Kiss a Frog (The Book Club Series 1) (13 page)

“Where you want her, boss?” Vincent called, and Lily gagged at the putrid air coming from his mouth.

“Bring her in here. Gag her, I don’t want to hear anything else out of her sassy mouth today. My patience is running thin, and I’d hate to prove her wrong by blowing her brains out now instead of at the pier.”

Lily nearly fell on the floor as Vincent pushed her back into the office. She flopped out onto the couch awkwardly and winced at the pain her shoulders. Jacobs definitely hadn’t tied her so tightly, and her wrists chafed slightly from the binding already. Vincent picked up the wet handkerchief she’d spat out and shoved it back in her mouth.

“Now you can’t scream.” He laughed, tying the other piece of fabric around her face tightly.

Lily gagged at the fabric shoved so far in her mouth and her eyes watered.

“Leave.” Caprice ordered, and Lily sighed in relief as Vincent bowed and left the room. As he rounded the corner, he looked back and winked.

A shudder coursed through her, and she prayed for Jacobs to get back, and quick. Her stomach rumbled, and she tried to ignore the pangs of hunger. Caprice ignored her completely as he made phone calls.

“Tell me where the bastard is! You better be able to give me more than he’s on the way to Boston, Paulie, or your ass is mine!” Caprice growled into the phone.

Lily perked up slightly as she tried to piece things together. Vincent walked back in the room bearing a covered platter. “Lunch,” he said, placing the domed platter on the table. A glass of condensing ice cold water went beside the food, and Lily salivated. Vincent grinned widely as he realized she was thirsty. “Want a drink, lamb chop?” Lily looked away from him and quivered as he laughed roughly. “Soon you’ll be drinking all the water you could want. Just wait…”

Frustrated tears prickled at her eyes as she waited. Jacobs still wasn’t back, and she didn’t know if Luis would know the plans had changed from the house to the harbor. She assumed that Jacobs was probably relaying messages between everyone, but she couldn’t be sure. The scent of Italian food teased her nose, and she flicked her gaze back to Caprice, who talked on the phone and shoved cheesy food in his mouth.

I hope you choke.
Lily squeezed her eyes closed and wiggled her wrists against the ropes.
Bastard.
She sat in silence and it gave her time to think.
I’d give anything to have that book to read. Christian wouldn’t be so bad right now. Maybe if I’d read it, I wouldn’t be in this position right now? If I wasn’t such a smart ass I wouldn’t be about to end up swimming in the harbor for the rest of time…I know the agents said they will make things happen. What if they don’t? I won’t get to have my birthday, I won’t get to marry someone and have kids. This sucks.

Watching the hands of the clock spin round the dial hung on the wall, she counted down her final hours grimly. Fear ran through her mind with each minute that passed. Jacobs hadn’t returned and the afternoon dragged on, with Caprice routinely making phone calls and cussing people out. Lily began to panic.

He’s not coming back. I’m screwed.

At half past five, Jacobs walked back into the office, and she almost jumped off the couch to hug him. She remembered who he was pretending to be just in time. He was a mobster at the moment, not her savior.

“De Soros is just outside the city.” He informed Caprice, who cracked his knuckles and smiled.

“Perfect. It’s nearly time for the show. Miss Halloway, have you ever been on a boat?” The mobster smiled in her direction, and she shivered.

She shook her head no quickly, and Caprice laughed again.

“Paulie, get her ready for transport. I will return.” He left the office.

Jacobs came to her side and bent to whisper in her ear, “The boss is going to grip you by the neck on the dock. He knows that De Soros won’t shoot if you’re in the way. He thinks that he’ll be safe behind you. You’ll hear me whistle, and I want you to go completely boneless. Pretend to faint, and he won’t be able to hold you up. Pay attention and just drop. Try to roll off the dock and get under it. Wrap your legs around a pole and hold on. Got it?” he breathed.

Lily nodded, panic coursing through her. She couldn’t say anything even if she wanted to.

