Page 84 of Deceitful Oath
“Get in the house, waitress,” he says, dark and low.
It takes a second for my legs to kick in, but I force myself to walk inside my apartment for the first time in weeks. The first thing I see when I walk in is Carlo, my old boss from the Velvet Room, glaring at me. I’m so shocked that I stop in my tracks, causing Vince’s gun to slam in between my shoulder blades.
I yelp, jumping out of the way in fear, but Carlo grabs my arm, yanking me down onto a kitchen chair.
“Sit your ass down and shut up, Lux,” he growls. He glances at Vince, fury flashing behind his eyes. “What the hell are we supposed to do with her?”
I glance around wildly, trying to piece together what’s going on. Rob Mancini, Lisa’s brother, emerges from my bathroomwhistling casually. He raises his eyebrows when he spots me but says nothing.
“It’s not the best-case scenario,” Vince finally agrees. “But it’s not the worst. Rafael will come for her, don’t you worry about that.”
“Tie her up, Rob,” Carlo grunts, nodding at me. I start to protest, but he leans in close, his menacing face inches away from mine. “I’ve slapped you before, and I’ll do it again. Now, keep your mouth shut.”
I gulp down a curse and force myself to sit silent and rigid as Rob binds my wrists and ankles. He’s not as rough as he could be, and he shoots me a quick, apologetic glance as he tightens the ropes around my ankles. I wiggle my fingers behind my back, noticing he tied the wrist bonds much looser than he was probably supposed to.
I send up a silent thanks to my past self for being so friendly with Rob when we worked together. He’s trying to give me a small advantage without his father or Vince noticing.
“We were hoping your little boyfriend would come running once he saw me in your apartment,” Vince says, impassively twirling the gun around his finger. “I never imagined you’d have the guts to come alone, waitress.”
I want to scream obscenities at him but I stay silent, hoping that’ll be more effective. He smirks as I glare at him from my seat.
“You sure are a little spitfire, aren’t you?” he chuckles, using the butt of the gun to lift my chin so that I have to stare up at him. “I can see why he decided you were a worthy enough plaything to keep alive.”
Vince’s smile turns lecherous and I almost dry heave at that thought, forcing myself to break eye contact.
“All right, all right,” Carlo interrupts, shoving Vince aside. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. Enough of this. Rob, get over here.”
I panic for a second, thinking Rob is supposed to shoot me, but he hoists me over his shoulder instead and we file into the dark hallway. A small whimper escapes as Rob carries me down the stairs and I feel him pat my ankle lightly.
It gives me some comfort that he seems to have held onto his humanity, but I know that one command from his father and I’m dead.
We go out the backdoor to a dark SUV pressed right up to the doorway. It’s a bright sunny day in the middle of summer and I can’t believe I’m getting kidnapped. I always imagined this kind of thing being done under the cover of night.
Suddenly, I realize that if I scream loud enough, someone will surely hear me. One of the mothers from the park just beyond the tree line, or even Miguel chain-smoking outside his shop.
I clear my throat softly, readying my lungs. Carlo pops open the trunk door and I know my time is dwindling.
As soon as I open my mouth, I feel the barrel of Vince’s gun smash against my head.
Everything fades to black and my body goes slack in Rob’s arms.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Rafael
“I know you want to save the girl,” Joe tries to reason. “But you need to think clearly now. One wrong move, and we’re dead…she’s dead.”
“He’s right, Rafael,” Rocco adds, steering the vehicle onto the off-ramp. “The three of us can’t go rushing Mancini’s stronghold and expect good results. Nor can we gather the family outside the mansion and make a plan on the spot.”
“We’ll be sitting ducks,” Joe adds, his voice rising. “Target practice. And I’m getting too old for all that.”
I glance at him in the backseat, at his weathered, ashen-looking face, and I know they’re right. We need to get everyone in a safe place and put a plan together. But the desire to destroy Vince, and Carlo Mancini for that matter, is strong. I fight the urge to argue with them.
“Fine,” I sigh, straightening my shoulders and forcing myself to push the murderous thoughts away. “You’re right. Send a message to the family.”
I lean back in my seat as Rocco maneuvers us into the parking lot of Lux’s building.
My uncles suggested heading there first to see if Vince was faking us out again, sending us on another wild goose chase. The rest of my guys are meeting us here to figure out how we’re going to pull this off.