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After all, I’d not only been trained by one of Boston’s finest, but also the fiercest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lia
Standing in the foyer, I swept my gaze around and listened hard. The usual hum of the house, the heating, and the other appliances were silenced. There was nothing but the scrape of wind through branches and around the eaves, then I heard it: voices and heavy footsteps.
Darting across the cold wood floors with my bare feet, I got to a table by the bottom of the staircase whose protection was practically laughable but was completely tucked into shadow. Pressing my back against the stairs, I listened hard as the men came down the hall.
At one point, I heard a door be kicked open and flinched, but I knew it was coming from the hall behind me. Ty's office was in front of me. Rough, low laughter and mocking voices came down the hall, and I swallowed hard, straining to hear.
“—guess we got those bastards good.”
“The boss made a goddamn clever call, huh?”
“Pigged out on Duomo,” snickered another, and I tensed as I heard them enter the foyer. A flashlight cut through the room, and a low whistle sounded. The sound set my nerves on edge, and I clenched my damp palms, trying to calm my heart. “Damn. I knew the Michaelson family did well, but notthiswell.”
“The Rhino bought this house for his kid. Never even lived here.”
“Shut the fuck up,” droned another, and my blood went ice-cold at his voice.
Terror tightened around my scalp, and my mouth went dry. I had to fight the urge to run and get as far away from this man as possible. The lethal anger scared me as nothing else could and from the way his men shut up, so much so that they didn’t even seem to breathe, I knew he had to be the leader.
“Let’s get this done.” Boots clomped across the floor, and I saw the flashlights zero in on the closed office door. A fist thudded and I jumped, barely swallowing a squeak. “I think this is Michaelson’s office. Were there lights on in here?”
“I don’t know,” said another. “Someone was in the bedroom — we saw them move.”
Another man joined him and I heard them grunting as they shouldered the door and twisted the handle, cursing under their breath.
“Think it’s locked, Jock,” said the first man. “Aw, what?”
“What?” Jock mimicked back in a way that made my hair stand on end. This dude was bad news. Every instinct now screamed at me to take my chance, to get far away from all of this, and I trembled all over. “You can stay here and try to get it open, that’s what.”
“No way,” the man whined. “That’s like solid oak or some shit.”
“So, use your goddamn lockpicking kit, Joe, useless fucking thief or I’ll use your dick to open it.” Jock walked closer to the staircase, and the flashlight cut a hairbreadth away from my neck as he shined it upstairs. “Sarksi, you’re with me.”
“Can I shoot Michaelson?” Sarksi asked with an eagerness that made my skin crawl.
“We’ll see,” Jock said. “We gotta get the girl, first.Alive, Sarksi.”
Sarksi let out a dark chuckle. “Too bad. At least she can witness a headshot go right through her kidnapper.Bangbang!”
“Yeah, let’s fuck with her head,” Joe called over with relish. “Hell, maybe fuck her if the boss says it’s okay. Hear she’s a pretty piece of college ass.”
I couldn’t repress the shudder that went over me, nor the cold sense of terror creeping up my spine. They weren’t only after Ty and the Michaelson men.
They were after me and I didn’t think they’d take kindly to me standing in their way.
“Keep it in your pants for two fucking seconds, shitheels,” Jock growled. “And besides, if anyone is getting a reward, it's me for running it. So, fuck off my goods.”
Pressing a hand to my mouth, I thought I was going to be sick. The trembling got worse, and I didn’t know if I could do this. How could I take out three gangsters by myself?? Suddenly, I recalled what Ty had said.
You’re in too deep, Lia. Someone could use you against me. I can’t let that happen. I can’t let my enemies get near you.
They’ve been waiting for this chance for years.
You have no idea.
