Forbidden love for a Barkley
Part Fifteen:
"I Knew You Were Trouble, pt. 2"
Heath and Jarrod answered Victoria's question by telling her their thoughts on why Coco came back alone wearing Nick's hat and what had happened to Nick. Like Jarrod, Victoria also refused to believe at first that Nick had been kidnapped as it did no good to jump to conclusions. Which was true, because jumping the gun didn't solve anything and it would make any situation go from bad to worse in a split second. Meanwhile, Nick woke up in a dark place stripped to his longjohns, bound, and gagged. Luca and his friends would eventually remove the gag and interrogate Nick, believing him to be Seth McMahon. Nick would deny this over and over again, but it wouldn't convince Luca and the others that he wasn't McMahon and that the guy they got was Eugene instead of Nick. The interrogation would start to take another turn when Paulie Mangano arrived and started pressing his knife into Nick's neck and later throat. Back at the ranch, Victoria would be in the process of getting herself ready to go search for Nick when Jarrod approached her and told her that there was no way he was going to let her go thus putting her at risk of being kidnapped, harmed, or worse. This would remind Victoria of another time Nick was abducted and she had a similar tiff with Tom. Tom and Jarrod both had a point, though, because both times involved Nick being kidnapped and one of the other Barkley children being assaulted; Jarrod, the first time and Eugene, now. After remembering the moment, Jarrod and Victoria would have a little light moment before a voice would be calling out "Signora, Barkley". Now, the questions that remain are as follows: Who's the person calling out "Signora Barkley"? Who will end up going out to search for and hopefully rescue Nick? Will Carmine and Nick come face-to-face while the latter is tied up? What's next? Stay tuned and find out!
Author's Note: I do NOT own The Big Valley or its characters. I ONLY own this fic and the characters of: Stefania Mangano, Carmine Mangano Sr, Carmine's friends, Paulie Mangano, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family. This is the second to however many parts in this second multi parter saga. Likewise to the previous multi parter chapters after Chapter 7, I originally wrote all these as Chapter 14, but since it would've overcrowded Chapter 14, I divided them up into sections. How many? Wait and see! :D
WARNING/TRIGGER WARNING: There may be some violent moments in this chapter. Rated 'T' for a reason.
(Flashback to part 14)
"Unfortunately, we did end up losing your father." Victoria sighed sadly.
"We all know, mother. We all know, but he did have it right about not risking anymore Barkleys by going off to get the money and Nick. Remember?" Jarrod put his arm around his mother.
"I know, but what he never knew was that I followed him from far behind. He never knew it." Victoria started to smile a little.
"I think he does now, mother." Jarrod smirked.
"Uh oh!" Victoria briefly put her hand over her mouth again only to take it away just as fast, "Well, he can't lecture me now, can he?"
Before Jarrod could say anything, a saddle fell off of it's hook and landed hard on the ground.
"I stand corrected." Victoria jumped after the saddle fell.
"I guess he still can in some ways." Jarrod chuckled before picking the saddle up and walking over to his horse, "Now, mother, you just go back into the house. I'll go look for Nick."
"Jarrod, I'm going too. Like I said you're welcome to join me." Victoria still stood her ground.
"Signora Barkley! Signora Barkley!" a voice called out.
(Now)
"Who's-" Victoria turned around to see who was calling out "Signora Barkley!".
"Hey, it's Stefania." Jarrod turned around and saw Stefania approaching them.
"Signora Barkley, Jarrod..." Stefania approached the barn and leaned against the door in order to catch her breath.
"Stefania, what brings you here?" Victoria walked up to her.
"Yeah, young lady. You're supposed to be resting like Dr. Merar said." Jarrod told her in a lighthearted manner.
"I know, but I can't. I simply can't." Stefania sat on a nearby bale of hay, "I have been restless for the past couple days."
"Well, Stefania, considering what you have been through, we can see why." Victoria put her hand on Stefania's shoulder.
"No, no, you two don't understand. I'm worried about Nick." Stefania looked at the ground.
"That makes three of us." Jarrod nodded.
