Ryker

Chapter Eighteen

I shiver as I duck behind the building and use the same method to get inside as the last time. This time, I’m in heels, so I try to walk on my tiptoes to stop my heels from clicking on the concrete. If the men are here again, I know they’ll keep their ears peeled for any sign of me. I guarantee Ryker upped the security after the stunt I pulled a few days ago.

I cringe as I step into something wet, then bend down and touch the floor. The setting sun peaks through the boarded windows allowing me a glimpse of the substance beneath my feet. The bright red glows against the orange light.

I wipe the blood on my thigh and then look around to see where the source is. The warehouse is filled with the same crates that were here last time, but I can tell there are fewer.

I quickly walk towards the room I had watched Ryker torture the man in, but when I find it empty, I let out a sigh. I check the other two rooms but find them both empty as well. I make it to the middle of the room when I hear screaming from outside.

I run to the steps and hide under them as I see a buff man enter the building with a young female with jet-black hair. She is kicking and screaming, trying to get away from him. I pull my gun from my holster, take the safety off, and inch forward, positioning myself behind one of the large pillars.

I peer over them and notice the window I escaped from, which is still wide open. The woman’s sobs bring my attention back to her as the man clasps chains around her wrists .

“Please!” The woman cries, but the man doesn’t say anything. I hear the chains jiggle, and a sob escapes her.

“Shut up, or I’ll kill you myself!” The man screams, and silence follows.

She looks frantically around the room, and another sob emerges when she sees the tools on the tray beside her. I turn back around and lean my head back, closing my eyes. I could take him. I could. I bet he already called for backup, but if I sneak up on him, I could shoot him in the head and get her out of here before they arrive.

Before I can act on the thought, I hear a car pulling up on the gravel. I run over to the window and peer through the slits of the boards. I watch as Ryker and Lincoln exit the car and make their way to the warehouse.

I duck behind one of the boxes and watch as Ryker and Lincoln enter. When they round the crate, they will be able to see me, so I crawl around to the other side and wait until they get inside the room. They keep the door open but have their backs to me so I can tiptoe along the wall until I return to my spot against the pillar. I press myself back against it as I listen.

“Miss Jessica, It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Ryker voices.

“Please don’t kill me.” She whimpers. I peer into the room but can’t see her over the three men.

“I just need some information, and then you can go.” Ryker’s voice is calm and unbothered by her pleas, making me sick to my stomach. I don’t know why I’m surprised. He is the spawn of the Devil, after all.

“I don’t know anything.” She cries. “Manzo doesn’t tell his whores anything. ”

Ryker moves towards the tray filled with torture tools, and I’m able to see the girl’s face. She looks familiar. I know she works for Manzo, but there have been so many girls coming in and out of his house over the years that it’s hard to remember which ones he kept, killed, or sold.

She is almost in tears as he reaches for a knife. Her mascara is running down her cheeks. He twirls it on his thumb and then walks over to the girl. “All I need from you is a little information about a woman named Bianca.”

My blood freezes. I grip the gun tighter, and I begin to shake. He’s doing this because of me? “I don’t know her.” She sobs. He grabs her face and spreads the blood from his thumb on her cheeks. She closes her eyes, starting to hyperventilate.

“Come on now, sweetheart. I know you women talk. Someone, somewhere, knows something . I won’t be nice for very long. If you don’t start talking, I’ll make what Manzo did to you look like child’s play.”

She opens her eyes and shakes her head. “I don’t know anything.” She sniffs and looks at Lincoln, who stiffens. “Please…”

Ryker lifts the knife and places it against her stomach. She lets out a scream as he tears her dress, and blood starts to drip down her torso.

“Every time you lie, each cut will get deeper. It’s up to you if you live or die.”

“I honestly don’t know anything about her.” She sniffs and looks up at him. “All I know is she was his first girl. He said she was defective.”

“Defective?” He tilts his head to the side, making her look away .

