Second Chance SEAL(23)

Fucking hell. If this were Syria, or Iraq, or fucking Afghanistan, I’d know exactly what was going on. But this situation was different.

I took a deep breath and concentrated. It couldn’t be so different from what I’d been through that I couldn’t figure out what was happening around me. I just needed to concentrate and clear my head.

I watched for ten more minutes as people came and went. The street seemed pretty quiet, and I didn’t see many cars coming past. That was strange, since there seemed to be a lot of foot traffic coming and going from the building.

That was when it hit me. There was a parking lot two doors down which probably was where most people parked. I was willing to bet that Tony planned on grabbing Piper there, either before or after they met up.

I quickly got out of my car and moved silently across the street. I went down an alley and slowly snuck up to the lot from the back side.

It looked like any other lot, but I kept stationary and kept watching. Soon enough, I caught sight of two guys sitting in a car in the back corner of the lot. They didn’t look like they were doing much of anything, and the one guy kept searching around his car.

I slipped back into the shadows. Fucking hell. They really did want Piper. Everything she said was true.

Not that I ever really doubted her, but it was a pretty intense story. It was hard to imagine that a person could just witness a mob killing like that. But if she were dating a mobster in secret this whole time, it was totally possible.

I moved back toward the sidewalk and headed into the restaurant. I felt a stab of nervousness as I stepped inside the dimly lit building, since I knew that walking indoors when you were outnumbered was just about the worst thing possible. Still, I had to remind myself that they didn’t know me, and that I was highly trained.

“Can I help you?” the hostess asked.

I quickly scanned the place and spotted a bar. “I’ll sit at the bar,” I said to her.

“Sure. Help yourself.”

I nodded to her and headed over. The place was like a thousand other Italian places I’d seen: wine bottles, rustic décor, candlelight, and soft Frank Sinatra music playing in the background. The wait staff was finely dressed, and it seemed like a somewhat upscale place.

I sat down at the bar and ordered a whisky before scanning the room again. I didn’t see Tony anywhere, though I was only going off his Facebook picture. Still, I was reasonably sure I could identify him.

My drink came and I sipped it. I watched the flow of people coming and going, wondering briefly at the shape of their lives. A young couple was sitting in the back corner, smiling at each other. Two tables over, an older couple looked at each other the same way, smiling and excited. I wondered what their secret was.

I sipped my drink and concentrated again. I noticed a guy in a nice suit standing by the back kitchen door. I thought he worked there at first, but he wasn’t doing anything but standing there and watching the crowd. Nobody acknowledged him and he never spoke. As I stared, I noticed a slight bulge in his jacket, and I guessed that was a weapon.

So there were mobsters in this room. I shifted my weight, scanning for more guns. I found another guy eating at a table with an older woman wearing a similar suit with a similar bulge on the jacket.

So, at least two armed men. I didn’t know who the old woman was, but that didn’t matter.

Suddenly, I felt a motion to my left.

“I figured she wouldn’t show.”

I looked over and there he was. Tony smiled at me, this wicked and cold smile. I kept my cool and nodded at him. “You can understand why.”

“I wasn’t sure who she’d send, though. Thought it might be Greg.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What’s he have to do with any of this?”

“She called him. He sent her your number. Didn’t take a genius to figure shit out from there.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re tracking her phone.”

“Tapped it a while ago. I probably shouldn’t have told you, but, fuck, I do love to brag.”

I made a note to destroy her phone as soon as I could. “Why did you show up if you didn’t think she’d come?”

“I wanted to meet the guy she ran to.”

“You don’t want to meet me.”

“No? I guess not. You’re some hotshot Navy SEAL, right?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, Mister SEAL. Listen to me.” He leaned forward and grinned. “My guys are on their way to grab her right now.”

“What?”

“That’s right. We figured out where you lived. If she’s there, she’s ours.”

I stared at him, heart hammering. I knew he wasn’t lying. I didn’t sense any deceit in his words, and besides, I could tell that he was the type of man that needed validation. He needed me to know all about how plans and how smart he was. He couldn’t handle being a normal guy and winning a normal way.