I squinted at her. “Why not? Expecting a call you don’t wanna miss?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean give it to me. Now.”
She cocked a brow and got the phones out of the bag. “There. Happy?”
I scrolled through them, and she snorted. “What the fuck? You think I called someone behind your back?”
“It’s better safe than sorry.” I threw back at her. “Besides, I have to text the fisherman to release Ravenna once we get off this boat.”
“What? I thought you’d keep her until we were in Chicago. What if she ratted us out?”
“She doesn’t know where we’re going.”
“Even so…” she glanced around the open sea, “wait a minute. This isn’t West. Where are you taking us? This isn’t the way to Palermo.”
“And you know this because you have better sailing skills or know Italy better than I do?”
She jumped to her feet and pulled out the gun, fear sinking her eyes in their sockets. “Cut the crap, asshole. Where are you taking me?”
I rolled my eyes. “That fucking gun again. Could you sit? Standing in a boat isn’t the safest thing to do.”
“You sick son of a bitch. You think you can just fucking kidnap me? Pull over.”
“And they callmecrazy. This isn’t a car, Nicky. If I stop the boat, what are you gonna do? Jump in the freezing water and swim for miles to shore or push me in the water and navigate the boat yourself in a foreign country when you don’t have a GPS or even a fucking map?”
Her eyes darted around before she grumbled. She must have realized her demand was ridiculous. “I’m such an idiot. I should’ve never taken you out of that cage. That has been your fucking plan all along. I thought you were going to use Lina, but you’ve been planning on using me. You were never gonna go with me to Tino.”
“Why enter the lion’s lair when you can bring him out in the open to play?”
She ground her teeth with a hiss. “And you think he’ll come to you to saveme?”
“No.”
“Then what… Oh my God. You were going to reach out to Lina. Tell her to come to you to save me.”
“It crossed my mind, but it’s farfetched. I know Don Bellomo more than anyone. He’d never leave her out of his sight. She wouldn’t be able to run even if she wanted to.”
“But if you blackmailed Tino he’d never agree to let her come to you, either, even if she insisted on saving me.”
I knew that. How delusional did she think I was?
“Oh no.” The way she blanched hinted she might have finally figured it out. Or her morning sickness was back. “It’s not Tino. It’s never been Tino you were going to do the trade with.” She plopped down on her butt. “Oh my God, you’re going to give me to Enzio, aren’t you? He’s the only one who can kidnap Lina for you. Tino won’t see it coming because he trusts him. Enzio could cover his tracks later, and Tino would never know it was him. Enzio gives you my sister in exchange for your silence and me. You kidnap Lina and escape. Enzio gets me under his mercy and I won’t be able to say a word because of my baby. Fuck.Fuck.”
“C’mon, Nicky. Per favore, don’t be so dramatic. Why do you always have to make me the bad guy here?”
“Because YOU ARE—”
“Doing the exact same thing you were planning to do to me.”
“What?”
I laughed. “You always blame me for trying to protect myself or take back what’s mine. Same like with Lina.Shebetrayed me, andhetook her from me. Why was I to blame for trying to save my wife or taking her back? And this time, the second you opened that cage, you had a backup plan in mind. It involved trading me for Lina, too. You were going to trade with Tino first, hoping he’d agree. You get your sister, and Tino and I fight to death. At least, you get rid of one of us. But if that didn’t work, you wouldn’t have hesitated to give me to Enzio in exchange for your sister for the same reasons I’d have given you to him. So why are you blaming me for looking out for myself? Weren’t you the one who said I had no obligation toward you or your baby, and I wasn’t a good guy to be making noble, selfless sacrifices?”
“I’d have never—”
“Don’t. It’s not like you to lie and betray, Nicky. One of the many things I like about you. Don’t ruin it any more than it already is.”