Page 79 of Entangled

“The situation is being handled.”

“Good, then you’ve found the rat amongst your men. And disposed of it, I assume.”

Gian felt the coldness and distrust that automatically came from saying that word waft from his men. A few murmured between one another, but most stayed quiet. “No, I haven’t found him.”

Gabriel tsked under his breath. “Wasting time, you foolish boy.”

“That’s your one insult, Gabriel. Any after that, and I’ll begin taking a payment for it. A pound of your choice.”

“Touchy,” his father-in-law muttered.

“No more than you.” Gian stayed standing, although he waved to Dom and Stephan to find seats closer to him. Then, he turned back to Gabriel. “We’re still working on that issue. It’s not as simple as it seems, and whoever it is, they’re not obvious.”

“Or you’re distracted.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your whore, Gian.” Gabriel smirked as Gian went cold all over. “Cara Rossi, that’s her name, isn’t it? Quite pregnant. While I certainly wasn’t faithful to my wife, I would have never taken you for the type, too.”

Gian’s molars ached from clenching so fiercely.

He would not talk about Cara with this man.

He would not give Gabriel that ammo.

Gabriel said nothing more, letting the barber finish his shave and wipe his face down with the hot towels before he stood. Then, he faced Gian, as hard-assed and as big of a bastard as ever.

“You are distracted,” Gabriel said, “and it shows. Otherwise, you would have found your rat by now. I gave you time to do it, but since you’re too busy making a fucking spectacle of that whore of yours all over the city, time has now run out. I’m not going to jail again, Gian. For every week that passes without you delivering the rat to me, I’ll take one of yours. And just so we’re clear …”

Gabriel looked over Gian’s shoulder, and waved a fat finger at the line of men who had come to speak with Gian only. “Just so it’s clear to them, every minute you spend with your whore is a minute you could have been working to spare one of their lives. Make the choices wisely, Gian.”

Apparently, Gabriel intended to start his plan immediately. He had only just left the barber shop along with his men and gotten inside a waiting vehicle, when a black van pulled up. The enforcer outside the barber shop was grabbed and gone before anyone had blinked. Gabriel watched from the backseat of his car with a smile.

Gian was going to kill that bastard someday. Somehow.

At first, Cara didn’t notice the police cruisers and unmarked vehicles parked along the front of her apartment building. She was too busy reading the letter from her university, inviting her to take part in the autumn graduation ceremony for late graduates of her class. While she wasn’t a late graduate, she had passed on attending the main event.

When Cara did finally notice the police attendance, she was halfway up the walk. The early July air was hot and humid, as the majority of the entire summer had already been. She cradled her thirty-seven-week pregnancy swell overtop the flimsy summer dress that helped to keep her cool.

“Cara Rossi?”

She turned to see an officer in full uniform approaching. Her nerves picked up another notch.

“Yes, that’s me,” Cara said.

“I’ll escort you to your apartment.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

The officer smiled thinly. “Normal procedure, that’s all.”

“Normal procedure for what?”

“Follow me, miss.”

“What is going on?” Cara demanded.

The officer answered nothing, simply urged her toward the front doors of the building. Cara wondered if maybe her place had been broken into, though that seemed unlikely. She lived in a good part of the city, and the cost of her rent proved that little fact. Her building—in all the years she lived there—never once had a crime taken place inside or on the outside property.