81

Portia.
The chopper lifts off. A soldier straps me in as we veer sharply west and I catch my breath, grasping hold of the edges of the seat.
I hate this chopper.
David is sitting across from me, facing me. In his eyes I see his hate.
I can’t still believe that Callahan is dead.
But I felt it, didn’t I?
“How?” I ask him, my voice so small in the scream of the chopper’s blades.
“Your lover killed him,” David says.
“My… Fernando? He’s not… Fernando killed him?”
“Don’t pretend to care.”
I’m not pretending but I don’t bother to explain that. Callahan is dead. He used up all nine of his lives.
The chopper dips low unexpectedly and I gasp, my stomach lurching before that brick settles in again.
Dead.
Gone.
I’ll never see him again and all I can think about is how much I’ll miss him.
“I didn’t betray him,” I tell his uncle, not that it matters anymore. Not that he’ll believe me.
He doesn’t say anything, not for a long time and I’m not sure what I expect him to say. What I want him to say. But I have a feeling I won’t feel the loss of Callahan for too long.
I have a feeling I won’t have time to mourn him.
At least I got Nathan out. If I’m not at the square in two days’ time, he’ll disappear. He’ll know what happened to Callahan. He’ll figure out what happened to me and he’ll know he has to disappear.
He’ll be safe at least.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask David.
“Back to your people.”
“I have no people.”
“No, I guess you don’t. But that only makes you more valuable to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Felix Perez has a coup on his hands.”
“Felix? What does he have to do with anything?”
“And he is the only one who can give me what I need now.”
“What’s that?”
“Sir,” one of the soldiers wearing a headset interrupts us. “The jet is ready. Chopper lands in less than five minutes. We’re cleared to take off as soon as everyone’s on board. We’ll have a ten-minute window, So we’ll need to hurry.”
David nods, stretches his neck to look out at whatever we’re flying toward. I’m facing the wrong way so I can’t see.
“Do they have what we need on board?”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier says, eyes bouncing off me.
“You get the girl on the plane,” he says, gaze still out the window. “If she fights you knock her out by any means necessary.”
“What plane? Where the hell are you taking me?” I ask when David turns his attention back to me.
He doesn’t answer me though and I shift my gaze to the window as we begin a hurried descent toward a long runway at what must be a small, private airport. If I crane my neck, I can see the jet that’s parked on the runway, one man standing outside looking up at the chopper, two more soldiers hovering around the stairs that lead into the plane. I see that one is smoking as we near the ground.
I scan the expanse of the fenced-in airport with all its open space. Beyond that is a sparsely populated neighborhood.
The chopper touches down, the landing bumpy. David opens the door and slides out, casually adjusting his jacket sleeve as he walks toward the waiting jet.
“Let’s go,” his soldier says to me.
I turn to him, note the pistol in its shoulder holster. He’s in gear like Callahan and his men when they first came to that basement and stole me. He was ready for war then. This man, he’s ready for war now. And the most dangerous one is standing outside the waiting jet.
I unbuckle the belt, work my arms out of it. The soldier steps out of the chopper. The other one is waiting for me to exit first. As I duck down, the one outside grabs hold of my arm, his grip hard. A warning.
“I’m Callahan’s wife,” I remind him. “He wouldn’t want you handling me like this.”
He looks at me for a long moment. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him at the house. Not that I remember all the soldiers, but this one scares me. Inside his eyes, I see a great expanse of emptiness.
“Let’s go,” he says, and I walk with him toward the waiting plane. The chopper blades blow my hair around my face as we pass David and the other men who simply watch as I’m loaded onto the plane.
That’s when I resist. I can’t not. I feel like if I get on that plane, there won’t be any going back. My fate will be sealed.
But it’s no use resisting. There are at least six of them and one of me. Not to mention that most of them are armed. Once we’re on the plane and he deposits me into a seat, I stop fighting. He straps my belt and takes the seat beside me as David and the other soldiers climb on board. Then the cabin door is closed.
My heart races when David takes the seat across from mine. Someone hands him a rectangular box. He thanks them, then shifts his gaze out the window.
