Mafia Queen (The Manning Sisters #1) (2 page)

“Lis, may I come in?” Dakota asked after he knocked softly on the bedroom door of the hotel suite.

“Sure,” she answered just loud enough for him to hear.

“When was the last time you heard from Rachel?” He asked as soon as he entered the room.

“I talked to her two days ago. Why?” Lis asked as a wave of worry flooded over her.

“I’ve been trying to contact James, the head of her security, and I’m not getting an answer. Was she still at school when you talked to her?”

“Yes,” Lis answered as she stood from the chair she’d been sitting in. “She was getting ready for finals. She was supposed to have her first exam today.”

“I’ll keep trying to contact James, but I need you to try calling her please.”

“Okay,” Lis responded and picked up her cell phone. She tapped her sister’s picture and listened as the phone rang. When her voice mail picked up she left a quick message and hung up. “Voice mail. She never lets my calls go to voice mail.”

“All I’m getting is James’ voice mail, too.”

“I need to go check on her. I need to know she’s okay.”

“We will. Let me call someone first, then I will get us a flight out there.”

“Why can’t we take daddy’s jet?” Lis asked with a tilt of her head.

“Your parents were murdered less than twenty-four hours ago and I’m not taking any chances with anything connected with the family. I’m going to call a friend of mine and see if he can fly us out. If not, I’m going to book us a flight with my credit card. I don’t want anyone to know where you’re at.”

“Okay,” Lis responded. She understood his caution and knew that he was only trying to keep her safe, but she was desperate to get to her sister.

“We’ll find her, Lis.” Dakota reassured her before he pressed his phone to his ear.

As he was making his call she tried calling her sister again only to get her voice mail once more. Tossing her phone on the bed, Lis made her way to the bathroom. She grabbed a wash cloth off the little shelf and looked in the mirror. Her green eyes were bloodshot from crying and her face was red and puffy, but she didn’t care what she looked like. All she wanted was to find her sister and make sure she was safe. After washing what was left of her makeup off, Lis tossed the wash cloth in the sink and walked out of the bathroom.

“We have a flight in just a little over an hour. We need to get you something to change into before we go.”

“I have cash that I can get a few outfits with.” Lis said and snagged her purse off the table. “Let’s go.”

Dakota opened the door and looked up and down the hall before letting her exit the room. He’d rented this room under one of his many aliases, but was not taking any chances with her safety. She was the heir to the organization and he’d do everything in his power to keep her safe.

“All clear. Let’s go,” he said and ushered her into the hallway. Once they were in the elevator he leaned against the wall and watched the numbers descend as they headed toward the basement parking garage. When the doors opened he stepped out of the elevator and motioned for her to follow him as her other security guards joined them.

Once they were loaded into the SUV, Lis turned to Dakota. “I want to go somewhere I won’t be recognized; somewhere no one would think to look for me.”

“Where would that be?” He asked as he watched the cars surrounding them.

“Maybe GAP or Old Navy,” she answered and Mac nodded.

“Definitely not stores you’d normally be found in.” Dakota commented under his breath.

“Excuse me?” Lis said hotly. “I have shopped at GAP and Old Navy several times, thank you very much. They were my favorite stores when I was in college.”

“I have never seen you go into a store like those.”

“I haven’t since college so you wouldn’t have seen me. My family preferred me to shop at the higher-end stores,” Lis explained with a shrug.

Dakota didn’t say anything else as Mac pulled into the parking lot of Old Navy. As they exited the SUV, Dakota placed his hand on Lis’ back and steered her toward the building. Once inside she shrugged off his hand and headed to grab a few pairs of jeans, some shirts, socks, shoes, and underwear. Once she had what she needed, she headed to the counter and paid for her purchases. Before they left the store she went into the restroom and changed out of her cocktail dress. After glancing at herself in the mirror, she headed out and they were on their way to the airport.

“I have never seen a woman shop so quickly,” Mac murmured as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward a small, private airport.

