Page 29 of Forgotten Comeback (Parisi Family #5)

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Gavin

Inferno silently watches me carry Taylor inside the warehouse. I gently place her in a chair, securing her with zip ties. I’m concerned because her glazed-over expression holds not even a spark of her usual fire.

Hurrying out, I grab Kat, who gives me more of a fight as I drag her to a separate room and secure her.

I exit and close the door, with Inferno waiting to pounce.

“Tell me that you have a good explanation for one, why you reek of gasoline, and two, why you brought Taylor here,” he whispers furiously, leading me inside a storage room.

“Dominic fucked up; killed an old woman neighbor and left her body in plain view,” I explain, closing the door.

A half-truth. The real reason is Dominic touched Taylor, but I don’t need a lecture from my brother about my ring girl ‘friend.’ “To clean up the scene, I had to kill him and torch the house.” It seemed like a good plan in the moment, but I don’t expect Taylor to be thanking me anytime soon.

“Why were you even there?” Inferno presses.

Unable to come up with an excuse, I chose honesty. “You know why.”

He sighs heavily. “Out of all the women in the world, you had to go and catch feelings for this one.”

“Yeah.” My hand runs over my head. “Where’s John?” I deflect.

“In Newark, held by Romeo Parisi.”

“What?” I shout, my voice ricocheting around the room.

“Taken there by Darius Angelos and Fabio Mazza,” he says calmly.

“How do you know this?”

“I was tailing John. Guess where I found him?”

“At the motel meeting Enzo,” I say, my shoulders slumping.

“At the motel meeting Enzo,” he parrots.

My hands fall to the top of my head. “But why did you let them take John?”

“You don’t think I would have saved him if I could,” he snaps. “It was too risky for me to make a move; I would’ve gotten us both killed.” Inferno tells me the plan. “I’d ask if your head’s in the game, but you and John both have yours so far up your asses, neither of you can see straight.”

“Nobody lays a finger on Taylor,” I warn him, dropping my hands.

“Making my point for me, brother,” he chides.

Crossing my arms, I stare him down. “I’m not going anywhere until you swear it.”

“Jesus Christ, I swear it. Now go execute the plan.” He shoves Kat’s unlocked phone at me.

With phone in hand, I hustle to Kat’s holding cell and slip inside, closing the door behind me.

Sauntering across the room, I pull up a chair and sit. Leaning over, I rip off the tape covering her mouth.

“Oww!”

“Small world, isn’t it?” I muse.

“Why am I here?” she demands.

“Funny story. See, I had no clue about your connection to the Parisi family. It wasn’t until you kept pestering me about dealing that I looked into your background.” Inferno looked into it, but close enough. “Turns out curiosity does kill the cat.”

“You’re not going to kill me,” she declares. “Why go to all this trouble bringing me here? Unless you need me alive.”

“She’s quick, and she’s smart, ladies and gentlemen,” I mock. “Not to mention connected. Cousin of the Parisi family enforcer. Lover of the Parisi family capo.” I whistle. “My, how things just got interesting.”

“Wife of a Parisi family capo,” she corrects me. “And when Fabio finds out what you’ve done, let’s just say I’m not going to fucking stop him.”

I laugh with glee. We’ve got their capo’s wife. Even better. “Oh, he’s going to find out, alright. In fact, why don’t we tell him now?” I grab Kat’s phone, holding it up. “Removed the tracker on it, by the way.”

Scrolling through her contacts, I find Fabio’s number and hit call. It goes to voicemail.

A text comes through immediately.

I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you later, Kitty Kat.

“Say cheese.” I snap a pic of an enraged Kat, my thumbs flying over the phone.

Aww, what a cute nickname.

The picture is sent for emphasis before I type more.

I’ve got your Kitty Kat all tied up at the moment. She can’t talk right now either, but I’m in a chatty mood. Give your boss the phone if you want your wife to remain breathing. This is Gavin, btw.

I hit call, and am greeted with, “So you’re the dead man who wanted to speak to me. Go ahead, let’s hear those last words,” Romeo Parisi booms.

“Big talk, considering you’re there, and I’m here. With your capo’s wife. Let’s see if honor is part of the Parisi family’s code now that you’re at the helm.” Rage bubbles in my chest. “It certainly wasn’t when your old man was boss.”