"He hasn't checked up on me like he promised and with papa out of the house & angry...I'm frightened...for two reasons." Stefania replied.
"Knowing how angry your father is, we can see why." Victoria told her.
"That's just it. My papa is very angry. He wants revenge and one of the reasons I am frightened is, because he may have gotten his hands or had somebody get their hands on Nick and...Nick is not the one who assaulted and r*ped me! He is not the typical white man who hurts our people!" Stefania put her hand on her forehead.
"He must really have an axe to grind with the white people. Stefania, I would love to have a word with your father. Parent to parent, woman to man, person to person, and just see why he hates white people so much. I have a lingering suspicion that something traumatic may have happened to him and it involved a white person." Victoria had a gentle tone in her voice, as she started to feel sorry for Carmine despite the fact that she hadn't met him yet.
"Signora Barkley, that would be a great idea, because once he met you, he would probably see that white people are not all bad, but my papa is very stubborn. He does not listen to anybody." Stefania shook her head.
"Well, maybe give him a chance and you never know. Besides, I think I'll go as far as to invite him over along with your lovely mother and-Oh, heck. I invite the whole family over. Maybe once they come over, they'll see that not all white people are bigots." Victoria had an idea and was very enthusiastic about it.
"Oh, Signora Barkley, that is a beautiful thought, but it won't happen unfortunately. I mean everybody will show up, myself included, but the ones who won't show up are my uncle Paulie, my cousin Italia, my brother Vincent, and of course, papa. They are pig headed." Stefania was not as enthusiastic about Victoria's idea, as she knew her father, brother, cousin, and uncle were prideful and stubborn people who would never ever give a white person the time of day.
"You never know until you try, Stefania." Victoria replied.
"Yeah and besides, mother knows how to sweet talk people. Let alone talk to people, even stubborn ones. She had to convince my father of a few things when he proved to be stubborn." Jarrod added.
"What did you say or do?" Stefania turned to Victoria.
"I just talked with Tom those times and with all of my talking plus woman's intuition, I got him to see my way. He, of course, had his mind made up, but a nice conversation in a cool, calm, and quiet atmosphere would do the trick." Victoria explained while smiling as she started to think of those times.
"And it always worked. Sometimes might I add, because there were times where father would pretend to listen and see it mother's way, but do the reverse. Man, if he was still alive, you would probably be seeing some of it." Jarrod nodded.
"I would've loved to have met Signor Barkley and again, I am sorry for your loss, even though sorry never cuts it." Stefania told them.
"Thank you, Stefania. We really appreciate it and we cannot thank you again and again for the cake you made for his birthday. It was beautiful and something he would've loved. In fact, he probably would've tried to hog it all to himself." Victoria chuckled a little after that last part, "I remember a time I made cookies and had to keep him away from them or at least try to keep him away from the cookies. That's a story I will delve into another time."
"It's a pretty funny story, Stefania but anyways, if mother could get father to see things her way then she can get your uncle Paulie, cousin Italia, brother Vincent, and your father to see things her way by simply talking to them." Jarrod told her with confidence in his voice.
"I sure hope so, because they are hard headed, especially papa." Stefania said.
"Trust us when we both say that she can convince anybody. That being said, you stated that you were frightened for two reasons. You already said the first reason. What's the second reason?" Victoria asked.
"I'm afraid that Nick hasn't been checking up on me, because...because..." Stefania stopped and shook her head.
"Because why?" Victoria asked.
"Well...he...he may not-may not...want to have anything to do with me!" Stefania started sobbing.
"Stefania, that just isn't so. Now, Nick cares about you. He-" Jarrod was cut off.
"If he cares, then how come he hasn't checked up on me in two days since what I went through?" Stefania wiped away her tears.
"Well, there's no easy way to say this, but you know how your father wants revenge?" Jarrod started.
"Uh huh." Stefania sniffed.
"Nick wants the same thing your father wants...revenge. Revenge against the cowards who did what they did to you." Heath walked into the barn.
"Nick wants revenge?" Stefania was bit thrown off by this.
