Page 10 of Kidnapped By the Boss
Chapter Four: Katya
After giving both my husband and my son a kiss for good luck, I changed into one of my little black dresses, donned a blonde wig and green eye contacts, grabbed a clutch, and called a rideshare out to Long Island. I hadn’t stopped being a master of stealth and disguises since coming to live in New York permanently, and whenever Vincent sent me out on a mission, I did so with an alternative look. Vincent hadn’t seen me in full action until I was in NYC for good, but once he saw it, he made sure to take heavy advantage of it.
It was a little strange getting all dressed up to go out and act like a single woman when I’d just gotten married a day ago and my honeymoon was the day after tomorrow. This was the best way to do what I needed to do, in fact it was the best method that I’d learned back from when I still lived in St. Petersburg, long before I’d even met Vincent.
“Hey.”
I was just about to climb into the rideshare when I heard Vincent’s voice behind me. Because cars weren’t allowed past the front gate, I was standingallthe way at the front of our property, and Vincent had traveledallthe way out here to delay me even further than he already did while I was getting dressed, and while I was saying goodbye to Sascha.
Leaning in, I quickly told the driver, “Sorry, just one second. It’s my husband.”
He snorted, “If you were my wife headed out dressed like that, I’d stop you too.”
Climbing back out, I walked up to Vincent with my head tilted to the side. “I don’t know why you’re dragging this out. You asked me to do this, you know?”
Frowning, Vincent looped his arms around my waist and said. “I don’t know. I foresaw you getting dressed in like black sweatpants and a t-shirt or something.”
I snickered. “That’s not very inconspicuous for being out partying for the night,” I told him.
“Well why do you have to take apublic ride?” he sneered the words like I was off to roll around in some mud. “We have an entire fleet of drivers for this reason. Long Island is full of rich people. It wouldn’t look that out of place.”
“I don’t want to be seen as a rich person,” I told him. “That’s why I’m wearing my simplest dress and shoes, and plan on spending very little money. No one is going to talk to the upper crust. If I’m gonna fish these guys out, I’m going to have to do it as a regular old New Yorker.” Sliding one of my hands up the back of his neck I said, “You know, it all works out for you, because when I come home after alongnight of work, I’m going to need to… relax. And the only one allowed to pull this dress off is you.” I wiggled my ring at him. “Remember?”
“Currently weighing the pros and cons of this,” he responded.
“Well can you do it quickly because I'm being charged by the minute for this car since the trip out is so long.”
With a heavy sigh, Vincent gave me another longer, much more passionate kiss. “Be careful out there, Mrs. Costello.”
I nodded at him. “You know I will, Mr. Costello.”
I knew how hard it was for Vincent to give me tasks that put me in any sort of real danger. Even though he and I had spoken at length about how difficult it was for me to know that I was of use to my father, Vincent had the opposite issue that was resulting in the same thing.
Where my father didn’t careenoughabout me to give me serious tasks, Vincent cared too much.
Both these men used me at arm’s length, but at the very least Vincent was willing to bend and listen, where my father refused. When I told Vincent I could handle a task, he believed me, and when I asked for leeway and for him to let me prove myself, not just as his wife and partner, but as one of his caporegimes, he listened and gave me the leverage I was asking for. Vincenttrustedme, he just wanted to protect me. Which was why we had problems like this one, where he asked me to do something a little riskier and then did everything in his power to delay me going.
It was
the mob boss switching to the loving husband.
He eventually released me so I could climb in, making sure to bend down and tell the rideshare driver, “If you hurt my wife, I promise you, you’ll regret it.” He pointed out a few of the more noticeable cameras hanging near the gates and said, “I’ve got your face on about ten cameras.” He said it all with a pleasant smile, which made it all the more unsettling.
“Of course sir,” the driver said nervously. “I’ll get her to her destination safely, sir.”
The driver was young, looked to be maybe a fresh twenty-one. It made me feel like he was a baby, when in reality he was only four years younger than me. It was crazy to think that was me not all that long ago, but really, by twenty-one, I’d already lived forty years in violence and virtue. Likely the most stressful thing this kid ever had to go through was passing his finals for high school, so having a mob boss threaten him directly to his face was probably alittleoutside of what he was used to, even if he didn’t entirely realize who he was talking to.
“You’d better,” Vince replied. “Now roll down this back window so I can give my wife one more kiss.”
“Y-yes sir.”
The window rolled down and Vincent leaned in to give me another, this time more curt kiss. “Keep me posted and let me know immediately if I need to send someone out to back you up.”
“I will, but I’ll be fine, Vincent, I promise,” I told him. “This is just recon, remember. I’ll be back home before you know it. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied. Then he finally stood back, gave the car a couple of taps on the roof, and the driver finally pulled away from the gate and out onto the main road.
“Your husband’s a little overprotective,” the driver said nervously. “I’m surprised he lets you go out like that with that attitude.”