The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (123 page)

He was worried after following her for over three quarters of an hour. But finally he saw her pull into a subdivision, and he rubbed his tired eyes, and sped up. He couldn’t lose her now. Not now, when he was so close.

He made the turn and he could see her car up ahead, and so he began to close the distance.

Glancing down side streets he saw she lived in a neighborhood of beautiful homes along canals. The houses were multi-storied with garages on the bottom. He sped up, even more. He hoped she wouldn’t be pulling into a garage. He might lose her, so he closed the gap. He saw a sign. Carlota Way. He’d ask her for directions; say he lost his way to get her attention. She made a turn onto Seahorse Drive, and he was still behind her. She turned into a drive way, and he saw the garage door already opening. He had his window open ready to call out.

She was getting out of her car. Not pulling inside. He let out his breath slowly. He saw the garage was already full of vehicles. But she saw him, and began to move.

“Sorry, I’m looking for Carlotta Way,” he asked softly, not wanting to startle her.

“Oh,” she replied nervously. “You just missed it. Turn back onto Mayfair, and it is two blocks east.”

“That way,” he pointed purposefully in the wrong direction.

“No,” she laughed softly probably not wanting to wake up her neighbors. She got closer to his car, just a few feet away. He had the rag ready. Just another step, he prayed. He couldn’t let her scream. “That’s the Gulf there, so that’s west. You need to go in the other direction.”

“Okay, thank you.” He waved and she turned around.

It was now or never. He pushed open the car door, and jumped out. Popping the trunk on the way out.

“What? My God!” She called out.

But he was already on her, and the rag lightly spritzed with his family recipe was covering her face. She kicked, and bit on the rag, and his hand. He winced through the pain, and raised the rag to cover her nose. She struggled a bit more as he forced her to walk backwards towards the trunk of his car. She went limp just as he reached it. He threw her in, glad she was a slight woman, and slammed the lid closed before anyone could see or look out. It had been a mere few seconds since she screamed, and he needed to move. He glanced around for lights as he ran towards the driver side door which he left open.

He climbed inside, and slid behind the wheel. Back into drive, he drove straight down the block, to double around on the next block so he could get back to the highway. He let out his breath and smiled. He hadn’t seen a light, and so no one knew. He had hours to have fun. But first he needed to take her some place. He knew he couldn’t bring her to his apartment, but he had already thought of that. He knew exactly where he could take Miss Angela. This was going to be fun. A lot of fun. But more than that, when Andreas found her body, it was going to be satisfying indeed.

*     *     *

The offices of
The Marino Bros: Bail, Bonds, & Bounty would be perfect. And it wasn’t far now.

He’d seen no cameras when he’d watched the strip mall it was located in. There might be some inside, he couldn’t rule that out. He needed to know if there were cameras in the rear of the building too. That was important. He did not want to enter by way of the front in case street cameras captured him bringing her in. Or some random late night traveler spotted him. Nebraska Ave was still a pretty busy street.

He pulled off the parkway and made a left. And from the sounds of it, his passenger was starting to come around. He could dose her with chloroform again if she proved too difficult. Although he really wanted to see the light fade from her eyes. It was almost his favorite part. That, and the blood. He liked the blood.

He saw the neon sign indicating the strip mall, and then at the left side the sign indicating Marino’s business. This was going to be perfect. He’d do it in Andreas’ office. It would show him who was really in control. Who was hunting whom!

The alley behind the lot looked empty and he started to drive down it. There was one large dumpster out back, and it appeared no one was lurking around. If stopped, he could say he was throwing out his trash. He had plenty of it on the floorboards.

He examined the entire back of the building, and not seeing signs of cameras, he knew it was now or never. It was nearly 4AM. He needed to get inside and take care of business. He also wanted to be out of there within the hour before any early risers were out and about.

*     *     *

Angela knew she
was in a shitload of trouble. She cursed herself for being all kinds of a fool for falling for the man’s simple request for directions. She knew better. Her son was a cop. Several of her uncles too. She worked for four former police officers, some of whom had been detectives as well.

Her first instinct when she woke up was to fight, but after a few moments she got quiet. She had to think instead. Not panic. That was crucial. Whatever the man was up to, it was no good. She had to use her wits and get away before he could carry out whatever he had in store for her. And she had a really bad feeling about his guy. She thought it might be this Romeo that Andreas had been trying to track down for years.

