Chapter 5
Chapter Five
The tension is thick, and the men behind Lance are twitchy.
All it’s going to take is a stiff breeze, and things will turn into chaos.
Although there aren’t many people around today, I won’t risk any innocent person being caught in the crossfire.
A gun battle in the middle of the courthouse doesn’t exactly scream subtle.
The police would be here within moments, and no amount of people on my payroll would be able to sweep that sort of thing under the rug.
The three of them continue to have their stare down, but I’m done with it.
I turn my back on all the male posturing and push into the bathroom.
I hear Vienna’s heels move quickly behind me, and the door closes, blocking off the sounds of the rest of the courthouse.
I ignore her and head to one of the stalls.
Just as I’m closing the door, it pushes open, and she shoves inside, putting a hand over my mouth.
“We need to be quick. Lance will come in here. Nothing is as you think it is, I swear. We are in a terrible situation that none of us can get out of. I told the boys we should explain everything to you, but our phones are bugged, and we are watched continuously,” she explains breathlessly, and I yank her hand away from my mouth.
“Any of you could have said anything the whole time you’ve been living with me,” I snarl, though doubt starts to creep up on me.
She shakes her head. “The house has been bugged the whole time. Colton managed to make them glitch whenever you were alone with Sage, Ben, or Suzy so Mario didn’t hear any of your plans, but we paid for it, and it would have been suspicious if all the bugs kept glitching.”
“The bruises on Addison?” I ask, remembering what I saw on the little girl. “She’s yours?”
Tears well in Vienna’s eyes. “Yes. We don’t have enough time to tell you everything, but I swear, we had no choice, but that doesn’t mean everything that happened wasn’t real.
We fell for you, but she’s our daughter, and they would punish her either physically or emotionally every time we refused.
It was just easier to go along with what he wanted. ”
“Why didn’t you try to get her away?”
“We are followed all the time, and we don’t know where he keeps her either.”
I cross my arms and shake my head. “It doesn’t matter, I can’t forgive you.”
She sighs and steps back, opening the door and retreating.
“I know, and I probably can’t forgive you for killing Sage or Casey, because she was never a part of this.
She and Gio weren’t part of the plan, and we didn’t even know they had been sneaking around until recently.
” Her eyes are sad as she glances away, no longer able to look at me.
“Be quick, Tori, and do what you need to do. They will come in and drag us out. Oh, and your phone doesn’t have a bug on it yet, because Colton told Mario he physically needs it to install one, but I expect that will change as soon as we get home. ”
She allows the door to close, and I’m frozen as I try to process everything she just told me. A knock on the outside door has me scrambling for my phone, pushing all that information into a little box at the back of my brain to examine when I have more time.
I send Agent Garcia a text, advising him of the incoming heroine and fentanyl delivery at the wharfs.
Hopefully he will be able to intercept it.
Then, I send a text to Ben, letting him know I am okay and that my phone is going to be compromised, and that I will message him from a burner as soon as I can. After, I delete both messages.
I flush the toilet like I was using it and put the phone in my pocket, not waiting for a response. Ben will know better than to respond.
I open the door and move to the sink to wash my hands, studying Vienna in the mirror as I do.
Now that I look closely, which I haven’t done for two weeks, I can tell she has lost weight.
Her clothes are a little looser on her than normal, and her eyes are red with dark circles under them.
I don’t think that’s just from crying at Sage’s funeral.
She stares back at me with dead eyes. It’s like all the lightness and joy has left her, leaving behind a shell of the woman I had gotten to know and like.
I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, the door opens, and Colton stands in the doorway.
“Let’s go. Xavier can’t distract him any longer, or blood is going to be spilled.”
Vienna and I hurry out of the bathroom, and I put my hand on Xavier’s arm and lean into him. I can play games too, and I excel at them.
“Come on, honey. Let’s get married. Leave the grunts alone.
You know they are just doing their job.” I press a kiss to Xavier’s cheek then smile brilliantly at Lance, batting my eyelashes like an airhead.
Both men look surprised at my reaction. Xavier’s shock turns to suspicion, and Lance puffs out his chest with ego.
