“Are you sure she’s here?” Shane asks.
“The car’s still in the drive,” I say with a nod. “She’s here. I’ll see you in a bit. Go see if you can find out where Alex is.”
Rocco drives away as I walk up to the house. Jesus, am I completely blind when it comes to Nadia? I didn’t go into this with the intention of falling in love with her. My guard was up, I was careful. Watchful.
I reach for the handle, but movement through the window in the door catches my eye, and I stop.
“Fuck me,” I whisper. Nadia is sitting on the couch, her back to me. And Alex, that son of a bitch, is pacing the living room, talking and gesturing with his hands.
Shane was right. The evidence is right here in front of me. Nadia didn’t expect me back for hours, so Alex came over, and they’re having a meeting in the house I’m paying for.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and call Shane.
“Yeah?”
“You need to come back here. Alex and Nadia are both here. I haven’t gone in yet. I want backup. I know how badass she can be.”
“On our way.”
I shove my phone back into my pocket and decide to walk around the house to get a better view. We’ll have to surprise them. Alex is weak and small, but Nadia is excellent at both hand-to-hand combat and with her weapon.
I ease my way around the opposite side of the room and peek my head around the window. Alex is standing in front of Nadia, his arms still flailing about.
And when he steps away, my blood turns to ice.
Nadia’s hands are tied in front of her. Both eyes are blackened. Her shirt is ripped, probably from a struggle, and there’s a gash in her shoulder with blood running down her chest.
The son of a bitch hurt her.
Nadia’s eyes roam away from her brother and meet mine. They widen in surprise for a moment, and then she recovers. She watches Alex, who’s still on a tirade, and then gives me a shake of the head.
It’s barely noticeable, in case Alex sees her, but it’s there.
She doesn’t want me to come in.
Well, she’s going to be very disappointed.
I hurry back around the house just in time to see my brothers hurrying up the driveway.
“He beat her up,” I say quickly and bring them both up to speed. “She’s not in on it, and he’s going to kill her.”
“No.” Rocco takes out his sidearm and disengages the safety. “He isn’t. How do you want to do this?”
“There are two entrances, aside from the garage.” I point to the front door and then gesture to the side of the house. “Both are within his line of sight, so when we go in, we go in firing. But you have to be careful. Nadia’s tied up on the couch.”
“Rocco and I are going in on the side,” Shane says, cool as a cucumber as he thinks it through. “Carmine, you go in through the front door as if you’re just coming home and don’t know what’s going on. Play stupid with him for a bit. We need to catch him off guard.”
“And if he just draws a weapon and shoots me?”
Shane smiles. “Duck.”
“That’s not helpful.” I tap my piece at my ankle and the one at my back. “He’s yelling. I’d say he’s telling her everything he’s done.”
“Alex would brag,” Rocco says. “He’ll want to tell her everything before he kills her.”
“I’m using that to my advantage,” I say and walk to the door. “Get in position. I’m going in.”
Without another word, I open the door.
“Hey, babe, I’m home! I hope there are still some donuts left. I’m starving. The gym was pretty empty today, so—”
I come up short when Alex points a gun in my face.
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on? Nadia?”
“Hello, darling,” Alex says with a sneer. “Go sit with her. This works out well. I can kill you both at the same time.”
Chapter 19
~Nadia~
No. All I can think is no.
Alex is going to kill me.
And now, he’s going to kill Carmine, too.
“Let Carmine go,” I say through throbbing lips. “This is between you and me.”
Instead of answering, Alex slaps me and then lowers his face to mine and sneers. “Papa didn’t teach you to keep your cunt mouth shut, so I’m going to do it. Don’t you fucking talk unless I tell you to.”
“Why’d you do it?” Carmine asks calmly as he sits next to me. “Why’d you enlist Rich and go about this whole dramatic game?”
“Game?” Alex turns on Carmine but doesn’t hit him. No, he’s too much of a pussy to hit a man stronger than he is. “This isn’t a game. This is brilliant. I was just telling little sis here all about it, but I’ll explain it to you, too. She’ll just have to hear it twice. But you don’t mind, do you, sis?”
I shake my head no. From the corner of my eye, I see Carmine slip his phone out of his pocket. He taps on the screen, but I can’t see what he’s doing.
Hell, he can’t see what he’s doing.
“Papa is too set in his ways,” Alex begins. “He’s weak. He thinks we should respect the old ways of doing things. And because of that shortsightedness, he’s missing out on a lot of money. I’m not willing to do that.”
“You’re not rich enough?” Carmine asks.
“Fuck, no. Who’s rich enough? There’s no such thing, you dumbass. Drugs. Drugs are where it’s at. And when you have a new brew, all the better.”
“That new brew you have kills people,” Carmine says. “That doesn’t make for repeat customers.”
“That’s not what we were selling.” Alex laughs. “That was just to get people out of our way. The stuff we sell is the best high you can have. It’s better than coke, better than meth or anything else. People will be begging me for it. They’ll pay anything at all for it.”
“What is it?” Carmine asks.
“It’s a synthetic. You don’t have to sniff it or shoot it. You pop the pill, and in twenty minutes, you’re on the best ride of your life. I call it Hades.”
“How original,” Carmine says calmly. “So, you went to some of Sergi’s people in New York, and they turned you down.”
“Weak assholes,” he says with the shake of his head. “They didn’t want to do anything unless they ran it by Mick first. And I couldn’t allow that.”
“Why not?”
“Because this is my fucking operation,” Alex yells and drives his finger into his chest. “Mine. Not theirs. And if they want to try to bring anyone higher up in, they get dead.”
“So, what about Richard? Or should I say, Dimitri?”
What? Who in the hell is Dimitri?
Alex’s smile falls, and he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before smiling again, but I can tell he’s nervous now.
“I figured you’d find out about that sooner or later,” Alex says. “It was so pitifully easy. With his background, he was just itching to get into something on the down-low. Something big. It was his idea to marry into the family. I thought he should marry Nadia.” He turns to me, and I want to throw up. “But he had a thing for Annika. He said Annika was weaker and would be easier to fool. And I hate to admit it, but he was right. She fell for the whole sappy I-love-you act—hook, line, and sinker. I mean, he actually got her to marry him! Women are so stupid. So easily manipulated. They’re fucking worthless.”