Page 2 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Heir

“I don’t need to be on polite speaking terms with you,” I growl as I hurl a huge wad of spit into Vinny’s face. He doesn’t budge. I expect him to deliver a blow across my face but he simply reaches into his pocket and wipes the spit away.

“I think you need to learn some manners,” he says as he grabs me and takes me down the hall. I kick and scream, fillingthe long hallways with blood-curdling cries. I expect this is where he’ll finally off me.

Once again, I stand corrected. Vinny places me on the bed in a bare room then walks back to the door.

“When you learn how to behave, I’ll let you out,” he shouts, sweat dripping down the sides of his face.

“Behave?” I screech. “Am I some kind of child to you?” I roar but he slams the door and locks it. Hot, angry tears roll down my cheeks. I’m stuck in prison and I have no idea how my ill-equipped parents will get me out of this nightmare.

CHAPTER 2

Vinny

The plan was kidnapping. I’d go in, get the girl, then wait for further instructions. It was bad enough that I had to pay that mouthy girl just to be able to do my job. I expected it all to be easy until I saw her. Rosa. I read her name over and over when my dad handed me the file. The picture on file showed a scrawny kid with a baseball cap and shaggy hair. But the girl, or should I say woman, who waited in that dorm room was quite different. Her hair had grown down her back and her round face had filled out slightly. Her eyes were still just as big, but they were green rather than dark brown as the file suggested.

Dad told me the job would be easy enough. Of course, he didn’t prepare me to be in limbo for the next week. I wanted it to be over with. I didn’t want the chance to develop any kind of pity.

“The minute you look at them as people instead of a job, you lose,”My big brother Larry coached me. At that time, I was sixteen. Larry had done my current job plenty of times and with great ease. Women, children, innocent men. Larry didn’t care. As long as there was money on the other end of the line, Larry would get the job done. I kept a safe distance from that life because my dad had Larry, Uncle Berny, and Mikey, my otherbrother. Larry got older and sloppier and I was next in line to pick up the pieces.

A week is far too long to be left with no instructions, though. Now that Larry is in prison, everyone assumes it’s my turn to prove my place in the Montoya family. Especially after my fuck up.

“Excuse me?” Rosa yells across the table. I perk up, realizing I’m still holding the bottle of hot sauce she requested. In front of her is a plate of pizza and a beer. It was the least I could do since the cabin didn’t have food. I slide the bottle over and watch as she drenches the pizza in it.

“That’s disgusting,” I say with my nose pinched.

“Good. Maybe if you find me that revolting, you’ll put me out of my misery,” she grumbles.

“Don’t joke around with that,” I warn.

Rosa drops her gaze and eats her pizza. “Why am I still here?”

“It’s not that bad,” I reply.

She sets the pizza down. “Why am I still alive?”

“Do you have a death wish or something?” I tease. Rosa returns to the pizza in silence, taking short sips of her beer. I watch until the two pizza slices are entirely finished. Then I rise to my feet.

“Alright, let’s go,” I order. Rosa doesn’t budge.

“Can’t I let my food digest before I go back into that prison?” she asks softly. For someone with a tough demeanor, I can tell the isolation is starting to get to her.

“I can’t let you get comfortable out here because then you’ll think you own the place,” I tell her.

“Then can I say hi to my parents at least?” she asks. There’s a crack in her voice and that’s all it takes.

Larry would tell me I’ve lost and would need to take her out immediately,I think to myself as I pull the landline phone off the hook and hand it to her.

“You’ve got five minutes,” I say. Rosa happily takes the phone and waits with anticipation as it rings. Finally, she perks up and says, “Mom?”

My heart sinks in my chest. Rosa smiles as tears stream down her face.

“Mom, I…I got…kidnapped,” she says as she looks over at me. “I need you and Dad to please pay the money so—” Rosa pauses, her expression changing.

“What?” her voice drops as anger takes over her face. “Are you kidding me? What’s it gonna take for you to—” Rosa pauses. I can hear the other voice on the end frantically yelling. Rosa shakes her head and hands the phone back to me.

“She hung up,” Rosa says.

I hang the phone up as guilt fills me with shame. “Well, I’m sure they’ll get the money.”

---