“What is going to be done?” I asked.
He glared at me. “That’s why you’re here. I want you to find this driver and shoot him in the skull.”
I nodded. “What about Camille?”
“I will send people for her when I am ready. Her and her daughter will be held until I can decide what to do with them.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Her daughter too?”
“Both of the fucking harlots will pay for this,” he said violently.
“Natalie is innocent, completely unlike her mother. Let the girl go. I will take care of Camille.”
He stared at me. “Have you grown fond of your whore stepsister?”
“I’m just not in the business of punishing the innocent,” I said.
“Too fucking bad.” He finished off what was left of his scotch. “Kill the driver. I will take care of the women.”
I stood, my head spinning. “Very well,” I said.
“Go.” He turned back to his bottle, forgetting about me.
I finished my drink and then left his office quickly, walking fast. I had to think at top speed, had to decide how things were going to happen.
Because they were going to happen, and very, very fast.
Fortunately, Arturo seemed too drunk to do anything anytime soon. If I knew him, he’d likely finish that bottle off before he decided to send some men after the women, which meant I likely had a half hour head start before his goons came.
Finally, I reached her door and knocked loudly. “Open up,” I called out.
I waited a pulse-pounding thirty seconds, my mind spinning over the possibilities. Finally, the door pulled open.
“Good evening, brother,” Louisa said. “What’s happening?”
“Arturo found out about Natalie’s mom,” I said, “and is going to snatch them. We need to get them both out.”
I had no clue how she would respond. Lou hadn’t been a part of family politics in a long time. Though we were still close, she refused to entertain any conversations about the business until she was allowed to be officially a part of it.
“Come in,” she said.
I walked in and she shut the door. “You’ll help?”
“Of course, dear brother,” she said, grinning. “I was bored tonight. I could use a little action.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Thanks, Lou,” I said.
She sat down at her computer and began typing. “You get them out. I’ll handle the rest.”
“I’ll owe you one.”
She looked back at me. “I’m not doing this for you, Lucas.”
“Why, then?”
“I like having a sister.”
I smiled as she turned back to the computer. Once I was sure she wasn’t saying anything else, I quickly left her rooms and headed toward Natalie, my pulse pounding, my excitement rising.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Natalie
I lounged on the couch in only a pair of panties and a black bra. It was the lingerie set that Lucas had bought for me as a joke, but now it didn’t seem so funny.
It seemed exciting.
I felt drunk on the thought of him, beyond excited for him to come back to me. I hoped whatever business he was dealing with would be over soon, because I was so impatient for him.
Dinner had been amazing. Sure, he was too proud to actually say the words, but I could tell that he was sorry. Lucas wasn’t the kind of man to grovel, let alone to make some sort of big romantic gesture. And yet there he was, making the gesture for me anyway, and I could barely explain how exciting and important that was.
He made me feel something I could barely describe. Not just the sex, though that was incredible. No, it was in the moments afterward, when we spoke about our lives, flirted, laughed, and teased each other. It was in those moments that I knew I had something, something important.
It was something that I hoped would last. For the first time, I really felt good about being in the compound. Not just about being a part of Lucas’s life, but actually being a part of the family.
Sure, the mob thing still made me feel a little uncomfortable, but at least it was exciting and powerful and made my life feel like something more than it was. If someone like Louisa could be strong, then so could I.
My heart practically skipped a beat when I heard the knock at my door. “Just a second!” I called out. I wrapped a light silk robe around my body and padded over to the door.
“It’s me,” I heard Lucas call out. “Hurry up, Nat.”
“Don’t be so impatient,” I said, smiling as I opened the door.
The look on his face completely wiped the smile off mine.
“Lucas?” I asked as he moved into the room, shutting the door. “What’s wrong?”