Page 6 of The Freedom in Captivity

“Can you hold her still?”

From behind her, I press my hands into her shoulders, using my weight to keep her sleeping body down as he finishes removing the blade and covers it with a cloth, which instantly gets soaked with her blood.

He curses, but his expression remains neutral as he quickly works to hold the injury steady, and somehow, opens a large bandage and retrieves a wad of gauze.

“It looks worse than it is,” he states. “Despite the size of the blade, Rosen missed anything vital. It’ll heal in about a week. Will probably hurt but I doubt it’ll even cause a limp.”

Knowing Rosen, he likely was careful on purpose, aware of the precise spot to stab and where it’d be fatal.

Dr. Shappo finishes cleaning the area and wrapping the wound. “I’ll have to come down tomorrow to replace the bandages. Possibly sooner. Unless your aim is for her to get an infection.”

“Talk to Nico.” I shrug, uncaring how they handle this injury. If doc comes back tomorrow, the leg wound likely won’t be her only one.

Once he’s gone, I double-check her ties, ensuring if she wakes up, she’ll be going nowhere and then I exit the basement too, heading right for Nico’s office. He’s alone and is talking on the phone, but my quick knock on the open door has him hanging up.

“Flynn, good.” His phone makes a loud thump as he tosses it to the side of his desk as I approach, stopping halfway between the door and the desk. “You can sit,” he offers, though we both know I won’t.

“Thanks.” I don’t move.

“Rozelyn De Falco used her real name on the community garden’s volunteer form where she intended to get close to my sister. Whatever her reasoning for it, one thing’s certain: she wanted to be found. I want to know why exactly.”

I nod once. “She said it was to get in here.”

“Exactly,” his mouth flattens, “I want to know the importance of her getting captured. Clearly, there’s a larger plan at play. After that, figure out where her father is. What he’s hiding. What they’re planning.” He shoves to his feet, as though the aggravation finally gets to him, but instead of walking anywhere, he only turns and stares out the window behind him. “There’s a big piece of this we’re missing, and I need to know what before this family takes any more hits.”

“I’ll get it out of her,” I tell him with confidence that I certainly don’t feel.

When was the last time a prisoner made me second-guess my own abilities?

Never.

I should admit it to Nico, tell them all about my previous connection to her. Hiding this fact feels like a betrayal. Like, Ishouldbe admitting my knowledge of Rozelyn and her past—andourpast, but then he’ll question me, and I don’t want to let him, or his family down.

“Sir—” But as fast as I start, I stop.

Nico turns. “Yeah?”

“Never mind.” I step back, signalling I have nothing more to add. “I’ll go back down there now.”

He waves me away with an exhausted look of an underboss carrying too much on him. “Find me the second you know anything.”

Once I leave Nico, I have new vigour coursing through me. This will be revenge, not only for the Corsettis, but for me too.

Rozelyn’ll realize that after all this time of her holding my heart in her tight, little grasp, she’s now in mine.

Mine to torture.

Mine to play with.

Mine.

I find her still passed out in the chair. It could be hours before she wakes. I check over her bandage, checking for any leakage, but it seems like the doc has done good work.

Touching her seems to rouse her, since her eyes flutter open, searching through the basement’s lighting. I pull back, placing my face right above hers, studying everything I once treasured.

That mouth when she’d smile upon seeing me.

Those eyes that would brighten when she spotted me in the busy school hallways.

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