Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (6 page)

Her
blond head slowly nodded. “I’m leaving as well. Dad has
instructed me to go on a vacation with the girls.” Mom’s
girls
were fifty-year-old women who behaved like they were still fifteen,
something Mother didn’t do around Dad.

“
If
you’re leaving then I will too, but Dad won’t want me to
know about the cabin.”

“
Tell
him you’re going on a short trip with your friends. You can
only stay there one night to rest up because I’ll tell him the
truth once I think you’re far enough away from the cabin.”
Mom drew Gabrielle into a hug.

When
the sound of men made its way to the living room, Gabrielle pulled
from her mother’s embrace. Saddened to be sent away for the
second time, she stood.

“
I
have some things to take care of tonight, but I promise to be gone
tomorrow. You’ll know I left Vegas when I call Dad.” Her
nerves were stretched so tight, she needed to get out of her parents’
house before she snapped and ruined everything.

“
Go
on home now.”

Gabrielle
stared at the envelope in her hands for a moment. Could she really do
this? Her mother expected her to leave Vegas alone, but she wouldn’t
be. When the men’s voices grew closer, she fled up the stairs
while clutching the large towel tightly around her.

Before
turning back to the stairwell, Gabrielle glanced over at the
beautiful woman who had given birth to her. Obviously Mom knew about
the Dad’s organization but how much? Questions played on the
tip of Gabrielle’s tongue. She wanted to ask what her mother
thought about her father leading a life of crime, how long had he
been in it, and if her mother had ever been allowed to participate.
Gabrielle doubted the last question and couldn’t picture the
mild-tempered blond doing anything illegal, but then again, a few
months ago she wouldn’t have believed any of them doing this
either. Not wanting to ruin her chance at going to Dad’s cabin,
she refrained from pumping her mom for information.

****

The
next day Mikolas Russo slipped the loaded Glock into the waistband of
his Dockers before running his hand through his hair. A quick glance
at his silver Burberry watch told him the time had come. Time for
another hit. Time to expand his bank account. Time to add fuel to his
nightmares.

It
was early spring in Las Vegas and even so, Mother Nature hadn’t
decided if the weather would turn warm or pretend to be winter for a
while longer. Curly Joe Regusa, the mark, occupied his time by
lounging next to the pool with his harem of women. This job should be
an easy one. Mikolas was a skilled marksman paid to knock off anyone
in his way. He hated murdering anyone but killing women wasn’t
his style and avoided the slaying of females at all costs.

His
hands trembled against the leather steering wheel cover as he drove
the black SUV down the street. This is the last hit, he reminded
himself. All of the arraignments were made to leave Las Vegas with or
without Gabrielle. He’d fulfill this hit before collecting the
rest of the payoff for the job and then pop in to ask Gabi if she’d
leave with him. The stuff he intended on taking waited in suitcases
inside his front door. A meeting with Enrico had also been scheduled
for later in the afternoon. Talking to Gabi first gave Mikolas some
direction in which to take the conversation with Enrico. Either way,
Mikolas would be leaving the Mafia lifestyle, something he couldn’t
wait to do.

Just
one more hit to do and he’d be done killing people forever.
Maybe he’d be able to walk on the right side of the law for
once.

The
phone rang on the console between the SUV’s leather seats. An
unfamiliar number popped up on the caller ID. He debated answering as
he approached his destination. Another ring of his phone hit a nerve.
He needed to be calm while he did a hit or he’d screw up,
giving the detectives a trail to Mikolas’ door. He snagged the
phone and pushed talk.

“
This
is Mikolas.”

“
Hi,
Mik. It’s Gabrielle.” The sound of her voice almost made
him drop his phone. Guilt curled in the pit of his stomach. He
shouldn’t be talking to her right now. Having her on the phone
while he had a loaded gun on him ready to shoot someone didn’t
seem right.

“
Gabi,
I’d love to talk to you, but I’m working and have to go.
Can I call you back when I’m finished?”

“
Sorry
to bother you. It’s just that we didn’t get to finish our
conversation last night.” Her voice sounded sweeter over the
phone than it did in person. “And I’d like you to come
over sometime to finish.”

He
almost dropped the phone a second time. Go over to Gabrielle’s
house? His plan kept getting brighter with possibilities. “Sure.
When would be good for you?”

“
As
soon as,” she paused as if thinking of a good time to suggest,
“You’re done with work today.”

This
was working out way better than he’d ever hoped. “I can
be there in an hour.”

He
didn’t need to write down her address as she rattled it off
because he knew exactly where she lived even though he’d never
stepped foot inside her house. A smile played on his lips for only a
second before he forced his attention to return to the gun in the
waistband of his pants.

Mikolas
turned into the parking lot of the Ladies Eve Casino. The vehicle
would fit in perfectly among the others in the valet parking lot even
without the authorization ticket in the window. He picked one of the
spots the farthest away from the mainstream area to make it appear as
though he had booked a room in the hotel. The narrow parking space
sat conveniently located next to the back entrance to the casino’s
pool used by hotel guests.

If
he hurried with this hit, he’d make it back to the house to
clean up before heading to see Gabrielle. Even though he’d been
forbidden to ever enter into any sort of relationship with her, his
heart rebelled, and he longed to pull her in a tight embrace to smell
the flowery scent of her long, black hair. Maybe he’d be able
to give in to his desires today after he confessed how much he loved
her.

Focus,
he ordered himself. Don’t screw this last hit up. He sucked in
his breath and slowly let it out before taking a look around to make
sure nobody had noticed him then climbed out of the SUV.

