And why had he waited so long to tell Tony where she was? She’d probably never know.
“Angelo?” Tony spat her brother’s name, dropping his hold on her hair abruptly.
He turned from her, pacing toward the barn door. He turned back toward her just as quickly. “I gave that slimy fuck so many opportunities. I let him join my crew, showed him the ropes. Opened his eyes to all the endless possibilities that awaited him. And you know how he repaid me?”
Nessa stayed quiet, her tongue darting out and swiping at her wounded lip. It stung, but the pain grounded her.
Tony sneered. “He abandoned me, just like you did. Filthy piece of shit threw away years of loyalty, years of mooching off me, and for what?”
Nessa’s brow furrowed in confusion. Angelo had left Tony’s crew? So she hadn’t seen him in town?
Then how had Tony found her?
Before Nessa could speak, the barn door creaked open.
Tony turned toward the noise.
A man dressed in a dark suit, similar to the other men present, was shoved through the opening. He tumbled into the barn, eyes open and vacant as he slammed to the ground, unmoving.
The three men guarding the barn door scrambled for the guns holstered to their sides, but before they could pull them free, another man filled the doorway, his own gun aimed and at the ready.
Even after all these years, Nessa recognized Angelo instantly. He looked so much like a younger version of theirlolo, her heart stalled in her chest, certain that her grandfather had come back to protect her from harm.
Logically, she knew that was ridiculous, but hope sprang to life inside her anyway, her brain trying to process what the hell was happening.
Her brother had come here to save her? She didn’t believe it, even as the truth stared back at her.
A flare of determination swept through her, along with a fierce desperation to escape. She tugged her arms, trying in vain to break free of her bindings while Tony was distracted.
Angelo fired at the three men by the door in rapid succession. The tip of the silencer attached to the muzzle of his gun flashed with each shot, the dull pop of sound like music to Nessa’s ears. The men jerked backward, blood staining their chests as they collapsed, dead, to the floor.
Holy shit.
Her brother stepped fully into the barn, barely sparing her a glance as he fired again, aiming at someone to her right.
Tony ducked to the ground. Then all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted in the barn, Tony’s men finally reacting.
Angelo crouched down, throwing himself into a stall to avoid a spray of bullets. Wood exploded near Angelo’s hiding place, and then her brother peeked out from around the corner, opening fire again. Just as quickly, he disappeared back into the stall.
“Give it up, Angelo,” Tony warned, pushing himself back to his feet and pulling his own gun free. He held up a hand, and his men stopped firing. “Your sister and I were just talking.”
“I know your version of ‘just talking,’” Angelo called out angrily.
Tony scoffed, though he didn’t deny it. Instead, he asked, “How did you find us? I haven’t heard from you in nearly a fucking year, and you show up now?”
“Let her go, Tony!” Angelo ordered. “I’ll pay off her debt right now. Just stop hurting her.”
Nessa’s eyes widened in shock. Why would he do that? And how had he gotten his hands on millions of dollars?
Tony paused, and then curiously, he asked, “Do you have it with you?”
“Yes,” Angelo bit out in exasperation. “Release her and it’s all yours.”
“Fine,” Tony agreed easily. “Go get my money, and you can have Vanessa.”
“Angelo, don’t believe him!” Nessa shouted anxiously. Tony didn’t negotiate, and he never forgave a slight against him.
After a brief, tense silence, Angelo stood to his full height, his upper torso and head unobstructed from the walls of the stall.
