Page 75 of Rami

He nodded. “You were high.” He crouched so he was at eye level with her. “Delirious and pathetic. I should have sold you when I had the chance. Do you know how much fucking money I lost when your bastard boyfriend took you?”

She smirked. “I heard he left your compound with a bang.”

The reference to the grenade made Fernando’s smile melt. “The fuck did you say to me?” His deep-brown eyes glowered.

Despite her tough front, Ivy pressed her spine into the tree at her back, willing it to suck her inside.

Wham!

Fernando’s fist clapped her cheekbone. Stars exploded in her vision, and her head snapped to the side. Fire scorched her cheek, but before she could process the pain, his rough hand pinched her jaw. “You will learn respect.”

Ivy pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Part of her wanted to spit in his face, just as she’d done to Luis, but since that had almost led to rape, she wasn’t going to try that again. Instead of making them ponder ways to inflict pain on her, she needed to buy time. “What do you want from me?” she asked. This time, she allowed her voice to go hollow.

He released her face and her skin pounded as blood rushed to the injury site.

Fernando rested his free hand on his knee, the flashlight still pointed at her face. Some of his composure returned. She suspected he didn’t like to lose his temper often—in doing so, he relinquished some of his power.

“That’s very simple, Ms. Hastings.” His fingers crawled slowly across her cheek and stopped on her bottom lip. “I want your boyfriend and family to suffer. And there’s only one way to do that.” He turned to Gabriel. “Set up the camera.”

Bringing his attention back to Ivy, his smile returned. “I don’t think you noticed your old friend. He’s very excited to see you again.”

Fernando’s cell phone rang. He stood and paced away from the group. Luis and Gabriel made some comments, but all words were lost on her.

A sheet of ice encompassed her body as the man in jeans stepped forward and into the glow of the flashlight now resting on the ground. The light revealed familiar shaggy brown hair, red-rimmed, coal-colored eyes—and the salacious sneer that haunted her dreams.

Wayne.

Her mouth popped open, and shock sucked the heat from her pores.

“Hello, baby girl. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

***

Rami balled his hand into a fist while he waited for Fernando to pick up. If they had a wrong number or the guy didn’t answer, he’d—

“Hello?” The sound was a smooth, cool purr. The slight Spanish accent told Rami he had the right number.

“Fernando. You have someone I want.” His vocal cords clenched around the words, threatening to waver, but he held his tone strong.

Milliseconds clipped by. “And you are?”

“Rami.” He didn’t miss a beat. “Let me talk to Ivy and we can work out a deal.” Before he divulged that they had money in exchange for Ivy, he needed to know she was okay.

“What makes you think I’d be willing to give her back?” Challenge dripped from his words. “You fucked me. All of you did.”

Rami worked his jaw back and forth. He couldn’t take the bait. If he lost his temper and Fernando’s interest, he’d lose Ivy. “I think you’ll like what I’m offering.”

“Which is?”

“I want to talk to her first.”

Several beats passed. “She’s having a reunion right now. An old friend wanted to pay her a visit. Rest assured, she’s breathing.” A long pause. “Breathing quite heavily, actually.”

“You motherfucker,” Rami hissed. Something snapped in his brain, and the need to kill overtook common sense. “If you touch her, so help me god, I’ll gut you.”

A raspy chuckle entered Rami’s ear. “We’re done here.”

Click

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