Mafia Secret

by Angie Derek

  His eyes narrowed. "What gave me away? I heard you in the game room. You couldn't identify the voice."

  Crap, where was everyone? If she screamed would anyone hear her? The closed door was heavy and probably held sound in the room. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "You had no idea it was me while we talked in the dining room, even when I mentioned your abduction. No light bulb moment. You were totally unaware until after I took the phone call from my daughter."

  She didn't see the point of denying it anymore. He was a large man. Older, but she had a feeling he could move fast. She needed to keep him talking until help arrived. "Your accent's fake."

  "Not really. It comes and goes as I choose, and sometimes when I don't." Ryan shook his head in regret. "This is unfortunate."

  Without a sound, he lunged for her. She tried to dart around him, but he snagged her arm and yanked her back against his chest. When she drew in air to scream, he wrapped his arm across her throat Lessa clawed at his arm as it tightened, trying to kick back against his shins. Her sandals were little defense, and she quickly lost one as she struggled for air. The books on the walls blurred. Everything went dark.

  Lessa became aware of her body as she was bumped and bounced, jostled around like a dozen loose eggs on a moving conveyor belt. Her throat burned, and she gingerly swallowed as she opened her eyes. Her memory wasn't fuzzy. Fear gripped her. The scenery went by the window of the careening vehicle Ryan had tossed her into. She was in one of the winery's Jeeps and, judging by the vines rushing past, was still in the vineyard.

  A seatbelt held her firmly in her seat, and from the corner of her eye she could see Ryan in the driver's seat. He gripped the steering wheel and stared out the windshield.

  Without slowing down, he drove the jeep down one shallow side of a drainage ditch and up the other. The jeep luched, causing Lessa to bounce and the seatbelt to press painfully into her stomach. She let her hand drop toward the door handle behind her thigh.

  "I was hoping you wouldn't wake up," Ryan said with regret.

  "What are you doing?" Lessa whispered, inching her hand downward.

  "You're a smart girl, I'd think it would be clear to you. I'm going to have to kill you. You see, it's either you or me."

  "I don't understand. Why kidnap me in the first place? I don't even know you. It doesn't…"

  "It doesn't what? Make sense? Everything makes sense with the correct information."

  Lessa turned her head more fully to face Ryan as her fingers finally touched the cool metal of the door handle. "You killed Jiovanni."

  "Well, you're just full of surprises."

  "It's Marc's theory."

  Ryan's jaw clenched. "I knew he was getting too close for comfort."

  "So, he was right. You had me kidnapped to get him off your trail."

  "Fuck." He pounded the steering wheel, his accent completely gone. "That boy is too smart. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

  She braced herself against the back of the seat as he hit another rut without so much as letting up on the accelerator. "But why? Why would you kill Jiovanni? He trusted you. The whole family trusts you. Weren't you friends?"

  The way Ryan had moved around the house and directed her siblings showed he'd been with them a long time.

  He laughed bitterly as he jerked the wheel onto another dirt path, getting farther and farther away from the house. "Jiovanni was no one's friend. A friend wouldn't seduce your teenage daughter and get her pregnant."

  "Opal." She remembered the pretty girl crying at the funeral. "She doesn't have the flu."

  "I left her here all the time, never once considering that my philandering employer would set his sights on my daughter. He was like an uncle to her. Yet, he still couldn't help himself once she became a woman. She's all I have left, and I will protect her."

  "But to kill him?"

  "He touched her! There was no going back once she told me what he'd done."

  Lessa flinched at his rage-filled voice and began to drop her other hand slowly toward the seatbelt latch. It was hard to do while the Jeep bounced and bumped. What she wanted to do was grab the ceiling and hold on for dear life. She was pretty sure they were still in the Tazio vineyard. There had to be workers around somewhere.

  "You've made my life very difficult." His voice was emotionless again.

  The injustice of it all hit her. She'd done nothing but was blamed for everything. "It was you, not me, who had me kidnapped."

  He frowned. "If I'd hired more intelligent men who didn't talk on speaker phones none of this would be necessary."

