Wild Desires: Mafia's Secret Bond

Nessa Sims

~•~

"We'll be late if you don't come down right now," Ellie screamed at me. She was downstairs waiting for me to get ready for the hackathon event Tech Titans was hosting. Ellie knew I always took forever to get ready and I honestly expected her to be used to it by now.

"I'll be down in five minutes." I applied the last of my makeup and put my hair into a bun. I was already dressed. Ellie had to drive me because she was the one with a car and I had always been her passenger princess.

I went downstairs along with Liam because we were going to drop him off at my Mum's house first. I locked up the house and we went to the car.

"When are you ever going to change?" Ellie came at me before I could even sit down properly.

"Maybe when I find the love of my life."

"How does it even relate?" She laughed and hit me softly.

"You're allowed to laugh but not to hit me." I slapped her hands away from my body.

The ride over to my mum's was fun. Well, whenever it was a combination of me and Ellie in the car, we always had the time of our lives. Liam sat at the back with his face glued to the iPad throughout. He was sad I wasn't taking him with me but he was only 3, and children weren't allowed there.

"Bye Mum."

"Bye baby, see you at 6." He slammed the car door and ran to hug his granny. I didn't say anything to her as we still had our issues but thank goodness she didn't have any with my son. I mean, who would've helped me babysit him? I didn't fancy the idea of a random babysitter around my child.

We drove to the event. We were already 10 minutes late and my phone had been blowing up with calls from my other teammates.

"I'm so sorry, I got caught up in traffic." I lied. I took my name tag from one of the organizers.

"Shut your lying ass." Ariana teased me. "We all know you're never early." She was my favorite teammate and she made my work with them more interesting and bearable.

My manager came into the room we were all in. I didn't like him but I had to put up with him because I needed him to get us to competitions and the prices were really helpful.

"Y'all will be up in 10 minutes, so get ready and don't flop." He scoffed at us. We were all grown up, so I didn't understand why he had to act the way he did.

"Okay, boss." Everyone else echoed in unison.

We went to the arena, everything was already set up for the competition. Different teams trooped in looking all confident and ready. Although I wasn't fazed, I knew I was good and my teammates were also good hackers.

"Remind me what's the price again?" Ellie snapped me out of my thoughts.

"10k." The price wasn't really all that compared to all the other competitions we've had, but important and powerful people were coming to watch us in action. The event could open new opportunities or even land us new jobs.

"Okay girl, bring that money home." She kissed me goodbye.

"You're leaving? Who would drive me home?"

"The new man you'll flirt with after you win."

"How are you so sure I'm going to win?"

"I know my girl, don't disappoint." She winked at me. "Ouuu, who's that handsome boy I see." She walked towards him. Ellie has always been the one to fantasize about boys, they never lasted though because she had commitment issues. I wish I could say the same for myself, I fell in love with someone who later ended up complicating my life.

"Alright, welcome everybody. I'm going to state the rules and y'all have only 30 minutes to complete the task." The first presenter announced.

"You have to hack into a computer system without leaving any trace of the intrusion. The goal is to gain access to the system's files and data without being detected by security software or leaving any digital footprints." The second presenter added.

That was an easy task. I expected it to be more challenging. I was just curious about who the important people would be. Maybe I would land a good-paying job to take care of my child.

"Your time starts now."

Ariana, our other teammate, and I began coding, looking for ways to gain access to the system without leaving traces. Our eyes darted across the screen, looking for flaws in the system we could exploit. I found an unpatched software and in 20 minutes we could hack into the system without leaving traces.

"And done!" I screamed in excitement. The two presenters came to see what we had done and announced us as the winners.

"Hey, my boss wants to speak with you." I turned around to see a strange man with an all-black outfit.

"Who's your boss?" Different thoughts were running through my head because his outfit was suspicious.

"Over there." He pointed to an isolated corner. I wondered who the mysterious person would be. I wanted to ask him who his boss was again but he was already gone.

I hesitated for a moment, but my curiosity got the best of me. I walked towards the corner. I didn't know if I should be worried or scared. I acted calm because I knew I hadn't done anything bad, maybe it was just a guy that was in love with me.

I saw the most handsome man on earth. He was tall with a chiseled jaw and hazel eyes. His tailored suit hugged his body in all the right places, highlighting his broad shoulders and strong arms. He was the type of man who would make you weak in the knees with just a glance.

"What would this man want from me?" I thought to myself.

"Nessa Sims." He cut me out of my thoughts. His voice was deep and smooth. How did he already know my name and what did he want from me?

