Chapter Thirty-Nine
MONIQUE
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Anger boiled in her veins as she walked away from the man she loved. She wouldn't look back. She wouldn't feel guilty. This was his fault, not hers. He was so damn stubborn and didn't know how to listen properly.
No, he could listen; he just didn't take anything he heard into consideration. He thought he had the answers to everything. Apparently, they must've been studying for two different tests because all of his answers had been wrong.
Which was why she'd set him on his ass – to give him some time to rethink things. She strode down the hall, mind drifting to Frederico, hoping he was alright. On the ride to the gala, they'd had a long talk, and he'd ended up revealing his true reasons for approaching Orazio. It was because...
"Did you hear me, Monique?" someone yelled in her face, gripping her shoulders.
Blinking, she stared up into Leo's furious gaze. Oh, right. Leo was here. Then she remembered what she'd just done to his don. Oh, damn! Leo was here.
"Don't worry," Monique told Leo as she shrugged out of his grip. "Your don isn't dead. I stabbed him with the needle Rome gave Cas for the kidnapping. It's only supposed to keep him knocked out long enough for us to make it to the cabin. Rome assured me that it wouldn't have any lingering effects or leave Raz feeling drowsy. He'll wake up good as new." And still stubborn as hell.
Leo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, releasing the breath in a rush.
Teeth clenched, he muttered, "You two are going to drive me insane."
She didn't have time to chat with Raz's right-hand man. "Where's Frederico? I want to check on him. I'm sure he'll need some medical attention."
"Frederico is the least of your worries," Leo told her. "I need to get the don out of here because the shit has hit the fan."
"This isn't part of the kidnapping act, is it?" Monique asked. "Because that's over for me."
"I wished this was an act. This is real. The old don is here."
Old don? "Raz's father?"
"Yes. He should be locked up. But now he's here, looking for Raz. He's armed and has guards with him. I need to get Raz out of here."
"But..." Monique started, mind moving in slow motion as she tried to comprehend the situation. "Raz has guards, too, right? This place is heavily guarded. Even Frederico pointed out how guarded it was."
"I'm learning that many of our guys never ceased working for the old don. The fact that the old don is free means someone who was supposed to be on our team let him out."
"So, they betrayed Raz?"
"No. They never gave their loyalty to Raz. It's been with the old don the entire time, and I should've caught on to it. Fuck! "
A loud noise sounded from down the hall.
"Those locked doors won't hold long," Leo told her. "I need to get Orazio out of here. You too. Let's go."
Leo strode past her, heading to Raz.
Monique continued staring down the hall in the direction Leo had just come from. "I can't leave yet. I have to find Meka and Toya." They were there because of her. If anything happened to them, she'd never forgive herself.
"They're with Cas and Rome. They're good."
"How do you know?"
"I contacted both Cas and Rome through our earpieces and told them to get out now. Don't think about stepping out there. You'd be captured the moment the old don's guards saw you. They're looking for you and Raz."
Monique started to ask why they wanted her, but the reason was clear.
"They want me because I'm important to him," Monique mused, voice low as she watched Leo hoist Raz up. "They want to use me to get to him."
"Yes. Because you're his first love. And his crazy ass doesn't know how to handle it. He's never had his heart broken. He's never had his heart stirred. He's never had to worry about keeping a woman safe or happy. He doesn't even know how to handle the happiness you bring him. He's crazy as fuck on a regular day. Throw in you, and he becomes a psychopath. I'm not defending Raz's actions. I'm just saying I feel him. His father knows you're his weakness and wants to use you against him. Again."
Poor Raz. He had every right to fear for her safety. Being loved by him was the reason she and her friends were now in danger again . But it was a danger she trusted him and his team to protect her from. He just had to trust in himself the way she did. And wake up... to protect them, he needed to wake up.
"Let me help you," Monique offered, rushing to Raz's other side and placing his arm around her shoulder, just like Leo was doing.
"He's out cold, so he's dead weight. Don't hurt yourself. Raz would kill me if you got hurt," Leo told her as they started forward, heading in the direction Leo had just come from. "Careful," Leo said again.
Even at a time like this, Leo was worried about her safety because he knew Raz would be worried about it. Monique blinked back tears, almost regretting knocking Raz out. Who was she kidding? She fully regretted it.
Though he deserved it, now was not the time for it. If anything happened to him, she'd hate herself for the rest of her life. And if anything happened to her, he'd feel guilty, and the entire city would probably end up suffering.
"Is there a close exit?" Monique asked, straining under the weight of Raz.
"Yes. There's an emergency exit in the kitchen. The kitchen staff has already been ordered to leave."
"What's going on out there in the gala?"
"The old don and his men aren't allowing anyone to leave. Raz locked this place down after he saw you with Frederico. But if he hadn't, it still would've gone on lockdown. That had been the old don's plan. Both of them think alike. Luckily, I was able to get back to this section of the gala and lock the doors before a guard I thought I could trust could stab me. I have two guards that I trust guarding the doors. They'll leave with us."
"One of Raz's guards tried to stab you?" Monique asked, growing more nervous.
"Yes. He was ordered by the old don to kill me. I betrayed the old don because I believed in Raz. Now, there's a price on my head. But I'm not the main prize. The old don wants you and Raz. He's not letting the guests leave until he shows them that he's still in charge and that Raz is betraying the family by trying to steal the title."
As they turned a corner, Monique asked, "How do you know all of this? You weren't gone that long."
"When I had a guard escort Miconi to the room his daughter was supposed to be in, the guard reported back that Isla wasn't in the room. He said it looked like there had been an altercation in the room. I tried to contact the guard in charge of watching over Isla, but I couldn't reach him. At first, I thought Isla must've had a weapon on her and attacked the guard. Then, I noticed that many of our guards weren't at their posts. I tried contacting them with no response. Then I saw him descending the stairs."
