How had it happened? Wasn’t someone supposed to be watching her? Or did Carlos think because she was on his turf, with his team around, that Bryan wouldn’t attempt anything.
He walked over to her, anger and hate filling his eyes. His lips turned up in a sneer. How had she ever thought him attractive? “I want what’s mine, bitch.”
A shudder ripped through her. Surely he wasn’t talking about her. He didn’t own her. Not now that she’d broken free of him. He didn’t have the might of the Moretti Family behind him. No doubt he still knew some goons, but he didn’t have the power to make her disappear.
Or did he?
The last thing she needed to do was to let that thought take over her mind. She had to believe he didn’t.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He slapped her across the face. Stars burst behind her eyes and the pounding in her head increased from a snare drum to a base drum.
“You are such a dumb fuck,” he spat at her. “I know it was you who used my book to bring down my family. I don’t know how you got the information, but you’re going to pay for it. And your SEAL boyfriend isn’t going to be able to do anything about it. I know he left today. I watched the two of you kissing at his door. Pathetic.”
Her head injury must be more serious than she thought. He didn’t just say he watched Carlos leave his apartment. Watched as they shared a kiss goodbye, did he?
“How?”
“You think I’m dumb. When you left New York, I knew it was my chance to strike.”
A million thoughts ran through her mind. How had he known she was leaving New York? How had he tracked her so he could pounce when the moment struck?
“What would’ve happened if Carlos hadn’t been called away?” Erin didn’t think he had a hope in hell of snatching her if Carlos had been around.
“Doesn’t matter, does it? He’s gone and you’re here. And he’s never going to be able to locate you.” He reached a hand toward her. Instinctively she flinched back. He laughed as he pressed a finger into her cheek. “You are never going to see him again.”
No way would she believe that she was never going to see Carlos again. She looked over to Antonia. Her friend had tears streaming down her face. Antonia was the strongest person she knew, if she was crying then she had to be frightened for her own life.
No doubt Bryan had plans for her, but what plans did he have for Antonia? She didn’t want to think about never seeing her best friend again. More than anything, they had to work out a way to get away from them. There was no chance in hell that she was going to be Bryan’s victim.
Not anymore.
“What do you mean she didn’t get on her flight?” Carlos gripped his phone tighter, willing Tex to tell him he was joking with him.
“Just that. Erin and Antonia never checked in. They never boarded. They never arrived in New York City.”
This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a bad dream. He was going to wake up any minute now and find himself back in his apartment with Erin curled around him.
Unfortunately, he was sitting at the base in San Diego waiting for their final orders. He couldn’t go away if Erin was missing. It would impossible for him to concentrate. Not only would he put himself at risk, he would be putting his team as well.
“You need to give me something here, Tex. Can you track her phone? Her credit card? Anything. What about Antonia, can you trace her as well?”
His voice rose and he drew the attention of his team. Robot walked over concern filling his gaze.
“I’m on it. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll get back to you.”
Tex disconnected the call and Carlos stared at the screen. “Fuck.”
“What’s going on, Italy. Talk to me.”
“Erin and Antonia are missing.” God, even saying it out loud killed him. He met his team lead’s and friend’s eyes. “I can’t go on this mission. I won’t. I have to find them.”
He strode past Robot, but his hand shot out and stopped Carlos’s retreat. “Stop, Italy. You can’t walk out of here. We’ve got orders, soldier.”
“Let me go, Robot.”
His arm was released and the need to walk out of the room faded a fraction. “This is my woman, Robot. She’s missing. And I bet you my year’s salary that it’s that fucker, Bryan Tosconi, who’s behind her disappearance.”
His team lead nodded, understanding dawning. “Why do you say that?”
With his declaration, he’d basically told everyone on his team he was in love with Erin. Probably not a surprise to them, considering he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her at Robot’s place. The admission left him vulnerable and that’s the last thing he wanted. Carlos paced around the room, aware that the rest of the team’s attention was focused solely on him. “Because it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Maybe they were in an accident and are at a hospital,” Joker suggested.
An accident?
The thought hadn’t crossed his mind, but if she’d been in an accident wouldn’t she have been able to call him. Unless she was seriously hurt. Or worse. An icy chill swept over him at the thought of Erin lying on a cold metal table. “Fuck, Joker, you think that’s better?”
Wolf strode through the door. “Tex called, he said your woman is missing. How can we help?”
The rest of Wolf’s team filed into the room. The show of support from the other SEAL team was unexpected. Then again, after hearing the stories of how the other team had hooked up with their wives, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Not that he could get them involved even though they offered. It wasn’t a SEAL issue. This was a personal one. “Thanks for the offer, man. I only know what Tex has told me, and I’m going out of my fucking skin.”
Wolf walked over and gripped his shoulder for a moment. “Tex will find her. He always does. Any ideas who may be behind this?”
“A guy who was a member of a mob family. One of our former teammates needed our help extracting his woman from her father, the head of one of New York’s largest mob families. The Feds took down the family, but somehow this dickwad’s lawyers got him out. He’s been after Erin ever since.”
“Why?” Abe asked.
