Page 29 of Cartel Viper
“Madeline, come home with us. We’ll tell Drew you just wanted to go to Enrique’s wedding. You can tell him you believed he wouldn’t let you go. Accept the consequences, but refusing is only making it worse.”
That’s Mikey, but they both know what he’ll do to me if I go back. There’s not a chance in hell I will. I’ll end it before I do that.
“You have a job to finish, Madeline. You don’t get to just walk away.”
Fuck you, Pauly.
That’s a large part of what this is about. It’s not just that Drew expects me at home with him. It’s the job I ran out on. It sure as fuck wasn’t delivering babies. I won’t get sucked back in, and I’m not ready to think about that shit.
“Gentlemen, I believe no one is there. Please wait in the lobby or return later.”
Oh, thank God.
I return to the door and put my eye to the peephole again. I haven’t seen this person behind the front desk before, but he’s a burly dude who’s even bigger than either Pauly or Mikey. He’s not chiseled like either of them, but there’s no doubting he’s a muscular man. I’ve seen Mikey and Pauly in fights, and my money would still be on the hotel staffer.
“The woman staying here is in the room. We think she might be in distress and can’t get to the door.”
Bullshit, Mikey.
“That’s not what multiple guests reported to us. You can leave, or we can call the police.”
Fuck.
Don’t kill him, please!
I watch the man push back his blazer and put his fingers on a walkie-talkie call button. A red light goes on, so he’s pressing it. Anything else that’s said will get transmitted.
“Fine.” Pauly begrudgingly concedes for now, but the look he casts me through the door would make most mobsters wither.
Too bad I’ve gotten way worse from Drew, so it has no effect on me.
“We’ll be back, Madeline.”
I pray the receptionist doesn’t correct Mikey and tells him the room’s reserved under the name Caitlyn. The man’s brow furrows for a moment before he twists to point toward the elevator. I shift to watch the men for as long as I can, but they disappear before they pass the next door.
I gather my purse and grab one of the larger knifes. I count to one hundred before I ease the door open. I hear nothing, but I still don’t move. I wait for one of them to react to the sound of the door opening. I hear the elevator ping, and that’s my cue. I bolt for the stairwell and push open the door. I don’t let it slam, but someone must have heard me because Mikey bellows my name.
I get down half a flight to the quarter landing and notice a door that says an alarm will sound. I don’t give a shit. It must lead to the exterior fire exit ladders I’ve seen. I burst through it, but no alarm goes off. I nearly break my neck a few times as I practically slip rather than run down the stairs. I jump down the last three on each flight. I hear men’s heavy tread on the metal above me, but I don’t dare look back or look up. Neither Pauly nor Mikey call to me, but I know it’s them.
When I get to the parking lot, I zig-zag among the cars. If they followed me, they know what I drive and where I’m parked, but I work on the principle that it’s harder to hit a moving target. I wait until I’m a car away before I unlock mine. It takes two hands to pull it shut as Mikey grabs the handle. I barely get it closed, but my finger is over the lock button when I do. I press on it and hear the mechanism.
I barely breathe before Mikey’s pounding on the window. I turn on the car as I watch him reach back and under his leather jacket. I know he carries a retractable billy club. If he gets that out, he’ll smash my window. At the same time, Pauly’s positioned himself in front of my car.
Dumb move.
I put the car in drive and give him a nudge. Fair warning. Rather than take the gentle hints, he climbs onto my hood. It’s about to be Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
I don’t exactly gun it, but I press hard on the gas pedal. I need to get away from Mikey’s baton and get Pauly off my car. Anyone watching would call my driving erratic. I call it strategic. I take a sharp turn in the parking lot at speed, and it flings Pauly off. He goes sailing into another car. I’m certain he’ll survive, and they’ll both soon be chasing me down. But it buys me time to get on the road.
I know where I’m going. I don’t even have to think twice about it. I need to get into Manhattan. From there, I’m not entirely certain.
I pull my belt on, and my car stops yelling at me. I wriggle and pull my phone from my back pocket. I glance at the screen and see a dozen missed calls from Xavi.
Javier.
I see I have several texts too. I don’t have time to read them, but he must know something’s wrong. I unlock the screen with my thumb as I half watch the road and half look at my phone. I hit the missed call notification and tap the dial button.
“Maddy!”
