You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me

"It's me," she talked into the phone.

"Carrone got you. Good, good," the velvet voice responded.

"What did you offer him? Cause ten grand ain't that much in Carrone's book. Uncle Sonny knows that," Cadence asked, her eyes shifting around the docks.

"On top of that, I promised him a chance to fulfill some of his ……… dreams with you," the voice replied.

Cadence almost dropped her phone. She heard a soft chuckle. "You demented bastard," she growled into the phone.

"Now, now, Cadence, you belong to me, remember? No one else will have their fun with you while the ………… contract is in place," the voice stated seriously.

"Now your little security guard should be arriving to escort you back to your sanction soon, so wait patiently, little one. Don't forget about our next meeting," the voice hung up.

Cadence slammed her phone shut angrily and turned around at the sound of tires. A black Volvo pulled up and the driver jumped out. The driver approached Cadence and drew to a stop in front of her. He studied her face and injuries. "I never should've left you," he said, brushing his fingers over the scar on her neck.

"I told you to go. Your first obligation is to the business, you know that," she replied softly.

He brought his other hand to rest on her cheek, bringing her closer. He lowered his forehead to hers, looking into her grey eyes. "Cade, you're my first priority. You're the only reason I'm here; you are my first obligation. Always," he replied.

He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "D, you know we can't do this," Cadence replied despondently, pulling back from his lips an inch.

"Shhh, I know. I know we can't do this, but you can't tell me you don't want to. Just dream with me for minute," he responded, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Cadence ducked her head. Dante rested his chin on her head and hugged her tightly. Cadence pulled away and the pair got into the Volvo. "I've got a meetin' with him in two days," she stated, staring out the tinted windows of the car.

Dante gripped the wheel tightly with his hands and set his jaw, but didn't say anything.

Cadence stared at him a moment before turning her attention back to the window.

THREE MONTHS AGO……………………

Dante and Cadence pulled up to the warehouse in Dante's car. Dante parked the car and the pair walked up to the blocked door. Cadence removed a couple pieces of plywood from the door and opened it. The pair stepped into the hallway and Cadence turned the light on. "How do you turn the lights on if this place was shut down?" Dante asked her.

"My uncle bought it. So technically, it ain't shut down any more," she replied. D surveyed the room. There was a row of cupboards with an old couch and some chairs around a table. There was another hallway leading to the back. "My bedroom and a bathroom are back there," she stated, answering his silent question.

"I need to get home," he said, turning back to the door. "D, it's almost midnight. It'll take ya' an hour to get back home. Why don't you stay tonight? You can drive home tomorrow," Cadence offered.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can sleep on the bed and I'll take the couch," she finished, turning to the cupboards.

"Mariano, no, I'll-, "Dante was cut off by the banging on the door.

"Cadence, open up!" a voice yelled.

"Hold on," she told Dante, who had his hand on his gun.

Cadence opened the door and let the visitor in. Jason Sassone stepped through the threshold, followed by one of his goons.

"We need to talk. Now," he growled angrily.

"Dante, the car's not safe parked out front. Go put it in the garage down the street," Cadence said to Dante, not taking her eyes off of Jason.

"Mariano-"Dante warned, eying Gennaro, the goon, and Jason.

"Go D," she said in a dangerously low tone.

Dante shook his head and giving one last look at Cadence, walked out of the warehouse. Twenty minutes later, he saw Jason and Gennaro leave and headed into the warehouse. He walked into the main room and saw a door off to the side was slightly ajar. He peeked through the crack. Cadence was on all fours, her back to the door. She stood up and Dante saw the gashes and bite marks on her back and neck. She put her T-shirt on and stood there for a few moments.

"Spying like that could get you killed in this business," she called out to Dante, not turning around.

Dante stepped inside the room. "How much did you see?" she asked quietly, still not turning around to face Dante. "Enough to ask questions. What the hell happened Cade?"

"Nothin'. C'mon I'll get you some blankets," she replied quietly, pushing past him.

"Did Gennaro do that to you?" Dante asked, following her. Cadence shook her head.

"Then how…" Dante trailed off, realizing what Cadence meant.

"Cade, we gotta call the police," Dante said immediately.

"And say what, D? Hello, operator. My cousin abused and raped me tonight. By the way, did I mention he's Tanglewood's head mob boss and I'm a member. Yeah, that's exactly what we can do," she replied angrily, turning around to face him. Dante didn't reply.

"Maybe you should get cleaned up. A couple of those cuts look nasty," he finally said. Cadence got some clothes out of her room and walked into the bathroom. Dante walked into her room and sat on the bed. Twenty minutes later, she appeared, towel drying her hair. A cut on her face was still bleeding. Cade realized this and walked away. Dante got up and followed Cade back into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. Cade hopped up on the sink while Dante dabbed cut her gently. Cadence tensed under his touch, but didn't say anything. Dante covered her cut with gauze. The pair went back into Cade's room and she grabbed a pillow, heading for the main room.

"Mariano, you take the bed. I'll take the couch. You need it more then I do tonight," Dante pleaded. She shook her head in response.

