Is he implying that he knows who warned me?
I stay silent, keeping my face still. Nothing good would come of giving him the thrill of seeing my unease.
Rocco shifts back and makes a casual motion with his fingers along his forearm as if brushing off a dust speck.
"That beta of yours is pretty cute, if you ignore all the tattoos and piercings. Never thought you had that kind of taste…"
I feel my heart rate spike, my blood pressure climbing. How does he know?
"When I’m done with you, I’ll take a ride into his tight beta ass." He chortles.
The murderous instincts I’ve spent my whole life fighting surge up inside me like rising heat. Still, I hold back, because I know what he’s trying to do here, to see me scared, cornered. It takes everything I have not to hit the screen with my fist.
"Well, I guess you’ve made ityourway, haven’t you? Born of rape, living by it."
Controlling my facial muscles so they show nothing is an ongoing challenge. Rocco can’t know he got to me. I’ll just kill the motherfucker. It has to be done.
He tilts his head.
In the lighting of his office, the scar on his face looks even worse, deeper, jagged. He never had it removed, even though cosmetic surgery could deal with it easily. I think he keeps it on purpose, to intimidate, to remind everyone how he was raised, and to wear it proudly like a medal for service.
"Hold on tight," he says with strange amusement. "And don’t let go. The moment you even stick your head off that damn island, I’ll be waiting for you…"
Then the call cuts out.
I sit motionless in the chair, my mind completely blank.
The only positive thing Rocco indirectly confirmed is that Mauro somehow managed to slip past the mafia’s enforcers too.
But the fact that Rocco found him at all proves what I have felt from the start: that the secluded cabin in the middle of the woods is not that… secluded after all.
Feeling horribly tense, I get up and leave the room.
In the open space outside, there are usually a few betas working customer support, answering questions from people interested in the Beta Activation Program. Right now it’s empty. They must all be out for lunch.
On one of the desks, I notice a phone someone has left behind. The lock screen hasn’t even turned on yet.
I stare at it blankly, then snap out of it.
Something catches my attention. On impulse, I grab the phone. On the top bar, I notice the small circle of the employee-only Wi-Fi. It means the phone is connected to the network through the same staff hotspot I used while talking with Rocco, which allows them to make regular calls. Interesting. Oh well… I might as well use it.
I dial Ennio’s number from memory.
It will probably show up as an unknown number on his end. I might even be putting the phone’s owner at risk, but I have to make this call.
"Yes," a stern voice answers.
"Ennio, it’s me."
"I’m glad to hear you’re alive," Ennio says flatly.
"I could say the same. Rocco just called me here, on the island. He congratulated me on slipping away, but he also saidthat soon there won’t be anyone left to warn me. Please, you’ve helped me so many times. Now I want to warn you. Rocco is coming for you too."
There’s a moment of silence on the line, and then suddenly,
"I know that. And I’m ready."
I blink, stunned.
