As I drank my coffee, I stared at the phone. I traced the outline of the screen with my finger, willing it to ring. Willing Tyler to call, or for that fucker to tell me where to meet him. It was only a matter of time, and I was ready. If he wanted me, I was ready.
After another ten minutes, my phone started ringing. I knew it was him. It wasn’t his phone, but I knew it was him.
“Yeah.”
I heard him laugh. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the infamous Dean Scozzari. We do seem to have gotten ourselves into a little pickle today, haven’t we?”
My anger boiled. “I swear, if you hurt him, I will personally break every fucking bone in your body with my bare hands.”
“Uh-uh. There’s no need for that, Dean. We’re all friends here. I just want what was taken away from me.”
I huffed. “Nothing was taken away from you, you little shit. You never had it in the first place.”
“You took my father from me! How about I take your son and we call it even?”
I gripped the phone tighter. I wanted to scream so badly, my lungs cried out in protest. “Don’t you dare touch a hair on his head,” I growled. “This isn’t about Jeremy. This is about you wanting all the glory. You can take over the whole of London for all I fucking care. I’m done with that shit.”
Pinzano laughed. “You disappoint me, Dean. I thought you would have put up more of a fight. I suppose becoming a father has made you a pussy. Does Jeremy know about his daddy?” I was silent. “Aww, he doesn’t, does he? He has no clue who you are. Maybe I should tell him, ha? Shall I put him on the phone to speak with his daddy?”
“You fucking piece of shit. Leave Jeremy alone and just tell me when and where. I’ll be there.”
He laughed again. “All in good time.” I heard a muffling sound, then the line was clear again. “Jeremy, do you want to speak with your daddy?”
I heard him scream my name and my entire world stopped. Right at that moment, I had never felt more desperate or alone in my entire life. I wanted Jeremy to know about me so badly, but not like this.
“Don’t do this to him, Pinzano. You can be a better man than your father was.”
“Don’t fucking talk to me about my father. You have no right.” I heard him breathing into the phone. “Jeremy, come here and talk to your daddy.”
Every muscle in my body clenched. The fucker knew what he was doing. He was making me suffer.
I heard Jeremy’s little breaths come over the line. “D.D.?”
I felt a sudden sob that wanted to rip through my chest at the sound of his whimpering voice. “Hey, grown-up. How are you? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
I heard a little sob and it almost ripped my heart out. “No, but I don’t want to stay here anymore. I don’t like it here.”
I tried to remain as calm as possible. The last thing Jeremy needed was for me to lose my shit. “Jeremy, you listen up, okay? I’m coming for you and I’m going to make this okay. You just sit tight and I’ll come get you.”
Jeremy sniffled. “You promise?”
I closed my eyes briefly. How could I not promise him that? I knew I had to, and I knew I had to make sure I kept it. “I promise. I will come and get you and you can go back to your mum, okay?”
I heard a little sob and I knew he was suffering badly. “Okay.”
Fuck, this was hard. Every bone in my body felt heavy. I wanted to rip apart the walls, scream as loud as I could, and fucking punch something until I couldn’t feel anymore. This was the most agonizing experience of my life. I couldn’t lose Jeremy now. Not after I had just found him.
“That was sweet.”
I growled when I heard the little fucker’s voice on the line again. “You’ve said your peace. Now fucking get on with it. When and where?”
He feigned a gasp. What I wouldn’t do to push my hand through the phone and rip his throat out. “So eager, aren’t we? Are you sure you want to meet your maker so soon?”
I sighed. “I just want this over and done with, but I want you to promise me something.”
He laughed again. “I don’t think you’re in a position to demand anything from me, do you?”
I sighed again. “Just fucking listen to me, Pinzano. You want me at the end of the day, don’t you? This has nothing to do with Jeremy, so I propose a deal. I’ll come to you willingly. On my own…no guns, no weapons, no nothing. I will do all this if you promise to let Jeremy go back to his mother. I will agree to that one hundred percent. But, Pinzano, if you don’t agree and intend to keep Jeremy, I promise you this myself. I will hunt you down, kill all your men, and leave you until last. I will take my time with you, but I promise that it will only ever result in your death. Do I make myself clear?”