26. Rork
26
RORK
I listen intently as my captain fills me in on the latest developments, my jaw clenching with barely-contained fury. Someone has been skimming off the top, dipping their greedy little fingers into the pot and thinking they can get away with it.
And now, it seems, we might finally have a lead on who the culprit is.
“We’ve got a pretty solid lead, Boss,” my captain says. “One of the boys caught wind of some suspicious activity down at the docks. Looks like our guy’s been funneling the cash through a shell company, trying to cover his tracks.”
I feel a grim smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, a cold, predatory sort of satisfaction. “Good work. I want everything you’ve got on this bastard. Bank statements, surveillance footage, the works. I want to know every secret he’s ever tried to hide.”
“You’ve got it, Boss,” he replies, his tone brisk and businesslike. “I’ll have the boys put together a full dossier. But what do you want to do about our friend once we’ve got him dead to rights?”
I pause for a moment, considering my options. Part of me wants to handle this personally, to look the traitor in the eye and make him pay with his own blood, but that’s not always the smartest play, not when there’s so much at stake.
“I’ll be in town shortly,” I say, my voice cold and calculating. “I just need to finish unloading this hay, and then I’ll drive down. In the meantime, I want you to put a tail on our guy. Watch his every move, but don’t spook him. I want him to think he’s gotten away with it, right up until the moment I’ve got my hands around his throat.”
“Understood, Boss,” my captain says, a hint of vicious anticipation in his tone, before his voice changes to one of amusement. “You know, you do have men who could take care of that hay for you. That’s what you pay them for, after all.”
I snort, shaking my head. “And let them have all the fun? Not a chance.”
It’s a running joke between us, this idea that I’m somehow above the dirty work of running my empire. But I’ve always taken pride in getting my hands dirty, in putting in the hard work and the sweat equity to keep my operation running smoothly.
“You know me, Captain,” I say. “I’ve never been one to shy away from a little hard work. This estate is a massive undertaking, and it takes all of us pitching in to keep it running like a well-oiled machine.”
“Even the big boss himself, huh?” my captain teases, a grin on his face.
“ Especially the big boss,” I reply, my own lips twitching with a hint of a smile. “Hard work isn’t beneath me, and it never will be. It’s what keeps me on top.”
And it’s true. I may be a ruthless bastard, a man who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in every sense of the word, but I also know the value of leading by example and showing my men that I’m not some pampered prince who’s too good to get down in the trenches with them.
“Speaking of hard work,” I say, my mind drifting back to Bianca, “I should probably get back to it. I’ve got a pretty little princess who needs a reminder of what it means to earn her keep around here.”
My captain chuckles, a knowing edge to his voice. “Ah, the Marino girl. How’s that going, by the way? You break her yet?”
I pause for a moment, considering my answer. Bianca is a tough nut to crack, a fiery little spitfire who seems determined to resist me at every turn. And while part of me admires her spirit, another part of me burns with the need to see her submit, to watch her break under the weight of my control.
“Not yet,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “But I’m getting there. She’s a stubborn one, but she’ll learn. They always do.”
“I don’t doubt it, Boss,” my captain replies, a hint of admiration in his tone and face. “You’ve got a way with women, that’s for sure.”
I snort, rolling my eyes at the flattery. “Save it for the rookies, Captain. You and I both know that my way with women has nothing to do with charm and everything to do with power.”
“Fair enough,” he concedes, his eyes alight with laughter. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it, then. Keep me posted on the situation with our little thief, and I’ll make sure everything’s ready for you when you get to town.”
“Will do,” I reply, already turning my attention back to the task at hand. “Oh, and Captain? Make sure the boys are ready for anything. I have a feeling this one’s going to get messy before it’s all said and done.”
“Always are, Boss,” he says, his voice grim but determined before he turns and walks out, already getting out his phone to bark out orders.
My mind races with plans and possibilities. I need to deal with this traitor in my ranks and send a message that disloyalty will not be tolerated in my organization. But first, I have a little princess to put back in her place.
I turn back to the stables, ready to finish the job of hauling hay with Bianca. It’s not just about sending a message to her father, although that’s certainly the majority of it. It’s about teaching her the value of hard work, of earning her place through sweat and toil and sheer force of will.
But as I step inside, my eyes scanning the neat rows of hay bales, I realize with a sudden, sinking feeling that something is very wrong. Bianca is nowhere to be seen.
“Bianca?” I call out, my voice rough with a mix of anger and disbelief. “Where the hell are you?”
There’s no answer, no sign of her anywhere in the stables or the surrounding fields. As I step outside, my eyes narrowing against the glare of the sun, I feel a cold, creeping dread settling into the pit of my stomach.
She’s gone. The little bitch actually managed to slip away while I was distracted.
Fuck.
For a moment, I’m frozen, my mind reeling with the implications of her escape. I know I should sound the alarm and rally my men to hunt her down like the prey she is, but something stops me, a flicker of grudging respect for the sheer audacity of her move.
What fucking balls on this woman. She played me, plain and simple. She used my own distraction against me and managed to slip through my fingers.
As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t help but feel a twisted sort of admiration for her cunning. But that admiration is short-lived, quickly replaced by a cold, seething rage. How dare she try to escape me after I’ve been nice enough to give her some freedom?
I’ll be damned if I let her slip away so easily, not after everything I’ve done to make her mine.
I stalk out of the stables, my eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of her fleeting form. She couldn’t have gotten far, not on foot and not without any supplies or resources to aid her.
Idiot girl.
But I can’t shake the flicker of concern that sparks to life in my chest. For all her fire and her fight, Bianca is still just a girl, a sheltered, pampered princess who’s never had to fend for herself in the real world, and if she went into the woods, she doesn’t stand a chance out there on her own. Not without help, and certainly not without the resources and the knowledge that come from a lifetime of living off the land.
My boots crunch on the gravel path that leads me away from the stables as I head toward the woods. Suddenly, I spot something that makes my blood run cold. Footsteps, small and delicate, leading off into the tree line like a trail of breadcrumbs.
Bianca’s footprints.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She’s in the woods.
My mind reels with the implications of her actions. I should be furious and should be seeing red at the thought of her defiance and disobedience, but instead, I’m consumed with a sense of urgency, a desperate need to find her before it’s too late.
The thought of Bianca coming to harm out there? It’s not something I’m willing to contemplate.
She’s mine , damn it! Mine to control, mine to break, mine to own in every way that matters, and I’ll be damned if I let nature take her away from me.
“Stupid girl,” I growl as I set off into the woods. I know these trails like the back of my hand. I know I’ll find her.
I won’t stop until I find her, until I bring her back to where she belongs, kicking and screaming if I have to.