Vegas Pete - A Mafia Romance (Completed)

Macau Tay - Chapter 6: Part 2

"Don't try to talk me out of it. I'd feel guilty if I didn't help you and you got caught," he said firmly. "And I will feel guilty if you get in trouble for helping me." "I'm helping you. End of story." "How can I ever make it up to you?" "Just be happy, Tay. Live the life you want, that's all I want." That was to typically Pete. If anyone deserved a life outside of this fucked up world, it would be him. I pressed my lips together, fighting tears. "Shit." Pete smiled. "Come on. We need to figure out when and how to get you away." "I suppose it's a bit too late to give it a try during this visit?" I forced a smile, wanting to get rid of the heavy feeling in my chest. "Yeah. But you'll definitely have to run when you are in Bangkok. You'll never escape from Father's men." Sadly, he was right. Father didn't let me out of sight for a second. He didn't trust me. The only thing missing from my prison were leg irons. "But Nop is always around." Pete and I both glanced toward the living room where Lily was laughing at something Nop must have said. She looked so happy. "I think we can get him off our back," Pete said. "Next time Lily won't be around to distract him. I don't want her to know about this." Pete nodded. "I'll figure something out. I tricked him once before. I can do it again. Vegas trusts me. Nop doesn't follow me as much as he did in the beginning." Guilt twisted my insides again but I ignored it. "I have to get a passport so I can leave the country. I'll never be safe here." "You should go to Europe." 

"I've always wanted to visit Sicily," I joked. Pete cracked up. "Yeah, that sounds like a fool proof plan." "I need money. Maybe I can find out where Father keeps his stack of cash." "No, he'd notice. We'll have to take Vegas's money. If we wait until the last minute before we take it, he won't notice until it's too late." "Are you sure?" I asked. Pete nodded but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. "Maybe we can get money from somewhere else. I could ask one of the credit sharks for a loan. It's not like I'll be around for them to get it back," I said quickly. Pete shook his head at once. "All the credit sharks either belong to the Familia or to the Bratva. That would be the quickest way to get caught." "I know I can't ask the Familia, but what about the Russian credit sharks? I don't have to announce to them who I am. I could pretend I was some random person with financial troubles." Pete seemed to consider that but then he shook his head. "It's too risky. Those guys are dangerous." Memories I'd tried to bury resurfaced like a tidal wave. I'd been terrified when the Russians had attacked the mansion. I'd been sure we'd die a horrible death, sure we'd be raped and tortured. I really didn't want anything to do with the Bratva ever again but Pete didn't need to know how much the images of that day still bothered me. Most of the time I managed to lock them away, and once I was in Europe, away from the world, they'd hopefully disappear for good. "Pete, you are married to the man all those dangerous guys are scared of." "And you are engaged to the man who cuts those dangerous guys up," he said. "But the Russians are worse than our men. They don't have any honor." I wasn't sure if that was possible, but I wasn't in the mood for that argument. "Okay, so no loan sharks, but what about a forged passport? I'll have to get that from somewhere. Is there anyone we could bribe?" 

Another gust of wind tore at us, raising goose-bumps all over my body. Pete moved closer to me until we huddled together. "No one will go against Vegas." "Except for us," I said with a snort. "Tell me this isn't crazy." "It's crazy, but we'll figure something out." He paused, scrutinizing me. I raised my eyebrows. "What?" He smiled. "I have an idea. You know how people always say we look alike?" "Not if you look closely. I'm a couple of inches taller than you." "Vegas has a few forged passports with different names in the same place where he stashes the money, if we ever need to leave the country fast. You could use one of them." "Vegas will be able to track them." "Yes, but you'll already have landed in Europe by then. You can throw away the passport once you're there and travel around without a passport until you figure out a way to get a new one." Hope kindled in my body. "That could actually work." "It will." We stared at each other. "So I'm really running away," I whispered. "Yes," Pete said quietly. "When?" "Next time you visit, so we have time to really think every detail of our plan through." I couldn't believe I was really going to do this, but now I wouldn't back out, even if part of me wondered if this was really what I wanted.

