Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (22 page)

He
fingered the vial in his pocket. Another opportunity to kill Enrico
and have it look like an accident had presented itself with Enrico’s
lunch invitation. They’d be long gone from the restaurant when
the Strychnine took effect.

“
I’m
going to visit the restroom before the food gets here,” Enrico
said as he slid from his chair and stood.

As
soon as Enrico disappeared into the bathroom, the waiter brought
their drinks over. “Oh, Mr. Medini stepped out? Would you like
me to hold these until he comes back?”

The
best service only for Mr. Medini. Disgusting. “No. He’ll
be right back.”

Alone
with Enrico’s drink, Johnny took the vial out of his jacket
pocket. One glance over to the bathroom door before he twisted the
lid off and sprinkled the powder into Enrico’s drink. Once all
the powder was dumped in the glass, Johnny twirled the liquid around
so the powder would dissolve as much as possible and set the glass
back down in its place.

Enrico
shuffled back to his seat. He eyed the glass first and then lifted it
up. Did he know what was in it? He swirled it around a bit. “Why
did the waiter leave this when I wasn’t out here?” Enrico
demanded to know.

“
I
don’t know, Enrico.” He sipped his own drink and prayed
Enrico drank his rum and Coke. He had to.

“
It’s
watered down.”

“
He
just
brought
it. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“
Naw.”
Enrico’s face twisted into a scowl as his hand shot up in the
air and motioned for the waiter, who appeared in less than a second.

“
What
can I get for you, Mr. Medini?”

“
A
fresh drink. Red wine- my favorite label.”

Fuck.
Enrico was going to live for another day. Patience was wearing thin
with the other Family. Johnny had to find a way to do it. Should
Johnny pop a bullet in his boss now? He had his piece tucked safely
in his pants. He looked around the restaurant. Too many people. He
wouldn’t escape the restaurant if he did.

Enrico
planned on going to the vault soon and he wasn’t allowed to be
part of the trip. With only a very limited number of people going,
Enrico would be easier to kill. All Johnny had to do was follow the
van to the vault and kill them all. He’d have access to the
entire Medini Family fortune and return to Vegas to collect payment
for killing Enrico. He’d be able to leave town and possibly
start his own Family in another city.

****

The
steam rose up from the mug of hot cocoa. Gabrielle blew it before
taking a sip. She leaned her head against the stack of pillows piled
up on the floor in front of the fire. Playing in the snow had been
fun but now goosebumps broke out all over her skin even with her
warmest clothes on.

“
This
is good. I think you make the best hot cocoa in the world,” she
said to Mik, who was next to her on the floor. Both watched the
flames jumped around the burning logs.

“
Hot
cocoa isn’t hard to make, you know.” His laugh sounded as
rich as the cocoa in her cup tasted. He reached down to stroke the
kitten between them. “Even though it’s one of the few
things I can prepare that actually tastes good.”

“
Can’t
cook?” She loved the way a strand of hair fell down against his
forehead.

“
Nope.”
He sipped from the mug he held in his hands but met her gaze. He
gently lowered it and turned to her. She had almost kissed those lips
today out in the snow and the very thought of that sent flurries
through her stomach. If only she had the nerve to actually go through
with the act.

“
There’s
something I want to talk to you about,” he said. He tucked a
strand of her hair behind her ear.

“
Fine.
I’ll tell you about why we are here.” The words rushed
out.

His
forehead crinkled as he looked down at her. “Okay? But that’s-”

“
Someone
wants to kill my dad,” She blurted out as she set her mug on
the coffee table.

“
A
lot of people want to kill your dad. It’s one of the downfalls
of being a Mafia boss. That doesn‘t mean someone will kill him,
Gabi.” He set his cup next to hers.

“
Even
though I had reason to believe you had a bigger part in my father’s
Family, I knew you weren’t involved with the hit.” Relief
washed through her.

“
What?”
He snapped his gaze to her. “What hit?”

“
On
my father.” She looked down at her hands folded in her lap as
if she were an ashamed child. Probably looked like one too.

He
moved from the floor to the chair. “How do you know this?”
He wiped his hands on his pants and then glanced over to the door.
“Gabi, you have to tell me.”

“
I
overheard a conversation between my father and yours. They said one
of their men had been hired to kill my father and Leon assured my dad
he would take care of us if the hit was followed through. They are
trying to figure out which guy is trying to do the hit.” The
heat coursing through her cheeks burned out of control. She should’ve
told him long before now.

“
And
you planned this whole thing up on your own?”

“
No.
After Friday night dinner my mother told me about the cabin and
instructed me to leave Vegas.

He
leaned forward. “So she wanted you to use the cabin as a safe
house.”

She
shook her head.

“
Then
what, Gabi?”

“
I
was supposed to be here for the night and then start my life
somewhere new. Your name came up in their conversation and I couldn’t
leave you behind in that situation. They were trying to figure out
who was going to do the hit.” The tears welled in her eyes. “I
didn’t want them to kill you.”

“
Well,
it’s not me!” His voice boomed, making Gabrielle’s
eyes widen with surprise and the kitten took off running to a hiding
spot.

“
I
know.”

Mik
stood up. “We should’ve been out of here days ago, but
we’re here,” his hand swung out in the air, “snowed
in.”

She
hugged her knees to her chest. “I know-”

“
Does
your dad know where you are?” He raked his fingers through his
hair.

