Page 103 of Greed
And he would make him pay.
The city sounds blared in his ears.
Traffic. Car horns. Wind.
A man shouted angrily somewhere.
Pigeons gobbled.
All of it, he drove down and shut out until the only things he sensed were the cool breeze tickling his skin, the sun warming his face, and the eternal greed belonging to a city of millions.
Tick-tock.
Chapter Thirty-One
The hard butt of a metal gun dug into Lilo’s shivering back as she was herded along the busy street, away from the Cardinal Copy, and away from Griffin. She hadn’t brought her coat. Only thought she was popping out to the street for a minute. Never believed Donnie would do this.
It was fine. Whatever was happening, it would be over in a minute. She knew it. Still…
“Why are you doing this, Donnie?” Lilo hissed, almost tripping over a dislodged slab of pavement on the pathway.
“Shut up and keep moving, princess.” He put the heel of his palm into her back and pushed. “Unless you want to end everything right now.”
She bit her lip to stop herself saying something she’d regret. They continued along the street. She tried to come up with an escape plan, but her brain wasn’t working. It was locked on the hard object digging into her back, and the sad fear that of course this was happening—she’d only just found happiness with someone she could have a future with—of course it was being ripped away from her.
This is what happens when you want things for yourself.
She should never have agreed to meet Donnie outside the building. Damn her for being so trusting. He’d lured her out by saying he had something he needed to return, but hadn’t wanted to do it inside the office. It was such a Donnie thing to do that she never questioned it, and she was keen to put that part of her life behind her. The instant she got out of the building, he pulled a gun from his pocket—just long enough for her to see it was there—then took her arm and jammed the blunt edge into her spine.
Did she have a sign plastered to her forehead saying,Easy to kidnap?This was the third time this week! First was Griffin dressed as Greed, then the Irish gangsters, now Donnie. God, she felt foolish. All that training in Krav Maga and nothing could prepare her for having a gun shoved at her temple or back.
Hopelessness seeped in.
They’d been walking for at least twenty-five minutes, and she wasn’t wearing shoes for walking. Not since she’s been able to catch a ride with Griffin. Oh, God. What would be going through his mind by now? He’d have turned up with her coffee. He was so reliable like that. Tears burned her eyes and her throat closed up as she imagined him standing at her empty desk, wondering how long to wait before sounding the alarm.
“Where are you taking me,” she tried again.
He didn’t answer, leaving Lilo to stew a little longer. She hadn’t missed the bruises on his tired face. He hadn’t been to work for the latter part of the previous week. Something was going on with him. The arguments and the fight with Griffin weren’t the only sign. It was the desperation in his eyes every time he missed out on a news story.
“Dammit, Donnie. You’re scaring me. I don’t know what the hell you are hoping to achieve, but people will know I’m missing soon.”
She was jerked around to see his face twisted into something ugly.
“Like who?” he asked, eyes blazing. “That uptight cock-sucker, Lazarus?”
“Hey! We’re no longer dating and haven’t been for months. You have no right to—”
Pain burst at her cheekbone from his backhand.
Her eyes watered, her ears rang, and for a breath she couldn’t see. When she gathered her senses, she registered not one passerby cared to intervene. She wasn’t sure if anyone had even taken the time to turn their head.
Right. If she wanted to get out of this, she’d have to help herself. Having a gun shoved at her temple was hard to weasel out of, but she’d been trained in other ways to relieve a gun. She just had to wait.
“You think he’s going to miss you?” Donald hissed. “He won’t care if you’re missing, Lilo.”
“Yes he will.” She knew he would.
“No, he won’t. Because you’re not worth it. You’re just the daughter of a failed criminal who can’t even hold on to her story without someone else writing it properly for her.”
