Page 96 of Under Pressure
Off in the shadows, a flicker of light caught her eye. A shadowy figure had his foot up against the wall, arms folded over his chest, the tip of a cigarette glowed in the dark, hanging from his fingers at his side. It was too dark for her to make out his features, but there was something in his bearing that sent chills down her spine.
They rounded a car, and her dad came into view. He was tied to a chair, gagged, and in his best church suit. She sucked in agasp. He’d come to her wedding after all, and she’d left him to the wolves. Even when she didn’t mean to, she still had a knack for ruining people’s lives. Jonah stood beside him, Hex and Levi nearby.
“Dad!” She yanked out of Miles’s grasp and ran to him, dropping to her knees, and completely ignoring Jonah. Gingerly, she pulled the gag from Dad’s mouth.
He spat on the floor, and she didn’t blame him, the bandanna smelled like three-week-old B.O. “What are you doing here?” he barked.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you have all the fun without me?” she snapped right back. They glared at one another, his face turning red, and hers heated like a torch.
“All right, that’s enough of the family reunion.” Jonah yanked her to her feet to laughter from his friends. Ooo, she hated these guys.
She struggled in his hold. “Jonah, if you don’t let me go this instant, I’ll put my other knee where the sun don’t shine!”
He ducked back crossing his right leg over his left in a defensive maneuver, face going puce. He glanced around, looking at his cronies. This time, they laughed at him. Good. He deserved no one’s respect.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, speaking so only she could hear—he smelled of day-old beer and his eyes were bloodshot. “Try it, and I’ll put a bullet in your dad’s head.”
She stopped struggling.
“Let her go, Jonah,” Dad said. “The Outfit wants me, not her.”
Jonah turned to him. “Actually, they want you both. Seems I’m not the only man Blue ran out on before a wedding.”
Blue’s blood ran cold. No. It couldn’t be.
“And it seems he’s still harboring feelings for little Vittoria.” Jonah looked at her again. “None of this would’ve happened if you’d just married me, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Blue glanced around, hoping beyond hope that some miracle would happen, and get her and her dad out of here. If they were taken back to Chicago her dad would die. But Blue, Blue would be wishing for death. She took a calming breath and spoke softly. She didn’t want anyone else to hear. These guys would only play on his man card and make fun of him to get what they wanted. And right now, for these extreme sportsmen, Blue and Dad were the best show, the best shot of raw adrenaline in the form of mafia power, they’d had in ages. “Of course you have a choice, Jonah. You’ve always had a choice.”
He shook his head. “I need the money,darlin’,” he used his nickname for her like it was some dirty, disgusting thing. “I’m bankrupt. That treasure was my ticket to financial freedom and ratings like no one has seen before. Without it, all I’ve got to look forward to is jail time.”
She blinked, hardly believing what she was hearing. Her gaze shot to the guy in the shadows. “What have you done?”
“It doesn’t matter, because if I have to choose between you and me, I choose me.”
The guy in the shadows took a drag of his cigarette, poofing smoke out around him. Jonah’d called The Outfit. He’d actually called them. She lowered her voice a little more. “You don’t really believe they’re going to pay you. They’d sooner kill you and take us anyway.
Jonah scowled. “Good thing there’s ten of us and only one of him.” He yanked her around a row of motorcycles and called out. “They’re both here. Where’s my money?”
24
Chapter 24
Sean
The wind and rain seemed like it would never let up, but, by some miracle, the Stage 4 hurricane they’d been expecting hadn’t so much as reached Stage 2 as far as Sean could tell.
The guys parked down the road from the old factory row where Blue’s tracker was so they could sneak up. The warehouse where Blue was had a lot of windows, but whether or not they’d have someone on the lookout was another question.
Mack echoed that thought. “What kind of scabby eejit hides out in a warehouse wit’ that many windows in a ‘urricane?”
“The kind with no criminal history and lots of debt owed a loan shark,” Liam said, whipping wet locks of red hair out his face like he was in some shampoo commercial. Liam was theircomputer guy, and he’d spent the drive out here brushing up on Jonah and his crew’s backgrounds. They were in it deep with some ruthless men. Deep enough to become desperate—though the lowlife had his security blanket, had almost married her.
As soon as Gray had made the call, Wolfe, Mack, and Liam came running and armed. Aaron and Ryker no doubt would have come as well, but they’d left them out of this. Both those men were married now, and their priorities were their women and families. Sean respected that. They all did. Though they’d get an earful from both guys that they’d missed all the fun.
Sean’d met Jonah and after hearing what Liam had discovered about him and his crew of thrill seekers, he doubted very much the YouTube stars stood a chance against a highly-trained team of Navy SEALs. Critical thinkers and strategists they were not. He wasn’t worried about what was coming. He was steaming mad.
The guys grabbed their gear and ran around the back of the building until they found the fire escape, then taking their time, they each made their way slowly up the ladder so as not to slip in the wind and rain. Skylights covered the roof, and at the far side, an emergency exit sign lit up the night with its green light.