"Yes, Stefania. You see, he's angry about what happened as we all are, but he's bound and determined to get Seth McMahon and his gang after he confronts Leonard." Victoria added.
"Oh no!" Stefania put her head in her hands and sobbed harder than before.
"What's the matter, Stefania?" Heath walked up to Stefania and got on one knee.
"Nick and papa wanting revenge. If they're both out and about & papa sees Nick...there's no telling what...what papa may do or have somebody do!" Stefania said in between sobs and sniffling.
"You can say that again, because earlier today, Eugene stumbled into the house and when we found him, we discovered that he was badly beaten. He confirmed that and the fact that the men who got to him were yelling: "Ci sarà Sangue!" and a few other things." Heath pointed out.
"Oh no! He did it! Papa really did it!" Stefania slapped the hay bale.
"Did what?" Audra spoke up after entering the barn.
"Papa sent his friends and Zio Paulie out to seek Seth McMahon, Orville McIntyre, Dodie Gunderson, Jeff Hyatt, and Zebulon Williamson plus Nick!" Stefania shook her head.
"Stefania, what are the names of your father's friends?" Victoria asked.
"Massimo Caputo, Enzo Bacio, Vito Falco, Arturo Vitelli, and Luca Bonpensiero. They are loyal friends to my family, especially papa. If somebody hurts one of us, they will stop at nothing until they find the culprit. Oh, I hope they didn't do anything to Nick! If something happens to Nick, I will never forgive myself!" Stefania started to become a bit hysterical.
"Stefania, it wouldn't be your fault. If anything, your father and his friends plus your uncle Paulie would be at fault if anything happened to Nick. No, no, you wouldn't bear the blame at all." Jarrod tried to calm her down.
"I wish I could believe that." Stefania wiped some more tears away.
*Meanwhile, back with Nick and company*
Paulie switched from holding his knife at Nick's throat to kicking him if he didn't give an answer that satisfied the man. He kicked him again, this time in the stomach instead of the ribs, marking it the eighth time Nick was kicked. Nick grunted in pain and was starting to show some slight bruising in the spots where he had been kicked.
"Alright, McMahon. I'm getting tired of this game. We all are! Now, where are your friends?!" Paulie knelt down beside Nick and looked him in the eyes.
"I tell you guys I am not Seth McMahon! I never was! What the hell will it take to prove to you guys that I am telling the truth?" Nick was on the brink of shouting due to pain and annoyance towards the fact that none of these men were believing a word he said, especially when it came to who he was.
"You have said that over and over again!" Massimo slapped him.
"And I'll keep saying it until-Look, ask Mr. Mangano. He-" Nick was cut off.
"I'm Mr. Mangano, my friend." Paulie picked up his knife and held it up at Nick's nose.
"I meant the other Mr. Mangano. Carmine. He knows who I am. Probably wouldn't vouch for me, but he knows." Nick stared at the shiny knife.
"Carmine knows who Nick Barkley is. He doesn't know you personally, yet but soon...soon...he will find out." Massimo slapped him again, causing Nick to grunt.
"Oh, brother!" Nick rolled his eyes.
"McMahon, where are your friends now?!" Luca barked.
"He's not going to tell us. In fact, since we can't get it out of him this way, all tied up and helpless." Massimo looked at Nick then at Paulie, "Maybe, we'll get an answer another way. Paulie, hand me the knife."
"What for?" Paulie asked.
"Just hand it to me." Massimo held out his hand and pointed at his palm.
"Alright, but don't get crazy with it." Paulie reluctantly handed him his knife.
Massimo cut the rope that was tying Nick and aggressively stood him up.
"Well, that's a change of-Hey, where are you taking me?!" Nick asked as Massimo forcefully pulled him over to a trough that was filled to the top with water.
"Massimo, what are you-" Arturo was cut off.
"Since pretty boy here didn't give us answers when we had him all tied up and helpless, maybe he'll give us answers after we give him a little bath, if you will." Massimo glanced at the water then back at Nick and grinned in a menacing way.
