Chapter 14 Giovanni
GIOVANNI
Planning Meggie and Amber’s escape takes my mind off the fact that I still don’t know where I stand with her. I only have myself to blame. I’ve held my hands up and admitted my mistake, but I fucked up, and I can’t alter it now.
So, I take control of the situation with Amber’s father because this is what I do; like my father, and generations before him, we protect the people we love.
I gather my security team in the apartment while Meggie and Amber are upstairs on the rooftop.
Meggie wants to keep life as normal as possible for her sister.
So, I arrange for food to be brought to them from the restaurant, and they play with the inflatables and continue with their vacation as if nothing is amiss.
I already have someone in mind to play Meggie in our escape plan.
A young police officer called Demi; I met her during one of the NYPD’s regular visits to my hotel.
She was partnered up with a Hispanic officer who, rather than showing her the ropes, spent the entire visit demonstrating his familiarity with the owner, Mr. Sabatelli.
He shook my hand a little too exuberantly and informed anyone within earshot how far back we go as acquaintances.
If he was trying to impress her, he was way off-target. But the way she looked at me, I knew she’d read the situation correctly, and had silently agreed to play the game if it would advance her through the ranks.
She steps out of my elevator thirty minutes after I send a message to her.
She’s in plain clothes: jeans, a black T-shirt, black sneakers, hair secured into a ponytail.
Her hair is a couple of shades lighter than Meggie’s but, tied back, and wearing sunglasses, no one would notice the difference from a distance.
People see what they want to see. If Demi accepts my proposition, the Fish will see a young woman who resembles his stepdaughter leaving my hotel building with her little sister and me.
My bodyguards will complete the picture.
I offer Demi coffee which she declines. She eyes up Ric and the rest of my team and focuses on me. The leader of the pack. She isn’t intimidated by us, and I know that she’s the right person for what I have in mind.
I outline the plan. She’ll travel to Europe in my private jet, accompanied by a member of my team. I’ll clear her annual leave with the police department, cover any expenses she might incur, and offer her a substantial financial reward in return.
She listens without interrupting. Finally, she says, “Why should I accept?”
“You’re under no obligation to accept, of course.”
She gives me a half-smile. “But you’ll make life difficult for me if I don’t.”
“That isn’t how I work.” I don’t want her advancing through the ranks of the NYPD holding bribery and corruption against me from the outset. I want her on my side. I need her invested or the plan is already doomed. “You’ll have my backing if you accept.”
“How?” Now, she’s listening.
“Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?”
“DI. At the very least.”
“I’ll make sure that the commissioner understands.”
“How long will I be gone? I’ll need to arrange for someone to feed my python.”
On the rooftop, Ric and I run through the details of the plan with Meggie while Demi demonstrates how long she can hold her breath underwater to Amber.
She and the child need to be familiar with one another before we leave; if her father gets a whiff of Amber holding back from her sister, he’ll know something is up, and we’ll have screwed our chances of sneaking Meggie out via the private parking lot unnoticed.
“How long will it take to reach the aircraft boneyard?” Meggie stares at the map I’ve unfolded across the low table in front of us. Her eyes instinctively drift to her sister, who’s giggling at Demi when she resurfaces, squirting a mouthful of water at her.
“Three hours, max.” I know what she’s thinking: that’s three hours during which she and Amber will be separated, and she’ll have no idea what’s going on at our end. “We’ll maintain radio contact, fiore. You know I won’t let anything happen to her.”
She nods. “What happens if we’re followed?”
Ric answers. “We’ll move onto Plan B: enter the boneyard as planned; anyone who is trailing us will be detained at security, and we head out the other side and onto the next rendezvous point.”
“There’s more than one?” She chews her bottom lip, mulling the plan over like it’s an algebraic equation and this is a math lesson. “You think he’s going to try stopping us, don’t you? You think this is him making his move.”
She keeps her voice low to avoid distressing Amber, but there’s no mistaking the resignation in her eyes.
“Just covering all bases.” I could add that you don’t mess around with men like The Fish, but I need her to remain calm. Once panic sets in, mistakes will be made, and her stepfather will be the one reeling in his catch.”
“Maybe Ric and I should leave via the hotel, Gio. I can’t bear the thought of him … of him following Amber.” She whispers her sister’s name as more squeals reach us from the pool.
