by L. A. Fiore
Frustration was pushing aside unease, which was why I spoke without really thinking. “I live there now, I’m not selling it.”
“So his stuff is there?”
“Yes, why do you care?”
Another voice came from behind me. “He doesn’t, but I do.”
Turning toward the voice, my brain struggled to make sense of what I saw—the pale-hair man.
Kevin sounded hysterical. “I did what you asked.”
My brain was trying to catch up, so I didn’t initially comprehend both Kevin’s comment and its implication.
“You did. I thought you fancied yourself in love with her and yet you set her up to save your own ass.”
Set me up? Fear hit then, so powerfully my legs went weak. Now I felt like the crazy one because it was me frantically looking around, seeking a means of escape.
“I’m sorry, Mia.” My gaze sliced to Kevin, a pinpoint of anger stirring to life as understanding finally settled. He had lured me here. “He was going to kill me.”
“I’m still going to kill you.”
In reaction to the pale-hair man’s horrifying statement, Kevin’s eyes bugged out of his head. This was really happening…my stomach pitched. Kevin moved backwards, the action looked unconsciously done; he didn’t get far when another man stepped up behind him.
“Let’s check out the basement, shall we?” Those were the last words I heard before a sharp pain erupted in my head and everything went black.
When I came to, it took me a minute before reality sank in. Jerking upright from my spot on the dirty cold floor, I looked around the small room. A bulb, probably no brighter than 25 watts, burned in the one fixture hanging from the ceiling. An odd, tinny smell assaulted me almost immediately and when I looked around the room, I noticed I wasn’t alone. There was someone else on the floor. Was that Kevin? Scurrying over to him on my hands and knees, I didn’t need to see him to know he was dead because the smell came from him.
A bright light nearly blinded me just as the door on the far side of the room opened. The pale-hair man stepped in, but my eyes had moved back to the body and the sight of Kevin, or what was left of him. His fingers had been cut off, all of them, and he'd been tortured. The bruising and hunks of flesh missing from his body had vomit surging up my throat so fast I barely turned in time before I hurled. I was way beyond fear, even terror. Was this how my dad had felt?
“Miss Donati. I did you a favor. Your friend wasn’t really much of one, was he?”
Not wishing to be anywhere near the man, I moved myself back into the far corner bracing myself for what was to come, but he stopped just inside the door. “Kevin was an arrogant prick.”
Pulling over the one chair in the room, he settled onto it and crossed his legs like a man looking to stay for a while. “So you’re Cole’s Mia.”
“You know Cole?” Even sick with fear, I wouldn’t give him anything on Cole.
“He worked for me for a time.”
Even though I knew that tidbit, I didn’t hide the horror knowing Cole had been in reaching distance of a killer. Pale-hair took my meaning as something else and I didn’t correct him.
“You find that repugnant? Well if it makes you feel any better, Cole did too. I imagine it must have been a shock getting the news about your father in the manner that Mr. Lowell chose to tell you. Didn’t you find it odd that he just dropped that on you?” Leaning forward a bit, he seemed to relish the panic he brought out in me. “Are you feeling speechless, Miss Donati? Fear can make some mute. Mr. Lowell dropped that news on you as he did because I wanted him to. I needed to know how much you knew about your dad and his dealings with Stein. Didn’t take much to get Kevin to do my bidding. For a man who fancied himself clever, he wasn’t very.”
My stomach roiled again because this man got off on the kill. Had he done the same to my dad?
“I wouldn’t have killed him for merely being an arrogant ass, but he attempted to blackmail me. Of all the nerve, he actually thought he could bring me to heel because of some dirt he’d dug up. He thought I’d fall in line like his other marks. That was his mistake.”
My entire body shook so violently I thought I might break something. As much as I wanted to see my dad again, I wasn’t ready to die.
“Are you going to kill me too?”
“That depends on you.”
My stomach seized, the urge to vomit almost had me doing so again.
“You’re a little overwrought, so I’ll hold the questions until later.”
Looking at the man who had killed Kevin, who was going to kill me, who had likely killed my dad, anger momentarily replaced fear. “Why did you kill my dad?”
His grin made my skin crawl. “A little spunk, I like that Mia. I didn’t kill Mace, I rather admired your father.”
I didn’t believe him at first, but then why the hell would he lie? He had me exactly where he wanted me and as soon as he got whatever he needed from me, he was going to kill me. He had no reason to lie. So if he hadn’t been the one to kill my dad, was it Stein?
“Did Stein?”
His laugh held no humor as he stood to go. “The man wouldn’t know which end of a gun to point.”
I was completely at a loss, because if it hadn’t been Stein or this man then who had killed my dad? Or had his accident really just been an accident?
I was thinking on that when he added, “In fact, I’m almost conflicted with the idea that I have to kill you. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
The door opened and another man stepped in, the same man who had been at Kevin’s.
“Take her upstairs.” Pale-hair issued that command as he walked to the door. His next words dripped with sarcasm. “I do hope you find your accommodations comfortable.”
