“Fucking bastard.” Capone flexed his free hand into a fist.
“I was in shock, but there was a panic button nearby. I hit it, and the alarm went off. He freaked and ran off.”
“If I catch him, I will tear him apart limb by limb,” he guaranteed.
“The police showed up shortly after, and I told them everything.” Exhaling, she took another drink. “I gave them his name and the address he said he lived at, but they got back to me a few hours later. There was no one there by that name. So I got rid of my cell, rented a car, and fled. I was even afraid he might have put a tracker on my phone or car.”
“Good idea. So he was pretending to be someone else.”
“It appears so.” She’d been duped. What a fool she’d been.
“Can you think of anything else that might help us find him?”
“No, and I don’t get it. How did he know so much about me?”
Capone tapped his index finger on his thigh. “Saige, do you have any reason to believe someone was trying to find you?”
“No, none whatsoever. Only my family knew where I was, and like I said, I don’t really hang out with anyone.”
Letting go of her hand, Capone put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. It didn’t escape her how different the two men were. Jacob was impeccably dressed and appeared mild mannered yet was dangerous and frightening. Capone was a member of a biker club and yet she’d never felt safer. His phone sounded and he reached to look at it.
“Sorry, I have to take this.”
“No worries.”
“Yeah,” Capone answered. He nodded a few times as he listened. “Thanks, we’ll be right there.”
Rising, he pulled her to standing. “What’s up?”
“It looks like I will be getting my wish.”
“And what’s that?”
“We found Jacob.”
It was like something out of a movie. The whole band of bikers rode double file toward a location unknown. She was in the middle with her arms wrapped tightly around her man’s waist. Did she just say “her man?” Well, a girl could dream, right? Her whole day felt as if she were living a dream, so she might as well enjoy it. Live life to the fullest even if it was only for a few precious hours.
The group finally turned down a crushed rock road. Dust flew from the tires, and she ducked her head behind his back. When they slowed, Saige lifted her gaze and peeked over his shoulder. Several black SUVs and a white van were parked outside a large metal building. One must have recently arrived, as a couple of well-dressed men in suits were exiting the vehicle.
The Tribe also parked along the building. One of the men in suits walked over and shook the hand of the Tribe’s president, Forge.
“Who are they?” she whispered in Capone’s ear and got off the bike.
“The mob,” he answered after putting the kickstand down and standing beside her.
“The what?” Had she heard him correctly?
“The Caponellis. We work with them sometimes. Since this matter may concern Genoa, we called them in. It was a courtesy call.”
Her eyes widened. Courtesy call to the mob? What had she gotten herself into?
She turned toward the man in question, his dark eyes stared back. “Let’s go.” Capone motioned for her to go ahead of him.
“I don’t know about that.” Her feet refused to move.
“Don’t worry. I got your back.” With his large palm on her lower back, he certainly did. As he pushed her forward, she found herself under the scrutiny of the large handsome men in suits.
“Miss Hemmingway. I’m Roman Caponelli, and this is my associate, Arlo. We heard about your troubles and are here to assist, but first I have to ask you a question.”
A lump formed in her throat, but she nodded anyway.
“Are you any relation to the Hemmingways that live in the large brick colonial on the point?”
Her cheeks pinked just thinking about how large that estate was. “Yes, my parents live there.”
Roman just nodded and motioned for them to enter the building.
Here the gangland movie theme just intensified as they walked through the doorway. The vast building was pretty much empty except for a large bench with various tools on top. As they neared, some looked rusty, or was that dried blood on them? Capone reached to steady her as her eyes landed on Jacob. He was tied to a chair. His face was bloodied and battered, yet surprisingly, she didn’t feel an ounce of pity. Many times in her life she wondered about her sense of empathy. Did that make her not want to be around people or was it just her shyness? She’d been bullied by the popular girls in her classes and the boys just liked to harass her for being “weird.”
“Jasper, Dom. What have you found out?” Roman asked, and Saige finally realized there were two men standing next to Jacob. One was amazingly handsome and the other dangerous and exotic with long, flowing hair.
The first one spoke up. “He was quiet at first, but when we held a knife up to his eye, he started to spill.”
Roman walked over and kicked the bound man in the leg. “Talk.”
“I told them everything already.” Jacob’s chin was covered with pink drool.
“Tell it again.” From the way Roman held himself, anyone with half a brain could tell he was the man in charge.
“I was hired to find Saige.”
Hired to find her? She turned her head to see Capone staring down at her.
“Why?” Roman asked.
“I don’t know. What the hell do I care?” What a bastard Jacob was, profiting at another’s expense.
Her breath caught, and the man next to her pulled her closer. The warmth from his body comforted her.
“Who hired you?” Arlo asked this time, and Jasper answered.
“He said he didn’t know. He was hired on the dark web. Fucker just has a phone number.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you stalked Saige and beat her up.” Capone stepped forward, and you could feel the tension in the room heighten.
“What?” several men said at the same time.
Capone returned to Saige’s side and held the hair back from her face. Looking in the mirror this morning, she’d noticed the bruise had gotten darker.
“That bastard showed up at her work and knocked her around.”
Forge stepped closer, as did the rest of the men. Jacob had held his composure, but now a wet spot darkened the front of his pants.
“And my guess is, it wasn’t the first time the bastard had done something like that,” Capone added.
“It’s true.” This time it was Arlo who spoke. “Several of the other women that he’d been paid to find have also gone missing. Not all, just the ones that matched Saige’s description. What, did some blonde burn you and you decided to take it out on anyone who looked like her?”
Jacob focused on the floor. It was a good bet Arlo had hit the nail on the head.
Forge nodded at the man in charge, and Roman nodded his approval to proceed. Since they were in Caponelli territory, they had to abide by their rules and pay their respects. If they were in Tribe territory, Capone would have had the guy gutted and laid out in an ant field to slowly be eaten alive. At least this way he could stay by Saige’s side and give her whatever she needed. She also wouldn’t be witness to how deadly he could be.