Hit the Deck

Lily was pulled out to the garage where she’d been unloaded from the SUV only the night before. Jacobs opened the back door of the black vehicle and shoved her inside. Lily braced herself against the side of the vehicle. As they drove away she still rolled and smacked her head roughly against the back window. Jacobs drove the SUV, and the mob boss rode in the middle seat, along with a few other goonies. Guns surrounded them, and Lily panicked as she looked out the tinted back window to see a trail of black SUVs following them.

“The bastard will die tonight. Are the guys in place?” Caprice demanded.

“There are guys in place,” Jacobs answered.

Lily shivered as they drew closer to the harbor.
Please, let Luca be okay.

The sky grew dusky as they drove to the harbor, and her fear escalated as she smelled the faint odor of the water.
We’re here. It’s time. All I have to do is listen for his whistle. If I listen for his whistle everything will be okay.

The vehicle rolled to a stop, and she listened intently to what the men were saying. “De Soros is alone,” Jacobs informed Caprice, and Lily blanched.

He isn’t really alone, right? The FBI is crawling through here. They have to be.
Peeking through the window again, she squinted and tried to look through the dusk, hoping fervently to see knights riding up on white horses ready to protect the princess from the bad men. Seeing nothing and no one around, she panicked slightly.

It will be okay, it has to be.

“Let’s get down to the harbor. Be ready to pull off in the boat,” Caprice ordered.

“We’ll be ready,” Jacobs promised.

“I can’t wait to see the pier stained with his blood.” Caprice exited the car, and Lily shivered at his words.

Jacobs opened the driver’s door and stepped out of the car. She followed him with her eyes as he circled the SUV and came to the back. As he opened the door, Lily stared up at him. He leaned into the car and whispered softly, “Listen for my whistle.”

Lily nodded and struggled to pull in a deep breath. Jacobs pulled her from the back of the vehicle. They hustled down the sidewalk to the docks, and Lily ran to keep up with him. A boat sat in the water near the end of the dock, and she spotted several men in black jackets lurking among the rocks along the water.
Are they friend or foe?

“She’s here,” Jacobs muttered, and Lily fought a scream as the streetlight above her head was shot out. They were shrouded in darkness.

A hand jerked her, and she stumbled backward into a man’s chest. “Still feel so certain you’re needed?” Caprice murmured against her ear, and Lily quaked in fear at the cold press of metal against her temple. “Pull any funny shit, and I’ll kill you right here.”

Lily didn’t doubt him for a minute. Luca would be at the pier with or without her, and she was no longer needed. The only thing she was good for was being a shield, and even then, she was certain that Caprice was wearing a bulletproof vest.

The mobsters took out half of the lights on the pier, further encasing the end in darkness. Lily blinked a few times to get her eyes accustomed to the loss of light, and soon she could see pretty well. From where they stood she was able to make out the spacing in the boards of the pier. If she rolled carefully, she could fit between two boards and be in the water. Her only fear was being unable to swim with her hands tied. Jacobs had told her to latch onto a pole underneath the pier with her legs. She fervently hoped her years of swimming lessons as a kid would somehow pay off and keep her from dying.

Beads of perspiration broke out on her forehead, and she winced as Caprice shifted his grip and dug the barrel deeper into her temple. “He’s coming…see him, Lily? Watch me shoot him dead.” The barrel of the gun moved away from her head, and Lily froze in horror as she watched Luca walk down the pier. He carried only a pistol and wore a black leather jacket like the men on the rocks. She couldn’t tell if he was wearing a bulletproof vest or not.

“Lily?” Luca called, and she fought the urge to scream his name around the handkerchief.

“She’s here, pig,” Caprice yelled.

“How do I know she’s alive?” Luca asked incredulously.

Lily jumped as her handkerchief was ripped from her face.

“Tell him you’re here and to put the gun down,” the boss whispered in her ear.

