No One to Trust (Hidden Identity Book #1): A Novel (23 page)

“He is.” David went to the bookcase and asked Chase, “Where are those scratches?”

“There. Where you’re standing.”

David examined the floor, then the bookcase, running his fingers over the shelves, the books, the sides.

Laura Todd shook against her mother and eyed Raimondi with a stare full of hate. The little one had tuned out and shut her eyes. At least they were quiet kids.

It was Marlee who had nearly sent his nerves over the edge. He ground his molars together and raged at his stupidity. He should have left the mother and daughters alone, but he’d given in to his desire to hit Summer and David hard. He should have just had them killed. The husband would have been the perfect patsy.

Now he was trapped.

If he had been smart, he would have built a secret passage out of the hallway. But he’d deliberately closed this part of his home off. So that if one of his prisoners escaped one of the four rooms lining the hall, he or she would have nowhere to escape
to
.

And now the time had come for Raimondi to use his secret as a hiding place. For him and his family. He’d tucked Rosalinda and Georgina away in the farthest room on the left. They’d been shocked to see his secret area but had followed him at his urging when he’d explained they were being attacked by a competing organized crime family.

Agostino hadn’t had time to get rid of Marlee, and the woman had screamed at Raimondi as soon as he’d entered the room. A
punch to her face shut her up, and he wondered why he hadn’t just shot her with the gun he now clutched in his right hand. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and yanked. She screamed and he pulled her to the next room and shoved her toward a chair. With one last yell that was a cross between a screech and an angry roar, she sank into it, burying her face in her hands. Raimondi grabbed her by the back of the neck and placed the gun against her temple. “Shut. Up.”

Her lips clamped together and she kept her eyes squeezed tight. She shook so hard, he vaguely wondered if she’d be able to stay in the chair. Waving the gun at the kids’ mother, he said, “Any of you makes another sound, and you’re all dead.”

She simply pulled them closer to her and turned away from him.

Agostino had soundproofed everything back here. Raimondi wasn’t worried about anyone hearing anything past the bookcase in his office, but he didn’t want to be annoyed by their cries. He had some thinking to do. He left them and shut the door, clicking the dead bolt behind him.

Agostino stood in the middle of the hallway and Raimondi clutched his chest. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? I thought you were watching Georgina and your aunt?”

“What’s going on, Uncle? You may fool Auntie and Georgie, but I know there’s no attack. Why do you need them out of the way?”

“Well, it’s an attack all right, but by David Hackett, not another family.”

His brow shot up. “Hackett’s here?”

“Indeed.”

“He bring the cops with him?”

“If not, they’ll be here soon enough, but they can search all they want, they’ll never find us.”

Agostino looked a little doubtful but Raimondi didn’t care. He’d see soon enough. They just had to wait them out. David and his little band of wannabe heroes would search and find nothing and be gone.

And Raimondi would move his family out to his estate and put this place on the market.

Either that or he’d just burn the building down.

That thought made him smile for the first time that day.

David motioned Summer back and down. She dropped behind the desk, confused, but knowing this was not the time to ask questions. She still shook from her encounter with the man on the street and worry for Adam pierced her.

David looked at Papa Bear. “You got her?”

“We’re good.” He leveled his weapon at the bookcase. “Can watch your back too.”

David nodded to Chase and sent him a grim smile. “You ready?”

Chase nodded.

When the bookcase began to move, Summer sucked in a deep breath. From her position behind the desk, she peeked around the corner and could see a door revealed by the moving bookcase.

David reached out and twisted the knob. It opened inward and now Summer could see down a long hallway.

“Alessandro! I know you’re back there! Show yourself!” David pointed his weapon down the hall.

Silence echoed.

A cry sounded and Summer tensed. That was the cry of a child. She saw David and Chase exchange a concerned look. “Raimondi!”

Chase shook his head. “We’re sitting ducks if we walk down that hall. All he has to do is pop out of one of those rooms and we’re done.”

“Be careful. Hold your fire. If he pops out, he’ll have a hostage in front of him.”

Chase nodded. “I’ve done this a few times.”

“Alessandro! You’re not getting out of this one. Come on out.”

