“Israel, it’s a trap,” Bonnie yelled.
I heard a resounding crack over the phone, and the beast within me finally rattled free. “You’re going to die for that. I’m going to hang you from the beams of your own fucking ceiling.”
Pava sighed. “You’ve got four hours to transfer the two million dollars—”
“One million.”
“Consider it interest. You’ve got four hours to transfer the two—”
“One and a half.”
He chuckled. “Now, it’s three.”
Bonnie started crying. “Just leave me, Israel. Go be happy.”
Pava chuckled. “Four, because she just won’t shut up.”
I wasn’t paying him a dime. “Four million. Got it.”
“Good boy. I want you to transfer it into the account I’m sending you. And if it’s not done within the next four hours, I’ll start sending the pieces of her you haven’t paid for yet straight to your doorstep. Understood?”
“Stop this, Pava,” Bonnie screamed. “Cut it out! Leave him alone!”
And then, yet another resounding crack sounded on the other side.
Your entire family is dead.
“I’ll be waiting,” Pava taunted and then hung up.
“Fuck,” I roared.
I threw my phone to the ground and slammed my fists against the leather seat I sat on. I felt torn as if two sides of me were trying to rip me apart. On the one hand, my family never indulged in ransoms like this. We didn’t negotiate, we didn’t shovel out money for shit like this, and we sure as hell never showed how much it got to us. But this was Bonnie. This was the woman I had fallen in love with, whether I wanted to say it out loud or not.
And I couldn't let this happen to her.
“Sir?” my driver asked.
I held up my hand. “Just give me a second.”
“We’re five minutes out, sir. Are you sure you still want to go there?”
And for once in my life, I didn't know what to do.
I actually didn’t know where to step next.
27
Bonnie
I already felt ashamed about breaking down and crying. But now, I was locked up in my uncle’s basement. My only saving grace right now was the fact that he hadn’t tied me up. I felt it coming, though. Especially with the threat my uncle made to Israel.
I’m a dead woman.
I heard the basement door open and I froze. I straightened my back and made myself look as strong as possible, even though I felt weak and tired on the inside. I just wanted this nightmare to end, whether or not Israel came for me. Whether it ended in my happiness or my death, I just wanted this shit scenario to be done.
I wish you were here, Daddy.
“Well! I’ve got good news,” Pava said.
I nodded. “And?”
He grinned. “Israel’s going to be paying for you after all.”
Relief and horror flooded my system. “Great. Wonderful. Now, when the hell do I get to leave?”
He chuckled. “Who said anything about you leaving?”
I blinked. “But you said—?”
“You know, I honestly didn’t think he’d pay for you. Not after all of the heartache you caused him. I guess the man really does like you, which I can use to my advantage.”
“If you harm one hair on that man’s head, I swear to you I’ll—”
He waved his hand in the air. “Cute, but not necessary. You've caused all of us enough heartache. First, you destroy my plan. Then, you flip sides. Then, you try to sweep my businesses out from underneath me. You really think I’m going to let you go after all of that? Alive?”
My stomach hit the floor. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”
“Of course. It’s what any man in my situation would do. You really should have reminded yourself who your actual family is.”
I snarled. “The only family I’ve got you took from me. I know you killed them, Pava. I know you killed my parents!”
He nodded. “Well, then it sounds like I have more reason to kill you then.”
I teetered on my feet. My God, did my uncle really just admit to killing my parents? I felt sick to my stomach. I mean, Israel paying for me instead of abandoning me was a shock in and of itself. But this? “I’m going to be sick,” I murmured.
Pava shook his head and raised his eyebrows as if unimpressed. “You’ll be kept in one piece long enough for the money to clear. But once I have it? You die. And let it be a lesson to anyone who comes after you: I’m not to be fucked with.”
My back fell against the wall. “You killed them. I—I can’t believe you—”
“Anyway, one of the kitchen hands will be bringing you some food. Your aunt is insistent that we at least feed you, the insane woman. Not like you’re going to need meat on your bones.”
I blinked. “She knows I’m down here?”
He nodded. “Of course, she does. She always knows when I’m entertaining work down here. You would’ve done well to take some pointers from her. Because sometimes, business is nothing but business.”
“Was killing my parents business?”
He shrugged. “Of course.”
I charged him. “I’m going to kill you myself!”
His hand snaked out, wrapped around my neck, stopping me in my tracks. “Your time is ticking down, Bonnie. And rightfully so. I’ll be glad to be done with the collateral damage you’ve become in my life once I have my money because the truth of the matter is, you should have died with them. You should have died with them that night instead of staying behind at the last minute with some kind of babysitter. But you won’t be my worry in a few hours. You won’t be anyone’s worry once I’ve got my money.”
He tossed me to the floor, and I cried into my arm. I tried to keep it as silent as I could, but I couldn't help it. Everything bubbled over, and the truth had finally been set free. Pava had not only killed my family, but he had every intention of killing me too.
My time was ticking down. And I wanted nothing more than a future with Israel.
