Page 4 of Brutal Captivity

“Did you hurt them? Or kill them? They have families you know…”

I cut him off before his voice takes out my right ear, “Relax, your highness. They’re not dead. Just unconscious. We don’t kill civilians unless we have to, and plus, we need someone to tell your parents that you are kidnapped.” I don’t know why I’m driven to ease his mind on this. I should have let him think we decimated all of his men so that he would be more scared.

“Kidnapped.” Despite his Latin-American and Italian heritage, his skin goes pale. “Wait, no. You have the wrong idea. I-my parents hate me. They wouldn’t pay money for my release…” his voice trails off, as he looks between me and Fletcher. For the first time since the gun is pointed at his head, fear flashes in his eyes.

About damn time.

“Yeah… right. As if Giuseppe Santos won’t pay money for his only heir to be released unharmed,” I laugh. It’s ludicrous. You’d think Callisto would come up with something better than that. I’ve heard rumors about the Santos family. They largely stay out of the public eye. I didn’t even know they had a son until I was handed this job. But no one lets their heir disappear.

“Get the bags and the ties,” I say to Fletcher. He kneels down, pulling his backpack off his shoulders. We always come prepared, and this time it pays off. Fletcher pulls out two black bags and zip ties. He hands Daron one, then comes over to help me with Callisto.

Daron gets to work, throwing the bag over Nico’s head. Callisto watches, seemingly waiting for Nico to protest, but it never comes. Nico has stayed surprisingly quiet during this whole ordeal. Yet another reason I don’t quite trust him. No civilian is this calm in a hostage situation.

“Watch the robe! This costs more money than your entire existence,” Callisto screams when I pull his wrist behind his back.

“Do you happen to have a gag in your magic bag?”

“Yeah… actually… was gonna use it later, but here,” he reaches in his front pocket, producing a gag and hands it to me. He grins smugly.

“Fletcher, Christ, why did you say that?” Evan says in our earpiece, embarrassed by the comment.

“Eww,” Callisto says, eyeing the gag. I try to hide my smile. Don’t quite succeed. Sometimes I hate this job. But dragging a pretty, spoiled thing like Callisto Santos into the real world.

Yeah…

Those are the days I remember why I’m good at it.

“You’re not gonna see a penny from my father,” Callisto says, eyeing me.

“Aw, Princess, don’t think so little of yourself.”

“Don’t call me…” I shove the gag in his mouth, cutting off whatever he is about to say. Callisto’s eyes go wide, his muffled scream around the gag. Then I place the bag over his head.

Finally.

Silence.

I don’t like it as much as I had thought I would.

three

“We just have to return you alive.”- Leo

Tuesday Afternoon...

“So,you’retellingme,I sent you on a simple fucking art heist, and you come back with two kidnapped witnesses?” Peadar asks, his arms crossed in front of his chest. His voice is calm, but I know him well enough to hear the inflections of fervor woven throughout the syllables like smoke through an empty hallway.

“Yes, sir. They were home when your men told us they wouldn’t be,” I explain, refusing to take the fall for this when it wasn’t even our fault. Peadar may be the only person in this world that scares me, but I will still call him on his bullshit when need be.

Peadar taps his pen on the desk, and stares at us with squinted, beady eyes. I barely resist the urge to grab my lion's head pendant, tucked safely under my shirt. Peadar likes to watch people squirm, but I refuse.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The cadence matches my beating heart. The silence stretches so tight, it feels like it’s strangling me. Each tap is the punctuation to a silent threat. A quiet negotiation. An unenthusiastic agreement.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Daron shifts beside me, I don’t move. My thoughts don’t feel like my own anymore. I can’t concentrate on anything but the damn tapping. I breathe slowly, not allowing the tapping to control that too. My eyes never leave Peadar’s.