Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
MATEO
“It’s better if it’s held at the Four Leaf,” Cillian says.
He’s on video call with all four of us in Rome’s office at Rapture.
We’re working together to get this gala underway so we can get Lincoln and, more importantly, Rose exactly where we need them.
“I’ve met him, so the invitation coming from me makes sense. ”
“We’ll still plan everything on our end,” Julian tells him. “The girls are excited about it, so they’re already in event mode.”
“I’ll have our on-site event coordinator reach out to you,” Cillian says with a nod. “Hosting this in less than two weeks’ time is going to raise some eyebrows. Usually these things take months.”
“I don’t want to wait and risk Rose being hurt,” I reply, shaking my head. “The sooner we get her away from him, the better.”
“Agreed,” Rome says. “We’ll come up with a reason that it’s happening fast.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Cillian says with a nod and then ends the call.
Julian’s phone starts to ring, and when his eyes shift to me as he answers, I know that something’s up with our girls.
“Report,” he says and then immediately stands. “Natasha? Stay with her. Send your location. On our way.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Violet was grabbed at the restaurant.”
That’s all he has to say for the four of us to go running out of the office and down to the SUVs waiting outside. My heart is in my motherfucking throat.
I dial Bobby, but he doesn’t answer, and I try Lucky, but he doesn’t respond either.
“Fuck.”
“ETA three minutes,” Diego says grimly.
I try Bobby again, and this time, he answers.
“Boss. She went to the restroom, and he was waiting for her—”
“Put her on,” I growl.
“Yes, sir. Ma’am? The boss for you.”
“Huh?” I hear her say, and my heart stumbles. Christ.
“The boss for you.”
She takes the phone, and then her voice is in my ear. “Hello?”
“Jesus, Savage, are you okay?”
“Punched him,” she says, and then clears her throat. “I fucking punched him.”
“That’s my girl. We’re pulling up to the restaurant now, and I’m coming inside.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to come. Are you hungry?”
Julian must hear her because he laughs as we get out of the SUV and I go running inside and find my girl sitting at a table across from Natasha. Three of the guards are standing around them. She’s pale, and her eyes are a little glassy. I pull her out of the chair and hug her to me.
“Who was that guy?” she asks.
“I have no fucking idea, but we’ll find out. Did he hurt you?”
“He hit me.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. “But I punched him in the eye, and then my guys were there and took care of him, and here you are. Are you sure you’re not hungry? The carne asada here is to die for.”
She snorts.
“I shouldn’t use that turn of phrase anymore.”
“She’s a little shocky,” Natasha says with a gentle smile. “But she’s going to be fine.”
“Get him in the cell,” I tell Diego, who’s dragging an asshole out of the back.
“When did everyone leave the restaurant?” Violet asks with a frown.
“Don’t worry about it. You should have some ice for your cheek.”
Violet shakes her head. “I’m okay. I’m really okay. Natasha and I bought lots of fun stuff for Rose’s apartment today. I might have maxed out your credit card.”
I smirk and kiss her forehead. “That’s impossible. But I’m glad you had fun. Let me take you home, okay?”
“I’m really okay.” Her eyes are less glassy, and she takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry that I’m already getting into trouble.”
“You’re no trouble. This wasn’t your fault.”
Julian and I escort our girls outside, and then Violet pulls out of my arms and walks back toward the restaurant.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I haven’t paid for lunch! I can’t dine and dash, they take the money away from the wait staff. It sucks.”
“I already paid,” Julian tells her with a smile. I can see that my brother is charmed by my girl.
You have your own wife.
“Oh. Okay, thanks. Who wants a tattoo? I want to ink someone up today. I have my stuff at the penthouse.”
“Me!” Natasha says, jumping up and down. “Definitely me.”
“Is this how you handle stress?” Julian asks Violet.
“Sometimes. It’s either tattoos or sex, and I’ll jump him later.” She points at me, and I grin down at her. “But my new friend wants some art on her perfect skin today.”
“I so do.” Natasha nods.
When the girls are settled in the penthouse, Julian and I walk out to the hallway and I get in Lucky’s face.
“What the fuck was that about, and why shouldn’t I put a hole in your head right here where you stand?”
“There was no movement in the restaurant,” he says, perfectly calm, not breaking a sweat. His eye is steady on mine. “We were there for an hour before she went to the restroom.”
I turn to Bobby. The typically happy soldier is perfectly sober, also completely calm and steady. “Report.”
“I was on the other side of the restaurant when she indicated that she was headed to the restroom. I started following but was about ten seconds behind her. She’d just punched him in the eye when I got there, pressed my weapon to his head, and Lucky came in right behind me, and we took him down.
I didn’t want to kill him because I knew you’d want to interrogate him. ”
“You were right.”
I step back and glare at them as I pull a knife out of my pocket and take Bobby’s ear off.
He doesn’t flinch or make a sound.
“I should kill you both for allowing her to be touched. Instead, you’re going to stand in this hallway for as long as she’s home. If this ever happens on your watch again, you’ll be worm food at the graveyard.”
I throw the ear at Bobby, and then Julian and I step into the elevator and head down to the basement.
“I’ve been spending too much fucking time in the cell lately,” I say as we walk off the elevator and down the cold hallway, where Diego waits for us. Jack, Julian’s number two, is with him.
“He claims he’s going to off himself,” Diego says and rolls his eyes. “Not sure how he plans to do that, since he’s strapped up by rope to the ceiling.”
“He might have a cyanide tooth,” I say with a shrug. Some guys do that, and if they’re captured, they bite the capsule and kill themselves.
Personally, that doesn’t sound like a fun way to go out. Seems kind of like the easy way, if you ask me.
I open the door and let Julian take the lead.
My brother pushes his hands in his pockets as he crosses the room to where the asshole hangs, and in a flash, he has the other man’s mouth propped open and secures it with his switchblade so he can’t spit it out and won’t be able to swallow anything that might be in his mouth.
“This is great, except now he can’t answer questions,” I remind Julian.
“Sure he can. He can nod.” Julian rolls back on his heels. “Let’s start with this. Are you Albanian?”
We killed the head of their faction after they took out my men, but we didn’t get all the soldiers.
This motherfucker doesn’t answer.
So, I punch him in the kidney.
With a whimper, he nods.
“Good. That wasn’t hard.”
I wipe my thumb over my lower lip, letting the quiet settle in. It always makes them nervous when it’s too quiet and we just stare at them.
Finally, I ask, “Was Violet your target?”
He shrugs.
“Would either one have done the job?” Julian asks.
He nods.
“So, not specific to Violet, just specific to us,” I say, and Julian nods, and I turn back to the man. “Because of the warehouse?”
He nods again.
And I saunter over to get my blowtorch.