“I think four would be good.” She's quick to answer, and I nod my head. Four men. I knew it. Thank fuck my girl is so smart and so damn strong.
“Alright, baby. What time do you need me there?” I ask.
“As soon as you can.” Her last word comes out with strain. My heart aches in my chest like it never has before.
“Hey, baby, you okay?” I have to ask, even though I know she's not.
“I'll be better when you get here.” With those last words the phone cuts out.
I put the phone down and look at Vince, my cousin. The boss of my familia, but also my friend.
“What's wrong?” he asks as I try to compose myself. I can't help that I'm choked up. I just realized how much I love her. I just chose her over everything, and now she's in danger.
“There's gonna be shit happening tonight,” I tell him. “I need you.”
“You think it's a setup? She's setting you up?” Vince looks pissed.
“No. No, she wouldn't do that. But someone's got her, Vince. Four men.”
He stands up and runs his hand through his hair. “Fucking hell, Tommy.” Vince looks out of the window like he's debating on what to do.
“You gonna leave me to go in there alone?” After everything we've been through, too. We grew up together. He's my blood. My familia.
He cusses under his breath. “You go in first, but we'll be there.”
Tonya
I can't stop my body from trembling. They didn't bother blindfolding me, but I'm gagged, and my wrists are tied behind my back and my ankles are bound. Zip ties dig into my skin. I'm on the ground, propped up against a shed to the right of the restaurant parking lot. There's a creek to my left, and I'm almost certain that's where I'll be soon. I guess they wanted to hit him with shock factor. His girl, tied up and gagged, in clear view of the dirt road that leads here. Just beyond the treeline is the highway. I can hear the cars. I can even see the headlights. But they can't see me. No one can save me.
Maybe Tommy, but I may have also led him to his death. I'm certain he knows this is an ambush, though. Why else would he talk in code? My heart stopped when he said packages. My eyes almost darted to look at the man holding the phone, almost gave me away. Thank fuck I stayed calm. Four men. The odds are against us, but hopefully with the warning I managed to give Tommy, he'll have a chance.
They dumped me here like I was a bag of trash. Tossed me to the ground and went to stand behind their cars. Two black cars blend into the dark. But they're there, and if he's looking for something off, he should see them. They aren't in their cars. They're standing behind the one closest to me, with their weapons drawn and ready.
Jagged rocks dig into my knees as I move slightly across the ground. I'm moving slowly, so they don't notice. They aren't paying attention to me. One's smoking, and the other three are talking in hushed whispers. I can barely hear though, except for the occasional laughs. They're also going back and forth between Russian and English, so even when I can hear them, I'm not exactly sure what they're saying.
I'm not certain, but I think they want him to watch me die. As soon as he drives down and sees me tied here and struggling, that's when they'll do it. Shoot me until I fall lifeless on the ground. Although one keeps saying how he wants to see Tommy run to me as they shoot us both. The others don't. They don't want to kill him right away. They have questions that need to be answered.
I don't care what they're saying. I know their endgame is to have both of us dead. I'll most likely end up in the creek, and Tommy's corpse will be sent back as a message to the Valettis.
I'm not going to let either of those scenarios happen. I need to live; I have to survive this. And right now, there's only me. If I can get free, I can run. My eyes dart to the four men who are in plain view and holding guns. My heart beats rapidly in my chest. I'll have to wait until I have a chance, but I'll try. I can't fight back without having any weapons on me. That would be suicide. But I can give Tommy a warning, and I can run. That's my only hope.
There's a broken bottle only a foot from me. If I fall over, I should be able to snag a piece. There's only a single zip tie binding my wrists, and one more binding my ankles. I can do this. Ankles first, so I can run as soon as Tommy gets here.
I scoot my knees across the dirt and they scrape against the gravel. I ignore the pain. Just another inch and then I prepare myself for the fall. It's gonna fuck up my shoulder since I can't brace for it. But I can fucking take it. I crash against the ground and hit my shoulder. My head bounces from the impact. The men look over at me while I struggle to take a piece of glass in my hand. My fingers graze across a few small pieces, but they aren't large enough. The jagged chunks pierce through my shirt and cut into my skin. Again, it's not horrible, but fuck it hurts. The fucker smoking sets his eyes on me. He tosses his cigarette onto the dirt and walks over with quick strides.