Slave Girl

“How did you hear this?” Even his contacts hadn’t told him this information.

“Raphael, I work in the darkness, trying to sniff out any signs of the dirty and disgusting. I like to hunt, to kill, to annihilate those who would harm others less fortunate. Women, they need protection. The men who offer the rape drug are already an easy target for me, but Antonio’s making them scurry out of town. Bad for business. If this drug gets out in the nightclubs, no woman would ever be safe.”

Raphael paced the room. “You’re sure about this?” From his last contact within the science department—that was what his father called it—he’d been warned of a drug trying to hurt women in such a way. He’d never believed in rape or force.

“Antonio is making it easier for this drug to be distributed. I figured you should know, seeing as you were best buddies at one time.”

“Thank you. I’ll get you payment soon,” he said. He was about to leave Timothy’s secure location but he was stopped at his words.

“She’s in danger, you know that, right?”

“My father stopped looking for her.”

“A slave girl who goes missing during a shootout, body never found, he hasn’t stopped looking. He’s waiting for her to slip up. If you don’t get her hidden soon, she will be killed.”

He didn’t want to lose her. Raphael turned to his friend. “If I bring her here, will you take care of her?”

“You know I will. We’re friends, Raphael, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

Raphael left. It had been a long time since he went to see Antonio at his place. Last time he heard from him, he’d been in the process of house hunting.

He drove through the city streets, and not a single cop stopped him. All it would take was for them to run his plates and discover who he was. They’d never bother him again.

Arriving at Antonio’s apartment, he parked his car and made his entrance. He held the security code to get into the building. Making his way upstairs three steps at a time, he knocked on his door in no time.

Ellie answered. “Raphael,” she said with a smile. “Come on in.”

He stepped over the threshold, taking in her flushed cheeks. “Where’s Antonio?” he asked.

“He’s showering.”

Good. He needed to have the element of surprise. He knew Antonio’s apartment better than anyone.

“Hey, Raphael, you can’t go in there.”

Ignoring her, he stepped into the bathroom, which was already steaming.

“Antonio, Raphael’s here and he’s being a pain in the ass.”

The water turned off and Antonio stepped out of the shower, showing off his dick. Raphael didn’t care.

“Well, I’ve got to say this is an interesting social call.”

“We’ve got to talk.”

“How about over dinner?”

“You’ve got to stop whatever it is you’re doing for my father,” Raphael said. “It’s not as … innocent and beneficial to the Family as you believe.”

He’d gotten Antonio’s attention. Good. He wanted to keep it.

“Ellie, baby, give us a couple of minutes.”

“You’re seriously going to entertain him in the bathroom?”

“Go and set the table. I’ll be out in a minute. Do not call his father,” Antonio said.

Raphael watched as Ellie nodded her head, leaving the bathroom and closing the door. With his arms folded, he looked toward his friend. Could he really trust him?

“What explanation has my father given you about the drug dealers you’re taking out?”

“Why is this so important to you?”

“Answer my fucking question.”

“Be careful, Raphael.”

“I don’t have time to be careful. If you really think what you’re doing is good for business then I suggest you never let your woman out of your sight in a nightclub. What my father is doing is replacing the date rape drug with something a lot stronger and longer-lasting.”

He had Antonio’s attention. “What makes you believe that?”

“My father has an entire science department, Antonio. Don’t play stupid. You know how he works, what he’s truly like.”

“Romeo Giavanni is a great man.”

“Romeo Giavanni is a monster, a rapist, and a child abuser,” Raphael said. He’d never once spoken those words aloud.

“No, he’s a good man. He’s united all of the capos. People follow him. I know what I’m doing.”

“No, you’re nothing but a paid lackey, Antonio. I know for a fact there are two girls in his room, no older than fifteen,” he said.

Antonio paced. “How do you know that?”

“I put them there at his request.”

Antonio grabbed him, throwing him up against the wall. “You know what I should do with you? I should report you. Let him know what you’re doing with the missing slave girl.”

“Look into the capos who ended up dead because of bad deeds. I have it on good authority they refused to follow my father’s orders. What you’re doing, what you’re allowing means that drug will end up on the street. Imagine Ellie being the one to take a drink with it in it. She’d be taken, used for however long it lasts, and not even remember. My father is not the great man you know.”