The Sacrificial Lamb (5 page)

“What did you
do
, Daddy?” she whispered to the walls. “What the hell did you and Santino
do?”

That was the question of the day. Something had happened the night John Montgomery met up with Santino DiRocco to put this in motion. It had been severe enough to make her father go to a police station instead of coming home. Awful enough for him to call and warn her. Horrible enough for men to come and abduct her from the hallway of her apartment building.

Alex spent the better part of the night walking circles through the dust along the floor until she just couldn’t stand any longer. Her jaw gave a loud crack as she yawned and then settled down on the fetid cot. The room was cold but the constant movement had kept her warm. Now she began to shiver violently. Despite her disgust, she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself cocoon-style.

“What did you do, Daddy?” she asked once more before exhaustion settled into sleep.

T
HE
G
IRL
H
AD
B
EEN
O
N
H
IS
M
IND
all night. Domenic was trying to figure out a way to get her out of that stinking warehouse, but now knew it would take a miracle. Where else could she be stashed? It wasn’t like he could very well keep her here at his condo. There was one other place he could think to bring her, but that would mean letting Carlo know where he was, and that was unacceptable. The cabin was his secret retreat. No one knew about it.

Mulling it over awhile longer as he prepared for his day, Domenic decided to go and see the girl to make sure she was all right. Despite the pervasive feeling that something bad was going to happen, he’d convinced himself he could keep the girl alive and well. Even when her usefulness to Carlo had ended.

While driving back to the warehouse, he took a more circuitous route to make sure he wasn’t being followed. It was very possible that all the major players in the family were under surveillance if John Montgomery had informed the police his daughter had been abducted. He had to be extra cautious, especially now. Carlo had been careful to keep out of sight of the girl, but with yesterday’s little stunt he had made sure Domenic would be implicated in her kidnapping should she be rescued.

Of course Carlo had no clue Domenic hadn’t actually raped the girl, but that wouldn’t matter to the police. Domenic knew about Alexis Montgomery’s abduction and where she was being held—that would be enough to secure his guilt. That sneaky bastard boss of his knew what he was doing. If Carlo was going down, he wanted to bring Domenic with him. Once again, he wondered if Carlo had some kind of suspicion about him and his intentions. The old fox had been around twice as long, but they’d see who would win this game of cat and mouse.

Satisfied he wasn’t being followed, he pulled down the long rutted path leading toward the back of the warehouse. Domenic parked the car, checked his weapons, and got out. Out of habit, he looked at his reflection in the car window and ran a hand through his hair.

What the fuck are you doing,
he thought impatiently.
You’re going to see a captive, not your prom date.

Domenic turned on his heel and headed into the building. As before, he had to wait a little bit in order to see the way in front of him. There were no voices, and he leaned his head to the side to listen closer. Still nothing. He stepped forward cautiously until he reached the large room. Vince was sitting there by himself, messing around with his phone.

“Where’s Marco?” Domenic demanded, resisting the urge to snicker in disgust when Vince jumped, sending his phone clattering to the floor.

“Fuck!” Vince said angrily as he bent to retrieve it. “You could have given me some warning!” He had his phone in his hand, brushing it off mournfully.

“Are you fucking serious?” Domenic seethed. “What kind of guard are you? I could have been anyone! Where the fuck is
Marco!”
Domenic took a menacing step toward Vince and watched with satisfaction as the other man cowered back for a second.

“He’s home probably,” Vince mumbled. “We’ve been doing shifts. It’s not like she can get out or anything,” he said, his jaw tightening like a vise. Domenic had a mind to smash it with his fist.

“Fucking idiots,” he said under his breath before walking toward the door and pulling it open. The girl was kneeling on the bed, in the corner, eyes wide. She had obviously heard him yelling. He stepped in and gave her a once over. Besides the look of fear stamped on her features, she looked fine.

“Make yourself useful,” he called over his shoulder. “Empty this fucking thing!” he said, pointing to the bucket in the corner. Vince scuttled past him and grabbed the handle, leaving the room. “Go for a walk. I don’t want to see your face back here for at least twenty minutes.”

“But, Carlo—” he began.

“I’ll handle Carlo. Get the
fuck
out.”

Domenic glared at him. Vince nodded and walked out of the main room. When Domenic heard the door out in the hallway clang shut, he turned back to the girl. She was watching him warily, as if he was some kind of dangerous animal. Well, at least she had one thing right. He was dangerous.

She looked horrible. Much worse than when he’d left her yesterday. Her hair was a mess, her face was still tearstained, and there was filth and dirt smeared over her hands and clothes. It was obvious from the bags under her eyes that she hadn’t been sleeping. Not that Domenic could blame her. He could feel the fear coming off her in waves, and yet she was crouched down, looking ready to spring at him. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, and her face was pinched in what he assumed was supposed to be a threatening expression. Claws on a kitten, he noted with some amusement.

Domenic held his hands up and walked to the solitary chair in the room. Hooking it with his foot, he dragged it toward him and straddled it. The girl calmed, but still kept her defensive posture. Yes, she was a fighter. He felt a small surge of respect for her. She must be scared shitless, yet she hadn’t given up. She wasn’t wallowing and she wasn’t begging.

“Has anyone hurt you?” he asked, keeping his voice intentionally soft.

“You mean besides
you?”
she spat.

Domenic raised his eyebrows and she flinched.

