Revenge | A Steamy Mafia Bad Boy Romance (7 page)

Chapter 15

  Andrei smirks at the squirming man as he walks over to the old wooden workbench, rubbing his fingers over it before picking up a long, thin brass pipe.

  He spins it around in his hand, gazing over the smooth surface before hitting it in his hand as he walks back over to Brent.

  He stands in front of him, lifting the pipe up and resting it on the bound man’s shoulder before slowly tapping it up and down.

“What would a man like you be willing to pay to keep his good name?” He asks, lifting the pipe back up to rest on his own shoulder as he walks around Brent’s chair.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t go straight to the police as soon as you let me go?” Brent asks, his voice shaking as Andrei stops in front of him.

“What makes you think I’m going to ever let you go?” Andrei asks, smirking at him. “In my own version of justice, you would never, ever, ever be seen again.”

“If you kill me…” The man hesitates. “If you kill me there is no way I can tell you where they money is…”

“No.” Andrei says, shrugging his shoulders. “But I really don’t like you, so I might just call it even.” He says, raising the pipe above his head as he begins to swing.

“Stop!” Jennifer cries, grabbing the pipe out the air and pulling it out of Andrei’s hand. “Stop.”

  She turns to Brent, tears welling in her eyes as she leans down to his level.

“Please…” She starts. “You owe it to my father, you owe it to him. We won’t interfere with your campaign. We won’t say anything about what you did. You can go on living your life as normal, please! No one will bother you again…. My dad… my dad can’t, you fucked that up for him, but you can make it better… I know that deep down you know it’s what you want to do. Please.”

  Brent closes his eyes as his chest raises up and down with every breath he takes.

“How much?” He asks, looking into Jennifer’s eyes.

“I….” She hesitates, her mind racing. “One hundred thousand dollars. One hundred thousand dollars and we will let you go.”

“A hundred grand?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“That’s nothing to you!” Jennifer says, standing up and stepping backwards. “That’s nothing! My dad may never be able to work again because of you!”

“That pathetic old man probably hasn’t even made a hundred grand in his entire life and you want me to pay for his retirement?” Brent spits at her.

  Jennifer shakes as she looks down on him, before screaming, lifting the pipe into the air and connecting it hard across his knees.

“He’s worked harder than you would ever know!” She screams as she hits him again and again, his bones crunching after each of her strikes.

Chapter 16

“Jennifer?” Andrei asks, flicking on the light of the dark bathroom before walking up and down the stalls. “Jennifer are you alright?”

  He pauses as he hears her sob out, before pushing open the stall door.

“I don’t know what I’m doing?” She cries, wiping her mouth. “I didn’t mean to do that! Maybe I really am a monster…”

“Jennifer…” He whispers as he kneels down beside her, wrapping his arms around her as he pulls her close to his chest. “You’re not a monster…”

“Yes, yes I am!” She sobs as she holds onto him. “I’ve never done anything like this in my life!”

“Yeah, you probably haven’t.” Andrei says, burying his nose into her hair. “You know what I see?” He asks. “I see someone who’s finally standing up for herself. You’ve never done that before either, have you?”

  She nods, wiping away her tears as he stands up before reaching out to help her off the bathroom floor.

  She grips his hand, getting to her feet before sighing out and straightening her shoulders.

“Are you good?” He asks, resting his hand against the small of her back.

“Yes.” She whispers, smiling softly at him as she nods her head.

  They walk back into the shower room, Jennifer tuning out the sounds of Brent’s sobs as she walks up to him, standing tall before him as she rests her hands on her hips.

“Listen. I’m not playing games anymore.” She says, her voice hoarse. “This is your very last chance. Either you promise to pay up… or you’re dead.”

“Hey!” Brent shouts. “Fuck you, lady!”

  She steps backwards, wiping a tear away from her cheek before looking over at Andrei and nodding her head.

  Jennifer watches for as long as she can as Andrei swings the brass pipe over his head. She squeezes her eyes shut on the downward swing, turning around and walking away, her stomach dropping as she hears the crack of metal connecting with skull.

  She leans against the tiled wall, wrapping her arms around herself as she hears thud after thud before finally, after what feels like an eternity, she hears the clanking sound of the brass pipe as it hits the floor.

  She opens her eyes, avoiding the scene as she hears Andrei cough before the hiss of the old facets begins as he washes himself up.

“Jennifer.” He says, wiping his soaking wet hands on a dirty brown towel. “I’m sorry.”

  She shakes her head, glancing over at Brent’s crushed face before looking back into Andrei’s dark eyes.

“We have to go.” She says, grabbing his hand.

“Do you want my room key?” He asks, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket for his wallet.

“No.” She whispers. “We have to go back. I’m not going home without something.”

  Andrei smiles at Jennifer darkly, the corner of his mouth curling up as he bites his bottom lip.

“Hey!” He calls to the two men, pulling them back to reality as they play with their phones. “Do something with this motherfucker, will ya?” He says, motioning towards the mayor’s dead son. “We’re not done yet.”

Chapter 17

“No matter what you do, just be quiet.” Andrei says as he slowly pulls the black van up beside a hedge as he parks in the back alley behind Brent Donaldson’s house. “If no one’s noticed yet, let’s not give them a reason to notice now.”

