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“I just hope he doesn’t hurt Nickie in the meantime.”
“He won’t,” I said, though I wasn’t so sure. I hoped he didn’t decide to do something to her sister in order to persuade Vee to take up his offer.
Within ten minutes, we were back in the car and on the road again. I drove, while Vee sat, looking out of the passenger window, deep in thought, her knuckles pressed to her mouth.
The hours and miles passed us by without event.
Finally, the cell phone buzzed again, and she snatched it up and answered before putting it on speaker so I could hear. Her gaze flicked wildly to me, her skin drained of color. I pulled over so I would be able to concentrate on what was being said.
“Tony,” she said, before he could get a word in, “tell me my sister is safe.”
“She’s safe,” the man’s voice came over the phone. “No thanks to you and your friend.”
“I made a mistake,” she continued, not looking at me now. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take your deal.”
“It’s too late for that. I have your sister and she’ll have to do.”
“No, please—”
“I’m giving you a warning,” he said, cutting her off. “Come anywhere near me and my guys again and you’re dead meat.”
She shook her head, frantic, even though he couldn’t see her. “I’ll do anything you want, I swear. I just want to be with my sister.”
“You had your opportunity. You should have taken it.”
“Please, one more chance. That’s all I ask.”
“No, she’s mine now.”
And the line went dead.
I gave her a moment to allow her time to lash out, if she was going to. When she didn’t—only sat, staring at the now dead phone with dull fear in her eyes—I reached out and took her hand.
“Nothing has changed,” I told her. “We still continue to do what we’d planned.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I guess a part of me still hoped Tony might have agreed to meet again, and I wouldn’t need to go and pay a visit to my father. This all just makes it even more real, that I’m going to have to see him. And I’m terrified for Nicole. I’m not sure she’s going to make it out of Tony’s clutches. I just wish I’d accepted his offer now. I should have gone with him instead of trying to fight.”
“If you’d done that, you’d both be under Tony’s thumb.”
“I’d rather that than Nickie be on her own.” She shook her head again. “What have I done?”
“You’ve done what’s right,” I said, filling my voice with conviction. “You can’t let this son-of-a-bitch win.”
“I feel like he’s already won.”
“No, you’re wrong. He’s only won if you give up.”
We sat together, my thumb brushing over the top of her hand as she stared down at her lap, contemplating what to do. I was relieved she hadn’t pulled away from me. I thought she might shut down on me again after last night, but the tiny glimpse into her emotional state this morning had given me hope that she might actually need me. Being needed wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before. Physically wanted, yes, but never needed. I’d never allowed myself to get close enough to a woman for her to create any kind of emotional dependence. I wasn’t sure if it warmed my cold heart or scared the hell out of me.
“Okay,” she said eventually. “So the next step is going to see my father and asking him for his help.”
I nodded. “I think it’s our only option.”
She looked up at me. “Getting to see him isn’t going to be easy. I might not even be on his visitors list. He knows I plan to testify against him, remember.”
“But he didn’t know you were going to when he was first locked up. You said he hugged you, and told you he trusted you again after you … did what you did. If he put you on his visitors list initially, he might not have bothered to take you off again. Do you have any identification in your old name?”
She nodded. “Yes, I grabbed our birth certificates and my old driver’s license before we left. I’m not supposed to have them, but …” She gave a shrug as if it was an explanation. “I’m still going to have to fill out a form and get approved before I can visit.”
My lips twisted, and I slowly nodded. “I think I have a contact who can help with that. Don’t worry. There’s always a way to get around things if you need to.”
Reluctantly, I released her hand and started up the car again. We still had several hours before we reached New York, and I tried not to think too hard about what would be waiting for us when we got there.
