Chapter 20
The next morning…
Ries heard his computer ding and blinked his eyes, realizing the crick in his neck was because he’d fallen asleep at his desk in the wee hours of the morning.
He’d been afraid to go to sleep, in case Stephanie had decided to come back home, and he’d spent hours poring over the information his men had gathered about Angelo, hoping to find some way of ending this situation and winning Stephanie back at the same time.
He yawned and reached toward the ceiling, tipping his head back as his neck popped and dreading the video call, he was sure was coming from Damon. With reluctance, he opened up the computer and moved the mouse of the correct icon.
When Carlos’s face appeared on the screen as the sender, all traces of sleepiness faded away.
Carlos had been his driver for the last several months and also doubled as a security guard.
Ries glanced at the clock and a frown marred his forehead.
Why was Carlos sending him video voicemails when he should be on duty in the lobby of the apartment building?
He clicked play and felt his heart stop. The screen opened up to show Stephanie bound and gagged, lying on a bare mattress with a bare light bulb dangling above head. The walls behind her belonged to a warehouse, and she looked terrified as she gazed into the screen.
As he watched, a masked man – the mask did nothing to hide Carlos’ body language - stepped to the screen and issued his demands.
“As you can see, I have something very important to you. I realize you must be puzzled as to why I’m doing this, and I don’t mind telling you. Money and power. You treated me like a chauffeur. Angelo promised a promotion to managing my own security team in the near future.”
“As for the shootout, I organized that. I couldn’t let Angelo have all of the fun.
I, of course, made sure that I was stationed conveniently out of the way, and honestly, when you took that bullet, I thought I might have secured my position in Angelo’s team.
Then Stephanie came running to your rescue and I knew I was going to have to work harder to take you down.
“See, Angelo pays much better than you. To be truthful, you should have died quite a while ago, but Chris and Stephanie kept interfering.”
Carlos paused and glanced behind him at the bound woman on the mattress.
“See, I’ve been trying to poison you. It’s such a painful way to die, but I enjoy watching people suffer, so it’s my method of choice.
Stephanie kept intercepting your drinks and replacing them.
It seems she doesn’t like you imbibing too frequently.
You probably haven’t even noticed, but she switches your alcohol out for water whenever she can get away with it. ”
Ries paused and realized that what Carlos was saying was true. There was a reason he’d felt more clear-minded around Stephanie. More present.
“Then Chris prevented you from drinking some of the liquor I intended for you. Everyone wants to take care of you. God knows why. But they couldn’t win in the end.
“Angelo is tired of waiting for you to die so I had to up the ante. Her life for yours.”
Ries watched Stephanie begin to struggle at Carlos’ words. When Carlos turned around and slapped her hard across the face, cursing at her in Greek, Ries could almost feel the man’s throat between his hands.
I’m going to make him pay for every mark he’s left on her body. Every tear she’s shed in terror.
Every minute he’s abused her, he’s going to pay.
“So, now we get to the good part. What do I want?” Carlos teased him. He moved closer to the video camera and lowered his voice, “I want you to come to the warehouse. Alone. I’ll know if you bring anyone with you. I know you well, Ries. She will pay for your defiance.”
Carlos paused and then pulled his ski mask off, staring directly into the camera. “Just in case you think to tell Chris about our little chat, don’t. I’m monitoring the security comms and I’ll know. You screw up and she dies. Slowly. Your choice. You have one hour.”
The video screen went dark and Ries closed his eyes, desperation threatening to take away the cold calm he needed to get through the next hour. There was no way he was going to let Stephanie die while he lived. He couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.
He would follow Angelo’s directions and hope that the man kept his word.
Otherwise, he and Stephanie were both going to die.
He closed his computer and looked at his watch, realizing the address Carlos had given him for the warehouse was on the other side of the docks, almost a twenty-minute drive from his present location. He left his office, pausing when Chris called his name.
“Hey, Ries. Are you planning on going out today?”
Ries shook his head, “No, I’m going to wait here in case Stephanie comes back.”
“Want me to send the guys out to look for her?”
Ries sighed, seeing an opportunity to get away from the apartment without being seen. “I don’t know what good it will do, but…yes, send them out. Was there something else you wanted?”
