Chapter 45
Forty-Five
Charlie
I stared in horror at the body slumped on the floor and the blood splattered walls as Molly screamed at the top of her lungs. I froze in place, taking in the horror as he plucked a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the spots of blood that had dotted his suit.
“It’s so hard to find good employees these days,” he muttered without looking up at me.
He had already put his gun back behind his back and acted as if this was nothing when he had just killed someone without even blinking. My mind was spinning as I processed what had just happened and accepted the reality of what I was really dealing with.
While he seemed like a nice, well put-together man on the outside, he was pure evil inside, and I knew that nothing I did would protect my baby or me.
He was a man who got what he wanted; that much was clear.
The problem was that he had apparently changed his mind about what he wanted, and that terrified me.
“As I was saying, I would like to discuss an alternative arrangement,” he said, slowly lifting his dark eyes until they met mine. “The one your husband made no longer suits me or my interests.”
“Your interests?” I questioned, forcing the words to come out because I didn’t want him to mistake my silence as disrespect and put a bullet through my head.
“Yes. While your husband's initial proposal was very appealing, I no longer have an interest in your child,” he replied, waving his hand dismissively in Molly’s direction as I clutched her tighter to my chest and bounced as her screaming wails quickly stopped.
His words were laced with pure disgust, and my stomach turned at the thought of what he would do to her if given the chance.
“It seems you’ve recently been in contact with someone I have been trying to find for a while,” he continued, holding his hands in front of him while his guys removed the dead body from the hallway.
I swallowed hard, already knowing where this was going.
Jo had said the guys who showed up at the bar had the same tattoos as the ones in her uncle’s organization.
The guy who took me earlier had the same tattoo.
While I hadn’t seen any tattoos on the guy standing before me, I was sure that I was staring at her uncle—the leader of the entire organization.
I said nothing as he studied me, noting every breath I took.
“My niece left, and I want her to come back. You deliver Jo to me, and I will let you and your child go.”
“No,” I said firmly, not allowing my voice to break as the emotion threatened to take over.
“No?” he questioned, his eyebrows lifted in disbelief as he walked closer to me until we were standing nearly toe to toe.
I couldn’t imagine that anyone told him no, especially not someone in my position.
“Jo has nothing to do with any of this. I will not drag her into problems my dead husband created. You can take that idea and shove it up your fucking ass.” I lifted my head the best I could and pulled my shoulders back, not cowering to the asshole.
He shook his head and chuckled, but I knew there was nothing about this that he found funny. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared as he backhanded me across the face so hard that I lost my balance. He gripped my throat tightly as his fingers dug in so hard it was impossible to breathe.
“You have quite the mouth for someone about to watch her baby die. I would think twice before you speak to me again. I’m not the kind of person you cross and live to tell about it,” he growled in my ear before releasing his grip on my throat.
He turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.
I leaned against the wall to support myself as my legs trembled and a sob escaped while I tried to catch my breath. My cheek ached from where he had hit me, but I didn’t focus on that as I struggled to breathe and not hyperventilate. There was no way in hell I was getting out of there alive.