Chapter 23

The door was shut andlocked behind them before a lamp was turned on.

Maggie gasped and Noah stared in confused shock as their gazes swept over the room. There was blood on the rumpled bedspread of one of the beds where Eric now lay. His hands were bound with duct tape and his chest was bare. His face was a bruised and bloodied mess, with one eye swollen completely shut. Fresh cuts on his chest and arms were still oozing blood.

Valentina sat on the opposite bed across from him. She was unbound, but her eyes were red rimmed and there was a trickle of blood coming from a small gash on her lip. Aside from this, she appeared unharmed.

Johnny was holding the gun; his swarthy face held a sneer as he looked Noah and Maggie up and down.

Nick the Knife stood between the two beds. Nick stared at Noah, metal glinting off the slim knife that he was expertly flipping around in his hand in a way that almost seemed like an art form. There was a clear bite wound on the arm of his knife-wielding hand, and Noah wondered if it was from when Boon had attacked the man yesterday.

"So glad you could join us," Nick said with a sarcastic twist to his lips; he tilted his head in mock welcome. "Have a seat." His white scalp gleamed in the lamplight where the shape of the knife was shaved into the hair on the side of his head.

When they didn't move, Nick stepped forward and roughly shoved Noah, causing him to stumble. "I said, sit down. On the floor. Both of you."

Barely containing his anger, Noah sank to the floor of the hotel room, and Maggie followed suit. Noah moved his body slightly in front of hers, uncertain of what Nick intended to do next.

"Now that the gang's all here, we can finally put an end to all of this," Nick said. "And I'll finally get what's rightfully mine."

"Rightfully yours?" Valentina spat out. "You'll never get away with—" The rest of what she'd been about to say was lost as Nick violently backhanded her across the face. She fell across the bed and Eric moaned, struggling to rise.

"Don't even think about it," Johnny said, flicking the gun in his direction before returning it to point at Noah.

Noah doubted Eric could do anything if he tried. He was in bad shape. In addition to the cuts and bruising covering his body, it looked as if one of his arms was broken.

"What do you mean, get what's rightfully yours?" Maggie said.

Nick's eyes flicked down to her. "Exactly what I said."

"Prison time?"

Oh man, Maggie. Don't push him. Nick's eyes narrowed and Noah tensed in preparation to jump him if he made a move toward Maggie, but Nick stayed put.

"No, Matches by Maggie," Nick drawled. "I mean getting what Papa Dom originally promised me, before everything got all screwed up."

"And what exactly is that?" Noah asked, although he already knew the answer from their previous conversation with Valentina and Eric. But he wanted to stall for time in order to try and figure a way out of this.

There was a crazed light in Nick's ice-blue eyes, making him seem even more dangerous than he had in any of their other encounters. And there was something unsettling about the way he moved, one minute twitchy and the next like a prowling wildcat trapped in a cage. Noah wondered if he was on something.

"Even before I was a made man, I always gave Papa Dom my unfailing loyalty. I've done whatever he asked of me without question. And in reward for that loyalty, I was promised her." Here he flicked the knife in Valentina's direction. "Along with the promise that she and I would co-rule the Partnership together when the time came."

"But then," Nick's face twisted in fury, "Papa Dom changed the plan. ‘It's for the good of the organization, Nick,'" he said, his tone turning petulant. "‘There's been too much bloodshed in the family, Nick. We all have to make sacrifices, Nick.'"

Nick swore and in a lightning move, threw the knife hard against the motel room wall. It stuck there, the shaft vibrating with the impact. He walked slowly over to it and pulled it out. His eyes fixated on the sharp blade, seemingly entranced for a moment before he began to flip it back and forth again while he spoke.

"I could tell the old man was getting soft in his old age. But like a fool, I agreed to go along with his plan. Because loyalty is everything to me."

Valentina snorted at this, and he took a menacing step toward her. Noah marveled at the woman's audacity as she stared him down, certain she was pushing him too far. But this time Nick held back and instead began pacing about the tiny room.

"But then, I find out what a liar she is." Nick jabbed the knife toward Valentina again. "The daughter of the boss, the one he's chosen to take his place, has no concept of loyalty. She lied to him about her supposed bachelorette party. So, I do like Papa Dom asks. I track her car here, determined to bring her back to do her duty. But instead, I find her partying and hanging all over you." This time he points the blade in Noah's direction.

Then Nick tapped the flat of his blade against his temple. "So, now I'm thinkin'...Who is this guy? Is he from a rival gang? A professional assassin? I admit it. For a while, you had me. Our sources couldn't find out anything about either of you beyond your cover stories. Nothing made any sense."

