That explains a lot. Ezra isn’t Bankman. He’s just an unknown artist with mediocre talent. He’s a scammer.
She turns back to me. “But none of that tops the type of money my baby brother has.” She kneels down in front of me. “And you’re going to help me get all of it.”
“I won’t help you do shit.”
She stares at me for a moment. “You don’t have a choice. Get her up.” She stands up, and Ezra comes over to me. He grabs me by the arm, hauling me to my feet, causing me to cry out.
“Shut up,” he snarls down in my face.
I can’t walk on my broken leg, and the moment I try, I fall to the ground. With my hands behind my back, I have nothing to brace myself with and hit the filthy ground with my shoulder first. I hear the crack and then feel the sharp pain. Something is definitely broken. I cry out at the searing ache.
“This part has to go smoothly,” Marissa sings. “Benjie, get on the computer and make sure he’s on his way and by himself.”
Benjamin goes over to an old warn down shelf and grabs a laptop down. Ezra lifts me up on his shoulder and carries me over to the large hole in the floor. He sits me down beside theopening. Looking over the edge, I can see this opening leads down to the murky lake water below. Ezra grabs my arms and undoes my binds.
“I asked Marissa if I could keep you,” he whispers so close to my ear that his hot breath makes me cringe. “Maybe if you don’t cause any trouble, she’ll let me.”
Like I would ever want to be with this sick psycho. Ezra lifts my arms up over my head. My shoulder screams in pain. I bite down on my lip as to not cry out.
After retying my arms, he places a giant hook onto the rope holding my hands together. A whirring sound hums to life behind me, and slowly I’m lifted into the air. The moment my feet leave the ground, I cry out. The only thing that holds me up are the ties around my wrist. My entire body weight is tugging at my hands and arms.
The whirring continues, and I go further up into the air. So far up that if I fell from this height, I’d be seriously hurt or dead. However, I start to move and that’s when I realize the ground won’t break my fall. They plan to drop me into the lake.
“Please,” I plead. “Don’t do this.”
Marissa winks at me. “What happens to you is solely up to your husband. We’re going to test how much he loves you.” She sneers. “Ezra, make sure the boat is ready. This should go fast.”
As I’m suspended in the air, dangling over freezing cold water, I think of my husband and my baby. I think about everything that has led up to this moment. All the decisions I’ve made that have brought me here. Even knowing this would be my outcome, I still wouldn’t change meeting and falling in love with Niccolo Basille.
Nico
“Move out the fucking way,” I shout to the slow car in front of me.
I’ve run every light and gone well over the speed limit to make sure I’m not even a second late.
The thought of them hurting Tiffany has me damn near psychotic. I would play my sister’s game. But the moment I made sure Tiffany was safe, I was putting a bullet in that bitch.
The car stereo rings. I touch the hands-free option. Before I can speak, his voice comes through the phone.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Mason is not happy. I knew when Ghost called him and told him what I had to do, he wouldn’t be.
“She has Tiffany, Mase.”
“You are heading to your own funeral. You know that.”
I knew that whatever my sister wanted with me would not be good. I could very well be running headfirst into my death, but what did he expect?
“That’s the risk I have to take.”
“Give me time, Nic. Let me think.”
“She doesn’t have fucking time,” I raise my voice, but take calming breaths to gain control. “They’re going to kill her. And if I have to lie dead beside her, I will. She’s my world.”
The line is silent. I know Mason is going through every scenario he can. I know for a fact he’s trying to come up with something that will save the day. That’s Mason. It’s who he’s always been. However, this time, there is no getting around it. There is no time for backup plans.
“Buy my team some time. That’s all I’m asking. Buy me some got damn time.”
I couldn’t even make that promise to him. If push came to shove, I was going to do whatever to took to get Tiffany out of there safely. Even if it’s the last thing I do.
