—Suvadiva Resort,
Maldives – One Week Later—
“I certainly will, thank you,” Sammy smiled and turned
towards the open terrace where Alexa stood waiting. For a moment he watched the
wind fan through her hair and the look on her face as the warm breeze drifted over
her skin.
Leisurely, he leaned against her, brushing her long, brown
hair from her neck before sweetly peppering kisses along her shoulder. “Come,
my Love, our suite awaits.” Froth-capped waves clapped against the pier as they
made their way to the small vacation home they’d rented. It was beautifully
decorated in an island motif. They had a private, heated pool and spa on the
veranda just outside the master suite. A set of French doors that opened from
the bedroom onto a gorgeous view of the beach. And the house itself sat at the
top of a private trail that lead away from the main resort.
Alexa dropped her bags near the door and fell onto the soft,
luxurious bed, kicking off her shoes as she relaxed. Immediately Sammy pulled
out his cell phone and shot off a text to his contact before checking the
internet connection on his laptop. “What are we doing here, Sammy?” she asked,
pulling up on her elbow to get a better look at what he was up to. She could
make out the name Donnie Pelosi and the time 9:45 p.m. before he closed the lid
and moved it from view.
“I gotta meet a man about a boat. Patience, Alexa, it’s just
one, minor detour in our trip.”
“I thought the plan was to go to Dubai?”
“And we will…later. But first, I have to make sure our
finances are in order and stabilize our identities for our new home. And, since
this is for a more permanent solution and not some run-of-the-mill operation,
it’ll take some time to get the right documents together. I figured what better
place to lay low while waiting to begin our new lives than paradise?” Alexa
sighed at Sammy’s response and pulled up from the bed. He moved closer and
gently rubbed her arms before drawing her into his chest. “Look, I have
everything under control, just trust me, ok? For now, we are Nicolas and Andrea
D’Amico, newlyweds on honeymoon from New York.”
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Enjoy paradise! Go shopping at the exotic shops, have a few
Mai Tai’s on the beach or go swimming with the dolphins. Just, try and relax.
Everything will be fine, I promise.”
“Alright, Nicolas,” she replied, pulling out of his arms.
Grabbing her purse from the items beside the bed, Alexa started for the door.
“Hey,” Sammy called to her back. “Where are you going?”
“Shopping,” she simply replied, shutting the door behind
her. The sun was beginning to set and vacationing families had started rolling
up their beach blankets and gathering the items they’d brought with them to
head inside for the evening. Alexa walked along the waterfront listening to the
peaceful sounds of the ocean around her.
The setting sun created the perfect romantic backdrop and
suddenly Alexa found herself thinking about Gavin and wondering what he was
doing at this very moment. The thought of him brought a smile to her face that
was quickly banished as she remembered the circumstances behind her departure.
Lights from the shops ahead finally came into view and she picked up speed,
noticing a few unsavory characters hanging around the entrance to the strip.
As she settled around the first vendor, she noticed the
group’s unease out of the corner of her eye and slowly approached them. “Can we
help you, Miss?” The tallest of the three asked.
Alexa lost track of time. At the point she was heading back
to the suite, it was nearly 8:30 and Sammy had already texted her several
times. She quickly dialed his number as she rounded the entrance to the shops.
“Hello?”
“A! Where are you?”
“On the way now.”
“Good. I have great
news. I met with my contact out here and he’s secured our transportation. I
thought we could celebrate tonight. I have a surprise for you when you get in.”
“I can’t wait, Sammy, I’ll see you soon.” It took less than
ten minutes before she walked into the front door of the suite. Sammy greeted
her with a smile and a gentle kiss on the lips.
“Sammy, what’s…?”
“This way,” he smiled, guiding her forward as he covered her
eyes with his hands. Alexa felt the cool night air brush over her as they
stepped out onto the porch and they stopped just before the stairs leading down
to the beach. “Keep your eyes closed,” Sammy whispered in her ear. She could
hear him take the three steps and the rustling of his shoes in the sand. “Ok,
open them!”
