It was midmorning, so only a couple of people were at the counter, neither of whom were Michael. The place had a small seating section in the back, so I scooted past the line to check back there. The moment I rounded the corner, something heavy crashed down on my head and everything went dark.

Hadn’t winter already ended? Why is it so cold? I thought it was spring, but everything feels so fuzzy.

My mind stirred to life in a groggy haze of confusion, cold, and pain—most noticeable was the pounding headache that pulsed angrily at the back of my head. As my eyes fluttered open, I wondered if I’d passed out after drinking and was hung over. None of it made sense.

I went to rub my aching temples and found that my hands were bound by a series of zip ties, as were my ankles. Adrenaline shocked my brain back to functional capacity, making me recall my search in the coffee shop and the pain that brought on the darkness. I bolted upright to sit on the frozen concrete floor and discovered I wasn’t alone.

“Finally, you’re awake. I started to think maybe I’d been a little overzealous when I hit you.” Sal. My father’s former best friend paced the small room in a wrinkled suit with several days’ worth of stubble on his jaw. I’d never seen him anything less than impeccably dressed. The sight of him so disheveled and frenzied was enough on its own to unsettle me. But knowing what had happened to Alessia and waking with my hands and feet bound left me absolutely terrified.

“They’ve been watching you so carefully,” he continued, resuming his pacing. “Alessia’s jumped in bed with that fucking Russo cunt, and Maria wasn’t an option, so you were my best bet, but I was starting to get worried I’d never get you alone. It was a lucky thing your father forgot to revoke my access to his phone account. I just had to log in to get your cell records—a little software to jumble the signal, and I was able to lure you to the coffee shop with a simple text. With a car in the back alley, getting you here was almost too easy.” He gave me a maniacal grin as he finished.

He’d completely jumped off the deep end. Had he always been this way and simply hidden it? What did he want with me? “Why are you doing this?” My voice shook from fear and the cold. I didn’t want to sound so pathetic, but I didn’t feel capable of much else.