Page 196 of Rosetti Family New York
“Maddy didn’t tell me everything,” I say, matching his tone and leaving out the part where she told me absolutely nothing. “But you’re going to.”
My voice sounds steadier than I feel, but the quiver in my stomach is real. He glares at me. Everyone is watching, waiting to see what happens next.
The blonde crosses her arms, the smirk heavy on her lips.
“This bitch is crazy,” she says to no one in particular.
But Ethan doesn’t look amused anymore.
A loud crack makes me jump. Ethan bangs his fist on the table.
“Get out,” he growls.
One of the guys moves in, grabs my arm.
“You heard him. Beat it.”
I twist free.
“Ethan!” I say, panic edging my voice. “You owe me the truth.”
He stands, ice in his stare.
“If I owe you anything, it’s this. Get. Out.”
“Fine,” I say, my breath hitching. “I’ll ask the Callahans instead.”
The room goes still, everyone stopping to stare. Dust floats in the air, our breaths hanging like the radiator is sucking the heat out of everything. The guys circle in, eyes fixed on me, Ethan’s stare the loudest of all. He’s too quiet, studying my face like he’s trying to peel back the layers.
“What did you just say?” he demands, closing the space between us.
His breath is too close to mine, wrapping around me, hot and sour.
“She said she’ll go to the Callahans,” one of the crew echoes, his face blurry behind Ethan’s.
He’s practically shoving the words into Ethan’s ear.
“Sounded a bit like a threat to me,” another chimes in, amused in the nastiest way.
“Funny,” Ethan sneers, giving me a look that could cut glass. “It sounded to me like she said she doesn’t want to leave. Ever.”
“No,” I begin, but then the room spins, and suddenly, I’m yanked backward.
Stumbling back into the other men. One guy is pulling on me. Another guy wraps an arm around me, vice-tight, while a third jerks my hands behind my back. Rough rope tears at my skin, biting into my wrists, then they pull me down a corridor to a back bedroom.
“Think she knows so much,” one sneers.
“Doesn’t know shit,” the other says, pushing me through a door.
I land hard on a bare floor, knees screaming.
“Stay put, smartass.”
A final, hateful glance, and they slam the door shut.
Now I’m alone. My heart thuds against the sudden quiet. The room is cold and damp, empty except for me and the burning ropes on my wrists. I wriggle across the room on my ass and press my back against the wall to steady myself. Ethan doesn’t care about me or Maddy. His smug smile spins in my mind, taunting, impossible to erase. I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have pushed.
But I did. And now I have to wait.
