Page 51 of Ice-Cold Obsession

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll figure something else out.”

His jaw is tight, his hands flexing at his sides. “What about my mom and dad?”

“They shouldn’t be in any danger because the mafia will still want to control you, and they can only do that if your parents are alive and well.” At least I hope so.

My sister was in this same position, tied to these same people and forced to do the things she didn’t want to do. And now she’s dead.

I won’t let that happen to Gabriel or to me.

I won’t let the bad guys win, no matter what.

Chapter 31

SCARLETT

I TAKE GABRIEL’S PHONEand head to the other side of town. The bus ride feels longer than it should, and every stop makes my pulse spike. I clutch the phone in my pocket, hyper-aware of it.

A woman sits across from me with a sleeping toddler in her lap, and an older man reads a newspaper near the front. Normal people are living their normal lives, and they have no idea what kind of mess I’m in.

Maybe I should call my parents and say goodbye to them or something, just in case. They already lost one daughter and probably couldn’t handle losing another. The last thing I want is to upset them, so let’s hope they never find out what I’m dealing with right now.

When I finally get off the bus, I walk several blocks until I find a quiet spot behind a convenience store. The alley stinks like hell, and I pull out the phone and open the video one more time. Gabriel is tied to the chair, gagged, and his eyes are wide with panic. It’s convincing enough. It has to be.

I navigate to the message Gabriel showed me earlier. The number has no name attached. It’s just a string of digits that belongs to a man who’s been controlling Gabriel’s life.

I attach the video and hitsend.

The message goes through immediately.

Delivered.

I stare at the screen for a moment, then pop out the SIM card and snap it in half. I drop the pieces in a dumpster, burying them under a pile of trash bags.

The bus ride back lasts forever. My mind races through every possible outcome. What if they don’t believe it? What if they figure out it’s fake? What if they come after Gabriel anyway? What if they come after me?

I force myself to breathe slowly, but it does nothing to calm me. By the time I get back to my dorm, Gabriel is already there and pacing. When he sees me, he stops, his eyes wide.

“Did you do it?”

“Yeah. I sent the video and got rid of the SIM card.”

He nods and resumes pacing, his movements anxious. Every few seconds, he glances at the door as if he’s expecting someone to burst through it.

“If they figure out what we’re doing, we’re screwed,” he says.

“Yeah, but you said the guy wasn’t very smart. And we can always say someone else told us to do it or threatened us. It’s not like they’re going to know. They think you’re too afraid to make a move against them because of your parents, and you’ve always done whatever they asked.”

He nods, but he doesn’t look convinced. His jaw is tight, his shoulders tense, and he keeps flexing his hands at his sides.

“If anyone comes to the door, hide in the closet under my things,” I say.

“Okay.”

Minutes stretch into an hour, and nothing happens. No texts to my phone, no calls, and no pounding on the door. But maybe they’re looking for Gabriel and not for me, or maybe they’ll come looking after they check some other places where they think he might be.

“They didn’t take it seriously.” Gabriel stops pacing and stares at the wall. “They would’ve tried to contact you by now to ask about me.”