CHAPTER 10.
"I couldn't have spent that much time with her and not fuck her. She's sexy and has the body of an angel. I'd be crazy to let her go without having a good taste of her." Don Carianno announced with much pride and satisfaction.
It was an agonizing one minute for Ghost. Clenching his fist tighter and gritting his teeth was the most modest way he could show his tsunami of fury.
He couldn't understand why he was damned furious about Don Carianno doing what he did. It wasn't his first. Won't be his last. The grey-haired, burly geezer was a sucker for younger girls. He has always been. And on some occasions, Ghost usually ships down young, sexy girls to him in exchange for whatever he wants. It was a drill.
Feeling pissed off right now was rather unreasonable and his heart had to understand that. It had to understand that Ciara wasn't his cup of tea. She was nothing but one of his accomplished missions.
Don Carianno noticed the grimace on his face.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Ghost forced a smile, reaching for a cigarette in his breast pocket. "Light?"
Don Carianno lit it up for him and tossed the lighter on the table. "Tell me something, Ghost. Is there a reason you're interested in Ciara Macdonald?"
"What?" Ghost was caught off guard by the question and almost gulped down the smoke. "I'm not –"
"You want her?" Don Carianno cut him off. "Just say the word. You can have her for the night before we decide whether to blow her brains out or sell her off."
Another jab at Ghost who fell miserably quiet. Don Cariannno's words twirled in his head. Something about doing all those horrible stuff to Ciara churned his insides. It was ridiculously frustrating. The first time he felt bad about being cruel. And all for a girl he met just a few hours ago.
"Did she say anything about Vlad's location?" Ghost asked, hoping to treat this more professionally. He's never been the man to mix business with emotions. And he shouldn't start now.
"No. She insists on not knowing anything about it."
"Do you think she's lying?" Ghost stared at him intently.
Don Carianno scoffed. "Of course, she is. That's why I left her with Sergio. He knows just how to make her spill."
Ghost was gonna sip from his drink but froze at the words. Slowly, he put the glass down and glanced up at Don Carianno.
"She's with Viper?" His tone was low and cold.
"Yeah. I asked for him on my way out." Don Carianno chirped. "You hate doing the dirty, little jobs. That's why I got Sergio to do it. Got a problem?"
It wasn't about the jobs or whatnot. It was the feeling of possessiveness that was squirting fire inside of him. It was the crazy urge to scoop her into his arms and whisk her away from this mess. It was the pull. It was every goddamn thing he couldn't understand!
"No." He blurted out instead, rubbing his face. "I just need to ask her a few things. If you don't mind."
"Well, you can take over from Sergio. That's not a problem."
Don Carianno barely finished his words when Ghost got to his feet and stormed out of the room. He took the elevator and when he got to the first floor, Camillia was waiting.
"Ghost–"
"Get out." He lashed out at her, pushing her aside and literally running out of the building.
Camilla blocked his way to the car, forcing him to halt.
"Move!"
"You can't always brush me aside. I'm your woman, for Pete's sake!" She cried out.
"I don't care what you think you are. Just get the fuck out of my way." He would have wondered how she knew he was here. But Camilla was as part of the Mafia as he was. She could have asked the men. Or her son-of-a-gun Father.
"I just need to talk to you!" She yelled out. "Let's go to your apartment–"
"Don't even think of it."
"I'm your woman. Why do you treat me worse than your flings? Why won't you let me visit your apartment?!"
Ghost was losing his cool over her tantrum. Camilla has never had perfect timing with him since the Mafia paired them up. She always had this thing of accosting him at the wrong time, like right now. Making him wanna snap her neck.
Frustrated, he grabbed her arm and dragged her to her car. The driver opened the door and he tossed her inside, slamming the door shut.
"Take her home!" Ghost ordered the driver and raced for his car.
He got into it and headed for the hideout. He screeched through traffic lights and routes like a lunatic. When his headlights shone on the building, he felt an intense adrenaline rush.
He alighted his car and hurried into the building. It was a concrete cottage in the middle of the woods. Each room had a purpose. For drugs, storing weapons – nuclear weapons, blades, guns, explosives–, for keeping the girls they sell. The list could go on and on.
But he knew just the room he was looking for and he hurried to it. His pace slowed at her piercing cry, wafting from the door.
"Son of a bitch!" Ghost gritted furiously, kicking the door open and barging in.
He froze at the strong scent of rose and honey that hit him. It was coming from her, Ciara Macdonald. There was no logical way she could smell that good, not in the sorry state she was in right now.
He took a minute to take in the sight in front of him. The lights were out. There was just a tiny bulb above her. She was tied up naked and her skin bled. Her face was bashed up pretty bad that he could barely recognize her. It was the first time he was seeing her without the mask, and she was an awful sight.
Sergio was holding a hot iron and was aiming it at the side of her face. But had to pause at Ghost's intrusion.
Ghost did a mental count of the men inside. There were five of them, Sergio being the sixth. He couldn't let them off without a warning. He was too infuriated to be rational at the moment.
He reached for a chain lying on the corner. With a swing, he flung it and it struck three men on their faces at a go.
He kicked the other two hard on their chest, knocking them to the ground. It was just him and Sergio now.
"Have you gone crazy?!" Sergio rasped, coming at him with the iron. He aimed it at his shoulder, but Ghost ducked, caught his wrist, and knocked the iron off.
Ghost kneed his stomach several times and then hurled him over a table. He crashed to the ground with a grunt.
"Get the fuck out of here, all of you!" Ghost fired. The men scurried away but Sergio lingered.
"I don't know what shit you smoking but you've gone insane!" Sergio yelled.
"You had no right to touch her, bastard." Ghost fumed, pointing the rod at him. "I brought her in. She's mine!"