RUTHLESS KING

43 PAIN IS BETTER THAN FEAR

Luca
“Just go, Dante.” I stand at the elevator, leaning against the wall for support.
I’d been a coglione hiding in bed for a week. Now, I could barely stand up
straight.
My brother is parked in front of the elevator, his jaw set in a hard line. It
reminds me of when we were kids. He was older and bigger, and he’d use it
against me. Then I shot up past him, and the tables were turned. Now, we
were back at square one.
“I’m not leaving until you tell me you’ll at least try to forgive me.”
“I can’t!” I growl.
“We’ve been brothers for twenty-seven years, damn it, Luca.” He drags
his hand through his dark hair and when he looks up at me all I see is Papà.
Whenever I run into Dad’s old associates, they say I’m his spitting image,
until Dante walks into the room. “I fucked up. I’ll do anything to make it up
to you. To Stella too. Please.”
I’m about to shove him through the open elevator when my phone
pings. I drag it out of my pocket and scan the message. Ice floods my veins. Albie: Bo and his guys took Stella. I tried to stop them, but
there were too many of them. Sorry, capo.
My finger jabs at the call button on the screen as I curse the incompetent
cornuto from here to kingdom come. He answers on the first ring, voice
trembling.
“Where did they take her?” I bark.
“I don’t know, capo. Bo and his crew knocked me out. They snatched
her at the West 14th Street subway. I’m assuming they were taking the A
line back to China Town, but I don’t know. I’m so sorry, boss.”
“Fuck,” I growl.
“What’s wrong?” Dante eyes me.
I consider my promise to Stella. I’d sworn to cut Dante out of my life,
but right now I need him. He still had connections and maybe one of those
could help me find her. She’s all that matters. I’d rather have her alive and
hating me than the alternative.
“Damned Bo and the Red Dragons snatched Stella.” The moment the
words are out suffocating fear blossoms in my chest. Oh Dio, if anything
happens to her. I reach for the wall to steady myself. I take in a grounding
breath, and I allow the icy calm to rush over me. Rage crowds out the panic,
and I shove Dante out of the way. “If you’re coming with me now’s your
chance. If you expect me to ever forgive you, this would be the moment to
come through for me.”
He nods quickly and reaches for his phone. He’s shot out a dozen
messages before we reach the ground floor. I have no idea where they’ve
taken Stella, but I’m starting with the Red Dragon; I’ll shoot up the entire
fucking place until Jianjun tells me where to find her. I send a frenzied
message to Tony and the guys to scour China Town. “Relax, Luca, we’ll find her.” My brother’s hand lands on my shoulder,
and it isn’t until I see his hand vibrating that I realize my whole body is
shaking with fury.
When the elevator doors open, I go straight for my motorcycle. No way
faster through city traffic.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Dante eyes me and jerks his chin at my
stomach. In the craze, I’d completely forgotten about my wound. The pain
will only fire up the rage.
“I’ll be fine,” I grit out. “Meet me at the Red Dragon.”
He nods and stalks toward his Beamer, and I round the Ducati. I swing
my leg over the seat and biting pain races up my torso. Merda. Gritting my
teeth, I slide my helmet over my head and fasten it. Pain is good. Pain is
better than fear.
In seconds, I zip through city traffic, my head in a tailspin. If that
asshole hurts a single hair on Stella’s head, I’ll gut him. I’ll rip Bo Zhang
apart and spread his entrails across China Town for all to see. Is he fucking
pazzo, taking what’s mine?
Oh Dio, Stella.
A spool of dread unwinds in my gut. You let her go. She’s been
unprotected for an entire week. This is your fault. That dark voice winds
around my lungs, squeezing the air out. A horn blares, and I weave to the
right, barely avoiding getting plowed into by a turning taxi cab. Fuck. I’m
no good to her dead. Focusing on the road, I gun the engine and roar down
the FDR.
When I reach the Red Dragon, I leap off the bike and hiss out a slew of
curses as my stitches rip. I take a second to assess the damage, taking a
peek beneath my shirt. Only a little blood dribbles from the wound. Minor
setback. I race up the steps and find the same hostess from last week. At
least it’s before the lunch rush today, and the dining room is quiet. “Where’s
Bo?” I snarl. “He’s not here.”
I reach into the waistband of my pants and pull out my handgun.
“Where is he?” I hiss. “Think quickly. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m kind
of desperate here.”
Jianjun appears from the back, and I barrel past the hostess and train the
gun on him instead. His eyes narrow as he regards me, but he holds his
own.
“Where is your piece of shit son?” I bark.
His lips curve into a frown. “I do not know.”
