Page 68 of Unloaded
“Bitch!” Vinnie bellows. He spins me around and lands a hard backhand to the left side of my face. My lip splits and sends blood flying from the impact. Clutching my hand to my face, I hear a scuffle behind me, flesh hitting flesh. I try to see what is happening to my brothers, but Vinnie is dragging me outside toward the car.
Surely someone in this place will call the police.Won’t they?To my utter horror, everyone is watching, but no one moves to intervene. I guess they’ve seen the guns and realize how deadly it would be to try to stop these men.
“You’re going to regret that little stunt,” Vinnie growls as he shoves me into the back seat and crawls in behind me. I catch a glimpse of the boys being shoved into the SUV just as Vinnie slams our door shut. The driver jumps in, and we are on the move again.
Vinnie keeps looking over his shoulder behind us as we speed down the interstate. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I turn to look, too, but I don’t see any sign of the SUV.
“Where are my brothers?” I demand after we’ve been on the road for a several minutes and there’s still no sign of the SUV. Vinnie ignores me by getting on his phone to send a text.
Getting no reply, I ask again. Still I’m ignored which only serves to piss me off. I should keep my mouth shut, but I’ve rarely done what I should do. I have nothing left to lose.
“Answer me asshole!” Another slap to the face is my answer.
Eventually he says, “You’d better learn some restraint before we get to Mr. Caprice, because he won’t be as easy on you as I am.” I roll my eyes, as I let out a derisive snort, because let’s face it, he isn’t being kind to me at all.
“Last warning!” he seethes. “Keep your mouth shut or else.”
Fuck!Doing my best to hide my fear, I consider my situation. No one knows where I am or that I’ve been taken by Nicolai’s men. Goosebumps rise on my skin as I close my eyes and attempt to breathe through the panic as that realization hits.What in the hell am I going to do?
My nausea increases as I remember details about Nicolai Caprice, head of the Russian mafia in Chicago and possibly all of the United States. He is well-known for his brutal deeds, that include torture, kidnapping, and murder, just to name a few, if rumors are to be believed.
It is paramount I figure something out. I won’t be forced to marry this monster, nor will I allow the boys to be forced into a life of crime. I’m not going to let all the years on the run be for nothing. One way or another, Iwillget us out of this.
29
ROSCO
Luke’s phone rings while we are talking with Tiger. He looks at the caller id. Instead of ignoring the call, like he normally would during an important meeting, he answers it. An uncomfortable feeling runs through me. Something is wrong. I just know it.
“Robertson, you’re on speaker.” Luke lays his phone down on the dining room table. “Sorry Tiger, hang on a minute,” he adds.
“Hey, Luke, it’s Atwood. I just got some disturbing news from a friend at the state police.”
“What’s that?” Luke asks. My mind races with possibilities. Has Rachel gone to them about her brothers’ abduction? Or does this have to do with the incident at my house? The police and other agencies had wanted to question her, but I’d put them off thinking she needed time to compose herself first.
“My friend, Trooper Lane Carter called to say he found a vehicle crashed on the side of the interstate not too far from Norfolk, but the driver was nowhere to be found. A passerby called it in, but they didn’t see the actual accident.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Luke asks, keeping his voice level and calm.
“He called me because the vehicle is registered to Rachel Miller,” Atwood explains, “who he remembered had been at Rosco’s yesterday. She wouldn’t be at your place, would she, Luke? We still haven’t been able to speak with her about the shooting.”
“I’m afraid not,” Luke answers as my mind is reeling.No! Rachel is actually missing?
“Where is she, Luke?” Atwood demands. “We’ve been friends a long time, and I like to think we have a good working relationship. I went to bat for you when you were dealing with The Brotherhood. Don’t hold out on me now.”
“I’m not holding out on you, Mark,” Luke answers. “I honestly don’t know her location. She took off during the night, and we haven’t been able to locate her, yet.”
“Is she hurt? What all do you know?” I begin rapid firing questions while jumping to my feet to head for my truck, not giving Atwood time to answer any of them. My mind is too overloaded to think clearly.
Bo grabs my arm, holding me in place. How ironic is this? I’d been the one who’d kept him from running off half-cocked when Shelby had been missing.
“I’m sorry, Rosco, but I don’t have many answers for you.” Atwood’s voice is full of regret.
“What answers do you have?”
“Not much?—"
“What can you tell us about the scene of the accident?” Enos interrupts. He is one of the best we have at finding clues and solving problems that don’t seem to make sense.
