Page 59 of Rescued By the Mafia

“The guy in charge is mine,” Dante said. “There’s one with some kind of web tattoo on his hand, if they’re not the same person, that asshole’s mine, too. Beyond that, you can take all the heads you want.” He paused and let his expression darken. “Everyone associated with these fuckers will die. Find them, find the people connected to them, and bleed them all.”

Cristiano nodded again and stood. “Got it. I’ll sleep off this jet lag and have Mikey text me the location of my guest.”

“Good. I may be busy tomorrow, so call Romeo if you can’t reach me directly.” Dante watched his cousin stride from the room and let out a breath. He felt like everything was lining up—and he knew from experience, that meant everything was about to go to shit.

Iris didn’t know if she’d ever been so nervous. Arguably, it stood to reason her nerves would have been raging full-throttle the day she’d finally run, but she didn’t remember feeling so sick back then. Maybe there’d been more adrenaline and maybe the desperation in combination with the unexpected opportunity had lessened them somewhat, or maybe her memory had chosen to keep the highlight of her escape over the misery. She hoped it was the latter, so that she could look forward to the day she forgot this nauseating pit in her stomach, too.

“Remember, I’m right here, Snapdragon,” Dante said, his voice clear in her ear.

She appreciated his words—and his timing—as much as she missed his warmth. The strength of his presence had become her anchor point and she wanted so badly to reach for him. Instead, she inhaled deeply. For at least the eighteenth time, she wiped her sweaty palms off on her dark blue jeans. “This might even be completely uneventful,” she said out loud, for Dante’s benefit as much as her own.

She pretended not to notice Carlo’s eyes flick to the rearview mirror for a fraction of a second.

“It might be,” Dante agreed. “Nevertheless, I’ve got ten men within thirty seconds of the store. I have line-of-sight. And I can see you now.”

He could see her. That actually did help her feel better. She wasn’t entirely sure where he was positioned, but she also realized she didn’t need to be. All she needed was to know that he was nearby. As long as he was close enough to be there if it went south somehow, she could breathe.

“Ma’am,” Carlo said quietly, “we’re parking now. Please wait for me to come to you.”

Iris felt the sedan come to a stop and reminded herself that this had all been her idea. Which sort of meant it was her fault, but also meant that at any point she could freak out and call it off and Dante would whisk her away again. For a moment, as she let the seatbelt slide back into place above her shoulder, she was tempted. The mental picture of comfortable security in the form of Dante’s large, welcoming home beckoned her. All she had to do was say a single word.

But Paul would still be outside somewhere, waiting for another opportunity to get to her.

What if the next person he targeted because of her was Lucia? Lucia went to a school that wasn’t solely policed by De Salvo men. They might let a man with a badge and a smile past their gates, and that little girl wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Truthfully, Iris worried either Lucia or Eleonora were the next most realistic targets. Eleonora, at least, was usually protected and had lived a hard enough life to hopefully work in her favor.

Or maybe he’d go after Benny during one of his smoke breaks at the restaurant. Maybe he’d even try going after Aurelio, who’d had the audacity to hire her on a lackluster resume and later driven her back to her apartment when her tires had been slashed. She was convinced both men could reasonably defend themselves, but she still had no desire for her problem to become theirs.

The idea of anyone finding themselves on the receiving end of Paul’s attention was enough to help Iris remember her purpose. Yes, she could bow out, but that solved nothing. On the other hand, she didn’t actually have to do much. Just a run-through of the store, clear off certain surfaces, double-check interior locks and systems, and secure a sign to the main door before locking it all up. She could be in and out quickly if needed.

When Carlo pulled open her door, Iris lifted the pre-prepared sign from the seat beside her and stepped from the car. She’d deliberately chosen a lower-profile vehicle than the usual SUV in the hopes it would further her ruse, but she had no way to know if the choice even mattered. She was so far out of her element. What she needed was to not also be stuck in her head.

Iris shouldered her purse as she always did and carefully tucked the sign behind her arm. “Thank you, Carlo,” she said. She did her best to keep her voice calm but figured if it trembled just a bit, that wasn’t so bad. If she was right that Paul was nearby, and he was in fact so nearby that he could hear her, he likely wouldn’t even pick up on it. She’d feared him for most of their time together.

Carlo secured the car and led the way to the craft store’s employee entrance, just as planned. He was barely half a step ahead of her, and she knew perfectly well that he didn’t actually need the sling holding his right arm against his chest. He stepped to the side, watching her back as she produced Megan’s key and quickly ushered them in.

The first thing she had to do, of course, was disarm the security system. She’d done it multiple times in the past, fortunately, so that much was familiar.

That was why her fingers were halfway through the code before she realized it wasn’t blaring. The screen wasn’t blinking. And an interior light was already on.

“Aren’t you gonna say hi, sweetheart?”

Ice dragged down her spine and Iris gasped, that voice from her nightmares penetrating her ears in real time. Her body froze.

She heard fabric rustle and the familiar, gut-churning click of a tongue. “Uh-uh, keep those hands where I can see them, Rent-A-Cop.”

“The fuck did you just call me?” Carlo asked with a growl.

“Iris,” Paul snapped. “Turn around and come to me or I put a bullet in your second-rate bodyguard here. Do you even realize who you’ve been associating with?”

She licked her lips, her mind scrambling. It wasn’t supposed to have happened like this. She was supposed to have gotten there first. She was supposed to have been the bait, not the other way around.

“One.”

“You son of—”

With stiff movements, Iris forced her body to turn in place. At least with the wall at her back she could see and be a little assured she wasn’t going to be ambushed. Not that Paul had such resources as far as she knew. But by turning, of course, she was forced to lay eyes on him. Forced to see him, in person, for the first time in over a year.

It was like being punched in the gut. No, it was worse.

---