Alexa’s eyes slowly opened to the sight of a 55-foot yacht
anchored just off shore. Her mouth opened in surprise as she cautiously moved
forward towards Sammy. “Sammy, you—you bought a boat?”
“A yacht!”
“But…I don’t know anything about yachts.”
“That’s ok. I know plenty! And this one is a beaut! It’s a
custom built 5-bedroom catamaran with accommodations for 12. The interior is
Italian Walnut and white marble. A large, modern galley provides the perfect
tools for a 5-star Chef to create First Class meals for any occasion. The Maestro’s
deck hosts a lavish Jacuzzi, attractive sun-pads and a fully extended swimming
platform.” She listened as he talked excitedly, all the while leading her to
the pier and a small motorboat waiting to take them aboard.
“Wait, you want to go on that now?” she asked warily, eyeing
the suite and Sammy’s eager face.
“Well, yeah, I thought we could have a nice dinner on board
to celebrate our good news.”
“Wow, that was…fast.”
“I know but, the arrangements have all been made.” It took a
little more goading before Alexa willingly followed Sammy aboard the awaiting
vessel and the two raised the anchor and drove out to sea. She watched him
expertly captain the large ship into open water, the shoreline growing farther
and farther away. When they finally stopped, Alexa noted there were no lights
for as far as she could see, only ocean all around.
Sammy led her inside the main cabin where, just as he’d
claimed, a cozy, romantic dinner for two was set up and waiting. She smiled
over her shoulder at him and he moved ahead, pulling her chair out for her. “I hope
red wine’s ok.”
“I don’t mind it,” she smiled inwardly.
“Good. In that case, prepare your taste buds for an explosion
of flavor.”
After dinner, Sammy had excused himself to the yacht’s
control room and Alexa took the alone time to explore the ship. She stood in
the bedroom, feeling the softness of the comforter and surveying the area. The
boat rocked as a wave roughly hit the hull and Alexa found herself feeling the
tiniest bit of nausea.
Gripping her stomach, she rushed towards the bathroom and
threw herself to the floor. The deliciously tender steak and potatoes she’d
just consumed was emptied into the porcelain bowl but the queasiness didn’t end
there. The more the vessel swayed, the less her stomach contained. She felt the
engine cut off beneath her feet as she pulled herself to the sink. “Sammy?” she
called, curious about the sudden stop.
Alexa cleaned herself up and started up the galley towards
the wheel room. Glancing at the clock, a sickening feeling formed in the pit of
her belly but this time, it wasn’t the steak. It was 9:45 exactly. The sound of
a boat engine outside drew her attention to the port window. The running lights
had been shut off but she could recognize the outline of an approaching vessel.
Something was happening and she could tell from the encroaching calmness it
wasn’t going to be good.
Alexa looked around for her purse and remembered dropping it
on the couch in the living room. Cussing herself for not keeping it beside her,
she drew the largest knife from the block near the sink and lowered herself
behind the island.
Pulling her legs into a crouch position, she readied herself
to move when the countertop near her back creaked. “There’s my girl,” Sammy
smiled as he stood above her on the opposite side of the island. “Why don’t you
come out from behind there, huh?” He waved a .45 caliber glock in his hand, ensuring
she understood this was not a request.
Slowly she stood, moving towards the refrigerator, allowing
reasonable distance between her and the barrel of his gun. “Sammy…”
“Drop the knife, please,” he instructed as he aimed the gun
towards her head. Alexa did as told and dropped the blade into the sink. “Good
girl. Now, kindly take a step away from the sink.” Again she followed his
commands with a sigh, calmly placing her arms at her side. The two listened at
the sounds of heavy footsteps on the deck above them. Moments later, a greasy-haired,
medium built man in his late 40s early 50s descended the cabin stairs and stood
beside Sammy. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, dark jeans and
sneakers; obviously trying to conceal himself in the water at night.
