Kane's Ransom: A BWWM Mafia Romance Novel (9 page)

Yes, he decided as he pulled into his driveway, he needed to keep his heart encased in ice for the next few days, at least. Maybe, just maybe, if he managed to get her brother back, if she wanted to show her thanks by considering a date with him, he could entertain the notion of developing a relationship-

No, no, he interrupted himself, cutting off that line of thought. He shouldn't even think about it now. Remain compartmentalized, don't let emotions into the equation. He needed to treat Alicia as a partner, and nothing more.

He couldn't afford even an instant of distraction.

Killing the motorcycle's engine as he rolled into the garage, Killian climbed off of the bike, propping it up on its kickstand. But before he headed inside the house, he moved over to the tarp covered vehicle parked in the second spot in his garage. He cleared away a few boxes that he'd stacked at previous points around the car, and then gently folded back the tarp to reveal the vehicle beneath.

The tarp slid back, revealing the smooth, dangerous lines of a Mercedes sedan, its dark gray paint rippling with the still-fresh coat of wax he'd given the car before covering it up. After moving out here, Killian hadn't thought that he'd drive the vehicle ever again.

It seemed that he'd been wrong about a lot of things, he considered. Back when he covered the car up, he'd also told himself that he'd never get involved with the Mob again. He was done with that chapter of his life, closing it and leaving it behind him.

But now, it was creeping back up, and he couldn't see any way to avoid it.

Killian ran one hand over the car's exposed curves, and then headed inside. He dug his phone out of the pocket of his jeans as he entered, scrolling through his list of contacts. Some of these, he hadn't contacted in years.

A lot of things were going to change, he thought to himself.

Finding the name he'd been seeking, Killian hit the button to call the listed number. He held the phone up to his ear as he headed for his bedroom, digging his suitcase out of the back of his closet.

"Hello?" he said, as the other end of the line picked up. "Yes, this is Dr. Killian Kane. And I need to speak with you. In person..."

Chapter ten

The next morning, at five minutes before seven o'clock, Alicia stood outside on the front stoop of her house, staring at the empty road and trying to not shiver in the chilly air.

Her suitcase, worn but still perfectly usable, sat on her front step beside her. Not sure what to pack for, she'd settled for a mix of different outfits. How long did it take to put a stop to a kidnapping, anyway? She took her best guess with packing and hoped that she was bringing enough.

Exactly seven minutes later, she heard the rumble of an approaching car engine, and looked up. The sun was just barely breaching above the horizon, sending rays of orange and yellow cutting through the blue and purple sky, casting long shadows along the ground. Alicia caught sight of a pair of oncoming headlights, but she couldn't make out anything else about the car until it pulled up on the street outside her house.

Despite her worry about the next couple of days, about everything regarding her brother, Alicia still paused for a moment to take notice of the car.

It was, she thought idly to herself, a very nice, very fast looking, very expensive looking car.

Slowly, feeling almost unsure of herself next to something so slick and expensive, Alicia advanced towards the car. The tinted glass window rolled down, and she felt relieved to see Killian sitting behind the wheel, grinning at her.

"Okay, so maybe I forgot how fun this is to drive," he commented, turning the key to shut off the car's idling engine. "It's been sitting in storage in my garage for a year or two, now. Not much need for a fast car like this around here, not when I've got my motorcycle."

"What is it?" Alicia asked, reaching out and running her hand over the curved doors. The three-pronged insignia on the back looked a bit like a crown, or perhaps a trident, but she didn't have a name to attach to the badge.

"Maserati, a GranTurismo," he replied, pronouncing 'grand turismo' as one word. "Fast, luxurious, and expensive as hell. Not exactly the thing to be showing off in small town Texas," he added ruefully, "but it's the only vehicle I have besides my motorcycle, and it's the only one with any kind of trunk space."

"It looks expensive," Alicia said, stating the obvious, as the man climbed out from behind the wheel and headed up to grab her luggage (her rather tattered and torn luggage, she noticed with a pang of embarrassment) off the step.

"It is," Killian answered. He shrugged, pausing for a moment and looking at the car, before popping open the trunk. "But it's also a reminder of my past, and that's something that I'd be happier to forget."

Alicia looked at him, trying to see past the man's impenetrable veil of secrecy. What had he done in the past? What was so dark that he wanted to escape, that he'd been willing to give up a life where he had the money to buy expensive cars like this one?

With the luggage tucked away in the trunk, Killian climbed back into the driver's seat, hitting a button on the door and making the rest of the car's doors unlock with a click. He waited, and Alicia realized after a second that he meant for her to climb into the passenger seat so that they could leave.

With her hand on the door handle of the expensive car, she hesitated for a moment. For some reason, the idea of climbing into this pricy vehicle almost seemed like a betrayal of her roots, she thought to herself. She'd grown up dirt poor, had worked her whole life to pull herself up to her current status, meager as it may be. By climbing into this car, by accepting the help of this clearly wealthy white stranger, she was suggesting that she couldn't make it any further on her own.

You're doing it for Marcus, she reminded herself, hardening her resolve. If this was only your choice, maybe you wouldn't be taking a shortcut - but you need to do it for Marcus, if you want to save him.

And with that thought, Alicia pulled open the door handle and climbed into the passenger seat of the Maserati.

