Forbidden love for a Barkley

Part Twenty Two:

"Hope it gives you Hell"

The unidentified person dressed in black turned out to be Stefania's vengeful cousin, Italia. Almost immediately, Italia was nasty to Nick and let her hatred for white people be known. She even went as far as to insinuate that Nick assaulted and r*ped Stefania, before nearly going into slight detail of her father Santo's lynching due to false charges made by, in her words, a "vile yellow haired white woman" and asked if Nick knew of such a person. Nick told her he only knew of one "yellow haired woman", his sister Audra, and said she was decent before suggesting that Italia had the wrong impression of white people and all others & that they're not all evil as she and her family think. After calling him a liar and walking around the slab-like thing he was laying on, Italia started to get somewhat charmed by Nick's good looks, as she went from hating him to patting his right facial cheek and calling him beautiful before stroking his hair and aggressively kissing & nibbling his neck, making him uncomfortable. Paulie would come in and shoot the breeze with Italia before interrogating and later, beating Nick about the face. Meanwhile, Heath had since rounded up a few men & the trio of Stefania, Victoria, and Jarrod rode in many directions in order to find Nick. Upon finding zero trace of him, Stefania would soon find her uncle Paulie's ring, meet up with Jarrod and Victoria, then ride off in the direction she was going, the mother and son duo following her. Jarrod's hat would blow off and not too long after Heath and the men would meet up, find it, and ride off in the same exact direction Barkley, Mangano, and Barkley went. Back at the room he was in, Nick had been stripped of his shirt, yet again and his bruises & cuts looked more grisly/gnarly than before due to Paulie's rings. Now, another unidentified person walked in and as Nick looked up at them, they said: "I knew you were trouble!". The questions that remain are the following: Who is this unidentified person? Will Stefania and the Barkleys get to Nick in time? Will there be more clues? Will Italia or Paulie give more details about the false charges that led Santo's lynching? And most importantly, will Nick and Carmine come face to face? 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, Italia Mangano, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family. Also too, as you can see by the title of this chapter, I modeled it after the All American Rejects song of the same name. Full disclosure: I do NOT own the song either.

WARNING/TRIGGER WARNING: There may be violent moments more slight hints of assault and the possibility of profanity in this chapter. If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand completely and urge you to skip this chapter. Also too, if there is some profanity, I know nobody in those days (the era "The Big Valley" is set in) would've normally talked like that, but considering the situation & what all has happened, you'd understand. Rated 'T' for a reason.

(Flashback to part 21)

Time had passed and Italia went from gently patting Nick's right facial cheek to running her fingers in his hair and kissing his neck, nibbling it every few seconds. Nick was very uncomfortable by this for two reasons; One, because it wasn't making a bit of sense for a woman who hated white people just as much as her uncles did to be putting the moves on him and secondly, it wasn't Stefania who was doing this. He would never mind Stefania doing this at all, because they were in a slowly growing relationship and if it were her, she'd be gentle. Italia was not being gentle at all. In fact, she was being very very aggressive, especially with the nibbling.

"Oooh. Italia?" Nick flinched.

"Shhhh." Italia put her finger on his lips and continued kissing and nibbling his neck.

"Ouch! Italia, suppose-suppose Stefania was to walk in here? I doubt she would take-" Nick was cut off by Italia blowing into his ear and stroking his hair.

"Hush now, handsome boy. There's no need to fight or fret or anything. I've got you now." Italia whispered into his ear.

"Italia, I'm-I'm-Look, Stefania wouldn't take too kindly to you doing this to me." Nick shuddered after Italia blew into his ear, again.

"Well, Stefania isn't here, now is she?" Italia looked him right in the eyes, before pressing her lips against his and forcefully kissing him.

"No, but-" Nick was cut off.

"Then, don't worry about being-" Italia was cut off by a knock at the door.

'Who can it be now?' Nick thought.

The door opened and in came...Paulie, who was sported a sinister smile the minute he saw that Nick had awakened.

"Oh, vedo che il bel ragazzo ha aperto gli occhi. Non ti sta dando problemi, vero? (Oh, I see the pretty boy has opened his eyes. He is not giving you trouble, is he?)" Paulie walked over to where Nick and Italia were.

