Chapter Fifteen

Matteo

I wake up in a warehouse that smells like it's been empty for quite some time. My head feels like it's been bounced off concrete and the sticky liquid in a trail down my face isn't foreign to me. It's blood. And it's mine. I reach up to assess the damage but find my hands zip tied behind my back. Shit. How long have I been here? Hours? Days?

My thoughts instantly go to her. Is she safe? Do they have her, too? Do they even know about her?

I fumble around and am able to pull my wallet out of my back pocket. It's only then that I realize the Don has sent amateurs to do this. Moving my fingers along the crease, I find the small, sharpened blade tucked into the leather. I pull it out run it along the zip tie, slicing it and freeing my hands.

Footsteps over head grow louder and I sit as quietly as I can. Someone is talking on a cell phone.

"We are supposed to move him there tonight. I am waiting for the car to get here. Yeah. It's Billy bringing it. He's alone but I have Antonio here also. So there's three of us…. No. He is tied up and unconscious. He's not a threat. Yes sir, we will be there in a few hours."

Billy? And Antonio? That means Benny is the one on the phone. All idiots. All the lowest of the chain. That means I'm not to be killed, just moved. Where did they find me? I try to remember where the last place I remember to be present at. The bank. Vic. Her. Then nothing. They found me in town. Maybe they don't know where I live? Maybe she is still safe. I can only pray.

Lights shine outside of the window as a car pulls up. I move from my chair into a shadowed place where I crouch and wait. Billy opens a side door and I hear the other two greet him. All I have is the small blade in my hand, but I'm ready. I'm not sure how bad my injuries actually are but I know the adrenaline is kicking in and I can't feel anything but rage.

"He's in here. Let's get him in the car and go, I'm tired and sick of this place." They walk in and stop when they see I'm not in the chair.

I lunge forward and grab Antonio by the neck, pressing the blade into his throat which gives me enough time to use my other hand to grab the gun tucked into the back of his pants.

"I thought I taught you to never keep your firearm back here, ragazzino. Too bad you think you know it all." I whisper.

"Put him down, Matteo. We aren't going to kill you. The Don just wants you back to have a little chat about your broken promise." Benny is the smartest of the three of them and that's not saying much.

"I'm not going. And if you plan on using force to try to take me, I'll kill you all," I say as I press the blade deep enough to draw blood.

"He's not kidding, we should let him go." Yes, Antonio. Way to make some sense.

To my right, Billy is slowly reaching for his gun. It takes two seconds for me to plunge the blade into Antonio's carotid while aiming at Billy and putting a bullet between his eyes. Next, I move to Benny and shoot through the hand about to aim a gun at me.

"Ah! Matteo! What the fuck!" Benny falls to his knees. I walk over and take his gun, striking him in the face with it with enough force for break his nose.

"Why?! Matteo!"

"Because no one tells me what I can and cannot do, no one threatens me and no one will ever take away who I am and what I am. Give that message to your Don." I break his hand before I throw him onto the ground, writhing in pain.

"But you're the next Don. The underboss for Christ's sake! What are you doing?" Billy just doesn't know when to shut up.

"Get the hell out of here and go to your Don. Tell him I will meet with him when I say, not when he says. And tell him that if he tries to send any more men after me, I will continue to send them back to him just like you three will be coming back to him. And without me…. Go!" He scrambled up to his feet and goes to his car, biting out of the drive and into the night.

All I can think about is the fact that I might have missed my next date with Adeline before I notice the bullet hole in my side and fall to the ground.