Chapter 12
Rosie
“That amount isn’t climbing,” someone with a heavy accent hollers, his tone threatening. “Do you want to die today?”
The words get through to my muddy mind, and I manage to turn my head to the side. Steel bars come into sight, but it takes a minute or so before what I’m seeing registers in my foggy mind.
I struggle to push myself up off whatever I’m lying on, and sitting, I stare at the bars, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
“Two million is not enough!” the same man snaps again. “I want to see a hundred million on the board by midnight, or you’re all picking who dies next.”
A whirring sound gets through to me, and as my mind clears, I realize I’m in some kind of prison cell.
What the hell?
I glance at the metal bed and thin mattress, then look at the stained toilet, sink and shower that’s sectioned off by a dingy plastic curtain suspended from a rail.
For some reason, I take in the bar of soap, a towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, toilet roll, and box of tampons.
The horror movie vibe makes fear tighten my muscles.
Jesus. What the fuck is this place?
“Rosie.”
My head snaps to the bars, and seeing a man, I take in his brown hair, black eyes, and the neutral expression on his face. I guess him to be in his late thirties or early forties.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
I stare at him for a moment before dread crashes over me and everything that’s happened floods my mind.
The attack. My men. Alessio. Raffaele.
The heartache is too unbearable to handle.
The call with Enzo while trying to get to safety. Hearing his pain.
It hurts too much to even think about how this will affect Enzo.
The crippling fear I was faced with.
I had to press the button. The family always comes first. But goddamn, I really thought I was toast.
The frantic rush to get to the SUV and being restrained.
Who the fuck has me? Where am I? What is this place?
It feels like someone takes a sledgehammer to my heart, the anguish so intense, I can’t breath past it.
My men.
My family.
Enzo.
The sound that leaves me is more like a whine from a beaten dog than a human.
I look down, and seeing the cuffs around my wrist, connected by a short length of chain, makes my lips part as panic claws its way up my throat.
My breaths speed up dangerously fast when I notice heavy shackles encircling my ankles, also linked together by a chain.
My sneakers and socks are gone, but at least I’m still wearing my baggy jeans and T-shirt.
The chains are probably there to give me enough movement to keep me mobile while making sure escape isn’t an option.
A shiver moves over my body, and I curl into myself.
Jesus, it’s cold in here.
“Rosie!” This time the man’s voice carries a tone of authority. When my eyes snap to his face, there’s still no emotion. “I asked how you feel?”
I recognize his voice. He’s the one who grabbed and chloroformed the hell out of me.
I think he led the attack, which tells me he’s in a position of power.
Pushing all the confusion and pain aside, I lift my chin and level him with a ruthless look. “It’s Miss La Rosa to you. Only my friends get to use my name.”
He nods. “How do you feel, Miss La Rosa?”
“Jesus, you’re really persistent. How do you think I feel? You destroyed my home and killed my men.”
Not replying to what I just said, he asks, “Any nausea? Double vision? Headache?”
Headache… yes.
Body… feels like Enzo made me run a hundred laps.
Nausea… enough that I wouldn’t try eating, but I could do with some water.
I glance at the sink and scrunch my nose in disgust.
“You’re thirsty.”
“And you’re creepy,” I snap while climbing to my feet. My head spins a little, but I don’t let it stop me from walking to the bars. “Where am I? Who are you? And why?”
“Russia. You can call me Kirill, and you’re here because you’re the best in your field.”
I’m so surprised he answered my questions that I stare at him, but then the doubt sinks in.
Kirill reads my expression like a book and says, “You’re never leaving here, so there’s no reason to hide anything from you. Come, I’ll show you around your new home.”
My eyebrows lift when he unlocks the… gate, for lack of a better word. Carefully stepping out of the cell, I glance around me, taking in as much as possible.
My cell is just one of many that line the second level on all four sides, connected by a metal walkway that overlooks the vast open space below.
Is this a prison?
Despite the building looking very old, it’s surprisingly clean. The floors seem to get mopped on a regular basis, and the railings gleam under the bright industrial lights.
When I look down to the first floor, I see rows of tables, each occupied by someone working behind a computer. The steady tapping of keyboards fills the air, mixing with the low hum of electronics.
