Page 62 of One Filthy Kiss

But when he pulls me into his arms and kisses me on the lips, I don’t resist.

He’s doing this for me. And Amber.

Maybe, when this is all over, I’ll be able to forgive him for lying to me.

14

GIOVANNI

Planning Meggieand 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 theropes, 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, andshe’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.”