"If you think you're gonna turn me into a wet rat, you got another thing coming!" Nick gritted his teeth.
"Get into the water!" Massimo pushed him.
Nick threw a punch at Massimo, knocking him down. Paulie and Luca ran over and grabbed Nick by his arms only for him to fight off the two men and try to make a run for it. He would stop just in time in order to look for his clothing as it wouldn't be proper to go back into town in nothing, but his longjohns. His search would be interrupted when Paulie jumped and tackled him to the ground, causing the two men to roll around for a bit. Unbeknownst to them, they rolled back to where the trough was and after both men stood up, Paulie grabbed one arm and Luca grabbed the other arm. Nick tried to fight them off, but this time, they got the upper hand and pulled Nick closer to the trough where he was looking down at his reflection in the water. Massimo stood up, grabbed the knife, walked over to Nick, and sliced him right in the left upper arm. Nick didn't make a sound despite the pain he was feeling. Instead, he remained stoic as the blood ran down his arm.
"That was just your upper arm, McMahon. Next, it'll be your shoulder or your side or even your face." Massimo warned as he gently set the knife aside.
"So, you're just gonna leave his blood on there? You're not going to use your bandana to clean it off?" Paulie stared at the fresh blood on his knife, before giving Massimo a look.
"Well, McMahon, are you going to tell us where Gunderson, McIntyre, Hyatt, and Williamson are?" Luca asked.
"I'm not McMahon." Nick shook his head.
"Wrong answer!" Luca shoved Nick's head under the water.
"Luca, that was a little intense. I mean no warning ahead of time or anything?" Paulie gave Luca a look.
Nick made gurgling noises and flailed around as Luca continued to hold his head under the water while ignoring Paulie.
"Luca, bring him up." Vito was a bit disturbed by this.
"Yeah. Besides, the rough stuff is my thing." Massimo slapped Luca's arm.
"Fiiiiine." Luca pulled Nick's head out of the water.
Nick gasped, breathed heavily, and coughed all at once. Naturally, of course. Anybody would do this after nearly being drowned. This abduction/interrogation went from intense to violent and took an unexpected & slightly dark turn. Nick had been through a lot of things in the past, ranging from a back injury during that disastrous camping trip with his family and Hester to being attacked by wild animals twice; the first time by a rabid Wolf and the second time by a Cougar. Not to mention, witnessing his own father die right in his arms and all of what he saw during the war. All of these had, had traumatic effects on him and this moment was starting to prove to be no different than the other times. Of course, being true to his nature, after calming the coughing, gasping, etc., he tried his best to put on his brave face even though, inside, he was a bit terrified.
"You ready to give us an answer right now?!" Luca asked in a demanding tone.
"Luca, Luca, please step aside. Let me have another chance with the pretty boy. I mean for somebody who is supposed to be a scrawny weakling, he is pretty good looking and he looks to be very well fed." Massimo lightly pushed Luca aside and grabbed a hold of Nick's arm that Luca had been holding.
"Massimo, you had your fun cutting his arm and being all handsy." Luca protested.
"Yeah and you had your fun dunking his head into the water. Sharing is caring." Massimo gave Luca a look before turning to Nick, "Alright, McMahon. You ready to give us an answer right now?! A truthful answer."
"I've been giving you a truthful! Now, get your hands off of me!" Nick tried once again to fight his way out of their grip.
"Ooh! He's a fighter!" Enzo remarked.
"Yeah and you know what fighting does, don't you?" Paulie asked while trying hard not to laugh.
"It gets one all sweaty." Luca chuckled.
"And we can't have the pretty boy all sweaty, now can we?" Massimo shook his head.
"Nope. Looks like he may need more than just his head dunked into the water!" Paulie looked at Massimo.
"You wouldn't!" Nick growled.
"Of course we would, pretty boy!" Massimo nodded before looking at Paulie, "Ready, Paulie? Pretty boy is getting awfully sweaty."
"Very ready." Paulie nodded, before picking Nick up from one side.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Put...me...down!" Nick yelled and squirmed as Massimo picked him up from the other side.
