by Cala Riley
He looks around as he bites his lip. He is considering it, which is good.
“I won’t be gone long. Give me your hands.”
He produces yet another zip tie from his pocket and makes the “cuffs” again, this time in front.
“Don’t try anything.”
“I won’t.”
I lie down on the bed and put my hands under my cheek.
“Don’t make me regret this.
“I won’t.”
I am such a liar, but thankfully I am good at it. He leaves the room and I lie still. I hear the lock click and then I count a full minute before I sit back up. Now that I can move, I get up and look all around the room and search under the bed closer. I curse as I confirm my suspicions. There is nothing in this room that can help me.
I lie back on the bed with my head towards the foot of the bed so I can keep an eye on the door. I stretch my arms above to rest my hands on the bars of the frame. One of them moves.
I look up and wiggle it and it moves more. I sit up and look closer and see that it is rusted so every time I move it, it is becoming looser and looser. I try to shake it more and more, being conscious of the noise it is making. It takes me a good 5 minutes, but I am finally able to work it loose.
I do a mental dance as I hold the small metal bar in my hand. Holding it in my hand, it is long enough to go to my mid wrist. Not perfect, but it will work in a pinch. I shove it in my waistband and pull my t-shirt over it. I lie back down feeling my heart beating erratically. I feel a smile spread on my face.
Finally, hope.
Bastiano
“The only one we have found is Tony. He was at work all day. Isabella and Mia’s house was broken into. We found Frank and Johnny. They each had two to the head in the cars outside their house. No sign of the girls, but it does look like they struggled. They didn’t go without a fight.”
Lo gives me an update on what we know. I have been pacing the meeting room of my house since we arrived back.
“Where was Gio?”
“I guess he had been sent to get food for the girls. When I called him, he immediately went back, but found the dead guards. He didn’t answer his phone because he was clearing the house.”
“What about the warehouse?”
“No information from there yet. Gio has the fox working on it.”
The Fox. My best hitman. He is also the man we call when we need information. He has such a unique ability to get information out of people. The techniques he uses are superb.
“Keep me updated. What can we do?”
“I don’t know, Bash. I don’t know. Trust me, I want to do something too. I swear if Mia is hurt, I will kill each and every person who touched her.”
I understood his feelings. The thought of someone hurting Sofia has been driving me insane. Every time I think about it, I want to hit something.
“Any leads with Luca? What he has been doing in his free time?”
I think that is what has been bothering me the most. Luca told the guards he was supposed to bring Sofia to me on my orders. No one knew to question him. His betrayal is the worst. Not because we were close, but because I hand picked him for her.
“What does our friend on the outside say?”
“He hasn’t checked in yet. He should be calling soon.”
As if he spoke, his phone rang.
“Speak.”
I watch him as he nods and curses.
“Shit. Hold on.” He puts the phone on speaker and sets it on the table in front of us. “Repeat what you just told me. I have Bash here.”
“I have confirmation that Ryan is in town. He was seen with Richard in the office yesterday.”
“So, Ryan is the one who has them.”
“I think so. It gets worse. I asked my contact within who I trust, and they were able to get some information for me. Seems Richard has been working with some lower level member of the family. I know this line isn’t fully clear so I don’t want you to say anything, but I am going to tell you this now. It was someone from Fillipo’s crew.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Fillipo has been quiet since I took over. I thought it was a sign that he was accepting the fact that I am boss now. He has missed a couple meetings, but so have other capos. It is normal for them to send someone else in their place as proxy. Hell, I send Lo and Gio as proxy myself.
“I will look for more information and get back with you.”
“Thanks.” Lo answers for me before he hands up.
“I want you to find out what Fillipo has been up to. Don’t let on that we know someone in his crew might be involved.”
Lo goes to leave, but a large crash sends us both running into the foyer. We each have our weapons drawn as we run in. Several of my other men run in as well.
I see a table turned over with a vase on the ground busted. Matteo is on the ground groaning.
“Matteo. What are you doing down here?”
Lo and I rush to help him up.
“I haven’t seen anyone in a while. I started to get worried. I thought Sofia would be back by now.”
“What do you mean?”
We help him into a chair in the meeting room as the other men get back to their posts. We are all on edge today it seems.
“I was doing my physical therapy and decided to take a walk around the halls. I overhead her and Luca talking. She got a phone call. She was really upset. She was on the phone with Gina. Heard her say her uncle was hurt. She begged Luca to take her to see him and Luca agreed. I thought that was suspicious so I stepped out to stop them.”
He looks down guiltily then.
“I know I should have called you, but she asked me what if it was my mom’s or my sister? That hit home for me. I let her go. Do you know where she is? I’ve been worried.”
“She’s missing. I suspect Luca kidnapped her.”
His face pales and he looks ready to pass out.
“You need to get back upstairs and rest. We will find her. You just helped a lot.”
