Surprise Baby for the Don (Dark Daddies #2)

Chapter 20

20

Mateo

I ’m sprinting toward my car, the weight of my gun pressing against my side as I hit the fob to unlock it. My heart pounds, adrenaline coursing through me, each second stretching out painfully long. Ginny is at the very place David warned me about. Has he been watching her, or is it just coincidence? With the Savinis, I never assume coincidence. They may be idiots, but they are precise in their ways. I have to get to her before he does or else I will have let everyone down. Her sister. Her dad. Hell, even my father.

When she’s safe, I’m not letting her go anywhere without a bodyguard. I don’t care how much she protests, she’s never going to be put in harm’s way again. This wasn’t supposed to happen, she was never supposed to get caught up in my work.

I press the call button on my phone, dialing Rocco as I throw myself into the driver’s seat and start the engine. It rings twice before he picks up, his voice always a reassurance.

“Yeah, boss?” he asks, totally calm.

“Rocco, listen to me. I need everyone at the Wheeler apartment complex. Right now,” I tell him, trying and failing to keep the panic out of my voice.

My tires squeal loudly as I peel out of my driveway, and I’m sure he can hear them. Hell, I’m sure everyone within ten blocks can hear them. Hopefully it will convey exactly how serious this situation is. There’s a beat of silence on the other end as Rocco processes what I’ve said, and I can practically feel the tension through the line.

“Understood,” he finally answers, calming the storm inside of me by a fraction. “I’ll call the men—” he starts to say, but suddenly there’s a commotion, loud and chaotic.

There’s a shuffle and the phone seems to fall, hitting the ground hard. I hear him curse, a muffled thud, and then a raw, piercing scream that cuts through me like a knife. It’s Rocco’s voice, crying out in pain. I’m terrified he’s having a heart attack, and my panic rises even higher. I have to pull over to avoid hitting a car in front of me, and I take a few steadying breaths as I call out his name.

“Rocco?” I shout into the phone, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white. “Rocco, what’s going on? Are you hurt?”

Silence. My pulse races, each second stretching out as I strain to hear something, anything that tells me he’s all right. All I can picture is him passed out on some sidewalk, nobody there to help him. He’s like a father to me, the man who helped raise me. He can’t be dying right now, not when Ginny’s in trouble too. It’s too much.

“Rocco, answer me!” I bark, my voice a mix of panic and fury.

There’s a faint rustling, and then a voice comes through the line. David fucking Savini. His tone is smooth and mocking, and I realize that Rocco is in worse trouble than I thought.

“Mateo, Mateo, Mateo,” he drawls, sounding almost bored. “You really should learn to keep a tighter leash on your men. I guess I lied when I told you that you don’t need to worry about them.”

My hand tightens around the phone, rage simmering beneath the surface. I pull back onto the road, slamming the pedal to the floor to get to the apartment complex as quickly as I can. If I can get to Ginny before they do, I can get her to safety, and then I can take my men to rescue Rocco.

“David,” I growl, forcing myself to stay as calm as possible. “Where’s Rocco? What the hell have you done to him?”

“Relax, Mateo. He’s alive.” He pauses for a moment. “At least for now. But you’ve got a choice to make.” His tone is light, like he’s discussing the weather instead of threatening my closest friend’s life. “You can save your precious consigliere or your little whore.”

My stomach drops, and I realize I’m already too late. They have her. I pull off the road again, frozen in fear and indecision.

“What the fuck have you done to Ginny?” I growl lowly, hoping every ounce of my venom comes through. “I’ll kill you if you touch one hair on her head.”

He laughs soundly, unmoved by my threat. He holds all the cards and we both know it. To take two of the people I care about most in the world is low, even for his family. This isn’t how gentlemen do business.

“Please,” I finally say, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. “Don’t hurt her.”

“I thought you might see things my way.” He chuckles, and I realize I’ve given him exactly what he wanted, played right into his hand. I curse under my breath, quiet enough that he won’t hear me over the line. “Here’s what you’re going to do. Meet up with my brother Carlo at our compound. Hand over the deed and keys to the Wheeler apartments to him, and you can save them both. No harm, no foul.”