“Put Katerina on the phone to prove she’s alive,” Fabio interjects, and I put the call on speakerphone.

“Fabio! Gavin and Dominic grabbed me and Taylor from her house. I’m in a warehouse, probably close to AC because—”

“That’s enough.” I take the call off speakerphone, pressing it to my ear.

“So you’ve got my capo’s wife,” Romeo says impatiently. “Let’s cut the bullshit—what is it you want?”

“Prisoner swap. Give me John, and I’ll give you Mrs. Mazza and her friend. A two-for-one bargain.” Kat will ensure Taylor’s protected from the Parisi family, and my connection to Taylor will remain under the radar.

“Who is this man to you?” Romeo demands.

“That’s not your concern; do we have a deal, or do we have a dead newlywed?” I threaten.

Romeo says something in another language; maybe Greek? There’s a commotion, and he comes back on the line. “Here’s my counteroffer. I’ll agree to that trade, with one caveat: John agrees to watch me put a bullet in his lover’s head first.”

Lover? Enzo?

John doesn’t swing that way, or so I thought…

“No, wait!” John shouts. “Gavin, let the women go!”

My eyes nearly bug out of their sockets. Inferno didn’t prepare me for this curveball. “Don’t be a fucking idiot!” I shout at John through the phone.

“Let them go. I’ve got this,” John says firmly.

“Gentlemen, it seems you have a house divided,” Romeo interjects. “What’s it going to be?”

What’s it going to be?

I don’t fucking know! I’m not the mastermind of this family!

In a panic, I hang up and sprint out of the room, Kat cursing at my back. Tracking down Inferno, I relay the message.

Inferno’s silent for a beat. “Let the women go.”

“But we’re losing our bargaining chip by letting Kat walk,” I argue.

He holds up his scarred hand. “John made his decision; we’ll let this play out.”

Taylor

“Hey, man-eater,” Gavin says gently.

I blink my eyes open, looking around. It wasn’t a hallucination; I’m in a warehouse, tied to a chair. “You really burned down my house,” I say, my voice sounding far away.

“Sorry about that. Here, drink.” He brings a water bottle to my lips.

I take a small sip before whispering something under my breath.

“What was that?” He leans closer, and I throw my upper body forward, the hard part of my crown connecting with his nose. “Shit.” Gavin falls backward on his ass.

“Oww.” Having never head butted someone before, it hurts worse than the movies led me to believe.

“Alright, I deserve that.” He brings the back of his hand under his nose, checking for blood. Sadly, I didn’t draw any.

“You deserve to be in jail, you fucking psychopath!” I shriek.

“There she is,” he says with a smile. “I was worried for a minute.” He reaches into his pocket and produces a knife.

My eyes wide, I stammer, “What are you doing?”

He answers by cutting my ankles free.

I try to kick him, but he jumps out of the way before my foot connects. He disappears behind me, and when my wrists are free, I spin around with my fists up.

“Like the form, but now’s not the time for us to spar,” Gavin tells me impatiently. “Come on, I’m dropping you and Kat off.”

Throwing my whole body into it, I take a swing at his face, but he easily rolls, and before I know what’s happening, I’m being hoisted over his shoulder. “Put me down!” I pound on his back with my fists.

“No can do. I’m saving you from breaking every bone in your hand. If you’re going to throw a bare-knuckle punch, go for soft spots on your opponent’s body,” he coaches me.

“Like your head?”

Gavin’s body vibrates with laughter as he carries me out and down a dark hallway, through a loading dock.

“No!” I scream when we approach an open trunk with Kat bound inside.

“I’m sorry, but this is the only way,” he whispers. “Behave, and I won’t restrain you.”

“Fuck you!” I thrash wildly against him, but freeze when I catch sight of another man stepping from the shadows. He’s dressed in black from head to toe, his face covered in a mask similar to the one worn by his trainer at the fight.

“Can you help me secure her?” Gavin says to the man.

Screaming and flailing my arms about does nothing. Now bound with my mouth covered, I’m tossed beside a bound and duct-taped Kat.

The trunk closes with a thud.