Would they tie me up for the rest of the night? Would I have to sleep in that position? Or would they just wait until I passed out from exhaustion and starvation?
The guy forced me down on the chair while my eyes filled with tears.
“Please, just let the gag stay off. I promise I won’t make a squeak. I just want to be able to breathe,” I begged him, meeting his drowsy looking sunken eyes.
He didn’t say anything as he tied up my ankles and wrists in the usual way. Making sure I wouldn’t escape. Where did they think I’d go?
“Please?” I begged him in a huskier voice when he brought his face close to mine. The man met my eyes and clenched his jaws. The gag in his hand was stuffed into the pocket of his pants.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“If you make a sound, even if you breathe loudly, I’ll come back in here and the gag goes on.”
I nodded.
“And what do I get in return for this favor?” he growled, his face still close to mine. His hot breath fell on my face, and my stomach churned with disgust. I knew what he expected of me.
“Now that you got your pretty little mouth open, you’re free to do as you please. Maybe you should put it to some use.”
He straightened up. I heard his belt being undone. I spat at him before he moved away.
My spittle flew and landed straight on his jaw and he growled and stumbled backwards. The impact of me spitting on him had a similar effect as a punch. It made me smile.
“You fuckin’ bitch!” he growled, slapping me hard across the face. Almost as hard as Aldo had before.
Needless to say, he pulled the gag out of his pocket. I would be denied the privilege of being able to breathe properly tonight.
But I didn’t care.
It was a small price to pay for what he wanted me to do for him. I would’ve rather died first.
Aldo would eventually figure it out. He’d know I messed with the numbers and that’s why the IRS was coming after him. My only hope was that it’d be too late for him to do anything about it by then.
I’d spent the past several hours trying to work out a way that would fuck him over. I knew I was going to die. There was no way I was being allowed to live, and it’d be my last fuck you to Aldo for everything he’d put me through. For what he did to my family and the Dohertys.
He wanted me to secure his money, and I had done the opposite.
While I sat gagged and tied to the chair in the middle of the room, with nothing but the stale cold air in here to keep me company, I thought about my dad.
I’d thought about my mom recently too. She had always loved him. I had always considered them to have a happy and supportive marriage. They told each other everything, respected and encouraged each other. I considered myself lucky for having parents and a family that made me feel so secure.
I never got the chance to find out how much Mom actually knew. We didn’t exactly get an opportunity to talk about it. Aldo had killed her before she even got a chance to say goodbye.
But it seemed to me like she wasn’t surprised when Aldo showed up. She wasn’t even upset or mad at my dad for the kind of evil he’d brought into our home.
Dad actually looked more surprised than she did. It was almost like he had never imagined the possibility that Aldo would involve his family in their business dealings. It was hard for me to believe my father might’ve been that naive. Where did he think that relationship was going to lead him?
How could he have trusted this man and gotten involved with the mafia?
I still couldn’t believe it.
My life had taken such an unexpected turn.
I tried to imagine what my father would say to me now if he knew what happened to me.
He would’ve told me to do whatever it took to save my life. To work as hard as Aldo wanted me to. To be courteous and polite and fight to stay alive. That was what he would have done. That was what he had probably done since he got involved with Aldo.
And a fat lot of luck that brought him!
I wasn’t going to kiss Aldo’s ass. I couldn’t pretend, even if I wanted to. My hatred for him was pretty apparent.
And then I thought about Tristian and how I’d never see him again. I hoped he would have a fulfilling life. I hoped his family would remain as close as I witnessed them to be.
I had never imagined I’d be this calm about impending doom.
I must’ve dozed off at some point because I woke up with a start when the door to the room opened and Aldo stepped in again.
I had no idea what time it was. Because there weren;t any windows in the room; I had no concept of light or day or night.
Aldo had a cigar burning between his fingers in one hand and carried another sandwich on a paper plate in the other. I didn’t expect anything from him. I figured he’d come to taunt me with this other sandwich, but this time, he came over and took off my gag.
“I made you this sandwich myself, would you like to try it?” he asked, a smile curling his lips.
I expected it to be poisoned. Something was fishy. There was no way he’d made me a sandwich himself and brought it over for me to enjoy. Aldo had better things to do.
But by now I hadn’t eaten in what felt like
