Kidnapped By The Italian Mafia

My phone was working again, thank God. And thanks to a little extra flirting on my part, the geeks at Claudette's job encased all my activity with an extra layer of protection. All of my phone and its information was now impenetrable, untraceable, you name it. Henri had also been given a phone like mine, and he was ecstatic about it.

"What's this unfinished business you have here?"

"A loose end, more or less." I pulled down the hem of my skirt a bit more. We had dressed up to go to dinner and a show, per my request, and Henri hadn't questioned it one bit. He assumed we were having a relaxing evening, or at the very least establishing the public's perception that we were a couple.

I had to say, seeing him looking formal for a date was a sight I wouldn't mind looking at for the rest of my days.

From the moment I pressed down on his wound in my apartment in Manc.h.e.s.ter, my l.u.s.t for him had kind of turned into a small infatuation. I was attracted to him in all forms, but I also knew my limits. Getting involved with him wouldn't be good for anyone and the last thing I wanted was to hurt him. Was it a crush? Did I like him?

Honestly, my head wasn't in the right space so it's not like I could really tell what I did and didn't know about my feelings. Still, I definitely thought he was totally f.u.c.kable.

"Are you going to kill someone?" He finally asked once helping me out of the taxi. I stared at him from the corner of my eye and sighed. We were standing in front of a dark building, but I knew there were people inside. Many people.

"If it comes down to it." I wasn't above hanging ID tags in my closet.

"Let me take care of it. I don't want your hands dirty." Henri wrapped an arm around my waist and lead me toward the building, even though I was the one who knew what we were doing here. He was a gentleman like that.

"It's not my first body, sweetheart." I added the endearment for extra effect. We neared the doors and stepped into the lobby, where two big men were standing in dark suits, almost completely blending into the shadows of the area. We walked up to them and I handed over tickets I'd swindled out of my cousin. "Venecia, party of two."

The guards didn't even look down at my hands, mostly because it was nearly pitch black and they couldn't see shit either way. The little bit of dull light that seeped through the blacked out windows from the light posts outside reflected on the sunglasses they wore.

For f.u.c.ks sake.

"Enter."

Henri and I immediately shuffled toward the doors and pushed through them into an even bigger lobby looking area. At the far end of the empty room there was a lit staircase and we made a beeline for it.

The staircase went down in a curve for what seemed like forever. Wasn't there an elevator for this thing? If it hadn't been for the air conditioning, I would've started sweating.

"Welcome," a receptionist greeted us in a tux once we'd reached the bottom. "Venecia, party of two?"

"Oui." I presented our tickets and he took at look at them. The host took them from me and motioned toward yet another doorway with double push doors.

"Have a splendid night." He noted our names down in a guest book.

"Remember," I said to Henri once we finally entered the room where the grand party was being hosted. "If we're separated at any point and either one of us feels like we're in danger, we press the panic button on our phones."

"Are you going to rescue me?" Henri smirked condescendingly. "That's very sweet of you, madame."

"I know I hired you to do the rescue and protecting, but I'm not completely useless. Don't count on anyone other than me and yourself here." Like the award winning actress I probably was in my past life, I pasted a smile on my face and grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter. "Here."

Henri took a flute from me and sipped a tiny portion of it. He knew we weren't here to have a good time, even though I hadn't said anything. Also, his bodyguard senses must've been tingling because there were people here who he recognised.

"Who are we here to see?" He asked quietly, borderline whispering the question in my ear. My eyes scanned the opulent room in search of the culprit.

"Juan-Carlos. I'm hoping to talk to him about those mules."

"You're still going through with that?" Henri looked at me in surprise. "I didn't think you were serious."

"I just need to make it look like I'm going through with that. Why do you think we're here? My appearance will give slavers something to talk about."

"But you're here as Isabella Venecia, not Isabella VanBurren."

"They don't know that, though." I smirked to myself and sipped on the champagne. "Besides, it's not like we're going to bump into Marco or anything. As far as anyone knows, my shady business with the black market in France and my shady business in England are two separate things."

I'd turned to whisper the last part into his ear because it was common knowledge that the walls had ears and I didn't want to risk letting anything useful slip into everyone's radar.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Henri mumbled in turn, leaving his glass half finished and placing it in a random area I wasn't looking at.

A shriek called our attention, as well as everyone else's who was near us, to a stick figure blonde in a sparkly minidress who was barreling straight for us in her clunky heels. Those things looked like deadly weapons, they seemed that hard to walk in.

"Oh my god, it's you!" Her voice lowered considerably once she neared us and her hand, decorated in a gaudy multicolored gemstone ring and dark clunky bracelet, settled for my forearm. "You're the distributor!"

"Pardon me?" I raised an eyebrow in question. She seemed ecstatic to see me, even though I could barely place her. Maybe my people watching skills needed to be more refined because I only felt hyperaware of people who seemed suspicious.

"You're the distributor! You sold my Ali that gorgeous snow!" She pulled me in for an inadvertent hug. "Ugh, you are a godsend!"

"I am?"

"Your cocaine is the purest drug in the market right now. We are rolling in money, my darling." Her German accent predominated with her usage of the word 'drug'. "The party scene has taken a huge turn for the better!" Her voice lowered again. "Even the Montenegro snow couldn't compare."

Anger spiked through me at the bash and I wanted to hurl a lance through her. My family's cocaine was pure Peruvian, uncut, and we underpriced for the actual figures of a kilo. We were the kings of cocaine. The fact that Marco was somehow getting away with taking our place weighed heavily on me, because I never tested the product myself.