Sammy glanced between them with a smirk, noticing Alexa
sizing him up. “A, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine; say hello to Donnie
Pelosi.”
She smiled stiffly but didn’t speak. “Why didn’t you just
kill me in St. Claire?”
“I TRIED!” he growled, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“But you, you just refused to die.” Alexa looked confused and Sammy sighed as
he explained. “You didn’t really think someone breached my firewalls? Really?
My systems are impenetrable! Those men that came after you, I hired them! Those marks that randomly
found you and came looking for revenge? I
gave them your location! But you ran through them each…one by one. And I mean
Nolan…well he only wanted his little heart to heal. Pathetic.”
Alexa gasped as she had another revelation. “Those men, back
at the railroad switch house, they called you Sammy.”
“They did.”
“I thought it was just your cover. The name you’d given them
for the meeting.”
“You should have looked deeper than that,” he laughed.
“So they were members of your dad’s crime syndicate?” she
asked, the question sounding more like a statement. “And you lied about them
having a connection to Richard Demery and WET. Mark Colacchio?”
“They came looking for me when they realized I knew the name
and location of the person who’d killed my Dad. They tortured me for that information.
ME! I was their goddamned boss! I signed their paychecks! But, I knew had I
told them where you were, that would have been it for the both of us. And I
couldn’t let them just take you, A. No. I had my own plans for you.”
“After that, keeping you alive became a matter of survival.
I needed you to protect me from the others they would send and I needed your
help getting out of the country once WET put my name on the same hit list as
yours. Trust me, had I a better plan, you would have been taken care of long
before the ransom drop. But, my darling Alexa, that’s a mistake I’m soon to
rectify. Move,” he pointed with the gun and Alexa did as told, stepping out
from behind the counter.
Donnie ascended the stairs to the upper deck, with Alexa
closely behind him. “Tie her up.”
“Sammy, wait…”
“For what, A? For you to charm your way out of this? It’s
not happening. You forget, I watched you on all of your missions, I know how
you operate. Donnie, tie her up.”
“Sammy, please! Why are you doing this?”
“BECAUSE YOU MURDERED MY FUCKING FAMILY, ALEXA! I can’t THINK of a better reason than that, can you? My Dad, sure I can understand him. He was a tyrant. He beat on my Mom nearly every night of the week. But what you did to her and my little sister Jenny…” sorrow briefly flashed across his face before he glared up at her again, “I’m gonna make sure you feel EVERY bit of terror and pain as they did!”
“Sammy…”
“SHUT UP!”
“Ok, but…,” she sighed, keeping her hands above her head as she took slow steps forward. “I was just gonna say, there’s one thing you’re missing.”
“What’s that?”
Alexa reached into the pockets of her shorts and slowly
opened her palm. “Bullets.” Sammy pulled the trigger several times and listened
to it click again and again. Glancing over at Donnie, Alexa motioned towards
the large duffel near Sammy’s feet. “The money’s in the bag.”
“You son of a bitch! You betrayed me?” Sammy growled as Donnie
grabbed the black bag, unzipped it to check its contents before closing it back
up and tossing it into the port side motorboat.
“That’s the thing about loyalty, Sammy. You should always know
who your allies are. Donnie and I go way back. I helped his family out of a jam
that, believe it or not, the Piozzo family put him in. How do you think I got
into your home the night your father was killed?” Alexa smirked and started
forward. “Ok, enough chitchat, we have a lot of work to do.”
Donnie made a motion towards Sammy, but Sammy was faster.
Swinging the butt of his pistol around quickly, he connected with Donnie’s temple,
instantly knocking him out.
“Donnie!” Alexa screamed, watching the man topple down the
stairs to the bottom landing. He lay motionless just inside the cabin and Sammy
took the opportunity to charge the distracted Alexa, falling with her down the
same flight of stairs. She quickly found her footing and headed into the galley.
But Sammy’s hand grabbed hold of her ankle, yanking her back into him.
