Capu Page 7

  Carlo’s gaze slid down his body to Shae’s bobbing head. Pleasure hit him hard and fast with her suctioning and tickling his cock. He could only endure several sucks before he nearly exploded. He pulled her off him, and it took work because she’d just begun. And Shae was stubborn. He wasn’t about to blow his load in her mouth. Maybe another night. Right now he wanted something much sweeter. Shae gasped when he threw her over on the sofa. She parted her thighs for him and touched herself.

  “Let me pierce it,” she breathed. “For me, please.”

  Carlo grunted his agreement and dropped on her. He had to balance his weight with a hand gripping the back of the top of the sofa while his cock took aim. He thrust in deep. Her fingernails cut and scraped down the clenched cheeks of his ass. Her head tilted back when he gave her another long push. "Yes, baby, yes, fuck me,” she said.

  Pulsing forward, he went in and out of her with measured long thrusts to make sure she received and felt every plunging inch. Her nails dug harder into his ass. Her hips surged upward; she tried to recapture him each time she suffered through his withdrawal. And when he pounded into her pussy, she cried out for him to go slower. The silver ball on her tongue sparkled. Fuck yes, she could pierce her pretty pussy. His mind screamed. He’d stay buried in it for a lifetime. He sank in her again, sliding deeper and deeper. When he reached as far as he could go, he began grinding down hard, and her thighs shuddered for him. He was tickling her g-spot. Her thighs trembled, and her ass wiggled. Her grip on his ass loosened as she licked her lips, and moved her pretty body for him.

  He lost control and dropped on her. He slipped his hands under her and gripped her ass cheeks to part them wider. One of her legs was over his shoulder and the other pinned down on the sofa. Shae didn't seem to mind. Her hips bucked under him, and her body shivered.

  “I love you, Shae!” he groaned as his body succumbed to his passion. “Dove sei stato per tutta la mia vita—where have you been all my life? Finalmente ci siamo incontrati—finally we have met. Tu sei quella che stavo aspettando—you are the one I’ve been waiting for.”

  “Carlo! I don’t understand you,” she panted.

  He couldn’t translate. He couldn’t stop himself from speaking. He just couldn’t stop. He grunted as he slowed down his back and forth motion. He tried to gather the frayed edges of his slipping control. But he wasn’t prepared to let her go.

  Shae cried out in sheer pleasure. Her body, and especially her vagina, was on sensory overload. Her bottom was suspended up off the leather sofa and held in his hands as he drove into her the final hard thrusts of their lovemaking. And just when she thought they would end, he let go of her ass and gripped her hips to slam into her once again. The release of her passion made her sob. Pleasure sparked through the walls of her pussy and Shae screamed hoarsely. Carlo dropped down on her and shuddered through his final release. She stroked his back and head. She kissed the side of his face. “I don’t know what you said. But I heard you, my heart heard you, Carlo. I love you so much!”

  And then she wept. Because at that moment she knew she could never have the fairytale. Be a wife and a mother. It wasn't in the cards for her. He was a man that needed that. What was she going to do? She was only half a woman. She felt that way. And didn't know how to say it.

  Carlo lifted his head and stared down at her with a lopsided smile. “I said, I’m never going to let you go. You’re mine.”

  Shae nodded through her tears and pretended it was true. He kissed her, and she knew he meant it.

  ***

  The place was sweltering hot. They were in a private back room that was as small and cramped as a broom closet. Tattoo pictures lined the wall. A hard, heavy metal song blasted from a portable radio. It made his blood pressure spike.

  Shae was on a gurney, with her feet resting in stirrups and her thighs parted wide. The man between her legs had a bone through his nose, and bones through his earlobes. He was bald and covered with tattoos, even on his eyelids. He was as tall as Carlo, but thin—almost gaunt like a skeleton. The place made Carlo jumpy. He didn’t like another man touching her pussy, let alone doing what was being done.

  “You ready, Shae?” the man asked.

  “Yeah! Come see, Carlo!” Shae grinned. “Hurry baby!”