"Yes?" I said with all confidence. I was clearly faking it because I had never been a confident person.

"I need you." He walked closer to me. I held in a gasp as I started imagining our lives together. "I need you to come work for me." He added.

I was so disappointed. It was for work. I snapped out of my delusion. "What kind of work? And who told you I needed a job."

"I saw your hacking skills earlier, you are what I've been searching for." His presence was commanding and he made it seem like I didn't have a choice.

"So you have a company or what?"

"I need you to be part of my mafia group, we need a hacker."

"No." I wasn't going to involve myself in something as dangerous as that. My life was already complicated as it was. "I have a son to take care of, I don't want me or my family to be in danger."

"I know you have a son, and trust me you wouldn't be in danger."

"My answer remains the same, and if you're done, I'd like to leave."

I could tell he was surprised by my reaction even after he had told me he was a part of the mafia. He definitely expected me to be scared. I was but I didn't show it. My dad had always taught me to fake my confidence and act like I wasn't bothered so people wouldn't take advantage of me.

"Think about it." He tossed his card into my slightly opened bag and left with his guards walking beside him like he was some sort of emperor.

I stared at the card that read Vito Giancana. I had heard about him several times. He was a powerful mafia don in New York. He wasn't going to let me go so easily. A chill ran down my spine when I realized the situation I had gotten into.

***

"Ellie, you won't believe my day." I collapsed onto the bed. Our ritual, trading stories after a long day.

"Wait, did you win the money or not?" She glanced up from her phone with curiosity in her eyes.

"Yes, but there's more..."

"Can you just say it?"

"I met Vito Giancana."

"Next joke please." She didn't take me seriously. I had always been delusional and she thought it was one of my many jokes.

"I'm for real." I tossed the card at her.

"What does he want from you? The biggest drug dealer in New York wants my friend." She jumped off the bed and did her little embarrassing happy dance.

"Stop celebrating, he just wants me for my hacking skills, nothing more."

"Oh." I could tell she was disappointed.

"That's how I felt too, I don't know what to do, I don't want to be involved in that kind of life."

"Well, what did you tell him?"

I told her about how everything went down and how he tossed his card into my bag.

"You still have to get your man girl." She resumed her happy dance.

"My man? Don't be silly." We laughed about it and went on with our daily lives.

I went over to my Mum's house to pick up Liam. I wanted Ellie to go because I wasn't ready for another pep talk but she refused.

"Hey, Mum."

"Nessa." She replied faintly. "He's out back playing with the neighbors." She didn't even look up at me.

I could not hold back a scoff. "Are you going to act like this forever? Will you ever let it go?" Before she could answer, if she even wanted to, my phone rang immediately. It was an unknown number. "Who's this?"

"Vito Giancana." His voice sent chills down my spine once again. Why was he calling me?? And how did he even get my number??

Nessa Sims

~•~

"Vito Giancana?" I repeated. "Who are you?" I wanted to act like I didn't know who was talking, maybe he would give up on me.

"You're really going to do this? Don't make it hard for the both of us." He chuckled. "I'm coming to pick you up by 12 tomorrow." He ended the call. How did he even know where I lived? I was beginning to get scared.

"Why are you acting like you've seen a ghost?" My mum interrupted my thoughts.

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to tell her the truth. "Oh, it was just my friend telling me they sent my share of the prize money." I lied.

"Okay."

I went out back to tell Liam I was ready to leave. He hugged his granny goodbye.

"Bye, Mum." I waved her goodbye and we walked into the car.

"I don't feel too good Mum." Liam always had these phases once in a while and it was hard to deal with. I didn't want him to go through it again so I hoped it was just a mild discomfort.

"What's wrong baby?" I placed my hand on his forehead trying to feel his temperature.

"My tummy isn't working again." I held my laughter. It was funny but my baby was serious. That was his way of saying his tummy hurt.

"Sorry baby, we'll get you checked up in the morning." I already knew what it was going to be. It always started with stomach pain.

When we got home, we showered and I tucked him into bed. When I knew he was asleep, I left our room and went straight to my best friend's room.

"It's back again. His tummy hurts again." I didn't want to cry. I didn't want Ellie to see me crying. "I already have so many bills, how do I get over $5000 for his medical bills?" Ellie pulled me into her arms.

"It's okay, we're going to figure it out. Go to bed for now." After comforting me, she walked me back to my room.

The next morning we all got dressed up because we were taking Liam to the clinic.

"Hurry up with your breakfast." Ellie and I skipped breakfast but Liam would never let me breathe if I told him to skip. Even if I promised to get takeouts. He was in love with his cereals.

