Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
He stops and takes a deep breath.
“And here’s the good news. If you play your part well, I’ll let you and your puppy go completely unharmed. Otherwise, it’s a bullet straight through the puppy’s heart and yours, and we’ll get that bastard too. Slightly messier, but the outcome will be the same. He will die tonight.”
My throat closes at his words. I need to buy time, to make him doubt, and keep Ricci far away from this trap.
“Ricci would never come rescue me,” I say, my voice cracking despite every effort to keep it steady. The words taste like lies even as I force them out. “He doesn’t love me like that. He—”
Mario laughs, low and ugly, the sound cutting me off abruptly. It echoes in the small, dusty room, bouncing off the shelves.
“Who are you trying to fool, little whore?” His voice drips with mocking amusement. “I’ve watched you two for months. That fucking idiot is actually smitten with you.” He steps closer, close enough that I can feel the heat of his breath on my cheek. “Whether he comes or not, we’ll find out soon enough. And you’d better hope he does. Because if he doesn’t… it will be your life for his. And the puppy’s, of course.”
Tears burn hot at the back of my eyes, threatening to spill, but I blink them away fiercely. I won’t give him that. I won’t.
He reaches over and pulls my phone from my pocket and roughly uses my finger to open my phone.
“I’m going to dial his number,” he says. “When he answers, you know what to say, right?”
I don’t respond.
“Right?” he screams, suddenly insanely furious.
I nod.
“Good,” he says quietly and begins to dial Ricci’s number.
My body trembles while I wait for Ricci to pick up. Wait to hear his voice again. My pulse thunders in my ears so loudly I can barely hear the ringing.
Ricci picks up on their third ring, his voice rough with worry and exhaustion.
“Viola?” He sounds surprised and worried.
I manage to speak. “Yeah. Hi, it’s- it’s me. V-viola.”
“Viola? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I whisper.
“We need to talk.”
The sound of his calm voice breaks something open inside me. A sob rises in my throat before I can stop it, and I burst into tears, hot drops spilling down my cheeks and dripping onto the front of my dress. I try to control myself, to keep my voice steady for the script Mario is forcing me to follow, but it shakes anyway, cracking on every word.
My outburst shocks him. “Viola? Please don’t cry. I’ll explain everything, I swear. Please just give me a chance, baby. I’m on my way home right now.”
“I’m not at home.”
“What?” he explodes.
“I… I came to pick up Massie, our puppy,” I say, the words tasting like ash and lies and desperation.
For a second the line goes completely silent. “Massie?” he asks very quietly.
“Yes, Massie,” I say quickly. “Rebecca had something urgent to do so she brought Massie here, and I came to pick him up, but now I’m a little scared to go home alone. Can you please come and get us if I send you the address?”
He doesn’t hesitate. Not for a second. “Text me the address. I’m on my way.”
I swallow hard, the tears falling faster now, blurring my vision. “I love you, Ricci,” I whisper, the words raw, desperate, and completely true. “It’s okay if you don’t come. Just… stay safe.”
Mario snatches the phone from my hand before I can say anything else. His palm cracks across my cheek in a sharp, stinging slap that snaps my head to the side. Pain blooms hot and immediate across my face, a bright flare that makes my eyes water even more, but I barely feel it over the roar in my ears and the frantic pounding of my heart.
“Bitch,” he curses under his breath and puts the phone away.
He laughs as he watches me sob.
“Everything is now in place. Ricci will be here soon. And when he comes for his bullet, then I’ll take back everything he took from me… including you, my dearest stepmother.”
I sit there in the chair, wrists burning where the rope has rubbed them raw, cheek throbbing in time with my heartbeat. The weight of what I’ve just done crashes down on me like the entire city collapsing on my shoulders. I know Ricci understood when I called Freddie Massie. The moment he went silent he understood, but he is walking into terrible danger, and I’ve never been more terrified in my life.
Not for myself, but for the man I love more than I ever thought possible.
Chapter Seventy-One
RICCI
The interrogation room is small and sterile, the kind of place designed to make a man feel trapped. Gray walls, metal table bolted to the floor, a single fluorescent light buzzing overhead like it’s trying to crawl inside my skull. Miriam has been sitting across from me, sharp-eyed, composed, and her suit crisp even at this hour. We’ve been talking for what feels like hours — me laying out the deal, her weighing every word like it might explode in her face.