I'm Nothing (The Family Book 2) (4 page)

“I can get you the money.”

“Zara, in circumstances like these, I tend to break a
person slowly. I give them enough to want to work, but make sure they know not
to cross me.”

“Is this where you break something of mine?” she
asked. This had to be the scariest moment of her entire life.

“You see, with you, it’s different. This is not your
debt. I have to say I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long in paying me.”

“I haven’t even made a dent. Your interest rates are
ridiculous.”

“It’s a shame your father didn’t have your kind of
brains.”

“We both agree on that then.”

“Yes, we do. Tell me, what would you be doing if you
weren’t in this situation?” he asked.

“Erm, I’d probably be studying, or partying. One of
the two.”

“Right.”

She didn’t like the way he was looking at her.
Avoiding staring into his eyes, she stared down at the notebooks on her desk.

“Are you a virgin?” he asked.

That she couldn’t look away from. “What?”

“There are ways of wiping this debt clean.”

Zara wasn’t an idiot, and she wasn’t going to pretend,
not even in this moment. She shook her head. “No.”

“No, what?”

“I’m not a whore.”

“I wouldn’t be able to sell you. Men like to fuck, but
they also like something pretty to look at.”

She didn’t even feel insulted.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I happen to like you, Zara.”

“Yeah, right.” She cringed as she didn’t even try to
hide the sarcasm.

“I’ll let that slide. I’ve never had a virgin before.
I’d like to make a trade.”

“Trade?”

“Give me your cherry, and I’ll wipe the slate clean.”

“You want to have sex with me?” she asked, totally
shocked. She was plain, not worth selling, but he wanted her virginity?
Ew.
This guy had to be in his late
thirties. Sure, he was a handsome hunk, but she didn’t want her first time to
be with a guy who was old enough to be her father.

“I’ve never had a virgin, and I have to say I like the
idea of making you bleed.”

She froze. “No, it’s not going to happen.”

Not for her mother, not for her father, and not for
some shop she hated. No, she couldn’t do it.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m more than sure.” The very idea made her skin
crawl. There was no way she’d ever be able to let this man lay a finger on her
in any of way for pleasure. Zara doubted there would be any kind of pleasure.
He wanted her to bleed, which was just sick, disgusting, and sick again.

Lucien stared down at his fingers, then flicked some
imaginary fleck of dust off his jacket. “Are you sure about that?” He held up
his hands stopping her from answering. “I want you to think about the
opportunity that I’m giving to you.”

“There’s nothing to think about. I’m not going to
sleep with you because of a pizza shop.” She couldn’t help the shudder. “You
should be ashamed of yourself. You’re old enough to be my father.”

He started laughing, only the sounds coming from him
reminded her more of a serial killer than humor.

Dread started to fill her as she realized exactly what
she had done. This man, he wasn’t the kind of man you pissed off, and that was
exactly what she’d done.

“Do you really think you’re in any kind of position to
insult me?” He got out of her father’s chair, and rounded the desk, gripping
her arm. He tugged her up, and the pain was instant. The fingers wrapped around
her arm were so tight that they would leave a bruise.

“Agh!” She cried out as he tightened his hold. His
other hand wrapped around her neck, tugging her close.

Tears sprang to her eyes as he cut off her airway,
making her fight.

“You see, Zara, I’ve killed women like you for a lot
fucking less. I give you an option, and you think it’s an insult. Baby, you’ve
got no idea what I can do to you, but I’m going to show you.”

He shoved her forward, so her body crashed over the
desk. The impact of the hard wood winded her.

I’m fucked.

I’m totally fucked.

Me and my big fucking mouth.

Yes, it was a lot of fucks, but the occasion called
for it.

Lucien stepped behind her. He pulled on her hair so
she had no choice but to follow the action, and once again, his hand was
cutting off her ability to breathe.

She clawed at the hand at her neck, trying to fight
him.

“You see, Zara, it’s time for you to fucking learn
your lesson.” He released her neck, and she gasped out, panting for breath. The
hand that was on her neck moved down to cup her breast.

She tried to buck against him to get him off, but that
didn’t happen.

“Let me go,” she asked, panting.

He pressed his cock against her ass, and she tried to
fight him, to get away.

Slamming her back down on the desk, she cried out. The
tears spilled easily from her eyes as he held her in place. The hard ridge of
his cock pressed against her ass, and she tried to contain her sobs.

“Stop, please.”

“I tried to be nice, and now you’re making me show
you.”

“Fine! I’ll do it. Please, not now, not like this.
Please.” She begged for him to stop.

“Do you really think you’ve got a choice right now?”
He started to touch her, and Zara fought. Lucien only showed her exactly how he
intended for her to submit, with violence.

Chapter Three

After the third meeting at Donnie’s, Tonio wanted the
chance to relax and take a break. Nothing was coming together at his father’s
laptop, nor was anything going well with The Family. The outpouring from their
colleagues
was less than desirable. No
one wanted a bunch of teenagers controlling millions of dollars worth of
illegal business. It was kind of pathetic. They were more than happy to torture
said teenagers to mold them into taking over, but now, they wanted them gone.