"Oh, we'll put you down alright." Massimo chuckled, "Ready, Paulie? 1!"
"2!" Paulie yelled.
"3!" Massimo and Paulie yelled as they threw Nick into the trough.
Nick resurfaced and coughed a little before shaking the water off. Afterwards, he looked right up at them and to say he was mad would be sugarcoating it. He was pissed!
Paulie, Luca, and Massimo burst out in loud laughter while Arturo, Vito, and Enzo shook their heads in disbelief and possibly disgust, making it obvious that they felt the other three took it a step too far.
"Alright. Alright. Laugh! Go ahead, but when you realize that the real McMahon and his buddies got away, you'll regret doing this to me!" Nick started to get out of the trough.
"Oh no you don't, pretty boy!" Massimo pushed him back into the water.
*Back at Barkley Ranch*
A good few minutes had passed and after getting herself together while Victoria and Jarrod continued to somewhat fight over who went to search for Nick and who stayed, Stefania grew restless and started to contemplate something.
"You alright, Stefania? You seem to be deep in thought." Jarrod spoke up.
"I gotta get Nick." Stefania stood up.
"Stefania, you're not thinking about going out there all by yourself, are you?" Heath asked.
"I have to! I just have to!" Stefania told him before turning to Victoria, "Signora Barkley, may I borrow a horse?"
"Stefania, didn't Dr. Merar-" Victoria was cut off.
"Yes, he told me to rest but I can't! I simply can't! I need to go to Nick! I need to find him!" Stefania insisted before walking over to where Coco stood, "Is it alright if I take Coco?"
"Well yes, but-" Heath was interrupted.
"But nothing. I must go find Nick! I'm the reason he is missing! I'm the sole reason and if anything happened to him, I couldn't live with myself!" Stefania insisted before turning to Heath, "Signor Heath, may I use that saddle over there?"
"Sure thing." Heath grabbed the saddle Stefania pointed at and gave it to her.
"Grazie! (Thank you!). It is a beautiful saddle." Stefania put the saddle onto Coco.
"Thank you. A friend of mine gave it to me. Her name was Dilly." Heath started to think of Dilly as he looked at the saddle.
"She was very sweet to give this saddle to you. What happened to Dilly?" Stefania put a bridle and reins on Coco.
"She died an untimely death." Heath said in a somber voice.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Signor Heath." Stefania rubbed his arm out of comfort before pointing at a wagon and buckboard, "May I borrow these?"
"Sure." Heath nodded.
Stefania nodded before walking Coco over to the wagon and buckboard & getting the wagon & buckboard hitched to her. By the way she was doing this, Stefania almost looked like a pro. It was as if she had done this many times before despite having not mentioned anything of the kind to Nick. Victoria, Jarrod, Audra, and Heath were all awe struck by this, but why? They each hitched wagons and carriages to horses and the likes beforehand, so why did it look like something brand new all of a sudden? Most likely, because none of the other women Nick had been involved with had ever once hitched a horse to a wagon or any kind of ranch work due to not wanting to ruin their pretty clothes and such.
*Three minutes later*
Stefania had finished getting Coco and another horse hitched to a wagon and buckboard & pulled the horses and wagon out of the barn. While following her, Victoria, Jarrod, Audra, and Heath were still in awe of all of this now as they were a few minutes earlier.
"Alright. I'm going for Nick. You're welcome to seguimi (follow me)." Stefania climbed into the wagon.
"Stefania, you're-" Jarrod cut her off.
"I know, Jarrod. I should be resting. It is Dr. Merar's orders, but I cannot rest knowing that my-I mean knowing that Nick is in danger. I simply can't, Jarrod. Now, I must go. Arrivederci." Stefania waved "Goodbye" to Jarrod and everyone before tapping the horses, "Giddyup. Giddyup."
Victoria and everyone else watched in total silence as Stefania rode off, before Jarrod got mounted on his horse and followed her.
"I hope they're careful." Audra stood next to her mother.
"Oh, they will be." Victoria walked back into the barn and came out with her wagon and horse.
