Forbidden love for a Barkley

Part Twenty Three:

"Ezekiel 25:17, pt. 1"

The second unidentified person turned out to be none other than Carmine Mangano himself. Almost immediately, he and Nick had a verbal spar before Paulie would come in and shoot the breeze with his older brother. It wouldn't be long until when Paulie would call Nick "McMahon" and Carmine would point out that the man they had was not Seth McMahon, but Nick Barkley which would understandably throw his younger brother for a loop, because he, Massimo, and the others figured that Eugene was Nick and Nick was Seth McMahon. This would lead to a possible squabble between the Mangano men only for that possibility to be interrupted when Italia came running in to inform them that Arturo, Luca, and Massimo had seen, in her words, "a mob of white people" headed this way. Paulie declared that this was the end and that they would all join the late Santo and Emilio Mangano soon while Carmine would slap Nick and accuse him of setting a trap for the Manganos and their friends in order to get them lynched before briefly telling the story of how Emilio was murdered then leaving to "fight for his daughter", Italia putting more moves on Nick while watching him. Now, with the arrival of Heath, the men he rounded up, and the trio of Victoria, Stefania, and Jarrod, we just might be headed for a stand off or hostage negotiation, especially since Arturo and Luca stopped Chet (one of Heath's men) and ordered him to drop his gun. The questions that remain are as follows: Will there be a stand off/hostage negotiation? Will somebody be the "go between" in this tense situation? Will Victoria meet Carmine? What's happening? 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, Chet and the men Heath rounded up, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family. Oh and before I forget, two things: One, this is another multi-parter only it'll be a two parter this time and Two, as you can see that by the title of the chapter, I modeled it after the scene from the film "Pulp Fiction", though this chapter won't be quite as intense as that scene. "The Big Valley" & "Pulp Fiction" belong to their rightful owners.

WARNING/TRIGGER WARNING: There may be intense/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 22)

"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.

(Now)

Jarrod looked down at the bridge and got a surprised look on his face when he saw that Heath had showed up and was beside Chet.

"What is it, Jarrod?" Victoria asked.

"Heath's down there with Chet." Jarrod told her.

"So's my zio Paulie! Oh no!" Stefania gasped.

"What is it?" Jarrod turned to her.

"Papa may be coming, too. I need to get down there!" Stefania grabbed the horse reins.

"No, Stefania, wait! What about-" Jarrod was cut off when Stefania took off down a path in order to get to the bridge where Heath, Chet, Arturo, Massimo, Luca, and Paulie were having what appeared to be a stand off.

*Down where Heath, Chet, and company were*

"Luca, Arturo, Massimo, che sono queste teste bianche? (Luca, Arturo, Massimo, who are these white heads?)" Paulie cocked his shot gun.

"Penso che siano qui per McMahon. Probabilmente i suoi amici di cui non ci parlava. Uno di loro si chiama formaggio. L'altro è chiamato ... come si chiama Luca? (I think they're here for McMahon. Probably his friends he didn't tell us about. One of them calls himself Cheese. The other is named...what's his name Luca?)" Arturo explained to Paulie before turning to Luca.

"Heath Barkley." Luca replied.

"Heath Barkley ? È uno dei fratelli di Nick! (Heath Barkley? He's one of Nick's brothers!)" Paulie pointed out.

"Quindi è vero. Ha raccontato tutto a tutta la sua famiglia e ci ha teso una trappola! (So, it is true. He has told his whole family and set up a trap for us!)" Massimo sneered.

"Look, misters, we don't want trouble. Honest. Heck, I even dropped my gun like you said." Chet tried to reassure them.

"Quiet, Cheese!" Luca barked, before turning to Heath, "You, blonde boy, what's your reason for being on this bridge?!"

"I come in peace just like Chet does. We're looking for my brother Nick. Have any of you seen him?" Heath asked.

"Oh yes. We've seen him. A pretty boy for a white man." Paulie nodded.

