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“Miss Burke? I’m Elio Santori. There’s someone who’d like to meet you.” His deep voice sent claws of fear raking across my nerves.
In the growing light of dawn, I could make out his blunt features and oddly pale eyes. He held himself like ex-military and had little in common with the other two. This man was tall and powerful-looking. His all-black attire gave off a deadly vibe the other two would never manage.
It was abundantly clear that his request was an order, but I still pretended like my life wasn’t about to end.Miss Burke?He even knew my name. I could bet everything I had in the world, which really wasn’t much, that he already knew everything about me, down to my panty size. Which meant his boss did, too.
Renato De Sanctis. King of AC. In Atlantic City, just the name was enough to get people to drop their eyes and keep their heads down. He was like a specter you could invoke, like Bloody Mary, but you really didn’t want to. People died when they did.
They say an organization is a reflection of its leadership. If that were the case, then Renato De Sanctis had to be one of the most terrifyingly powerful, brutally vicious men on the East Coast –and now, he knew everything about me.
“I’m afraid it isn’t a good time. I have to get home.” My voice barely shook. It wasn’t much to be proud of, but I needed to hold on to all the wins I could get right now.
Elio wasn’t holding a weapon, but I knew instinctively that it didn’t matter. He was the weapon. He stood lightly, like he could spring in any direction at a moment’s notice. He wouldn’t let me past him.
He was quiet for a second and then sighed. “My boss doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“I just want to go home,” I said again, panic edging my voice.
“It’s too late for that, and you know it. Don’t make me force you,” Elio said quietly. His hands were huge and scarred. If he had to, he’d make me, and it would probably hurt. He could have just killed me here. He didn’t have to take me to his boss.
And maybe this was a good opportunity. If the boss wanted to speak to me, maybe I could change his mind about killing me and Lucy. It was a long shot, but it was all I had left.
Then, my decision was made for me. One of the men opened the back door of the SUV, and I saw her.
“Charlie? What’s going on?”
They had Lucy.
* * *
We droveout of the city and along the shore. The sunrise reflected off the water, a gentle pink and blue. The scenery was far too pretty for a death march. I watched the sea and wished I could live.
My focus soon shifted to Elio. I watched him like he was a bomb that might go off at any moment. His eerie eyes gave nothing away as he watched me right back. In the light of the car when we’d first gotten in, I’d seen they were a light jade green, and unsettling as hell. The other two men were there as well. Sneering and sullen, they glared at me like it was my fault they'd killed a teenager the other night.
“You haven’t covered our eyes,” I pointed out quietly. It felt like my heart was breaking.
“This isn’t the movies,” one of the men sneered.
“Meaning?”
“There’s no need,” Elio said in a tone that brooked no further questions.
I reached out for Lucy’s hand, but she folded in on herself, her arms snaking around her middle, her face blank.
After about an hour, we reached a set of huge metal gates with a guard station outside. I couldn’t make out the inside of the compound. Dense trees and vegetation crowded up against the boundaries of the massive property. The metal gates slid open, and we drove up a long, winding driveway. It felt like we were entering another world. The veil had slipped on this one, and now, I had one foot on the other side.
“What is this place?”
“Casa Nera, girlie. The last place you’ll ever see,” one of the goons in front snapped. He was the trigger-happy one. He turned a dark look at me. “Serves you right for causing trouble.”
“Basta,” Elio said. The word was quiet but somehow held the weight of a gunshot.
I turned to peer out the window and tried to stop myself from hyperventilating. The compound was filled to the brim with armed men, patrolling despite the early hour. High walls surrounded the entire property from what I could see in the dark, and the tops of them bristled with cameras.
There were buildings of all shapes and sizes grouped in clusters. It was more like a village than a single property.Casa Nera.The Black House. Then again, it seemed fairly obvious that the name had been inspired by the Gothic mansion, perched like a crown jewel in the middle of the site, reigning over everything around it.
The center of the maze. The heart of the labyrinth.
And, of course, our destination.
