Page 141 of Righteous Enforcer
"Boss says no." She sets the tray down and retreats quickly.
I slump onto the bed, mind racing. The Vitales and Ivan are going to ambush the Dantes at the shipment tomorrow. Adriano will be there and they will kill him.
I've considered screaming for help, breaking the window glass, setting off some kind of alarm or anything to create chaos that might give me a chance. But I'm on the third floor, guards everywhere, and Ivan made it clear I’d never make it out.
I glance at the uneaten lunch. The utensils are plastic.
“You should eat,” Daria says, returning to my room.
“I’m not hungry.”
She shrugs and goes about cleaning my room. She bends over to dust under my bed and her phone falls out. She picks it up, setting it on the bed as she reaches further under the bed.
When she gets up, she picks up the towels she set on the bed and takes them to my bathroom.
I can’t stop looking at the phone.
It’s sitting there waiting for me to take it. Did she leave it there for me on purpose? If not, and I take it, she’ll tell Ivan.
In the bathroom, she hums a tune I don’t recognize. The door closes and I hear the sink running.
I have no choice. I move. I grab the phone, my fingers shaking as I swipe the screen.
No password.
No thumb print.
No visual recognition.
The universe is on my side for once.
I type frantically, entering Adriano’s phone number and typing a message.
Ivan + Vitales planning ambush at Friday shipment. DO NOT GO.
The water stops running. I glance at the bathroom, wanting to write more, but am afraid my time has run out. I hit send, delete the message from the sent folder, clear the history, and place the phone exactly where it was, face down.
When Daria enters my room, I’m sitting at my table, eating the sandwich she’s brought me.
“Oh, good, you’re eating,” she says cheerfully, collecting her phone. With a slight nod, she leaves my room.
I close my eyes, exhaling slowly. The message is sent. Whether Adriano believes it, whether he even reads it, is beyond my control now.
At least I tried. At least I warned him.
I’ve barely caught my breath from the risk I’ve just taken when the door swings open without warning.
Ivan strides in. "Comfortable?"
I keep my face blank, worried he knows what I’ve done.
He gives me that dumb, amused smile. “The silent treatment, eh? I respect your strength and resolve, Eva. It's what made you such a valuable asset."
"I was never your asset," I say. "Your brother threatened my father's life."
Ivan turns, smirking. "And yet you performed admirably. Until you didn't." He adjusts his cufflinks, studying me. "It seems your beloved Adriano doesn't care much about your wellbeing. No rescue attempts. Not even negotiations." He seems disappointed. “I really thought he might disobey Alessandro and try to save you after all.”
He shrugs. "Perhaps he's finally realized what you are. A traitor.”
