Sweet Collateral

“No one will touch Una. She’s under my protection.”

“Have you informed the rest of the mafia of that?”

“They won’t touch a woman.”

“I don’t think the Italians’ morals will apply to her somehow. She’s not exactly the average simpering housewife. And she’s Russian.” The Italians hate the Russians.

There’s a pause. “They won’t touch my woman.”

“Shit, tell me you didn’t.”

“You’re hardly one to talk. I sent you a girl to protect, and you turn around and fuck her.”

“I haven’t fucked Anna,” I growl.

“Don’t give me that shit. You want to. Look, I have Una anyway. So, she’s not coming for Anna. She’s got…bigger problems.”

“Clearly.”

“I’m keeping her locked up for now, but I’m going to have to let her out at some point.”

“You’ve got her…. imprisoned?” I shake my head. He’s fucked her, and now he’s keeping her prisoner. “You, my friend, have a death wish.”

“Yeah, well, at some point I’m going to have to offer her an olive branch.”

“You’re not using Anna.”

“Now who’s imprisoning girls?”

“Anna is free to leave whenever the fuck she wants, but only when she wants. Not because you demand it, and not because her psycho sister takes her.”

“Careful, Rafael.”

“No, Nero. You be careful. My debt to you is paid. I owe you nothing. Touch her, and you’ll find out just how fucking dangerous I can be.” In my periphery I see Carlos slide his hoody on, his entire body rigid and alert.

There’s a pause, the creak of an office chair, the snap of a lighter. “Calm down, Rafael. I assure you, our goals are aligned.”

“So, what is it you want?” I snap. My patience is running out, wearing thin.

“Una will want to at least speak to Anna on the phone.”

I think about it for a second. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” I’m not going to promise him anything. It’s Anna’s choice whether or not she speaks to her sister.

“Very well.”

“So, it’s safe to go back to the city now?”

“No,” he says quickly. “Not yet. Anna is an easy target for anyone wanting Una. She’s still vulnerable. Can I trust you to protect her?”

I hang up on him. I won’t even dignify that with an answer, and as I told him, I owe him nothing. I’ll protect Anna because she’s mine. Not for him or Una.

Carlos leans against the wall next to the window, a cigarette now pressed between his lips. “You getting into it with the Italian?”

“I’ve owed him a favor for so long that he thinks he owns me. Sometimes he needs reminding otherwise.”

He nods and pushes off the wall, heading to the door. “Give me a shout if you need ground troops.”

“It won’t come to that.”

He pauses in the doorway and turns to face me. “Oh, and teach your girl to throw a punch will you?” I frown, and he smirks. “I had to rescue her from Lucas’ terrible self-defense lessons.”

“For fuck’s sake.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. What the hell is going on with her?

“Nothing wrong with teaching her to defend herself. Rafe.”

I glare at him. “If you teach her to defend herself then she’ll try when some fucker attacks her. She’ll think she can handle herself.”

“You afraid she won’t need your macho ass anymore?” His eyebrows bounce, and his lips twitch in amusement.

I point at him. “You don’t teach Anna anything.”

He holds his hands up. “Someone’s got to. No one should learn to throw a punch from Lucas.”

My phone pings at the same time as his does, and that’s never good. I glance at the screen, seeing a picture message from Samuel. I open it and instantly my pulse ticks up.

It’s a picture of a woman: blonde, pretty. Or rather she was before her throat was slit. The Sinaloa slave tattoo is clear on the side of her neck. The phone starts ringing in my hand, and I answer it.

“Yeah?”

“Did you see the picture?”

“Yeah.”

“She was left at the mansion gate. Along with a note.”

“What kind of note?”

“It was addressed to Anna.”

I lower the phone for a second, grappling with the blind rage that’s crawling up my spine. I put the phone back to my ear. “Dominges?”

“Apparently, he is going to keep killing whores until Anna returns to him. I’ll send you a picture of the note.”

“Good, and Samuel?”

“Yeah.”

“Not a word of this near Anna.” The girl is a bleeding heart. It would be just like her to martyr herself, and of course, that’s why he’s doing it. He knows he can’t get to her so now he’s trying to flush her out. It’s stupid though. I would never let her actually see it. I hang up the phone and glance at the image of the dead girl one more time.

Anna can’t know about this.

Carlos stares at the screen of his phone. “This can’t be good.”

I lift a brow. “It seems like a desperate last-ditch attempt to me.”