"No, nessun problema. Solo che è stato difficile per me non picchiarlo e non essere duro con lui, perché mi ricorda uno degli uomini che hanno impiccato papà. (No, no trouble at all. Except it has been hard for me not to hit him and be rough on him, because he reminds me of one of the men who hung papa.)" Italia thought of her father and sadly sighed.

"Capisco, tesoro. Non meritava di essere linciato. (I understand, sweetie. He didn't deserve to be lynched.)" Paulie put his arm around her.

"Zio Paulie, spero davvero che Stefania non consideri attraente quest'uomo bianco o non provi sentimenti per lui. Solo guardandolo, non vedo niente, se non il volto dell'uomo che ha impiccato mio padre. (Uncle Paulie, I really hope Stefania doesn't consider this white man attractive or have feelings for him. Just looking at him, I see nothing, but the face of the man who hung my father.)" Italia told him.

"Non preoccuparti, Italia. Tuo zio Carmine farà in modo che Stefania finisca con un vero uomo italiano. Non un uomo bianco. L'uomo bianco ci ha già fatto abbastanza. (Don't you worry, Italia. Your uncle Carmine will see to it that Stefania ends up with a proper Italian man. Not a white man. The white man has done enough to us already.)" Paulie laughed and patted her shoulder.

"Puoi dirlo di nuovo. Comunque, quest'uomo qui sostiene di volere ciò che vogliamo noi. (You can say that again. Anyways, this man right here claims he wants what we want.)" Italia rolled her eyes.

"Sta di nuovo tirando fuori la storia del "Voglio McMahon e la sua gang"? (Is he pulling the whole "I want McMahon and his gang" thing, again?)" Paulie shook his head.

"Immagino di sì. Perché? (I guess so. Why?)" Italia asked.

"Italia, questo è McMahon qui. Potrebbe provare a dire di essere Nick Barkley, ma è impossibile, perché Massimo e gli altri lo hanno già malmenato. (Italia, this is McMahon right here. He may try to say he is Nick Barkley, but that's impossible, because Massimo and the others already roughed him up.)" Paulie told her.

"È Nick Barkley quello per cui Stefania sembra così arrabbiata? (Is Nick Barkley the one Stefania seems so mad over?)" Italia tilted her head to the side.

"Oh sì. Comunque, è un uomo molto cattivo, Italia. È lui che ha violentato Stefania o ha visto McMahon qui e i suoi amici attaccarla e violentarla. Barkley è amico di McMahon e della sua gang. (Oh yes. However, he is a very bad man, Italia. He is the one who either raped Stefania or watched McMahon right here and his buddies attack and rape her. Barkley is friends with McMahon and his gang.)" Paulie explained.

"Sembra papà. L'uomo bianco fa del male, la donna bianca mente e a nessuno importa. Un uomo o una donna italiana si stabilisce negli Stati Uniti e noi siamo perseguitati! (This sounds like dad. White man does wrong, white woman lies, and nobody cares. Italian man or woman settles into the United States and we're persecuted!)" Italia slapped the slab-like thing that Nick was laying on.

"Look, I'd hate to break up a conversation, but could somebody please unlock these chains?" Nick spoke up.

"Sembra che quel bel ragazzo odi quelle catene. (Pretty boy seems to be hating those chains.)" Paulie pointed at Nick and laughed.

"Certo che sì, ed è un peccato, perché per essere un uomo bianco in catene è piuttosto attraente. (He sure does and it's a shame, because for a white man in chains, he is kinda good looking.)" Italia purred after saying the last part.

"Italia! Non ti starà mica prendendo in simpatia lui, vero?! (Italia! You're not taking a fancy to him, are you?!)" Paulie's eyes got big.

