“Did you try your apartment?” Vivian asked me hopefully.
I shook my head, and she dialed.
She noticed the blinking dot. “What is that?” She cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, pointing at my screen.
“Tracking.”
“You can do that?”
Anybody could use the technology in this day and age, but mine just happened to be courtesy of the US government. “It’s necessary,” I said unapologetically.
She ended the call. “No answer.”
“Keep trying,” I encouraged, my voice giving away how worried I felt. I gripped her hand like my life depended on it.
I glanced at Stone, who looked like he’d aged a decade in the last half hour. If he knew who had Muriella, what the man was capable of, he’d lose his mind. Or he’d kill me himself for allowing someone like that near her.
A flash of regret ran through me. I shouldn’t have warned him off her. I knew he was a good man, and probably good for her, but his fame was a problem. One international photograph of Muriella, and it would all be over. The risk hadn’t seemed worth it, but what if I’d kept her from the happiness she could have had with him? What if I’d robbed her of the chance and now there wouldn’t be one?
“Stop it.” Vivian’s stern voice cut through my thoughts.
“When we get there, I want you to stay in the car.”
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “The hell I will. If Muriella is in trouble, I’m going to get her out of it.”
I dropped my phone on the seat beside me and plowed my hand through my hair. “Goddammit, Vivian. You have no idea who we’re dealing with.”
“That’s because you won’t tell me anything,” she said, her voice rising.
I leveled Stone with a look. “You stay in the car too.”
He snorted and gave me a wry smile. “No offense, Elliott, but a thousand men couldn’t keep me in here, let alone you.”
I snapped my head away from the both of them and stared out the window.
“I refuse to put either of you in harm’s way. You’ll do as I say.” We were close. It was too fast and and too slow at once. I needed to get to Muriella, yet I dreaded how I would find her.
Vivian squeezed my hand, and I drew strength from it. She tried to give me an encouraging smile, but it came off awkward and uncertain. Just like I felt.
“We won’t interfere.”
Stone and I both looked at her incredulously, but there was no time to dwell on it. The car rolled up to the building, and I had the door open before it stopped.
I sprinted past Paul, who held the door to the lobby open, and stabbed the call button to the elevator repeatedly as if that would make it arrive faster.
Vivian slid past me as soon as the doors opened, Stone right behind her.
“You said you wouldn’t interfere,” I said through my teeth.
She lifted her chin and grabbed my hand. “We’re not.”
Worry knotted my stomach. I needed every bit of my concentration if I was going to get all of us out of this unharmed. I didn’t have it. I’d never put any of them in danger before, and I was struggling to control my fear.
The elevator crawled to the penthouse level. When the car stopped and the private lobby was revealed, the front door was wide open.
I held my arm out to keep the two of them from charging ahead. We had no weapons. I couldn’t say the same of our adversary.
“Is this how you make yourself feel important? By threatening innocent women?” Muriella’s voice sounded from the direction of the living room. A surge of pride filled me at the strength in her tone.
Vivian attempted to edge around me once we got to the foyer, but I kept her behind me. Sensing my urgency, Stone gently maneuvered her behind him. She glared at both of us, but said nothing.
I held up my hand, indicating for the two of them to stay put. Stone nodded once, catching my drift that it would be better if all of our presences weren’t made known.
“Here I am.”
I held my arms open wide as I strode into the living room with a bravado that I didn’t feel even a little bit. My steps faltered at the sight of Muriella tied to one of the dining room chairs that had been moved into the space.
Angelone grinned, but it wasn’t the welcoming kind. He clapped his hands together. “So you are.”
He paced a circle around Muriella, and I gritted my teeth as he appraised her, deciding what to do next. He stopped behind her and looked at me.
“It didn’t have to come to this.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.
Muriella didn’t even flinch when that bastard tugged on her hair, but I lunged, stopping myself on a dime when he gripped her by the throat.
“You sure that’s the route you want to go?” He smiled the smile of a man who held all the power and knew it.
“Let’s have some fun, shall we?”
Angelone grimaced in annoyance, and I stiffened as Vinny strode over to where Muriella was bound. Vinny. I should have known this had his fingerprints all over it.
A gun gleamed as he pulled it from his waistband. I fought tooth and nail not to panic when he cocked the hammer.
“Shame she has to die, too.” Vinny tilted his head to the side and considered Muriella, running the barrel down her cheek. “So, so pretty.” He turned to me, both shoulders lifting and lowering. “But, when you don’t do what’s asked of you, there are consequences.”
My jaw worked as I glared at Vinny. Muriella shouldn’t be here, terrorized, paying for my sins. But I’d put her here because I’d selfishly wanted a relationship with Donato, and along with him came his fucker of a brother. Overall, it had seemed like the compromise was worth it. I’d been wrong.
“Let’s talk, shall we?” I suggested, gesturing down the hallway.
“The time for that has passed,” Vinny said.
Angelone looked unsure. And in that second, I found a glimmer of hope. He didn’t want to hurt Muriella. He had just done this to get my attention.
