Ryker

Chapter Twenty-One

Bringing Bianca to my house wasn’t the move I wanted to make. I moved from my penthouse to the estate I bought, back when I took over as boss. It is a three-story, white stone estate on the outskirts of the city. There is only one way in and one way out. Not only would she have to make it out of the house, but she would have to travel eight miles in an open field.

The house has top-of-the-line security. Anyone who tries to scale the fence that surrounds the entire property will be electrocuted, and a siren will blare out, alerting the guards at their station. I’d receive a notification on my phone the second anything, or anyone set foot on my property, even if it was something as little as a squirrel.

If someone manages to bypass that, they will be shot on sight by the men posted along the fence. They do their rounds every five minutes. If, by some off chance, they manage to get past my men, they would be spotted by the cameras, which cover every millimeter of the property, including the interior and exterior of the house. They’d need to be granted access through the gates, and only a handful of people are on the approved list. Nobody can get in or out without me knowing about it.

I have increased security over the past week, knowing Manzo has been talking about war. It’s put me on edge. If it weren’t for that briefcase, I would have never indulged Manzo in the first place .

For now, I’ve decided to keep Bianca in the basement. It’s easier for me to have access to her without having to drive out to the dock and back every time I need to hear one of her snarky comments. I’m trying my best to keep my temper at bay when it comes to her because I know words are her only line of defense.

I thought keeping her strung there with no food or water would cause her resolve to weaken, but clearly, I underestimated her. Again. Maybe I should just shove my cock down her throat to get her to shut the hell up.

She’s looking around the room, and her eyes lock on the tactical gear on the wall. The silence has lasted nearly five minutes, but she doesn’t seem to care.

“Why did you kill Leo?” I ask again, breaking the silence. “ Why do you care so much?” She asks, turning her attention back

to me. “He was an awful man and deserved to die. He deserved so

much more than what I did to him. If I could do it over again, I’d drag it out longer so the bitch could suffer.”

“He was a boss .”

“You’ve made that abundantly clear. It makes it so much more satisfying knowing I’m the one who took down his empire. That I’m the one who is going to take them all down.”

I smirk. “You think you can beat me ?”

She gives me a wicked smile in return. “I know I can. Because I already have.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Is that so? Why don’t you enlighten me.”

“It seems that you have a rat,” she shrugs, “I bet you would benefit from learning precisely who that might be.” She relaxes back into her chair. When I don’t respond, she lets out a low chuckle. The sweet, huskiness of her voice makes my cock twitch. I need to get her in something other than that black lace bra. It doesn’t help that her skin glows with the dark, dried blood.

I sit up straighter in my seat. “Do you want Manzo to win?”

Her smile drops. “Why would I want that? He wins your territory, and I’m more fucked than ever.”

“Why’s that?”

She shifts in her seat and looks up at the camera that has the blinking red light flashing at us. Right now, Lincoln, Hawkins, Vivian, and Jeremy are all upstairs watching on the TV, live streaming the feed to the basement. She swallows hard as the tension in the room grows thick.

We stare at each other, neither one of us wanting to break eye contact. After a few torturous seconds, I finally give in, focusing on her peaked nipples. Her breaths are even, but I can see her nipple poking through her bra.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” She grumbles as she shifts uncomfortably under my gaze.

I smile, finally getting some reaction out of her. Silence and lingering looks make her more uncomfortable than anything else.

“Why does Manzo want you so badly? What’s his plan with you?”

“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Maybe you aren’t as smart as you think you are.”

“Oh no?” I smirk. “See, I think I am. You’re nothing more than a brat who didn’t get her way.” Her jaw slacks for only a moment before she schools her features. “You were a gift. You were promised to Manzo but didn’t want to be with him, so you threw a tantrum and ran. ”

She laughs. It takes her a minute to calm herself. There are tears in her eyes when she finally looks back at me. “I threw a tantrum?”

“Vivian was promised to Hawkins. You don’t see her running.” She straightens, and her smile drops instantly. “Those are two

very different situations. Yes, I was promised to Manzo, but you saw how he was with me. You think that day in the hotel when Manzo raped me while I watched the life leave my friends body was the first time something like that happened?” Her face for the first time shows real hurt. Not the physical kind. The deep, emotional scars that nobody can see.

“Some husbands, especially in the Mob, can be rough with their wives. Many women have to deal with it because they know it’s their duty.”

She narrows her eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She hisses. “Trust me, it’s in everyone’s best interest that I keep running. Including yours. Including Hawkins. You should be thanking me. Instead, you had me chained up like a cow carcass, and now I’m tied up in a basement. I’m saving your kingdom by running.” She tilts her head. “Maybe I should just go back to Manzo and do what he wants. Then maybe you would be the one begging me to help you.”

I clench my jaw as I lean back in my chair. “And how exactly

are you helping our kingdoms?”

“I have no reason to help you. And quite frankly, I’m starting to like my new chair. Let’s just hope Manzo doesn’t figure out you took me.” Her smile grows sinister. “I think that is a conversation I’d love to be a fly on the wall for.”

I lean in and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before gripping her chin with my forefinger and thumb. “You will talk,” I growl. “One way or another. You think you are so clever, but I’ve broken even the toughest of men. Don’t think for one second you can outsmart me.”

She smirks. “I’m getting to you.” She whispers as she leans closer, narrowing her eyes. “You hate that I don’t fear you. You have no effect on me, and no matter how many bones you break or how long the torture lasts, I will never show you that side of me.”

Without another word, I release her and stand, heading up the stairs. As I make the trek up, my shoulder flares with another round of pain.

