by Gina LaManna
Chapter 33
“HOW YOU DOING, CHICKADEE?” Meg looked across the hallway. After the men had left, we’d sat in our respective silences for a few moments before Meg caught my eye.
“I’m...I’m okay.”
“That’s a huge, fat lie.” Meg moved closer, as much as was possible within her bindings. “What’s on your mind?”
“Besides being kidnapped?”
“These guys are rookies. One way or another, we’ll get away from them.”
“Do you have a plan?” My voice lilted with hope.
“Not yet, but I’m waiting for the lightning strike. You know, I’m pretty much electric.”
I nodded. “Well, I’ll be honest. I’ve screwed up.”
“It’s not your fault you missed my song,” Meg said. “Don’t worry. I’m not lying when I say I knocked that duet out of the park, all by my lonesome.”
I smiled, though it was slightly watery. “I’m sure you did. But it’s not only that, it’s...it’s this whole stupid weekend.”
“What about it? I didn’t think it was so stupid.”
“I feel as if I’ve been a terrible friend to you.” I hung my head. My fingers were starting to tingle from being locked at such an odd angle behind my back, and I tried to ignore it. “It was supposed to be you and me, girls’ weekend, and it’s ruined. Anthony was here, three strange men stayed with us, and now we’re trapped by two other random dudes. For crying out loud, I had a guy permanently sleeping in my trunk! I just can’t seem to get away from unwanted company!”
“Lace, don’t worry. Everything is an adventure with you. I’d have been disappointed if we walked away from this weekend without a good story to tell.” Meg grinned. “Plus, without the diamond tip from Carlos, we would have never discovered the karaoke bar! And let me tell you, that was my forty minutes of fame. After we get off this boat, I might just go back for some more.”
I liked her optimism, I really did. But I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d let her down somehow. “Nothing has gone right. How can you still be so positive?”
“Lacey, nothing ever goes right for you.” Meg reached out her leg and gave me a little sympathy kick. “Why is it bothering you now more than usual? Where’s the Lacey I love, the one who just shrugs off the weird stuff and moves on?”
I shook my head, amazed as always at my best friend’s ability to pull through and cheer me up. “I don’t want to talk about it. The problem is, well, he shouldn’t even be here, anyway.”
“Anthony?”
I nodded.
“Lover’s quarrel?”
“Sort of.” I steeled myself and stared at the ground for a long minute. Meg thankfully remained silent and let me gather my wits. When I plunged into the story, I did my best to remain dry-eyed and even-toned. I think I almost succeeded.
“I know I reacted badly about it, that whole sneaking-through-the-window thing,” I confessed. “I meant to go talk to him about it. I don’t want to become one of those couples that argues because of a silly miscommunication. And now Anthony is probably thinking I’m so upset I ran away from him, when that’s not true.”
“Girl, Anthony is thinking he messed up by not catching up to you sooner.” Meg’s foot nudged me again across the narrow hallway. “Hey you, listen to me. I’ve seen the way that man looks at you. He doesn’t have a side thing going on, if you know what I mean. If he said it’s work, it’s work.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
“But the way I reacted...what if he thinks I can’t trust him?”
“Do you trust him?”
“One hundred percent,” I said, without a shadow of doubt. “Which is why I’m kicking myself.”
“Chickie, give yourself a break. You got kidnapped.”
“But—”
“Seriously, that’s a pretty darn good excuse. And if Anthony is half a man, he’ll listen to everything you have to say when you get off this boat. And he’ll have an explanation that’ll set all your fears to rest. I promise you.”
I smiled at her. “How do you always know exactly what to say?”
“You know girlfriend, just now, after that whole story, I debated telling you that Anthony was an asshole and you should break up with him.” A twinkle danced in Meg’s eye as she remembered the moment. Then her expression sobered as she took a breath and continued, “But I know that’s not true. Something tells me that you and Anthony have a good thing going, and I don’t want to be the one to ruin it. Believe me, I’ve tried to ruin you guys.”
I looked up in surprise.
“And I’ve failed. Multiple times. And that’s how I know you guys will work out.”
My eyes again pooled with tears, this time due to a surge of emotion for my priceless, unshakeable relationship with Meg – an overwhelming burst of gratitude for my chaotic, sparkling, deeply loyal friend.
“Stop your crying,” Meg said. “I hate when you do that.”
I laughed, a real, true laugh. “You have tried to break us up, haven’t you?”
“I’ve done my darndest, but Lord help me, I’ve failed.” Meg grinned. “You crazy kids are in love, even if you won’t admit it.”
“It’s not love. We haven’t even...”
“You haven’t s’mored yet?” Meg opened her mouth. “Dang, what have you guys been doing in there?”
“What, you mean between the time you burst in and demolished our bed and the time you dragged me out by my ear to go shopping?” I winked. “We’ve been talking.”
“Boring,” Meg said, her expression sheepish. “But I don’t feel too bad. I also tested Dan’s willpower. I asked him out, and he turned me down. Didn’t even take the bait.”
“Meg! Would you actually have gone out with him?”
She shrugged. “I hadn’t decided. But good for him, turning me down like that. It’s a hard thing to do for those fellas, saying no to this.” She gestured towards her mismatched boots, her poofed hair, and her all around glamorous vibe. “He’s got a will of steel.”
“I’ll say so,” I said. “Thanks for cheering me up, by the way. I’ll make it up to you. I won’t let my relationship with Anthony get in the way of our girl time.”
“Good, or else I’d have to kidnap you.” Meg glanced at her handcuffs. “Er, re-kidnap you. But only in a good way. Oh yeah, speaking of kidnapping, do you want to tell me what’s happening here? I’m a bit confused.”
I filled Meg in as much as I could, since I didn’t know everything. When I finished, we were still scratching our heads. Figuratively speaking, that is.
“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 t
he 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 bead 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 trun
k. 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?”
