Page 52 of Mechanic

Chapter 30

Roderick

When Antonia called me in the middle of the night, I knew something was wrong. Hearing her tale was nothing like I expected. Immediately after leaving her apartment, I called Aymond. He knew something was wrong when he saw who was calling and what time of day it was.

We talked briefly, and after hanging up with him, I made a call to my pilot. An hour later, my plane was on its way to Las Vegas to pick up Aymond and Shawna.

I managed to grab a couple hours of sleep before I was in my office making phone calls. All of that brings us to now.

Antonia has dealt about five hands when the shouting starts. Fists start flying as accusations of cheating can be heard throughthe room. Everything is going according to plan until Tony reacts to the situation.

He is the one variable we couldn’t plan for.

As quickly as the fighting starts, it ends. Looking around the room, I find the security guard unconscious on the floor, a small trickle of blood running from his temple. As bad as it sounds, that is the least of our issues.

Tony and Antonia are nowhere to be seen, and neither is the buy-in money.

Chapter 31

Antonia

If I thought I was nervous before, it is nothing like my current situation. While the men were throwing punches and distracted, Tony was laser-focused on me. Once their backs were turned, Tony grabbed me by the arm and started to drag me from the room.

Instead of moving through the casino, he takes all of the back hallways. Somehow, we end up in the hotel. Since I live in town, I have never been here and have no idea where in the building he is taking me.

With every step Tony takes, I struggle and fight to get away from him. His tight grip on my arm is no doubt leaving bruises. Rounding a bend, Tony struggles to open a door, and I use it to my advantage.

Instead of pulling away from him, I push into his large frame. Losing his balance, he drops his ill-gotten gains and releases me in the process. It takes a moment to realize I am free, and I start to run in the opposite direction.

My freedom is short-lived as Tony catches up to me, tackling me to the ground. I land a couple of solid hits, thanks to my self-defense classes from college, but it isn’t enough. Tony lands a few hits of his own, and with an echoing crack, I am no longer struggling, and the world goes dark.

My eyes flutter open, and every breath I take is labored, and my head feels like a spike has been pounded into it. Trying to lift my hand to my head, something stops me. That is when I make the mistake of looking down.

A gasp escapes me as I stare into the dark abyss. Looking up, I see rafters crisscrossing above my head.

“Ahh, you’re awake,” Tony’s voice has my head snapping in his direction. The movement has me wincing in pain. “You and your boyfriend have really gone too far this time,” he sneers, throwing paper at me. My eyes track the movement as it falls down the shaft I am hanging in.

“You stupid bitch! You couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut, could you!” he shouts.

Looking over Tony’s appearance from what appears to be a doorway, his hair is sticking up in all directions. The case that held the buy-in money from the poker game is open. Pieces of paper, similar to the ones he just dropped to my feet, are scattered on the floor. It’s then that I realize he has discoveredthat instead of real money, I accepted play money. The big payday Tony expected to walk away with doesn’t exist.

Tony grabs a large piece of metal and takes a swing in my direction. The pipe or crowbar makes contact with my torso, causing me to call out in pain. I swing and spin like a human pinata as bile fills my mouth. Spots dance before my eyes, and my breathing is becoming a chore.

“Antonia…” Roderick’s voice floats from somewhere.

“Roderick…” my voice is no more than a whisper since I can’t catch my breath.

“I will release her down this elevator shaft if you come any closer!” Tony yells, his head moving about. I guess he can’t tell where Roderick is either. The rope that Tony used to tie me up makes a noise like it is stretched to its limit, and my body jerks slightly. As I spin around to face Tony, the gleam he has in his eyes makes me nervous.

He disappears briefly before returning with some kind of torch and holding it toward the rope above my head.

“You don’t want to do that,” Roderick says from behind Tony. Rod’s voice is even, and for the briefest of moments, he glances at me before returning his gaze to Tony.

“Yes, I really think I want to,” Tony says to Roderick, waving the torch in my direction.

My focus is on Roderick and the sudden jolt on the rope keeping me alive has me crying out in panic. Tony’s attention turns to me and he closes in on me.

“Get away from her!”

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