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It unlocks once it’s verified it’s me.
“Good girl. See. She listens,” says Renzo from the front of the van.
We’re on the move, driving through the chaotic city streets at midday.
The guy gripping me, my arms twisted behind my back, asks if they should search me some more.
“Don’t be a pervert,” Renzo scolds, almost as if amused. “What’d you have in mind? A fucking strip search? Are we not civilized fellas?”
“She could have a wire on her… or some other device that’s alerting ’em.”
I close my eyes and try to tune out the discussion. Ignore how flashbacks threaten to overtake me, dragging me back to my time at the Mill, where I had been discussed as if not even present. As if what I wanted had no meaning.
Instead, I fill my thoughts with visualizations of Salvatore and his men scouring the city for me. I tell myself they’re on their way. They’ll be here any second. Then I’ll be okay again…
The next time I open my eyes, I realize I’ve blacked out of the moment. We’re several streets down from where we started, and only a couple miles away from Salvatore’s compound.
“This is about taking our rightful place,” Renzo’s saying. “The rise of the Visconti family! These jokers thought they’d taken us out. Can you believe little boy is a fucking Don? Ha, what a joke!”
I can’t help myself. My offense on Salvatore’s behalf has me answering. “He’s not a little boy. He’s a man. More man than you’ll ever be. He doesn’t need to shoot and kidnap women to exert his dominance. Nor does he need to hide out for decades in the shadows because he’s too cowardly to make a power play up front.”
The van goes silent except for the sound of the tires rolling on asphalt.
I hold my breath whilealsoholding my chin up high—fully aware that I’ll likely be punished. They’ll make me pay for my insolence.
“Told ya,” Renzo says. “She’s got spice. Psycho wouldn’t be with a mouse. You should’ve seen way back when—we almost got into it at some beach bar and this one over here was mouthing off to him. He likes that she’s got a mouth and knows how to use it.”
The other men chuckle along.
Renzo twists around in his seat for a look at me. His grin from earlier returns, accompanied by a glint in his eyes.
“Sweetheart, you probably think we’re about to pop you for that. But I’m not gonna. I want you in good condition for now. See, we’re almost at our final destination. The reunion I’ve been planning. Me, you, and your hubby will sort this all out. I’ll make you regret your back talk then.”
Though I have no clue what he’s talking about, it doesn’t make me any less anxious. The anxiety thrums through me like a heightened sixth sense, where I’m experiencing the inevitable danger before it even happens.
We pull up to the compound with a screech of the brakes. The doors fly open, and I’m dragged out with my arms twisted behind my back and several guns on me.
“Hello!” Renzo calls into the speaker box at the front entrance. “We’re demanding entry. Special delivery. Something tells me you’ll want to let us in. Where’s the little boy?”
There’s a pause consisting of static background noise before somebody comes on.
“This game ends now,” Salvatore says. “Let Delphine go. I’ll come down, and we’ll handle this.”
“I don’t think so. It ends when I say it ends, and I’ve got demands. I want every guy in your place out. Every last one. You try and pull some sheisty shit, and I’ll shoot wifey in the head point blank. You are the only one to stay behind. I want ’em all out, then I want you to buzz us up. Right now, little boy.”
There’s a moment’s pause. Salvatore’s likely doing what I was earlier and considering his options. He returns soon after.
“Alright,” he says. “I’ll order all my men out. Then I’ll let you in. But you touch her, and I’ll rip your guts out through your mouth.”
Renzo laughs, then turns to me. “He’s a little upset. Understandable. Just wait ’til he sees what I’ve got planned.”
I don’t hide the hatred in my glare. “What would that be?”
“You’ll see,” he answers with his wide grin. “We’re gonna play a fun game. Just the three of us.”
20
salvatore
