Page 2 of Ensnared
Dimitri chuckled. "I don't care if your boss knows it was me. Hell, I'm going to send him their heads," he gestured to the other dead men with his gun. "Along with a strongly worded note," he added with a laugh. "At this point I want information, and one way or another I will get it. Now tell me his name," he ground out the words through clenched teeth as the smile he wore seconds ago melted into a mask of fury.
The kid found his voice. "Don't. Please."
The Armenian man's eyes darted from Dimitri to nearly every man in the room before landing back on the kid. A flash of regret glimmered in the man's eyes just before he turned back to Dimitri and started talking.
"He's the one who did it all. His name is Ricky. Ricky Bermuda or something like that. A few months ago, Ardem just said to find someone who could hack into the Internet Exchange point on Thursday at six a.m. exactly. That's all, I swear."
"Good, good." Dimitri finally turned and looked at Dominic and gestured to the bound man.
Pulling himself off the wall where he had been leaning, Dominic walked over to the man in the chair. He ignored the man's terrified stare as he watched him like a caged animal. Pulling the knife from his pocket, Dominic snapped it open. The man jumped before sighing in relief as Dominic reached for his bound hands.
The kid couldn't do anything but watch; helpless rage colored his brown eyes as the man who betrayed him smiled at his now free hands.
Putting his hand on the man's shoulder, Dominic easily kept the man in his chair as he bent down to cut the ties at both his feet. Completely free now, the man looked back at him with a wary but grateful smile. Dominic did not smile back as he grabbed a fistful of the man's curly black hair and reached to the far side of his throat with his knife.
The kid let out a strangled sound of fear along with the man as the knife sliced across the skin.
Tiredly, Dimitri stared at the gurgling, flailing figure as Dominic stepped away from the bleeding man. Dimitri turned to the kid and pulled up the material of his pants before crouching down in front of him.
"I can get what I need without you, but it would make my life easier if I didn't have to," he said patiently.
"Please. I-I-I was only working for them for the money. I don't…They'll kill them if I help you. They'll kill my family," he desperately pleaded for him to understand.
Dimitri gave him a dangerous smile.
"You don't seem to understand. If you don’t do what I want, I'll be the one to kill your family in this very room as you watch," he said coldly. He paused as if struck with an idea. His smile turned arctic. "But if it's motivation you need. I'm sure I can give you that."
Chapter 2
Dimitrihadtostophimself from slamming his phone on the desk. He just got off another call with his boss. Suffice it to say the old bastard was less than thrilled to learn about the loss from the exchange. This on top of already being reluctant to even let him take over their Las Vegas branch of operations after that fat piece of shit Yuri had a heart attack did not make the current situation any better.
Rubbing the space between his brows with one hand, Dimitri began reading his texts when the door to his office opened. He didn't need to look up to know who it was. There was only one man who was allowed to enter his office without knocking and only one man in his employ who was built like a defensive lineman.
"Status?" Dimitri set down his phone and glanced up at his lieutenant.
Dominic stopped on the other side of the desk and held out his phone. Dimitri eyed his lieutenant's impassive face and wondered why he bothered. A statue from Easter Island emoted more than the big bastard did.
Dimitri looked at the phone's glowing screen and smirked.
The image on the phone spoke volumes. Confined to an old storage room in one of Dimitri's recent auction acquisitions of old properties around Vegas, Ricky Barrameda was sitting on the floor in a corner with his knees drawn up and his head in his hands.
Dimitri grabbed the black file at the edge of his desk. Earlier, Andrey, his systems engineer, sent him a full report on their new guest. Opening the file, he leaned back in his chair.
"Ricky Barrameda," he began reading. "Twenty-nine years old, Filipino, lives in Henderson with his maternal grandparents. Father has never been in the picture. Mother is somewhere in New York with her boyfriend. No other extended family in the States. The grandparents are in debt. Ricky has a few payday loans. And no other family…" He paused as he turned the page.
Dimitri leaned forward in his chair. He just stared at the photo in front of him. Frowning, he flipped through the rest of the pages. The only other pictures were ones of the grandparent's house, a photo that looked as if it was pulled from social media showing both of the smiling grandparents standing in front of a church, a few shots of Ricky smiling in front of a beat-up Honda Civic, and the one ofher.
He held the photo out to Dominic. "Who the hell is this?" he demanded.
"That's his sister," Dominic answered flatly.
Dimitri gave the man a level look and looked back at the picture in his hand. Obviously, he wasn't looking at the same picture as him. The girl looked nothing like the guy locked in that room.
Sensing his confusion, Dominic added. "She’s his half-sister."
A muscle in his jaw ticked as Dimitri recalled the lastbrother and sisterduo he had to deal with. "Arealhalf-sister or another one of those step-sibling relationships?" He asked, the doubt clear in his voice.
"Blood-related," Dominic assured him.
