Chapter 7 - The Ransom
The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
Dominic raised his handgun and shot Reynolds in the leg without a second of hesitation.
The detective collapsed, screaming in agony as Dominic's men disarmed the rest of the corrupt cops.
"Keep them alive," Dominic ordered his lieutenant.
He grabbed my hand and we sprinted to his armored SUV.
The drive back to the city was an absolute nightmare of speed and terror.
I could not stop crying, my hands gripping the dashboard until my knuckles turned white.
"My men are stationed on every floor," Dominic tried to reassure me, though his jaw was clenched tight.
"Mark knows the building because he used to do maintenance work there years ago," I sobbed.
"He knows all the service elevators and blind spots."
We screeched to a halt outside the glass skyscraper.
The lobby was completely chaotic.
Two of Dominic's guards were lying unconscious on the marble floor.
We rushed to the private elevator and rode it up to the penthouse.
The heavy oak doors were blown entirely off their hinges.
I ran inside, screaming Lily's name.
The penthouse was empty.
Mrs. Higgins was tied to a chair in the kitchen, weeping uncontrollably.
"He took her," the old woman cried as Dominic quickly cut her loose.
"He had a keycard and he took the sweet girl."
I collapsed to my knees, unable to breathe through the sheer panic.
Dominic knelt beside me, his large hands framing my face.
"I swear on my life, I will bring her back to you," he vowed fiercely.
His phone suddenly rang, the shrill sound echoing in the destroyed room.
Dominic answered it and put it on speaker.
"Hello, Salvatore," Mark's slurred, arrogant voice filled the room.
"Mark, please don't hurt her!" I begged, crawling closer to the phone.
"Shut up, Emma," Mark snapped cruelly.
"If you want the brat back breathing, you will bring ten million dollars in untraceable cash to the old rail yard in one hour."
"I will bring the money," Dominic said with deadly calm.
"You better come alone, or I will drop the kid in the river," Mark threatened.
The line went dead.
Dominic stood up and walked to his hidden wall safe.
May you like
He pulled out a sleek, black assault rifle.
"We are not taking money," Dominic said coldly.
