Seized Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Lorenzo
There wasn’t any way that I was going to show up to this meeting without my gun on my hip. I also have a small camera sewed into my suit so that it’s not at all visible. Dane sits in the parking lot across the street, ready to listen in to whatever is being said so that we don’t have to worry about me being in any danger.
I’m sure that it will all be fine, but having someone as my backup is smart.
When I reach the front door of The Screaming Eagle, a private club in town that I’ve never been in, the bouncer gives me a stern once-over before moving to the side and opening the door. It’s dark inside, and I pause for a moment, letting my eyes adjust, then walk in.
“You must be Salvatore.” Damon Travini walks over to me, his hand out, ready to shake mine. I shake his hand, allowing a smile to spread to my lips.
“Damon Travini. The man who does so much for women who have so little. It’s an honor to get to work with you to help bring Mia home.” Too thick? I wonder for a moment if I laid it on too thick and he’s going to become suspicious, but he just grins at me, eating it up.
Assholes like him love having people lick their boots.
“God, it is nice to be around men who think the same,” he says, turning and gesturing to the rest of the room. I immediately recognize some of the men here but there are a number I’ve never met before. Making sure that I get them all in shot of the camera, I smile and find a seat to sit.
Damon goes to stand at a podium that’s been set up on a small stage in the back of the room. Everyone turns to look at him, some of the men nodding at me as they angle their chairs for a better view.
“I’m so glad that everyone here has come together for our monthly meeting,” Damon begins. His eyes flick from face to face as he takes everyone in. I know that he’s keeping track of who is here and who’s missing. No doubt that the people who didn’t show up tonight will get some sort of a reminder from him not to miss the next meeting.
“It’s a terrifying thing that women in this community can go missing and the police are unable to do anything about it. They’ve been looking for Mia, or so they say to me, but without any sign of her, I’m beginning to fear that they’re going to give up on the case. We can’t let that happen. We owe it to every young woman who gets taken to do everything we can to bring her back.”
This guy is full of shit. Looking around the room, I can’t help but wonder if the men here want to really help find missing women to bring them back to their families or if they’re here to find missing women and take them for their own, like Damon. I’m sure that some of them here are good men and willing to do whatever it takes to save women’s lives, but I see the looks on some faces.
They’re hungry. Missing women are easy to exploit.
“Mia Wright is just the latest in a string of women in this country to go missing,” Damon says. “But she’s a personal friend. I’ve given some of you some information about leads to follow up on, and you’re free to start that work now.”
Some of the men, definitely not half, stand and nod at Damon. They all clutch papers in their hands and they leave the room. Curious, I look up at Damon.
“Salvatore, your reputation precedes you,” Damon says, his voice a bit lower than it was a moment ago. “Am I correct in assuming that you’re here for personal reasons?”
What the fuck? I know that Salvatore has been involved in shady shit before, and I know that he kidnapped his wife and took her for his own, but I also know that he wouldn’t ever hurt women like these men are.
But Damon doesn’t know that. He only knows that Salvatore stole Airy and they ended up married after he kept her captive in his house.
“Of course,” I say, smirking at him. “Am I in the right group?”
Damon grins and some of the men turn and smile at me. They all think that we’re alike—that I want to buy or take a missing woman.
“You are indeed. Now, we have a number of women for sale, of course. I’ll pass around the table with information on all of them. If you see someone that you like then we can have her delivered to your door as early as tonight as long as you are able to complete a funds transfer.” He pulls a tablet out of the podium and hands it to the first man who turns it on and eagerly begins swiping. “If anyone has personal preferences they’re looking for, I’m always willing to help accommodate.”
This is one sick fuck. I manage to keep a smile on my face when the tablet reaches my hands. Moving quickly, I flick through the pictures, eyeballing each one like I’m actually considering buying. The prices are insane, the woman all look sad. But Mia isn’t in the shots and I feel relief.
“You sent out an email earlier,” I say, handing the tablet to the next man. “Mia. Is she not for sale?”
Damon’s face darkens, but only a bit, and only for a moment. Like he’s wearing a mask, he quickly puts a smile back on his face. “Mia is actually missing,” he says, concern thick in his voice. “I have to find her, though. She’s an amazing woman and I can see why you want her, but she’s not for sale.”
“Shame.” Tapping my chin like I’m thinking, I look at him. “I’d be willing to pay triple what the other girls are going for.”
He smiles, showing me all of his teeth. “You drive a hard bargain, Salvatore, but unfortunately, Mia isn’t going to be for sale. We’re actively trying to bring her home to her family, to the people who love her.”
That’s bullshit. He has no idea that I know Mia better than he does, know that she doesn’t have anyone who’s looking for her besides these assholes. And there’s no way in hell that I’m going to sit back and relax while they take her.
“Fair enough,” I say, giving him a nod. He grins at me again, looking more like a shark than anything else, then turns to answer a question that the man who has the tablet wants to ask.
I didn’t get all of the information that I hoped to, but at least now I know just how much trouble Mia is really in. Damon and Taylor both want her, but luckily neither of them know that I’m the one who has her. I just have to keep it that way until we can destroy them and the organization that they built.
It isn’t enough for me to just save her. What they’re doing disgusts me, and I have to keep it from happening to other girls, as well. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, glancing down at the screen.
Get out.
“Thanks for a great night,” I say, standing up. “Let me know when you get new girls in.” Damon is bent over the tablet talking to another man, but he gives me a small nod.
Walking quickly while still trying to look calm, I hurry out the front door and across the parking lot. As soon as I get in the vehicle with Dane, he pulls out of the spot.
“You want to tell me why the hell you stopped me from getting any more information?” I ask him, right as the police scanner sitting in the cupholder between us squawks to life.
“Someone tipped the cops off,” he tells me, pulling into the dark parking lot of the bank across the street and killing the engine. “Thought that you wouldn’t want to get caught up in them taking out the trash.”
We sit in silence and watch as the police pull into the parking lot. It’s just one car, but two men get out and walk up to the building. When they don’t come out after half an hour, I begin to get a bit antsy.
“Looks like not all of the boys in blue are going to be willing to put a stop to this,” I say, and Dane’s jaw tightens.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he mutters, finally starting the car again and pulling back out onto the main road. “Exactly how many assholes does Damon Travini have in his pocket?”
