Chapter 9
Michael had been close to telling her everything so many times before. Every rejection from her had triggered in him the desire to see her vulnerable, broken. She had always treated him with disregard and had never even given him a second thought. But he knew it was only because of her father, William. He had been the one to poison her mind against him; he knew that she truly loved him.
So, he did what needed to be done to ensure that Leigh was free to be his. It hadn't been difficult to finally make up his mind. William had planned to expose him and send her away. Leigh was Michael's. He had always known that, and now she would as well.
She wanted proof of his love? Then she would get it. He was going to give her in graphic detail how he'd executed his plan. When he was finished, she would be completely numb and then he intended to bend her to his will. She would have no other choice then to accept that she could never deny him again.
"Tell me why you wanted my father dead, Michael." Leigh tried once again.
Michael studied her face carefully, but Leigh was so emotionally drained. Her face, which was pale and expressionless, revealed nothing.
"William never understood my reasons to be involved with Visconti; I did it for you. From the moment I first saw you, I knew I had to have you." Michael looked at her straight into her eyes.
"I was just a child." Leigh murmured in disgust. Michael either heard what she said or he'd read her thoughts. "I saw beyond that, sweetheart."
She cringed at the endearment used. She didn't want him tainting the lovely feeling Damien evoked every time he used the same word. Leigh closed her eyes briefly and swallowed hard.
"William was a fool, just like my father was. Visconti offered me the chance to have everything I wanted, and with time I would have you too, my love."
It took all the strength in her not to slap his repugnant face. This was a crucial moment and she would be damned if she messed it up.
"Visconti used me, just as I used him to build all I have today. Now, we can finally be together, no one will ever come between us again."
"Michael...there was never anything between us. What are you saying?" Leigh was getting more frustrated as the minutes passed.
"William had to die, love. He made it clear I was never to come near you ever again." He tilted his head and cupped her face.
Leigh was too numb to retract. She just stared at him, tears slowly falling.
"It was worth the trouble I got with Visconti. He hadn't approved of me using his men without his consent, but he had let me off. After all, your father was going to give the evidence he had to the FBI."
"Take your filthy hands off me." Leigh said calmly in a low, no nonsense voice as she looked straight into his eyes.
***********
"He's still in the house with her." Gino said. "What about the Feds?"
"There are three now just outside, and more nearby. What should I do?" Gino had been itching to put his hands on Michael.
Salvatore hung up the phone and sighed pensively. He had known for a long time about Michael's side dealings. A man in a position like his, had to know everything that involved his name. Salvatore had been aware of the small fortune Michael had built for himself by using Salvatore's name, resources as well as stealing his goods. He wanted Detective Tempton alive, so he could have the pleasure of killing him. Michael would pay for his betrayal; painfully.
"Stay put and keep me informed of the developments; if he leaves the house alive it won't be for long." Salvatore instructed.
***********
Damien was growing even more restless, if that was possible. To say that he was ready to kick the door down was an understatement. He had briefly weighed his chances of busting it open and still being able to stand fit to face Michael. That thought had been dismissed as quickly as it passed through his mind. The door was made of solid oak.
He concluded that they had to go with plan B, whichever that was.
Just as he turned to Agent Scott and Agent Nelson, who had just joined them to confabulate about a plan of action, they heard the faint noise of the doorknob being turned slowly.
Fuck!
Damien's senses immediately went on high alert and his body stiffened, preparing itself for a possible confrontation.
All three men quickly eyed one another in acknowledgment and, as swiftly and quietly as possible, each took their positions to cover themselves the best they could. Damien double checked the gun in his hand; fully loaded and ready as he was.
If someone ever asked him what he was feeling at that very moment, he wouldn't have been able to tell them. Tension and apprehension were obviously in the equation, but beyond that his emotions were all mashed together. He couldn't afford being unfocused right now and he would not think of Leigh and the possibility of her being part of a conflict in which loaded guns were involved. No, he would not.
