Craig sighed like my question was a nuisance. His eyes never left Kingsley. “I told you to keep your mouth shut, and you didn’t. Do I need to write it down for you?”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. There is more behind this.” I once again tried to work my wrists free, but not only were they duct-taped to the chair, but my entire upper body was, too. I didn’t stand a chance to escape.
Even if, in which direction would I run? I had no idea where we were. Towering trees and thick vines surrounded us. Rain dripped from the dense foliage. My clothes were long soaked, the coldness seeping into my bones. They’d yanked a hood over my head and stuffed me into a vehicle, then driven for about fifteen minutes and dragged me through the jungle for maybe five. Only then had they pulled off the hood.
Whip!
“You can at least give me answers before you kill us,” I snarled.
“Who says I’m going to kill you?”
“Oh, come on. We have way too much information about you. Just so you know, you’ll kill three lives, not just two.”
Craig’s head swiveled to me. A strange emotion flickered across his face. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
Kingsley’s torturer made for another whip, but Craig held up his hand. “Give him a break.” He turned back to me. “This was supposed to be us.”
“What?”
“The baby. You and me.”
Um, had he hit his head or something? “You’re the one who left me, Craig.”
“To protect you. I started dating you because of your connection to Romeo Marino. You were my ticket into the Mafia. While I didn’t end up making a deal with Marino himself, I did with other members.”
I gritted my teeth against the betrayal and anger churning in my stomach. “You used me?”
“At first. Then I fell in love with you.”
“Then why did you break up?”
“Told you, it got dangerous.” Craig ran a hand over his bald head. “I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
I scoffed. “Then what exactly are we doing here?” My volume rose with every word. “Are you listening to yourself? You don’t make any sense!”
“You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“Yes! You’re torturing the man I love!”
A vein protruded on his forehead so prominently that I could see it in the gloomy beams of the flashlights they’d set up.
My mouth fell open. “You’re doing this because you’re jealous?”
“I’m doing this to keep the Mafia busy searching for you while I’m transporting the MANPADS to the abandoned airfield and getting them off this island. They’re onto me, watching the airfield, just waiting for me to make my move. Marino cares so much about you that he’ll have every mobster on the island looking for you up here. Not to mention the DRPD. Means free rein for me and my men.”
So he hadn’t been lying when he said he was going to let us live? “You don’t have to hurt Kingsley for that.”
“You’re right, I don’t. That’s just for the fun of it.”
The smile he gave me made me shudder. “Why are you dealing in arms in the first place?” The longer I kept him occupied, the higher the chance that Rome found us.
Hopefully.
Please, Jesus.
“That’s a story for another time.” Craig lifted his hand, and his accomplice went back to whipping Kingsley.
