I look over at her and she winks.
Once the men get to us, the same one orders us to get up. Then they walk us back through the door we came in. The man flips on a switch and I see that this is just a large empty room. He turns us to the left, away from the stairs we came down. We come to a door that opens into the room I walked through to get to the room I was kept in. The stairs are on my right while the empty tables are still lined up to the left.
At the end of the tables, there is a door I didn’t quite notice before. The men walk us right to it and one opens it while the others lead us through. Now, we are in the middle of a huge semi empty room with a desk and chair set up at the other end.
Behind the desk, I large, older Italian man sits and talks to a man whose back is to me. To the side, I see Luca standing guard, but as we walk closer his eyes meet mine. I see a panic and disappointment in them. His mouth is set in a stern line
“Oh good. The girls have joined us. Come closer.” The big Italian man says.
Once we are at the desk, I turn to look at the man sitting in the chair and I freeze.
Ryan
“Hello sweetie. It’s been a while. I am so glad to see you again.”
He gets up and walks to me. I flinch back when he hugs me and kisses my cheek. I feel tears prickle my eyes as my mind flashes back to our past.
I glance over at Luca and see confusion on his face. Did he really not know this was my ex? The same Ryan who beat me within an inch of my life?
“Ryan.” I choke out. “What are you doing here?” I play dumb.
“Looking for you, baby. You disappeared on me. I just love you so much and I know you love me too. I came to bring you home.”
I give a shaky smile.
“That was so sweet of you.”
“Now. You have your girl. You hold up your end of the bargain.” The man behind the desk demands.
“It’s already in motion. We have a mole inside his organization. By next week, they should have enough to take him down.”
“Well you can’t take her until we get what was agreed upon.”
Ryan slams his fist on the desk. “She is MINE. You will not keep her from me. You will get your position. If I am correct, he is on his way here now. If I were you, I would get out of here now before the FBI shows up.”
The man calmly stands.
“You better learn to watch your mouth, Pig. You might have brought me a deal I didn’t want to refuse, but that doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind. You are walking a thin wire with no net to catch you.”
Ryan scoffs. “Whatever. Just get out of here, I am going to wait until he gets here, then get Sofia and go.”
“What about the other girls?” Luca asks.
“Hopefully they get caught in the crossfire. If they don’t, then put two to the head and get out of here.”
Luca visibly recoils.
“We don’t hurt innocent women.”
“You really think they are innocent, Luca? You have seen them more than we have. They are intertwined with Bastiano’s crew. There is no way they are completely innocent.”
The man waves off Luca as he prepares to leave.
“You promised that Sofia wouldn’t be hurt.”
The man turns around and backs Luca against a wall.
“I said she would be safe if she complied. What do you think that is on her hands? It’s blood. I would say one of my men’s blood if I had to venture to guess. The other one, you told me yourself, acted as doctor for one of Bastiano’s men. The third one used to date Giovanni. Do you still think they are so innocent?”
