20. Choices Are Not Always the Preferred Option
There are moments when you realize that your life has really changed. Moments that signify that change is inevitable and you can't go back to what was in the past. Moments where you gain a realization of everything that's occurred. Moments when you realize that the past is the past and that there is nothing more depressing than that.
Ricardo Nixon's lips curled into a slow grin, a smile that caused goose-bumps spreading rapidly over the length of my body. The man had aged since the photo I had once seen him in. The wrinkles that were engraved into his forehead seemed to have deepened, as did the lines surrounding his mouth. Strands of grey mixed into his dark hair, only making his once youthful appearance more haggard.
The man standing in front of me surely hadn't been the one I was expecting. I had assumed he would be more intimidating, though his lanky frame and the way his cheeks concaved deeply into the depths of his face alerted me to his lack of health. Tiredness was there as well, buried deep within every movement he made. Instead of the strong and fiercely dangerous looking man I had caught a glimpse of in the picture, this one certainly fell flat.
"Savannah, it's wonderful to finally meet you." Ricardo smoothly greeted, his eyes darting to the man behind me briefly. His eyes seemed to brighten as he moved his body closer to mine, clasping his hands together. "I've heard so much about you."
"Fuck you," I spat in his direction, feeling my temper rise drastically and the adrenaline pumping through my veins at a rapid pace. "Let me go!"
"I don't think so, Honey." He chuckled, the sound only sending chills snaking down my spine. The man shook his head, before pursing his lips, only succeeding in making my aggravation grow. "Then all my plans will have gone to waste. We don't want that."
My teeth grounded together at his words and my hands twisted into two tight fists. "What do you mean?"
"You will learn in time." He shook his hand, running a hand through his greying hair. "There is much to discuss, Savannah. You have many options for yourself."
I struggled with the hands still locking my own in place. Wincing at the bruising grip my captor was holding my frame in place with, my eyes briefly flickered around the darkening pathway we were standing on. From what I could see, no one else was with us.
"Options?" I shifted, not liking how the man's grip tightened on my wrists.
"Oh, yes." Ricardo clapped his hands together, his eyes studying me carefully. "But, that's for another day."
I shifted, still fruitlessly writhing to unlock myself from the man's grip, hoping he would release me, but to no avail. Ricardo smirked before tilting his head at my thrashing form. "He isn't going to let you go, Dear. The next best thing for you is to comply with what we need."
"And that would be?" I spat, allowing my form to still. My hands dropped loosely against my back and I narrowed my eyes stormily at the man in front of me. "This is wrong."
He didn't reply, his intense gaze only studying me with interest as if he was fascinated by something he saw written across my face.
Wishing that I could yank my dress up to cover more of my chest, I shuffled uncomfortably. Nerves were beginning to twist my stomach, the realization of what could occur tonight only making them grow severely. I suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable, more so than I had felt previously.
"What do you want with me?" My breathing was heavy and I watched him with wariness written across every inch of my face.
Ricardo ignored my question, choosing to instead focus on my captor, still gripping my wrists tightly.
"Asher - please escort Miss Stone inside."
I reared back in surprise. Digging my heels into the ground, I attempted to resist being dragged through the doors Ricardo had disappeared through. Though Asher's overwhelming strength and size were no match to my own and I found myself being yanked closer to my doom.
"Stop!" I yelped, stumbling as I attempted to stall Asher from following Ricardo's commands. "Stop it! Please - someone help!"
A meaty hand planted itself tightly over my lips, dirty fingertips digging into my cheek, hindering my ability to cry for help. "Shut up." The man's breath panted disgustingly hot against my neck, before he continued to pry my body towards the doorway.
Hot tears stung my cheeks once I had been shoved inside. I squinted into the darkness, barely able to make out Ricardo's familiar form with the lack of light entering into the room. The door slammed shut behind us, the sound only solidifying the inevitable.
"Asher - tie her up." Ricardo laid out another command, his eyes dragging lazily from my form to Asher's.
"What do you want with me?" I hissed out, allowing Asher to drag my stiff body over to the chair in the middle of the room. I squinted through the shadows, determined to not remove my steady gaze from Ricardo's. "Why are you doing all of this?"