I internally roll my eyes. Lance isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but Xavier is smart enough to be wary of my quick one-eighty.
“The sooner you accept this, the happier Mr. Maricuso will be,” Lance tells me gruffly, and I smile at him.
“Oh, I’m actually looking forward to this.
I’ve wanted to have my hands all over Xavier for a while, and once I’m his wife, he won’t have any reason to deny me.
” I pretend to share a secret with the man.
“It also means I won’t have anyone cockblocking me, if you know what I mean, especially with Stacey’s upcoming nuptials to Tristan.
” I wink at him, and he wrinkles his nose and scowls at me.
“Stacey was my fiancé until she decided she wanted that asshole and dumped me like yesterday’s news.”
My mouth drops open in shock, and I flinch.
Whoops, I completely fucked that up, didn’t I?
Xavier snickers quietly before wrapping his arm around me and steering me in the direction we were heading.
“You can all wait here. Colton and Vienna will witness the nuptials. I don’t want to wait any longer.
” He nuzzles my neck, taking liberties now that I went in the direction I did.
Damn it. I messed up twice. Goosebumps erupt all over my arms and legs, and my nipples tighten until they could cut glass.
Damn it, this man just does it for me, even if he is a complete asshole.
If I’m truly honest with myself, I’m kind of turned on about how duplicitous they were.
I thought I was unplayable, but they certainly proved I wasn’t.
I can’t decide whether to be impressed or pissed.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Mr. Maricuso, but your father insisted that we witness it as well, and it wouldn’t be good for any of us to disobey him,” one of the other guys calls out, and I feel Xavier stiffen before nodding his agreement.
“Very well. Hurry up then.”
Well, shit. It really does seem like Mario has them all by the short and curlies.
At least they are decent enough humans to care about Addison being used against them.
Maybe there is hope for them. I’m not sure I can ever trust them again, so maybe it would be better for me to make my own plans.
Then, when they have nothing for Mario to hold over them, we will see where they stand.
Only then can I consider letting them back in—if that’s even what they want.
For all I know, once they are free and clear, they may take Addison and disappear like I want to.
They will have more than enough money to do that if they truly are Mario’s adopted children and he has them in his will.
The Maricuso family isn’t small potatoes by any means, they just can’t hold a candle to the Russos, and Mario is greedy.
I’m sure they could live a nice life on what he leaves behind when I make sure he’s so dead, not even the scavengers will want him.
Colton holds a door open ahead of us, and we enter. Looks like it’s a small, civil ceremony room with bench seating for anyone who wishes to attend. At the front is a man in a suit standing before a raised section, which I’m guessing is for the bride and groom.
The man looks up as we enter, and although he smiles, it gets a little shaky when Mario’s men follow us in.
“Mr. Maricuso. Welcome,” he says, his voice a bit wobbly, but he gestures for us to come forward. “And I guess this must be the lovely bride.” He looks down at his paperwork before looking up, his eyes widening ever so slightly. “Miss Victoria Russo?”
“Thank you for squeezing us in on such short notice.” Xavier walks forward, holding me tightly against his side. “We really appreciate it.” He’s friendly and affable, and I see the officiant relax a little.
“If you could face one another and hold hands, your attendants can stand on either side.” He waves his hands around, gesturing to where he wants us. Xavier arranges us as instructed, and when Vienna steps up behind me, she is holding a bunch of flowers. I have no idea where they came from.
“Are we ready?” he asks quietly, looking at me.
My hands are cupped gently in Xavier’s, and I could yank them away if I wanted, but when I look up into his eyes, they are practically begging me to go along with this.
When I glance at the rest of Mario’s men, I notice that Lance has his hand tucked into his suit jacket again.
I guess this is the mafia version of a shotgun wedding.
I scoff out loud at my almost hysterical thoughts, and the officiant looks at me a little wildly, like he thinks I’m one short fuse away from exploding, and he wouldn’t be wrong.
I know now is not the time though. If I do this, Addison will be safe for a little while longer, giving me a chance to extract her from this situation and free us.
That’s the only reason I smile and nod at the officiant to start.