by Harley Stone
The floor lurched forward again.
My brain fog was beginning to dissipate, so I looked around, trying to get my bearings. We were in some sort of van with no side windows. The headlights of cars behind us were shining into the back window. A dark-haired man was driving, with another man in the passenger’s seat. I tried to look out the front window, but couldn’t see much beyond road and cars.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Out of the city so Bones can find us without the interference of those Mariani bastards.” She held up my phone. “What’s the code to unlock this thing?”
Wondering if I should give it to her, I hesitated.
“I’m sure he’s tracking it by now, anyway. I could just wait until he calls again and answer it. That’s how I talked to him the first time.”
Since it was obviously useless to resist, I rattled off the code and she plugged it into the phone before dialing and putting it up to her ear.
“Are you on the way?” she asked. “Good. Are you alone? Make sure you’re not followed, Bones. I don’t want to shoot your girl, but I will if I have to.” Her gaze cut to me. “Yeah, she’s awake. Give me a sec and I’ll put you on speaker.” She fiddled with the phone, holding it between us as she asked, “Bones, you there?”
“Yes. Ari?”
Hearing his voice made my eyes burn and my throat constrict.
“Ari, you okay?” he asked, his voice panicked.
“Yes.” I swallowed past a sob. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“I’m coming for you. Just do what Natalia says and I’ll be there before you know it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?” I asked, glancing at who I assumed was Natalia. “Especially one who kidnaps people.”
Before he could answer, she clicked him off speaker and put the phone to her ear. “There. You heard her, she’s fine. She’ll stay fine as long as you show up alone. There’s a campground right before you get to Railroad Pass. We’ll be waiting in the parking lot.” Natalia disconnected the phone and set it in her lap.
“You sure this is wise?” the driver asked. “We’ll be like sitting ducks. If he doesn’t come alone, we’ll be screwed.”
“I’ve been watching Bones for a while,” Natalia replied. “He’ll come alone.”
“Are you gonna hurt him?” I asked.
“You need to shut up now,” she replied, settling back in her seat. “You’re getting on my nerves.”
I started to argue, but the man in the passenger’s seat shifted his gun, glancing at me over his shoulder. I clamped my mouth closed and stared out the front window.
We eventually pulled off the main road and into a small campground. There, the driver cut the engine and we waited until Bones’s blue Jeep came barreling into the parking area.
“He’s alone,” the driver announced.
“Good,” Natalia replied. “Signal him over.”
The passenger rolled down his window.
Seconds later, I heard Bones’s voice say, “Where’s Ari?” He sounded out of breath, but otherwise okay.
Natalia slid the side door open, bathing the interior of the van in light as she revealed us to Bones. She had a pistol aimed at him. “Hello, brother. Hand over your weapons. Slowly.”
He looked past her, locking gazes with me. “You okay?”
I nodded.
“We need to get out of here before the Marianis show up,” Natalia said. “Are we doing the exchange or not?”
“Give me a second to make sure she has a ride,” Bones said, fiddling with his phone.
“What about your Jeep?” Natalia asked.
“I disobeyed orders when I came out here, remember?” he asked, anger flashing in his eyes. “Thanks for that by the way. I’m not sending her back in my Jeep. Not with Carlo as hot as he is. She needs protection.”
“How do I know you’re not calling in backup?”
“Guess you’re gonna have to trust me, sis.”
“Or I could force you into this van at gunpoint.”
“You could try,” Bones replied, flashing her a terrifying smile. “But trust me, you’d rather have me come willingly. I’m sick of all the lies and games. This shit is between me and you and I’m willing to come with you and hear what you have to say, but I’m gonna make damn sure Ari is taken care of first. I’m not leaving her ass out here in the dark, unprotected, without a fuckin’ ride that I trust.”
The two stared each other down for an intense moment before Natalia nodded, her expression softening. “You’re so much like him. The way you talk, the way you move, it’s like seeing him again. He was protective of my mother, too.”