***

I was allowed to visit Pete again in May; pretending that I had finally come to terms with my marriage to Macau had made my father more lenient with me. Lying had once been hard for me but I was getting better at it. I hugged Lily and Fabi before I left Chiang Mai, knowing it might very well be the last time I saw them, but I didn't allow myself to linger on that thought. It would make things only more difficult. If I started to cry, someone might get suspicious. When I arrived in Bangkok, Pete picked me up from the airport with a new bodyguard. There was something bittersweet about our reunion. The new guy gave me a quick nod after Pete and I had pulled apart. "Who is he?" I whispered. "That's Sandro. He's one of Macau's men." So Macau had already chosen a bodyguard for me, for a future life as his husband, someone who would cage me in whenever Macau wasn't around to do it. Once we were in the penthouse, my new bodyguard retreated to the kitchen under the pretense of giving us privacy. As if there was ever such a thing under his constant surveillance. Pete and I lingered near the sofa, out of earshot. "Does Vegas still have Nop guard you all day?" Pete shrugged. "I don't mind having Nop around, especially when Vegas is busy. Sandro has taken Ken's place mostly, but he's never watched me before. " "You need to ask Vegas to let you go to college or do something else before you go crazy over here. I want you to be happy too, Pete. I want to know that you'll be okay once I'm gone." "Don't worry. And the last few weeks I've been pretty busy planning your escape," Pete said with a teasing smile but there was a hint of wistfulness in his voice. We both glanced at Sandro who was making coffee. 

"Why is that Sandro guy really here?" "Because of you." "Because I'm the troublemaker?" "No," Pete said with a laugh. "Because Macau wants you to get to know the guy who'll be your bodyguard once you move to Bangkok." "Oh great, how thoughtful of him." Again a decision about my life that no one had bothered to discuss with me. With a nod toward Sandro, I asked, "How are we going to get rid of him?" "I have a plan." Pete opened his bag and pointed at a small syringe. At my confused look, he explained, "I remembered how you'd told me that Vegas found the tranquilizer he used on Lily in a drawer in the basement. Last time I was in the mansion, I sneaked down there and took what we needed." My eyes widened. "You are a genius, Pete." "Not really." Our eyes darted toward our bodyguard once more. He was busy with his phone. "How are we going to inject him the tranquilizer?" I asked. "He's tall and strong, and probably a skilled fighter." Pete bit his lip. "We have to distract him. Maybe I can talk to him and you ram the needle into his thigh?" "What if I break the needle by accident or if he smashes it?" "I have a second syringe, but that's it, so we should try to get it right the first time." Pete could be so badass if he tried. "Are you sure the dosage is right?" "I don't want him to get hurt so I reduced the dosage they listed on the packaging." "Okay. It still should be enough to knock him out for a while, right?" Pete nodded. "We should probably tie him up. I found duct tape in the gun cupboard." He knew where his husband kept his guns? "Vegas must really trust you." Pete didn't say anything and I felt bad for bringing him up. Did I have to remind him how he was risking his marriage for me? 

"Come on," he said after a moment. "Let's do this. Macau and Vegas will be back in a few hours. We should be gone by then." After another look toward Sandro who was still reading something on his phone, he quickly handed me the syringe. I hid it behind my back as we strolled toward Sandro who finally looked up from his phone and set it down on the counter. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked with a nod toward his own cup. He was polite and his brown eyes were friendly. He didn't look very threatening, but I didn't let that fool me. Pete leaned next to him against the counter and pressed a palm to her stomach. Sandro frowned. "Are you okay?" "I'm not feeling so good," he said, then her legs buckled. It was a bit over the top if you asked me, but Sandro must have acted without thinking because he reached for him. My chance. My arm shot out and I rammed the syringe into the back of his thigh and injected the tranquilizer. Sandro hissed, let go of Pete and lashed out instinctively. He caught my arm and I was thrown against the kitchen island, my back colliding painfully. I swallowed a cry. "What the fuck?" he gasped, eyes furious as they darted between Pete and me. He reached for his phone but Pete shoved it away. It flew off the counter, crashed to the ground and skidded over the marble. Sandro staggered toward it, his movement already less coordinated than usual. I quickly rushed toward the phone and kicked it away.

A/N: When Pete and Tay are together, they are definitely badass.