I wanted to live the full life my parents never got. I wanted to indulge in my love of Israel every day for the rest of my life. I wanted all of the things my uncle ripped blindly away from my family because of some selfish need for more money. But as I laid there crying, a voice sounded in my head.
You won’t get what you want by being weak.
“I’ll see you in a few hours, Bonnie,” my uncle called as he left. “I can’t wait for our party to start.” He slammed the basement door behind him.
I pushed myself up from the floor. “All right, Bonnie. Time to get crafty.”
If I was going to get my ass out of this mess, I had to be cunning. I had to play this smarter, not harder. I wiped the tears away from my face and stood, searching for any sort of weapon. A gun, or a knife, or a crowbar for crying out loud. Anything I could use to defend myself.
I found a broken piece of glass on the floor and drew in a deep breath. “All right. Now what?”
The basement door opened. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m taking it down to her now. Tell the old man to shut his trap.”
I slid the piece of glass into my bra as the guard walked down the stairs with a tray of food. The only light I was afforded was a small bulb that kept flickering with every step the behemoth guard took. And as he rounded the corner to face me, a quick plan formed in my mind.
So, I dropped to the floor and acted like I’d fainted.
“Shit.” the guard froze.
I groaned as I closed my eyes then swallowed hard.
“Shit.” He stood beside me. “Are you sick or somethin’?” He pressed his toe into my stomach.
I faked a heave. “Fuck,” I moaned.
“Uh, you good?” the guard asked.
“Pava. He—”
I held my head and faked another heave before I forced myself to dry-retch.
“Holy shit!” the man exclaimed.
“Con—concuss—”
I
heaved again and managed to spit up a bit on the man’s shoe.
“Oh, fuck me. The damn man hit you too hard in the fucking head.”
I gagged. “The food. I—I— can’t. I’m sorry.”
He bent down. “Damn it. Come here. I gotta check your eyes and shit. Can you sit up?”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know. I don’t—I don’t think—”
“Here. Let me help.” The man picked me up.
I groaned in pain. Well, fake pain. And while he was distracted, I pulled the massive piece of glass from my bra. I hid it in my palm as he sat me down in a chair in the corner. And almost immediately, he began doing things like checking my eye function and tilting my head from side to side.
“You got some nasty bruises on your eyes. I don’t see any on your head, though.”
I heaved again. “My neck. It—it hurts.” I held the piece of glass at the ready while another plan formed in my mind.
“Here. Let me take a look. Moretti’s gonna shit himself if I don’t check you out before going back up there.”
As he rounded around to my left, I grinned. I slid my hand down and found the butt of his gun before slipping it silently from its holster. I slid it under my shirt as he moved my head forward. I felt his fingertips dancing around, moving my hair out of the way.
“I don’t see any bruising back here, either,” he said.
And as I smiled to myself, I clutched both of my weapons in my hands.
“I don’t know what it is, but I—I—”
I leaned forward to fake another retch, and the man quickly backed up. I knew I didn’t have long before I had to act, so I made sure the gun was cocked. With the glass in my left hand and the gun in my right, I readied myself for action.
The guard walked back around to my front.
28
Israel
“May I make a suggestion, sir?”
My driver’s voice pulled me from my trance. “I suppose that depends on the suggestion.”
He pulled over before turning around to face me. “You’ve been very good to my family and me for the two decades I’ve worked with your family. And it was very generous of you to take me on full-time when you assumed the role your father previously held.”
I hoped he was getting to a point soon. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“But you know Pava Moretti is going to kill that girl one way or the other.”
My gaze hardened.
“I’ve been privy to a lot of stuff over these years, and one thing I’ve noticed is that your family really likes their recording devices. Your father always carried one around, and now it seems your brother’s done the same.”
“And?”
“Why don’t you carry one around, too?”
I blinked. “What is your name again?”
“Gary Conrad, sir.”
I patted his shoulder. “Gary Conrad, you’re a fucking genius.”
He chuckled. “I take it we need an electronics store?”
“Yes. Pronto. Then, we’re heading back to Pava’s.”
After riding across town to snag myself a top-of-the-line camouflaged recording device that could fit in the breast pocket of my suit, we headed back for the Moretti estate. And as we drove around, I nailed down the last seeds of a plan forming in my mind. All I needed to do was save Bonnie and work Pava up enough to get him to admit everything he’d done. From kidnapping to trying to have us killed, to working with my family in order to separate Bonnie and myself because if I could get it all on record, I knew I could use it to bring Pava down.
As well as be used in the murder case I’d had the chief re-open.
My cell phone rang as I leaned back against the seat. Fifteen minutes and counting before we got to Pava’s place. And then the real war began. I checked the gun on my hip before pulling out another gun from beneath my seat. I pulled the two knives I kept in the car out of the storage pocket in the back door and slid them into my pockets. I checked to make sure the recorder was functioning before I pulled out my cell phone.
I grimaced when I saw it was my brother calling. “What the fuck do you want?”
He coughed. “An explanation.”
“I don’t owe you one.”
“Why the hell are you willing to throw everything away for some woman who tried to kill you?”
