by Gina LaManna
“I can’t figure it out,” I said. “Why would they think I killed their friend?”
“You’re in luck.” A now-familiar voice spoke as footsteps padded down the yacht’s staircase. Marvin appeared below deck, a flat expression on his face. “I don’t think you killed Facelli. And I have a deal to make.”
Chapter 34
Marvin and Luke made themselves comfortable on Carlos’s fancy couch.
“These negotiations already don’t seem fair.” Meg tugged at her handcuffs. “On account of I’m tied up, and you’re chillaxin’ on the couch.”
“I’d like to untie you.” Marvin, for the first time, looked a bit uncomfortable. “But I can’t. Not yet. I’m afraid you won’t listen to the deal.”
“You’re probably right,” Meg said. “I’d probably punch you in the face for calling my friend fat, and then I’d high-tail it back to the bar. I put my name down for another karaoke song, and I suspect Laurelei is getting ready to call me on stage. If I miss it, there’s a thirty-minute wait.”
“We’ll make this quick, then.” Marvin stood and cracked his knuckles, more of a nervous habit, it seemed, than a threat. “I want to make a deal.”
“We’re listening,” I said, wondering what they’d discovered on their brief stint away from the boat.
“I spoke to my mentor, and he said that he wanted to make a peaceful deal with you,” Marvin said, tiptoeing around the elephant in the room.
“What you’re saying is that you talked to your mobster boss in Chicago and he called you an idiot for kidnapping Carlos Luzzi’s granddaughter,” Meg translated. “Now, he wants you to fix your mistakes and make sure we ‘forget’ about this little incident.”
“More or less.” Marvin looked at Luke for help, but Beefcake remained silent. “If possible, we’d like this to go away. Chicago is not trying to start waves with the Luzzi clan. Can we all remain on good terms?”
“We’re locked up, so that’s sort of a silly question,” Meg said. “I can let this go if you get me back in time for karaoke, but I don’t know about Lacey. You caused her some real heartache over her boyfriend, and I don’t suspect she appreciates that.”
I gave a firm nod. Hopefully I could play the role of tough mobster granddaughter. Meg had set me up perfectly, and now I needed to act the part.
“Oh, yeah. And her boyfriend is head of Carlos’s security department, so I’d say you’re in deep doo-doo,” Meg added. “You better start kissing Lacey’s feet and sweet-talking her like crazy, else you two are gonna be taking a nice long nap at the bottom of this here lake.”
Luke watched Marvin with an uncomfortable expression on his face. “Marv, let’s let the girls go.”
“But the deal…” Marv said.
“Start talking. You’ve got three minutes to lay out the deal before it’s an automatic no,” I said, shifting to my feet from my current perch on the floor. My hand had started to go numb, and I really only had about three minutes of sensation left in my fingers, based on my completely inaccurate calculations.
“There’s two pieces to this deal.” Marv stood up and paced towards the mouth of the hallway, looking between Meg and me. “The first piece is what I already explained. We let you go, you kindly... forget this happened. As I said, we don’t want to make waves with your Family.”
“What’s the second part?” I would be completely happy to forget about this whole little incident, no problem, if it meant we got to walk away scot-free. It’d be the easiest kidnapping situation I’d ever escaped from – no harm, no foul. But I wasn’t about to tell our captors that. I’d pretend to be angry, hopefully giving me more bargaining power down the line, if necessary.
“The second part of this little misunderstanding—”
“Misunderstanding, smish-understanding,” Meg muttered. “Call it what it is. You guys are morons and made a mistake, and your bosses are frustrated with you.”
Marvin cleared his throat, moving on as if Meg hadn’t spoken at all. “If you hear anything about Facelli’s death, we’d like to know about it.”
“So your bosses are just as confused as we are about this whole situation?” I asked.
“Appears so,” Luke said, finally speaking. The large man took a few long strides across the room, fishing a jangly set of keys out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?” Marvin’s voice rose a few octaves.
“I’m setting them free,” Luke said. “Face it, Marvin. We goofed. How do you expect to make a deal with these ladies and have them trust us if we’re busy threatening them?”
