“Your brother?” Dante asks.
“His name was Maks. Frankie Amante shot him.”
“Fuck,” Dante mutters. “That asshole uncle of yours has had a grudge against us since that night.”
“Yes, and then he hooked up with Conor because he had a grudge too. He wants to destroy you,” I say in a low voice. “And he is prepared to pay any price to do it.”
“Where the hell are they now?” Matteo asks.
“I don’t know. Conor dropped me off here and I didn’t bother to ask if he had hotel accommodations,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “He just said he’d call me with instructions tomorrow.” I look from Dante to Matteo and back again. “He wouldn’t tell me what he’s after, but I think I know. I think he wants Aisling.”
Matteo slams a fist against the wall and turns to Dante. “Where the fuck is Patrick? He went looking for the girls. I want them all back here as soon as possible. And we need to get in touch with security. I want them planted at every entrance and exit!”
Dante nods. “I’ll make the calls. I just need a second alone with her.” He pulls me by the arm and drags me into his bedroom, forcing my back to the wall. His lips are pressed into a tight line, his eyes heavy with a mix of rage, dejection, and pain.
“I let myself fall for you,” he hisses. “And you deceived me and my family. You opened us up to dangers you can’t even possibly imagine.”
“I know, and that’s why I came straight here, to help fix what I’ve done. I didn’t know about any of it, even Conor’s involvement, until I met him tonight. My uncle kept me in the dark for days. He ignored my calls and texts. He could have been dead for all I knew. And now Conor has him tied up somewhere, threatening to kill him if I don’t do what he wants. Not that there is any guarantee he won’t be dead by morning, whether or not I follow through.”
Dante fists his hair and stomps across the room. “I want to hurt you so badly right now,” he hisses. “For putting my family in jeopardy like this.”
“I deserve it,” I say in an unwavering voice. “And I wouldn’t blame you.”
He storms back over to me, his forehead practically pressed against mine. He drags his fingers down the front of my dress. “I can separate myself from emotions, Anya. How I felt about you a few hours ago won’t stop me from putting a bullet in your brain if I find out you’re playing us right now.”
I nod, a large lump lodged in my throat. “I didn’t once think when this all started that they’d ever hurt Aisling,” I say in a low voice once we’re alone. “I swear to you.”
“Your word doesn’t mean shit right now,” Dante grunts.
“I know, but I can help. Please believe me. We can stop him!”
“You said Conor has your uncle held hostage. Are you prepared for what might happen if you cross him?”
I swallow hard. “I care about my uncle, but I want to do the right thing. I have to. I can’t sit by and let you and your family get hurt. This is on me, and I’ll make it right. Please just give me that chance.”
He stares at me for a long minute. “One chance. We take him out and walk away from each other forever. Because you’re a fucking liar and I have no room in my life for someone like you.”
An icy sensation snakes around my heart and squeezes, but I won’t let him see me cringe.
Or cower.
“Okay,” I rasp.
He kicks open the bedroom door and stalks over to his brother and the two new guys I don’t recognize. They huddle together and I rub my hands up and down my arms.
A heavy fist knocks on the door and Dante pulls it open. “Goddamn, Patty!”
My breath hitches. I recognize him as the other guy from Tatiana. That night, he was sharp, sleek, and sophisticated in his suit.
Right now, he’s a hot fucking mess. His dark blonde hair is hanging in his face, his shirt is rumpled, and his face is a mess of panic. But it’s the body he’s carrying that makes my blood run cold.
Aunt Maura.
Her face is white, her hands hanging limply at her sides.
“Patrick, where the fuck did you find her?” Matteo yells. “She had the baby!”
“I found her lying next to the stroller right outside the pool deck.” Patrick lays her on the couch and listens to her chest. “She’s breathing, thank God. Conor isn’t a complete maniac. At least he didn’t kill her.”
“Where the fuck are Heaven and Aisling?” Matteo screams at Patrick, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him to the floor.
“I looked everywhere for them!” Patrick shouts back, fisting his hair. “I couldn’t find them. Not a fucking trace!”
Matteo pulls out his phone and dials a number…Heaven’s, I guess. But after a minute of her not answering, he hangs up. His eyes flash with alarm and he flips around toward me. “He’s here, isn’t he?” Matteo creeps in my direction, speeding up as he approaches. “You fucking did this! You let him in!” He grabs my dress, his grip tight. My hands fly up to his, clutching them before they can wind themselves around my throat. “He has my wife and daughter right now!”
“Matteo, let me help you find him. We will find the girls, I promise!”
“Because you’ve been so honest up till now? Why the fuck should I trust you?”
“You need me,” I say in an even voice. “You may hate me and want to kill me, but you need the backup.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down in his throat, and the vein in his forehead throbs, his face bright red.
“Look, if he’s here, we can find him. Lock the place down. They won’t be able to get out. We can stop him, but we need to move now, okay?”
Matteo pulls out his phone and stabs some numbers onto the screen. “Yeah, it’s me. Code red. Heaven and Aisling.” He clicks to end the call. “I never fucking trusted you,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”
I’m already painfully aware that I have zero allies in this apartment.
“I need a gun,” I say. “We’re going to sweep the place. All of us. Dante, what do you have?”
He walks back into his bedroom and comes out a minute later with an array of weapons. I grab a Glock 19 and check to make sure it’s loaded.
“How’s this gonna work?” Dante asks.
“We need to split up,” Matteo says, grabbing his own gun from the waistband of his pants. He walks toward the door and pulls it open just as a piercing sound erupts into the air.
The fire alarm.
Sonofabitch!
“He knows we’re locking everything down. This is his only way out,” Matteo growls. He points to the guys I don’t recognize. “Kaz, Alek, get down to the lobby. Keep an eye out for him, and call if you see Heaven or the baby.” They head out, leaving me, Dante, and Patrick with Matteo.
“Patty, stay here with Maura. You two, come with me.” Matteo runs out of the apartment and heads down the hallway to the stairwell since the elevators aren’t running.
“Where are we going?” Dante asks.
“Basement,” Matteo says abruptly. “He wouldn’t be dumb enough to try and escape through the front entrance.”
A ringtone pierces the air and Matteo grabs his phone.
“Heaven!” His brow furrows, his jaw tightening with each passing second. I can hear her tearful voice on the other end of the line. “You’re where?” He puts the call on speaker, his face draining of color as Conor’s sadistic laugh shatters the tense silence.
“You heard her, bro. We’re on the roof. All three of us. I didn’t want to take any chances that Anya would foil my plans, so I decided to speed things up a little bit. She was having a weak moment when I dropped her off and I felt like maybe morality was grabbing her by the tits. Now I’m here and it’s about time we settled all of the bad blood between us, don’t you think?”