The weight in Nat's hand had almost fallen directly onto her left foot when Montgomery Sindoni had walked into her gym. Thankfully, years of training had her cat-like reflexes kicking in before the weight could slip fully from her sweaty hand. Fate was quite the sadist. Quickly composing herself and wiping off the sweat from her hands, Natalia was grateful that her session was just about over. There was no way she could focus on her physical therapy with Zabielski enemy #1 in her sights.
Eyes the color of seafoam trained on Monty as he looked to be starting out his first session of physical therapy, and Natalia recognized the injury to be one her family had given him. Perhaps they weren't her true blood family, but the Zabielski's were closer than blood, no matter how far she had tried to run.
The moment Natalia had left the gym, she'd called her father to let him know that she had a plan in motion. It was almost laughable how hard the universe was shoving this into her face, that the man she was looking for had practically offered himself up on a platter for her. Nat had run from this life years ago, determined to make a life outside of the mafia, only to come back and fall right back into it.
Natalia had run from one war right into another. She had tried to rebel against her family, to break the familial tie to the Zabielski mafia by joining the military and shopping off overseas. Naively, she thought she had been through the worst of the worst already, growing up mafia had made her tougher than the average person, and so the military should've proven easy for her.
It had been anything but easy. Even for someone experienced to torture tactics and death, the mafia war she had grown up in the middle of had been a whole different beast than the combat she saw overseas. It was just like the saying went, the devil you know is better than the one you don't. Now, Natalia was all to familiar with both kinds of war, and she had chosen to retreat back to the bloodshed that was in grained in her blood.
Perhaps she would've found another way out, but as the cruelty of fate would have it, the Sindoni's had decided to kidnap Victoria for leverage. Had it been anyone else, she might'e been able to ignore it, but the two girls had been friends their entire lives. Or, at least beginning of it. Even though they hadn't spoken in years, Natalia's heart had clenched tightly in her chest when she'd learned of the abduction.
Though she'd only done the bare minimum for the Zabielski's since returning, Natalia had been the first to offer to retrieve Victoria. She'd been gone so long that the Sindoni's likely wouldn't even know who she was, which would give her the advantage to infiltrate them.
So, Natalia had decided to come to P.T. a little later in the morning than usual, only stepping out of the car when she'd spotted Montgomery parking his. She set her pace at just the right speed to be walking into the gym at the same time as him, a polite smile on her face as she locked eyes with him.
"You must be new here, I'm Nat." She introduced herself, extending a hand towards him to shake. The gym was rather small, it was easy to keep track of every face that regularly visited, so it wouldn't have been unordinary for Natalia to introduce herself to someone new.
"I don't mean to interrupt your workout, I just know it's just nice to know at least someone's name here. Having a workout buddy really helped me get through the first month." She grinned, placing her hands on the swell of her hips as they stood just past the entry way. She'd worn the smallest sports bra she owned today, hoping that even if her conversation didn't capture his attention, her physique would.
Despite all the awful things Enzo had done in his life, kidnapping was something he never took pleasure in. Perhaps it was who was being taken against their will that had dread festering in the pit of his stomach, but Enzo had never liked to involve women in the darker side of business. He'd never tell anyone that though, it would ruin the ruthless image he had carefully cultivated over the years.
Enzo would have preferred to have taken the oldest Zabielski, the one who owed him more money than he could ever let slide, but the wimp had run before he could get his hands on him. Robert had let his sister be collateral, and the idea made Enzo more mad than the money he owed him had. It wasn't an opportunity he could waste, so two men had been sent to grab the Zabielski that had been left behind.
They'd texted him to let him know they were on their way back to the house, and Enzo pulled another drag from his cigarette to calm the rolling of his stomach before they arrived. Hopefully, Robert would take the bait and slither out of hiding , exchanging the money he owed for his precious sister. If not, Enzo would have to resort to more...drastic tactics.
The sound of gravel crunching had him extinguishing the last of his smoke, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the doors to his office to swing open. Two of his men dragged Victoria in rather roughly, moving her to sit in the chair across from him and making sure the binding on her wrists was tight before they stepped away from her. Enzo waved his hand, earning a skeptical look from them before he verbally dismissed them this time, waiting until they were out of the room before speaking.
"Apologies, but your coward of a brother has some debts to pay." He shrugged nonchalantly, sweeping his gaze across the rather flustered woman before him. He'd kept tabs on all of the Zabielski's for years, but Victoria wasn't typically at the top of his radar. Robbie was the real pain in his side.
