“First of all, our guys are all probably dead. I ain’t heard shit from anybody at the hotel, and nobody made it back from the house. Second of all, you dumb fuckin’ idiot, there’s already a million dollar reward out for the safe return of said little prince at any cost.”
Jimmy’s heart fluttered. Cold had to be alive. He had to be the one that put out the reward, but wait; what did ‘at any cost’ mean?
As if reading his thoughts, Gary asked, “At any cost? Huh? What the fuck?”
“This is why I came down here,” Gravelly pleaded. “I’m trying to talk some sense into you! Cold has lifted the blood ban. Anybody can whack fuckin’ anybody as long as the whackin’ is done against our family and our people.”
Cold!
Yes, he was alive!
“Still not following,” Gary pouted.
“Meaning that every fucking hustler, gangbanger, and crook in this city is gonna be hunting them some Italian tonight to make a million bucks, okay? We are all fucked. We gotta get outta the city, and you gotta give the prince back if you wanna make it out of here alive.”
“No fucking way!” Gary snarled angrily. “What about justice, huh? What about Vincenzo? What about poor Marco? We’re just gonna tuck tail and run?”
“Fuck, yes! Wake the fuck up! You think the cops aren’t gonna try and get a piece of that million dollar pie, too? Come on!”
“No! I’m gonna call Luigi and Cristian myself. The Gentlemen are gonna wanna deal, and we’ll fuckin’ lure that prick Cold down here and kill ‘im!”
“Staying here is suicide!”
“Fuck off, you coward!”
“Nice knowin’ you!” Gravelly’s voice was fading as if he was walking away. “You’re so stupid...”
“Come on!” Gary barked back, following after Gravelly. “You want some of the glory, you gotta...”
When Jimmy couldn’t hear them anymore, he opened his eyes to look around. The light was on, and the door was still open. He could try to escape!
He looked up, seeing that the cuffs were hooked around a long pipe that ran from the floor to the ceiling. Judging by the sound of the chains rattling, the pipe was metal and it was too big to break.
He was still going to try.
Sliding the cuffs up the pipe, he dragged himself up into a sitting position to get some leverage and pulled as hard as he could. The cuffs cut into his wrist, and the pipe didn’t budge. The cuffs were too tight to slip, and he was more afraid than he had ever been. He could die down here.
What if Cold couldn’t find him?
What if Gary got the rest of the Luchesis here, and they decided just to kill him?
Jimmy yanked on the cuffs even harder, starting to pant desperately. He felt the ring on his finger, making a fist and trying to focus on the sensation of it digging into his skin. He had to believe that this wasn’t the end.
Not yet.
“Sounds like somebody is awake!” Gary cackled as he came strolling back into the room. He was alone now, crouching down in front of Jimmy with his phone.
Jimmy glared furiously, gritting his teeth together and refusing to speak. He drew in his legs and tried to cram himself as far into the corner as he could.
“Smile.” Gary grinned, the flash on his phone going off as he took several pictures. “Gotta make sure we get that pretty mug to show Cold I mean serious fuckin’ business.”
Jimmy narrowed his eyes.
“Oh, right,” Gary chuckled, standing back up. “Cold isn’t actually dead. I lied to you. I do that, you know. But hey, it’s been a crazy night. Still could be dead. If the feds haven’t got him yet, maybe one of my guys did!”
Jimmy looked away and sniffed stubbornly. He tried to stay focused on his breathing, rubbing his thumb against the underside of the ring. It was a beacon of hope, a symbol of the future he and Cold were going to have because they would both survive this hellish night.
“Fuck, you know, I can see why Cold likes you,” Gary said, reaching down to ruffle Jimmy’s hair and rub his cheek. “You’re kinda pretty.”
