Amy had finals next week, so she was keeping herself busy studying every free minute. As he pulled up in front of Owen’s house, he reached into the back seat and grabbed her backpack. The thing was heavy as hell with all of her books crammed into it, and he didn’t know how she used to carry it around herself all day.
“What are you going to be doing while you’re gone?” Amy asked as they walked up the porch steps.
He’d told her he had business to attend to, which was why he was dropping her off to spend the evening with Ruby, where she’d be safe. He knew that she was curious but she’d refrained from asking until now.
“I’m just going for a drive,” he said. She looked skeptical, but he was telling her the truth.
Kind of.
“Okay,” she said, and he hated the sadness he saw in her eyes before she turned away.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked, reaching out to cup her chin and turn her face back to him before he stopped to think about if it was a good idea or not.
“Nothing,” she said, her eyes still not meeting his. “I just…I was wondering if you’re going to be safe.”
“You’re thinking about what Matteo said the other day? About the Italians coming for us?”
She nodded.
Her concern made his throat grow tight. Had anyone ever worried about him like this?
“Don’t worry about me, Princess.” The nickname slipped off his tongue so easily. “I know how to protect myself.”
She didn’t argue, but she still looked worried as she went inside the house. Brogan didn’t have the words to reassure her though. She wouldn’t be happy if she knew what he was about to do.
She wasn’t the only one that had been thinking about Matteo. If he was the one that told Mancini about Amy and got the don to agree to the abduction, he had some kind of influence. He might even be a capo.
So, Brogan did a little digging and found out where he lived. Driving across the city, he parked in front of the man’s condo. Patience was always something he’d had in abundance, so he sat and waited.
Nearly two hours passed. The sun went down, and still he sat. There wasn’t much activity in the neighborhood, nothing to split his focus. So, when Matteo finally walked out Brogan spotted him right away. He got into a black Lincoln, driving to an area of the city that the Italians had been in charge of for a long time. It wasn’t safe for Brogan to be in their territory, but he knew it would be worth it if Matteo led him to the don or his son.
Unfortunately, the first place Matteo went was a restaurant. A woman that Brogan assumed was his girlfriend joined him, and Brogan watched them have dinner together through the window. Afterward, she came back to his car with him, and Brogan had the displeasure of seeing her give Matteo a blowjob in the front seat.
He was starting to wonder if this was a waste of his time, but when Matteo kicked Wendy out of his car and left the restaurant’s parking lot, he followed. The Lincoln headed north, almost to the city limits. There were houses spread out here with big plots of land surrounded by trees. There were no other cars around, so Brogan killed his headlights and lengthened the distance between them.
Matteo pulled into a driveway leading to a large house lit up though all the big windows. Brogan passed the driveway but turned around and parked across the street. Just as he put the car in park, he could just see Matteo walking toward the entrance of the house. In the golden glow of the porch light, he watched the door open. Even from a distance, the man that stepped out was unmistakable.
Leo Mancini.
This man took Ruby from her home. He was the reason that Amy was abducted and threatened.
He also had a reputation for being a complete asshole.
And now Brogan had found him. They just needed a plan to take him out.
13
AMY
“I need to take a break,” Amy said, sitting back on the couch and letting out a long sigh. Ruby had been more than happy to help her study, using flashcards with medical terms on the front and definitions on the back. They’d been at it for a couple of hours, and her brain was fried.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering what secret thing Brogan was out doing. He’d been so cold the last couple of days, and even when he was right beside her, it felt like a football field of distance was between them.
“How about some wine?” Ruby asked, getting up from the couch.
Owen was apparently at his office, so they had the place to themselves. Amy followed her into the kitchen, accepting a glass of dry red wine and leaning against the kitchen island. She tried to listen to what Ruby was saying about redecorating the kitchen, but she was thoroughly distracted by thoughts of Brogan.
“Are you okay?” Ruby asked, and Amy smiled guiltily.
