Page 22 of Revenge

Axel hands me the rope off the floor and I get to work tying her up at her wrists and ankles.

“Seriously?” She arches a dark eyebrow at me as her plump lips purse together. There’s a fire behind her gaze, driving home the same burning need in mine. This is going to be a battle of wills, and I will come out on top.

“Yes, Princess. Get over it.” I grind my teeth to keep my cool. That fucking mouth of hers is going to be the death of me. I’m quick and efficient with my knots and have her all tied up in less than a minute. I tug on the ropes for one last test before I walk over to the laptop I had Axel bring down earlier and set it up for a video call.

“Yes.” He answers on the first ring. His suit is wrinkled and his hair’s a mess. There’s no trace of the put together criminal I’ve come to know. He’s been waiting for this call. Behind him is Marco.

“Been a long time, Diego, huh?” My fingers dig into the sides of the monitor. Seeing the turmoil on his face is the only thing keeping me calm.

“Let me talk to my daughter, Savage.” Guess we’re not going to do the bullshit routine of small talk; that’s fine with me.

“I’ll do you one better.” I twist the laptop around, giving him a full view of Charlee’s sitting form. “There she is.”

“You okay,Mija?” Hearing the softer tone he takes with her, as a parent would with their child, annoys the shit out of me. I could have had that, but he robbed me of that privilege.

“I’m fine,Papá.” Her voice comes out smooth and controlled. A momentary sense of admiration washes over me. She’s keeping her shit together much better than I thought she would.

I spin the computer back around to face me. “You get my present? It’s too bad Benny wasn’t more careful.”

His dark eyebrows narrow at my words, and in that slight mannerism, I see a small resemblance to Charlee, but that’s where the similarities end. She inherited her olive skin and green eyes from her mother.

“You’re fucking dead,Puto!” Marco slams his fist down on the desk so hard the monitor rattles.

“What do you want?” Diego puts a hand out to shut him up and turns his attention back to me. There’s no missing the dark circles under his eyes. He probably hasn’t slept much since he discovered Charlee missing.Good.Let him sweat and wonder how I’m violating his princess.

“You know what I want.” The fact that he’s playing stupid right now only adds fuel to my fire.

“You want money? Is that it?” He leans against his desk and closer to the screen. “Let my daughter go and we’ll talk. Settle this like men.”

A dark laugh escapes me at his use of the word ‘men.’ “Oh, I’m gonna settle this all right. You took from me and now I’m gonna take from you.”

His throat bobs up and down as he swallows, and that’s the only hint I get that he’s even pissed at me taking his precious little girl. “If you lay a finger on her I’m going to—”

I force out a small smile at the torment written on this bastard’s face. I have what he loves most at my fingertips and it’s killing him. “Going to what? Kill me? Torture me? Nothing you can do to me is any worse than what I’ve suffered, what I’ve lost, so bring it on, motherfucker.”

“You son of a bitch! I’m going to—”

“We’ll be in touch.” I end the call, but not before I hear him and Marco let out another string of curses. Good to know I’ve struck a nerve. Phase one is complete. It’s time for phase two.

Chapter Fourteen

Charlee

After Asher hung up with my dad, he and the other two, who I’ve come to realize are his brothers, have been talking in code. I don’t understand much, but from what little I can gather, I was right. They have it out for my dad and I’m just collateral damage caught in the crossfire.

It took another ten minutes of arguing before Asher finally untied me and led me back to my room. Without a word, he shoved me through and locked me inside. Now, I’m sitting here with nothing to do but plot my escape.

That phone call was torture. It took everything I had to keep myself together. I didn’t like seeing the worry on my father’s face. Despite our disagreements, he’s always been my protector. We may not see eye to eye on many things and I might not want anything to do with his lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean I’m heartless.

A sigh escapes me as I glance around my prison. I wish I had some of my drawing supplies. Sketching would help pass the time while I’m stuck in here, but I’ll survive. Asher can keep me locked up, but he’ll never dampen my spirits.

My fingers toy with the hem of the t-shirt I’m wearing. Taking a cold shower was torture, but washing away the past couple of days was like washing away some of my sins. Whiskey and tobacco are embedded deep into the fabric. Figures. Even in his absence, I’m surrounded by him.

When he returns, he has a tray of food and a blue blanket tucked under his arm. He tosses the blanket onto the foot of the bed and then sets the tray of food down in front of me.

My hands make no move to reach for either item. Instead, I stare at the bundle of soft material like it’s a foreign object. This is the same man who threw me in an ice cold shower over an hour ago, and now it’s like a switch has been flipped. It leaves me wondering what his game is.

“I told you. If you’re good, you get rewarded. And Princess, you were, so that’s yours.” His chin dips toward the blue blanket.

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