“No. This is my fault. I knew something was wrong with the situation. No guard of yours would ever allow her to disobey you without calling you. I am an idiot. Let me help you find her then you can punish me however you see fit.”
I rub my hands on my face.
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I trusted that fucker. I assigned him to her.” I let out a sigh. “No need in thinking about that now. Let’s just find the girls and get them home.”
“Girls? Wait, Mia and Izzy are missing too?”
“Yeah.” I say to him before turning to Lo. “Find Gina. Trace her steps. We need to find them now.”
Lo nods then picks up his phone to make a call.
“Who do you think did this, Don Bastiano?”
“The ex and someone from capo Fillipo crew. That’s all we have now.”
“Wait. You said Fillipo?”
“Yeah, why?”
“A couple months back, right after your father died, some guys from his crew came around asking questions. I thought they were either testing me or looking for support for Fillipo to make a play for Don. I shut them down quick, vowing my loyalty to you and they left me alone. They talked to Luca too. Luca talked to me later and told me they asked him the same thing.”
It was like pieces were all clicking into place suddenly. Fillipo definitely had something to do with this and once I got proof, I am going to put a bullet into his head.
“Bash.” Lo grabs my attention. “Gina is gone too. Tony hasn’t seen her. They had a fight about Sofia earlier and she disappeared. He thought she just left him. I didn’t tell him what was going on, just that I wanted to talk to her.”
“Where the fuck can they be?”
“I think I might have an idea.”
Matteo says.
“Back before I started running for the Queens crew, I did a stint with the Staten Island crew. I didn’t like the way Fillipo ran things so I eventually asked for a transfer, claiming it was because I
wanted to be closer to my family, who live in Queens. It was granted. Before I left though, Fillipo had started obtaining land in New Jersey. I didn’t know why, just that we would be assigned to go and make trouble to drive the property value down so he could get it at a better price. If Fillipo really is involved, I bet she is at a property there.”
I feel a weigh slightly lift.
“Thanks, Matteo. That is the most helpful information we have gotten yet. Lo?”
“Already on it.”
∞∞∞
“Alright. Everyone gear up and meet in the meeting room in twenty.”
I call out to my men who are milling around the foyer. Some nod while everyone goes to each section we have set up with varying levels of weapons, ammo, and bullet proof vests.
“Here, boss.”
Lo throws me my custom-made vest. I pull my black t-shirt up over my head and strap it on. I don’t know what we are going to find, but we need to find something.
Lo was able to get back into contact with Ty and get us a list of his properties in Jersey. With that, we were able to narrow down the list from 20 to 3. We are hoping they aren’t keeping them in one of the 17 residential houses. Especially since it seems like they are occupied by tenants.
The last three, my boys are sitting on. One is a large warehouse that looks run down. It looks like it used to be some manufacturing plant or something similar. The second, is a Cash Checking business. It is small, but there is nothing around so they could be there. The third, is an active warehouse. It is used for bottling water.
Once I am suited back up, I walk into the meeting room and stand at the head of the table. I wait as the men quickly filter in. Like me, they are all dressed in black. Each one of us has some type of black pants on. Mine are cargo pants so I can hold a variety of different weapons on me. I see many of my men have chosen a similar style. Over our bulletproof vests, we each wear a plain black t-shirt.
Gio walks up to me and holds out my black hoodie and beanie.
“Is everyone ready?” I ask as I slip the hoodie on and push the hat into my pocket.
“Just about.”
“Good.”
I turn to the men pushing to fill every space of the room. I speak up so that everyone can hear me.
“Alright. First, let me thank you for always being willing to step up and do whatever is needed of your Don. This mission is especially important to me. They have something that is mine. I haven’t made it widely known yet, but I can’t keep it secret. They took my woman.” I pause.
I see some of the men’s eyes widen. It is a serious thing to take any man’s woman, but taking a Don’s woman? That was asking for certain death.
“Not only have they taken my woman, they have also taken Giovanni and Lorenzo’s women who are friends with my Sofia. I sent pictures of all three to your phones. Memorize their faces. This is your number one priority. Once you find one of them, your only goal is to safely get them out. Then you bring them straight back here and protect them with your life. Then send me a text with this phrase. ‘Purple elephants have stormed the castle.’ If we can get lucky, you will find all three together. “
I see various men nod. The serious looks on their faces tells me these men are ready. They are going to do whatever they have to in order to find these women. It gives me some comfort knowing that my men seem loyal.
“Anyone found to disobey these orders or harm the women will be killed. We have had one betrayal in the family. Luca Delarossa is the enemy. If you see him, put a bullet in his head. No questions asked. If you see one of these men around you are harming the women or doing something you feel is suspicious, well do what you have to do. We need to be able to trust each other. If you don’t trust your team completely, then this won’t work.”
I scan the room looking into as many men’s eyes as I can. There has to be at least 30 men packed into this room and another 50 spilling out into the foyer and the rest of the house. These men came when I called. They are putting their lives at risk. That sight humbles me. I might not have wanted this position, but these men are willing to follow me. I need to stop second guessing myself and resenting my life and embrace it.