“The information I gave to Ash and Tex to take down the Moretti family was given to me by Erin. And before you say anything, she’s not part of the family.”
Wolf watched him and his eyebrow rose, skepticism written all over his face. “Are you sure?”
Carlos clenched his fists. The question was a reasonable one to ask. Hell, he would ask the same thing if the roles were reversed. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“What’s going on here?” Commander Black’s voice boomed around the room.
Carlos straightened up. “Nothing, sir.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe it.” Their commander eyeballed them all. “Orders are in. You’re wheels up in sixty minutes.”
“I can’t go, Sir.”
“I don’t think I heard you correctly, Porcelli. You don’t get an option.”
Tension swirled around the room. Without a doubt, his teammates were looking at him as if he’d taken a leave of his senses. What Wolf and his team thought of his stance he had no idea. They’d all been in a situation he now found himself; the woman he loved was missing with no idea if she was alive or dead. He would be an anchor his team didn’t need on this trip.
“I understand, Sir, but I have a personal issue that I’ve just been made aware of. It would be a detriment to me and my team if I went on this mission.”
He sensed his team closing around him. He appreciated the silent support of his brothers. Like on missions, they stood together as one.
“Sir.” Robot stepped forward. “We believe Italy’s girlfriend has been kidnapped.”
“Believe? Is there a possibility she may have decided she didn’t want to be with Italy?”
Someone snorted behind him, probably Joker. “If it was that, Sir, she would’ve got on her plane. But according to Tex,
she and her friend Antonia didn’t board their plane. And there’s been no action on their credit cards to suggest they took an alternative method back to New York.”
Commander Black tapped his chin, eyeing the other SEAL team in the room. “Why are you fellas here?”
“Tex informed us too, Sir.” Wolf answered.
“We are talking former SEAL Tex Keegan?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Hmm. Okay.” The Commander performed a military precision turn and stalked out of the room.
“What was that?” asked Joker.
“Hell if I know.” Carlos pulled out his phone to see if Tex has called or texted or sent an email. That was stupid, considering he would’ve heard and felt it if the other man had done either of those things.
“You need a plan, Italy,” Wolf started as the rest of his team congregated around them. “We can help with that, can’t we?”
The rest of his team murmured their agreement. The offer was how SEAL teams worked. It didn’t matter if they were SEAL team one or SEAL team six, they supported their brothers no matter what.
“’Preciate it, man.”
“Now, before the Commander returns,” Wolf started. “Let’s go over what we know and see if we can come up with any other scenarios other than kidnapping.”
Everything in Carlos hoped it wasn’t a hostage scenario, but his itchy palm told him different.
Chapter Twelve
God, she was so thirsty and hungry. Erin had no idea how long they’d been shut up in the shitty warehouse. It had to have at least been a day. Bryan had disappeared hours ago, which surprised the heck out of her. She didn’t think he’d want to leave her alone at all. The thought of escaping hadn’t crossed her mind, because she knew her ex would have the place crawling with guys with big guns. She knew there was at least two guys in one of the rooms that overlooked the area where she and Antonia were.
There were no discernible sounds coming from outside. No birds or sounds of cars or trucks to give any indication of their location. At least Bryan had let untied them and let Antonia move so they could sit together on the grimy couch.
“It’s going to be all right, Toni.” Once the words escaped her mouth, Erin didn’t know if she’d said them to convince herself or Antonia.
“How can you say that? We’ve been stuck here for God knows how long now. No one even knows we’re missing.”
Nothing Antonia said wasn’t true. She just hoped someone, somewhere had seen what had happened to them. Erin had no idea what Bryan had done with the cab driver. Maybe he was in on the scheme the whole time.
In her heart, she believed Carlos would come to her rescue. It didn’t make sense for her to be so sure, but she was. He’d known how Bryan had hurt her. She hadn’t breathed a word of it to him over the week they’d spent together, but he’d known. If, not when, they got out of this predicament she would ask him.
“I have to believe we’re going to be fine, Toni. There’s no other choice.”
“I suppose you’re thinking Carlos will ride in here on his white horse and save us?”
“Yes.”
Antonia scoffed. “Jesus, Erin, this isn’t a Disney movie where the handsome prince saves the day. This is real life.”
Erin sighed. “Yes, I know. But if I give up hope, then Bryan wins, and he’s won too many times in the past. He’s not going to this time.”
“I can’t believe you let yourself get involved with someone who’s tangled up in New York’s mob scene, again.”
“Again? What the hell are you talking about? When I started dating Bryan, I had no idea he was part of the Moretti family. By the time I did, it was too late and when I tried to leave, well, let’s just say he made it more than clear that leaving wasn’t an option.”
“I’m not talking about Bryan, we’ll get back to him later. I’m talking about Carlos.”
“Carlos? He hasn’t been around for sixteen years. How could he be involved with the mob?” Erin was beginning to think Antonia had suffered a head injury in the accident. That was the only reasonable explanation for suggesting Carlos had been mixed up with the mob. The man was a SEAL for heaven’s sake.
“You were so star struck by him in high school you had no idea he was a runner for the Forlani family.”
“No, that’s not true,” she whispered. It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Why would Antonia lie to her? They’d been best friends since first grade. If there was one person she could always count on, it was Antonia.
