With that, John is gone. I sit in the car, my face looking up into the dark, clouded sky. I don’t know if John was trying to convince me or himself that he would come out of there alive. It’s the first time John has left me with any kind of doubt. Shit is about to be real, and son of a bitch if I’m not worried.

Salvatore turns from his position outside of the car, his eyes filled with regret and sadness. He knows what’s about to happen. How could he not? John works for him. He’s also very aware of the type of cold, hard killer his son is.

I run my hands through my hair. I need something, anything, to help me keep my mind from its negative thoughts. A cigarette. Smoke inhaling through my nose. Into my lungs. That’s what I need.

Exiting the car, I bum a few from one of the guys, then sit back in the car and fire it up. I suck in the deep aroma, letting it fill my lungs before I exhale. It does nothing. I put it out just as quickly as I lit the damn thing and lean my head back. I watch two ambulances pull in. The EMTs get out and shake hands with Salvatore. I watch him work his magic with all the men around him.

I don’t envy him at this precise moment. He’s a good man, a decent man. One who doesn’t deserve to be fighting the unknown of what’s happening inside his warehouse. He didn’t even see what was in that video, and yet, I know he knows. He’s aware of everything. Controls everything. I stay focused on him. He may be acting in control right now, his words rough and his smile tight. But he’s not. His shoulders are slouched. He keeps checking his phone and his watch. The building up the road.

I survey him until I feel like I have him all figured out. Until I see him look once more toward the building. The building that holds my heart.

“I want to ask you something, Calla.”

I remember that moment so well in my mind. The way her eyes got huge. The strange look she gave me.

“What? That you want to marry me?” she’d teased, her head lying in my lap. We were at the park that day. Moms were pushing their children on the swings. We were surrounded by laughter, though somehow it seemed it was only the two of us.

“How the hell did you know I was going to ask you?”

I puffed out my chest like the badass teenager I thought I was. She pushed herself up off of my lap and started jumping up and down, screaming.

“Yes! A thousand times, yes!”

We talked it all out. Planned it all out. Thought we would have the world at our feet and that no one would be able to keep us apart again. Little did we know the very same day she became my wife, she would be ripped away from me by the one person I trusted. And now, when I finally have her back, have a chance to prove to her that I love her so damn much I ache, I can’t do anything but sit in this car and stare at that front door. Willing it to open.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Calla

My head is thrown back by her punch, though it barely scrapes the surface of the pain my body is in. She hovers above me, her tiny frame seeming so much smaller than I remember. Drugs will do that to you. Make you lose your appetite. The only craving you have is the desire for your next hit, your next score, or whatever the hell you call it. She’s a fucking druggie.

I tilt my head to the side, doing my best to try and muffle the sounds of my cries from the sudden jolt to my shoulder. The numbness from holding it still for so long causing a surge of the worst pain I have ever had to progress its way down my arm.

“You’re not so tough now, are you? Cain’s not here to protect you this time.”

She puts her face up close to mine.

“Do you know how long I have waited for today? A long time. I’ve loved Cain ever since I can remember, and then, Boom! Out of nowhere comes you. You stole him from me, and now you’re going to pay.”

The bitch lunges at me, clamping a vice-like grip onto my shoulder, her fingers pressing deeply into my wounded flesh.

“Aaggh!” I scream out in agony. “Fuck you!”

I spit in her face.

“You weak cunt. That’s the best you got? You’re fucking pathetic,” I hiss.

“Calla. Shut the hell up.”

Manny speaks with a thick tongue, his words scarcely intelligible.

Royal steps in front of his brother, backhanding him across the face.

“You shut the hell up, brother. This isn’t your call. Emerald, hurry the hell up. You have five minutes to play. And guess what, sweetheart? I’ve all of a sudden changed my mind.”

Changed his mind about what? He glances down at his watch, lightly tapping his fingers on the face.

“Since the two of you are clearly testing my patience, I’ve decided to kill you both. Do what you want with her, she’s no use to me. He can watch this time,” he says, flicking his hand.

I watch in horror as he walks over to Manny whose eyes are pleading with mine to hold on for as long as I can.

“Then I’m going to fuck her up good,” says Emerald with ill-suppressed glee.

She grabs a handful of my hair. I can do nothing but cry out. The view of the room changes as I land with a loud thud on the floor. Emerald yanks and tugs, walking backwards, pulling me by my hair. My neck and shoulders scrape across the coarse cement. I squeeze the backs of my legs up against the chair as they smack up and down.

Manny is screaming for Emerald to let me go. The farther away I get from him, the more panic arises. I feel the blood drain from my face. My mind tells me this is the end. You’re about to die.

She lets go of my hair. My neck muscles volley to stay upright. I’m left there for a few seconds, barely able to catch my breath.

“Let’s see how you like this? Three, two, one, go!” her voice squeals.

My body goes stiff as a board. I’ve lost all motor skills, though I’m entirely cognizant of my surroundings. I’ve never been electrocuted, but that’s what it feels like. My entire body starts to convulse. My side is on fire from whatever she is pressing into my skin. She’s tormenting me in raw, horrendous fashion. All I want to do is die. I grind down hard on my teeth, afraid I will swallow my tongue. And then it’s over. The convulsions stop, but the burning in my side is still there. I breathe in and out as best as I can. I hear a loud clunk next to my ear and I slant my head to the side to see what it is. She used a Taser gun on me.

One of her feet steps on my head, then both of her feet come together, squeezing so much pressure on my skull that I feel it down to my toes. I begin to choke. I feel vessels popping in my brain. All the while she laughs. She knows she has me. I’m restrained. Even if someone took the tape off of me now, I’m too weak to fight.

“Royal told me how much you love this. I love it, too. Did you know too much of it can kill you? Cause you to have a heart attack?”

I try to talk, but nothing comes out but a gurgle. The needle in her hand gets closer and closer to my neck. I feel her weight when she sits on my chest. I feel the sting of the needle, not in my neck, but in my arm. Once again, I feel the burning sensation rushing through my veins. The feeling I have... it’s worse this time. I can’t explain. I have only a second before she is up and off of me. My eyes roll into the back of my head.

My vision is blurry. I watch her stand up, her small frame towering over me now. Seconds tick by. Her foot, decorated in a pair of boots, appears over the top of my face. A cruel smirk crosses her face. I close my eyes, bracing for the impact of her slamming that boot into my face.

My lungs burn with each small breath I try to take. This is it. I’m going to die. My entire life flashes before my eyes. All those happy memories of my childhood. My parents’ excitement when I would open my favorite present on Christmas morning. Curling up on my dad’s lap for him to read me a story. Making cookies with my mom. The look on Cain’s face when he first told me he loved me. The moment he kissed me after we got married. The happiest memories of my life. I wait.