The inside of the car looked just as luxurious as the outside, she quickly observed. The seats were crafted out of leather, as was the inside console and dashboard. Even the smell of the car somehow reminded her of opulence, as if money could be distilled into a scent and sprayed around like an air freshener. It was almost a relief to look over at Killian and see that, like usual, he was just dressed in jeans and a tee shirt that pulled tight across his brawny upper chest and arms.

"Let's get going," he said. "I know where we're headed, but it will take us a couple of hours to get there."

Alicia nodded, and he put the car into drive, pulling smoothly away from the curb. Fastening her seat belt, she settled in for the wait.

A few turns later, and they were pulling out of the small little town of Commerce, onto the highway that would carry them towards Dallas. This early in the morning, there wasn't much other traffic on the road, and Alicia felt the car smoothly accelerate beneath them as Killian merged quickly over to the left lane.

Once they'd reached their cruising speed, however, she felt a lull fall over them, like an empty hole in the conversation that needed to be filled. Thanks to its luxuriously conditioned and insulated interior, the inside of the vehicle was nearly silent, even as they cruised along at what Alicia guessed was more than eighty miles per hour.

She glanced over at Killian, wondering if he also felt the empty air trying to draw out conversation. He turned to glance back at her, and she quickly pulled her eyes forward, trying to ignore the little flush of blood that she felt rushing to her cheeks. She hadn't been checking him out or anything! She just wanted to know his thoughts, that's all, she pointed out to herself.

After another minute, Killian cleared his throat. "So, Marcus," he started, and then paused.

"What about him?"

He shrugged, still looking forward out through the car's windshield. "Tell me about him. It doesn't have to be recent stuff," he added quickly. "But just anything about him. It might help me get a better picture, figure out how we can save him and get him out of this whole kidnapping bit of trouble."

This kidnapping bit of trouble? Alicia sensed that Killian was attempting to lighten the tone, to not bring her down by letting her know just how serious this whole thing was. Still, she appreciated the gesture, if not its execution, and she tried to think of the best way to describe her brother.

"He... he was always looking out for me," she started, her voice soft as she recalled old memories from when she was just a little girl. "I remember that he'd take me to school, most days, because my mom wasn't around much. I'd be this little girl, only seven or eight, my hair done up in pigtails, and he'd be walking me through the ghetto to get me to school." She laughed softly at the recollection. "I had a backpack, a pink one, but it was too big and heavy for me to carry all the way to and from school. Marcus would just pick it up, sling it over his shoulder. I remember that a couple of guys in the neighborhood would always yell at him and give him trouble for wearing something pink, but he never stopped, always took me to school every day."

"He sounds like a good brother," Killian offered.

Alicia shrugged. "I mean, he wasn't perfect. He had a temper, and he'd get really mad sometimes. Sometimes at my mom, because he didn't think that she was doing a good job with us. They'd have shouting fights, and I'd go run away and hide in the little room that I shared with Marcus, hiding under the covers of my bed."

"But then, afterwards, he'd always come in and make sure that I was okay, before he went out for the night," she went on, smiling as she almost felt her brother's hand pressing down gently on her shoulders. "He never wanted me to go to sleep angry with him, always had to come in and promise me that it was all gonna be all right, that he'd work to make sure that things just got better and better."

Killian risked taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance over at her. "I bet he's proud of what you've accomplished," he commented.

The simple little compliment brought unexpected tears to Alicia's eyes, but she blinked rapidly to try and force them away. "He gave up a lot to get me here," she replied. "Like I said, he'd go out most nights. While the other boys his age were having fun, running around and goofing off with their friends, Marcus would be out working, earning money. I don't know what he did for a job, not exactly, but I don't think it was legal. I think he got tied up with some bad people, just trying to keep food on the table and save up some extra so that he could help me out of there." She sighed, taking a deep, shuddering breath, before continuing.

"See, all around me, I saw my friends, my girlfriends, getting caught in the trap of the ghetto. It's scary, real scary, because you never see it coming for you until it's already too late and you're stuck. You go to school, but the teachers suck, the boys flirt with you, and you figure, what's the point? No one else leaves, they all stay around. You might as well grab one of the good men before he gets taken up by some other slut."

She paused for a moment, remembering. Killian didn't interrupt, kept his eyes forward, but she could tell that he was listening.

"And then you sleep with the man, because you need to keep him around, and because he buys you things, gives you things, when you do," she went on, the tears once again back at the corners of her eyes, clinging to her eyelashes, as she remembered. "But before you know it, you're pregnant, and he's gone, from the gangs, or just because he got bored and another girl thought that she could hold onto him. And then you're trapped - no job, no money, no man, and a baby that you don't know shit about caring for." She took a breath, blowing it out in small sobs. "Just another generation, still stuck in that same ghetto."

She couldn't see through the haze of tears, but she felt something soft and warm touch her hand. Blinking, she looked down - and saw that Killian had reached over to hold her hand.

"But you got out," he said, his voice soft but strong. "You made it."

"I wouldn't have, not without Marcus," she replied, turning to stare out the Maserati's window.

Alicia closed her mouth, not trusting herself to speak any more - but she kept on holding Killian's hand, wrapping her smaller brown fingers around his big, white, comforting ones.