11. Chapter Eleven #2
He’s getting drunk in some bar not too far from his house where his wife and baby were murdered brutally. Because of him.
If anyone is going to know the other hitman’s name, it will be Jack. He hired the hitman after all. He has to know something. While Viktor looks into the CCTV footage, I can do this. Standing still and waiting around is the last fucking thing I can do.
Aria needs me.
Fuck. I’m starting to actually care for her. That has never happened before. But I know in my gut that I’m worried about her and I never worry for anyone.
I slide onto the barstool next to Jack’s. “Hello, Jack.”
He almost spits out his beer. “You!”
“Lower your voice. You don’t want to make a scene, do you?”
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“And yet, I’m not.” I grab his beer and take a big chug from it. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to give me the name of the man you hired to kill me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
Jack gives me a smug smile. “Then you’ll never find out his name.”
“Or I can just steal your phone and see your contacts. I can find his name that way. If you tell me now, I won’t kill you. If you don’t, I’ll kill you and steal your phone and find out who he is. Which one will it be?”
“You can’t kill me in a bar full of people.”
“You’re right. But you have to leave some time.”
He bows his head, clearly trying to think of a way out of this.
“I’m curious,” I say, “why did you send a hitman after me anyway?”
“Because you didn’t do the job I hired you to do.”
“I know. But why send the hitman to steal my wife?”
All the color in Jack’s face drains away. “What? What are you talking about? I only sent him to kill you, nothing else. I didn’t even know you were married.”
So, that fucker stole Aria just because he could.
“You wanted me to kill your wife and baby. How am I the bad guy?”
“Because you kill people for a living,” he hisses. “This shouldn’t have been any different.”
“You never told me you had a baby. Did you really want your daughter to die?”
“No,” he admits, rubbing at his tired eyes. “Just my wife. But I knew I couldn’t get my baby away from my wife without it looking suspicious.”
“So… what was your plan then? I kill Sarah, leave the baby, and…”
“And I would raise my daughter on my own.”
“I’m curious, did this new hitman you hired kill Sarah?”
“Yes.”
I wait a moment. “And did he kill your daughter?”
Jack’s face crumbles as he cries. It causes people to look at us. Fucking great. “He wasn’t supposed to. I even specified not to but…”
“But he still did it anyway. Don’t you want this man dead? I can kill him for you. You don’t even have to pay me. Just give me his name.”
“I don’t trust you. You backed out of our deal.”
“Call it a change of profession. I know I backed out but I’m going to kill this other hitman for what he did to my wife. So just give me his name, Jack, and I’ll let you go. I won’t ever bother you again. We can just pretend that none of this ever happened.”
“How do I know you won’t just come and kill me?”
“You don’t,” I admit. “But what other choice do you have?”
“Send another hitman to finish the job.”
“True. But clearly, your new hitman couldn’t kill me. What’s to say another one can do the job better? You should know something about me, Jack, and it’s this: I’m incredibly hard to kill. I just want my wife back. Tell me the hitman’s name.”
He drops his head to the bar and cries harder. “This isn’t fair.”
“What isn’t fair,” I say into his ear so no one else can hear, “is getting your newborn baby killed because you wanted your wife’s money.
What kind of asshole does that? I could go to the police.
Give them your name. Make them look at you as a suspect, if they’re not already.
You’ll go to jail, Jack, and then you’ll have nothing.
Men in jail don’t appreciate baby killers.
If I could offer one piece of advice it’s this: don’t drop the soap, Jack. ”
His sob draws more eyes to us. “I don’t want that.”
“And I can help you. I can make sure the police don’t look your way. Just tell me the name. That’s all I need. Just a name. I can do the rest.”
Finally, he pulls himself together. Annoying fucker. “Ok. But you have to promise to protect me.”
Fuck no. “Yes,” I lie. What Jack doesn’t know won’t hurt him. “The name.”
“His name is Sal Alvin. That’s all I know. I swear. We met on the same sight you and I met on. I know nothing else about him.”
“Thank you, Jack.” I pat him on the back and leave.
Then I wait in my car for him to leave the bar.
When he does, I follow him until he pulls up to a motel.
Guess he can’t return to his home since it’s under police investigation.
I wait until he gets close to his door then I run after him and shove him inside.
“What?” he gasps, spinning around. His eyes widen for a moment when he sees me but it’s too late for him.
I have my gun aimed at his head and I pull the trigger. The silencer helps muffle the sound so no one will be coming by until morning. Poor maid is going to get a fright of her life.
I leave Jack in the room and drive away. Jack really thought I would protect him? Clearly, he doesn’t know who I am. I am Finn fucking Murphy and I’m going to find Sal Alvin and kill him for taking Aria from me.
Aria
My body is covered in blood.
I can feel the cuts all along my stomach and legs and arms. The only good thing is that Sal hasn’t stuck to his promise to put the knife inside of me. So far, all the cuts have been fairly shallow but he’s still made me bleed.