  "Marc would have figured out it was you, anyway."

  "True enough." Ryan shrugged. "Life never goes how we plan, does it?"

  He slowed the Jeep for a large drainage ditch and Lessa told herself it was now or never. She hit the seatbelt release and pulled on the door handle at the same time. Throwing her weight against the door, she dove out the opening.

  Ryan let go of the wheel as he reached over to grab her. His fingers tugged on the back of her shirt, but her body weight yanked it out of his grasp, and she tumbled headfirst toward the ground. She covered her head with her arms and tried to roll.

  Even with the preparation, the impact knocked the air out of her so hard she began to hyperventilate. She struggled onto her hands and knees, shoved herself to her feet and tried to take in at least one lungful of air.

  The Jeep veered and crashed into the irrigation ditch. The sound of it stopping sent terror lancing through her. She ducked under a vine and bolted. She could just make out the roof of a building at the top of the hill. Was that the direction of the house? Setting that as her goal, she ran like the dogs of hell were on her heels.

  Her bare heels. She cursed under her breath as a sharp rock slit her sole. Where were her shoes? Not that they would have been any easier to run in. Her breathing became more labored. Her calves burned. She scrambled up the path between the vines, ducking every couple of steps under another vine. The roof was getting closer, and she could see the hipped roof and a cupola with a rooster weathervane. It wasn't the right color to be the stable. Was it on top of the hill Marc had taken her to?

  Ryan swore loudly behind her. He was gaining. Sheer willpower made her move even faster as she finally ducked under the last vine and bolted across thirty yards of open meadow to the barn. There was no one in sight, and she nearly cried when she reached it and realized the glint she'd seen in the distance was from the swimming pool beside the main house. There was no way she could run that far, and no one would hear her scream. She rounded the barn and yanked at the door on the side facing the mansion.

  It gave with a creak and she pulled it shut behind her, taking just a moment to look around. The dark interior didn't reveal much. Several large pieces of machinery sat on the open floor. Her first thought was to hide in one, but she discarded the idea when she saw the loft above and the ladder leading up to it at the far left against the wall.

  She darted for it and climbed, focusing on each rung and not the pain in her arms and legs. Just as she stepped into the loft, she heard the door bang open beneath her. Ducking down, she peered around, looking for a safe place to hide and a weapon in case he found her. It took all her self-control not to peek down to see where he was.

  The ladder creaked below, and Lessa knew she had to hide. Bags of fertilizer were stacked in piles across the front of the loft, so she crept as quietly across the wooden floor as her trembling legs allowed. When she reached a stack high enough to hide her, she got on all fours and, biting her lip, focused on slowing her breathing and clearing her head.

  "There's nowhere to go, Alessandra," Ryan called out. "You might as well give up, and I'll make it as painless as possible."

  Yeah, right. She rocked silently onto her toes and crouched behind the pile of fertilizer, grimacing at the pain from the cut on her foot. Her only chance was to slip by him when he moved toward the back of the loft. She just had to make it to the ladder and
down without him seeing her. Yeah, right. If she only had a weapon . . . but besides the large bags of feed there was nothing on the floor. She'd have to be resourceful.

  "This is pointless," Ryan said. "You can't hide up here indefinitely."

  The floor creaked as he moved away from the ladder and began to walk among the piles of fertilizer bags. Lessa tried to pinpoint his exact location by the sounds of his footfalls, but it was difficult.

  She rocked back and forth, teetering in her precarious position. Should she go down to her knees and crawl, or stay on her toes so she could sprint if necessary?

  "Where do you think you're going to go? The whole vineyard is locked down due to your disappearance. They know it was someone on the inside, so they've scaled everything back to have as few people in contact and on the property as possible. No one is out here. That's why I headed this way. I might not be able to get you off the estate, but I don't need to in order to take care of you. There are plenty of places to stash a body here where no one will find it for a very long time."

  Lessa tuned his voice out as she snuck around a stack of fertilizer bags. He sounded closer. She darted for the ladder and he stepped right in her path. But it was the big black gun pointed at her midsection that halted her forward rush.

