Chapter 25
MARI
When I come to again, I realize I’m moving. Warm leather presses under my cheek, and my hands are zip-tied behind me. My head throbs. My mouth is dry. My throat screams when I try to swallow. I crack my eyes for a second and catch a dark landscape rushing past the window.
We’re in a car, obviously, but there’s no way to tell where we are or how far we are from the city.
I don’t know how long I’ve been out. We could be in another state for all I know.
My stomach fills with dread and nausea, and I force myself to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, even though it hurts.
Marcus is talking to someone in a low voice, and in the window’s reflection I see he’s on the phone. He’s not paying any attention to me, which is good. The longer I pretend to be out, the more information I can gather.
“We’re changing the route,” he says. “North, off the Thruway. Cross at Hastings, then county roads. We should be there in about two hours. Have it ready.”
We’re upstate somewhere, about two hours from our destination. I don’t move. I breathe slowly and let my head tip like I’m still out. He’ll slip up. He’ll give something away he shouldn’t. He’s too egotistical not to.
“We’ll do the handoff by the river,” he says. “No cameras. You bring papers and keys. I’ll bring what you want.” He pauses. “Yes. His float. His vendor shells. The off-book gaps. Enough to bring down the business.”
He ends the call. The heater is too high, the air is stale, and my stomach flips. I breathe through my nose and stay still.
“Take the right fork after the bridge,” he tells the driver. “Stay off main roads. I don’t want any surprises.”
“Got it,” the driver says. The voice is familiar.
I rack my brain, trying to place it. Maybe it’s one of the other Levcon employees who’s jumped ship and is pledging their allegiance to Marcus. But that doesn’t sit right with me.
I focus, trying to remember where I’ve heard the voice before.
I get an image of a man sitting at my kitchen table.
Agent Cole. I wonder where Marcus got the fake business cards.
I have so many questions that will likely never be answered.
For now, I just wait for any information I can use to my advantage.
Marcus has his phone back out, and he’s dialing another number. His tone shifts, becoming less polite and more clipped. It’s hard to tell if he’s in charge of whoever he’s talking to or if he’s afraid of them. I hope for the latter. It would be nice to see him afraid, to see him squirm.
“Put me through to Oleg,” he says.
I run through all the Olegs I’ve heard of. It’s not a name that’s familiar to me, but I do remember Lev telling me about someone named Oleg. A pakhan of another Bratva.
“Tell him we’re in motion,” Marcus says. “The deal stands. I’ve delivered Lev right to his people and I expect protection in return.”
My stomach lurches again as I think of Lev in danger.
What’s he done? Despite what Marcus said in that warehouse, I know Lev is tearing up all five boroughs to find me.
It sounds like Marcus has set traps in all of them.
It hits me that I don’t know if Lev is dead or alive, and I could die before I ever find out for sure.
He listens, and the car takes a long bend. The road turns bumpier, and I realize we must be in the middle of nowhere, on a dirt road.
“If he’s not still tearing up garages and bars all over the city, he’s gone right to your warehouse,” Marcus says. “Your men should easily be able to take him out.”
I don’t like the sound of this. Belatedly, I think about how I should have heeded his advice.
If I weren’t so stubborn and had followed his precautions, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Marcus has Lev chasing his tail. He might have gotten him killed already.
I have to take whatever chance I can get to escape.
He hangs up and exhales. The engine settles again.
I open my eyes just a fraction, enough to see but not enough to alert them that I’m awake.
Outside, all I can see are trees, trees, and more trees.
I can’t even imagine where we are, and I doubt there’s any sign of civilization for miles.
My hands are still tied behind my back, but I can find a way to take care of that.
It’s the least of my worries. First things first, I have to find a way out of this car.
The dash clock says it’s after 8 p.m. The navigation on Cole’s phone gives little away, but I know we’re headed north. I close my eyes again.
“How is she?” Cole asks, his tone so casual it’s almost friendly.
“She’s still out,” Marcus says.
“I hope you didn’t kill her,” Cole says. “You hit her pretty hard.”
“The bitch would deserve it,” Marcus says. “She got me good with that damn chair. Don’t let her close enough to attack, she’s got claws.”
His words reinvigorate me. I do have claws. I’m scrappy. I can get out of this. I just need the right opportunity.
I roll my wrists a fraction, and the plastic bites.
There’s no slack at all. He clearly learned his lesson from the last time.
My ankles are free, though. That’s good.