  Carlo pushed down his anger. He stepped closer to see the pinch of a silver barbell through her clitoral hood. He didn’t see any blood, but the man dabbed cotton balls, and Shae hissed. There was blood. His girl having a finger prick of blood made Carlo queasy. He’d seen lots of blood in his life, spilled plenty of it. Not a drop should come from Shae.

  It was over. Shae laughed. “Oh my God! That was awesome!”

  Carlo shook his head. The guy turned away on his stool. He bumped into Carlo. Carlo made sure to glare at him. The man shrugged. “Look, dude. I do this all the time. And the babes want it. Nothing personal, just business.”

  “Leave him alone, Carlo! Come here!”

  He let the man stand and go to his equipment and then walked over to Shae. He leaned in and kissed her lips. “Does it hurt, cara?”

  “No. I swear it doesn’t. I can’t wait for us to have sex. It’s going to be so good.”

  “Shae, give it forty-eight hours. Or maybe a week. Listen to your body. Keep the area clean. If it swells, bleeds, anything painful after twenty-four hours have it checked. Here,” he handed Carlo a bag. Shae sat up. She pulled down her dress and closed her thighs.

  “Thank you, Chuckie. Say thank you, baby!” Shae teased.

  “Grazie,” Carlo grumbled.

  Shae giggled. She eased off the bench and Carlo helped her.

  "I'm going to take care of you," Carlo said.

  Shae nodded. And wrapped her arm around his waist. He walked her out to the car.

  Chapter Seven

  Carlo woke to whispering. He turned over and saw Shae. She was sitting up with her back to him and spoke to someone on the phone in a strained voice. He cleared his mind from his boozed state and tried to hear her clearly.

  “No, no, no, you can go to hell! Don’t threaten me. We had a deal with Tahvo. What? I didn’t know anything about that! No. I’ll go to the police! Fuck you!” she slammed the phone down.

  “Shae?”

  She whirled and looked at him with hurt and anger. “Did you get into a fight with Spyder and his men? In a bathroom?”

  “Spyder? Che cazzo é che?” he asked.

  “The man from the casino. Did you get into a fight in a bathroom?” she asked.

  “No, they tried to attack me. I did as you asked and walked away," he said.

  Shae burst into tears and ran from the room. Shocked, Carlo snatched back the covers. He was naked, but he went after her. Shae was on the circular sofa. She sat there crying. He’d never seen her so distraught. Who were these men and why was she so afraid?

  “Shae? Tell me what it is, talk to me.”

  “I’m in trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “The kind that might get my friends hurt or worse, Carlo!”

  “Then you have to tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “Do you remember the man in the casino?”

  “Spyder?” he asked.

  “No. Tahvo. The Armenian. Spyder works for him. They run a lot of the clubs here. Or least the clubs that will let me do business. They have escorts and dancers, and they deal in other things. Bad things, Carlo. When I came here to start my business, I brought a few girls from Chicago with me. Tahvo wanted a meeting. When I refused, he showed up here in my hotel room. He tried to force me to work for him. I made a deal instead. I pay them to leave my girls alone, leave me alone and let us work the clubs.”

  “How much do you pay?” he asked.

  “Ten thousand a week,” Shae said sadly.

  Carlo frowned. “Can you afford that?”

  "I couldn't afford not to. The money isn't the problem. When I went to Italy, my girls were left unprotected. They were harassed, bullied, several were kick
ed out of jobs they showed up to do. I lost two girls. Since I've been back, I've lost more. They either quit and run scared or... go missing."

  “Missing?” Carlo asked.

  “Yes. Missing. And I’ve been too scared to find out why.”

  “How many girls have gone missing?”

  “Six. I thought it was Tahvo at first. He told me it wasn’t him. Me and my girls checked his spots and didn’t see any of our girls working. But now Candy’s gone. She wouldn’t disappear. Not like this. The others I’m not sure, but not Candy. And Spyder just called." She wiped her tears. "He said my payment had gone up from ten thousand a week to twenty. Or I can get out of Vegas. He said you disrespected Tahvo. That they were going to make you pay.”

  “Where are the girls?” Carlo asked and looked to the rooms.