  "I told you there was no escape."

  The ladder creaked. Lessa quickly moved around a pile of bags, putting some distance between them as Ryan looked over his shoulder at the ladder. Hiding the gun behind his back, he shot her a warning look.

  Relief cascaded through her when Marc's head popped up above the loft's floor. She watched him scale the ladder with one hand because he held a deadly-looking gun in the other. He pointed it straight at Ryan.

  "Marc." Ryan feigned surprise. "I thought you were bringing the witness in."

  "He wouldn't be any safer than Lessa, would he?" Marc stepped onto the loft.

  "What do you mean?"

  She could see Ryan's hand flex on the gun as his grip tightened.

  Marc shook his head. "Your game is up. I heard you talking."

  "He has a gun," she warned.

  Ryan pulled his gun around to point it at Marc. "Alessandra's a threat to the family." Marc's battle mask was in place. "No, Lessa's a part of the family. The only threat here is you." His eyes flicked briefly to where she stood, and offered his free hand. "Come here."

  Lessa shot a nervous look at Ryan and his gun, but slowly stepped away from the wall. Ryan was closer to Marc and the ladder than she was, which meant she'd have to come within touching distance to get by him. Eyes focused on Ryan, she darted around the pile of bags.

  He jumped forward and grabbed her. She should have been expecting his movement, considering how quickly he'd seized her in the library, but a startled scream escaped her lips anyway. He pulled her tight up against his chest, effectively using her as a shield.

  Marc's aim never wavered, but his eyes narrowed in anger. "Let her go."

  "I'm afraid I can't do that, Marco. Now you put your gun down. We both know you won't use it against, Miss Noelle."

  Marc took a step forward and Ryan backed away, putting several piles of fertilizer between them. Keeping her gaze on Marc, she tried to drag her feet to slow Ryan down. Marc locked gazes with her for a moment, and she drew from his strength to build her own courage.

  "Having Lessa kidnapped was stupid," he said as he shifted to his left. "I didn't take you for a stupid man.'

  "We all have our issues. She served her purpose."

  "Distracting me."

  "Alessandra said you'd figured it out," Ryan said with a sigh. "It was just a matter of time for you to piece it together. Jiovanni always said you were a force to be reckoned with when you set your sights on something. That's why he kept you so close. Gave you enough power to keep you from trying to take the business from Jio. Bet you didn't realize that a lot of Jiovanni's affection for you was just a ploy, did you my boy?"

  Marc refused to be baited. His gaze remained steady as he walked closer "You can't distract me now."

  "I'm just pointing out that maybe Jiovanni didn't deserve the loyalty you gave him. He was always playing an angle and about number one. Himself. Other people didn't matter and never did."

  A strong breeze blew in from the open crane-lift door as Ryan slowly dragged her toward it. His arm tightened around her neck as the tension in his body increased.

  Marc pointed his gun at Ryan's head. "The only way you're getting out of here alive, is to let her go."

  "As soon as I release her, you'll shoot me," Ryan stated matter-of-factly. "I don't plan on dying today."

  Another breeze rushed past them, and Lessa wondered just how close they were to the opening. Suddenly tired of being bullied, of having everyone else make decisions for her, she decided not to wait to see what he planned. It was time to take her fate into her own hands.

  Closing her eyes, she focused on where her body was touching his and judged where his weak points were. The gun wasn't pointed at her, but stayed aimed at Marc. A nervous tremor skittered through her stomach at the possibility that she wouldn't be able to move fast enough to stop Ryan from shooting Marc. She had no doubt he'd pull the trigger as soon as he realized what she was doing.

  "There's no way out," Marc repeated.

  Lessa shifted her weight to the balls of her feet then went completely limp. She fell against Ryan, and his arm tightened slightly as he tried to adjust his hold. Planting her feet, she pushed up and back with all her strength. Her plan to throw him off balance worked. His feet scrambled for traction as he fought to regain his footing. But he was already falling backward.

