5. THE PUNISHMENT

|Bojana|

Rocco had always been like that. We fought over and over before we got to this close stage, and nobody could ever understand us. We found ourselves at our lowest, and ever since then, we worked our way up.

In blood, sweat, and tears. We have climbed up to the top by fighting tooth and nail. It wasn’t rosy but we pulled through.

I had seen Rocco in almost all types of his emotions, but one thing he never did was break down in front of me. There were times I heard him cry in his room, but never in front of me, even though I did that a lot on his shoulders.

He never let anyone be in his bed till the following morning for their own sake because he would always wake up with a nasty temper. The dreams that woke him up always prompted him to be violent, so he detested having someone on the receiving end of his rage.

I had warned the bed warmer not to ever sleep till morning by his side, but I guess my warnings fell on deaf ears, and she had seen for herself what the consequences of her disobedience were. As we walked along the long hallway, I could hear tiny sobs coming from her as she examined her neck every second to check if it was still attached to her head.

“You must have seen heaven’s gate in a flash, what were you thinking? I warned you enough,” I remarked, and that only made her suppressed tears burst out.

“I thought I would die back then. I couldn’t breathe and was slowly losing it. Why did you bring me to someone who would send me to my early grave? Why did he have to take my life after almost ruining my body yesterday night?” she lamented, and I stopped abruptly.

She tripped as she hit me due to the fact that I stopped without notice, and I grabbed her right hand before pushing her into the wall… hard.

A groan escaped her throat as she closed her eyes to bear the pain without screaming.

“Did I not warn you? Were you not the one that told me you were up to the task? How is that my fault? Tell me before I rip out that tongue of yours!” I gritted, my eyes turning red.

“You didn’t tell me that I was coming to be slaughtered like a lamb,” she protested and yanked the blanket off her body.

Her nakedness was open for all to see, but she didn’t care. She just started showing me the marks, bites, and scratches on her skin.

“Was I brought here to be a sex slave? Can you see the bites, chokehold, red skin, and scattered hair? It also hurts like crazy down there. He should at least have some manners!” she yelled.

A chuckle from me cut through her hysteria, and she paused to see why I was reacting that way. My hands trailed down her neck, toward her breast, up to her belly as I scanned her whole body.

“Seems like he had so much fun yesterday. You should be glad you weren’t carried out and walked out with your two feet. At least you can talk,” I stated, and she stared at me in horror.

“How can this be funny to you? Are you not a woman like me?” she scoffed, and a slap from me landed on her right cheek.

“How dare you compare me to you? Do you want me to rip your mouth off and make it equal with your skin? You don’t get to talk back to me,” I lashed out at her, and she couldn’t believe what had happened to her.

I slowly covered her with the blanket and motioned for her to follow me. On getting to the huge waiting room, I tossed her a bulky white envelope, and two men came in with bags containing clothes and everything she might need for the morning.

“Clean up and change into that. If you ever step a foot into Palermo again, I will make sure you become food to the fishes. Your flesh will be juicy with the look of it,” I threatened and exited the room to join Rocco at the front of the house.

******

The elevator dinged as it landed on the last floor where Rocco’s office was situated. The boys had lined from the entrance to the door of his office and all bowed in unison as he stepped out of the elevator.

“Benvenuto Capo! (Welcome Boss!)” They all echoed in unison and bowed sharply.

He went through their midst silently with huge strides till he took his seat on his chair, and every one of them rushed in to take their positions.

“So what is the update?” his voice broke the tensed, silent atmosphere, and Bojana placed a file in front of him.

“We have successfully gained ownership of the Marcello’s vineyard, and we have started the necessary works on it this morning. The first inspection is scheduled to be two weeks from now.”

A short pause followed as she placed a new file in front of him.

“The new batch has been brought in. The lab had it tested, and it was just as expected. It will flow with the dance just like the club’s disco light bulbs,” she added, and he flipped through the file.

Placing the last file, she continued, “We also have the names of those that tried to smuggle our products to the opponent gang. The punishment is left to you.”

Everyone felt the atmosphere freeze as he went through the file silently with his eyes glued to it. He didn’t utter a word, but his shoe sang different music as the sole kept tapping on the floor beneath him.

For like five minutes, no one could breathe properly as they waited for him to speak. He finally cleared his throat, and Bojana knew what it was right away. At the snap of her fingers, the culprits were all led in one after the other.

“There is one rule of mankind, and that is said to be not to bite the finger that feeds you. Not only did I, Rocco Lorenzo, feed you, I picked you up from the smelly pit, inside the rotten trash, and cleaned you up. I fed, clothed, and even gave you a source of living, but at the toss of a cheap chunk of paper, you tried to sell me out?” he started and stood up from his chair.

The room was dead silent except for the soft whimpers of the men kneeling before him. He took a deep breath and circled them like a lion watching its prey.

“Tell me,” he continued, his voice dangerously low, “was it worth it? Trading your loyalty for a few bills?”

One of the men—a young recruit—trembled violently. “P-please, Capo, I didn’t—”

Before he could finish, Rocco slammed his hand against the desk, making everyone flinch. “Silence.” His voice carried the weight of death itself.

Bojana stepped forward, her gaze ice-cold. “Your fate is sealed. The only question is how long you’ll suffer before the end.”

Rocco smirked darkly. “Let’s find out, shall we?”