Chapter 1   Book 1

Leone was just twenty-four when his father was taken out by one of their enemies, making him the boss. His first act was to get revenge on the man responsible for his father's death. The way he dealt with the situation earned him more loyalty and respect from the men who were now working for him. William, who stood by Piero's side for years now became Leone's, main man. The night Piero died in his arms he promised to watch over his boss's son and protect him with his life. He was impressed with how Leone took control, planned, and organized the takedown of Elio Capo.

But, Leone warned the others to leave his father's killer to him. Capo's men found themselves outnumbered and though they did their best to protect their boss they all ended up dead. But Capo was dragged outside and dropped by Leone's feet.

On his knees, he looked up at the young man and felt the worst fear he had ever experienced when he looked into Leone's eyes. "Please spare me and I promise to be your loyal servant and will do whatever you want."

"You killed my father so why would I let you live?"

"It's our way when someone destroys what belongs to us. He killed many of my men and destroyed my business."

Leone leaned over, placed the barrel of his gun on Capo's forehead. "You sick bastard, you were trafficking young women, most of them as young as twelve. Selling them for sex to perverts who raped and beat them. The Brambilla family will do whatever to destroy you all. But killing my father you have signed your own death warrant." He stepped back and as Capo begged for his life he pulled the trigger. He emptied the chamber of his gun into the man's head and chest without blinking an eye.

William stood by his side and it hit him how calm Leone was, he never blinked once. "What now boss?"

"Now we put out the word never to mess with us again or they will come to the same fate. Have this place cleaned up and the bodies disposed of."

"Where are you going?"

"For a drink."

"I'll go with you."

"No, William. I want you to take care of things here?"

"My job is to protect you."

"Your job is to do what I say," he snapped back at the man. "Look, you know I can take care of myself and I want to be alone."

William didn't like it one little bit, but he had to obey his boss. "Okay, but be careful and watch your back."

"I will and I'll see you tomorrow." He drove to a bar, one where he hadn't been to before and going in sat on one of the stools. After ordering a double scotch he thought back to when his father was alive.

His father was tough but treated everyone who worked for him like family. In a way they were, always had each other's back. Sure there were a few traitors but they were swiftly dealt with. He taught him to respect women and never to lay a hand on them in violence. His father never remarried after the death of his mother who died during childbirth. Leone had been with a few women but never considered himself a player. He was looking for the right one, one who wasn't weak, one who wouldn't let him control every move she made. All the women he had been with were too eager to do as he said, ones who wanted him to control them.

He was sitting there minding his own business when a man sat next to him. Glancing over and seeing who it was he shook his head in annoyance. It was non-other than Eddie Salvatore, a man who he has known for several years. They were not friends and disliked each other and wondered why he would sit next to him. Eddie thought of himself as a lady's man, going from one woman to the next. Though he was mafia he belonged to no family, he went solo and had a few good men who always came to his side when asked for help. He was tough, dangerous and never interfered with the Brambilla family. They had never gotten along and were more like enemies even though they avoided one another whenever possible.

"Leone, sorry to hear about your father. I'm sure by now you've taken care of the ones responsible for his death."

"What do you think?" he replied, slamming his glass down.

"Yeah, of course, you have. I can't stand you but I did like and respect your father. I would have helped you to get your revenge."

"I'll never need your help."

Just then the female bartender walked over, she was a cute blonde with big breasts and leaned over the counter. Smiling at Eddie.

"I haven't seen you two in here before."

"First time for me but looking at you I think I'll become a regular," Eddie said, checking out her breasts. "So what time do you get off work?"

"In five minutes," she replied.

"Want to go somewhere quieter where we can talk?"

"Just let me grab my stuff," she said and walked away.

Leone shook his head. "Don't you ever get tired of picking up one-night stands?" He knew of the man's reputation and how he discarded them after he got what he wanted.

"Hey, can I help it if the ladies find me irresistible and want a piece of this?" he asked, moving his hand down his body. "I think you should get laid soon, it might make you more pleasant to be around."

Leone rolled his eyes as he watched Eddie and the woman leave the bar. A small part of him was jealous, and a small part was envious of how easily it was for him to just pick up a random girl and take her home. He himself couldn't do that, he preferred to get to know a woman before sleeping with her. He went home to his penthouse apartment. It was one of the biggest and finest ones in Italy, had everything one could want, it even had a pool and hot tub on the balcony.

A few days later William informed Leone that young girls and women were disappearing right off the street and forced to work at a sleazy nightclub.

"So do we know who this man is who owns the club?"