"Be quiet, sit down, and you shall see." He replied, the soft clamor of his footsteps and the sound of my heavy breathing the only noises echoing throughout the tiny space as Asher settled me against the leather of the chair. He was quick to bind sturdy pieces of rope around my limbs, harnessing me to the seat and allowing no escape possible.
Once Asher had completed his task, he moved a couple feet back, his large frame stilling as he waited for further directions.
"Thank you, Asher." Ricardo nodded, before jerking his head towards a doorway disguised in the deep shadows of the corner. "You may leave now."
With my eyes beginning to adjust to the terrifying darkness cloaking the room, I could suddenly make out many new details. The television seated in front of my chair, the small collections of guns that were suddenly peaking out of Ricardo's belt, and the fact that no one else seemed to be occupying the room, were all things that brazenly stood out to me.
The sound of a door quietly closing behind my form was the only indication that Asher had followed through with what Ricardo had demanded him to do. I stared numbly at the man in front of me, forcing my frame to, at the very least, appear somewhat relaxed.
"Savannah Stone. How good it feels to have you in front of me." He slowly spoke, leaning lazily against the table as he fished for something in his pocket. I tensed, watching warily, before relaxing when he pulled out a box of cigarettes in one hand and a lighter in another. Grabbing a stick, he slid the box back into his jacket before he expertly lit it. He watched me as he took a slow drag.
"I'm getting older." His words were spoken with something akin to acceptance, though there was a hint of loathing in his tone. I pressed my lips tighter together, refusing to be intrigued by what he had admitted. Not speaking, I only surrendered to studying him closely in front of me, my wariness exuding from my frame.
"I've had children, gotten married, had a home and pets. I'm sure you didn't know that about me, did you? A son named Noah and a wife named Carol, who promptly divorced me when she realized that money was the only thing she would be getting out of me. She wanted more - she wanted my time and my love, something that I couldn't give her." Ricardo's brow wrinkled, pausing to exhale the smoke from the cancer-stick he still loosely gripped between two of his fingers.
"And Noah-" His words broke off and he stared unseeingly in front of him. "My poor boy hasn't had the opportunity to live a normal life any boy should." He shook his held, flicking ash onto the floor distantly. "Good boy, he is. And smart too. He doesn't deserve this life. Especially when he struggles so much with the divorce-"
"Why are you telling me all of this?" My voice was hushed as I spoke up.
"Because maybe you should know the other side of things." He pondered. He almost seemed amused at the thought as he traced a finger blankly over the length of the table. "Maybe you should know what the Kingston's have caused my family to become."
"I don't think that's fair." I slowly shook my head, trying to collect my thoughts. "They gave you the opportunity to settle your disagreements, but instead you kidnapped Stella and Alice and tortured them. You can't say they didn't give you a chance to form a truce with this ridiculous discrepancy you have."
Ricardo watched me silently, an almost distasteful look rapidly spreading across his face as he puffed at his cigarette. He pursed his lips.
My heart pounded loudly in my chest, displaying my anxiousness that the situation playing out in front of me was causing.
Where the hell was everyone?
"I responded in a way that I thought necessary, Savannah." Ricardo finally spoke up, the distant look still resonating from his eyes. "I can promise you that Mark Kingston wouldn't have settled things. I saw a chance to possibly get me ahead and I took it."
"This doesn't make any sense." I stressed, gripping the limbs of the chair tightly. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing that I could disappear from this whole situation. "Why would Mark not want to settle things with you? You can't know that."
Another pause, as if Ricardo was pondering on how to explain something to me.
"I know you've met Mark Kingston. He isn't-"
"How do you know I met him?" I interrupted, my eyes snapping open. That had happened only days earlier and with only Jace's closest men. Unless...
"Is there a mole?" I demanded, watching him carefully. My chest tightened threateningly and I exhaled sharply.
"Ah, Savannah. Always so smart - you and my son would get along very well for that reason alone." He chuckled, shaking his head before he dropped his cigarette, before grinding it into the floor with the toe of his boot. "Of course there is. How do you think I was able to get you alone tonight? How do think that not one of Jace's men were around you at the time of when Asher took you? Of course there is a mole."
