Page 117 of When She Unravels
I look at him over my shoulder and shake my head. A dozen emotions play across Damiano’s face. I’ve made many choices in my past that I regret, but I’m not going to add another one to the list today. I will get Martina to safety, even if it’s the last thing I do. He loves her so much—more than my parents ever loved me. I won’t let him lose her.
Turning back to face Lazaro, I take a step forward. “Look,” I say as I spread my arms wide. “I’m unarmed, I don’t even have my phone with me. Take me to the boat and leave her be. If you say you’ll release her, they won’t shoot me.”
Lazaro eyes the men behind me. The only advantage I have here is that he knows nothing about my relationship with Damiano. For all he knows, Damiano has been punishing me for my involvement with his sister’s kidnapping all this time.
“Is that right?” he asks.
“Vale,” Damiano grinds out. “What the—”
“Tell him you won’t shoot me if he lets your sister go,” I insist. He can’t blow this chance.
I hear him heave a breath. “I won’t shoot her.”
Lazaro’s knife glints in the light. “Good. I’ll let your sister go when the time comes. Remember, if you kill me, we will all be dead. Don’t follow us unless you want me to slit her throat.”
He jerks his head to the side, telling me to go through the gate that leads out of the pool area. The lock on it is broken. There should have been a guard here, right?
As I step past the gate, my attention snags on the man lying on the ground. The guard is dead. Damiano and Ras don’t follow. I can only imagine the torture this is for him to see his sister in danger.
“We don’t have time to admire the scenery, Valentina,” Lazaro says behind me. “Walk straight until you reach the cliff.”
I follow his instructions, my heartbeat racing inside my chest. I keep looking over my shoulder to check on Martina, but it’s dark outside, and all I catch are short glimpses of her terrified face. She must be in shock. Is Lazaro really going to let her go? I pray he will.
There’s a rope ladder hanging off the edge of the cliff, and when I look down, I see a small motorboat anchored below. It bounces gently on the black water. That’s how he’s planning on getting away.
“Take the ladder,” Lazaro commands.
There’s no way I’m leaving her alone with him. “What about Martina?”
His blue eyes meet mine. “Go down, Valentina.”
A drop of sweat rolls between my breasts. “No. Not until you let her go.”
The air turns sticky and dense as Lazaro studies me with his cold, calculating gaze.
“She’s the only one who’s ever gotten away,” he says finally. “A dark mark on my perfect record.”
Fuck.He’s going to kill her.
I can’t let that happen.
I jerk the kitchen knife out of my pocket and press it against my wrist. “I know exactly where I need to cut myself so that I bleed out in minutes. I’ll do it if you kill her.”
Martina’s features contort. “Vale, no!”
Lazaro sucks in a surprised breath. “You’re bluffing.”
The fact that he thinks that shows how little he understands me. “Let her go, or you’ll never get me back.”
I spent a long time being scared to do the right thing, but I’m not afraid anymore. This time, I’m going to do what’s right, no matter what it costs me.
He grimaces. If I didn’t know him any better, I’d think he was actually hurt by my words. “You’re my wife,” he snarls. “You belong to me.”
“And you’ll get me back as soon as you let her go.”
His hard gaze, the gaze I’ve felt on myself so many times before, penetrates past the layers until he finally sees the truth of what I’m saying. He clicks with his tongue and pushes Martina away hard enough for her to fall to the ground. He steps over her and advances on me. “Drop the knife and get down the ladder, or I’ll change my mind.”
I do as he says, giving Martina one last look before I lower to the ground and place my foot on the first rung. She’s crying silently, her face wet with tears.