"I'm done, Mum."

We got to the hospital and took Liam to the children's section so the doctor could examine him.

"His Crohn's disease is back again." Those weren't the words I wanted to hear. I wanted it to be something else but I guess it was something we had to deal with again.

"Okay." I didn't want to see my son in pain. "So when does the treatment start?"

"We can start right away, just make a deposit." I knew I was going to be dead broke after this but I didn't have any choice. Thankfully, I had gotten money from the competition the previous day.

We left Liam with the doctor to go make the deposit.

"Thanks for always being there for me." Ellie had always been with me through the good and the ugly.

We both dropped out of college together in our second year. I dropped out because I got pregnant and I couldn't handle the pressure of school anymore. Ellie dropped out because she had always hated school and was failing all her classes on purpose.

Maybe if I didn't leave school I would have had a high-paying job in a prominent tech industry. I had always loved computers and was even one of the best students in software engineering but I got depressed and lost focus. Ellie on the other hand was studying medicine which she didn't love but her parents forced her to study it.

"You know you're stuck with me for life." She squeezed my hands trying to assure me that she got me.

As usual, we made an initial deposit of $3000. I just hoped he was going to respond to the treatment fast and be okay. On our way back to the doctor's office, my phone rang. It was the same number as the other day.

I checked the time, it was exactly noon. That was when Vito said he was coming to pick me up, which I never agreed to.

"This isn't the right time."

"I know, I'm outside the hospital. Come out and meet me." I wondered how he knew my location. Was this man watching my every move?

"What are you doing? How did you know I was here?"

"I have eyes everywhere, Now come out and let your friend take care of your son." He commanded.

The phone was on speaker so Ellie heard the whole conversation.

"You should go and hear what he wants to say, I'll look after Liam." She signaled for me to start going.

"But I want to be here for - "

"I would be here for him." She cut me short before I could even finish my sentence.

I went out and saw three black cars. I didn't know which one he was in. The same guy that stopped me the other day came down from one of the cars and started walking in my direction.

"The middle car." He pointed to the middle car like I didn't know what middle meant.

I walked to the car and he opened it and asked me to sit inside. What if they wanted to kidnap me? I just wanted it to be over with, so I sat.

"Have you thought of my offer?" Vito stared directly into my eyes.

"I have."

"So are you doing it or not?"

"Would you take no for an answer?"

"You know damn well I wouldn't take know as an answer."

"Well, no." I didn't know where that confidence came from. I was in a stranger's car. A powerful mafia boss who could kill me at that instant and I wasn't meant to make him angry so he wouldn't harm me. But I knew he wouldn't because he needed me. "I'm not interested, I already have so much going on."

"You're brave, aren't you?" He smirked.

I didn't know if I was meant to answer the question or if it was a rhetorical question. "Why do you even want me? There are many other hackers out there with twice as many skills than me."

"You're special." I didn't know how to feel. The only thing I was thinking about at the moment was my son.

"Special?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Working for me comes with a lot of benefits. You get my protection and if you prove yourself worthy, you get $10,000 every week."

"$10,000?" Was he fucking insane? I wondered if he meant it or if he just said it to make me agree. But he was Vito Giancana, he could give out that money without a sweat.

"Yeah, think about it." I didn't need to think further, I needed the money for my son's medical bills. It could change our lives forever.

"But on one condition." I knew I was risking my life but I had to do what I had to do to get the bag.

"I don't negotiate."

"Then we can't work together."

"What's the condition?"

"I'll be anonymous, I don't want anybody to know I'm working for you. My identity should be hidden."

"Deal." He stretched his hands towards mine to shake hands as a symbol of finalizing our deal.

"Okay, can I leave now?" I tried opening the door.

"No, you can't." He signaled his driver to start the car.

"What's going on? I thought we already agreed to the deal?" I was really scared this time. I had no idea where he was taking me or if I was even being kidnapped.

"Just shut up." He was being rude to me which even made it more scary. "You'll see."

I tried sharing my location with Ellie in case anything happened to me but one of his men dragged the phone from me.

"What do you think you're trying to do?" One of his men barked at me.

I didn't answer, I decided to keep quiet and wait for whatever they wanted to do to me even though I was panicking.

The car finally stopped and Vito came down alongside me. "Do you recognize this place?"

How did he know about it? How much did he know? My jaw dropped and it felt like the world stopped for a second.

Nessa Sims

~•~

*Three years ago*

"You're going to be my lookout." Ben has always been a thug. He always resorted to stealing as his last option whenever things got hard. I knew he was that way but I still fell in love with him and had a baby with him.

