Freddie chuckles. "You can try. But it would be a pity to hurt you, considering my plans for the two of you."
"The fuck you talking about?" Luca snaps.
Freddie glances past him and rakes his gaze down my body. I try to shrink back against the wall, then stop. If I show him I’m afraid, that’s only going to encourage him. I straighten my shoulders and meet his gaze.
He blinks, then waves his gun in my direction. "The two of you are going to provide me with many hours of entertainment."
"You’re fucking boring, you know that?" Luca drawls.
Freddie firms his lips. "Don’t forget I have a gun."
"If you wanted to use it, you would’ve already." I tip up my chin. "Since you haven’t, I have to assume you don’t mean to hurt me, you—"
Freddie shoots. The sound ricochets around the room. I scream and clap my hands over my ears. Bits of plaster float down from the wall where I assume the bullet has embedded itself.
"That should show you how serious I am," Freddie murmurs.
"What do you want?" Luca snarls.
"To make you suffer. Your father made my life miserable," Freddie retorts.
"You do realize I had nothing to do with the actions of mytesta di cazzo padre?" Luca asks in a low voice.
"The sins of the father will be revisited upon the son… In this case, you."
"Okay, now I’m confused. What did my father do to you, anyway?" Luca widens his stance. "Weren’t the two of you partners?"
"The crime of the century was my idea, and he took credit for it."
There’s silence for a beat, then another. Finally, Luca asks, "You’re referring to the kidnapping of the Seven in the UK?"
"An idea I came up with. An idea that your father appropriated and took credit for. Thanks to that, theCosa Nostrawas, once again, taken seriously by organized crime syndicates around the world. It was my idea. Mine!" Freddie slaps his chest with his palm. "And your bastard father walked away with all the glory."
Luca’s shoulders rise and fall. "So, you’re pissed about it. It’s understandable. But that’s the kind of snake my father was. You should have known that, getting into an agreement with him. He wasn’t exactly known for his honesty and straightforwardness."
"And then, you deprived me of the satisfaction of killing him," Freddie scoffs.
"Yeah, sorry about that." He raises a shoulder. "My brother, Michael, beat you to it."
"And now, you’re going to pay the price for it." His eyes gleam.
"O-kaaay. So, that’s me. What’s the deal with her? Why is she here?" Luca stabs his thumb over his shoulder.
"I needed to get you a companion for what I have in mind." Freddie’s lips curve.
"Your problem is with my father. I have nothing to do with it, but she...” He nods in my direction. “She has even less to do with it than I do."
"On the contrary, the scene I have set needs a female to accompany you. It so happens, this one fits the bill for the woman I need, so…" He glances past Luca, and his gaze intensifies. "She’ll do very nicely for what’s coming."
My skin crawls with revulsion and my stomach churns. I feel like I’m going to throw up, but manage to swallow down the bile that boils up.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Luca’s voice is tinged with anger. He takes a step forward and Freddie raises his gun again.
"Don’t take another step forward."
Luca stops.
"Enough with the posturing. Why don’t you come out and say what the hell you have in mind?" he snaps.