“Of course.” Jennifer whispers, nodding her head quickly up and down as she grips the handle to the passenger side door with her shaking hand before swinging it open.

  She jumps out of the van, gently pressing the door closed as she follows closely behind Andrei as he runs to the back gate.

“I fucking hate tall gates like this…” He says, reaching up over the gate as he pats around for the latch before he unlocks it, pushing the gate forward and granting them access to the yard.

“Only benefit of a private back yard?” Andrei says, as they walk up to the open back door, stepping over the glass as shards of it crunch under their feet. “None of your neighbours can tell when I’m robbing you.”

“Where do we start?” Jennifer asks, looking back towards the back gate quickly as they step into the house. “Where do people keep their best stuff.”

“Two places.” Andrei whispers. “Bedroom. Basement.”

“What about this?” She asks, rushing over to a painting and running her fingers over the canvas. “This has got to be worth money.”

“No, no.” He says, grabbing her hand. “Stolen art is not my business. It’s too easy to track. If we try and sell it, they catch us.”

  She nods, looking around as adrenaline rushes throughout her, making her sweat.

  Jennifer follows him up the stairs, stopping behind him as he gently pushes doors open, first an office then a bathroom before he stops, smiling and nodding his head in front of the last door on the left.

“Here we go.” He says, grabbing Jennifer’s hand and pulling her inside.

  She tries to hide a smile as she walks into Brent Donaldson’s bedroom before walking over to his bed and sitting down on it, rubbing the palms of her hands over his satin sheets.

“You start in the bedside tables and I’ll look in the dresser drawers.” He says, walking over to the dresser by the curtained window.

“Okay.” She nods, getting up from the bed and walking over to the table closest to her before pulling open the drawer.

“Oh, look at this!” She whispers to herself as she pulls out a wallet, fingering through the slots before finding an old twenty. “Not exactly gunna pay the bills, though.”

“Jen.” Andrei calls over to her, waving her over.

  She gets up, walking over to him by the dresser, smiling nervously as he twirls his finger for her to spin around.

“For you.” He says, draping a sparkling diamond pendant over her chest as he wraps the gold chain around her neck, securing the clasp in the back.

  She giggles, walking up to the dresser as she picks through the gold jewelry.

“I honestly think I want to take this stuff.” She whispers brightly as Andrei leans against the dresser, watching her.

“Sure, take all you want.” He says, smirking. “Just don’t try and pawn it.”

  “Are you kidding?” She says, holding her hand out as she stares at the diamond ring on her finger. “I would never get rid of these pretties.”

“Hey,” He whispers, walking over to the closet. “Maybe there’s something in here…”

  He slides open the slotted closet door before getting to his knees and digging in a pile of towels on the floor.

“Fucking bingo.” He says, waving her over. “Always check for a safe in the back of the closet, what did I fuckin’ tell you!”

“How do we open a safe?” She asks, running over before watching Andrei place his hand on the handle.

“Oh, my God!” He gasps, shaking his head as he easily pulls open the door. “Dude couldn’t invest in a real fucking safe?”

  She gulps, her heart fluttering and her stomach turning as Andrei reaches in.

“Look who’s getting paid.” Andrei says, smirking as he hands her a stack of wrapped bills.

  She stares at the pile of cash in her hands as Andrei hands her another.

“What you want to bet this piece of shit was evading taxes?” Andrei asks, sucking on his teeth as he shakes his head while pulling out stack after stack of bills.

  Jennifer chuckles, wiping her tears with the back of her hand as Andrei hands her more and more.

“Do you pay a lot of taxes, Andrei.” She jokes as she reaches into the closet to grab a pillow case before beginning to stuff the money inside.

“Jennifer.” He says, turning back to look at her before helping her pile the stacks into the pillow case, too. “I’m not the one pretending like I do. What the hell, don’t make this about me!”

  Her feet float as her and Andrei rush down the stairs and out of the back door before they hurry across the yard.

  Jennifer pulls open the side door of the van, tossing the money in the backseat before getting into the passenger side.

“Hold on. Just one last thing.” Andrei says, walking around to the back of the van before opening up the tailgate door.

  Jennifer watches, slowly stepping out from the passenger’s seat as she sees him pull the spare can of gas out from the back of the van.

“Come with me.” He says, walking past her as he walks back into the yard.

“What are you doing with that, Andrei?” She asks, following him into the backyard. “We gotta go.”

  She watches as he rushes into the house before he begins pouring the gasoline on the floors, trailing it back outside.

“Are we actually going to…” She asks, her voice trailing off as she watches him throw the empty gas can against the broken backdoor before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a book of matches.

  He pulls the match against the grain on the back, sparking it lit, before handing her the flame.

“Jennifer.” He says, pointing towards the house. “The honor’s all yours.”

  She hesitates, her chest heaving as she looks to Andrei, his dark eyes comforting her before she tosses the match onto the trail of gas.

  The world stops around her as she watches the gasoline light up like dominos as the dancing fire engulfs the house.

“Come on.” Andrei says, wrapping his hand around hers as he pulls her from her stupor. “Time to go.”

  She nods, looking back as she hears a window crack as they step out of the back gate.