"No." I whispered, not able to comprehend the possibility that one of the men I had communicated with regularly would do such a thing. "Who? Why did you even tell me that there is one?"
"I have no need for one anymore." He scoffed, straightening as he crossed his arms. "I don't care what happens to the person. The only reason I hired him in the first place was because I want Jace to be mistrustful of anyone. Lack of trust causes things to fall apart. If he doesn't trust his own men, he'll slip up. Isn't that perfect?"
"I wouldn't tell him then." I vehemently pressed, shaking my head disobediently. I knew my words were lies. If I ever got the chance, it would be the first thing I would tell Jace. "If it'll help him than he doesn't have to know..."
Ricardo laughed out loud at my suggestion, sending my cheeks into a flush of redness. "You would tell him." He replied confidently, moving steps closer to my stiff body. "And even if you decide not to, Jace will know. He's a smart boy, so in the end, it doesn't matter."
"They'll find me anyways. Jace and everyone won't let you get away with this." I insisted, glaring up at the man and very much wanting to believe the words I had just spat at him.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Where is everyone now?" He questioned, gesturing his hands around to the empty room with no one occupying the space. "They surely know all of this was a set up by now, yet no one has come. So, answer me this? Where are their priorities? Do you think they really care?"
Pain speared my head and I briefly shut my eyes, trying to control my ragged breathing and the throbbing in my head.
"What were you saying about Mark Kingston?" I finally was able to speak, blinking blearily in front of me. My emotions were beginning to feel numb, though I could feel the trauma this evening was putting on my body.
"Ah, right. Mark Kingston, where was I?" He pondered this, clasping a hand over his unshaved chin. "Mark had always been underhand. There have been many scandals involving him. He isn't a trustworthy man to outsiders and some of his decisions prove that. Why hasn't he rescued Stella yet, Savannah?"
I could only stare at him blankly, allowing his words to assault my mind.
"He got his wife back and then no more work was done on rescuing the other girl."
"Jace has been trying." I spoke up, trying to scramble for the right words to make my argument valid. "Jace wouldn't just give up..."
"I'm not talking about Jace, Honey. Jace went to his father asking for permission to hand over the designs and the money that we ransomed for Stella to which Mark denied. Jace was willing, Mark was not. So why wouldn't he save the girl, Savannah?" At his words, I floundered for what to say, but Ricardo pressed on. "Mark not attempting to get Stella back only proved my suspicions right - Mark is underhanded and wouldn't have gone through with settling the disagreements between our businesses and families."
"You still don't know that." I weakly protested, shaking my head. "There's no proof."
"I have spies, little Savannah. Spies who know when Mark is doing things and spies when Jace is. Why would Mark suddenly accept my offer for a truce? He has always been ahead. Settling disagreements wouldn't have gained him anything. Mark was most likely going to take advantage of the situation and dig my company into a grave. I wasn't willing to risk that."
He clasped his hands together, his eyebrows raising in my direction. "Not to forget Alice. The affair she had with one of my father's guys really pissed the family off."
"So why punish Jace?" I pressed on, my hands beginning to shake. I held them tightly against the wood of the chair, not wanting Ricardo to see how disturbed I was. "You say this is all Mark's fault, yet you continue to go after Jace."
"I want to destroy Jace first, which would inadvertently destroy Mark. I want their business to go up in flames, and then I want to kill them." He spat, an expression full of revenge settling on the lines of his face.
"That won't happen." I promised, sinking my teeth into my lip, shock staining my face at his deadly words.
"It will." He rolled his eyes, digging his hands casually into the pockets of his pants. "Jace has had many chances as well to rescue the girl. He could have chosen to go against his father's demands. Instead, he decides to get my father arrested and continue focusing on expanding his business. I don't like people who meddle with my family, Savannah. And your Jace is one of them. You can't mess with the cops, especially when Jace and his family are the cops. So, I created my plan."
I didn't like the amount of confidence in his tone. He seemed convinced he would get what he wanted in the end.
