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Fear sliced through me as he stepped back and waved another man over. “A couple o’ digs,” Pat instructed, “but nothin’ broken or permanently damaged. She’ll fetch a fair price.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed, not for myself, but for the safety of the baby I might be carrying. When I heard the soft click of the door shutting, I opened them again, just in time to see a meaty fist fly at my face. I refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream, but at the feel of my lip splitting open, I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped. I swore, if I ever made it out of here, I would kill these bastards myself.
With the next hit, the world went fuzzy and turned to black.
TWENTY
Nic
“If I weren’t so fucking livid, it would almost be funny that you thought you could hide from me, Darby,” I spat. “Did you really believe that you could so easily sway people away from me?”
Darby scowled at me, but didn’t speak as he sat tied to a chair at the back of my warehouse.
“If you want that kind of power, go back to Boston and join the Southies. But here in New York, the DeLucas run things, and I think it’s about fucking time to remind people of this. Finding Gianna and destroying those who took her is going to send a message not to fuck with what’s mine.”
I walked up close and bent over so I was eye to eye with him. “If you tell me where she is, I’ll consider letting you deliver the message in person.” My next words were full of deadly intent. “If you don’t, we’ll deliver the message in the form of your broken and bloody, dead body.”
Staring fixedly into his green eyes, I saw what he was trying hard to hide. Fear. I smiled smugly as I stood back up. Without warning, I bent my arm and threw a fist into his face, breaking his nose, causing him to scream and blood to spurt from his nose it. “For your little stunt with Brandon and Carly,” I explained.
“Untie him,” I instructed, without taking my eyes off the little bastard. Felix, one of my enforcers, took a pair of scissors and cut the zip ties. Getting into Darby’s space once more, I wrapped the fingers of one hand around his neck and squeezed, lifting him from his seat.
“What’s it gonna be?” I questioned.
He struggled to breathe, his hands clawing at my fingers when they weren’t swinging out, trying to strike me. I had over a foot and at least fifty pounds on him, keeping him from even reaching me, let alone doing any damage.
“Boss,” someone called from the doorway to the offices.
“Not now,” I growled.
“Boss, it’s a delivery. You’re gonna want to see it.” Something in his voice convinced me to drop the cowardly motherfucker to the ground and step away as he fell to his knees, doubling over, and trying to suck in air.
Looking at Felix, I jerked my chin in Darby’s direction. “Help him make a decision while I take care of this.”
Felix nodded and I jogged for the door, satisfied with the sound of Darby’s grunts and little girl screams as he incentivized Darby to talk.
Reaching the entrance, I grabbed the envelope my man handed over and ripped it open.
“Motherfucker!” I shouted, throwing the pictures of Gianna with a busted lip and black eye to the ground, and throwing my fist into the cinderblock wall beside me. Pain radiated from the bones all the way up my arm, but I barely noticed it. The pain and fury were the only things keeping my terror at bay.
Whipping back around, I stalked over to Felix and Darby, who lay on the ground in a huddled ball. “Get him up,” I commanded.
Felix lifted him under the arms and helped him get steady on his feet, before moving out of my line of sight. I pulled a pistol from my shoulder holster and pointed it straight at his forehead. “Where is she?”
Darby’s eyes flicked around wildly, before returning to my gaze, and flinching at the barrel of the gun in his face.
“Broo—Brooklyn Heights,” he stuttered, his words choked through the blood and his already swelling face. “The basement of Flannigan’s Pub.” He rattled off an address and Felix got on his cell, calling Devon to relay the info. I put out my free hand, silently demanding the phone.
At the feel of the cool metal object, I brought it to my ear. “She’s been beaten, take Doc. I’ll meet you there,” I said flatly. “And Devon”—I paused—“if you arrive before me, no one touches Pat O’Reilly. Keep him until I get there.”
Devon was silent for a moment, then asked, “And Darby?”
My finger twitched, on purpose, and the quiet ping of a silencer was the only sound as Darby fell to the floor.
