Impossible Odds

30

No-no-no-no-no. I slammed my fists against the ground, furious with myself. I was the physical embodiment of every dim-witted horror movie starlet, too engrossed in her own world to realize the dangers around her. It was pathetic. I was pathetic. A whirlwind of self-loathing consumed me, but I didn’t give in to its battering assault. I refused to be that girl—weak and pitiful. No more wallowing. No more mistakes. I wiped my tears away and scooped an armful of clothes back into my suitcase, clamoring to pile in as much as I could. I would find a way out of there. I would not be a f*****g damsel in distress. Thinking back to my brief journey through the house before breakfast, I couldn’t recall seeing any landline phones. There had to be another way. Alma had been a kind older woman. Maybe she would sneak me her phone so I could get word to my family. I’d assured Matteo I was here of my own free will, and I needed to tell them I’d been wrong. It sounded like they would get word of my abduction soon enough, but it was important to try to get word to them myself—tell them where I was and give them any help I could offer. As I collected the last pile of clothes, something fell to the ground, catching my attention. The lighter. It must have slipped from the pocket of the pants I’d been wearing the day before. I dropped the clothes in a messy heap and sank to the floor, my fingers numbly retrieving the innocuous silver object. I rolled it around in my hand, my eyes almost losing focus in an unseeing trance. This tiny, worthless object had started it all. If I hadn’t stolen the lighter, I never would have seen Primo again. But if that was the case, why was I there? Like a ray of sunshine peeking through a storm, logic infiltrated my emotional haze. If Primo had been instructed to get one of my cousins, why had he taken me instead? There’d been no mistaken identity. He knew exactly who I was and that I was not what his boss wanted. Getting me to go with him could have been some kind of twisted game, but I didn’t get the sense that was the case. I was foolish after being deceived to believe I had any clue what Primo was thinking, but my gut told me his desire had been genuine. Despite what I’d learned, I still couldn’t imagine him hurting me. Maybe I was still drunk on the illusion of a whirlwind romance with him, but I couldn’t see it. The way he looked at me like he’d go mad without a taste of me; no one could act that convincingly. There was truth behind his molten silver eyes. The realization flooded me with calming reassurance. I hadn’t been wrong. Primo may have had ulterior motives, but the connection between us had been real and substantive enough for him to justify defying his boss. He wanted me, and that just might be my ticket to safety. I made my way out to the small balcony off my room. The midmorning sun shone from behind me over the house, casting teal and cobalt swaths of color across the water. Only the most delicate of trickling waves lapped at the sandy shore, and a gentle salty breeze tugged at my flowing white blouse. The location was serene in a way I could only imagine Heaven would be. Trying to reconcile the predicament I was in with such divine surroundings was difficult. Almost disorienting. How could my life be at risk when I was nestled in paradise? On the edge of the sand by the house, fluttering palm fronds swayed as if part of an invisible ocean current. Sandpipers scurried at the water’s edge in search of breakfast, and an armed guard strolled through the sand in the distance. Okay, so maybe it was a militant, prison-like version of paradise. The task of getting to safety was daunting, even if Primo did have a weakness for me. I wasn’t Maria. I couldn’t fight my way out of there if things went awry. No, but what other choice did I have? I had to try. If I continued to slip beneath his skin, maybe he’d help me escape. I certainly wasn’t going to cower in my room like a child. Primo brought me here for a reason, and I was going to get to the heart of it, then get my ass back home. The door to my room clicked open, but I didn’t turn to see who had joined me. I could sense Primo’s brooding presence, come to me as if summoned by my thoughts of escape. He didn’t join me on the balcony, choosing to linger in the doorway just behind me instead. It was probably best. I was still pissed at him for deceiving me. If I was going to play on his desire for me, I would need to appeal to him, but my temper was still too hot for that. “I suppose I could be someplace far worse than this,” I said sarcastically, allowing my words to drift back to him on the warm breeze. “You won’t be mistreated unless you give me reason to do so.” His words were cold and clinical, detached from all emotion as if he’d lobotomized the human side of himself. He’d never been particularly warm or nurturing, but this side of him was even more robotic than I’d witnessed before. Curiosity nipped and clawed at me until I turned around. I needed to see this man who disobeyed his boss to keep me near him then professed his indifference toward me like so much mud on his shoe. Just like before, both at the casino and at my apartment, his casual stance broadcasted a careless apathy, but the raging storm in his gray gaze could not be silenced. He was a living, breathing cacophony of emotion compressed and pressurized behind an impenetrable wall of armor. “Why did you bring me here?” I asked calmly, attempting to mirror his own impassivity. Bottling up my anger and seeking to confront him with the truth I’d already unraveled. “Exactly as Naz explained. We needed leverage over your uncle.” “No. I want to know why I’m here and not one of my cousins like you were ordered to bring.” Before I started an assault against his defenses, I needed to test for weaknesses. See how ardently he would fight against his desire for me. I wanted to hear him tell me himself that I’d meant nothing. “Does it matter?” “Yes. Tell me.” “Because you were easier to target,” he shot back evenly, eyes narrowing just a fraction. I took a measured step forward. “Bullshit. Tell me the truth.” No matter how hard I tried to remain calm, I couldn’t keep the rage from my voice.