Milling around the warehouse, I counted seven armed men.
That meant I was being held captive by at least eight men when I included Baldoni. Maybe more outside that I didn’t see. And Gina, of course.
I’m screwed.
“Tie her up,” Baldoni ordered, and a bald man with a creepy smile came forward, forcing me into a chair and binding me to it with rope that chafed my skin.
“Didn’t I do good, Luca?” Gina asked with a whiny tone of voice that made me flinch.
“It would’ve been better if you’d brought the kid too.”
My lungs seized at the thought of that. I never would have thought I’d be grateful to have been kidnapped, but now that I knew my child could’ve been here with me, I was so damn glad to be here alone I could have cried.
“I couldn’t get to her. Dmitri would have noticed,” Gina said defensively. “You should really thank me for getting this one here. She’s been up Dmitri’s ass constantly, but I had the great idea to get ahold of her while Dmitri was distracted with that little brat.”
Rage rushed through me at that, and I struggled against the tight ropes, wanting to get to her despite the fact that I wouldn’t be able to do anything with all these men standing around.
“Watch your tone,” one of the men snapped at her.
Gina turned her glare on him. “Fuck off, Angelo. I don’t answer to you.”
Her attention shifted back to Luca, who was typing something on his phone and paying no attention to her. Probably not used to being ignored, she moved in close and placed a hand on his chest as she pressed her breasts against his side.
“You know, I took a big risk doing this, Luca,” she purred. “I think I deserve a reward.”
Luca scoffed and shoved her away from him with one hand without even looking away from his phone. The men around us laughed, and I felt a rush of second-hand embarrassment for her, even though I hated this woman right now.
The smart thing to do would have been to take a hint and back off, but I had a feeling Gina was too spoiled for that. She was used to getting her way.
“Don’t push me,” she snapped. “I won’t stand for being treated like that.”
Suddenly, all of the laughter died. Danger was thick in the air as Luca finally looked up. Gina didn’t back down, even when his hard eyes focused on her.
Didn’t she see the disdain on his face?
I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. It worked to my advantage that Gina was the center of attention instead of me, but I didn’t think it was good for her. She was just too obtuse to notice.
“You won’t stand for it?” he asked, and the slow smile that curved his lips was utterly terrifying. And who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m… I’m your informant. I mean, I’ve been helping you for months…”
Finally, there was some dawning fear in her eyes, but I had a feeling it was too late. She’d already mouthed off to the wrong man.
I was afraid that I was about to see something horrible happen.
“You think that makes you special?” Baldoni asked, advancing on her with a slow, calculated movement thatreminded me of a predator. “You think that being a snitch gives you the right to touch me? That it should allow you to have some kind of special attention?”
“I was just…” She backed up a step, but he followed, and my heart dropped when I realized he was reaching for the gun in the holster at his side. Gina didn’t notice because she was staring into his angry eyes. “I thought that we could be—”
His cold laughter cut her off, and he raised his hand with the gun, pointing it at her chest. “We’ll never be anything. You’ve fulfilled your usefulness, and I’m done with you.”
Gina didn’t get a chance to say another word. Baldoni pulled the trigger, and there was once again a deafening bang that made my ears ring. I flinched, then watched as Gina fell to the ground, a hole blown in the center of her chest. Blood spread out beneath her, and her open eyes stared up at nothing. She was dead.
I screamed, the horror of what I just witnessed escaping me before I could even attempt to rein it in. I thrashed against my bindings, desperate than ever to get away, but it was no use.
“Please,” I begged, tears streaming down my face. “Please just let me go. Oh God, I don’t want to die. I don’t want—”
A slap on my cheek made my head snap to the right, and I bit my tongue. Pain radiated from the impact, and it just made me cry harder.