Mounted against the far wall, a giant screen displays columns of red numbers that constantly change, and an amount at the top that keeps climbing higher with every passing second.
Armed men move between the desks, rifles slung across their chests as they keep watch over everyone.
“This is the team that kept you busy the past week and a half while my men slipped into New York unnoticed.”
My eyes widen as they snap to Kirill.
So all the hacking attempts were a diversion? Holy shit!
God dammit! I should’ve looked into those three Russian men I saw near the plant where Enzo and Riccardo met with the cartel.
“They also wiped out any trace of us ever being there, so the Cosa Nostra won’t find anything if they do a search.” His black eyes remain locked with mine. “We’ve scanned you for a tracker. I have to admit I was surprised you didn’t have one.”
To be honest, I never thought to give myself a tracker. Not once did it cross my mind.
Kirill’s eyes remain focused on me. “The blast took out most of my men and all of yours. There were no bodies left inside to be identified, so you actually did us a favor. You’re dead to your family, Miss La Rosa.”
God, no!
My parents. Gianna. This is going to kill them.
Enzo.
Focus on this very shitty predicament you find yourself in, Rosie.
I look at the rows of desks again and ask, “Who are the people?”
“Just hackers. Not as good as you, but they serve a purpose for now.”
“For now?” My gaze returns to Kirill.
The man is eerily calm and in control, and it scares me more than if he were volatile. It gives me the impression he’s emotionless, and people like that kill more easily.
“Anyone can be replaced.” It doesn’t sound threatening but more like a random statement, yet it puts the fear of God in me.
I haven’t been tortured. No hitting, raping, or interrogations. Yet.
“What do you want from me?”
Kirill gestures for me to walk, and when I move, the chains rattle softly.
He sweeps his hand over the rows of tables.
“You can do more than all of them combined. As soon as we decide you’re ready, you’ll be given a computer system to hack into the dark web.
You’ll dig for information that we’ll use to bribe and control the wealthy.
” He points at the big electronic screen.
“That’s the amount the group has made today.
The target is one hundred million. Yours will be higher. ”
I stop and scowl at Kirill. “Let me get this straight. You attacked the Cosa Nostra and kidnapped me to hack for you?”
“Yes.”
Up until now, I thought I was dealing with a very organized group, but yeah, they’re a bunch of dumbasses.
I lick my dry lips before letting out an incredulous-sounding chuckle. “You’re going to put me in front of a computer?”
Not answering the question, Kirill indicates for me to keep moving with a jerk of his head.
When we reach metal stairs running down to the floor below, I have to go slow so I don’t fall and break my neck.
After taking the last step, I look at all the people behind the computers. Some steal curious glances at me, but most don’t tear their eyes away from their screens.
Another man comes toward us, and unlike the guards who are all in combat gear, he’s wearing a gray suit.
When he’s within reaching distance of me, the blood in my veins runs cold as recognition sets in.
Danil Lebedev. He’s a high-ranking member of the bratva.
Well, shit. Things just got really bad.
“Rosellina La Rosa,” he says, grinning at me.
His teeth are stained yellow. The hair on his temples is white, while the rest is golden blond.
He’s older than the last photo I saw of him.
Knowing who I’m dealing with, I lift my chin again as I mutter, “Miss La Rosa.” I take a step closer to him and tilt my head. “Does Yegor know I’m here?”
A burst of laughter from him hits me in the face, and I smell stale cigarettes on his breath. “This…” He sweeps an arm over the area. “This was all Yegor’s idea. It took us three months to get all these hackers and set up this system. Not bad, right?”
God. If the head of the bratva is aware of this, I’m screwed.
“This will start a war,” I say as I lock eyes with him again.
“No, it won’t. Christiano and the family think you are dead, and you will remain dead to them. This place is your home now.”
One after the other, my loved ones’ faces flash through my mind, and I’m hit with an unbearable pain, knowing how much heartache my ‘death’ will cause them.
Suddenly, Danil pulls a gun from behind his back. “You will follow our every command, Miss La Rosa.”
He walks to the nearest desk, where a middle-aged man with thick glasses is sitting. He jumps from his chair and tries to run, but Danil shoots him in the back.
