I leaned away with a hiss. “That’s what I thought. Bonnie?”
“Yes?” she asked weakly.
“You can drop the gun. Though, don’t set it down. You might need it.”
Pava blinked. “Wait, what?”
I plucked the recording device from my pocket, and I watched the man’s face go white as a sheet.
“I told you he was recording you,” his wife said.
Then, I stopped the recording. “What part do you want me to play back for you? Hmm?”
Bonnie sighed. “You’re brilliant, Israel.”
I nodded at her. “You’re not so bad yourself, beautiful.”
“That’s it!” Pava roared. “Let me out of this fucking chair and fight me like a goddamn man, you son of a bitch!”
“Psychological game, right?” I asked.
He glared up at me. “You’re done for, do you hear me? You’re finished, Israel! You and your entire pathetic, weak-ass family!”
I slid the recording device back into my pocket and planted my hands on the arms of Pava’s chair, before placing my face so close to his I could feel his putrid breath against my skin. “I’m going to leave you here to free yourselves but enjoy the moment. Because if there’s anything you don’t give a man like me, it’s time. I’m using this time to plan, Pava. I use time to connive and concoct and concur. So, enjoy the time you have trying to get yourself out of these bonds. Because when you come out of this room? I have a plethora of games waiting for you. Games I’ve wanted to play with you for a long, long time. And if you don’t play them? If you don’t enjoy them? If you don’t give it the good ole’ college try? This recording goes to the police, and I’ll let the men you’ve abandoned slaughter you in gen pop. Am I making myself clear?”
Pava grimaced. “Crystal.”
I leaned up. “Come on, Bonnie. We have dinner plans.”
When I offered her my arm, I found her staring at me with wide, untamed eyes and a small smile against her cheeks.
“I could use some food,” she said as she took my arm.
We left in stride together, keeping in time with one another while her uncle yelled curses after us.
Curses that wouldn’t do him a bit of good with the hell I was about to rain down upon his head.
31
Bonnie
The fresh air that wafted up my nostrils contrasted the stingy basement I’d been locked in. It contrasted the darkened home we just escaped from, and it definitely contrasted the phantom feeling of that gun pressed against my palm.
I looked down at my right hand to remind myself that I wasn’t holding it any longer. Instead, I held Israel’s hand, our fingers intertwined and his thumb stroking my skin as if I were some sort of beautiful prize to him.
I love you, my Israel.
We approached his car and he reached for the handle. “Your door, beautiful.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Anything for you.”
My heart fluttered at his words. “Do you really mean that?” I sat down inside the car.
He sat next to me before his eyes met mine. “I meant everything I said in there and then some.”
I shook my head. “I still can’t believe you came after me, that you risked so much money and the entirety of your empire to come rescue me.”
“Well, I’ve found out a few things about my own family since this debacle started.”
That was a curious turn. “Wow. It hasn’t even been a full day.”
He chuckled. “Nope. Been a long day, though.”
I leaned back against the seat. “I’m starving.”
“I meant what I said about food. Gary?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Back home, please.”
“Of course, sir.”
I furrowed my brow. “Gary?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
I released a ghost of a chuckle. “No, no. Sorry. I just—since when do you call him Gary?”
Israel grinned. “It’s a new development.”
“And the ‘please?’”
He winked at me. “You tell anyone I use that word and you’re dead meat.”
I smiled. “Sounds like foreplay to me.”
He growled. “Don’t I know it.”
I looked down at the device in his pocket. “Are we going to take that to the police?”
“Oh, I’m having the chief of police meet us at my place. I’m going to hand this off to him, and then your uncle is going to be facing a very interesting trial.”
“So, you think they’ll arrest him and hold him without bond until the trial?”
He chuckled. “Trust me, that’s going to happen.”
“Do I even want to know?”
He shrugged. “You might as well since the Moretti family’s going to need a leader in your uncle’s absence.”
The weight of that reality settled into my lap. “My aunt is going to take over?”
Israel smiled deviously. “No.”
“Well, Brianna’s not nearly as knowledgeable of Pava’s empire as she is.”
“There’s someone else who’s better suited, though. And since it’s very clear on that recording that your aunt was trying to get him to shut up—which is circumstantial evidence that your aunt knew about his plan—that means she won’t be able to step up in the first place.”
He meant me. “Oh.”
He nodded. “Oh, indeed.”
I pointed to my chest. “You mean…?”
He took my hand. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“But I—I can’t—you really aren’t—me? Take over the Moretti family?”
“He said it himself. You’re family. He might have tried to backstab you and kill you in the process, but you’re family. And with your aunt’s arrest right behind his along with your admission that Brianna isn’t smart enough to step up to the plate, it leaves only you to resume that role.”
My legs went numb. “Oh, wow.”
“Think of it like this. If you head up one family and I head up another, they won’t have a choice but to work together. The two of us will wield more power than any other family in this game if you step up to the plate and work with me.”
It was a brilliant
