“You can kill me, but make no mistake, Cristian will come for you both. When he finds you, expect his wrath.” I stare them down. “He has men everywhere. You won’t stay alive much longer.”
“Men like me?”
I wince and nearly fall over in my chair when Rocky steps into my view.
“I’ll be so happy to get rid of you.” He shakes his head, and his voice is so monotone, it’s terrifying. “You made me defy my loyalty to Cristian and lose our friendship.”
“You’re the rat?” I ask in a disbelieving tone.
Rocky flinches at the word, as if it’s the worst name he’s ever been called. “I’m no rat. Cristian disrespected my daughter. I had to stick up for her, and this is how she wanted it done.”
“How could you do that to him?” I ask. “He trusted you.”
Rocky looks away with a pained expression on his face.
“How do you want to do it, baby?” Carmela asks, needing the attention back on her. “Let’s tape killing her and send the video to Cristian. I don’t want her death to be fast, either. No bullet to the head. I want to watch the stupid bitch suffer.” She’s jumping up and down, her words coming out quickly, and I’m positive an illegal substance is flowing through her bloodstream.
This is when shit starts getting real.
There are spots in my vision as I stare at the three of them, knowing they have my murder planned. My heart twinges. I feel just as powerless as Cristian said he felt when his wife died in his arms. There might be no way out of this, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try.
“No, let’s make it quick,” Rocky argues sternly. “And no video. That’s evidence.”
I’ve never seen Rocky nervous.
He clearly isn’t the man in charge of this plan.
“Why?” Carmela whines. “I thought this would be entertaining when we finally got her.” She stomps her foot. “Cristian will be looking for her soon. I don’t want her alive to escape or possibly be rescued.”
“Give me a minute, Carmela,” Vinny snaps.
The room is quiet for a moment … until Vinny draws out a gun, and I scream.
Loud as hell.
Then, I follow up with, “Somebody, help me!”
I don’t know if anyone can hear me, but I might as well give it a shot.
“Natalia, shut the fuck up,” Vinny says, rushing over to me and slapping his hand over my mouth.
Rocky, as if knowing what to do, hands Vinny a roll of tape, and I violently shake my head as he presses the tape over my mouth. He pats it a few times to be sure it’s snug and tight.
“Jesus, I’m done waiting for you guys to man up and kill her.” Carmela stomps across the room, opens a drawer, and withdraws a gun. “Time to go, bitch.”
A grin is on her face as she points the gun at me. I attempt to scream, but the tape muffles me.
I say a silent prayer, shut my eyes, apologize for my sins, and wait for my death.
Ringing explodes through my ears at the sound of a gunshot, but I feel nothing. I open my eyes to find blood spurting from Carmela’s forehead. Her body falls back and she collapses onto the floor.
“God, I couldn’t wait to get rid of that cunt,” Vinny mutters with annoyance, gripping his gun. “The bitch would never stop talking.”
I gulp and try to scream again, but I can’t.
“What the fuck?” Rocky yells, puffing out his chest and drawing out his weapon.
Vinny leaves my side to approach Rocky, and before Rocky pulls the trigger on him, Vinny shoots Rocky’s kneecap.
Rocky grunts before falling onto the floor.
Man, this is not going how those two expected it to go.
They made a deal with the wrong man.
Vinny is as loyal as a Zeus in pretty much every Greek myth.
“Stupid geriatric motherfucker,” Vinny says around a laugh as he kicks Rocky’s gun away from him. “You think I’d ever let a rat in my family?” He bends to capture Rocky’s gun, plays with it in his hand, and then shoots Rocky’s other kneecap with it. “Or marry his whore daughter?”
Rocky cries out in agony, screaming like a baby, and can’t move. His eyes are consumed with regret when he looks away from Vinny to me.
My head spins.
Carmela didn’t get out of this.
Neither did Rocky.
I’m starting to think I won’t either.
Vinny seems particularly trigger-happy today.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, baby.” Vinny twirls the gun in his hand, and every move he makes is erratic. “I missed you, and we have so much to catch up on.”
My body trembles, and I try to suppress my tears, but I don’t have the energy.
Vinny cracks his neck from side to side before crouching down so that he’s in my face. He smiles—a smile leaking with intimidation—before harshly kissing my lips over the tape.
He smacks me across the face. “That’s for being a cunt and threatening Cristian’s wrath against me.” He rises and punches his puffed-up chest. “Cristian had better hope he doesn’t run across me. I will kill that motherfucker. He won’t even know what hit him. Now, it’s time to have some fun with you.”
CHAPTER 32
CRISTIAN
“Natalia’s phone GPS says she’s at the mansion,” Benny tells me. “We checked the cameras, and I talked to Gretchen. She left willingly with Rocky.”
Francis is speeding and weaving through traffic toward the mansion. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve called Rocky. My chest tightens. There are only two reasons he isn’t answering: he’s in trouble or he turned on me.
I bounce my foot and shut my eyes, not wanting to consider the second one.
Rocky has been at my side for decades. That’ll fucking hurt.
“Did you call the gallery?” I ask.
“Ten times,” Benny replies. “No answer.”
I look up at Francis and tap his shoulder. “Go to the gallery.”
“Got it, boss.” Francis whips the steering wheel around, and I fly forward when he makes a quick U-turn.
As Francis approaches the curb in front of the gallery, I swing the door open and jump out of the SUV. My heart is on fire as I sprint to the door and then curse at it for being locked. Rearing my fist back, I ram it through the glass, and it shatters. Blood trickles from my knuckles as I reach through the broken shards, unlock the door from the inside, and walk in.
The gallery is quiet.
Not one employee or customer in sight.
A Starbucks cup and a half-eaten breakfast sandwich are at the front counter. I tip my head forward at the sound of rustling from the back. Francis walks in behind me as I follow the noise. I find Bonnie tied up to a chair when I walk into what appears to be a break room. Tape is over her mouth, and she’s swinging her body side to side, moving the chair, as if trying to make as much noise as possible.
She winces when I rip the tape from her mouth and blows out a series of breaths.
“Bonnie,” I yell. “What the hell happened?”
She bows her head, and tears stream down her cheeks. “I don’t know. They were wearing masks.”