Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
If they know how badly I’ve fallen for her, then they’ll try to use her against me. Or they can simply try to take her from me. That means they have to die.
“I love you too.” I cup her face, pressing my forehead to hers. “Stay in the house and listen to Sal, even Nikolai. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, you can trust me.”
I give her one last kiss before I head downstairs to meet Sergio and a handful of my other men.
Once we have our plan in place and I’m satisfied that the condo is secure, we head out. I don’t want to leave Mona, but I know what needs to be done. She’s in good hands with Sal and Nikolai.
“What are you thinking?” Sergio asks me as we make the drive across the city.
“I don’t know.” I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something that isn’t right. I had already offered to meet Mona’s father, Conor, on multiple occasions, but he hadn’t wanted to settle all of this. The sudden change of heart to meet makes me uneasy. I’m sure I’m just being overcautious, but my gut usually isn’t wrong about things like this.
The only thing I can think of is that he finally came to the realization that he’s fighting a losing battle. I’m sure he'd rather get money or some kind of trade instead of losing everything. I think he could be content with a deal. It's Aidan O’Haire that is the wildcard here. I know he will always try to get more. “Do we have eyes on the warehouse yet?”
Sergio hands me the screen so that I can see it. Fuck, do I love technology. I’m not old school when it comes to everything. The drone gives a perfect view of who is coming and going from the warehouse.
The screen switches over to show body heat so I can count the number of people inside for myself, but I’m sure Zero has been keeping a count. I hit the top corner to connect with him. I pulled Zero into my fold years ago when he almost got nabbed by the FBI.
“Have they arrived?” I ask when the phone connects.
“Only Conor. There is no sign of Aidan.”
I tap the driver's shoulder, letting him know to slow down as I pull through the shitty chain link gate and into the parking lot of the warehouse. That sinking feeling of something not adding up is still prickling at the back of my mind.
“Boss?” Sergio raises a brow in question, wondering what I’m thinking.
“Any incoming vehicles?” We’re down in the warehouse district. The streets are desolate when night falls. Only half the warehouses are even used down here anymore.
“Nothing,” Zero responds. I hear him clicking away. I motion for the driver to stop completely. Where the fuck is Aidan? My mind goes straight to Mona. The one thing that could be used against me.
“Check my condo.”
“What?” Zero responds. I’m not sure why I give a shit about my condo right now.
“Check it!” I bark as the warehouse in front of me explodes, sending everything into chaos.
I’ve been in a lot of precarious situations in my life, but never have I felt the sense of panic that comes over me at the thought of something happening to my little rabbit and our baby.
There better not be a hair on her head that’s out of place or I’m going to burn both the O’Haire and Rossi families to the ground. Strike that. I’m going to destroy all of them regardless just for thinking about touching my little rabbit.
16
MONA
Ilie in bed, unable to sleep. All I can think about is Matteo and what might be happening right this very second. I toss and turn until I finally give up and decide to go make some tea. When I open the bedroom door, I freeze when I see a figure standing in the hallway outside Riley's door.
“It’s me.” Nikolai flips on the hallway light. I notice blood on the corner of his mouth and right eyebrow. But more than that, I see that he’s holding a gun.
“What are you doing?”
“I think the better question is, what is Riley doing?” Nikolai tries the handle on her door without knocking, but it doesn’t open.
“The hell are you doing?” I rush toward him as he lifts his foot, kicking the door right in. “Stop!” I grab the back of his shirt, but it does nothing but slip right out of my grasp. I fall back on my ass into the hallway. Riley shoots up from the bed, trying to blink away the sleep.
“Nikolai?” She rubs her eyes.
“Where is it?” He towers over her on the bed. Riley scoots until her back hits the headboard.
“You got them?” Sal shouts from down the hallway. He’s stumbling toward me. I see blood running down his arm. Sal, too, has a gun in his hand.