Raimondi knew they’d found his hiding place.

Hackett.

He’d learned too much about Raimondi during his short time as a part of the family. Because anyone who dated Georgina was immediately welcomed—that is, put under a microscope.

Of course Raimondi had done a full background check and David’s past had panned out. Gambled a little too much, but his finances said he had self-control. And he was Sam’s friend and co-owner.

Sam had been a loyal partner too. His enthusiasm and his love of money had made him an easy man to manipulate into doing whatever Raimondi wanted.

David had killed that profitable business too.

But before all that, Georgina had been crazy about him.

So Raimondi welcomed him. At some point he even figured he might be his future son-in-law.

And David hadn’t been put off by the organized crime ties. He’d seemed to relish it. Only Raimondi had soon learned David had been playing a role. “The man should have been nominated for an Oscar.”

“What?” Agostino looked at him. Looked at Marlee. Gazed at the mother and her two girls.

“David. I believed him just like Georgina did.”

“Focus, Uncle. How are we going to get out of this?”

Raimondi heard David yelling at him. The oldest girl, Laura, had let out a holler that left no doubt that someone was back here. He considered shooting her, but that would lead them to the exact room where his hostages were, where Raimondi and Agostino were, and he wasn’t ready for that yet.

Think. Think.

A plan formed and he turned to Agostino. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

David waited and got no response. He said, “We’re going to have to go after him. He could sit back there forever.”

“You need us in there?” Ron asked.

“No. Not yet.”

Blue’s voice. “Cops are here. Staking out the building. Snipers are on the roof across the street. Stay away from the windows, they don’t know where you are.”

Indecision warred within him. Summer was up here. If shooting started . . .

“Even with vests,” Chase reminded him, “he starts shooting and we’re toast.”

David pursed his lips and considered their options. And what he’d do in Raimondi’s shoes.

“He’s got hostages. He’ll use them to his advantage. If he shoots us, there’s more where we came from. Right now, he probably just wants out. He wants to bargain.”

“You willing to bet your life on that?”

David winced at Chase’s choice of words. Bet. Another gamble. He glanced back at Summer. Then back down the hall. “Yeah.”

“Okay, let me put it this way. Are you willing to bet
my
life on it? Because I’m not so sure I am.”

David considered everything he knew about Raimondi. “Stay behind me.”

Chase stared. “Back to back. You take care of what comes from the front and I’ll cover anything that comes from the rear.”

“And I’ve got a good line of sight where I’m positioned,” Papa Bear answered.

“Little Lou, you back on the bedroom balcony?”

“Yep. Delivered Doc to the paramedics and managed to sneak back up here. Ron’s still doing what he can to delay the cops from getting up here, but they’re not going to let him get away with his stunts for much longer. They’ll probably tase him.” A slight pause. “Next time the bad guy better live on the first floor.”

“Keep us informed with what’s happening on the street.”

“Cops are on the ground, casing the place and forming a plan before they move right now. But it won’t be long before they’ll be in the building.”

David raised his voice as Chase positioned himself at his back. “Raimondi, I’m coming to get Marlee. You shoot me and there’s a whole police department who’ll be coming up here.”

A door opened and Marlee stepped out. David winced. She’d been beaten and looked like she might fall over at any moment. Raimondi followed close behind her, using her as a shield.

Raimondi stopped and stared.

“Let her go,” David said.

“Not a chance. Now back up.”

“I’m not letting you out of here, you should know that.”

“You’ll let me out if you don’t want to be responsible for four people’s deaths.”

Four? David raised a brow in silent question.

Raimondi nodded to someone still in the room.

David’s heart hit the floor when Laura Todd stepped into the hall, her face white and pinched. Sandy followed, clutching her big sister’s hand. Their mother brought up the rear. She held
Sandy’s other hand and Agostino pressed a gun to the woman’s head.

So, two captors and four hostages.

Not good. “So what do we do now, Raimondi?”

“You back up into my office.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I start shooting until you do. I can spare three hostages, I really only need one.”

True enough. “But I’ll take you out after you kill the first one.”

“And Agostino will kill another. One of the children. Now are we finished arguing about who is going to kill whom? Back. Up.”

