Chapter Forty
MONIQUE
––––––––
Her mind was chaotic right now. There were a thousand things to do. She was trying to formulate a plan while worrying about her friends and Raz. She couldn't do all of that at the same time. She'd go crazy.
Therefore, she told herself that her friends were okay with Rome and Cas. Raz was fine for now. She had her eyes on him. She and her team were the ones in the most danger. They had an old don to deal with.
For now, she needed to focus on that. As soon as they survived this mess, she'd contact Meka and Toya. That thought helped ease some of the chaos in her mind, but not all of it. And Leo's words weren't helping calm her.
"How long before the reinforcements from the casino arrive?" Monique asked.
"I just made the call," Leo reminded her. "They have to gear up, but they should be here soon. Once they've surrounded the building, they'll call my cell and give me a total count of how many are here. I'll have to see if we have enough loyal men on the inside to hold the old don and his men off until reinforcements arrive," Leo told her as he and two guards half-dragged and half-carried Raz down the hall.
They were taking him to the kitchen staff's breakroom. Leo said there should be a couch there for him to lay on. Though Raz was out of it, he was protected. She couldn't say the same for the man who'd brought her to the gala.
"Have you checked on Frederico?" Monique asked Leo.
"Don't ask questions like that when Raz wakes up. You'll end up getting Miconi killed," Leo grunted as Raz began to slip.
"Careful with him," Monique hurried to say, arms reaching forward on reflex.
Leo glared over his shoulder at her. He didn't have to say a word. The look said it all. Raz wouldn't be out cold if it weren't for her. Yeah, yeah, she knew. She'd make it up to him later.
"We got him." Facing forward, Leo told her, "As for Miconi, I've got a guard on Frederico. They're holed up in one of the upstairs rooms. But they can be found at any moment if the old don orders his men to do a full sweep to search for you and Raz. There's nothing I can do about that at the moment. And I have no idea where Isla is. There are too many variables right now. That's what makes taking the old don on risky as hell."
First of all, fuck Isla, Monique thought but held her tongue on that. After what Frederico told her, Monique no longer wished the woman any ill will. That didn't mean they'd ever be friends, though. Monique continued forward, gripping the gun Leo had given her.
Toya had given her a crash course on shooting. They'd even gone to the gun range a few times. Monique's aim wasn't bad. Toya's main critique of her was that she hesitated before pulling the trigger. Maybe it was because the thought of hurting someone just didn't sit right with her.
But to protect the people she loved, she'd do whatever she had to do and deal with her emotions later. She wouldn't hesitate. She couldn't hesitate. Damn, she hoped she didn't hesitate or freeze altogether.
Monique shook her head to clear it of her fears. Fear had no place here. However, telling herself that didn't alleviate her concerns. She needed to talk to keep her mind off her fears.
"On the ride here," Monique started as she walked down the hall behind Leo and the guards. "Frederico told me that he was asked to come here tonight, and he was asked to invest in Cattaneo Corp as a favor to someone."
"Did that someone tell him to ask you to the gala?" Leo drawled.
"No, nosey," Monique mumbled. "Just so you know, Frederico didn't ask me here to upset Raz. He asked me because he really wanted me to come with him."
"If you believe that, I have a house on the beach that I want to sell you," Leo told her, causing the other two guards to chuckle.
"I'm carrying a gun. Remember that," Monique reminded them. Their laughter quickly died out.
Both guards mumbled, "Sorry, Lady Boss."
"Anyway, I'm just saying that Frederico coming here with me is a totally separate thing from him investing in Raz."
"What about Isla?" Leo asked. "Does she really want to marry Raz, or was she told to want that as a favor to someone?"
That bitch! "I think she really wants to marry Raz. The person who told them to come here also played matchmaker without Raz's permission." Or mine!
As they rounded the corner and came up to a door with a plaque on it that read: Employees Only, Leo asked, "Who is this matchmaker? Did he tell you that?"
"He was about to tell me as he was helping me fix my dress. Unfortunately, Raz stormed in and unleashed hell on him before we could finish our conversation."
"Orazio has never been the patient type. Open this door for us," Leo told her.
Monique rushed around them and opened the door. After following them inside, she flicked the light on and stared around the room as Leo and the guards carefully laid Orazio on the couch.
The room was small, with no places to hide in case of an emergency. The couch was wide enough for a couple of people to lie on it. The problem was the length. Raz's tall frame was too long for the couch.
His legs hung off the end. That had to be uncomfortable, but he didn’t stir. She was ready for him to wake up so she could apologize for drugging him. Seeing him in such a vulnerable state, a state she'd put him in, nearly brought tears to her eyes.
She refused to let them fall. Now was not the time for crying. Still, he looked different like this. Still strong, still imposing, but calmer, almost peaceful. It starkly contrasted to the raging storm he'd been when he'd seen her with Frederico.
The entire plan to kidnap him and make him jealous seemed so childish now. Now, she just wanted him to wake up so she could tell him she loved him. They could argue about who was right or wrong later.
Right now, she just wanted to hold him and be held by him. She’d been angry when she’d done what she'd done. No, she'd been furious. That anger was fading, leaving behind only guilt and a gnawing sense of dread.
What if they couldn’t hold the old don off until Raz woke up? What if something happened to Raz before he had a chance to fight back? What if he lost everything because of her? Her heart began to race, and a dull ache formed on the left side of her head.
Ugh! Closing her eyes, Monique took a few deep breaths to hold off the panic attack she felt coming over her. It had been her idea to stay and fight. This was what she wanted. Being nervous, afraid even, was normal.
