Chapter 35

35

Creed

R oscoe’s information wasn’t as useful as I hoped. He did help us narrow down Emilio’s list of properties to four instead of twenty in Brooklyn by tracking his phone. I’ve moved most of my men but kept two at the other locations, just in case all the cell phones were abandoned in one area and Emilio took Zara and the others somewhere else.

“So, what’s the plan here, boss?” Tristan asks as we sit a block away from a property. “Take four teams and bust in guns blazing?”

“I wish it were that easy.” I shove my fingers through my hair to avoid looking at the time on my phone yet again. It’s been hours, and I know we’re running short on time to make a move. I just don’t know which move will save Zara and which ones might doom her.

“We’ll need to take out all the security cameras around each building,” I explain. “There are probably plenty of guards, watching over each, who will sound the alarm to everyone as soon as they spot us. At best, we might sneak up on them at one location, but not all four. And I don’t fucking know which one to choose!”

My cell phone dings with a new text message I almost ignore, so I won’t see how much time has passed since I’ve been debating this fucking decision.

But I do cave and look.

The words turn my world upside down.

“What is it?” Dre asks from the driver seat when I keep staring down at the screen.

“It says...it says: ‘Your WIFE wants to tell you goodbye. She wishes you well and doesn’t want you to do anything rash .’ ”

“Bullshit,” Tristan huffs from the backseat. “There’s no way Emilio would just come out and admit that he has her in a text message.”

I click on the notification to read the entire message again and again.

Leaning up between the seats, Tristan reads it over my shoulder. “He’s setting up a trap, boss. You know that.”

“I don’t care. If she’s still alive...”

“You can’t believe a word that fucker says,” Dre remarks. “There’s no way to know if she’s alive just because he says so in a text.”

“I’m calling him.” I pull up the number and dial it before anyone can protest. I was expecting a smug Emilio to answer. That’s not what I get.

“Creed?”

Hearing her voice say my name makes me glad I’m sitting down. If I had been standing, it would have dropped me to my knees.

“It could be a recording,” Dre whispers, since he must have heard her voice as well .

“Zara, baby, are you okay?”

“I’m...I’m alive,” she replies, which isn’t very comforting. “Your men are not. I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t think they would be.” Rafael, Shawn, Carlo, and Gino were good men. Loyal to their deaths. And I’ll make sure their families never want for anything.

“Prove this isn’t a recording. What do I call you?”

“ Micetta mia .”

I cover up the speaker at the bottom of the phone to tell Dre and Tristan,“It’s her. She’s alive.” To her I say, “I’m coming to get you, micetta mia .”

“Izaiah and Bertelli’s son, Bowen, were the ones responsible for the raid. Bowen also told Emilio when and where to pick us up,” she blurts out in a rush while Emilio curses in the background. Emilio must have admitted all that shit to her, which was stupid of him. Or Zara got him to run his mouth.

God, I fucking love her so damn much. Even when he’s doing no telling what to her, hurting her, she mined for the answer to a question that’s been eating at me for weeks.

There’s a loud smack as if he hit her before his voice comes over the line. “You stupid Mignotta!”

“Zara!” I shout. “Don’t fucking touch her again, or I will slaughter your entire fucking family!”

“Your wife is pretty beat up with broken bones and my son’s name branded across her chest that will be a permanent reminder of him. Things will only get worse unless you end it yourself and make it look realistic.”

I close my eyes, not wanting to even picture the horrible things he’s done to Zara in such a short amount of time. And it’s all my fucking fault.

“Well, Ferraro? Are you willing to trade your life for hers?”

“No fucking way,” Dre whispers.

“Don’t do it, Creed! Just find Oriana and take care of her for me. Please! We’re in Brooklyn at the construction office with only five guards!” The call ends in complete silence, her words still echoing in my ear.

“ Cazzo !” I clutch my phone in my fist, wanting to throw it out the fucking window.

“It’s a setup,” Tristan says. “He’ll kill you and her both as soon as you walk through the door. It may be too late for her after she told you…”

I shake my head. “Emilio knows we’re married, that I love Zara and that I would trade my life for hers. But I know something about him too. He may never let her go, but he’ll never kill her.”

“You’re certain about that?” Dre asks.

“I am. So, let’s proceed as planned. She said he only has five guards with him. Just watch out for Zara, Oriana, and the nannies if bullets fly.”

“He’ll have them out of that place in seconds, before we even figure out which of the locations he’s at,” Tristan remarks.

“No, he won’t,” I tell him as I text the others to move. “Because we’re moving on all four right now. Try to take his men alive to protect the women and girl. They’re outnumbered, so this should be easy.”

Once we’re out of the vehicle and checking our guns, I turn to Dre. “If this all goes to hell, I know you’ll make a damn good boss, even if you are a grumpy son of a bitch.”

He flips me the finger, which is both ominous and familiar all at the same time.