Nick stared hard at Noah. But Noah said nothing, his mind working furiously. He thought he could successfully sweep Nick off his feet from his seated position, but that still left Johnny holding the gun.

"I still can't believe that you called the cops on us at the hospital," Nick said, glancing at Valentina again.

"You're welcome," Valentina said with a cold smile.

Nick stared at her hard for a long moment, then gave a small shrug, a satisfied smile curving his lips. "In the end, it doesn't matter. Because after trailing these idiots all weekend," here he indicated Noah and Maggie, "we finally got lucky. Thanks so very much for leading us here, by the way." His tone was mocking. "Honestly, I'm not sure we would have ever found Valentina without you two, don't you agree, Johnny?"

Johnny gave an affirmative grunt from his post by the door, his small eyes glittering.

"Once you two left here this morning, we paid our own visit to these two lovebirds," Nick continued, his expression hard. "Surprisingly, they didn't want to talk at first. But after quite a bit of...er, persuasion, we finally got the whole story.

"It wasn't just that the bachelorette party was a lie. But everything Valentina's done has been a lie. And she was about to commit the ultimate betrayal." Nick shook his head, clearly incredulous.

Noah could sense Maggie inch slightly closer to him. She placed a trembling hand against his back. He wished he could comfort her, but he knew that any sudden movements might set Nick off.

"But guess what, princess? It's all over." Nick turned to stand over Valentina. "Because I've decided that Papa Dom's got it all wrong. And now it's up to me to make it right for the good of the organization. I mean, here's me, loyal without question. And her," he grabs a handful of Valentina's hair and yanks it, getting close to her face, "a disloyal liar who I've now discovered was planning to break the sacred law of omertà," he hissed. He placed his knife at Valentina's throat, and she sucked in her breath. "And all just to run away with this sfigato." He kicked at Eric, who moaned in pain. Eric's eyes fluttered and Noah thought he looked like he was about to pass out.

"She's not worthy to run the Partnership," Nick spat. "So, I've decided I'll be doing Papa Dom a favor by getting rid of her."

"Get rid of her how?" Maggie asked.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Nick said sarcastically, then sighed. "I suppose I do, little Matches by Maggie. It's pretty simple. Valentina here needs to die, along with her boy toy. And of course, the two of you."

Noah watched the color drain from Valentina's face, and he felt a knot form in his stomach. Despite the wave of dread washing over him, and the fact that they had no weapons of their own, there was no way he was going down without a fight. If nothing else, he would protect Maggie with his last breath.

Nick's grin widened at Valentina's expression. "That's right, princess. Did you really think that after all of this, I'd just take you back home to Daddy?" The smile fell from his lips as he stared at her. "You're not worthy to lead the Partnership. The only one who is worthy to rule in Papa Dom's place, is me."

"She's still his daughter," Maggie said, scooting even closer to Noah. "So, I doubt he'll see it that way." As she spoke, Noah felt her hand lift from his back, and then he fought the urge to jump when he felt it slip slowly into the back pocket of his jeans. What the devil was she doing?

Nick smiled down at Valentina, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Oh, but he will. See, I've come up with a new plan. The perfect plan."

Noah felt Maggie's fingertips sliding over his phone and suddenly realized what she was up to. Resourceful genius! he silently praised her, shifting his body slightly to provide her with better coverage and easier access. He felt her press the power button five times before she slipped her hand back out again.

Nick shook his head in mock sadness. "Unfortunately, none of you will be around for the final scene. But let me share my creative vision." He waved his blade in Noah's direction. "Noah here is just as I suspected, a private assassin who is going to murder Valentina." Nick gasped in surprise, as if startled by this fake revelation. "Of course, I arrive too late to save her but still in time to avenge her murder for Papa Dom by killing Noah. And since we can't have any loose ends, Eric and Miss Matches by Maggie here are simply going to have to disappear."

"That sounds like a lot of murders you're going to need to cover up," Noah said.

Nick grinned down at him, and this time it looked genuine. "Don't you worry about that. I've had plenty of practice in that area."

"Enough chit-chat," Johnny spoke up from the door. "Let's get this done, Nick. How do you want to work it?"

Nick's gaze scanned the group. "Let's see..." He tapped the flat side of the knife blade against his lips. "We'll make it look like Noah shot Tina here. Then, of course, I'll slit his throat in my signature style. Man, I wish I'd killed that old bag who took my favorite knife." He frowned at the blade in his hand, then cocked his head, making it crack loudly before he continued.

His eyes moved between Maggie and Eric. "I think having these two here will be too messy and difficult to explain. So, we'll just take them to a different location and get rid of their bodies with an acid bath."

Noah felt a chill pass through him at the matter-of-fact way Nick discussed their deaths.