“Unbreakable, untrainable. He was always the worst with her, but she always stayed so strong. He almost killed her. Three times.” She trails off, and I shudder at the memories that flood my mind. “I swear, I don’t know where she would go. I haven’t seen her in years.” She sniffs.

“Do you know who she is? Who her father is?” Ryker’s voice drops three octaves as if the Devil has entered the room.

“Marcello,” the girl whispers like it’s a secret. “She’s a Mafia princess.” She sniffles again and looks back up at him with pleading eyes.

“Very good,” Ryker says in a mocking tone. “And you’ve met her?”

“Yes… We lived in Manzo’s house together for a while.”

Ryker nods, “What would Manzo want with her? Why keep her around if she is so defective?”

She shakes her head, pulling her mouth tight. Ryker turns, and I tuck myself away, out of his eyesight. I see the man who dragged her in, take the knife from Ryker and walk over to her. Her eyes widen, and tears fill them. The man cuts her again, slicing directly below her breasts, this time much deeper. He sets the knife down on the tray and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for her crying to stop.

It takes a few minutes, and then she pulls herself together. “Answer him.” The man demands, but the girl shakes her head. He punches her in the stomach, and she huffs out a breath. She closes her eyes and braces for another punch. She takes a few more hits, and I can’t take it anymore. Just as I’m about to storm in, guns blazing, taking out all three of them, she starts crying and screaming louder .

“I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know.” She sobs through her heavy breathing. “He is obsessed. He told us all that he found her and we would get to see her again. The only time any of us saw her was about a week ago on the subway. She was beaten pretty badly, and one of the girls had followed her into Times Square before she got spooked and left.” She bows her head. “I don’t know anything.”

“What about Manzo? Have you overheard anything while you’ve been working in the house? Maybe some of the other women have heard some of the men talking?”

She shakes her head. “They don’t talk business around us…” She pauses, and her eyebrows furrow. “Actually, a few weeks ago, he was laughing with one of the soldiers. Telling them that he was about to win the war before it even began. He has some sort of master plan. He mentioned something about a spy taking you down from the inside while he focused on Hawkins. He wants full control over New York.”

“Have the other women mentioned anything?”

She shakes her head. “Not that I’ve heard. The only other woman in the house is Maggie. She isn’t allowed to leave, and we aren’t allowed to talk to her.”

Ryker straightens, then takes the knife from the man and places it back on the tray. Just as he’s about to turn and walk away, I run back over to the boxes and crouch, trying to make myself look small. I can barely hear as she starts to speak again.

“Manzo told us he found her. If he finds her again, she will die. I’ve never seen him like this. Please don’t hurt her. She is the kindest woman I ever met. She doesn’t deserve this!” She yells the last sentence as Ryker and Lincoln leave the room. When I look at him, he is already calling someone as he leaves the warehouse, and I hear the car start .

It doesn’t pull away, but I need to get her out of here before that man kills her. Nobody gets brought into these types of places with the intention of leaving. I hear her scream, and I use that as motivation to sprint to the door and the man hears my heels and whips around, cutting Jessica’s shoulder as he does.

“Let her go,” I growl and raise my gun, aiming between his eyebrows.

These past couple of weeks, I’ve become a great shot. I took extra training classes to prepare for when I faced Leo Hawkins.

“Bianca?” She whispers, but I don’t take my eyes off the man.

He reaches for his gun, but I cock mine.

“Get away from her,” I say as the man steps towards me, and I lift my chin. “Don’t test me.” I hiss.

He smirks and reaches for my wrist, twisting my arm. I cry out in pain and drop the gun. I punch him in the nose with my left fist, then knee him in the balls. I grab a knife from the tray and straddle him, pressing the knife against his neck.

He stands like I weigh nothing and presses me against the wall, the impact making me drop the knife. I drop my legs from around him, trying to get to an angle that would allow me to kick him. I’m unsuccessful as he manages to stop me by pressing his entire two- hundred-and-fifty-pound self against me.

