Mafia Queen

Chapter Twenty-Six

Luca

I wasn't sure how long I had been down here. I knew from experience that time passed exceptionally slowly when you were being held captive. It couldn't have been more than a few days, but each moment felt like a lifetime.

I had yet to actually see Niko. Serena didn't know shit, and if Angelo and Marco really thought I was dead, I was essentially on my own. I was trained to recognize patterns in my captors and made a mental list almost immediately. There were only three guards I ever saw, and very rarely were they together. That either meant this operation was small, or Niko was really fucking stupid. Sending the same guards in here each day let me memorize their habits, aiding in my eventual escape. A small operation would mean loyal workers harder to break, but he was probably stretching them thin.

I could see the sun rising each morning from the window, which meant we were facing East. Buildings out here were constructed to withstand hurricanes and other coastal storms. Storms came from the East, so I knew we had to be pretty far inland, because they never put windows directly in line of the storm on the coast. The only time I ever heard cars was in the evening, which meant we either had to be really close to Niko's house or at it. I spent every moment I could making mental notes like this, just in case they came in handy.

Serena and I didn't talk much. I was still pissed about what happened with Charlotte, and she was pissed that I roped her into this at all. She wasn't my first choice of company, but it wasn't like I had many options down here.

The sound of boots on the stairs spiked my interest. It must be getting close to dinnertime. Niko's guards would deliver some type of shitty food that hardly looked edible. As terrible as it was, I ate every bit, knowing I needed to keep my strength up for a moment of opportunity. A second set of footsteps on the stairs surprised me.

I recognized the man with the guard instantly. It Niko, finally showing his face. Serena crawled into the back corner of her cell, trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

A smirk spread across my face. "Nice of you to show up, Niko."

He shook his head with an evil laugh. "Luca, Luca, Luca. You just couldn't stay away from what was mine, could you?"

"I'm here because of her?" I nodded towards Serena. "Come on, Niko. You can't expect me to believe you'd go to all this trouble for a woman."

"Do you know what the most dangerous thing in the world is, Luca?" Niko paced in front of me as his guard swung a thick chain back and forth.

"Tell me." I smirked, already tired of his stupid head games.

"A man who thinks he's on top of the world. Who thinks has everything he could want. Who thinks he's too big to fail."

"I'm here because you're jealous of what I have." I scoffed.

"If only it were that easy, my friend. You're here because you got greedy. Because despite all you have, you wanted more, and you went after things that belong to me."

"I never touched Serena. All we did was talk." I spat.

"I'm well aware of that." He grinned, revealing a sinister set of teeth. "This isn't about a woman. This is about power. You used my poor little wife to gain an advantage over me. You're here because you thought you could extinguish my entire organization, but you severely underestimated me." He stopped right in front of me.

"So what? I'm going to sit in here and think about my bad behavior?" I was taunting him, hoping it didn't backfire on me.

"That would be too easy. After all, you're good at making money. Why not take advantage of that while I can?"