"We've taken care of him. A little work over." Arturo spoke up.

"A little work over? I think you have made a mistake, because if we're talking about the same person, the one you worked over was Eugene. Now, he's badly hurt. Nick, on the other hand, didn't show up all beat to kingdom come. In fact, he hasn't returned home all day." Heath replied.

"What are you talking about?!" Arturo asked, before turning to Paulie and reverting to Italian, "Di cosa sta parlando? (What is he talking about?)"

"L'uomo bianco su cui abbiamo lavorato non era Nick Barkley e l'uomo che abbiamo un po 'legato non è McMahon. L'uomo che abbiamo è Nick Barkley e quello su cui abbiamo lavorato è Eugene. Eugene è il suo fratellino. (The white man we worked over was not Nick Barkley and the man we have a little tied up is not McMahon. The man we have is Nick Barkley and the one we worked over is Eugene. Eugene is his baby brother.)" Paulie replied.

"Sono così confuso in questo momento! (I'm so confused right now!)" Arturo had a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Non preoccuparti, Carmine spiegherà più avanti. (Don't worry, Carmine will explain later.)" Paulie patted Arturo on the shoulder.

"Non spiegherà con un sacco di colpi, vero? (It's not going to be explaining with a bunch of hitting, is it?)" Arturo asked.

"I hate to be the guy who interrupts, but if I may ask again, where is Nick? Have any of you seen him?" Heath interrupted them despite not wanting to.

"Blonde boy, it is rude to interrupt a private conversation!" Massimo put his finger near the trigger of his gun.

"Yeah, your little friend Cheese over to your right is keeping his mouth shut. Now, if I were you blonde boy, I'd drop my gun!" Luca added.

"Alright, but first, I want my question answered." Heath started to take his gun belt off, but stopped.

"Oh no no no no no no no no no and no. In that order. Let's get one thing clear, my friend." Paulie, gun still pointed at Heath, started to make his way towards Heath, "You are in our territory. OUR...territory! You may give orders wherever, but when you're on our turf, your orders, rules, and all of that do not mean a damn thing. You don't bark orders in our territory. We don't serve the white man in our territory or ever for that fact. Just get that through your white head, my friend and in the meantime, drop your gun!"

Heath, choosing to be defiant and to show he would not be intimidated, didn't say a word or make any movement.

"Heath, you better do what he says." Chet whispered to him.

Heath remained silent and shook his head "No".

"Blonde boy, I gave you a direct order! Drop your gun!" Paulie barked.

Before anything else could possibly happen, hoof beats were heard.

"Heath! Heath, there's a woman coming." Chet looked to his left and pointed.

"That's...Stefania." Heath looked to where Chet was pointing and saw Stefania coming.

"Blonde boy, do I-" Paulie was cut off.

"Zio Paulie! Zio Paulie!" Stefania called out as she was approaching the bridge.

"Stefania, cosa ci fai qui? Dovresti riposarti, tesoro. (Stefania, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting, sweetie.)" Paulie turned his attention to the oncoming Stefania.

"Zio Paulie, smettila! Smettila subito...per favore! (Uncle Paulie, stop this! Stop this right now...please!)" Stefania rode up to the bridge and got beside Heath.

"Cosa sto facendo, tesoro? Cosa dovrei fermare? (What am I doing, sweetie? What should I be stopping?)" Paulie sounded as if he was playing dumb.

"Zio Paulie, tu e io sappiamo entrambi cosa stai facendo e cosa dovresti fermare. Tu e papà per essere precisi. (Uncle Paulie, you and I both know what you're doing and what you should be stopping. You and dad to be exact.)" Stefania gave him a look.

"Stefania, tesoro, tuo padre, io e gli altri lo facciamo solo per te. (Stefania, sweet thing, your dad and I plus the others are only doing this for you. )" Paulie insisted.