David nudged Chase and obeyed, knowing his team was listening, planning on how to help. He hoped they planned fast.

“Take out your earpiece. You too.” He nodded at Chase. “Throw them on the floor and step on them.”

David hesitated. Raimondi dug his gun harder into Marlee’s ear and she cried out. A tear slipped down Sandy’s cheek, but she never took her eyes off of him, the trust and pleading there, making him swallow hard.

Lord, please . . .

The knowledge that Sandy was counting on him to get her away from another evil man nearly strangled him. But he kept his cool and made sure his face showed nothing of his emotions. He pulled the earpiece from his ear and tossed it to the hardwood floor. Then settled his boot heel over it and stepped down.

Chase did the same. Raimondi smiled and motioned for them to keep moving.

David could only pray that Papa Bear had hidden Summer.

Hidden behind the desk, Summer peered around the edge to watch Chase walk down the hall toward her. David faced the opposite direction. Raimondi held Marlee at gunpoint and another man brought up the rear, with Olivia and her children. Summer’s heart shuddered within her.

A tug on her arm brought her head around. Papa Bear placed a finger against his lips and motioned her toward the door. She nodded and slipped from behind the desk. They were heading back this way, and Papa Bear needed to get her out of the room so he could help David and the others. She understood that. They moved toward the door, Papa Bear motioning Summer to stay behind him. He stopped at the edge of the door and peered around it. Then snapped his head back inside.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“The man who attacked you and shot Adam is loose.”

“Loose?” Summer swallowed hard. “So what does that mean?”

He shut the door and locked it. “It means we’re trapped and we’re going to have to fight it out.”

And David was backing through the door that had been hidden by the bookcase. Chase saw them and his eyes widened.

Papa Bear pulled Summer to the edge of the door and raised his weapon.

David said, “All right, we’re in your office. Now what?”

“Move back against the far wall. Stay where I can see you.” He paused. “Is anyone else in the room?”

David snorted. “Of course not.”

“Because if there is, somebody’s going to die.”

Summer felt her stomach rumble, the nagging queasiness she’d felt all day making her want to gag. She hated being afraid. Hated what it did to her.

Raimondi said, “I’m coming out. If there’s anyone else in the room, he’d better show himself now. Otherwise Agostino will kill the woman, do you understand?”

Summer pulled in a swift breath. David hesitated and Chase said, “There’s someone here.”

Raimondi said, “I thought so.”

“What are you doing, Papi?” A husky female voice demanded. A pause. “David? David?”

A sob? Summer wondered. Was the girl crying?

“What’s going on, David?” Summer heard her whisper.

“Don’t hurt Olivia or the kids,” David said.

He shot a look at Papa Bear and the closed door behind him.

Papa Bear mouthed to David, “We’re trapped.”

Summer’s gaze swung to David. His jaw went tight.

Papa Bear whispered, “Little Lou? Now would be a good time for a little help.”

Summer heard his words, but didn’t think anyone else could.

Papa Bear leaned close, his voice low, “Little Lou is on the balcony. He doesn’t have a clean shot. Too many people in the way.”

Summer moved closer to David, shifting to see Raimondi holding a gun on her sister’s head. Behind him Olivia and the girls were held in a similar manner by another man. Marlee spotted her and her eyes went wide.

David said, “Back up, Summer.”

But she couldn’t. Not when Marlee was so obviously terrified. Not when a madman could end her life with the twitch of a finger. “Take me,” she blurted.

Raimondi paused. The entire area went silent. Then David roared, “Get back, Summer.” He glared at Papa Bear, who grabbed her arm. She resisted and stared Raimondi in the eye. “It’s me you’ve wanted all along. Me and David. Well, here I am. Come get me, you coward. Or do you have to hide behind innocent children? Does that make you feel like a man?”

Raimondi’s face went blood red.

Papa Bear got a good hold on her arm this time and gave her a hard yank.

“Are you insane?” he whispered.

“Not yet.” She paused. “Getting close, though.” She shook like a leaf in the wind. Fear turned her stomach to acid and she swallowed hard. Now was not the time to start throwing up. Several deep breaths helped her blood pressure, but the terror for those she loved hung on like a barnacle.