  “Sleeping. They should be in their rooms asleep. They were home when we got here.”

  “Have you checked?” Carlo asked.

  Shae glanced back to the closed doors.

  “Go check. Let me get dressed.” Carlo said.

  Shae nodded. She got up off the sofa and Carlo went back to the room. He found his pants and pulled them on. He didn’t have a gun; he didn't have anything. He walked out of the room and found Shae was with two of her girls. "Marissa is gone. It might not mean anything. She told me yesterday that she was going to a friend’s house.”

  “Call her,” he said.

  “I don’t have a number. She didn’t leave one.”

  He frowned.

  “It’s okay, girls. Go back to bed. We’ll talk in the morning.” Shae said.

  The girls nodded and returned to their rooms.

  “What do I do?”

  “Call your employees. Everyone that works for you, down to your accountant. You’re shutting down business.”

  “What? I can’t do that!” Shae shook her head no. “I have payroll and contracts.”

  “I’ll cover it. Won’t be long. Just until we get this under control.” Carlo said.

  “But what about the hotel? We’re part of the show here.”

  “How many girls, six, seven?”

  “Seven,” Shae said.

  “Tell them to pack a bag. Come here. We’ll get three rooms and put them up until this is over.”

  “Okay. Do I pay Tahvo?”

  Carlo laughed. “No, sweetheart. You won’t pay Tahvo ever again.”

  Carlo touched her hair. Shae held to his waist "You should have come to me sooner. Told me you were in trouble."

  “I wasn’t until you decided to beat up on Spyder,” she said. “But my girls, the ones that have gone missing, I don’t know if that is Tahvo. Some of these women live by their own rules and answer to nobody. Like me.”

  “What about the murdered girls on the news?” he asked.

  “None of them are mine. I would have gone to the police if they were.”

  “You don’t have to be afraid of anyone. And you don’t need the police. You have me.”

  “I know, Carlo. But I’ve been dealing with men like Tahvo all my life. I can handle it. I always have.”

  “I need to call home,” he said.

  “Giovanni?”

  Carlo chuckled. “No. The boss won’t get involved in protecting your business unless you’re going to give it to him. I’ll call Lorenzo.” He checked his watch. It was three in the morning. That meant it was 12 in the afternoon. He walked over to the phone and sat down. Shae sat down on the sofa staring at him.

  He had dialed two numbers before he reached Lorenzo.

  “Where are you?” Lorenzo asked.

  “America, Vegas, with Shae.”

  “When did you leave for America?” Lorenzo asked.

  “Four days ago. Lo, I got a problem.”

  “Hold on,” Lorenzo said.

  Carlo waited. Lorenzo was his best friend and his boss. Sometimes that worked toward his advantage. And sometimes it didn’t. Lorenzo returned to the phone. “What’s the trouble?”

  “Armenians. A guy named Tahvo. He’s harassing Shae and her girls. I had a run-in with his men. I think I’m on his radar. Might get messy. We got friends here?”

  “We have friends everywhere. Give me the number to where you are. I’ll call you back and set up a meeting.”

  “Grazie.”

  “Does my wife know her friend’s in trouble?” Lorenzo asked.

  “I think she does. She was the one that suggested I come to Vegas.” Carlo said. Lorenzo went silent. Carlo quickly fixed his statement. “She knew how much Shae and I needed to see each other. We’d been fighting and...”

  “Yeah, I don’t give a shit. What’s the number there?”

  Carlo gave it to him, and the room number.

  "I'll call you back soon." Lorenzo hung up. Carlo sighed. He glanced back, and Shae was staring at him. "I'll find out what's going on. And look into the missing girls. Okay?"

  “Marietta was the one who told you to come to Vegas?” Shae asked.

  “What?”

  “I heard you say it on the phone. I thought you came here because you missed me?”

  “I do, I did. I was just being a stubborn ass. She reminded me what is important. And that’s you.”

  “Are you still in love with her?” Shae asked.

  Carlo frowned. “I have never been in love with her. She’s my best friend’s wife. She’s family.”

  Shae looked away.

