Mafia Runner

Chapter Four

I was reminded again why agreeing to this chase wasn't a good idea. But when I agreed, I didn't know he was part of the fucking mafia. The truth should have been obvious enough when I first met him. The man was perplexing and so hard to understand with his stiff suits and cool demeanor. And that ring... and the attitude toward everyone...

"Afton." Tony tugged harshly on my arm. With his opposite arm, he hailed a taxi cab.

I glanced over Tony's shoulder, watching as the two men quickly approached. Their lips pursed as they blew out smoke from their recently put out cigarettes. Their dark eyes drilled into me, freezing me in place. I realized that this situation wasn't exactly playful, but rather dangerous, and most likely what excited Lucian the most.

If it wasn't for Tony pulling me into a taxi, I don't know if I would have had the sense to move quickly enough.

"Here," Tony breathed, thrusting a one-hundred-dollar bill underneath the taxi driver's nose. "Drive as crazily as you can... anywhere."

The taxi driver's eyes widened comically as he took the bill. Tony leaned his back against the cab's window and did something I would never consider doing. He dropped his pants, mooning the mafia. He laughed deliriously, the kind of laugh someone from the horror movies gave when they knew they would escape from their attacker.

"Tony," I exclaimed, unable to stop the growing smile. We pulled away from the curve and into the rest of the traffic. I didn't have enough courage to look back at the two men. "You just showed your ass to the mafia. The very same people you were shaking from."

Tony winked at me as he buckled his pants. "And what a nice ass it is, don't you think Afton?"

"Very nice," I said dryly. Now this was the Tony I was familiar with, the very same boy who couldn't have cared a less about danger and consequences. "If not a little pale..."

Tony punched me in the arm.

Instead of punching back, I clutched my seat, closing my eyes as the taxi gave a lurch, barely avoiding hitting another car. Right now, Lucian was far from my mind as I concentrated on anything but our inevitable death.

M.R.

There were times he welcomed the silence, but right now, Nick was having difficulties sitting still. Next to him, Lucian Romano sat, playing with Afton's phone. The man was playing with the list of contacts, running a critical eye over the last names and then he continued to study what little photos Afton had on his phone.

They were minutes away from New York City with an enforcer driving and another at the passenger side. Enforcers or 'soldiers' were the lowest ranking in the Family, aside from the Associates, who were the lowest ranking outside the Family. Nick was somewhere between a soldier, also known as an enforcer, and a capodecina.

A capodecina was the man directly in charge of the soldiers. Each capodecina had about ten 'soldiers' or enforcers under his control.

He looked out the window, watching the passing scenery with a distressed air.

Ever since Lucian took Afton out after his track meet, the underboss always had two men tail his little brother. Afton had absolutely no idea he was being followed. Undoubtedly, the two enforcers were irked with their current assignment, yet they were smart enough not to say anything about being used for 'fun'.

Lucian, on the other hand, seemed more than amused at Afton's chase.

Quite frankly, the whole chase was immature, childish.

Nick ran a hand through his hair, refusing to shut his eyes.

He had been recruited into the mafia at a young age. Most boys would do anything to get into the Family, whereas Nick had been recruited because of his parents' involvement as Associates. The longer he stayed with the Family, the more hardships he encountered. He knew there was a possibility he would die young, most members of the mafia did.