Havok: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance - Riley Rollins Page 0,49
against metal, then a lock turning. All the girls in the room turn their heads, and I wonder if we're going to pay the price for removing our blindfolds.
Igor comes through the door.
I can't believe he's in on this, too. I was in more danger than I ever knew. We all got played.
He looks at me and smirks. "Clever girls, getting those blindfolds off."
"Fuck you," is all I manage to say.
He smirks. "It's not personal. All you girls are just dollar signs to me."
Disgusting son of a bitch.
"What are you going to do with us?" I say.
"Gonna send you to your new owners. All-expenses paid trip to Europe." He smiles. "But first, I'm gonna have a little fun with you, before you go abroad."
My heart thumps.
He laughs, and heads toward the exit. "I'll be back for you, Penny."
38
Havok
My fists clenched, I stand in the center of my destroyed bedroom. I stare at the message from Igor on my cell phone. It confirms the worst: "You said she was dead."
They have Penny. And now they know I've been lying to them all along.
The metallic smell of blood reaches my nostrils. It normally increases my bloodlust, but right now I can think only of Penny, scared and alone, and the scent simply makes me want to vomit.
It's time to fucking take action. I fish around in my pockets for my cellphone, and I dial up Valentin.
"Valentin here."
"Bro," I say. "Where are you?"
"Port Authority. Got a shipment coming in today." He's talking about powder. Cocaine.
"Need to talk with you," I say.
"Can it wait?"
"No. Can you get to the train yard by three?"
"Alright brother."
"Bring Luka with you," I say.
"Roger that."
I slam down my phone on the nightstand and jump in the shower, washing Earl's blood off me. I dress myself in fresh clothes, making sure my holster and silenced pistol are secured tight under my jacket. The mess in here will have to wait. I'm not worried about Earl going to the cops or any shit like that. He's too much of a pussy. He'll go back to his office, stitch himself up, and shut the fuck up. He's under my thumb.
I grab my car keys and head for the Bayside train yard.
"Holy fuck," says Luka, when I finish telling him the story about Penny. "She was at your place for how long?"
"Almost two months."
He lets out a slow whistle, then pulls a pack of filterless cigarettes out of his pocket. He lights one and takes a drag, offering the pack to me. I never smoke. But today, I smoke. Every drag fills my lungs with tension and tightness, and it's worth it just for the calmness that follows on the exhalation. It equalizes the pressure in my chest with the cool train yard air. I feel less like I'll explode any minute, but I can't get Penny's face out of my mind.
Valentin removes his sunglasses, and rubs the bridge of his nose. "What the fuck you telling us for, man. You know the position this puts us in."
Luka cocks an eyebrow. I talked to him about this before. I know he'll be down to do this. But I'm not sure about Valentin.
"Because," I say, pounding my closed fist against my chest where my heart is, "She's in here. Has been for a long time."
"This girl business is sick shit, Vlad," says Valentin. "But it's how things are now."
I shake my head no. "It doesn't have to be. I'm going in. Gonna smash the operation. Free the girls and blow up that godforsaken factory. You all are either with me, or not."
"You've been there?" asks Luka.
"I've been there. It's sick."
"You know," says Luka, "We should kill you where you stand for this."
My heart thuds hard in my chest, much like the steam engines once did in the now-dead boxcars littered around this gray train graveyard. I fucking trusted these fucks my whole life. If they turn on me now, I won't fucking believe it.
But then Luka cracks a grin. "Just bullshitting. I'm with you, brother."
"Fuck," I say, grinning. "Fuck you."
Valentin's eyes flick between me and Luka, and then he sighs deeply. "I can't just let you two go alone."
A tingle rolls through my spine, and I nod at my two brothers in crime. I've always been able to trust them, and now they've come through for me again, in my greatest time of need.
"You realize, Vlady," says Valentin, "We will be looking over our own shoulders for life, if we do this."