Vinny was the one I needed to worry about.
“Do you want something from me or not?” I shoved my hands into my pockets as if it made me no difference.
“The buyer. Who is it?” Vinny demanded.
“Let her go and then we can work something out.”
His nostrils flared as his hand tapped the side of his gun a few times.
Where the fuck was Donato? He was my only hope of getting his brother under control.
Vinny’s eyes turned wild. “Kill her,” he directed Angelone.
“I assure you that is not the way to get what you want,” I growled.
“Do it.”
The veins in Angelone’s neck bulged. No one dared tell a boss what to do.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Have you gotten soft?” Vinny turned his piece, aiming it over my shoulder. “Who would you miss more? This one? Or that one?”
He fired without hesitation. The bullet sailed past in a blur. Vivian screamed. Something shattered.
Time stopped.
When it started again, it was at warp speed.
Stone flashed in front of me, and Vinny hit the ground before I could blink. The two struggled and rolled into an end table, a lamp clattering to the floor. Stone gained the upper hand, straddling Vinny. He pinned his arm and wrestled the gun from his hand.
I whipped my head around. My eyes made a quick survey of Vivian as I tried to still my racing heart. No blood.
“Donato?”
Vivian stared past me at Vinny on the floor.
Red. Everything was fucking red. I ground my teeth to the point where I was sure there would be nothing left in my mouth but dust. “What did you just call him?”
She recoiled at the menace in my voice. “Donato?” she said uncertainly.
“How do you know him?” I demanded, and bright patches of red appeared on her cheeks—guilt; I’d caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to.
“I-I thought he
could help me get through to you. I—”
“And he told you he was Donato?” She nodded, then looked uncertain.
“That’s not true,” Vinny said.
“Don’t say another fucking word,” I growled at him.
“Daniel? What’s going on?” Vivian asked.
“You had no business going anywhere near them!” I exploded at her.
“I wanted to help you,” she pleaded.
“That isn’t Donato.”
“I’ve gathered that.” Vivian knelt next to Muriella, done with my lecture.
She’d barely loosened one bind when Angelone slung one thick arm around her neck in a stranglehold. My stomach lurched. One squeeze and she’d be gone from my life permanently.
“Release her.” The words were a warning, low and rough as they escaped my mouth.
Angelone hesitated, his cold eyes uncertain.
“She’s not protected anymore. There’s nothing he can do. Get rid of her,” Vinny choked out.
Stone tightened his grip on Vinny’s throat. Vinny whimpered, his face red from the pressure, but I barely noticed because all my attention was on Angelone holding Vivian.
“Do you want to die today?” I’d never taken a life, but if Angelone didn’t let Vivian and Muriella go in about point-two seconds, I was going to. With my bare hands. Slow and painful.
“Will you cut me in on the canary?” Angelone’s only focus was me.
“Haven’t you heard? The diamond’s been stolen.” I flicked my gaze in Vinny’s direction. No point in denying the deal anymore. Vivian and Muriella’s lives were worth more than a damned yellow rock.
Angelone lifted one brow, metering to see if I was telling the truth.
“Ask him.” I pointed my chin at Vinny.
“You’ve had the diamond this entire time?” he growled, releasing Vivian. He stalked over to where Vinny was pinned to the floor and stood over him. Angelone squeezed his cheeks until he squealed.
I gave Vivian a subtle nod and she resumed untying the binds that held Muriella.
“He’s lying,” Vinny spat.
“No, he’s not.” All eyes went behind me to Donato. Movement stopped as he commanded respect as he had from the first time I’d ever seen him. “The problem is my brother has yet to reveal where he’s hiding it.”
Angelone looked from Donato to me to Vinny. I recognized the second he determined who was telling the truth.
“You dared to double cross me, you rat bastard?” he rumbled, increasing the pressure on Vinny’s face. Unbelievable. These two had been working together behind our backs.
“They don’t want you in on it,” Vinny spluttered, finding it difficult to form words with Angelone about to snap his jaw and Stone sitting on his stomach.
“Finally some truth out of your lying ass.” Angelone snorted in disgust. “I knew better than to get involved with the likes of you. Just a wannabe king.” He raised Vinny’s head by his hair and slammed his skull on the floor.
Vivian gasped. She and Muriella clutched one another, but they weren’t hiding in the corner. For once, I wished neither of them was so damn brave.
I motioned toward the kitchen. Stubborn Vivian shook her head. She wouldn’t leave me. Not until she was certain this was over and I was safe. The woman had the most uncanny ability to piss me off and make me love her even more all at once.
“He has to be dealt with,” Angelone said to Donato as he kicked at Vinny’s shoulder with the toe of his polished oxfords.
“And he will be,” Donato assured him. “Let’s settle this other business first.”
A V formed between Angelone’s brows. I didn’t blame the man for being wary. He was in a room full of his enemies, and he’d just been played by one of them.
Donato stepped further into the room, surveying his surroundings. It had been a long time since he’d been here. Long before Vivian had put her mark on everything. He seemed to be absorbing my home, like it was a piece of me he didn’t have but was hungry for.
