Page 29 of Mafia Handbook

Chapter Twelve

Milena rubbed at the skin of her wrist as she stared out into the pitch of the night. Bash demanded she remove all her jewelry, anything metal which included the mostly plastic watch she’d worn for years. She’d watched as he pushed the sofa onto its back, pulled up the corner of the rug underneath and took what looked to be a backpack from a hole, before ordering her to leave everything behind and get in his car.

They’d been driving for what felt like hours, and as comfortable as Bash’s car was, she needed to pee. “Are we going to be stopping soon?”

Keeping his attention forward, Bash cleared his throat as he adjusted in his seat. His lack of sleep from the night before, combined with the hellish day today, he was running on fumes. “Yes, there’s a truck stop at the next exit.”

“Can we please stop? I need to use the restroom.”

Steering the car onto the exit ramp, “I need you to listen and follow my instructions exactly.” Merging onto the single lane road, Bash searched the truck stop’s parking lot for the truck Wizard should have dispatched after his call for a code yellow.

“You’re scaring me, Bash.”

“Good, scared will keep you alive.”

“Alive?” Milena screeched. “You said Gridlock was an amateur, now you think he wants to kill me?”

Pulling around to the dark side of the truck stop, Bash shifted the car into park before turning to face Milena.

“Gridlock skipped from amateur to seasoned professional when he hacked into my system,” Bash could feel his bruised pride rising to the surface. “My system, Milena, is impenetrable!” Slamming his eyes shut as his voice echoed inside the car. He hated losing his temper, mistakes happened when control was lost, and he’d done enough of that to last two lifetimes.

Reaching over, Bash took Milena’s trembling hand in his. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. My ego is my biggest character flaw, and I don't take defeat well.”

Squeezing his hand, Milena felt an immense amount of guilt for what was happening to Bash and his home. “I understand. I’m sorry, too, for bringing a man like Gridlock into your world.”

Reaching into his bag behind Milena's seat, Bash pulled out an envelope, dumping the contents into his lap. “Men like Gridlock were in my world long before you came along.” Bash wanted to tell her this hacker wasn't the most dangerous man he’d encountered, however that was a conversation for another time. “Until we can stop this guy, we need to make it look as if we’ve fallen off the face of the earth.” Gathering a handful of the cash in his lap, Bash tucked the money into Milena’s palm. “I need you to go in the store, grab as many non-perishables as you can and not draw attention. Keep your head down and don’t talk to anyone, understand?”

Milena was never so grateful for the article she’d read earlier in the day, “Understood.”

Leaning over, Bash opened the glove compartment, drinking in the feel of Milena’s legs under him. Wrapping his fingers around a box he kept inside, he pulled away, “Ready?” He questioned, his thumb hovering over the single button on the box.

“What is that?” Milena pointed at the item in his hand.

“Stores have video monitoring system which uses internet-based storage. This little gem shuts down the internet long enough for you to shop and for us to change cars. Just in case Gridlock is clever enough to do a little detective work.”

Milena could feel her heart pounding as she yanked open the door of the convenience store. While she had no idea what time it was, she suspected it was late given the store was practically empty. With Bash’s words of warning and the article from earlier competing for attention inside her head, Milena kept her head down as she grabbed a basket and headed toward the back of the store, and the much-needed bathroom.

“The good news is I was able to keep Gridlock from breaking through Keystone’s firewall. I added an additional identification factor to all of the files.”

Relief washed over Bash at the news Keystone was still secure. It had been his one worry when he couldn’t access his office.

“The bad?” Tossing his bag into the back of the vintage SUV, Bash kept one eye on Milena as she hurried around the store.

“He managed to drain one of your personal accounts.”

Hooking his hands on his hips, frustration mounted inside his chest. Bash vowed to throat punch this Gridlock prick the second he laid eyes on him. “Which one, Wizard?”

“The account ending in seven-seven-two.”

“Then I hope the little prick enjoys the money he stole.” Shutting the back door of the SUV, a humorless laugh left his chest. “Fucker hacked the account I use to pay for streaming.”

“It's enough to buy him a felony.”

“Speaking of buying shit; did you locate the credit card used to pay for the hired driver?”

Milena mentally calculatedthe cost of the items in her basket out of habit. Recalling the amount of cash in her pocket, she rolled her eyes and tossed in another package of beef jerky. Approaching the end of the aisle, an advertisement for soft drinks and coffee caught her attention. Suspecting they still had a ways to go, Milena wagered Bash could use a heavy dose of caffeine.

Spinning on her heels, Milena let out a scream as she ran into something solid.

---