His Savage Bride (Savage Vows Duet #2)
Chapter 1
Maximo
I’m sitting at my desk in the library talking with Trenton about his expanded duties now that he’s being promoted to captain when my cell phone buzzes on the desk between us.
Seeing that it’s Tony calling, I hold up a finger to silence Trenton and answer immediately.
“What do you need?” I ask without preamble.
“Maximo! It’s Tony. I’m outside Gino’s waiting on your girl Constance, just like you asked.”
“Is everything all right?” I try not to let my irritation show in my voice. Talking to Tony is always slow and frustrating.
“Something’s going on, boss! An ambulance just pulled up right at the curb, followed by two patrol cars. The police went rushing in and now they’re rolling a gurney inside.”
I can hear the sirens in the background over the phone, and grind my teeth together. “Get in there right now and check on Constance! Find out what the hell is going on and call me right back!”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, Maximo. I’m on it,” I hear Tony say before I disconnect the call.
It’s all I can do not to throw my phone through the window. I stand in the middle of my library, trembling, breathing like I’ve run a marathon. I’m too angry with Tony to think coherently. I know how dangerous that can be in my position, so I force myself to regulate my breathing and calm down.
“Maximo, what’s going on? What’s wrong with…what do you need me to do?” Trenton stutters the questions.
I toss back the dregs of my drink and stare balefully at him while trying to resist the urge to smash my whiskey glass into the fireplace.
I’ve never been known for my patience, and waiting for Tony to speak to the emergency responders and call me back has my blood pressure pounding in my ears.
The expression on my face must be unsettling. Trenton keeps shifting in his seat.
“Are any of your men here with you?” I finally snap at him after stewing over all the terrible possibilities of what could be happening to Constance.
“Yeah. My boy, Joey Lamb, drove me over. We were gonna get drinks later.”
“I remember him. He’s the shooter that helped Enzo and me with the Sandini incident a few years back, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him. He’s good people, quiet and reliable.”
“Go get him and warm up the truck. As soon as I hear from Tony…ah, speak of the devil,” I add as my phone ringing interrupts my orders. “Go get him and wait in the truck. I’ll be down in a moment.”
“What did you find out?” I demand as soon as I answer the call.
“Something happened, boss!” Tony begins in a high, panicked voice I barely recognize.
“They wheeled this girl out on a stretcher, some red-headed chick who said her name was Melissa. I think she’s the one Constance was supposed to meet up with.
Her face was all fucked up; she was telling a cop that two big guys came in and pulled guns on them, grabbed Constance, and whipped the shit out of her before running out the back with your woman. ”
The whiskey in my stomach turns. It feels like it’s about to violently explode from me. I swallow the bile down and try to think. “What else do you know? Do you have any description of the men, or did Melissa mention if they said anything?”
It has to be fucking Irina Volkov. She came for her revenge; now Constance is going to pay the price if we don’t find her fast.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask her anything, really, Maximo. They were wheeling her out while a cop was trying to talk to her, and they loaded her up to take her over to Mount Sinai.”
“Head over that way. I’ll meet you there and we’ll see if she knows anything else, then make a plan.”
“Boss, I’m sorry about this, I…”
“Save it,” I interrupt him. “Get to the hospital and do what I told you,” I add as I end the call.
I quickly make my way outside to where Trenton and Joey are already waiting in a black Ford Expedition.
Climbing into the back seat behind Trenton, I give a brief nod to Joey, the driver.
“Take us to Mount Sinai. Tony said…he said two guys grabbed Constance from Gino’s.
They smacked her friend, Melissa, around.
We need to talk to her and find out if she can tell us anything useful about the kidnappers. ”
“Jesus wept,” Trenton drawls as he pulls out a vape and hits it, then cracks his window to exhale a cloud of sweet-smelling fumes.
Joey doesn’t say anything. With a shake of his head, he drops the SUV into gear and begins the drive into the city.
We sit in silence for most of the trip. For my part, I’m lost in thoughts of what horrors Constance might be undergoing, and the gnawing helplessness of the situation burning in my stomach. She has to be okay. She has to.
When we arrive at Mount Sinai, I see Tony’s massive frame practically blocking the emergency room doors. “Drop us there,” I instruct Joey, pointing toward Tony. “Go park and hang out. We’ll text you to pick us up when we’re done.”