Lo steps up.
“Thinking about trust. I need you to split into four different groups. Do so quickly Capo’s John, Charlie, Nick, and Vito will be the lead. Hurry up.”
Within minutes each Capo came to the front, ready for their groups assignment.
I turn to Vito.
“You are going to hold down home base. No one is to enter and leave unless they are with me or they have the girls. These men will check in with you once they are done. If you haven’t heard from a crew, send them that way.”
He nods. I hand the remaining three a sheet of paper.
“These are the addresses you will be searching. Do a thorough search. Try not to hurt any innocents, but you have permission to do whatever needs to be done.”
I think over the addresses and try to decide which one I will search. Which one will she be in? It takes only a moment, but I make my decision. I trust my gut.
“Charlie, Lo and I will be going with you. Gio, you will wait here and be the head if anything should happen to me.”
His eyes flare, but he nods agreement. I know he wants to go too, but I need to leave someone I trust completely here.
“Let’s go boys. Be safe out there and find our girls.”
Chapter Fifteen
Sofia
It seemed like forever, but Luca finally came back. Thankfully, I had time to figure out a plan. I laid on my side facing the door with my hands curled under my face. I closed my eyes and kept them closed, even after I heard him come back in. I feel myself tense a little as he walks in, but I force my body to relax.
“Sofia?” He says as he comes closer and softly caresses my head.
I want to punch him or back away, but I force myself to stay. I hear him sigh.
“I am likely going to regret this.” He mumbles to himself as he leans down and kisses my head. “Sleep well, Sofia. I will come back and check on you in a bit.”
Then he leaves. He actually leaves. I cannot believe that he just walked out of the room leaving me without my restraints. Again. I am wearing him down. Inside I am screaming, but I remain “sleeping” for another 10 minutes from my count. Once I am sure he isn’t coming back, I get up and go to the door. I hear the lock click back into place so I know it won’t open. I hold my ear to the door and listen. Everything seems quiet. I let out a sigh of relief. It feels like something is going my way.
I then inspect the door. It is just a normal wooden door. That gives me hope. I wasn’t lying before. I have no clue how to pick a lock and even if I did, I don’t have anything to do it with. What I can do though is use my brain.
I take my metal weapon out and really look at it. It is jagged on each end, which will be good to stab someone, but that is not what I need it for right now. I need to get out of this door. I put it back in my waist band.
I sit back on the bed and stare at the door, going over how I could possibly get out of this room. After a couple minutes, I see that the frame of the door is rotted a little bit. My heart starts to race. I jump up and try to use my hands to pry the wood off. A few pieces flake, but not enough to make a difference. I dig my nails in and try again. Still only small splinters of wood.
I growl in frustration. I saw the light and now it’s starting to dip again.
After mentally cussing for a couple of minutes, I step back and look at the door again. I know I can do this, I just need to think smart. I wish I had a credit card. I could just slide it in the open space and pop the door open. I need leverage.
I bite my lip as I consider my options. I pull my weapon back out and look at it again. While it could probably peel more of the wood off, it probably won’t do enough. Besides, I don’t know how long I have until Luca comes back.
A bright idea pops into my head. If I pinch the end together, I can slide it in the door and u
se it as leverage to pop the door open. I put it on the ground and step on it, putting all my weight on the one end. It moves a little, but doesn’t pinch like I hoped it would.
“Son of a bitch.” I mutter to myself.
I feel like the walls are starting to close in. In the back of my mind, this clock is clicking down the time I have to get out of here. I feel a little panic start to bubble up, but I try to breathe through it. I look back at the bed. I might be able to use one of the legs to smash down the end of the piece in my hand.
I lean down and place the end of my piece under the corner of the bed. I pull down with all my might and it works a little more, but it is not as flat as I need it. I stand up and press down on the top of the bed frame on that corner and smile when the piece pinches together just like I needed.
Yes!
I pick it up and feel relief fill me. This is going to work. It has to. I go back to the door and press my ear to it again. Still no noise. This time, I am getting out of here. I slide the metal piece in-between the frame and the door right at the door jam. I take a couple of deep breaths before I pull the metal piece towards the door. A loud cracking sound rings out as the frame breaks a part. My metal piece bends, but I don’t even care at this point. It will still work as a weapon. I start to feel panicked as I realize how loud the wood cracking really was.
I press my ear back to the door and listen. I hear footsteps echoing down the hall so I reach down and grab the broken piece of wood and dive back into bed. My heart races as I wait to be caught. I try to steady my breathing as I feel the metal piece digging into my hand reminding me that I have a way to defend myself. The bite of the metal stings, but I don’t loosen my grip. Nothing could cause me to let go of my weapon.
After what seems like 10 minutes, I begin to relax. No one came in to check on me. I get back up and tip toe back to the door and press my ear back to the door. I stand and listen. I keep listening as I give myself an internal pep talk.
