Page 93 of Sweet Poison

It took me a little while to build up the courage, but I was eventually able to ask, "She's not going to cry or scream any longer. Can you please take her gag off? It makes her terrified."

The guy ignored me, but I was stupid enough to ask again.

"If you say one more word, I am going to shoot you dead."

I got the message then, loud and clear, and kept my mouth shut.

I focused on driving and followed the very familiar roads that I had taken countless times in the last few days to exit the town. Every time I had left, it had never felt final, just a temporary exit, but now I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the last time I would be leaving my beautiful town. I told myself not to be so dramatic.

Especially, when a plan was forming in my head. A plan to escape.

There could be a chance of that right outside the exit of the town. Next to the road was a stretch of woods that led to a bunker my grandfather had built a long time ago. At the time, I couldn’t have imagined how or why it would ever come in handy, but now that I was at the crossroads with only minutes to spare to make the decision of whether I was going to go out of line once again and risk our lives, I understood why.

It was a bunker that he had made for the students. Anyone who got lost or ill while out in the woods could hide out for a couple of days and recover or wait for someone from the school to rescue them.

It was well hidden so that it wouldn’t be raided by random campers for its canned food and other supplies, but it was visible enough to anyone who knew what they were looking for. That was where I had in mind to take Anya. However, in order to do that, first and foremost, I had to find a way to get rid of the men in the car and the others at our heels. The disadvantage was they had guns, and so I had to find a way to stop so near the woods that Anya and I would have a quick head start the moment we slipped into it. Once in the woods, I knew them so well that we would finally have a fighting chance of losing them and then hiding in the bunker until the danger was past.

Chapter 55

Cole

It took forever to reach the city, or at least, that was what it felt like, but when I checked the time, I realized that I had driven so fast it had taken me just over half the time it usually took. I must have truly been flying through the roads, focused and furious. I probably triggered some traffic speed camera, but thankfully the cops hadn’t stopped. But now that I was inside the metropolitan area, I was forced to reduce my speed in order.

I arrived at Paganini’s address. The place was filled with guards, but I wasn’t stopped at the door. I could feel the anger, though, especially from a few familiar faces. They were disciplined enough not to outrightly confront me for killing one of their own, or perhaps they were waiting for whatever Paganini had planned for me.

I was quickly and thoroughly frisked before being ushered towards an elevator. We travelled two floors down into the ground. It was probably his safe space like the one I had built for Anya, but whatever it was, it ensured that no one could find it unless they were looking for it. I stared straight ahead and focused on my sole goal of being here, which was to find a way to save my daughter and Montana, finish off Paganini, and escape with my life.

Travelling into the depths of his lair, full of dangerous psychopaths, it seemed an almost impossible goal to achieve.

Since I had defaulted and gone rogue, they gave me a second search when the doors of the elevator swished open. Once, I was considered a trusted part of their organization and so my searches had been kept to a minimum, but it was no longer the case.

I had expected it so I hadn’t bothered bringing any guns.

“What is this?” One of the men asked as they tapped on the flat, hard surface inside of my jacket.

“A hard drive,” I replied, and he gave me a look. He was new, so he didn’t know.

“I need it to do the work I’m here to do.”

He smiled and then leaned forward to whisper to me. “Work hard and fast little rabbit. Otherwise, it will be the Don’s sharp knives for you. He makes his victims suffer for days. Cut by cut, until they bleed out completely.”

I towered over him both in height and stature and so in that moment, all I could do was be amused because this was what Paganini had reduced me to. I’d been prepared to wait and bide my time, but I knew now that if I kept getting provoked in this way, I just might burn down the place with me in it.

I willed myself to control my temper and not let myself be goaded as I headed to my audience with Paganini.

I met him in his office surrounded by his goons. For the first few minutes, he deliberately kept me standing as he answered a phone call, his eyes were full of disdain and mockery, which made him just as insufferable as he was annoying. Eventually, he ended the call and turned to me.

“The prodigal son returns.” He grinned at me, flashing his yellowish teeth. “You really took two of my men out?”

“They came uninvited.”

He came closer to me and inhaled deeply. “I can smell your fear.” He moved away from me and looked into my eyes. “I have your daughter and your woman so don’t play games with me, Luca. I could so easily crush both their necks but don’t worry, I’m a nice guy.”

I swallowed hard, but I said nothing.

He smiled, and to someone who did not know him, they would call it a kind smile. “We need transfers made. Many multiples have been delayed since you left. You understand what this means, right?” he asked. “You understand how much damage this has caused me, right?”

I said nothing.