"Sounds good," Johnny grunted, pulling a silencer out of his pocket and screwing it onto the end of his weapon. "What about the blood on the bedspread?"

"It's fine. We'll need to call in the Cleaners to remove any evidence pointing to us after it's all done anyway," Nick said dismissively.

"Okay. Let's put these two in the trunk first then," Johnny indicated Maggie and Eric, "before we off the other two. That way we can take off right after it's done."

Nick gave an affirmative nod and Noah felt his hope for rescue beginning to slip away. He couldn't look at his phone now to confirm it, but if Maggie had successfully pulled the same trick she had during their first encounter with these men, then the police should already be on their way. But the motel was on the outskirts of town. What if the police arrived too late to stop his and Valentina's murders? And with his phone still in his pocket, there was no protection for Maggie if they drove off somewhere else with her afterward. Was he about to lose the love of his life when he'd only just found her?

"Okay." Johnny tossed a roll of duct tape toward Nick.

"You, stay right where you are, princess," Nick ordered Valentina. "The rest of you, get up."

Noah and Maggie rose slowly from the floor, and Nick proceeded to tape Maggie's wrists together in front of her. She exchanged a worried glance with Noah, who watched helplessly. Even if he managed to successfully jump Nick, he'd never be able to get to Johnny before he got a shot off.

Nick was about to tape Noah's wrists, when he realized Eric was still struggling unsuccessfully to rise from the bed.

"You. Help him," Nick ordered, looking at Noah.

Noah moved forward and attempted to lift Eric, who gave a sharp cry of pain.

"I'm sorry," Noah murmured as he struggled to support the wounded man. His mind raced, heart pounding against his ribcage. He needed to stall somehow, to hopefully give the police enough time to arrive. Adrenaline coursed through him and every muscle in his body tensed as he plotted his next move. He and Eric hobbled together toward the door, and he decided that when he was close enough he'd have to just let go of Eric in order to overpower Johnny and get that gun.

Suddenly, he heard something. A soft scraping sound at the motel room door.

"Quiet," Johnny hissed at the group, then frowned at the door. "What's that?"

The scraping came again, louder, and this time accompanied by a high-pitched sound.

Johnny lifted the gun and with his other hand, yanked open the door.

A giant, growling ball of sharp white teeth and black-and-gold fur shot into the room.

Noah blinked as the normally mild-mannered Boon knocked Johnny to the floor, barking ferociously before biting down hard on his gun-wielding hand.

Johnny screamed in pain as the gun fell from his nerveless fingers. Maggie wasted no time in scooping it up with her bound hands and trained it on Johnny.

In the same instant, Valentina rose to face Nick. With a lightening move, she gripped the back of his head with one hand, and with the other, slashed the flat side of her palm along his jawline in a single fluid motion. Nick dropped like a stone. Without hesitating, Valentina snatched the knife from his hand and turned to Noah. "Bind him," she ordered, indicating the duct tape.

"What did you do?" Maggie asked, her mouth gaping.

"Pressure point," Valentina said. "Doesn't take much strength, but it's very effective."

Valentina switched places with Noah, assisting Eric back down onto the bed, while Noah wrapped the unconscious Nick's wrists and ankles with copious amounts of tape.

Next, he stepped over to Johnny, who was unable to move as Boon kept him pinned to the ground. The dog continued to growl right in the man's face, his teeth bared.

"Get him off me!" Johnny whined. "He's gonna kill me."

Noah shook his head at the irony of the man's words as he bound Johnny's ankles.

"It's okay now, boy," Noah said to Boon. The German Shepherd immediately removed his paws from Johnny's chest and went to sit down next to Maggie, panting, while Noah tightly bound Johnny's wrists.

Valentina handed Noah the knife, which he used to remove the tape from Maggie's wrists. He had just pulled out his phone, when to his relief, he could hear sirens in the distance, growing louder.

"Woohoo!" Maggie cheered as she exchanged a look with Noah. "She shoots, she scores again!"

"What?" Valentina frowned in confusion.

"It's a very helpful trick Maggie knows." Noah grinned. "Suffice it to say, the cavalry is coming."

There was a groan from the floor as Nick regained consciousness, his eyes fluttering open. He struggled to sit up, pulling against the bonds holding his hands behind his back. "What happened?"

Noah had already moved to the open doorway and was waving his arms at the police car pulling into the lot.

He glanced back at the two trussed up men sprawled on the floor. "Let's just say, there was an unexpected ‘boon' that put a big kink in your sick plan."

Boon thumped his tail on the floor at the mention of his name.

"Oh, you are just hilarious," Maggie said with a shake of her head, but she couldn't suppress a smile.

"I know, right?"