“Why don’t I just have fun with you instead?” He mocks, and I scoff before head-butting him in the nose. I hear cartilage break from the impact, and I can’t help but chuckle.

He hisses and punches me in the stomach, making me drop my smirk and knocking the wind out of me. I gasp for air, struggling to take in a breath. He uses my moment of weakness to restrict my air. My eyes water, and the slightest spark of fear begins to overwhelm me. He towers over me, and while I don’t have the mass on him, I know how to survive.

I don’t let myself think about how he could easily overpower me. Instead, I upper-cut him in the chin, and he stumbles back. He charges towards me and grabs my neck so tightly that I whimper as his nails dig into my skin. I can feel the crimson dripping down my neck.

I punch him with my other arm in the balls, and when he lets go of my arm, I kick him in the stomach, the heel of my foot digging into him. A smile tugs at my lips as he falls to the ground.

I run over to the knife on the floor, and he stumbles to his feet, blood dripping from his nose. When he charges me again, I swing, slicing his stomach. He yells out in pain, stumbling backward. With an exhilarated smile, I grab his hair, throwing his head back against the brick wall.

This time, I’m the one holding him up. I have to use every muscle in my body to do so, his extra fat making it hard to get a strong hold on him. I press the knife against his throat.

“You think it’s funny to hurt women? Do you get off on it? Someone smaller than you because you aren’t man enough to take down people your own size?” A malicious laugh escapes from my throat and echoes in the room around us.

Without a second thought, I lower the knife and stab him in his side. He falls to the floor as I back up. His head hits the tray holding his precious knives. They tumble to the floor, and I can’t help but smile as he tries to stand.

His arms shake as I walk over to him. I lift his chin with the tip of the blade, forcing him to look up at me. “Next time you try to take advantage of a helpless woman, remember this moment.” I cock my head, watching as his eyes drift closed .

Breathing heavily, my heart pounds in my ears. I turn around and run to Jessica. I undo her chains, and when her second hand gets loose, she falls to the floor. I pick her up and hand her her tattered dress.

“Get dressed,” I whisper, running out and peering through the crack of the board. I see Lincoln and Ryker exiting the car and walking to the side door. I run back into the room and pick up my gun, the man’s gun, and two of the knives off the floor, placing them in the thigh band, then grabbing her wrist. “We need to go. NOW!” She grips onto the pieces of her dress, trying to cover herself the best she can. She holds the front together with one hand while I drag her out of the room.

The side door opens, and I let go of Jessica’s hand, pushing her behind me. She stumbles and grabs onto my shoulder. I reach into the strap and grab one of the knives. A man walks about halfway into the room. I don’t think he even noticed us yet.

We make it to the other side of the warehouse when Lincoln finally spots us. He reaches for his gun, but I throw the knife at the wall next to him, purposefully missing him. He eyes me as he pulls the gun from his waistband. That’s when I see the door starting to open again.

I know I can’t take both of them, so I shake my head, grab her wrist, and pull her outside. I look around to make sure nobody is going to shoot. “Get in!” She runs around to the passenger door and slides in. I get behind the wheel, and my heart pounds in my ears. I’ve never driven before. Let’s hope I don’t kill us .

I put the car in reverse and floor it. Jessica’s body jerks forward, and the seatbelt locks. I slam on the brake, and my head hits the headrest. Forcing the car into drive, I press the gas pedal to the floor and peel out on the gravel. Taking a glance in the rear-view mirror, I see Ryker lift his gun .

“Get down!” I shove her head down, but we turn the corner before I hear a shot.

The car is silent as we drive. I have no idea where I’m driving, but I know I need to ditch this car soon. “Bianca.” Recognition finally sparks as I look at her.

Manzo kept us together in the basement when he first found her. It was around the time I got Mia, Karmen, and Maggie out of the house. He would bring women to the basement as psychological torture. He knew I would do anything to protect the women from his abuse, so he would force me to watch as he beat and violated them.

