Part 22 (1/2)

aNo. I wanted to come here first, talk to the two of you. I donat know what to do, you know? Itas Gabe.a Dante dialed Gabeas number and put the phone to his ear. aIt goes to voice mail right away.a aThis doesnat make any sense,a Anna said. aGabe would have no reason to shoot at you.a aThatas what I thought, too. It doesnat make sense.a aWhat if it was a hit?a Anna asked.

Dante frowned. aOn Roman? Why?a She tilted her head. aDid you forget who Gabe works for?a aNo. I just donat think Gabe would do that. And why would he hit Roman? Is there something going on with his job that affects the local P.D.?a Roman shook his head. aNothing I know about.a Anna laid her chin in her hands. aYouare right. Thereas nothing going on with Bertucci and the cops. And head never try to hurt one of you guys.a aWell, I hate to remind you,a Roman said, abut he tried to tonight.a as.h.i.+t.a Dante kicked the back of the chair. This didnat make sense. Why would Gabe take a hit out on Roman? Did Bertucci order it because of Robinson? And if so, why wouldnat Gabe give Anna or him a heads-up? It wasnat like him to blindly follow an order like that. He seemed loyal to his job and to Bertucci, but he wouldnat take down one of his own brothers.

Unlessa No. The possibility wasnat even fathomable.

aWhat are you thinking?a Anna asked him.

aIam thinking I need to go find Gabe and have a talk with him.a She stood. aIall go with you.a aNo. You need to stay here. With Roman. We donat know where Gabe is or why he shot at Roman. For all we know heas out there somewhere looking to finish the job, or hunting the rest of us.a Anna frowned, then recognition dawned in her eyes. aYou donat thinkano, Dante. Not Gabe.a aI donat know what to think right now, and I wonat know until I find him. Roman, you stay here with Anna. Make sure n.o.body gets in here but me.a Roman nodded. aYou got it.a Anna went with Dante to the door. aYou go out there alone, youare a target.a aHe wonat hurt me.a She let out a short laugh. aYeah, Iam sure Roman thought that, too.a aHe wonat hurt me,a he said again. aIall find him and figure out whatas going on.a She laid her palms on his chest. aIf itas Gabe, if heasa Then heas not thinking clearly. You donat know what heall do.a aThen Iall take care of it.a aJust like that?a The look he gave her was lethal. aThis is what I do, Anna.a aI donat want him dead.a aHe wonat be unless itas necessary.a He knew from the look she gave him that she didnat like the situation. aI need to go with you.a aNo. Someoneas already made an attempt to kill you and Roman. I wonat risk bringing both of you along. Enough of us have died already. This is what Iam good at. Let me do it. And if he comes here, then the two of you can handle him and call for backup. Either way we finish this tonight.a She hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded. aAll right.a Dante loaded up ammo and an extra gun. Anna wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He kissed her, pouring everything he had into that kiss. aI love you,a he said, and her eyes widened. aI should have said it sooner, and now isnat the right G.o.dd.a.m.n time, but you never know and it needed to be said.a She swept her hand across his jaw and he memorized the feel of her touch. aI love you, too. And it wonat be the last time you hear me say it.a He waited a heartbeat, memorizing her face, the way her eyes seemed to light up whenever she looked at him.

aStay put. Lock the door.a He kissed her again and slid out the door, listening for the lock, then got in his car and headed out, checking around the house before he left.

Everything was secure. Nothing looked out of place, so he slid into his car.

He tried Gabeas cell again, got nothing, figured head go to the condo first. If Gabe was really the killer, he wouldnat be there. Head be hiding out, stalking them now that head missed his target.

When he pulled into the condo complex, Gabeas bike was parked out front.

Pretty b.a.l.l.sy considering Roman could have called in units to track him down. Another thing that made no sense. He pulled his gun out and knocked on the door. No answer. He rang the bell and knocked louder, several times.