"Hopefully, your brother makes this easy for both of us. He's got a month to pay his debts, or you die. So, unless your brother turns out to be that much of a bastard, you'll be fine as long as you don't try anything stupid." Enzo explained, his tone almost bored as he leaned back in his chair. This woman certainly thought of him as a monster, after the years of war between the two families she was sure to hate all of their guts, but it wasn't his intention to hurt the poor girl. Though she certainly wasn't innocent, it wasn't her fault she'd been born into the wrong family.
Morals weren't something typically associated with the mafia, but Enzo had found that the line between right an wrong wasn't as black and white as it seemed. He wasn't entirely a monster, women and children weren't touched unless absolutely necessary, it was an unspoken rule within the family that he strongly enforced. Yet, that didn't mean he was exactly soft either. He was going straight to hell, he'd accepted that a long time ago, but he didn't intend to drag everyone along with him.
"I don't have the time to babysit you all the time, so you have a choice. If you can behave, you'll have your own private room, and access to most of the house as long as you're supervised. I'll even take those pesky little cuffs off and let you have supervised time in the garden. But, if you decide to run or make my life more difficult, the wrist ties stay on and you get thrown in a cell." Say what you would about him, but Enzo wasn't the worst monster out there.
"So, what'll it be princess?" He teased, standing to walk over to Victoria's side of the table, leaning against the hard wooden desk behind him.
One minute she was leaving the mall, shopping bags in each hand, heading for her Escalade. The sleek machine had been painted a deep, rich purple-- her favorite color. It made her feel powerful, driving something that big, and power was something that meant alot to Tori. Growing up the youngest and only female in the Zabielski family, she was well protected. Sheltered, even, and way too much so in her opinion.
Her father was a powerful man, and that was something Tori and her brother had noticed from a young age. It was Robbie who caught on first, and that was simply because he was basically their father's heir. He had to be raised in the ways of the mafia, so he could learn how to take over when Henry's time was up. Tori found out a few years later, only because she was eavesdropping on a conversation she shouldn't have been. She quickly learned to keep her mouth shut. But the power her father so clearly had, she wanted that, and she sought it in any way she could get it.
Robbie was the good prodigal son for a while. But once he got a taste of the power, it went to his head. He kept everything under wraps for quite some time, but then he started getting sloppy. This pissed off their father to no end, but he was still Henry's son, still supposed to take over the family one day. But despite how many times Henry tried to get Robbie to clean up his act, he just didn't listen.
Tori hated watching her brother throw his life away, but as a woman, the weight on his shoulders would never belong to her. And honestly, that was fine with her. She was content to live her own life the way she wanted, having everything she could ever want at her feet. Maybe some of that power went to her head as well, but who was going to stop her? She was daddy's little girl, and always protected by someone.
Except today. She'd just made it to her car and placed her bags in the passenger seat when it happened. Sliding into the driver's seat, she was reaching to place the key in the ignition when a hand clamped over her mouth. The passenger door opened and a masked man climbed in. She struggled, but between the two of them they managed to get her in the backseat. Next thing she knew her world went black. When she came to, she was blindfolded and her hands were bound in front of her. She didn't know this, but the men had ditched her car, placing her in another one and taking her to her kidnapper.
Again, she fought against the men, but they easily carried her inside. The blindfold wasn't removed until she was placed in a chair, and her head whipped around frantically, trying to recognize her surroundings. It wasn't until she heard a voice that her head snapped in Enzo's direction. The blood drained from her face the more he spoke. "I don't know where he is." She blurted, his words not fully registering in her brain. He stood, and she shrank away from him, watching as he moved to lean against the table. "What?" She whispered, replaying his words in her mind. "What the hell are you talking about?"
code by g o l d i e l o x x
Montgomery Sindoni hated what he'd become. Ever since he'd been kidnapped by the Zabielski mafia family and tortured, he'd become a shell of the man he used to be. The mafia war had truly taken its toll on the younger Sindoni brother, and it was clear that everyone around him knew it. That only made him hate himself that much more. He never used to be the type of guy who looked over his shoulder, constantly worrying about who could be following him. Who might grab him again, or who might go too far and kill him.
He'd almost died at the hands of the Zabielski's, and the fact that he'd been used as a pawn in this war made him sick. He hadn't been rescued, either. No, it would be a suicide mission to send someone after him after he'd gotten himself kidnapped due to his own reckless nature. He'd managed to get out on his own, though it certainly wasn't an easy thing to do. He was still surprised that he'd been able to do it, but it wasn't right for him to sit and marvel at how he'd done it.