Lily spat out the wad of fabric in her mouth and swallowed against the bile in her throat. “I’m here,” she gagged out.

“Lily?” Luca took a step toward her.

She retched a little and gasped out the rest of the sentence, “Drop your gun.”

“I can’t do it, sweetheart.”

Lily fought hard against the puke skittering along the back of her throat. “You have to,” she choked.

“Why, so he can shoot you and then shoot me? I don’t think so,” Luca argued. “I’m not stupid. I’ll bet Caprice is even hiding behind you right now like a craven pussy. He can’t even face me without you between us.”

Caprice growled behind her, and as he pressed the cold metal barrel of the pistol back to her temple Lily lost the battle with bile. Puke spewed from her mouth and splashed down his arm onto the wood in front of her. As he released her, a string of cuss words came from his lips, and Lily heard a faint whistle. She dropped to the puke covered wood and rolled herself to the left, screaming as she guesstimated it perfectly and dropped over the edge of the dock. With a splash she landed in the water and immediately began to panic.

The water was agonizingly cold, and she struggled to surface. Kicking firmly, she managed to break the water long enough to suck in a gasp of air before going under again. Twisting her hands behind her back, she gripped the edge of the ropes that bound her. They barely budged, and she knew she was in trouble. Kicking up again, she managed to suck in a little air. A faint ringing sound filled her ears. She struggled harder with the ropes, her lungs burning for air.

As darkness blurred her consciousness, she wrenched her wrist firmly and managed to pull one hand free. Her hand ached and throbbed, and she pushed up firmly in the water, searching for oxygen. Surfacing, she sucked in air and tried to figure out her surroundings as the fogginess cleared from her brain.

The sound of gunfire ricocheted through the harbor, and she squinted, hoping to see who was shooting. Luca darted back into the light at the mouth of the pier for a moment, and she fought the urge to scream his name. He was safe, for the moment, and she was overjoyed. A scuffling filled the air, and she panicked as a big light flashed on near the front of the boat and illuminated her in the water. A man’s voice shouted her name, and she screamed as a gun went off and pain blossomed in her upper arm. Diving down in the icy liquid, she kicked furiously and surfaced a few moments later, realizing she was finally close to the dock again.

She shuddered in the water, nausea coursing through her at the pain in her arm. Twining her legs around a supporting pole, she carefully probed at the hole in her arm. If the shooter had been mere inches closer, she would’ve been dead. Lily murmured a soft thank you to the universe for making the shooter a terrible shot.

The coup d’état continued overhead, and she flinched at the sounds of gunfire and yelling. A man directly over her head shrieked, and he thudded down to the pier, the wood trembling with his sudden weight. Wetness dripped down onto her, and she gagged as she recognized the metallic scent of blood. Whoever it was definitely wasn’t going to be living long losing that much blood, that was certain.

The boat roared to life, and she stifled a shriek of terror in the crook of her arm. It peeled away, murky water churning in its wake. She couldn’t make out who was driving the boat or what had happened. All she knew was that it was suddenly silent. The harbor became still, and Lily listened intently, unable to hear much over the thundering sound of her heart. A flashlight beam shone down over the edge of the pier, and Lily hid, terrified that it was the mob hoping to finish her off.

The good guys always win. The good guys always win…
She repeated in her head.

“Lily!” Luca screamed hoarsely, and Lily gasped.

“Luca?” she groaned out. “You’re alive!”

“Of course I’m alive! Are you okay? Where are you?” he yelled.

“In the water.” Lily gritted out between her chattering teeth. She screamed at a loud splash nearby.

“Lily, where are you?” Luca asked again, and she realized he was in the water with her.

“Under the pier.”

“Lily, did he get you?” Luca swam closer, and Lily struggled to speak.

“He’s a terrible shot,” she garbled, losing her grip on the pole. “The bastard got my arm.”

She vaguely remembered Luca’s strong arm coming around her and the feel of being towed through the icy water. After that moment, she only knew darkness.