Finally, a light came on and the door flew open. Gabe looked rumpled, as if head been asleep.

aWhat the f.u.c.k are you doing here so late?a he asked, then his eyes widened. aDid something happen?a Dante pushed him inside and closed the door, then pointed the gun at him.

aJesus Christ, Dante. What are you doing?a aYou took a shot at Roman tonight. I want to know why.a aA shot atawhat? What the h.e.l.l are you talking about? Someone shot at Roman?a aOn his way home. You shot at him twice, then took off.a Gabe held his hands up, still looking half-asleep. aI have no f.u.c.king idea what youare talking about.a aWhereas your phone?a Gabe blinked. aWhat?a aYour phone. I tried to call you, but it went to voice mail.a aI know. Someone stole my G.o.dd.a.m.n phone when I was at the bar earlier tonight. Went to the bathroom to take a leak, when I came out it was gone.a aHow long have you been home?a aI donat know. What time is it?a aTwo-thirty or so.a aI got home around midnight. Bar was dead tonight.a aGet your pants on and come outside with me.a aWhat? Why?a aJust do as I say.a He held the gun up for emphasis.

aYeah, gimme a minute.a Dante followed Gabe into the bedroom, where he slipped on a pair of jeans. Barefoot, he led Dante outside to his bike. Dante laid his hand on the motor of Gabeas Harley. It was cold.

s.h.i.+t.

aLetas go back inside.a Dante closed the door again. Gabe turned to him.

aWant to tell me what the h.e.l.l youare talking about? Someone took a shot at Roman?a aRoman said you ambushed him a couple blocks from his house and took two shots at him while he was in his car.a aWhen?a aLess than an hour ago.a Gabe crossed his arms. aRoman is full of s.h.i.+t. Why would I do that?a aContract hit?a Gabe snorted. aYeah, right. Bertucci has better things to do than kill cops. You think he wants that kind of attention? And Roman isnat even working us. Heas not on mob stuff.a Dante dragged a hand through his hair, feeling as if head just been set up.

aRoman tell you all this?a Dante shoved his gun in his holster. aYeah. He showed up at Annaas tonight and told us you ambushed him.a aWhere is he now?a aWith Anna at her place. I told him to watch over her.a Gabe frowned, then his shoulders dropped. aFox got himself right into the henhouse.a Dante frowned. aWhat the f.u.c.k are you talking about?a aOh, come on, Dante. Are you blind? Heas in love with her. Heas been in love with her for years.a aHe is not. He has a girlfriend. Tess somebody.a Gabe slid him a disbelieving look. aYou ever meet Tess? You ever see her around anywhere?a aNo. Buta”a aBut nothing. Iave been back for two d.a.m.n years and Iave never met the woman. I donat think she even exists.a aAnna knows her.a aWhen was the last time Anna saw them together? He might have been out with this Tess a few times, but not for a long time. Sheas a front, somebody he made up or went out with just to appease Anna because he doesnat want her to know heas sniffing around her like a lovesick puppy.a aSon of a b.i.t.c.h. I didnat know.a aHe didnat want you to know.a Dante still didnat want to believe it. Not Roman. Head always thought Roman the most innocent out of all the brothers. The straightest one, the one least likely to do anything bad. Maybe that had been his biggest mistake.

He grabbed his phone, punched Annaas number. It went right to voice mail.

aSheas not answering. Shead answer. Shead want to know what was happening.a aWas Roman with you and Anna at any of the times the murders were committed?a Gabe asked.

aNo, but neither were you.a aTrue enough. But I didnat bust in on you and Anna tonight accusing Roman of taking a shot at me in order to get you out of the house.a af.u.c.k. And I fell for it.a Gabe grabbed the rest of his clothes and his gun. aLook, I donat know what kind of game Roman is playing, but we need to get to Anna.a aIn a hurry.a They dashed out the door and into Danteas car.

aYou donat have one of those siren-and-light thingies?a aNo.a aShould have taken Annaas car.a aNo s.h.i.+t.a aJust speed, then. You know how to do that.a Dante hoped he could drive fast enough to get there, because Roman had wanted him out of the house and away from Anna for a reason. He just hoped it wasnat too late.

Anna paced back and forth, watching the phone on the table next to Roman and waiting for that call from Dante. Shead already made both of them coffee, but that had only made her more jittery.

Roman sat on the sofa watching her.

aYouare making me dizzy,a he said. aCome sit down.a She looked down at him and smiled. aSorry. Iam nervous. And worried.a She slid onto the sofa next to him.

He patted her hand. aQuit worrying. Danteas capable and you know heall call as soon as he knows something.a aYouare right.a aIn the meantime, we should check to be sure everythingas secure around here.a aIam certain itas all shut tight. But I should take Rusty out, then lock up.a Roman stood. aOkay. Iall do a window-and-door check in all the rooms while you run him outside.a aThanks.a Gun in hand, she let Rusty out and stood guard over him. Once he finished his business, she brought the dog in and closed and locked the door, then came back to the sofa, laying her gun on the table next to her.

aEverything secure?a she asked Roman.

aYup,a he said, getting up from the sofa. aIam going to get a soda. You want one?a aSure. The coffee didnat help anyway. Any call from Dante yet?a aNo, not yet.a She picked up her phone to check it, then frowned. aHey, itas turned off. What thea”a Something sharp poked into her arm and she tried to jerk away, but hands held her down. She tried to jump off the sofa, but he held her firmly down as she kicked and flailed against his grip, propelling herself forward even as the drug started to take effect. She rolled onto the floor, him on top of her.

