Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
My eyes fly open. Having something cold and wet splashed in your face will do that to you.
“Good. You’re awake,” a thick Russian accent sounds from behind me, while the asshole in front of me stands stoic, motionless, holding a now-empty bucket in his hands. This one is nothing more than a puppet. A soon-to-be-dead puppet, but a puppet nonetheless.
I don’t say a word. What I do is scan my surroundings, feel the tightness of the ropes around my wrists and ankles, which are tied behind me. Shifting slightly on the chair, I test the sturdiness of the wood, wondering how much effort it’s going to take to break it.
I don’t know how these assholes got the jump on me. The last thing I remember was sitting in the mayor’s office…
Then it hits me. The whiskey he gave me. I put his nervousness off as having to do with my presence. I didn’t once think that he was drugging me. He’ll be next on my kill list, once I end the fuckers in this room.
“Nothing to say?” That thick Russian accent comes from behind me again.
I keep my mouth shut. I don’t know who the fuck they think they’re talking to, but I’m not giving them shit.
The bucket falls to the ground, and there’s nothing I can do to prevent the blow the puppet lands on my face, right on my fucking nose.
The crunch of bone hits my ears before the pain registers.
“You have something I want,” the Russian says. Keeping himself from my view is his way of trying to mess with my head. It’s not going to work, but three stars to him for the effort.
When I don’t respond, another blow comes to my face.
They’re going to have to do better than this.
I almost laugh, but I don’t even want to give them that.
Instead, I sit here, expressionless, staring into nothing.
I let my mind drift. I take myself somewhere else, and the first thing I think of is her. Molly.
Thank fuck she was going to my house. No one is getting into that fortress. When my family notices I’m missing, they’ll be hunting for me, and they’ll go to the estate first. They will keep her safe.
“Do you want to know what it is I want?” the Russian asks.
Not particularly, I think to myself.
“I’ll tell you.” He leans close to the side of my face. “My disk drive back.”
What fucking disk drive? I keep the question to myself.
“You see, I have big plans for this city, and that pimp you made me blow up had something of mine on his body. I want it back,” the Russian sneers in my ear.
I lean forward and then drop my head backwards as hard as I can, right into the fucker’s face.
“Argh, motherfucker.” Something hard slams down on the top of my skull.
Worth it, I think as pain radiates through my temples.
The puppet walks out of the room, leaving me alone with the asshole who thinks he’s taking over my city.
“You know, I could sit here and torture you,” the thick Russian accent says. “But what would be the point of that? You won’t give me the disk back for your own life. But you will give it up for someone else’s.”
I frown in confusion. What the fuck is he talking about? The asshole still hasn’t let me see his face.
“You want to know what I’m going to do to this city first?”
“I’m a captive audience. I can’t wait to hear your delusions,” I grumble under my breath.
“You don’t even know it, but I’ve already started winning this little war of ours.
My product is ten times more addictive than yours.
You see, I made friends with a very talented chemist. It’s already on the streets, and when the customers realize they don’t want the shit you’re selling, guess who they’re coming to? ”
“Let me know how that goes for you.”
“Oh, you won’t be alive to see it, unfortunately. It’s a shame too. I’d love to let you watch when I take that hot little sister of yours. Teach the Lopez family how not untouchable they are.”
At this, I laugh. I might give my sister’s husband shit, but no fucking way is Emilio ever going to let anyone get their hands on Frankie. I look down at the Rolex still on my wrist. Where the fuck is the cavalry? My parents, uncles, and even my Aunt Lailani should be busting down doors by now.
Has anyone even fucking noticed that I’m missing? It’s been five hours.
“You are either batshit crazy, stupid, or both if you believe you’ll ever get your hands on my sister,” I tell him. “Who the fuck do you even think you are?”
“I’m the person who’s going to wipe that smile off your face. You’ll see. I have a special gift for you.”
I keep my mouth shut. I don’t know why I’m taunting the fucker, or entertaining his delusions.
But then I also need to get as much information out of him as I can, so when I leave here I can hunt down the people he works for, because I know this cocksucker can’t be the one in charge of any operation.
“You can tell your bosses that I said they can all go fuck themselves. Whatever is on that disk you so desperately want is mine now.”
I’m bullshitting. I have no idea what’s on the disk. I didn’t even know there was one, and if there is, it’s now disintegrated with the rest of that Russian pimp’s body. We don’t leave evidence lying around.
“I have a feeling you’re going to have a change of heart.” The Russian steps in front of me, walks to the door, then out of the room.
What the fuck?
I don’t waste time. I quickly wiggle my wrists, twisting my fingers enough to loosen the rope.
Fuckwits didn’t even tie it properly. I look down at where my ankles are bound together.
Once I get one hand out, I bend and loosen the rope without removing it completely.
I don’t want to give away my newfound free state too soon.
I like the element of surprise, and I want to see the horror in this asshole’s eyes when I drain his body of blood.
I look at my watch again. It’s pissing me the fuck off that no one has stormed in here yet.
I know there’s a tracker in the watch my father gifted me for my eighteenth birthday.
He thinks I don’t know about it, but we all received a piece of jewelry he told us not to take off.
My sister got three, a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a watch all at different birthdays.
And then there’s the jewelry my Tío E gave Frankie—we all know there are trackers in it too.
I make a mental note to buy Molly some new jewelry. I wonder if it will put her off or if she’ll think I’ve lost my mind. She’s not exactly the type of woman you buy cheap shit for either.
Maybe I should just get her a ring…
That thought has me pausing. A ring. What the fuck am I thinking?
I can’t marry her. If I propose to her now, she’s going to think my motives are not legit, considering the fact we’re both trying to keep a hold on those last two buildings.
At this point, I’m not even sure why I’m fighting her on it anymore.
I should just let her have them, do whatever she wants with them.
Besides, if she’s got a project happening in this city, it might give me a reason to keep her here longer. I’m not even close to wanting to let her go.
When I hear the shuffling of feet outside the door, I clear my mind and focus on the task at hand. Getting the fuck out of this building alive because it doesn’t seem like anyone is coming for me.
I’m going to fucking kill them with my bare hands if I have to.
The moment the door opens, the puppet walks in. But he’s not alone. He’s pushing someone in front of him. Molly. The fucker pushes her so hard she falls to her knees. Her hands are bound behind her back. My eyes quickly scan her, but I don’t see any marks on her.
“You see, if you don’t give me back what’s mine, I’m going to keep this one here for myself.
She’ll make a nice little plaything for at least two weeks before I tire of her…
or her body gives up. And you can only fuck a corpse for so long before the stench ruins your hard-on. ” The Russian fucker smirks.
Molly has tears running down her cheeks. I don’t look at her. I can’t. I need to get us both out of this alive.