"Mother, you're-" Heath was cut off.
"Yes, Heath, I am. Like I did with your father that many years ago when he went off to search for Nick, I'm going to do it again." Victoria climbed into her wagon, "I shall return and so should Nick. I hope."
"Be careful, mother." Heath told her.
"I will. I promise." Victoria leaned down and gave him a kiss on the head before riding off.
"I guess we should get back inside before Eugene starts to wonder where everybody went." Heath turned to Audra.
Audra didn't say anything and just nodded before going back inside, Heath following suit.
*Back with Nick*
Massimo and Paulie continued to take turns dunking Nick into the trough before finally stopping and switching to taking turns tossing him to the ground & beating the ever living daylights out of him. At first, Nick fought back with everything he had, but after a while, he started to grow exhausted due to the pain and lack of energy which was a result of no food.
"Looks like pretty boy can't take it anymore." Massimo chuckled.
"Oh, that's a shame considering on how hard he was fighting us beforehand." Paulie smirked and shook his head before turning to Nick, "You know something, Signor McMahon, if you had enough brains and sense, you would fess up by now and tell us where the others are hiding. You know, make it easy for yourself, but you choose not to. Why?"
"Yeah, pretty boy. You don't have to take all of this. You're much too good looking and nice a guy to let yourself be in your position now. Much too good looking and nice." Massimo got down beside Nick and stroked his face in a very creepy way.
"Massimo, seriously?" Arturo asked, clearly weirded out by what he was doing.
"What, Arturo? I'm not allowed to look at spine fecimens I mean fine specimens? You see what you did? You messed me up!" Massimo turned to Arturo and gave him a look.
"You're really handsy, Massimo. Really handsy." Enzo cringed.
"I'm not handsy! I'm affectionate and it's in our culture to be affection, is it not?" Massimo stood up and walked over to the two men.
Pretty soon, overlapping arguing ensued both in the English and Italian languages. Vito, Paulie, and Luca would join the argument. Seeing this, Nick stood up and after spotting an opened door behind him, he slowly and very quietly made his way to the door and then outside. He started to search around for his clothes and after a few seconds, he found them, put them on as best as he could, and made a run for it despite the fact that he was feeling very weak and dizzy plus being in a lot of pain as a result of being tossed to the ground and beaten many times.
After a getting a few miles away from what appeared to be an abandoned barn on an abandoned derelict ranch, Nick stopped running due to the dizziness going in overdrive and really starting to take its toll on him. As he looked around, it felt as if his head was spinning while everything around him was in slow motion. He knew he had to keep going and try to get into Stockton or Massimo, Paulie, and their friends would catch up to him and take him back, but he didn't think he had enough energy to keep going.
*Nick's POV*
'Oh man! I gotta keep going! I can't give up now. I can't.'
I lean against a tree due to the dizziness coming back.
'I don't know if I can, though. My head feels like a windmill on a windy day and I'm starting to feel like I could throw up despite the fact that I haven't eaten and there wouldn't be anything in there for me to throw up.'
I groan and put my forehead against my arm.
'Come on, Nick. Be a man! You're a Barkley for crying out loud! You went through an entire war and your father could go days without eating while working. What's wrong with you?! Get it together!'
I lift my forehead off of my arm and look around.
'Come on, Nick. Move your feet and get going! Come on now!'
I start to walk only to stop when my head felt like a windmill on a windy day and put my hand on my forehead. I let out a breathy sigh.
'Cut the horsing around! Get going, Nick!'
*Outside of Nick's mind*
Nick managed to muster up enough strength to keep on running. As he was running, he could hear the sound of hoof beats following him. Not knowing whether it was Paulie, Massimo, or one of their friends or somebody coming to rescue him, he decided to stay by himself and keep going. After all, every man for himself, right?
"Gotta keep going. Gotta keep going. Feet...don't...fail...me...now." Nick quietly said to himself as he kept running.
Then, before the blink of an eye...it happened! A gunshot rang out and Nick fell to the ground.
To Be Continued...