She wasn’t tied up, so that was good. She had at least that on her side. She began to move. Quietly. It was pitch black inside the trunk. She felt around with her hands for something to use as a weapon. Anything she could use to catch him off guard. A tire iron would have been perfect, but she didn’t feel anything large or bulky. Not even a flashlight. The trunk appeared to be empty.

But she didn’t let that deter her. She didn’t know how much time she had left or how long she’d been out. She needed something. Anything.

If only she had her purse. She had been carrying it, but he must have taken it. She had a set of brass knuckles. A gift to herself when she had gotten the job in this part of Tampa. It wasn’t the best part of town by any means, but the neighborhood was their bread and butter. Most of it anyway. She also had a small can of mace. A gift from her son.

She continued to feel around, but so far she only felt the carpet. It was definitely soiled, and the car, an older model from what she remembered, had definitely seen better days. She rolled over and began to feel behind her. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the fear was making her perspire. She felt the car begin to slow and rolled back, but kept her body from making any noise. Her heart beat wildly now at the thought of him stopping before she had a chance to think of a plan or surprise him. Think. Search. She willed herself to keep looking. Not to give up and to push back the fear. Whatever he has in mind is not good she kept repeating to herself.

She needed the element of surprise. Her fingers roamed the top corner, and then she felt along the back wall focusing her efforts on the corner in the bottom praying she could find something in the seam. Her finger snagged. The carpet was loose there. Maybe there was something behind it. She pulled and the carpet began to tear. It made a ripping noise that permeated the quiet of the trunk. God, she hoped he hadn’t heard it, but she dared to pull a bit more. Again it tore. But it didn’t seem as loud this time. She gave one more small pull, and the carpet came away in her hands. It was the piece of fabric on the rear wall that had come off. It was about two feet wide, and three feet long. She pushed it behind her, and began to feel again. Nothing. Shit!

The car was slowing now. Much slower. She felt the turn, and then the jolting begin. The patch of road or whatever they were on was bumpy. They must be close and her time was running out. Just then she felt something thin and long. In the crease. Please let it be something. Please be something, she prayed. The car stopped. She plucked the object out with her fingernails. Clutched it to her and let out her breath slowly. She heard his door open. Slowly, she rolled back over. Closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. Calm herself. She slipped the object into her pants pocket and prayed. She hoped she wasn’t sweating too much. She dashed at her face with the sleeve on her shirt, and hoped he couldn’t sense her fear. She had only this one chance and she didn’t know if it would be enough. She just hoped she recognized the area, could get away, and get help.

She heard footsteps. She heard the man unlock a door. Then there was silence.

*     *     *

Sal found the
keys to the office in Angela’s purse. He had dumped the contents out onto the seat beside him, and was surprised by what he found. Not that he was shocked because of whom she worked for and who her son was after all, but it was a wakeup call to be careful with this one. She might try something stupid. Someone who was ready for danger could be risky. But he knew he could over power her. He slipped the gun he had into the back waist of his jeans just in case.

His first look around told him there didn’t appear to be any security cameras out back. He thought about getting the woman out of the trunk first, but she might be more of a hindrance then a help. He looked at the back door. He saw nothing to indicate an alarm of some sort, but he could not be sure. He would have to risk going to the front and peering through the glass.

He walked around to the front and the street was quiet. Hurrying over to the window, glad it was the corner one; he pressed his face to the glass. No tell-tale sign of any alarm system. No small green or red lights. But that did not mean there was not something in the back. He would have to chance going in. If he saw one when he entered he would split. He’d leave her in the trunk until he was sure.

He walked back around to the back of the building cautiously. So far so good.

He reached the back entrance once more and jiggled the handle. It was locked. He examined the three keys on her key ring. He knew which one it was by process of elimination. The car key was easy. The older looking one, her house key. He picked the shiny silver one and inserted it into the lock. He heard the click and pulled.

Nothing, no alarm. Yet. It could be a silent one though. He poked his head inside and glanced to the left. Again, luck was on his side. No panel indicating a security system. He saw a long hallway, three doors on the left, all closed. One room on the right. A small light on inside indicated a bathroom. And all the way through he saw the front door and the large waiting room that served as the reception area.

He went inside. He risked it. He walked the length of the hallway. No little red lights indicating an alarm. The metal bars in front of the building were enough to deter thieves, or so the Marinos must have thought. Cocky bastards. He grinned. It was time to get Angela. Time to have a little fun.

He made his way back down the hallway. His palms began to itch. His cock began to stir.

He took a breath of air and filled his lungs as he stood over the trunk of his car. It was time.

*     *     *