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While the man struggles, I grab Gio and rush out of the cell and down the corridor. We reach an open area where four men sit around a table, playing cards.

They turn to look at us, getting up instantly. I turn around, looking for somewhere else to go, but there’s only the way back to the cell. We’re trapped.

Two of the guys grab me, and another two grab Gio from me. I protest, trying to fight them off, and begging them to leave him alone as Gio shrieks my name.

They take a crying, kicking, and screaming Gio back to the cell and lock him up while they hold me in place. The man I attacked comes out, rubbing his jaw.

The men then drag me to the middle of the warehouse. I swear at them in Italian, but they ignore me as they tie me to a chair. They mock the guy, Mike is his name, as he rubs his jaw some more. Teasing him for letting a girl get the drop on him.

Anger flashes in his eyes as he watches me, probably planning a thousand ways to punish me. He doesn’t get a chance, though, as Tony comes in.

The gang leader’s ice-white hair is spikey, and his eyes are black-lined. He looks menacing, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. He leans down to me, grabbing my chin in his hand and forcing me to look into his eyes. His black, devil eyes.

“Haven’t you been naughty?” he chuckles.

I spit in his face, which is all I can do.

He withdraws, wipes the spit from his cheek, and then backhands me hard enough that the chair falls to its side with me strapped to it. I see him nod to his men, who put me right side up again.

The fall split my lip, and I taste blood.

Tony leans over me again. “I haven’t made up my mind what to do with you yet. I could extort your family for money or something, or maybe I could simply have some sport with you.”

He caresses my breasts with his hand, and I squirm, trying to get away from him. Tony grins and gets right in my face.

“Maybe I’ll make you mine.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MATTEO

Isit opposite Andrea at the bar at my house. We both have a fifth of whisky in front of us, no ice. Andrea looks defeated, and I am not far behind him. We raided the Shift-Left’s main hangout last night, and it was completely futile.

“I should have known Tony wouldn’t keep them there; it’s too obvious,” Andrea says to me, swirling the drink in his glass.

“And he knows we’re looking for him, so he’s going to keep his location under wraps, maybe disclose it only to his inner circle.” I sip my drink, pull back my lips at the sharp taste, and then set the glass down.

“Maybe we should try to hit their other hangouts?” Andrea asks.

“We don’t know them all. Besides, we would have to hit them all at the same time, or he’d move them to another place,” I say. “Fuck, it feels so hopeless.”

“It can’t be,” he snarls. “We must find them. Tony will surface with his demands soon. I’m sure he will.”

“And what? We give him what he wants?” I ask. “What about what I want? I want that man fucking dead.”

Andrea sighs. “You’re not the only one.”

“What did you find out today?” I ask.

“Not much, if I’m honest.” Andrea sips his drink. “We hit all the gun runners, one after another. It got a bit dicey at one point. They got violent. But none of them knew anything about Gia and Giovanni's whereabouts or where Tony is hiding.”

I nod. “We tackled the drug dealers in town. Every single one we could find. It also got violent, but I couldn’t find anyone from Tony’s inner circle. Clearly they’re all holed up at the same place.”

“We can’t capture them all; there are too many. The gang is huge,” Andrea says. “And if it does turn into a war...”

“Oh, I’m not worried about drawing Tony out for a war,” I say. “I’ve got the men and the guns to take on his little crew.”

I set down the glass, and Andrea looks up at me as I continue.