“Get in. You’re driving.” She shoved me toward my car, allowing some distance between us as she walked around to the passenger side, but she kept that gun trained on me.
There was no opportunity to get away, not right now. So, I got behind the wheel of my car, and Gina handed over my keys. She must have grabbed them out of my purse while I was in the bathroom.
But I didn’t see my purse anywhere. She’d left it inside, and my heart sank at that realization. My cell phone was in there, and without it, I didn’t have much hope of calling Dmitri for help.
I didn’t know what to do except comply. My hands were still shaking, and it took a couple of tries to get the key in the ignition. Gina waved the gun around impatiently.
“Stop stalling, damn it. We need to get out of here.”
I swallowed hard and willed myself to calm down enough to function, but it didn’t work. I was too freaked out.
Still, I managed to drive, following the directions that Gina snapped at me.
“Wh-where are we going?” I stammered. I didn’t have a lot of options to get out of this, and I figured that my best bet would be to talk her out of it somehow. I had no idea if that would work, but I had to try.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lips curve in a cold smile. “We’re going to meet some friends of mine. They’ve been dying to meet you since I told them Dmitri has a woman.”
“Who are you talking about? The Italians?”
Gina laughed, the sound grating my nerves. “I guess you’re in on all the secrets now, huh? Is it pillow talk for a man like Dmitri? I can’t imagine him talking about anything else. The man’s all business.”
“No, he’s not.”
I didn’t know why I even said that. What was the point in defending Dmitri to this traitor?
She chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Is he any good in bed? I’ll admit, I’ve wondered. Nikolay is talented in that way. I could’ve latched on to someone else high in the Bratva to give me a better life, but I chose him, and how does he repay me?” She slapped the dashboard, making me jump. “He won’t fucking commit!”
“That’swhy you’re doing this?” I asked incredulously. “Because you’re mad at your boyfriend?”
“I have nothing in this Bratva! No money, no power. I only get a little bit of respect because of who my brother is, but it’s not enough. I wanted a powerful man like Nikolay to take care of me. Since he won’t do it, I struck a deal with the Italians. They give me big money to betray the Bratva.”
“Why did you take me?”
“You’re Dmitri’s weakness, of course. Don Baldoni wants to use you to hurt him.”
She said it so simply, like it was common sense and not an evil plot to destroy another human being. She was a monster. Fear rose inside me, but I refused to let it show. I just had to stay calm and stay alive until Dmitri could find me. I had no doubt that he would, and the people responsible for taking me away, would pay.