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With a soft sniff, I refuse to let myself cry right now and look weak. Forcing myself to pull it together, I glance out the plane’s small window and see nothing but the vast ocean. I have no idea where we’re headed and I’m wondering why they brought me and didn’t kill me already. It’s a morbid thought, but I can’t help it. Especially since they took the SD card from me.
I watched Anthony Vitello crush it beneath his heel, but I know Ryan made a copy of all the pictures. I’m keeping that information to myself for the time being, in case I need to use it later as a bargaining chip.
We’ve only been up in the air for maybe twenty minutes when Vitello gets up and walks over to me. His gold jewelry glitters and he studies me with flat, dark eyes that remind me of a reptile. Particularly, a snake.
“You’ve made my life much more difficult than necessary, Ms. Monroe,” Vitello says.
“Why am I here? You have the photos.”
“I’m afraid you’re a loose end that needs to be taken care of,” he states evenly.
Loose end? Oh, God.My heart sinks and a cold fear trickles through my veins. “I don’t understand any of this,” I say. “I gave you the evidence and I won’t tell anyone.”
“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He looks down at his buffed nails and hisblaséattitude ismaking me angry, quickly replacing the fear.
And that makes me bold.
“Your men killed a man in broad daylight and I caught it on my camera. You destroyed that evidence, so why bother with me? I didn’t go to the police and I won’t. If you let me go—”
“I’m not letting you go,” he interrupts. “And, of course, you can’t be trusted to keep our little secret. If it gets out that I ordered the hit on Maxwell Sharpe, well, that wouldn’t be good for business. I deal with too many politicians. If they discover I had one of their own gunned down, they may try to retaliate. And, from time to time, I need their favors.”
Clenching my jaw until it hurts, I glare at him and tug at the rope wrapped around my wrists. It’s cutting off my damn circulation. “So that’s it then? There’s no bargaining my way out of this?”
“No.”
“I still don’t understand where you’re taking me.”
“You misunderstand,” he says coolly. “You’re not going to the island with the rest of us.”
I frown. “What?”
“Why kill you and dump you in the city where you’ll be found and then potentially linked back to me? No. It’s much smarter and easier to dump you in the middle of the ocean on our way to my meeting. Then there won’t be any evidence left. Two birds, one stone.”
“So, you’re just going to—” My voice drops off abruptly. “Kill me and throw my body out?”
“No need to waste a bullet,” he responds.
Oh, my God, I can’t be hearing him right.What kind of monster would do that? I feel like I’m going to throw up. He plans to toss me from the plane, alive, and leave me to die alone in the middle of the ocean.That sonofabitch.Though, if they drop me from this height, I’ll be dead the moment I hit the water. Rage fills me and I vow to fight with every last ounce of energy I have. I will not go down quietly, but rather kicking, biting and screaming until my very last breath.
“We’re going to go out a little further, though, so sit tight. Can’t have you too close to shore or you might wash up. And I’m counting on the fish to take care of any evidence.”
“You’re a bastard,” I hiss, my eyes narrowing and nails digging into my palms.
“I’m a businessman. This is nothing personal, honey.”
Nothing personal? Is he joking? He’s about to dump me in the middle of the ocean and I’m going to die. I don’t think it gets any more personal than that, but I don’t bother to respond. I need to save my energy because I’m going down fighting.
Vitello moves away and starts conferring with his men a couple of rows up. This is my last chance.Think, Ivy.How am I going to get out of this situation? It looks dismal, but there has to be something I can do.
My hands are tied in front of me, so I’m able to discreetly undo my lap belt. My gaze moves around the area, looking for something I can use as a weapon. They took my phone, so I can’t try to call Eric. Plus Vitello revealed they’d been tracking my location through the damn thing. I don’t know anything about spy games, so I have no idea how, but I feel like I somehow messed up yet again.
If I can at least get my hands free, that would give me the element of surprise and when they reach for me, I can gouge out an eyeball or break a nose with the heel of my palm. But as much as I twist and pull, the damn rope is tied too tightly and I’m not making any headway.
Shit.Frantically searching the area around me, knowing my time is running out fast, my gaze keeps returning to a duffel bag that belongs to one of the thugs. But it’s a row up and over. I’m not sure how I’m going to reach it without drawing attention, if it even has anything in it I can use as a weapon.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I continue working on loosening my ropes. I’m mostly rubbing the skin raw, but that’s the least of my problems right now. Lifting my hands, I use my teeth and start pulling hard. Desperation is setting in and an overwhelming sense of doom threatens to overtake me.
Out of nowhere, the plane begins to shake and vibrate.Great, that’s all we need now is turbulence.Lowering my bound wrists, I try to use the edge of the seat to saw through the rope, moving it back and forth. I’m starting to notice a difference, can feel the rope finally giving a little, and foolish hope fills me.