"Zio Paulie, sai che non vado mai con nessun altro uomo se non con i bei ragazzi italiani e sai che non mi innamorerei mai di un uomo bianco. Mai! Non dopo tutto quello che ci hanno fatto e, inoltre, i bianchi di solito non sono attraenti dal punto di vista estetico. Tuttavia, anche noi dobbiamo ammettere che per essere un maniaco e un uomo bianco, McMahon qui è piuttosto attraente. È un peccato che sia un uomo bianco e un delinquente. (Uncle Paulie, you know I never go for any other man except the beautiful Italian ones and you know I would never fall for a white man. Never! Not after what all they did to us and plus, white people are usually unappealing in the looks department. However, even we have to admit that for a creep and white man, McMahon here is pretty good looking. It's a shame he's a white man and a lowlife.)" Italia tried to reassure her uncle that she wasn't falling for Nick, though it seemed that in a way, she was.

"Ammetto che è un bell'aspetto fino a un certo punto. Tuttavia, devi ricordare cosa ci hanno fatto i suoi simili e cosa ha lasciato accadere a Stefania. Non lasciarti ingannare o ammaliare dal suo aspetto. (I will admit that he is a looker to a degree. However, you must remember what his kind have done to us and what he let happen to Stefania. Don't let his looks fool or charm you.)" Paulie reminded her.

"Okay, I hate to interrupt, but could one of you unlock these chains? Please." Nick spoke up, again.

"I see you're complaining about being a little tied up, pretty boy." Paulie reverted to English.

"Well, it's no picnic to be laying in a room like this and staring up at a chandelier that looks like it could fall directly onto you at any given moment." Nick replied.

"I bet it is no fun, pretty boy. However..." Paulie got closer to Nick, grabbed his hair, and held his knife at Nick's chin, "You should've thought about that when you raped Stefania or watched your buddies rape her! Now, I'm going to ask you for the final time...where are McIntyre, Gunderson, Hyatt, and Williamson?! WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"For the last time, I don't know! In fact, I want to know the same thing!" Nick insisted.

"Topo bugiardo! (Lying rat!)" Paulie backhanded Nick in the face.

"Ooh!" Nick groaned.

"Let's try that, again! Where are they?!" Paulie raised his voice.

"You really think that hurts, don't you?" Nick snarked.

Paulie backhanded Nick in the face, again causing him to grunt and a little blood to come out of the corner of his mouth.

"You're wasting time doing this to me." Nick exhaled deeply.

Paulie backhanded him for a third time and pretty soon, started doing it repeatedly. The backhanding would turn to punching after a few minutes passed.

"Prendilo per bene, zio Paulie! L'uomo bianco deve pagare! (Get him good, uncle Paulie! White man must pay!)" Italia cheered.

*Out somewhere with Stefania*

Stefania had been riding around for a while and there was still no sign of Nick anywhere. She was starting to fear for the worst, but seeing as she was bound and determined to find him, she tried to put those fears to bed by reminding herself of what Jarrod had said earlier; Nick would go down kicking and screaming. She hoped against hope that if her father, uncle Paulie, and their friends were holding him captive, he was putting up a big fight. Little did she know what was happening to him and the message he had to deliver to her.

"Father God, please protect Nick. Please, please keep him safe and protected. Please, father God." Stefania softly prayed before starting to ride off again only to stop when she saw something on the ground.

The object started to shine the second a ray of sunlight hit it in a certain spot.

"What's this?" Stefania got down from the wagon, walked over to the object, picked it up, and gasped.

*Stefania's POV*

'Zio Paulie's ring! Zio Paulie's ring!'

I look at it some more and get wide eyed.

'That means he went this way which means Nick must be this way! I gotta follow the trail!'

I put the ring in the pocket of my brown dress and get back into the wagon. I pick up the reins and go to instruct the horses, only to stop myself.

'Wait a minute. Signora Barkley and Jarrod! I must tell them...well show them the clue I found!'

I think about what could happen if they come with me after I tell them.

'Nah. Probably not. I mean say if I do tell them and they come with me, lord only knows what could happen. Zio Paulie, Massimo, the other guys, and papa won't take too kindly to the presence of multiple white people. So, it is probably best I just keep going.'

I shake my head.

'No! Nick is Signora Barkley's son and Jarrod's brother. They deserve to know, so I best try and meet up with-'

I pause when I hear the sound of hoof beats.

