Saks sincerely hoped the talk of a gun was just a ruse. Still, he could be certain of nothing given the guy’s loose-fitting coat that easily could be concealing multiple weapons.
A sleek black car slid to the curb in from of Kovel, and Saks saw his chance. With a leap he ran into Kovel, snaked his fingers into the guy’s hair, and smashed him against the side of the car.
“Help!” Kovel screamed like a terrified child.
The driver’s window rolled down. “What’s going on?” His brow wrinkled at Kovel, but he didn’t seem entirely concerned.
“Oh, Alexi here drank too much and stumbled,” Saks quickly said. People on the sidewalk stopped and stared. He could imagine someone was calling the police.
“Figures,” the driver grumbled. He rolled up the window.
“I’ll help ya,” Saks offered. He roughly pulled Kovel back by the collar of his coat.
“Chrissy, open the door.”
“And you,” he hissed into Kovel’s ear. “Right about now the police are coming. You can either get in that car and instruct the driver to take us to where Jessica is, or I can leave you in a heap for the police to pick up.”
“Bugger off,” Kovel snapped.
“Chrissy, what did he say to me?”
“He told you to fuck yourself.”
“That’s what I thought.” Using the man’s collar as leverage, Saks bounced the man’s forehead square off the side of the car again.
Kovel wailed as if he’d been shot, and a small trail of blood seeped down the front of his face.
“Now,” Saks demanded, “are you going to be more cooperative? Or do I need to bash your face in until you’re no longer recognizable? Because I’ll do whatever it takes.”
With the man swaying on his feet from the hit, Saks hurriedly patted him down and relieved him of the gun he had been holding. Sak’s tongue clicked. “You know these things are illegal here, right? I’ll just take it. After all, you wouldn’t want the police to find it on you, would you?”
The driver rolled down the window again. “What was that noise? Is everything all right?”
“He fell into the car again. Here, Alexi, let’s get you into the car.”
A bit of a concern flashed on the driver’s face. “You okay, Mr. Kovel?”
Saks pressed the gun into Kovel’s side.
“Yes.”
“Very well.” The driver again vanished behind a closed window.
The moment it was fully shut Saks threw the bastard into the back of the car, hopeful he’d rattled his head enough to keep him quiet. He jumped in after him, jamming the gun into the man’s side as Chrissy slipped into the car.
“Like this will do you any good,” Kovel growled. “When we get there, the boss will take care of you.”
“My problem, not yours, Kovel.”
Kovel tapped the window dividing the front and back of the car.
“Good glass,” Saks remarked. “Bulletproof.”
“Yes, as if you need to know.”
The driver pulled off as the sound of police sirens grew in volume. But the driver didn’t rush. He eased into city traffic without drawing suspicion, as if he’d dealt with such things before. They drove about a half hour when the muffled sound of boat horns seeped through the windows of the car.
“What a fucking cliché,” Sak said derisively.