His gaze lingered on Muriella and Vivian. I saw what I’d refused to see for all these years. My determination to keep this part of my life from him had hurt. A lot of good it had done any damn way.
Donato pressed his lips together, looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought, before his eyes eventually landed on Angelone. “We’ve stayed out of one another’s way fairly well over the years, wouldn’t you say?”
“Except for that stint I did in the penitentiary because of you two, yeah. I’d say so.” He spit directly in Vinny’s eye. “But it just got real personal.”
Donato remained calm, despite that his adversary had disrespected his brother. “And I assure you, he will be handled.”
Angelone shook his head. “Uh-uh. This little son of a bitch is mine. I don’t give a fuck whose brother he is.”
“Will we have a clean slate if I let you in on the diamond?”
Angelone’s nostrils flared. “You can’t offer that to me when you don’t have a fucking clue where it is.”
“I will find out.” Donato’s smile was menacing when he glanced toward Vinny.
“Half. I want half. Then we’ll be even,” Angelone finally said.
“Leave my brother to me, and we have a deal.” Donato extended his right hand.
Angelone stared at it, his hesitation palpable. Decision made, he thrust his hand out.
Donato squeezed. “You will come near no one in my family again.”
“And you’ll stay away from mine,” he countered.
The understanding was cemented with a firm handshake.
“Shall we find out the location of the diamond?” Donato gestured toward Vinny.
Stone met Donato’s gaze head on. When he was certain of Donato’s intentions, his eyes blazed as he squeezed Vinny’s throat. “If there is one mark on her, I will find you. You got me?”
Vinny snarled an unintelligible response.
“I didn’t hear you,” Stone said through gritted teeth. I’d never seen him come unglued, but he was close.
“Yes,” Vinny hissed.
Stone shoved off of him and got to his feet. “I don’t want to see this piece of shit ever again.” He stalked over to Muriella and stopped just short of touching her. “You okay?”
She nodded, though she appeared a little dazed. I couldn’t imagine the memories this had caused to resurface. I cursed myself yet again for putting her in this position.
“Get up,” Angelone commanded, glaring down at Vinny.
He snapped to his feet and bolted for the door. I caught him by the arm before he made it past me.
“This is done. You threatened my family. Violated the most sacred of pacts. I can’t let that stand.”
“You left her. She isn’t protected.” Vinny smirked as if he’d won before he narrowed his eyes at me. “You think you can get rid of me? Get me out of the way? You’ll never be head of this family.”
“Neither will you.”
“Let’s go.” Donato grabbed his other arm and snapped his fingers.
Three men in suits appeared from nowhere and surrounded us. Donato passed Vinny over to them, and they dragged him out of the room.
“I can’t let him get away with what he did to them,” I said, low enough so that only Donato could hear.
“You will have your retribution. For now, stay with your family.” He looked past me to Angelone. “Wait for me in the hall.”
Angelone bristled at the command, but followed it nonetheless. Without the scum in my house, I could breathe a little easier.
Vivian threw her arms around Donato, catching him off guard, though only for a moment. He embraced her, closing his eyes. I heard her whisper, “Thank you,” but I couldn’t begin to guess what for.
“This has been a long time coming.” Donato’s eyes were misty as he released Vivian, holding her at arm’s length. She stepped back next to Muriella.
Words that were long overdue came out of my mouth. “Vivian, Muriella, Stone, I’d like you
to meet Donato Salvatore.”
Muriella eyed Donato suspiciously. “You’re a friend of Daniel’s?” She only knew of him by name. I’d kept her more in the dark than Vivian because I’d thought it was the right thing to do. But she probably could have used a father too.
“Yes. It’s an honor to meet you, Muriella.”
She extended her hand to him, and I inhaled sharply. Muriella avoided touching men with the exception of me and Stone. To see her taking the initiative was a proud moment. She was making progress. When Donato lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, Muriella didn’t flinch, graciously accepting the greeting.
“I trust you’re all right.” He made a quick assessment for any damage that might have been done.
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
“It’s been an eventful night,” he said after shaking Stone’s hand. “But I do hope we can meet again soon.” Donato turned to me, and I nodded. “A word, if I may?”
I ushered him to the foyer.
“Donato, they were working together behind our backs. I don’t know if they were when Angelone first approached me, but—”
“I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. I’ve failed you.”
My jaw tightened. “If anyone is responsible, it’s me.”
He wanted to disagree, it was in his eyes, but when he opened his mouth no argument came. “It’s done. Forget about this. Be with your family.”
“If you don’t find that diamond, I’m a dead man walking.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll get it back.” With two succinct slaps to my back, he disappeared out the front door.
As it clicked closed, the gravity of the situation crashed down on me. Muriella could have been killed. Vivian…Stone…I shook my head to clear the dark thoughts. Because as much as I craved control, I didn’t have it. Never had.
35
Vivian
Present
“Where did they hurt you?”
I came to life at the sound of Daniel’s pissed off growl. He strode back into the living room, a fierce energy surrounding him.
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