Page 34 of Relentless Refuge

“Well that’s simple, dear. You’re going to come to an agreement with me. I don’t wish you harm or ill will. I think it’s fabulous that a woman has risen to assume such a powerful throne. I’ve watched your business dealings, and I think you’re doing a fine job.” He takes a piece of bread and dips it in the soup, waving itaround as he speaks. “But being this is a man’s world, you’ll need alliances.”

“I have an alliance with the Romano family. It’s secure and we’re doing fine.” My words are tight, like my shoulders—squared and so tense you could pluck them like guitar strings.

“Ah, but is it really an alliance?” He winks at me as he bites the bread he sopped in his soup.

“It’s more than.” My resolve is firm, but my stomach forgets that. I feel it rising, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I try to fight it, swallowing harder and harder to keep it down, but there isn’t a glass of water to aid me.

“Marriage is tricky, Ms. D’Angelo,” he croons, just as my stomach empties itself. I lean over the red carpet and let it all out, the contents of my half-digested dinner, the vitamin I took moments before I started eating, and all my dignity, there on the rug.

The man chuckles at my misfortune as I retch until I can’t breathe, then I take the cloth napkin off the table and wipe my mouth and nose clean.

“What, are you pregnant?” he says sardonically, and I remain silent. He’ll learn soon enough that I carry the heir to the Romano throne, and then I will be even more valuable to him, but in the meantime, I will never be known for lying. My word will be my bond. I’ve made that decision very firmly now, after having lied to Marco and my family more than once. I hate it. I won’t do it anymore, but I won’t confess either.

“Ah, you are…” He arches an eyebrow and nods. “Well, I suppose congratulations are in order.”

The bile in the back of my throat is only leftover from vomiting, but I feel like this man draws it out of me. He’s disgusting and terrifying, but I won’t be intimidated.

“I suppose they are.” Keeping my cool, I ask, “Now, what are you expecting me to do?” I will play along a little while longer, but I will never give him information on Marco. This man is a snake and a coward, and I know he’s responsible for the hit on my Family. He’s lucky I don’t take the steak knife lying on the table next to my plate and plunge it into his heart. He doesn’t even deserve that quick of a death. He deserves torture and pain, the very same amount he’s put me through in mourning my family.

If Marco doesn’t get here soon, I may make my move. For now, I’ll be patent, though. At least I’ll be able to learn a few things in the process.

25

MARCO

Victor and I jump into my car. I don’t have time for a driver, nor do I want to leave that much to someone else’s responsibility. I have thirty men out searching for her, deep within Russian territory. We’re risking the biggest battle of this war yet, but I’m not backing down. I must get to her and bring her back.

“I can’t believe she’d be so dumb. What was she thinking?” Victor sucks on a cigarette, blowing his smoke out the window as I speed down streets and whip around corners. We have a crystal clear image of the vehicle that took her from the neighbor’s security camera footage, complete with a license plate.

Warren pulled up all the feeds, and we watched on the monitors as she dropped from the awning over the patio into the pine tree in the backyard. She was wrapped in a blanket, which we later found clinging to the pine branches where she left it. There was almost no trace of her other than the lights in the back yard flipping on because of motion detection, until she landed in the back yard of my neighbor behind the house. They were gracious enough, when I barged into their home only thirty minutes agowith three of my men and guns in each hand, to show us the footage.

“She’s not dumb. She is determined, and she won’t let anything stop her, even if it’s dangerous. In my book, that’s a hallmark of a leader, Victor, and one of the reasons you were not chosen to lead this family and I was. You are a coward, and cowards don’t lead.” I turn a corner, deeper into Bratva territory, and my eyes are wide open and searching. The small black sedan is nowhere. We saw one we thought was it, but the plates weren’t a match and when we knocked on the door, it was a family already turned in for the night with the lights off. They were frightened, but we told them not to worry about a thing.

“Did you call Schuler?” he asks, and I scowl. Schuler has been useless since the day we put him on the books. His so-called intel only gave us the warning an hour before it happened, and then it didn't give details.

“I told him to trace her line in case she makes a call, but if they took her, they’ve trashed her phone by now. You’d think they’d know better. Not only will they draw fire from me, but her entire Family will explode when they hear it. When I called Nicolo, he said they were already gathered, that she was headed to meet them for an important announcement.” I am so furious with myself. I should have stayed with her. I should have been the one protecting her. I should have told her the threat and she’d have understood.

As it stands, I don’t know how her Family will respond. They may blame me and turn on me now, thinking if I’d never gotten involved with the D’Angelo name, Isabella’s father would still be alive and she’d be safe. Or they may decide my Family is an asset and added strength to their search and bind together with me.I’m not sure. All I know is if we don't find her soon, we’re likely to lose her for good. These guys play for blood.

“Look, look!” Victor points down the street and flicks his cigarette out the window, then pulls his pair of binoculars up to his eyes. He reads the license plate out loud, and I know we’ve found the car, at least. I punch the accelerator to the floor and zoom up the block, squealing my tires on the pavement as I slam on the breaks and screech to a stop next to the car.

“It’s them…” Staring at the black car, I try to see inside its darkly tinted windows, but they are all blacked out. I can’t even tell if someone is in it until the window starts to come down slowly and I see the tip of the gun barrel emerge.

“Drive, drive!” Victor shouts as he bends low in his seat and pops the glove box. I take off like a bat out of hell, using every bit of power in my V8 to tear off down the street. Bullets riddle the back of my car, shattering my taillights and puncturing my trunk, but thankfully, nothing that puts us out of commission. Yet.

We head down the street, weaving left and right, the Bratva hitmen hot on our trail. “I thought we shook them off back there!” I yell through gritted teeth as I take a hard right, narrowly missing a delivery truck.

"Not these guys, they’re pros!” Victor responds, fiddling with something in his lap. “Damn it, I wish I'd grabbed my AR!"

"We're in the city limits, moron, no time for your Rambo fantasies! Just hold on!" Ignoring my brother's stupidity, I swerve onto a residential street, hoping the narrow roads and parked cars will give us an advantage over their sedan. The roar of their engine gets louder, and I glance into my rearview mirrorin time to see their car fishtailing around the corner, gaining on us fast.

"Victor, do something or we're dead!" I say as I gun the engine and fly past more suburban homes.

"I'm working on it!" he growls, struggling with something under his seat. "Ah, got it!" As I watch in the mirror, he shoots upward through the sunroof. "How's that for Rambo?" he asks as he stands on his seat and pokes his head out the sunroof, returning fire.

I don't have time to deal with his stupidity since I'm too busy evading our enemy, but all I can think is how Victor is the only man who would shoot out a window rather than opening it. He sways as I turn a corner and uses his knee to brace himself on my shoulder. I try to remain steady, but the momentum has me swinging around too.

"Watch it, asshole! I'm trying to do some precision shooting here!" he hollers above the wind and gunfire.

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