53. Cole

“He just wanted you to come over for a friendly chat, but now that you”ve killed his men, you have to pay for that, bello?”

I received the call when I was midway back to the city. It was Anya’s phone, but it wasn’t her. For the first few seconds, I couldn’t understand it. The room was blast-proof. How could they have her? Was my phone hacked so that it seemed as if the call was coming from her phone? I was confused until I heard her crying in the background. They had her. Somehow, they must have tricked her into opening the door. The line went dead. My knuckles on the steering wheel were bone white as I pressed down on the gas pedal and flew even faster back to the city.

My phone rang again. It was Paganini.

”You heard?” Paganini”s voice was gloating, ”Vinny and his men have your daughter.”

I didn’t respond.

He sighed. ”I actually just wanted to talk to you. You left my finances in a mess. Imagine coming to depend on someone for such a vital aspect of your operations and then you find all of a sudden they have disappeared. That would be deeply upsetting, don”t you think?”

I still didn’t respond.

”By the way, the little teacher fell into Vinny’s net too. You know, the one you were willing to part with ten thousand dollars for a kiss.

My heart was pounding. Who could he possibly be referring to?

”She was supposed to be a part of this, but thanks to the Madonna and her son, the teacher was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was the reason your daughter opened the door for us.”

I swallowed hard as the pieces slotted into place. I understood now what had happened, and I wanted to slam my fist into something. What had Montana been doing there? Why had she gone to the house? My fault. I should have explained everything to her, instead of keeping her in the dark after I had exposed her to danger. Of course, Anya would have seen her in distress after Paganini’s men had started to torture her and been unable to stop herself from rescuing her teacher.

I didn’t know what to do, but I remained calm and waited for him to say all that he needed to without interruption.

”Just as we have your wife, we’ll be keeping your daughter and teacher as well for your cooperation. You’ll get them all back, rest assured, but after you perform. From reports, you”re on your way to see me? That”s wonderful because I have a whole backlog of work for you and a transfer that is especially urgent, so get here as fast as you can. I will make sure Vinny doesn’t lose his head, that temper of his is bad, and hurt the child or the woman because I know I won”t get your cooperation if I do. Also, you have killed two of my men today, so it is only fair that you find a way to compensate for that too?”

I didn’t respond, but he went on.

“Perhaps you can let us have the teacher, a looker for sure. But from what I hear, a real wild cat. Maybe the men will have a bit of fun with her, or maybe I will. I like wild cats in my bed. In case, she’s disposable … everything is up to you. See you soon then. Hurry because I have a plane to catch tonight. Goodbye.”

He laughed then, a sick sound, and ended the call without me having said a single word.

I felt sick. I actually felt dizzy with fury. There was a red mist over my eyes. I couldn’t see the road in front of me, let alone focus on driving. I pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car. I couldn’t believe what had happened. This was exactly what I had worked so hard to avoid. Somehow, I had even managed to pull Montana into my mess. I hated myself for it. My hands clenched and unclenched as I paced the ground next to my car.

“It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine. I can do this. I know I can,” I mumbled to myself. I took deep breaths. I exhaled them slowly.

I got back in the car, leaned my head against the steering wheel and tried to sort out my thoughts. This couldn’t go on any longer. I couldn’t continue to be at the beck and call of this man, but he had the two people I cared about the most.

My heart hurt. I wanted to turn the car around and go back to the house and fight them. I knew all the secret booby traps in the house. I felt as if I could take them on, but even if I did, the head of the snake would still be alive. Paganini would never stop coming after me. No matter how many of his men I killed or how far I ran, he would always find me. Going back could do more harm than good.

I decided that it was best to comply for the moment. I had a plan. It was slightly more dangerous to carry out now because he had my loved ones in his grasp, but it was not impossible. I would just have to be extra careful. No time to wallow. I restarted the car and put it back on the road. I sped faster towards the city. I was resolved to fix this problem once and for all. I put a call to Leila.

”They have Anya and Montana,” I said.

”What?” she replied. ”You told me the room was blast-proof. They couldn’t get in. What happened?”

“They got Montana. They must have threatened to kill her. Anya opened the door for them.”

“But Montana was supposed to be at the ranch. Our men told her to go there and stay there.”

“Well, she didn’t listen.”

“What do you want us to do?”

“Nothing. For the moment. There is nothing you can do,” I told her. I was so frustrated I was barely able to get the words out.

“All right.”

“I’ll call you when I need you. Hang on, there is something you can do. Go and see Montana”s father. Make sure you explain to him the nature of the kidnap. Convince him not to involve the police because it will severely jeopardize their chances of survival.”

“Got it.”

I ended the call and saw that I had a voice message from an unknown phone. I played the message

Anya”s voice came on,

”Dad,” she said, and I could still hear the tremble in her voice. ”I hope you”re okay. We’re ... ” she paused. ”We’re alright. I hope Mommy is okay too. Please take care of yourself. And I”m sorry I disobeyed you.”

That apology broke my heart. Every time she apologized to me, it broke my heart. She had more empathy and understanding than she should be expected to have for her age. The way she extended it completely and willingly to me made me even more determined to do what needed to be done.

It was clear to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that my old plan was too kind. It gave the benefit of the doubt to Paganini. He would lose his money, but he would keep his life. I saw now that the only way I was ever going to be free of him was if I took his life.

There was no other way.