'I think one of them is coming right now. I hope.'

*Outside of Stefania's mind*

Stefania looked to her right and saw Jarrod riding up. Truth be told, it was a little unusual for Jarrod to be riding this way, considering that he went north as per the agreement between Stefania, Victoria, and him. However, he just might have found a clue off where he was and wanted to meet up with Stefania & his mother and show them the clue.

"Jarrod?" Stefania said.

"No sign of Nick in the north part. Any sign here?" Jarrod asked, as he rode up to her.

"No, but..." Stefania pulled Paulie's ring out of her pocket, "I found my Zio Paulie's ring not too far from where I am. This may mean that he went this way and Nick could be with him."

"That's most likely it. Well, let's go down this way and-" Jarrod was cut off.

"Let's wait for your mama first." Stefania told him.

They wouldn't have to wait long, because the sound of hoof beats was heard again. The duo looked to their left and saw Victoria approaching.

"No sign of him in the south part. Jarrod, anything in the north part? Stefania, anything here?" Victoria rode up to the duo.

"Nope. No sign of him in the north part, mother, but Stefania found her uncle Paulie's ring right near where the wagon is parked." Jarrod told her.

"That could only mean one thing; Paulie went this way and took Nick with him." Victoria came to the same conclusion Stefania did.

"A clue for three to follow." Jarrod nodded.

"Let's go! The day isn't getting any younger." Stefania instructed before riding off.

Jarrod and Victoria nodded and followed suit, staying close behind Stefania. Unbeknownst to any of them, Jarrod's hat blew off and landed on the ground.

*A few minutes later*

A few minutes after the trio of Jarrod, Stefania, and Victoria rode off, Heath rode up to the area they were just at and waited around for the other men to show up. So far, he and the other guys didn't find any trace of Nick either. As he looked and waited around, he saw Jarrod's hat on the ground.

"Jarrod's hat." Heath said to himself before getting off of his horse and picking it up, "That means he went this way which means Nick could be somewhere in this area. This is the path to go."

Just as he got back on his horse, the other men showed up and pretty soon they were talking about how they found no trace of Nick and discussing what plans were next when Heath showed them Jarrod's hat and explained the whole thing of how Jarrod might've rode down this path which meant Nick could be here somewhere. Coming to an agreement, Heath rode off and the men followed him close behind.

*Back with Nick, Paulie, and Italia*

Nick was now seated against the wall, stripped of his shirt, had his hands chained behind him, had his ankles chained together, and was badly bruised now than he was before from Paulie repeatedly punching him in the face and body. What made these bruises a little more gnarly than usual was the fact that Paulie had been wearing some rings on his fingers this time and rings usually made bruises and cuts way worse than the usual cuts and bruises. After the beating was done, Paulie and Italia left the room. Despite trying his hardest not to show it, Nick was in a lot of pain from this beating. As he sat against the wall and quietly groaned, the door was heard opening, yet again. This would be soon followed by footsteps approaching him.

Nick slowly lifted his head and looked up at the figure standing in front of him, their shadow looming over him.

"I knew you were trouble!" the voice said.

(Now)

"Ma-Massimo, I presume?" Nick barely managed to get the words out.

"Wrong!" the man took a few steps back and ripped his bandana off.

"Carmine Mangano!" Nick's eyes were the size of plates.

"That's right, you white son of a b*!" Carmine barked, "You couldn't hide from me for long and it's Mr. Mangano to you!"

"Mr. Mangano, I wasn't trying t-" Nick was cut off when Carmine slapped him.

"Don't you dare interrupt me! I have been looking all over for you and now, I've finally got you! I've finally got the rat b*st*rd who r*ped and attacked my precious daughter! How could you do such thing?! Why?! Why did you do it?!" Carmine raised his voice.

"Mr. Mangano, I didn't hurt your daughter! I would never do such a thing!" Nick also raised his voice, "Look, I want what you want!"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT I WANT!" Carmine shouted.

"Yes, I do! Would I be wanting the same thing if I was the man or men or low lives who violated and attacked your daughter before leaving her for dead after choking her out?! Would I?!" Nick was close to shouting.