I’m strapped to his dining table, naked once more. I can’t even move because of the straps around my ankles and wrists.
Sal went somewhere and hasn’t been back for hours but the longer he’s been gone, the more worried I become that he’ll return and finally kill me.
There’s no way I can get out of these restraints. I try straining my face towards one around my wrist but I can’t reach it to bite it. I’m stuck like this.
I grew up thinking I was a princess on top of the world and now because of this hitman, I’ve been humbled. I’m no longer a princess. I’m just pathetic.
I miss Finn, I realize. I never thought that would happen but here we are. Finn would never hurt me like this. Despite him kidnapping me, he has never actually physically hurt me.
Will he come to my rescue? If he can find me. But what if he just doesn’t care enough?
Dante didn’t even know where I was when Finn held me captive. There’s no way he’ll know where I am now.
My only hope is the man I despise. For the first time since I met him, I need Finn.
I need him more than I’ve ever needed anyone else in this world.
I just need to hold on longer and hope that Sal doesn’t hurt me beyond repair.
Finn
I return to Viktor. “Sal Alvin. That’s his name. Do you have any footage of where he might have taken Aria?”
“The officer I work with sent me some videos. I tried tracing his car but it only got me so far. I’m not sure where he took Aria. If we knew any properties he owned, it would help. Having his name now will make things easier. I’ll look into it.”
“I can’t just sit still and wait around,” I grumble.
“I know. So there’s the door.” He points to it. “Feel free to go out looking for him. I’ll call you if I have any news.”
I drive around the area that Sal might be in from the CCTV footage but it doesn’t turn anything up. I know nothing about this man.
But I know someone who might know.
It’s a risk to go see him again and tell him that Aria has been kidnapped. He might use it against me.
But I have to trust that my brother won’t fully fuck me over. He hasn’t so far.
I turn up at Aiden’s apartment again and knock on the door. I have no fucking clue if he’ll even be here but I have to try.
I can tell someone looks through the peephole.
“What?” Aiden asks through the door.
“I’m not here to hurt you or Elena.”
“Good. Elena’s not even here. What do you want?”
I sigh. “Can you open the door? You know I won’t kill you.”
After a long moment, Aiden opens the door and glares at me. “What?”
“I didn’t come here to kill you. I didn’t try to kill Elena earlier. I just wanted to draw you out so I could find Dante.”
He doesn’t say a word.
I’m going to have to suck up my pride and ask for his help. Fuck. “Do you know of a hitman named Sal Alvin?”
Aiden frowns. “What?”
“Do you know of a hitman named Sal Alvin?”
“Uh… the name does sound a little familiar.”
My heart spikes. This could be my chance but I have to play it cool. My brother knows me too well. “Do you have any idea where he might live?”
“Why do you want to know this?”
“Because he tried to kill me and now I want to kill him. So?”
He sighs and leans against the doorframe. “When I used to work for the Irish mob, he would hang around. I remember going over to his house once. I left because I thought he was fucking creepy.”
“Do you have an address?”
“You’re really determined to kill this guy if you’re coming to me for help. You hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Aiden. I’m just mad at you. There’s a difference.”
He squints at me and crosses his arms. “Why are you so determined to kill him?”
“I told you. He tried to kill me. I want to extend the favor.”
“No. You love torturing people and taking your sweet time drawing out your revenge. But you seem…”
“I seem what?” I ask, impatience dripping through my tone.
“Desperate.”
“Who cares? Just give me the address.”
“Return Aria to her dad and then I’ll give you the address.”
Fuck me. Fuck my brother. I love him but I want to strangle him right now.
“Just give me the address,” I hiss.
“No.” He starts to close the door but I slam my hand against it, stopping him.
“I can’t return Aria to her dad because…” Fuck. “Because Sal kidnapped her and I need his address to get her back.”
Aiden goes still for a beat before… “The Sal I remember was a psycho. Aria is with him?”
“He came to kill me and he must have found her and he took her. I need his address to get her back. This is serious, Aiden.”
“If Dante finds out about this, he’ll definitely kill you. You just put Aria into more danger.”
“He wants me dead already. What’s new? I can get Aria back if you just give me Sal’s address.”
“Why do you want her back so badly?” he asks. “To use her to torture Dante some more?” When I don’t answer, his eyes widen. “Or… do you actually care for her, Finn?”
“She’s my wife. She belongs to me. I want her back.”
“You care for her,” he says in an awestruck voice.
“Just give me the address.”
“I don’t want Aria to get hurt. So yes, I’ll give you the address. But he might have moved since I knew him. Keep that in mind. What happens when you get Aria back? Are you still going to torture Dante?”
“What else would I do?”
Aiden sighs. “Some things never change.”
But some things have. Because for once, I actually care about someone other than me and my family. I actually care about Aria and I’ll be damned if some other hitman is going to have her.