Page 36 of Rescued By the Mafia

“Yes.”

Romeo muttered a curse. “Can you put me on speaker?” When she did as he asked, he spoke again. “Carlo. Berto. If you let her so much as scrape a knee, my brother will string you up by your insides, do you understand? I’m on my way, but until then, it’s on you.”

Iris swallowed another lump of fear as the men in the room chorused their understanding. “It’s… There’s only one man, right?”

Romeo’s voice was tight, not at all the playful man she remembered from the night they’d met, when he replied, “We can’t make that assumption.”

eleven

His

Dante swung in beside the Lexus sedan Iris had taken to the restaurant, barely patient enough to shut off his own engine before climbing from the vehicle and striding up to the guarded employee entrance. He didn’t typically need to assign guards to the doors at The Dragon’s Roast, but he appreciated that Romeo had taken the precaution.

“Boss,” the pair chorused as one opened the door for him.

Dante didn’t say a word to them as he continued forward. He was going to be hard-pressed not to kill anything that tried to delay him from reaching Iris and seeing for himself that she was all right. It didn’t matter that she’d texted him an apology for missing his call, or that Romeo had also texted to confirm that he’d spoken to her and she’d told him she was unharmed. He wasn’t capable of accepting that as fact until he saw it himself. In person.

Echoing laughter from ignorant patrons made him gnash his teeth as he moved down the back hallways. Then he rounded a corner and spotted Ernesto and Romeo’s right-hand, Mo, framing Aurelio’s office door.

Dante forced his pace to slow and met Ernesto’s gaze. “I want a full report ready when we get to the house.”

The older man inclined his head. “Yes, Boss.”

Mo tapped on the door in a clear signal. Meaning the door had been locked for an extra, if not minimal, degree of security.

The deadbolt was thrown within seconds and the door pulled open. Romeo even managed a grin. “C’mon in, big brother.”

If he were anyone else, Dante would have punched him in his smart mouth. Instead, Dante shouldered past him with a nonverbal grunt, his eyes sweeping the room. Aurelio’s office wasn’t terribly large or complex in structure. It only took a moment for Dante’s gaze to settle on the sunlight of fiery red hair above Iris’s actively brightening face. He hardly noted Aurelio or Carlo also in the room, standing to the side. They didn’t matter yet.

Iris stood from the chair she’d claimed and moved straight to him, not making him finish the journey to her. More importantly, not seeming embarrassed about seeking him out.

Dante folded her in his arms, one hand threading her hair, and held her against his chest. Her fingers twisted in the back of his shirt as she burrowed into him. He exhaled. He felt her draw a deep breath without lifting her head, and his own lungs filled again. She wasn’t trembling or fighting to hold herself up. He’d seen no signs of injury. For the moment, he had to be satisfied with that.

Dante turned his head enough to catch his brother’s eye. “Where is he?” It was unlikely his men had gunned down a badge in broad daylight on the site of one of his legitimate businesses. Unlikely, but not out of the question.

“The guys on staff had him subdued when I got here,” Romeo said. “I sent most of my team to take him somewhere less comfortable. Figured you’d want to talk to him.”

Dante nodded. It hadn’t been on his itinerary to interrogate or otherwise beat on any law-adjacent individuals that weekend, aside from the one who seemed to disappear the moment he stirred up trouble, but he couldn’t ignore the timing. Or the connection. This deputy needed to be dealt with, sooner than later. “And the security footage?”

Romeo jerked a thumb toward the door. “Berto’s doing his thing as we speak, won’t be an issue. We did go over everything first. Looks like Deputy Mark was here alone, and near as we can tell he didn’t actually touch the car. Just got a little up in its space. More than likely, he’d been hanging around nearby, hoping she’d show. Maybe one of them heard she was scheduled to work today, or maybe there’re more stalking other places she might be.”

Iris tensed in his arms. “Megan…”

Dante shifted his attention back to her. “What was that?”

She eased back and met his gaze, worry in her eyes. “Megan, the owner of the craft store where I’ve been working … she has a little boy. It’s just the two of them and her babysitter situation is flaky, so sometimes when there’s no school, she has to bring him into the shop with her.”

She was too compassionate for her own good in his opinion. But he understood what she was saying, and why. If Romeo’s theory was correct, her other place of employment could also be jeopardized. Dante moved his hand to her nape and squeezed gently, then returned his focus to his brother. “Put rotating teams on Craft Happens for the next forty-eight hours. If it looks like anyone else is staking out the place, or the woman, have them report in immediately. Intervene if necessary.”

Romeo nodded sharply. “Will do.”

“One more thing,” Dante said before Romeo could do more than pivot. He removed one hand from Iris in order to fish the car keys from his pocket and tossed the ring to his brother. “Switch with me.”

Romeo’s eyes widened and he snagged the keys from the air, mumbling, “Please be the Audi, please be the Audi.” He turned the set around and examined the logo in his hand, breaking into a grin. “Score.” He looked over to Mo. “You got the keys?”

“Yes, sir.” Mo moved up and held out the keys for the SUV they’d driven over. “Here you go, Boss.”

Dante nodded and promptly tossed them at Carlo. “You’re driving. If you say a single word of apology to me, I’ll slice out your tongue.”

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