Chris nodded, “If you’re not going anywhere, I was wondering if you’d mind if I took an hour to run into town?”
Ries raised a brow, trying not to show how happy Chris’s request made him. “I don’t see why not. I’ll lock the elevator out so no one can come up until you get back.”
“That’ll work. I’ll send the guys out to comb the town.” Chris smiled. “They’ll find her, don’t worry.”
“I won’t,” Ries nodded, feeling the pressure of the moving clock.
As Chris got on the elevator, Ries raced for his bedroom.
He opened the safe stored in the top of the closet and withdrew the pistol he kept there.
During the shootout he’d used a gun Chris had given him, and while Chris knew he could shoot, Ries wasn’t sure if the head of his security knew he had his own, personal weapon.
He made sure the safety was on and then tucked it into the back of his waistband.
He grabbed two extra cartridges, slipped them into his pockets, and made his way back toward the elevator.
He’d closed his bedroom door and turned the television on, hoping that would put the housekeeper off if she came looking for him.
It felt strange to be going out on his own. Into danger, without his security team. But it was the only way. For Stephanie.
Ries glanced out the window by the elevator, happy when the last vehicle pulled out of the parking lot. His own private limo and small sports car were the only vehicles left.
He palmed the keys to the Porsche on his way onto the elevator and then got off on the first floor. He took the stairs down to the ground floor and slipped out the side door before the doorman was any wiser.
Ries headed for the warehouse district, arriving a block away from his destination with fifteen minutes to spare.
He hated leaving his favorite car in such a crime-ridden area, but Stephanie’s life hung in the balance – and it seemed silly to worry about a car when he might not walk out of here with his life.
He knew he probably wouldn’t survive the next few minutes. But if Stephanie could find a way to get away from Carlos and go for help, his sacrifice would be worth it.
He hoped that Stephanie would use her smarts to save herself and not get any more heroic notions. She was an intelligent woman, but she had a tendency to put others before herself, even to the point of jeopardizing her own health and safety.
He hoped she would understand that he didn’t want that – not this time. That he came here because he’d rather die than see her come to harm. He hoped she’d respect his wishes as he had respected hers.
He made his way toward the warehouse, keeping as close to the buildings as possible in the hopes of avoiding whatever surveillance Carlos might have installed. He glanced at his watch and realized he only had three minutes to get inside before his time was up.
He reached the warehouse’s wide double door, and then paused when he heard voices coming from inside.
Voices. Male voices. Carlos wasn’t alone.
Ries steeled himself, straightened his spine, and pulled his gun, removing the safety. He crept through the door and made his way down the center aisle of the building, hearing the voices directly in front of him.
When the voices went quiet, Ries froze. He didn’t want to make a sound and lose the element of surprise.
“Looks like lover boy isn’t going to come to the rescue after all,” Carlos told someone. “Wish I could say I was surprised. But I am a little disappointed. This will make my payday harder to get.”
“Go to hell,” Stephanie told him. Then she cried out as the sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the warehouse.
Ries’ finger itched to pull the trigger, but he needed to make sure Stephanie was safe first. He moved forward, holding his gun at the ready. Then he took a deep breath and stepped into the light.
“Carlos, move away from her,” Ries called out.
Carlos looked at Ries and then the gun before bursting into laughter. “Nice try, but that’s not going to work unless you want your girlfriend to die right now. Angelo, come out and meet Ries Kafatos, youngest heir to the Kafatos Empire.”
Ries met Stephanie’s eyes, seeing the tears spilling over them and the fear. “It’s okay, Stephanie,” he said softly. “I’m here now.”
“As am I,” Angelo stepped forward, grabbing Stephanie around the throat and pulling her up to her knees while pressing the barrel of his gun against her temple. “Thank you for joining us.”
Ries had lost.
“Why don’t you put down the gun, so I don’t have to shoot her?” Angelo suggested. “Head shots are so messy.”
Ries kept his eyes on Angelo’s hand and the gun at Stephanie’s temple. He knew that once he complied with Angelo’s demand, his chance for either he or Stephanie making it out of the warehouse alive would be gone.
And yet, if he didn’t, Angelo would shoot her. Right in front of him. Something in the assassin’s voice told Ries he didn’t make idle threats.