Swallowing around the growing lump in my throat was starting to prove to be difficult. "The man who took me said Jace was going to have to choose between S-Stella and I." I stammered out, watching him carefully.
"That's indeed the truth." A sneer twisted the corners of Ricardo's lips as he kneeled in front of me.
"That's not right." I spat at him.
"Of course it is." Ricardo dismissed my protests with a flick of his wrist. His dark eyes flickered over to mine where they rested, a stormy look glaring back at me. "Jace will make a choice, it's only fair. He can't have Stella and you. That simply wouldn't be right."
"You're a sick fuck." I gritted out, resisting the urge to cry.
"The past tends to repeat itself, Savannah." Ricardo guffawed, rolling his eyes. "Though, this time it will be the Kingston's who fall. But, that won't happen today - not tonight."
"What?" I muttered, confusion beginning to cloud my mind.
"It's obvious who Kingston will pick." A smirk curled Ricardo's lips into something that resembled a malicious grin. "And it definitely won't be you."
I sucked in a breath, unable to deny the fact that his words had felt like someone had driven their fist into my gut. I blinked up at the man, feeling my eyes begin to water. "I want him to pick Stella." I murmured out truthfully. Stella was part of their family. She was a sister, a friend, a daughter, and I was just a stranger Jace felt the strange need to protect. "He should pick her. It would be wrong if he didn't."
"The decision is just when to let him choose." He chuckled, turning away from the confused expression that had appeared on my face.
"What do you-" I began, though I was interrupted by the man switching on the screen that was set in front of me.
Jace appeared on it, sitting in a chair that was similar to the one I was strapped to, though he hadn't been tied to it. His back was facing the camera, his muscles clearly strained as he stared at whatever was in front of him. I squinted, my eyes flickering to the other person.
A girl with a youthful face and tight blond curls.
Biting back a gasp, I turned to Ricardo. "Is that-"
"Stella, yes." He confirmed, reaching out to run a finger over the screen. "It's a reunion as you can see."
"So he picked her already." I whispered, blinking back more tears. Even with sadness filling my chest, I couldn't deny the happiness that I felt towards the guys and Jace. They had finally gotten Stella back.
"Not so fast, Savannah Stone. Jace Kingston is in for a reality check." Ricardo watched the screen for a moment, before moving back to face me. "He doesn't get a choice yet. You'll be going home with Jace."
"That'll tear him apart." I gasped, immediately shaking my head in denial.
"Yes, that's the plan. For him to have Stella in his reach and then lose her, only to find that he gets to only keep you."
"So you want him to resent me?" I hissed out, shaking my head. "I don't care. Give Stella to him and take me."
"It doesn't happen like that Savannah." Ricardo mumbled, reaching out to trace the side of my face softly. I shuddered away from his touch, feeling repulsed. "All in due time."
"Stop it!" I finally forced out, blinking rapidly. "You're evil."
"Things happen, Savannah, whether you want them to or not." He lifted his shoulders, dropping them quickly. "It's life."
"He needs Stella though. They all do." I forced past unwilling lips.
"Ah, but they need you too. I know you've grown on the guys. I can see it in the way they interact with you. Especially Jace, he obviously loves you." He chuckled, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"He doesn't." I shook my head, not understanding why everyone seemed so insistent upon that.
"Whatever you want to believe," Ricardo mused, cocking his eyebrow at my nervous expression.
"Why not tonight?" I pressed on, my mind whirling. "Why not just take me away now? Why postpone what's inevitably going to happen?"
With a small twist of his lips, Ricardo shook his head. "You'll understand someday. Just not now, Savannah - especially not now."
"So, what now?" I weakly questioned, watching Jace interact with the young girl, feeling numb. "Where are all of Jace's men?"
"Locked in a room. I have my guys surrounding the perimeter. In exactly two minutes I'll have someone escort you to the room where Jace is, while Stella is pulled away."
"He won't let you take her." I denied, my eyebrows pulling together.
"Oh, trust me. I know." He reached over to switch off the screen, before straightening his spine. A sick grin crinkled his face and he reached over to trace my face once more. "I'll be seeing you soon, Savannah. Very soon."
