The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (96 page)

Gio was going stir crazy with the bed rest ordered to by his older brother. The only burn that bothered him anymore was the one on his arm, but it too had finally stopped leaking. Lisa changed the bandages like clockwork, waking up and doing it very two hours those first two days, and then every four. He’d seen the burn specialist, who said the changing of bandages could be decreased to every six hours, and said it would leave a scar, but not as bad as he had initially thought. Gio didn’t want the skin graft. He’d only go under the knife if it was necessary, and what he was going to end up with for a scar was far less than what Lisa had on her legs, and thighs. He’d keep it. It would remind them both of what they had been through to make their way to back to each other.

The only bright spot about the week was that he got plenty of time to spend with his son.

Andreas had hired more men to keep tabs on Connie and Rasmussen, but finding the other person or persons who put the bomb in Gio’s car had been the proverbial dead end.

They were all together for Sunday, and that night after Johnny went to bed, Andreas brought up his Plan B after another exasperated outburst from Gio, who wanted to do his part.

“Well, I’ve been thinking,” he stated calmly.

The calmness of his voice led to a hushed quiet and they all waited expectantly for him to continue. Gio was guessing what role he would play, while Lisa was hoping for the opposite. Nikko had his suspicions.

“I think it is time for Plan B.”

“About time!” Nikko chimed in.

“What’s the plan?” Gio asked.

“Should I be here for this?” Lisa asked. She wondered if having knowledge of illegal activities might risk her case.

Andreas nodded that it was okay. Then he began. “We go after the weakest link, that being Connie. She is into kinky stuff, has been for years, but she is a player in the game. That much we know. She is definitely the submissive to Albert, from what Gio has seen, and from,” he cleared his throat and looked away from Lisa “what we know.”

Lisa looked down, knowing that Gio had to tell his brothers some of what she had been through. She knew Nikko had seen the scars, but it still embarrassed her, even though she also knew she was the victim.

“Sorry, Lisa,” Gio stated softly pulling her to him.

“It’s okay,” she returned, understanding the reasons for this disclosure.

“Albert, according to the personality mock up I had done on him, he is or was a sub at one time, but worked his way up in this sex game, ring, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it, and enjoys the role of master. My guess, and again it’s only a guess, is that whoever the master is, was his master at one time.”

“You think Albert was a sub at one time?” Lisa asked, shocked, but thinking it kind of made some sense. Albert was cruel, but he also could be someone’s puppet. His parents had led him around by the nose for years.

“Yes, I do. And so do the psychoanalysts I hired to give me a report on this. It’s kind of like profiling. We don’t know who the master is, but the name suggests someone higher up than Albert, so that leaves us with Albert being the middleman, and Connie on the bottom. She also gets paid, so that suggests she does it because she needs the money, and to wield this kind of control and power you need money.”

“Why do we want to go after her?” Gio asked.

It was Nikko who answered. His degree was in forensic and technical science, but he’d minored in forensic psychology. “She’d be the most likely to talk. For money, or out of fear.”

“Right,” Andreas agreed.

“Okay, I follow you so far. So what is the plan?” Gio asked.

“We nab her.”

“Kidnap her!” Lisa’s heart hammered in her chest.

“I guess it’s kidnaping, but we don’t have to work it that way. The girl is into role playing, she likes sex games, does it for money. She just got a check, so someone is still paying the bills, and even though she is staying home in the evenings, she’s ventured out in the afternoons. I think we can arrange an accidental meeting.”

“Why and with who?” Lisa asked clearly confused.

“Um, Nikko. . .” Andreas started.

“Um, hell no! Ronnie will kill me.”

“You won’t have to go that far. It’ll be more about the suggestion than anything else. We are going to do an old fashioned sting. We have you bump into her, buy her a coffee, talk about yourself, and mention your girl dumped you because she says you are too sexually demanding.”

“Well, I am . . .” he started to tease, but Andreas’ look said it wasn’t the time.

“She is going to offer, and you will take a walk with her. And bam, you are an undercover cop.”

“No shit.”

“That’s illegal,” Lisa announced. “I know saying you are cop when you aren’t is against the law.”

“It is. But we take her for a ride. That’s all. See if she has loose lips.”

Gio opened his mouth to say something, and Lisa jabbed him in the ribs.

“Right.” He thought better of it rubbing his ribs where she jabbed him. But it would have been a good one.

“What I meant to say is, see if she talks, that’s all. Gives up her connection to Albert, but hopefully the name of the master. We need his name so we can connect all the dots.”

“You really think she would do that, I mean propositioning someone is what, a misdemeanor, a couple of days for a first timer,” Gio questioned.

“She is not a first timer. She’s been arrested before, so she will think she’ll have to do time. And if you piss her off enough, Nikko, and I think you can get her to talk, she might throw out a name of a connection who has pull. It’s a long shot, but I think it can work.”

Gio looked to Lisa. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. What if she doesn’t say anything? What do you do?”

“Simple, we radio in, emergency, yada, yada, need all hands on deck, and we let her off with a warning.”

“Okay, well, then that sounds good and the risk to you guys is minimal.” Gio liked the plan so far.

“Wait, there’s more.” Andreas sat on the edge of his chair to get everyone’s full attention.

Lisa got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“What is it?” Gio asked hearing the undercurrent in his brother’s voice.

“Once we got what we need from her, we go to Albert and let him know what we know. Then we hope he does something stupid. Or smart.” Andreas knew he would do something stupid. But with three loose cannons out there, he knew in order to end it, they needed to do something drastic. They needed to know who the big player was, or none of them would be safe.

“Oh, no.” Lisa shook her head. “Albert is dangerous. Just look what he has already done.”