Agent Scott was crouched behind one of the pillars that ostentatiously supported the front porch. Agent Nelson, who didn't seem to be one bit stressed, stood slightly bent behind the other.
Damien felt like the slow kid playing hide and seek; having nowhere good left to hide, he picked the one where he would be obviously noticed. He knelt next to the door, waiting to aim his gun on whoever's head appeared first, provided it wasn't Leigh's, naturally.
The door was now slightly open but no one had come out. After a brief moment deliberating what to do, Damien took his chances and pushed open the door a little more with his right foot, but something was stopping it from opening wider. He cautiously peeked inside and his gaze darted lower.
"Son of a bitch!" Damien murmured in relief. Agent Johnson, barely conscious, sat against the door on the floor with his hand still gripping the doorknob.
Signalling the other two agents to approach, Damien crouched and, as low as he could, he spoke to Darryl.
"Where is she?"
"He took her to another room..." Darryl managed to say. "Sorry." He added.
Damien nodded and in a reassuring gesture, he patted Darryl's shoulder. Then Agent Scott and Nelson helped Darryl out of the house where one of the other Agents had informed them that Michael had indeed confessed his involvement with Visconti.
Darryl might have been down temporarily, and any chances of recording a possible confession from Michael would have been scrapped if it hadn't been for the fact that Leigh had also been wearing a wire.
Meanwhile, the other Agents had already positioned themselves around the property. Damien didn't waste any more time and began creeping into the house with only one objective in his mind; he would get Leigh out safe, no matter what.
************ "Take your filthy hands off me. Now!" Leigh said again when his grip on her arm became tighter.
"No, it is time you understand you are here with me, for good. I told you, you are mine." Michael growled and forcefully, with his other hand, grabbed her neck, bringing her face closer to his.
"No!" Leigh tried to shout but his mouth covered hers. She was fighting him off frantically, tears of anger and horror of what might happen, started to fall down her cheeks.
She tried to shove him away but her attempts were useless against his sick determination to have her body. He was savaging her mouth, groping her anywhere he could.
Suddenly, he'd stopped and a brief sense of relief washed through her body, but then she noticed where his gaze was. Her blouse was ripped wide open, revealing her heaving breasts, barely covered by a lacy bra and the wire. Shit! During her despair to get away from his hold, Leigh had completely forgotten about it.
The look of utter fury in his face gave her cold shivers that spread right through her soul. She braced herself for the blow before it came.
"You sly bitch!" Michael yelled as he slapped her furiously, wanting nothing more then to make her pay for the betrayal.
"Damien!" Leigh screamed.
But as soon as he did it, he realized he could not kill her. He needed her to be his guarantee out of the house alive, because he was without a doubt certain that the house had been surrounded by the feds.
As soon as that realization hit him, he turned around, placing Leigh in front of him as a shield. Right there determined like never before, stood Damien, facing them with his gun aimed at Michael's head.
"Let her go. Now!" Damien said refusing to look at Leigh in the eyes. He had heard her screams and that nearly killed him. As he ran along the hall, trying to figure out in which room they were, his heart had stopped a dozen times.
Suddenly, behind him appeared Agent Scott and Nelson, both men joining him in his intentions of securing Leigh, but Michael wasn't bulging. His eyes filled with rage, showing no intentions of freeing Leigh, who remained rigid in his arms in a complete cataleptic state.
Then, the click of the trigger and the comprehension of what was about to happen, snapped her out of her trance.
No!
************* They say, when facing death, people usually see their entire lives flash before their eyes. If it was so, Leigh had just missed hers entirely. The only thing she saw was the look of despair etched on Damien's face.
"Don't!" Damien's scream echoed in her thoughts. His gun aimed at Michael's head, and not one single tremor in his hand. Despite his utmost fear of what might happen to his love, Damien maintained his focus on Michael's every breath. Damien intended to act promptly at any sign of Michael pulling the trigger.
