Page 7 of Between Control and Chaos
Jayden runs a hand through his short-cropped dark hair. His eyes blend into the darkness of the basement he’s keeping me in. “Come on, you work for Dante Ricci. You’re his daughter-in-law. You have to know he’s mafia.”
“You’re mafia,” I retort, like a teenager shooting insults. I refuse to acknowledge Dante is mafia, because it would be incriminating myself.
His eyes wince and I see the worry lines appear on his forehead.
Did he really think I’d flip on Dante after he abducted me?
“You met Jaxson’s daughter; you were at the police station?—”
I hold his stare, unwilling to so much as flinch. “You’re mistaken. You kidnapped the wrong girl.”
His face reddens, and I can’t tell if it’s anger or irritation. Either way, he’s pissed. He curses under his breath. “This is not how I saw this going,” Jayden mutters under his breath.
“Yeah, this isn’t how I saw my shift going, either. Take me back to the bar before anyone notices I’m missing.”
I forgot to wear my watch today and my damn phone is still at the bar. There’s no clock and it’s dark outside, giving zero indication of the hour.
Jayden retrieves his phone from his pocket and scratches the back of his neck. He looks nervous and flustered. “Yeah, it’s a bit late for that.”
Relief floods through me. If Dante knows I’m missing, then he’ll come for me. His men won’t let Jayden keep me locked up in his basement forever.
He sighs and grabs a chair, sitting across from me. “Listen, I thought I was doing you a favor, trying to help you get out of the family. I saw you were a new employee for Dante, when I asked around and realized who you were—I was just trying to help.”
“You have a funny way of helping. Let me go. We can all put this behind us.”
“Can we?” Jayden asks, glancing me over. “I don’t want any trouble with Dante.”
His phone buzzes in his hand, and I glance at the screen as the name Jaxson Monroe is calling.
“My boss,” he says, pressing his lips together. He silences the call. “We don’t have much time. I swear on my life, I thought I was doing the right thing, Harper.”
“Abducting me? Are you insane?”
He laughs and hangs his head. “Maybe I am. My niece was taken when she was younger. I guess I just want to be the hero.”
“Heroes don’t kidnap people!” I shout at him.
Jayden scoots back, the chair scraping against the concrete floor. “You’re right. But if I let you go, and you go back to your father-in-law and tell him I’m involved, it’s going to get messy.”
“You’re worried he’ll kill you.” I pin him with my stare.
Jayden merely nods. “I was trying to do good. Not that Dante would see it that way. I don’t have any issue with him.”
Could have fooled me.
“Everyone knows Dante is mafia. If you don’t know that, well, you’re kidding yourself or they’re good at hiding it,” Jayden says. He stares at me, his eyes two dark pools luring me in. “I’ve heard chatter, I know my boss has been involved in some shady shit recently, helping Dante. It’s all—a bit strange.” He seems to be talking to himself more than to me. Like he’s trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Makes two of us.
Dante keeps me out of a lot of his shit.
“You ever hear about Dante trafficking women and children?” Jayden asks and stands.
My shoulders straighten as I shake my head. “He wouldn’t do that.” I don’t deceive him or myself, pretending Dante is a good man, but DeLuca is the monster and Jayden, I’m not sure. Maybe he’s trying to help, or maybe he’s working for DeLuca in secret. I can’t help but worry that Jayden is pressing me for information for some other reason.
But the concern laced on his face is genuine.
“Someone has been trafficking them through town. My boss helped reunite the girls with their families, the ones who had disappeared. But some of those girls, sending them home would have been a death sentence or worse…” his voice trails off.