Still, I had to pretend this was a good thing.

"Oh, that's great." I gave her an apathetic smile and looked back onto the entourage of guests. No Juan-Carlos.

"You know, I have some friends from the Saudi area that are interested in speaking with you. My Ali has been singing your praises and I think they want you to distribute to them too!"

Jackpot.

"Oh really? Where?" Juan-Carlos could wait.

"Come, come! They're here tonight, I'll introduce you!"

I threaded my fingers with Henri's and followed her through the room and toward a quieter part of the party. There was a doorway with dr.a.p.es, and she stopped in front of a bouncer to announce us.

"I'm Heidi Frankbergh and these are very important people. You let them come in and out of the VIP area as they please, okay?"

The bouncer barely looked at us, but nodded slightly. Content, Heidi pushed through the dr.a.p.es and led us into a considerably darker area where all the lounge seats were divided. We walked past a few of them, all occupied with people smoking something thick and dancers in costumes dr.a.p.ed all over them. Defitinely a different scene to the one on the other side of the dr.a.p.es.

"My love," Heidi made a beeline for a bald man with a goatee and sat on his l.a.p. "This is the distributor who sold you all that gorgeous snow."

I involuntarily raised an eyebrow at the way she parroted a slightly different version of what she'd said to me just before.

"Ah, yes." His accent was thick and slow, maybe because he was high. "Welcome, miss V—"

"Please," I interrupted. "Call me Isabella. I insist."

"Very well. Isabella." He nodded slowly, which was more of a roll of his head. He was definitely blown. "I would like you to meet some of my friends." He swept a hand toward his companions, a man dressed in white and a head dressing. "This is—"

"Mahant Salmoud." He introduced himself. By his clothes, I could tell he was high ranking in the government, perhaps even related to the Saudi royals. I thought the underwhelming presentation of his name was odd, but then again, we were in a drug den, I wasn't going to question anything.

"Enchantée." I held out a hand in greeting and the man shook it languidly. I made it a point to avoid introducing Henri.

"It's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to finally meet the illusive woman Ali swore sold him the best cocaine in the west. I was beginning to think you weren't real." This man's thick voice crawled slowly, mostly because he was also high off his rocks. The smoke of whatever they were smoking felt like inhaling tar, not so much in the scent, but the texture. It was humid.

"I'm very much real. It's a good thing my reputation has created suspense."

"And much of it. Do you have markets in the Middle East?"

"I'm interested in routing through Qatar," I replied all noncommittal, just in case.

"Qatar? That is an unusual location to route through."

"The country's strictness would allow me to cut toward asia undetected."

"So you wish to undermine a reigning mafia?" Ali chuckled. "Sneaky."

"I want allies and territory. That is all."

"I hear you've made pacts with almost all of Europe." Mr. Salmoud added, taking a hit of whatever he was smoking and blowing the fumes back out. "Is this true of a rumour?"

"I haven't made presence in all countries. Spain, for instance." I'd let my father keep that one. I didn't want to undermine him, I just wanted to gain my own territory. Besides, if all worked well and he wasn't mad at me, I would inherit it anyway. I wanted to bring foreign places into the Montenegro fold. Preferably the Katarina Montenegro fold.

"Isn't that Salvador Montenegro's territory?" Mr. Salmoud asked Ali absentmindedly. "I've heard great things about him."

"He is truly ruthless. I had an encounter with him not so long ago." Henri stiffened beside me, so I led him to a seat and pushed him down on it. "I hope you don't mind."

"Please," Mr. Salmoud motioned for it. "This conversation is most stimulating."

'The conversation or the drugs?' I thought bitterly as I took a seat on Henri's l.a.p. This situation could be spinned to my advantage.

"Mr. Salmoud," I began, crossing my legs primly. I didn't miss the way his eyes darted to my t.h.i.g.hs in the dim lighting of the room. "Are you willing to strike a deal?'

"As long as it is profitable." He nodded, taking another hit of the stuff.

"I can promise you two hundred million euros in six months."

The man paused with puffed cheeks, staring at me in disbelief. Ali also looked at me with surprise, but his… Heidi, only grinned like she knew this was going to happen.

"Two hundred million euros?" He blinked. That was a lot of money, even for a rich person. Two hundred million wasn't something anyone was willing to turn down.

"In six months."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Cut a road for my product to be transported through your country with guaranteed protection, of course."

"In destination to where?"

"Australia."

He hummed, stroking his chin for a bit. The promise of a fat paycheck was dangling like a carrot in front of his face, and I knew he couldn't resist.

"We should have a trial first, to see how things work out." He took a hit. "You will ship to me and distribute in my country first, then we will see if your product is worth protecting in the eyes of the Saudis."

"I can have two tons shipped to you next week, just give me the address."

"Two tons? Four."

"I'll send you ten tons and we can call it even. Give me a fifteen percent cut of profits and you'll keep the rest." My confidence in only demanding fifteen percent of profit was probably going to be taken as arrogance, but I didn't care. I had one foot in with the Saudis and this opportunity wasn't going to slip my fingers.

"Fifteen percent?!" Mr. Salmoud stared at me with wide eyes. "That is highly suspicious."

"She did that to me too." Ali vouched. "It cut her some decent profits, I underestimated how good her product was or how much would sell."

"My team strives for excellence." I smirked, leaning back into Henri's c.h.e.s.t before swinging the leg that was crossed over my t.h.i.g.h lazily. "Think about it and give me a call when you've reached a decision."

"How do I reach you?"

"Ali here will help you contact me."