Page 99 of I Would Beg For You
He hands me a shopping bag when I pass him. “Rest room’s this way. I assume you’ll want to change first.”
The cops hauled me out of the hotel in my boxers. They handed me a pair of sweatpants and its corresponding sweater, as well as a pair of slippers, at the station—it would be considered abuse to leave me unclothed and without shoes in their care. I can’t wait to get these rags off of me.
“Mr. Boyle. Where’s my wife?”
His voice drops as he accompanies me down the hallway. “I don’t know, Mr. Andretti. I do know she’s not here, though. I checked. I’ve been hired to get you out, and that’s what I’m doing.”
He isn’t curt or short, which makes me cut him some slack. His wing-tip brogues alone scream he’s paid handsomely—someone very wealthy is pulling the strings to get me out. Best go to the source and not through an underling to get the right information.
It kills me not to know where Naomi is, but part of me suspected she wasn’t here. I can see the other cells as I pass through the only corridor in this boxy station, and they’re empty, the doors to the interrogation rooms open and revealing no one inside. They separated us on purpose, bringing me to this hellhole to put distance between us.
Why, though?
A picture’s starting to form, but I refuse to contemplate it. Not right now. Doom thinking won’t get us anywhere, won’t help Naomi.
I go into the restroom and change into the brand-new chinos and slim-fit shirt which fit perfectly. There’s also a pair of Loro Piana summer loafers in my size.
I feel more like myself when I come out and follow Fletcher Boyle out. No one in the station stops us, most of them with their head lowered. The only one who glares at us is the guy I recognize from the hotel room.
He’s now got a target on his back, whoever he is. I’m not stopping to find out, not when getting out and getting to Naomi is the priority. I have men who can handle this for me, plus I know Reeves will be gunning for this fucker, too.
A Cadillac SUV is ambling in front of the station. The lawyer and I both slide into the back seat.
“How did you get me out?”
He chuckles. “Amateurs, the lot of them. Bodycam footage shows they failed to knockandfailed to announce themselves before barging into your room.”
“I’m getting out on a technicality?”
“They also had a warrant for possession of a controlled substance. The bag they supposedly found in your room? Couldn’t even get that right. It held point-four-five ounces of heroin. Criminal possession in the fifth degree starts at half an ounce.”
Hence them being amateurs.
“You are in the clear, Don Andretti.” He reaches into his pocket. “Sorry, was supposed to give you this earlier.”
It’s my phone. Someone must’ve gotten it from my room and handed it over to this man who came to free me. I also don’t miss the switch in title to address me.
I put in a call to Antonio. My consigliere must’ve been apprised of what’s going on.
“Val,” he says when he picks up.
“Where’s Naomi?”
He sighs. “We’re still finding out. You got separated at the hotel.”
I curse aloud. The lawyer flinches next to me.
“Don Vitale has generously offered us the use of one of his homes. We figure she must be near. We’re waiting for you to decide the next steps.”
So, we’re heading back to the same region where it all started. My heartrate’s not coming down. Taking me, it’s starting to sound like a set up. What was all this about? And how does taking Naomi fit in?
We reach a gated property in a well-off area. When the car gets waved in without a blink, I realize the car and the lawyer must also come from Don Giorgio. He’s still the head of his Borgata—his grandson Matteo is supposed to take over the reins next year—and all the other Dons from the Northeastern coast region pledged their support to me, as I did them, last night during my initiation.
Merda, was it just last night? It feels like a lifetime ago.
I jump out of the car as soon as it stops. The front door of the two-story manor home set amid lush gardens opens, Antonio standing on the threshold.
I storm in, finding Luciano, Victor, Marco, and Pesci all in the open-plan kitchen to the side of the house.