"Oh, dai, zio Paulie! Tu e papà mi difendete nel modo sbagliato. Molto sbagliato. (Oh, come off of it, uncle Paulie! You and dad are going about defending me the wrong way. Very wrong.)" Stefania shook her head.

"Sbagliato? Sbagliato?! Stefania, come è sbagliato che tuo padre, Massimo, Arturo, Luca, Vito, Paulie e io difendiamo il tuo onore?! Hai dimenticato che sei stata aggredita e violentata da teste bianche guidate da Nick Barkley e dal suo amico McMahon. Al momento abbiamo McMahon in custodia. Tua cugina Italia si sta prendendo cura di McMahon mentre parliamo. Nick Barkley, d'altra parte, ce lo siamo fatto passare. (Wrong? Wrong?! Stefania, how is it wrong that your dad, Massimo, Arturo, Luca, Vito, Paulie, and me to defend your honor?! Have you forgotten that you were assaulted and raped by white heads led by Nick Barkley and his buddy McMahon. We currently have McMahon in our custody. Your cousin Italia is tending to McMahon as we speak. Nick Barkley, on the other hand, we worked him over.)" Enzo, who had apparently arrived, chimed in.

"Enzo, l'uomo che abbiamo in custodia non è Seth McMahon. (Enzo, the man we have in our custody is not Seth McMahon.)" Paulie turned to Enzo.

"I hate to interrupt, Stefania, but what are you all saying?" Heath turned to Stefania.

"Stefania, allontanati da quella testa bianca! Potrebbe provare a intrappolarti e fare quello che vuole! (Stefania, get away from that white head! He could try to trap you and have his way!)" Massimo raised his voice.

"Massimo, tu, gli altri, zio Paulie e papà avete sbagliato su Nick, Heath e tutti i bianchi. Non tutti sono malvagi come quelli che sono responsabili di quello che è successo a me, zio Santo e nonno Emilio. Infatti, paragonare Nick, Heath e forse tutta la famiglia Barkley a gente come Seth McMahon, la sua banda di delinquenti, Matthew Sturgis, Jack Clevenger, Jessica Ballinger, Stan Reardon e gli altri sarebbe il peggior insulto di sempre. (Massimo, you, the others, uncle Paulie, and dad have Nick, Heath, and all white people wrong. Not all of them are evil like the ones who are responsible for what happened to me, uncle Santo, and grandpa Emilio. In fact, to even compare Nick, Heath, and possibly the whole Barkley family to the likes of Seth McMahon, his gang of lowlives, Matthew Sturgis, Jack Clevenger, Jessica Ballinger, Stan Reardon, and the others would be the worst insult ever.)" Stefania told him, as she reached out and put her hand on top of the barrel of Massimo's gun.

"Stefania, togli le mani da quella dannata pistola! (Stefania, get your hand off of that damned gun!)" Luca's eyes got big when he saw her hand covering the gun barrel.

"Oh, Stefania, perché? Perché hai dovuto ripetere i nomi delle persone responsabili del linciaggio di Santo e della morte di tuo nonno per un colpo alla testa?! Perché hai ripetuto quei nomi?! (Oh, Stefania, why? Why did have to repeat the names of the people who are responsible for Santo's lynching and your grandpa dying of a hit on the head?! Why did you repeat those names?!)" Paulie shut his eyes very tightly, making a pained expression as hearing those names brought back the memories of the horrific ways Santo and Emilio died. If one looked closely, they would see a single tear streaming down Paulie's right cheek.

"Stefania, those names you mentioned, you and your family encountered those people, too?" Heath seemed as if he recognized the names of the people responsible for Emilio's murder and Santo's lynching.

"Yes. Why, Heath? Do you know them?" Stefania turned to Heath.

"Jessica Ballinger nearly destroyed three reputations. Nick's, Jarrod's, and my own. She made false charges against us." Heath nodded.

"She what?" Stefania gasped.

"Uh huh. She made false charges against Jarrod, claiming he grabbed her inappropriately. He didn't of course. Jarrod-" Heath was cut off.