"Why can't you go with one of your boys? Why do you want me to be involved?"

"Compassion Nessa, Compassion." He screamed at me. He always poured out his frustrations on me, and it made me feel bad, but even if everyone around me advised me to leave him, I just couldn't do it.

"I'm not going with you." He just wanted me there in case he got caught. Nobody would want to call the cops on a pregnant woman and the pregnancy would be some sort of excuse for our stealing.

He dragged me by my arms into the truck.

"Let go, you're hurting me." He refused and I had no option but to go with him.

We got to the house he planned on robbing. He parked out front and gave me instructions on what to do in case anything went wrong.

He gave me a knife for protection. I stood in front of the porch and he went into the house with his gun and his face all masked up. It didn't take long before the cops pulled up. One of the neighbors had seen what was about to happen and informed the cops.

I immediately ran back to the truck. I watched them drag him out in handcuffs. A few seconds later, I saw the ambulance pulling up too. He had already shot someone in the leg before the cops came.

I didn't want to get caught so I drove to Ellie's and told her everything that happened.

He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment without parole.

Present day**

"Who exactly are you? How do you even know about this?"

"I have the CCTV footage, so if you ever try to act funny you're going down with him."

He took me to the prison where my baby daddy was. He was arrested six months after I had gotten pregnant and I was an accomplice to the crime.

The thought of how much he knew about me irked my skin.

I didn't know how to react to what he said. "Okay, can you drive me back to the hospital?" I hadn't even done anything to get him mad so why was he acting this way out of a sudden? Did he just want me to be scared?

The ride back was quiet with different thoughts going on in my head. I wished I never participated in the hackathon, maybe all these things wouldn't be happening and my secret wouldn't be used as a leverage against me.

"You'll hear from me very soon, Have a nice day." One of his men opened the car door so I could come out and handed me my phone.

I walked into the hospital with my heart racing trying to maintain my composure. I wondered if Liam was okay. I saw Ellie at the reception when I got in.

"How's he doing?" I was hoping for a positive answer.

"He's good, responding to treatments."

I was so relieved knowing Liam was okay or else I would have blamed myself for leaving him and even hated Vito for making me leave my sick son.

"You won't believe what happened." I began, my voice shaky. "Vito knows about Ben." Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling down my cheek.

"Oh shit." She cursed under her breath. "How did he find out?"

I wish I knew how he was getting all this information about me. But then again, he was powerful and rich. That combination was deadly because he'd have a lot of influence and connections.

"I don't know, Ellie."

"I hope he doesn't do anything funny." She replied with concern in her voice. Ellie was honestly the best. She never judged me for dating Ben neither did she judge me for being an accomplice. Instead, she hoped I could forget everything about the fucker who almost ruined my life along with his. "Hold tight. I'm going for a business meeting, I'll meet you later at the house." She kissed me goodbye and left.

I went to see Liam and the doctor said I could take him home but bring him for checkups on the days stated in the email he would send to me.

Ellie left her car with me. On our way home we stopped at McDonald's to get some food because I didn't have the energy to make anything later.

It didn't take long before we were back at home and after making sure Liam had taken his medication, we settled on the couch and turned on the TV.

After a while, the sound of the doorbell interrupted the show I and Liam were watching.

I was wondering who it was because the only person I was expecting was Ellie and she never used the bell. I walked to the door but was hesitant to open it because what if it was Vito again?

"It's me." I heard my Mum's voice from the other side of the door.

What did she want again? I thought she wasn't speaking to me?

I opened the door and let her in. "What are you doing here?" I questioned, wondering why she was at my house by this time of the night.

"Why didn't you tell me Liam was sick again? I had to find out from the hospital myself." She brushed past me and went into the room where Liam sat watching the show.

It seemed as though my business was all up in the streets because everyone knew what was going on in my life recently.

"I didn't want to bother you, you already take care of him enough."

"That's your excuse?" She sneered. "Like you have the money to take care of him when all you do is go out with thugs that can't add any value to your life."

Her words stung but I wasn't surprised. She hated the fact that I let somebody like Ben get me pregnant but she never said it directly.

"Okay, if you want to come at me, come at me fully." I spat with anger in my voice. " Say everything that's been on your mind for the past four years." I was already angry because I'd been dealing with her attitude for a very long time and tolerating it. The deed had already been done and she was supposed to be over it by now.

"Your father and I tried our best to give you everything you wanted. We worked our asses off so you could attend one of the best schools." She fired back with disappointment in her voice. " But you threw everything away because of who? Where's he now? In jail. Nessa, he's in jail."