The brute ordered to take me to my room, hauled me to my feet with a punishing grip to my upper arm that he didn’t release as he manhandled me out of the room and down a dark hallway. We hadn’t gone very far when he pushed me up against the wall and pressed in tight, rubbing himself against my ass. An icy numbness filled me, even as I tried to break free, but his hold was unyielding: trapping me and forcing me into submission. “Later, you and I are going to have some fun.”
Nausea soured my stomach feeling his warm breath on my cheek, sparking my anger even while sheer terror made my mouth go dry and my body weak. He released me, dragged me up the stairs, opened the door and shoved me in. “See you later.” I heard the click of the lock sliding into place.
It was only then that I gave in to the fear, sliding down the wall, my body shook violently as visions of Kevin filled my head along with the reality that it was likely I’d be meeting his same fate. There was just no stopping the tears.
One part of running a club that I really hated, the reason I needed to hire a full-time manager, the negotiations with the various vendors. Haggling and dealing annoyed me; just give me the shit for the same price you gave it to me last year. It didn’t work that way and so instead of being with Mia, I listened as a sour-face grunt recited to me why prices had gone up.
My phone buzzed; checking the screen I didn’t know the number, but I answered the call anyway because the kid droning on across the table from me was bringing on a headache. “Yeah.”
“Cole?”
I didn’t recognize the voice, but there was no denying the worry in her tone. “Yeah.”
“I'm sorry to bother you. I called Tickled Ivories and got your number from Claire. I’m Janie, Mia’s friend.”
Unease moved through me, Mia had texted that she and Janie were hanging out tonight. “Is Mia okay?”
“That’s why I’m calling. She texted me earlier saying she was taking a detour before meeting up with me, but that was three hours ago and she’s not answering her phone.”
My blood turned to ice. “Where was she going before meeting you?”
“This guy she knows asked her to stop by his place, which is weird because she can’t stand him. His name is Kevin Lowell.”
<
br /> My muscles turned rigid, that little fucker surfaced and his first move was to contact Mia. I wondered if that was the reason for Bruce's call earlier—to inform me that Kevin had been sighted. I hadn't taken the call, was busy getting my shit together for the meeting, so had told Claire to take a message. With news like that, he should have insisted I get on the phone; I was really kind of pissed he hadn't. Moving my thoughts from wringing Bruce's neck, I said to Janie, “I’m heading to Kevin’s. Why don’t you go to Mia’s. If she returns home, call me.”
“Okay.” Silence for a beat before she added, “You’ll bring her home?”
“Yeah, Janie, I’ll bring her home.”
“Thank you.”
Disconnecting the call, I stood and headed for the door. I didn’t think Mia was in danger, the danger would come when Mia acted on whatever information Kevin had shared. I didn't even look at the kid when I said, “We need to reschedule.”
I had only just reached my car, when my cell went off again. Seeing Terence’s number caused a fear in me I hadn’t felt since I was a kid. “What’s going on?”
“I’m giving you this courtesy, but I need you to keep it together.”
The hand that held my phone went numb; this call was very reminiscent of the one I’d received telling me Mace was dead. “It’s Mia.”
“Shit, I’m sorry; Mia isn’t here, but her purse, cell and car are. You need to come to Kevin’s. Cole, it’s not pretty.”
Disconnecting the call, I stood there unable to move. In that moment, the reality that Mia could be lost to me, that the only reason I climbed out of bed in the morning was gone…every bit of armor I had built up over the years was stripped away. I was that little boy looking for food; the harsh reality of the world I feared I now found myself was like that sharp slap across my cheek. I had closed off tears a long time ago, but as I stood there with the streetlight shining down on me, taunting me that the light that had always led me home had gone out, tears burned my eyes and streaked down my cheeks.
The moment passed, she wasn’t dead, she was still alive and fuck it all, I would tear this goddamn city apart to find her. Climbing into my car, I broke every law of the road to get to Kevin’s. Police cars lined the street and cops meandered around the front yard; Terence stood by the door waiting for me.
“You need to put on those booties. Touch nothing, but I need you to see something.”
The smell hit me first; the sight that followed was right out of a horror movie—a pool of blood on the cement floor, blood splatter on the walls. Knowing Donny as I did, I knew his handiwork.
“Donny.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I couldn’t exactly say what emotion ripped through me. So visceral I almost dropped to my knees at the thought of Mia being forced to watch a sadistic killer like Donny at work. And then my body went cold because Donny had Mia. That fucking animal had Mia. It came over me, like being blindsided by a wave; the rage I held under tight control struggled to get free. Donny was a dead man. I would hunt him down, going to hell and back if necessary, but he would die for this. I had just reached the stairs when Terence grabbed my arm. He read me like a book. “He won’t take her to his regular haunts, he knows you’ll be looking.”
“We can’t just fucking stand here. You know what he’s capable of and he has Mia.”
“I do, but running all over the city without a clue isn’t going to help her. We need to figure out where he took her.”
As much as it went against every instinct in me, leaving Mia at the mercy of that animal, Terence was right. “So what’s the plan?”
“We see if he left us any clues. We’ll find her, Cole.”
Yeah, but would we be too late like we were with Mace. I shut that shit down, she was out there and I’d find her, would give my life for hers.
