“You like my coffee shop, huh?” he asks.
“It’s not in my name, of course. It’s in a shell company name.”
His hands rest inside his apron pockets.
“Why did you fake your death?” I ask.
“We can’t talk here. We can talk in private.”
“My bodyguards won’t allow me to be alone with you.”
He lifts his left hand just a bit, exposing his fingers resting on a detonator.
Goosebumps prickle along the back of my neck. What the actual fuck?
I visibly swallow. “I’ll come with you. Leave my son.”
His brows lower. “And leave the little prince here. Absolutely not,” he says, venom lacing his words.
“Tell your security detail we’re going for a ride, or everyone dies today. Including your men outside.”
A man peeks up from his phone across the street and smirks. He flashes a row of C4 strapped to his body.
“We’re covered in the back of the building, too,” Rod confirms.
A man enters, pushing a dolly stacked with boxes. Without hesitation, he reaches into the top box, grabbing an AK-47 while simultaneously raising a detonator overhead.
“No one has to die today,” the man yells.
My bodyguards draw their weapons.
Screams erupt throughout the coffee shop.
“They’re after me!” I yell. “Hold your fire!” I command.
Reacher’s eyes widen as I take Maddens hand and rise from the booth.
Rod removes his hand fully from his apron, revealing the detonator.
“Walk out the back door and get into the van,” Rod orders.
My worst fear just came to life. I’m being kidnapped by a man who is my husband’s enemy.
Bets stands near the back door. I can see the wheels turning in his head. I shake my head silently, telling him to stand down.
Once we exit the back door. Madden and I get into the van.
Madden removes one earphone from his ear. “Mommy, where are we going?”
“For a fun ride,” I say.
One of Rod’s men slides the door closed behind Rod, who sits on the floor across from us. His finger is still poised above the button.
The man in the passenger seat tosses zip ties at me. “You know what to do,” he growls.
“Mommy, this isn’t a fun ride. They’re bad men.”
This is what happens when you’re raising a mafia boss in training. Madden has to know about the dark underworld. So he understands what danger looks like.
