Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (8 page)

“
You’ll
know soon enough. Kick it over to me.”

“
I’d
like to know now. Did one of the guys give you a job after all?”
He pushed the gun across the floor and it stopped at her feet. Her
hair fell in her face as she bent over to pick it up, giving him a
great opportunity to apprehend her. He didn’t act on the
chance. Two more tasks were added to her to-do list before leaving
her house. She needed a place to stash the extra gun and to put her
hair up before he took advantage of the situation. She should’ve
thought this through better, but she would continue on with her plan
since it was a miracle she had gotten this far with him.

Motioning
with the gun toward the door to the garage, she said, “We’re
leaving. Let’s go. Now.”

“
Fine.
You did a great job setting me up. I’m impressed.” The
scowl on his face contradicted every one of his words. With erect
shoulders, he strode to the door. Mik was impressed? Couldn’t
fool her. She’d pissed him off in grand style and knowing that
made her heart race with fear.

Don’t
let emotions interfere with the kidnapping.
When
she’d first read the article she had wanted to laugh at the tip
from the article. Had the author ever kidnapped someone they were in
love with? She highly doubted it. Gabrielle was about to take Mik to
a cabin where they’d be alone until she decided it was safe for
them to return. She could barely contain her emotions now. Hiding the
jumbled ball of feelings inside of her while at the cabin seemed
impossible.

She
paused after a few steps, second guessing her mission to save the two
men who mean the world to her. But if she didn’t follow
through, it meant she had failed both Mik and her father. “Yeah,
right.” She nodded, but kept the gun aimed on him. “Go.”

She
waited for him to walk past her, making sure she remained a few feet
behind him, and then followed him to the door. When he stopped just
before the threshold she nudged him between the shoulder blades with
the barrel of the gun.

“
Ouch,”
he yelped and took a quick step forward and glared back at her.

“
Oh,
sorry.” Heat rushed over her cheeks. She messed up already.
It’s
okay, she thought, you haven’t lost anything yet. Just need to
get back in control.

“
Do
you even know how to shoot that thing?” he asked with a laugh
as he stepped into the garage. “Or did you learn that from the
Soprano’s, too?”

“
Are
you just going along with this to humor me? If that’s the case,
I’m not laughing.” She fought the urge to clock him with
the gun. She said, “Of course I know how to shoot. My dad is
the Don of this Family.”

“
I
guess you’re right. That’s probably the stupidest
question of the year.” Once they reached the car, he glanced
back at her.

“
Sure
is.” As soon as the deadly shooting happened in her bedroom
that night, her father had dragged her to the shooting range two days
a week for lessons. She wasn’t great, but she could hit a
target at a good distance. One thing she lacked was the talent to hit
a moving mark. More than that, she held an interest in guns, and
owned three. But hopefully she wouldn’t have to actually fire
at anyone to prove her shooting ability in handling deadly weapons.
Maybe he’d just take her word for it.

She
motioned toward her silver vehicle. “We’re leaving in my
car.”

He
walked over to the passenger side of the convertible and slid his
foot inside when she had another thought. Taking a convertible where
they were going? People were sure to get suspicious. His SUV would
fit in better up in the mountain.

“
Change
of plans.” She grabbed her bag from the front seat and slid the
extra gun inside the side pocket.

She
pushed the controls for the garage door, letting in the brilliant
Nevada sun and chilly breeze swooshed through the small space. She
blinked at the brightness and slipped on her silver sunglasses.

“
Where
are we going?”

“
All
that matters to you is that we’re going in your SUV to keep you
alive.”

“
What
do you mean by that? Someone wants to kill me?”

“
Stop
asking questions,” she snapped.

She
hated being a hard ass to him. She’d rather be showing him how
much she loved him which she never had a chance to do. Her resolve
began slipping. Stop, she reminded herself, no feelings yet. As long
as he didn’t run or kill her first, they’d have time to
get all mushy once they were safely tucked away at their destination.

She
pushed a button on her key pad and the trunk popped open. “Grab
some bags,” she ordered as she kept the gun trained on him.

He
stalked around the car and stopped as he glanced down at the trunk
and then back up at her. His eyes were wide and his mouth dropped
open. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked as he
stared down at the pile of bags and one large suitcase.

She
sighed. “We’re going away for a few days.”

“
Any
clothes for me?”

“
Nope
and we don’t have time to grab any from your house. We have to
leave town without anyone seeing us.” Besides, she didn’t
know what he’d wear outside of work hours.

“
What
if I had my stuff packed and waiting inside my front door?” He
asked as he threw her bags into the back of his SUV.

“
Sure
do and my dad is away from his house today.” His dad happened
to be a huge concern since the two men owned side-by-side lots.

“
You
had no idea of this so why do you have stuff packed already? Where
were you planning on going?” She tucked her gun back into her
bag as she followed him into the garage to retrieve the rest of the
stuff she wanted to bring.

“
Maybe,”
he mumbled. His eyes grew stormy.

“
Where
were you going? Was he the real person behind the contract hit on her
father? His planned departure made him appear guilty but her heart
screamed of his innocence.

“
You
don’t get to me ask me about my personal life while holding me
at gunpoint and refusing to tell me the reason.”

“
You’re
not being very compliant with an armed person.” She crossed her
arms over her chest and met his glare with one of her own.