“Finally, someone speaking some sense.” Meg gave a loud sigh. “I like this guy.”
Beefcake’s cheeks glowed once more, and he walked over to Meg first, leaving me hanging by my arm. He took his time twisting the key in the lock, and I’m fairly certain he “accidentally” brushed his hand over Meg’s chest as he stood back up.
Meg shot to her feet faster than I’d ever seen her move in her entire life. But instead of coming to set me free, she wrapped her arms around Beefcake’s neck and gave him a huge, juicy smooch, right on the kisser.
“Whoops,” Meg giggled. “I don’t know how that happened. Guess my lips just fell onto yours. My knight in shining armor.” If Luke’s cheeks were glowing before, they were on fire now. He didn’t shrug Meg’s arms off, instead puffing out his chest with obvious pleasure.
“Whoops,” Luke said, leaning in and giving Meg another kiss. “One for my damsel in distress.”
“Uh, guys?” I asked, my voice a bit squeaky. “Hello?”
Marvin rolled his eyes at the cuddling couple. “Luke,” he said, “if you’re going to set one of them free, at least make it the Luzzi.”
“Hey, she’s just as important as me, if not more so,” I said in Meg’s defense. “And definitely more dangerous. Meg is incredible.”
“That she is,” Beefcake said, still staring deeply into her eyes.
“But that doesn’t mean you can forget about me,” I said. “Cripes.”
Eventually, Marvin got fed up with the lovesick couple and walked over to me, pulling the keys out of Beefcake’s grasp. He unlocked me without further ado, and I massaged my wrists.
Beefcake and Meg were busy for the moment, so I walked over to the bar.
“Want a vodka soda?” I asked Marv.
“Sure,” Marvin said. “And sorry about this whole thing, again.”
“No problem.” I moved behind the bar, grabbing glasses and bottles. “I’m happy to smooth things over. I mean, it looks like Meg and Luke already have, which is great.”
“Love, not war,” Meg chimed in, locked in Luke’s embrace. “I’m a huge proponent of peace.”
“I see that,” I said. “But make sure not to get your peaceful slobber all over Carlos’s couch. It’ll be harder to explain than if it were blood stains, probably.”
“Luke, be professional,” Marvin said. “At least wait until we let the girls go.”
I waved my hand in dismissal at the two of them. “Like I said, it’s better not to create waves over a simple misunderstanding. The deal sounds fine to me, with one condition. If you find out what happened to Facelli, you let us know as well.”
“Absolutely.” Marvin picked up the glass I slid his way, and we clinked our drinks to seal the deal.
I took a sip of my crisp, cool drink. “Tell me the chain of events one more time.”
“I’ll tell you what I know.” Marvin seated himself on the stool. It wasn’t lost on me that our positions were now reversed, with me standing behind the bar and drilling him for information.
“Luke and I have been partners for a long time. We’re contract workers and do odd jobs for...well, Chicago. You know.”
I nodded. He still didn’t want to admit to doing illegal work for the mob, which I could understand. Sort of.
“Small stuff, nothing big, nothing too bad. Just enough to keep the lights on and rent paid.” Marvin swirled the ice cube in his glass, watching a be
ad of sweat trail down the outside of his cup and land on the wooden counter. He smeared the water droplet around before continuing. “A few months ago, Facelli showed up. Said he had an easy, quick, low risk job.”
“Why did he come to you?” I asked.
“Because he did something to piss off the entire Chicago clan. Really piss them off. He was banned, exiled, whatever – wasn’t even allowed to be in the city, if you know what I mean.” Marvin shook his head. “We turned him down more than once, but the guy wouldn’t go away.”
“What did he want?”
“Wanted help for a quick diamond gig. We just deliver them from one party to the next. Simple. Small town, small intersection, a little risky, but not bad in the scheme of things. He was trying to figure out a way to get back into the good graces of the Chicago crew.”
“What was in it for you?” I took a sip of my temporarily forgotten drink, my attention still fully focused on Marvin.
