The voices of men surrounded me as they talked to each other and ignored me. I’m not sure any of them were fully aware that I had started to wake up yet. As my own cognition started to line up with my body as it woke up, I was able to remind myself to move slowly. Perhaps if I moved slowly, then no one would notice I was awake and I could observe them better.
There were three men close to me; they all had thick beards and held what I thought were guns. My vision was still pretty blurry so I couldn’t fully tell. Two of them men had their back to me and faced the third man, who looked like he was in charge. I overheard them say something about catching the mole among the other men. That made me hold my breath as I remembered the two who had brought me there and what they said just before the drugs had taken effect. I had to figure out a way to warn Chris. This was a trap and they were going to kill him for sure.
My eyes started to clear and I opened them slightly to try and get a better look at the three men who held me captive. They were all three very large men, well over 200 pounds, but physically very fit. I could tell the one who was in charge almost immediately because the other two looked at him after everything they said. The man in charge must have been Gino, the person who was going to kill Chris and I when he found out who Chris was.
I tried to reposition my head slowly so I could get a look at the other two men, but their backs were still to me so I couldn’t see them. They both had dark hair and held onto their large guns like they were very comfortable using them.
“Go get everyone, I want to see their reactions,” Gino said to his two sidekicks. The two men left the room and I was alone with Gino. He noticed I was awake and came over to me. My heart pounded as he walked closer. The gun he had slung across his body was my sole fixation and I couldn’t even look him in the eyes because of this.
“Young lady, would you like some water?”
“No.”
“You will feel better. It will help flush the drugs from your system. Drink this,” he said and he held a bottle of water up to my lips.
I drank it; I certainly wasn’t in a position to refuse something he asked me to do. Plus I was dying of thirst and the water did taste perfect as it went down. He was a tall man who certainly asserted a sense of power. The way he carried himself, was with confidence and power. I could see why people looked up to him. In a different world, he would have made a great leader of some big corporation, but instead he led criminals.
“Thank you,” I said as he pulled the bottle away from my lips.
It was at this point I finally made eye contact with him. I’m not sure what I had expected, perhaps an ugly snarly face with death in his eyes, or something equally as scary. Instead, he looked like a regular guy. I glanced over his face and took in the Italian features and tan skin. He was actually a very handsome man. His beard was well tri
mmed and he wore a white button-up short sleeve shirt. The material was lightweight and extremely soft when it had brushed up against my hand.
“I’m sorry I had to bring you here sweet thing. But one of my men is lying to me and I have no choice but to flush him out and kill him. Unless, perhaps…you would like to help me by pointing him out?”
I looked up at the man with wide eyes as I tried to contemplate the situation. How much did he know? What should I tell him? What should I lie about? The thoughts all rushed through my head at the same time. I had no idea what I should say or do.
“I’m just a girl from Missouri,” I said as tears filled my eyes. He seemed amused at my fear. It was the first moment I truly felt like he would kill me without even a second thought.
Just then a large group of people made their way up some stairs at the other end of the large warehouse building. There had to have been at least one hundred people. Most of them were men, but I did see a few women in the bunch. I searched through the group to see if I could find Chris. As they walked closer and closer my eyes darted frantically among the crowd to find him. I didn’t know what I could do to warn him, but I probably wouldn’t have to. The second he saw me sitting in that chair he would know exactly what was going on.
“Hello everyone and thank you for coming to the show,” Gino said with his arms in the air like a circus show entertainer.
I looked at the faces of all the people and I couldn’t find Chris anywhere. All of the men had beards and looked like they hadn’t had a chance to shower in days. It was impossible to pick Chris out from the crowd when everyone looked alike.
“It has come to my attention that one of my dear friends in this room actually works for the government,” Gino continued on. “As you can imagine, I’m not happy about that.”
The crowd of people started to look at one another and talk under their breaths. I noticed a man on the corner that looked familiar, but I didn’t instantly know who he was. My mind was still extremely foggy from the drugs and my eyes not quite focused.
Gunner!
My heart sank and my eyes fixated on him as I realized the man on the corner of the crowd was Gunner. He had helped me after Chris was shot and then he had helped Chris by picking me up and bringing me to the bed and breakfast. My eyes looked at him and I saw him shake his head back and forth slightly in a NO motion. I looked away.
Surely if Gino had seen me look at Gunner the way I did, he would have known for sure that Gunner was the mole. I continued to look through the crowd of people and try and find Chris, if Gunner was there then Chris surely had to be nearby. My eyes continued through the crowd and I saw another man that I recognized, but it wasn’t Chris either. This man had been at the bed and breakfast the first day I arrived. He disappeared after that, but he certainly knew both Gunner and Chris. I remembered him sitting in the living room when I kissed Chris after first arriving at the bed and breakfast.
I looked away from him also.
I continued to search the crowd. How many men were part of Gino’s empire and actually worked for the government? Gino certainly didn’t know he had so many moles and I couldn’t be the person to break their cover.
Chapter 52
Gino’s two main guys walked behind the crowd of people and pushed them forward as Gino stood right in front of me. I could only see the people on the side of the crowd, but I had already identified two of them as being part of Chris’s team. My eyes continued to search the crowd for Chris.
I couldn’t find him. I desperately needed to see Chris and feel like everything would be alright. I knew if I could just find him I would be safe. Chris would make sure I got out of this situation all-right. He would kill this Gino guy and rescue me, I was sure of it. Now I just had to find Chris.
“You see this beautiful young woman…she doesn’t want to die a painful death. Do you sweetheart?” Gino stepped to the side and looked at me. I felt the hot stare of his gaze on my body. He stepped back toward me and placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked at the crowd of people who looked on. He squeezed my shoulder firmly and I felt compelled to answer his question with a head nod.
I shook my head left and right and looked up at the man.