Page 74 of Keeping My Captive

I tower over him and stare him down. He doesn’t fucking scare me anymore. When I was a little boy, he was a cruel man, and I feared him greatly. But now, he is nothing but a foot soldier underneath my boot. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? I am head of thefamilia,” I remind him.

“Oh, I’m aware of that. Trust me, I think about it every fucking single day of my life. How you managed to survive and takemyrightful place,” he scoffs.

I narrow my eyes at him and wave a hand in his direction. “Enlighten me, Uncle. Tell me again how you also managed to survive unscathed when the rest of my family was brutally raped, tortured, and murdered.” For years, I’ve been wanting to know the truth. “I still remember the look in your eyes the moment you realized I was still alive. It wasn’t one of relief. It was one of surprise.”

He glares at me. “What are you trying to accuse me of, Mateo?”

“I’m not accusing you of anything. I just want the truth.”

“I was out of town that day,” he starts, repeating the same story he has told numerous times over the past fucking decade.

“Enough! No more lies!” I shout. I rarely remember a day when he wasn’t by my father’s side. And then he chose that day to take a business trip. I might have been a naïve little boy back then, but he can’t pull the wool over my eyes anymore. Slamming my fist down on the table before pointing an accusing finger at him, I demand, “I want the fucking truth!”

“You want the truth?” he spits out as he stands, gripping the edge of the table until his knuckles turn white. “That empire should have been mine! Your father didn’t know how to run it! He ran it into the ground is what he did!” He’s seething now, and I can see the true hatred in his eyes when he stares at me. Maybe it’s always been there, but I never wanted to see it before now. “Your family deserved to die!” he blurts angrily, spittle running down his chin. “The men I paid were told to leave no survivors, but you made it. You survived,” he says with a shake of his head in disbelief. “I should have killed you myself back then with my own bare hands, but the doctors were so convinced you wouldn’t last more than a day.” He shakes his head with regret. “I should have twisted your little neck until it snapped. Then everything would have been mine, and I wouldn’t have been working for a sniveling little fuck like you all these years!”

His revelations hit me hard, but somehow deep down I think I always knew the truth. “You’re right,” I tell him with a wicked grin. “You should have killed me that day. Because I am going to be your reaper now, Uncle. I am death, knocking on your fucking door!” I yell before reaching down and grabbing a small pistol from its holster on my ankle. It’s not my Glock, but a bullet is a fucking bullet. It will still kill him.

I cock the gun and point it at him. “You shouldn’t have told your guards to take the night off,” I say with a sneer, relishing the fear in his eyes.

“Red,” he says, and I cock my head as I try to understand what he means.

Less than five seconds later, I realize it was a code word. I hear the metallic cling of the smoke bombs being thrown down the hallway and into the room before they explode. My only thought in that moment is to keep Aria safe as the room begins to fill with thick, gray smoke.

I clamber over the table, managing to find her in the sudden darkness. I grab her hand and pull her tightly to me. I force her to the ground, hoping that the smoke is less dense down there. Her panicked coughing fit has my heart beating in a terrible rhythm. If anything happens to Aria, my uncle will not only die, but I will make sure it’s slow and torturous.

It takes several minutes for the air to clear enough to see through it. And then that’s when I see the men in black filing in with rifles raised.

“FBI!” someone announces. “Put your hands up!”

In that moment I realize my worst fear has come true. They will no doubt take Aria away from me forever. They’re going to take my little captive, and there is not a damn thing I can do about it. I will never see her again after this night.

“Aria,” I groan as we slowly stand. I stare into her glittering, honey-colored eyes, memorizing every detail of her beautiful face. I wet my lips, wanting to tell her how much she means to me. How much I love her. But I realize that wouldn’t be very fair, confessing my feelings in a situation like this, giving her no choice in the matter. So, if I can’t say the words, I can at least show her how much she means to me.

Turning her in my arms, I force her back against my chest, and then I hold the gun in my hand against her temple. “I’m sorry, Aria,” I whisper in her ear.

CHAPTER56

Aria

“I’M SORRY, ARIA,” Mateo whispers.

My entire body trembles at his words. What is he sorry for? He’s sorry because of the situation we’re in, or he’s sorry that he has to kill me now? With the gun poised against my temple, it’s hard to not think the latter.

No, Mateo would never hurt you,I internally assure myself. Deep down in my gut I know that’s the truth. And so, I relax in his grip, fully trusting him even if I shouldn’t, considering he has a weapon pressed against the side of my head. But I know he’s scared. Scared of so many things right now. Afraid of the FBI taking me away from him. Afraid of losing everything he’s ever worked for.

Mateo holds me tightly against him, his familiar scent enveloping me. As the smoke dissipates completely, I stare at the large group of FBI agents, and I can feel Mateo’s muscles flexing. I don’t think either one of us expected this. The front line is dressed in full tactical gear with numerous weapons pointed right at us.

“Drop the gun!” one of the men yells.

Mateo’s arm tightens around my waist, holding me closer. He keeps the gun trained at my temple, and I close my eyes, focusing on our breathing and our racing heartbeats. The devastating realization slowly dawns on me that there’s no easy way out of this situation. The FBI is going to take me and arrest Mateo. That is the only possible outcome here. The only variable is dependent upon whether Mateo cooperates or not. And if he doesn’t, I fear they will shoot him or even kill him.

As far as the FBI is aware, Mateo kidnapped me and held me captive in a foreign country. While that was true in the very beginning, I eventually became a willing captive. But they don’t know that and probably wouldn’t even believe me if I told them. Any way we try to spin it, none of this looks good for him.

“Drop your weapon or we’ll shoot!” another agent calls out.

“Don’t shoot!” I call out. “We’ll surrender. Please don’t shoot him!” I cry. Turning to face Mateo, he slowly lowers the gun, staring down into my eyes. “I don’t want to go, but I have to,” I explain. Tears stream down my cheeks as he cups my palm, swiping away the rivulets with his thumb.

“I’ll find you, Aria,” he vows.

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