“Why do you suppose he worked him down here?” Focusing on Terence’s question helped to keep me from losing my shit, but it was a hard won battle. Looking around, I noticed Kevin was having the room soundproofed.
“Soundproofing. Donny getting to work Kevin over in his own basement, his efforts muted, he probably got a whole new level of sick on for that and since he would need his tools, would need to prepare, he had likely been here before.” Kevin had unknowingly entertained the man who had likely killed him. And knowing what I did about Kevin, he’d probably bragged about his basement. The guy was a first-class loser, but no one deserved what Donny had done to him.
My phone buzzed and checking the number, it was Mia’s house.
Profound relief hit first until I remembered her car was still out front and her phone and purse were now in evidence.
“It’s Janie. I think you better get over here.”
Fear—sharp and vicious—slammed into me. Had Donny taken her home to do similarly to her? Was he making a statement? “Is Mia there?”
“No, but someone broke into her house.”
“I'm on my way.”
I was halfway up the stairs when Terence asked, “Where are you going?”
“Mace’s house.”
“I'm coming.”
When we arrived, Janie was on the front step. Her head lifted as soon as I reached her; tears were in her eyes.
“Her house is trashed.”
Moving past her, I stepped into the living room and trashed was an understatement. The place had been thoroughly ransacked. “Shit. Donny had a busy night. I'll call it in.” Terence was already radioing in the scene.
I wanted to tear the place apart myself, equal parts fury and fear fueling the need. Jesus, she was out there somewhere, terrified, alone and with a man she knew enough about to know he was ruthless. And here I stood, in her house, with my fucking dick in my hand because I hadn’t done what I had promised to do. Keep her protected. How the fuck did this happen again?
“Who would know if something was missing?” Terence’s question jarred me from my thoughts.
“Outside of Mia, Aunt Dee.”
“We need to call her.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You up for this?”
Terence’s question had my attention moving from my phone to him. “What do you mean?”
“Kevin resurfaces and now he’s probably dead and Mia is likely with Donny, so I’m asking are you going to be able to keep it together or am I going to have to make you step back.”
Make me? Fucking try it. “I’ve got it.”
“Seriously Cole. You go rogue, you'll fuck up this investigation and anything we get we can’t use. I know what she means to you, but you have got to keep a level head.”
Moving until I was toe to toe with him, I snarled, “Don’t worry about me.”
He said nothing, just studied me for a minute, before he said, “All right.”
When Aunt Dee arrived ten minutes later, she seemed confused and why not? I hadn’t had a conversation with her, really ever, so for me to call her out of the blue and ask her to come to her niece’s house—a house where the street had several cop cars parked—yeah, there was confusion and worry coming off her.
“Where’s Mia? Why are there cop cars here?”
Bruce had arrived and while Terence worked the scene, he took point with Aunt Dee. Knew he had because she didn’t just know him from Mace’s case, he’d been a friend to Mace, friends with all the Donatis.
“Bruce, what’s going on?”
“Mia’s not here, but her house has been tossed.”
“Tossed?” It took her a beat or two to process that. “Where’s Mia?”
“We aren’t sure.”
“What the hell does that mean, you aren’t sure?”
“Earlier this evening, Mia met with a man, Kevin Lowell.”
“Kevin, she hates Kevin. Why the hell would she meet Kevin? Is this about what he told Mia regarding Mace’s accident?”
“We aren’t sure, but Mia was supposed to meet up with Janie DeLuca, but she never showed and we’re unable to reach either Mia or Kevin. Janie cam
e here to wait for Mia and found her house trashed.”
“You think she’s in trouble.”
“Again, we’re not sure. It’s possible that she and Kevin are somewhere talking, completely unaware that anything has happened.”
That was bullshit. Kevin was likely dead and Mia too and just the thought of that nearly had me losing my shit. Beautiful and too trusting Mia was in the hands of a killer and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it. The only two people I gave a shit about and I had failed them both.
Aunt Dee’s eyes narrowed as suspicion replaced fear. The Donati family had more than their physical features in common. “You don’t believe that,” she said.
“I’m not sure what I believe, but I’m not going to jump to any conclusions. We’ve asked you here because we need you to walk through the house and see if you recognize anything missing.”
Suspicion still burned in her eyes but fear returned. She wanted to help Mia, was willing to do whatever was required of her to see her niece home safe and sound. The Donati family wasn’t a big family, but they were definitely a tight one and they had accepted me as one of them. Un-fucking-believable.
“Okay. I’ll look. You think whoever did this was looking for something specific?”
“Yes, and most likely something of Mace’s.”
Again her eyes narrowed. “I think there’s more to the story than you’ve shared.”
She reminded me very much of Mia in that moment.
“We’ll discuss that later.”
“Oh yes, we will Detective.” She called him detective, which meant she was pissed, before she started up the stairs but stopped and looked back at us. “If they’re looking for something of Mace’s, I still have several boxes from his office at the garage at my house.”
“Would you be okay with a team going through those boxes?” Bruce asked.
“If it will help with getting Mia home, absolutely.”
I made a solemn vow in that moment; when I got Mia back I was going to tell her exactly what she meant to me. She wasn’t just the light that led me home, she was my home.