Zar a

“We’re leaving. Now. Bring them down and get them out the backdoor,” Emilio orders into his phone. As soon as the device is tucked into his pants pocket, he grabs a knife from the workbench and starts cutting through the zip ties on my wrists and ankles.

“If you try to fight me, I’ll drag you out of here by your hair,” the asshole warns.

I wish I had more strength in my body to fight him, to try to slow him down until Creed gets here. Unfortunately, I can barely lift my bare foot to try, much less kick him in the face hard enough to do any real damage with several broken toes. And who knows where Creed is or how far away? It could take him half an hour to get across the bridge.

But I know this is the only chance I’ll get to slow Emilio down.

So, once my second wrist is undone, I make a fist and punch him right in his throat despite my throbbing bent-wrong fingers.

Emilio cries out, clutching his neck and gargles what sounds like, “Bitch.”

I slide off the table on weak, shaky legs, dizzy and feeling drunk on the adrenaline caused by hours of his torment. Every little movement makes my raw, burning chest wounds scream in agony.

Instead of aiming for the door, which is where he wants me to go so that we can leave, I turn toward the workbench, grabbing the first object I can reach while he lunges for me.

The blow of what I think is a wrench to his forehead barely slows him down as he grabs a handful of my hair and slams my face into the sharp corner of the workbench.

Every muscle in my body goes slack, dropping me to my knees. The entire room is edged in darkness as I fight to keep my eyes open. I blink to try to clear my murky vision with no luck.

I hear muffled voices coming from the hallway, and assume they’re more of Emilio’s men he called for backup.

“Guess we’ll see if he loves you or not,” it sounds like Emilio says with a jerk on my hair, pulling me to my feet. I try to swallow, but there’s something pressed against my throat.

It’s like a bad case of déjà vu — the night Izaiah died.

That’s when I realize Emilio must be out of time, and he’s hedging his bets because Creed and his men are here. I just hope they get Oriana out safely, without any of Emilio’s idiots hurting her.

“Stupid fool,” I slur. “Creed would rather kill you than save me.”

“Let’s find out,” he pants next to my ear. “I think he cares for you more than he wants my death.”

“You’re wrong. I can’t wait to see you in hell when you find out.”

“Why else would Creed Ferraro marry you? Why would he risk his life to kidnap Oriana and let you both stay with him if he wasn’t in love with you? He’d never do that for any amount of money, not that you had any to pay him. And he certainly wouldn’t do that for a cheap puttana he could fuck for free.”

We don’t have to stand there long before I see a blur of men in dark clothes, dark hair. I think it’s Creed, but can’t be sure until he says, “Like father like son, you brought a knife to a gunfight.”

God, I missed his growly threatening voice. And I have no doubt he’s holding a gun, but it’s all blurring together.

“Is Oriana safe?” I ask him.

“She’s safe. The nannies too.”

“Thank you,” I whisper in relief. Whatever else happens, at least my daughter is going to be okay.

Creed wouldn’t actually be willing to trade himself for me, would he? Does he honestly think Emilio will just let me walk away from him with a few broken bones and a giant scar of Izaiah’s name? No, I’d rather die by Emilio’s knife than ever have him inside me again.

“You and your men better let us leave, Ferraro, or I’ll slice open her throat. ”

“No, you won’t,” Creed asserts.

“Before you can kill me, I’ll take her life! Or you can put your guns down and let us both leave here alive. I won’t give you the choice again.”

“You were Zara’s first, weren’t you?” Creed asks, making me wonder if I’m hallucinating. “When you brought her to the city?”

Emilio must be as surprised as I am by the random remark, since his knife presses even harder against the thin flesh of my throat.

“What about it? I put her up in a beautiful apartment, helped her get modeling gigs she was so desperate for, and gave her anything she wanted for years. She thanked me so hard for it all and thanked me often.”

“I hated you every fucking second, and you knew it!” I tell him. “Do not let him leave here alive, Creed.”

“But you never denied me, did you? Such an obedient girl, a loyal daughter to parents who sold her off to save their dreams while she chased her own in the city.”

My husband just stares at us, at me, and I can’t tell for sure what he’s thinking, what his plan is here.

Emilio’s mouth is right against my ear when he says, “A sweet, innocent girl from Pearl River. I’m guessing you haven’t met Samuel and Rita Riley, Zara’s parents yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” Creed grits out.

“Nice couple. They run the Main Street Brewing Company in Pearl River thanks to my generous investment.”

“I don’t give a shit about her worthless parents. I know that you care about Zara,” Creed says. “That’s why you haven’t killed her, isn’t it? You wanted your daughter’s mother to suffer, but you were never going to give her up, not even to death. And you’re angry that she prefers me, that she married me, the man who killed your oldest son because he killed my brother!”

“I knew it was you!” Emilio bellows .

Okay then.

It looks like these two mob bosses are playing a game of 3D chess, and I’m just a spectator.

I’m not sure what Creed is up to, but I really hope his plan is working.