Giovi’s men, however, didn’t seem so confident. There was a lot of talk going back and forth, something that had been missing since Calogero’s murder, and every once in a while, a set of eyes would glance at me and then continue on with the conversation. I assumed the topic had something to do with me. It seemed intense.
I also got the feeling that Giovi knew there was no way to take me out of the town without being followed, and if he did, running the risk of being ambushed on the side of the road. Dr. Nicchi had been right.
One of the men usually made a show of putting a gun to my side before we entered the car, meaning,you try anything and I shoot, or something close to it. Ronaldo didn’t bother putting a gun to my side this time. None of them were paying much attention to me. And I wondered what any of them would do if I decided to open the door and roll out. The car was going fast, but not so fast that survival was minimal.
Another thing to consider was the scenery. It was barren. If I survived the jump, where could I hide? Or would Brando be close enough to save me once I did? I could still feel him—he wasn’t far.
Though too chicken to turn my head, I caught glimpses every so often through the rearview mirror. Giovi’s men were aheadand behind.
More fucking men.It seemed like his entire gang was on my detail! Still, the door handle had my palms full of sweat, despite the heat. It was almost an itch to at least try. I had never had the chance to even attempt it. But without a gun to my side, bravado slipped in. It made me feel braver than I had since first being abducted.
Problem—three, four, five, whatever. I’d have to be so quick that the man next to me wouldn’t grab a hold of my legs and hold on.
You’re being insane, Scarlett!Think this through! Not even Jackie Chan could be quick enough to leap over a body, open a door handle, and then jump out.What if the effing door is locked?shrieked sane me.
Shut the fuck up, you’ve been no help, insane me yelled back.
I tilted forward, covering my face with my hands. I almost felt insane, one of those people who rocked back and forth to comfort themselves.
Okay,okay, rationalize this, I thought in a firm voice. Ronaldo’s gun sat on his lap. The guy on the other side had his hidden somewhere on his person.Snatch hairy Ronaldo’s gun, elbow the other guy in the nose, and then go for his door. Kick wildly if Ronaldo attempts to grab your legs.
What if the other guy can still see and knocksyouout before you can throw yourself out of the door? You don’t want to provoke a mob mentality with these guys.
Mob mentality—theirony. Haha.
I moved a tad, ignoring the sane piece of advice and the ridiculous joke. And then I caught the giggles. Breath-stealing, ribs-aching, body-wracking, almost sobs of laughter. At one point I started to howl, tears streaming down my face. The atmosphere ballooned and then shrunk to one point of focus—me. The man sitting in the passenger seat grabbed the cross from around his neck, closed his eyes, and kissed it. He seemed to be praying.
The other three looked at me, then at each other, trying to figure out what to do. I doubted Giovi gave them direction on this sort of situation.
Oh hell.I went for it. I had Ronaldo’s gun in a split second, my elbow smashed to the guy’s face next to me in another, and half of my body out of the door before the chaos went up a notch.
The car swerved madly, the driver attempting to keep me in. Ronaldo had me by the leg. I kicked in wild thrusts. One good chance and I’d kick him in the face. My legs were strong, stronger than they looked.
The other man was attempting to talk over the gush of blood from his nose, sounding almost like he was underwater, and then he went quiet, a sort of low whine after a second, when my sharp elbow crushed his gonads.
Ronaldo didn’t take into consideration how slippery I was. The leather seats added to my eel-like movements.
Serendipity.
It wasn’t my foot that saved me. It was my elbow once again. Somehow it connected with Ronaldo’s face, and as he fell back against the seat, the gun accidentally discharged, hitting the windshield, which in turn made the man in the passenger seat scream, “MAMMA MIA!”
I got one last look at the driver’s stunned face before my body hit the road.
My fist coherent thought was,Movies lie, lie,lie. Hitting the hard road hurts a lot more than it seems to on the big screen. The wind was knocked out of me as I tumbled like a weed, going over and over with enough momentum that I wondered if I’d ever be able to stop.
The gun came second in thought. One wrong move and it would go off onme. I had no idea if I was squeezing the trigger or not, just that I had a death grip on the handle—my only hope of making it out of this alive. This one weapon was all that stood between them and me. It might take Brando some time to get to me.
As soon as the momentum stopped, I didn’t bother to sit still. No time. I heard the screech of brakes, the rising of voices. Like I had first scouted, no place to run. I had risked life and limb to go…nowhere.
Ha!sane me yelled, not sounding so sane anymore.
It was hard to think when my chest was burning and my heart was going a hundred miles per hour. Sweat ran into my eyes, and tears streamed down my cheeks. The scratches along my legs stung as hot as the sun on a vicious burn. The grass around me had started to turn the color of wheat from the brunt of the sun, not even summer yet. Skimming just under my knee, it itched when it swayed with the slightest of breezes.
There!Three abandoned villas, or what seemed to be abandoned villas, stood in the distance. Perhaps I could slink down into the tall grass, army crawl all the way to one of them. Or just hide in the grass and pretend not to exist until nightfall.
One gun. Twenty men. What were my odds?Best not to think about that now.
Slinking seemed the only way to go. I’d attempt to formulate another plan as I did. The plan was working fine—somehow the men had started to scout out another area instead of the one that hid me—until I heard it. The unmistakable hiss of a serpent.