"How do you know she was choked out and left for dead, if you're not the coward who's responsible?!" Carmine pounded his fist on the wall.

"Did it ever occur to you that she may have told me once we met up after the ordeal?" Nick asked.

"Oh, don't feed me that pack of lies, Nick Barkley! You are responsible for what happened to my precious Stefania! You can't escape responsibility or my wrath!" Carmine slapped him, "Now, where are they?! Where are McMahon, Hyatt, Williamson, McIntyre, and Gunderson?! Where?!"

"Mr. Mangano, that's the same question I'm asking and the same thing I want to know. Look, as I said before and have been for a while now, I...would...never..harm...Stefania! I would never do such a thing! Never! My mother and father didn't bring me up that way." Nick shook his head, before sighing, "Mr. Mangano, why don't we join sides?"

"What?!" Carmine shouted the question.

"I said why don't we join sides? You, me, Italia, Paulie, Massimo, Luca, Vito, Enzo, and Arturo. Why don't we join together and-" Nick was cut off.

"I don't believe it! I just don't believe it!" Carmine shook his head again, "You have the colossal gall to ask me to join you after what you did and/or let happen to my principessa?!"

"Principessa?" Nick asked.

"That is princess in Italian." Carmine replied in a snooty way.

"Carmine, what do you have to lose by us joining sides?" Nick asked.

"My life and the lives of others except you. You, like all of the white heads, will continue to go on and on and on and on." Carmine faced away from him.

"So, it is to my understanding that you're saying no, right?" Nick sported an annoyed look on his face.

"That's right! The answer is no!" Carmine barked.

"Why?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"You KNOW why!" Carmine sounded a bit petulant.

"For the final time, I hope, I did not repeat did not r*pe or attack Stefania! I care about her a lot and would never ever even think of doing something ungodly to her. Heck, I'd harm myself before I ever thought of hurting her or anybody." Nick insisted.

"It's not working! You're trying to get on my good side by saying the right things, but it is not working! Not this time!" Carmine still had his back turned to Nick.

"Well, what the hell do I have to do to make you see that I'm telling the truth?!" Nick gritted his teeth.

"Nothing! Besides, what truth is it, Nick Barkley?! It's YOUR truth! The white people's truth! The white man and woman never tell truth ever!" Carmine ran over to Nick and knelt down beside him, practically getting nose-to-nose with him, "Just ask my brother Santo and my papa Emilio! Oh no wait, you can't ask them, because they're dead! They're dead as a result of the white people telling lies and attacking them!"

"Mr. Mangano, I'm sorry for what happened to your father and brother & for what happened to Stefania, but let me just tell you, not all white people are evil. I'm not. My family isn't. In fact, if you weren't so dad blamed stubborn, you'd see that we're not like the awful people you and your family have had to deal with. However, you're too dad blamed stubborn!" Nick shot back.

"Vaffanculo! (F* you!)" Carmine slapped him in the same manner that Marquis De Lacaise slapped Michelle, only harder, leaving a red mark.

"Ooh!" Nick grunted.

Before Carmine could say another word, the door opened and in came Paulie.

"Ciao, fratello mio. McMahon sta di nuovo facendo lo stupido? (Hi, my brother. Is McMahon playing stupid, again?)" Paulie greeted as he hugged Carmine.

"McMahon?" Carmine asked.

"Sì, questo tizio qui. Abbiamo McMahon! (Yeah, this guy right here. We got McMahon!)" Paulie pointed at Nick and chuckled.

"Paulie, idiota, questo non è McMahon! Questo è Nick Barkley! (Paulie, you fool, this is not McMahon! This is Nick Barkley!)" Carmine facepalmed.

"Nick Barkley? Ora, garantisci anche per questo tizio? (Nick Barkley? Now, you're vouching for this guy, too?)" Paulie raised an eyebrow, "Carmine, hai perso quel poco che ti resta della testa? (Carmine, have you lost what's left of your mind?)"

