Page 31 of Unfulfilled Promises
“That’s fine. Let me know if I can get you anything in the meantime.”
He left, and I was starting to feel ridiculous. The tables around me had emptied, and I was the only person in this section of the restaurant. The more time that passed, the more stupid I felt, and just as I was about to get up from my seat and pay for my drink and the bread, someone approached me from behind and pushed me back into the booth. Snapping my head to the side, I saw someone I never wanted to see again, and the fear that overtook me was almost too much to bear.
My hands trembled as Ricardo slid into the booth across from me and grabbed a piece of bread, popping it into his mouth and chewing with his mouth open. I couldn’t speak to alert anyone to the problem, and when I attempted to slide out of the booth, I heard the familiar sound of a gun slide, chambering a round under the table.
“Don’t be stupid, Regan.”
“What . . . why are you here?” I asked, and he was about to speak when the server reappeared.
“I see your guest has arrived. Can I bring you something to drink, sir?”
“I’m not her guest. Just an old friend who wanted to stop by and say hello. You can bring her the check, though. I think she’s ready to leave.”
The server gave me a concerned look, and I nodded at him before he turned and walked away.
“What do you want?” I asked, and Ricardo chuckled across the table at me.
“You cost me a lot of money, and I believe you were the one who tipped off those crazy sons of Sergey to kill my precious Kelly. So, now, you owe me what you should’ve delivered all those years ago.”
“And what the hell do I owe you?” I spat, and his face hardened as he leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“You owe me the secrets Sergey shared with you, and this time, I will get what I want.”
The server brought the check and kept looking at me while Ricardo pulled a twenty out of his pocket and slapped it onto the table. He gave the server a look that screamed ‘go away’, and with multiple glances back at me, the server collected the money and walked away.
“How do you think you’re going to get those answers, asshole? I’m never going to tell you anything, so why don’t you give up now?”
He stood from his side of the booth and came to the edge of mine, his back blocking the rest of the restaurant as he pointed the gun at me. The evil smirk on his face was chilling as he grabbed my arm and pulled me from the booth. I recoiled from the discomfort of his touch as he pulled me farther into the back of the restaurant.
There was no one back here, and I feared what his next move was going to be. The only thing this far back was the emergency exit, and I didn’t think he’d want all the attention he’d get by setting off the alarm.
“Looks like there’s no way out back here,” I snidely said, and he shook his head with a smirk before pumping his pudgy ass against the door and opening it soundlessly.
It was pitch-black behind the restaurant, and suddenly, a black Town Car pulled up to the back door. Looking between the car and Ricardo, I flinched as he gripped onto my upper arm and dragged me closer to the vehicle.
“Stop,” I said, but Ricardo laughed at me before tapping the barrel of the gun against the back window.
Vomit rose in my throat as the door opened and Giovanni Marcora smiled at me. “I missed you, little one.”
“No,” I yelled, and Ricardo raised the gun and struck me on the side of my head.
Everything went squiggly in my vision as I felt my body being pushed and shoved into the vehicle. I was defenseless to stop them from taking me again, and I feared I wouldn’t survive this time as Ricardo said something to Giovanni before closing the door, sealing me in with the most sadistic man I’d ever known.
“Take us to the house, John,” Giovanni said as the window separating the back from the driver lowered.
I looked over the seat and the eyes staring back at me were the ones I’d looked into a few weeks ago as I gave him my number. He smiled as he said, “Sorry I was a little late.”
Darkness swirled around me, and when I heard the two men laughing, I allowed the safety of the shadows to drag me under, hopefully sheltering me from something else I was going to have to survive.
And I had to wonder if they’d know how to find me, and if I was ever going to see my family or Seth again.
I never lost consciousness, but I was completely disoriented and turned around as John maneuvered the car through traffic and away from safety. The farther we moved, the more hopeless I felt.
The two men began to talk, and I tried to remember what they said. Giovanni was chatty, not keeping anything private. “Once she gives us what we need, we can find the last two and finally have the initiation I was promised all those years ago. And if she has what I think she does, we’ll be able to collect all that cash those assholes lost during the trials.”
I had conversations with Sergey and knew that before he turned someone else over to the FBI, he would usually find a way to empty their bank accounts. I thought he was using Ricardo to find the money, and then he would siphon it into his own accounts. How the government or the other families never realized was something Sergey kept secret, and Giovanni was ready to correct.
I did know where the money was, and even if they threatened to kill me, I wasn’t going to tell them a damn thing.
