At Peace (The 'Burg #2)(206)
He watched her leave him and follow the caddy.
“Fuck!” he exploded, tagged his phone on the seat beside him, scrolled down to her number which he’d meant to erase about seven dozen times in the last seven years but he’d not only not done it, he’d programmed her new numbers in the three times she got them.
He was okay with her on his ass and he left her to it. She went it alone, that he was not okay with.
He hit go and she answered, “Hello?”
“Stand down, Frankie,” he growled.
“He’s got the woman. You’re on Cal, I’m on her,” she said, her voice calm.
Jesus, he forgot this about her. Francesca was a f**kin’ nut. Nothing scared her, not before life got scary. Attitude mixed with idiot fearlessness and a whole lot of not knowing what the hell she’s doing. Not a good combination. Christ.
“Stand… the f**k… down,” he repeated.
“Benny, I won’t do anything. I’ll call Sal, he’ll send –”
He cut her off. “You get the location, you call Sal, you get the f**k outta there.”
“I’ll just stay, keep an eye out,” she replied.
“You’ll get the f**k outta there,” he was again f**king repeating himself.
“I’ll hang tight and they won’t see me,” she said.
“Woman, you have no idea what you’re doin’. I know you’ve been on my ass since the turnpike.”
She was quiet then she said, “Oh well,” then she stopped speaking.
“Oh well?” Benny asked, wondering if it was possible for his head actually to explode and thinking if it was he was close.
“Ben –”
“They’re stupid enough to let you know their location, you feed it to Sal and you get the f**k outta there.”
“Ben –”
“I got things on my mind, babe, and I don’t need you bein’ one of them.”
She was quiet again then she said, “He’s not gettin’ another one of us.”
Fuck. Now he knew where her head was at. This was about Vinnie. This was about Cal. This was about Frankie being family even though that family turned their back on her.
“Frankie –”
“He’s taken enough from us.”
Benny’s voice went soft. “Francesca, honey –”
“You don’t do anything stupid. You call backup too.”
“Babe –” he said to no one. She’d disconnected.
Fucking hell.
He scrolled down to Sal’s number in his phone and he hit go.
* * * * *
“You think you mighta wanted to tell me this shit when you saw the woman climb into that car?” Sal asked Benny who was on his phone.
“You made this mess. Do you think I was fired up to call you in to clean it up?” Benny asked back.
Fuck, but only Benito Bianchi would speak to him that way. Even Cal had respect. Benny played the game before his brother bought it, since then he didn’t give a f**k.
The f**king Bianchis. Always a pain in his f**king ass.
“I was in Indiana, Sal, what were you gonna do?” Benny went on.
“Get f**kin’ organized,” Sal snapped into the phone then ordered, “stand down.”
“He’s been in there the length of this call and they’ve also got some girl. Blood on both of them, Sal, she didn’t look too good. I’m goin’ in,” Benny told him.
“The cops and Feds just left my house. They want this. Bad. Let me call them so they can get boys on it,” Sal demanded.
“They need to hurry. I’m goin’ in,” Benny returned.
“Benny,” Sal said to a dead phone.
He flipped it shut and had trouble catching Vinnie’s eyes. He didn’t need to look at his cousin to know that he was barely keeping his cool and his seat.
He was saved having to say anything when his phone rang and he saw on the display it was Frankie.
He flipped it open. “Amata, now’s not the time.”
“Cal’s woman is at Hart’s house,” she informed him and Sal went still.
“How do you know that?” Sal asked.
“Because I’m –”
She didn’t finish. Instead she let out a small scream and the line went dead.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bare Feet
Cal watched the goon toss Lindy aside, she hit the floor and went skidding, leaving a trail of blood.
He stood, silent and still, his eyes moving from Lindy to lock on both the boys who had them. They were in good shape, lean and fit. Neither as big as Cal nor nearly as tall and one was so lean he was almost slight. Could mean he was wily, could mean Cal had lucked out.
His hands were behind his back in plastic restraints that they put on too f**king tight and they’d done it because they were pissed after the gunfight and pissed he’d taken down two of their boys but they were clearly following orders so they hadn’t taken him out with a bullet to the brain at the scene. During the ride the restraints had dug in deep, rubbed raw, breaking the skin.
He had bullet grazes to his right hip and just below his left shoulder. They both had bled a lot but the bleeding had stopped and the nagging pain was easy to ignore.
This was because his mind was focused on three things. He needed to get out of this alive. He needed to get Lindy out of this alive. And he needed to find Vi and take her home to her girls.