“Gotcha,” Joey replies as he maneuvers through the parking lot.
Trenton and I step out of the Expedition as Tony hustles down the sidewalk towards us. “Hey boss,” he calls out in greeting. “I checked with the lady at the desk. That chick Melissa is in room seven in the ER, but they wouldn’t let me back to see her. They said only family can get in right now.”
“You wait out here, then,” I order him. “Trenton and I will go in to see her.”
“How’s that gonna work? You’re not family, boss,” Tony protests.
“Sure, we are,” Trenton snorts. “We’re her brothers. Can’t you see the resemblance?”
“Just stay out here so you don’t give up the game, and we’ll let you know what to do next once we talk to her, all right?” I explain to Tony as a look of comprehension dawns on his face.
“Yeah, of course, Maximo. Good thinking.” Tony nods hard enough that his jowls jiggle.
Trenton gives me a side-eye look as we walk up the sidewalk and through the automatic doors to the emergency department. “I hope that boy is loyal, because he doesn’t seem real sharp,” he observes.
“It’s always a balancing act to find people that are able to follow orders without getting too ambitious. Smart people bring their own problems into our line of work, you know.”
“There is that. At least you don’t have to worry about that one getting any delusions of grandeur and trying to stab you in the back,” Trenton agrees.
“Exactly. Now give me your best concerned brother impersonation and let’s go talk to Melissa. She’s our only lead for finding Constance right now.”
We approach the check-in desk where a man with a bloody towel wrapped around his hand is talking to the receptionist. I can’t hear what they’re saying over the murmur of voices in the crowded waiting room, until the woman behind the glass stands up and says, “Come on back,” to the man in front of us.
I slap Trenton’s arm and fall into step right behind ‘bloody towel’ as the pneumatic doors to the emergency room swing open.
The receptionist is already waiting by the door and says, “Mr. Benjamin, we’re going to have you over in room four…
can I help you two?” she demands as she raises a hand to try to stop Trenton and I from walking right past.
“We’re here to see our sister, Melissa. She texted us that she’s in room seven,” I reply smoothly as Trenton gives a solemn nod behind me.
The receptionist looks the two of us up and down, taking in our tailored suits and overall demeanor, before waving us through.
“She’s just down the hall that way,” she informs us as she turns her attention back to Mr. Benjamin.
“Now, sir, if you’ll come this way with me…
” I hear her continue as Trenton and I turn to follow her directions.
The door to room seven is partially ajar.
Trenton moves past me with his hand under his coat like he’s reaching for a weapon.
For a moment I think the lunatic is carrying a gun around openly in New York, but instead he pulls his vape out of his jacket pocket and puts it to his lips.
He pushes the door open with the toe of his shoe and glances around inside before announcing, “It’s clear.
” He leads the way in, then steps aside to let me pass.
The woman in the bed glances over at us and squints her swollen, discolored eyes.
Her nose is off-center and flattened into a pulpy mass as tears leak down her cheeks.
“Are you the detectives?” She winces as she takes a deep, shuddering breath through her mouth.
“Wait…” she adds before I can reply. “I know you!” Her tone makes it clear she isn’t pleased with the knowledge.
“Then you know why I’m here,” I reply coolly, keeping my tone calm. “I need to know what happened to Constance, and who the men were who assaulted you. Did they say anything, or pass along any sort of message?”
“I told her you’re dangerous, and that she needs to stay away from you. I was right,” Melissa deflects my question with a weak laugh.
“Don’t play with me right now, Melissa,” I warn her. “The men who took Constance are the only danger you need to focus on. Tell me exactly what happened. Every detail.”
Instead of replying, she leans her head back against the pillows she’s propped against and looks past me at Trenton. “You’re not supposed to do that in here,” she advises him. He’s vaping again.
“And yet here I am,” Trenton drawls as he steps closer to the bed. “You keep ignoring the boss’s questions. Did they already give you something for the pain? Something to make you loopy?” he asks as he points to her IV.
“Maybe. Maybe I’m just not sure if I should be talking to you. The police will be here soon. I’d rather trust the authorities to help Constance than risk any more of your kind of ‘assistance.’”
“Every second we waste is more time for them to hurt her! The police are slow, and you have to know…are you even listening to me?” I demand in frustration as Melissa’s gaze slips past me.
“You think I can get a hit off that?” Melissa asks Trenton.