  Marc lunged forward as part two of her plan went into motion. She pushed back with her hands into Ryan's stomach, accelerating his fall. She shoved, then dove forward as he dropped his grip to reach out for something to hold onto.

  With a cry of terror, he hit the edge of the open doorway and tried to grab the wall. His fingers slipped, and he dropped out of sight to the ground below.

  Marc's hand locked around Lessa's wrist, and he yanked her solidly against his chest then spun them both away from the opening.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Leaning back, Marc cupped her face. "You all right?"

  She nodded and glanced behind her at the opening. Marc released her to step forward and look down at Ryan on the ground below. His stance relaxed.

  "Is he dead?" Lessa whispered.

  He shook his head. "He's moving, but I'd wager he's hurt pretty bad. It's about a three story drop, and he landed on his back."

  Lessa couldn't bring herself to see what she had done. "What are you going to do?"

  He stared at her as he holstered his gun in the small of his back. "Do? I'm going to let Jio take care of the problem. It was his dad Ryan killed, so that'll be up to him."

  She'd assumed that was Marc's job, but was relieved he wouldn't have to clean up that mess.

  He frowned. "And where the hell are your shoes?"

  She shifted on her sore and dirty feet. "I have no idea."

  His frown remained as he went to her, gently touching her neck where Ryan had strangled her. His jaw flexed. "You're not okay."

  "I'm alive. I think that's pretty okay." Her hands were beginning to tremble. "Can I go back to the house now?"

  "Yeah, come on." Putting his arm around her shoulder, he steered her back to the ladder. "You sure you can walk?"

  She nodded. "I don't think my feet are going to fall off."

  Marc climbed down first and helped her off the final rung. This time he wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her walk gingerly back outside. She smiled as she realized how he'd gotten to the barn without them hearing his approach. Old Ben munched on the grass growing at the base of the vine where he was tied.

  "Wait here." Marc strode over to Ben, unlooped his reins, and walked him to the door and Lessa.

  "What about Ryan?"

  He pointed to the dust trail coming from the house. "Cavalry's coming. I called Ji
o as soon as I realized what was going on."

  "How did you know? Ryan said everyone had left the vineyard."

  Marc touched her cheek again before helping her up and into the saddle. He flipped the reins over the gelding's head, then swung on behind her. She had to lean forward as he did so she didn't get knocked off.

  "He forgot about the lower gate." He motioned down the hill to the wall of trees. "We have a guard stationed there." Wrapping his arm securely around her waist, he pulled her close, then took a deep breath. "Ryan stopped me just outside the house. Wanted an update on the search for Jiovanni's killer, so I gave it to him." He shook his head. "I started to worry again about how your being grabbed had to be connected to the murder. My gut told me it was an inside job, so I decided to get more tapes for you to listen to and decided to start with the perimeter guards. Also, taking Old Ben to check the gates is a habit of mine. I saw the jeep run off the trail and came up to see if anyone was hurt. I saw you run into the barn with Ryan behind you. He was so focused on getting you he didn't even hear me coming."

  "According to Ryan, Jiovanni seduced his daughter."

  "What?" Marc shifted so he could see her face.

  She glanced over her shoulder to meet his gaze. "And she's pregnant."

  He couldn't have looked more dumbfounded. She almost laughed at the sight, but thinking about it all made her sad.

  "Shit." He shook his head. "I can almost understand why he went after Jiovanni."

  "Almost?"

  His eyes hardened. "I protect what's mine."

  Reaching back, she smoothed a hand down his tense face. "I think you're more upset than I am, and he was trying to kill me."

  He closed his eyes as a shudder went through his body. "He abducted you right out from under me. I didn't keep you safe."

  "It wasn't your fault. Suspecting Ryan would have been like suspecting you. Right? Why would you think it was him?"

  "He shouldn't have been above suspicion." He shook his head. "Even you caught on." Lessa frowned in confusion. "At the funeral, you thought it was odd the way he and his daughter were behaving, and I brushed it off. I should've followed through."