Page 68 of Rafael

“It was in there. You have it, and I want it back,” Caney said. “If you don’t tell me where it is, I’ll make you wish you had. I’ll start by shooting your fingers. One at a time.” He pressed the barrel of the pistol into her cheek. “Then I’ll shoot your toes.”

“It won’t make a difference,” she said. “I don’t knowwhere your damned money is.”

Caney pressed the pistol into her cheek and snarled at Gisele. “You’d better know where it is, or I’ll shoot your boyfriend.”

“No,” Gisele cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t hurt him. I love him.”

“Enough!” a voice said from the hallway.

All eyes turned to the woman wearing a flowing red kaftan, her hair wrapped in a matching scarf. Madam Gautier stood straight, her chin held high. “Release my granddaughter at once, and I will tell you where your money is.”

CHAPTER 14

“Grand-mère!”Gisele cried out as she watched her worst nightmare unfold before her eyes. The lives of the two people she loved most hung by a thread.

“Shush, child,” Grand-mère said. “I found da money da day you had da cabinet delivered to my home.” She stared down her nose at Caney. “If he wants it, he must release you first.”

Caney laughed. “How about we play a little game of chicken with the famous Voodoo queen?” He aimed his gun at Gisele’s feet.

Gisele jerked them back as the gun went off. The bullet missed her toes but hit the edge of her sandal.

Caney laughed again. “Next time, I won’t miss. So, what’s it to be?”

Movement out of the corner of her eye drew Gisele’s attention.

With Caney’s attention on Grand-mère, Rafaelmoved ever so slowly closer to Caney. A few more inches, and he’d be close enough to make a move.

Gisele braced for action.

“I took the money to a safe location,” Grand-mère said. “Release my granddaughter, and I will take you there.”

“How about I shoot him and take both of you there?” He held Gisele in a necklock as he aimed the gun at Rafael.

No, no, no.

Gisele couldn’t wait another second. Caney could pull the trigger like hehad on the two mafia men. Taking a deep breath, Gisele relaxed all her muscles and dropped like adeadweight, slipping through Caney’s arms toward the floor.

In his struggle to bring her back up, he lowered the barrel of his pistol

Rafael threw himself at Caney.

The gun went off as the three of them landed in a pile on the floor with Gisele trapped beneath them.

The two men rolled to the side, fighting to win. Gisele rolled inthe opposite direction and lurched to her feet. The front of her blouse bore a dark red stain.

Blood.

She patted her chest, feeling no pain or wounds, which meant one of the men had sustained a gunshot wound.

Her gut told her it was Rafael. He struggled in hiseffort to subdue Caney. The man was a trained Navy SEAL. He should have had Caney under control by now.

Gisele searched the floor for one of the dead men’s weapons.

Grand-mère bent beside a chair and lifted a handgun. “Looking for this?”

“Yes!” Gisele took the gun from the older woman and rushed to where Rafael pinned Caney to the floor. She kicked Caney’s pistol across the room, out of his reach.

Rafael’s breathing came in ragged gasps as if he couldn’t get a deep breath. His face was pale.

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