“When I know what I’m looking for I would rather not waste time looking at other things,” Lis told him and he chuckled.

“You’re definitely different than I previously suspected,” Mac said and looked in the rearview mirror at her.

Dakota caught his gaze and shook his head. No way was he letting a man like Mac get any ideas about Lis. She was finally free from one controlling, egotistical ass and he’d die before he let her get mixed up with another one.

Before anyone could say anything, Mac pulled into the airport and stopped beside a small, private jet. “Lis, don’t freak out when you see the pilot,” Dakota told her as they climbed out of the SUV and Lis looked at him in confusion.

“Why would I freak out?” Lis asked as she looked up into a pair of eyes identical to Dakota’s.

“Lis, this is my twin brother, David,” Dakota told her and grinned.

“Nice to meet you, David,” Lis stuck her hand out and David grasped it firmly.

“Nice to meet you, too,” David said and looked at his brother. “I’m assuming this is her.”

“It is,” Dakota confirmed and Lis looked between them in confusion. “Are we ready?”

“We are,” David confirmed.

“Then let’s get going. I’d like to get to California as soon as possible.”

Lis, still looking between the brothers, shrugged her shoulders and let Dakota lead her to the plane. Once they were in the air, Lis curled up in the plush seat and drifted off to sleep. As Dakota watched her sleep, he thought back over the years he’d been employed by her father and sighed.

As a fifteen-year-old teenager, she’d been cute and adventurous, but as a twenty-five-year-old woman, she was a goddess trapped in human form and he would give his life to keep her safe. Ten years ago he had fallen in love with the girl and pushed those feelings aside. Now, he was head-over-heels for the woman and had to push those feelings down again.

They’d find her sister and he’d stay with her long enough to make sure she was safe, then he’d get on with his life.

“Wake up sleeping beauty, we’re getting ready to land,” Lis was pulled from her slumber by a gentle shake and softly spoken words. As she opened her eyes, she looked straight into Dakota’s sparkling, sapphire eyes and a smile crossed her face. She had always found him attractive, but knew her father would never approve so she never said anything to anyone except Rachel. The thought of her sister caused her to sit up quickly and fasten her safety belt.

As the plane touched down Lis’ thoughts were on her sister. She wondered and worried about what Rachel could have gotten into and where she could be. When Dakota reached for her hand she looked up and locked eyes with him once more. “You ready to find your sister?” He asked and looked toward the open door of the plane. 

“Yes,” Lis answered simply and stood from her seat. As they stepped off the plane and into the bright California sun, Lis looked around and smiled. They were at another small, private airport. “You think people are looking for me?”

“I do,” Dakota answered honestly. “It feels like someone is trying to wipe out the Manning family and I’m not going to take any chances with your safety.”

“Do you think Rachel is dead?” Lis asked bluntly.

“No. I think she’s hiding somewhere and doesn’t want to be found.”

Lis looked at him for a second before she asked, “Why do you think that?”

“Your sister and her entire security detail are missing. They haven’t turned their cell phones off, but they aren’t answering them either, which makes me think James made them all leave them behind. It’s what I would do if I didn’t want to be found.”

“So you think they’re hiding? Where would they go?” Lis asked, urgency lacing her voice.

“James has an apartment here and they could be there, or they could have gone underground somewhere else, but we’re going to try there first,” Dakota told her before turning to the three men he’d brought with them. “I reserved a suite before we took off from Boston, and I got us all burner phones. I programmed the number to mine and Lis’ in each and you three can exchange numbers after you get to the hotel and check in. I’ll call you if anything happens, but I think we will be less noticeable if it’s just Lis and I.”

“Yes, sir,” they all said in unison and loaded into the awaiting SUV. Once they were gone Dakota directed Lis to a dark grey sedan. Once inside he took her cellphone, took the battery out, and tossed them both out the window. After he did the same with his own he pulled out of the airport and headed into the heart of San Diego.

