Mafia: Neo Zone ► Lucas Wong ◄

Chapter 16 - Welcome to My Playground → WITHOUT YOU ✔

I awoke with a gasp as cold water splashed over me. The first thing that I noticed was that I was in a large, open room with eerie, blue lighting, and the water that had so cruelly ended my thoughtless slumber had pooled around me without dispersing. As my awareness slowly increased, I discovered I was lying in a glass box with walls that reached an arm's length above my head from where I was lying. The box had no top, but it was narrow, and as my memories began to return, I felt panic welling within me.

"I've always loved the circus." Aaron's voice made me suck in a sharp breath. "When I was a child, I wanted to be part of one, you know."

His face loomed into view just when I realized my hands were cuffed together. He leaned against the glass box and smiled down at me, running his finger along the edge. My head was pounding fiercely, but I managed to glare up at him all the same.

"I've had so many things to thank you for recently." He smiled. "But I think this will prove to top them all. I can't wait to see the look on your precious Lucas's face when he sees you in here."

My eyes widened, and dread washed over me. He was going to bring Lucas here to kill him by using me as bait, and in my present condition, there was nothing I could do to stop him. Still, I strained against my bonds and tried to sit up, but this only proved to increase the horrible pounding in my head.

"Oh, look at you struggling to stop me at the mention of his name." He chuckled. "You know, I'm not even sure he'll want to come for you after you so sweetly turned down his offer to go live with him, but I guess we'll find out, won't we?" He removed a phone from his pocket. "I'm sure they've found your phone by now." He smirked down at me.

For a moment there was silence as he lifted the phone to his ear, but the incessant beeping as the line rang was almost deafening in the silence. Swallowing, I bit down on my lip, hoping with every fiber of my being that the hotel staff had found my phone and thrown it out rather than giving it to Lucas or any of the others. A small eternity seemed to pass, and no one answered. Relief flooded me, for despite the fact that I would have felt much more prepared to face whatever Aaron intended to do to me if I weren't alone, I would rather suffer on my own than drag Lucas into this.

"Hello?"

My heart dropped as the beeping stopped and I faintly heard the familiar voice. This had to be some kind of nightmare or something, right? I shut my eyes, willing myself to wake up, but Aaron's voice sliced through the last of my hopes.

"Hello, Lucas, I was beginning to think I was going to have to find another means to contact you. After all, I couldn't let your lovely, little girlfriend suffer without you here to see it." My eyes snapped open at the words, and Aaron withdrew the phone from his ear, pressing his thumb to the screen to turn it on speakerphone.

"Where are you?" Lucas' voice possessed more force than I'd ever heard before.

Aaron laughed. "I don't know if I should tell you yet. I'm rather enjoying vicariously experiencing your feelings of helplessness. Maybe I'll let you keep pointlessly searching the city."

"Where the hell are you?" Lucas growled.

"The mighty mafia man isn't confident in his own ability to locate us?" Aaron gasped in mock surprise. "How disappointed you must be in your failure."

"Do. Not. Play. With. Me. Aaron. Don't ever think you're capable of that." Lucas said.

"Oh, no. I'm so scared." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't it be the other way around considering what situation we're in right now? What do you think I've been doing this whole time? Do you honestly think this whole game just planned itself out for the last decade, and I only just now decided to jump on the wave that was already in motion?" The more he spoke, the more ferocious his voice became. "Your delusions about your own grandeur have made it very easy for me to maneuver you precisely where I want you to be. I could take anything from you, and as long as I have your precious, little baby, you'd give me your own life without batting an eye just to keep her safe."