“Yes, besides
me
.” They maintained eye contact for a moment before she shook her head back and forth. “Good.” He slung his arms over the back of the chair and regarded her for a few more moments until she started squirming under his unrelenting gaze.

“Why am I here?” she asked suddenly.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Does it have anything to do with Santino DiRocco?” she demanded.

“What do you know about Santino?” he asked, voice like a whip.

“Nothing!” she answered immediately. “All I know is that my father was meeting him, but he didn’t come home, and then I was…taken.” Everything came out in a rush, the last word ending in a trembling whisper. It hadn’t taken her long to put two and two together.

“Why you are here is of no consequence,” Domenic said coolly.

“Maybe not for you! You’re not the one who’s going to die!”

The girl’s lip began to tremble, and her eyes shone with unshed tears. She opened her eyes wide and looked upward. It was a trick he’d used himself as a child to try to stop tears from flowing. She didn’t want to cry in front of him.

“What makes you think you’re going to die, Alexis?”

She looked surprised at his casual use of her name. It helped her regain a little composure, and she looked at him as if she was trying to figure out if he was stupid or playing with her.

“Well, the fact I can identify you if you let me go is a pretty big indicator.”

“Aren’t you afraid you’ve just sealed your fate now that you told me that?” he asked curiously.

“Something tells me you aren’t stupid enough to have overlooked that detail,” she scoffed. “So if I’m going to
die
, at least I’d like to know why.”

“You’re pretty demanding, considering the situation,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Well, it’s not like I have anything to lose.”

Domenic noticed that she was huddled up on the cot, her arms wrapped tightly around her, and she was trembling.

“You’re cold,” he said, avoiding her questions.

“I guess you wouldn’t notice—being fully dressed and all—but it’s kind of freezing in here.”

“And it doesn’t help you’re wearing a skirt,” he offered.

“Especially since I’m not wearing anything
under
it,” she replied acerbically, shooting him an accusatory look. He felt heat flood his face both at the memory of what happened the day before and the thought of her being completely bare underneath her skirt.

Domenic stood up from the chair and removed his jacket. The girl’s eyes widened and she folded her legs under her, regaining her defensive posture. She eyed the gun in his holster as he walked toward her.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Alexis,” he said gently. He leaned forward to spread his jacket over her shoulders, then stepped back and looked her in the eyes. “If I wanted to take you by force, I would have done it yesterday.”

Domenic went to sit back down on the chair and watched the girl. He could see she was considering throwing his jacket off, but the warmth it offered was too difficult to resist. She pulled the lapels around her after a few moments. Finding that unsatisfactory, she put her arms into the sleeves. The suit jacket swam on her, and she had to push the sleeves up in order for her hands to come out. Once she had done that, she pulled her knees up and covered her legs with her skirt and his jacket.

“Alex,” she said in a low voice.

“Pardon me?”

“My name is Alex,” she replied, fiddling with the sleeves of his jacket. “You keep calling me Alexis. People only call me Alexis when they’re mad at me.”

Before he could reply, he heard someone walk into the adjoining room. Domenic glanced over his shoulder thinking Vince had come back early. Instead it was Marco who’d stopped where he was, taking in the scene. Domenic got up from the chair and moved it against the wall.

“I’ll be back, later,” he told Alex. She began shrugging out of his jacket but he put up a hand to stop her. “Keep it for now. I’ll come back for it.” She nodded and watched him as he stepped out of the room. He hated to lock her back in there, but there was no other alternative.

“Where’s Vince?” Marco demanded as soon as the door was shut. “And what the hell were you doing in there
talking
to her?”

“She’s not a fucking animal,” Domenic said contemptuously. “And
I’m
the one who’s supposed to be asking questions around here!” Marco had a look of pure hatred on his face, and it was reciprocated. “I get here and find Vince fucking around. I was inside without him even noticing me. Where the fuck were
you?”

“I needed a break,” Marco said, glowering at him.

“Does Carlo know about your ‘breaks’?” Domenic asked, leaning forward.

“No,” Marco answered defiantly.

“You’re fucking lucky it was me who came here today and not him.” He let the severity of the situation sink in, and Marco looked away, embarrassed.

Vince chose this moment to walk back in the room, holding the bucket. “Ah look, it’s Tweedledum,” Domenic sneered at him. “Put it back in there,” he said, gesturing with his head. Vince went into the room and came back out shooting anxious glances at Marco.

“Are you going to tell Carlo?” Marco asked with an edge to his voice.

“No. Don’t make me regret that decision,” Domenic said, poking a finger into Marco’s chest. “I have to run an errand, and then I’m coming back. We’ll discuss this later.” With that, he turned and stalked toward the door.

The two men watched Domenic warily as he exited the room. What the fuck was he supposed to do with these two goons now? They had disobeyed direct orders, but since nothing had happened due to their insubordination, it was difficult to figure out any method of punishment that wasn’t completely overboard. To be honest, this was already a pretty shitty assignment. Domenic knew he wouldn’t want to be stuck here with nothing to do, keeping an eye on a prisoner.

By the same token, he didn’t want them getting hostile and taking it out on Alex while there was no one around. They would be suicidal for trying, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility. He decided the best course of action was to let them off with a warning right now, but he would definitely be coming by unannounced more often to keep them on their toes.

Domenic left the two of them to get back to work guarding Alex and exited the warehouse. Once again, he found himself unwilling to leave the girl alone, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He would have to speak to Carlo about this but would need to word it in a way to make moving her to another location his boss’s idea.