AllFreeNovel
Share Us
On the other hand, Joey’s demeanor immediately went ice cold, his hands casually relatched the belt of his pants as though they hadn’t been about to be yanked off just a few seconds ago.
“Go home, Layne.” Joey sternly told her.
“Ah, ah, ah. The evening is still early, and the party has only just begun. Take a seat.” Franzetti motioned to one of several open spots to sit there in the living room.
Layne gave a glance to Joey looking for any indication of his thoughts on the next action he was going to take, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Franzetti. She stood there silently begging for some signal they were on the same page here.
“SIT!” Michael roared like a petulant and impatient child as he showed signs of running out of patience. The sudden outburst caused her to flinch.
Getting any closer to Franzetti wasn’t anywhere on her top ten list of things she wanted to do, ever. Layne ran a quick calculation and risk assessment in her mind. Normally, her fight-or-flight instincts erred towards fighting. This was one time she knew that staying not only put herself at risk but her family and everyone else who worked for the O’Reillys.
She pivoted on her heel and ran to the door, flung it open, and dashed out as Joey had originally told her to do. Bursting into a sprint down the hall towards the fire exit stairwell, she glanced behind her to see if Joey was going to follow.
Crash.
Layne collided with another ape of a man built solidly and towering over her. His arms locked around her like a vise, lifting her off her feet and easily carrying her back to apartment number 701. She bucked, trying to break his hold on her at least enough to get her arms free.
“Let go, asshole!”
She was taken right back into the apartment, and now Joey stood in front of Franzetti in mid-conversation in the living room. His attention was drawn from his employer to Layne being brought back into the apartment.
“I told you, she doesn’t know shit. Just let her go run back to daddy.”
The hulkbeast of a man restraining her didn’t loosen up his hold until he flung Layne like a ragdoll onto the sofa with enough force to cause it to rock back and bang against the wall. The momentum and movement of her body caused her gun to unknowingly slide out from the back of her pants sinking between the cushions.
Franzetti stood there, holding his hands together in front of him. “See, that’s the dilemma. Is it that she really doesn’t know anything or are you just letting your dick do all the thinking for you? I would like to think I’m a good judge of character. All I’m going to do is ask her a few questions.”
A vein popped up in the side of Joey’s neck as his blood pressure rose.
Layne sat up on the couch, murderously glaring at the man who had tossed her there. Michael approached her, sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of her, his arms resting on top of his knees as he tried to come off as friendly and approachable. She knew better, that he was about as friendly as a pissed-off hornet nest.
“Layne, I would like to think that we have mutual respect for one another given our lines of work. Call it professional courtesy.”
She shifted her gaze onto Michael’s scumbag face, the glare not altering one bit. Keeping her mouth shut she waited for him to get to his point of what he wanted.
“All this buzz about this 227 project just isn’t going away, and I feel like I wasn’t invited to the party. That hurts my feelings.”
“Boo-fucking-hoo, that makes two of us. You’re operating off of bad intel.” She finally spoke up, unsympathetic to his concerns.
Franzetti sighed. “Such a fresh mouth on such a beautiful face.” He looked back over his shoulder at Joey while chuckling in twisted amusement. “I can see the appeal.”
He looked back at Layne. “I really would like to believe you, dear. Yet, you’ve managed to compromise one of my best contractors here with your wits and charm. Let’s make a deal that benefits everybody.” He reached out to place a hand on her knee, his thumb stroking the inside of it.
“If it doesn’t involve putting a hole between your beady eyes, I’m not interested.” Layne shoved his hand off her.
He took the hint and kept his hands to himself, but leaned over dropping his voice down to a whisper. “Just wait until your poor father hears about all of this. I need to know if you’re telling the truth, so you will just have to forgive me.” Without any hesitation, he snatched a handful of her hair, yanking her up onto her feet as he stood.
Joey lunged, only to be pulled back by the two hired hands as he yelled out viciously. “You touch her and I will fucking kill you!” One of the men slammed a fist into Joey’s stomach in an effort to subdue him, causing him to double over.
Michael dragged Layne out of the living room, harshly yanking on her shiny chestnut locks close to the roots. He took her into the glaringly bright white bathroom located down the hall where the tub was pre-filled with water. The bastard had planned on someone taking a swim tonight.
“I dislike getting my hands dirty Layne, but having the opportunity to dish some karma back at Scott O’Reilly… Mm, it’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Now is your last chance to be a helpful little flower.”
Her fingers scratched and pried at Michael’s hand tangled in her hair, beginning to solidly plant her feet into the ground upon seeing the still and eerily calm body of water in front of her.
“Go to hell.”
Franzetti smiled seemingly delighted that she chose noncompliance. He kicked the back of her knees, causing them to buckle under her. Layne’s body fell into a kneel in front of the tub and as she yelled out, he shoved her forward over the edge of the tub plunging her head into the cold water.
