“What did you say is the name of the guy who took her?” I asked.
“Tony the Hound.”
“What sort of name is Tony the Hound?”
Harvey shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he used to like to bite people.”
“Jesus. That’s not making me feel any better.”
“I wasn’t trying to. I wanted to make you see what kind of man you’re dealing with.”
I nodded, my hand over my mouth, the bristles of my beard against my palm. “Okay, okay. I get your point. I’m still not going to do nothing, though.”
“We won’t,” said Harvey. “We’ll come up with a plan.”
“Can I ask you to put some damn clothes on first?”
Harvey glanced down at the small item of underwear he was wearing and laughed. “Yeah, I can do that.”
He turned and walked back out of the room, leaving me to dress as well. I wore a t-shirt and shorts, but dressed fully, including my shoes. I wanted to be prepared for what was to come next, and I knew I wasn’t going to be going back to sleep anytime soon. I walked out into the living room to find Harvey waiting for me—mercifully dressed this time.
“Hey, what did she say her name was?” he asked.
“Verity.”
“No, her surname.”
“Guerra, I think.”
“Like Michael Guerra?”
“I have no idea who that is.”
Harvey gave a quick shake of his head, as though he’d forgotten something. “No, of course you wouldn’t, sorry. He’s a pretty big deal, but he’s behind bars now. If I’m joining the dots correctly, I think Verity is his daughter. You think he knows his daughter is hanging out with the enemy?”
I slowly shook my head. Did he actually think I’d have any way of contributing to this conversation? Once again, my lack of memory caused anger and frustration to rise inside of me. I’d do anything to get my memory back.
“Okay, first of all,” he started, “we can’t go storming in there, just the two of us. This needs to be done one of two ways. We either do it sneakily, and try and get to her with no one else noticing, or we see if we can get some backup. I have to warn you, though, X, getting backup is going to be risky. People want you dead, and if we start asking questions, you’re going to get noticed.”
My jaw tightened and I nodded. I didn’t like the idea of bringing anyone else into this. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I could remember people and was able to remember if I knew someone or had a history with them. What if we approached one of the people who wanted me dead?
“No, we need to do this on our own. Or at least, I need to do this on my own. You don’t have to play any part in it.”
“Hey, I have my part. I stepped into it when I busted you out of the hospital. Besides, I’m kind of interested in how all of this is going to go down. Maybe I’m a romantic at heart, and I want the two of you to get together.”
I eyed him curiously. I still knew nothing about the man who’d come to my rescue. “And what about you, Harvey? What’s your story? You run businesses, that much I know, taking money off local places in return for protection, but what else? Family? Women in your life?”
He laughed. “Plenty of women in my life. I don’t plan on keeping any one in particular around for too long, though. I like variety. My understanding was that you were the same, until now, of course. I think that bump to your head has affected how your heart works.”
I shook my head. “No, we had something before I lost my memory, I’m sure of it.”
“Or maybe this broad just thought you had something, and you’re picking up on that and convincing yourself it’s true. It would be understandable for you to want to cling to something—especially a woman as hot as her.”
I had to admit he had a point. “That’s a possibility. But if we didn’t have anything meaningful, why didn’t I kill her like I was paid to do?”
Harvey shook his head. “I have no idea.”
He turned away from me and crossed the room to a desk in the corner. It was locked, but he reached behind a picture frame balanced on top and pulled out a small key. He used it to unlock the desk then reached inside. When he turned back to me, he held a gun in each hand.
I nodded appreciatively. “They’re good to see.”
He held the butt of one of the guns out to me. “I hope your memory loss doesn’t go as far as not being able to remember how to use one of these.”
I took the weapon from his hand. The weight felt both familiar and comforting, and my fingers automatically adjusted their grip. “Don’t worry. I remember.”
And I did. It was like remembering how to work a coffee machine, or knowing what to do with a credit card. Some part of my brain had instinctively retained that information.
“You’re going to need a cell phone, too,” said Harvey, “so we can stay in touch if we get separated.”
“We’ll go and buy a disposable at first light,” I said. “I still have my card.”
He shook his head. “No. Let me pay cash. I don’t want there to be any way to track it.”
Though I didn’t like the idea of Harvey paying for me—I felt like he’d done enough—I knew he was right. “Okay.”
“Good,” he replied. “Now all we have to do is find out exactly where Tony the Hound lives.”
Chapter Sixteen
V
My sleep was plagued by vivid dreams in which X ignored me, telling me he didn’t know who I was and that I needed to get lost, even though I ran down the street after him, begging him to remember. Everyone on the street turned to look at me, so I was surrounded by people standing there staring. I’d never liked extra attention, and this kind of focus made me want to curl up into a ball and disappear. Combined with the look in X’s eyes, the one where he thought I was a crazy person and wanted me to go away, made me want to vanish off the face of the earth.