“
Gabi,
I really don’t give a damn if you have twenty guns and a knife
in that bag of yours. Having a gun on me every second of the day
erases fear of them.” He didn’t even bat an eyelash in
her direction as he made the declaration. “Now back to the
clothes issue. Obviously you plan on us being gone for a while. Do
you expect me to stay in these clothes until you decide to let me go
home?”

“
Maybe
we can stop to buy some on the way. Will you trust me when I say it’s
in your best interest to do as I say?”

He
didn’t reply as he grabbed the large suitcase out of the trunk
and flung a duffle bag over his shoulder. The rigidness of his
muscles and his sudden silence sharpened the pain fear stabbing her
in the gut. She followed behind him with the gun tucked behind her
tote bag. Her heart pounded in her chest while her hand started to
tremble.
Just
don’t try anything, Mik. I don’t want to hurt you.

Gabrielle
didn’t think she had the nerve to hurt Mik. The first time
she’d realized the friendship between them had become more was
when she had been doing homework, but the words in the textbook had
blurred, leaving her in a daze. Once she pulled herself out, she had
glanced down to find herself doodling Mik’s name inside of
hearts. She had been embarrassed at first as she crumpled up the
paper and tossed it in the wastebasket. Her uncertainty had soon
washed away even though she’d kept the secret to herself.

“
Tell
me why you’re doing this,” he said after he finished
loading the luggage in the back of his vehicle. “It’ll
help me believe you’re doing this with good intentions.”

“
Let’s
lock up so we can leave.” She didn’t want to explain
anything to him here. What if he tried to turn everything back on
her? At least right now she held the control and her father wasn’t
being hurt. And neither was Mik. It needed to stay this way. She’d
tell him after they were far away from Las Vegas.

Once
the car and garage door were all shut up tight, he turned to her
again. “Where are we going then?”

“
Just
walk.”

The
sun had started to dip behind the horizon. “Tell me, Gabi.”

“
Go,”
she snapped and nudged him again with the barrel.

“
Stop
doing that,” he growled, turning his glare to the road in front
of them.

“
Then
get going. We have to get out of here before my father comes looking
for us. If he thinks there‘s a reason to shoot you, he’ll
shoot first and then he might ask some questions.”

He
turned toward her once again. “You mean he doesn’t know
you’re doing this? This isn’t a job he put you on?”

“
No.”
She motioned for him to get into the vehicle. “And believe me;
he has reason to shoot you.”

She
slid into the passenger side after Mikolas had taken his place behind
the wheel. She preferred to drive, but knew it would be to her
disadvantage today. With her having to focus on getting them safely
to the cabin, he’d be able to gain control of the situation.

She
flipped open her cell phone and pushed the speed dial to her father.

The
call connected after the first ring. “I’m busy right now,
Gabrielle,” her father’s voice boomed through the phone.

A
man’s muffled cries were drowned out by the other men talking
in the background. Good! Her father was too busy to question what she
had to say, keeping her plan on track.

Lying
to her father made her hand tremble. “Daddy, I forgot to tell
you earlier that I’m going out of town for a while. Watch the
store and my house. Okay?”

“
Shut
Bo up,” he yelled, probably to the men he was with. To her he
said, “Yeah. Fine. Who’re you going with?”

She
exhaled. He had believed her. “Remember Carey? It’s a
girl’s only vacation.” Cary was her best friend who had
moved away a few months before, insuring her dad and Carey wouldn’t
cross paths around town.

“
I
like her. Call and check in, eh?”

She
said goodbye to her father, snapped the cell shut, and slipped back
into the tote sitting on the floorboard near her feet.

“
Is
your father in danger?” Mik asked, pulling out of the driveway.

“
I
hope not.”

She
wanted to look away from him, to put her gun down, to relax and enjoy
her time with him. Then maybe she could reach over to him and grab
his hand, to press her lips against his hot skin? But none of that
would happen. She was holding this man at gun point and she needed to
remember this wasn’t some lover’s rendezvous. Even though
they were alone now, she needed to keep her mind on her goals; keep
her father safe and Mik alive.

The
silence filled the SUV for hours. The radio reception had given up
long ago and the eeriness of the night loomed in front of them,
giving her dread that they’d be driving along the isolated
country road forever. The crisp air crept inside, suggesting they had
left Nevada even though she knew better. Her thin pink tracksuit had
been fine in the Vegas weather, but here? The chill factor went up
several notches the higher they climbed. Not good since they’d
be going farther up the mountain soon. Gabrielle needed to change
clothes before they increased in elevation. But how? Mik would
certainly take off if she didn’t keep him in her sight.

According
to the directions in the letter, they had a little over an hour to
drive before they reached the cabin. Her eyes ached from being awake
so long. She’d love to lay her head down on a cushy pillow to
rest, but she needed to get accustomed to sleeping with one eye open
during the night until she got a grasp of Mik’s plan of action
included. Surely he had some sort of idea of turning this situation
around.

A
small gas station came into view. Nervousness bubbled in Gabrielle as
she stared the surroundings. Being in the dark wasn’t an option
for her and so far, their headlights cast more light than the dimly
single bulb flickering over the gas pump. The lot only contained one
old gray Ford pickup truck that had been parked off to the side of
the lot big enough to hold maybe five cars at the most. A bright
“We’re Open” signed flickered in a dingy window.
Perfect.