"Then how 'bout we share. There's more than enough room for both of us," Dante offered. Cade didn't reply. "No touching, I promise," Dante said. Cade hopped in the bed and scooted over to make room. Dante changed until he was in just his shorts and black wife-beater. Cadence lay on her side, her face towards the wall. Dante kept quiet for a few moments before breaking the silence.

"Why would he do that to you?" Dante asked her.

"You sure you want to know?" Cadence replied, knowing who he was referring to.

She rolled over and saw Dante nod his head. She rolled onto her side and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know where to start," she said slowly.

"The beginning is good," Dante replied.

"My dad was born in Italy and moved here when he was ten. My mom and my uncle were born here. My mom was not what my grandfather wanted so they home-schooled her and kept her from the outside world. I guess he wanted a son and was ashamed of having a daughter. When my mom was eighteen, my parents arranged for her to be married to my dad. They got married and had me. My dad began working in the family business with my uncle and everything was ok. My mom and dad fought a lot though. So naturally, my home life wasn't too great. My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer when I was ten and a few months later, she died. She was a big chain smoker. My dad grew distant after her death. And then, when I was thirteen, my dad got into to trouble with Uncle Sonny," she started.

Cadence took a deep breath and began again. "He's a money launderer for drug dealers who work for my uncle and he took a lot of the money and gambled it. He lost every cent of it. My uncle found out and he was ticked, really ticked. He held my dad at gunpoint and was going to kill him when my uncle struck a way for my dad to pay him back. My uncle proposed this theory of the ultimate true Sassone mob boss. My uncle's theory was that to create a true Sassone was to have intermixing of the family. Basically, I had to have sex with one of my uncle's sons until I got pregnant and had their kid. When I did have the kid, it had to be a boy. If it's the latter, the baby would be killed. My uncle would raise the boy to be the greatest mob boss New York has ever seen. My dad agreed to it without a second thought. Rafael was already sentenced to life in Rikers and Antonio had just been killed. I can't smoke, drink, or have any male callers, as my uncle calls it. So once a month, Jason comes down and we meet for a couple days. If I don't get pregnant, I get this," she said, motioning to her bruises and scars.

"This time, it was because I had an abortion. I've had two miscarriages and two abortions in the past year and a half. This job is just a way for them to keep their eye on me and to make sure I don't say anything," Cade finished, still staring at the ceiling.

Dante stared at Cade despondently. He scooted over closer to her and laid a hand on her arm. Cade turned back on her right side again and faced the wall. He pulled her against his chest and felt wetness on his arms. He realized that she was crying. He tugged at her arm until she rolled over on her left side. She did not look at him.

"Cade, I can get you outta here. I know some people who could help you get out of New York," he whispered to her. Cadence shook her head.

"I can't leave my dad. They'll kill him if I do," she replied between sobs. Dante sighed and pulled her closer. "We'll figure something out," he answered.

"No, D. I've already said too much. I don't want you involved in this," Cade cried out.

"Well, now I am involved. Cade, you need to get outta here," Dante said into her hair.

"D, why the hell do you even care?" she asked quietly, raising her tearful eyes to his, voice steady.

"Because I do. Granted, we weren't the best of friends in the beginning. But you've grown on me; in more ways than one. Mariano, you're smart, funny as hell, stubborn, determined, fierce, independent, you're you. You're real. I care Cade; I care enough to want to get you out of here. God damn it, Cade, I really like you. I like you so much, it hurts. I even like that cocky-ass half grin you get on your face when you pull your little stunts and tricks on me. I'd give anything to see you safe the rest of your life,
Dante answered, pulling his face right in front of her's.

Cadence pushed her lips onto is his, pulling his upper body on top of her. Dante responded softly, running one hand through her dark, curly blonde hair, the other resting on her waist. Dante crawled over her until his body aligned with hers. Cadence ground her hips to his, gaining a growl from Dante. Dante moved his hand under her shirt and up onto her ribs, brushing his fingers lightly against the bottom of her breast. Cadence whimpered in response. Cadence wrapped her arms around his back. She pulled his black wife-beater off of him, noticing how his dark, rich skin contrasted to her tan skin.

"Cade, we have to stop," Dante moaned quietly after breaking their kiss for air.

"Ok," she replied into his shoulder. Dante laid down next to Cadence. She rested her head on his bare chest. Dante wrapped his arms around her. He ran his fingers softly through Cadence's hair. Dante kissed her forehead as they both fell asleep.

END FLASHBACK………………..

Cadence felt something grip her hand and looked away from the window. Dante had grabbed her hand and was rubbing circles on the back of it. He was looking out the front window, but Cadence saw the crooked smile on his face. Dante pulled up in front of the warehouse. Parking the car, the pair headed into the warehouse. Cadence stepped through the threshold and was greeted by four other figures.

"Y'all miss me?"

I hope everyone is happy because this took a long time to think up and write up. Over 2,000 words long! Tell me what I should rate this chapter. M or T? Also, I said Cadenza's eyes were blue, but they are actually GREY! And, if you don't remember, Cadenza's last name is Mariano, Cade is a nickname for her.