I love the man he became.
 
 I could have had a very different life. If my father had remembered that he made a bargain with the Irish guy, then I might have been married to Kieran instead.
 
 And that would have been…
 
 I shudder at the thought.
 
 This guy is fucking crazy.
 
 I have to get out of here.
 
 I glance at his side as he paces at the edge of the bed.
 
 Guys like him don’t show up unarmed. There has to be something on him that I can use…
 
 Bingo.
 
 He has a knife on his hip. It’s not a pocketknife. It’s a solid six inches long, in a sheath at his side. I know it’s not just a fun knife, and it’s probably seen some use. I doubt that it’s dull in the slightest. I also doubt that it’s never seen blood.
 
 A knife, I can use.
 
 Once, a long time ago, father was injured in a knife fight. I was the only one home, and I remember almost fainting at the sight of the blood pouring out of him.
 
 After he was patched up, I had asked Marco to teach me how to use a knife.
 
 He had refused.
 
 But Sal hadn’t.
 
 I was proficient with a gun, I couldn’t fistfight for anything, but for some reason a knife…
 
 I could work with a knife.
 
 “You know that I’ve had a baby with him,” I whisper. I pull lightly on my wrists, trying to test the bounds. If he had any common sense, he would have used something solid like metal, or plastic zip ties.
 
 From what I can tell, he’s used some kind of rope. And it’s silky.
 
 If I can just get the knife, I’m going to be able to rip through this. Even better, if I can get him to untie me…
 
 I look at him.
 
 The Irishman looks at me. “Well, you’re a little tarnished, sure, but I’m not picky.”
 
 “You’re obsessed with me.”
 
 It wasn’t a question.
 
 A slow smile spreads across his face. “Aye. Been that way for quite some time.”
 
 “Why? I’m sure there’s a million women who throw themselves at you on a daily basis.”
 
 “Aye, that there are.”
 
 “So why me?”
 
 The Irishman studied me. “You doubt me?”
 
 “It’s not doubt,” I answer honestly. “It’s curiosity. I’m no one. My family has a long legacy, sure, but we’ve been picked off by RICO charges since the ‘80s. We aren’t rich. We don’t have a huge business. Why me? Is it Elio?”