Amber is standing on Demi’s shoulders in the water, arms raised above her head like a gymnast. “Ready?” Demi asks.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Deep breath. Close your eyes. Three… Two… One…”
Demi lunges forward and Amber slides her arms into the water as she hits the surface and disappears.
Meggie holds her breath for her sister. Her eyes don’t waver from the spot where Amber landed until she comes back up, spluttering, her wet hair plastered to her face. “Can we do it again?” she asks Demi.
I bring Meggie back to the conversation. “That won’t work. He knows that you won’t go anywhere without her.”
“It’s just… I promised my mom…” she whispers. “What if he intercepts you before you’ve even left the city? She’ll be so scared, and I’ll be miles away.”
“This is the only way, Meggie.” I place my hand on her thigh, and she doesn’t push me away. She’s trembling. “This is my territory. He won’t make his move in the city.”
“The boss is right,” Ric says. “We discussed other options, but this way we’ll be able to move you both out of the city and divide his resources at the same time.”
It isn’t ideal. In an ideal world, Meggie, Amber, and I would be on my private jet and heading to the family home in Sicily. We’d have a summer ahead of us filled with pasta, locally made wine, sandcastles on the beach, snorkeling, markets, and balmy evenings spent outside under the starry sky.
But that world has always been just out of my reach. It isn’t the life I was born into despite Sicily being my home, and I’ve always accepted my destiny without question. Until now.
This is so unfair.
I’m separating Meggie from her sister when they need each other most. But I have to bear in mind that I’m doing this for them, and things would be a thousand times more difficult if I didn’t have Ric.
He will take them to my cabin in Stowe, Vermont, and Meggie will have the breathing space that she needs to clear her head and think about her future. About what she wants.
I only pray that her future includes me.
Amber comes over to us then, dripping water into puddles on the warm floor. She beams at me and says, “Did you watch me dive, Gio?”
My chest is flooded with warmth, and I find myself smiling back at her, my grin so wide that my cheeks ache. “I did. Twenty-thirty-six Olympic games here we come.”
She scrunches up her nose in confusion. “What’s the twenty-six Olympi games?”
We all laugh as Meggie wraps an arm around her sister’s shoulders.
I imprint the sound in my mind. Who knows when we’ll all be laughing together again.
“Why aren’t you coming, Meggie?”
There are already tears in Amber’s voice as she peers at her big sister.
She has caught the sun across her nose and cheeks, and her hair is looking lighter than it was when she first arrived.
She’s tired. It may not be the best time to carry out the plan, but everything is in place, and the longer we wait, the easier we’ll make it for the Fish to gather his own resources around him.
“I have to stay here and do something for Gio first.” Meggie’s eyes meet mine briefly. “I won’t be long, I promise.”
“Where are we going?”
Meggie smiles. “You and I are going to Gio’s cabin in the mountains for another vacation.”
“In the mountains?” Amber’s eyes widen. “Will we have to climb really high?”
I crouch on the other side of her. “My cabin is at the bottom of the mountains, so you won’t have to do any climbing, unless you want to.”
“Okay.” She thinks about it. “Will there be snow?”
I smile. “Maybe. Do you like snow?”
“I like building a snowman.”
“How about you build the biggest snowman you’ve ever seen while you’re there and send me a picture.”
“Why aren’t you coming with us?”
Good question.
Because I’m the dickhead who lied to your sister?
Because I have to see this through so that you and Meggie can have the kind of life you both deserve?
In the end, I settle for: “I have to work, cara, and my work is here in the city. But Ric will help you build your snowman.”
She accepts this and slides her hand into mine.
I stand tall as Demi emerges from the guest room wearing faded jeans and a white Ralph Lauren shirt that I bought for Meggie.
Her hair is tied back into a loose ponytail, stray curls framing her face, and sunglasses pushed back onto her head.
They’re similar height and build, but even so, the clothes fit differently on Demi than they do on Meggie.
Or perhaps I’m biased when it comes to the woman I love.
“Why are you wearing Meggie’s clothes?” Amber leans closer to me and rests her head against my thigh.
This is what we want to avoid. Our dynamics must look as natural as possible when we leave the hotel for this to succeed.