“He probably won’t remember anything,” Hank said with a snide laugh. “Rohypnol seems to give people a kind of amnesia. They never remember shit.”
“You have no idea how disturbing I find it that you would know that.” I gave him a hard look.
He shrugged.
“Maybe Hank is right. Let’s just put a blindfold on him in case he wakes up and dump him in his car,” Gabriele said.
“I’m so pissed right now.” I glared at Hank. “You’ve fucked everything up.” I held my fingers up. “I wasthisclose to getting him to trust me. Now, he won’t trust anyone. He’ll be twice as freaked-out about talking to strangers.”
“Sorry,” muttered Hank. “How was I supposed to know he was the same kid you were wooing? I mean, what are the fucking odds?”
I shook my head. “You’re unreal.” I was a hair from firing his ass. The only reason I hesitated was he was useful when it came to the dirty work. He had no qualms about burying bodies, no questions asked. He’d been with my dad a long time, and even though he was obviously a disgusting person, he was loyal. I needed loyalty right now. When we got back home, I’d figure out what to do about Hank. I wasn’t going to have a fucking rapist working for me. Maybe Dad really hadn’t cared, but I did. Just looking at Hank made my skin crawl now.
Gabriele’s scowl suddenly changed, and he snapped his fingers. “Boss, shit. I think I have a brilliant idea.”
“What?” I asked.
“Maybe there’s a way to get closer to the kid. I mean, that’s the whole point, right? To get into the compound through that kid?”
“Yeah.”
He hesitated, and then he nodded. “Yeah, I think this might work.” He rubbed his hands together. “What if we tie him up and make him think he’s been kidnapped? But we fake that you’ve been grabbed too?”
“What the fuck?” I looked at him like he was nuts. “Why would we do that?”
“Because then you can both escape together.” He laughed. “It’s the perfect plan.”
I frowned. “So… we keep him instead of dropping him off at his van?”
“Yes.” Gabriele nodded. “We’ll make it like you were both grabbed together. That way, if he does remember seeing you in the parking lot, you can spin it as if you were trying to help him.”
“You think he’ll buy that?”
“I do.” He laughed. “He already knows you. He’s more likely to believe you tried to help him.”
“Huh.” I frowned.
“We’ll make it look good too. Might have to mess up your pretty face a bit.”
I didn’t love the idea of that, but I had to admit, Gabriele’s plan was a stroke of genius. “Shit. That might actually work. He’ll bond to me quicker than he would have on the outside.”
“Exactly. You’ll be best buddies within hours.”
“Maybe.” I chuffed. “He’s pretty stubborn about opening up.”
“Yeah, but you’ll both bevictims. He’d already be drawn to you because you’re an alpha, and he’ll naturally seek your protection. But with you both in the same predicament, it will be you two against the bad guys.”
“God.” I laughed. “I think this could work.”
“So you’re cool with the idea?” Gabriele looked flattered.
I nodded slowly. “My only concern is he’ll want to go to the cops. That could be a problem.”
“Why?” Hank asked.
“Because the cops will want to know who I am. They’re not going to be fine with me just saying I’m a salesman from out of town. I can snow the average person with that shit, but the cops will want details. That means Dylan will find out I’m not a salesman, which means Dylan will know I lied to him.”
“Hmmm.” Gabriele frowned. “That’s true.”