Kane's Ransom: A BWWM Mafia Romance Novel (21 page)

The bank manager, an unassuming man in perhaps his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache, looked briefly surprised. The manager recovered quickly, however, accepting the offered hand.

"Ah, yes, Dr. Kane," he said. "I remember; you're withdrawing a large sum for a pressing business transaction, you mentioned? Is that correct?"

"Yes. A hundred thousand dollars," Killian reiterated. "And you'll be able to cover that amount for me today?"

The manager gave a little grin which he probably believed made him appear professional, and not like he was trying to suck a piece of lettuce out from between his teeth. "Since you called, and you've been such a valued and faithful member of our bank for so long, I've been able to ensure that all the cash is on hand," he said.

A valued and faithful member? Killian had to hold in his snort. He had, at one point, regularly kept almost a quarter million dollars in his accounts at this bank. Of course they would be willing to bend over backwards for him.

Still, he wisely kept his mouth shut, instead following the manager over to one of the counter spots, one that was carefully positioned away from the others, so that no other customers would note the large amount of money Killian was withdrawing. The manager stepped behind the counter, unlocked a drawer with his key, and began counting out bundles of hundred-dollar bills.

In a surprisingly short time, exactly one thousand hundred-dollar bills were neatly stacked on the counter in front of Killian. The manager pulled out some bands, binding the stacks together into bundles of ten thousand dollars each. Killian, meanwhile, placed his briefcase up on the counter and carefully placed each bundle inside.

Once his transaction was complete, he closed the latches on his briefcase, lowered it down to his side, and gave the manager a nod. "Is there anything else you need from me?" he asked, glancing down at his watch. He still hadn't heard anything from Alicia.

The little gray-haired man shook his head. "That's all, Mr. Kane," he replied, giving that little smile once again. "You are free to go, and good luck with your business deal!"

"Thanks," Killian said, picking up the briefcase and heading out of the bank. He did his best to walk nonchalantly, as though he wasn't carrying six figures in untraceable cash.

Halfway to his car, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He didn't slow down, reaching his car, popping open the Maserati's door, and sliding the briefcase into the back seat. Only once he'd stowed the briefcase and climbed into the driver's seat of the car did he fish out his phone, reading off the address in the text message he'd just received.

Killian didn't recognize the address, but he knew the part of town. It was exceedingly seedy, filled with lots of abandoned buildings, a place where even the cops only ventured in groups.

The perfect place, therefore, for a ransom exchange - or for a killing.

Before starting up his car, Killian copied the address and sent it on to a couple of other numbers. Only after his phone buzzed another couple of times did he finally put the car into gear, peeling out of the bank's parking lot and heading back to the hotel.

Chapter twenty-four

Alicia's phone buzzed, nearly making her jump out of her seat in the elegant, pink marble hotel lobby.

"Here," she read off her phone's screen. She glanced up, out the front doors, and sure enough, Killian's Maserati was waiting there for her.

She hurried out, climbing into the passenger seat. Killian glanced over at her as she entered, those blue eyes of his appraising her but not looking threatening at all. Instead, she felt like he was watching to make sure that she was all right, that she hadn't yet cracked.

"I'm okay," she said, answering that unspoken question. And she was telling the truth - she could feel nervousness coiled like a snake in her belly, but it wasn't stirring, wasn't rising up to overwhelm her.

Killian nodded, his eyes remaining on her for a moment longer. He put the car in gear, but he only kept one hand on the wheel. He slid his other hand over, leaning it on the center console with his fingers open in invitation.

Alicia took that offered hand, squeezing it tightly as she nestled her fingers in between his.

Killian had already programmed the directions to the location (the voice on the phone had told Alicia that it was an abandoned warehouse, that the doors would all be open), and he guided the car smoothly along the roads. Alicia sat silently for a minute or two, but she soon couldn't bear the silence any longer.

"Where'd you go on your errands?" she asked, watching the buildings roll by, the morning sun glinting and reflecting off the glass windows.

Killian slipped his hand out of hers, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder. "Take a look in that case in the back seat," he answered, keeping his eyes on the road.

Curious, Alicia twisted around in her seat, ducking momentarily under the seat belt so that she could grab the thin briefcase from behind her. She placed it on her lap, popped the latches open - and gasped as her eyes fell upon the rows of bundled bills inside the case.

"Oh my god," she gasped. "This has to be, like-"

"A hundred thousand dollars," Killian answered, and a brief little smile danced across his face for a second before vanishing. "Most of the contents of my savings accounts. I might have to cut back on my second helpings at the diner for a while."

For a moment longer, Alicia stared into the briefcase, transfixed by the rows of bills. She'd never seen this much money before in her life. She almost considered pulling out some of the bills, just to prove to herself that they were real.

"You didn't have to do this," she said finally, glancing back up at Killian. "Really, this is too much. I'm never going to be able to pay you back for-"

"Really, it's not a problem," he said before she could finish, waving his hand at her and looking a little uncomfortable. "Let's just hope that we can get Marcus back, and get out of this with our lives, before we start worrying about the future."