“It is. I’m sorry, Erin. I don’t know how he managed to keep it from you. Part of me admires him for being able to keep that side of himself hidden. But the other part hates that he did this to you.”
Erin closed in on herself, attempting to process all her best friend told her. Slowly, she allowed her mind to go back over their time in high school. The times when Carlos would not be able to meet her after school like they’d plan. The times he missed classes. She’d put it down to him being a typical teenage boy who didn’t want to be in school.
A particular time stuck out in her mind, when he’d turned up at school with a black eye and when she’d tried to hug him, he’d winced. He’d passed it off as he and his brother roughhousing at home and he’d fallen down the stairs. Now, after being on the receiving end of a mob beating, it was obvious he’d done something he shouldn’t have.
“Fuck, I was such a fool. And I helped that idiot with giving him information to bring down the Moretti family. I should’ve let him meet up with Rico instead of saying I’d help him.”
“Why did you help him?” Antonia asked.
“Because he’s a SEAL and I thought he could help me. I wanted to get away from Bryan. For a short while I had my freedom.” Now she found herself kidnapped, locked up in some warehouse, and found out the guy she’d fallen in love with not once, but twice, had been involved with the mob as well. “Shit, I’ve got a type.”
Antonia chuckled beside her. “Nah, not really.”
Silence descended around them again and fatigue bit at her heels. She’d only allowed herself to doze, not wanting to give Bryan or his goons any reason to hurt her or Antonia. Well hurt them more than they’d done. Plus, she knew she had a concussion so sleeping could be dangerous for her.
“I’m so tired,” she muttered.
Antonia grabbed her hand and moved so she was comforting her. “Rest, I’ll keep an eye out.”
Erin squeezed her friend’s hand. Maybe she would close her eyes for a few minutes. “I’m sorry, Toni.”
“What for?”
“Getting you in this mess. Making you come on this trip with me. If you hadn’t you’d be safe in New York.” Guilt plagued Erin with every passing second they were stuck in this situation.
“If I wasn’t here, you’d be alone. And that would be even worse. Besides,” she paused. “Who would complain about spending the weekend being surrounded by so many hot SEALs?”
Erin laughed, pleased that Antonia could see something light in their horrible situation. “This is true. Did you spend much time with Joker?” If Antonia hadn’t been so close, Erin would’ve missed the slight tensing of her body.
“Uh, no. Um not really.”
Pop. Pop. Pop.
All thoughts of picking apart her friend’s response to her question flew out of her mind.
“What was that?” Antonia asked.
“I’m not su—” At the sound of some yelling, the guys who had been sitting in the room, watching them, burst out of it and ran down a hallway. “Toni, move. Get behind the couch.”
Pain screamed through her head and side at her sudden movement. She didn’t care. The only thing she was concentrating on was finding somewhere safe to hide.
Once they were safely behind the couch, Erin’s heartbeat slowed down a fraction. After the initial sound that spurred them all into action, there’d been nothing but silence. That couldn’t be good.
“What do you think’s happening?” asked Antonia.
&nbs
p; “No idea.”
“Do you think it could be someone coming to rescue us?”
How Erin wanted to believe it would be Carlos and his team rescuing her. No matter how impossible that could be. The guy was probably in the middle of some war-torn country saving people in more danger than her. “Could be. Or it could be someone after Bryan. I have a feeling he’s less than subtle in his dealings.”
It amazed Erin at how calm she sounded. Shouldn’t she be panicking? Hell could be about rain down on them, yet she was talking to Antonia as if they were sharing a coffee.
A window shattered somewhere to their right and smoke seeped toward them. Any bravery she had disappeared at the sight of the grey mist stretching its way toward them. With a quick look over her shoulder, Erin could see their chance of escaping the room was limited. She prayed that whoever had thrown the gas canister was there to help them, not kill them.
Erin screamed as her arm was grabbed and she was yanked upright. Bryan had returned. Where had he been and why hadn’t he run out of the building with his two goons?
“Leave her alone,” Antonia screeched and punched Bryan’s arm.
“Shut up,” Bryan responded as he raised the arm holding a gun and cracked the handle against Antonia’s head. Her friend crumpled in a heap, red dripping down her face.
“Oh my God, Toni.” She attempted to pull away, but Bryan wouldn’t let her. “You’ve killed her.” Life without having her childhood best friend wasn’t something she wanted to face.
“Knocked out. If I wanted to kill her, I’d have shot her.” He shoved her forward, away from the safety of the couch. “You’re my insurance, bitch.”
He held the gun to her temple and marched her toward the middle of the room. With a last glance over her shoulder, she prayed that Antonia was going to be okay and prepared to meet her fate.
Whatever it may be.
Chapter Thirteen
The second he’d received the text from Tex advising that he’d located Erin and Antonia, adrenaline spiked through Carlos’s blood like it did whenever they went out on assignment. The fact this assignment was extremely personal to him, heightened his need to jump into action without thinking first. Fortunately for him, he had his team at his back who knew what was at stake and pulled him back from creating an even bigger mess.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Guarding Erin (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 9