“I am and you will do as I say. Wait and don’t answer until your escort arrives. It will be soon.” The tone told me I had no choice, but it didn’t sound like the other voices that had threatened me before. This was different. It didn’t sound like Calhoun or Perez. No, this voice I hadn’t heard before, and it made my body shiver in a whole new way.
My body shook as I held the phone to my chest. Had I heard him correctly? I was going to be his wife. Who the hell wasthis man? My uncle didn’t answer or argue. All I knew was that someone was going to rescue me from one danger; now I was meeting another. My heart palpated out of control. Ten minutes didn’t make any sense since my uncle should still have been in Chicago. Unless he left earlier than he told me. Did he bring someone with him? And why didn’t my uncle answer the phone himself?
My mind spun helplessly out of control while I sat there with my knees to my chest, using my bare feet to rock myself into a lost trance. My vision blurred through the tears, so I shut my eyes and tried to calm myself, but nothing did the trick. The questions in my head were too many to count, and I didn’t have anywhere to run.
While I sat there in my own thoughts, the doorbell rang. My eyes darted to the old, paint-cracked door, body shivering as if the air had suddenly kicked on. I didn’t bother to get up. I clutched the knife tighter and brought my thighs closer to my chest.
“Ma’am, we’re here to take you somewhere safe. Please open the door.” I shook my head as if the man behind it could see me. The pounding only got louder. “Miss, we don’t want to break down the door.” Oh yes, that made me feel totally safe. Even through the door, his annoyance couldn’t be mistaken. “Please open up.” I knew of the threats from my father’s enemies. They had connections with the police, so I couldn’t call them for help. There was no way I would open it or try to run.
My phone shook in the cradle of my lap as it vibrated. I nearly dropped it on the floor, and then I read my uncle’s name on the caller ID. I answered it quickly in a whisper, hello?
“Baby, open the door. They’re there to pick you up and take you somewhere safe. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“No,” I stammered out with fear and a hint of strength left to fight.
A deep growling huff came from him. “Damn it, answer the door because I don’t want them to have to break the door down, but I will.”
“I’m scared.” The confession made me feel both weak and powerful at the same time.
“Amore, I promise you that if you want your uncle to live, you’ll open the door and go with those men.”
“How do I know you haven’t already hurt him? You have his phone, and I haven’t heard from him since this morning.”
Grumbling in Italian, he then said, “Tell her you’re fine, Joey.”
“I’m fine, Ana,” Uncle Joey answered with a sigh. “He’s serious about the protection.”
“Uncle Joey, what’s going on?” I asked.
“See, Amore. Now, do as I say and open the door.” Damn him.
I had no choice but to relent. Whether Uncle Joey was truly fine or not wasn’t up for debate because he’d actually spoken to me, even though I didn’t get to speak to him and it appeared I didn’t get a damn choice. “Okay.”
“Good girl.”
Good girl?My body shivered, and not in a bad way, when he uttered that simple praise. Why had those words suddenly shifted something inside me? Maybe it was my adrenaline.
As I stood up, I accidentally pressed the red button, ending the call. I tucked the phone into my shorts pocket and then walked to the door. When I opened it, there were two men in suits. “Houston PD?” I asked with my left brow cocked. They weren’t the cops.
“Yes,” the bigger guy said with an uptick of his lips, giving away the lie.
“Don DeSalvo said to escort you to a hotel and wait. Grab a bag and let’s go. You have five minutes before we have to leave. Go now.” I ran into the bedroom and snagged the go-suitcase I had packed when I first called my uncle. Don DeSalvo? As in a mobster? Or was his name Don? Somehow I doubt it was the latter. Cops my ass.
“I’m ready.”
“That was fast.”
“I’d been waiting for my uncle to pick me up.”
“Good, let’s go. I don’t want to have to kill anyone yet.” I nodded as if I were comfortable with his comment. He took my suitcase and the other guy closed the door. They walked one by my side and the other in front of me as they led me to their waiting vehicle where a third man was sitting.
The guy in front opened the backseat door for me. I climbed inside and then he slid in beside me. A moment later my luggage was in the back and the other man popped into the front passenger seat.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Marco, and he’s Peter,” he pointed to the man who was driving. The other guy turned and Marco said, “His name is Gio.” He was gruffer and much shorter than the other two. All three wore suits, but Gio’s suit seemed to irritate him around thecollar. I had a lot of questions for them, but the way he watched me through the side mirror, I changed my mind. Of the three, he gave me the creeps. It wasn’t his size, but rather the dark, ominous stare.
Gio made a call and said, “We have her.”