"Jarrod what?" Jarrod asked upon arriving to the bridge.

"Un altro uomo bianco! (Another white man!)" Arturo shrieked.

"Uomo cattivo! Uomo cattivo! Il diavolo! Il diavolo! (Bad man! Bad man! The Devil! The devil!)" Enzo had a fearful look in his eyes after locking eyes with Jarrod.

"Calma, Enzo e Arturo. Non è il diavolo. È il fratello maggiore di Nick, Jarrod. Lui, Nick, Heath e la loro famiglia sono stati solo gentili con me. Sono persone meravigliose. (Calm down, Enzo and Arturo. He is not the devil. He is Nick's big brother Jarrod. He, Nick, Heath, and their family have been nothing, but nice to me. They are wonderful people.)" Stefania held her hand up in a "calm down" motion in the hopes that Enzo and Arturo would ease up before the situation could possibly get any more out of control than it already was.

"Persone meravigliose? Stefania, ti sei dimenticata di tutto quello che ci hanno fatto passare i loro simili?! Il linciaggio basato su una bugia e l'omicidio di tuo nonno! Le teste bianche hanno fatto questo e tu le chiami persone meravigliose. Stefania, perché?! (Wonderful people? Stefania, have you forgotten everything their kind has put us through?! The lynching based on a lie and the murder of your grandpa! The white heads did that and you call them wonderful people. Stefania, why?!)" Paulie asked while wiping away tears as the painful memories of Emilio's murder and Santo's lynching play out in his mind.

"Zio Paulie, Nick e la sua famiglia non sono per niente come Jessica Ballinger, Kevin Sinclair, il padre di Jessica, Hiram, Matthew Sturgis, Stan Reardon, Jack Clevenger, Tim Bodine, Robert T. McIntosh, Seth McMahon e la sua gang. Niente come loro! (Uncle Paulie, Nick and his family are nothing like Jessica Ballinger, Kevin Sinclair, Jessica's dad Hiram, Matthew Sturgis, Stan Reardon, Jack Clevenger, Tim Bodine, Robert T. McIntosh, Seth McMahon, and his gang. Nothing like them!)" Stefania tried to reason with her uncle before shaking her head and sighing, "Potrei girare in tondo con tutti voi tutto il giorno fino a crollare per la stanchezza, ma devo andare a trovare Nick... e papà prima che accada qualcos'altro. (I can go round and round with all of you all day until I collapse from exhaustion, but I need to go off and find Nick...and dad before something else happens.)"

"I hate to be a bug, but what is going on here? Stefania, Heath, Chet, who are these people?" Jarrod spoke up, sounding a cross between curious and like he was demanding a quick answer.

"Jarrod, this is my Zio Paulie and these others are his and my papa's friends Massimo, Arturo, Enzo, and Luca. Vito is usually with them, but he's probably running late as always. I'm trying to reason with them and hopefully at least make them understand that Nick did nothing wrong and that he is not friends with Seth McMahon and those other cruel beasts in the hopes that they will convince my papa that you guys, Nick, and your family are nothing like Seth and his awful bunch, Stan Reardon, Jessica Ballinger, Hiram Ballinger, Jack Clevenger, Tim Bodine, Matthew Sturgis, Kevin Sinclair, and Robert T. McIntosh. We know what Seth and those cruel beasts did to me, but you don't know what those others have done. Also too, Heath mentioned that Jessica tried to ruin your life, his own, and Nick's." Stefania explained to Jarrod in a nutshell.

"She sure did, but I'll delve into my story later on." Jarrod nodded while sporting a disgusted look on his face, clearly showing that his encounter with Jessica Ballinger still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Then, I'll delve into mine. That's if you wouldn't mind such boring stories." Heath added.

"I don't mind at all and I understand, because right now, Nick is our priority and I need to go find him." Stefania grabbed the horse reins.

"Stefania, what about your father?" Heath asked.

