She began to crawl back towards the club, but Simon grabbed her by the waist and threw her against the car, opening the door and shoving her in the backseat. He got in behind her and pushed her face into the seat so she couldn’t see.
“Drive. We’ll have her call him when we get to the warehouse.”
Mick took off, wheels squealing.
“Don’t get us pulled over, you idiot.” Simon pushed her throbbing head down harder. She struggled to stay focused through the pain, the smell of cigarettes permeating the fabric assaulting her nose.
“Who are you?” she finally asked.
“We’re here to teach Rinaldi that he and his brothers aren’t as big a deal as they think they are, that when they come after us in Baton Rouge, we don’t just lay down and take it.”
The Baton Rouge gang Lukas had mentioned? “What the hell are you doing with me?”
“You’re going to call your boyfriend and he’ll give himself up for you. And if he tries anything, we’re going to kill you.”
Reina couldn’t help it—she began to laugh. She knew she was hysterical, that everything that had happened tonight was crashing down around her psyche, but she didn’t care.
“What the hell’s so funny, bitch?” Mick asked from the front seat.
“You guys are one day too late,” she said, still laughing. “If you had taken me yesterday, your not-so-brilliant plan might have worked, but not today, especially not today. Today, Lukas Rinaldi decided I meant nothing to him.”
Her laughter stopped as quickly as it started. “You can take me wherever you want, but he probably won’t even answer my call. And I can promise he won’t lift a finger to help me.”