He always left them down there with me, ensuring I formed a bond with them. I always tried to ignore them and stay on my side of the room, but hearing them cry and knowing the one thing they needed was one person to be there for them broke me more than anything else. I understood. I was them. I still am. No matter your age or what you’re going through, having someone who cares helps you in ways some would never understand. So, I was always that person for these girls.

Jessica got the worst of it. He had just gotten word about Ryker becoming boss and flipped out. He tried to beat Jessica, but I stepped in, knowing his mood. He didn’t care about her. He would kill her in a heartbeat, and I knew I had a better chance of surviving. He got out a lot of his anger on me but still managed to knock Jessica unconscious. When I checked her pulse, it was weak, and she never woke up, at least not while she was in the basement. I thought she had died that night.

“I’m so sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut. They…” She says, breaking me out of my thoughts. When I look at her, she looks down at her hands, picking at her cuticles .

I sigh and place my hand over hers as we speed through a red light. “It’s okay,” I smile at her. “You didn’t have a choice. Plus, you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“How did you know I was there?” She looks out the window, and I take my hand off hers and put it back on the wheel.

“I found out from someone at one of Ryker’s clubs.” I slow down and decide to head for the airport. “I went there to try and find something on Ryker, but when someone told me that they heard Ryker was planning on using one of Manzo’s girls to get information, I knew I had to at least try.”

“Why is he looking for you?”

“Manz o ,” I whisper. Not knowing his true intentions anymore. She goes silent for a few minutes, then sniffles and croaks out.

“After you left, Manzo was so angry he killed almost all of the girls

he had in the basement.”

I stiffen and look over to her. “What… There were girls in the basement?”

She nods, “There were six of us. Only two of us made it that night. It was the most brutal he had ever been.”

“I’m so sorry. If I had known…” “I know.” She interrupts me.

We pull into the airport parking lot, and I do a shitty job of parking. “Why are we here?” She asks as she scans the parking lot.

“Two families want you. With the alliance, that’s all four. So it would be best if you got out of New York, and I can’t protect you. I couldn’t even protect….” I shake my head and open the glove box but find nothing .

I get out and round the car, opening the trunk I find pieces of a first aid kit. I take it back to the car and open it. There is a needle and thread and a few bandages. I roll my eyes. You would think someone who spends most of their days fighting would have a better kit.

I open the armrest and find a lighter. I heat the tip of the needle with the flame to sterilize it. Then I grab the needle and thread it. I look back over at Jessica, who is eyeing me.

“Take off your dress.” She doesn’t ask questions and does as she’s told. I check her wounds, realizing they’re pretty deep, but it only takes a second to get them stitched up.

I look at her dress and sigh. Throwing the kit in the back seat, I take mine off, and she gasps as her eyes rake down my body. “What happened?” She touches the healing wound on my side where Manzo had stabbed me.

“Manzo found me.” I hand her the dress, take hers, and slip it on. I internally groan. The dress is more like a jacket now, the front of it ripped open.

I grab the needle I used to stitch Jessica's wound and use the thread to sew it shut. I don’t have enough time to do the entire thing. I just manage to cover my breasts.

“I wish I was as strong as you. I broke after a few cuts and punches, but you… you didn’t just get cuts… You were stabbed.” She whispers as she puts the dress on.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. That’s all.” I give her a smile and gesture for her to follow me out of the car.

We walk up to the counter, and I scan the list of available flights. I manage to get her a ticket to Chicago—New York’s rival in the mob world. They won’t follow her there. I ask the woman handing me the ticket for a pen and paper before we take a few steps aside, allowing the people behind us to check-in.

“Don’t come back here. Stay in Chicago and stay away from the mob. Whatever you do, do not steal, bet, or give them any reason to look your way.” I write down my new number on a slip of paper and hand it to her. “If you find yourself in trouble, call me. For anything. Even if it’s just because you’re lonely and need a friend. I’m here, okay?”

She nods and hugs me. “Thank you.”

I watch, ensuring she makes it through security before returning to the hotel. Now more than ever, I know I’m on Rykers radar.