My body jerks from the gun being fired, then my muscles lock in place, and my breathing slows as I focus on not showing any reaction.
I just stare as the hacker’s blood spreads over his shirt. His fingers claw at the ground, his glasses skew on his face, but another shot has his body jolting before it stills.
Shit.
This is a clear message that if I refuse to cooperate, they’ll kill someone to punish me.
“Like I said,” Danil mutters. “You will follow every order. If you don’t, an innocent person dies, and they will be replaced with a new warm body. If you try to contact the Cosa Nostra or the authorities, they all die. The bloodbath will rest on your conscience.”
I lock eyes with Danil as he asks, “If there’s one thing we know about you, Miss La Rosa, it’s that you’re the capo with the soft heart.
You put a man in your place because you couldn’t handle dealing with blood and grime in our world.
” He walks closer to me while tucking his gun back into the waistband of his pants behind his back.
“Are you willing to be responsible for all these people’s deaths? ”
I make the mistake of glancing over all the desks, then my gaze gets stuck on a boy who can’t be much older than sixteen or seventeen. He peeks at me, and for a moment we keep eye contact before he continues working.
“Should I give you another example?” Danil asks, then he shouts, “Bring Tim!”
To my absolute horror, the boy is yanked from his chair. His accent is thick as he begs, “No, please. Don’t shoot me.”
“Stop,” I hiss, my gaze flying between Danil and Tim.
The boy is shoved down a few steps away from me, and Danil pulls his gun out again.
Not thinking, I dart forward and grab Danil’s wrist while trying to knee him right in the balls, but lifting my right leg suddenly, swipes my left foot from under me.
I forgot about the damn chains.
Before I can fall, hands grab my shoulders, and I’m yanked backward, then Kirill’s arm locks around my neck while his other clamps over my chest.
I squirm and let out a growl when Danil glares at me with anger burning in his eyes. Instead of shooting Tim, he walks to the first row, and as people scramble to move, he starts pulling the trigger.
Bam.
A woman falls backward against a monitor while gripping her neck as blood spurts from the wound.
Bam.
A man slumps over a chair.
Bam.
A cry echoes through the building as another man drops.
Bam.
A girl who can’t be much older than me staggers back, shock and fear bleeding over her face before she sinks to the floor.
“Stop!” I scream while yanking against the hold Kirill has on me. Danil’s arms swing toward Tim, and I can’t keep a sob from bursting over my lips. “Please!”
The cold-hearted bastard locks eyes with me, then he grinds the words out through clenched teeth, “Do you understand, Miss La Rosa?”
“Yes.” I nod fast, my gaze darting to Tim again. “Yes. I understand.”
“Good.”
Danil jerks his head, and Tim is yanked to his feet again while Kirill lets go of me.
I glare at Kirill as I step away from him, and when Tim is shoved back into his seat, the other guards begin dragging the dead away.
“Take her back to her cell,” Danil orders.
I move before Kirill can reach for me, and as I head back up the stairs, my mind races to process everything.
I have no idea how much time has passed since the bratva attacked my fortress. With being drugged, it only feels like an hour or two has passed, and way too much has happened for me to deal with any of it.
The attack. The deaths of my men. The destruction of my home. The race to get away. Waking up here and seeing five people killed just to teach me a lesson.
Dear God.
The shock of it all shudders through me and makes my head spin.
I stumble as my vision blurs, then Kirill’s there to pick me up and carry me back to the cold cell. I’m placed on the dingy bed, and seconds later I hear the gate click shut.
Turning my back to the bars, I cover my mouth with my hands as the sobs push their way up my throat.
What am I going to do?
Shit.
Is this really happening, or am I having some crazy ass nightmare?
Everyone thinks I’m dead. There’s no doubt in my mind because the fortress was rigged to incinerate all the mainframes and servers.
Jesus. This is going to destroy my parents and grandparents.
With time, Gianna will be okay.
I think Enzo will recover, but he’ll probably blame himself for not getting to me in time. Thank God for that.
They’re all safe, though. I made sure of it.
Okay, Rosie. You’re on your own now. You can’t spiral.
When they put me in front of a computer, I’ll have to be careful so I don’t endanger any of the other hackers, but I can get simple coded messages through to Dad and Enzo.
Good, you have a plan.