Page 11 of Bianchi

My voice comes out as a croak, and I clear my throat. “Are there cameras in here?” If this room is used for what I think it is, they must have a camera, even if it’s hidden.

“Yes.”

The finality in that one word has my body collapsing back into the chair as Romeo turns his back to me and leaves the room. The sound of the key turning in the lock serves as a reminder of my current predicament. My eyes sting as I look around.

There’s not much to see. Gray cinder block walls surround me—I’m guessing the room is soundproof. A dim, bare light bulb gently swings overhead, casting the room in shadow. The floor slopes into the center, where a drain sits directly below the chair I’m seated in. In one corner is a cot and in another is the shower and toilet. If I wasn’t so accepting of death, I’d be grateful that I’ve been granted a few more moments of life; even if it’s in a room as gloomy as this one.

On unsteady legs, I stand from the chair and move to the cot. A blanket is folded up at the bottom of it, with some basic toiletries on top. Ha. A five-star experience. I reach out to pick up a bottle of shower gel before dropping my arm back to my side. Like running full force into a wall, I’m hit with the enormity of my situation. I’m a prisoner, trapped in a cell with no escape.

Wrapping my arms around my waist, I turn in a circle. There isn’t a hope of me making it out of this room without a fight. There are no windows and the door is the only way in or out. My brow furrows as I chew over what Romeo said moments ago. “We’re going to take some pictures later, so get cleaned up. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Sorry to break it to you, Mr. Bianchi, but we don’t always get what we want. I won’t be getting cleaned up and I sure as hell won’t be taking any pictures with you. Why does he need me to be cleaned up? Surely it would look better if I was disheveled and dirty? His whole plan makes no sense. First, the show for the camera at my apartment and now…

It’s like a light being switched on. He wants to make it look like we’re together. I’m sure he thinks that my father will be so incensed that he’ll come out of hiding and try to track me down. It’ll be the perfect ruse to lure him to his inevitable death. Except Romeo didn’t plan for me to not go along with his plan. He’s going to kill me either way, and I’ll be damned if I do as he demands. I won’t be used like that.

You don’t have much choice, Aurora.

Yes, I do. I’m a person. I have a say in what I do or don’t do. And Romeo Bianchi has no control over me.

Turning back to the bed, I sweep the toiletries onto the floor. They land with a clatter, echoing around the room. I lower myself onto the brown-stained mattress, curling into the fetal position. With my back to the room, my eyes trace over the cracks in the wall and the faint scratch marks of past prisoners before I close them, shutting out my surroundings. I blow out a breath and force my body to relax, hoping that with a little sleep, the dull throb behind my eyes will be gone. Even if the rest of my problems and reminders of the day I’ve had are still there when I wake up.

Chapter 7

Romeo

Steam billows around me as I walk out of the bathroom. Using the towel around my neck, I dry my hair. The grime of traveling is gone, and after a nap, I feel marginally more awake than I did when I came upstairs. My cell phone vibrates across the bedside table on the other side of the room.

The room I’m staying in is like any of the other guest rooms in this house. There are two large windows, one of which has a window seat. The furniture comprises a bed, two bedside tables, a mirror leaning against the wall, an armchair, and a small table. It’s more than enough for what I need.

Swiping up my phone, I frown when a name I’m not expecting to see for a while flashes on the screen. I connect the call and bring it to my ear. “Callum?”

“I have some news for you.”

My brows reach for my hairline, and I take a seat on the edge of the bed. “That was quick.”

Callum chuckles, the sound mingling with the clattering of his keyboard. I can picture him, somewhere in a basement, surrounded by screens, his fingers flying across the keys as he hacks into something he shouldn’t. “Leo expressed how important this one was, so I moved it to the top of my list.”

Rubbing my eye, I ask, “What have you got for me?”

“Whoever set up the camera doesn’t know much about IP addresses or tracking, for that matter. The computer has a record of every time they logged onto the live stream and I can give you an approximate location for where they are. Or were.”

Cristo, that sounds almost too good to be true. “What’s the catch?”

Callum sighs heavily. “Whoever has been watching her hasn’t been online for the last few weeks. It could be that they’ve lost interest or they’ve moved away, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll find anything when you get there.”

Great. It’s effectively a dead end unless there’s something at that address. Would he be stupid enough to still be there and not have eyes on her? Is he the kind of man that would leave her for the wolves?

There’s too much that we don’t yet know, but starting at that address is as good a place as any. Right after the show I need to put on with Aurora. He might not be accessing that feed, but it’ll be a little hard not to notice her face splashed across the internet.

Pushing a hand through my damp hair, I reply, “Send over the details you have, and we’ll reach out if we need anything more.”

“Got it.”

The call disconnects and I throw the phone on the bed. Leaning forward, I hold my head in my hands, the beginnings of a headache throbbing behind my eyes. In the solitude of my room, I can let my guard down, even if it’s only to show myself how exhausted I am.

Running my hands down my face, I exhale heavily before standing. The last thing I want to do is go out tonight. Not when there are so many more important things to be doing, like going to that address and finding out what’s there. There has to be something.

I stand, heading in the direction of the closet as I replay the conversation with Callum. What he’s found might not be the lead we were looking for, but it’s more than what we had before I took Aurora. Maybe she was telling the truth when she said she hadn’t heard from her father in years. Right, and people always tell the truth when their lives are on the line.

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