MAFIA POSSESSION ( Completed)

Living life

THE MEN AND WOMEN of the higher social classes chatted away enjoying expensive Champaign. Most of the people my brother was hosting were of the highest elite and social classes. The jewelry found around the necks of the women in attendance probably summed up enough to feed all the starving children in a 3rd world country.

“Who knew this would be so much fun?” My words were entirely sarcastic as my tongue savored the taste of a sweet and ripened strawberry. It seemed my parents had been right about one thing— sending me to Armando stirred my appetite. I had eaten two servings of soup earlier in the day and now suddenly the possibility of consuming an entire bowl of fruit was quite inspiring. Though it probably had more to do with the fact that Sophia and I were finally getting along and life wasn’t as miserable as it had been just this morning.

“Nothing like free appetizers,” Sophia chipped in with an annoyed glance towards a particular blonde male with gorgeous green eyes that had been eyeing her since we had come down stairs to join the party. It was painfully obvious how she was off her game. Usually, she would play with the men who ogled her… she’d flirt, have a little bit of fun. Not now though, Sophia was being good today.

I knew why.

She’d gotten the same speech that I had gotten once upon a time. We had to respect our engagements— a true Lady does not put herself in a position that elicits rumors that question her virtue. Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah. It was basically the same speech: ‘we cannot afford to offend the Russians.’ Except, insert Romero if you’re talking to me.

We were both just so exhausted. Living the motions as though we were in a prison with bars made of the most indestructible metal known to all comic readers around the world: adamantium. That’s what the mob was. They were fucking adamantium. The life had obviously fucked up my father in so many ways that he was even willing to risk people who he loved and loved him back.

The Mob was indestructible— unless you had a legion of Soldiers and Made-Men willing to kill for you there was no way you’d destroy adamantium. They had people in the FBI and CIA. People in Wall Street. People in the fucking Media. People in Politics— Boy was our government fucked up.  They had people in the Services. They had all the big shots bought and paid for.

We were everywhere. We. Because I was a part of this all-consuming Mob. My legacy was more than just my name, it was a fucking crime-empire built by my father and his father before him…and his father before him. Sophia and I shared the same fucking nightmare. How poetic were we?

“I have to pee, come with?”  Sophia interrupted my thoughts, putting down her glass and looking at me expectantly.

“Why not?” I said, welcoming the distraction from my melodramatics. “Want me to hold your hand on the way?”

She rolled her beautiful hazel eyes at me.  “I just don’t want that guy to try and talk to me, is all.” She said quietly. “He looks like he’s working up the nerve.”

One quick look in the guy’s direction confirmed he was just waiting for an opening.  “Lead the way,” I said with a smirk and followed her to the ladies room.

CULTURE RESTORS wasn’t a new building, but the inside could have fooled anyone. When my brother made the purchase it had immediately undergone renovations. My brother was doing everything possible to make it the hottest place in town for people to stay while they were in town.
Anthony would not be in the dark about this for long. Especially if it became the new hot spot like many of the other hotels my family owned. Not only would the hotel be on display for the world, but the family who owned it would be too. What would Anthony do when he found out we were working a business in his city?

“Wish we could get the fuck out of here Sophie, go out and have some actual fun.” I mused, taking a seat next to the sink as my cousin took care of her business in a stall. “For once think about ourselves and act our fucking age. Fuck Viktor.”
"Yeah, last time you had that thought you got the lashing of your life.” Sophia said in amusement. Ten lashes by my father’s favorite belt, to be exact. It hurt like a motherfucker. I winced just remembering the red gashes that he’d left on my thighs. That definitely wasn’t something I wanted to repeat anytime soon.

“Yeah, thanks for that reminder.”

The toilet from a far-end-stall flushed, making me aware to the fact that we weren’t alone as I had first thought. Then, a blonde girl exited that stall and walked slowly, her eyes taking me in, every step bringing her closer until we were next to each other. Slowly, she leaned forward to put soap on her hands, watching me in the mirror the whole time as she scrubbed away the germs. When she shut the water off, making a move for the towels, Sophia came out of the stall.
The girl seemed very aware of both our eyes on her and she turned to give a small smirk. “So, I hear you guys are looking to have some fun tonight?”

My eyebrow rose with curiosity. And that wasn’t a good thing. Curiosity killed the fucking cat. “And you are?” I asked sweetly. The many years of poker face skills I’d acquired by attending these damn parties came to use.

“The name is Josselyn but you can call me Joss.”  Looking at her closely, it was obvious she was one of our guests for the grand opening. Her clothes were impeccable and she was wearing at least a grand on her, not including the gems around her neck. She seemed older than me though, closer to Sophia’s age than mine.

Sophia glanced at me for a moment with a curious look, and then looked back at the blonde carefully. “What did you have in mind?”

Uh-oh. Just like a moth drawn to the flame. I could see it all over her face. Sophia wanted an excuse to get into some trouble.

“I saw you girls earlier. You two seem to be enjoying this party as much as I am.” Her finger reached up to twist a long blond curl around it. “I’m going to The Vault with a friend tonight. He’s waiting outside—there’s room for you two if you care to join.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. How many times had she picked up strangers?

My eyes searched Sophia’s immediately and I inwardly groaned. I knew what her answer was the moment her gaze locked with mine. “What happened to fearing the lashing of a lifetime?” I asked. Because this was a very bad idea.

“My mom doesn’t believe in physical discipline,” Sophia said with smugness.

“How do we know you don’t plan to kidnap us?” I re-directed towards the blonde, ignoring Sophia’s subtle snide towards my father. 

The blonde laughed. Like it was a crack of a joke meant to amuse her. Though, when she realized how serious we both were she cleared her throat “Jesus, you don’t have to come,” she said uneasy, obviously put off by the accusation. She didn’t understand where we came from, who we were, how that question was a very real threat to us because of our family.
Sophia glared at me, giving me a look that said: do something, fix it before she backs out.  She needed this now. Sophia needed this as much as I had needed to go to the pool party with Alex. She hadn’t abandoned me back then, how could I abandon her now?  She needed to feel like she had an ounce of control over her life. I had been there before. Even now, most days, I still walked in those same old rusty shoes.

Reluctantly, I spoke, “Sorry, I meant no offense. It’s just that we come from a strict family.  We have guards on us at all times and we’d have to ditch them first.” I gave her a warm smile, hoping to weaken her sudden defenses. “I hope that won’t be a problem?” My eyebrow arched in question.

“Not like Chello is any smarter than Lucas or Marcello,” Sophia sing-songed, shooting Joss a friendly smile. “Those are the guard-dogs.” She explained at the confused look Joss gave her.

And I saw the moment we were back in the blondes good graces.