Chapter Twenty-Four
A faint gasp escaped her lips.
Books? This might be a joke. Oh yeah, she knew that. This was probably a disguise. They did that to avoid any security issues with their shipment.
She went through all of them. They were all books. New books. Was she seeing correctly? Why would Ahmet and his organization be supplying books? And to whom are they supplying them?
'Keep it.' No wonder it didn't mean anything to him. It should. These books were equally worth millions. She walked everywhere in the van making sure she wasn't overlooking anything.
She had wanted to burn these… however, she didn't have it in her to burn them now that she knew they were books. For the first time, she was hesitant to do something… something that could make her enemy angry. That could elevate her spirit.
Her fingers were in his mouth, where he could bite any moment but why was she still defying him?
If she couldn't burn these, what would she use them for?
Just as she was sitting on one of the boxes and lost in her thoughts, her phone buzzed and she took it out to read the message.
It was a picture and it was from Ahmet. Her finger hovered over the download button, hesitation gripping her. What could he possibly send?
Curiosity won, and she downloaded the image. Her breath caught in her throat.
The picture showed her lying on a bed, Ahmet's arm wrapped around her, his face inches from hers. The intimacy was unmistakable.
A spark of outrage ignited within her. He must have taken this while she was unconscious.
Anyone unaware of the circumstances would assume they were a couple, captured in a tender moment. But they were mafia leaders, not some star-crossed lovers.
Why would Ahmet take this picture and send it to her? He would not ruin his reputation by posting this, would he? This was probably just an empty threat. Her eyes narrowed. Did he really think she would surrender to his games?
"You know, your father signed for the parcel I sent him the last time. He left his finger prints on the pen." Ahmet's message popped out on the screen next. She didn't care where he was going with this. She refused to let him fool her again.
"You also know of your father's club in Argentina. You are the only person aside from him who can open the safe in the club…" he sent a message again.
The words on the screen seemed to leap out at her. Her eyes widened, as her pupils constricted. Her finger froze on the screen, and her hand trembled slightly. Her head jerked back as if she had been punched in the gut. Her mouth fell open and her lips parted in a silent gasp.
She stared at the screen, her eyes fixed on the words that seemed to sear themselves into her brain. Her chest rose and fell with rapid, shallow breaths.
The phone slipped from her fingers, falling on one of the little boxes in front of her with a loud thud. She didn't notice. She just sat there, frozen, her eyes fixed on some point beyond the screen.
He had left his message like that to make her lose her composure. And it seemed he won. Her eyes refocused, and she blinked rapidly as if shaking off a trance. She looked around the trailer for her phone. Her gaze darted wildly, before landing on the phone lying on the box.
She snatched it up, her fingers closing around it like a vice. Her eyes scanned the screen, and her fingers flew across the keyboard as she read the message again.
Her eyes devoured the words, her mind racing with possibilities. She didn't waste any time. With shaking fingers, she searched he's for the call button, her thumbs flying across the screen.
She had no choice. She had to know what was going through that head of his. He knew the buttons to touch. One misstep could be disastrous. He had told her she could never win a game he had started and it seemed so.
He did not answer. "The miserable bastard!" She yelled. What was his plan? How did he know about the club in Argentina? Her father had made sure he killed all those who built the safe. Nobody knew the secret passage to it. No one knew there was even a secret safe in Argentina in the first place. Except for her.
Anyone else finding out could mean either he or she had told them. Her father would never tell anyone he didn't trust and so he would think she did.
She couldn't let that happen. She would worry about how Ahmet found out later but now, she needed to stop him from doing anything stupid.
She called him again but he still didn't answer. 'Damn you, Ahmet,' she whispered as she called his number again.
Why was he playing hard to get? Did he not want to see her dance for him anymore?
"Pick up, you coward!" She sent the message to him.
He replied immediately, "Should I?" Was he being serious? Was he not busy enough to be playing this game?
"Pick up," she replied again.
"Add please." Asli almost didn't believe what she had read.
"Pick up!" She texted back.
"No."
"Please, pick up." She finally typed, hesitant to hit the send button. She finally did and immediately, her phone started ringing. Ahmet's number was displayed.
"What do you intend to do?" her voice trembled for a second before masking it.
*******
Who is your favorite character so far?