"Non garantisco per quest'uomo bianco, Paulie, ma questo tizio non assomiglia per niente a come Stefania ha descritto McMahon. Quest'uomo è Nick Barkley, che ci crediate o no. (I'm not vouching for this white man by any means, Paulie, but this guy doesn't look anything like how Stefania described McMahon. This man is Nick Barkley, believe it or not.)" Carmine shook his head.

"Carmine, è impossibile! Massimo, gli altri e io abbiamo lavorato su Nick Barkley. (Carmine, that's impossible! Massimo the others, and I worked Nick Barkley over.)" Paulie shook his head.

"Paulie, idiota! Non era Nick Barkley quello che avete manipolato! (Paulie, you idiot! That wasn't Nick Barkley you guys worked over!)" Carmine slapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Ehi! Perché questa violenza fisica?! (Hey! Why the physical abuse?!)" Paulie gave him a look.

"Questo Nick Barkley era basso, aveva i capelli color sabbia e sembrava un adolescente? (Was this Nick Barkley short with sandy hair and looked like a teenager?)" Carmine asked.

"Sì, Carmine. Quello è Nick Barkley per te. Perché? (Yeah, Carmine. That's Nick Barkley for you. Why?)" Paulie asked.

"Idiota! (You idiot!)" Carmine slapped Paulie, "Quello non era Nick Barkley! Quello era suo fratello Eugene! (That wasn't Nick Barkley! That was his brother Eugene!)"

"Veramente? (Really?)" Paulie rubbed his cheek, before slapping Carmine, "Come fai a sapere?! (How do you know?!)"

"A Stefania è stata data una foto della famiglia Barkley. L'ho trovata sul suo comò e quella con l'aspetto da adolescente è Eugene. Questa è Nick. Tu, Massimo, Luca e gli altri avete lavorato su Eugene prima di arrivare a lui. (Stefania was given a photo of the Barkley Family. I found it on her dresser and that teenaged looking one is Eugene. This one is Nick. You, Massimo, Luca, and the other ones worked Eugene over before you got to him.)" Carmine explained.

"Vuoi dire che io e i ragazzi abbiamo commesso un errore, Carmine? (You mean to tell me that the guys and I made a mistake, Carmine?)" Paulie scratched his head.

"Esatto, stupido! Hai sbagliato Barkley! (That's right, stupid! You got the wrong Barkley! )" Carmine slapped Paulie, again.

Paulie was just about to slap Carmine, again only to stop when Italia came running into the room.

"Zio Carmine, zio Paulie! (Uncle Carmine, Uncle Paulie!)" Italia had an urgent look on her face.

"Che c'è, tesoro? (What is it, sweetie?)" Carmine turned to his niece.

"Arturo e Luca sono fuori di guardia e Massimo è appena tornato dopo averli aiutati e mi ha informato che c'è una folla di bianchi diretti qui! (Arturo and Luca are out standing guard and Massimo just returned from assisting them and informed me that there's a mob of white people headed this way!)" Italia sounded frantic.

"Ci siamo, Carm! Ci uniremo presto a papà e Santo! (This is it, Carm! We'll be joining dad and Santo real soon!)" Paulie's eyes got big.

"Figlio di puttana! (You son of a bitch!)" Carmine walked over to Nick and slapped him, again before reverting to English, "You're gonna get us all killed! You set up a trap somehow for your white friends to find us and lynch us!"

"Mr. Mangano, I did no such thing. Besides, they could just be people out horseback riding. Who knows." Nick mildly suggested.

"Oh, you have an answer for everything, don't you, Barkley?!" Carmine folded his arms.

"Mr. Mangano, while you and everyone else are wasting your time with me, McMahon and his gang are out running loose. They plus my uncle Leonard are the ones we all should be demanding answers from and interrogating." Nick told him before sighing.

"Oh, so there is an actual racist in your family, huh?" Carmine nodded, "I'm not surprised!"

"Neither am I." Nick replied, "He's very ignorant and just an awful person. No wonder my father didn't get along with him. However, he, McMahon, and the others are the ones who need to answer to us."

"You have a lot of nerve, my friend! You have a lot of nerve to ask let alone believe that we're going to join your side." Carmine shook his head in absolute disgust.

