As Dominic took her into his embrace, Ava sent up a silent prayer to the heavens. She was going to need an angel to get her through what was to come.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ava clutched her hands in her lap. Sleep had been all but impossible after the phone call she’d received. Drifting in and out of consciousness, her dreams had been ones that she’d rather forget. She still shivered at the memory of them. But she couldn’t let dreams affect her. Not today of all days. She had to be on her guard. The enemy who’d stalked her, who’d dared to take her child would be revealed and Ava had no idea what to expect next. Today could be the last day of her life.
No. You can’t let that happen. You have a child to protect.
Not only Maia, but the man she loved as well. She glanced over at Dominic as he drove. His face betrayed no emotion and that scared her more than anything. She knew that look. She’d seen it on Joseph’s face many times and it could only mean one thing: death was coming and she was staring at its wielder. Reaching over, she touched his hand. He never took his eyes off the road, but he softly squeezed her hand. He was still in there somewhere. The man she loved hadn’t completely been claimed by his killer instincts. Ava tried to remove her hand but he held on to it tight.
“I told you not to worry. I’m going to protect you,” Dominic said.
“I can’t help but worry. We both know that there’s a strong chance we’re walking into an ambush.”
“Yes.”
“Then how can you be so calm?” Ava asked.
“Because I’m prepared for whatever happens.”
“What does that mean? The way you said it…it sounds like what a man resigned to die says.”
Dominic laughed. “Ava, you should know me better than that. Do you really think I’d let myself get killed and leave you alone?”
“No, but neither one of us knows what we’re about to face.”
“Yes we do. A man so cowardly he had to kidnap an innocent little girl to coerce you into meeting with him. He’s going to pay for this, Ava. I swear to you.”
“Of course he is. If you don’t get him I will.”
Her free hand touched the purse on her lap. She wasn’t going into this defenseless. Her pearl-handled pistol lay comfortably inside her purse. Ava was ready to use it at a moment’s notice.
Dominic cracked a smile. “I know you will. That’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”
Ava blinked back a tear. “Please don’t get emotional on me now. I’m barely holding it together as it is.”
“It’s time to keep holding it, Ava. We’re here.”
Ava looked around. They were parked in the alley behind the old Woolworth building. The empty store loomed in front of them, menacing and terrible. She swallowed. The moment had finally arrived.
“Let’s do this,” Ava said. She made a move to open the door.
“Ava, wait.”
She looked at Dominic. “Yes?”
“Remember the plan. You go in and I’ll be right behind you. Whoever this man turns out to be, you keep him talking long enough to find out where Maia is and for me to get a shot at him. Then it will be all over. Can you do that?”
“I’ll do whatever is necessary to bring Maia home.”
Dominic leaned across and kissed her. Their lips met in a hungry kiss as both conveyed through passion what they were afraid to say out loud.
“I’ll see you inside,” she said.
With shaking hands, she opened the vehicle door and climbed down. Shutting it behind her with a final slam, she walked towards the back door of the building. Ava clutched her purse as she looked at her surroundings. She didn’t see or hear anything but she wasn’t dumb enough to believe that she was alone. There was someone out there aware that she had arrived. As she reached the back door, she glanced back. Dominic was waiting for her to enter. A black Beretta rested easily in his hand. He nodded at her.
Ava licked her suddenly dry lips and then she opened the door. It came open with a loud creak. No chance for the element of surprise now. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the warehouse. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she walked across the concrete floor. Rotted wooden pallets lay on the ground to the right and left of her. Dimly lit bulbs hung from the ceiling casting an eerie glowing light throughout the warehouse as she walked. Ava could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest, but she had to ignore it. Fear was one emotion she could not afford to show today.
“Where are you, you son of a bitch? You wanted me. I’m here. Show yourself.”
Her voice rang out, echoing inside the building. She clutched her purse tighter. Taking a few more steps she stopped. The echo of footsteps was coming her way. It was time for a showdown. Reaching inside her purse, she gripped her pistol tight. Her mouth was dry as she waited. A shadowy figure appeared in the distance. At an unhurried pace, the figure came towards her. A hanging light cast a spotlight less than two feet in front of her. As the cloaked shape finally stepped into the light, Ava pulled her pistol from her purse and aimed.
“It was you? This whole time?”
Angelo Martelli stood in front of her. A vein throbbed in his neck. His face was flushed and a bead of sweat ran from his forehead. His eyes were wide and crazed.
“You drove me to this.”
Ava cocked the hammer of the gun. “I drove you to kidnap your own niece? I suggest you tell me where my daughter is.”
“You still don’t understand, do you?” Angelo asked.
“No I don’t and what I don’t have time for is mind games. Where is Maia?”
“I didn’t take her. That part of the plan was not my doing.”
“What do you mean not your doing? Tell me what is going on before I put a bullet in a place that will make you wish you were dead.”
Angelo raised his hands in the air. “All I wanted was for you to turn to me. For you to finally realize that with Joseph gone you and I should be together. That I could be everything to you that you missed with him, but you wouldn’t have it. You pushed me away at every turn. You turned to Joseph’s bastard instead of me.”
“So that was an excuse to stalk me, try to kill me and kidnap Maia, your own flesh and blood? You’re sick Angelo, sick.”
“You still aren’t listening. I didn’t do that. Any of that. All I did was create a situation where I knew you’d turn to me, but you didn’t, even then.”
“Angelo, what are you talking about?” Ava shouted.
“Gina.” He lowered his arms and stared at her. “Gina.”
“You mean how you showed up and stopped the police from taking me to jail?”
He shook his head slowly. “No.”
An icy chill went up Ava’s back. “Then what are you talking about?”
“I’m the one who had your friend killed.”
Ava nearly dropped her gun. Gina. The one friend who’d understood what it was like to be a woman in the business world run by men. The woman who’d had a zest for life. Gina. Angelo had taken her away. Steadying her gun, Ava aimed and fired. Angelo fell to one knee. He held his right leg. Blood bubbled where she’d shot him in the thigh.
“You bitch.”
“You just admitted you killed Gina. Why did you do it, Angelo? What did she ever do to you?”
He looked up at her, clutching his bleeding leg. “Nothing. She was just a means to an end. I had one of my guys kill her and point the police in your direction. The Sambarino kid was supposed to go down for her murder and you were supposed to turn to me, distraught over the loss of your friend and grateful to me for clearing things up with the police.
“I would’ve gotten Dominic out of your life once and for all and you would’ve been mine. Things would’ve been the way they were supposed to be.”
“You are well and truly out of your mind. Nothing on this earth could ever make me want to be yours. My skin crawls just being in the same room with you. You killed an innocent woman for nothing. I will never be yours, Angelo. Never.”