"I'll take the heat from him later." Stefania replied before riding off.

"Stefania, where are you going?!" Paulie reverted to English and shouted the question after seeing her ride right by him and across the bridge.

"Stefania!" the others shouted.

The shouting fell upon deaf ears and became a background noise to Stefania as she continued to ride off. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to reach her, Paulie and the others turned their attention to Jarrod, Heath, and Chet.

"Alright, white boys. Drop your guns!" Paulie pointed his gun at Jarrod and Heath.

"Be good boys like your friend Cheese." Luca pointed at Chet, still calling him "Cheese".

"Cheese?" Jarrod had a perplexed look on his face.

"He calls me "Cheese". Go with it, Jarrod." Chet spoke up.

"Alright, Chet." Jarrod nodded before turning his attention back to Paulie and Luca, "I'm sorry, but I cannot drop my gun."

"What?!" Paulie growled.

"He's looking for trouble, Paulie. Be careful." Arturo spoke up.

"He may have a rope to help other white heads lynch us!" Massimo added.

"On the contrary, Massimo is it?" Jarrod asked.

"Yeah. What's it to you, you?!" Massimo snapped back.

"Nothing. I just wanted to get your name right. That's all. Anyways, the reason I cannot drop my gun is, because I want to know where Nick is and if he is alright and alive. Then, I'll respectfully ask to be let across the bridge so I along with Stefania can go to him." Jarrod explained in the most cool, calm, and collected way considering the situation.

"The same reason I will not drop my gun. If you inform us of where he is, my brother and I will drop our guns. Maybe even give them to you then we go across the bridge, ride off to where Nick is, and explain the whole situation. Nobody gets hurt and you all can tell us your story involving Jessica Ballinger and those others." Heath gently offered.

Paulie and company took a moment to let Heath's words sink in before exchanging glances with one another.

"This looks hopeful." Jarrod whispered to Heath, optimisim in his voice.

As Paulie and company murmured stuff to each other, hoof beats would be heard once again, causing them to stop whatever they were doing and get back in their combative position.

"Paulie, there's a white woman heading to the bridge!" Massimo raised his voice.

"A white haired white woman!" Enzo added.

"Mother?" Jarrod and Heath turned around and saw Victoria approaching from behind them.

"Jarrod, Heath, I was starting to get worried and I didn't want to wait too long. Do they know-" Victoria was cut off.

"Hey, woman with pale hair, state your name and business!" Paulie demanded.

"Wait a minute, Paulie. What about what I just said?" Heath asked.

"You have some nerve, you know!" a voice shouted.

"Who was that?" Chet asked.

*Meanwhile with Nick*

Italia went from rubbing his leg in an up and down motion with her hand & nuzzling his neck to a full blown forceful kiss on his lips that felt as if she was once again sucking the air let alone the life out of him. Normally, he wouldn't have stood for this, but seeing as he his hands were literally tied, he was helpless and all he could do was endure it. On the same token, in no way did it mean that he had to like every bit of it or force himself to like it.

Nick continued to protest, but they were muffled by Italia's constant forceful kissing on his mouth and now, her shoving her tongue inside his mouth. This was making Nick breathe heavily and gag at times.

"Oh, come on, baby. You know you love this." Italia briefly pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Italia..." Nick was trying to catch his breath, but before he could get a word in edgewise, Italia put her mouth over his and forecfully kissed him some more.

Then, as fate would have it, the door opened and in came another woman.

"Mmmmmm! Mmmmm! Mmmm!" Nick made more muffled noises as he looked up at and got bug eyed upon seeing the second woman.

To Be Continued...

Author's note 2.0: I am so so sorry I am late in getting this chapter published, but I have been working on other fics and real life got to be time consuming. Anyways, Happy October and enjoy! :D

Heath: Who's coming?

Italia: What is it, handsome devil?

?: How dare you!

Victoria: Do any of you know where Nick is?

Paulie: R&R, people!