Page 55 of Perfect Match
My focus shifts back to the brute. But the lack of answers has my brain buzzing. I wince; my head hurts as a frown tugs my brow low. If the wrong guy isn’t Gio, then why have they kidnapped me?
“You’ve got the wrong girl,” I yell as I put some of the pieces together.
His answering laughter reverberates off the tiled walls. It’s a deep, evil laugh that holds no mirth. “I got the right one because you’re even prettier than your picture.” His strong New Yorker accent makes him sound like he stepped out of aGodfathermovie. He’s terrifying, but I can’t let the fear overrun my years of training. I know how to deal with an attacker, even one as big as this guy. All I need to do is remain clearheaded, even if it’s not an easy task when my head is still spinning from whatever they pumped into me earlier.
The horrible man steps closer and bends to brush a fat, dirty finger across my chin, and I try not to recoil since I need him closer if I want a chance to take him down. He leans in further, and a sneer curls his top lip. It’s then that I twist on the mattress, swinging my leg to curl behind his knees before pushing my shoulder into his gut, knocking him off balance. He crashes into the cubicle door behind him with a grunt, the wood splintering as it breaks his fall. As quickly as I can, I maneuver to bring his arm into a shoulder lock, but with my hands still tied, it’s impossible to fight effectively. I’m trying everything in my power to disable this guy so I can get away, but I’ve now lost the element of surprise, and he’s become an angry big dude.
He reaches for me, but I’m quicker and avoid his grasp, springing to my feet. He seems dazed and has not yet made it back up on his feet. I land a satisfyingly hard kick to his groin that doubles him over, then use the opportunity to make a dash for the door. I’m moving on pure instinct because I have to believe that it will keep me safe.
“You’re a tough little bitch, but that is going to make this so much more fun,” he threatens before barreling toward me, his shoulder low and hitting me in the stomach. I’m flying through the air, only stopping when my body slams against a brick wall in the hall. The wind knocks from my chest as I slump to the floor. I force my legs underneath me and try to push up, but I onlymake it halfway when a bone-crushing fist knocks me off my feet again.
Dizziness overwhelms me, and a dark cloud descends.
Chapter twenty-five
Gio
“Is that the place?” I ask from the front seat of Ryan’s Maybach. The only light in or out of the vehicle is coming from the cloud-shrouded three-quarter moon above.
“Yep,” Tony answers, leaning forward from the back seat to pop his head between us.
We continue to sit in silence, three sets of eyes trained on the red-brick warehouse up ahead. The only sign of life is a faint yellow light straining to shine through the cracks of a boarded-up second-story window. It lends truth to Tony’s assurance that this is the right building. Why else would an apparently disused warehouse have a light on inside.
From the gap between the warehouse of our focus and the building next door, a shadowy figure appears.
“Down,” Ryan mutters, and we all slide low in our seats. The guy is facing away from us, and the chances of him noticing one black SUV parked in a long line of other cars is slim, but still, wedon’t take any chances. Barely able to see above the dashboard, I watch the guy flip the hood from his sweatshirt off before tugging what looks like a balaclava from his head. He’s shoving it deep in his pocket when a car coming the other way catches him in its beams. He ducks his head but not quick enough.
“I know that fucker,” Ryan growls. From his reclined position, he has a better view out the side window. His fists clench the steering wheel with a white-knuckle grip. “It’s fucking Brad, the ex who attacked Charli outside the club months ago.” His low voice is ominous as it’s dragged out through gritted teeth.
Squinting, I try to find recognition in the man’s profile, but I’ve got nothing. He turns fully away and starts to walk in the opposite direction. His stride is long and brisk like he’s being chased by an unseen foe. He should be fucking scared and running.
“He got the wrong sister,” I mumble through a clenched jaw, and it’s more to myself than the others in the car. The urge to hunt the fucker down gnaws at my gut, gangrenous and raw.
As if sensing my desire for revenge, Ryan tilts his head in my direction. “I warned him to stay away or else he’d have to deal with me,” Ryan growls, each word punched from his throat with a similar promise of retribution. “Now he’s got two of us seeking revenge. Stupid bastard.”
I nod back at him, knowing our time will come to teach that spineless fucker a very painful lesson. He’s obviously recruited someone else to do his dirty work, because there is nothing about Brad that resembles the guy Tori described as her attacker.
“Do you want me to grab him?” Tony asks, already zipping up his black hoodie before searching in the duffel bag on the floor at his feet for something that I’m sure it’s best I don’t know.
“Yes,” Ryan’s quick to reply, “And, Gio, those contacts of yours, are they nearby?”
How did he know I’d already sent my associates the address?
“They’re one block over.”
“Send them this photo, and ask them to assist Tony.” My cell pings with a fuzzy closeup photo of Brad that I didn’t even see him take. He continues, “Tony can deliver the asshole to them for safekeeping until we get Tori back.”
The tension in my body loosens, knowing the bastard behind all this won’t be getting very far tonight.
My fingers fly through the text, and by the time I’ve finished typing out the message, Tony seems to have slipped silently out of the back seat and disappeared into the night.
Ryan turns sideways, his sharp features in shadowed relief. His mouth is set in a grim slash across the lower half of his face, and his gaze is a steely gray. “When we go in, follow close unless I tell you to wait. If we’re going to do this, you need to do everything I say. No questions. Understood?”
Ryan didn’t originally want me here, but there was no chance that I was going to stay away when the woman I love is being held captive by some crazed lunatic with a death wish.
“Understood,” I repeat without hesitation.
He nods, a single sharp movement, before continuing, “And when we find them. I’ll take the guy, and your job is to find Tori. Tori is the priority, and you need to get her the hell out of there as quickly as you can. Don’t wait for me, just go.” He stares at me unflinching, and it’s a little unnerving. He means business, and all traces of the man I’ve called a friend for more than five years have disappeared. It doesn’t take much to imagine what kind of operative Ryan was on the battlefields, and I’m glad he’s here beside me.
