Until I heard my cell phone buzzing on the bedside table.
“What now?” I grumbled.
I threw the covers off and sat up. The sun was out in a full-on spectacle, which meant I probably needed to get up anyway. I looked at my heels tossed onto the floor and my dress hanging over the edge of the bed. I looked over at the pillow and saw my day-old makeup strewn all over the white satin pillowcase. I reached for my buzzing phone and cleared my throat, but I didn’t check to see who was calling.
I really should have.
“Hello?” I asked.
“You’re in way over your head, Bon.”
I froze. “Pava?”
He chuckled. “What, I’m not even your uncle anymore?”
My back straightened. “Not after you tried to have me killed. Twice.”
“That’s the price of doing business. And you’ve been doing business on the wrong side of the fence.”
I rose to my feet. “I take it this is you calling me and telling me I have another chance to reconsider?”
“Oh, no. This isn’t that kind of phone call. You already had your chance, and even your cousin couldn't talk any sort of sense into you. This is another kind of phone call.”
“Are you about to set this penthouse on fire and go for round two? Because I’m pretty sure Israel’s upstairs.”
“You’re pretty sure? Are you sure you’re ‘pretty sure’? Even after the deal you two made?”
A shiver rushed up my spine. “What are you talking about?”
He chuckled. “You really shouldn't have gone and fucked with my businesses, Bonnie. I have ears and people in places you could never dream of, and I know more than you could ever want me to know.”
“Why are you doing this? Why the hell can’t you just leave us alone? Haven’t you killed enough people in your climb up the ranks? Weren’t my parents enough?”
The phone call fell silent before my uncle cleared his throat. “I see he’s really gotten his talons in you, then, if you really think I could kill my own brother.”
He’d tried to kill her. “All I want is the truth. All I want is for all of us to come out of this situation with what we want. Is that too much to ask?”
“In this lifestyle? Yes. I took you in, Bonnie. I raised you after losing my own damn brother, the only shred of family I had left in this world. Every time I looked at you, I saw him. You have his eyes, Bonnie. His wide, sparkling, telling eyes. And every time I looked at you when you were a child, it hurt me all over again. I relived that night all over again. Time after time. And yet, I still took you in. I still fed you, clothed you.”
“Groomed me to be a killer before you tried to kill me too.”
“Wow. He’s really gotten inside your head.”
“This is all me, uncle. You want me, not Israel. And if I have to keep chiseling away at what you love more than anything on this planet, I will. Is that clear?”
He snickered. “Have you even figured out what you want in all of this?”
I blinked. “What?”
“What’s your end goal, Bonnie? Hm? What do you get out of all this?”
I slowly sat back down. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Let me take a guess. You either don’t know what you want at all because you’ve been blindsided by Israel, or that’s what you want at the end of all this. Israel. And judging by the conversation you had with my daughter—”
“My cousin, you mean. Because you sure as hell don’t—”
“I’d watch what you say next, Bonnie. Look down at your chest.”
My eyes slowly lowered, and I saw not one, not two, but three different red dots.
All of them, dancing around my heart.
“What are you doing?” I glowered.
“I know you’ve fallen in love with the man. I know you’re fighting this war on his side so you can get him to fall in love with you. I know you two have a deal that you go nowhere without one another, yet Israel leaves all the time with you left behind. I know where you are, Bonnie. I know how your mind works. I know weaknesses you don’t even know you have yet. So, listen closely before we cut this call. Are you listening?”
“Actually, no. I’m not.”
I shot up from the bed and lunged into the bathroom. I hung up the phone call and crawled my way into the stone shower, then curled up into a ball. I expected to hear gunfire piercing through the walls. I expected hollow-point bullets to start battering the outer limits of this penthouse. I waited on bated breath for the pain to swallow me whole. But at least I could do knowing I stuck it to my uncle the only way I knew how to at the time.
Except, absolutely none of that happened.
“Hello?” I asked.
I slowly lifted my head and let my hands fall to the ground.
“Hello?” I asked again.
I stood to my feet and inched my way out of the stone shower. I got down onto my hands and knees and avoided all the windows as I crawled out of the bedroom. The second I made it into the hallway, I scrambled to my feet. I rushed up the stairs and made a break for Israel’s room, my heart pumping wildly in my chest.
“Israel! Are you in here!?”
I threw his bedroom door open and looked around, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Israel!” I exclaimed.
My cell phone started vibrating again, and I knew exactly who it was this time.
“What do you want?” I hissed as I answered the phone.
“You know, he really enjoys his grapes, doesn't he?” my uncle asked.
The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. “If you hurt one hair on that man’s head—”
“Oh, he’s fine. Just doing a bit of grocery shopping. Though, I’m curious to know why he didn’t wake you up and take you with him. That is your agreement, right?”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to walk away and leave my businesses alone. The three you’ve converted are already talking, and it’s cost me two more businesses I worked very hard to obtain. Now, I’ve decided to excuse those two businesses because it’s not like they made me any money. So, Israel I said ‘good luck’ with those. But Bonnie?”
