Victoria was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open. The trip from that hotel in the middle of nowhere where she had left her heart behind was a blur. She had slept most of the time while Antonio drove back. She slightly remembered him singing along to some rap song, but then she was out again.
She did however wake up right as Antonio was pulling up to some lavish hotel, and she vaguely remembered telling him to keep on driving until they reached something she could afford. A Motel 6 or something like that. But Antonio just laughed, insisting that Nic would kill him if he dropped her off at such a place, plus she didn't have her purse with her. And now that she had physically seen Nic kill a man, maybe Antonio had a point. The valet who took their car gave her a once-over. She was sure she looked ridiculous. She was half out of it, and was wearing a silly t-shirt with no bra. But luckily they had stopped by her apartment, and she had quickly gathered some extra clothes with her eyes half shut.
When they walked through the hotel room doors, she thanked Antonio and tried to march straight to bed, but he grabbed her hand.
"Wait a second, princess. I need to talk to you."
"Oh, Antonio, please, please, can it wait until tomorrow. I don't even know what I'm saying right now, I'm so tired."
"I know, but Nic said I need to get what's in your head now, while it's still fresh. Then you can go to sleep, okay? Now did those guys say anything, anything at all?"
Victoria plopped down on the couch and rested her head in her hands, covering her eyes. She really didn't want to think about anything from earlier that day. The whole ride back she had been trying to block it out of her mind.
She started relaying the details to Antonio as she remembered them. Once she was done, she walked to the bedroom and dropped onto the bed.
Antonio sat down on the couch. He was about to turn the TV on when he heard Victoria yell something. He hopped up and walked to the bedroom door.
"What was that princess?"
"T-Tell Nic I'll pay him back for everything and mmph frog nop tim," she said, with her face buried into the pillow. Antonio laughed when the rest of her train of thought turned even more unintelligible and then he heard a snore.
"He'd rather have you back than the money, Vicky," Antonio whispered before he left the room.
*******************
Nic didn't sleep after Victoria left the hotel. And instead of staying the night, he woke Jimmy, Raymond and Damon up, telling them he wanted to head back into town immediately. They all agreed, realizing that there was a real chance that Victoria still wasn't out of danger.
After they dropped Damon off at his car, the rest headed back over to Nic's place, and then Jimmy went home, praying Isabelle wouldn't kill him.
Nic had asked Antonio to check in with him every hour, and so far Victoria was still asleep.
"Hey Nic, I—I don't know what the hell all this means, but Vicky--Victoria told me that the kidnappers thought she was a banker's wife. And that they had a photo of her working at Calamity's and they were talking to someone else on the phone...and well, it seems as though that person set them up. At least that's what one of the guys said."
"They didn't give a name?" Nic questioned.
"No, she said they never said any names, other than the three stooges."
"Did she remember anything else?"
"Only that they seemed really confused. And when they found out that she was with you, they got scared and realized they had been double-crossed."
None of it made sense to Nic. Why the fuck would Sonny go through so much fucking trouble? He might not have had all the pieces together, but he knew without a doubt that Sonny's ass was dead.
"Oh! She did mention that whoever it was they were talking to on the phone got really pissed that they had taken the tape off her mouth. They apparently weren't supposed to talk to her."
"Alright. Well, watch over her and continue to give me reports."
"Will do," Antonio said, and then hung up.
Nic leaned back at his desk and closed his eyes. He had so many questions swirling around in his head. Who gave Sonny information on where his mother lived? That's information he never even told Amber, and she was married to him for three years. Jimmy was the only other person, and he trusted Jimmy with his life. Jimmy would never double-cross him. Who else could be involved?
And he quietly chastised himself for losing control. He had planned to kill all but one of them, but when that fucker had the gun up against Victoria's head, he knew he was going to kill him on general principles. But now all they had were three dead bodies and were back to square one. Nic knew he couldn't move in on Sonny until he could pinpoint evidence on the prick. There had to be some link. Something...
Nic pulled out a bottle of vodka to slow down the many thoughts that were racing through his head. He poured a shot and downed it, then poured another. But as Nic was staring at the colorless liquid in the shot glass, it came to him with the strongest of clarity. Clarity that shook him to his very core, causing him to drop the bottle and the glass.
He knew who set this up.
Motherfucker!!
Nic knew Jimmy was already at home, and probably asleep in bed by now, but he needed to talk to him and explain his theory. He quickly dialed Jimmy's number. When he picked up Nic said, "I know who it is. Bring all the stuff that you and Damon took off the bodies."
*****************
Antonio walked into the bedroom to check on Victoria for the tenth time that night. Actually it was morning by then. She was still passed out and still snoring. 'God, she is so beautiful,' Antonio thought. Honestly, he never believed that she and Nic belonged together. They just seemed so different. He remembered the first night he met her at the party. She was so fucking sexy in that red dress, and she seemed so nervous. As she was talking to him that night while he was passing out hors d'oeuvres, he couldn't stop staring at her lips. She had the most perfect, plump set of lips he had ever seen. And she had this cute innocence about her, like she didn't know she was getting the attention of every straight man in the room that night. And maybe she really didn't. He could definitely see why Nic was so attracted to her...physically she was a walking wet dream, but her personality didn't really fit her body. She seemed awkward and uncomfortable around people. Like she didn't know what to do with her hands, or even what to say. And secretly that's what turned him on. And apparently Nic too.
Antonio sighed and walked back out of the room. He sat down on the couch again, and was about to take his shoes off when Jimmy called. 'Jesus man, she's okay,' Antonio thought.
"Hey Jimmy, she's--"
"Change of plans. Nic needs us to come to his place right now," Jimmy said, then hung up.
A chill immediately ran up Antonio's spine. Nic wanted him to leave Victoria, who could be in danger, to come to his house at four in the morning? It didn't make sense, but for some reason it scared the shit out of him. Should he tell Victoria, or should he just leave?
Antonio decided to just leave. He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. When he pulled up he noticed Eddie's car out front as well. This must be an urgent meeting of the minds.
When he entered, he noticed Eddie sitting in the hallway typing on his cell phone. He looked up and greeted him.
"Well, looks like they found the culprit," Eddie announced, sliding his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
"Oh! Who is it?" Antonio asked.
"Don't know, apparently they have him in the basement. Wonder if it was Sonny after all," Eddie said nonchalantly.
Antonio sat down. "Well at least she's okay now."