I asked for it but shit, she went full-blown on me. "Don't bring Dad into this, I've been apologizing to you ever since but you always turn deaf ears." I choked, my tears running down my cheeks. "When will you ever forgive me?" I said under my breath.

I walked out of the room. I didn't want Liam to see us arguing. She walked behind me and closed the door.

"Until you get your life together."

If only she knew my life had even gotten more complicated.

"That's impossible right now because I've gotten myself into a big mess." I didn't know if I should continue talking or if it was safe for her to know.

"What big mess?"

"It's nothing, never mind." I didn't want her to know about it because she would just make everything worse.

"That's the problem with you." She stamped her feet on the floor. "You know what? I don't even care as long as it doesn't involve Liam." She went back into the room and told Liam to take off his nightwear and pack a bag for him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking my grandson so I can take care of him."

Ever since my father died, my Mum had been lonely. I was their only child and I had disappointed them. That's more reason why she even loved Liam and didn't mind me dropping him at her house regularly. She wanted company.

"Okay then."

On a normal day, I wouldn't have agreed but it was the best decision at that moment since I was also involving myself with the mafia.

"Do you want to go with her?" I asked Liam.

"Yes." He was very excited to leave with her because she always treated him like a prince and gave him whatever he wanted.

"I'll come see you later." I walked them to the door and waved him goodbye.

I sunk into the couch and dialed Ellie's number to ask her where she was.

"Hey, what's up?" Her voice echoed through the line.

"Let's go out tonight. To the club or something, I need to clear my head and make out with someone I'll never see again."

"Dayummmm, that's my girl. I'll be back in like thirty minutes."

I wasn't surprised she was so excited, that was what she liked best and she loved supporting my wild side.

I got dressed in my sexy red dress and applied my makeup with care. I did my hair into a messy bun and put on one of my best perfumes. The scent alone would attract attention.

"The red killer dress, I see you, girl." Ellie teased me.

She had arrived earlier than promised. She was always ready for fun. She would leave whatever she was doing to have a good time. I always wished I was as carefree as her.

"Have you called the Uber?" I asked Ellie, putting on my sleek black heels.

We didn't drive whenever we were going clubbing because none of us would be sober enough to drive when coming back.

"Yeah, he's already here." She wore her matching set of earrings we had gotten when we last went shopping. "It even skipped my mind, where's Liam?"

"My mum picked him up this evening."

We went outside and we both sat at the back of the car.

"Infinity club right?" The Uber driver asked as he started the car.

"Yeah." I responded.

The drive to the club was a blast filled with dance and laughter. The driver would have thrown us out of his car if he wasn't a chill and cool person.

We got into the club. The lights were flashing and people were dancing. Some people were over at the bar taking shots. I looked around to check if I would see any familiar faces.

"Nessa." I heard a voice call to me. "Come over here." I looked to see it was one boy from my class back in college.

I turned around to tell Ellie I was going over there but she was already on the dance floor dancing with a stranger and showcasing her skills.

I walked over to where he was sitting and he pulled out a chair for me.

"Still beautiful as ever." He complimented me. James had a huge crush on me ever since freshman year but we couldn't have anything serious because I was already in a relationship.

"You don't look bad yourself." I returned the compliment.

"So what have you been up to?" He poured me a drink from his bottle of Hennessy.

"Nothing much, I've just been there." I didn't really want to be there talking to him, I wanted to go into the dance floor to find a stranger I could go wild with.

"I heard y'all won the hackathon competition." He would say anything to keep the conversation going.

"Yeah, we did. And how's work?" I asked, so I wouldn't come off as uninterested.

He blabbed and blabbed about his job but I wasn't listening.

"I'll be with my friend on the other side." I stood up and cut him abruptly.

"Yeah, Ellie." He sighed. "See you later?"

"Sure." I quickly fled into the dance floor.

I moved my waist in rhythm with the music, drinking and dancing away. I was hoping for one Prince Charming to come take my hands and give me a passionate kiss.

"Hey, stranger." I tried flirting with a random guy on the dance floor. I didn't even find him attractive but I just wanted to make out with somebody.

He took my hands and spun me around. "You're beautiful."

"I know." I continued dancing and our bodies moved closer to each other. I moved my butt closer to his dick and danced harder on it.

He lifted me and pressed his lips against mine.

Before I knew it, he was on the floor knocked down. Someone pushed him down and I felt a strong grip on my arms.

It was Vito and his men. What were they doing here?

"Don't go out with other men, you belong to me now!" He growled.