by Sarah Bailey
My eyes tracked Carlo’s movements towards the VIP area near the back. They all slid into a booth. It wasn’t long until they were served drinks, a bucket of champagne placed at the table along with several glasses.
“I’m looking forward to wiping that smug smile off his self-righteous face.”
None of us were big fans of Carlo after he’d tried to kill Ash and Rory. The fucker would have a wake-up call tonight.
“I’m going to kill the smug piece of shit,” came Rory’s voice.
“For fuck’s sake, stay off the comms, Rory. You’re not part of the damn operation.”
I snorted. Quinn had insisted we bring Rory with us so Eric could keep an eye on him. The two of them were in the car outside waiting for me to bring Carlo to them.
“What? Not like anything is happening.”
“Not the point. You’re here because Quinn is making us babysit you.”
I could hear Rory’s grumbling, but my eyes were still on Carlo and his entourage.
“Quinn is an overbearing dick.”
“True, but he’s just worried about you, so suck it up and be quiet.”
I almost shook my head. Those two needed to both shut up and be patient. All I had to do was bide my time. The opportunity to take Carlo would present itself, eventually. At least when we’d taken Ash, there hadn’t been a room full of people to account for. We couldn’t take Carlo from his house due to it being guarded, so we’d got creative. Ash told us he frequented his club on Friday nights. Personally, I thought this place was a bit of a shithole full of sleazy men and desperate women, but whatever. I wasn’t here to have fun.
“Quinn’s texted, wanted to know our status,” Eric said, keeping me appraised of the situation after I’d been watching Carlo and his people for at least ten minutes if not more. “Told him we’re working on it. Hope he’s actually paying attention to Ash; after all, it is the first time any of us have taken her out for real.”
“Quinn wouldn’t know how to do romance if it slapped him in the face,” Rory replied.
“As if you know any better.”
These two really needed to shut up.
“I know more than Quinn.”
“Right, what’s your idea of romance? Tying her up and showering her with a pearl necklace.”
I held in my laughter. Eric definitely didn’t mean the jewellery. Ash did let us come all over her tits if we wanted it. Seeing her skin painted with our mutual pleasure was fucking hot.
“No, I’ve already given her romance I’ll have you know. I ran her a bath with candles, rose petals, essential oils and music when I took her away before that cunt tried to kill us.”
I almost choked in surprise. Rory doing romance? That was practically unheard of.
“Well, shit… I bet she liked that. She was all over me when I gave her a candlelit picnic.”
“She certainly showed her appreciation.”
I shook my head. I could well imagine she had. If these two were going to start doing over the top romantic gestures for her, I was going to have to up my game. Then I remembered the appointment I’d had whilst we’d been planning to kidnap Carlo. What was more romantic than getting a tattoo declaring my love? Eric had gotten all teary-eyed over it, but I hadn’t shown Ash yet. Soon she’d see how much she meant to me. It was my idea of a romantic gesture.
“You know, we all have to take her out for a day out together when all of this is over. She’d like that.”
“I don’t like going out.”
“You say that, but I know you’ll do anything for Ash.”
“I hate how you all keep using that against me.”
Carlo stood up, his eyes darting around the room as he slipped out from the booth. One of his men stood with him, but Carlo waved him off. I watched him walk towards the toilets at the back. It was my cue. I got up, placing my tumbler on the table in front of me and strolled along to the toilets casually.
“You two really need to shut up now, I’m following my mark,” I said in a low voice.
“You agree though, don’t you, Xavi? We need to do things together outside the house.”
“For fuck’s sake, yes, I agree,” I hissed. “Now, zip it.”
I glanced back at Carlo’s table, but none of them saw me slip into the toilets behind the man. Looking around, I found he’d gone into a cubicle. There was another guy at the urinals, but otherwise, the place was deserted. I strolled over to the urinals and went about my business. I didn’t want this guy getting the wrong idea. When he left, I went over to the sinks and started washing my hands.
Carlo came out of the cubicle a minute later. He looked at me in the mirror as he washed his hands but said nothing. The idiot had no idea who I was. Ash had told me her cousin didn’t have too many brain cells. I dried my hands and slid the gun from my waistband out. He didn’t have time to do a thing as I walked up behind him and pressed it into his back.
“Hello, Carlo.”
His eyes widened and his mouth went slack.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to keep your mouth shut or I’ll blow your brains out all over this nice counter here, got it?”
He nodded. I almost laughed. He hadn’t put up a fight at all. Probably knew he was fucked.
Should’ve let your man come in with you.
“Good. Now, weapons?”
“In my pocket.”
I frisked him all over, making sure he had nothing else other than the small handgun in his pocket. I slid it into mine and then moved him towards the door.
“You’re going to come down the back with me. If any of your men try to talk to you, you’re going to get them to go away, do you understand? I don’t play nice, Carlo, so you better not give me any shit.”
“I get it, Jesus.”
“Act natural,” I hissed as we walked out of the toilets with the gun still pressed to his back to hide it from view.
