Eli doesn’t move. “You’re not taking January.”
Mr. Parker’s gaze finds mine for the first time and his thick lips curl into a greasy smile. “That’s a-perfect-a,” he says, mocking Eli’s accent. “Because I have no intention of bringing the cunt.”
My vision goes wavy as water. “He’s going to kill me. I’m going to die.”
Mr. Parker laughs and I realize I said it aloud.
“I’m not killing her,” Mr. Parker tells Eli. “I’m not fucking up the Bianchi contract that badly.”
“What do you mean?” Eli demands. “You’ve fucked up the Bianchi contract, irreparably.”
“That’s what you think.”
“You can’t seriously believe the contract is still in play after you shot up Bianchi’s wedding?”
“Why not?”
Eli stares at him, not wanting to play his game but clearly baffled.
“Bianchi’s on my side,” Parker says. “Or he will be. He understands I did what I had to reclaim respect and more importantly, his son is one of Orchard’s biggest investors. He’ll back me to the hilt and so will Bianchi.”
“In other words, you’ve been hiding from him, terrified he’ll put you in your place,” Eli says with a ghost of a smile.
Mr. Parker shakes his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know Orchard isn’t yours. It belongs to Velvet House and that will be the story regardless of what lies you tell.”
“Not if you’re dead.”
Eli straightens. “Even if you say you invented the drug, you can’t release it. There’s no chance you’ve counteracted the poisonous elements.”
“Why not?”
“Because if Domenico Valente couldn’t do it, then you don’t stand a chance.”
Mr. Parker laughs. “I’ve got a team of scientists, Morelli. Guys from Japan, South Korea, Sweden. Twenty different minds on one tiny little problem. It’s only a matter of time. Especially when the creator is going to be involved.”
“That’s why you’re kidnapping us?”
“Partly. The rest is because I want to fucking kill you.”
“Then you might as well do it now,” Eli snarls. “Doc would cut his hands off before he worked for you.”
“Maybe,” Mr. Parker says casually. “But I’d imagine he’ll cave before he watches me splatter Roberto Bassilotta’s head like an old Halloween pumpkin. Or if I threaten to change my mind about leaving your little sister-wife alone, track her down and have every man that works for me line up and rape her.” He gestures at me with his gun. “You don’t want the little whore getting hurt, do you, Elliot?”
Eli stays silent and Mr. Parker cackles. “You wanted to make me suffer through January. Now I’ll make you suffer the same way. Worse. She was never more than a name and a virgin pussy to me. But you four…” He whistles.
Eli turns to look at me and I can see him mentally running down his options.
Don’t, I think,don’t try to negotiate with him. He’ll only use it against you.
But Eli returns his gaze to Mr. Parker, one hand on his chest. “Zachery, everything I have, my family’s wealth, my jewels, Velvet House, the rights to Orchard. I will give them all to you, just let us go. Let us leave the US. We’ll never come back.”
Mr. Parker laughs. “What so you can bide your time and come after me again?”
“No. All we want is to live in peace with our family.”
The way he saysfamilymakes my heart buckle like a train track. He knows the thing I can’t even admit out loud. That I’m pregnant. That I’m carrying their baby.