Alexa thrust her heel at him, kicking him back and away and
again started for the knife in the sink. Finally, she secured the blade. And as
she turned to slash at him, he caught her hand and struck it against the edge
of the countertop until she dropped it. Knocking her against the fridge, Alexa
found herself in a life or death struggle. Sammy’s hands quickly wrapped around
her throat and he lifted her against the wall, choking the air from her lungs.
Alexa clawed at them, frantically trying to pry his tightly
curled fingers from around her neck but to no avail. Eyeing the objects around
her, she reached over his head for the pot rack and the cast iron skillet
hanging near them. In a desperate move, she stretched to wrap her fingers
around it, but the handle fell short.
She was suffocating, being crushed beneath his weight. Her
lungs were burning and she could feel herself passing out. At last, her arm
moved closer and Alexa quickly snatched the rack down from its ceiling mount
and smashed the pan against Sammy’s head, dazedly knocking him back. She fell
to the floor, gasping for air as he drunkenly staggered beside her.
Leaping for the weapon, Sammy instantly swung for her and
narrowly missed slicing her face. Alexa jumped away, anxiously fighting to keep
her distance. The boat dipped and she fell forward. Sammy thrust his blade
towards her, stabbing her shoulder. Alexa screeched and jerked back, scurrying
for the other side of the room as Sammy gave chase.
He dove at her, knife in hand, catching her in the side.
Alexa screamed and slammed the pan again across the side of his head. She fell
to the ground and watched as Sammy, too, stumbled on wobbly legs. Blood poured
from a fresh head wound on his right temple and she winced in pain as she struggled
to get to her feet.
Sammy was up first. In the chaos, he’d lost the knife but
made an attempt at a new weapon. Alexa noticed his attention on the butcher’s
block centered between them. If she could get to it first, she could put an end
to this mess and the asshole determined to kill her. Ignoring the intense
throbbing coming from her side, she successfully pulled herself up.
In a last ditch effort, Sammy lunged for the knife on the
counter and Alexa’s foot firmly landed on his jaw, knocking him back against
the wall. The boat swayed again and Sammy tumbled forward. The cutting board
toppled to the floor as well as the chopping block and several dishes from the
kitchen sink.
The water was getting rougher and the two were struggling to
stay on their feet. Alexa scrambled to the master bathroom and slammed the door
shut behind her. There was no time to block it. Instead, she slid the lock in
place and clambered out the starboard window, pulling herself up to the next
deck. Quietly, she tucked herself inside the hatch, climbed the stairs to the engine
room and waited.
“Alexa…why don’t you come out and play? I promise I’ll make
this quick.” She heard his cruel voice maliciously taunting her. The sounds of
his footsteps grew closer to where she hid and she looked around for anything
she could use as a weapon. Alexa was badly bleeding but couldn’t see how severe
the injury was to her shoulder or side. Pressing her fingers tighter against
her rib cage, she stifled her pained cries. “Alexa…come out, come out, wherever
you are.”
Quietly, she made her way across the engine room to the
maintenance door and hastily unhooked the hatch. The metal squealed, alerting him
of her position. And she impulsively raced back towards the ladder to get herself
top side. The door behind her sprang open and light from the upper deck poured
into the tiny room, perfectly outlining his silhouette in the doorway, knife in
hand and a sadistic grin on his face. “There you are!”
Sammy charged forward and Alexa scrambled up the ladder,
kicking at him as he held her by the ankles, struggling to pull her back down.
“No!” she yelled, thrashing violently until finally connecting with his face.
She pulled herself the rest of the way up the ladder and quickly slammed the
hatch shut.
Running as fast as she could, she reentered the living room
and wrestled her gun from her purse just as Sammy rounded the corner, entering
behind her. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun. He took a step forward
and Alexa fired, hitting him in the arm. Sammy turned to run and she fired
again, this time catching him in the leg. He fell, clawing at the ground,
trying to pull himself up the stairs.
