Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I make the mistake of glancing over all the desks, then my gaze gets stuck on a boy who can’t be much older than sixteen or seventeen. He peeks at me, and for a moment we keep eye contact before he continues working.
“Should I give you another example?” Danil asks, then he shouts, “Bring Tim!”
To my absolute horror, the boy is yanked from his chair. His accent is thick as he begs, “No, please. Don’t shoot me.”
“Stop,” I hiss, my gaze flying between Danil and Tim.
The boy is shoved down a few steps away from me, and Danil pulls his gun out again.
Not thinking, I dart forward and grab Danil’s wrist while trying to knee him right in the balls, but lifting my right leg suddenly, swipes my left foot from under me.
I forgot about the damn chains.
Before I can fall, hands grab my shoulders, and I’m yanked backward, then Kirill’s arm locks around my neck while his other clamps over my chest.
I squirm and let out a growl when Danil glares at me with anger burning in his eyes. Instead of shooting Tim, he walks to the first row, and as people scramble to move, he starts pulling the trigger.
Bam.
A woman falls backward against a monitor while gripping her neck as blood spurts from the wound.
Bam.
A man slumps over a chair.
Bam.
A cry echoes through the building as another man drops.
Bam.
A girl who can’t be much older than me staggers back, shock and fear bleeding over her face before she sinks to the floor.
“Stop!” I scream while yanking against the hold Kirill has on me. Danil’s arms swing toward Tim, and I can’t keep a sob from bursting over my lips. “Please!”
The cold-hearted bastard locks eyes with me, then he grinds the words out through clenched teeth, “Do you understand, Miss La Rosa?”
“Yes.” I nod fast, my gaze darting to Tim again. “Yes. I understand.”
“Good.”
Danil jerks his head, and Tim is yanked to his feet again while Kirill lets go of me.
I glare at Kirill as I step away from him, and when Tim is shoved back into his seat, the other guards begin dragging the dead away.
“Take her back to her cell,” Danil orders.
I move before Kirill can reach for me, and as I head back up the stairs, my mind races to process everything.
I have no idea how much time has passed since the bratva attacked my fortress. With being drugged, it only feels like an hour or two has passed, and way too much has happened for me to deal with any of it.
The attack. The deaths of my men. The destruction of my home. The race to get away. Waking up here and seeing five people killed just to teach me a lesson.
Dear God.
The shock of it all shudders through me and makes my head spin.
I stumble as my vision blurs, then Kirill’s there to pick me up and carry me back to the cold cell. I’m placed on the dingy bed, and seconds later I hear the gate click shut.
Turning my back to the bars, I cover my mouth with my hands as the sobs push their way up my throat.
What am I going to do?
Shit.
Is this really happening, or am I having some crazy ass nightmare?
Everyone thinks I’m dead. There’s no doubt in my mind because the fortress was rigged to incinerate all the mainframes and servers.
Jesus. This is going to destroy my parents and grandparents.
With time, Gianna will be okay.
I think Enzo will recover, but he’ll probably blame himself for not getting to me in time. Thank God for that.
They’re all safe, though. I made sure of it.
Okay, Rosie. You’re on your own now. You can’t spiral.
When they put me in front of a computer, I’ll have to be careful so I don’t endanger any of the other hackers, but I can get simple coded messages through to Dad and Enzo.
Good, you have a plan.
Chapter 13
Rosie
Standing by the bars of my cell, I can see two rows of desks below, but I’m unable to make out the information on the screens from up here.
Another hacker turns to the side and pukes her guts out into a small metal basket before wiping her mouth, drinking some water, and continuing with work.
It’s been happening every couple of hours.
I’m not sure if they’re sick from being overworked, their eyesight giving in from all the screen time, or a mixture of that and lack of sleep, bad food and too much fear.
For the past two weeks, this has become my grueling routine.
I watch them work from up here while armed guards move between the rows of desks, checking screens, muttering orders, and reminding everyone they’re not people anymore.
This place is inhumane, and the hackers are treated like they’re nothing more than tools to be used until there’s nothing left.