Donnie had already taken out three hits on men who’d
come after him. Tonio had killed many people in his life, but so far, he was
being left alone, and that scared him more. He was used to being the one that
was chased, not to doing the chasing.

At the end of the two hours of negotiating, and coming
up with a plan on how to tackle their current problem, Tonio had wanted
something to eat, and to also see Zara again. Pizza and Zara were a good mix as
far as he was concerned. There were three men close to the family who had also been
close to their fathers. The information they had suggested these men were
working on not only a takeover, but also a mass kill as well. They were waiting
for the right moment to take out all four of them. Tonio wasn’t interested in
dying today, or any other day.

Driving down toward the pizza shop, he saw the sign
read that it was open but the lights were out. In the back, he saw there was
light, and when he glanced at the time on his dashboard, he saw it was only
ten.

Zara opened late.

Climbing out of his car, he made his way toward the
door. Tonio caught sight of a goon and paused.

Why the hell would Zara have goons in her shop?

He recognized them as he’d grown up with them, and was
one himself.

Opening the door to the shop, Tonio made sure he had
his hand wrapped around his gun.

“The shop is closed,” one of them shouted on a grunt.

“Sign doesn’t say so.” Tonio gripped the butt of his
gun as the guy came toward the front desk.

Most of the time, he was recognized for being part of
The Family. However, in rare circumstances, some people failed to do so, as did
this guy.

“Listen, punk, get the fuck out of here now.”

Punk? Seriously.

Tonio reached across the counter, grabbing the
bastard’s tie, and slammed him face first on the marble counter. Drawing his
gun, he pressed it against the man’s face.

The man grunted, then tried to squeal.

Out of the back, another man came rushing out. Tonio
held the man down, and pointed the gun at the other.

“I see we’ve got a problem here.”

Another man came out.

What the fuck?

“Fuck, that’s Tonio Guzman. He’s part of the mafia,”
the third one said, holding up his gun.

“Ah, I see, a goon who knows when to be fucking
respectful.”

“You don’t need to be here, Tonio,” the third man
said.

“It’s Mr. Guzman to you!” He pressed the muzzle of his
gun against the man’s head until he screamed like a little bitch. “Now, tell
me, why you’re here.”

Silence fell around him.

“Tell me why you are or I’m going to start going
psycho, and no one is leaving this quaint little pizza shop alive.”

The sudden feminine scream that echoed through the
shop twisted something in Tonio’s gut. He remembered many feminine screams, and
how he had to keep on doing what his father said even as they begged and
pleaded with him to stop.

Lifting the gun up, he fired at the third man’s leg,
then aimed at the second. “I’ve got an itching in my hand right now. What the
fuck is going on?”

“We work for Lucien West, and we’re collecting a
debt.”

He pulled the man up and slammed him down, knocking
him out. “Have a good sleep.”

An older woman who looked a little like Zara came out
of the backroom with her hand pressed to her mouth.

“Where’s Zara?”

Just as she was about to speak, Tonio heard the
screaming.

Pushing past the older woman, he made his way toward
the office. He didn’t wait. His life, past and present, seemed to meld into one
in that moment. In the past, he was the one who caused the women to scream, and
now he wanted the chance to protect.

Tonio slammed into the office, and what he saw sent
him into a rage. Lucien fucking West was in the stages of getting his pants
down, and Zara’s were already wrapped around her ankles. She was fighting,
screaming, begging to get away, but he wouldn’t let her.

Moving forward, Tonio banded his arm around Lucien’s
neck, and dragged him back, slamming him into the wall.

“What the fuck?” Lucien tried to fight back, but he
was no match for Tonio. From years of being his father’s pet dog, Tonio had
learned to fight better than the rest. He knew how to fight dirty, and how not to
hold back.

Slamming Lucien into the ground, Tonio started to kick
him.

“Tonio, stop,” Zara said.

He glanced over to her, and that was all the
distraction Lucien needed, rolling away from him. Pulling out his second gun,
Tonio trained it on Lucien.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Lucien asked.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“I’m collecting a debt. This has nothing to do with
The Family.”

“It does now.”

Lucien snorted. “This girl is nothing to you.”

“She belongs to me. You were going to rape her, sell
her to your little buddies? What were you going to do, Lucien?”

“The girl’s in a lot of debt, and it’s going to take
her a great deal to get out of it.”

Tonio nodded. “How much?”

Lucien gave a figure that had Zara gasping. Clearly
Lucien thought he was an idiot. “I’ve put two bullets in your goons outside.
I’m not above putting one in you.”

“You know The Family doesn’t like you,” Lucien said.

“Do I look like I give a fuck? They got a problem with
the way we do business, they come to me.”

“Are you paying her debt?” Lucien asked.

“Yeah, I am. Get the fuck out of here, now!”

“I’m not leaving without my money.”

Tonio was tired, and he was pissed. He fired his gun, and
a bullet went into Lucien’s foot. “You’ll get your money when
I
say!” Moving toward the man, Tonio dragged
him out of the room and threw him at his goons. “I suggest you all get out of
here, and now!”

Opening the door, Tonio nodded at them. All of them
were screaming and crying out in pain.