I woke, knowing it was a dream, but unable to push the feeling of misery from my heart. I didn’t like this version of myself. I was desperate to take back control, but I didn’t know how to without getting myself killed. I realized I’d told X who I was with, but he hadn’t had the chance to tell me his location. I needed to try to get to a telephone again, but after almost being caught, the idea filled me with dread. I was tired. Tired of everything. Of fighting all the time, and now of not quite feeling myself. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I wasn’t on my game.
I’d slept away most of the day, which wasn’t surprising since I’d been awake half the previous night. Even so, I could normally manage on just a few hours’ sleep and be fine the next day, but recent events had taken it out of me.
I remembered the fight I’d had with Nickie, and my stomach flipped with unease. Would she go to Tony and tell him I hadn’t been in my room during the night? It broke my heart to feel like my own sister wouldn’t protect me against someone she knew had hurt me. I’d made so many excuses for her because of things she’d gone through—the rape, being forced to watch her mother die at my hands—but at what point did I think enough was enough and decide she simply hated me? I guessed a part of me had always hoped she would come around, but she betrayed me over and over again.
Would I lose my sister, not because some gangster had killed her or taken her away from me, but because she simply could never bring herself to love me?
A knock on the door came, and a moment later it opened, my visitor not waiting for an answer.
Stefano’s face appeared in the gap. “Boss wants you downstairs.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you do anything other than run Tony’s messages?”
He scowled back. “Yeah, ’course I do, but if Tony tells me to do something, I’m gonna do it.”
“I think you need to grow some balls.”
“Yeah, you try going against him and see how well that works out for you. I don’t see you standing up to him either.”
Not yet, but just you wait.
I didn’t give voice to my words. I reme
mbered how it felt to wake up to find Tony’s hands around my throat and his cold eyes staring down at me. My throat was still sore, and if I pulled my collar down, I’d be able to see the bruises in finger marks around my neck. No one touched me like that and got away with it. I didn’t know how I would take my revenge yet, but he, along with my father, was at the top of my list.
I was still in the shirt and sweat pants I’d worn last night. I hauled myself out of bed and pushed a hand through my hair. Stefano remained in the doorway, his eyebrows lifted as though questioning my lack of speed.
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.”
I followed him downstairs into the office, trying to ignore the butterflies swirling around my stomach. The reason behind my being summoned could be down to a number of things—someone had spotted me last night, or Nicole had told him, or else there was more information about my court appearance.
I wanted to pin my hopes on X and the man who was with him, but I wasn’t stupid. X had no memory, and, like me, wasn’t himself. I had no idea who Harvey Baglione was, or what his connections were, but I doubted they were anything to rival Tony’s. I’d never relied on anyone to save me before, and I certainly couldn’t now. I needed to save myself. Control my own future. Stay focused. Right now that focus needed to be on my father’s trial and seeing him sent down, though I felt torn by my desire to be with X. Didn’t the trial need to take first place? Could I do that if I was with X again? Part of me knew I wouldn’t have the sort of protection Tony offered me, and I was more likely to end up dead if I somehow managed to escape and made my way to X, but I didn’t exactly feel safe in Tony’s company either.
Stefano knocked on Tony’s door and pushed it open for me. I walked in to find Tony behind his desk, sitting back in the big chair behind it. Stefano followed us both in and closed the door behind us.
“You wanted me,” I said.
Tony eyed me suspiciously. “Where have you been all day, Verity? It’s evening already, and you’re only just making an appearance. Are you sick?”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head, trying not to appear guilty. “No, I’m fine. I was just tired. I guess being half strangled will do that to a girl.” I couldn’t help myself. I shot him daggers, and waited for the reply.
“I’d never taken you for such a delicate flower,” he said, his head tilting to one side as he regarded me. “Maybe next time you’ll think before you decide to go off on your own.”
I scowled at him, wishing I could tell him to fuck off. If I could just walk out of that door, and still be able to testify against my father and keep Nickie safe, then I would. I hated that Tony had this control over me.
“I only went for a walk,” I replied. “I thought you were offering me protection. I hadn’t realized I was a fucking prisoner.”
“Now, now, Verity. Shouldn’t have language like that coming from a young lady’s mouth.”
“Are we done?” I said. “I’m kind of hungry, and I didn’t even get to use the bathroom before your little bitch over there dragged me down.” I cocked my eyebrows toward Stefano, who glared back at me in return.
I was starving, but also with that strange underlying nausea as well. I must have slept so deeply, it had affected how I felt, plus not having eaten since the day before didn’t help. No wonder I was hungry. I was relieved that Tony didn’t seem to know anything about my middle of the night excursion into his office. If he did know, he was doing a good job of hiding it. I was disappointed that he wasn’t calling me in because of a new appointment at court, though. I wanted things to move forward with the court case. Waiting around in Tony’s house wasn’t getting me anywhere.
The office door suddenly slammed open, and Paulie burst into the room. “Sorry, boss, but we’ve got visitors.”
Tony leaned forward. “What are you talking about?”
“Two cars pulled up at the gates.”