“Lis, James’ apartment is just around the corner. When we get there I want you to stay in the car while I check it out.”

“Like hell I will,” Lis responded in a murderous voice. “I’ll be damned if I’ll sit in the car while you go in there. What if something happens to you and you don’t come back?”

Dakota thought about what she said as he pulled to a stop across the street from a large building. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “Do you know how to handle a gun?”

“Do you remember who my father was?” Lis asked and rolled her eyes. “I’ve been able to handle a gun since I was old enough to wrap my hands around one.”

He looked at her for a second before he reached over and opened the glove compartment, taking out two handguns, and closing it back up. She took the offered gun and immediately popped out the clip. After checking to make sure it was fully loaded she popped the clip back in place and nodded. “Let’s go find my sister.”

As they got out of the car, Lis untucked her shirt and slid the loaded gun into the waistband of her jeans and Dakota grinned. “Good idea, but here,” he said and handed her a small holster and a black leather jacket he’d grabbed from the back seat. “This may work better.”

Lis grinned as she slid the holster on then slipped the jacket over it. “Perfect fit.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve known what size jacket you’ve worn for years.”

“I don’t know if I should be impressed or disturbed by that,” Lis said with a grin.

“Impressed. Always impressed,” he told her then pressed his fingers to his lips as they approached the building. Lis nodded and followed him silently behind the building.

As they approached the back stairs, Dakota heard voices and pulled Lis behind the wall surrounding the stairs. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been there in a few days,” a deep voice said and Lis looked at Dakota. 

“After the fiasco in the Student Union, did you really expect anyone to be there? You and Diaz really fucked up.”

“Diaz and I were only doing what Mr. Morrison told us to do.”

“He told you to capture Rachel Manning and bring her to me, not shoot up the Student Union and almost get arrested.”

“Her security was all over the place.”

The rest of the conversation was lost to Dakota and Lis as the two men walked further away. Once Dakota was sure they were gone he leaned close to Lis and whispered, “At least we know she’s okay.”

Lis nodded, too shocked to speak, as they stood and walked up the stairs to James’ apartment.

“Lis, I know what we just heard comes as a shock, but..” Dakota trailed off when Lis shook her head at him. She knew what he was going to say, and she really didn’t want to hear it.

“Let’s just focus on finding my sister and getting back home.”

“Elisabeth, you know that if you step up and take over the organization, you’re going to be in even more danger. Not only will the Morrison’s be after you, but the rest of the families will, too.”

“Dakota, I don’t know anything at the moment except that I need to find my sister. Those men are looking for her and if they find her before we do she’ll most likely be killed.”

“This conversation isn’t over,” Dakota told her then pressed his finger to her lips. “No arguing. We will discuss this once we find Rachel. For now, though, I agree that finding her is our top priority. Let’s see if James left us any clues.”

Lis nodded and un-holstered her gun as Dakota slowly opened the door to James’ apartment. After making sure the place was empty, Lis and Dakota searched it in silence.

“Dakota, look,” Lis said and pointed to the nightstand beside the large bed in the only bedroom. “The clock. It’s been showing the
same time since we’ve been in here.”

“Let’s have a look then,” Dakota said and walked over to the clock. After opening the battery compartment he smiled and slipped a piece of paper out. “Bingo.”

“What is it?”

“James left me his new phone number. Let’s get out of here and I’ll give him a call.”

After replacing the clock, Dakota and Lis left the apartment. Once in the car, Dakota pulled out his new phone and dialed the number on the paper.

“Dakota?” The voice that answered asked.

“It’s me, James,” Dakota answered and smiled. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re all okay, but things aren’t what they seem. We need to meet and talk.”

“Agreed,” Dakota said and rattled off the name of the hotel they were staying at. “See you there in an hour.”

When he disconnected the call he looked at Lis, “They are all okay and are meeting us at the hotel in an hour. Let’s get you ready to see your sister.”