Bones’s eyes only hardened as he finished typing out his message. “Cool, because the bastard abandoned my mom for yours,” he snapped. “I’m nothing like him. Cut her free.”
Natalia hesitated.
The passenger aimed his gun at Bones.
Bones took a deep breath. “I swear to fuckin’ Christ, I don’t care how many guns you have in this car, I will lose my shit if you don’t cut her lose. I’m the one you want.” He held out his hands. “You got me, but you need to decide if you want me to come quietly, or if you want me to lose my fuckin’ cool and rip this van in half.”
“Hand over your weapons and I’ll cut her free,” Natalia countered.
Bones handed her two guns and three knives, then Natalia leaned me forward and cut my hands free. Circulation returned as I squeezed and released my fists. Bones reached for me and I went to him. He pulled me from the van and set me beside him as his eyes filled with anguish. “You okay?” he asked, looking me over.
I nodded, my eyes burning. “I’m sorry. You warned me that I could be in danger, but I didn’t think Harlow would… Fuck! I can’t believe that bitch. I’m so sorry, Bones.”
Wiping tears from my cheeks, he kissed me. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the danger, babe. They used you to get to me.”
“What are we gonna do?” I asked.
“You’re gonna wait for Nonna to pick you up, then you’re gonna stay your fine ass with her and wait for me. I’m gonna listen to what Natalia has to say, and then I’ll come for you. Do not leave Nonna’s side until I get there. You hear me?”
“Yes. You sure you’re gonna be okay?” I asked.
He brushed another tear from my cheek. “I’m always okay, Ari. I’ve got this, babe. You just stay safe. You have to sing Tuesday night, so we can celebrate your success again.” Kissing my forehead, he released me and climbed into the van.
Doors closed, and the van pulled out while I watched them go, wondering if I’d ever see him again. Belatedly, I realized I should have told Bones I loved him.
While I stood there trying to clear the remaining fuzz from my brain, figure out my feelings toward Bones, and stop the tears that kept leaking from my eyes, a motorcade of sleek black SUVs pulled in to the parking area. Expecting Nonna, I waited as they surrounded me. One of the doors opened, and Angel’s great uncle, Carlo, emerged, his face bright red, his expression pinched in anger.
“Where the fuck are they?” he shouted, advancing on me.
Bones had voiced his concerns about Carlo, and now I saw why. Angel’s great uncle looked like he was about to go nuclear. Taking a big step back, I replied, “I don’t know. They took Bones and left.”
“Fuck!” He raked a hand through his hair. “What were they driving?”
“A v-v-van. A black van.”
“Did you get the license plate?”
I shook my head, wondering why I hadn’t thought of that. “No. I’m s-s-sorry.”
He looked me over, his lip curling in disgust, before snapping, “Grab her.”
As Carlo headed back to the SUV he’d come from, another door opened and a man wearing a suit emerged. He stalked toward me with a determined look on his scarred face. He did not look like someone I wanted to get into a car with. Suddenly terrified, I took another step back.
“W-w-wait. N-n-nonna is—
”
Before I could fully form my objection to going with these angry-looking men, another motorcade pulled into the lot, surrounding the SUVs. One of the back doors opened, and Nonna stepped out looking regal and classy as ever, despite the late hour.
“Ari, there you are,” she said with a warm smile. “Come with me, dear.”
Relieved, I headed for her, but was intercepted by Carlo’s man. He grabbed my arm and tugged. Surprised by the sudden jolt, I cried out.
“Carlo,” Nonna said, her voice dipping lower than I’d ever heard it go as she looked pointedly at the asshole trying to tug my arm off. “Do call off your man.”
Carlo’s anger only seemed to intensify as he looked from me to Nonna. “The girl might have information that will help me find Bones. I need to question her.”
Nonna gave me another sweet smile. “Ariana, do you know where they took Bones?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, ma’am. They wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Nonna turned her smile to Carlo. “There you have it.”
“I should still question her,” Carlo replied. “Get all the details I can.”
