***ZANE’S POV***
It is at one p. m. When a young ragged boy is brought to me, his face swollen and his eyes busted. He is seeing from an uppercut wound above his eye.
Crossing the room, I punch him hard across the stomach and he slumps forward.
“Enough, Zane. The boy is twenty,” Don Russell says frowning slightly.
“Does it look like I give a flying fuck how old this motherfucker is? Because of him, my wife is out there, somewhere and I don’t know. Do you know why? Because he cooperated with my enemy,” I bark out pulling my sleeves upwards.
It has been eight hours since London was kidnapped and four hours since I figured it out. This guy has been holed up in an apartment downtown thinking my men wouldn’t find him.
“Where is my wife? Where did Enzo take him to?” I question my voice thick with acid.
Austin was on the ground gasping for air as he struggles to catch his breathe.
“I don’t know. I am sorry I helped that man, he offered me money and I desperately needed it,” he cries out shaking as he digs his hands in his pocket and brings out a wad of a cash.
Three hundred dollars.
“He handed me this money and said he was just going to pick a girl out for night. I know it is against club policy, but that was easy cash, I swear I didn’t know he was going to kidnap your woman,” the young man cries out, shaking so badly.
My eyes soften at his words but then, this man is the cause why I got my wife kidnapped and I also got fucking drugged.
“How do I know you aren’t spewing lies from your mouth? How, huh?” I ask grabbing the lad by the neck and shuffling him roughly, making him face me.
“Because I wouldn’t even jeopardize my job in the first place. I needed the easy tip and that was a stupid thing to do, I am sorry. You could kill me if that will appease me,” he says bravely closing his eyes and shivering.
Removing my gun from my pocket, I uncork it and bring it to his head.
“Please,” the young boy shrugs in my arms, crying and pleading for mercy.
I know this isn’t his fault, I shouldn’t do this, but still, I have this urge to make this boy suffer for making my woman get kidnapped.
Time freezes before I hear Reaper’s voice bite through the silence.
“Boss? You might want to see this,” Reaper mutters expectantly.
In resignation, I uncork the gun and carefully put it in it’s holster.
“What?” I ask releasing Austin and walking away towards the open doors Reaper holds for me.
Out there is a small girl of around five years. She is dressed properly. Not extravagant, but cute. She even has on a princess cap on her head where curls of rich blond hair escape the corners.
She is balled up in a corner, on a sofa sleeping.
Standing there, I look transfixed as I look between Reaper and the baby girl.
“What am I seeing?” I demand blankly, not taking my eyes off the little girl on the sofa.
“Well, that is Little Miss Gemma. She is Blakely’s baby sister. They live in the shitty apartment and an old neighbor takes care of her when her sister has to go to work,” Reaper says.
I slowly look at him, my neck cracking as I try to piece together what he just said.
“Her sister goes to work?” I ask frowning at him.
Reaper shrugs sympathetically before nodding at my question.
“Austin, I mean, Blakely is a girl. She just wears boys clothes so that she can get the job as a valet at Raeger’s club. I guess it is becsuse the pay is good,” he explains.
I see something move in reaper’s eyes, that is the same expression I had when I had found London in the hospital bed that night, the only exception being that she wasn’t broken and carrying on baggage with her.
“I just punched a girl?” I ask to be sure.
Reaper nods and I close my eyes, waiting for the bile to clear.
This doesn’t change the fact that she did something bad, but damn it, my senses are going haywire.
“Do me a favor, Reaper,” I say my eyes searching his in earnest.
“Whatever you want, boss, just name it,” he says.
“Good. Take care of the girl and her sister. Give them whatever the need. Make sure they are well protected for. I owe you a lot, just name it. But please, have an eye on them for a while, will you? Make them move to your apartment, you can tell Blakely it is for a course but then, you handle it from then,” I say giving him the push to go for it.
“Done, Boss,” Reaper states and I see the beauty of his devotion.
“Thank you,” I let out softly.
Sighing, I walk back into the room and nod at the rest of the men.
“Blakely,” I call her maiden name as she groans as she lifts her head to look at me.
Reaper helps her up, but pulls her to his chest. She fits in, and I can’t feel any bad for my actions.
“It is Austin now,” she mumbles still in pain.
“It wouldn’t matter now we all know you are a girl. I have heard everything about you. Now, before I dismiss you, I have one question to ask. You will be helping me by replying honestly,” I say.
“Shoot!” she states.
“Do you have any idea where Enzo was taking my wife to?” I demand holding my breathe.
She nods positively and I release the air I didn’t even know I was holding until then.
“District 12, room 4B. That was all he said to the chauffeur as he drove away,” she says.
I look at the men in the room expectantly and they return my gaze.
“Let’s go, I know where that is. I assure you, it is not in the friendlies neighborhood, we ought to be there by now,” he states leaving.
As expected, Reaper stays behind, taking care of his new prize and her baby sister.
Reaper has all this bullshit around him, but I think adding a girl to the mix will do him right, he could handle her, and for a woman who can take a man’s job to look after her baby sister, hell yes, she will have him under lock and key before he even knows it.
*
“What was that back there?” Rio asks and I look at him, a knowing smirk in my face.
“Is Reaper gay now? I could never imagine that your right hand man was after dicks,” Alex says politely, but enough to make me crack out laughing, despite the tension of the moment.
“What is so funny?” Russell asks stopping in front of his car.
I have three pairs of eyes looking at me, eager to know what is making me laugh.
“Well, sorry to inform but that young adult in there is a lady. She just dresses as a guy to get the job,” I explain.
“No wonder there was a lot of girlie shit at her apartment, I just guessed it was the little girl who was infatuated with makeup and her brother had bought it for her,” Alex let out cackling at his own witty brain.
“So, what about her Reaper then?” Rio demands frowning.
“It’s still early to tell, but I have a feeling that Reaper will treat her well. For now, he has eyes on her. She wouldn’t leave this place under whatever condition, well, unless Reaper is going with her. She is his business now,” I finish and when the men starts clapping, I can’t help the smile that brightens my face.
“You are now a matchmaker, Zane? I didn’t know that. We better get your wife back to you before you lose your mind completely,” Don Russell says entering his car.
I don’t reply to that as I am so eager to get this done with as well.
“Do we have backup?” I ask, forcing myself to breathe through my nostrils.
I swear, if anything happens to my wife, I am going to die. It is needless roaming the earth without London in it.
“I have a dozen of my men currently there. They might own the area, but this town belongs to us, the Vincenzos. They just have to comply with the Italians if not, they risk having long term issues with us. This us something no underground mafia wants to have, especially against us,” he explains.
Shuddering in my sit, I hope silently that nothing has happened to my wife because I have more than twenty ways to kill a man. Enzo doesn’t want to cross my part on that one for sure, because he will be chopped into pieces and thrown to the fish to feed on.
“Good point,” I say making small chat, but absent minded.