“What?”
“If you leave the rest of my businesses alone, I’ll call off the hit on you.”
A way out. “So, you do have a hit out on me right now.”
“You call this war off, and I’ll call the hit off.”
“Israel, too.”
“Can’t do that one. He’s direct competition. It’s just business, though. I’m sure you understand since you’re grown enough to rob the hands that fed you.”
I shook with fury. “Then, you can shove your hit where the sun doesn’t shine. If you don’t lay off Israel, then I don’t give a shit what you do. Because you’re going down, either way.”
He sighed. “I really wish you wouldn't have said that.”
He hung up, and I dropped the phone to the floor. I pressed my back against the hallway and slid down, allowing tears of fear and anger and frustration to trail down my cheeks. I let them drip down my neck as I clutched my phone, trying to still my quaking body.
But now, I was painfully aware of just how many windows this damn place had.
You have to call him. You have to call Israel.
“And say what, though?”
Tell him what happened. Tell him about the snipers.
“Is he really going to believe me, though? I can’t even get the man to sleep with me, much less trust me.”
What’s it going to look like if you don’t try, though?
“I don’t know. Like I was secretly working with my uncle all along? He already believes that, right?”
You never know until you call.
I looked down at my phone and sighed. I needed to know if my uncle was bluffing. I needed to know if he actually had sights on Israel or not. So, I picked up the phone and dialed his number.
And when I heard him munching on something, my stom
ach dropped.
“What is it?” Israel asked.
“Are you eating grapes by any chance?”
He paused. “Yes…? Why?”
“And you’re in a grocery store right now?”
I heard his cart crash into something. “I’m leaving now. When I get home, you’re going to tell me how you know this. Got it?”
“My uncle called.”
“Not on the phone. When I get home. I’ll have the groceries delivered.”
“He had snipers—”
“When. I get. Home. Stay put. Stay away from the windows. I’m heading back now.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
I heard a car door open. “I’ll be home soon. Stay in the hallway upstairs. Okay?”
“I’m already here.”
“Good girl. ETA is five.”
Then, he hung up the phone. Leaving me to cry by myself as I curled my knees to my chest. When the hell did everything get so fucked?
17
Israel
“Where are you going?”
Bonnie’s voice fluttered from the stairs as I slid my arms into my coat.
“Out,” I said, rage fueling my every move.
“Let me grab my purse and I’ll—”
“Alone.”
Silence filled the room. “I thought the deal was to go wherever one another went. Especially after what happened yesterday.”
I fluffed the collar of my coat. “That’s why I need to go alone. I know they’re waiting for you to leave this penthouse before those snipers appear again. They know we know they’re watching. The best thing we can do is conduct business as usual.”
“Which is, apparently, not keeping our word.”
I turned to face her. “You started that trend when you decided to go against your uncle’s wishes and not kill me. This entire relationship is built on us not keeping our words. Why would this shock you now?”
The hard truth of his words widened my eyes. “I’m not shocked, Israel. I’m just hurt.”
Her words cut deep. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“I just want things to be different. I want us to be a team.”
I reached for my scarf. “Then give me room to make that happen.”
“It doesn’t feel like you’re making anything happen.”
“Says the woman who’s got a hit out on her head but isn’t dead yet.”
She sighed. “Israel, that’s not—”
“I have to go. I’ll bring home dinner. Five o’clock sharp. If I’m not back? You know who to call.”
“I do. Yeah.”
I pressed the button for the elevator. “Wonderful. Try to get some rest today. I know you must be frazzled still.”
“You think me weak when I’m anything but.”
I stepped into the elevator, then turned to face her. “You’re the strongest woman I know, Bonnie. But even the strongest have their weak points.”
The doors closed between us, and I focused on the task at hand. I had to get to the police station. I had an appointment with the chief of the department, Wiles Anderson, and we had much to discuss. Hell of a name for the chief of police, but I suppose it suited him well enough.
I wanted to speak with him about Bonnie’s family.
My security guard at the bottom of the elevator nodded as I stepped out. “Afternoon, sir.”
Another guard followed me to the front lobby door. “Let me get the door.”
And yet another one spoke into his wrist as I opened my town car door and slipped inside. “Bossman’s in the car. One scheduled destination.”
The security men talked around me as I slid into the back of my town car. I motioned for my driver to leave, then rattled off where we were headed. I slid my scarf off and gazed out the window, searching the rooftops for any glint of sunlight that didn’t belong. Once we pulled up to the police station, I focused on what I needed to do.
“Can I help you?” the plump man at the desk asked.
I gave him a professional smile. “I’m here to speak with Chief Anderson.”
