All the blood in my face drains away, leaving me lightheaded and wavering on my feet. This can’t be happening. I’m going to wake up any minute and realize this is all one horrible dream.
My mother’s fingers clench the gun. Her trigger finger sits far too close to the trigger for my liking. It won’t take much for the gun to go off.
“Maria, for once in your life, do as you’re told.” My mother bites off each word, her voice growing stronger, more controlled. “Sit on the goddam couch.”
I glance at Liam, knowing that’s the last thing I should do. We can’t let them separate us. To my surprise, he gives a gentle nod. Fear flows in my veins. It bangs away inside my heart. But there’s no fear in Liam’s expression. He’s steady as a rock.
Hands up, he reaches inside his suit. He grabs his weapon and slowly draws it out. With my mouth gaping and eyes practically bugging out of my head, I can’t believe he’s disarming himself.
He places the weapon on the edge of the desk.
“Push it toward me.” Marco’s compassionless voice sends chills racing down my spine.
I’ve yet to move. Somehow, if I let them separate us, it’ll be the end of us.
Liam pushes his pistol, sliding it across the desk.
“Now, wasn’t that easy?” Marco sneers at Liam. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a heavy set of zip ties. Tossing them onto the desk, his lips stretch into a grin. “Hands behind your back. Put those on. And Maria, since you can’t seem to follow directions, you get to tighten them.”
Liam bends forward and grabs the set of zip ties. He fastens one into a loop, then threads the end of the second one through it, forming two loose loops. He places one hand through one of the loops, then tightens down the tie. The zip, as it ratchets in place, makes me jump.
Every movement Liam makes is deliberate and slow. He once again holds his hands up, palms out. The zip tie dangles on his left hand. Moving methodically, he places his hands behind his back.
He shifts slightly as he pulls up on the back of his pants, then feeds his free hand through the remaining loop.
“It’s okay …” The confidence in his voice, while reassuring, doesn’t make sense to me.
There’s nothing okay with what’s happening now.
“Maria!” My mother snaps at me. “Fasten his hands behind his back.”
My hands shake as I move to obey. If Liam has some plan hashed out in his head, he doesn’t share it with me. I zip the ties tight around his wrists. Not too tight, but tight enough to pass inspection.
I step back, hands up like Liam earlier, and turn to face my mother.
“What now?”
46
LIAM
Maria’s fear is palpable. It rolls over and through me. I don’t know how to tell her not to worry, that the Guardians are on top of this, so I don’t. Which makes me feel like a royal jerk.
Due to the nature of our work, Maria’s not privy to the conversations between me and the rest of the team. Mitzy’s drones made a complete circuit of Marco’s house, hacking into his systems while Maria and I explored the library.
Mitzy tried sending her drones into the vast bunker beneath the house, but couldn’t get them in, due to mesh covering the air intakes. Which means, I need to get down there; me and the three drones attached to my person.
Two sit on my shoulders; one on each side. A third hangs between my shoulder blades. The idea is to walk them into the bunker complex, but the only way to do that is to get caught.
I wish I could explain all of this to Maria, but her fear needs to be real. Her reactions need to be spot on.
And I hate Mitzy and Forest for putting me in the position where I have to lie to Maria. Not that I’ve said anything untrue, but a lie of omission is a lie, nonetheless.
“Muriel,” Marco gestures to his wife. “Tie her hands.” He steps away, backing up toward the entrance. Keeping the gun trained on me, he reaches into his suit pocket and retrieves his cellphone. “We’re coming down ...” His voice trails off, presumably listening to whoever is on the other end of that call.
This is a moment of truth. I’m trussed up, hands behind my back, which limits my movements, but I’m a considerable threat. Maria is not—or at least that’s the assumption I hope Marco makes.
To my relief, Muriel secures Maria’s hands in front of her rather than behind her back. That’s a stroke of luck, which will serve us well later on—I hope.
I take a lot on faith, but it’s not a random gamble. Reading people is one of my special skills, and I’m nearly a hundred percent certain Marco thinks very little of Maria and what she can do. That arrogance will be his biggest mistake.
“You can’t kill him.” Maria cries out and tries to reason with her mother. “I love him. Don’t you see how wrong this is?”
Those three little words nearly bring me to my knees. They resonate with something deep within me, something I’ve barely acknowledged due to the fear it’ll interfere with my focus.
She loves me. Shit. I think I love her too.
Muriel takes a step back to admire her handiwork. Bitch tightened the zip ties enough to cut off the circulation to my hands. Already, my fingers tingle.
Marco continues his phone conversation, telling whoever it is to expect us momentarily.
“Was there ever a time when you loved me?” Tears brim in Maria’s eyes. “How can you hate me? I’m your daughter.”
“You don’t understand.” Muriel slowly turns to face her daughter.
“Then explain it to me.” Maria continues with the waterworks.
What confuses me the most is not knowing how much of what Maria says and does is real versus pretend?
“You live in a different world than I did. You’ve been pampered and protected your whole life.” Muriel’s tone actually softens. It sounds wistful, almost regretful, and it humanizes her. “You’ve had a better life than me, but now it’s time to step up do your part, like I did.”
“I don’t understand?”
“No doubt you don’t.” Muriel’s face twists into a rictus of disgust.
“Mother, you’re not making sense. Why?”
“Why, what?”
“Why marry father if you didn’t love him? Why didn’t you marry Marco?”
“Milo wanted me and since he was the elder brother that was the beginning and end of it. What I wanted had nothing to do with it.”
“That makes no sense.”
Unfortunately, to me, it makes perfect sense. Evidently, Milo sheltered his daughter from the realities of mob life. Muriel doesn’t seem to have had that kind of protection when she was younger.
We’re missing a crucial bit of information. What did a marriage to Muriel do to strengthen the Rossi crime empire? There has to be something. The wedding between Milo and Muriel had to have been sanctioned by their parents. What did Muriel’s family bring to the table?
I wish Mitzy was here to find those answers.
“Milo was not the kind and gentle man he led you to believe. You were his daughter and he doted on you. To me, he was cold and hard, brutal and uncaring. He deserved what he got.”