“We will tighten up security here. Batten down the hatches. He can’t touch you here. It’s best if we control the situation rather than them.”

“But what if he tells the master?” she asked.

“We will already know who he is, and we will be watching him too.” Andreas sounded confidant.

“This doesn’t sound easy.” Lisa was nervous. This was putting a lot on the line.

“Nothing ever is, Lisa,” Gio spoke the words, “But this might be the only way to prove your innocence. For you to spend the rest of your life with me, and with Johnny. I think this is chance we gotta take, together.” He looked into her eyes deeply.

“Who is going to confront Albert?” she asked looking at no one else except Gio.

“You know it’s gotta be me, baby,” he whispered.

Lisa wasn’t sure, but they didn’t have any other leads, and that damn encryption was baffling everyone’s best hackers.

“You really think it is going to work?”

“If it doesn’t we still haven’t lost anything, baby,” Gio urged.

Again, what he said made sense.

“Okay then,” she shrugged her shoulders trying to appear confidant, but feeling anything but.

“We of course, don’t tell Alex how we got the master’s name, and we don’t tell him until we leak it to Albert.” Andreas fixated this last comment on Gio, and Gio who had been working with his brother for years, knew what he was trying to tell him. He was going to leak it to Albert, personally, and right now he didn’t want the others to know about that part of the plan. He told his brother with a quick curt nod he understood.

Andreas smiled for Gio only. Then for the others, they began to talk out the details of the plan, the when’s and the how’s. And by midnight everything was set.

For right then, it all just depended on when the next time Miss Connie decided to venture out of her apartment.

They did not have long to wait.

Stings Like a Bee

N
ikko walked down
Jackson Street. Andreas was in the van headed to the small bistro on the corner of Jackson and Ninety-Fourth Street. Connie was headed there now. She usually stopped in there on her way to wherever she was going, and from the sounds of it she was shopping this afternoon and then meeting friends for an early dinner. It was two in the afternoon, and that gave them time before she was missed.

The sign for
Harry’s
was just up ahead. Nikko jogged towards it and entered the tiny bistro and coffee shop. He got in line and waited, hoping Connie got there soon. The plan was to start a conversation in line, and gain her sympathy. He was there just a minute, and the bell above the door jingled. A quick glance behind him told him it was her. She wore military cargo pants, torn strategically to reveal all the right places. Her glittery sequined silver shirt, and the purple bow in her red hair suggesting her metropolitan fashion sense. She was a pretty woman although the makeup was a tad on the heavy side.

He pulled out his phone and held it up to his ear. “Listen, it’s over,” he said to absolutely no one.

Connie was behind him, pretending not to notice him. The black pants he wore and tight black tee, making it hard not to.

He continued. “Sherry, I’m tired of this crap. You make me feel like a freak,” he dropped his tone to a whisper, but made sure it was loud enough for Connie to hear. “I am not a pervert. I don’t need counseling. I’m young, and I just want to enjoy myself. When we met and started dating, you said you were game.” He paused pretending to listen to the nonexistent Sherry.

“No. It’s better this way. I’m not ready to settle down. Not yet. When I am, I’m looking for someone who understands me and my needs.” He paused. “No you don’t. You are already trying to change me.”

He continued to listen to the ‘other side’ of the conversation, but half turned making brief eye contact with Connie. He shrugged apologetically. He needed to move things along, he was up next in line.

“Fine. That’s what I told you anyway.” He shut the phone off, and slipped it into his back pocket.

Then he flashed his dazzling smile on Connie, and apologized. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right.” Connie half turned. What a moron, Connie thought of the other woman this man had been talking too. A man with a body like that, and some girl is upset because he wants a bit of creativity. Stupid uptight yuppies.

“I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Not at all. I get it,” Connie reassured him. The guy was finding himself it seemed, and his lady wasn’t into what he wanted to try. When he smiled at her, she felt something. Right down between her legs, but she wasn’t in the mood to train a new puppy. She liked her men knowledgeable and creative.

“You do?” he questioned, acting surprised.

Connie couldn’t help herself, it was just her nature. “Yes, I am quite sure.” She arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow at the handsome stranger.

“What will it be?” asked the barista behind the counter interrupting their conversation.

“Half cafe latte, one sugar, low fat milk, and whatever she wants?” He turned back to Connie daring her to accept his unasked offer.

Connie felt herself get wet. The man was hot as hell. And that smile. No comparison to Albert, or the last few duds she had banged. Maybe this guy might be able to surprise her. She doubted it. But she was horny. And this guy was at least a feast for the eyes.

“Iced coffee, low fat milk, three Splenda,” she ordered.

Nikko handed the cashier a fifty from his wad of cash while the barista set to fill their order. They stepped to the side for the next customer who was in line.

“Will you join me?” Nikko indicated a table in the far corner of the little shop.

“For a while,” she purred seductively. Not only was the man sexy as hell. He had money too. She noticed the Movado watch, the keys to a Porsche dangling from the chain, the designer clothes. He was starting to look better and better. She might be interested in a new puppy after all.

*     *     *

Twenty minutes later,
Nikko could tell Connie was buying his story, hook, line and sinker. He’d introduced himself to her and told her his tale, which involved him being a recent graduate of NYU. He had a business degree and was going to work for the family business, imports and exports. He would be heading to San Francisco to head up their offices there soon. But he was not ready to settle down with his latest conquest. He enjoyed his playboy ways too much, but found the woman in his social circles too trite and boring. They wanted a ring on their finger, and although he believed in monogamy, he wanted to find someone who enjoyed more than just the vanilla, if she knew what he meant.