Bianca is an amazing shot. Even in the dark, she managed to hit me in the shoulder. It was a clean shot, through and through. It healed quickly, but it’s still a bit tender. She’s not only good with her gun and fists, but she even managed to throw a warning shot at Lincoln with her throwing knives, missing by inches.

When I get to the living room, I find Vivian, Jeremy, Lincoln, and Hawkins huddled around the TV, watching with wide eyes. This room isn’t much different than the one at my penthouse. There is a gray rug that is almost white, a black circular coffee table in the center of the room, a black couch that can seat about six people, and four black armchairs, two on each side of the coffee table. On the wall, opposite the couch, is a black marble fireplace with a TV hanging above it. On each side of the fireplace are floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books. On the left wall are four doors that lead out into a patio, a sheer curtain over each one.

I walk over to the portable bar and grab a glass from the shelf. I can feel everyone’s presence behind me as I pour the brown liquid.

“What the hell are you doing, Ryker?” Vivian yells at me as I put the top back on the bottle and turn around to find everyone but Jeremy staring at me. His gaze was still focused on the TV .

“I think it’s best if you leave,” I say as I walk past Vivian. She grabs the crook of my arm, stopping me, and I shoot her a glare.

“Ry, do you even know what you’re doing?” She looks concerned as she looks from me to the screen.

Ignoring her, I rip my arm out of her grasp and head into my office, slamming the door behind me. I don’t know what I’m doing. Normally, I have a well-thought-out plan, but now I’m working on impulse, and that’s never good.

I spend the next few hours in my office thinking about what Bianca said. She knows who the mole is. She knows why Manzo wants her. We’ve been trying to get answers to all of it for the past couple of weeks, working every angle. Marcus has tortured countless men at this point, trying to get someone to break, with no results.

Yet, somehow Bianca spends a few minutes with one of them and is able to get something. I installed cameras around the warehouse after she escaped with Jessica, so I, unfortunately, don’t have the recording of that conversation.

I shift my attention to the list of names on my desk. One of the men we captured had said that Manzo was preparing for a big attack but didn’t know when or where it would take place. He also said that Manzo was having a grand opening in about a week for a new restaurant he is financing. That would be the perfect time to hit him.

The restaurant will be catered to the upper class. He built it from the ground up, and it has taken him a little over a year to get everything put together. He got one of the top chefs in Europe to move to America to cook for him, and he hired one of the best interior designers from France, spending a little less than a million on renovations and staffing .

Hitting him at that opening would be a prime opportunity to let the world know that the war has officially begun. This will be one of the biggest wars in New York mob history. The last time something this big happened, an entire kingdom fell, and Manzo absorbed them, making him more powerful than he ever should have been.

A knock at the door causes me to lose my train of thought. “Come in,” I say as I set down the papers I was working on.

Vivian opens the door with Jeremy following closely behind her. Vivan settles into the black leather armchair across from my desk with Jeremy looming behind her. “If you’re here to…”

“I’m not.” She interrupts with a heavy sigh, “I just want to make sure that you are okay. I know that you are dealing with a lot. Between Manzo, Bianca, the spies, and the club opening… It’s a lot.” She pauses and looks down at her white nails, which are now chipping. “I think maybe I can help.”

“With what?” I lean back in my chair. “Bianca.”

“No,” I respond instantly.

“Hear me out.” She stops playing with her nails and sits on her hands. “I’m a woman. Other than Jeremy and Nolan, the only other people she built a connection with were women. Maybe I can befriend her, and get some information from her without having to torture her. Lincoln, Ace, Jeremy, and even Marcus have their roles. They all left and I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs when I could be down there helping.”

I look over her shoulder at Jeremy. He’s standing with his arms crossed and chin raised. “You do realize she is nothing like you right?” I ask, focusing my attention back on Vivian.

“What do you mean?” she asks, raising her eyebrows .

“She just spent the past four years on the run. She is good at manipulations. When you walk down there, she will attack you with every verbal threat she can think of. She will say something to upset you, and then I will be the one who has to deal with your blubbering. Like you said, I have a lot on my plate right now. Comforting you because she hurt your feelings isn’t something I want to deal with right now.”

“You think that I'm so weak that I can’t handle a couple of insults?”

I lean my elbows on the table. “It’s not a couple of insults, Viv. She is a caged lion. She will attack you with what she can, and biting is her only weapon at the moment.”

She sighs. “Believe it or not, Ryker, I’m stronger than I look. I can handle her.”

I look back up at Jeremy, leaning back in my chair, running my hand along the stubble on my jaw. “What about you?”

“Sir?” He straightens.

“Why are you in my office?”

“I was hoping you would let me see her. I could get her to talk.”

I assess him for a moment. The thought of him and her sets my skin aflame. I saw the way he looked at her at Stardust. He wants her. But she is mine .

“You don’t need the distraction. Right now, you need to focus on your training. Since you are still recovering, I’m placing you with Ace at dock five. You will train there until further notice.”

“But… ”

My phone buzzes on the table, stopping his protest. “Ryker,” I growl as I answer.

“It’s Lincoln.” He says, panicked. “We have an issue at the northern docks. We are under attack, and they are about to take full control.” I hear gunshots in the background right before the phone disconnects, and I shoot up out of my chair.

“What’s going on?” Vivian asks as I put on my jacket.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” I grab the car keys off my desk and open the bottom drawer, searching for an extra gun to bring. Finding one, I check to make sure it’s loaded before I start for the front door.

“Ryker, wait!” Vivian calls after me. I clench my jaw, not having the time or patience to deal with her. I run down the steps towards my car. As I open the door, I hear the end of her sentence. “I’m going down!” I ignore her as I get into the car, knowing I’m going to have to deal with her later.