Why was everyone asking the same question? It was like it came from the same source. “If you really think this is just about Bonnie, then you’re as thick-headed as Dad.”
“I’m serious. I don’t get it. What does she provide for you?”
“Well, brother mine, an empire can’t be run without an empress.”
He snickered. “So, you really do love this bitch.”
I growled. “Call her that one more time, and I’ll add your body to the count.”
“I know you, Iz. You don’t love that woman. I’ve seen you in love. I watched you with Alice. And I saw how much it crushed you when she didn’t accept your proposal.”
“Alice lied about her name, who she was, and where she came from. Just like Bonnie did. But unlike Alice, Bonnie stuck around. She didn’t leave when I found out her secret. When she was backed into a corner, she didn’t cut her losses and run. She stayed and fought beside me. She explained her position, and I did my best to understand because that’s what you have to do in a partnership, Giovanni. Which is something I wouldn’t expect you to understand because you’ve never looked out for anyone but yourself.”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“And as for loving Bonnie? No, I might not love her fully. What I feel might simply be infatuation because of the amazing sex. But you know what? She’s been working with our family to empower it. To empower me. To grow this empire while you and Dad conspire to manipulate me any way you can.”
“Iz, listen to yourself. Do you eve hear what you’re saying?”
I smiled. “I do, Gio. I do hear myself. But here’s the kicker: no one cares about what she’s done for this family and for this empire and for me, of all people, because she made one mistake. A mistake she didn’t even follow through with, mind you. And I won’t make that mistake twice.”
“What mistake, Israel!?”
I snickered. “Are you listening, Gio? Because it almost seems to me that if it’s not about you, then you don’t listen.”
“Iz, don’t you hang up on me. Iz, just tell me where you are right now. Let me come find you so we can—”
“Gotta go, Gio. Good luck on the other side of this thing.”
And as we pulled up to Pava Moretti’s home, I hung up my cell phone before removing the battery from the back.
29
Bonnie
The cold metal against the palm of my hand fit in well with the landscape around me.
Cold, barren walls of dark gray and black trim. Crimson red furniture with a roaring fire to remind them of their powerful color. High-backed chairs fit for kings and queens, chairs I grew up watching my aunt and my uncle sit in. My uncle, with his legs spread and a grin on his face, my aunt, with her leg crossed over her knee and her lips pursed.
I had spent so many nights of my own childhood creeping into this room just to figure out why they loved it so much. Why they loved spending their nights sipping cocktails and laughing with one another in a room that held nothing but a fireplace. I understood it now, though. I understood this room, and why it existed, and why the people who raised me loved it so much.
The black canvases of thick fabric hung on the walls like expensive pieces of art. They dotted the landscape around me, covering the four walls of the room in as much sound absorption as possible, so no one could hear the screams of Pava’s interrogation victims. The hardwood floors were a beautiful cherry mahogany, in case blood seeped between the fibers and laid waste to its home. That way, the beautiful cherry mahogany detracted from the small pieces of crust that had a tendency to flake out from between the individual wooden slats.
This was Pa
va’s interrogation room. A place where so many men had seen death. A place where he and my aunt not only sought entertainment, but solace. This was a room that knew many ghosts. That had ushered many souls over to the other side at the hands of my own uncle. And as I stood there, with the barrel of the guard’s gun pressed against his temple, only one thought rushed through my mind.
You’ll join your ghosts tonight.
“Well, what an interesting turn of events,” Pava said.
I pressed the barrel of my stolen gun harder against his temple.
“You’ll never have the strength to pull it, you know.”
My aunt hissed. “Stop taunting her. I’ve told you this girl has always been stronger than you give her credit for.”
I grinned. “Hear that, uncle? Strong.”
He chuckled. “It’s cute that you think she’s telling the truth. The psychological game, remember? It’s always being played even if you think it isn’t. And even if you did pull that trigger, Bonnie, you won’t inspire anyone to rally behind her. Everyone I know and love—and employ—will gun for you until you’re as dead as your parents.”
I hadn’t thought to rally anyone behind my aunt. “Mention them one more time and see what happens.”
He sighed dramatically. “Empty threats. What have I always told you about them? Besides, who’s going to look on in favor at the orphan who killed the only remaining family she had left? Who in the world would want to support you after that? If anything, you’ll look crazy, and there will be a bounty so high on your head civilians themselves would come out of the woodworks to put you down. No, no, Bonnie. If you kill us right now? You’ll be on the run for the rest of your life. You think Israel will want you then? Hmm?”
The truth of the matter was I still didn’t want to kill my uncle. It had been surprisingly easy to subdue that guard and get up the stairs. It had been even easier to find my aunt and uncle. In the back of my mind, I knew this was all a set-up. But I couldn't stop the anger, the part of me who wanted to see this man’s brains scattered at his own fucking feet even though I couldn’t pull that trigger. “All I want is to live my life free of your threat. Why can’t you give that to me?”
Mob Princess: An Arranged Dark Mafia Romance (Cruel King Book 2) Page 15
