“I’m listening.”
His chuckle oozed arrogance. “I’m feeling generous today. You don’t deserve it, but I’ll still give you three options.”
“Spit it out.”
“No patience?” He laughed again, and I wished I could reach through the phone and tear his face off. “The first one is simple: your lover and the girl die.”
“Pass.”
“I suspected as much. Second option, you both sign the divorce papers I’ll send over, and then you get on my jet to Vegas to marry my youngest. As a bonus to me, your lover loses a hand. I’ll even let you choose which one.” The proposal didn’t even warrant an answer. “You don’t like that one either? How about this then? You give up your ports to me, tonight, and you get your lover and the girl back, mostly unharmed. What do you think?”
“How about four? I wipe you off the face of the earth.”
“You could try, but you’ll never make it in time to save them. I’m being magnanimous, aren’t I? After all, you killed my daughter. By all rights, I should kill one of the brats you brought into your home.” I squeezed the phone. “You know, I thought you’d learn your lesson in prison. I thought it’d give you humility, and you’d understand. You’re not untouchable, Iannelli. Not when it comes to me, and not when you have weaknesses like her.”
“Is that why you had someone stab me in prison?”
“I had to get something out of this somehow. Your blood for the price your stubbornness cost me. I had to promise my daughter to the Greeks so they’d grow enough balls to punish you.”
My teeth ground together. I spent seven years in prison because this man didn’t understand the word ‘no’. The day I got my hands on him, I was going to wring his neck. I was going to bleed him dry so slowly he’d feel the hours bleeding into days, the days into weeks, the weeks into months, until he understood exactly what he put me through. One day, I reassured myself, but not today. I sucked in a deep breath.
“What happens to Ainsley and Lou if I choose option three?”
“You sign a contract I have prepared, which can be delivered to you in twenty minutes. In exchange, my men will hand them over immediately.”
“How do I know she’s still alive?”
“Check your messages.”
My phone vibrated, and two photos loaded. The pictures showed little more than their heads and upper torsos against two different car upholsteries. Both had their mouths taped, but they were alive and alert.
“What’s it going to be, boy? And don’t think you can play me on this.”
“You can have my fucking ports.”
“Good. Simple. Straight. I like it.”
“Tell me where.”
“A courier will find you soon, so don’t leave. After that, I’ll send you coordinates. You’ll have an hour to reach it. A second more, they die. Don’t be late.”
“I’ve got a last question. Massimo LaPietra.”
“What about your little snitch?”
“How long?”
“He came to me weeks ago. Interesting, isn’t it? He couldn’t even wait for you to get out of prison.”
I’d heard enough. I cut the call. What had started as a fantastic morning had veered so far off course, there was nothing left to do but let it all crash and burn. My eyes drooped with exhaustion. My head ached no matter how much I massaged my temples.
I lingered behind the police perimeter, waiting for the Giambrone’s carrier, as I mobilized Vinny, Natale, and my other capos through coded messages. In those twenty minutes, the news crews packed up and moved on. Half the cops left, the others holed up in the building, gathering evidence. As for the crowd, they gradually lost interest and dispersed. With fewer onlookers, Tore joined me.
“You look like a freight train’s hit you,” he said.
I leaned over one of the wooden perimeter barriers. “They’ve got Ainsley.”
“How—”