I can run if I need to. My seat belt is on, so I’ll have to figure that out.
At least I have my shoes on. They aren’t the most practical for a getaway, but it’s better than running barefoot.
Marcus turns in his seat. I let my head roll toward the window. I open my eyes a slit and squint. I moan in pain, the dryness in my throat really helping to sell it.
Marcus smirks. “There she is. Here I was, worried you’d never wake up.”
“What a shame that would be,” I say, my voice hoarse. “Then you’d never get your money, and Lev would still kill you.”
“Lev will never find me.” He chuckles. “And he’ll never find you, so let go of any ideas that he’s going to ride in on a white horse and rescue you.”
“Can I have some water?”
He studies me and grabs a bottle from the door. He twists the cap and holds it to my mouth. I sip. I don’t choke. I swallow and nod once.
“Thank you,” I say, trying to sell my helplessness.
He frowns slightly and doesn’t respond. Instead, he faces forward again. The road narrows, the car slows, and I feel the rise of a bridge. There’s a pull-off just before it and I hear gravel and a second engine idling nearby.
Marcus’s phone buzzes. He answers quickly.
“Talk,” he says.
He pauses. His jaw tightens.
“Then move faster,” he says. “We’re ten out. That plate better be ready and the registration in the glove box. If I see a tail, I’m calling the whole thing off.”
He ends the call and smiles. His plan is coming together, apparently, but I’m still here to throw a wrench in it.
Cole eases off the road and parks nose-out near a dark SUV. No one is in it. The river is brown and slow on the right, the trees break the wind, and there’s no one to see a thing.
Marcus steps out first, scans the trees, and looks at the empty driver’s seat in the second car. He makes a short, impatient gesture.
“Bring her,” he tells Cole. Then to me, “And don’t think about trying to fight. Cole is an ex-SEAL. He’s much stronger than you are.”
Cole puts the car in park and gets out. He comes around to my door. I let my eyes go heavy again and slump.
“On your feet,” he says. He reaches in for my arm. His grip is firm, careful of my wrists.
“I’m dizzy,” I say, and I let my knees wobble.
He steadies me. That’s his mistake. I file it away because I need every small mistake.
I don’t make my move yet, because Marcus is ten feet away, and he has a gun. I need a better angle. So I swallow, and I breathe, and I keep playing weak.
Marcus’s phone rings again. He answers, and his tone is flat. “Go,” he says.
The voice on the other end is tinny and fast, and I catch parts of what they are saying.
“South ramp, cameras down, Oleg wants proof.”
“You’ll have it,” Marcus says. “Tell him the package is intact. Tell him he gets the ledger gaps when I am in the clear. Not before.”
He pockets the phone and looks at me like I’m a receipt.
“You’re going to sit quietly in the car,” he says. “You’re going to keep your mouth shut. You’re going to stay alive until I decide otherwise.”
“You won’t get away with this,” I say, and there’s no point, but it buys seconds.
“I already have,” he says.
Cole shifts his stance, his hand moves, and his weight angles toward the seat. I can feel where his center of gravity is. Marcus is watching the tree line, and he is confident, which helps me.
Another call. Marcus answers, and his voice drops.
“Not now,” he says. “Hold your position. If you move early, you spook him.”
This may be my only opportunity to get away. I test the zip tie again, and I can’t pull free. The plastic burns, and my fingers tingle. I exhale slowly and force my body to relax. I let Cole take more of my weight as he turns me toward the second car.
I glance down, taking in the angle of the driver’s seat in the car, and see how close my knee is to the back of it. Once we’re rolling, going back the way we came, I remember the sharp turn in the road. Cole is driving fast, too cocky to be careful.
I watch the headlights as they ghost over the bend in the road, then pull my legs back as far as I can and kick the seat with all the force I can muster. It’s enough to make Cole lose control of the wheel and send the car careening into a tree. It happens fast, so fast I can barely blink.
The front of the car smashes into the tree so hard a branch spears through the window.
It impales Cole but doesn’t go all the way through the seat.
Marcus hits his head against the dashboard, knocking him out cold.
I don’t know how much time I have, so I work to unfasten my seatbelt.
Then, I turn around and use my tied hands to push my door open.
I’m out of the car and running as fast as my legs will take me, the movements awkward with my arms behind me. It’s dark. We’re in the middle of nowhere. I’m probably dead anyway. But I don’t stop moving. I can’t let Marcus win.