting my thoughts then goes silent searching for the words.“Eccentric, I know but they seem pretty harmless, and Stella seems to know how to reign her husband in.” I offer desperate to hear her sweet sing-song tone again.“Eccentric is way too kind of a word. They can be downright crazy if you let them, and they’re not married although I have no idea why they're perfect for each other” she jokes.I laugh at her response. “I couldn’t tell by the way she set him in place,” I say observing the dimples on her cheeks as she smiles. “Beautiful women tend to have that effect on their husbands.” She laughs at my response and it’s my new favorite sound.“You sound like my best friend Evet she’s gonna be pissed when she finds out about me dancing with you.”“Why is she a fan of my companies?”“No! more like a fan of your body, she’s tall, curvy with glistening dark skin.
“Isn’t that what monsters like you do kill innocent people who get in your way?”“I am sorry for your loss Tara I really am and contrary to what you think I liked the old man. As for the men I killed the reason their dead now is because they were kidnapping and trafficking foster kids. I’m sure as someone who dedicates your life to protecting them you can understand why that shit couldn’t fly.”“You’re such a fucking liar, you’re just a damn monster who doesn’t care who he hurts. Why should I believe you after you spent the past three months hunting me down like a fucking dog?”“I wouldn’t have needed to hunt you down if you would have just accepted my request to join me for dinner. But I never killed your friends if your sure someone might have hurt them, I’ll hunt them down and drag them back myself I promise you that Tara.” He says looking at me with an intensity that was beyond my expectation.“So, you really didn’t do anything to Stella’s car to make them crash?” “Of course, not s
Chapter 4GioMy blood is boiling right now how the Fuck did Tara find out about these tunnels? They were closed off to the public for years where had she found out about them. Worst yet was she had just witnessed me killing three fucking men in front of my family. No one made it in or out of these tunnels unless they were a part of the family. Anyone else was nothing more than a body under the rubble in the tunnels. Had this been how she was escaping me using old passageways out of the city from her office to keep me from finding her.I was beyond mad I was boiling, raging, scorching hot fury. She was using the tunnels to avoid me. These tunnels had been abandoned since the fifties no one was allowed near the site because they were so damn dangerous. These tunnels were practically caving in when the family first started com
Chapter 5TaraNo way was this happening did he say fiancé shit ...fuck...shit…fuck... Why me? I can't be this fucking unlucky. What the Fuck is my life right now I got to get out of here get far away maybe Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana. I always thought it would be a beautiful lifetime dream come true to return to the motherland someday maybe now I'll know the truth of my heritage since it looks like I’ll have to flee the country soon. As I announce my exit and try to slowly creep away. I hear Gio’s call out. "No, baby it's cool we’re almost done here. How about you come to take a rest on the bus and you can ride back with me to our place." I grip the handles of my vespa as I scream internally. What!? Why would I do that? Then I hear "Baby don't worry about the bike my cousins will help you."As a swarm o