"Who?"
"The old don. The room went quiet, and I knew the shit had hit the fan. I contacted Rome and Cas and told them to get the girls... I mean, ladies , and leave. When I reached out to them, I learned that Bryceson and Julian were having a drink with Meka, Cas, and Toya in one of the private rooms, discussing the kidnapping plan. Bryce and Julian wanted to stay and confront the old don. But I told them to leave with the others. We didn't have time to plan a proper counterattack. Confronting the old don without knowing who all was on his side would've been too risky."
"Understandable. Can you check on my friends for me using your earpiece?"
"Coms have gone silent because we don't know who could be listening in. That's why I didn't reach out to Raz to let him know which door to exit from. I didn't know who was listening in. Trust me, Cas and Rome won't let anything happen to your friends. And knowing your friend Toya, I'm sure she has a weapon on her."
If Monique wasn't so nervous, she would've laughed at that. However, she was too nervous to even smile. She looked over at Raz. He hadn't moved a muscle yet. He didn't know his dad was trying to undermine everything he'd been working on these last few months.
When he awoke, he'd be disappointed and raging mad if his father had reclaimed the title. If he was awake right now, what would he do? Monique almost chuckled. She never thought she'd be in a situation like this, asking herself, 'What would Raz do?'
Yet, here she was. So, what would Raz do? Would he run, or would he confront his father head-on? She was pretty sure he'd go the confrontation route. Leo came to an abrupt halt. Too busy staring at Raz, Monique nearly toppled over when he did so. She followed his gaze.
"What the hell is going on?" he yelled.
Two guards turned to face him.
"The fucking kitchen has been locked, and the door is blocked on the other side by some heavy shit. We can't get out this way," one of the guards told him.
"Someone on the kitchen staff must've been paid off to do this shit," the other guard said, seething mad. "I want to put a bullet in someone right now."
Damn, how many people had betrayed Raz? And why was that making her so angry? He’d left her to be the don, to protect these ungrateful people, and they’d turned on him. What the hell? Before Leo could speak up, Monique did.
"You'll get a chance to do just that soon," she said, causing the guards to look her way.
"Um, get a chance to do what?" the guard asked.
"Put a bullet in someone," she replied.
Confused, they stared from Monique to Leo. Leo wore the same expression as them when he faced Monique.
"What are you talking about?" Leo asked her. "Never mind. There's another way out. There isn't a car at that exit, but at least we can get the don out of the building and off the premises. I'll call for a pickup...."
"The don isn't going anywhere," Monique told them. "And neither are we."
"Was she paid off, too?" one of the guards asked Leo.
Leo shook his head. "No. She's just insane, like Raz."
"Raz wouldn't want to leave," Monique told Leo. "He wouldn't want to run away."
"That's because he's crazy."
"True, but you know he wouldn't want to leave. He'd stay and fight. He's the don. He's not afraid of his father. He's not afraid of his father's men. He's not afraid to go to battle with anyone. Now isn't a time for him to run and hide while his dad terrorizes his guests. Now is the time for him to show his father and those guests exactly who he is," Monique told them. "It's time for him to show them why he deserves to be the don."
"Speaking of don Cattaneo," one of the guards started. "What happened to him?" Both guards stared Raz up and down.
Cocking his head to the side, Leo stared at Monique, waiting for her to answer.
Monique cleared her throat before saying, "Your don, he, uh, fell and knocked himself out." One guard started to speak again. "He's alive," Monique rushed to add. "And he'll be waking up soon to take charge of the situation. Until then, we need to get people here who are loyal to him. We need to surround this place with people who are on Orazio's side. Can we do that?"
The taller guard frowned and asked Leo, "Is it okay for us to take orders from her?"
Leo nodded. "She's the don's woman. Until he wakes up, she's in charge."
Now was not the time for smiles, but for some strange reason, she was smiling on the inside. On the outside, she was in full boss mode.
"So," she started. "Can we get men loyal to Raz up here or not?"
Leo nodded. "Yes, we can, lady boss."
Lady Boss! That had a nice ring to it.
"Good," Monique replied. "Oh, and Lady Boss is going to need a gun."
“Not happening,” Leo told her.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t be requesting one if I didn’t know how to handle it. Toya taught me.”
“Oh, really? She’s a pretty good shot. By the way, is she still mad at me about what happened that day with your father?” Leo asked.
“Now’s not the time for that, Leo,” Monique told him.
She’d let Toya let him know that she wasn’t mad. She hadn’t been mad ever since Cas explained what had gone down between Leo and the old don. But that was for Toya to tell, not Monique.
“Let’s get to work,” Leo told Raz’s guards.
As Raz's men did her bidding, her gaze drifted to the don, who was still unconscious. She knew Leo was only going along with her for Raz’s sake. She also knew that if she did anything Leo didn’t agree with, he would quickly veto it. Knowing that made her feel a little braver.
She wasn’t doing this for Leo’s approval, though. She was doing this for Raz, who was already shouldering so much right now. Her actions today had only added more stress to his already stressed-out life.
Today, she would place herself in his shoes, literally, and carry some of that weight for him. She claimed she could handle his lifestyle. Now, it was time for her to see if she truly could. It's my turn to protect you, she thought as she watched him.
Rest and let me carry this burden for a little while. She pressed a kiss to the side of his head. This man was insane, obsessive, possessive, and stubborn as hell. But he owned her heart. And she wasn't about to let anyone take his title from him.
Not even the old don.