Alicia could feel that he truly didn't want to talk about it. She wasn't totally okay with him just offering up all of this money to her, acting as though it didn't mean anything. A little part of her didn't want to owe a debt to anyone, even if it would help her get her brother back.

But she quickly squashed those thoughts. As Killian suggested, they could find some way for her to pay him back after Marcus was safe.

Around them, the landscape was shifting. Now, instead of tall skyscrapers, large buildings with boarded-up windows lined both sides of the road. The number of cars on the road had shrank to almost zero, and the streets looked deserted. They had to be getting close.

"Turn left in five hundred feet," Killian's phone announced, "and you will have arrived at your destination." Killian followed the instructions, turning into an open garage-door sized opening in the side of the warehouse on the left. In the passenger's seat, Alicia tried to ignore how the dark hole reminded her of a mouth.

The inside of the warehouse was entirely deserted, as revealed by Killian's headlights. He panned the car around, bringing it to a stop when he didn't see anyone else inside the warehouse. He turned off the car, although he left the headlights on, and the two of them climbed slowly out of the vehicle.

After a second, Killian checked his watch. "We still have a few minutes until noon. Looks like the Curanos are taking their sweet time."

The next couple of minutes dragged on horribly slowly, but only a couple of minutes later, Alicia heard the squealing of tires outside the warehouse. She looked up, just in time to see a black SUV come peeling into the building, nearly skidding across the bare concrete floor before coming to a top, black marks radiating out from behind all four wheels. The headlights of the SUV slid over them and the Maserati before eventually settling to point at the far wall.

For a moment, the new vehicle sat motionless. Just as Alicia wondered if she should step forward, if she'd been supposed to give some sort of signal, the two front doors finally opened, and two men stepped out.

Both of the men wore black, their faces uncovered. They both looked Hispanic, and Alicia guessed that neither one was older than thirty. The man from the passenger side carried a scary-looking black assault rifle in his hands, and he leered at both of them as his partner circled around from the driver's side.

"So, you showed up," remarked the man with the rifle, running his eyes insolently over Alicia's figure. "That's something, at least. Means we don't have to shoot your brother here."

"My brother," Alicia repeated, glaring back at the man and trying to ignore the fearful pumping of her heart in her chest. "Where is he? Show me that he's alive."

The man with the rifle glanced over at his partner, who had circled around the back of the SUV. The other man reached out and rapped on the rear door of the SUV with his knuckles, not taking his eyes off of Alicia and Killian.

A moment later, a third kidnapper emerged from the back of the SUV, but this one was pulling out another figure, one with a bag thrown over his head. The figure wearing the bag stumbled as his feet hit the ground, but he recovered, guided into place by the hand of the other kidnapper on his shoulder. Alicia could see twist ties secured around his wrists, binding his hands together.

Alicia's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the hooded man. "Marcus?" she called out hoarsely, barely able to breathe.

From under that hood, Alicia heard a grunt, surprise and hope in a single wordless sound. The man who had emerged from the back seat of the car, now standing beside the prisoner grinned at her, and then pulled the hood off with a single yank.

Alicia froze, staring.

Her brother's face looked back at her, his eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open.

For a second, no one said anything. The silence hung in the warehouse, until the kidnapper holding the assault rifle finally coughed.

"Yeah, yeah, reunions and shit," he grunted out in a gravelly voice. "How about you show us the fucking money, before you get to watch your brother get shot?"

The harsh voice jarred Alicia out of her moment with her brother. She turned to look back at Killian, standing on the other side of the car, but her partner was already lifting up the briefcase.

"It's all in here," Killian called out. "All hundred thousand dollars. You can count it if you want."

Alicia thought that she saw a look of surprise flicker briefly across the face of the man with the rifle. That look, however, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he stepped forward towards Killian.

"Pass it over," he demanded, but Killian didn't move.

"The hostage first," he said back, nodding towards Marcus. "You're the one with the gun - you push Marcus over towards us, and we'll slide the case across the ground to you."

The man with the gun frowned, but then gave a short, single nod. He gestured at his companions, and the other two members of the Curanos shoved Marcus roughly towards the two of them.

Marcus stumbled for a moment, unable to use his bound hands for balance, but he recovered and crossed the distance to stand beside Alicia. Immediately, she threw her hands around him, feeling all over for injuries, reaching up to pull his face down so that she could kiss his cheek.

The kidnappers, meanwhile, grew more impatient. "The money!" demanded the man with the rifle, lifting it up to point at Killian.

"Take it easy," Killian replied, slowly bending down and putting the case on the ground. Using one foot, he kicked it over towards the two men and their SUV.

The case slid most of the way over, but skidded to a stop a couple feet short of the three kidnappers. They all looked at it for a moment, and then the man with the assault rifle gestured impatiently to his partners. The man who had emerged from the backseat finally stepped forward, bent down, picked up the case, and popped it open in his hands.

"Looks like the cash's all here," he reported after a minute, balancing the case on one hand and leafing through the bills inside the briefcase with the other.

"It is," Killian confirmed. "And now, if the transaction's over, we will take our leave." He nodded to Alicia, who turned around to open the back door of the Maserati for Marcus to climb in.