Page 125 of Ruled By Wizard

After Tink gave him Rocco’s number, Wizard disconnected the call. He keyed in the number and called.

“Hello?”

“This is Wizard. Natalia’s been kidnapped by Marco. I need—”

“I know,” Rocco cut him off. “I’m on my way to get her back.”

CHAPTER 51

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

All she wanted to do was sleep, yet something kept pushing her toward wakefulness. Her foggy mind would neither fully awaken nor fall back asleep. Believing she was in her bed, she rolled over to get more comfortable.

Pain struck her like lightning, stunning her into immobility. Whimpering, she tried to raise a hand to the source of the pain but couldn’t. Her arms were trapped beneath her.

“Shut her up!”

Recognizing Marco’s voice brought back the nightmarish memory of him beating her in the van. She froze.

She was still with Marco.

Hearing someone approach, she held her breath. She needed time to get her bearings and understand what was happening before she could devise a plan to escape.

“Leave her be.” The harsh command stopped the person beside her. “You’ve done enough damage as it is.”

“I was just going to quiet her,” Marco whined plaintively. “She’s been doing that for hours.”

“How I raised such a sniveling weakling makes me sick to my stomach. I blame your mother. All you had to do was call me when Lucia was kidnapped by The Last Riders. But no, what did you do? You kidnapped Natalia!”

“Padre—”

“Silenzio!” Marco’s father, Antonio, snapped. “Lucia is more a man than you will ever be. She would have known to keep her mouth shut. The Last Riders would have released her eventually. We had Natalia in the palm of our hands, you idiota! She told you she was going to announce to the press tonight that she was leaving the business in your hands. She could have disappeared tomorrow without a trace, and no one would have been the wiser. I should beat you the way you beat her!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“You never do, which is why I tell you to let me do the thinking and just do what I say!” his father said harshly. “When Rocco gets here, you’ll stand with Bruno. He’ll will make sure you are kept protected. I don’t want to hear you say a word.”

“I won’t,” Marco promised. “Rocco will bring his family.”

“He will,” his father agreed. “Which is why you’re going to call Wizard and give him the address here. My men will cut down both Rocco’s men and Wizard’s. I’ve ordered them to take Rocco alive. Two of my men will make sure Natalia is kept safe. Afterward, I will call Rafael and give him my demands.”

Hearing her father’s name, Natalia finally understood.

She and Rocco were collateral damage in a scheme targeting their father. Her brother had stepped away from the restaurant for that reason, hoping that keeping his distance would keep her safe.

It hadn’t.

She would be worthless to Antonio when he discovered she meant less than nothing to Rafael.

“The police will conclude The Last Riders and Rocco’s family killed each other in a turf war,” Antonio continued. “I have enough men to annihilate an army,” he bragged. “Rocco’s family relies on fear to take what they want. The Last Riders do the same. Neither of them have the experience of fighting for survival the way we do.”

“The Last Riders are former military,” Marco cautioned him.

“What skills could they have that my men don’t?” his father scoffed. “Most of them probably don’t have any actual combat experience. Not like we do. They spend their days working jobs that require no real strength, then spend their nights drinking. They’re weak. Regardless of how good they think they are, my guns will kill them before they can get off their motorcycles.”

Both men laughed.

There had to be a way to escape, or Rocco and The Last Riders would be killed trying to save her.