Nico made an effort to unclench his fists. It was all he had been able to do to contain himself and not intervene. He'd known deep inside that this was something Paige had to do. But knowing hadn't made it easier.
He grabbed the piece of shit, who was coughing and puffing, as she placed the call.
"Your woman knows how to take care of herself," he heard from the front door.
Carmela.
Fantastic. Just what they needed. Now they had a full house.
Chapter Thirteen
"I'd heard life in these senior communities was full of surprises, but nobody told me about the wrestling," Carmela said. "I'd say you won, girlfriend, which in this case is rather unfortunate. I was counting on him making my job easier."
"And what's your job?" Nico asked as casually as he could, holding the bleeding, half-unconscious mofo. Both his bodyguards had stepped closer to him.
"Sure as hell it isn't to screw the brains out of idiots who think they are the big bosses. Although in your case, it would have been my pleasure. I've been running things for a long time. Convincing Maldonado to take the most obvious steps. How that man couldn't see for himself what was best for business was beyond me. Sorry for my poor manners," she added, addressing Paige. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Carmela, proof that-"
"Behind every great man, there's a great woman?"
"Please. Behind any moron of a man, there's a poor woman breaking her back to make sure the imbecile doesn't trip over his own two feet."
"Why are you here?" Nico asked, losing patience. "Don't tell me you're applying for a new place to live."
"I'm getting rid of you and delivering your head to the others. Enough of working behind the scenes. I deserve to run the show. You had me fooled. I considered you a worthy opponent. Intelligent enough to be the boss. No weaknesses. An equal to me. Maybe a partner. I was wrong."
"Sorry to disappoint."
Carmela looked at Paige. "So sad to see everything boils down to what a man's little head wants. Pathetic."
"If that was all I wanted, then you would have been enough for me. That's your field of expertise, is it not?"
He knew baiting her wasn't a smart move, but the longer he kept her talking, the more chances he had to come up with a plan that didn't involve making a mess of things.
But Carmela didn't seem offended. "It takes more expertise than you think to lead a man by his cock and make him believe he's the one having the brilliant ideas."
"I'll take your word for it."
"You've lasted longer than I predicted. Starting with surviving that hit those months back. I would have preferred an apparently accidental death to avoid all this hassle. A long, debilitating agony would have done too. It would have made for a smoother transition, but beggars can't be choosers. You are difficult to kill. Add to that the damn analyzer you carry everywhere, and it becomes mission impossible. Remember that night, the tapas? You started analyzing the portions from the left. The prize was on the third one on the right. Good thing I took it away from you in time."
Marc must have been finding his bearings, because he started thrashing, so Nico punched him unconscious and dropped him on the floor. No time for that now. "So you know, police are on the way."
"That's why you're going to come with me, nice and easy. We're going to walk out of here without anyone noticing something's wrong. Aside from this poor fellow here."
"And why is that?"
The two men flanking Carmela stepped forward. Nico's bodyguards drew their guns in response.
"They're supposed to keep me in line?" Nico asked, assessing Carmela's men. "I've trained them. I can drop them in two seconds flat."
At that instant, both his bodyguards turned their guns on Nico.
"Loyalty is a commodity hard to come by nowadays. There's hardly anything you can't buy with money, my dear."
Nico stared at his men, then back at Carmela.
"I'm still liking the odds."
Her laugh was husky, weirdly intimate. She was having fun. "You really didn't think I would come here alone, right?" She gestured at Paige, and several nasty red points moved toward her head. Snipers. "You come with me, I'll spare her life. You give us any trouble, we'll blow her brains out."
Nico didn't even think twice. He stepped in front of Paige. "Call them off. Move your weapons away from her, unless you're ready to blow off my head first and carry it out of here. Good luck explaining that one."
He wasn't bluffing. They would have to go over his dead body to harm Paige.
And they knew it.
"So cavalier. Useless in the grand scheme of things, though. You want her alive, you know what to do. If my men are forced to start shooting, God only knows how many of those lovely people out there will get hurt. Talk about a memorable wedding."