I’m not your girl! I wanted to scream. But Daddy wasn’t safe yet, so I pressed my lips together.
“That’s better.” He smoothed the front of his shirt and exited, closing the door behind him.
I wiped my mouth again. My head still hurt, but my mind was much clearer now that I’d gotten a little rest. I slid off the bed and went to the window.
The day was overcast but it looked like late morning, maybe early afternoon. The window opened a little, but not enough for me to get through and it was too high to jump anyway; the concrete below looked very unforgiving. The window faced the alley behind the building, and
I didn’t see anyone to shout to.
A telephone—maybe there was a telephone in here somewhere! I searched every inch of the room but came up with nothing. And who would you call anyway? The police? I bit my lip. There was only one person who could help at this point, and that was Enzo. How could I find him? Scream? Bang on the door?
The door. My eyes slid sideways to it. Raymond hadn’t been holding keys in his hands when he left. Slowly, a prayer on my lips, I moved toward the door, reached out, grasped the knob, and twisted.
Unlocked.
I gasped in happy surprise. Poking my head out, I saw no one, so I stepped into the hall and closed the door softly behind me. I slipped down the carpeted hall into the stairwell, where I paused to catch my breath and think for a moment. Where could Enzo be? I figured I had at least two hours while Raymond drove to that cabin and back, but still I moved quickly, my feet a blur as I descended three flights of stairs.
At the bottom, I listened for a moment before opening the door. Hearing nothing, I pushed it open and peeked out onto a narrow, low-ceilinged hallway with a beige-tiled floor and cinderblock walls. It didn’t look familiar. I tried to orient myself in the building but couldn’t, and my heart was beating so loud it was hard to think—or were those footsteps coming down the stairs behind me? With no time to deliberate, I chose to go left, scurrying down the passage and pushing open the heavy metal door at the end. I caught it before it could make noise slamming shut.
Turning around, I found myself in a large, dark space. As my vision adjusted, I realized where I was—the room behind the bar at Club 23.
This was familiar ground, at least. I ran through the swinging door and out from behind the bar. A moment later I heard the heavy metal door in the storage room slam.
Shit!
I dove to the floor and crawled under a table at one of the curved booths. Some lights came on, and someone began moving bottles behind the bar. If I can move quietly enough, the clanking will cover my steps. I removed my shoes—bare feet would be quietest. But where would I go? Any door I chose, I’d have to cross a stretch of open space where I’d be visible from the bar. After what seemed like an interminable length of time, I decided to go for it and hope the person’s back was turned. My legs were going numb underneath me.
I popped up from my knees to my feet, knocking the table with the top of my head. My hand flew to my crown and the bottle noise stopped.
“Hello?” a deep voice called. “Is somebody there?”
It was Enzo. I was sure of it.
Crawling out from under the table, I brought my feet underneath me. “Enzo!” I called, darting toward him on bare toes.
He whipped around and had his gun drawn so quickly I gasped and put my hands up.
“Tiny?” He dropped his arm and looked at me in shock. “Do you realize I could have shot you? Jesus.” He put his gun back inside his gray coat and came toward me. “What the hell are you doing in here? And what happened to you?” He put his hand on my chin and tilted my head, examining the bruise on my temple. I pushed his arm away.
“I’m here because your brother had me kidnapped.”
“What?” Enzo’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“I got a note written by my father telling me to bring the ransom money to the boathouse at midnight last night or he was dead. When I got there, Harry jumped me, clocked me on the head, and took the money. Then he tossed me in a boat and we went downriver, but we ended up at some cabin in the woods, where—by the way—he has my father stashed too.”
“Raymond has your father? Impossible.”
“Are you listening to me?” I stuck my hands on my hips. “He was just planning on stealing the money and buying some dope to sell. But then he shot and killed Harry for calling him stupid one too many times and decided to rethink his plan.”
Enzo looked away, dumbfounded. “Why would Raymond do all this?”
I threw my hands in the air. “Because he wants to prove himself to your father! He’s jealous of you and wants what you have. I lied and told him I knew how he could get the stolen rum shipment back so he would agree to let my father go. He said yes to the deal once Daddy threw in a percentage of his business and I said he could have me too.”
“You said what?” Enzo looked at me in shock.
Heat rushed my face. “I said whatever I had to! Oh—and he’s the one that stole the necklace and sent it to me.”
Enzo touched his forehead between his brows and closed his eyes. “Jesus Christ. Where is he now?”