"Carmine, questo idiota ha offerto questo? (Carmine, this idiot offered that?)" Paulie laughed.

"Oh sì, e lui pensa che se ci uniamo a lui, entrerà nelle nostre grazie. (Oh yes and he thinks that by us joining him, he'll be in our good graces.)" Carmine scoffed.

"Look, if and when we join sides, you'll see that I'm different from the white people you all encountered. I promise." Nick insisted.

"Lui promette. Hai sentito? (He promises. Did you hear that?)" Italia chuckled.

"I heard him." Carmine nodded before turning his attention to Nick, "You promise sh*t!"

"How so?" Nick asked.

"You white people make promises. Make everything sound like a dream come true, but you don't keep the promise!" Carmine walked back and forth, "You people promised us a beautiful home and loads of opportunity, but so far, all we've had was nothing! Nothing, but grief! My papa, like all of us, wanted a better life here, but while the rest of us barely managed to get settled, papa and Santo were murdered! You white people promise protection, but where was it for Santo and papa?! It wasn't there! Papa was riding on his mule named Giorgia when he got pushed off by white heads like you! He got pushed off of his mule and the mule got stolen! Papa suffered bad head wound and died right there in the middle of the street before a doctor could reach him! He died and his killers go on running free! Then, if that wasn't enough, Santo-"

"Italia, Carmine, Paulie, cosa dico ad Arturo e Luca? (Italia, Carmine, Paulie, what do I tell Arturo and Luca?)" Massimo ran into the room.

"Italia, tu resta qui con Nick Barkley. Assicurati che non si muova o vada da nessuna parte! (Italia, you stay here with Nick Barkley. Make sure he doesn't move or go anywhere!)" Carmine instructed before turning to Paulie and Massimo, "Paulie, Massimo, prendete i vostri fucili e andiamo! Potremmo farci male o essere uccisi, ma cadremo combattendo. Cadremo combattendo per mia figlia! (Paulie, Massimo, grab your shotguns and let's go! We may get hurt or killed, but we'll go down fighting. We'll go down fighting for my daughter!)"

Paulie and Massimo nodded before leaving the room.

"Barkley, you stay and think about all that has happened!" Carmine walked out the door and peeked back in, "And I hope it gives you hell!"

"Mr. Mangano, I-" Nick was cut off when Carmine slammed the door shut.

Italia walked over to Nick and stood right over him, staring down at him.

"Italia?" Nick looked up at Italia.

Italia knelt down to his level, got close to him, cupped his face in her hands, and gave him a very very forceful kiss on the lips, practically sucking the air out of him.

"No! No!" Nick said, but it was muffled.

Italia stroked his hair and kept on forcefully kissing him, exhaling and making noises of pleasure each time.

"Italia!" Nick was still muffled.

"Shhhh. Don't fight it, micio. (p*cat.)" Italia whispered as she went from kissing him on the lips to nuzzling and kissing his neck plus moving her hand to his leg and rubbing it in an up & down motion very slowly.

*Out somewhere with Heath and his men*

Heath and the men he rounded up were unknowingly nearing the area where Nick was being held, albeit on what appeared to be a hill-like area. They stopped and observed the area.

"Well, what do you think, Heath?" one man asked.

"Yeah?" a second man spoke up.

"This just may be the place. We need to get down there, but not all of us at once." Heath continued to observe the area and look for a way down that wouldn't be a doozy.

"You got that right, because there may be guards or people pretending to be guards." a third man spoke up.

"Precisely and if they have my brother, we don't want to jeopardize his life which leads me to an idea that I just got." Heath turned to one of the men, "John, you, Roy, and I will take that path on the right. Joe, you'll take the path on the left. Chet, you take to that bridge and wait for us & Eddie, you stay back here for look out. Understood?"

"Understood." the men said in unison before taking their positions.

"Good." Heath nodded before riding off, John and Roy following him.

