Matteo closed in from the side and the black bag was shoved onto her head again. Her anxiety spiked, but she didn’t fight this time as she was dragged out of her chair and outside of the house.
The van ride felt longer this time. They were either taking a longer route or it just felt that way because she was so eager to get away from these men. When the van stopped and the door slid open, the hood yanked off her head and she almost sobbed with relief. She was in the parking lot of her building again. As she was shoved out, she nearly lost her footing but was able to catch herself on the hood of her own car.
The tires of the van screeched as it drove away, and Amy didn’t even look back at it. Grabbing her backpack from the car, with her keys and cell phone inside, she run into the building, ignoring the stares of people she passed in the lobby along the way. She took the stairs, unwilling to wait for the elevator. When she reached her apartment, she fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking.
Now that she was back, all the terror that she’d been pushing down all day to get through the situation bubbled up to the surface. When she finally got inside the apartment, she locked the door with the deadbolt behind her and went straight to her room, even though her roommates were out. She locked that door too. Then, Amy sank onto her bed, trembling.
2
BROGAN
The warehouse was full of people. Some of them were going through crates full of the Irish mafia’s drug supply. Others were removing bodies. At least, most of them belonged to the enemy.
Brogan was standing off the side, watching. Beside him, the second-in-command of the organization, Declan, was typing away on his cell phone, no doubt giving an update to their leader, who happened to be his brother.
Owen had been in charge of the Irish mafia for the past few years, and the level of unnecessary violence had dropped considerably since he took over for his father. That old man was full of hate and one hell of a narcissist. Still, this warehouse had been turned into a war zone yesterday.
Although, there was nothingunnecessaryabout it.
Declan tucked the phone away and looked over at him. “Owen says to send out half the product to the streets. The Italians really fucked us over when they stole this shit from us, and we don’t have enough out there right now to satisfy demand. We don’t want our customers going elsewhere or some arrogant prick moving into our territory to push their own shit.”
Brogan nodded. The don of the Italian mafia had some big balls, stealing from them. Their shipments had been intercepted for weeks, and it was causing a big problem for the organization. Luckily, this warehouse was discovered yesterday, and it was all here.
Of course, he’d never tell Owen it was a lucky break. The reason Brogan and the others had converged on this place yesterday was because Mancini had taken Owen’s woman. Ruby was innocent, not involved in this way of life at all, but the don had correctly pegged her as Owen’s weakness. He loved her, and Mancini’s plan to kill her was a step too far. The feud between the mafias had evolved to an all-out war. Brogan was pretty sure that Owen would burn down the city for that woman, and it just might come to that.
It was just a shame that Mancini escaped the warehouse yesterday. His son, the man that actually took Ruby, got away too, but Declan thought he might’ve shot him on his way out the door.
“And the rest of the warehouses?” Brogan asked.
The Italians used to control the warehouse district of the city, but after yesterday, Owen was laying claim to the area. There were dozens of their men in this part of the city right now, not just in this building, prepared to take out any of the Italians that came here.
This was just the beginning.
“We’ll go through the abandoned ones in the next few days. Why don’t you head out? Get some sleep?”
Brogan almost brushed off the idea, knowing there was still work to be done, but hewasexhausted. He’d been here most of the night, making sure that the Italians didn’t show back up to cause more trouble. There were plenty of hands on deck now in the light of day, and he knew from his years as an enforcer for the mafia just how important it was to be alert and aware at all times. He wouldn’t be able to pull that off for much longer if he didn’t get a few hours of sleep.
“You sure you don’t need me?” he asked.
“Pretty sure it’ll only take one of us to watch other people work,” Declan replied with a smirk. “Besides, I don’t anticipate the Italians making a move this soon after the gunfight yesterday.”
“But we’re in for a hell of a lot more fighting to come,” Brogan said grimly.
“You’re incapable of looking on the bright side, aren’t you?”
Brogan’s eyes trailed to a blood stain on the concrete in front of where they were standing. “There’s a bright side?”
“We saved the girl, for one thing. I’ve never seen my brother as happy as Ruby makes him. He would have lost his mind if Mancini had killed her.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
Brogan had known Owen for a long time, and the man had always been tough. He didn’t enjoy inflicting pain, like his father did, but he had a hard edge to him that made it clear he wasn’t someone to mess with. He was a somber and intense man, but he was different with Ruby. When she was around, Owen was happy for the first time ever.
Brogan wondered what it was like to care about someone that much. Was he even capable of it?
Not that it mattered. Brogan wasn’t exactly playing the dating scene. He had more important things to worry about. Like a mafia war.
“Don’t worry so much,” Declan continued. “We outnumber the Italians and we already have control over most of the city. I don’t think this fight is going to last long.”