Rusty was barking. She heard the dog barking. She saw a blur of activity, then a whimper. Then silence.

Through her hazy, drug-addled vision, she saw Roman rolling her over, smoothing her hair away from her face.

Her entire body felt like a giant weight had been piled on top of it. She couldnat move, couldnat speak as her vision became warped. Romanas face looked like some kind of monster swimming in front of her.

She fought to stay awake, to move her limbs, her fingers, anything. But it was no use.

She couldnat even think straight anymore.

Why was she panicked? She couldnat remember. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep.

She blacked out.

Twenty-Three.

Dante had pushed the accelerator to one-twenty, and it still felt as if he wasnat going fast enough. When he screeched to a halt in front of the house, he already knew it was too late.

aFront dooras ajar,a Gabe said as they threw the car doors open and ran inside, guns drawn.

aAnna!a Dante yelled for her as he pushed the front door open, but he knew with a sinking depth in the pit of his stomach that Roman had taken her.

He heard Rusty barking and ran to the bedroom, opened the door. The dog bounded out, barking, searching the house for Anna, just the way they were.

They searched the entire house, but found nothing. No Anna.

aRoman wonat be at his place. Heall know thatas the first place weall look.a aSo where is he?a af.u.c.k if I know.a Dante found Annaas cell under the sofa, along with the cap from a syringe.

aHe drugged her. f.u.c.k.a Gabe held up her cell. aCanat track her this way, and I imagine Romanas already ditched his.a Pus.h.i.+ng his fear aside, Dante reminded himself to think like he was on a mission, not like a man in love and scared to death he was going to lose his woman. aHeas knocked her out. Where is he going to take her? He has no other family, no other property that we know of. And itas not like he can just throw an unconscious woman over his shoulder and walk her into a hotel, so his choices are going to be limited.a Dante had to try to think like Roman, which was going to be hard. They used to be close asabrothers. He knew his every move. Now? h.e.l.l, the only person head really connected deeply with since head been back was Anna. aHe has no close friends that I know of, but Iave been gone.a Gabe shrugged. aHe works. And he goes home. Thatas all I know about him. Anna would know more.a aThatas not helpful.a aSorry, man. But weall find him.a aWait. His car has a GPS unit. All the detectivesa cars do.a aWe couldnat be that lucky. He wouldnat be that sloppy or forgetful.a aWouldnat he?a Dante grabbed Annaas laptop and logged onto the local system, waited for it to come up. aHeas desperate right now. All his plans have gone to s.h.i.+t. Heas not thinking clearly. If heas got Anna, he probably hasnat had time to change vehicles.a He entered Romanas unit number and waited for it to come up. When it did, he smiled. aBingo. Who lives on the Hill?a aNo one I know,a Gabe said. aOh, wait. Anna told me once that Tess has a house there. Maybe she does exist.a aDo you think sheas in on it with him?a Gabe shot him a look of distaste. aG.o.d, I hope not.a aWhatas her last name?a as.h.i.+t. I donat know. Let me think. Jameson, maybe? No. Jackson. Thatas it. She inherited the house from her parents.a aYou know more about her than you thought.a Gabe shrugged. aBits and pieces. Only because it was unusual for Roman to stick to any one woman for a long period of time.a Dante looked up the address. aGot it.a He didnat want to think about Roman being obsessed with Anna. Why hadnat she told him? Was she even aware of it?

aLetas go. Weall call Pohanski on the way and let him know where she is.a Anna batted away the cobwebs, trying hard to open her eyes. She was so tired, felt as if shead had four or five tequila shots followed by several beers.

Had she partied last night? What time was it, anyway?

She tried to sit up, but she couldnat. Something restrained her.

She blinked to open her eyes. Seeing was a problem, and the room spun. She tried to get a grip, to focus on something, but it was all so blurry.

Whoa. Nausea rose up and she squeezed her eyes shut again, wis.h.i.+ng she could roll over and bring her knees to her chest.

She did not feel good. At. All.