"Hopefully not." I spat at him, relief filling my chest when he removed his hand from my skin.
He only smirked, the smug expression only increasing my wish to slap the man. "I will. I'm leaving now, but a man will be here soon to collect you. This has been a wonderful evening, hasn't it? I feel so refreshed."
"Go fuck yourself." I hissed at him once more and he dropped a disdainful look in my direction.
"I would be careful what you say, Savannah." Ricardo shook his head once. "Someone might just have the urge to cut that annoying tongue of yours right off one day."
Resisting the urge to shiver, I watched as he stepped around me, heading towards the doors.
"Goodbye for now. And, Savannah? Good luck."
I barely had a minute to collect my thoughts, before the door was opening once more. A man I didn't recognize stepped through, his inky-black hair tied back into a tight bun at the back of his head. He approached me rapidly, with a stoic expression on his face. I blinked at his intimidating form suddenly towering over mine, arms with thick muscles reaching out towards the ties.
The man was not gentle as he untied the lengths of rope from around my wrists, the roughness of them rubbing my skin raw as they were pulled off. Making a sound of protest, I cupped the injured area to my chest, watching the man wearily.
"Let's go." He finally commanded once the ropes that had held me hostage had released my limbs. I blankly stared up at him, warily allowing him to grip the tops of my arms as he pulled my towards the door.
"Hey!" I snapped, swatting at his arms, not liking his rough treatment. "Watch yourself!"
"Be quiet." The man muttered and I could imagine him rolling his dark eyes. "Now walk."
"What if I don't want to?" I difficulty questioned, dragging my feet.
He groaned underneath his breath, placing a well-aimed shoved beneath my shoulder blades that sent me shooting forward. I blinked at the well lit hallway I found myself in.
"Gentle! Ever heard of it?" I snappily muttered at him, attempting to gather the length of my gown in my hands so I could walk normally.
"The others were right - you're more difficult than you're worth."
"Who said that?" I growled out, wincing at the coldness of the ground beneath my bare feet. I was suddenly wishing I hadn't ditched my pair of heels, no matter how treacherous they were.
"Ri-" He stopped, his eyes widening in shock before he cleared his throat. The emotionless expression that had previously been on his face returned. "Just some of the guys. Stop talking now."
"Who were you going to say?" I pressed, staring up at him as he guided me past the doorways lining the empty hallway. "Who?"
"Stop talking, I said!" He finally shouted, looking more agitated then ever.
I pulled away, shock twisting down my spine and slammed my lips shut. I knew better than to continue to pry at an aggravated man.
I didn't like the silence because it allowed me to collect my thoughts. To say I was just a little nervous was a huge understatement. The knowledge that something big was going to play out in just a matter of moments had me frantically trying to remember basic breathing methods.
I knew that Jace would be disappointed when Ricardo snatched Stella away from right under him. I understood he would be more than just a little infuriated. I knew that Jace wouldn't be able to help but place just a tiny bit of resentment for that on my shoulders. I swallowed thickly at that thought, not liking it at all.
With the knowledge that I would have to inform Jace of all of Ricardo's other plans, sent my stomach plummeting even further. Swallowing thickly, I blinked back tears as we rounded a corner.
The man locked a burly fist around my arm, drawing us to a stop. He watched me carefully, before passing me a tiny key. "This is the key to get Kingston's men out of the room that they've been locked in."
"Why did Jace even allow this? None of this makes sense." I implored, briefly allowing my eyes to connect with his.
His gaze gave nothing away. "You'll use that key if everything goes as planned. If it does not, it was a pleasure meeting you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I complained, though there was no time for him to respond because I was suddenly shoved through a doorway.
I found myself able to answer that question, when my hands were suddenly clasped behind my back, a knife held tightly against the column of my throat. The man who had been escorting down the hallway had forced my body in front of his own, shielding himself behind my figure. My eyes, wide with shock, found themselves staring down the smooth barrel of Jace's gun.
"Kingston - put your gun down or I'll slice her fucking throat open!"
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