“It never hurts to look good for the bosses. Gets you the cushier gigs. More money. Easier work.” Marvin shook his head. “Eventually, we agreed. The three of us would work together on it, and we’d all benefit when we delivered the money to Chicago. Facelli would be back in their good graces, and we’d have done everyone a favor. Good all around.”
“But something went wrong.” I figured that was an easy assumption to make, considering Facelli’s sudden, and deathly, appearance in my trunk. But to my surprise, Marvin shook his head.
“That’s the strange thing. Nothing went wrong. We completed the gig, no trouble in sight whatsoever. We delivered the money to Chicago. They praised us, gave us a bonus and the promise of more gigs to come. I thought Luke and I had discovered a golden ticket, gotten lucky somehow. Last I knew, Facelli was headed back to Chicago, welcomed home with open arms.”
“But he didn’t get far?” I guessed.
Marvin shook his head. “Got as far as your trunk. I mean, I don’t know where or how he was killed, which is the problem. The reason we started investigating in the first place is, we thought maybe someone was coming after all of us. Me and Luke got scared that someone in the diamond world was upset with the three of us. But now I’m thinking that’s not the case after hearing what you had to say. I’m thinking Facelli was a target. But I have no clue why.”
“That is just bizarre,” I said. “Maybe it’s a fluke?”
“Maybe...” Marvin didn’t look convinced.
I didn’t believe it, either. I was sure it wasn’t a coincidence, and I needed to find the reason behind Facelli’s death. I just never imagined I’d be working with my kidnappers to do so.
“We’re all okay here?” I asked Marvin, gesturing around the room. “We can work together to figure this out?”
“It’d be my pleasure. Again, I apologize for this mess. I mean, hopefully you can see why we were concerned. And confused.” Marvin reached out a hand.
I clasped his palm and shook on the deal. “Of course. Okay, well, I guess we’ll be going. Meg, you ready?”
Meg pulled herself away from Luke long enough to nod.
“Actually, shouldn’t we let you guys go first? This is my grandfather’s boat, after all. I should probably lock up.” Glancing around, I gave a half-hearted shrug. “Not that it keeps anyone out, apparently.”
“As a matter of fact, we’ve sort of been living here.” Marvin gestured towards the bedroom. “How about you and Meg head back to the karaoke bar, and Luke and I will clean up our belongings and get out of your hair?”
I stared in disbelief at him. “You are something else.”
Marvin gave a sheepish smile. “This is included under the whole letting things go clause, right?”
I sighed. “Fine. But leave the key under the mat. I’ll probably have a cleaning crew swing by or something – and unlike everyone else in the world, I can’t ‘magic’ my way through locked doors.”
“Technically we didn’t steal any key. We borrowed it and had a duplicate made. We’re not animals.”
I frowned.
“But I can leave the duplicate with my business card and some money for the maid service,” Marvin said quickly. “I meant it, we’re not trying to make waves.” He groaned. “Luke, stop that.”
I glanced over Marvin’s shoulder and saw Luke teasing Meg’s strap off her shoulder. “All right, you two, break it up and exchange digits. Meg, your karaoke spot is edging closer and closer, so we should get a move on before you miss it entirely.”
“Bye, sugar bucket,” Meg purred, “you heap of sweetness.”
It was my turn to groan as I led the way up the stairs. When I realized Meg wasn’t following me, I turned back. “Nice to meet you guys, I guess. I hope we can figure this out.”
“We’ll do what we can to work with you.” Marvin gave a salute. “After all, we’re not enemies. We just have to figure out who is after who. If I’m being honest, I’m glad we’re not after each other. I mean, you look great in those boots, it’d be a shame to be enemies.”
“I told you!” Meg said with a whistle aimed in my direction. “You look great!”
“She does,” Marvin agreed, his blush matching the Maraschino cherries behind the bar.
“I have a boyfriend!” I crossed my arms, but despite my faux-annoyed reaction, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the compliment, at least a little bit. It was nice to be reassured about my looks after a blonde bombshell had gotten a bit handsy with my boyfriend.
“Call me if anything changes,” Marv said, his gaze downcast. “Like I said, I’ll leave my digits with the illegal house key.”
