Page 2 of Little Deer
“What do you expect from someone like her?” the older voice demands, sounding cold and bored. “The buyer will be here tomorrow night. Leave her be for now, and we’ll get someone to clean her up once she’s awake. The quieter she is the better. If she’s anything like her sisters then the last thing we need is her opening that stupid mouth of hers.”
“When she wakes up we’ll gag her,” one of them laughs. “Make sure it’s in there good and tight so that she chokes if she tries to talk.” The other one snickers. Fuckers. Are these guys somehow related to me? Fuck that. No fucking way will I ever accept that.
“Get out there and make sure that the shipment is ready to go tonight. We’re behind what I wanted to be thanks to the fuckingshit show that happened at Esposito’s. And make sure that the footage of her being taken is gone. I don’t want those fucking Caruso bastards to find out about her.”
“So, what, you’re not worried about Marco or Giovanni?”
There’s a sound of someone being slapped hard. “Don’t fucking question me,” the older voice practically hisses, fury making it harsh and grating. The tension in the room grows. “Get the fuck out of here and get back to fucking work.”
“Yes, Father,” one of them says, clearly subdued. Wait,Father? This is their father? And if they’re somehow related to me, then this guy is too. It’s too exhausting to think about the possibilities of what that might mean.
I hear footsteps leave the room, but I don’t move, something cautioning me. Telling me to be still. Suddenly, I feel my head being lifted, and while I can see the brightness through my closed lids, I can’t make them open. I can’t utter a sound. A small blessing. Who knew I would be glad to be drugged enough to be this way, but still awake enough to listen and retain.
“Another version of my fucking ex-wife,” the man mutters, sounding disappointed and almost angry. “It’s as if she’s trying to punish me by having to stare at her face every time one of you shows up. The only smart thing she did was make it so my sons only resemble me. Otherwise I might have killed one of them too so I didn’t have to look at her every day. And just like her, you’re only useful for a few things. And while your sisters are currently spreading their legs like the whores they are, you are going to be what finally fixes this entire fucking mess.” He makes a sound of disgust as he releases my head, my chin hitting my chest. Then he’s gone, and I’m once again left in the dark.
All I can do is pray that the drugs wear off soon so I can get out of here. I need to get back to my son. They clearly don’t realize I’ve had him, or that the only reason they haven’t touched me is thanks to him only being six weeks old.
I have to be strong. I have to get out of here and get home to him. I picture his small face as the darkness finally pulls me under again.
2
MASSIMO
“Talk to me, Zeno,”I say sharply as the SUV races out of Nico’s driveway and onto the empty road. It’s not super late, but the roads are thankfully clear. Alonzo is behind the wheel, with three of our men sitting in the back, tense and silent.
“I’ve texted you the exact location,” Zeno answers briskly, and I hear keys clicking on the other end. Between him, Urso, and Aurelio, they’ll have all the information we need before we get there.
“What kind of warehouse is it, Zeno?” Alonzo demands as he heads toward the location I quickly show him. “Any vantage points around it that we can use?” You’d think a man as big as him would have a problem driving in this city, but being here as long as we have he’s clearly mastered the art. At six-five, he’s the shortest man in his family, though that’s a laughable statement, with muscles on muscles, dark hair and eyes.
“The area is mostly trees and woods so there’s nothing for you to perch on,” Zeno answers after a brief silence. “The placelooks abandoned as if it hasn’t been used in years. Boarded up and graffiti everywhere.”
“Probably their way of keeping people away from it. How large is the building?” I ask.
“It’s an average size of about sixteen thousand square feet, but it’s mostly open from the old pictures that I’ve found. Office spaces on the second floor. Two ways to access that, either from the front to the right, or a back stairwell and go to the left. Four large office spaces up there on the right side, and three on the left, along with a custodial closet on the left side in the far corner.”
“They’re probably going to keep her in one of those offices. Alonzo, you want to draw fire and I’ll try to find the girl?”
He nods, his eyes never leaving the road. “Zeno, is there a way to access the roof?”
More clicking.
“There are two fire escape ladders that lead up to the top of the building on the outside. There’s one on the back out of sight, and another one toward the front on the right side of the building. Access to the roof from the inside is showing a door near the custodial closet on the left.”
“So basic layout, and lots of places for them to have their men walking around,” Alonzo states, his mouth pulled into a grim line. He glances over at me. “We’re going to need a way to pull them all, or at least most of them out, that isn’t super obvious. Leonardo is going to immediately close ranks and try to get out with the girl at the first sign of a problem.”
I nod, my mind already racing to figure out a way to handle this that won’t end up with all of us dead. “What about a basement? Or is it just a ground floor?”
Zeno is quiet for a moment before he answers, “The original blue prints show that there was a cellar added to it, but when new owners took it over, the new plans they sent through to thecity show that it was removed and filled in. No other plan with the city have been filed since Leonardo took it over under a shell corporation.”
“Even if it was filled in, they could have opened it again.”
“And if someone goes into the main warehouse, they won’t want someone finding something they shouldn’t. Zeno, send through the original location of the cellar, and we’ll check it out. Knowing Leonardo and his love for secret tunnels, I wouldn’t put it past him to hide another one there. Is the information that we have only Leonardo and his men or is there a chance his sons are there too?”
“No sighting of them, but he doesn’t normally go too far without them, so we can’t discount them being there as well,” Zeno answers. “And I just sent through the information from the original plans to your cells. Looks like it was on the back side, closest to the trees, and under the fire escape there. And if the sons are in there, then there has to be a way for them to get in without being seen.”
“What do we know about the girl?” I ask, switching topics. Any information we have will make it easier to find her and make sure we grab the right one. I wouldn’t put it past Leonardo to be using this place to hide the people he’s trafficking..
“I had to get creative, but I eventually found them snatching her on a city camera, but I’m still running analysis to see if I can get any more information on her. From what I can see, they surprised her, and she dropped something when they grabbed her.”
