Page 25 of Stranded with My Mafia Boss

At a pushing, trying to shift it off me.

It wasn’t budging. I was buried on the side of an unplowed road, in the snow.

When had I turned into such an idiot? Oh, yeah. About the time Damien Santini stuck his dick into me.

Damien

It took moreself-control than I liked to keep my voice calm and my thoughts ordered.

The screaming echoing from the phone didn’t help. Bria was torturing someone, and it was hard to hear what she was saying through the din, even when she shouted.

"Bria. I can’t understand you. Please move somewhere where it’s less noisy."

I wanted to touch Katie, reassure her and myself that this was a quarrel, and in the privacy of my mind, I could admit it was my fault and I would make it up to her. Even if she was overreacting.

My young cousin sounded like she was in a bad place, though, and needed my help now. Why she was interrogating some fool this early in the morning, I was unsure, other than Bria was a night person. She probably hadn’t gone to bed yet.

Her father had badly mishandled her upbringing, so she was always at the point of explosion. Defusing the Bria-bomb was needed, even if I no longer bore the family name. Bria was still family, even if her father was a horse’s ass.

A few minutes later, after the clunk of something closing, probably a door, quietly settled on the other end of the call.

"I have a lead on the foot soldier bastards who killed Tony." Bria’s voice was full of tension. "I need good information. I was making an example of him, then he spilled that he knew about what happened. Ineedthis information, Damien. Ineedto know who pulled the trigger, and who helped him, even if I can’t chop off the head of the snake who ordered it done."

As I’d needed it when my family died. I understood her desperation. A part of her had never recovered from her younger brother’s death years ago.

"Bria," I said into the phone, low and serious. "We both know information obtained under torture is often inaccurate. I’d suggest getting any names he might have from him immediately. If you can pause the session for a day or so, ask him again to confirm the details he’s told you. Presumably, he knows he’s going to die, so he has every incentive to make up stories to buy more time. So weigh what he tells you carefully."

I was restating what she already knew, confirming it so she could better leash her impatience.

A hint of pride warmed me as I leaned against the wall, my free hand running through my hair. She was good at information gathering. I’d have her in my organization in a heartbeat if it weren’t for her loyalty to her sister, and by extension the rest of the Montrelli clan.

"Damien, what would I do without you?" she asked with a dry laugh that lightened my heart. "Father’s forbidden your name being mentioned again. And thanks for the new phone. He’s got my other one jammed full of spyware."

Ever since she was a child, I'd encouraged her ambition within the family, partly because I genuinely liked her, and partly to irritate her father, who I couldn’t stand. Her twin, Carina, was a sweet girl, but uninterested in the family business.

"I cherish thwarting him, yes, but I have to go. I have a personal issue to deal with."

Bria chuckled. "Have fun. And thanks, I needed to get out of my head for a minute. I was getting too involved in the torture, I almost missed him admitting he was involved in Tony’s killing."

She did rather enjoy inflicting extreme pain. She had a reputation for it among the other families and used it well.

Leaving the study, I stopped to listen for where Katie had gotten off to.

The cabin was silent. My gut clenched with an unfamiliar emotion—guilt.

A quick search didn’t find Katie in the bedrooms or anywhere else. Snow peppered the windows as I headed for the garage, hoping she hadn’t decided to try to move one of the snowmobiles. Frigid wind and snow in the garage. The door was open and one of the snowmobiles was missing. Panic gripped my chest like a vise. The roads around here could be tricky, especially for someone who wasn't an experienced rider.

"Damn it, Katie," I muttered, fear and frustration coursing through my veins. I strode to the equipment locker and grabbed my snowmobile suit, gloves, and boots. I pulled a second one for Katie. There was no telling what she’d cobbled together to wear.

My heart pounded with adrenaline as I hurried into the protective clothing, each second like an eternity.

She’d taken a helmet, but no other gear was gone. My worry deepened.

The snowmobile roared as I sped off toward the road in search of her. The helmet shielded my face from the cold wind, and I had to throttle back to make sure I didn’t skid. Worry and regret flogged me as I squinted in the path of the lights, marking the tracks of her machine's tread.

The snowfall grew heavier. My grip tightened around the handles of the snowmobile as I checked Katie's location on my phone. If she found out I’d done that there’d be another fight, no doubt.

Her dot blinked on the screen on the road not too far away, not moving. In this worsening weather, it felt like miles away.

---