“Look at her. She’s been kidnapped and held against her will. I need to have her checked out and make sure she’s not physically injured.”
Carlo started to object again, but Nonna cut him off.
“I insist,” she said, steel creeping into her voice. “Besides, it seems like your time would be better spent searching for Bones than questioning someone who clearly doesn’t know where he is.”
Carlo’s jaw twitched. Fire burned in his eyes as he glared at me. “Release her,” he barked, climbing back into his SUV.
The asshole squeezed my arm one more time before letting go. As he walked away, I released the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and tried to compose myself. Carlo’s SUVs peeled out of the parking area and disappeared around the corner, leaving me alone with Nonna and her guards.
Nonna also let out a deep breath, her smile slipping as she gestured me forward. I ran to her, and after we embraced, we both climbed into the back of her car.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes. Thank you. You showed up just in time. Carlo was a little cold at Christmas dinner, but I’ve never seen him that angry before. It was terrifying.”
Nonna gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re safe now. We’re going back to my house and he can’t reach you there. He wouldn’t dare. What can you tell me about Bones?”
“He’s with someone named Natalia. She’s claiming to be his sister and said she just wants to talk to him. To tell him the truth about what happened to their father. She said the Marianis killed him.”
Nonna frowned. “Whatever happened, I’m sure Dom will get it sorted. He’s smart and fair. I’m certain he will see through whatever plan Carlo has up his sleeve.”
I hoped so, but I wasn’t so certain. Trying not to think about that, I replied, “Thanks again for coming for me.”
“Of course, dear. But now I think you should call your sister and let her know you’re okay. She’s worried sick about you.”
Accepting the phone Nonna offered me, I called Markie and assured her that I was fine. She asked all sorts of questions I couldn’t answer before I cut the call short, so I could get back to my conversation with Nonna.
“What’s going to happen to Bones?” I asked, handing her back the phone.
“Don’t you worry about that,” she replied, patting me on the arm. “Bones has protected my family for years. Now it’s our turn to protect him.”
“Thank you,” I said as more tears stung my eyes. “Thank you for everything.”
“That’s what family’s for, dear.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Bones
“WELL?” I ASKED, staring at Natalia.
“Well what?”
Blood or not, she was fucking infuriating. “You kidnapped my woman, fucked up my life, got my capo gunnin’ for me, what was so goddamn important you did all that shit just to talk to me?”
“The truth, Bones. The truth that those assholes have been hiding from you.”
I leveled a glare at her, waiting for her to continue. Waiting for her to say something worthwhile. When I’d opened the van door, I’d gotten a good look at Natalia. She couldn’t be much younger than my brother, David. She wore a blue sweater and slim-fit jeans stuffed into black knee-high boots. Her long dark hair was loose and messy, and her high cheekbones, plump lips, and dark eyes bore a striking resemblance to a picture Pops had shown me years ago, a picture of his mom.
As much as I wanted to deny it, Natalia looked a hell of a lot like family.
“I can’t get over how much you look like Dad,” she said, almost as if she was reading my thoughts.
“You remember his face?” I asked, doing the math in my head. “You couldn’t have been more than four or five when he disappeared. Hell, I was ten and barely remember him.”
Her jaw jutted out and anger flashed in her eyes. “I was nine, Bones.”
I choked. “So the bastard must have knocked your mom up shortly after he knocked mine up. Then he came back and got Ma pregnant with David. Un-fuckin’-believable. Fuckin’ asshole is what he was.”
“No he wasn’t. You didn’t know him like I did. He used to bounce me on his knee and call me his principessa. He smelled like gun oil and tobacco, and he would always read me a story before tucking me in at night.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure we didn’t know the same guy, because my dad didn’t do any of that shit.”
“Gino Leone was a good father,” she insisted.
