Page 41 of Captivated with Them

Chapter Seventeen

Rue

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I WAS TAKEN BACK TOthe house.

The moment we arrived, I could tell something had happened. Otis and another of Frankie’s righthand men were waiting outside the front door, and they rushed forward as soon as the car stopped. The atmosphere bristled with tension, and even as Otis grabbed me and yanked me away, back into the house, I strained to decipher the low, urgent voices of the men I’d left behind.

“What’s happened?” I dared ask Otis as he shoved me through the house. My stomach churned with nerves. “It’s nothing to do with the trial, is it?”

My worst fear was that Joe Nettie would break out, and the trial wouldn’t happen. At least with the trial still in my future, no matter how close, I knew I still had time. If the trial was no longer going ahead, however, I’d be handed over to the man from Malta who was planning on purchasing me and whisked out of the country at the first opportunity.

“It’s none of your business,” Otis snapped.

From the direction we were taking, I realized I wasn’t going straight back to my bedroom. Instead, we were heading to the wing of the house where the kitchen and utility room were located.

We approached the door to the pantry, where I’d eaten with the other girls previously.

Excited whispers came from the room. “—heard he was locked in there and was seriously pissed about it.”

There was a girlish giggle. Laughter wasn’t something you heard often from women in this house. “Serves him right. The other guy broke his nose, too, before he escaped.”

Otis reached past me and unlocked the door, throwing it open.

The two girls were sitting at the small table, and they jerked upright in surprise, eyes widening with panic as we entered.

“Stay in here,” Otis commanded, “and behave yourselves. I’m needed elsewhere.”

He backed out, and the locked clicked shut again.

May and Skye relaxed a fraction again when they realized it was only me they’d been left with.

“Hey,” I gestured toward the hallway I’d just come from, “I couldn’t help overhearing. Did you say someone escaped?”

“Yeah.” May nodded. “Some guy managed to lock one of Frankie’s main men in the cellar at the restaurant and escaped.”

My heart lifted. I’d last seen Dillon at the restaurant. Could I hope it had been him?

I perched on the corner of the table. “Do you have any idea who it was?”

Skye nodded. “I overheard them saying it was some ‘Irish prick.’”

I almost laughed in my delight. That had to be Dillon. There were plenty of Irish in New York City, but I couldn’t imagine the Capellos had too many of them kept captive in the cellar of their restaurant.

Was there any way I could use this knowledge? Frankie had been using his threats to kill Dillon as a way of controlling me, but if Dillon was free, that was beyond his ability. He could still hurt Ryan and Kodee, though. I wondered if they knew about Dillon escaping. Would Dillon go to the apartment? He wouldn’t be silly enough to do that, I was sure. He’d realize the Capellos would have their men watching the place, especially after last time.

So, where the hell was he? I hoped he wasn’t going to attempt to come here. His chance of sneaking inside one of Frankie Capello’s properties without being shot was almost zero.

“Do you know who it is?” Skye asked, her forehead creasing with concentration as she regarded me.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. He’s someone I care about.”

“Like the two men at the apartment. The ones who do the passports.”

This was news to me. I perked up even more. “You got to meet them?”

Of course they had. Frankie had asked about when the passports for the other girls would be ready.

“They were asking about you,” May said. “They were trying to figure out where you were being kept.”

“Did you tell them?”

Skye nodded. “As best we could, anyway. We don’t know much ourselves.”

Would Kodee and Ryan come here to try to find me? This place was heavily guarded, and even with Dillon free, they’d be massively outnumbered.

But still, I couldn’t help the combination of hope and fear fluttering through me.

Frankie Capello was losing control.

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