the retreating man that saved me. “He almost k-killed that guy,” I said while standing.
He followed my gaze then shrugged. “Rocco doesn’t miss, ma’am. If he wanted Logan dead, we’d already have a cleanup crew dumping his body.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Rogue squeezed my hand so hard that I had to politely ask him to let go a little. The moment he was untied, he came to my side, holding his stomach and ignoring his bloody lip. He ran his hands along every limb, checking me for injuries while blood coated his teeth. “Are you okay?” he asked before jerking me forward to clutch me tightly. I could hear his pounding heart while I whispered quick reassurances that I was, even though I felt far from it.
The men cut Bonham, Luis, and Godfrey loose next, keeping their guns at the ready in a wordless warning not to try anything. But because of the perfectly aimed shot that probably would scar Logan for life, not a single one of the other men touched me. Whoever this Rocco guy was, these men had a strange mix of fear and respect for him.
Though Godfrey limped, he, Bonham, and Luis circled Rogue and I as we entered the large wooden building. I looked up at the ceiling as the men led us down a concrete corridor. Rotted wood on the roof allowed the glow of the moon to peek through, and every time I breathed in, a distinct smell tickled the back of my throat. It smelled like...crisp money straight from the atm. An odd, but recognizable smell. I looked around, but the warehouse was completely empty. Absolutely nothing covered the concrete floors, aside from dust. It was just a clear space.
“Over here,” one of the guards said while another one held back a plastic partition for us to walk through.
“Where are we?” I asked Rogue in a low voice, but my whisper must have still been loud enough for the men to hear, because a lanky one on Luis's left answered me.
“Unless you’re willing to die for the answer, you’re safest just not asking questions, girl.”
I swallowed. We were definitely somewhere illegal. “Care to explain why it took you eight minutes instead of six?” Rocco asked.
The room we were led to had fold out chairs scattered around the dusty space, and Rocco was sitting in the middle of them. This space was only lit up by construction stand-type work lights. The intense bulbs let off glaring light in each corner of the room, but the dark wood walls seemed to absorb the light.
“We were still trying to wake one of them up, boss. Had to pour water on him,” the cigarette man answered. I looked over at Godfrey, noticing his clothes were sopping wet and sticking to his body. Despite the chill in the air, he didn’t shiver.
“Fine. Have a seat right there, boys. The girl can sit by me,” Rocco said.
Rogue immediately tensed at the idea of not having me at his side. He opened his mouth to refuse, but Rocco stopped him. “I have no interest in girls my daughter’s age, kid. But if I have to shoot you, I’d rather have a clear line of sight. It’s less messy that way.”
Rogue snapped his mouth shut at that reasoning, and after giving me a long, penetrating look that said all the things we couldn’t say out loud right then, he released his strong hold on my hand. Rocco’s cunning eyes watched our every move. I realized that his reasoning for separating us had a purpose other than just what he said. He’d also been trying to determine if I was important to my guys. He had his answer.
As I padded towards the leader, I noticed that a pristine chessboard was set up on a rickety table that looked like it was about ready to fall apart. The game board was made of marble and several of the pieces had chips in them. When I hesitated, Rocco patted the chair next to him. As soon as I sat down, he started placing the chess pieces on each square, methodically lining them up. Everyone watched him in attentive silence, waiting for him to speak.
Daddy once tried to teach me how to play chess. But he got too frustrated when I didn’t understand the complex rules right off the bat. He’d given up on our second lesson. I’d stolen a rook from his board and kept it on my nightstand. He never even noticed.