Page 40 of Carter's Battle

Donny held up his hands and his eyebrows went up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why would I want you dead?”

“Yes, Mia, do tell.” Her uncle swung his chair around so he could see Donny who had been standing to his left by his desk. One of Makiao’s men moved across the room and stood behind Donny, pushing him so he was now in front of the desk to the right of Mia.

“I—” he stared at the bodyguard. Then turned back. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Bobby cocked his head. “That’s how these guys found me. You ratted me out, you fucker.” He tried to stand but the security guy beside him shoved him back down.

Mia locked eyes with her uncle. Heart hammering like she’d been holding her breath under a massive wave, she spoke. “Donny ratted out your gambling warehouse. He did it because he and Bobby were trying to take over your gambling business. But something between them must have changed. Maybe you offered him another job or more money or a bigger piece of the pie or whatever, and he changed his mind.”

Donny’s face flushed. “That’s a bullshit story.”

Makaio tapped his fingers on the desk and eyed the man. “I asked Donny to oversee some more of my…endeavors, keep an eye on my money.”

Mia knew she had to continue now that she had her uncle’s attention. She licked her lips. “Donny had a better offer. He couldn’t tell Bobby he’d switched sides. Bobby would kill him. But if he told the cops about the warehouse then it would close down, and I couldn’t gamble, so Bobby had no way to raise the cash. Donny would keep his relationship with both of you and he would be safe.

“The one sticking point of course is me. Donny needed a scapegoat to blame the whole warehouse debacle on. Someone had to be the snitch. If he blamed me then everyone would want me dead. But there was still the risk that I could convince you that I wasn’t behind the raid. The best thing for Donny would be if I turned up dead and then no one would have a chance to question me. So, he got Nakoa and Mikey to run me off the road.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Donny fumed. His face was a dull red and sweat had broken out on his brow.

“She’s right,” Bobby admitted. “You were the one who told me that Mia called the cops. I believed you. You were soconvincing.” He turned to Makaio. “She’s right. It was Donny. Donny did it all!”

Her uncle stood and Mia’s stomach plummeted. Did he believe her? Would it make a difference even if he did, or was she dead anyway? She was about to stand up when she got a sudden whiff of smoke. Was something on fire?

Makaio growled, “Are you telling me Donny wanted to take the gambling business from me?” He glared at Bobby.

“You stole it from me first!” Bobby pointed out. “I just wanted it back. I was trying to raise the money to give you a down payment on it. Then I was going to give you a good deal. I want to run it, but I’ll split the take with you.”

“And the games you do run for me in basements all over the island, you were just skimming on those to pay me?”

“Yes!” Bobby agreed. He struggled to his feet.

“You were going to pay me with my own money?” Makaio thundered.

Bobby immediately realized his mistake. “No! I mean I?—”

“That’s exactly what he was going to do,” Donny interjected, his smug smile back in place.

“Was he now? And what were you going to do? Rob me once you were overseeing more of my business?” Makaio pointed at him. “You were in on it with him.” He nodded to his enforcer but Donny was faster. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at Mia’s uncle. Suddenly, the lights went out, and the whole warehouse was plunged into darkness.

A gun went off and then another shot was fired from across the room. The door opened and Mia felt someone brush past her. Then running feet echoed around her. A sudden scream and more scuffling. The smell of smoke was undeniable now. The sound of crackling flames filled the air. As if on cue, an alarm blared, like anyone needed to hear that to know the warehouse was on fire.

Mia stood and glanced around the room. Her uncle’s goon was on the floor, his eyes staring sightlessly as red soaked his chest. Trying not to panic or gag, she went to the doorway and looked down. The entire warehouse was on fire. Gunshots cracked occasionally and it sounded like there were multiple shooters. Mia coughed. If she didn’t do something soon, she would die here.

She started down the stairs keeping low and trying to breathe shallowly. It was hard to see, and the smoke made her eyes water. Not to mention her hands were still bound, throwing off her balance. She was halfway down the stairs when she tripped over something. Throwing herself against the railing, she righted herself and ignored the pain in her ribs. She looked down to find the man who’d kidnapped her was half-laying, half-hanging off the stairs. He was dead. That must have been the scream she’d heard.

She stepped over the man and continued down, finally reaching the bottom. The smoke was getting thicker, and she was having problems seeing where the door was. A figure came out of the smoke toward her. Donny raised his gun and pointed it at Mia. She opened her mouth to scream when a shot split the air, and red bloomed on the center of Donny’s chest. He crashed to the floor in front of her. Mia looked up and almost fainted.

CHAPTER 23

Carter caughtMia as she stumbled toward him. “Mia, honey, are you okay?”

“I am now,” she croaked and rested her head on his chest.

His heart had stopped beating when he saw the man with a gun aimed at the woman he’d fallen in love with. If he’d been thirty seconds later, he’d have lost her. He pulled her to him and gave her a quick hug. He couldn’t think about any of that now. He needed to get her out of there. “We have to get out of here. The whole place is going to go up.”

She coughed again but nodded.

He pulled out a blade and cut the black plastic restraints on her wrists. “Hold on to my belt and I’ll lead you out, okay?”

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