“Just make sure to be gone when we come back,” I said. “Or else Carlos might hear about this. He won’t like rent-free visitors staying on his boat.”
“You got it, captain.” Marvin said. “Luke, say your goodbyes.”
One sloppy smooch later, Meg joined me on the stairs. Together we climbed onto the deck. The moonlight washed over us as the boat rocked gently against the dock. All was calm on the lake, and for a moment I considered just relaxing on deck for the rest of the evening. Meg and I could lay out and count the constellations – something nearly impossible to do in the city. Maybe we’d even see a shooting star.
“You know, for a double kidnapping, that wasn’t all bad,” Meg said, preening under the moonlight. “I’m tempted to flop down right here and skip karaoke. We can tell Carlos that we were kidnapped for a lot longer, which is why we stayed on his boat all night.”
“Then you’re in luck.” A voice spoke from above us. It sent chills down my spine, hearing the familiar menacing voice, the iciness in his tone. “Because the night is just beginning. Turn around, and march right downstairs. And don’t say a word, or the big one’s dead.”
“Stop calling Lacey fat,” Meg muttered. “Everyone puts on weight when they get into a new relationship.”
“It’s been less than a week!” I said, looking down and trying to see if my stomach had gained a squishy factor. It was averagely soft, as far as I could tell.
“Not the time for games,” the man said, swinging down from his perch above us. He landed behind Meg and me, poking a gun to my back. “It’s time to get below deck. Now, march.”
Chapter 35
“That was so fast,” Marvin said, sitting guiltily at the bar. “I promise, we were just going to clean up after this one last drink.”
I could see that neither Marvin nor Luke had made a move towards evacuating the boat. Marvin had poured himself what looked like a Cosmo, complete with a lemon twist, while Beefcake lounged on the couch sipping a brilliant blue drink. I gave a weak smile as I stepped off the bottom stair.
“We’re not back voluntarily.”
Meg bumped into me a second later, and soon after appeared the man who’d surprised us on deck. A man I’d had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with during a past assignment.
A man now holding us at gunpoint on the water.
A man who was called, very fittingly, The Fish.
&
nbsp; “I wouldn’t move, if I were you.” The Fish pointed the gun over our shoulders at the two men before him. “I’m not afraid to use this.”
When I’d first caught sight of him on deck, those chilling blue eyes, the dark black hair, the crisp, clean way in which he spoke, had frozen my blood to the core. If anything, the cover of night made him more intimidating, an icier version of the man who’d ruined my surprise birthday party. From experience, I knew he was ruthless. I knew he would shoot. And I knew he wouldn’t miss.
Luke’s eyes darted towards Meg, as if worried about his former captive’s safety. Maybe their first kiss had meant something real to him, something deep. I inhaled, thinking I should tell him not to move.
But his love must’ve been too strong, since he moved before I could speak. Ignoring The Fish’s warning, Luke let his drink crash to the ground, the blue liquid spilling all over the carpet. He lunged towards Meg with an animalistic cry.
But he didn’t make it.
A gunshot rang out and Luke fell backwards, collapsing onto the floor. A red patch bloomed through his shirt and leaked onto the carpet. Blood mixed with the colorful blue cocktail to form a Fourth of July display gone very, very wrong.
“You shot my boyfriend!” Meg cried.
Luke glanced up, his face pale. “Boyfriend?”
“No, not really, but it was a nice kiss,” Meg said. “But I haven’t forgotten you kidnapped me. I need some time to get over that before we talk about promoting you to boyfriend status.”
Luke looked a bit crestfallen. I thought Meg might have been a bit harsh just then, since the man had taken a bullet for her, but who was I to judge? I wasn’t the queen of relationships, either.
“I told you I’d shoot,” The Fish said, nonchalantly. “Does anyone else want to test my word?”
“Not me,” Meg chirped. “But I do have something to say. Luke-baby, I hate to be crass, but do you mind bleeding on the hardwood floor? It’ll be a nightmare to get out of the carpet otherwise. Carlos won’t be happy, and frankly I don’t think you can handle another bullet wound at the moment, for ruining his boat.”
