Page 64 of Reluctant Surrender

I rolled my head back, and an angry pain shot through me. Pressing my head back against the pole, I found the source of the ache. A large lump. I’d been knocked over the head.

Tugging on the ropes did nothing, but I continued to yank and rub them against the pole. I tried to wiggle my hands out one at a time, twisting and pulling. Nothing worked; if anything the ropes tightened.

“Ah, she’s up.” A familiar voice filled the room as the door swung open, letting in more light and blinding me.

“Johnny?” I blinked against the harsh lighting, trying to see him.

“Yeah.” He squatted down in front of me, his hands on my knees. “It’s me, Mags.”

Mags. I’d forgotten that nickname. It felt a lifetime ago since I’d heard it.

“Johnny, what’s going on? Why am I here?” I leaned forward until my shoulders ached. “Let me out of this.”

He reached up and ran his fingers across my forehead, pushing my hair to the side. “I can’t do that, Mags. Sammy wants you and if I let you up, he’ll be pissed.”

“Sammy?” I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them again. “No. No, Sammy and Lukas made a deal. Lukas is going to help him with something, I don’t know what, but he’s going to help him.” I sounded like I’d lost my mind. None of the words would cooperate and line up.

“I know that’s what he told you.” Johnny stood up again and patted me on the top of my head. “But truth is, Mags, Lukas wants nothing to do with you. I guess you were a good fuck for a while, but he’s done with you.”

I shook my head, making the pain in my head ping-pong around my skull.

“That’s not true!” I jerked my legs, trying to get them free so I could kick him. “Lukas married me.”

“Yeah.” Johnny laughed. “Sammy got a kick outta that. Look. The Kaczmareks don’t have the power they once had in this city, and Lukas understood that. Him helping Sammy with you, that made things better for him.” He lowered his hand to my breast, tracing my nipple through my t-shirt. “And he got to fuck you, too. Win-win, right?”

I twisted my torso, but I didn’t succeed at anything other than entertaining Johnny.

Raising my eyes to meet his, I forced the words from my mouth. “Lukas would never turn me over to Sammy.”

Johnny’s smile got stronger. “Which one of us are you trying to convince, Mags?”

“Fuck you!” I lurched forward again, straining my shoulder with the movement. I screamed at the hot pain jolting through me.

Johnny laughed. “Relax, babe. Sammy will be here soon. He’ll give you all the pain you want.”

“Let me go!” I screamed, my throat feeling like it would split in two. “Let me go!”

The back of Johnny’s hand crashed across my cheek. “Shut up!” He took a step back. “Sit tight.” He backed out of the room, slamming the metal door behind him. A bolt slid into place on the other side and I was left in relative darkness again.

Tears sprang to my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. Lukas would never do what he suggested. This entire thing between us could not be just some game to him. He wouldn’t pull me so close to him, only to dump me off with someone like Sammy Bertonelli. Lukas wasn’t like that.

I leaned my head back against the pillar, staring up at the ceiling. I’d made him mad. I’d walked out on him. He knew where I was going. How could Sammy’s men know? Lukas’ estate was monitored, someone would have noticed if the house were being watched.

My chest ached as I considered Lukas’ role in this mess. No! I wouldn’t believe it. Lukas had his faults, but he would never let anyone hurt me. No one. He wouldn’t leave me like this. He wouldn’t leave me. Lukas Kaczmarek loved me. He didn’t say it in words or with flowers and candy, he said it every time he picked me up from work, every time he pulled me closer to him when we walked down the street, every time he reminded Mrs. Kowalski to add potatoes to dinner because he remembered how much I liked them.

Lukas would not abandon me. He would come for me, and when he did, Sammy and Johnny and anyone else who got in his way would see what the devil really looked like.

Chapter 32

Lukas

“You’re sure?” I stared down at the drawing of Sammy Bertonelli’s storage building.

“Unless he’s remodeled in the last few weeks, this is it.” Jared pushed the paper toward me. I’d stopped them just as they were getting into the car to take them to the airport.

“What if this isn’t where she’s being kept?” Andrezj asked, his hands fisted on his hips. I could sense the urgency in his posture. She’d been taken on his watch, and he would forever feel the responsibility of that. I didn’t bother telling him it wasn’t his fault; he wouldn’t listen anyway.

“My intel is good,” Dominik Staszek said. “My guy on the inside says she was brought there two hours ago.”

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