At least he’d bought me time.
Aldo was still smiling, apparently enjoying reminiscing about my father.
“And then when I met you, I thought to myself…you know what? Jerry Harlow was on to something. He was right about his daughter all along. You’re beautiful. You’re smart and intelligent. You could have been a big achiever.”
I felt an emptiness inside me as I listened to Aldo speaking. Nothing mattered anymore.
“You could have achieved great things if you worked with me. If you proved yourself to me. I gave you an opportunity to not meet the same fate your father did.”
I cursed him under my breath. I cursed him repeatedly, if any of that was ever true and powerful. I wanted him to die for what he did to my family and Libby. For how he’d completely broken me.
“But instead of proving yourself to me, instead of making something of yourself, you decided to do something stupid. You realize what you’ve cost me? I had one of them here. In my hands. And you let him go!” Aldo lunged at me, pointing one long finger at my face, bringing it right up close to my eyes. I thought he’d poke my eyeball right out, but still, I didn’t flinch.
I just glared back at him, daring him to touch me again. Slap me. It wouldn’t matter. I’d take it. It was what I owed the universe for Libby’s life.
“And now it’s all going to end for you. Nobody can save you. Do you think any of the Dohertys care about what happens to you? Your lover boy, Tristian, you think he’s coming for you? You saved one of their kids and what will they do for you in return? Forget about you because you mean nothing to them.”
Aldo was probably right. When Tristian returned to the apartment and saw I was gone, he’d probably be relieved. Maybe he’d write it off as me running away because I was a Baron spy and had used him all along.
Either way, the Dohertys had enough of their own shit to deal with rather than come looking for me and putting themselves in even more danger.
“Nobody is coming to save you, Elsie, my darling. Do you understand that? They won’t find you here. They aren’t going to save you. If they knew where I was hiding, if you’d been able to give them my location—they’d’ve already been here,” he continued.
Aldo was right about that too. When the Dohertys had questioned me at their house, they had tried to gauge where Aldo’s hideout was. I’dtried my best to give them a location, but my sense of direction was completely lost because I wasn’t a local. I had no idea where I was being held. And I hadn’t been able to help them even though I wanted to.
One more failure.
I sat still while Aldo paced in front of me. It was like he was thinking to himself more than he spoke to me now. Maybe he just wanted some quiet time away from his men.
The room filled with his cigar smoke, choking me. It’d become hard for me to breathe properly with the gag covering half my nose. I knew I wasn’t going to last long. I was exhausted to the core. Hungry and spent.
“Anyway, the reason why I’m here is not to lecture you. I’m sure you’ve figured all of this out already,” he turned to me again with a friendly smile. “I’m here to remind you that you still have work to do. You have to finish what you started for me.”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, only coming out as a muffled groan through the gag. It made Aldo chuckle. I was just a form of entertainment to him now.
Then he drew himself closer to me, close enough that I smelled the cigar smoke on his breath.
“You’re going to die either way, darling. There isn’t any other option for you. But you can choose whether to make that end peaceful or painful for yourself. If you don’t do as you’re told, I’ll make sure you’ll beg for your end by the time we are done with you. And if you give me what I need, it’ll be over before you know it. You decide,” he said, stepping away.
It was an impossible choice but an obvious one.
Twenty-Two
Tristian
It was midnight now and we had looked for Elsie for over six hours, with no luck.
Nolan made all the calls to keep our usual informants on their toes. But nobody had seen or heard anything. Nobody knew where Elsie was.
My best guess was Aldo had taken her back to their original location. Wherever he and his men were hiding like pussies—I had to admit, it was a good one.
We had tried to uncover his hiding location for several months now and we had no clue. Aldo had clearly taken measures to keep his location a secret and he had every intention of keeping it that way.
Like every other time we’d tried to find him in the recent past, we kept hitting roadblocks.
Nolan suggested getting drinks, but I didn’t want any.
I felt it in my bones—they’d taken Elsie. She hadn’t simply run away. Maybe she had left the apartment of her own accord, but Aldo would’ve found her by now. I wished I’d done more to keep her safe.
“Come on, man, let’s get a few beers. We both need to catch a break. There’s nothing more we can do for now,” Nolan insisted.
He didn’t know the feeling because he’d never been in love with a chick who brought him to his knees.
The only thing I cared about right now was seeing Elsie again. To have her safe and in one piece in my arms. I would’ve done anything to have that. Killed anyone, if that’s what it took.
Nolan thumped my back with
