Page 78 of Inherting the Mafia

One man stood at the wheel of each boat. Two more men were wading through the water headed for the beach. A few more stood in a small crowd in the sand.

The sun was starting to set so the light wasn't optimal for searching, but I did it anyway. I needed to find Nico.

I searched the area below me again. With the low light, it was hard to spot him. When I finally saw a small figured lay on the beach near the edge of the limestone wall, I realized that hadn't helped either. Nico was practically hidden by shadows.

But that worked in my favor.

I made quick work climbing down the rest of the way. Once I reached the sandy bottom, I dropped down into a crouch and scooted close to the cliff wall. I stayed low to the ground as I made my way toward him, stopping every few feet to make sure no one was looking in my direction.

When I reached Nico I found him unconscious with his hands bound behind his back. I quickly pulled my knife and cut through the rope tied around his wrists, but there wasn't much I could do about him being unconscious.

I could move him out of harm's way however. I knew I had a better chance at escaping than Nico did. He wasn't a fighter. I was.

Sort of.

I glanced at the men standing on the beach, keeping a close eye on them. I slid my knife back into my pocket and then grabbed Nico's legs and started pulling him through the sand.

I was aiming for a small outcropping of rocks that I had passed on my way to him. If I could hide him there, hopefully Luca would find him or if he woke up, he could escape.

As soon as I reached the outcropping of rocks, I hid Nico behind them. I gently brushed the hair back from his face and then felt for a pulse. I was relieved when I found it to be strong and steady.

I tucked my gun under him by his hand. I didn't know if Nico knew anything about guns, but I had to leave him with some means of defense. Besides, I was better with a knife.

I peaked around the pile of rocks to see where everyone was. I was a little concerned when I found them all still standing there in a small group. I didn't understand why they hadn't moved yet.

If this was a kidnapping, they should have loaded Nico up in one of the boats and taken him away. Instead, they looked as if they were waiting for a nighttime beach party to start.

What the hell was going on here?

I inched my way back to where Nico had been laying, using my knees and feet to cover my tracks. Once I was in place, I grabbed the rope and wrapped it around my wrists and then laid my head down on the sand.

I watched from the shadows through half closed eyes as the men in the circle continued to talk. I couldn't hear what they were saying, just the low murmur of voices.

I wanted to move closer so I could hear what they were talking about, but that would be stupid and I tried not to be stupid too many times in one day.

Pretty sure I had reached my quota for today.

Basically, all I could do was lay there and wait for Vito and Luca to arrive. I almost glanced up toward the stone steps from the villa, wondering just what was keeping them. I hadn't gone down the cliff face that fast. They should have been here by now.

The sound of another boat engine caught my attention. It was steadily growing louder, which meant it was probably moving in my direction. I cast a quick glance at the morons just standing there and then lifted my head to search for the boat.

Yep, found it. It was coming in a straight line from the large boat moored out in the ocean. Not sure why more people were coming, but it couldn't mean anything good.

When one of the men looked in my direction, I snapped my eyes closed and lay as still as I could. Eventually they would figure out I wasn't Nico, but I wanted that realization to be far in the distant future.

When the boat landed, four people climbed off and then waded through the water to the beach. Surprisingly, I heard a woman's voice. If she hadn't been speaking in such a loud shrill tone, I probably would have missed it altogether.

God, she was really loud.

Unfortunately, from the way the others jumped when she shouted, I suspected she was the one in charge. I did hear oneof the guards say, "Yes, Mrs. Romano," which told me a lot more about who she was.

I about jumped out of my skin when a hand suddenly covered my mouth. I started to reach for my knife when a small that curled my toes and made me have really inappropriate naughty thoughts filled my nose.

"Vito?" I whispered, my voice muffled by the hand covering it.

"If you ever scare me like that again," Vito snarled into my ear in a quiet voice, "I'll beat you bloody."

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that.

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