Page 56 of Rescuing Riley
Chapter Twenty-One
The scentof something pungent and disgusting made Riley choke. But the odor wasn’t as bad as the pain in her head. It felt as if someone had whacked her several times with a sledgehammer.
As a male voice drilled through her fuzziness, Riley found herself on the floor of a van, surrounded by musty blankets that stank of urine. She sat up, or tried to, when her head banged against the metal side wall of the van.
“She’s awake,” a male voice said.
Riley knew that voice. It was the same person she’d kneed in the crotch. In record speed, her mind cleared.
Pressing her hands to the floor, she managed to push to a sitting position then oriented her vision to find that they were parked in some alley. At least Riley assumed they were from the dumpster behind the rotund man standing outside the van’s door.
She blinked, and Mr. Gansett came into focus. He’d shucked his business suit for a pair of jeans that looked odd on the hefty man. Riley desperately wanted to call the fashion police. A laugh bubbled to the surface. He owned a fashion company, and she wanted to tell him that high-waisted jeans were out of style. At least she thought they were. In fact, Josh wore his jeans low on his hips.
Oh my. Josh.Riley’s muscles tightened. He was probably worried sick that she wasn’t at the coffee shop. She took inventory of her body. Her hands were tied behind her back, her mouth was gagged with the same fabric Baldy Bart had shoved over her nose, and her ankles were wrapped in thick rope like the kind used to secure a boat to a pier. Nevertheless, Riley wiggled, kicked, and screamed, but no one would hear her since her mouth was gagged.
Mr. Gansett was wearing a smirk that she wanted to rip off.
“Where are we?” Riley tried to ask, scanning every nook and crevice in the beat-up van.
The only window that existed was the windshield, which she couldn’t see through since Mount Everest was blocking her view. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway to know where she was since Mr. Gansett had her phone.
Mount Everest waved.
Really?“How’s the crotch?” Riley was talking to herself since her words were garbled.
Mr. Gansett glanced toward the back of the van. “Well.”
Bart appeared, his bald head shiny or maybe oily. “Taylor isn’t there. And the Feds are all over Liza’s apartment. They won’t find the thumb drive. Moretti and I tore that place apart.” Bart stabbed a finger at Mount Everest.
Riley whipped her head toward Mount Everest. So he was a Moretti? He wasn’t the one that the FBI wanted to put in prison. She’d seen pictures of the old man in the media. Mount Everest was far from old, although now that Riley was really looking at him, she could see that he resembled the elder Moretti with his dark hair and dark eyes.
Moretti grinned, showing pearly whites. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m Stefano Moretti’s son, Leo.”
Riley must’ve had that question written all over her face.
“Get in,” Mr. Gansett said to Bart. “It’s time for our next move.”
Riley tugged at the rope around her wrists, hoping to break free, although for the moment, she was safe. After all, they needed her to accomplish their goal.
Mr. Gansett climbed in, and the van moved with the weight of his body. He sat on a crate opposite Riley then pulled out her phone from the back of his jeans pocket. “What’s your passcode?”
Riley rolled her eyes, hoping he would get the message that he was a moron. Then again, he didn’t strike her as the mafia type. So maybe he hadn’t kidnapped anyone before.
“Take off the gag,” Bart said. “No one is going to hear her. We’re in an alley.”
Mr. Gansett hesitated then acquiesced.
Riley coughed then spit on the floor, taking in a few deep breaths. “Idiot.”
Leo chuckled. “I like her, even though she probably ruined my chances of having kids.”
Again, she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Mount Everest?”
Leo’s eyebrows came together as did Bart’s.
“Never mind. I’m sure you’ll still have kids.” Before she could utter another word, Riley’s phone rang.
In a blur, the phone was in Mr. Gansett’s fat hands. “It seems Liza’s cousin Josh is in a panic over your disappearance.”
