a grin that made her skin crawl. He nodded at the other man and opened the rear door of her car. “If I were you, I’d do everything he tells you. I’m not as patient.”
“What’d I tell you?” the first gunman said. The men both laughed, sharing their own sick joke.
Gabriella’s stomach twisted. She should’ve followed her great-aunt’s advice and carried a gun or a brick in her purse. Even if she had, though, it’d be no match for the two men. And if they were telling the truth about Aunt Freddie being in danger, she couldn’t risk it.
The second man loosened his suit jacket, and she spotted his gun, as well. She tightened her fists. “Is my aunt in that sedan? What’d you do with her?”
The man across from her turned and looked toward Luke’s office. The sun bounced off the windows, so she couldn’t see inside. Please let Luke see something is wrong.
“Do you want to see her alive again?” the first gunman asked, his voice thick with a familiar accent she couldn’t place.
She opened her mouth, her breath so ragged she wasn’t sure she could answer if she tried. Aunt Freddie was her only living relative. It’d been hard enough to put her in assisted living last week—so hard Gabriella spent the past few nights sleeping on the couch at her new villa so Aunt Freddie wouldn’t be lonely.
I can’t lose her, too. Her gut dropped. The sedan following her the past few days...had she led them right to her aunt?
He smirked. “Get in and drive.”
* * *
Luke hit the side of the printer, frustrated after two jams and irritated the temporary receptionist hadn’t already finished the job. He didn’t begrudge Deb her maternity leave, but he also selfishly prayed she didn’t change her mind about coming back in six weeks. His sanity depended on it.
The motor whirred as the printer finally spit out his prize. He grabbed the paper, shoved it haphazardly into the leather satchel and strode for the door.
He hated keeping Gabriella waiting, especially since he had suggested the last-minute property tour. And since it was almost five o’clock already, he harbored hope she’d agree to have dinner afterward to catch up.
His mind replayed seeing her walk through his office door. She radiated a mixture of gentleness and beauty. And it made him angry with himself that he hadn’t kept in touch. He’d meant to.
When he first settled on the Treasure Valley to start his business, his parents had challenged his sanity. But the economy was booming, and it turned out to be a smart move financially. If he was honest with himself, in the back of his mind he’d assumed Gabriella would’ve settled in the area, too. Instead, she accepted a job in a small town in Eastern Oregon but spent summers in the valley. He knew she stayed with her family and worked with her foundation director anytime she had a break from teaching. Yet he’d never reached out, though he’d meant to before now.
Even now his heart sped up at the thought of her, but he knew why he procrastinated. He’d put himself out there once before—albeit almost a decade ago—and been burned. He wanted to diminish the risk of repeating the scenario.
Gabriella had seemed pleased about the grant and the media exposure. So pleased, he’d been tempted to let her know he owned the responsibility for making it happen. But he took the Bible passage seriously that exhorted believers to give in secret.
Luke turned to the receptionist. “As soon as you’re done with that file, you’re free to go. You’ll be paid for the full day. The door is set to lock behind you.” He pressed the glass door open as he threw on his designer shades, a smile plastering his face. He loved summer. He stepped out to an empty parking lot.
He always parked behind the office building along with his employees. The spaces in front were reserved for clients. He grabbed the glass door before it fully closed. “Karen?”
“Yes?”
“Did you see where my client went?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She picked at a piece of fuzz attached to her blouse. “She argued with some guy for a second, but then when she saw her friends coming, too, they like must have worked it out, ’cause they drove off together.”
Luke rubbed the throbbing spot above his brow. “Her friends?” It didn’t make sense. Gabriella was too considerate not to let him know she’d changed her plans. At least the girl he once knew would’ve been. Maybe she’d changed.
“Yeah, well I think so,” Karen muttered. “Two of them got in her car and the others followed them when they left.”
Luke’s shoulders sagged. An impromptu reunion? He shook his head. It didn’t add up. “Did she say anything when she left? Did she look upset?”
Karen lifted an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. Didn’t you say her mom just died?”
Luke blew out a long breath. He spun on his heel and headed for his truck. Maybe Gabriella had changed her mind about putting the property up for sale, but if that proved to be the case, he still wanted to show her how serious he was about being her friend. And who was the guy she argued and left with? The back of his neck tensed.
People changed over the years, sure, but Gabriella’s thoughtful nature defined her. Driving off without telling anyone didn’t ring true.
He entered Gabriella’s phone number and started his full-size Dodge Ram while it rang.
Four rings later it transferred to voice mail. Luke frowned. Something didn’t sit well. He didn’t want to be overly pushy, but he had also let Gabriella go once instead of being a true friend. He refused to make the same mistake twice. He shifted the truck into Drive and headed for Radcliffe Ranch.
Gabriella squeezed the steering wheel, but it didn’t tame the tremors. Her entire body shook at the sight of Aunt Freddie on the tablet.
The video showed her aunt asleep, wearing a quilted blue robe, in a strange recliner with another suited gunman sitting next to her. “What’d you do to her? Where’d you take her?”
“Keep your eyes on the road.” The man in her passenger seat clicked the tablet off. “She’s been given a strong sedative. Doesn’t even know that she went on a little field trip. And as long as you comply, she will be safe.”
One lone car drove past her. She stared out the window, her eyes wide, hoping the driver would somehow see something was wrong. She didn’t dare swerve, though, not with a madman watching her aunt sleep. “Who are you?”
The man grinned, sending shudders up her spine. “Benito.” He shrugged. “Of the Mirabella family.”
The way he said it...wasn’t that how people referred to the mafia? A crime family?
“We’re actually relatives,” he said. “I’m your mother’s second cousin.”
“Me, too, twice removed.” The man in the back chuckled. He sat in the middle, so that any time Gabriella looked in the rearview mirror she spotted his dark eyes, hard and void of compassion.