  “Damn it, Shae. Not this again!”

  “I think I’m going to go lay down. Excuse me.”

  Carlo got up and went to her. He pulled her into his arms. He held her. “I’m not in love with Marietta. I’m in love with you. Yes, she told me to come, but she isn’t the reason why I’m staying. You are.”

  Shae looked up at him. “I’m scared, Carlo.”

  “I’ll protect you.”

  “Not of them, I’m scared of trusting you.” Shae let him go and went back to her room. Carlo blew out a deep breath and sighed. He gave her space and went to the sofa and dropped on it. He had a headache.

  ***

  Lorenzo had scheduled a meeting for Carlo. Shae handed over her car keys to him. He told her he would find his way. She didn’t seem to care. She was in one of her dark moods. Nothing he said or did lifted her spirits. She wrote down the names of the three spots the girls were last seen, and then went into her room and locked the door.

  Candy had worked a hotel bachelor party. That would be a dead end. But the others girls all worked Paulie’s X-Tera, a strip club that Shae no longer sent her girls to. It took him an hour to find the place. He got lost three times. It was closed. But there was a bar next to it. Carlo parked and went inside. The stench of smoke hit him full blast. There were a few slot machines, but most people were drinking and watching some kind of sports event.

  Carlo walked over to the bar.

  “What you having?” the bartender asked.

  “Give me a pint. Doesn’t matter.”

  The bartender filled a frosty mug.

  “Not from around here?” he asked.

  “No. You?” Carlo asked.

  The bartender laughed. “From Kentucky. Came here to get married. Didn’t. Decided to stay.”

  Carlo nodded. He took a swig of his beer. There were several exotic female girl shows advertised on flyers covering the bar. He picked up one for the place next door. “Any sexy women here?”

  The bartender shrugged. "On Tuesdays, they have the Black Mamba. She's pretty hot. A few of their Asian girls do tricks on Saturday nights.”

  “You don’t sound like a regular?” Carlo asked.

  “Not my thing. Plus, you find places like that one on every corner.” The bartender said.

  His pager went off. He asked the bartender for a phone. He walked over and picked it up and dialed the number. “I got a few hours. Can we meet?”

  “Who is this?”

  “Name is Dino. I’m a friend of the family.”

  “Va bene Dino, I’m at a bar called Hunters Tavern, it’s on
...”

  “I know it. Be there in ten minutes.”

  Carlo hung up. He returned to the bar and his beer. The bartender had moved on. Carlo finished his beer and received another. It was then a news broadcast came on. He glanced up to see the reporter speak of another body found off the Vegas strip. A young woman that hadn't been identified. The bartender wiped a glass and looked up.

  “It’s a damn shame.”

  “Happens often here?” Carlo asked.

  “Yea, but this is different. Been going on for the past few months now, and the cops aren’t doing shit. I got a buddy in homicide. He said the women are mutilated and tortured. You know. Nipples cut off, genitalia cut up—even said he found a few that were castrated. He says it’s a serial killer, but the Mayor doesn’t want to call in the Feds. He’s trying to clean up Vegas’s image.”

  "The girls' next door safe?" Carlo asked.

  “Lately yeah, if you want to call it that. Serial killer or thugs? Take your pick. Women aren’t safe in this town. It’s disgusting. The Armenians have taken over the club next door. They don’t get fucked with. So, not much drama there now.”

  Carlo wondered if Shae knew that Tahvo owned the club now. If that was the reason she pulled her girls. If it was, why hadn’t she mentioned it in her story? The door to the bar opened. A man in a blue linen shirt and slacks walked in. He removed his sunglasses. His eyes landed on Carlo. The man nodded. It must be his contact. Carlo tossed cash on the bar, picked up his beer, and followed the man to a back booth.

  The two eased inside.

  “Dino?”

  “Carlo?”

  Carlo smirked.

  “Welcome to Vegas,” Dino said and put his glasses in his shirt pocket. A woman came over and took Dino's order. When she walked away, Dino got to business. "My family has a lot of respect for the Camorra. I wish I knew you were in the city sooner. I would have had you welcomed properly.”