Page 63 of Taken By the Mafia King
For an hour or so, I lost myself in the movie, not thinking about anything else. I was nearly finished with my popcorn and second soda when movement out of the corner of my eye caused me to jump. A flash of light splayed across the screen before the door closed again. Tommaso braced himself against the door and snickered at me hiding behind my blanket. “Look alive, Bianchi.”
“You scared me to death!” I hissed as Tommaso slowly lowered himself onto the opposite side of the couch, his face twisted in a pained grimace. I could tell he was in agony just by his coloring and the way he moved.
“What are you watching?”
“Something dumb,” I replied before popping a few pieces of popcorn in my mouth. “I can restart it, if you want?”
“I have a feeling you’re not supposed to be out of your room right now.” He shook his head at me and grabbed a handful of my popcorn.
“What gives you that impression?” I snorted, turning back to the screen.
For a few minutes we watched the movie in silence. Tommaso ate some more of my popcorn, which I hadn’t particularly wanted to share. I could always make more. Besides, I owed him for not alerting Killian about what I was up to.
Eventually, I asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Like I got shot through the chest,” he deadpanned. “Better than I have been feeling, I guess.”
“You’re up and moving around, so that’s good.”
“I suppose.”
“Is it true the whole crew is on lockdown right now?”
“You know I can’t say anything about that.”
I pursed my lips. “Tommaso, can you please just tell me something? For my own sake.”
“What do you need to know? About the raids?”
“I don’t care about that.” I sucked in my breath and blew it out in a whoosh. “Look. I’ve been trapped here for weeks. I don’t know who to trust. I just want to know if there’s a chance someone is coming for me. Do you think there’s a chance a plan is in place to secure my rescue, my freedom?”
Tommaso only stared at me, an unreadable emotion passing behind his eyes.
“I’m trying not to feel hopeless but it’s hard, okay? Every day is harder than the last. I felt like my dad should’ve come by now.”
“He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re asking,” he finally said.
“Then why hasn’t he come?” I rubbed my hands over my thighs and looked up at Tommaso through my lashes. His phone had slipped out of his pocket and onto the couch between us. I shifted my position on the couch, fluffing the blanket as I moved so it fell over the device. I reached for it, my fingers grazing over the case as I continued. “Does my dad have secrets, or am I just losing my mind? Did he make a bad deal and that’s why I’m here?”
“I honestly… I can’t say.” His expression was sympathetic, which made me feel a bit bad for what I was doing. But not bad enough to make me stop.
I nodded, forcing a morose expression on my face. But I wasn’t sad at all, not like I should have been. Under the blanket, I slid Tommaso’s phone into the pocket of my sweatpants, praying he had it on silent.
“It’s fine,” I whispered, then stood, balling up the blanket and tossing it back on the couch. “I think I’m going to go lay down for a while.”
“I’m sorry, Sera.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, giving him a sympathetic smile.
“I’ll walk with you.”
I nodded but internally cursed as Tommaso’s phone settled like a dead weight in my pocket. I couldn’t be caught with it in my room. That would raise too many questions. I needed to use it and then leave it somewhere on the second floor so it looked like he carelessly dropped it.
“Sure. But I need to use the bathroom. Is there one down here?”
CHAPTER 47
SERA
