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CHAPTER6
Cyrus
I didn’t rush out of the pub right away after Jon left. I sipped my whiskey as I made a few phone calls. As much as I wanted to trust Jon, I knew better than to rely on him completely. I put in calls to several other families that were as powerful as the Montagna family, but who weren’t exactly on the friendliest terms with them, knowing it wouldn’t take much to bring them to my side.
By the time I finished my drink, another hour had passed, and it was time to return home. I threw several large bills down on the table as I walked away from the booth. My driver was waiting outside. As I climbed in the back side, I looked back at the derelict pub. The paint was chipped in places and the siding was cracked, but all of that added to its nostalgic character.
The car drove away, and I watched the dark streets roll by. The city was still very much alive at this hour. Pedestrians jogged along the sidewalk. A woman in a business suit speed-walked past people moving casually down the street.
We’d only driven about a block or two before Frank rolled down the divider between us.
“Boss, you need to take a look at this,” he exclaimed worriedly. I narrowed my eyes in confusion and leaned forward so that I had a view out the windshield.
My building was on fire.
“Gun it. Get me there now,” I yelled.
The roar of the engine answered for him. I sat back as he ignored traffic lights and sped around cars on the street. At one point, he even drove on the wrong side of the road, but he pulled up in front of my restaurant in record time. I leapt out of the car and raced inside. I ran back into the kitchen and cursed when I saw a body lying face down on the tile floor.
It was Stevie. There was a pool of blood beneath him, the red stark against the cream-colored Tuscan tile. I knelt and pressed my fingers against the side of his neck. There was no pulse. I leaned over to see a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead.
I stood back up and searched the rest of the place. Mikey wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Hopefully he wasn’t hurt or worse.
I couldn’t get back to the pantry because that seemed to be where the fire had started.
I sprinted out of the kitchen to the stairway. I climbed the stairs two at a time, ignoring the stinging burn of smoke edging into my lungs. My eyes watered, but that didn’t stop me. I crashed through the door using my shoulder. I grunted from the pain, but I ignored it. The outer walls were ablaze. Flames licked at the curtains and the whole structure groaned.
“Ava!” I roared. Panic billowed through me, and my vision turned red. If she was hurt, I would rip the ones responsible apart piece by piece.
I didn’t see her anywhere. As I searched, I found signs of a struggle. Chairs were knocked over. Broken plates and glasses littered the carpet. She wasn’t there.
“Help!”
I openly gasped with relief at hearing her voice.
“I’m back here!” she called out again. It was coming from the direction of my theater room. I rushed toward it, vaulting over a fallen potted plant as I raced down the hallway past my bedroom and the guest bedroom to the staircase at the back of the building.
Part of it had caved in. The smoke was extremely thick here, and I did my best to breathe in as little as possible. When I glanced up the stairs, I saw that one of the ceiling beams had fallen, blocking the exit.
She peeked down.
“Are you okay?” I yelled out.
“Yes!” she answered quickly.
“Anyone with you?” I shouted and she shook her head.
“Mikey dragged some guy out of here, but I haven’t seen him since then,” she exclaimed worriedly.
“Stay there. I’ll come get you,” I bellowed.
There was only one other way to get to her and I wasn’t certain it would work.
Her face disappeared and I sped into the guest room. I opened the window and climbed out onto the rickety metal staircase. I’d been meaning to bring the whole structure up to code one of these days, but it hadn’t been a priority.
I sure wish that I’d made it one right now.
The platform was rusted, and it squealed under my weight. I looked up, cursing as I realized that the ladder to the third floor was only just out of my reach. The heat from the burning building scorched my lungs.
