Page 74 of The Killer Who Kept Me

Benny stepped up and handed me his cell. “Here you go.”

“Gag him.” I pointed to RJ and put the phone to my ear. “Ramsey Brookes.”

“Saros Tancredi.” His voice was smug. He had no idea what I had, but I had to be careful because Em’s life was in his hands.

“You’ve kind of lost your mind, haven’t you?”

He laughed. “No, I just finally gave you what you deserved.”

“Is that what you think?” My phone beeped; he wanted to FaceTime. I accepted, making sure RJ wasn’t in the shot.

Ramsey’s arrogant face filled the screen. “Almost everything.”

He adjusted the phone and aimed it at Em, who was on a dingy mattress, a chain around his ankle, which was secured to the wall.

“Is this what you call some father-son bonding?” His smile faltered for a moment. “Oh, yeah, I know, and so does he.”

Ramsey shook it off and glared. “I don’t fucking give a shit. Shyla wanted him, and she couldn’t even take care of herself. If I was going to pay for him, he’d be useful.”

“As a punching bag?”

He hummed and handed the phone to someone. I watched as he walked over to Em and pulled his head up by the hair. I gritted my teeth, wishing I was there so I could remove Ramsey’s skin from his face.

“He’s worthless.” With his other hand, he punched Em in the face. He grunted, and Ramsey dropped him. “He just lets me hurt him; it’s all he’s good for.”

“You made a huge mistake, Ramsey.”

“I don’t agree, Saros. I have your plaything.”

“Let’s see.” I tapped my chin. “I killed Brandi, cut her up into a bunch of pieces, shot Frazee in the head after he was of no use to me and…oh! I almost forgot.” I turned the camera to RJ, who was tied and gagged. When I brought it back to myself, Ramsey wasn’t looking so confident.

“Everything you do to Em, I do double to RJ. Let me show you an example.” I handed the phone to Cosmo, approached RJ, and punched him in the face twice.

“Stop!” Ramsey shouted.

“If you break Em’s hand, I break both of RJ’s. Are you understanding me now?”

I heard Cosmo’s phone buzz, and from the corner of my eye I saw him motioning for me.

“You have one hour to return Em to me, or you never see RJ again.” I disconnected. “What?”

Cosmo smiled. “The governor.”

Perfect.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“Power is dangerous unless you have humility.”

~ Richard J. Daley

Em

This wasn’tthe basement I’d been kept in my whole life. Honestly, I didn’t recognize this room at all. That didn’t mean much, since there were so many places Ramsey could have put me. The difference this time from all the others was, I wasn’t alone. Yeah, Ramsey, some of his idiot bodyguards. Shyla popped in and brought food for them, but I wasn’t the only one being held.

Next to me on another mattress, leg chained to the wall, was a man. I’d never seen him before. His clothes, while a little messy, were high quality. His braids were immaculate and tied into a ponytail. The watch he wore was expensive or a really good knockoff. I wanted to ask him who he was, but we were never alone.

But…maybe I could talk to him. I mean, Saros told Ramsey whatever he did to me, he’d do double to RJ. Maybe I could find out how much power I had.

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