Page 46 of The Taker

My phone vibrates, and out of habit I grab it, but catch myself at the last minute before I check the screen. It’s probably another text from Rocco. He’s sent me regular updates throughout the day. So far they’re staking out three potential places Ronan may be holding Julia, but they can’t pin down an exact location yet. The soldiers are ready to roll as soon as they have more to go on.

I’ve left every single text on read. Rocco vowed to bring my sister home tous, but no matter how this ends, there can’t be an us. How can I look him in the eyes after this and not blame him for what happened.

Not hate him for endangering my whole family. For making me fall in love with him.

My phone pings again. I check this one, and see both messages are from an unknown number.

Unknown Number: Leo…guess who…

Unknown Number: It’s Ronan! Did you get the keepsake I sent you? So soft…shiny. I’ll have to ask your sister what her haircare routine is.

A strong wave of nausea rolls through me, and I sit up in bed. What. The. Fuck? How did he even get my phone number? What should I say? I sit there for a few minutes thinking of how I can respond. Eventually, I decide on being direct.

Me: Where is my sister? Please give her back, she’s innocent in all of this.

Unknown number: Yeah, but she was an easier target than you were. Her middle child syndrome made her weak. Perfect leverage.

If it’s leverage he wants, he can have me. I’ll do anything it takes to bring my sister home.

Me: Take me instead. Please, Rocco cares more about me.

Unknown Number: If you can bring me his laptop and encrypted hard drive, then sure.

Rocco’s security on the building is insane, but he doesn’t have a ton in his office. He keeps his laptop and hard drive in a drawer in his desk. It would be so easy to take it and get Julia back.

It’s not like they’re any closer to finding her. And I can’t bring myself to care more about him and his empire than her life. Not when he’s the reason she was kidnapped in the first place. I don’t care if he loses everything. He fucking deserves it for how he took away my choices. For what happened to my sister. For making me fall for him when I never wanted to.

Me: When and where?

Unknown number: There’s a red car a block over from the back of your building waiting for you. Don’t take too long. Or we’ll start chopping more interesting things off.

My heart thunders at the thought of what that could mean. Her fingers? Her hand? Or something worse… I can’t let him hurt her.

Bolting out of bed, I change into sweatpants, a tee shirt, and a plain black hoodie from my old apartment. I’m not stupid—I knowNueva Nottehas informants and lookouts all over the city, and what I’m doing is technically treason. Hopefully street clothes will make me harder to recognize.

Rocco is with his family, so he isn’t an issue. The guards on the other side of the door, however, are. There’s no way they’ll let me leave the apartment with Ronan on the loose, especially if they know he’s the one I’m meeting.

I slip out of my bedroom, and frown when I see Gio outside. He may be a friendlier guard, but he’s too smart to fool, which will make leaving harder.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Costa?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.

“Not well. I’m just leaving to get my e-reader from Rocco’s office. Left it there earlier today.”

“Why don’t you lay down and let me get it for you?” Gio asks. He’s the most considerate of all the guards, and usually I enjoy that. But right now it’s really inconvenient.

“Um…no. I want to get it. Need to stretch my legs.”

I move through the hall before he can respond, and I can feel his steady gaze on me as I slip into Rocco’s office. We were in such a hurry, he didn’t even put his laptop away. I slip it into the waistband of my sweats, and use my gigantic hoodie to cover it up.

Thankfully his drawer is unlocked, making it easy to take his hard drive and put it in my pocket. Now I have to figure out how I can leave. Walking out the front door of the penthouse isn’t going to work. Rocco will definitely have someone stationed there. I can’t use either of the balconies, because we’re thirty plus floors up. Even if we were only a few floors up, I’m afraid of heights.

I come up with more ideas, but all of them are useless. For all intents and purposes, I’m trapped in a gilded cage. Something insane would have to happen for me to get out of this apartment.

My stomach grumbles, alerting me as to how I haven’t eaten anything since lunch. I’ll grab a snack, go back to my room, and figure out how to get out of here. On my way back, Gio stops me.

“Mr. Costa, where’s your e-reader?” Oh fuck, I didn’t think of that. It does look weird that I don’t have it.

“It’s not in his office.” I try to look sad, which isn’t a stretch. I’m an emotional trainwreck right now as it is.

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