She just couldn't allow it to control her. She exhaled, trying to eliminate all the fear and nervousness forming a knot in her belly. She opened her eyes when Leo started talking.
"This room will have to do for now," he told them. To the taller guard, Leo said, "Stoney, go check the doors. Make sure they're still holding. Rocco, call Shado."
Stoney and Rocco. Stone and Rock. Brothers maybe? Stoney left the room. Monique listened as Leo and Rocco continued talking about Shado.
"He can break into anything and move without being seen or heard," Leo continued. "The guy is practically a ghost. I need him to find a way inside the building without being detected. Once he finds a way in, I need him to get eyes on the old don. I want him to take out the guys guarding the don if he can. That'll give us an advantage because the don will have to move his men around."
"On it." Rocco reached for his phone and then paused, groaning. "Ahhh shit, I forgot. Shado's on leave."
"On leave? Why?"
"He found the girl he'd been searching for. He took some time off to go see her. He doesn't know when he'll be coming back."
Leo blinked in surprise, the tension in his face easing slightly. "Well, damn, that's good news. Maybe now he can stop moping around and killing everything that moves. Where did he find her?"
"In Illinois, I think," the guard replied. "Or maybe Indiana. No, it was Maine. Yeah, Maine. He lived there for a while before coming to work for us. The team he worked with there continued searching for her after he left. They found her for him. He called and told me he'd found her, and he needed some time to convince her to come back with him."
Leo massaged his chin. "I hope he doesn't do anything crazy. That kid is kind of insane."
"Kind of?" Rocco scoffed. "That kid is totally insane. But he has a good heart, and he's loyal. We may hear of some murders in that area, but none of his victims will be the girl he's been looking for. The kid is crazy about her."
Monique listened as they discussed this Shado person. If she didn't know any better, she'd think they were discussing Raz. Totally insane but has a good heart. Loyal. Crazy in love. Yeah, that sounded like her Raz. They were doing a lot of talking, but Monique needed action. She was ready for this to be over.
"Shado's not here," Monique said, speaking over Leo and Rocco. "You all can discuss his sanity later. Let's figure out another way for our guys to get in undetected. We're running out of time."
On the outside, she was all seriousness. On the inside, she was thinking, did I really just say our guys, as if Raz's men are mine to command just as much as they're his? She waited for Leo or Rocco to notice what she'd said. If they did, they kept it to themselves.
"Lady Boss is right," Rocco said, scratching his head. "We need to figure this shit out." He froze, gaze jerking to Monique. "Sorry for cursing."
Well, wasn't he respectful!
"No problem," Monique told him, taking a seat on the couch next to Raz and slipping off her heels.
Still holding her gun, she placed her purse on the couch beside her. Inside was the ring Frederico had given her. She hoped they both survived this so she could give it back to him and apologize to him for what Raz had done.
Frederico hadn't deserved this. He'd come here to help Raz and had ended up hurt because of it. He'd even wanted to protect her and had gone as far as giving her his guard's number so she could contact him if she ever couldn't reach Frederico. Monique's eyes widened.
"His guard!" she yelled, drawing Leo and Rocco's attention her way. "I have the phone number of Frederico's guard. His main one. The one that would've been by our side if Frederico hadn't ordered him to stay in the main room while we came back here for Frederico to help me with my dress. I could call him and ask him and Frederico's men for help."
"You do realize we've lost Frederico's daughter, and Raz nearly killed Frederico. Plus, we don't know if Frederico is safe or not," Leo reminded her. "When you call, the first thing the guard is going to do is ask for Frederico. What will you tell him?"
Monique sighed. "You're right. That could lead to us having two enemies to defeat."
Leo nodded.
"Then again, maybe not," Monique drawled, a plan coming together in her mind.
"What are you thinking, Lady Boss?" Rocco asked.
"I'm thinking that the enemy of my enemy can be my accomplice," Monique mused.
"Explain," Leo told her, frowning.
She crossed her legs, now wishing she was wearing jeggings and a T-shirt instead of an elegant dress.
"Yes, Frederico's guards will be mad at us," she started. "But they can hash their beef with us out later. Right now, we both need to survive the old don. They need to save their boss, Miconi. And they need a way to get him out of here. They have people on the inside. We'll soon have people on the outside. Together, we can end this, and then Miconi and Raz can deal with their issues. Which I'm hoping will start with Raz apologizing."
Rocco burst out laughing as Leo chuckled.
"What?" Monique asked.
"Our don don't apologize," Rocco told her.
Monique heaved a heavy sigh. "Your don has a lot of changing to do if he wants issues like this to stop occurring."
She and Raz would have a long talk about his temper when he woke up.
"Frederico's men are our best hope. I'm calling them before it's too late," Monique said, reaching for her phone. Before she could open her purse, Leo’s phone rang. He answered, but his face paled as he listened to the voice on the other end.
"What do you mean they’ve almost breached the perimeter?" Leo demanded, panic creeping into his voice.
Damn it. What was going wrong now?
Leo hung up and turned to Monique, his expression grave. "That was Stoney. He's racing back this way. He says one of the old don's guards has an axe and is beating the door down. We’ve got about five minutes before they reach us. We need to move. Now!"
Where did they get an axe from? Monique thought, heart racing. Five minutes wasn't long enough for them to move Raz and find another secure location. That wasn't even long enough for her to convince Frederico's men to help.
What the hell were they supposed to do in five minutes?