“Well, if you want him to survive the day, you better find him now.” I
barely register the jingle of the front door opening.
“Luca, che cazzo fai?” My brother howls.
I move closer to Jianjun and press the gun to his temple. “I warned you
and your son if any harm came to Stella it would constitute an act of war. Is
that what you want, old man?”
“No,” he grits out.
“Then tell me where he is. I know where all your cocaine is stashed
across Meatpacking. One word from me and it all goes up in smoke.”
“I told you I have no idea where he is.” He barks something to the girl
at the front in Mandarin. “But I will be happy to help you find him.”
“Would you really?” I press the barrel tighter to his skull. “Because I
don’t believe a fucking word out of your mouth.”
More Red Dragons spill from the back of the restaurant.
“Luca, easy.” Dante is behind me now, but I don’t dare give Jianjun my
back. He might be old, but he’s as cunning as they come.
“I regret the poor decisions my son has made regarding your girlfriend,
but I swear I had no idea of his intentions. You know I value our working
relationship.”
“Fuck our relationship. Fuck everything, Jianjun. I will raze the entire
Meatpacking district if you do not return her to me unharmed.” “That will not be necessary.” Tiny beads of perspiration line the old
man’s brow, barely perceptible. It only fuels my rage. I want this man on his
knees pissing his pants from fear. “I will do everything I can to help find
your girl,” he adds.
“Yes, that’s right, my girl. Mine.” Crimson seeps into my vision, and I
can feel my control slipping. “Fuck!” I roar. “Where is he?”
The hostess scrambles toward us, muttering in Mandarin.
“I’m sorry, but he is not with my men,” says Jianjun, the picture of calm
and collected. That used to be me. Now sweat drips off my brow, and my
heart is like a sledgehammer against my ribcage.
I reach into my pocket with my free hand and slip my fingers through
my custom brass knuckles. If Jianjun won’t tell me the truth, I’ll beat it out
of him.
A few of Jianjun’s men raise their weapons.
Dante’s hand closes around my wrist. “No, Luca. Not like this.”
“Vaffanculo,” I rasp out. “You don’t understand. I can’t lose her.”
Nausea claws its way up my throat, and I barely keep the contents of my
stomach down.
Black blankets my vision, and I’m back in that alleyway with Vinny in
my arms.
The pungent, metallic scent of blood fills my nostrils. Hot tears spill
down my cheeks, and my shoulders tremble with a sob. “Vinny, hold on. The
ambulance is coming.” I broke rule number one, never call the cops. But
with one look at my best friend bleeding out, I knew I couldn’t do it. Fuck
the rules. “Hold on, amico, please. Do it for Stella; she needs you.”
“Promise me,” he whispers, nothing more than a gurgle of air. “You’ll
take care of her.”
Another sob rips through my clenched teeth. “No, don’t say that. You’re
going to be fine.”
“Promise me,” he mouths. I squeeze my friend’s limp body to my chest, my insides caving in on me.
“I swear it, Vinny. Lo giuro. I’ll always protect her.”
His head falls back, and his eyes glaze over as he stares into the night
sky.
“No!” A shriek fills the silence, and I’m too fucking gone to realize it
came from me. I hug my best friend tighter, his blood soaking into my shirt.
I’m trembling. A firm hand holds me steady. “Luca! Snap out of it.”
Dante gives me another shake. Jianjun coalesces before me, his wiry white
brows tangled. My brother pries the gun from my hands and pockets it
before he flashes his phone in my face. “One of my guys got a lead on
Stella. Let’s move.” He shoves me toward the exit, my mind still
swimming.
I don’t even remember I’ve abandoned the Ducati at the Red Dragon
until my hazy thoughts come to focus as we speed down the West Side
Highway. Dante’s driving, white-knuckling the steering wheel.
“We’ll find her, I swear,” he mutters.
Fuck. I’m having a mental breakdown, and now is not the time. Forcing
my mind to sharpen, I focus on Stella. She trusts me. I promised Vinny to
keep her safe. I failed him once; I won’t do it again. “Give me my gun
back.”
Dante eyes me, a skeptical twist to his lips.
“I’m better now, coglione. Just do it.”
He digs it out of his waistband and hands it over.
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Charlie said he saw Bo and some of his guys go into a warehouse in
Meatpacking. He didn’t see a girl, but maybe they had her hidden or
something.”
My gut twists. “Where’s Tony and the rest of them?”
“Meeting us there.” “Good.” I squeeze my fingers into fists to keep them from shaking. I
bury the fear deep within the rage and allow it to flow freely. Then, I wait
for the icy calm.