That didn't stop him from doing so, though.
He saw those fuckers every time he closed his eyes, and could still feel every cut of the blade, every punch, everything they'd done to him. They'd broken his leg in three places, and done such a splendid job that he was currently in rehab, basically learning to walk again. He was determined, had always been that way, but now he had a new goal: he wanted to murder every person who laid a hand on him. He would do it, too, no matter what his family said.
Thankfully he could still drive, it was just a pain in the ass getting in and out of his car. Still, he managed to do so, grunting here and there if he twisted the wrong way. Shoving his keys into the pocket of his sweatpants, he started towards the door of the gym, doing a double take when he saw the beautiful brunette walking beside him, introducing herself at that. "Yeah." He grunted, reaching for the door with his good arm, holding it open with his back.
Looking down at her hand, he hated the fact that he doubted her. He doubted everyone now, though. Lifting his gaze to meet hers, he sighed and reached out, shaking her hand. "Monty." He responded, letting her into the gym before he followed her. Once upon a time, he would be flirting with Nat from the get go, but now he realized that he was ashamed. A woman was exactly how he'd gotten caught in the first place; forgive him for being mistrustful.
He did glance her way when she spoke again, his eyes sweeping over her beautiful form. For a moment, he felt that familiar flicker of who he used to be, but almost as quickly as it had come, it dissipated. "What are you here for?" He asked before he could stop himself, glancing around for the nurse who usually did his workout. "You don't seem like you need PT." His eyes slid back in her direction, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his lips.
It was easy to see the hesitation in his actions, the way he sized her up as if she might attack him at any moment. He was certainly wary of her, and he had every reason to be. She was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but he didn't need to know that. For a moment, she wondered if that's what she looked like since returning home from combat, but she shut those thoughts down the minute she had them.
It almost made her feel a little bad as she watched him limp. Almost.
Her confidence faltered momentarily when he asked her what she was in PT for. She almost missed his flirty comment as her thoughts spiraled off course. She wasn't ready to talk about what had happened to her with anyone, especially not a man she was supposed to use as a pawn. Of course, she could just lie and make up some other injury, but unnecessary lying was the easiest way to get caught and she couldn't afford that. Besides, who wouldn't trust an injured vet?
"I blew my shoulder out and had a few other injuries while in the service, been coming here for about two months now. But I'm glad to hear I don't look like I need to be here." She laughed, smiling brightly at him as she accepted his compliment. He was handsome, she'd give him that.
"What about you? I could say the same, Monty." It was meant to be a light joke, but Natalia knew exactly what had happened to him. Her father and the others had told her more details than really necessary. It was a risky thing to ask, considering she'd barely wanted to answer it when he'd asked her, but he'd opened himself ip for the question and it would be strange if she didn't ask. She wasn't supposed to know what had happened to him, she was just a regular woman at his gym after all.
As the blonde protested that she didn't know what was going on, Enzo surveyed her and her body language. Though he figured she wouldn't know all the details of her brother's sudden split, he'd thought she might at least know something. Perhaps it was just a front to protect her brother, but it seemed she was as in the dark about Robbie's whereabouts as he was.
Guilt started to creep up inside of him, and he quickly shoved it down. Sure, she was much more innocent than he or Robert was, but she couldn't be completely innocent. Everyone in the two families had blood on their hands, whether they'd been the one to pull the trigger or not. Still, it didn't feel great knowing that he'd dragged this poor girl into this mess, though the same could be said that it was her family's fault for driving him to such lengths in the first place.
"Listen, your brother owes me a lot of money. If your brother is half the man he claims to be, the news of you going missing will bring him out of hiding." He spoke smoothly, his voice even and unemotional, as if this didn't affect him at all. It was just another business transaction, nothing more.
"You're just my little insurance policy to make sure your brother pays up. No one here will lay a hand on your pretty little head, unless your brother makes things more difficult than they need to be." It wasn't much of a reassurance, but he figured it was better than some of the worse things he could do to her. This wasn't exactly going to be a vacation stay for her, but he ran his business as morally as he could. It was ironic, for a murderer to have morals, but he liked to think the few sins he didn't commit evened out the ones he did. He was still going to hell anyways.
"I'm not going to baby you, but if you need me, just call for Enzo." He said suddenly realizing that if she really was as confused as she was acting, she might not even know her brother's competition. He doubted it, but it didn't hurt to reiterate who he was just in case. The less he had to interact with her, the better, but he did understand that he couldn't expect her to be entirely self sufficient while he held her hostage. Hopefully, she wouldn't take advantage of that.
