Page 51 of The Don's Prisoner

“Got it. 314 Mechanics St. It’s a huge warehouse, about twice the size of the one where we were storing our guns. They have it marked for demolition… shit, today. And according to the work order, they already started this morning.”

“Robby,” I said, and he nodded.

“Driving faster,” he replied and put the pedal to the floor.

Chapter seventeen

Victoria

I waited and slept because there was nothing else to do.

At first, I had tried to pay attention to the conversations going on outside, but that was no use. I had screamed for a little while, but all that did was wreck my already sore throat. Sleep treated me better; I could run away from my cell and be with Gio again.

It startled me that out of everything I could imagine, my brain went to him. I pictured us sitting on the couch watching a movie, eating popcorn, and laughing together. That's what I wanted to picture if I was about to die and had just realized that I was in love with Gio. I didn’t know when it had happened, and I didn’t really want to know. It was crazy because we had known each other for such a short amount of time, and we had fought each other for most of it, but all I really wanted was his arms around me and his voice in my ear telling me everything would be okay.

I was thinking about him so much that when footsteps echoed in the room, I thought it might be him. I was very wrong on that account.

Rex walked up to the bars holding a key in his hand. I sat in the corner and looked up at him, not getting up or even moving. Why bother? I couldn’t take Rex in a fight. He would flatten me.

“It’s funny how things turn out, isn’t it? I thought you and I were going to go all the way. I wasn’t exactly planning on marrying you, but I could see us being together for a long time. I was even willing to be patient. I have to say, you were the easiest, lowest-maintenance girlfriend I ever had. I bet you and I would have been good together, ya know? We would have been something special,” he said and unlocked the door.

I tensed, looking for a moment for an opportunity to dart past him and run out of that horrible place, but he was very careful to shut and lock the door behind him, locking us both in together. He saw me looking around and smiled, put the key in his pocket, and crouched down to be face-to-face with me.

“No such luck, Vicky. I’m sorry. You aren't leaving this cell. I thought long and hard about how I was going to get back at you, and I think this is the closest to poetic justice that I could manage. See, you getting with De Carlo put me in a cage. If I had just ignored it, then others would screw me over the way you did. Others would think they could do whatever they wanted to me, like not keep their word, and everything I had built, my reputation, would come into question. I can’t have that, you see. So, this is really your fault. You were the one who backed me into a corner.”

“I’m not making you do any of this,” I said through gritted teeth. I wanted to hurt him, scratch his eyes out, but that wouldn’t help. I could see the gun under his left arm. He would just shoot me and be done with it. I needed to try to be sneaky or sly to get out. Maybe steal the key from him without him noticing—bonus points if I could lift his gun as well.

Honestly, I didn’t actually see any of that happening, but a girl could dream.

“Oh, but you are. The minute you chose De Carlo over me, you forced my hand. Did you know that not one girl has ever rejected me? I always get everyone I want. I have a reputation to keep, and you went and blew it up by getting engaged to that wannabe gangster. If you needed to get married, then why not me? Why did you choose him?” he asked. Suddenly, I wasn’t looking at a grown man anymore. I was looking at a little boy who had just been told that the girl he had a crush on had no interest in him. He had never gone through anything like that, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. He had never fully grown up.

“It wasn’t about you,” I told him honestly. Maybe I could appeal to his humanity and make him understand. Maybe then he would let me go. “It was about my brother. I had to agree to marry Gio to lift a debt my brother owed him. I didn’t set out with the thought that I wanted to be with your rival. I didn’t do this to hurt you, Rex. It had nothing to do with you.”

He nodded as if he understood and watched me.

“Alright, that makes sense,” he said and stood up and turned to go.

“Wait!” I called out to him, and he turned. I stood up and took a step towards him. “Listen, I am so sorry that I did this to you, and if there was any way I could go back and keep this from turning out as poorly as it did, I would. But please, just let me go. I’ll… I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

He let out a dark chuckle.

“You can’t make it up to me. Not unless you’re willing to kill De Carlo for me. That would go a long way towards having me forgive you.”

I swallowed and shook my head. I knew my hopes had been false, but it still hurt that appealing to his humanity hadn’t worked.

“I can’t do that.”

“Well, then I guess this is goodbye. They are making great progress on the demolition, and I just paid them double to work through the night and get it done as soon as possible. Soon, you’ll be crushed down here—left to die on your own in the dark. A fitting death if you ask me, seeing as you left me in the dark,” he grinned then unlocked the cell door, went through it, and locked it again.

“Please, Rex, just let me go. I'm sorry! Please…” I called to him, rushing to the bars, begging him to let me out. But he ignored me and just walked away into the dark, disappearing as if he had never been there.

I cried out in frustration and let my hate flow through me. I called after him, screaming myself horse. “I hope he fucking kills you for this, you worthless shithead! I hope he finds you and takes you down off your high horse. You aren't as impressive as you think you are! In fact, I’ll bet you are just covering up for your small dick. Your puny, insignificant cock that you have to pay women to suck…”

He came racing back towards the cage bars like a tiger pouncing. His arm shot through the iron rails and grabbed the back of my neck before I even realized he was there. He yanked my head forward, bouncing it off the steel. My forehead exploded in pain, and I dropped to my knees, losing my focus and vision with the burst of pain in my head.

I heard the lock turn and the door open, but I didn’t see him come in. I felt his boot against my ribs as he kicked me, repeatedly, and I heard his voice.

“Fucking bitch. I was going to let you die in one piece, but you insisted. I was being nice. I was trying to be a good guy about this, but you couldn’t just shut your fucking mouth now, could you?” he spat. My whole right side was a mesh of pain and my head throbbed. I curled up into a ball, trying to protect myself, but it didn’t seem to matter. He continued to kick and kick until I was throwing up blood and my whole right side had gone numb.

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