Smoke (The Carelli Family Saga #1) - Eden Butler Page 0,66
amused at all, muttering “Liam Shane” so low I knew only I could hear him. I’d heard that name at least a half a dozen times from Dimitri and Toni. Shane was the asshole Dante was running drugs for out of Dario’s bar. Shane had screwed everyone over and fled the country. He left Dante with a lot of product and the feds closing in on him, but it was Dario who took responsibility. Jesus, all of this because some mafia asshole wanted to pretend to be a baller and now Reynolds did too.
“So, someone in Shane’s family paid you to take me out? Is that what’s happening here? You and your little office buddies come to my family’s restaurant to get a take on how and where we operate?”
“Not anything so basic,” he said, the smile nearly gone. “But I needed an investor and he needed someone in your family gone. Didn’t really matter who. Just someone the Carellis gave enough of a shit about to start a war.” He looked at me, the grin returning. “It was easy enough to find your girl Kat. She freelances. She’s good. Or she was.”
Dimitri stepped forward, pausing when Reynolds raised the gun.
“Careful. Don’t want your brain splattered all over that baby’s face, do you?” He didn’t lower the gun until Dimitri moved back next to me. “Kat’s fine. Slipped right out from under my nose two weeks after we took her. Pissed me off, but I forced enough info out of her, and I got my happy little accident seeing beautiful Maggie’s picture, knowing I could tell my boy where his wife had run off to and get him to clean up long enough to set up surveillance.” He glanced at Alejandro, head tilted when my ex didn’t return his nod. Reynolds walked up to him and flung an arm over his shoulder. “So everyone gets a happy: my client gets one of you Carellis gone to get his retribution; I get my investment for doing it; my cousin August gets cash to fund his research for finding out everything he can on Maggie here; Alejandro gets his kid and all the smack he wants and me…well…like I said, I fucking love favors.” Reynolds licked his lips, his gaze shooting to my breasts, then dipping lower. “My favorite one so far has me fucking his wife for keeping him medicated the past year.” He shrugged, patting Alejandro’s face again when the thin man flinched away from him.
“Like hell,” Dimitri said, jumping right at Reynolds. The movement was so quick, so surprising, and Reynolds had his attention on me, that he didn’t seem ready for Dimitri when he moved.
I yelped, moving away from the men when Dimitri went at Reynolds. He took a quick first swing and Reynolds fell back but managed to stay on his feet. Dimitri’s balance was still off, but he kept his feet apart and his fists up just as Reynolds regrouped and dove right for Dimitri’s gut.
“Maggie!” Dimitri called, catching my eye when he wrapped his arm around Reynold’s neck and his long legs around his waist, getting him into a chokehold. “You…promised!”
Damn him.
Mateo’s screams and cries were almost as loud as the noise Dimitri and Reynold’s made as they fought. I tried to hush my son, tried to calm him as best as I could, but Dimitri destroyed Reynolds, clocking his nose and chin, thrashing his face over and over again, and Mateo watched him, screeching and crying.
“No,” I told him, running away from the slamming, punching bodies when they landed against the wall. Reynolds pushed Smoke against the table holding all those monitors.
I was nearly out of the door, ready to dash to the car when Smoke picked Reynolds up by the collar, shaking him until the man’s head volleyed like his neck was broken and Smoke threw him against the table.
The crash was deafening as Dimitri screamed, “Maggie, fucking go!”
Mateo’s cries were louder than the smash of computers that collapsed on top of Reynolds. I tore through the door, covering my son’s head, taking the steps two at a time. Behind me Alejandro and Dimitri yelled, and I thought they’d started fighting too.
“Leave her alone, you asshole,” Dimitri yelled. Then, louder, his voice coming out in a wheeze, “Maggie, go. Don’t stop!”
There was another crash and then Alejandro calling my name made me run faster. My insides burned as I moved toward the parking lot.