A voice sounded behind me. “Follow me, Mr. Rossi.”
I turned around and found a worn, aged man standing behind me. He looked me right in my eyes before he turned around, motioning with his hand to follow me. I nodded at the officer behind the desk before I followed the trench-coated man, who still hadn’t slid his sunglasses off even though we were inside.
However, once we got into his office, he took them off. And the black eyes told me everything I needed to know about him.
“Rough night?” I asked.
He eased himself into his office chair. “Always, when you’re on duty. What can I help you with, Mr. Rossi? You seemed pretty urgent to take up my time.”
I slid the folder out of my coat and set it on his desk. “I’d like you to reopen this case.”
He flipped the folder open with a frown. “Ah, I remember that night.”
“Seems everyone does.”
He peered up at me. “You want me to reopen the Moretti case. Why?”
“Because I can promise you I can find evidence that will make it worth your while.”
“Evidence you don’t have now.”
“Evidence I don’t have proof of yet.”
He nodded slowly. “So, you’re telling me this wasn’t a drunken car crash.”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“What does your information say it is?”
“If you’re the right person for the job, you already know. I’m hoping you are, though, Chief Anderson.”
He sighed. “I had my best men on this case. They would’ve known if it was murder.”
“And you know Pava Moretti’s got more hands in this police department than I do. I’m asking you to work with me. I’m not asking you to flip and become some bad guy.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did Moretti get into this game?”
So, maybe he wasn’t the right guy. “When I figured out he was the one who killed Bonnie’s parents.”
“Ah, that was her name. Bonnie.”
I nodded. “This wasn’t a car crash. This was planned. Pre-meditated. And I’ll pay whatever it is you need to put your best men on this that aren’t dirty.”
He stood. “None of my men are dirty. I want you to hear that right now. This department went to great lengths—”
I waved my hand in the air. “Cops in this city will always be dirty so long as there are men like Pava Moretti out on the street. Again, I’m not asking anyone to turn. I’m asking that your overtime be paid by me in exchange for your best clean men to reopen this case and give it another look.”
He glared at me. “Overtime?”
“Yep.”
“For all of my men that touch this.”
“All of them.”
“And we don’t owe you anything?”
I shrugged. “All you’ll owe me is the actual verdict, and whoever it is that staged this to look like an accident.”
He nodded slowly. “And if someone who staged the accident is one of my men?”
“Then, I guess your department isn’t as ‘dirty cop free’ as you think.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right. Yes. Okay. I’ll re-open the case.”
I nodded. “Wonderful. All of my contact information is at the back of that folder. I want to be kept up to date as quickly as you have new information. Understood?”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
I stood to my feet. “And Chief?”
“Yeah?”
“I want this done right. The woman who’s paying for this is a good woman. I want to give her closure.”
“You have my word she’ll get it.”
I turned toward his office door. “I sincerely hope you’re right.”
I made my way out into the hallway and headed back for the front doors of the precinct. Even though the officer behind the plexiglass stared at me from the front desk as if I’d grown a fourth head, I nodded my app
reciation to him anyway. No use in coming off like a dick since we had enough of those in town. However, the second I walked to my town car, I saw a very familiar figure leaning against it.
And the sight of Pava made me sick.
He grinned. “Israel. Fancy meeting you here.”
I swallowed down the urge to put a bullet in his head as I approached. “Pava. I didn’t realize we were on a first-name basis.”
He chuckled. “Cute.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Did you come here with a threat? Or a punch? Or more snipers? Because it really is growing old, and I have a date to keep.”
“Just came here with a warning, that’s all.”
I opened the door of my car. “Then, spit it out so I can go on about my business.”
He stared me down. “You keep that woman of yours in check. You hear me?”
I smirked. “You mean, the woman you raised and claimed to love? That woman?”
He growled. “Keep her in her place, or war is coming. A war unlike anything your family has ever seen.”
I looked over at him, leveling him with a heated stare. “War was inevitable after what you did. After what you’ve already done. And I promise you; you will pay heavily for it. You and your family.”
He snorted. “Are you really still upset over the fact that you married Bonnie and not my daughter? Are we really stuck on that?”
“It’s cute you think I’m even mentioning that in the first place.”
His face fell. “Well, if you don’t want to keep her on a leash, then why don’t I extend the idea of a peace offering?”
“In exchange for…?”
“Two hours alone with Bonnie.”
What is wrong with this man? “You’re delusional.”
I tried to get into my car, but h slammed the door closed before I could. “You listen to me and you listen good. Whatever I want I get. That’s how it’s always worked. Bonnie’s been a thorn in my side ever since you fucked with her mind and made her jump ship. I don’t know what you did and I don’t know what you said, but I’m telling you right now. If you don’t hand her back over to me—”
Mob Princess: An Arranged Dark Mafia Romance (Cruel King Book 2) Page 11