He got to his feet. “Who?”
“Don’t know yet.”
We all looked toward the front of the property—the windows of Tony’s office looked out onto the grounds. External lights attached to the house floodlit the driveway and the couple of vehicles parked out there. A flutter of nerves attacked my chest. What was going on? Why did I have a bad feeling about this?
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Tony demanded.
“A couple of them are out of the car, we can see them on the cameras, but they’re not using the intercom.”
“What are they doing—”
A bang and blast of light from the gates stopped Tony mid-sentence. Instinctively, I flinched away, lifting my hand to cover my face, even though the explosion had been too far away to harm me.
We watched as the gates swung open.
“Get some men out there,” Tony roared. “I want these people taken care of!”
But the two vehicles had already swung around the front of the property, gravel flying up from beneath the tires. The windows were blacked out, but the passenger windows had been rolled down. I only caught a glimpse of heads covered in black balaclavas, before I spotted the muzzles of numerous weapons pointing out of the empty spaces.
Shit.
Could I let myself think this had something to do with X? Had he found people to help, and these new arrivals were here to kill Tony and take me away from all of this?
A bullet thwacked through the glass, punching a hole directly through it and taking a chunk out of the wall beside me. Before I had time to think any further, the world went crazy, a cacophony of semi-automatic shots being fired from both sides of the window. The glass imploded, the sound like a thousand champagne glasses dropped all at the same time. I fell to the floor, wanting to put my hands over my ears, but trying to focus on getting to safety. I’d never make it to the door, and I was unarmed, so it wasn’t as though I could fight back. On my hands and knees, keeping my body as low to the ground and as small as possible, I crawled toward the shelter of Tony’s massive desk. Something heavy hit the floor beside me, and I glanced over to see Stefano with a bullet through the middle of his forehead, lying with his eyes open and staring blindly in my direction.
Oh, shit.
Who was responsible for the shooting? Did I dare believe X and his friend had come to take me away from here? If so, where was Nicole? Was she in her studies? Despite everything my sister had done, I still found my thoughts jumping straight to her. Was she safe? How would I reach her?
Above my head, things weren’t showing any signs of calming down. Tony’s men were firing back, and it sounded as though more of his men were shooting from outside as well.
Who were they shooting? Was it X and his new friend, or someone else entirely?
I needed to get out of here and find Nicole. If this thing went wrong, something might happen to her, and I wasn’t there to protect her. The sound of gunfire had slowed now, but was still happening—I assumed the men had taken cover, but were still taking the occasional shot when they could. I set my sights on the second door leading toward the rear of the property. It had been locked last night, but now I could see it stood slightly ajar. I couldn’t go the other way—trying to get out of the main door would take me right across the front of the building, and not only would I be exposed to gunfire, I’d be crawling my way across a thousand shards of glass. No, my only way out was through the back.
With my heart in my throat, I squeezed my eyes shut to conjure up Nicole’s face, how frightened she must be, and then I set off at an army crawl, out from under the desk and toward the door. When I felt like I’d put enough space between myself and the men outside, I staggered to a low crouch and ran. I prepared myself for the punch of a bullet in the back, but I made it to the door and slipped out. I had no idea if this was even safe—whoever was doing the shooting wasn’t here to help. I was fairly certain of that.
Now where the hell would Nicole be?
The library at the back of the property made most sense. It was where she did her studies, and she hadn’t been in our
room. I was sure I’d find her there. I set off at a run, wanting to put as much distance between me and the cars out front as possible.
I turned the corner and slammed into a body. My first instinct was to fight, so I pulled back my fist, but a hand clamped around my wrist, and then another hand smothered my mouth.
“Shh. You’re all right. You’re safe. It’s me.”
I brought myself out of my panic long enough to look up. X was standing in front of me, the man, Harvey something, close behind him. Both were armed.
X took his hand away from my mouth.
“What the hell was going on with all the shooting?” I hissed. “You could have gotten me killed.” Though I was ridiculously pleased to see him, the scene that had just happened at the front of the house had been way too much.
“It wasn’t us,” he whispered back. “I don’t know who those guys are.”
“Shit.”
If it wasn’t X who had been shooting at us, that could only mean one other person, or group of people … my father’s men.
And they would come after me.
He took me by the hand and tugged me away. “We need to get out of here.”
I shook my head, and pulled back on him. “I can’t. I can’t leave my sister.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, she’s here somewhere.”
“We can come back for her. We need to go now, Verity.”
I couldn’t help but smile at him.
“What?” he hissed.
“You never call me that. It’s always Vee.”
He lifted his eyebrows at me. “We don’t have time for arguing about names. We need to get out of here.”
I shook my head. “Please, just let me look. I have to find her. I think I know where she’ll be.”
X and Harvey exchanged a glance.
“We need to get out of here,” said Harvey.
X looked back to me. “Two minutes.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
The men were able to cover me now, as they were both armed. I ran for the library and shoved open the heavy dark wood doors with both hands.
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