I open my mouth to scream, but a huge hand covers my mouth as I’m carried, kicking and screaming, farther away from the main area.
I glance around, trying to catch someone’s—anyone’s—attention, but then what sounds like shots being fired pierces my ears, and the crowd goes crazy in panic. People are yelling, running, dropping to the floor. And as I’m carried out, it hits me that everyone I love is in that warehouse, and I pray they make it out alive.
I don’t stop fighting the entire way to the vehicle, but once I’m forced into the back of a van and my phone is taken, my heart sinks in defeat because I have no way out.
The drive doesn’t take long, and the fact that I’m not blindfolded scares me because they don’t care if I see where we’re going, which leads me to believe they’re going to kill me.
I’m yanked out of the vehicle, and a rag of some sort isshoved into my mouth to keep me muted while my hands are tied painfully behind my back.
As I’m dragged down the darkened path, I can’t help but think about my life. I lived for the moment I could move home and finally get to know my parents, but then they died before it happened. Then, I looked forward to working with my brother, only to be taken and held captive and then had to hide out, in fear of being killed. Now, I am finally in a good place and have found love, only for it to be ripped away in the blink of an eye.
A part of me wonders if I’m meant to be happy, but the other part of me—the part that’s trying to be positive—says that if I make it out of this alive, I’m not going to waste a single second of my life. I’m going to live my life to the fullest, love Matteo with every fiber of my being. I’m going to get to know my brother and make memories that are worth remembering.
“Let’s go,” one of the guys says, shoving me toward a cargo crate that’s open and empty.
Before I step inside, the scent of saltwater hits my senses, and I glance around, noticing that despite the lack of lights, we’re at a port. I wonder if it’s the one Matteo runs, and if so, I hope that means he’ll be able to find me. Then, I chuckle under my breath because it doesn’t matter where I am, if I’m capable of being found, Matteo will find me, or he’ll tear this city apart, trying to.
“Get inside,” the guy demands, yanking my arm so I’m forced to step into the container.
My heart starts to pound in my chest at the thought of why I’m being brought here. It’s no secret that the Antonovs handle a huge amount of the import and export through their port.
Is this payback from someone they pissed off? Are they going to leave me here to die?
Oh my God … is the cargo going to ship me somewhere?
I step inside since there are now four guys in black ski masks with huge guns surrounding me, leaving me no choice but to obey.
In the center of the area is a metal chair. I’m pushed onto it, and then my hands and ankles are tied to the chair tightly.
“Welcome,” someone says, stepping out of the darkness.
The voice sounds weird, almost robotic, and I don’t bother to try to speak since I still have a piece of material shoved inside my mouth. But I take in the way he walks, the way he holds himself, and it’s almost as if he’s … ashe.
“You’re Matteo’s little girlfriend,” the person says, sauntering toward me.
She’s dressed in all black and lacks the curves most women have, but something about her is different—or similar. Maybe I’m crazy, but my woman’s intuition is telling me this person is trying to come across as a man, but is actually a woman.
“Never thought I’d see the day he’d get attached to a woman for longer than it takes for her to suck him off,” she says with a smirk.
My stomach is roiling. Not because she’s bringing up Matteo’s past, but because she seems to know it, which makes me wonder if she knows him.
“But it works in my favor.” She shrugs. “It’s time to send the Antonovs a message.”
She kneels in front of me, and our eyes meet. They’re dark, almost black, and something about them sends a shiver down my spine. Because there’s no life in them. Only evil.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
I have no idea what she means by that, until she stands and then punches me directly in the face. And my last thought before I black out is that I hope she kills me quickly.
29
Matteo
“Remember,he’s fast, but you’re faster.” Lucian holds my face in his hands, giving me his final words of wisdom, like he always does before I go out there. “Keep your head in the game. Your girl is taken care of, and she won’t be happy if you fuck up your pretty face or get knocked out because you’re too busy worrying about?—”
Lucian’s words are cut off by the sound of gunfire, and I immediately go to grab my gun, only I don’t have it because I’m about to fight.
I run over to where the guards are, and Scotty already has my gun for me.