He waited until they left the shop, Lucien giving one
final threat that it wasn’t over. Tonio rolled his eyes. It was over.

Moving back toward the office, he found Zara sitting on
the floor. Her jeans were now up her thighs, but she looked as pale as a ghost.

He knelt in front of her, keeping his hands by his
sides. Placing his gun beside him, he held a hand up showing her he meant no
harm.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Protect me?”

“Did you want me to let him rape you? Lucien would
have, and I guarantee your debt would have still been intact.”

She shook her head, and he saw she was also shaking,
which tore him apart.

“Shit, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t.

Tonio moved closer to her, and even as she tensed, he
pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay.”

“Are they going to come after you?” she asked, resting
her head against his chest.

Tears were falling down her cheeks, but she wasn’t
sobbing or losing her shit. It was kind of surreal to be holding her. She
smelled nice. Like pizza with an underlying vanilla tone.

“They can try and come after me. I’ve got my friends
to have my back.”

“What were you doing here?” she asked.

“I came for some pizza, and some company.” He stroked
her hair, and as the minutes went by, Zara started to relax against him. “Did
you borrow the money from him?”

“No. I’m trying to repay the debt that my dad
started.”

“For this place?”

“Yeah. See what I mean about my future? This place is
dead, but my father kept on wanting to keep it going. I hate pizza.”

“You can’t stay here alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lucien is going to be pissed.”

“You shot him.”

“I know, but when he’s all nicely fixed up, he’s going
to come after you, and after your mother. You’re going to have to move in with
me.”

She gasped, looking up at him. “That’s insane.”

“It’s not.”

“You don’t know me.”

“No, I don’t, but I just saved your life, and your
dignity. Let me help you?”

“Why?”

Tonio thought about it. Why did he want to save Zara?
She didn’t owe him anything, nor did he have anything with her. “Let’s just say
I’ve got a lot of making up to do, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Let me
help.”

“I’ve got my mom.”

“She can come, too. I’ve got a place for her to stay.
She’s not staying in my apartment.”

“But I am.”

“Tell me, do you want to be around your mother?”

Zara bit her lip then shook her head. “No.”

“Then you can stay with me, and I’ll make sure your
mother is taken care of.”

****

Later that night, Zara stared around at Tonio’s living
room at three very large, fierce looking men who appeared to be ready to commit
murder. Tonio, Jake, Donnie, and Luiz were scary as hell during high school,
but now, yeah, she was crapping her pants.

“Lucien works for us?” Luiz asked.

“Yep. He’s a West who deals with loan sharks. He’s the
face, and sends men out to collect money. We have a drop off every Friday where
we collect.” Donnie frowned. “What was the debt?”

She didn’t like him looking at her. These men were all
dangerous. “Erm, my dad borrowed money. I’ve got the details here.” She reached
out, grabbing a stack full of papers. “It’s all explained there.”

Donnie grabbed the paperwork and started to look
through it.

“Fuck, this is not how we handle shit,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Your father borrowed over fifty thousand. This just
isn’t it though. We monitor the money, and Lucien actually documented a smaller
loan, and he’s been pocketing the rest of the money that you’ve been paying him.
What the fuck did your father need that kind of money for?”

“He lost the house, and he had to redecorate the whole
of the pizza shop.”

“Fifty thousand is a lot. This kind of cash flow is
not what we’re into,” Donnie said. “Cleaning money?”

“No. Lucien handles small loans. Anything between a
thousand and ten to keep people afloat. This kind of money requires someone of
a higher rank to sign off on,” Tonio said. “This looks like some sort of
money-laundering, too. Was the agreement different than you thought?”

“No. Lucien told me all my dad had to do was make
weekly payments, and that within five years it would be paid. My dad told me to
continue with it.”

“Something doesn’t add up. Have you always had that
pizza shop?” Luiz asked.

“Yeah, my dad had it for over twenty years.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the
location?” Tonio asked.

What?
Zara looked at all the men, wondering what the hell
they were talking about.

“There’s a massage parlor next door, and about two
blocks, there’s a nightclub,” Jake said. “It’s ideal to not only clean money,
but it also means that Lucien can make a great deal on the side without The
Family knowing about it.”

“Do you think Lucien’s going rogue?” Luiz asked.

“He could be,” Donnie said.

“He said The Family were not happy with our
leadership. Maybe they’re hoping to overthrow.”

“How could they overthrow from a little pizza place?”
Jake asked.

Donnie smirked. “Because it’s not just the pizza
place. They’re cleaning money there, or they did. I want to know everything about
the parlor and the night club.”

“You’ve got it,” Tonio said.

“I know the parlor shop does more than give out free
massages,” Zara said. “We’ve had a lot of male customers talking about their
massages. It’s not for therapy. It’s a front for a sex shop.”

Late at night people were not careful about what they
said, or who they said it in front of. Zara had been sickened by what they had
talked about.

“How do you know?”

“Because people ordering food talk, and when they’re
all happy, they talk loud. I heard them.
I
can’t believe I just paid fifty bucks for anal. They even have a chart on
spitting or swallowing.
” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s gross.”