I growl through gritted teeth. “You don’t threaten me without inviting the devil to your door, David, you must understand that.”

“I’ve never been scared of the devil,” he says nonchalantly.

Why do these bastards care so much about the Wheeler apartments? They’re not even remotely profitable. They’ve been abandoned for years, and it’ll be months or years before I get them functional enough to start selling. None of this makes any sense.

“Level with me, David,” I try again, my voice calmer now. “What is so important about these apartments?”

David chuckles again, and I can practically see the smug grin on his face.

“This isn’t about the apartments, Mateo. It’s about respect. Respect you haven’t given to our family. Respect your father pretended to give while he worked against us. The apartments are just the beginning. Consider it an opening salvo in the New Deal.”

My hands clench around the steering wheel as I process his words, my mind racing from his words. This isn’t just a turf war, it’s personal, a twisted vendetta born out of old grievances that have nothing to do with me. And now Ginny and Rocco are caught in the crossfire.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm, to think. “And what happens if I don’t agree to this ‘New Deal’ of yours?”

In the background, I hear a sharp sound, a slap, followed by a guttural, pained cry. My heart stops, my entire body going rigid as the realization hits me. I know that voice. Ginny.

The fury that surges through me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s a cold, consuming rage, one that makes my vision blur at the edges. If I was undecided before, that sound alone seals my decision. They’re dead men.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” I scream. “I warned you, David, lay a finger on her and you’re fucking dead.”

I’m sitting at a light now, turning around to head back to my house. I’ve got to assemble my men, make a plan to get Rocco and Ginny back. They’re clearly together, David has given that much away. He’s too much of a prideful idiot to not realize that he’s given me that much information.

“You have until six p.m.,” David says, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction. “After it gets dark, well, it gets really dangerous out here. I’m sure you understand.”

The line goes dead, and I’m left sitting in the car, my heart pounding, my mind racing with a hundred different thoughts, a hundred different fears. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. This is a trap. I know that. David and Carlo have set the stage, and they’re counting on me to walk right into it.

But Ginny’s out there and so is Rocco. They’re both depending on me, and I’ll be damned if I let either of them down. I take another steadying breath and hit the gas, my mind already working out a plan as I speed back toward my home.

They’ll hang for this. They both will. Peace treaties be damned, they cannot be allowed to get away with this gross act of aggression toward me in any context. I call Red and tell him to meet me at my place. He’s tasked with getting everyone together since Rocco is now incapacitated.

By the time they arrive, I’m already back in my office pacing, trying to work out a plan of attack. Red and Bats get there first, Bats with a smug smile, the promise of impending violence exciting him. Red is stoic as always, but there’s a glint of exhilaration in his eyes as well.

The men trickle in until the office is full, everyone expectant and hungry for blood. They’ve been wanting to go toe to toe with the Savinis for years, but out of respect for the memory of my father, I’ve kept them at bay. That ends now. Perched on the edge of my desk, I look at them all, men who are ready to follow me into battle, no matter what. They don’t care that this is a personal vendetta, they want to see the Savinis ended as much as I do.

“This isn’t just a battle,” I address them. “This is a rescue mission. The Savinis have Rocco, and they have Ginny.”

The men grumble, their shock and anger evident.

“This isn’t just a war between us and the Savinis, as much as you all want it to be,” I warn them. “They’ve attacked me personally, and they will be treated as such. I can’t ask any of you to go in there without knowing all of the facts.”

“You know we’d do anything for you, boss,” Bats answers, though he’s usually a man of very few words. His bat is already twirling in his hand, ready to go.

“Then we take them all out with violent precision. I’m not losing any of you all either,” I tell him with a nod. “And we need to leave now. There isn’t much time.”

The men nod, and conversation breaks out as I dismiss them to get ready. They’re all strapped up, ready to go.

Red, Bats, and I pile into the car with two more of my men, and another carload of men follow behind. We’ll get them back whatever it takes.