Natalia’s tone and posture grated on my nerves. After being robbed of a childhood with my old man, I felt entitled to a little anger. Especially after finding out that he’d knocked up Natalia’s mom between me and David. “No matter what you remember, Pops wasn’t some stand-up guy. He was a liar who cheated on his wife, abandoned his kids, and informed on the Durante family. He was almost solely responsible for your mother’s family’s demise. You should hate him even more than I do.”
“He was a complicated man.”
“Complicated?” I snorted. “I’ll have to take your word for it, because I don’t remember shit about Pops. Probably because the bastard was so damn busy with his other family he had no time for me and my brothers. While he was sitting you on his lap and calling you princess, he was bailing on my school conferences and missing family dinners. Disappearing was probably the best thing he ever did for me.”
“He didn’t disappear, he was murdered!” she shouted.
“Oh yeah? Who whacked him then?”
“Carlo Mariani.”
I glared at her. “I don’t believe you.”
Sure, I had questions for Carlo—questions like why he hadn’t told me about Pops being the mole inside the Durante family—but I couldn’t see his motivation for killing Pops. Hell, Pops was a Mariani, in a round-about way.
“I swear it’s the truth.”
“Pops left us with nothing so he could go play house with your mom. If Carlo wouldn’t have stepped in and offered me a job, my family would have starved. Ten-fuckin’-years-old and I had to provide for the family Pops bailed on. So, forgive me for not jumping on your ‘Carlo killed my daddy’ bandwagon. Hell, I don’t even know for sure the old man’s dead. He could be off with a third family somewhere.”
I glared up at Natalia, and she glared back, tugging something out of her pocket. She tossed a wristwatch to me. Unlike the platinum Rolexes worn by most mobsters, this was a black Concord with a rubber band. Its simple yet unique design was easy to recognize, especially since I’d been with Pops when he’d purchased it. It had set him back over two large, and I remember asking him why he’d spent so much on a watch with a rubber band.
“You can tell a lot about a man by his timepiece,” Pops said, securing it around his wrist.
Curious, I asked, “What does this one say about you?”
He smiled down
at me, his dark eyes a reflection of my own. “Quality and functionality; not a cheap piece of shit, but not the main man, either. I work with my hands, Son, and I don’t need anything that catches the light or clanks against my wrist when I’m… working.”
The memory shook me. Memories of Pops were so few and far between I rarely experienced them anymore. I took a moment to compose myself before turning the watch over in my hand to study it. “Where did you get this?”
“I took it off his body.”
With a deep breath, I handed her back the watch and said, “Start from the beginning.”
She leaned back. “Dad hid us before the attack on the Durantes. Mom was babysitting Joey at the time, and Dad took the three of us across the California border and rented us a little apartment in Baker. Dad said we’d only have to stay there until things cooled off, and then Carlo would have a spot for us. Dad swore by Carlo, but Mom never trusted that son-of-a-bitch. Turned out she was right, because Carlo betrayed us.”
“How?” I asked.
“Carlo didn’t know about me or Joey, so when he showed up to talk to Dad, Mom hid us in the hall closet and told us to be quiet. We sat there and listened as Dad reassured Carlo that all the Durantes were dead, including Joey. Then Carlo asked Dad about a phone call he said Mom had made. A call to a woman named Annetta. Dad got angry and said he protected Dom. Carlo was pissed about someone named Michael ending up in a wheelchair. He said Dom should have died and Dad should have minded his own damn business.”
“No,” I said, feeling sick to my stomach. “You’re lying. There’s no way Carlo would have taken out Dom. No fuckin’ way that happened.”
“How would I know this shit then?” she asked.
“Everyone knows the names of the Marianis. You could have just invented some shitty story.”
“Why would I do that?”
“How the fuck would I know?” I fired back. “You’re a kidnapper. Who’s to say you’re not a liar, too?”
Shaking her head, she continued her story. “Shots were fired. Joey and I stayed in that closet until everything was quiet. When we came out, we found my parents dead. I took the watch off Dad and this necklace off Mom.” She tugged a crucifix from her sweater. “It’s all I have left of them, thanks to Carlo.”