Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Orlando keeps talking.
“Until we sort things out… until we know who was after you and why, you and Dario have gotten into a car accident. And you didn’t survive.”
What?
I stop breathing. He’s going to tell my family that I’m dead? I know now why he gagged me. I wouldn’t accept any of this without a fight.
“This will give us a chance to do several things. First, Dario will question you, and if you value your life, you’ll answer him as honestly as possible. Remember what I said. Dario has free rein. He will not answer for anything he does that hurts you in an effort to bring justice and seek truth. Do you understand me? Nod if you understand me.”
No, no, no. I start to shake.
But I nod my head. Dario’s hand is on the side of my head to keep me in position.
Pathetically, I imagine that he’s comforting me.
He isn’t. He’s going to hurt me.
“As Dario questions you, we’ll deal with Sergio. When Sergio found out you were complicit in the attempt on Marialena’s life, he wanted to come for you himself.”
I shake my head, but I can’t defend myself.
“He would’ve killed you himself if you weren’t already dead. His exact words were, ‘she’s dead to us.’”
My stomach clenches as if I’m going to be sick. I shrink inside myself and wish I could lift my hands to my ears to block all of this out.
“While you’re in hiding with Dario, whoever kidnapped you will think you’re dead. We’ll do what we can to make it seem that way.”
My family will mourn my loss and think I’m gone. I can’t imagine what my mother will go through under this plan.
“Whoever took you now knows you were with a Rossi. They’ll expect that you’ll be brought to us. We’ll have to secure The Castle and prepare for an attack. They also may look for you at your family home. You aren’t safe anywhere but in hiding.”
Safe in hiding with my captor who’s going to interrogate me.
Sounds lovely.
I close my eyes and wish I could sleep, that I could block all this out forever. That I could wake up and this whole nightmare was only a dream I could blink away.
CHAPTER FIVE
Dario
I wonder at first if she’s fallen asleep. Even though she’s our prisoner, and it’s my job to get answers out of her, I saw the way she reacted with real fear, the way her blindfold dampened with tears. She’s distraught.
I won’t give her comfort, though. No. Until I know the truth, I have to remind myself she either attempted to take the life of one of the people I’ve been sworn to protect, or she was complicit in the murder attempt. She isn’t innocent.
“Brother.” Orlando looks at me in the rearview mirror. I knew when he came for us that we wouldn’t be going to The Castle. I knew I’d be taking her into custody, so I was the one that recommended we pretend we were killed to throw any potential attackers off track. Word will spread, quickly, and the people who kidnapped us today will drop their search if they know that not only was she killed, she was killed at the side of a Rossi.
“Can you have Mario and Gloria send me everything they have on her?”
“Of course. I haven’t talked to them yet. So far, it’s just been you and me, and I’m going to keep this circle as small as possible. But I can ask them to send me what they had that caused the search yesterday.”
I nod. “We going to where I think we’re going?”
He grins. “S’mores?”
I nod. If Vivia’s anything like the Rossi girls, she’s gonna lose her shit when she sees where we’re going. La Cabina, a rustic cabin off the Rhode Island coastline, is nestled in the woods. Bordered on one side by the ocean and on the other side by nothing but trees, La Cabina has no running water or neighbors for three solid miles. I’ve been there once, for a bachelor party. I personally like the little retreat, but something tells me Vivia won’t share the sentiment.
Orlando hasn’t spoken to the rest of our brothers, not yet. We’re better off just working together for now. The fewer people who know our whereabouts, the better, at least until we figure out who came after us, because that one tie will for sure lead us to whoever called the hit on Marialena.
I’d like to think Vivia’s innocent, but in my line of work, you’re guilty until proven innocent, and the evidence against her isn’t looking good.
It takes about an hour for us to get there, and the whole time Orlando tells me what he knows.
“Contacted one of our associates on the coast already, and you should have everything you need,” Orlando says as he cruises to a stop at a red light. “There’s everything from food to clothes to cash if you need to buy something. Burner phones and chargers.”