“
I’m
sorry, Mik.” She stood and put her hand on his arm but he shook
it off. “Mom probably told him by now.”

“
We’re
leaving. Right now.” He put his socks and shoes on and then
snatched the t-shirt off the back of the chair he’d been
sitting in.

“
I
can’t leave yet.” She hugged her knees tighter. He
wouldn’t go without her, would he? There’s no way he’d
leave her here alone. Besides, it was almost dark and the electric
still hadn’t come back on.

“
Yes,
you can.” He stormed into the bedroom, shuffled around for a
minute, and emerged wearing his slacks he’d come in while
sliding his arm in his dress shirt.

“
Then
stay by yourself.” He stuffed his wallet in his pants pocket
and grabbed the keys to the SUV.

“
But
I can’t. I need to do something here before we leave.”
All strength left her. “If you help me, it’ll get done a
lot sooner.”

He
paused the task of buttoning his shirt. “What do you need to
do?”

She
didn’t want to tell him about the money yet, but what choice
did she have? “There is money here. A lot of it. I’m
supposed to take enough to set up a new life.”

He
returned to fastening the buttons, faster this time. “No way.
I’m not looking for the money and neither are you.”

“
But—”

“
You’re
coming with me.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her
feet. “Right now.”

He’d
really do that? Make her leave without anything? Fear swirled her
stomach and settled in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
“But my stuff. I’m forced to set up a life with no money?
Not even the clothes or personal hygiene items I’d left home
with?”

“
You’ll
manage.” He turned toward the door.

“
How?
I can’t use my accounts, and if you go with me, you can’t
use yours either.”

He
let go of her hand as he cocked his head in the direction of the
bedroom. His face softened as he said, “Fine. Grab your stuff.
Five minutes though. We have to get out of here. If you want the
kitten, bring her out to the SUV.”

Chapter Fourteen

Mikolas
slammed the SUV into gear and started down the driveway. This wasn’t
Gabi’s fault. All his, pure and simple. How the fuck could he
let this happen? He’d let her bring him here without knowing
the story behind her bringing him here. He’d let his dick do
the thinking. Glancing in the rear view mirror, his heart sank. He
couldn’t deny that they’d had some fun here, had grown
closer, and he had loved every second she’d curled up next to
him in that small bed.

“
Why
didn’t you bring the kitten?” he asked.

She
sighed. “I couldn’t find her. Maybe she snuck out.”

“
She’ll
find her way back to her original home.”

All
of her smiles were gone, because of him, as she rested her head
against the passenger side window. She lifted a hand to gently wipe
her cheeks. Was she crying?

Guilt
crushed his chest. He jerked the steering wheel to turn back to the
cabin. The wheels slipped on the snow, sending the SUV sideways. Gabi
screamed next to him as he tried to turn the wheel again to
straighten the vehicle out but rammed into a tree. Metal crunched.
The airbag popped out of the center of the steering wheel. His face
bounced off the plastic, and all he heard was Gabi’s cry as it
echoed through the air.

“
Gabi!”
he yelled. He flung his seatbelt off and turned to her, meeting her
tear-filled gaze. “Are you okay?”

She
nodded. “I think so. Nothing feels broken.”

“
Good.”
He pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers, wanting to let
the world around them disappear once again and live in the magic of
each other.

The
SUV’s engine stopped running, forcing him to pull away from
her. “Fuck.” A ball of steam rose from the hood. The SUV
wasn’t going anywhere with the front end crunched around a
tree.

He
stared down at his smashed up SUV. “Double fuck.” he
yelled again and kicked the tire. The steam bellowing out from under
the smashed hood meant a cracked radiator. Nope, it wasn’t
going anywhere. They were officially stuck.

Gabi’s
footsteps crunched over the icy ground. “I asked if you were
okay.”

“
I
didn’t hear you. Sorry. I’m fine, but this…”
He held his hands out as if she couldn’t see the SUV. “The
SUV is wrecked.”

“
That’s
obvious. Can we go inside?” The sun had dipped all the way
behind the trees and the porch light hadn’t been turned on
before they’d tried to leave. “It’s cold and dark.”

“
And
you want to talk about the obvious?” His hands balled into
fists as he shot her a glare. He knew he shouldn’t be mad at
her. Once again, he thought he was doing the right thing given the
circumstances but brought them bigger problems instead.

They
needed a new plan and his mind muddled between her kiss and his
broken vehicle. He stomped passed her, up the stairs, and flung the
door open. She scurried in after him and shut the door behind her. He
flung his soaked shoes off and didn’t care if they weren’t
close enough to the fire. Who cared if the damned shoes dried? He
flopped down on the couch and looked up at Gabi, who looked like a
deer caught in headlights.

“
What?”
he snapped.

“
Nothing.”
She swung around and went into the kitchen which he was glad for
since he needed a minute to gather his thoughts before he told her
the truth. It was time.

He
listened to her rummage around in the kitchen. A cupboard opened and
then slammed shut. Another cupboard went through the same abuse
before she emerged with a bottle of clear alcohol and two glasses.

“
Want
some?” she asked as she poured the liquid into the glass.

“
I
don’t drink.” He crossed his arms over his chest and
turned his attention to the fire. Please go in the other room for a
minute, Gabi, he silently begged. But of course she didn’t.
Instead, she curled up in the chair with the bottle in one hand and a
glass in the other.