“Tell me what’s happening,” I say as the jet begins to speed down the runaway. I feel the moment we lift off, hear the sound of the wheels folding into the belly of the plane.
“Please,” I add, eyeing that box on his lap.
He turns back to me after checking the time on his watch. “I’m selling you to Felix,” he says flatly.
“What? You told Antonio – ”
“You’d rather I put a bullet in your head now?”
I snap my mouth shut.
“Didn’t think so. Besides, that’d be a waste. Those loyal to your father have rebelled against him taking over the cartel, while you are still alive. Still breathing out here.”
I swallow at the thought of Nathan.
“Don’t worry, I don’t care if your little cousin somehow managed to slip away. Although I am curious how.”
“What do you mean about those who are rebelling?”
“Felix is a smart guy I have to admit. He’ll make an example out of you. Show those still stubbornly loyal to your father what happens when you cross him.”
I stare at him.
“Don’t you want to know how?”
“I don’t care what he does to me.”
“You might care after you figure it out.”
I don’t say anything.
“You know what?” he asks, leaning toward me a little. “I just want to see your face when I tell you. And since I don’t plan on sticking around for the main event, well, I don’t really care about the surprise factor.”
“I’m Callahan’s wife. You can’t treat me like this.”
“My nephew’s dead. Or if he’s not yet, he will be soon.”
“What?”
He shrugs his shoulder dismissively. “There’s an auction tomorrow night. The big one buyers have come from all over the world for. He already sold his one special item up for bid but now there is a second.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The virgin daughter of one of the once most powerful men of the Italian mafia families. Almost grown up. Fifteen is a good age. Some men like them young. I hear your uncle did.”
I suddenly know exactly who he’s talking about and I feel sick.
“I personally don’t understand the draw, but I have to admit it brings in good money.”
“Callahan’s sister is dead.”
“Yes, she is, because you can’t trust a fucking cartel idiot soldier to do the job right.”
“Mara?”
“She goes by Lizzie now. It’s easier for everyone. No harm, no foul.”
“She’s alive. And you’ve known it all this time?”
He smiles, shakes his head. “That’s not the part you should worry about, Portia. Didn’t you hear what I said?” he pauses for effect. “There’s now a second special item to bid on. Can you guess what – or should I say who that is?”
I try not to react. Not to show any emotion at all even though my heart is beating so fast I swear it’s trying to bulldoze its way out of my chest.
“Just think of those cousins and nieces and nephews hearing about how Felix Perez stripped the cartel princess naked and put her on an auction block to be sold like a piece of meat to any number of Callahan Scarfoni’s enemies. And let me tell you, there are plenty. My nephew wasn’t exactly good at making friends.”
“Do you even care about him at all? Do you care that he’s dead?”
“Of course, I do. He’s my brother’s son. I’m not a beast, Portia. But again, you digress.”
He opens the box on his arm and I see a syringe lying inside. I drag my gaze from it back up to his face.
“I’ll just leave you with one thought before I give you the gift of sleep.”
He lifts the syringe out of the box, takes the cap off and drops it onto the floor. He gestures to the soldier beside me to stretch my arm out, shoving my sleeve up and gripping it with two hands so hard, it burns.
“Don’t,” I try but it doesn’t matter, does it? Callahan is dead and if he’s not, he will be soon. It’s what he said and why would he lie? And with what he and Felix have in store for me, isn’t it better if I’m knocked out?
“Just imagine,” he starts, leaning in close. Pushing the air out of the barrel, a few drops of liquid drops on my bare arm before I feel the point puncture skin. “How many men will be bidding to have you. The things they’ll do to you. Hell, if he’s really smart, if he really wants to make that example hit home, maybe he’ll just have them line up and take turns. Just think about that.”
My head lolls back. It’s hard to keep my eyes open or focused as he pulls the needle out and puts it back in its box.
“Nathan,” I say, unable to lift my arms or hands or legs when the soldier releases me.
“Nathan will have it easy in comparison. He’ll have a price on his head for the rest of his life which I’m going to guess will be a short one.”
“Go to hell,” I manage just before I can’t open my eyes anymore.
“I expect you’ll be there sooner than me. Good night, Portia Esmeralda. Sleep tight.”