The Mafia Contract Series

This is the most surreal experience of my life. Vivian has welcomed me in, a stranger off the street, and claimed me as her son with no hesitation, which makes me wonder if she is telling me the truth. Did she really think I’d died, or did she know all along I was living with the monster under my bed?

Nothing is adding up, which raises my guard. I want to believe this is the stuff dreams are made of, but I’ve led a bitter life of disappointment and good things don’t happen to me. Not ever, so I will proceed with caution and test the water before I dive in.

We head to a huge kitchen where a woman is working away, and she looks up with curiosity as we walk into the room. She stares at me in astonishment and her hand flies to her mouth as she whispers, “Well, I’ll be…” Vivian smiles and says with a slight tremble to her voice, “I have an, um, visitor. Mrs. Hedges, would it be possible to rustle up some lunch? He must be hungry.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Thanks, we’ll be in the blue room. Make enough for three. Mr. Sullivan will be joining us.”

“Consider it done.”

Mrs. Hedges can’t stop staring at me and Vivian whispers, “Even she can see the resemblance;

it’s uncanny.”

“It is.” I can’t stop gazing at my mother and she is the same and then she surprises me by smiling gently and whispering, “I’m glad you’re here, Flynn. We have a lot to talk about.”

I just nod because I’m not used to this. People don’t smile at me. They try not to look at me at all and the only people who ever seem pleased to see me are my friends in Club Mafia. I’ve had women glance at me a different way sometimes, softer, with a deep yearning in their eyes, but this look is nothing like that. It’s one I have yet to process in my mind and I’m struggling to understand how to deal with it.

We head to a room as described, decorated completely in blue and like every room I have seen so far, this one is light filled and chic, yet homey and welcoming. It’s as if I’m in the Twilight Zone and have stepped inside a movie. This world isn’t dark and formed with rough edges. Nothing bad can happen in a place like this and I’m doubtful anything ever has.

We take our seats at the polished mahogany table that is positioned beside a glass wall overlooking the garden.

The sun filters inside the room, touching my face with a warmth that relaxes me a little.

Vivian seems nervous and I can’t blame her for that because I know I cut a menacing figure without even trying. In my defense, it’s been crafted from years of pain and abuse and is the only shield I have in the cruel world I inhabit.

The door opens and I stand respectfully as a man heads inside and smiles with a curiosity I share.

Dimitri Sullivan is larger than life and every bit as commanding as his photograph. In fact, it doesn’t do the man justice because he commands respect with just one glance. His eyes find his wife’s and I see the concern in them and the look she shoots him tells me they are happy, which in turn makes me happy.

He moves across and offers me his hand and says in a deep voice, “Welcome…” “Um, Flynn, sir.”

As he crushes my hand in his powerful grip, I struggle to see any similarities to Massimo, his apparent brother. A vile creature of the most demented kind, and I kind of expected his brother would appear much the same. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find he is nothing like him and relax a little as he regards me through curious eyes.

“So, Flynn, you came here for answers I believe, you must have many questions.”

He gestures to the seat behind me and as we all sit, I nod, swallowing the nerves and decide to get straight to the point. Something tells me he would appreciate that.

“Firstly, please accept my apologies for turning up unannounced. I suppose I thought you wouldn’t agree to see me if I called ahead.”

“Why not?”

Dimitri looks curious, and I shrug. “Forgive me, sir, but when people know where I come from, they do everything possible to avoid me.”

Vivian shakes her head sadly and surprises me by saying wistfully, “Flynn, we all have a past and I’m not that proud of my own. It’s what you do with the future that counts now.”

Dimitri takes her hand and kisses it gently and just that one sweet gesture disarms me in an instant.

“Don’t be ashamed of your beginnings, Flynn. Do you think it was easy for any of us? When I came to Seattle, I was running from a life I couldn’t wait to get away from. Vivian was much the same and there will be no judging anyone here. So, tell us what you know.”

“I’m sorry, sir, it’s virtually nothing. I was raised by my uncle. At least that’s the name I call him.

I’m not even sure if we’re related by blood at all. I hope not, anyway.”

Vivian looks concerned. “What’s his name?”

“Wesley V asquez.” Just the name causes the blood to drain from her face and Dimitri looks as if I just killed his cat.

“Does he know you’re here?” Dimitri says with a sudden urgency, and I shake my head. “No. I thought it for the best.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

The relief is almost tangible and Dimitri growls. “I fucking hate that man.”

“You know him?”

I’m surprised at that, and he nods vigorously. “I grew up with the bastard haunting my dreams. He was my brother’s best friend, and they made my life a misery.”

Vivian looks as if she’s about to hurl and I wonder about that as she grips Dimitri’s hand tightly and appears to be having a panic attack.

“Are you ok?” I say with concern, and she nods, trying to smile as Mrs. Hedges enters the room carrying a silver tray laden with food.

Conversation stops as the food is delivered and only when she leaves does Vivian expel the breath she’s holding and say sadly, “I worked for him.”

I say nothing and she smiles ruefully. “My beginnings were hard, Flynn. My family hated the choices I made and cut me out of their lives. I found work in Wesley’s club as a waitress and lived a life I’m not proud of.”

