A burly man got out of the pick-up and waited.
“I won’t leave,” I said firmly.
Growl pressed his lips together. He was getting angry, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be part of this. “Alright,” he muttered. “But your mother will leave.”
He got out and flung open the back door. Mother gave me a frightened look. “What are you doing, Cara? This is madness.” She didn’t get further. Growl pulled her toward the pick-up and put her in the backseat, then he was back behind the steering wheel and we drove away. I peered over my shoulder at the pick-up that pulled away from the roadside and went off in the other direction.
“Your mother is safe. Mino needs our help. He and his family can only hope for safety if New York grants them protection, and the only way that will happen is if your mother puts in a good word for him. He has no choice but to make our plan work.”
That information calmed me. If you could trust in one thing, then it was that people wanted to save their own hide and protect their family.
The gate to Falcone’s mansion appeared in the distance. “There is a blanket in the back. Crouch in the legroom and cover yourself with it. I don’t want them to see you.”
I grabbed the blanket and did as he’d asked, trying to be as still as possible. A few minutes later, the car stopped and I heard the window slide down, then a male voice.
“Morning. Mr. Falcone is awaiting you.”
After a brief moment of panic, I reminded myself that Growl had mentioned he was supposed to meet Falcone to discuss another job. At least, that way nobody would grow suspicious. I heard the muffled shot and a body hitting asphalt. My heart pounded in my ears when the car was set in motion again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Cara
“Stay here. I will probably take a bit longer to disable Falcone’s guards,” Growl said as he pulled the blanket off me. He held a gun out to me. “Do you know how to use it?”
My eyes widened and I shook my head. He quickly explained the basics to me, then he got out, and I wished he would have given me a kiss in case he didn’t return.
Don’t even think about it. If Growl died, all of us would.
Growl opened the trunk and the dogs jumped out. I stayed crouched in the legroom but peeked out of the window. Coco and Bandit followed after Growl as he headed for the door. Someone opened it and Growl shoved a knife into the soft spot below his chin, then Growl went out of my sight.
It took endless ten minutes until finally Growl appeared in the doorway. Blood was trickling down his forehead and his shirt was ripped. My heart skipped a beat at the sight, until Growl stepped out, holding Falcone by the collar. One trouser leg was torn as if Coco or Bandit had bitten Falcone there. I smiled to myself despite my tension. I got out of from my hiding place and slipped into the passenger seat, making room for Falcone in the back.
The trunk was still open so Coco and Bandit jumped in without needing to be told. Coco’s maw was covered in blood. Bandit’s fur was too dark to tell what kind of liquid was wetting it but I assumed it was also blood.
Growl thrust Falcone into the backseat. The man’s hands were tied together with tape, and so was his mouth. He glared when he spotted me in the car.
Growl got into his seat and started the car. We needed to get away from the house as quickly as possible. Nobody tried to stop us as we left the premises.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, scanning the cut on Growl’s head. It didn’t look very deep but blood was running down his face and getting in his left eye.
He wiped it off impatiently. “I killed them all before they could ring an alarm.”
Falcone made a muffled sound. He looked pissed, but there was also a hint of fear that gave me a sick satisfaction.
I smiled grimly at him before turning back to Growl. “What about his wife and children?”
“His sons are in boarding school in England, and his wife is in Aspen.”
Good. At least, that blood didn’t have to be spilled. I didn’t like Falcone’s wife much, but she probably had suffered enough in her marriage. She didn’t deserve death.
Falcone tried to say something again. Growl parked on the side of the road and turned in his seat. He shoved the sleeve of Falcone’s shirt up, and pressed the knife into the skin a few inches below the crook of the elbow.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“He implanted a GPS tracker into his body so we could find him if he was ever kidnapped,” Growl said.
Falcone gasped in pain as Growl dug the small device out of his flesh with the sharp tip of his knife. The blood-covered tracker fell onto the backseat. Growl opened the window and threw the tracking device out.
Then he pulled off the tape over Falcone’s mouth before we continued our journey.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to let him talk?” I asked.
Falcone panted on the backseat, the skin around his mouth red, and glared at us. “What did that whore do to wrap you around her fingers? I’d have thought you were immune to manipulation.”
“You manipulated me all my life,” Growl rasped.
“Did she tell you that? She must have sucked your brains out.”
“Be careful,” Growl warned.
He tried to push himself into a sitting position but with his tied hands it wasn’t easy. Eventually he gave up, which was probably for the best considering that Bandit had stuck his head over the backseat and was only too eager for another taste of Falcone. “Is she worth losing everything? You could have become my successor. You still can if you kill that bitch now.”
I laughed. And Growl, too, smiled bitterly. “As if your men would have ever accepted me as their boss. I know what everyone is saying about me, even you. A bastard can never amount to anything but a henchman. I’m not stupid. I know what’s been going on behind my back. And you have legitimate heirs, you don’t need me.”
“This life is all you know, all you have. If you risk it for her, you’ll be left with nothing. She isn’t worth it, believe me.”
Growl’s eyes slanted over to me briefly. “Yes, she is. She’s worth more than you and I. She’ll be worth losing everything for.”
My heart swelled with love, and at the same time my stomach tightened. This wasn’t meant to happen. Falling in love with a man like Growl was the worst I could do, but it was too late now. I couldn’t deny my emotions for the man next to me.
“I should have killed you when you were a useless boy. You are worthless. The son of a cock-sucking whore. If you don’t work for me, what will you do? There’s nothing you can do. You are a monster. You’ve always been. I knew it when I first saw you when you were a screaming ugly baby.”
Growl pulled into a deserted parking lot. The store had been closed for a long time from the looks of it. Growl jumped out of the car and dragged Falcone out of the backseat, then pushed him to the ground. Falcone cackled.
I got out of the car as well.
Growl grabbed Falcone by the throat. “You’ve done enough damage. I won’t listen to you anymore. You will die today.”
“My men will kill you. You can’t stop them all. They’re probably already looking for me.”
I froze. How?
Growl narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”