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A trip downstairs to apologize would not hurt. It would be my first step in making sure that I brought the family back together. First, I would get her, and then the rest of the family, and finally I would try to win Maria back. I had no idea how I would be able to convince her, but I had to try. I looked up at the photo of my father that hung above the doorway and nodded. That was who we were: the ones who never stopped trying.
I walked back to the desk and saw that the video was ready, and I clicked on it. With one glance at the image on the screen, I almost choked on my food. It was Maria. Her face had been bruised and her eyes were swollen from crying. Worse still, she had a cut on the side of her face and had been tied down to a chair. I could hear her sobbing lighting and my heart began to race as I prayed. But my prayers were cut short a second later as Vasquez walked into the picture.
“Angelo… By now, I imagine you must be in a state of shock, and you must be very upset that I have Miss Doyle in my possession. I can see why you chose her. She is very pretty, after all. And from what I hear, she is very gifted as well.” Vasquez lit his cigar and took a large draw before handing the lighter to someone off-camera. He bent low and blew the smoke in Maria’s face. “What a tragedy it would be if some terrible accident were to befall her! Hm… A real tragedy indeed, to lose more of your family.”
“Fuck! Fuck,no!” I growled, resisting the urge to slam the computer shut. It couldn’t be.How? She had just left last night. Had they been waiting? Had they wanted to take her all this time? I knew that she would be in danger if things went south, which was one of the reasons I kept her in the building. I did not think Vasquez would go that far. But he had, and it made my blood boil. That fucking snake… I watched as Maria struggled against her bonds. She had been gagged and yet still she tried to fight. She was still wearing the same dress she wore when she had left last night.
“So, how about we make a deal, Angelo. You know what I want. Come alone, and come quickly. We are in the Cain meat packing plant. If we don’t see you within the next five hours, she will die. If I see you with backup, she will die. If I get one whiff of the cops, she will die. The point is, as long as you come alone and don’t make any trouble, then I won’t either. You have my word. I’ll keep her alive, and make sure she is not hurt. Four hours and fifty-nine minutes now, Angelo. Don’t keep me waiting.”
I hit the night lamp on the table with all my might, and it flew off and crashed right beside the elevator doors as they parted. I looked in to see Dorothy holding her phone as she walked towards me, her face contorted in fear. She turned the phone to me and showed me the exact same video that I had just seen. It had been sent to her too; in the case I had missed it, my assistant certainly would not have.
“Fucking hell!” I yelled as I quickly began changing into better clothes.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Dorothy asked, looking at me.
“What do you think? I’m going to get Maria back.”
“No,noMr. Preston. It’s a trap! They’re going to kill you once you walk in. There is no way that you will be able to get anyone back. Please, don’t go, I-”
“What, are you suggesting I just leave her to die?” I fired back, without thinking. I had already decided, and I would not leave Maria, there was no way in hell.
“But if you go… You’ll die!”
“If there is a chance that I can save her, then I’ll go. And if I die, then so be it. She does not deserve to die for our feud.”
Dorothy dropped the phone on the desk, staring at me with wild eyes, “Mr. Angelo, you have no backup! There is no one downstairs, even if we wanted to take the fight to them, it would be you against all of Vasquez’s men! Those are impossible odds. Just give me some time! I’ll call your men in, or make a few calls and see what we can do.”
“No, don’t call anyone! Did you not hear? If you do, and anything happens to Maria, I swear...”
“Mr. Angelo, this is suicide!” Dorothy shouted.
“Then so be it. I won’t let her die because of me. She had nothing to do with any of this. I was the one who dragged her into this because I was too stupid to focus and just do the job that my father had asked me to. If I had listened to Benny, if I had kept my head down and dealt with Vasquez sooner, then none of this would have happened. But this is where we are now, and this is what we have.” I paused and pulled open a drawer to get out my gun.
“There has to be some way I can help. I cannot just let you go there like this. What if...Jesus, what if something happens to you? You’re still healing from thelastgunshot, and I don’t think your body can take any more at this rate. Please, just reconsider. Take a moment to think about our options.”
“Options? There is only one option: I get to Marie before they do. We don’t have time. Who knows when that video was made? Who knows what could have happened to her from the time of its recording until now? I’m not waiting another minute.” I grabbed a pocketknife and slipped it into a secret pocket underneath my jacket.
Dorothy followed me as I took the elevator down to the parking lot. I got in the car and looked back at her, “Look, Dorothy, if I don’t make it back, find Benny and let him know that I’m sorry. If I die, take care of Maria for me, and her mother. Fisher is in charge, you understand?”
“Mr. Angelo, I don’t want to even consider that. Please, don’t say these things,” Dorothy cried. “Please.”
I turned away and hit the gas, driving right out of the parking lot. I knew that I would not be able to live with myself if Maria died, and if there was a chance I could save her, even one that could end with me losing my life in exchange for hers, then I was ready… But I was going to make sure that I dragged Vasquez to hell with me.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Angelo
The meatpacking plant was a large building, one that could easily hold two hundred people. I had no idea the number of men Vasquez had, but I was certain that if he wanted all of them to be in there, he could fit them all in and still have space for more. I parked the car a long way from the plant and continued on foot, dressing casually as I knew that there would be people watching the building to notify those inside when I arrived. I stopped at a cafe on the same street as the plant, scoping out the building as I drank my coffee.
There was only one vehicle that I could see from where I sat: a large van with no inscriptions on the side, the same one I had seen when they burned down Kevin's Autos. It was confirmation that they were in there, but I could not tell if Maria was in there at all. There could be other vehicles on the other side of the building, but there was no time to go around, and the only way in was through the front entrance.
I got out to the road and began walking towards the entrance, realizing that there were just too many places where I could be watched from. It was still bright out, and it would be easy for anyone to spot me as I entered. I lowered my head and walked quickly into the building. I moved behind the van and found a side entrance. Once in, I ducked low and looked around, trying to see if there was a place for me to hide and get a view of the area before everything span into chaos.
I found two men standing right in front of me, their guns pointed right at my face. They patted me down, taking the gun from my hip before forcing me down the stairs and into the heart of the building. I spotted some blood on the floor and froze for a second, then realized that it was a meat plant, and it could have come from some other creature. The men shoved me with their guns until I was next to the main storage area. They opened the door and I walked in, seeing several other armed men.
Vasquez turned around and stared at me, a big smile across his face. “There he is! The man we have all been waiting for! Jesus Angie, what took you so long? It’s been five hours already.”
My heart sunk as I heard what he had just said. If that amount of time had passed, then it meant... “Where is she,” I yelled, moving toward them. The man behind me slammed me between my shoulders with his gun, knocking me to the floor. I rushed back up, only for the men to tackle me to the ground, holding me down.