The
palm trees swayed in the breeze as he followed the sound of splashing
water and the heavy stench of chlorine. Mikolas rounded the corner
and scanned the pool. Despite the chilly bite in the air, a crowd of
people splashed around in the water while others sun bathed on lounge
chairs. Porn star look-alikes in small bikinis served drinks to the
happy vacationers, but none of this mattered to Mikolas.

His
gaze landed on the only occupied cabana. The semi-sheer curtains
hiding his mark behind prying eyes, would come in handy soon. Curly
sprawled spread-eagle on the chaise lounge wearing electric blue swim
trunks with red flower prints splattered across the fabric. The big
designer sunglasses, bright-colored alcoholic beverage in his hand
with an umbrella sticking out the top screamed tourist, but Mikolas
knew better. The two women, who appeared to be twins wearing matching
orange bikinis, fanned the man whose belly hung over his swim-trunks
like an overripe watermelon.

Mikolas
had to admit, the women were all right with their voluptuous curves,
but what on earth did they see in Curly? They had to be in it for his
dough because the thirty-something year old wasn’t anywhere
near attractive. One of the women slid her hand over the few strands
of hair Curly had left. Mikolas let his repulsion of the man build,
knowing that the angrier he became and the more personal he made this
job, the easier it would be to pull the trigger.

He
had the perfect shot as he made his way closer. The Glock pressed
against his bare skin as if issuing an order to do it now. But if
Mikolas were to wipe out Curly with a bullet to the skull from his
current location, he knew the women would scream, make a big scene,
and the place would hum with police in a matter of minutes. Doing a
stint behind bars wasn’t on Mikolas’ agenda.

Somehow
he’d have to get the women out of the cabana before he took his
shot. Mikolas frowned as water splashed on his leather shoes and up
the legs of his pants. He glanced down at the pool where a kid wore a
shit-eating grin before splashing him a second time. Mikolas scowled
at the kid but kept walking.

Only
a few feet away. He slid his hand over the butt of his gun again and
felt the rush of familiar discomfort arrive in his stomach. The knot
became a companion whenever he did a hit and lasted for at least a
day afterward.

Two
feet away from the cabana and a third girl joined the party.

The
blonde appeared to be in her late teens, younger than the rest of the
women. She handed Curly a fresh drink, and planted a kiss on his
bald-head, making Mikolas want to gag. If Gabrielle ever made her way
into her family’s dynasty, would she end up like one of those
cheap women? Hell, he hoped not. Gabrielle held so much more class.

No
thinking of Gabi during a hit. Get the job done and then get out of
here.

“
Excuse
me,” Mikolas said in a fake Arabian accent as he pushed the
sheer drapes to the side, happy to be breaking up Curly’s
disgusting party. He moved his black Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses up
the bridge of his nose to block any view of his eyes. “I need
to talk to Mr. Regusa.”

The
young blond looked up at him with doe-like deep brown eyes. “Should
I grab you a drink?”

Mikolas
shook his head.

Curly
gazed curiously at Mikolas, but didn’t look the least bit
scared. After a second or two, he raised an arm to shoo the women
from his side, making Mikolas’ job a hell of a lot easier. With
them gone, Curly asked, “Who’er you?”

Mikolas
picked up a towel from the small table in the corner. “I have a
message for your dad.” Curly’s father was the Don of a
rival Family and the owner of the Lady Eve Casino.

“
Give
it to him yourself.” Curly leaned back against the lounge chair
and let his eyes drift shut as if he didn’t have a care in the
world. Did the arrogant man have any sense at all? Mikolas figured
the mark felt safe on his dad’s property and the reason why
Mikolas had been sent here to let it be known that the Medini Family
can get anyone anywhere and were watching the Regusa Family.

Mikolas
slid his hand up inside his shirt until his grip closed in on the
firearm. With the noise from the pool being so loud and the silencer
to help hide the pop-pop sound of the gun, Mikolas had confidence
that he’d do this hit without drawing much attention.

Everything
seemed to have switched into slow motion as he pulled the Glock out,
making sure the gun stayed, with the help of the towel, out of view
of the women waiting at the bar along with anyone else who might’ve
became curious about the meeting between the men.

He
yanked the hammer of the Glock back and aimed the firearm without a
tremble of his hand. One shot went through the thin lens of Curly’s
sunglasses, making the man slump over. Mikolas took a step to one
side to change the angle of his aim. Even though the one bullet
through the eye had been required for this job as a way to say, “We
are watching you,” Mikolas had to make sure the man died.
Another shot to the temple completed the task.

Mikolas
strolled away unnoticed around the pool and out of the gate the way
he had come. Job done. Message sent.

While
on the job, Mikolas’ heart needed to be stone cold, but
whenever Gabi was around, every part of him warmed. Now he could find
out if Gabi would be joining him or if he’d be going off alone.

Chapter
Four

With
Jenna, Gabrielle’s assistant manager, available to cover the
store until Gabrielle’s mother straightened things out for
Gabi’s absence, she was able to come up with a more concrete
plan to get Mikolas out of town with her. An entire morning had been
filled with research. Googling “How to effectively kidnap
someone” had brought up a few tips, and by two p.m. she’d
made the call. With him agreeing to come right over, it left no room
for her to be nervous.

Gabrielle
pushed her hair away from her face and hoped she looked like she
wasn’t up to anything sneaky. Nothing of the tips she read
instructed her on what to wear. Common sense said to dress like she
expected a comfortable afternoon at home. No matter what, Mikolas,
who should be arriving at any moment, couldn’t be alarmed in
order for her to remain in control of the kidnapping.