*With Arturo and Luca*

Arturo and Luca were indeed guarding the area and the bridge that led to it. They were on extra lookout since they did see white people headed this way. Little did they know that the people they saw were one Heath Barkley and the men he rounded up. While they were waiting for Massimo to return, they held up their shot guns and cocked them, ready to take out anybody who dared cause any trouble. Luca would put his finger near the trigger when he caught a glimpse of Chet arriving from a long distance.

"Un uomo bianco su un cavallo bianco alle ore dodici! (White man on white horse at twelve o'clock!)" Arturo whispered to Luca.

"Vuoi dire a mezzogiorno, idiota! (You mean at high noon, you idiot!)" Luca snarked.

Before Arturo could respond, Chet got within close eyesight of the two men and was just about to get on the bridge.

"STOP!" Luca shouted and reverted to English.

Chet, startled, stopped almost immediately.

"State your name and your business!" Luca demanded.

"Howdy, mister. My name is Chet Moynihan. I'm just passing through." Chet told him.

"You are passing through?" Luca asked.

"That's right." Chet nodded.

"Why the gun belt?" Arturo chimed in.

"Protection." Chet replied.

"You're not passing through. You're looking for somebody!" Luca didn't believe him.

"Scommetto che è uno degli amici di McMahon che ha dimenticato di menzionarci! (I'll bet he is one of McMahon's buddies that he failed to mention to us!)" Arturo whispered to Luca.

"Penso di sì. (I think he is.)" Luca nodded to Arturo before turning his attention to Chet, his shot gun still pointed at him, "Alright, signor Cheese, drop your gun!"

"Cheese? Mister, my name is Chet." Chet chuckled.

"I said drop your gun, Cheese!" Luca was clearly intentionally calling Chet "cheese".

"Okay, mister. I'm taking my gun off and dropping it. That being said, I come in peace." Chet took off his gun and dropped it.

"Arturo, vai a prendere la sua pistola! (Arturo, go get his gun!)" Luca ordered.

"Io? Perché io? (Me? Why me?)" Arturo asked in a somewhat high pitched voice.

"Perché tu? Perché l'ho detto io! (Why you? Because I said so!)" Luca pushed him.

"Oh, dai, vecchio amico Luca. Sai che odio i ponti. (Oh, come on, Luca old buddy. You know I hate bridges.)" Arturo protested.

"Tu odi tutto, Arturo. Anche le tue verdure! (You hate everything, Arturo. Even your vegetables!)" Luca scoffed.

Then, before anybody knew it, an argument ensued between the two men. As they bickered in Italian, up on the hill, Jarrod, Stefania, and Victoria arrived and looked down. It wouldn't be long until something caught Jarrod's attention almost immediately.

"Hey! That's Chet down there." Jarrod was a little surprised.

"I wonder why Chet is there." Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"One of two things: A) He is horseback riding or B) Heath may have rounded him, Roy, Joe, Eddie, and John up to join us on the search for the missing Nick Barkley." Jarrod rested his chin on his fist.

"I think he is searching for Nick." Stefania spoke up.

"What makes you think so?" Jarrod turned to her.

"The two men on that bridge who seem to be arguing are none other than Arturo and Luca!" Stefania replied before turning to Victoria, "Signora Barkley, this it! We're in the area where Nick is being held."

"Well, let's go then!" Victoria's eyes lit up.

"No, not all of us at once! One at a time, because they're armed!" Stefania warned.

"Wait a minute! Who just arrived now?" Jarrod spotted somebody else arriving alongside Chet.

"I think that's Joe." Victoria guessed.

"I think Massimo just showed up alongside Arturo and Luca." Stefania spotted Massimo standing behind Luca and Arturo.

"Alright, let's take positions. Mother, you go down the left path, Stefania, you go down the path on the right, and I'll take to that bridge." Jarrod told them.

"No, Jarrod. I must go down to the bridge." Stefania shook her head.

"Stefania, I-" Jarrod was cut off.

"Jarrod, Stefania, I think another one just arrived." Victoria pointed down at the bridge.

To Be Continued...

Stefania: Who else is down there?

Jarrod: Your guess is as good as mine.

Chet: Mister, we don't mean any harm!

Nick: Italia, quit it!

Stefania: What's going on?

Carmine: R&R, everybody!