Mae flicked her a glance, not looking particularly impressed. “At least you didn’t piss yourself.”
“How about you let me out of these restraints and we fight it out like real women?”
“Do you think you’re funny?” She cocked her head to the side. “You’re not. You know what you also aren’t? A dim-witted gold-digging slut. I checked up on you, Charlotte Finch. What’s a dirty cop doing with an Irish mob boss?”
A man appeared at Mae’s back, his whole bearing translating to “hired muscle.” He lifted Charlie out of the trunkas if she were a paper doll and tossed her over his shoulder. She couldn’t see Mae as they headed into what appeared to be a warehouse identical to the one they’d met in several days ago.
She didn’t know if she should be more terrified by their location or the fact that Mae Eldridge apparently knew her real name. Neither of the implications was good.Have to figure out a way out of this.She didn’t have a lot of options.
The muscle dropped her into a chair and shoved her shoulders back. She tensed, waiting for him to cut the ties and maybe try to attach new ones. As soon as her hands were free, she’d attack.
But he didn’t give her the opportunity.
Mae stepped up, wielding the gun almost casually. “Don’t make trouble.”
“You know, if my options are to get shot in the brain or to let you tie me to a chair and torture me…I think you can guess which option I’m going with.”
Mae shook her head. “What makes you think I’m going to shoot you in the brain, Charlotte? All I have to do is shoot you in the kneecaps and you’d have to drag your body out of here. I don’t imagine you’d get far enough to call for help before you bled out, even if you miraculously managed to kill both David here and myself.”
“I think I’m up to the challenge.” It was sheer bravado, though. Charlie knew a helpless situation when she saw one. She’d lived through one before, but that was only because those cops wanted to hurt her badly—not kill her. Mae was most definitely planning to kill her.
That didn’t mean Charlie was going to give up. It wasn’t her nature, and she couldn’t help but think that Aiden wouldnever forgive himself if she died on his watch.Ridiculous reason to keep living…There was so much she wanted to say to him that she wouldn’t get to if Mae went through with whatever she was planning.
“David, secure her.”
He struck Charlie in the head almost casually, but the blow stunned her long enough that he was able to cut her zip ties and retie her to the chair. She blinked and shook her head, but the pain blossoming from the point of impact wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. “Cheater.”
“What winner isn’t?” Mae finally lowered her gun. “You and I are going to talk, and at the end of it, if I’m satisfied, I’ll kill you quickly.”
“Painlessly, you mean.”
“Did I say that?” She smiled at David as he brought over a low tray filled with tools that made Charlie’s stomach try to wrap itself around her spine in fear. Mae selected a scalpel and held it up so that it gleamed in the low light. “Torture is an acquired taste, I’m afraid. My mother started me young, and it turned out that I had a knack for making people divulge their secrets.”
Charlie tried to swallow past her dry throat. “Secrets given out during torture are suspect as a general rule.”
“Indeed. Which is why I always verify the information before I finish the job.” She stepped forward and caressed Charlie’s face. “You really are beautiful. Unfortunately, that’s going to be past tense.” Mae forced Charlie’s chin up and ran the scalpel along her cheekbone, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “Now, Charlotte, let’s have a nice little chat. Just usgirls.”
***
Aiden made it to New York in record time. It didn’t matter. All he could think of was the wasted hours and how much danger Charlie was in. Before he left Boston, he’d called Carrigan to inform her that shit was going down faster than expected. She sent James to follow them and offer what help he could, but there was no telling whether he’d reach New York in time. After a rapid mental argument with himself, Aiden also called Teague to warn him that this might all be misdirection. Teague had his men up in arms, and all three families were prepared for any kind of attack.
Knowing that his people were as safe as they could be left Aiden to focus on the only thing that mattered—Charlie.
He followed his directions to the Romanov residence. Aiden knew where the man lived, of course—everyone did—but seeing the place in person was something else altogether. The O’Malley town house had been designed to create an impression, but this massive building was in another realm. It was a town house, but Aiden had it on good authority that Dmitri Romanov owned every one on the block. His father had purchased them when he first settled in New York.
He couldn’t imagine Olivia, one of the most down-to-earth women he’d come across, growing up in a place like this.
Mark parked the car, and Aiden barely waited for it to stop moving before he had the door open and was striding up the steps for the front door. There was an honest-to-God gargoyle as the door knocker, the little creature’s face twisted as if daring someone to use it. Aiden raised his hand, but the door opened before he had a chance to touch it.
Dmitri himself stood on the other side, looking as unruffled as he always did. “Come in.”
“Where is she?”
“I’m working on it.”
“You said you’d have the site nailed down by the time we got here.”
“Yes, well, the Eldridges have a horrible habit of complicating the best-laid plans.” He moved deeper into the house, forcing Aiden to follow or be left standing outside. He kept his focus on the man in front of him, but he still got the impression of tall ceilings and a staircase that would look at home in a castle.
