Page 51 of Married to the Mafia

Miguel sighed the way he generally did at being reminded of where he’d started. “Oh yeah. I don’t really know his story, but I got the feelin’ he was real loyal to the guys in charge.” He paused. “You know, the two I thought were in charge.”

“Barros and Ramires,” Mikey confirmed through clenched teeth. He reached for his phone to make another call.

“Exactly. Probably he’s one of the guys they plucked from an old crew back when they were startin’ up,” Miguel said.

“That’s a good start,” Mikey said as the line rang. “Keep digging.” With the line ringing, he texted a shorter update to Cris. There was too much information still unknown, and too much to convey.

“Mikey,” Dante greeted when the line connected. “I just spoke to Cris. Tell me what I need to know.”

Mikey’s gaze shifted back to the tracer, noting the vehicle had turned onto another less-traveled road and once again accelerated well beyond reason. He felt his throat constrict with unfamiliar emotion. “The Ink Blots took her.”

Brandi braced herself as her abductor spun into a gravel lot positioned on the opposite side of the road. I’m going to have whiplash if I ever get out of this damn car. Dust flew outside the car as he brought them to a swift, jarring stop. Beyond the dust, she saw a second car, parked and waiting.

Brandi lowered her hands to her lap, fists shaking as she fought to hold herself together. They were past the city limits, but they hadn’t arrived anywhere in particular. She doubted very much this was where she was being taken. She also recognized it was highly likely her uncomfortable, teeth-clenching ride was about to take a turn for the worse.

As if reading her mind, her abductor killed the engine, abruptly silencing the blaring stereo. “Unbuckle your seatbelt, then put your hands on the back of the seat in front of you. You try anything funny and maybe I just put a hole in your head and leave you here, understand?”

The second car was mostly in front of them, making it hard to see clearly. She was pretty sure whoever it had come with hadn’t yet climbed out. Or maybe they were just switching. I’m not even sure which would be worse. “I understand.” She hated having no way to fight back, but the phone still pinned beneath her thigh wasn’t going to help here. So, slowly, she released her seatbelt and proceeded to tip herself forward just enough to rest the flats of her palms against the seatback.

Her abductor grunted and climbed from the car. He slammed his door, walked around, and only then did he click a button that unlocked her door before wrenching it open. “Walk with me,” he said sharply, simultaneously grabbing hold of her nearest arm and pulling.

Brandi stumbled from the car and felt her phone slide from the seat.

She saw his gaze dart past her. There was no way he didn’t see the phone. He made a sound almost like amusement, reached back with his free hand, and slammed the door shut. “You won’t be needin’ that.”

She dug her feet in on instinct. “What I don’t need is one more jackass manhandling me and trying to ruin my life! Just get your hands off me, ass—”

He spun and pinned her front to the side of his vehicle, the arm he still held bent behind her back as he moved in close. He tangled a hand in her hair and whispered in her ear, “You think ‘cause you got your feet under you, suddenly you got a chance? Don’t get so full of yourself.” His weight shifted closer and his lips grazed the shell of her ear. “Your man ain’t here to save you.”

Her blood ran cold. This lunatic knew about her relationship with Mikey, somehow, and still he was assaulting her. Was it possible that was actually the point?

She was jerked upright before she could lose herself too thoroughly to that train of thought and, with his two-handed grip, her abductor forcefully walked her across to the waiting second car. He walked her around to the back passenger side, opened the door, and shoved her in before she could get her feet under her. She toppled sideways, barely able to discern more than a silhouette in the driver’s seat, and scrambled to right herself.

She was promptly shoved against the back of the seat, and before she could process what was happening her abductor drew the seatbelt across her body with swift, practiced ease. Brandi opened her mouth to protest, but before she could make a sound her arm was yanked up and a tell-tale clink proceeded the bone-chilling sensation of something cool and metallic clasping around her wrist. She gaped at the sight of handcuffs holding her arm up, attached to the car’s built-in safety bar. Once he was done, he cut her a sidelong glare. “Mind yourself, bitch.”

Speechless, she could only watch as he straightened and shut the door with downright frightening care. The door immediately locked.

“Sorry for the dramatic introduction, Ms. Richardson,” the man in the driver’s seat said. He rolled the engine over and twisted enough to meet her stare directly. There was an unmistakable, calculating glint in his light brown eyes. “My name is Gustavo Ramires. And there’s something I need from you.”

fifteen

The Other Boss

“Let me stop you right there,” Brandi said sharply, her temper fraying as the car glided forward along the gravel turnout. “I am not some shrinking violet and I am done being the damsel in distress. So kill me if you’re going to kill me, or brace yourself for a really fucking miserable kidnapping, Gus. Oh, but don’t worry, it’ll be short. My fiancé’s on his way.”

“I think you have a couple of misconceptions about this situation, Ms. Richardson,” Gustavo said. “Your fiancé—which is quite an interesting piece of news, thank you—will be following my associate’s car.”

Her gaze shifted out the window, around the bend of her unwillingly raised arm, in time to see the car she’d just come from peel off. If she wasn’t terribly turned around, he looked to be continuing on in the direction they’d been going. She was pretty sure she saw the backend of the car fishtail as he straightened onto the road. She was even more certain that he hadn’t tossed out her things before leaving, meaning she’d just lost her purse and all its contents, as well as her phone. Again.

“More importantly,” Gustavo continued, “what I want from you is a conversation.”

Brandi pulled herself together and leaned her shoulder against the tinted glass in an effort to minimize the strain on her arm. “You have a lousy way of going about it.”

Gustavo pulled onto the road at a much calmer, deceptively casual pace. He turned in the same direction as the other car, leading Brandi to assume Newark was behind them. “You’re right. I need to begin with the apology we owe you.”

She snorted.

“It’s come to my attention that some of our crew stole your car last week, and unfortunately that car is no longer in a state to be returned to you. That wasn’t anything personal, and I apologize for the inconvenience.”

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