Page 28 of Wild Card

“One day, maybe.”

“You know,” I say, sizing him up. “You’re a massive, sexy Italian man. We could get you the funds on Kickstarter in like six weeks. Hell, you could probably get a show on the Food Network—something that begins with the creation of the bakery and follows through its completion and then day to day operations.”

He lets out a husky laugh. “Is that so?”

His voice is deep and low, and I flush remembering how good his mouth felt on me. I want him to touch me again. I look at my hands trembling in my lap. Will I ever stop shaking?

“What will Freddie do if my father doesn’t give up the money?”

Gio presses his fists into his lap.

“It wouldn’t be good, Catriona. He’s very powerful. Very well-guarded.”

My father is powerful, too, and well-connected. But he won’t use those connections to protect me. He never has. Probably won’t let my brothers use them either. I’m very much in danger. He’s not going to give up his precious money. Not for me.

Gio still seems like the best way out of this mess. I watch him intently. He’s fighting some kind of battle and I find that I want him to hold me again. I want to feel safe. Like someone cares if I live or die. But maybe Gio isn’t that person, so instead I just curl my arms around my body and press back into the couch.

“Who’s Birdie?” Gio asks after a few minutes of silence.

Fear slicks the back of my throat.

“Why?” I ask. “Who wants to know?”

He pulls the burner phone out of his pocket and hands it to me.

Please let me know if Catriona is still alive. I can get you some money now and more later. How much do you need to let her go? Tell her Birdie loves her.

“It’s my sister Bridget. Poor little Birdie,” I say, running my fingers over the screen. Birdie’s our nickname for our sweet baby sister Bridget. When she was little, she’d beg Siobhan to sing her favorite lullaby about a bluebird. Bridget would say “birdie” over and over again in her little toddler voice and it just stuck.

My father loves her in a way he’ll never love me. But my sweet sister—she’s never let what anyone says about me stop her from caring. Her love is something I’ve always been able to be certain of and knowing that has gotten me through some hard times.

But it won’t get me through this. If she couldn’t get my father to budge, well, it doesn’t bear thinking about.

“May I tell her I’m okay?”

He nods. “You can call her if you want.”

He’s testing me. Wants to see how much he can trust me.

“Thank you,” I say. I dial her number. He doesn’t make me put the phone on speaker.

She answers in a frantic voice.

“Honey,” I say. “It’s me. I’m okay. I’m okay for now.”

“Catriona,” she sobs, “Callan, it’s her. She’s alive.”

I hear a scuffle and then my brother’s deep voice.

“Where are you?”

I look over at Gio. He’s tense but staring ahead, not looking at me. Is he trying to give me privacy in some weird way? I’m not sure. I could take a risk and give Callan some information, but I’m afraid that would bite me in the ass with Gio sitting here. I need him to trust me so he’ll still want to protect me.

“I don’t know where I am. I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay for now. Is Dad…”

He interrupts me. “You know the answer to that, Catriona. We’ve got everyone we know out looking for you. Even Kieran’s family, especially since you were grabbed outside their fucking club.”

I can’t tell if he’s angry at me or not. Callan is hard to read sometimes, even for me. And things in our family are too painful to face if you dig too deep. We always keep it surface.

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