His idiot men hadn’t even been paying any attention, so none of them even looked our way as we strolled out. Several people were hiding us from their table anyway. I shoved him towards the back of the club, having already paid off the staff to let us through. Didn’t need anyone stopping us now I had him.
This was proving to be easier than I thought. Probably because Carlo was too stupid to even tie his own shoelaces. I had to be quick about it though. Didn’t need them noticing straight away he hadn’t reappeared at their table.
“I’ve acquired the package,” I said as I led Carlo down the dark hallway at the back of the club.
“We’re at the end of the alley, got the car running,” came Eric’s response through the earpiece.
I shoved open the fire escape at the back, knowing the owner had disabled the alarm and pushed Carlo outside. I raised the gun from his back to his head, directing him down the alley. Didn’t need the fucker bolting at the last moment. This part would be precarious. I had to get him in the car without anyone noticing he was being held at gunpoint.
“What is this about?” he asked as he walked without complaint.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Do you want money? I’ve got money.”
“Not about fucking money, man. Just shut up and keep walking.”
What a fucking idiot.
I didn’t need his or his family’s dirty money. We had more than enough of our own. Carlo didn’t realise how expendable he was. I might have baulked at the idea of killing this guy in cold blood when Ash had first brought it up, but he’d tried to kill her and Rory. So, to be honest, he didn’t deserve our mercy. He deserved nothing.
We got to the end of the alley and I lowered the gun to his back again, holding his shoulder so he didn’t move whilst I checked the street. A few people were loitering outside in the smoking area at the side of the club on the pavement behind a roped-off area. The Range Rover sat idling in front of us.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, you’re going to ge
t in the back of the car in front of us. No funny business, you hear me?”
“Yes,” he gritted out.
I shoved him out into the street towards the car, trying to look as normal as possible when holding a gun to someone’s back and trying to get them to come peacefully. Carlo, to his credit, didn’t even try to escape. I wouldn’t fucking hesitate to shoot him in the back if he did. He opened the back door when we reached it and climbed in. I started to get in behind him when I realised he’d scrambled across the seat to try open the door on the other side.
I rolled my eyes, hopping in and putting a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back and shoving him into the seat.
“Wrong fucking move,” I growled, closing the door and I heard the locks clicking the next moment.
Eric and Rory both looked back at us from the front seats. Rory looked downright murderous whilst Eric grinned.
“What the fuck is this?” Carlo asked, straining against my hand.
“This is called a mother fucking kidnapping, dipshit. Now… it’s time for you to take a nap.”
I put my hand out and Eric slapped a syringe into it. Carlo strained harder, but I ignored him as I jabbed the needle into his neck and sunk the plunger down. Pulling it out when I was done, I dropped it back into Eric’s awaiting hand and patted Carlo on the shoulder before leaning across and strapping him into the seat.
“What the fuck?” he grunted, putting a hand over his neck.
Eric pulled away from the curb and started off home. Operation Kidnap Carlo was complete.
“Well, that was far fucking easier than expected,” I said, watching Carlo as his eyes began to droop.
“You mean easier than when we last had to kidnap someone?” Eric asked.
“Just a bit. His idiot men didn’t even notice he’d not arrived back at their table. I’m sure they will soon.”
Carlo’s head dropped on his shoulder. He was out cold. Next time the fucker awoke, he’d be locked away, unable to escape. Served him right.
“Let Quinn know, eh?”
I pulled out my phone and fired off a text to him, hoping he’d be happy we’d accomplished our goal. It’s not like any of us wanted to kidnap this idiot and hold him hostage, but Ash was right. We had to play Russo at his own game. Make him angry. Then he’d play right into our hands rather than us playing into his. Russo gaining the upper hand again would fuck us over royally and none of us wanted to be in that situation again.
“Let’s get home before the cunt wakes up.”
“On it.”
Time for some fucking fun.
This fucker didn’t know what was about to hit him. When he found out who’d taken him, I was pretty sure he’d be chilled to the god damn fucking bone.
Chapter 19
I looked down at the text from Xav, a slow smile spreading across my face. Everything had gone to plan so far. When we were meticulous, our plans usually went off without a hitch. It’s why I’d made sure we’d taken the time to get everything in place before we attempted this rather than diving right in.
“What is it?” Ash asked, putting her hand on mine to get my attention.
“They’re on their way home with the package secured.”
“Oh good… Does that mean you’ll stop staring at your phone and actually pay attention to me?”
I slid my phone back in my pocket after firing off a response and levelled my gaze on my girl. She looked stunning, a little red cocktail dress hugging her figure and her blonde hair around her shoulders in loose waves.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look this evening?”
Her cheeks went pink.
“No… if that’s supposed to make up for you ignoring me then you’re going to have to try harder.”
I grinned and leant closer. The twinkle in her eye told me she was messing with me. I’d been paying attention to her whilst we waited for the boys to execute our plan. Eric assured me Rory was staying out of trouble in the car next to him. Rory might hate it, but I still had concerns about his recovery. Some days he was good and some days not so much. Alekhin had said it would take time for him to go back to normal.
