Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (18 page)

He
stood right outside of the bedroom door and waited for her to call
him back inside the room which only took a minute or two at the most.

A
tight tanktop fit snugly over her breasts and dipped low enough to
grant him a great view of the swell of her breasts. A pair of shorts
clung to her hips and did their best to show off her long legs. “I…
um…” she started to say as she climbed onto the bed.

“
What,
Gabi?” He sat back down next to her on the bed but did his best
to keep his hands folded in his lap and his eyes on the window
watching the snow falling.

“
I
don’t want to tell you.”

“
Why
not?”

“
It’s
stupid, really.” She turned her back to him as she moved the
quilt. The butt of her pink shorts read “sexy” in
glittery letters. Boy, was that ever the truth. She slipped under the
covers, cutting off his view of her ass.

“
I
would never think such a thing.” He put his elbows onto his
knees and folded his hands over his face.

“
Can
I ask a favor then?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.

“
Anything.”

“
I’d
really like it if you’d sleep in here with me, but if you don’t
want-”

“
Shh.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “I want to.”

She
whispered, “Thank you.”

He
broke the contact with her long enough to slip underneath the blanket
and scooted over to her, knowing he wouldn’t make it through
the night without holding her, so he didn’t even want to fight
the urge at all. He wrapped his arm around her waist, hugging her
close. The sensation of her nestling herself against his body shot
him to the moon. He had waited for this for so long. “Are you
okay now?” he whispered against her ear.

“
Yes.
I got scared, but I feel better now.” Her words were soft, and
a few minutes later her breathing slowed. She relaxed in his arms
enough to fall asleep. He boosted himself up on an elbow, leaned over
her, and blew out the candle, leaving them in darkness.

Chapter Ten

Mikolas
should’ve avoided the little girl’s gaze. Too late to
worry about that. She’d already seen him and Mik was sure she
knew he had hurt her father. But she didn’t run away from him.
She stared up at him with those big cerulean colored eyes.

What
should he do? The rule of a hit was to take out anyone in the way.
She wasn’t in the way but counted as a witness. Would she be
able to identify him?

Tears
slid down her cheek. “What’s wrong with my daddy?”

“
I
didn’t do anything to him. The police will help him soon.”
The words made him want to gag. Uncertainty made him want to run. The
girl’s fear made him want to cry
with
her. Even though he had been deemed a hitman for the Mafia, he still
had a heart even though they’d try to force him to forget about
it. He reached for the girl and pulled her into his arms.

As
she lowered her head to his chest, he realized he would rather go to
prison for the murder instead of taking the life of this child.

“
Are
you going to stay with me until they come?”

He
couldn’t do that. “I need to go but they’ll be here
soon.”

“
Why
are you going to leave me, Uncle Brent?”

Uncle
Brent? What the hell was she talking about? “You know me?”

“
I
saw you outside with Daddy once. Daddy said your name is Uncle
Brent.” The little girl pulled away and looked up at him again
as if she could read the truth in his eyes. “You are Uncle
Brent, right?”

Mikolas
nodded. “Yes, I’m Uncle Brent and I’m going to get
the police now. Go wait in your bed, okay?” The lie didn’t
set well with him as he let go of the girl and walked out of the
apartment.

He
didn’t like the end of the dream any more than the beginning
even though he hadn’t harmed the girl physically. The mental
harm he knew he’d done to her was what haunted him.

She
slept next to him with her hand resting on the bed next to them. Glad
she was sleeping peacefully, he slid his hand over hers for the
comfort she seemed to always provide him now, and let his eyes drift
shut again until the scratching intruded into the small bedroom.

Mikolas
lay still on the bed, careful not to wake Gabi, listening for signs
of it being human. It certainly didn’t sound like the wind. The
scratching moved to the other end of the window. Certainly not the
wind. He turned his ear toward the noise.

Gabi
stirred beside him. “What’s that sound?” she asked
in a sleepy voice as she turned toward him.

“
Where’s
my Glock?” he whispered as he let go of her and climbed out of
bed.

Her
eyes widened, but she kept her voice low. “I’m not
telling you.” She let out a yawn and shoved the blanket aside.
Her nipples puckered against the flimsy material of her shirt.
Mikolas almost forgot about the noise at the window while he stared
at them. “Mik? What time is it?”

He
snapped his attention up to her face as she hastily covered her
breasts with her arms. “I need the gun,” he hissed,
ignoring her question.

“
But
I-”

He
turned toward the door. “Fine. Get it and follow me outside to
the asshole scratching at the window. Be my guest.” He didn’t
wait for her to decide what she was going to do. Leaving her sitting
alone in the bedroom, with not even a candle to light the way, he
slipped his shoes on.

She
was behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder, before he had a
chance to touch the door knob. “Here’s the gun,”
she whispered.

“
Thanks.”
He took the Glock from her, relieved she’d placed enough trust
in him to allow him to protect her. He would’ve used his knife
if she hadn’t given him the firearm. Knives were okay in a
fight if nothing else was available, but a gun provided a better
execution. Plus, the powerful steel felt familiar in his grip.

“
Mik-”

He
held his hand up as he slowly opened the door. The cold air blasted
into the cabin. He tossed one more glance at her as he said, “Wait
in here.”

“
But
I-”

“
Wait
in here!” He walked out and shut the door before she had a
chance to respond.

