“What the Hell? Why didn’t she say something? I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill Alesio. The fucker. They broke our truce. They broke every fucking rule. You don’t touch the women. They’re off limits.”
“Alesio told me he took care of it. He made it sound like Renzo was demoted or kicked out.”
“Why would Alesio come to you about my sister? He should’ve talked to me.”
“We do business together. He didn’t want me to walk and cut ties.”
“You think Renzo’s unhinged enough to go after Carmela?”
“After what happened at my club? Yeah, I do. Even more so, if Alesio actually punished Renzo.”
I got my jacket and another gun from the front closet, stuffing my feet into my boots. I was going to kill Renzo. You didn’t take what was mine, and Carmela was mine. I’d move Heaven and Earth to get her back.
“What are you doing?” Gian asked as he punched his finger against the screen of his phone.
“I’m going to shut that fucker down.”
“I’m coming with you.”
I grabbed him by this collar. “You can come with me as long as you agree not to breathe a word of this to Nico. I don’t trust that asshole.”
“Dominick won’t like this.”
“Dominick can go fuck himself. I don’t work for him.”
I fired off a text to Anatolyi to meet me a block away from Renzo’s house. I didn’t know if Renzo would take her there or not, but it was a good starting point. I hoped we weren’t already too late.
Gian grinned. “Then let’s get going.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Carmela
I sat on a cold, hard concrete floor with my legs and arms bound. Tape covered my mouth, and I could barely breathe. My head throbbing, I took stock of the dimly lit room.
A cast iron pipe spanned the length of the ceiling, then dipped down the wall, disappearing into the floor. Spider webs dangled from wooden floor joists above my head. The concrete was scaling where the floor met the walls, leaving a pile of chalk-like dust. The damp, musty smell of mildew hung in the air.
I eyed the room, surveying it for weak points. While it didn’t have any windows, there was a white wooden door with peeling paint on the far side.
I bent forward, rubbing my elbow up my leg to see if I still had the gun Kon gave me. I did. Thank God. If I could free my hands I could escape, or at the very least, surprise the shit out of whoever put me in this dank hole.
I jerked at my wrists. The tape held strong, and nothing happened.
“Fuck!” I screamed beneath the swath of tape, and it sounded more like a muffled grunt than an actual word. I banged my feet against the floor, twisting and kicking, trying to free them. Nothing loosened its grip.
I rested my head against my knees, tears of frustration leaking from the corners of my eyes. Too bad I couldn’t wipe them away and hide the evidence of my defeat.
The self-defense course Tony, one of my dad’s soldiers and now Gian’s soldier, gave me popped into my head. At the time, I didn’t take it seriously, and now I regretted it. He’d spent a full hour explaining how to get out of all kinds of restraints.
I closed my eyes, zeroing in on the memory. Duct tape was only made to be strong in one direction, and it tore easily if manipulated the right way. I remembered Tony demonstrating the move.
Coming to my feet, I lifted my hands over my head and jerked my elbows downward. My arms scraped against my ribcage right before my joined wrists collided with my chest. With a ripping noise my hands flew apart and my elbows bounced against the concrete wall. Holy crap, it worked!
I yanked the tape from my mouth and legs, ignoring the stinging sensation. I grabbed the gun from the lace holster around my leg, and settled in to wait. I waited for so long, I was surprised I didn’t fall asleep.
Finally, the door burst open, hitting the wall with a loud clunk. Light from the hall sliced through the room. A woman strode inside, her ominous shadow spilling across the floor. I flattened my back to the wall, concealing the gun and my freed hands between my knees.
Her blonde hair was greasy and tangled, her eyes wide and dilated. She passed a knife back and forth between her hands.
My hands shook as I blindly rubbed my hand along the barrel of the gun, the trigger, then released the safety with a soft click. I kept my breathing smooth and steady, never taking my eyes off the woman in front of me.
“I see you got out of your restraints. You’re not as stupid as I thought.” My eyes glued to the woman, I didn’t bother answering her. I didn’t want to give her any reason to come after me before I was good and ready.
“Who are you?” I quizzed, trying to bring her features into focus.