Slowly she started towards him, tears streaming down her face
as the pain in her ribs became almost unbearable. Alexa looked down at her
side; the wound wasn’t too deep, she’d live. But that was far more than she
could say for Sammy Piozzo. “Turn around!” she instructed, leveling the gun at
his head. “Turn around, you son of a bitch, or I swear to God I will shoot you
in the back.”
“Of course you would, you fucking bitch!” he spat at her as
he rolled to his back. Blood oozed from his shoulder, as well as the wound on
his leg and he laughed as he pulled his back against the wall. “When…?” he groaned,
holding his wound tighter, trying to stop the bleeding. “When did you know?”
Sammy struggled to breathe as Alexa circled around him,
hooking the wheel to the starboard abeam. “Would you believe it was before you
told me about your little ransom scheme? I found it strange that you were so
gung-ho for ripping off innocent people.”
“Innocent,” he scoffed, spitting up a mouthful of blood.
“He’s a fucking WET CEO!”
“That doesn’t make him automatically guilty, Sammy!”
“No. It just makes him a potential scumbag.”
“The boat,” Alexa whispered as a sudden realization hit her.
“You rigged the Starks’ yacht to blow, didn’t you?” she asked, looking down at
Sammy as he pulled his back against the wall. “Answer me!”
“YES!” he shouted, jumping at her in anger. “I wanted him dead just like you!”
“Why?”
“Because he made you happy,” he laughed maniacally as he
spit another mouthful of blood to the side. “I could see it on your face. You
wanted to come clean to him which could only mean one thing, you loved him. And
I wanted to take everything from you just like you did to me!”
“You’re a son of a bitch, you know that?”
“Let’s get one thing straight: I never murdered your entire family! I killed your father, I admit
that. I also went after his capos and anyone else involved in the deaths of my
family. Your mother and baby sister were not in the home when I went in and I
never would have killed either of them had they been there.” Sammy sat quietly,
staring harshly at Alexa, uncertain of whether or not she was lying.
“Look, you don’t have to believe me but, I’m telling you the
truth. I tied your dad to the bed while he slept. I beat him, I tortured him; I
did everything he did to my Dad and then I shot him in the head. The shit that
happened to your Mom and that innocent, little girl…it wasn’t me!”
“It might as well have been! Killing my dad led to their
deaths! Do you have any idea what happens in a power struggle, A, HUH? The
leader had fallen and the next power hungry shark smelled blood in the water!
Getting rid of the rest of us was just a play to become the next Don, plain and
simple. You killed them when you murdered my father!”
“Sammy, I’m sorry. It sickens me to know they were killed in
such a brutal way.”
“Take your apology and shove it up your ass! I never should
have helped you save that old nun!”
“Mother Mary? You had something to do with her kidnapping
too? That’s how WET knew about her. You son of a bitch! She did NOTHING to
deserve that, Sammy.”
“Yeah? Well now you know how my mother and sister felt. At
least the old woman made it out alive.”
“Which is a lot more than I can say for you. I’m gonna make
you feel everything dear old dad felt before I showed him the sweet mercy of
death!”
Donnie paced the length of the stern, listening to the
tortured screams echoing from the bow of the ship. Whatever was going on up
there, didn’t sound so good for Sammy. He readied the motorboat for launch and
waited for Alexa to finish; watching for signs of incoming boaters.
“Say hello to Vinny for me when you get to hell.” She smiled
as she stood in front of Sammy’s badly beaten body. Taking careful aim, she
fired one shot into his head and two into his chest.
“You ready to go?” Donnie asked, lighting a cigarette as Alexa
appeared at the stern moments after the sounds of Sammy’s screams had ceased.
“Absolutely.” Alexa climbed aboard the motorboat with Donnie.
Once they got a good distance ahead of the expensive yacht, she flipped the
switch on the remote detonating device in her hand and watched as the 55-foot
yacht burst into flames.
Wiping the trigger of prints, she tossed it into the water
and took a seat beside her friend. “Nice night for a barbecue,” Donnie joked
and swiftly made haste for shore.
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