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“Pathetic. You can't even do it yourself,” I mutter, glaring at Jack while his image blurs, thanks to the tears in my eyes. “What kind of man makes his goons do all the work?”
I should have expected it this time, but I'm surprised when my head snaps back again, the pain blooming on the right side of my face now. The force of the second blow makes me fall backwards and onto the cot, squashing the bag of cold food beneath me.
“That's enough,” Jack grunts. “We can't have her bruised and bloodied. Gag her and tie her up.”
My head is spinning, but somehow I manage to get the words out, “You need me, and that alone is what will keep me alive, because if you wanted me dead we both know it would've already happened. You want something out of this, and you're going to use me to get it.”
“There's a huge difference between keeping you alive and keeping you content, and you're going to discover exactly what that difference is,” Jack sneers, his looming image hanging blurrily above me. By the time the world starts to come back into focus, all I can make sense of is the tearing sound of tape. I struggle against the man's grasp as he easily flips me over, pulling my arms behind my back and pressing a knee into my lower back to keep me in place. I'm dizzy, and my face aches. Although I still fight, because not fighting means giving up, and I refuse to do that.
“He's going to kill you all, and I'm going to laugh watching as you bleed out,” I growl, my voice partially muffled by the cot. Once my hands are secured and tied with tape behind my back, the asshole rolls me over. A scream rips from my throat but is soon muffled behind the duct tape he slaps against my mouth.
“For some reason I thought you were smarter than this.” Jack shakes his head, “Now, stop wasting your energy and put on your best acting.” Dipping a hand into his pocket, he pulls out his phone. The desire to thrash and kick at him consumes me, but a pearl of more profound wisdom in my head holds me back. I can't continue to act out.
Those couple of slaps made me dizzy. Even as angry as I am, I can't risk getting hurt or putting the baby in danger with stupid behavior. I can't let myself lose control. Instead of kicking him in the ass, I recoil backwards when he holds up the phone like he's taking a picture.Only he isn't.He's taking a video, smiling down at me as he leans closer. What a sick bastard. He's making a video that he's going to send to Callum. I know he is. It's the joy pouring out of him like an overflowing sink that confirms it.
“Here she is,” he announces, not bothering to disguise his voice. “Torrio, I'm sure you've discovered by now that you're missing something… something beautiful and fragile. A true temptation. I'm sure you're aware of how easy it would be to break her, and what good is a toy if it's broken, right?” My throat burns with all the vile words I want to scream at him. “Don't fret, we're taking good care of her. Yet I won't lie, she's a bit of a hassle, and as you know my patience lasts for only so long. Soon I won't have an option but to start sending you pieces of her. One by one. Perhaps I'll start with her tongue.”
I shouldn't cry. I don't want Callum to see me like this, but the thought of the rage that will consume him when he sees this and hears the terrible things Jack's saying makes it impossible for me to hold them back. No matter how much I try to blink them back, I can't. Hot tears leak from the corners of my eyes and roll down the apples of my cheeks, soaking into my hair.
“I'll cut the bullshit. Torrio, you're going to give me what I want,” he continues. “Or I'm going to take what you love, and more.”
He pulls the phone back, chuckling. “Good work, sweetheart. Was it all acting? Because I won't lie, you truly look pathetic. It's going to drive him crazy.” A moment later, he dons a satisfied grin as he watches it back. The sound of his voice echoes off the walls making me want to barf. “Sent. We'll give him a little time to think it over before setting the terms.”
A little time? What does that mean?The question tears at my heart like razor blades.
“Do I leave her this way?” The guard asks, while Jack heads for the open door.
He glances back at me over his shoulder. “Yes. Let her spend the night this way, and maybe she'll come to value how she was being treated. Perhaps by morning, she'll be a bit more agreeable.”
Behind the tape, I release an enraged scream that sounds more like a pathetic groan. Anger rips through me, and I continue to scream long after the men are gone, venting everything I've locked away for the sake of seeming strong.
There's no use in pretending now. There's only mourning for the pain I know Callum will suffer as soon as he sees that video. Is this what real love feels like? Wanting to protect the people you love even if you're the one that is suffering? My heart breaks for Callum, for myself, and for the baby since I don't know if anything will be the same after this.
CALLUM
Lava burns through my veins, threatening to turn me to ash. I can't make my brain catch up with what my eyes are seeing. No matter how many times I watch the disgusting video, I can't believe it's true, and maybe that's because I don't want to.
My grip on the phone tightens. “I'll kill him. I will fucking kill him.”
“That's Moroni's voice,” Romero murmurs, watching the video on his own cell phone. Once again, the message was sent to both of us, almost like he was afraid we'd miss it.
“Yeah, it is.” And all the recognition does is heighten my rage. I should have known. I should have known all along. Sabotaging my business wasn't enough for him. He had to take things a step further. Deep down, my gut said he might have had something to do with this. Only with no warning signs, no shipments being messed with, no problems or chaos, nothing was pointing us in that direction. I can't wrap my head around it.
Romero flinches when I pick up the small vase full of flowers on Tatum's table. I unleash all my fury into tossing that vase. It collides with the wall, sending glass and flowers everywhere, but it doesn't ease the ache in my chest. It doesn't make me less angry.
“I know you're upset, but Tatum doesn't need this. What if she wakes up and that's the first thing she sees?” His gaze swings to Tatum, who is still sleeping soundly the way she's been for the past two days. I know he's right, but at this point I don't give a fuck. I want to rip the entire room apart.
“That fucker is dead,” I grunt, my teeth clenched. “Him and every last one of his men. I won't rest till they're dead.”
“I already sent the video to have it analyzed in case we can pinpoint where it was recorded,” Romero says, his voice cold as steel.
That's great but it does nothing to help Bianca now. She needs our help now, not hours from now when Romero will inevitably get word there's no way of tracing the video's location. The thought of the inevitable outcome pains me, my heartbeat skyrocketing to a dangerous pace. I can only imagine how terrified all of this has made her, for herself, and the baby growing inside of her.
Our baby.
Jack made this personal, and now the only thing that will serve as proper payment is his dead body at my feet.I want blood. I need it. There's no hope of venting my rage.
Nothing is going to make this better. I step out of Tatum's room and into the visitor's suite beyond it, making sure to close the glass door behind me before kicking a chair across the otherwise peaceful space.
