Page 49 of Merciless King
I whimper, tears streaming down my face. "Please, don't do this."
But he's beyond reason, beyond mercy. He pushes me against the wall, his hands wrapping around my throat once more.
I struggle for air. Darkness closes in. I think of Elio. Will he get here in time to save Elysse? I hope so. I have a moment of gratitude that he knows the truth. He’ll take care of Elysse.
As if Gabriel knows I’m thinking of Elio, his grip tightens around my neck. My lungs burn. My vision fades. Everything goes black.
20
ELIO
It’s just after eight in the morning when I stride into the police station, my annoyance simmering beneath the surface. What a waste of my goddamn time. I've got a million other things I need to be doing right now, namely, getting Piper and my daughter the hell away from that abusive dick she married. But instead, I'm here, cleaning up yet another mess.
Lana and Matteo flank me. Their expressions mirror my own impatience and irritation. Neither of them wants to be here, either. Lana's arms are crossed over her chest, her dark eyes flashing with barely restrained temper. Matteo just looks bored, but I catch him scanning the station, always on alert for potential threats.
I spot the cops on my payroll huddled together in the corner, talking among themselves. They straighten up when they see me coming. I have to play this cool. I’m in the middle of a police station, so it won’t be smart to give away that I own these men. At the same time, I need to know what’s going on.
“Officers.”
The cops exchange uneasy glances. They know they need to play it cool too so as not to give away that they work for me.
“Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on? Why are my men being detained?" I keep my voice calm.
“Finster got a tip about a burglary down by the docks,” Officer Jones reports.
“Who the fuck is Finster?”
“Detective. He’s been working on a string of burglaries in the area.” Jones looks at his buddy, Colliers, who nods.
“We called Matteo?—”
“What I care about is that they’re here at all.” I lean in closer and speak low. “I pay you a shit-ton of money to prevent just this sort of thing.”
Collier crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes at me. “We can’t be everywhere all at once. Why were they there, anyway? We didn’t get any heads up that they were going into Rinella territory.”
He’s right. I look at Matteo. “Do we know why they were there?”
He shakes his head. Fuck. That means my men fucked up.
I turn back to the officers. “Why aren’t you getting them out?”
“Your lawyer is here, and it would look sus if we poked our noses in,” Jones says.
I shake my head, wondering if I’m wasting my money with these two. “Where are they now?”
“Interrogation. The lawyer is there. We can call you when they’re done?—”
“I want it done now. Who can I talk to that will make it happen?”
Matteo leans in next to me. “Maybe we let this play out. The head of the D’Amato family throwing his weight around might cause undue attention.”
He’s not wrong. “Where can I wait?”
The officers guide me to a room. “No one should bother you here.”
“Well this was a waste of time,” Lana says, scrunching her nose at the drab room.
“This has Rinella written all over it,” Matteo says, pulling out a chair and sitting down.