The
night air felt like he was sticking his face flat on a slab of ice.
He fought against his instinct to turn his face downward to shield it
from the whipping wind as he stepped carefully down the steps.
Keep
your head up, eyes forward, and be on guard.
Wind blew up harder, feeling like a million pin pricks on his skin,
once he reached the snow-covered ground.

He
crouched down low as he had been taught in the police academy and
rounded the porch to the first bedroom window. Nothing waited for him
at the window. He continued to the edge of the house and paused. One
glance around the corner and he’d find the source of the noise.
The sound came again followed by something solid hitting the ground
farther off to the left. Or stomping feet?

He
held the gun up in front of him as he went around the corner. Nobody
was there. If anyone had ran to the woods, he would’ve spotted
them before the culprit had a chance to reach the treeline. “What
the hell is going on?” He walked over to the window. No trees,
bushes, or other vegetation were close enough to the window to
scratch against the glass.

He
swung around toward the woods surrounding the cabin. Nothing moved
around the shadows. Only darkness. There would be evidence if there’d
been a person out there. He glanced down at the white snow and wished
for a flashlight. In all of his searching, he hadn’t found a
single one.

Mikolas
walked slowly over the snow, shifting his gaze from the ground to the
woods, searching for a sign of… anything. Nothing. Not even
footsteps.

He
was about to turn back to go inside when small circles dotting the
snow caught his eye. He took off to follow the pattern in the snow
and quickly found a place where the circle pattern turned into
another shape. This time it looked as if something had been dragged
behind the house but still no footsteps. He raised his gun again as
he rounded the corner and stared down where the line ended. The
brightest cerulean eyes stared up at him.

****

Gabrielle
paced back and forth over the wood floor with a lit candle clutched
in her hand. She kept glancing at the door as she listened for any
sign of a struggle out there or the sound of a gunshot.

She
kept her gaze swooping around the room as she walked back and forth.
Please come back, she silently begged, hoping Mik would somehow hear
her thoughts and grant her request. Darkness swarmed around her like
a thick curtain. Chills crept up her arms and down her spine. She
crossed one arm over her chest while the other gripped the candle as
if it were her savior.

Footsteps
on the stairs brought her to a halt. Her eyes stayed focused on the
door as she prayed it was Mik out there instead of an intruder. She
sucked in her breath when the door knob turned.

****

Enrico
held the green and white coffee cup in one hand and his face in the
other. Leon’s painful moans in between the soft snores were
like bullets in Enrico’s stomach. Actually, he’d almost
prefer something to happen to him instead of his best friend, but
he’d been the one to order the men switch places, so Enrico
could get some fresh air. Now his friend lay in the hospital bed in
pain.

And
Enrico should’ve been gone by now. Now with this accident,
things were getting a little weird. Being away from Vegas probably
would be the safest bet. At least Maura and Gabrielle left with their
friends. If they hadn’t, he would’ve had to force them to
stay in a safe house until things calmed down. Going up to the vault
offered two things for him; safe goods, and the escape of a potential
hit.

It
wasn’t the first occasion someone had tried to kill him but the
other times hadn’t bothered him like this. His age hindered the
task of keeping his wife and daughter safe while watching over the
Family. Enrico didn’t know what he’d do without Leon and
still couldn’t find Mikolas which stirred up an entirely new
concern.

A
snore turned into a groan as Leon’s eyes flickered open.

“
Eh,”
Enrico said.

“
I
feel like hell.” Leon tried to laugh then clutched his right
set of ribs. He let out a grunt from pain and pressed the palms of
his hands over his eyes.

“
What
happened?” Enrico took a sip of his coffee, plain coffee and
not some of that nasty chocolaty shit his daughter always seemed to
order for him. He didn’t even have sugar or cream in it. Plain,
strong, and black.

“
Rif
swung the door open and hit the shelves which collapsed on me.”
His knee hung in a sling attached to a pole bolted to the bed. A
white cast matched the rest of the colorless room, making his
shirtless chest covered in purple splotches appear a lot worse than
they probably felt. Leon’s gown had been tossed over a nearby
chair and a blanket covered him from waist down. He looked like he’d
been run over by a truck and probably felt twice as bad.

“
Broken
ribs?” Enrico nodded toward Leon’s chest before taking
another sip.

“
Mm
hm. Give me a drink of that.” Leon held his hand out for
Enrico’s cup.

“
Here
you go.” He snapped the lid off and poured half of it into a
clean cup that had been sitting on the bedside table. He handed the
cup to Leon.

Leon’s
face scrunched as he lifted his arm to drink the coffee. “Doc
says I can’t have my ribs wrapped.”

“
Why
not?”

“
Better
chance of getting pneumonia. It’ll heal on its own, I guess. My
knee though- it’s fucked up pretty bad. There’s a pin
through it right now. I’ll need physical therapy too.” He
drank some of the coffee, meeting Enrico’s gaze over the rim.
“This wasn’t an accident.”

“
Are
you sure?” Enrico hadn’t even fathomed the idea of the
accident being a setup. It did make sense. His blood chilled in his
veins. Enrico had always been the one to watch the money transfer
while Leon guarded the front but they’d switched positions at
the last second. Without a doubt, this was connected to the hit out
on him, not Leon. Guilt gnawed at his gut. He had gotten his friend
in this situation.