She seems upset about that, and Dimitri places his arm around her shoulder and shakes his head.

“You weren’t to blame for what happened.”

I sense I’m not going to like this conversation, judging by the expression on their faces, and Vivian flashes me a despairing glance that doesn’t make me feel any better.

“You must be curious, Flynn, but can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

I wonder what I can possibly tell her, and she whispers, “Did Wesley ever mention your father?”

I can see the whites of her knuckles as she grips hard on her cutlery and her anxious eyes tell me I’m not going to like what I hear. “He told me he was a punter. That you were a prostitute and never found out who he was. He also told me you sold me to him because you didn’t want me.”

Just saying the words cause my voice to shake and I hate laying it out there as her eyes fill with pain and Dimitri snaps, “Fucking bastard.”

“It’s ok, honey, I’m not surprised.”

Vivian shakes her head and fixes me with a desolate glance that immediately makes me raise my guard.

“I’m sorry, Flynn, but I know who your father is, and it’s not good.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention and the pain in Dimitri’s eyes tells me this is not going to sit well with me. Vivian looks down as if ashamed and whispers, “I was working at the club past closing time. Clearing the glasses and doing what I always did.”

She looks up and smiles. “Contrary to what you were told, I wasn’t a prostitute, just a waitress in a bar trying to earn my rent money. I was only twenty-one and struggling. I had no family, no friends and only a small apartment on the wrong side of town. I say apartment. It was one room in a block that was home to drug users and prostitutes. I had dreams, though. I wanted to make enough money to buy a bus ticket to a better place. Find a good neighborhood where I could settle and make an honest life for myself. I didn’t want much, just to meet someone nice and settle down. Have a family and watch them grow.

She sighs heavily. “That night changed everything. It was when I was finishing up and went to get my coat that someone grabbed me from behind. They placed a hood over my head and tied it tight at the neck. I screamed, but I was punched hard and pulled roughly into a room. I felt my clothes fall away and then I was face down on a bed.”

Her words paint a familiar scene that I have lived with all my life, and I already know what’s coming as she sobs. “I was raped – repeatedly. I’m not even sure how long it went on for. It was brutal, despicable, and rough. I must have blacked out and woke to find my nightmare was still with me. I thought I would lose my life that night and prayed for it. I must have passed out again because when I woke up, I was tied to a bed and my legs shackled to the frame. I was sore, bruised and tasted blood in my mouth and remember how cold I was. I have never been so cold and then the door opened, and your uncle walked in and just laughed.”

“It was him?” My voice is rough and filled with revenge as I watch the helpless tears slide down her face that she brushes angrily away. “Apparently not.”

Dimitri’s face is like thunder as she whispers, “He told me not to say a word about what happened if I wanted to live and that he was sorry and would make things right. I was confused, and he seemed almost gentle as he untied my legs and gave me a sweater to cover my battered body. He appeared upset, and it threw me a little and told me the man who had done this was sick. He wasn’t the kind of man you reported to the cops and lived to make a statement. He would do what he could to compensate me for what happened and would make sure I had a place to live and money to get by.”

“Did he give you a name?” The rage swirls inside me like a cyclone building and she nods sadly.

“He told me it was Massimo Delauren.”

I think my world ends with those two words. The darkness circles me and claws at my soul. It tears me apart and makes a mockery of everything I ever hoped for. Any other name would have been better than that one and the pain in Dimitri’s eyes and the defeat on Vivian’s face makes me so angry I could start a war on my own.

I am devastated.

I am crushed, bitter and defeated because that man’s blood runs in my veins and marks me unclean. The madness in me is that deranged part of him, and the worst thing of all is that my greatest enemy is also my father.

It’s too much to deal with and I’m unsure what to do. I’m used to taking off and dealing with my demons in the only way I can, but I’m in new territory. I am far away from everything familiar and floundering.

It’s too much. I can’t cope and as I dive headfirst into hell, an Angel reaches out and stops me from falling. A cool hand grasps mine and another one grabs my face and directs it to hers. I blink as Vivian looks at me with a hard expression in her eyes and says roughly, “Focus on me, Flynn and know you are better than him. His sin is not yours and you will prove to everyone you are better than he will ever be. Life may knock us down but it’s how we get up that counts. Stand strong, Flynn and make your life count. Be magnificent because our past has no claim on our future. Let us help you.

You are not alone. Not anymore. We’ve got you honey, and you have a future with us.”

The words are ones I have been longing to hear my whole life and yet are the result of ones I never wanted to hear. I made my peace years ago with the fact I would never discover who my father was, and I wish that was still the case. I was created by a monster in a vile act of depravity and violence. I am the result of a traumatic experience and the chaos that swirls in my soul was put there by the biggest monster life created. I am part of that madness. I was grown from immorality, and I don’t deserve to sit among these decent folk who are staring at me with compassion and an emotion I am finding hard to deal with.

The demons circle and destiny changes direction because my mission has been shot down in flames before I even got started. Marriage for power. That was the real reason I came here and there is no way in hell that can ever happen now because it turns out I’m family and the half-blood prince.

What the fuck am I going to do now?