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“You’re book smart, but not street smart like your brothers.”
“I wish he would let me go. When I find Gia, I want to take her away from all this. She deserves a better life than what I’ve given her so far. A woman like Gia should have a normal life.”
“If Gia wanted normal, she never would have hooked up with you.”
I punched him in the arm, laughing. “You’re just jealous she saw me first.”
Sonny smirked. “That’s where you’re wrong. Technically, Gia saw me first, but she didn’t talk to me. She was too shy. I stood there like an asshole and watched you steal the girl away. You went over and helped her off the swing. Remember how afraid she was to jump off it?”
I smiled at the memory. “Yeah, I fucking miss her. So much. This is the longest we’ve ever been apart, and I have no idea if she’s okay. I hate feeling useless. She needs me, and I can’t get to her.”
“At least we know she’s alive.”
“But look what they have her doing,” I growled, not meaning to take out my frustration on Sonny. “She’s stripping for a bunch of perverts because of something I did. What if…” I bit my fist to keep myself from screaming. “What if one of them touches her? Fuck. I can’t handle the thought of someone hurting her. Forcing themselves on her.”
“Gia’s tough. She’ll get through this. Don’t dwell on the negative. Focus on the positive. And that’s getting her back alive and breathing.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I fished it out. A text message popped up on the screen from a blocked number. It had to be Gia’s kidnappers. I slid my finger along the screen to open a message, which contained nothing more than a URL.
“I think we got something,” I told Sonny.
He drove over the Ben Franklin Bridge and into Philadelphia, glancing over at me. “What is it?”
“A link.” I felt sick to my stomach, dreading what was on the website. Before I clicked it, I knew it would be Gia. Bile rose up from my stomach when I saw Gia on the screen. “Someone’s selling her at a private auction.”
Sonny’s mouth went as wide as his eyes. “What the fuck? We have to buy her.”
“I know.”
Every emotion hit me at once. I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t form a single tear. Rage bubbled inside my chest, sending me over the edge. My entire body trembled, shaking the armrest that I shared with Sonny.
“How much do they want?”
I doubled checked the number on the screen, insane with fury when I saw the price tag they had placed on her head. “The starting bid is one million dollars.”
“We don’t have that kind of money lying around.”
I nodded. “We have to figure out where they’re keeping Gia, and get her out of there before someone can buy her. After we get over the bridge, go straight to Morelli Motors. Tony can help us.”
“You got it, Boss.”
I hated when he called me that, but I didn’t bother to argue. Gia was about to be sold to the highest bidder. I had to get to her first.
Chapter Seventeen
Gia
Standing on a stage in a different club than before, I glanced out into the crowd. The bright lights overhead were in my eyes, forcing me to blink a few times before I could make out the faces in front of me. Not that I wanted to make eye contact with the men who were ogling me.
Unlike last time, we were in a private club, maybe even a lounge. The stage was small and luckily didn’t have a pole attached to it. About five feet in front of me, a man stood behind a camera. He glanced up at me and then down at the lens as if he was trying to decide on the perfect angle to shoot me.
I did my best to look away from the men sitting at small round tables, some smoking cigars and drinking beers from glass mugs. But I couldn’t help but wonder who was out there, watching my every move. I was curious if I knew some of the men. A few of them looked familiar, though I had trouble putting names to their faces. I was sure they were connected men. By the cut of their suits and the entitlement they wore with pride, they had to be Made men. At the very least they were insanely wealthy men who could afford to pay Dante’s ridiculous price for me.
Dante walked around to each of the tables to greet his guests. He smoked a cigar with his right hand and drank from a glass of scotch with the other. I hated his beautiful but smug face.
How could a man so handsome be so cruel and disgusting?
How could he put a price on my life?
