“Stop here,” Cassie said. Traffic was thinning out as they neared the docks, and soon it would be too obvious to the men who held Ruiz that they were being followed. She thanked the driver, giving him a generous tip, and stepped onto the sidewalk.
“I saw a police call box the next street over,” Powolski said. “We need to call and let them know to come here.”
Cassie nodded. “You go. I’ll keep an eye on them.”
“Miss Woods—don’t do anything rash.”
It was the first time Powolski had actually addressed her by her name. Cassie gave a curt nod. “Ask for Mr. O’Neill. He’s probably already on his way to the Walkers’, but at least they’ll know what it’s about. The man they kidnapped is Ruiz.” Without further ado, she headed in the direction the other carriage had taken.
Cassie crept along the brick walls of the buildings throughout the complex the henchmen had entered. She peered around the next corner. Two men loitered outside the entrance to a low warehouse across the way. The carriage Cassie and Powolski had followed stood off to one side. Ruiz was nowhere to be seen.
Engrossed in deciding her next move, she didn’t register the footsteps approaching behind her.
“Miss Woods,” a man’s voice said.
She turned.
And came face-to-face with Mr. Walker.
After an instant of panic, she forced a composed smile. “Hello—”
“Cut the small talk. I told Greene a woman reporter would be too meddlesome, but he assured me that his little warning message would be just enough to keep you onto the Tiatellis so you would out them as the culprits. Yet here you are.”
“Here I am.” Over Walker’s shoulder, she saw Powolski approach. She gave him a barely perceptible shake of her head. Better to not drag him into this and risk both of them disappearing with no trace before the police arrived. She forced bravado. “Is your wife inside? I’d love to meet her.”
Walker reacted instantly, spinning her around and hooking an arm under her chin so she was held against him by the neck. She clawed at his jacket sleeve, but the two men keeping watch rushed over and took her by the arms.
Walker released her. “These men will show you where my wife is being held. You’ll get your wish.”
She dead-weighted herself against the men to no avail. They dragged her easily across the cobblestone courtyard and inside the building.
In the distance, she heard a police whistle.
She could only hope they were coming for her.
Five
Every footstep echoed through the empty warehouse space. The men dragged her across the vast main hall before navigating around a partition, which revealed a makeshift jail cell built into a corner. One of her captors helped the other wrestle her into his grip so his partner could unlock the door. The men pushed her inside so forcefully she landed on her knees. When she locked up, she saw a beautiful woman perched on a cot. A pair of boots approached from the other side. She followed the legs up to see Tommy Tiatelli.
Oh no.
She scrambled to her feet.
Walker sauntered around the partition. “I should thank you, really, for making me realize Tommy is a dirty rat. I’ll clean the ranks when I take over the organization.”
Cassie realized someone was missing. “Where’s Ruiz?”
“My, my, you really are in deep with the police, aren’t you? How did you manage that, I wonder. A liaison with that detective—what’s his name again?” He turned to his henchman.
“O’Neill, sir,” one of them replied.
“That’s right. O’Neill. Now, if you had just let him take down the Tiatellis like I wanted, he would be safe and sound. Now, unfortunately, I’m going to have to add your beau to my hit list.”
“He’s not my beau.”
Walker stared at her for a moment, then laughed. “Interesting that is the part of the comment you choose to respond to.”
A commotion came from the entrance to the building. Walker peeked around the partition, then motioned to his fellows. The two men snuck off to the entrance.
“It seems your beau has come to me of his own accord. How convenient. My men will take care of this promptly.”
The sounds of struggle neared, with men shouting and grunting. She heard flesh smack against flesh and what sounded like a man landing hard on the floor.
With no way to help from inside the cell, Cassie turned her attention to her companions.
“Mrs. Walker, I presume?”
“Unfortunately,” the woman answered. “I married Horace to get away from the family business, and now he’s worse than any of them. No offense.” She smiled sheepishly at her brother.
Tommy sat beside her on the cot. “Our people would never use family as leverage in a deal. We still have principles.”
Shouts grew nearer, distracting Cassie from disentangling the moral values of crime families.
“Miss Woods?” It was O’Neill shouting to her.
Cassie went to the cell door. “We’re over here!”
A moment later, O’Neill appeared, pistol at the ready. When he saw her, he lowered it. His knuckles were scraped, but otherwise he looked unharmed. “You’re all right?”
