AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That you don’t have the capability to retaliate.
And in this world, that kind of weakness will get you annihilated.
That’s why I’m here, preparing to abduct the woman who’s stupid enough to want to tie herself to the scum they call the Viper, on her wedding day. All over a two-bit stripper I fucked a time or two. Nothing serious. Nothing more than getting my feckin’ dick wet. I’m never interested in anything more than a hook-up, but I’d favored her because she knew the score and never expected any more than I was prepared to give, something I appreciate. Makes things less messy. So no, I didn’t care about her, but she sure as hell didn’t deserve what the Viper did to her for no other reason but her association with me.
The memory of her naked, abused, and mutilated body, her face unrecognizable, zip tied to the gates of my property, still pisses me off. I only managed to identify her by way of a tattoo on the inside of her ankle. One of the few spots on her body that wasn’t obliterated by cuts, welts, and burns. And if I’m honest, I was most pissed off by the disrespect the action portrayed and how others might view it.
Of course, it was the snake that had been shoved into her mouth before it was taped shut that gave Vito Rossi away. That is his calling card… the gruesome way he’d earned his nickname.
What I didn’t expect was her. The bride.
Maricela Escobar.
I hadn’t bothered to investigate her beforehand. That's irrelevant. But I guess I had some preconceived notions about the kind of woman who would marry a vicious-minded, middle-aged mobster.
A mature, brassy, Botoxed harpy.
And she wasn’t it.
It threw me for a moment. Stopped me dead in my tracks as I questioned whether I had the right person. Even if the wedding dress is a giveaway.
“Hurry it up,” my brother, Callum, urges from his lookout post by the door, pulling me out of my momentary distraction.
Taking a step forward, I intend to throw her over my shoulder, and prepare for the inevitable fight, but she surprises me again by hitching up her skirts and telling us who and what to expect… in a roundabout way.
I don’t have time to dissect any of it right now. Instead, I grab her arm because, let’s face it, it’s probably a trap, then haul her out of the room, dragging her along at a fast pace she has trouble matching in her high-heeled shoes. However, what she doesn’t do is try to make things difficult, and that has my brain on the fritz.
What the fuck is going on here?
As we make our way down the hallway, there's a commotion and the sound of heavy boots running towards us.
"Fuck, we've been discovered already," Callum growls.
We swing our guns up, ready to fire. It was a calculated strategy to come in light, just the two of us, but now it's us against the might of LCN.
"Back this way!" There's a pull on my arm, and the girl, Maricela, points to a stairwell behind us.
The steps lead upwards, and I shake my head. "No, going further into the building is a mistake. We'll be trapped."
"I know another way out," she says, her voice laced with a determination totally at odds with what's going on here.
She doesn't wait for either of us to comply; just whirls around in a froth of white satin and lace and heads off without us.
"What the fuck?" Does the woman not have an ounce of protective instinct in her body?
"Cal..." I alert my brother and take off after her because there's no way I'm going down in a blaze of glory for a captive I don't actually have.
"Jesus feckin' Christ," Callum curses as he turns to follow us, and we hit the stairs moments before the guards spot us.
To my surprise, there are only a half dozen steps before the staircase turns, keeping us out of sight, then splits. To the left, the stairs keep going up, but to the right there's a corridor and a flash of white reveals that's the direction the woman took, so we take off after her, thankful our soft-soled shoes don't give us away.
I don’t know what possesses me to trust her, but my sixth sense is telling me she’s our best bet right now, and for a few tense minutes, Maricela takes charge. She moves with ease, and it's clear she's familiar with the building, but at every turn I still expect to be ambushed as she leads us through a maze of passageways and doors I never would have known existed.
Plus, a careful ear tells me the shouts and footfalls are still a distance away. Further than they were before, and that can only be a good thing.
A few turns later, we come to a nondescript door where Maricela pauses. She stares at the two of us with uncertain eyes. "This exits onto a small road on the north side of the Abbey, adjacent to the cemetery," she says, hesitation in her voice and stance as her gaze flicks between us.
I push past her and open the door the merest crack, to see if it's safe.