“You have my full, undivided attention, little girl. And you’ll have it again later when we’re alone too. I plan on doing some very depraved things to you.”
“Lucky for you I like your depravity.”
Her fingers stroked over mine. It struck me all over again how lucky I was to have her. Despite how we’d begun, Ash had become the single most important person in my life outside of the boys. She’s made my world go around. We had all grown so much over the past months since we’d taken her. We still had so many challenges to face and overcome, but I took a moment to appreciate what the five of us had. Our quintet. Even if they gave me shit for the term, I didn’t care. It’s what we were.
I was just about to tell her so when I glanced up and felt a little ill at the sight of who’d walked in the restaurant. It might have been years since I’d last laid eyes on her, but she was definitely the one woman I never wanted to see again. She had a man with her who must be her husband. Of all the fucking restaurants, she had to walk into this one where I was taking out the love of my life for the very first time.
For fuck’s sake.
“Quinn… are you okay?”
My eyes landed back on Ash. Clearly, my composure was shot or maybe she’d learnt to notice every small detail about me. Ash had become rather adept at reading my moods and adapting to them. It’s one of the reasons I loved her so much.
“Yes and no.”
She cocked her head to the side as if asking me to elaborate as her fingers continued stroking across my hand. I turned my palm over and gripped her hand tight, needing her to anchor me. My skin prickled with discomfort and I soon realised why. The damn woman was making a beeline for us along with her husband in tow, giving me no opportunity to tell Ash exactly who was about to descend on our table.
“Quinn Marotta. It’s you, isn’t it? I’d recognise that face anywhere,” came the nasal tones of my one and only previous girlfriend.
“Hello, Leah,” I said with an ease I didn’t entirely feel in those moments.
Our relationship had been the biggest disaster. Not only was Leah Devine a pain in the arse, but she also hated Xav, Eric and Rory for no reason other than I cared more about them than I ever did her. We were terrible for each other, constantly fighting with our teenage hormones running rampant. The boys had been glad when I’d called it quits for good.
“What a coincidence, it’s been an absolute age.” She put her hand on the arm of the man next to her. “This is my darling husband, Jimmy. This is Quinn, remember I told you about him?”
Why she’d ever think to bring me up to anyone was a mystery to me but who the fuck cared. I wanted her gone from the table as soon as possible.
“Nice to meet you,” Jimmy said with a frown.
Clearly, it’s not. I’m certainly not happy to meet you either.
Leah’s eyes fell on Ash who was staring at the newcomers with a blank expression on her face. It concerned me. Leah’s eyebrow twitched in that way it always had when she was pissed but didn’t want to show it. We hadn’t ended on amicable terms and I’m sure she didn’t like me dating someone who was clearly quite a few years younger than me. But Ash and I weren’t just dating. We were in it for the long haul. So who cared if we had a nine-year age gap.
“This is my girlfriend, Ash,” I indicated her with my head, “Ash, this is Leah. We knew each other when we were teenagers.”
Leah laughed. The sound grated on my ears.
“Oh come now, Quinn, it was a little more than just knowing each other, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh?” Ash asked politely but I could see by the fire in her eyes, she was pissed off at Leah’s appearance.
“We were childhood sweethearts.”
I almost choked.
Is she fucking kidding me?
I�
�d hardly define our toxic relationship where we constantly argued and broke up every second week as being childhood sweethearts. Leah had cheated on me more times than I could count. There was zero love involved on my part. The first person I’d ever loved was Ash and it would remain that way.
Ash’s eyes narrowed to slits. I could feel the tension radiating off her.
“That’s nice. I’m sure Quinn will tell me all about it later.”
Well, I’m in the shit now. Great.
“I’m sure he will,” Leah responded with another laugh.
I wanted to slap her stupid smile off her face.
“Well, you enjoy your evening now.”
“You too,” I said with a fake smile plastered on my face.
The two of them thankfully left as the hostess came up to lead them over to their table. I watched them, making sure it was far away from ours before turning back to Ash.
“Childhood sweethearts, huh? What happened to ‘you’re the only girl I’ve ever given my heart to’?”
She tried to tug her hand out of mine, but I didn’t let her. This wasn’t how I wanted the evening to go at all.
“I wasn’t lying to you when I said that.”
“Then what the fuck was that?”
“That was Leah fucking Devine making up shit because she’s crazy.”
Ash snorted and ripped her hand away from me, scowling.
“Yes, blame the woman for being crazy, Quinn, because it’s always the woman’s fault, isn’t it?”
I almost rubbed my face out of sheer frustration.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“No, I don’t think I do.”
“Little girl…”
“Don’t you little girl me!”
Our main meals hadn’t arrived yet, but I was ready to get out of this stupid restaurant now. Rather than do that or have it out with her in front of people, I got up and took her hand, pulling her up out of her chair and tugging her away towards the toilets.