William laid down a folder for Leone to look at. "His name is Ted Jenkins. He's a small time criminal who moved here a few months ago. I've heard that before putting them to work he sexually abuses them. Is this something you want to deal with?"

Leone looked up at him with anger in his eyes. "If this Ted guy was just running a nightclub with strippers and prostitutes who were willing then I would say leave him be. But if he is trafficking these women and using them for sex then he has to be eliminated. Gather up as many men as you think we need and we'll go give this man a visit."

Leone knew that there were Mafia that dealt in human trafficking and that was how they made their money. He had and would never do anything like that. Though he himself had many illegal businesses he also had some legit ones. But his main mission was to stop as many of these human traffickers as he possibly could.

Two days later he and his men were ready to strike. Getting into several vehicles with tinted windows they headed to a small remote area where the club was located. Leone stepped out of his vehicle and looked up at what was nothing but a rundown building. He could hear music coming from inside.

"Boss, how do you want to handle this?"

"Take a couple of guys in with you and find this Ted guy and bring him out back."

"What if we run into trouble?"

"Then deal with it, but do not hurt the women. I will take a couple of guys with me out back and wait."

He and two men started walking around the back and it wasn't more than five minutes when he heard gunshots. A dark shadow appeared from out of nowhere, Leone and his men raised their guns.

"Stop and get down on your knees," Leone ordered loudly.

"It's me, don't shoot," he yelled out, getting on his knees and raising his hands up.

"Eddie, are you part of this ring?"

With his hands in the air he cursed at Leone. "No you dumb fucker."

"Then why are you here?"

"Can I get up now?"

"You stay right where you are and you better start explaining before I put a bullet in your chest."

"I'm only here to rescue Violet Russell."

"Who the hell is that?"

"She is the daughter of Benjamin Russell, an acquaintance of mine. His daughter was kidnapped a few days ago and he asked me to come and rescue her."

Leone lowered his gun and motioned for the others to do the same thing. He walked over to Eddie and held his hand out to help him up. "I'm here to destroy Ted Jenkins and rescue these poor women that are being forced to work here. Go get your girl."

Eddie took his hand and got to his feet. "I will but it won't be easy now that there is gunfire. So I think you could use an extra pair of hands."

Just then one of the guys that Leone sent in with the others came out. "Boss, we can't find Jenkins, he must be hiding somewhere."

"Let's go back in and I'll find the bastard," Leone said as he and the others went in followed by Eddie.

Once inside everything was chaos, women were screaming and men were fighting and shooting at each other. At one point Leone found himself facing Eddie who had raised his gun, pointing it at him. He didn't have time to reload his gun when Eddie fired. But when the bullet did not hit him he turned his head and saw another man falling to the ground. It was then that he realized Eddie had saved his life.

There wasn't time to thank him as he loaded his gun and they took care of the others before they went looking for Jenkins. He was eventually found cowering in a hideaway cupboard in his office. He was swiftly dealt with and would never hurt another person again.

"Now what boss?" William asked, all the while staring at Eddie and was wondering if he was going to be a problem.

"Get the women outside and when everybody is out burn this place to the ground. Find the one who is called Violet Russell and bring her to Eddie."

Leone and Eddie walked outside and each one lit a cigarette.

"Thank you for saving my life back there. I thought you were aiming at me and you're just lucky my gun was empty at the time or I might have killed you."

"You're welcome and you really should think about carrying an extra gun or two on you at all times."

"I'll do that, and I think I owe you a drink for saving my life. Why don't you come over to my place after you've taken the girl back to her family?"

"You want me in your place? A man you have despised your whole life."

"You saved my life."

When all of the women were brought outside and Violet was taken over to where Eddie was they all watched as the place burnt to the ground.

Eddie turned to the young woman and placed his jacket over her shoulders. "Do not be afraid, I'm here to take you back to your parents." He turn to look at Leone. "I'll be over for that drink."

Leone watched as they got into a vehicle and drove off. He felt so bad for the young girl who couldn't have been any older than sixteen and what she must have endured over the last few days.

"What do you want us to do with the girls?"

Looking at William he placed his gun in his holster. "Find out if any of them have families or home to go to and if not, then find them a safe place."

"What about the ones who may not live around here?"

"Then put them on my jet and take them to wherever they want to go and make sure they have a place to stay and some money to get started. I'm going home now. Let me know when everything is taken care of."

He knew that it would be late when Eddie came over for that drink. He was still surprised that the man saved his life when he could just as easily have killed him on the spot. Maybe, just maybe he had misjudged Eddie all these years and had a lot of questions to ask him.