24. River
Chapter Twenty-Four
RIVER
Luciano throws my ringing phone into the lake and moves around the car. I hold on to my door, hoping I can keep him from opening it. He spews insults at me as she tugs on the other side and my fingers and arms burn from the effort. Eventually, he growls and steps back and shoots at the ground. The loud shot startles me enough to lose my grip and the door flies open.
“I should kill you,” he yells in my face as his big hand tugs at my hair.
The sharp pain burns my scalp and brings tears to my eyes. On instinct, I claw at his hand, but the warm end of his gun makes itself known on my temple.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask between soft sobs.
His dark eyes dance with mirth, although his intentions are cold. “Nothing personal. I’m just going with the highest bidder.”
Highest bidder?
I can’t imagine a reason why someone would do this to me. I don’t know if people really believe that I’m Andrea’s woman and are trying to get to him, or if they want to hurt Teddy. I’m not high profile enough for someone to spend money to hurt me. My heart is beating so fast, I fear I’ll puke or pass out. I don’t have time for either; my son needs me.
“I don’t care what happens to her, but don’t hurt my child. Let her go,” Mario snarls from behind me.
My child?
I clamp my mouth shut with the instinct to correct him because his disillusion will keep my child and me alive longer. Standing to my full height, I lean against the car as Mario approaches me. He’s dressed differently than when I used to see him. The casual jeans and t-shirts from a guy who worked as a mechanic are replaced with a slack and button-down combo. He looks like a cheap version of Teddy and Andrea. He’s a little wrinkled and the dark clothes don’t look tailored to fit.
The smile I used to find charming is sickening. I never realized the lack of emotion in his eyes before. Maybe now I can tell the difference because Teddy looks at me like I contribute to the air that he breathes. Mario never cared about me. I fight the urge to recoil when he places his hand on my belly. His hazel eyes light up with the false hope he’s given himself. We had sex two days before he left, and Teddy got me pregnant three weeks later. I understand how he could make such a mistake, but I still feel like he’s an idiot.
“Mario, if you wanted to see the baby, you didn’t have to go through all of this.”
He bares his perfect teeth and his hand swipes before I can react. The impact of his slap has my ears ringing. It’s momentarily disorienting, taking me a moment to understand what he is saying.
“You talked a lot of shit over the phone. Beat my ass, River.”
He goads me as he raises his hand to hit me again. All the anger I feel towards him still burns deep inside, but I’m out manned. If I weren’t pregnant, I’d take my chances. Closing my eyes, I brace for impact, but I hear a pained whimper instead.
“Don’t abuse my merchandise, idiot.”
Surly has Mario’s hand twisted as he glares at him. He looks my way and drops a sly smile on his face.
“Excellent job,” he tells Luciano, although he’s staring at me. “Hey, beautiful,” he greets me. "We meet again.” He pushes Mario out of the way and grips my chin. “You’ve cost me a lot of trouble and money.”
He looks just as corrupt as he did the first time I saw him. Unlike Mario, Surly can’t hide the fact that he’s rotten. It’s soaked into his DNA.
I frown at his words; he’s not making any sense. “I brought you the money you requested.”
He laughs like I’m stupid. “Oh, you don’t get it. You were always the payment. That idiot was supposed to seduce you, then leave you for me to collect.” His grip tightens on my jaw. “But you ran to the washed-up bouncer of the mob prince!”
It’s sickening that he marked me to be trafficked. It’s worse that I fell for Mario’s easy smile and artificial niceness. The urge to hurl returns, but I know it’ll cost me more trouble.
“Andrea told you to leave me alone, Surly,” I warn, hoping he’ll come to his senses.
I flinch when his nails dig into my jaw as he squeezes. “No one tells me what to do! We’re going to send you where they can’t find you until Mario’s baby comes out, then you’ll go to the man who bought you. He’s been patiently waiting. Lucky for you, he has a milk kink.”
My lip trembles with the effort to hold back my tears. The idea that my baby will be taken away from me is worse than me having to breastfed some kinky rich man. Surly’s face is full of delight because he wants me to crumble. He wants me to beg, but I have to put my faith in Teddy and Andrea
“Please reconsider,” I begin, but he cuts me off with a laugh.
“Don’t bother begging. The deal is done.”
“Not for me. For y’all. They’ll kill you.”
Surly’s eyes flash with indignation as his hand wraps around my neck. He squeezes until I have to work to breathe.
“Pop the trunk.”
Luciano chuckles as he opens the trunk to a different car a few feet away. “Are you going to make her ride with her bestie?”
“Yes,” Surly answers Luciano as she pulls me towards the trunk.
My first sob breaks once we’re close. Luca’s bloody body lies contorted to fit inside. Surly starts pushing me on top of him, but I resist the desire to fight back; I must protect my son. He’s bouncing around in my stomach, kicking and pushing so much that I’m sure he feels my distress.
I drop a protective hand on my belly as I sink into the trunk, Luca’s blood wetting my back. The cries start once the trunk is closed. I was so close to bliss and my past mistake is trying to take that away. Poor Luca was just doing his job and may not get a proper burial. Teddy is in another state, but I call out to him anyway, hoping he’ll somehow save me. The car roars to life, somehow enhancing the metal stench of blood. My sobs break harder. It’s obvious how much plotting went into this.
Each small bump the car hits brings another set of tears. Every minute that passes is the farther I get away from the future I’ve been dreaming of lately. I hold on to the fantasy of Teddy and me being happily married while loving our child.
Luca’s hand startles me in the dark, making me scream in despair and rage. It can't be how it’s supposed to go. Ignoring the stench of blood and gas, I take a deep breath and say a silent prayer.
“Teddy, Andrea, whoever is listening, please find me soon.”